Co-Production as a Driver of Urban Governance Transformation? The Case of the Oplan LIKAS Programme in Metro Manila,Philippines

Social movement-initiated co-production has been increasingly described as an approach that enables urban poor communities in the South to gain wider access to urban governance. However, with a predominant focus on project-level interventions, the case studies in which movements truly affect governance matters in a metro scale are rare. One of the examples involving such an achievement is the activism of civil society organisations and urban poor groups in Metro Manila, Philippines, which have succeeded to have a major impact on the housing and resettlement programme; the Oplan LIKAS. This article analyses how the civil society was able to gain such a position and the way it utilised it. The documentation of the challenges experienced by the civil society reflects the nature of co-productive engagement in the South and shows that it may easily reach its limits in an exclusionary governance setting.     

Preparation of antimicrobial polycarboxybetaine‐based hydrogels for studies of drug loading and release

A series of cationic poly(N‐isopropyl acrylamide) (PNIPAM)‐g‐poly(carboxybetaine ester) (PCBMAE) hydrogels were prepared by reversible addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer polymerization with PCBMAE precursors reacting with N‐isopropyl acrylamide in the presence of N,N′‐methylene bisacrylamide. These hydrogels exhibited excellent antimicrobial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and could switch to nontoxic zwitterionic hydrogels after hydrolysis. Nonionic tetracycline hydrochloride (TCHC) and anionic sodium salicylate (SA) were selected to evaluate the loading capacities and release kinetics of the cationic hydrogels. We found that the loading efficiencies of TCHC in the PNIPAM‐g‐PCBMAE hydrogels were approximately twice as high as those of SA. However, the cumulative release amount of TCHC was lower than that of SA from the corresponding cationic hydrogel at 37°C. In addition, the PNIPAM‐g‐PCBMAE hydrogels exhibited accelerated release rates of both TCHC and SA with increasing content of (2‐carboxymethyl)?3‐acryloxyethyldimethylammonium chloride methyl ester. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39839.     

Synthesis and drug‐release studies of low‐fouling zwitterionic hydrogels with enhanced mechanical strength

Reversible addition–fragmentation chain‐transfer polymerization was introduced to prepare a series of zwitterionic poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate)‐g‐poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (PSBMA) hydrogels (HSGs) with different monomer feed ratios. Compared with PSBMA hydrogels, these hydrogels exhibited enhanced mechanical strengths. Then, the HSGs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and swelling measurements. We found that the equilibrium swelling ratios, mechanical strengths, and drug‐release behaviors were significantly affected by the feed ratios of the gels. The hydrophilic tetracycline hydrochloride release results suggest that the hydrophilic drug release from the HSGs could be prolonged by the variation of the hydroxyethyl methacrylate amount in the gel networks. The bovine serum albumin adsorption data showed that the zwitterionic HSG with 18.2 wt % sulfobetaine methacrylate exhibited good protein‐resistance properties. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 41041.     

Cytokine Receptors—Regulators of Antimycobacterial Immune Response

Cytokine receptors are critical regulators of the antimycobacterial immune response, playing a key role in initiating and coordinating the recruitment and activation of immune cells during infection. They recognize and bind specific cytokines and are involved in inducing intracellular signal transduction pathways that regulate a diverse range of biological functions, including proliferation, differentiation, metabolism and cell growth. Due to mutations in cytokine receptor genes, defective signaling may contribute to increased susceptibility to mycobacteria, allowing the pathogens to avoid killing and immune surveillance. This paper provides an overview of cytokine receptors important for the innate and adaptive immune responses against mycobacteria and discusses the implications of receptor gene defects for the course of mycobacterial infection.     

An orange-emitting phosphor BaSrGa4O8:Bi3+,K+ with unique one-dimensional chain structure for high index color WLEDs

It has been an urgent need for developing a new bright long-wave emitting phosphor to improve the color rendering index (CRI) of white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs). Here, based on the concept of oxygen vacancy-induced long-wave emission by Bi³⁺ doping, we selected BaSrGa₄O₈ as the matrix, which has a low-dimensional chain structure that can produce enough oxygen vacancies. After the introduction of Bi³⁺, orange emission was successfully achieved. To further improve the luminescence efficiency, the system of BaSrGa₄O₈:Bi³⁺,K⁺ was designed. Interestingly, although significant emission enhancement was obtained, the material showed reduced absorption with increased oxygen vacancies. More detailed experimental evidences confirm that oxygen vacancies can activate Bi³⁺ to achieve long-wave emission. Our results provide a new way to design Bi³⁺-based long-wave emitting phosphors with low-dimensional crystal structure. Finally, a WLED device containing BaSrGa₄O₈:Bi³⁺,K⁺ was fabricated and exhibited an enhanced CRI, which shows a promising application in WLEDs.     

镁钙砂碳酸化反应活化能与抗水化性能的研究

采用TG—DTG技术,用多重升温速率方法,计算了镁钙砂颗粒表面碳酸化和水化碳酸化反应过程的表观活化能Ea,并对经碳酸化和水化碳酸化表面改性后的镁钙砂进行了抗水化性能测定。结果表明:镁钙砂水化碳酸化表观反应活化能Ea从单纯碳酸化时的189 kJ.mol-1降至155 kJ.mol-1;而经水化碳酸化表面改性后的镁钙砂的水化增重率则从单纯碳酸化时的0.95%降至0.43%。即镁钙砂碳酸化反应过程中水蒸气的引入提高了镁钙砂颗粒表面的反应活性,使其因碳酸化反应程度提高而抗水化能力增强。     

新闻纸的白度、色度与不透明度

本文通过对目前新闻纸市场上新闻纸的白度、色度和不透明度的调查，结合本厂的实践提出了对新闻纸的ISO白度、CIE白度、L^＊、a^＊、b^＊值和不透明度的合理控制范围。     

卵黄高磷蛋白磷酸肽制备工艺的研究

以卵黄高磷蛋白为原料,经碱法脱磷,胰蛋白酶水解后制备成卵黄高磷蛋白磷酸肽(PPP)。研究表明,脱磷率为42.43%的PPP其钙结合能力最强,同时确定了PPP制备过程中的最佳酶解条件为:底物浓度为1%,温度为50℃,酶浓度6%,pH为10,此时卵黄高磷蛋白的水解度为21.8%。