In recent years, information and communication technology (ICT) has rapidly spread across the globe, along with increased market penetration and easy availability of economical smartphones and cellphones with both wired and nonwired connections to access the Internet; this leapfrogging in the Internet access is true even in the rural areas of the world's developing countries. Indonesia has the largest population of Internet users even though the Internet penetration rate is still under the regional average among Southeast Asian countries. To date, however, scholarly discourse on ICT use in rural communities in developing countries has, for the most part, been limited to the conventional discussion regarding the gap that exists between the “haves” and the “have nots,” often referred to as the digital divide. The current study applies a contemporary conceptualization of digital divide to the case of a rural village in Indonesia with a growing young population to arrive at policy recommendations for using ICT to improve this village as a possible model for other rural communities in developing countries. Semistructured interviews and a questionnaire survey were conducted targeting digital natives, identifying a gap in Internet use between younger and older residents within the digital natives. The study then applied a model that examined a succession of 4 types of access—motivational access, material access, skills access, and usage access—for respondents who were grouped by age and level of Internet use. This analysis combined with an examination of the Internet paradox revealed the positive effects of Internet use on community participation and networking. Analysis also indicated distinctive challenges for each group at multiple stages of the digital divide, leading to policy recommendations for each group to take advantage of Internet technology for future rural development in the case study village and for possible use as a model for other rural areas of developing countries around the world.
Intragastric Klebsiella pneumoniae infections of mice can cause liver abscesses, necrosis of liver tissues, and bacteremia. Lithium chloride, a widely prescribed drug for bipolar mood disorder, has been reported to possess anti-inflammatory properties. Using an intragastric infection model, the effects of LiCl on K. pneumoniae infections were examined. Providing mice with drinking water containing LiCl immediately after infection protected them from K. pneumoniae-induced death and liver injuries, such as necrosis of liver tissues, as well as increasing blood levels of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase, in a dosedependent manner. LiCl administered as late as 24 h postinfection still provided protection. Monitoring of the LiCl concentrations in the sera of K. pneumoniae-infected mice showed that approximately 0.33 mM LiCl was the most effective dose for protecting mice against infections, which is lower than the clinically toxic dose of LiCl. Surveys of bacterial counts and cytokine expression levels in LiCl-treated mice revealed that both were effectively inhibited in blood and liver tissues. Using in vitro assays, we found that LiCl (5 M to 1 mM) did not directly interfere with the growth of K. pneumoniae but made K. pneumoniae cells lose the mucoid phenotype and become more susceptible to macrophage killing. Furthermore, low doses of LiCl also partially enhanced the bactericidal activity of macrophages. Taken together, these data suggest that LiCl is an alternative therapeutic agent for K. pneumoniae-induced liver infections.
The aim of this paper is to examine and clarify the procedures and land using by undertaking case study of contaminated farmland in Japan. It investigated 12 cases by interviews to local governments and farmland visits. It is found that land contamination treatment is done with agricultural policy. After the treatment, cultivation environment is improved. It is also found that we can classify land contamination treatment into six types according to density of cadmium, law, land use, measures plan, and compensation. Then find out the most appropriate treatment from them.
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