The Delphi technique: A credible research methodology

Abstract: The Delphi technique, as a research method for achieving consensus of opinion of participants, is sometimes seen as a less reliable research method because the participants do change their opinion from one round of the exercise to the other. Instead of seeing this as weakness, it is actually the strength of the technique. The controlled feedbacks allow participants to view their individual submissions in the light of the whole group. The Delphi technique is about the only research method that allows participants to interact with the opinion of each other, without coercion, adjust ones position where necessary and yet retain anonymity. Thoughtful selection of participants and effective communication throughout the exercise ensures that the outcome of the exercise is truly a consensus opinion of the group that can proffer appropriate solution to the research question. The participants for the Delphi exercise, being reported, were chosen from the strategic and tactical levels of leadership of the client, end-user and the service provider. Though participants changed their opinion from one round to the other; the net result showed a more refined selection of appropriate Key Performance Indicator, without evidence of complicity or coercion

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (Glomales) in Egypt. II. An ecological view of some saline affected plants in the deltaic mediterranean coastal land

A field survey was conducted to investigate the importance of saline soil factors on the occurrence of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi in three localities (Baltim, New Damietta and Gamasa). Out of the 45 species of native and cultivated plants collected from three sites, 36 species including all agronomic were infected with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. However, few plant species belonging to the families Chenopodiaceae, Cruciferae and Cyperaceae were found to be non-mycorrhizal. In general, soil pH and CaCO3 content have no direct effect on the number of mycorrhizal spores in the rhizosphere of all plants tested. A positive correlation between densities of Glomales and the organic matter in the rhizosphere of cultivated salt tolerant plants were observed. Generally, spore densities and subsequent level of mycorrhizal infection were negatively correlated with the degree of salinity in the soil. However, number of mycorrhizal spores in the rhizosphere of wild halophytes were not significantly correlated to infectivity. Arbuscular mycorrhizal spores isolated from the collected soils were identified as two genera, Glomus and Acaulospora. Spores belonging to the genus Glomus were abundant in this survey, many of these were identified as Glomus mosseae and Glomus etunicatum. G. mosseae was the most frequent species reported in the salt rhizosphere. Thus, the results suggest that soil salinity and organic matter might play an important role in regulating the distribution of AM fungal communities in the saline soil

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

Investment in SARS-CoV-2 sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences generated, now exceeding 100,000 genomes, used to track the pandemic on the continent. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries able to sequence domestically, and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround time and more regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and shed light on the distinct dispersal dynamics of Variants of Concern, particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron, on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve, while the continent faces many emerging and re-emerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa

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A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa.

The progression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous, and the full impact is not yet well understood. In this study, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations predominantly from Europe, which diminished after the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1, and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance.

Investment in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing in Africa over the past year has led to a major increase in the number of sequences that have been generated and used to track the pandemic on the continent, a number that now exceeds 100,000 genomes. Our results show an increase in the number of African countries that are able to sequence domestically and highlight that local sequencing enables faster turnaround times and more-regular routine surveillance. Despite limitations of low testing proportions, findings from this genomic surveillance study underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic and illuminate the distinct dispersal dynamics of variants of concern-particularly Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron-on the continent. Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve while the continent faces many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

A cost-efficient aging sensor based on multiple paths delay fault monitoring

Aggressive technology shrinking has increased the sensitivity of integrated circuits in terms of devices ageing. As a result, the performance of a CMOS device will degrade significantly over time and, therefore, results in the delay faults. In situ delay fault monitoring schemes have been proposed to ensure the reliability of an IC during its lifetime. Such schemes are usually based on the application of ageing sensors to predict ageing-induced failures of a circuit and react accordingly. Traditional ageing sensors are implemented on the near-critical paths, which are considered as the most vulnerable paths to delay faults caused by performance degradation. However, today’s complex designs and technology node shrinking have enhanced the number of near- and potential critical paths that need to be monitored. This means the in situ delay fault monitoring approaches are becoming very expensive and may be infeasible. This chapter introduces a state-of-the-art in situ delay monitor called Differential Multiple Error Detection Sensor (DMEDS). The chapter presents a case study to demonstrate how the DMEDS monitors multiple paths simultaneously, and it discusses the advantages and disadvantages of this proposed approach compared with the traditional techniques

Cyclizing disulfide-rich peptides using sortase A

Sortase A (SrtA) is an enzyme obtained from Staphylococcus aureus that catalyzes site-specific transpeptidation of surface proteins to the bacterial cell membrane. SrtA recognizes an LPXTG amino acid motif and cleaves between the Thr and Gly to form a thioester-linked acyl–enzyme intermediate. The intermediate is resolved in the presence of a nucleophilic N-terminal polyglycine resulting in ligation of the acyl donor to the polyglycine acceptor. Here we describe the application of SrtA as a tool for the cyclization of disulfide-rich peptides. Reactions are typically tailored to each disulfide-rich peptide with optimal conditions producing yields of 40–50% cyclized peptide