Risk Mitigation through Diversified Farm Production Strategies: The Case in Northern Mozambique

Mozambique, like many other parts of the low-income world, faces perennial challenges with food security. With a rapidly growing population and arable land on the decline, sustainable agriculture is vital to managing the already depleted natural resources of Sub-Saharan Africa more effectively while increasing food security. Food security issues for subsistence farmers in most low-income countries are a product of endogenous (crop yields) and exogenous (currency fluctuations as many agricultural inputs are imported) factors. In Mozambique the value of the local currency, meticals, has decreased by approximately 50% since January 2015 compared to the U.S. dollar. While this makes exporting products out of Mozambique more attractive in a relative sense, it negatively effects those industries which rely on imported inputs such as animal feed and inorganic fertilizer. In response to this exogenous currency crisis, research was conducted in Nampula, Mozambique during the summer of 2016 on a method for implementing crop diversification to reduce the risk that accompanies the devaluation of the metical. This research was undertaken on a poultry operation which is heavily dependent on imported maize and soya. Similar to the market structure of the poultry industry in the United States, all birds are grown by individual out growers who typically also have small plots of land to farm. Objectives for the project included 1) perform on-site crop production evaluations, 2) determine profitability for various row crops, and 3) simulate alternative production practices to increase crop profitability. Of the crops grown (tomatoes, maize, and cabbage), maize required the least labor, lowest initial investment, and the highest probability of breaking even. This research concluded that if poultry producers in Mozambique who rely on imported feed grew maize simultaneously it would reduce the dependency on imported maize and reduce income variability associated with exogenous currency fluctuations. Implementing a program such as this could increase revenue streams as well as reduce variability, thereby enhancing regional food securit

Risk Mitigation through Diversified Farm Production Strategies: The Case in Northern Mozambique

Mozambique, like many other parts of the low-income world, faces perennial challenges with food security. With a rapidly growing population and arable land on the decline, sustainable agriculture is vital to managing the already depleted natural resources of Sub-Saharan Africa more effectively while increasing food security. Food security issues for subsistence farmers in most low-income countries are a product of endogenous (crop yields) and exogenous (currency fluctuations as many agricultural inputs are imported) factors. In Mozambique the value of the local currency, meticals, has decreased by approximately 50% since January 2015 compared to the U.S. dollar. While this makes exporting products out of Mozambique more attractive in a relative sense, it negatively effects those industries which rely on imported inputs such as animal feed and inorganic fertilizer. In response to this exogenous currency crisis, research was conducted in Nampula, Mozambique during the summer of 2016 on a method for implementing crop diversification to reduce the risk that accompanies the devaluation of the metical. This research was undertaken on a poultry operation which is heavily dependent on imported maize and soya. Similar to the market structure of the poultry industry in the United States, all birds are grown by individual out growers who typically also have small plots of land to farm. Objectives for the project included 1) perform on-site crop production evaluations, 2) determine profitability for various row crops, and 3) simulate alternative production practices to increase crop profitability. Of the crops grown (tomatoes, maize, and cabbage), maize required the least labor, lowest initial investment, and the highest probability of breaking even. This research concluded that if poultry producers in Mozambique who rely on imported feed grew maize simultaneously it would reduce the dependency on imported maize and reduce income variability associated with exogenous currency fluctuations. Implementing a program such as this could increase revenue streams as well as reduce variability, thereby enhancing regional food securit

Sny Magill Nonpoint Source Pollution Monitoring Project : final report

https://ir.uiowa.edu/igs_tis/1047/thumbnail.jp

A systematic review and meta-analysis of the direct effects of nutrients on corals

Chronic exposure of coral reefs to elevated nutrient conditions can modify the performance of the coral holobiont and shift the competitive interactions of reef organisms. Many studies have nowquantified the links between nutrients and coral performance, but fewhave translated these studies to directly address coastal water quality standards. To address this management need, we conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies, public reports, and gray literature that examined the impacts of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN: nitrate, nitrite, and ammonium) and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP: phosphate) on scleractinian corals. The systematic review resulted in 47 studies with comparable data on coral holobiont responses to nutrients: symbiont density, chlorophyll α (chl-α) concentration, photosynthesis, photosynthetic efficiency, growth, calcification, adult survival, juvenile survival, and fertilization. Mixed-effects meta-regression meta-analyses were used to determine the magnitude of the positive or negative effects of DIN and DIP on coral responses. Zooxanthellae density (DIN & DIP), chl-α concentration (DIN), photosynthetic rate (DIN), and growth (DIP) all exhibited positive responses to nutrient addition; maximum quantum yield (DIP), growth (DIN), larval survival (DIN), and fertilization (DIN) exhibited negative responses. In lieu of developing specific thresholds for the management of nutrients as a stressor on coral reefs, we highlight important inflection points in the magnitude and direction of the effects of inorganic nutrients and identify trends among coral responses. The responses of corals to nutrients are complex, warranting conservative guidelines for elevated nutrient concentrations on coral reefs

Mediator Acts Upstream of the Transcriptional Activator Gal4

We show that Mediator, a protein originally isolated on the basis of its ability to respond to transcriptional activators, and thought to be regulated by an activator, can also be the master that controls the activator

Genome sequences of four cluster P mycobacteriophages

Four bacteriophages infecting Mycobacterium smegmatis mc2155 (three belonging to subcluster P1 and one belonging to subcluster P2) were isolated from soil and sequenced. All four phages are similar in the left arm of their genomes, but the P2 phage differs in the right arm. All four genomes contain features of temperate phages

New fossils of Australopithecus sediba reveal a nearly complete lower back.

Adaptations of the lower back to bipedalism are frequently discussed but infrequently demonstrated in early fossil hominins. Newly discovered lumbar vertebrae contribute to a near-complete lower back of Malapa Hominin 2 (MH2), offering additional insights into posture and locomotion in Australopithecus sediba. We show that MH2 possessed a lower back consistent with lumbar lordosis and other adaptations to bipedalism, including an increase in the width of intervertebral articular facets from the upper to lower lumbar column ('pyramidal configuration'). These results contrast with some recent work on lordosis in fossil hominins, where MH2 was argued to demonstrate no appreciable lordosis ('hypolordosis') similar to Neandertals. Our three-dimensional geometric morphometric (3D GM) analyses show that MH2's nearly complete middle lumbar vertebra is human-like in overall shape but its vertebral body is somewhat intermediate in shape between modern humans and great apes. Additionally, it bears long, cranially and ventrally oriented costal (transverse) processes, implying powerful trunk musculature. We interpret this combination of features to indicate that A. sediba used its lower back in both bipedal and arboreal positional behaviors, as previously suggested based on multiple lines of evidence from other parts of the skeleton and reconstructed paleobiology of A. sediba

Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease

Background: Experimental and clinical data suggest that reducing inflammation without affecting lipid levels may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Yet, the inflammatory hypothesis of atherothrombosis has remained unproved. Methods: We conducted a randomized, double-blind trial of canakinumab, a therapeutic monoclonal antibody targeting interleukin-1β, involving 10,061 patients with previous myocardial infarction and a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level of 2 mg or more per liter. The trial compared three doses of canakinumab (50 mg, 150 mg, and 300 mg, administered subcutaneously every 3 months) with placebo. The primary efficacy end point was nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or cardiovascular death. RESULTS: At 48 months, the median reduction from baseline in the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein level was 26 percentage points greater in the group that received the 50-mg dose of canakinumab, 37 percentage points greater in the 150-mg group, and 41 percentage points greater in the 300-mg group than in the placebo group. Canakinumab did not reduce lipid levels from baseline. At a median follow-up of 3.7 years, the incidence rate for the primary end point was 4.50 events per 100 person-years in the placebo group, 4.11 events per 100 person-years in the 50-mg group, 3.86 events per 100 person-years in the 150-mg group, and 3.90 events per 100 person-years in the 300-mg group. The hazard ratios as compared with placebo were as follows: in the 50-mg group, 0.93 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.80 to 1.07; P = 0.30); in the 150-mg group, 0.85 (95% CI, 0.74 to 0.98; P = 0.021); and in the 300-mg group, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.75 to 0.99; P = 0.031). The 150-mg dose, but not the other doses, met the prespecified multiplicity-adjusted threshold for statistical significance for the primary end point and the secondary end point that additionally included hospitalization for unstable angina that led to urgent revascularization (hazard ratio vs. placebo, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.73 to 0.95; P = 0.005). Canakinumab was associated with a higher incidence of fatal infection than was placebo. There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality (hazard ratio for all canakinumab doses vs. placebo, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.06; P = 0.31). Conclusions: Antiinflammatory therapy targeting the interleukin-1β innate immunity pathway with canakinumab at a dose of 150 mg every 3 months led to a significantly lower rate of recurrent cardiovascular events than placebo, independent of lipid-level lowering. (Funded by Novartis; CANTOS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01327846.

Indoor measurement of photovoltaic device characteristics at varying irradiance, temperature and spectrum for energy rating

This was accepted for publication in the journal Measurement Science and Technology. The definitive published version can be found at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0957-0233/21/11/115701The first three-dimensional performance matrix for use in photovoltaic (PV) energy rating is reported utilizing a novel energy rating solar simulator based on LEDs. Device characteristics are measured indoors at varying irradiance (G), temperature (T) and spectrum (E). This opens the possibility for a more accurate measurement system for energy yield prediction of PV devices, especially for devices with high spectral dependence such as wide bandgap solar cells as they take into account spectral changes in the light. The main aspects of the LED-based solar simulator used are briefly described. A measurement method is developed and detailed in the paper, which takes into account the current imperfections in the achievable spectrum. Measurement results for a crystalline silicon solar cell are used to demonstrate the measurement approach. An uncertainty analysis of the measurement system is given, resulting in an overall absolute uncertainty of 4.3% (coverage factor k = 2) in maximum power measurements at 765 W m−2 irradiance with scope for further improvements

The coexistence of psychological drivers and deterrents of consumers’ willingness to try cultured meat hamburger patties: evidence from South Africa

Abstract The widespread consumption of alternative meat products, such as plant-based alternatives in the hamburger patty market, has provided insights into the potential of commercially produced cultured meat. Evidence from previous alternative meat studies shows mixed results on whether experience with commercially available alternative protein will help to overcome or compound consumers’ concerns about cultured meat. This study investigates the effect that South African consumers’ implicit perceptions developed by experience with and from attitudes about novel products and perceptions about the product could influence their acceptance of cultured meat. South African consumers’ perceptions were estimated using opinion statements, and the level of agreement was ranked on a Likert scale. Composite indices were extracted from these data, which were regressed against consumers’ willingness to try cultured meat burger patties. Results suggest that the implicit perceptions (worldviews) promoted both neophobic and neophilic attitudes, while explicit (product-specific) perceptions indicated that concerns of anticipated social, cultural and economic disruptions may drive non-adoption. The study’s results suggest targeted marketing approaches that can utilise implicit perceptions to promote consumer adoption. Other results indicated the areas of concern that should be addressed to facilitate acceptance and the population groups that could be targeted as early adopters. These results contribute to a better understanding of the potential market for cultured meat in the world's eighth-largest per capita beef consumer and provide insights into drivers and deterrents of cultured meat in an environment that struggles with food security