Launch of the initiative Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS) in Mali Bamako, Mali, November 3rd 2016

The amount and quality of station climate data has been declining all over Africa. Despite a noteworthy legacy in the provision of agro-meteorological extension to farmers (Mason, 2015; Dinku, 2016) , the large landlocked country of Mali is no exception: there, a security crisis in the northern half of the country since 2012 has further aggravated the provision of data from an already sparse weather station network. This greatly hinders local decision-making processes that may benefit from the use of climate data, and affects the ability of vulnerable communities to sustain their resilience capacity in a changing environment characterized by population growth, increasing externalization of risk and expected rise in the frequency of extreme events. Restoring the availability and accessibility of quality climate data over space and time is the aim of the ENACTS (Enhancing National Climate Services) initiative, promoted by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI, at Columbia University). On November 3, 2016, ICRISAT, Mali-Meteo and IRI launched the ENACTS initiative in Mali during a national workshop to i) introduce stakeholders to Mali Meteo’s new data and web interface (Mali Meteo Data Library) and; ii) solicit feedbacks and recommendations from the national community of users. This workshop was a result of collaboration between the CCAFS-funded CASCAID project (Capacitating African Smallholder with Climate Services and Insurance Development) led by ICRISAT and ICRAF, and the USAID-funded project Building Mali Meteo’s Capacity to Deliver Improved Climate Services, led by IRI. During the workshop, participants showed high interest in the new tools and requested additional capacitation through a dedicated follow-up event targeting sectorial applications of the data library and maprooms

Blueprint for Planning a Successful Program

Discusses program planning for librarians whose experience in this area is limited. How to plan and coordinate the program; Dealing with details; What to do on the day of the event; Ways to follow up; The program packet and what to include

Measurement matters: Higher waist-to-hip ratio but not body mass index is associated with deficits in executive functions and episodic memory

Background The current study aimed to reconcile the inconsistent findings between obesity, executive functions, and episodic memory by addressing major limitations of previous studies, including overreliance on body mass index (BMI), small sample sizes, and failure to control for confounds. Methods Participants consisted of 3,712 midlife adults from the Cognitive Project of the National Survey of Midlife Development. Executive functions and episodic memory were measured by a battery of cognitive function tests. Results We found that higher waist-to-hip ratio was associated with deficits in both executive functions and episodic memory, above and beyond the influence of demographics, comorbid health issues, health behaviors, personality traits, and self-perceived obesity. However, higher BMI was not associated with deficits in executive functions and episodic memory. More importantly, these differential associations were robust and stable across adulthood. Discussion Our findings confirm the association between obesity and episodic memory while highlighting the need for better measures of obesity when examining its associations with individual differences in cognitive functions

The discovery and comparative expression analysis of three distinct type I interferons in the perciform fish, meagre (Argyrosomus regius)

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration (KBBE-2013-07 single stage, GA 603121, DIVERSIFY.Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin

Standard methods for Apis mellifera anatomy and dissection

An understanding of the anatomy and functions of internal and external structures is fundamental to many studies on the honey bee Apis mellifera. Similarly, proficiency in dissection techniques is vital for many more complex procedures. In this paper, which is a prelude to the other papers of the COLOSS BEEBOOK, we outline basic honey bee anatomy and basic dissection techniques

Clinical Characteristics and Microbiological Profiles of Community-Acquired Intra-Abdominal Infections

Background: Intra-abdominal infections (IAIs) have different aspects to consider. One important aspectis the microbiological analyses, especially in the era of broad spread of resistant microorganisms. The studywas designed to describe the clinical characteristics and microbiological profiles of community acquired IAIs. Method: An observational study was performed on medical records of 12 months period (January toDecember 2013) in a General Hospital, Karawaci, Tangerang. Adult patients undergoing surgery for IAIs with positive microbiological culture and identification of microorganisms were included. Data collected were clinical characteristics and microbiological profiles and wereanalyzed statisticallyusing the SPSS version 17. Results: In 12 months period of study, 17 patients of IAIs with a total of 17 intra peritoneal specimens were collected. A total of six microorganisms were cultured. All the IAIs were monomicrobial, with aerobicmicroorganism dominantly Gram-negative bacilli. The dominant microorganism was Escherichia coli (E.coli), found in 58.8% of IAIs. The most common site was appendix (41.2%), and none from small intestine. Thesusceptibility test found that piperacillin tazobactam, tigecycline, meropenem and amikacin were the most activeantimicrobial against E. coli. Multi-drug resistant (MDR) E. coli in this study was 40%. The MDR E. coli had66.6% resistance to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin, 66.6% susceptibility to ceftriaxone and ceftazidime, and100.0% susceptibility to amikacin. Conclusion: The most common site of community-acquired IAIs was appendix (41.2%). E. coli is still adominant microorganism with the MDR E. coli proportion of 40%