Global Food Crisis and the Millennium Development Goals in Africa

The Millennium Development Goals [MDGs], were adopted by the UnitedNations member states in the year 2000 pledging to meet those goals by the year 2015. Looking at MDG one which conveys the goal of eradicatingextreme poverty and hunger, it reveals that years of solemn pledges by global leaders has yielded no fruits yet. Instead of a decrease in worldhunger/poverty, food security in the world has been deteriorating, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Amidst the slow pace of meeting the millennium goal of reducing poverty/hunger arises a serious challenging threat - the food crisis in the midst of the MDGs’ efforts. It is on this premise that this paper examines the global food crisis and the achievement of Africa’s millennium development goal one and makes recommendations

Multimass modelling of milky way globular clusters and implications on their dark remnant content and stellar initial mass function

1 online resource (xii, 227 pages) : charts (chiefly colour), graphs (chiefly colour)Includes abstract and appendices.Includes bibliographical references (pages 130-140).The distribution of stars and stellar remnants within globular clusters holds clues about their formation and long-term evolution. In this work, we infer best-fitting multimass models for a number of Milky Way globular clusters, which are compared to various datasets. These models allow us to explore in detail the stellar (initial) mass functions and remnant populations of a large sample of Milky Way GCs. Examination of the low-mass mass function of the clusters suggests an IMF which is considerably flatter and depleted in low mass stars than canonical IMFs, while the high-mass IMF is consistent with a Salpeter IMF. New constraints on the number and mass in black holes for each cluster are inferred from our models, and comparisons to various studies predicting the black hole population in GCs are performed, finding generally good agreement, and in most cases no need for large populations of BHs to explain the data

Project GLOBE: Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Education

Book chapter focusing on using information from Project GLOBE (global leadership and organizational behavior effectiveness) to teach leadership in a global context

Creating Test Score Bands for Assessments Involving Ratings using a Generalizability Theory Approach to Reliability Estimation

The selection of a method for estimating the reliability of ratings has considerable implications for the use of assessments in personnel selection. In particular, the accuracy of corrections to validity coefficients for unreliability and test score bands are completely dependent on the correct estimation of the reliability. In this paper, we discuss how generalizability theory can be used to estimate reliability for test score bands with assessments involving ratings. Using selection data from a municipal entity, we demonstrate the use of generalizability theory-based compare the implications of its use in test score banding compared to the traditional approach

An interpretation of fluctuations in enzyme catalysis rate, spectral diffusion, and radiative component of lifetimes in terms of electric field fluctuations

Time-dependent fluctuations in the catalysis rate ({delta}k(t)) observed in single-enzyme experiments were found in a particular study to have an autocorrelation function decaying on the same time scale as that of spectral diffusion {delta}{omega}0(t). To interpret this similarity, the present analysis focuses on a factor in enzyme catalysis, the local electrostatic interaction energy (E) at the active site and its effect on the activation free energy barrier. We consider the slow fluctuations of the electrostatic interaction energy ({delta}E(t)) as a contributor to {delta}k(t) and relate the latter to {delta}{omega}0(t). The resulting relation between {delta}k(t) and {delta}{omega}0(t) is a dynamic analog of the solvatochromism used in interpreting solvent effects on organic reaction rates. The effect of the postulated {delta}E(t) on fluctuations in the radiative component ({delta}{gamma}Formula(t)) of the fluorescence decay of chromophores in proteins also is examined, and a relation between {delta}{gamma}Formula(t) and {delta}{omega}0(t) is obtained. Experimental tests will determine whether the correlation functions for {delta}k(t), {delta}{omega}0(t), and {delta}{gamma}Formula are indeed similar for any enzyme. Measurements of dielectric dispersion, {varepsilon}({omega}), for the enzyme discussed elsewhere will provide further insight into the correlation function for {delta}E(t). They also will determine whether fluctuations in the nonradiative component {gamma}Formula of the lifetime decay has a different origin, fluctuations in distance for example

Hydrological and associated biogeochemical consequences of rapid global warming during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) hyperthermal, ~ 56 million years ago (Ma), is the most dramatic example of abrupt Cenozoic global warming. During the PETM surface temperatures increased between 5 and 9 °C and the onset likely took < 20 kyr. The PETM provides a case study of the impacts of rapid global warming on the Earth system, including both hydrological and associated biogeochemical feedbacks, and proxy data from the PETM can provide constraints on changes in warm climate hydrology simulated by general circulation models (GCMs). In this paper, we provide a critical review of biological and geochemical signatures interpreted as direct or indirect indicators of hydrological change at the PETM, explore the importance of adopting multi-proxy approaches, and present a preliminary model-data comparison. Hydrological records complement those of temperature and indicate that the climatic response at the PETM was complex, with significant regional and temporal variability. This is further illustrated by the biogeochemical consequences of inferred changes in hydrology and, in fact, changes in precipitation and the biogeochemical consequences are often conflated in geochemical signatures. There is also strong evidence in many regions for changes in the episodic and/or intra-annual distribution of precipitation that has not widely been considered when comparing proxy data to GCM output. Crucially, GCM simulations indicate that the response of the hydrological cycle to the PETM was heterogeneous – some regions are associated with increased precipitation – evaporation (P – E), whilst others are characterised by a decrease. Interestingly, the majority of proxy data come from the regions where GCMs predict an increase in PETM precipitation. We propose that comparison of hydrological proxies to GCM output can be an important test of model skill, but this will be enhanced by further data from regions of model-simulated aridity and simulation of extreme precipitation events

Assessing Local Health Department Performance in Diabetes Prevention and Control — North Carolina, 2005

Introduction: To improve the public health system's ability to prevent and control chronic diseases, we must first understand current practice and develop appropriate strategies for measuring performance. The objectives of this study were to measure capacity and performance of local health departments in diabetes prevention and control and to investigate characteristics associated with performance. Methods: In 2005, we conducted a cross-sectional mailed survey of all 85 North Carolina local health departments to assess capacity and performance in diabetes prevention and control based on the 10 Essential Public Health Services and adapted from the Local Public Health System Performance Assessment Instrument. We linked survey responses to county-level data, including data from a national survey of local health departments. Results: Local health departments reported a median of 0.05 full-time equivalent employees in diabetes prevention and 0.1 in control. Performance varied across the 10 Essential Services; activities most commonly reported included providing information to the public and to policy makers (76%), providing diabetes education (58%), and screening (74%). The mean score on a 10-point performance index was 3.5. Characteristics associated with performance were population size, health department size and accreditation status, and diabetes-specific external funding. Performance was not better in localities where the prevalence of diabetes was high or availability of primary care was low. Conclusion: Most North Carolina local health departments had limited capacity to conduct diabetes prevention or control programs in their communities. Diabetes is a major cause of illness and death, yet it is neglected in public health practice. These findings suggest opportunities to enhance local public health practice, particularly through targeted funding and technical assistance

hERG, Plasmodium Life Cycle, and Cross Resistance Profiling of New Azabenzimidazole Analogues of Astemizole

Toward addressing the cardiotoxicity liability associated with the antimalarial drug astemizole (AST, hERG IC50 = 0.0042 μM) and its derivatives, we designed and synthesized analogues based on compound 1 (Pf NF54 IC50 = 0.012 μM; hERG IC50 = 0.63 μM), our previously identified 3-trifluoromethyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole AST analogue. Compound 11 retained in vitro multistage antiplasmodium activity (ABS PfNF54 IC50 = 0.017 μM; gametocytes PfiGc/PfLGc IC50 = 1.24/1.39 μM, and liver-stage PbHepG2 IC50 = 2.30 μM), good microsomal metabolic stability (MLM CLint &lt; 11 μL·min-1·mg-1, EH &lt; 0.33), and solubility (150 μM). It shows a ∼6-fold and &gt;6000-fold higher selectivity against human ether-á-go-go-related gene higher selectively potential over hERG relative to 1 and AST, respectively. Despite the excellent in vitro antiplasmodium activity profile, in vivo efficacy in the Plasmodium berghei mouse infection model was diminished, attributable to suboptimal oral bioavailability (F = 14.9%) at 10 mg·kg-1 resulting from poor permeability (log D7.4 = −0.82). No cross-resistance was observed against 44 common Pf mutant lines, suggesting activity via a novel mechanism of action.</p