Farmers' perceptions about exotic multipurpose fodder trees and constraints to their adoption

Many organizations in Ethiopia have for many years promoted exotic multipurpose fodder trees (EMPFT) for livestock feed and soil improvement. Despite the apparent benefits, the number of farmers planting these trees was low. The objectives were to elucidate farmers¿ perceptions about their use value, management practices and constraints to adoption in three districts representing annual (one wheat-based and one teff-based) and perennial (coffee-based) crop-livestock systems in the Ethiopian highlands. Data were collected from 235 farm households. Most farmers (95.3%) had awareness of EMPFTs and the principal information sources were development agents (75.3%). Over half of the farmers were motivated to plant EMPFTs for feed value. Motivation for other purposes depended on cropping system, vegetation cover and availability of alternative local fodder trees in the area. Farmers had positive perceptions about EMPFTs for their feed value and contribution to soil conservation. Current adopters had a mean number of 587 (SE ± 84) EMPFTs per farm. Major constraints to adoption of EMPFTs were agronomic problems, low multipurpose value, and land shortage. Majority of farmers (89.8%) were interested to either continue or begin fodder tree development. Of the interested respondents, 44.5% preferred local fodder trees whereas 55.5% preferred EMPFTs. We conclude that farmers are aware of use values of EMPFTs while perceived constraints suggest that introduction of EMPFTs need consideration of farmers multiple criteria, but also awareness of feeding fodder trees and resource availability. Moreover, current development approaches have to recognize the importance of involving the end-users at all stages through participatory approaches to enhance adoptio

Remarks on the representation theory of the Moyal plane

We present an explicit construction of a unitary representation of the commutator algebra satisfied by position and momentum operators on the Moyal plane.Comment: 10 pages, minor changes, refs. adde

Gap Analysis of the Social Services Referral Network for Sex Workers in Worcester, MA

This poster outlines an investigation on the presence of female sex workers in Central Massachusetts. The research found a lack of social services provided to this population, mostly due to a lack of communication between social service networks

Comparative study of dopaminergic activity of tetrahydro-1H-[3]-benzazepines and their precursors

The discovery of the tetrahydro-1H-[3]-benzazepine SCH23390 [1], represented one of the most important advances in the study of dopaminergic receptors due to their behavior as a selective D1 receptor antagonist. The high affinity and selectivity of this tetrahydro-1H-[3]-benzazepine has led to the search for new structures because of their potential dopaminergic activity, especially 1-aryl-substituted tetrahydro-1H-[3]-benzazepines. Furthermore, their precursors, the tetrahydroisoquinolines 1-substituted have shown to have activity for D1 and D2 dopaminergic receptors.[2] We have carried out the synthesis of tetrahydro-1H-[3]-benzazepines 1,2-di-substituted by Stevens rearrangement (SR) on tetrahydroisoquinolinium salts. Stevens rearrangement is an efficient regio- and diastereoselective synthetic methodology. [3a,b] As part of our studies, we have performed the synthesis of benzazepines with modifications at the C-1 and C-2 positions with chlorine and hydroxyl groups at A-ring which is an important factor to modulate affinity at dopaminergic receptors. The interaction of these molecules with D1 and D2 dopaminergic receptors have been studied to establish a structure-activity relationship by radioligand binding assays.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Rating the Raters: Evaluating how ESG Rating Agencies Integrate Sustainability Principles

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating agencies, acting as relevant financial market actors, should take a stand on working towards achieving a more sustainable development. In this context, the objective of this paper is, on the one hand, to understand how criteria used by ESG rating agencies in their assessment processes have evolved over the last ten years and, on the other hand, to analyze whether ESG rating agencies are contributing to fostering sustainable development by the inclusion of sustainability principles into their assessment processes and practices according to the ESG criteria. This research is based on a comparative descriptive analysis of the public information provided by the most representative ESG rating and information provider agencies in the financial market in two periods: 2008 and 2018. The findings show that ESG rating agencies have integrated new criteria into their assessment models to measure corporate performance more accurately and robustly in order to respond to new global challenges. However, a deep analysis of the criteria also shows that ESG rating agencies do not fully integrate sustainability principles into the corporate sustainability assessment process

Best Practices Model Based on Gap Analysis of the Social Services Network in Worcester, MA

What are the service gaps in the existing network of social services provided to sex workers in Worcester, MA? Commercial sex work has been problematic in Worcester, Massachusetts for decades. An investigation on the presence of female sex workers in Central Massachusetts has highlighted the lack of social services provided to the population. Commissioned by the Worcester Division of Public Health (DPH), and as part of a broader collaborative effort among social service organizations (SSO), this study maps out the referral network among the SSOs. By analyzing the network we identified several gaps in the services provided which led to the creation of a model of efficient services based on domestic and international best practices

Kernelized Stein Discrepancy Tests of Goodness-of-fit for Time-to-Event Data

Survival Analysis and Reliability Theory are concerned with the analysis of time-to-event data, in which observations correspond to waiting times until an event of interest such as death from a particular disease or failure of a component in a mechanical system. This type of data is unique due to the presence of censoring, a type of missing data that occurs when we do not observe the actual time of the event of interest but, instead, we have access to an approximation for it given by random interval in which the observation is known to belong. Most traditional methods are not designed to deal with censoring, and thus we need to adapt them to censored time-to-event data. In this paper, we focus on non-parametric goodness-of-fit testing procedures based on combining the Stein's method and kernelized discrepancies. While for uncensored data, there is a natural way of implementing a kernelized Stein discrepancy test, for censored data there are several options, each of them with different advantages and disadvantages. In this paper, we propose a collection of kernelized Stein discrepancy tests for time-to-event data, and we study each of them theoretically and empirically; our experimental results show that our proposed methods perform better than existing tests, including previous tests based on a kernelized maximum mean discrepancy.Comment: Proceedings of the International Conference on Machine Learning, 202

On the G-protein-coupled receptor heteromers and their allosteric receptor-receptor interactions in the central nervous system: focus on their role in pain modulation

The modulatory role of allosteric receptor-receptor interactions in the pain pathways of the Central Nervous System and the peripheral nociceptors has become of increasing interest. As integrators of nociceptive and antinociceptive wiring and volume transmission signals, with a major role for the opioid receptor heteromers, they likely have an important role in the pain circuits and may be involved in acupuncture. The delta opioid receptor (DOR) exerts an antagonistic allosteric influence on the mu opioid receptor (MOR) function in a MOR-DOR heteromer. This heteromer contributes to morphine-induced tolerance and dependence, since it becomes abundant and develops a reduced G-protein-coupling with reduced signaling mainly operating via beta-arrestin 2 upon chronic morphine treatment. A DOR antagonist causes a return of the Gi/o binding and coupling to the heteromer and the biological actions of morphine. The gender- and ovarian steroid-dependent recruitment of spinal cord MOR/kappa opioid receptor (KOR) heterodimers enhances antinociceptive functions and if impaired could contribute to chronic pain states in women. MOR1D heterodimerizes with gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR) in the spinal cord, mediating morphine induced itch. Other mechanism for the antinociceptive actions of acupuncture along meridians may be that it enhances the cross-desensitization of the TRPA1 (chemical nociceptor)-TRPV1 (capsaicin receptor) heteromeric channel complexes within the nociceptor terminals located along these meridians. Selective ionotropic cannabinoids may also produce cross-desensitization of the TRPA1-TRPV1 heteromeric nociceptor channels by being negative allosteric modulators of these channels leading to antinociception and antihyperalgesia

Smart Cities and Sustainable Development, Adoption of Green IS Projects in Local Authorities

Smart city teams working in local authorities may have an important role to play in pursuing Sustainable Development Goals at local level. However, the successful adoption of their projects has been problematic. This research in progress addresses this problem by focusing on the adoption process of Green IS projects led by smart city teams in local authorities and the factors that enable or constrain that process. It presents key findings from a systematic literature review; research gaps and future research directions; a research methodology including a draft framework to guide data collection; and anticipated theoretical and practical contributions

Towards an inclusive co-design toolkit: perceptions and experiences of co-design stakeholders

Participatory design holds great potential for the creation of inclusive technology but existing toolkits and resources to support co-design are not always accessible to designers and co-designers with disabilities. In this paper we present two studies to assist in facilitating the creation of a sustainable, accessible, inclusive co-design toolkit for individuals with intellectual disabilities i) exploration of the perceptions and experiences of lecturers (n =5) and students (n= 5) involved in co-design activities via individual interviews and ii) a protocol and initial findings from focus groups with men and women with intellectual disabilities to inform on best co-design practices (n=15). Positive reflections were reported on the co-design experience by all participants. Communication was highlighted as a theme that requires further attention and specific support during co-design processes with third level designers and co-designers with intellectual disabilities