Off-grid energy policy:an analysis and new priorities

Progress in Sustainable Development Goal 7 is often framed as a driver of inclusive, just energy transitions and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yet, equitable transitions entail more than basic access to clean and affordable energy services; they depend critically on pluralistic, democratic, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes and impacts. Only recently has the energy and sustainability transitions literature become more critical of the sometimes-unsustainable nature of ‘sustainability’ transitions. While unsustainable trends clearly emergefrequently, it is generally unknown who or what drives them. This study considers what role policy and policymakers play in shaping sub-Saharan Africa’s energy transition. More specifically, it analyzes the implications of off-grid solar policy i.e., actions, plans, and funding priorities of global-level energy and development organizations, investors, and governments,aimed at promoting the uptake of off-grid solar energy products. The study questions whether or not their efforts are actually driving the prioritized inclusive, just transition. Starting point is the African solar PV market—its realities and imminent sustainability challenges, capturing them in a dichotomy-based typology of solar innovation trajectories. As a guiding lens, we adopt the New Sussex Manifesto ‘3D agenda’ (diversity, direction, distribution). This study demonstrates that future energy planning must embrace diversity and the thousands of local solar entrepreneurs to carve out a more equitable energy transition-pathway in sub-Saharan Africa

Off-grid energy policy:an analysis and new priorities

Progress in Sustainable Development Goal 7 is often framed as a driver of inclusive, just energy transitions and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yet, equitable transitions entail more than basic access to clean and affordable energy services; they depend critically on pluralistic, democratic, inclusive, and sustainable outcomes and impacts. Only recently has the energy and sustainability transitions literature become more critical of the sometimes-unsustainable nature of ‘sustainability’ transitions. While unsustainable trends clearly emergefrequently, it is generally unknown who or what drives them. This study considers what role policy and policymakers play in shaping sub-Saharan Africa’s energy transition. More specifically, it analyzes the implications of off-grid solar policy i.e., actions, plans, and funding priorities of global-level energy and development organizations, investors, and governments,aimed at promoting the uptake of off-grid solar energy products. The study questions whether or not their efforts are actually driving the prioritized inclusive, just transition. Starting point is the African solar PV market—its realities and imminent sustainability challenges, capturing them in a dichotomy-based typology of solar innovation trajectories. As a guiding lens, we adopt the New Sussex Manifesto ‘3D agenda’ (diversity, direction, distribution). This study demonstrates that future energy planning must embrace diversity and the thousands of local solar entrepreneurs to carve out a more equitable energy transition-pathway in sub-Saharan Africa

Middle Managerial Behavior for Employee Strategic Alignment:A systematic review

While there exists a vast amount of research on strategy formulation, we know relatively little about how a formulated strategy is translated into results via strategic alignment. Middle managers are often noted as crucial actors in aligning employees to strategic organizational goals, yet their effective behaviors towards this end remain understudied. In response to various calls, this work reviews the available literature on the behaviors of middle managers in the context of strategic alignment of work-floor employees. We adopted a systematic literature review technique, starting with a thorough search with predefined search terms through ABI/Inform Complete and Scopus. The resulting thirteen empirical articles were content-analyzed by two independent raters, leading to a total of 169 behavioral items. Four meta-categories of middle-managerial behaviors were identified that support employee strategic alignment: (1) Direction-oriented behaviors (e.g., monitoring and checking performance); (2) Participation-oriented behaviors (e.g., offering help); (3) Encouragement-oriented behaviors (e.g., getting and giving feedback); and (4) Approachability-oriented behaviors (e.g., showing vulnerability). We present an integrative model of effective middle manager behaviors for employee strategic alignment, which includes, as extra yield, supportive middle managerial personality traits, knowledge and performance areas. Our specific and inclusive model fuels the needed future behavioral and quantitative studies, which can build upon a number of qualitative works that have been published to date, as our review has shown. Understanding exactly which middle managerial behaviors contribute to translating strategy into practice also helps coaches and HR officers in developing managers. This knowledge potentially improves the work lives of many employees

On the Logic of Lying

We model lying as a communicative act changing the beliefs of the agents in a multi-agent system. With Augustine, we see lying as an utterance believed to be false by the speaker and uttered with the intent to deceive the addressee. The deceit is successful if the lie is believed after the utterance by the addressee. This is our perspective. Also, as common in dynamic epistemic logics, we model the agents addressed by the lie, but we do not (necessarily) model the speaker as one of those agents. This further simplifies the picture: we do not need to model the intention of the speaker, nor do we need to distinguish between knowledge and belief of the speaker: he is the observer of the system and his beliefs are taken to be the truth by the listeners. We provide a sketch of what goes on logically when a lie is communicated. We present a complete logic of manipulative updating, to analyse the effects of lying in public discourse. Next, we turn to the study of lying in games. First, a game-theoretical analysis is used to explain how the possibility of lying makes games such as Liar's Dice interesting, and how lying is put to use in optimal strategies for playing the game. This is the opposite of the logical manipulative update: instead of always believing the utterance, now, it is never believed. We also give a matching logical analysis for the games perspective, and implement that in the model checker DEMO. Our running example of lying in games is the game of Liar's Dice

Tooth loss in Sjögren?s syndrome patients compared to age and gender matched controls

To analyze the prevalence and location of tooth loss in Sjögren?s syndrome (SS) patients and compare them with an age- and gender-matched control group. Dental charts and x-rays of 108 (SS) patients were retrieved from an academic dental center and special care dentistry department. For each SS patient, an age- and gender-matched non-SS patient was randomly selected. Medication, number of extractions and date and location of extractions were assessed. Differences between SS and non-SS patients were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U tests, Chi-square tests and Fisher?s exact tests. Significantly more SS patients were edentulous compared to the non-SS group (14.8% versus 1.9%, p = 0.001). SS patients had a 61% higher risk to have experienced one or more extractions than control patients. In the SS group, there was a non-significant tendency for more maxillary teeth to have been extracted than mandibular teeth (42:34). In the control group, the number of extractions in the maxilla and mandible were comparable (21:20). When divided into sextants, the number of SS patients with one or more extractions was significantly higher than for non-SS patients for each sextant (p = 0.001 to p = 0.032). The largest difference in the proportion of patients with one or more extractions between the SS and non-SS patients occurred in the upper anterior sextant (3.4 times more frequent). SS patients are more prone to experience dental extractions compared to patients without SS. It could be speculated that this is related to a decreased salivary secretion

Diagnosis of Fanconi Anemia: Mutation Analysis by Multiplex Ligation-Dependent Probe Amplification and PCR-Based Sanger Sequencing

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a rare inherited disease characterized by developmental defects, short stature, bone marrow failure, and a high risk of malignancies. FA is heterogeneous: 15 genetic subtypes have been distinguished so far. A clinical diagnosis of FA needs to be confirmed by testing cells for sensitivity to cross-linking agents in a chromosomal breakage test. As a second step, DNA testing can be employed to elucidate the genetic subtype of the patient and to identify the familial mutations. This knowledge allows preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and enables prenatal DNA testing in future pregnancies. Although simultaneous testing of all FA genes by next generation sequencing will be possible in the near future, this technique will not be available immediately for all laboratories. In addition, in populations with strong founder mutations, a limited test using Sanger sequencing and MLPA will be a cost-effective alternative. We describe a strategy and optimized conditions for the screening of FANCA, FANCB, FANCC, FANCE, FANCF, and FANCG and present the results obtained in a cohort of 54 patients referred to our diagnostic service since 2008. In addition, the follow up with respect to genetic counseling and carrier screening in the families is discussed

On the Logic of Lying

We look at lying as an act of communication, where (i) the proposition that is communicated is not true, (ii) the utterer of the lie knows (or believes) that what she communicates is not true, and (iii) the utterer of the lie intends the lie to be taken as truth. Rather than dwell on the moral issues, we provide a sketch of what goes on logically when a lie is communicated. We present a complete logic of manipulative updating, to analyse the effects of lying in public discourse. Next, we turn to the study of lying in games. First, a game-theoretical analysis is used to explain how the possibility of lying makes such games interesting, and how lying is put to use in optimal strategies for playing the game. Finally, we give a matching logical analysis. Our running example of lying in games is liar's dice

Супутні зміни рівнів в плазмі стероїдних гормонів за різних варіантів впливу бальнеотерапії на курорті Трускавець на рівень тестостерону у жінок

В клинико-физиологическом наблюдении за 100 женщинами 20-40 лет с сочетанной хронической патологией пищеварительной и репродуктивной систем изучено влияние курса стандартной бальнеотерапии на курорте Трускавец на сопутствующие изменения содержания в плазме стероидных гормонов эстрадиола, прогестерона, кортизола и альдостерона при различных начальных уровнях тестостерона. Выявлены тесные прямые корреляционные связи между тестостеронемией и содержанием в плазме эстрадиола и кортизола и умеренные - с прогестеронемией (прямую) и альдостероном (обратную). Динамика тестостеронемии под влиянием бальнеотерапии тесно прямо коррелирует с изменениями уровней кортизола и эстрадиола и умеренно инверсно - с динамикой альдостерона, тогда как с динамикой прогестерона связь имеет нелинейный характер.In the clinical physiological looking after 100 women 20-40 years with combinative chronic pathology of the digestive and genesial systems is studied influence of course of standard balneotherapy on spa Truskavets on the concomitant changes of maintenance in plasma of steroide hormones estradiol, progesterone, cortisol and aldosterone at the different initial levels of testosterone. Close lines are exposed cross-correlation connections between testosterone and maintenance in plasma of estradiol and cortisol and moderate - with progesterone (line) and aldosterone (reverse). Dynamics of testosterone under influence of balneotherapy closely straight correlates with the changes of levels of cortisol and estradiol and mildly inversely - with the dynamics of aldosterone, while with the dynamics of progesterone connection has nonlinear character

Harvesting forage fish can prevent fishing-induced population collapses of large piscivorous fish

acceptedVersio

The association between indoor temperature and body mass index in children:the PIAMA birth cohort study

Background: Several experimental studies showed consistent evidence for decreased energy expenditure at higher ambient temperatures. Based on this, an association between thermal exposure and body weight may be expected. However, the effect of thermal exposure on body weight has hardly been studied. Therefore, this study investigated the association between indoor temperature and body mass index (BMI) in children in real life. Methods: This longitudinal observational study included 3 963 children from the Dutch Prevention and Incidence of Asthma and Mite Allergy (PIAMA) birth cohort that started in 1996. These children were followed from birth until the age of 11 years. Winter indoor temperature (living room and bedroom) was reported at baseline and BMI z-scores were available at 10 consecutive ages. Missing data were multiply imputed. Associations between indoor temperature and BMI were analyzed using generalized estimating equations (GEE), adjusted for confounders and stratified by gender. In a subgroup of 104 children, bedroom temperature was also measured with data loggers. Results: Mean reported living room and bedroom temperature were 20.3 degrees C and 17.4 degrees C, respectively. Reported and measured bedroom temperatures were positively correlated (r = 0.42, p = 0.001). Neither reported living room temperature (-0.03 = 0.04) and bedroom temperature (-0.01 = 0.02) nor measured bedroom temperature (-0.04 = 0.05) were associated with BMI z-score between the age of 3 months and 11 years. Conclusions: This study in children did not support the hypothesized association between indoor temperature and BMI in a real life setting