Assessment of adoption gaps in the management of aflatoxin contamination of groundnut Arachis hypogaea L.

Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is an important oil seed crop of India. It has great potential for diversification to food uses due to its nutritive virtues. One of the major impediment for diversification is aflatoxin contamination. Aflatoxins are the toxic substances produced by strains of fungi belonging to Aspergillus flavus and A. parasiticus. The present study was undertaken during the 2005-06, rainy season in Junagadh, Gujarat, India to assess the adoption gaps in aflatoxin management practices of groundnut (AMPG) and the farmers characteristics influencing this gap. The district was selected because it was identified as one of the high risk area for aflatoxin contamination in rainy season. The results indicated that majority of the farmers were in high adoption gap category as most of the farmers had not adopted the harvest and post-harvest management practices. Farmer\'s characteristics knowledge, market orientation and innovativeness influenced the adoption gap significantly. Based on the results, it is suggested to formulate strategies to increase the knowledge of farmers through various extension approaches. The selection of innovative farmers for groundnut production and differentiating the contamined and afltoxin free groundnuts by the markets will help in reducing the adoption gap. Keywords: Groundnut, Aflatoxin contamination, Aflatoxin management, Adoption gaps.South African Journal of Agricultural Extension Vol. 37 2008: pp. 45-5

Animal Models of GWAS-Identified Type 2 Diabetes Genes

More than 65 loci, encoding up to 500 different genes, have been implicated by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) as conferring an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Whilst mouse models have in the past been central to understanding the mechanisms through which more penetrant risk genes for T2D, for example, those responsible for neonatal or maturity-onset diabetes of the young, only a few of those identified by GWAS, notably TCF7L2 and ZnT8/SLC30A8, have to date been examined in mouse models. We discuss here the animal models available for the latter genes and provide perspectives for future, higher throughput approaches towards efficiently mining the information provided by human genetics

Increased expression of miR-187 in human islets from individuals with type 2 diabetes is associated with reduced glucose-stimulated insulin secretion

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: Type 2 diabetes is characterised by progressive beta cell dysfunction, with changes in gene expression playing a crucial role in its development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and therefore alterations in miRNA levels may be involved in the deterioration of beta cell function. METHODS: Global TaqMan arrays and individual TaqMan assays were used to measure islet miRNA expression in discovery (n = 20) and replication (n = 20) cohorts from individuals with and without type 2 diabetes. The role of specific dysregulated miRNAs in regulating insulin secretion, content and apoptosis was subsequently investigated in primary rat islets and INS-1 cells. Identification of miRNA targets was assessed using luciferase assays and by measuring mRNA levels. RESULTS: In the discovery and replication cohorts miR-187 expression was found to be significantly increased in islets from individuals with type 2 diabetes compared with matched controls. An inverse correlation between miR-187 levels and glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) was observed in islets from normoglycaemic donors. This correlation paralleled findings in primary rat islets and INS-1 cells where overexpression of miR-187 markedly decreased GSIS without affecting insulin content or apoptotic index. Finally, the gene encoding homeodomain-interacting protein kinase-3 (HIPK3), a known regulator of insulin secretion, was identified as a direct target of miR-187 and displayed reduced expression in islets from individuals with type 2 diabetes. CONCLUSIONS/INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest a role for miR-187 in the blunting of insulin secretion, potentially involving regulation of HIPK3, which occurs during the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00125-013-3089-4) contains peer-reviewed but unedited supplementary material, which is available to authorised users

Design and construction of gender and eco-friendly fuel-less generator for female artisans in Nigeria

African civilization has traditionally been patriarchal, and this male-centered inclination permeates all facets of daily life, including the way we think about product design. Most of the user’s centered design framework is very generic and lacks the inclusiveness that is expected to address specific related design issues. Gender-centered design, a particular user-centered design paradigm, has recently risen to the forefront of product thinking. This idea ensures that men and women receive the same benefits from policies and programs while preventing the continuation of inequality. The study used a descriptive and inferential statistical analysis for the questionnaire, and it used the House of Quality (HoQ) tool to map the engineering qualities with the Voice of Customer (VoC) that was retrieved from the participant’s recorded utterance. The HoQ was later used to explore the design of a fuel-less generator prototype

Desarrollar estrategias de diseño urbano para combatir violencia de género en México

English version available in IDRC Digital Library : Developing innovative urban design strategies to combat gender violence in Mexic

Modernization of the Tanzania’s batik industry as a potential source of income for unemployed women : the case of Dar es Salaam

Batik is an artistic technique that is created by applying wax to fabrics in specific patterns, followed by dyeing the fabric repeatedly until it has achieved the desired design and colour. In Tanzania, the batik industry is dominated by small and medium firms, mainly led by women in both rural and urban areas who practice the art of batik usually in their own homes. Through survey and interview methods, this study identifies the many challenges associated with the industry, particularly with the techniques that are currently used in the batik industry in Tanzania. Upon analyzing the data from the survey and interviews, modernized and standardized batik techniques were introduced to the industry for the purpose of assisting batik producers in creating high quality and sustainable batik products with potential to be sold in international markets

Designing mobile services for ageing women in Malaysia

Malaysia reached its demographic trajectory to become an aging society in 2020, and the aged population remains low in adopting mobile technologies. To improve the participation of this user group and align them with technological development, this project aims to explore mobile usage behaviour, and expenditure on telecommunication among female elderly in Malaysia and propose a framework to better design mobile services for them. To achieve this objective, the research team conducted quantitative studies and a qualitative study involving female elderly participants to explore their use of mobile services through the lens of intersectionality

Improving access to financial services to enhance women’s economic empowerment in Ethiopia

Financial literacy is low amongst women in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, resulting in increased poverty stemming from the lack of command over their own economic resources. This study investigated the financial literacy of women and explored the sociocultural and psychological factors that hinder or encourage utilization of financial opportunities open to women. In partnership with Enat Bank in Ethiopia, research was conducted to devise technological solutions, such as a prototype Chatbot application, to facilitate the ease of access to financial services and improve financial literacy

Improving traditional fish drying technology design for women fish vendors in Nigeria

Fishing is the main occupation of the people of Akwa Ibom state of Nigeria. Women constitute more than 90% of the personnel involved in traditional fish preservation, handling, and marketing. The study was concerned with improved and gendered design of traditional fish Drying Technology, to address some lagging challenges in operations in the traditional fish drying cottage industry. Traditional fish drying methods are inadequate, inconveniencing, and dangerous to health. The team used questionnaires, interviews, and focus group discussions to identify the main hazards and challenges experienced by women fish processors and vendors. With this data, they designed improved fish drying technology prototypes in hopes of changing the industry to improve conditions for women

Improving the gendered design in housing and public spaces based on women’s experiences in Rwanda

This project explored gendered design in housing and public spaces in Rwanda to identify gendered issues and suggest guidelines to make spaces more accessible for all genders. Data was collected through visits to different universities, institutions and public spaces and surveys given to policymakers and beneficiaries. A gender analysis tool helped to identify how gender can be implemented in the design of spaces and a report with guidelines was written