Blocking Negative Influential Node Set in Social Networks: From Host Perspective

Nowadays, social networks are considered as the very important medium for the spreading of information, innovations, ideas and influences among individuals. Viral marketing is a most prominent marketing strategy using word-of-mouth advertising in social networks. The key problem with the viral marketing is to find the set of influential users or seeds, who, when convinced to adopt an innovation or idea, shall influence other users in the network, leading to large number of adoptions. In our study, we propose and study the competitive viral marketing problem from the host perspective, where the host of the social network sells the viral marketing campaigns to its customers and keeps control of the allocation of seeds. Seeds are allocated in such a way that it creates the bang for the buck for each company. We propose a new diffusion model considering both negative and positive influences. Moreover, we propose a novel problem, named Blocking Negative Influential Node Set (BNINS) selection problem, to identify the positive node set such that the number of negatively activated nodes is minimized for all competitors. Then we proposed a solution to the BNINS problem and conducted simulations to validate the proposed solution. We also compare our work with the related work to check the performance of BNINS-GREEDY under different metrics and we observed that BNINS-GREEDY outperforms the others\u27 algorithm. For Random Graph, on average, BNINS-GREEDY blocks the negative influence 17.22% more than CLDAG. At the same time, it achieves 7.6% more positive influence propagation than CLDAG

Synthesis And Evaluation Of Novel Tropane Compounds As Potential Therapeutics For Drug Abuse

In an effort to search for potential therapeutic agents for cocaine addiction, a novel class of compounds was synthesized and evaluated for in vitro dopamine and serotonin transporter affinities. These unique 3ƒÀ-aryl-3ƒ¿-arylmethoxytropane analogues incorporated the structure of dopamine selective 2-substituted-3-phenyltropanes and the design of serotonin selective meperidine derivatives. In general, the 3ƒÀ-aryl-3ƒ¿-arylmethoxytropane analogues exhibited greater potency for the serotonin transporter than the dopamine transporter. The most potent compounds of this series were 3ƒÀ-phenyl-3ƒ¿.(3, 4-dichlorophenyl)methoxy-8.azabicyclo [3.2.1]nortropane (Ki = 0.06 nM) and 3ƒÀ-(4Œ-chlorophenyl)-3ƒ¿.(4-chlorophenyl)methoxy-8. azabicyclo[3.2.1]nortropane (Ki = 0.09 nM) at the serotonin transporter and their binding affinities were equipotent with paroxetine and fluoxetine (Prozac). A series of 8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-2-ene derivatives were synthesized from 3-tropinone based on the structure of triple re-uptake inhibitor, DOV 216, 303. The compounds were designed as potential triple re-uptake inhibitors which could exhibit equipotent affinities at the monoamine transporters for dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. A short and efficient synthetic methodology was developed for the synthesis of unique compounds which could exhibit potency for both the dopamine and serotonin transporters. The 3ƒÀ-aryl-3ƒ¿-(4Œ, 4-disubstituteddiphenylmethoxy)tropane analogues were designed as hybrid structures of the dopamine transporter selective benztropines and the serotonin transporter selective meperidine derivatives

Malawi Summary of Baseline Studies: Country Report for the GFCS Adaptation Program in Africa

This report reflects the summary of baseline findings in Malawi, under the auspices of the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) Adaptation Programme in Africa. It identifies gaps in climate information access and use at the local level, types of climate services farmers and pastoralists need in Malawi, relevant channels to reach farmers with requested services, lead-time and gender-specific requirements for the design and delivery of climate services that matter to farmers. Scientific climate information is not used by the sampled farm households because they perceive this information as less reliable and not locally relevant to inform their cropping activities. Farmers need to be advised on improved cropping systems and agricultural technologies to minimize crop failure. In addition to information on climate, they would like to receive additional information on crop management and improved technologies. In addition, ensuring effective supply and availability of farm inputs (fertilizer, seeds) at the market will enhance farmers’ ability to act on the information received. Across districts, we found that women have access to climate information, but to a lesser extent than men. The reason may lie in the fact that women own fewer communication assets, particularly radios, and may be often too busy with household chores. A limited number of women are able to use the advice bundled with the climate information because of their lower control of productive resources and training. Several key insights can be derived from this analysis and can inform the design of climate services activities in the districts targeted. First, climate information for households should rely primarily on radio and extension workers both from government and NGOs. Second, training key informants on climate forecast concepts and integrating them into agricultural activities is essential for the effective dissemination of climate information services. Third, supply of the markets with farm inputs will enable farmers to better act on the climate information received. Fourth, climate services products delivered to farmers should include forecasts on the onset of rainfall, frequency of extreme events, distribution of rainfall over the agricultural season and the end of the rainy season. Fifth, traditional indicators should be valued and integrated into the conventional climate forecasts to promote farmers’ use of scientific climate information in conjunction with their own indigenous knowledge. Finally and mostly critically, dialogue between national meteorology services, extension agents and farmers will represent an effective platform for the co-production of relevant and useful climate services for farmers

Tanzania Summary of Baseline Studies: Country Report for the GFCS Adaptation Program in Africa

This report reflects upon the consolidated findings from the baseline and scoping studies conducted under the auspices of Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) Adaptation Programme in Africa. It identifies gaps in climate information access and use at the local level, type of climate services farmers and pastoralists need in Tanzania, relevant channels to reach farmers with requested services, lead-time and gender specific requirements. We find that farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania rely more on their indigenous knowledge and personal experience than on science-based climate information to inform their crop and livestock decisions. Fewer than half of surveyed households in Kiteto and Longido acknowledged receiving climate information (with an even lower proportion in Longido). The most common climate information products currently received are seasonal rainfall onset and extreme event forecasts. Major gender differences emerged between districts; for example, in Kiteto 42% of male-headed households received forecasts versus 38% of those headed by females. In Longido, an area mainly populated by nomadic pastoralists, 42% of female- headed households received forecasts versus 25% of male-headed households. Some challenges to the use of climate information are a lack of trust in forecasts of climate events that do not unfold as predicted, timing, accuracy and the spatial scale of information. The types of climate services farmers and pastoralists need in Tanzania are as following, ranked by order of importance: onset of rains, expected rainfall over the season, end of rainy season, number of days of rainfall and probability of extreme events. In Kiteto, men and women rank these the same way, while in Longido, men and women have different priorities. For women, forecast of expected rainfall over the season is their first priority (82%), followed by forecast of the start of the rains (59%). However the reverse is the case with men. They ranked forecast of the start of the rains first (63%) and forecast of expected rainfall over the season second (57%). In all districts, radio emerges as the most important delivery channel. Subsequent to radio, rural women prefer to receive climate advisories and alerts as voice messages on cellphones, while men prefer extension agent visits. 47% of women own a radio while 70% of women own cell phones. Other non-negligible sources of climate information include visits from government extension workers, NGOs, word of mouth, friends and neighbours

Workshop Report: Scaling Up Climate Information Services for Farmers and Pastoralists in Tanzania through ICTs and Rural Radio

Under the auspices of this GFCS Adaptation Programme in Africa, the World Food Program (WFP) and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) co-organized a two-day ICT and Radio Stakeholders’ Consultation Workshop in Tanzania to define a nationally appropriate strategy for scaling up climate information services for farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania through ICTs and interactive rural radio. This national ICT and radio consultation workshop brought together 28 participants representing government MDAs, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), UN agencies, academic and research institutions, farmer based organizations, and telecom operators to brainstorm best options to streamline delivering tailored climate information to end users. The two-day workshop was held in Dar es Salaam on 27-28, April 2015. The workshop began with a brief overview of the objectives, methodology, and key recommendations from each study. This was followed by a summary of important findings, and then a question-and-answer session in which participants agreed with the key recommendations and overall findings. Participants were introduced to a draft information flow model that includes three important components: production, delivery and feedback. The plenary session gave participants room to share feedback from discussion groups. Final consensus was built on the role of each stakeholder and type of intervention needed on the ground in the short- and longer terms to enhance the delivery of climate information services for farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania. The model derived from this workshop gives a clear picture of the information flow needed to communicate agro-advisories and other climate information services at a large scale in the country. The model has three important components: the production side, delivery side, and feedback side. Particular stakeholders and technological interventions were identified for each of these components. Successful stories from India and Africa, that are relevant to the Tanzanian context, were presented to strengthen the discussions. These case studies prompted discussions on the financial sustainability of the business models, and triggered the idea to adopt similar innovations in Tanzania

Training Agricultural Research & Extension Staff to Produce and Communicate Agro-Climatic Information, to Enhance the Resilience and Food Security of Farmers and Pastoralists in Kiteto, Tanzania: Preliminary Findings from the GFCS Adaptation Programme in Africa

National Agricultural Extension Systems in ten districts in Tanzania and Malawi are receiving training in the production and use of climate services as part of a WFP-CCAFS joint activity within the GFCS Adaptation Programme in Africa. This document reports on the first training of intermediaries, conducted for 30 agricultural extension and NGO staff from Kiteto District, Tanzania, 13-17th October 2014 and draws lessons from this to feed forward into preparation and training in the remaining districts in 2015. Preparation for the course included analysis of historical climate information, as well as training of staff from the Tanzania Meteorological Agency in downscaling using the Climate Prediction Tool (CPT). The ensuing training course for intermediaries covered the Participatory Integrated Climate Services for Agriculture (PICSA) approach. This aimed to equip agricultural extension field staff to provide local historical climate information, seasonal and sub-seasonal forecasts (seamless forecasts) together with crop and livelihood information and to facilitate use of participatory decision making tools by smallholder farmers, in order to enhance farm and field-level decision making for resilience and food security. Training included a strong practical component. At the end of the training course agricultural extension officers and NGO staff developed plans for implementation in the locations that they work. Formal and informal feedback from participants was very positive. From this first training several improvements to feed into subsequent training in Tanzania and Malawi were identified and recommendations are made. These include: how to ensure that climate information for districts is analysed well in advance; appropriate crop and livestock management options are identified to cover variation within each district; climatic variability is adequately addressed within districts; and the potential benefits of CPT downscaled forecasting are fully explored

What climate services do farmers and pastoralists need in Tanzania?

This report presents final findings from the baseline data collection exercise conducted for Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) Adaptation Programme in Africa. The GFCS programme, having a focus on agriculture, food security, heath and disaster risk reduction, is implemented in Tanzania and Malawi. Under the auspices of this GFCS project, the CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) is responsible to support baseline data collection and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) to evaluate climate services for farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania. The purpose of this report is to inform national partners on farmers’ current access and needs for climate information services. Communities of agro-pastoralists and pastoralists interviewed have little access to climate information, which is generally not associated with agricultural advice. To increase the relevance and communication of climate information in their communities, respondents have recommended training of local extension agents and traditional leaders on the concepts of climate information, having site specific information and using local languages and brochures. The forecasts of greatest interest include start of the rain and expected amount of rainfall over the season. Preferred formats cited by men are radio messages, visits from extension agents while women selected voice message on cell phones and villages communicators. Messengers suggested for radio presenters, local extension agents and village leaders highly recommended by women