The Impact of National Innovation Systems on Agricultural Development Productivity Growth in Sierra Leone

Innovation has become an increasingly important subject in the field of economics. This paper examines the impact of National Innovation System on Agricultural Development Productivity Growth as a poverty alleviation tool towards the transformation of subsistence level of farming to commercialization in Sierra Leone since 2005 to 2014 inclusive. The Multiple Regression Model (MRM) OLS econometric techniques and Time series data analyses were used for the study to estimate the relationship between agricultural development productivity growth as a dependent variable and its potential macro elements as explanatory variables. Given the implication of national innovation systems on agricultural development productivity growth, it is imperative to investigate key impacts of innovation systems on agricultural productivity growth on the Sierra Leone Economy from 2005-2014 inclusive, using Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root test, Johansen’s test of co-integration and the Error Correction Model. The Innovation has become an increasingly important subject in the field of economics. This paper presents the impact empirical results reveal that national innovation system has a significant positive functional relationship with agricultural development productivity growth in the long run. Therefore, the government should pursue policies in enhancing; funding more agricultural research development projects, establish strong patent laws and intellectual property laws so as to encourage enterprise to innovate and thus increase growth of output. Institutional context of any innovation should be adequately analyzed by policy makers as requisite to promote such innovation.Future research direction could be the nexus between the performance of the agricultural sector development and Economic growth in Sierra Leone. Keywords:Agricultural Development Productivity Growth, Innovation, Sierra Leone, Research and Development

Economic Growth and Trade Performance in Tanzania

Economic growth is the increase in merchandise or services production over a definite period of time. Economic growth is enhanced by land, labour, capital and entrepreneur. The study examinedwhether Trade Performance can effectively generate employment and participate fully in the reduction of poverty in Tanzania. Using Ordinary Least Square method (OLS) of data encompassing a period of forty three years (1971-2013) and utilizing the econometric tool of co-integration analysis and error correction model, the study through empirical observationinculcated a firm nexus between Economic Growth and Trade Performance.The result of the study brings outa strong connectionbetween real GDP and the independent variables. The coefficient of net export -1.189868 has a negative and significant impact on real GDP growth. There is an inverse relationship between net export and real GDP growth which implies a 1% increase in net export leads to approximately 1.2% decrease in real GDP growth in Tanzania. Unlike net export, the coefficient of FDI 0.083152 has a positive and significant impact on real GDP growth. There is a direct relationship between GDP growth and Foreign Direct Investment inflows. This implies that a 1% increase in FDI can lead to approximately 0.08% increase in real GDP growth in Tanzania. There is an inverse relationship between exchange rate and real GDP growth which implies a 1% increase in exchange rate leads to approximately 0.04% decrease in real GDP growth in Tanzania. Similarly, the coefficient of inflation -0.199134 has a negative and significant impact on real GDP growth. There is an inverse relationship between inflation and real GDP growth which implies a 1% increase in inflation leads to approximately 0.20% decrease in real GDP growth in Tanzania. In the same manner, in the short run correction model the adjusted R- squared value is 0.932361, implying that approximately 93% of the variation in economic growth is explained by the independent variables, which is an indication of a very good fit. The remaining 7% is captured by the error term. The Durbin-Watson statistic suggests that there is no first order autocorrelation which among the variables. The overall equation is highly statistically significant as shown by the probability value of the F-statistic (0.000000).The study therefore suggests the quest of policies that would ameliorate Economic Growth and Trade Performance in Tanzania. Key words: Economic Growth; Net Export; Real GDP; Foreign Direct Investments; Tanzani

CAPITAL ASSET PRICING MODEL TESTING IN WEST AFRICA ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION STOCK MARKET: THE CASE OF IVORIAN LISTED FIRMS

This paper investigates the validity of Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) for the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) stock market using monthly stock returns of twenty Côte d’Ivoire’s listed firms from January 2002 to December 2011. We split this interval into different time periods. Each one of them has also been divided into two different sub-periods among which one served as estimation mean and the second one helped to test the estimated parameters obtained using a times series regression. Afterwards some statistical tests have been conducted to see whether the CAPM’s hypotheses hold or not. The findings showed that higher risk is not associated with higher level of return within the study area. Also, there was no relation between stock return and non-systemic risk except for one period where we found evidence that stock returns were affected by other risk than the systematic risk. On the contrary the stock expected rate of return had a linear relationship with the systematic risk. The study suggested that the listed companies consider other factors and variables which could explain their returns

Safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of single and multiple doses of aficamten in healthy Chinese participants: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 1 study

Objectives: Aficamten is a selective, small-molecule allosteric inhibitor of cardiac sarcomere being developed as a chronic oral treatment for patients with symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This was the first-in-Chinese study aiming to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of aficamten in healthy adults.Methods: This double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 1 study was conducted in 28 healthy male and female Chinese participants after single ascending dose (SAD) and multi-dose (MD) administrations of aficamten. In the SAD cohort, 16 participants were randomized to receive a single oral dose of aficamten: 10 mg, 20 mg, or placebo. In the MD cohort, 12 participants were randomized to receive multiple doses of aficamten: 5 mg or placebo once daily for 14 days. Safety was monitored throughout the study with electrocardiograms, echocardiograms, clinical laboratory tests, and reporting of adverse events (AEs). Pharmacokinetic profiles of aficamten and metabolites, as well as CYP2D6 genetic impact, were evaluated.Results: A total of 35 treatment-emergent AEs were reported by 14 (50%) participants with mild severity. There were no serious AEs or adverse decreases in left ventricular ejection fraction below 50% during the study. Aficamten was dose-proportional over the dose range of 5–20 mg and accumulated in the MD cohort.Conclusion: Aficamten was safe and well-tolerated in the healthy Chinese adult participants. The pharmacokinetics of aficamten in the Chinese population was comparable to those previously found in Western participants. These phase 1 data support the progression of aficamten into future clinical studies in Chinese patients.Clinical Trial registration:https://clinicaltrials.gov, identifier: NCT04783766

Applications of light-responsive systems for cancer theranostics

Achieving controlled and targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and other therapeutic agents to tumor sites is challenging. Among many stimulus strategies, light as a mode of action shows various advantages such as high spatiotemporal selectivity, minimal invasiveness and easy operation. Thus, drug delivery systems (DDSs) have been designed with the incorporation of various functionalities responsive to light as an exogenous stimulus. Early development has focused on guiding chemotherapeutic drugs to designated location, followed by the utilization of UV irradiation for controlled drug release. Because of the disadvantages of UV light such as phototoxicity and limited tissue penetration depth, scientists have moved the research focus onto developing nanoparticle systems responsive to light in the visible region (400–700 nm), aiming to reduce the phototoxicity. In order to enhance the tissue penetration depth, near-infrared light triggered DDSs become increasingly important. In addition, light-based advanced systems for fluorescent and photoacoustic imaging, as well as photodynamic and photothermal therapy have also been reported. Herein, we highlight some of recent developments by applying light-responsive systems in cancer theranostics, including light activated drug release, photodynamic and photothermal therapy, and bioimaging techniques such as fluorescent and photoacoustic imaging. Future prospect of light-mediated cancer treatment is discussed at the end of the review. This Spotlights on Applications article aims to provide up-to-date information about the rapidly developing field of light-based cancer theranostics.NRF (Natl Research Foundation, S’pore)MOE (Min. of Education, S’pore

Poles Extraction of Radar Target Based on Narrowband Frequency Response Approximation

Pole is the most important feature of radar target in resonance region, and it is attitude insensitive. The poles extraction requires UWB (ultra-wideband) late-time response signal or frequency response data, which is difficult to achieve through general equipment. This paper proposed a method for extracting poles from narrowband data. At first, the frequency response equation of the resonance region was derived. Then, the equation parameters were solved by the interior point method through the narrowband data. At last, the zeros of the transfer function denominator were calculated. FEKO simulation data test verifies that the method has extrapolation ability

Poles Extraction of Radar Target Based on Narrowband Frequency Response Approximation

Pole is the most important feature of radar target in resonance region, and it is attitude insensitive. The poles extraction requires UWB (ultra-wideband) late-time response signal or frequency response data, which is difficult to achieve through general equipment. This paper proposed a method for extracting poles from narrowband data. At first, the frequency response equation of the resonance region was derived. Then, the equation parameters were solved by the interior point method through the narrowband data. At last, the zeros of the transfer function denominator were calculated. FEKO simulation data test verifies that the method has extrapolation ability

Decomposing the causes of socioeconomic-related health inequality among urban and rural populations in China: a new decomposition approach

Abstract Background In recent decades, China has experienced tremendous economic growth and also witnessed growing socioeconomic-related health inequality. The study aims to explore the potential causes of socioeconomic-related health inequality in urban and rural areas of China over the past two decades. Methods This study used six waves of the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) from 1991 to 2006. The recentered influence function (RIF) regression decomposition method was employed to decompose socioeconomic-related health inequality in China. Health status was derived from self-rated health (SRH) scores. The analyses were conducted on urban and rural samples separately. Results We found that the average level of health status declined from 1989 to 2006 for both urban and rural populations. Average health scores were greater for the rural population compared with those for the urban population. We also found that there exists pro-rich health inequality in China. While income and secondary education were the main factors to reduce health inequality, older people, unhealthy lifestyles and a poor home environment increased inequality. Health insurance had the opposite effects on health inequality for urban and rural populations, resulting in lower inequality for urban populations and higher inequality for their rural counterparts. Conclusion These findings suggest that an effective way to reduce socioeconomic-related health inequality is not only to increase income and improve access to health care services, but also to focus on improvements in the lifestyles and the home environment. Specifically, for rural populations, it is particularly important to improve the design of health insurance and implement a more comprehensive insurance package that can effectively target the rural poor. Moreover, it is necessary to comprehensively promote the flush toilets and tap water in rural areas. For urban populations, in addition to promoting universal secondary education, healthy lifestyles should be promoted, including measures such as alcohol control