Are International Market Demands Compatible with Serving Domestic Social Needs? Challenges in Strengthening Innovation Capacity in Kenya's Horticulture Industry

Agrifood stakeholders across the world are under ever-increasing pressure with globalization and new market demands, together with changing quality and safety requirements. The ability to respond to new challenges and opportunities is important not just for producers but also for industries in developing countries. This paper explores the horticulture sector of Kenya in order to gain a better understanding of what has most significantly contributed to its success in terms of innovation response capacity. This paper aims to present what "innovation response capacity" entails, especially for natural resource-based industries in a developing country context. It will also provide an analytical framework that draws elements from agricultural innovation capacity and the innovation systems framework. This is provided through case study research conducted in Kenya by exploring a prominent horticultural enterprise, Homegrown Ltd. The paper concludes that an important element of success in this case was the formation of a range of linkages that enabled a systemic sector response to challenges rather than isolated action of individual players.Innovation Response Capacity, Kenya, Horticulture, Globalization, Smallholder Production, Policy

Private Capacity and Public Failure: Contours of Livestock Innovation Response Capacity in Kenya

Globalization, urbanization and new market demands - together with ever-increasing quality and safety requirements - are putting significantly greater pressures on agrifood stakeholders in the world. The ability to respond to new challenges and opportunities is important not just for producers but also for industries in developing countries. This paper aims to present what "innovation response capacity" entails, especially for natural resourcebased industries in a developing country context. It will also provide an analytical framework that draws elements from agricultural innovation capacity and the innovation systems framework. This is provided through case study research conducted in Kenya by exploring two livestock product companies: Farmer's Choice and Kenchic. The cases show how companies had worked around the problem of weak interaction with the various livestockrelated agencies of the public sector by developing links with international sources of knowledge and technology. This allowed the sector to respond rapidly to different challenges. While the country's historical development explains this pattern of innovation response capacity, public policy appears to be failing in its role of nurturing and contributing to the capacities needed for development in emerging economies, such as that of Kenya.Livestock, agriculture, innovation, innovation response capacity, Kenya

Close Binary System GO Cyg

In this study, we present long term photometric variations of the close binary system \astrobj{GO Cyg}. Modelling of the system shows that the primary is filling Roche lobe and the secondary of the system is almost filling its Roche lobe. The physical parameters of the system are $M_1 = 3.0\pm0.2 M_{\odot}$, $M_2 = 1.3 \pm 0.1 M_{\odot}$, $R_1 = 2.50\pm 0.12 R_{\odot}$, $R_2 = 1.75 \pm 0.09 R_{\odot}$, $L_1 = 64\pm 9 L_{\odot}$, $L_2 = 4.9 \pm 0.7 L_{\odot}$, and $a = 5.5 \pm 0.3 R_{\odot}$. Our results show that \astrobj{GO Cyg} is the most massive system near contact binary (NCB). Analysis of times of the minima shows a sinusoidal variation with a period of $92.3\pm0.5$ years due to a third body whose mass is less than 2.3$M_{\odot}$. Finally a period variation rate of $-1.4\times10^{-9}$ d/yr has been determined using all available light curves.Comment: Accepted for publication in New Astronomy, 18 pages, 4 figures, 7 table

Structural Similarity and Classification of Protein Interaction Interfaces

Interactions between proteins play a key role in many cellular processes. Studying protein-protein interactions that share similar interaction interfaces may shed light on their evolution and could be helpful in elucidating the mechanisms behind stability and dynamics of the protein complexes. When two complexes share structurally similar subunits, the similarity of the interaction interfaces can be found through a structural superposition of the subunits. However, an accurate detection of similarity between the protein complexes containing subunits of unrelated structure remains an open problem

Drosha drives the formation of DNA:RNA hybrids around DNA break sites to facilitate DNA repair

The error-free and efficient repair of DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) is extremely important for cell survival. RNA has been implicated in the resolution of DNA damage but the mechanism remains poorly understood. Here, we show that miRNA biogenesis enzymes, Drosha and Dicer, control the recruitment of repair factors from multiple pathways to sites of damage. Depletion of Drosha significantly reduces DNA repair by both homologous recombination (HR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). Drosha is required within minutes of break induction, suggesting a central and early role for RNA processing in DNA repair. Sequencing of DNA:RNA hybrids reveals RNA invasion around DNA break sites in a Drosha-dependent manner. Removal of the RNA component of these structures results in impaired repair. These results show how RNA can be a direct and critical mediator of DNA damage repair in human cells

Sustainability-oriented innovation: a systematic review

types: ArticlePre-print draft of article submitted to International Journal of Management ReviewsIn this article we systematically review the literature relating to Sustainability-Oriented Innovation (SOI), and present a model to help understand different types and phases of SOI in companies. SOI involves making intentional changes to organizational mind-sets and values, as well as the products, processes or practices that produce environmental and/or social benefits in addition to economic value. The model distinguishes between contexts of Operational Optimization, Organizational Transformation, and Systems Building, and is populated with a range of innovation practices illustrating what firms do to become more sustainable. The model is developed from a review of 127 articles from the academic and practitioner literature and focuses on the period between the two Earth Summits (1992-2012). The systematic review forms the foundation of this paper, but we supplement and populate the model with instances of SOI activity drawn from more recent practitioner literature to provide richer insights into contemporary pioneering SOI practice."This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Sustainability-oriented Innovation: A Systematic Review, International Journal of Management Reviews, 2015, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ijmr.12068/abstract. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely