Determinants of Credit Uptake Among Smallholder Improved Indigenous Chicken Farmers’ in Kenya

Youth enterprise development fund has been applauded as a vehicle that enabled most youths in Kenya to venture into agricultural enterprises and hence creating employment opportunities. The fund provides financial resources enabling youth farmers to increase their production and productivity levels. Despite these benefits both adoption levels and factors influencing credit uptake from youth enterprise development fund among small holder improved indigenous chicken farmers is not known. The objectives of the study were to determine credit uptake levels and factors associated with its uptake by small holder improved indigenous chicken farmers. Multistage sampling technique was employed in to sample both credit and non credit beneficiaries. Both primary and secondary data were utilized in the study where primary data was collected by semi-structured questionnaire. Data analysis involved the use of both descriptive and inferential statistics. Binary logistic regression model was used to analyze quantitative data with the aid of STATA version 11.0 software. Results revealed that age, gender, household size, nature of business ownership, family labour and role in poultry value chain significantly influenced credit uptake by smallholder youth farmers. Policy should focus on these factors to enhance availability of funds and hence subsequent productivity in the chicken value chain. Keywords: Indigenous chicken(IC), credit uptake, binary logit model

CoQ10 and vitamin A supplementation support voice rehabilitation. A double-blind, randomized, controlled, three-period cross-over pilot study

Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of an adjuvant therapy (CoQ10 in its watersoluble form and vitamin A) in supporting voice rehabilitation in a large group of patients with muscle tension dysphonia (MTD). Study Design: Twelve-week, double-blind, randomized, controlled, three-period crossover pilot study. The primary endpoint was the change in the Dysphonia Severity Index (DSI) over the 12-week study period. Secondary endpoints were the changes in the subcomponents of DSI, including MPT, F0-high, I-low, and jitter. Exploratory endpoints were the changes in the Shimmer and in Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Methods: Patients were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to two counter-balanced arms. Group A (ADJ-PLA) patients were administered QTer 300 mg and Vit A acetate 500.000 Ul/g 1 mg twice daily for a 4-week intervention period, followed by a 4-week period of wash-out, and then were submitted to a last 4-week period of placebo. Patients in Group B (PLB-ADJ) were given the treatment period in reverse order. Both groups received a 45-min voice therapy in a group format once a day for 4 weeks during the first and the second active periods. The therapy was held during the wash-out period. Results: The analysis of main time effect indicated a trend toward recovery of vocal function regardless of group assignment. A significant time by group effect was found on DSI [F = 3.4 (2.5, 80.5), p = 0.03], F0-high [F = 4.5 (2.6, 82.9), p = 0.008] and Shimmer [F = 3.6 (1.5, 46.9), p = 0.048], under CoQ10 and Vit A treatment, with a small effect size. There was no significant time by group effect on the other study measures, namely MPT, I-low, VHI. Conclusions: A trend toward recovery of vocal function was observed in all the patients, likely due to voice rehabilitation. The improvement of DSI was greater under CoQ10 and Vitamin treatment, indicating a more pronounced improvement of vocal quality under adjuvant therapy. The study protocol was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Policlinico Umberto I Hospital, Rome, Italy Rif. 3069/13.02.2014

Temporal Regulation of Foregut Development by HTZ-1/H2A.Z and PHA-4/FoxA

The histone variant H2A.Z is evolutionarily conserved and plays an essential role in mice, Drosophila, and Tetrahymena. The essential function of H2A.Z is unknown, with some studies suggesting a role in transcriptional repression and others in activation. Here we show that Caenorhabditis elegans HTZ-1/H2A.Z and the remodeling complex MYS-1/ESA1–SSL-1/SWR1 synergize with the FoxA transcription factor PHA-4 to coordinate temporal gene expression during foregut development. We observe dramatic genetic interactions between pha-4 and htz-1, mys-1, and ssl-1. A survey of transcription factors reveals that this interaction is specific, and thus pha-4 is acutely sensitive to reductions in these three proteins. Using a nuclear spot assay to visualize HTZ-1 in living embryos as organogenesis proceeds, we show that HTZ-1 is recruited to foregut promoters at the time of transcriptional onset, and this recruitment requires PHA-4. Loss of htz-1 by RNAi is lethal and leads to delayed expression of a subset of foregut genes. Thus, the effects of PHA-4 on temporal regulation can be explained in part by recruitment of HTZ-1 to target promoters. We suggest PHA-4 and HTZ-1 coordinate temporal gene expression by modulating the chromatin environment

Stromal promotion of metastasis by erythroid differentiation regulator 1

Stromal cells and the various factors they release play an important role in the promotion of tumor growth and metastasis. The construction of a supportive tumor stroma involves the recruitment and activation of multiple cell types. CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5) enhances the ability of pulmonary mesenchymal cells (PMCs) to promote metastasis of melanoma cells to the lung, by inducing PMC migration and altering gene expression. In a screen of CCR5-depedent gene expression changes during early metastatic colonization, Erythroid differentiation regulator 1 (Erdr1) was identified as a potential pro-metastatic factor. While its biochemical mechanism of action has not been fully characterized, Erdr1 has been shown to act as a survival factor for several types of hematopoietic cells. The role of Erdr1 in stromal promotion of metastasis was investigated, and Erdr1 expression in both mouse and human cells was characterized. The results indicate that Erdr1 is a highly conserved gene which is expressed in mouse PMCs upon stimulation of CCR5, and which promotes metastasis by enhancing stromal cell survival. This represents a novel mechanism by which chemokine signaling in stromal cells influences the formation of metastasis, and establishes Erdr1 as a potentially important regulator of stromal cell processes in both mice and humans

Can the current state support mechanisms help the growth of renewable energies in wind markets?

The aim of this paper is to provide evidence on the effectiveness of the current state support mechanism incentive adopted by the Italian government in the wind market. In particular, this paper intends to investigate the effectiveness of the auction mechanism as an incentive tool for renewable sources as required by the transposition of Directive 2009/28/EC. In order to demonstrate the economic and financial feasibility of a typical wind-sector investment, we performed a scenario analysis (Monte Carlo simulation) determining a 52,500 Net Present Value (NPV) by varying the key underlying variables of the investment. The results show that with the mechanism currently in place the percentage of positive leveraged NPV is approximately equal to 70%. Despite the state contribution provided through the “Feed-in tariff” mechanism, the profitability of wind projects is not always successful, and this problem could be amplified by the slowness of the authorization procedures. The article offers prime reflections for scholars and policy makers who have long been committed to promoting sustainable development and important considerations on the introduction of further incentive models

Circular Economy Impact Analysis on Stock Performances: An Empirical Comparison with the Euro Stoxx 50® ESG Index

Environmental issues have a considerable impact in all economic sectors, also influencing financial markets. As a result, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) awareness is rising in the financial sector. In this perspective, the concept of circular economy (CE) assumes central relevance. The aim of our study is to investigate the relationship between CE strategies and market performance; to this end, we use ESG scores as a proxy for CE. Our initial assumption is that since CE is a component of the “E” factor—in that it can generate positive and measurable environmental impacts—then it can be associated with the ESG score. Therefore, we can methodologically overcome the lack of a specific score related to CE. We use a preselection model based on historical performance by verifying the percentages of the presence of stocks in the two selected indices, namely ESG Euro Stoxx 50® and Euro Stoxx 50-ESG. Overall, we find that ESG profiles have a positive impact on stock performance, although ESG scores do not express higher performance per se. Furthermore, our analysis shows that, to date, there is no evidence that CE initiatives can influence stock returns

Food Deprivation Attenuates Seizures through CaMKII and EAG K+ Channels

Accumulated research has demonstrated the beneficial effects of dietary restriction on extending lifespan and increasing cellular stress resistance. However, reducing nutrient intake has also been shown to direct animal behaviors toward food acquisition. Under food-limiting conditions, behavioral changes suggest that neuronal and muscle activities in circuits that are not involved in nutrient acquisition are down-regulated. These dietary-regulated mechanisms, if understood better, might provide an approach to compensate for defects in molecules that regulate cell excitability. We previously reported that a neuromuscular circuit used in Caenorhabditis elegans male mating behavior is attenuated under food-limiting conditions. During periods between matings, sex-specific muscles that control movements of the male's copulatory spicules are kept inactive by UNC-103 ether-a-go-go–related gene (ERG)–like K+ channels. Deletion of unc-103 causes ∼30%–40% of virgin males to display sex-muscle seizures; however, when food is deprived from males, the incidence of spontaneous muscle contractions drops to 9%–11%. In this work, we used genetics and pharmacology to address the mechanisms that act parallel with UNC-103 to suppress muscle seizures in males that lack ERG-like K+ channel function. We identify calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II as a regulator that uses different mechanisms in food and nonfood conditions to compensate for reduced ERG-like K+ channel activity. We found that in food-deprived conditions, calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II acts cell-autonomously with ether-a-go-go K+ channels to inhibit spontaneous muscle contractions. Our work suggests that upregulating mechanisms used by food deprivation can suppress muscle seizures

A Modeling Approach to Determine the Impacts of Land Use and Climate Change Scenarios on the Water Flux of the Upper Mara River

With the flow of the Mara River becoming increasingly erratic especially in the upper reaches, attention has been directed to land use change as the major cause of this problem. The semi-distributed hydrological model Soil and Water Assessment Tool 5 (SWAT) and Landsat imagery were utilized in the upper Mara River Basin in order to 1) map existing field scale land use practices in order to determine their impact 2) determine the impacts of land use change on water flux; and 3) determine the impacts of rainfall (0%, ±10% and ±20%) and air temperature variations (0% and +5%) based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change projections on the water flux of the 10 upper Mara River. This study found that the different scenarios impacted on the water balance components differently. Land use changes resulted in a slightly more erratic discharge while rainfall and air temperature changes had a more predictable impact on the discharge and water balance components. These findings demonstrate that the model results 15 show the flow was more sensitive to the rainfall changes than land use changes. It was also shown that land use changes can reduce dry season flow which is the most important problem in the basin. The model shows also deforestation in the Mau Forest increased the peak flows which can also lead to high sediment loading in the Mara River. The effect of the land use and climate change scenarios on the sediment and 20 water quality of the river needs a thorough understanding of the sediment transport processes in addition to observed sediment and water quality data for validation of modeling results

Village Baseline Study: Site Analysis Report for Makueni – Wote, Kenya (KE0202)

The village baseline study of Kithoni village in the CCAFS benchmark site of Makueni, Kenya took place from June 11th – 14th, 2012. Focus group discussions were conducted separately for men and women. The village is in a marginal landscape and is food insecure. Frequent droughts and crop failures plague the area. The biggest constraint to agricultural production is the shortage of water. Land holdings have become increasingly smaller due to the increase in human population. The government has to frequently provide relief food during times of crisis. There are many organisations operating in the village, but there is a lack of concerted efforts between them, particularly those working in food security and natural resource management. Very few organisations are working on the food crisis situation in the area, although this is a frequently recurring issue. Networks of information for agricultural advice are based mainly on the radio and friends/neighbours. All the organisations mentioned as providing information are those that operate beyond the locality. There is potential to link these organisations with community groups and individuals especially to develop a feedback mechanism so that the flow of information is two-way. The FM stations can also be supplied with a wider range of information to disseminate. However, this must be in line with the community needs which should be established beforehand

Inter-comparison between AIRS and IASI through Retrieved Parameters

A State-of-the-art retrieval algorithm dealing with all-weather conditions has been applied to satellite/aircraft instruments retrieving cloud/surface and atmospheric conditions. High quality retrievals have been achieved from IASI data. Surface, cloud, and atmospheric structure and variation are well captured by IASI measurements and/or retrievals. The same retrieval algorithm is also applied to AIRS for retrieval inter-comparison. Both AIRS and IASI have a similar FOV size but AIRS has a higher horizontal resolution. AIRS data can be interpolated to IASI horizontal resolution for inter-comparison at the same geophysical locations, however a temporal variation between AIRS and IASI observations need to be considered. JAIVEx has employed aircraft to obtain the atmospheric variation filling the temporal gap between two satellites. First results show that both AIRS and IASI have a very similar vertical resolving power, atmospheric conditions are well captured by both instruments, and radiances are well calibrated. AIRS data shown in retrievals (e.g., surface emissivity and moisture) have a relatively higher noise level. Since the this type of retrieval is very sensitive to its radiance quality, retrieval products inter-comparison is an effective way to identify/compare their radiance quality, in terms of a combination of spectral resolution and noise level, and to assess instrument performance. Additional validation analyses are needed to provide more-definitive conclusions