Economic feasibilty of solar powered street lighting system in Somalia

Somalia is one of the rising countries that has suffered from an energy crisis due to high electricity losses, less qualified workers and a lack of productivity. The main objective of this research is to evaluate the technological possibilities and benefits of using solar energy to power streetlights in Via the combination of light emitting diode (LED) lights and photovoltaic cells. The cost of purchasing the equipment and operating a solar powered/LED device is consistent with the cost of running grid-connected street lights using electricity. The aim of the project was on the feasibility of using solar energy to power street lights. The functions of design and simulation was achieved through the assistance of HOMER software, the simulation model provides the monthly electricity provided by grid-connected street lights and solar street lights, as well as the best technically feasible solar energy system that is less net present cost (NPC), system energy cost and higher fraction of renewable energy, providing the lowest COE of $0.295/kWh and the total net present cost (NPC) of US$40,03030. This work focuses on the domestic aspect and offers a feasibility analysis to use solar energy and LED lights to serve this purpose and to alleviate this enormous consumption of energy. Solar-powered LED lights create light with the same luminance as 250-watt sodium bulbs Although the initial cost of installing the solar street light is higher than the conventional street lights, the overall long-term effect is quietly remarkable. A research involving 40 lamps over a distance of 2 km showed that in addition to saving national electricity, solar street lights save 59 percent after 20 years of using solar street lights

Hautverdächtig: rassistische Polizeikontrollen auf der Anklagebank

Book Title: Postcolonial Studies; Racial Profiling Chapter Title: Hautverdächtig Author(s): Mohamed Wa Baile, Ellen Höhne Publisher: transcript Verlag DOI: 10.14361/9783839441459-004 ISBN(s): 978-3-8376-4145-5, 978-3-8394-4145-9 ISSN(s): 2703-1233, 2703-124

The aesthetics and politics of ‘reading together’ Moroccan novels in Arabic and French

This paper attempts to break down the common practices of reading multilingual Moroccan novels, particularly Moroccan postcolonial novels in Arabic and French. I argue that dominant reading practices are based on binary oppositions marked by a reductionist understanding of language and cultural politics in Morocco. They place the Moroccan novel in Arabic and French in independent traditions with the presupposition that they have no impact on each other, thereby reifying each tradition. They also ignore the similar historical, social and cultural context from which these novels emerge, and tend to reinforce the marginalisation of the Moroccan novel within hegemonic single-language literary systems such as the Francophone or Arabic literary traditions. I advocate ‘reading together’ – or an entangled comparative reading of – postcolonial Moroccan novels in Arabic and French, a reading that privileges the specificity of the literary traditions in Morocco rather than language categorisation, and that considers their mutual historical, cultural, geographical, political, and aesthetic interweaving and implications

Molecular identification of adenoviruses associated with respiratory infection in Egypt from 2003 to 2010.

BACKGROUND: Human adenoviruses of species B, C, and E (HAdV-B, -C, -E) are frequent causative agents of acute respiratory infections worldwide. As part of a surveillance program aimed at identifying the etiology of influenza-like illness (ILI) in Egypt, we characterized 105 adenovirus isolates from clinical samples collected between 2003 and 2010. METHODS: Identification of the isolates as HAdV was accomplished by an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and confirmed by a set of species and type specific polymerase chain reactions (PCR). RESULTS: Of the 105 isolates, 42% were identified as belonging to HAdV-B, 60% as HAdV-C, and 1% as HAdV-E. We identified a total of six co-infections by PCR, of which five were HAdV-B/HAdV-C co-infections, and one was a co-infection of two HAdV-C types: HAdV-5/HAdV-6. Molecular typing by PCR enabled the identification of eight genotypes of human adenoviruses; HAdV-3 (n = 22), HAdV-7 (n = 14), HAdV-11 (n = 8), HAdV-1 (n = 22), HAdV-2 (20), HAdV-5 (n = 15), HAdV-6 (n = 3) and HAdV-4 (n = 1). The most abundant species in the characterized collection of isolates was HAdV-C, which is concordant with existing data for worldwide epidemiology of HAdV respiratory infections. CONCLUSIONS: We identified three species, HAdV-B, -C and -E, among patients with ILI over the course of 7 years in Egypt, with at least eight diverse types circulating

Racial Profiling: Erfahrung, Wirkung, Widerstand

Racial Profiling ist eine diskriminierende und rechtswidrige polizeiliche Praxis, die nur wenig öffentliche Beachtung findet. Im Zentrum der Studie der Kollaborativen Forschungsgruppe Racial Profiling stehen Menschen in der Schweiz, für die rassistische Polizeikontrollen zum Alltag gehören. Hierzu führten wir Interviews mit Personen, die sich selbst als Schwarze*r, Person of Color, Jenische*r, Sinto*Sintezza, Rom*ni, Muslim*in, Asiat*in oder als Migrant*in bezeichnen sowie als Sexarbeiterin tätig sind. Sie alle sind von ähnlichen Formen der Kriminalisierung betroffen, unterliegen jedoch auch spezifischen polizeilichen Praktiken – je nach Geschlecht, Aufenthaltsstatus, Staatsangehörigkeit und sozioökonomischem Status. Neben den konkreten Erlebnissen kommen auch die Folgen und Wirkungen der Kontrollen für die Kontrollierten, betroffene Communitys sowie die Gesellschaft zur Sprache. Thematisiert werden zudem verschiedene Taktiken im Umgang mit der ständigen Gefahr, ins Visier der Polizei zu geraten sowie Strategien, um sich individuell, aber auch kollektiv gegen diese rassistische Praxis zur Wehr zu setzen

Roles for Treg expansion and HMGB1 signaling through the TLR1-2-6 axis in determining the magnitude of the antigen-specific immune response to MVA85A

© 2013 Matsumiya et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedA better understanding of the relationships between vaccine, immunogenicity and protection from disease would greatly facilitate vaccine development. Modified vaccinia virus Ankara expressing antigen 85A (MVA85A) is a novel tuberculosis vaccine candidate designed to enhance responses induced by BCG. Antigen-specific interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production is greatly enhanced by MVA85A, however the variability between healthy individuals is extensive. In this study we have sought to characterize the early changes in gene expression in humans following vaccination with MVA85A and relate these to long-term immunogenicity. Two days post-vaccination, MVA85A induces a strong interferon and inflammatory response. Separating volunteers into high and low responders on the basis of T cell responses to 85A peptides measured during the trial, an expansion of circulating CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ cells is seen in low but not high responders. Additionally, high levels of Toll-like Receptor (TLR) 1 on day of vaccination are associated with an increased response to antigen 85A. In a classification model, combined expression levels of TLR1, TICAM2 and CD14 on day of vaccination and CTLA4 and IL2Rα two days post-vaccination can classify high and low responders with over 80% accuracy. Furthermore, administering MVA85A in mice with anti-TLR2 antibodies may abrogate high responses, and neutralising antibodies to TLRs 1, 2 or 6 or HMGB1 decrease CXCL2 production during in vitro stimulation with MVA85A. HMGB1 is released into the supernatant following atimulation with MVA85A and we propose this signal may be the trigger activating the TLR pathway. This study suggests an important role for an endogenous ligand in innate sensing of MVA and demonstrates the importance of pattern recognition receptors and regulatory T cell responses in determining the magnitude of the antigen specific immune response to vaccination with MVA85A in humans.This work was funded by the Wellcome Trust. MM has a Wellcome Trust PhD studentship and HM is a Wellcome Trust Senior Fello

Clinical features of culture-proven Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

OBJECTIVE: This retrospective chart review describes the epidemiology and clinical features of 40 patients with culture-proven Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections at King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: Patients with positive M. pneumoniae cultures from respiratory specimens from January 1997 through December 1998 were identified through the Microbiology records. Charts of patients were reviewed. RESULTS: 40 patients were identified, 33 (82.5%) of whom required admission. Most infections (92.5%) were community-acquired. The infection affected all age groups but was most common in infants (32.5%) and pre-school children (22.5%). It occurred year-round but was most common in the fall (35%) and spring (30%). More than three-quarters of patients (77.5%) had comorbidities. Twenty-four isolates (60%) were associated with pneumonia, 14 (35%) with upper respiratory tract infections, and 2 (5%) with bronchiolitis. Cough (82.5%), fever (75%), and malaise (58.8%) were the most common symptoms, and crepitations (60%), and wheezes (40%) were the most common signs. Most patients with pneumonia had crepitations (79.2%) but only 25% had bronchial breathing. Immunocompromised patients were more likely than non-immunocompromised patients to present with pneumonia (8/9 versus 16/31, P = 0.05). Of the 24 patients with pneumonia, 14 (58.3%) had uneventful recovery, 4 (16.7%) recovered following some complications, 3 (12.5%) died because of M pneumoniae infection, and 3 (12.5%) died due to underlying comorbidities. The 3 patients who died of M pneumoniae pneumonia had other comorbidities. CONCLUSION: our results were similar to published data except for the finding that infections were more common in infants and preschool children and that the mortality rate of pneumonia in patients with comorbidities was high