Empirical Relationships Between Investment Decisions and Potential Output: The Case of Mozambique

This paper focuses on the relationship of investments decisions, in consistence with the endogenous potential output growth hypothesis, in Mozambique. The VAR method was used to make the empirical analysis of potential output and investment decisions between the periods of 1996:1 to 2012:4. The potential output was not an observed variable and it was estimated using the Hodrick-Prescott Filter. The results from the impulse responses from VAR (3) model through the 10 quarters, have shown that the potential output responds positively through the period of analysis to changes in investment. And in the same way investments respond passively to shocks on potential output. This results highlighted important implications for conduction of economic policy as a whole. Keywords: Aggregate Demand, Potential output and Investment

Oil Price Shocks and Their Effects on Mozambican Economy

In this paper, the oil price shocks and their effects on Mozambican economy is empirically analyzed for the time span covered by 1996:Q1-2012:Q4. The VAR methodology was used and the variables were Real Gross Domestic Product, Wages and Consumer Price Index. The results of the estimations, show a depressive impact on gross domestic product, increase in general the price level and the impact of an oil shock on wages is small and positive, in contradiction to conventional theory. In general, the wages decreases by an average of 1.5 percentage points. The key policy response to the impact of high oil prices is the extent to which governments have passed on the price increases to consumers, or have moderated them with subsidies, tax reductions, or pressure on oil companies to hold down price. Keywords: Oil prices, Mozambique, Vector Auto Regression. DOI: 10.7176/JESD/11-4-11 Publication date: February 29th 202

Structural Change in Mozambique: Economic Performance Before and After the Civil War

This paper analyses the economic performance of Mozambique during the three different period, namely: pre civil war period (1980-1992), reconcstruction period (1992-2001) and stabilizaing periood (2001-2013). The apparent existence of structural change during these periods suggests that the civil war affect the economy. Annul macroeconomics time series data, such us the gross domestic product, foreign direct investment, gross capital formation, savings and the exports, were used. The study revealed that Mozambique economy has been subject to a structural change before and after the civil war. The confirmatory analysis was done using the Chow test. The results indicate that for the variables under investigation the endogenously determined break date closely correspond to the important phenomena in the performance of Mozambican economy since 1994

A implementação e uso da plataforma Moodle na Universidade Católica de Moçambique : um estudo do impacto na gestão das aprendizagens

A incorporação das tecnologias de informação e comunicação suscitam novas perspetivas para a gestão do processo educativo. Este estudo faz uma análise da implementação e do impacto do Moodle na gestão de aprendizagens na Universidade Católica de Moçambique - Faculdade de Economia e Gestão. Concretamente, a investigação visa responder à questão: Qual o impacto da implementação da plataforma Moodle na gestão e melhoria das aprendizagens na Universidade Católica de Moçambique? Partindo do Modelo da UTAUT (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology - Teoria Unificada de Aceitação e Uso da Tecnologia) a investigação foi desenvolvida recorrendo a uma metodologia qualitativa com enfoque interpretativo e tendo em conta a modalidade de estudo de caso. Os resultados da investigação revelam que aos critérios que estiveram na base da escolha do Moodle estão relacionados com o modelo pedagógico centrado no estudante para além de estarem associados ao preço, acessibilidade e sua facilidade de uso. Há pouca formação dos utilizadores do Moodle. Embora docentes e estudantes, na sua maioria, considerem o Moodle útil e impactante na gestão das aprendizagens, apenas uma minoria o usa

Rupture of a left sinus of Valsalva aneurysm into the pulmonary artery

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Acesso aberto à informação científica: diretrizes, políticas e modelos de repositórios científicos para Moçambique

Esta comunicação discorre sobre as iniciativas de acesso aberto a informação científica com ênfase em propostas de diretrizes, políticas e acções institucionais e/ou governamentais de diferentes países a nível mundial. Identifica as orientações e recomendações emanadas por organismos internacionais como a UNESCO, a IFLA, em busca de um pano de fundo para propor diretrizes, políticas e acções concertadas, que possam ser aplicadas para o contexto de Moçambique. Para consubstanciar as reflexões, primeiro, faz-se uma radiografia da situação actual do país no que diz respeito a existência de iniciativas institucionais e/ou gorvernamentais de acesso aberto à informação científica, tendo como principal fonte de dados, os documentos institucionais e o quadro legal do sector de ensino superior, ciência, tecnologia e inovação de Moçambique. Em segundo lugar, exploram-se as iniciativas institucionais atinentes a estabelecimento de plataformas de acesso aberto, especificamente, revistas e repositórios institucionais de acesso aberto, no contexto nacional. Em terceiro lugar, resgatam-se as contribuições surgidas nas discussões havidas no I Seminário de Acesso Aberto à Informação Científica, realizado nos dias 9 e 10 de Maio de 2016, na Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, em Maputo, visando o estabelecimento de propostas de modelos de diretrizes e políticas de repositórios científicos de acesso aberto, no contexto moçambicano

Microbiological contamination of improved water sources, Mozambique

Objective To assess if water from improved sources are microbiologically safe in Niassa province, Mozambique, by examining the presence of total coliforms in different types of water sources. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional household survey in two rural districts of Niassa province during the dry season, from 21 August to 4 October 2019. We observed water sources and conducted microbiological water quality tests and structured household interviews. Findings We included 1313 households, of which 812 (61.8%) used water from an improved source. There was no significant difference in presence of total coliforms between water sampled at improved and unimproved water sources, 62.7% (509 samples) and 65.7% (329 samples), respectively (P-value = 0.267). Households using improved water sources spent significantly longer time collecting water (59.1 minutes; standard deviation, SD: 55.2) than households using unimproved sources (49.8 minutes; SD: 58.0; P-value < 0.001). A smaller proportion of households using improved sources had access to water sources available 24 hours per day than that of households using unimproved sources, 71.7% (582 households) versus 94.2% (472 households; P-value < 0.001). Of the 240 households treating water collected from improved sources, 204 (85.4%) had total coliforms in their water, while treated water from 77 of 107 (72.0%) households collecting water from an unimproved source were contaminated. Conclusion Current access to an improved water source does not ensure microbiological safety of water and thereby using access as the proxy indicator for safe drinking and cooking water is questionable. Poor quality of water calls for the need for integration of water quality assessment into regular monitoring programmes

Improvement of carotenoids production from Rhodotorula glutinis CCT-2186

Rhodotorula strains can produce industrial valuable bioproducts. In this work, the production of carotenoids, and lipids by Rhodotorula glutinis using different nitrogen sources was evaluated. Two statistical experimental designs were applied to improve carotenoid production: a first 25−1 fractional factorial design evaluating the influence of independent variables pH, nitrogen source, glucose, KH2PO4 and MgSO4 concentration; a second 22 central factorial design to optimize the effect of pH and nitrogen sources. After the optimization using two statistical designs, a culture mediium composed of (in g/L) glucose (10), asparagine (10), NH4NO3 (4), KH2PO4 (0.52), MgSO4 (0.52) was found as the best for the production of carotenoids at a pH 5 and 30 °C. The best bioprocess was scaled-up to a 5 L stirred-tank bioreactor. The change to a bioreactor allowed to improve aeration and agitation conditions, and consequently, increasing the production yields (m/v) in, approximately, 25.83 %, 11.88 %, 24.50 % and 10.32 % for β-carotene, torularhodin, torulene and lipids, respectively. The combined supplementation of the culture media with both organic (asparagine) and inorganic nitrogen (ammonium nitrate) sources was primordial for enhancing the carotenogenesis. R. glutinis are very efficient in the production of valuable carotenoids and lipids, presenting high potential of yeast for the industrial production of more sustainable cosmetic, pharmaceutical, and food products.publishe

Premature or small for gestational age discrimination: international multicenter trial protocol for classification of the low-birth-weight newborn through the optical properties of the skin

© Zilma Reis, Gabriela Vitral, Rodney Guimarães, Juliano Gaspar, Enrico Colosimo, Sergio Taunde, Nilza Mussagy, Rita Rosado Santos, Diogo Ayres-De-Campos, Roberta Romanelli. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (http://www.researchprotocols.org), 14.07.2020. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Research Protocols, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://www.researchprotocols.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.Background: A low birth weight is an independent risk factor for adverse infant outcomes and a predictor of chronic disease in adulthood. In these situations, differentiating between prematurity and small for gestational age (SGA) or simultaneous conditions is essential to ensuring adequate care. Such diagnoses, however, depend on reliable pregnancy dating, which can be challenging in developing countries. A new medical optoelectronic device was developed to estimate gestational age (GA) at birth based on newborn skin reflection. Objective: This study will aim to evaluate the device's ability to detect prematurity or SGA, or both conditions simultaneously as well as predict short-term pulmonary complications in a cohort of low-birth-weight newborns. Methods: This study protocol was designed for a multicenter cohort including referral hospitals in Brazil and Mozambique. Newborns weighing 500-2500 g will be eligible for inclusion with the best GA available, considering the limited resources of low-income countries. Comparator-GA is based on reliable last menstrual period dating or ultrasound assessment before 24 weeks' gestation. Estimated GA at birth (Test-GA) will be calculated by applying a novel optoelectronic device to the newborn's skin over the sole. The average difference between Test-GA and Comparator-GA will be analyzed, as will the percentage of newborns who are correctly diagnosed as preterm or SGA. In addition, in a nested case-control study, the accuracy of skin reflection in the prediction of prematurity-related respiratory problems will be evaluated. The estimated required sample size is 298 newborns. Results: Teams of health professionals were trained, and standard operating procedures were developed following the good practice guidelines for the clinical investigation of medical devices for human participants. The first recruitment started in March 2019 in Brazil. Data collection is planned to end in December 2020, and the results should be available in March 2021. Conclusions: The results of this clinical study have the potential to validate a new device to easily assess postnatal GA, supporting SGA identification when pregnancy dating is unreliable or unknown.This research was supported by a Grand Challenges Exploration grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Grant No. OPP1128907, Contract; http://www.gatesfoundation.org/) and the Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa de Minas Gerais, Brazil (Grant Nos AUC-00032-15 and PPM 0247/16; http://www.fapemig.br/en/; nonprofit sector). This study is funded by Fundação Oswaldo Cruz – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Grand Challenges Canada’s programs, Government of Canada – Toronto, Canada (Grant No. R-ST-POC-1807-13515).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pseudomonas boanensis sp. nov., a bacterium isolated from river water used for household purposes in Boane District, Mozambique

A Gram-negative rod with a single polar flagellum was isolated from a freshwater reservoir used for household purposes in Boane District, near Maputo, Mozambique, and designated as strain DB1T. Growth was observed at 30-42 °C (optimum, 30-37 °C) and with 0.5-1.5 % NaCl. Whole-genome-, rpoD- and 16S rRNA-based phylogenies revealed this isolate to be distant from other Pseudomonas species with Pseudomonas resinovorans, Pseudomonas furukawaii and Pseudomonas lalkuanensis being the closest relatives. Phenotypic analyses of strain DB1T showed marked differences with respect to type strains P. resinovorans CCUG 2473T, P. lalkuanensis CCUG 73691T, P. furukawaii CCUG 75672T and Pseudomonas otiditis CCUG 55592T. Taken together, our results indicate that strain DB1T is a representative of a novel species within the genus Pseudomonas for which the name Pseudomonas boanensis is proposed. The type strain is DB1T (=CCUG 62977T=CECT 30359T).SIDA 2012 and FORMAS-Sida 2010.https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/ijsemVeterinary Tropical Disease