Digital Transformation in West Africa: A two country, two-sector analysis

This study explores opportunities and challenges of accelerating digital entrepreneurship development in key economic growth sectors in West Africa. The study uses case illustrations from the media and agriculture sectors to highlight some of the opportunities and challenges that have shaped current business practices in this digital space in West Africa. Technological infrastructure featured as one of the main challenges for fostering success in the media-tech cases and perhaps linked to the low internet penetration rates. Likewise, infrastructure proved to be a challenge in the agri-tech sector cases. This study highlights the importance of partnerships within the entrepreneurship ecosystems as a critical condition for ensuring positive benefits for all stakeholders within the entrepreneurial ecosystem taken from the lens of West Africa

Establishing an adjusted p-value threshold to control the family-wide type 1 error in genome wide association studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>By assaying hundreds of thousands of single nucleotide polymorphisms, genome wide association studies (GWAS) allow for a powerful, unbiased review of the entire genome to localize common genetic variants that influence health and disease. Although it is widely recognized that some correction for multiple testing is necessary, in order to control the family-wide Type 1 Error in genetic association studies, it is not clear which method to utilize. One simple approach is to perform a Bonferroni correction using all <it>n single nucleotide polymorphisms (</it>SNPs) across the genome; however this approach is highly conservative and would "overcorrect" for SNPs that are not truly independent. Many SNPs fall within regions of strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) ("blocks") and should not be considered "independent".</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We proposed to approximate the number of "independent" SNPs by counting 1 SNP per LD block, plus all SNPs outside of blocks (interblock SNPs). We examined the <it>effective </it>number of independent SNPs for Genome Wide Association Study (GWAS) panels. In the CEPH Utah (CEU) population, by considering the interdependence of SNPs, we could reduce the total number of effective tests within the Affymetrix and Illumina SNP panels from 500,000 and 317,000 to 67,000 and 82,000 "independent" SNPs, respectively. For the Affymetrix 500 K and Illumina 317 K GWAS SNP panels we recommend using 10^-5, 10^-7and 10^-8and for the Phase II HapMap CEPH Utah and Yoruba populations we recommend using 10^-6, 10^-7and 10^-9as "suggestive", "significant" and "highly significant" p-value thresholds to properly control the family-wide Type 1 error.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>By approximating the effective number of independent SNPs across the genome we are able to 'correct' for a more accurate number of tests and therefore develop 'LD adjusted' Bonferroni corrected p-value thresholds that account for the interdepdendence of SNPs on well-utilized commercially available SNP "chips". These thresholds will serve as guides to researchers trying to decide which regions of the genome should be studied further.</p

Short-term changes in daily movement behaviour influence C-reactive protein in healthy, middle-aged women

Despite growing awareness of the health consequences of sedentary time (ST), the underlying physiological mechanisms are poorly understood. C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation, represents a potential link between ST and adverse health. It has also become apparent that prolonged, uninterrupted bouts of ST are particularly harmful to health. The primary purpose of this thesis was to explore the effect of (a) increased ST and (b) increased physical activity (PA) on salivary CRP in healthy, middle-aged women. A secondary objective was to examine how the pattern of activity changes in response to these behavioural interventions. After completing a 7-day preliminary assessment of daily step count, ST, and PA, 20 healthy, middle-aged women were randomly assigned to one of two 10-day interventions, either sedentary or active. The sedentary group reduced their step count to <5000 steps/day. The active group added 3,000 steps/day to their preliminary average. During both the preliminary assessment and intervention period, participants wore a pedometer to monitor their daily step count and an accelerometer to objectively assess their activity profile. Salivary CRP samples were taken during the preliminary assessment, pre-intervention, and post-intervention. During the intervention, the sedentary group (n=9; 49.65.6 yrs; 28.43.5 kg•m-2) significantly increased ST by 70 minutes/day, and decreased both light physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). They also increased the number of prolonged sedentary bouts (p = 0.004) and decreased the frequency of iv interruptions to ST (p = 0.006). The active group (n=10; 49.95.2 yrs; 26.63.7 kg•m-2) increased MVPA by 19.4 minutes/day, but there was no change in ST, LPA, or the pattern of ST accumulation. After 10 days of behavior change, CRP increased by 31% in the sedentary group (p<0.05) and decreased by 22% in the active group (p<0.01). These results suggest that CRP, and thus inflammation, may represent a physiological link between movement behavior and health in middle-aged women. The decrease in CRP in the active group despite no change in ST challenges current data that shows ST impacts health independent of MVPA. Importantly, interventions focused on increasing MVPA may not effectively reduce ST.University of Lethbridge Research Fun

Recuperação de áreas de jazidas com espécies de ocorrência natural do Semiárido.

A produção de energia elétrica sustentável por meio da instalação das torres eólicas, no município de Casa Nova, BA, a exemplo de outras localidades, é uma realidade e, se por um lado produz uma energia limpa, por outro lado, necessita construir estradas vicinais cascalhadas, objetivando o transporte das referidas torres, que são constituídas por peças longas e bastante pesadas, que por sua vez exigem caminhões de grande porte. Para a pavimentação foram utilizadas seis jazidas prospectadas, aleatoriamente, dentro da área dos parques no município, que resultaram na retirada de toda avegetação de uma área total de 16,5 hectares, com exceção das espécies ameaçadas de extinção a exemplo do umbuzeiro (Spondias tuberosa Arr.),baraúna (Schinopsis brasiliensis) e aroeira (Myracrodruon urundeuva), que permaneceram com o solo da projeção de copa das espécies citadas (ilhas de escape).Este estudo teve como base a degradação ocasionada pela retirada total da camada de solo e subsolo de uma área, que foi removida para a construção das estradas, assim, enquadra-se como área degradada pela mineração, de acordo com o Manual de Recuperação de Áreas Degradadas pela Mineração do Ibama em1990. Este trabalho teve como objetivo a recuperação das áreas das jazidas com espécies de ocorrência natural do Semiárido

Zoneamento edáfico da cultura da cebola para a região do entorno do Parque Eólico do município de Casa Nova, BA.

O objetivo deste zoneamento foi identificar as áreas com solos de maior potencial para o plantio da cebola, no entorno do parque eólico do município de Casa Nova, BA. Com o presente zoneamento a Embrapa Semiárido coloca à disposição dos produtores de cebola da região uma ferramenta de auxílio na tomada de decisão quanto à escolha de quais classes de solos com as maiores chances de sucesso para o cultivo da cebola, e com vistas ao uso e manejo sustentável das terras da região.bitstream/item/219631/1/Zoneamento-edafico-da-cultura-da-cebola-para-a-regiao-do-entorno-2020.pd

Mapeamento e descrição de árvores matrizes em área de coleta de sementes.

A seleção de plantas matrizes é importante para identificar, localizar e delimitar áreas de coleta de sementes florestais. O presente estudo apresenta uma lista de plantas matrizes de Anadenanthera colubrina e Cenostigma pyramidale, bem como localização detalhada de cada matriz. Para cada planta marcada, os seguintes detalhes foram coletados: dados dendrometricos, coordenadas geográficas e tipo de solo. Foram marcadas 60 plantas matrizes, em sete municípios: Uberlândia-MG e Planaltina-DF no Cerrado; Corumbá-MS no Pantanal; Canindé de São Francisco-SE, Lagoa Grande PE, Petrolina-PE, Juazeiro-BA na Caatinga. A altura de plantas de A. colubrina e C. pyramidale varia de 4 a 42,5 m e 3 a 10 m, respectivamente. Foram categorizados 10 tipos de solos. As árvores matrizes marcadas na Caatinga apresentaram menor altura total em relação às árvores do Pantanal e do Cerrado. Este trabalho pode ser utilizado como referência para futuros estudos de campo de A. colubrina e C. pyramidale e em excursões de coleta de sementes de A. colubrina e C. pyramidaEdição Especial. 6 Workshop de Sementes e Mudas da Caatinga, Juazeiro-BA/Petrolina-PE, jul./ago. 2018

MicroRNA-155 Deficiency Attenuates Liver Steatosis and Fibrosis without Reducing Inflammation in a Mouse Model of Steatohepatitis

BACKGROUND & AIM: MicroRNAs (miRs) regulate hepatic steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis. Fibrosis is the consequence of chronic tissue damage and inflammation. We hypothesized that deficiency of miR-155, a master regulator of inflammation, attenuates steatohepatitis and fibrosis. METHODS: Wild type (WT) and miR-155-deficient (KO) mice were fed methionine-choline-deficient (MCD) or -supplemented (MCS) control diet for 5 weeks. Liver injury, inflammation, steatosis and fibrosis were assessed. RESULTS: MCD diet resulted in steatohepatitis and increased miR-155 expression in total liver, hepatocytes and Kupffer cells. Steatosis and expression of genes involved in fatty acid metabolism were attenuated in miR-155 KO mice after MCD feeding. In contrast, miR-155 deficiency failed to attenuate inflammatory cell infiltration, nuclear factor kappa beta (NF-kappaB) activation and enhanced the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) in MCD diet-fed mice. We found a significant attenuation of apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3) and reduction in collagen and alpha smooth muscle actin (alphaSMA) levels in miR-155 KO mice compared to WTs on MCD diet. In addition, we found attenuation of platelet derived growth factor (PDGF), a pro-fibrotic cytokine; SMAD family member 3 (Smad3), a protein involved in transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) signal transduction and vimentin, a mesenchymal marker and indirect indicator of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) in miR-155 KO mice. Nuclear binding of CCAAT enhancer binding protein beta (C/EBPbeta) a miR-155 target involved in EMT was significantly increased in miR-155 KO compared to WT mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our novel data demonstrate that miR-155 deficiency can reduce steatosis and fibrosis without decreasing inflammation in steatohepatitis