Strategic assessment of research priorities for sweetpotato.

The following report presents an ex‐ante evaluation of priority research options for sweetpotato carried out in the scope of the strategic assessment of research priorities for the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers, and Bananas (RTB). It contains the results from the economic surplus model used for the assessment, which are extended to include estimations of the number of beneficiaries and poverty reduction effects. The report identifies and describes the sweetpotato research options taken into consideration for and included into the assessment. The socioeconomic and technological parameters used as input data for the analysis are described and information on the elicitation process and data sources is provided. Results are presented so as to explain the outputs obtained and interpreted with respect to the relevant differences between research option

Diversity and Abundance of Zooplankton in River Aswa in Uganda

Abstract. Zooplankton community constitutes one of the keystone organisms that are crucial in understanding aquatic ecosystem responses to environmental distresses. The objective of this study was to contribute to the understanding of zooplankton ecological conservation status and assessment of potential impacts of the proposed Hydropower plant on the zooplankton community in River Aswa, Nwoya District, in Uganda. Baseline information on aquatic micro-invertebrate diversity, abundance and distribution along the affected river section was generated. Two copepods and four species of rotifers were recorded. The Intake site had the highest diversity (six species) while Powerhouse had four species. Of the species encountered, Keratella tropica registered the highest abundance—1,025 and 732 individuals m-2at the Powerhouse and Intake sites, respectively. Total zooplankton densities were comparable with Intake (2,773 individuals m-2) and Powerhouse (2,311 individuals m-2). The zooplankton taxa do not appear in the IUCN Red List in the Catalogue of Life. Therefore, the proposed construction of a hydropower plant may not pose zooplankton conservation problems

Barriers and facilitators to combined ART initiation in pregnant women with HIV: lessons learnt from a PMTCT B+ pilot program in Swaziland

In January 2013, Swaziland launched a PMTCT B+ implementation study in rural Shiselweni. We aimed to identify patient and health service determinants of combined antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation, to help guide national implementation of PMTCT B+

Comparative durability of nevirapine versus efavirenz in first-line regimens during the first year of initiating antiretroviral therapy among Swaziland HIV-infected adults

Nevirapine (NVP) and Efavirenz (EFV) have generally comparable clinical and virologic efficacy. However, data comparing NVP durability to EFV are imprecise. We analyzed cohort data to compare durability of NVP to EFV among patients initiating ART in Mbabane, Swaziland. The primary outcome was poor regimen durability defined as any modification of NVP or EFV to the ART regimen. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards models were employed to estimate the risk of poor regimen durability (all-cause) for the two regimens and also separately to estimate risk of drug-related toxicity. We analyzed records for 769 patients initiating ART in Mbabane, Swaziland from March 2006 to December 2007. 30 patients (3.9%) changed their NVP or EFV-based regimen during follow up. Cumulative incidence for poor regimen durability was 5.3 % and 2.7 % for NVP and EFV, respectively. Cumulative incidence for drug-related toxicity was 1.9 % and 2.7 % for NVP and EFV, respectively. Burden of TB was high and 14 (46.7%) modifications were due to patients substituting NVP due to beginning TB treatment. Though the estimates were imprecise, use of NVP - based regimens seemed to be associated with higher risk of modifications compared to use of EFV - based regimens (HR 2.03 95%CI 0.58 - 7.05) and NVP - based regimens had a small advantage over EFV - based regimens with regard to toxicity - related modifications (HR 0.87 95%CI 0.26 - 2.90). Due to the high burden of TB and a significant proportion of patients changing their ART regimen after starting TB treatment, use of EFV as the preferred NNRTI over NVP in high TB endemic settings may result in improved first-line regimen tolerance. Further studies comparing the cost-effectiveness of delivering these two NNRTIs in light of their different limitations are required.Key words: Tolerability, Toxicity, Efavirenz, Nevirapine, Antiretroviral therapy, Resource limited setting, Swazilan

Nucleic acid extraction from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cancer cell line samples: a trade off between quantity and quality?

Background: Advanced genomic techniques such as Next-Generation-Sequencing (NGS) and gene expression profiling, including NanoString, are vital for the development of personalised medicines, as they enable molecular disease classification. This has become increasingly important in the treatment of cancer, aiding patient selection. However, it requires efficient nucleic acid extraction often from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue (FFPE). Methods: Here we provide a comparison of several commercially available manual and automated methods for DNA and/or RNA extraction from FFPE cancer cell line samples from Qiagen, life Technologies and Promega. Differing extraction geometric mean yields were evaluated across each of the kits tested, assessing dual DNA/RNA extraction vs. specialised single extraction, manual silica column based extraction techniques vs. automated magnetic bead based methods along with a comparison of subsequent nucleic acid purity methods, providing a full evaluation of nucleic acids isolated. Results: Out of the four RNA extraction kits evaluated the RNeasy FFPE kit, from Qiagen, gave superior geometric mean yields, whilst the Maxwell 16 automated method, from Promega, yielded the highest quality RNA by quantitative real time RT-PCR. Of the DNA extraction kits evaluated the PicoPure DNA kit, from Life Technologies, isolated 2–14× more DNA. A miniaturised qPCR assay was developed for DNA quantification and quality assessment. Conclusions: Careful consideration of an extraction kit is necessary dependent on quality or quantity of material required. Here we provide a flow diagram on the factors to consider when choosing an extraction kit as well as how to accurately quantify and QC the extracted material

It’s all about the money? A qualitative study of healthcare worker motivation in urban China

Background China’s healthcare reform programme continues to receive much attention. Central to these discussions has been how the various financial incentives underpinning reform efforts are negatively impacting on the healthcare workforce. Research continues to document these trends, however, qualitative analysis of how these incentives impact on the motivation of healthcare workers remains underdeveloped. Furthermore, the application of motivational theories to make sense of healthcare worker experiences has yet to be undertaken. Methods The purpose of our paper is to present a comparative case study account of healthcare worker motivation across urban China. It draws on semi structured interviews (n = 89) with a range of staff and organisations across three provinces. In doing so, the paper analyses how healthcare worker motivation is influenced by a variety of financial incentives; how motivation is influenced by the opportunities for career development; and how motivation is influenced by the day to day pressures of meeting patient expectations. Results The experience of healthcare workers in China highlights how a reliance on financial incentives has challenged their ability to maintain the values and ethos of public service. Our findings suggest greater attention needs to be paid to the motivating factors of improved income and career development. Further work is also needed to nurture and develop the motivation of healthcare workers through the building of trust between fellow workers, patients, and the public. Conclusions Through the analysis of healthcare worker motivation, our paper presents a number of ways China can improve its current healthcare reform efforts. It draws on the experience of other countries in calling for policy makers to support alternative approaches to healthcare reform that build on multiple channels of motivation to support healthcare workers

Challenges of Adoption and Adaptation of Land and Water Management Options in Smallholder Agriculture: Synthesis of Lessons and Experiences

Conservation and management of land and water resources for sustainable intensification of agriculture and poverty reduction in many developing regions has remained one of the most challenging policy issues for a long time. The increasing degradation of agroecosystems gradually deprives the poor of key productive resources and affects communities whose livelihoods heavily rely on utilization of these resources. Degradation of land and water resources gradually diminishes the capacity of individual farmers and communities to undertake critical investments needed to reverse the situation. This in turn reduces opportunities for addressing nutritional and other necessities and depletes the ability to buffer shocks, thereby increasing vulnerability of livelihoods. The potential nexus between worsening poverty and degradation of natural resources also raises fundamental questions on strategies for poverty reduction, equitable distribution of income and intergenerational equity..

Moving interdisciplinary science forward: integrating participatory modelling with mathematical modelling of zoonotic disease in Africa

This review outlines the benefits of using multiple approaches to improve model design and facilitate multidisciplinary research into infectious diseases, as well as showing and proposing practical examples of effective integration. It looks particularly at the benefits of using participatory research in conjunction with traditional modelling methods to potentially improve disease research, control and management. Integrated approaches can lead to more realistic mathematical models which in turn can assist with making policy decisions that reduce disease and benefit local people. The emergence, risk, spread and control of diseases are affected by many complex bio-physical, environmental and socio-economic factors. These include climate and environmental change, land-use variation, changes in population and people’s behaviour. The evidence base for this scoping review comes from the work of a consortium, with the aim of integrating modelling approaches traditionally used in epidemiological, ecological and development research. A total of five examples of the impacts of participatory research on the choice of model structure are presented. Example 1 focused on using participatory research as a tool to structure a model. Example 2 looks at identifying the most relevant parameters of the system. Example 3 concentrates on identifying the most relevant regime of the system (e.g., temporal stability or otherwise), Example 4 examines the feedbacks from mathematical models to guide participatory research and Example 5 goes beyond the so-far described two-way interplay between participatory and mathematical approaches to look at the integration of multiple methods and frameworks. This scoping review describes examples of best practice in the use of participatory methods, illustrating their potential to overcome disciplinary hurdles and promote multidisciplinary collaboration, with the aim of making models and their predictions more useful for decision-making and policy formulation

Adoption and adaptation of natural resource management innovations in smallholder agriculture: reflections on key lessons and best practices

Many smallholder farmers in vulnerable areas continue to face complex challenges in adoption and adaptation of resource management and conservation strategies.Although much has been learned from diverse experiences in sustainable resource management,there is still inadequate understanding of the market, policy and institutional failures that shape and structure farmer incentives and investment decisions. The policy and institutional failures exacerbate market failures, locking smallholder resource users into a low level equilibrium that perpetuates poverty and land degradation. Improved market access that raises the returns to land and labor is often the driving force for adoption of new practices in agriculture. Market linkages, access to credit and availability of propoor options for beneficial conservation are critical factors in stimulating livelihood and sustainability-enhancing investments. Future interventions need to promote joint innovations that ensure farmer experimentation and adaptation of new technologies and careful consideration of market, policy and institutional factors that stimulate widespread smallholder investments. Future projects should act as ‘toolboxes’, giving essential support to farmers to devise complementary solutions based on available options. Addressing the externalities and institutional failures that prevent private and joint investments for management of agricultural landscapes will require new kinds of institutional mechanisms for empowering communities through local collective action that would ensure broad participation and equitable distributions of the gains from joint conservation investments