Constraints on the Development of Public Library Service in Nigeria

Despite much development since its introduction into Nigeria in 1946, public library service is used today by less than 1 percent of the population. This article, based on a review of the literature and on eight years of library experience in Nigeria, attempts to explain why. The main constraints have been the irrelevance of the service offered to the illiterate, who compose up to two-thirds of the adult population, and the fact that those who are literate and have access to libraries rarely use them for other than educational purposes and stop using them when their educational goals are achieved or given up. Other constraints include the redivision of Nigeria into smaller internal units; lack of professional leadership, government legislation, backing, and financial support in certain states; staffing problems; and the difficulty of extending service outside the urban areas

Factors Affecting the Adoption of Information and Communication Technologies: Small Hotels and Tour Operators in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

In Africa the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) varies considerably from one country to another, for example between Kenya and Tanzania on the one hand and Ethiopia on the other. In Kenya and Tanzania telecommunications systems have been liberalized, while in Ethiopia all ICT infrastructures and services are provided by one single telecommunications operator – one that is owned and run by the government. ICT plays a significant role in poverty reduction andempowerment of the disadvantaged, but this requires that ICT has first to be adopted by them. The main research question is: what are the factors affecting the adoption of ICT in the small hotel and tour operator sector? The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that affect the adoption of ICT in small hotels and tour operators in Ethiopia’s capital city, Addis Ababa. The sector was chosen because, driven by demand from customers, it usesICT more than many other sectors, and because the governmentrequires hoteliers to use a particular software for tax purposes. During the course of several visits between 2009 and 2013 data were collected from hoteliers and tour operator owners/managers. Sixteen hoteliers who had adopted ICT in their businesses were interviewed. One hundred and twenty-eight hoteliers and 57 tour operators responded to a questionnaire. Analysis of the findingsindicates that factors affecting the adoption of ICT in these organizations can be arranged according to three levels: individual, organizational and national. The major factors that affect the adoption arise from the national level factors: the political, socio-economic, technological and legal factors that play a critical role in the adoption or rejection of ICT in this sector. This paper provides insights into the impact a monopolized telecommunications servicecan have on the adoption of ICT

A large genome-wide association study of age-related macular degeneration highlights contributions of rare and common variants.

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ng.3448Advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly, with limited therapeutic options. Here we report on a study of >12 million variants, including 163,714 directly genotyped, mostly rare, protein-altering variants. Analyzing 16,144 patients and 17,832 controls, we identify 52 independently associated common and rare variants (P < 5 × 10(-8)) distributed across 34 loci. Although wet and dry AMD subtypes exhibit predominantly shared genetics, we identify the first genetic association signal specific to wet AMD, near MMP9 (difference P value = 4.1 × 10(-10)). Very rare coding variants (frequency <0.1%) in CFH, CFI and TIMP3 suggest causal roles for these genes, as does a splice variant in SLC16A8. Our results support the hypothesis that rare coding variants can pinpoint causal genes within known genetic loci and illustrate that applying the approach systematically to detect new loci requires extremely large sample sizes.We thank all participants of all the studies included for enabling this research by their participation in these studies. Computer resources for this project have been provided by the high-performance computing centers of the University of Michigan and the University of Regensburg. Group-specific acknowledgments can be found in the Supplementary Note. The Center for Inherited Diseases Research (CIDR) Program contract number is HHSN268201200008I. This and the main consortium work were predominantly funded by 1X01HG006934-01 to G.R.A. and R01 EY022310 to J.L.H

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Genetic associations at 53 loci highlight cell types and biological pathways relevant for kidney function.

Reduced glomerular filtration rate defines chronic kidney disease and is associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), combining data across 133,413 individuals with replication in up to 42,166 individuals. We identify 24 new and confirm 29 previously identified loci. Of these 53 loci, 19 associate with eGFR among individuals with diabetes. Using bioinformatics, we show that identified genes at eGFR loci are enriched for expression in kidney tissues and in pathways relevant for kidney development and transmembrane transporter activity, kidney structure, and regulation of glucose metabolism. Chromatin state mapping and DNase I hypersensitivity analyses across adult tissues demonstrate preferential mapping of associated variants to regulatory regions in kidney but not extra-renal tissues. These findings suggest that genetic determinants of eGFR are mediated largely through direct effects within the kidney and highlight important cell types and biological pathways

Library associations in Africa: past and present

This article provides a brief overview of library associations in Africa from the 1930s to the present. Lack of members is a continuing difficulty, as is extending activities outside the main urban areas. The Internet now offers opportunities for improved communication, but most association websites are still in an early stage of development. Involvement in accreditation of education and training is restricted by the fact that few countries apart from Nigeria have more than one or two programmes producing library and information professionals. Newsletters are successfully published by a number of associations, but journals have tended to be a problem. Regional associations have been set up, or earlier ones brought back to life. Good leadership makes a significant difference to the success of an association. Innovation Vol. 31 2005: 1-