Promoting inclusive urban economies in a world of changing technology and patterns of trade

This paper is a shortened version of a ‘think-piece’ prepared as a contribution to the dialogue at the 2018 Kigali meeting of the Commonwealth Sustainable Cities Network. Its purpose is to highlight both challenges and emerging practices in mobilising local governments, and other stakeholders, including those in other spheres of government and the private sector, towards advancing the scale and scope of local economic development outcomes around critical dimensions of inclusion. The paper is not intended to be an exhaustive report covering all the aspects of contemporary local economic development approaches, but rather to offer selective insights that might contribute to deepening relevant policy and implementation processes in an increasingly urban world

A water sector public-private partnership case study: Illembe District Municipality (formerly Dolphin Coast) - Siza Water Company

Prepared as part of a contract research exercise commissioned through Palmer Development Group by the National Business Initiative in partnership with Inwent

two South African

Study on “employment aspects of slum upgrading” practices and opportunities identified i

The importance of RT-qPCR primer design for the detection of siRNA-mediated mRNA silencing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The use of RNAi to analyse gene function <it>in vitro </it>is now widely applied in biological research. However, several difficulties are associated with its use <it>in vivo</it>, mainly relating to inefficient delivery and non-specific effects of short RNA duplexes in animal models. The latter can lead to false positive results when real-time RT-qPCR alone is used to measure target mRNA knockdown.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We observed that detection of an apparent siRNA-mediated knockdown <it>in vivo </it>was dependent on the primers used for real-time RT-qPCR measurement of the target mRNA. Two siRNAs specific for <it>RRM1 </it>with equivalent activity <it>in vitro </it>were administered to A549 xenografts via intratumoural injection. In each case, apparent knockdown of <it>RRM1 </it>mRNA was observed only when the primer pair used in RT-qPCR flanked the siRNA cleavage site. This false-positive result was found to result from co-purified siRNA interfering with both reverse transcription and qPCR.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our data suggest that using primers flanking the siRNA-mediated cleavage site in RT-qPCR-based measurements of mRNA knockdown <it>in vivo </it>can lead to false positive results. This is particularly relevant where high concentrations of siRNA are introduced, particularly via intratumoural injection, as the siRNA may be co-purified with the RNA and interfere with downstream enzymatic steps. Based on these results, using primers flanking the siRNA target site should be avoided when measuring knockdown of target mRNA by real-time RT-qPCR.</p

Transitioning Vocational Education and Training in Africa

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. This book takes an expansive view of vocational education and training. Drawing on case studies across rural and urban settings in Uganda and South Africa, the book offers a new way of seeing this through an exploration of the multiple ways in which people learn to have better livelihoods. Crucially, it explores learning that takes place informally online, within farmers’ groups and in public and private education institutions

A rapid and sensitive method to detect siRNA-mediated mRNA cleavage in vivo using 5′ RACE and a molecular beacon probe

Specific detection of mRNA cleavage by 5′RACE is the only method to confirm the knockdown of mRNA by RNA interference, but is rarely reported for in vivo studies. We have combined 5′-RNA-linker-mediated RACE (5′-RLM-RACE) with real-time PCR using a molecular beacon to develop a rapid and specific method termed MBRACE, which we have used to detect small-interfering RNA (siRNA)-induced cleavage of ApoB, RRM1 and YBX1 transcripts in vitro, and ApoB in vivo. When RNA from siRNA-transfected cells was used for 5′-RLM-RACE and a cleavage site-specific molecular beacon probe was included in subsequent real-time PCR analysis, the specific mRNA cleavage product was detected. Detection of siRNA-mediated cleavage was also observed when RNA from mouse liver following administration of ApoB-specific siRNA was analysed, even in cases where ApoB knockdown measured by real-time PCR was <10%. With its sensitivity and specificity, this variation on the 5′RACE method should prove a useful tool to detect mRNA cleavage and corroborate knockdown studies following siRNA use in vivo