Development in Astronomy and Space Science in Africa

The development of astronomy and space science in Africa has grown significantly over the past few years. These advancements make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals more achievable, and open up the possibility of new beneficial collaborations.Comment: Paper published in Nature Astronomy. Figures 1 and 2 are included in the published version, that can be seen at https://rdcu.be/2oE

International Science Programme : Annual Report for 2009

ISP provides long-term support for the development of active and sustainable research environments within these basic sciences in developing countries. The support is directed to research groups and regional networks. The work is carried out in close cooperation with research groups at more advanced host institutions. Although Uppsala University is the base of the operation, ISP functions as a national programme and host laboratories may be at other Swedish universities, in other Nordic and European countries, and in the regions. This is to meet the requests from developing countries on their own terms. ISP funding is used for equipment, spare parts, consumables, technical services, literature, computer hard- and software, and costs associated with arranging and participating in meetings, exchange visits, training, etc. Besides what has been achieved in terms of development and maintenance of resources, contacts, etc., the results of ISP support in 2009 can be summarized based on the expenditures. For each MEUR spent (assuming that one EUR equals 10 SEK) the outcome was: 19 PhD graduations, 59 MSc/MPhil graduations, 45 international publications, 58 regional or national publicationst, 113 conference contributions (34% of which international), and 20 conferences/workshops etc. arranged

Development in astronomy and space science in Africa

The development of astronomy and space science in Africa has grown significantly over the past few years. These advancements make the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals more achievable, and open up the possibility of new beneficial collaborations. © 2018 The Publisher.This paper is dedicated to all of the people who somehow contributed to the development of A&SS in Africa. Without them all of this would not be possible. In addition, this paper was inspired by sessions SS23 and LS7 during the 2018 European Week of A&SS (EWASS). Both sessions were supported by the UK Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK Royal Astronomical Society, International Astronomical Union Office of Astronomy for Development, European Astronomical Society, International Science Programme, and Development in Africa with Radio Astronomy project

Feasibility and Potential of Transcriptomic Analysis Using the NanoString nCounter Technology to Aid the Classification of Rejection in Kidney Transplant Biopsies

Background. Transcriptome analysis could be an additional diagnostic parameter in diagnosing kidney transplant (KTx) rejection. Here, we assessed feasibility and potential of NanoString nCounter analysis of KTx biopsies to aid the classification of rejection in clinical practice using both the Banff-Human Organ Transplant (B-HOT) panel and a customized antibody-mediated rejection (AMR)-specific NanoString nCounter Elements (Elements) panel. Additionally, we explored the potential for the classification of KTx rejection building and testing a classifier within our dataset. Methods. Ninety-six formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded KTx biopsies were retrieved from the archives of the ErasmusMC Rotterdam and the University Hospital Cologne. Biopsies with AMR, borderline or T cell-mediated rejections (BLorTCMR), and no rejection were compared using the B-HOT and Elements panels. Results. High correlation between gene expression levels was found when comparing the 2 chemistries pairwise (r = 0.76-0.88). Differential gene expression (false discovery rate; P < 0.05) was identified in biopsies diagnosed with AMR (B-HOT: 294; Elements: 76) and BLorTCMR (B-HOT: 353; Elements: 57) compared with no rejection. Using the most predictive genes from the B-HOT analysis and the Element analysis, 2 least absolute shrinkage and selection operators-based regression models to classify biopsies as AMR versus no AMR (BLorTCMR or no rejection) were developed achieving an receiver-operating-characteristic curve of 0.994 and 0.894, sensitivity of 0.821 and 0.480, and specificity of 1.00 and 0.979, respectively, during cross-validation. Conclusions. Transcriptomic analysis is feasible on KTx biopsies previously used for diagnostic purposes. The B-HOT panel has the potential to differentiate AMR from BLorTCMR or no rejection and could prove valuable in aiding kidney transplant rejection classification

Activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM/CD166): signaling at the divide of melanoma cell clustering and cell migration?

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