Visual Exploration of Formal Requirements for Data Science Demand Analysis

The era of Big Data brings with it the need to develop new skills for managing this heterogenous, complex, large scale knowledge source, to extract its content for effective task completion and informed decision-making. Defining these skills and mapping them to demand is a first step in meeting this challenge. We discuss the outcomes of visual exploratory analysis of demand for Data Sci- entists in the EU, examining skill distribution across key industrial sectors and geolocation for two snapshots in time. Our aim is to translate the picture of skill capacity into a formal specification of user, task and data requirements for de- mand analysis. The knowledge thus obtained will be fed into the development of context-sensitive learning resources to fill the skill gaps recognised

A model for predicting the energy performance of existing buildings upgraded with sustainable technologies

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building.The impact of existing buildings on the environment is increasing. There is the need to realign and focus on achieving true sustainability that considers sustainable technologies for built facilities. However, these technologies with varying functions become outdated over time, thus there is the need to upgrade to match new energy efficiency benchmarks. The sustainable upgrade of existing buildings adopts sustainable technologies to reduce the impact of high energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. This thesis develops a predictive model to estimate energy consumption of existing buildings upgraded with sustainable technologies. The study investigates the types of sustainable technologies, and the relationship between sustainable technologies and building age, and variables impacting energy consumption of existing buildings. A literature review of the need for sustainable development to curb the increasing impact of existing buildings on the environment, including the nature of existing buildings, types of sustainable renovation and related energy savings, drivers of sustainable upgrade, sustainable technologies and barriers to the adoption and application of sustainable technologies is followed by a review of tools used to predict energy consumption of existing buildings improved with sustainable technologies. A conceptual framework for sustainable upgrade is developed to present the determinants of existing buildings and sustainable technologies in predicting the energy consumption through sustainable upgrade. The methodology is a mixed method approach including a questionnaire with in–built case study, interviews and verification through case study. The findings indicate that sustainable technologies adopted to improve existing buildings are less expensive, leading to less energy reduction. Also, sustainable technologies required to improve energy savings only target fairly new buildings with a majority of old buildings not receiving the same investment. The main variables identified as contributing to energy consumption in existing buildings are building size, window area, area of external wall, number of occupants, U–value of ceiling and walls, thickness of insulation and lifespan of sustainable technologies. The main energy saving technologies are lighting technologies, HVAC, renewable energy technologies, envelope technologies, sustainable HVAC equipment and passive technologies. The predictive model combines the main determinants into an energy efficient decision tool to support sustainable upgrade of existing buildings. It makes it possible to calculate expected energy savings from upgrades of existing buildings with sustainable technologies, presenting a clear direction for energy savings which ultimately also translate into cost savings

The impact of banking reforms on competition and efficiency of Ghana’s banking sector

African countries are pursuing financial reforms to address inhibitions to competition and efficiency of their banking sectors. This thesis focuses on Ghana which recently implemented deregulation reforms including the introduction of universal banking, the adoption of an open licensing policy to enhance contestability and competition, and the abolition of secondary reserves; and examines the impact of these reforms on banking competition and efficiency. The study uses a comprehensive and unique panel dataset of 25 banks for the period 2000-2014 which captures the pre- and post-reform periods. The study employs the persistence of profit and Boone indicator models of competition to analyse competitive conditions in the loans market. The empirical results suggest that competition initially increased following the reforms but subsequently declined as a result of macroeconomic weaknesses, in particular high interest rates, which was partly impacted by the indirect effects of the global financial crisis. The study also uses stochastic frontier analysis to examine the efficiency impacts of the reforms, as well as the role of bank ownership and size in influencing efficiency levels. Different deregulation reform indices are constructed using survey data and coding rules from two international databases on banking regulations and reforms, and captured as inefficiency covariates together with ownership and bank size in the one-step Battese-Coelli (1995) model. The findings point to an overall increase in cost efficiency following the reforms although there is non-uniformity in efficiency-impacts from the different policies. Foreign and regional banks are found to be marginally more efficient than private domestic and state-owned banks. Bank size was found to positively impact cost efficiency while the global financial crisis had an adverse impact on efficiency. The policy implications are that for African countries to benefit from financial deregulation reforms, there is the need for the reforms to be anchored on strong macroeconomic fundamentals, institutional initiatives which support these reforms, strong credit environments and appropriate sequencing of reforms

Utilization of Waste Low Density Polyethylene in High Strengths Concrete Pavement Blocks Production

The disposal of waste plastics is causing a great challenge in Ghana and the world as a whole as the usage of plastics is growing day by day and it takes centuries for waste plastics to decompose. Hence, there is the need to adopt effective methods to utilize these plastics.  The main objective of this research was to investigate the feasibility of using waste low density polyethylene as partial replacement for sand in the production of concrete pavement blocks. In this study cement, sand, coarse aggregate, and ground plastic were used. The mix proportion was 1: 1.5: 3 (cement: sand: coarse aggregate). The plastic was used to replace the sand by volume at 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60%. It was observed that density, compressive strength, flexural strength, and splitting tensile strength decreased as the plastic content increased. However, the water absorption increased as the plastic content increased. Compressive strengths level ranging from 14.70N/mm2 – 47.29N/mm2 were achieved when water cement ratios of 0.30 – 0.45 were used. Although, the strengths of the pavement blocks decreased as the plastic content increased, compressive strengths of 20N/mm2, 30N/mm2, and 40N/mm2 which are satisfactory for pedestrians walk ways, light traffic and heavy traffic situations respectively could be achieved if 10% - 50% plastic contents are used. It is concluded that the modified pavement blocks would contribute to the disposal of plastics in the world. Keywords: plastic concrete pavement blocks, water cement ratio, compressive strength, curing age

Resistance to pirimiphos-methyl in West African Anopheles is spreading via duplication and introgression of the Ace1 locus

Vector population control using insecticides is a key element of current strategies to prevent malaria transmission in Africa. The introduction of effective insecticides, such as the organophosphate pirimiphos-methyl, is essential to overcome the recurrent emergence of resistance driven by the highly diverse Anopheles genomes. Here, we use a population genomic approach to investigate the basis of pirimiphos-methyl resistance in the major malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae and A. coluzzii. A combination of copy number variation and a single non-synonymous substitution in the acetylcholinesterase gene, Ace1, provides the key resistance diagnostic in an A. coluzzii population from Côte d’Ivoire that we used for sequence-based association mapping, with replication in other West African populations. The Ace1 substitution and duplications occur on a unique resistance haplotype that evolved in A. gambiae and introgressed into A. coluzzii, and is now common in West Africa primarily due to selection imposed by other organophosphate or carbamate insecticides. Our findings highlight the predictive value of this complex resistance haplotype for phenotypic resistance and clarify its evolutionary history, providing tools to for molecular surveillance of the current and future effectiveness of pirimiphos-methyl based interventions

Parallel Evolution in Mosquito Vectors—A Duplicated Esterase Locus is Associated With Resistance to Pirimiphos-methyl in Anopheles gambiae

The primary control methods for the African malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, are based on insecticidal interventions. Emerging resistance to these compounds is therefore of major concern to malaria control programmes. The organophosphate, pirimiphos-methyl, is a relatively new chemical in the vector control armoury but is now widely used in indoor residual spray campaigns. Whilst generally effective, phenotypic resistance has developed in some areas in malaria vectors. Here, we used a population genomic approach to identify novel mechanisms of resistance to pirimiphos-methyl in Anopheles gambiae s.l mosquitoes. In multiple populations, we found large and repeated signals of selection at a locus containing a cluster of detoxification enzymes, some of whose orthologs are known to confer resistance to organophosphates in Culex pipiens. Close examination revealed a pair of alpha-esterases, Coeae1f and Coeae2f, and a complex and diverse pattern of haplotypes under selection in An. gambiae, An. coluzzii and An. arabiensis. As in Cx. pipiens, copy number variants have arisen at this locus. We used diplotype clustering to examine whether these signals arise from parallel evolution or adaptive introgression. Using whole-genome sequenced phenotyped samples, we found that in West Africa, a copy number variant in Anopheles gambiae is associated with resistance to pirimiphos-methyl. Overall, we demonstrate a striking example of contemporary parallel evolution which has important implications for malaria control programmes

Resistance to pirimiphos-methyl in West African Anopheles is spreading via duplication and introgression of the Ace1 locus

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Grau-Bové et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Vector population control using insecticides is a key element of current strategies to prevent malaria transmission in Africa. The introduction of effective insecticides, such as the organophosphate pirimiphos-methyl, is essential to overcome the recurrent emergence of resistance driven by the highly diverse Anopheles genomes. Here, we use a population genomic approach to investigate the basis of pirimiphos-methyl resistance in the major malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae and A. coluzzii. A combination of copy number variation and a single non-synonymous substitution in the acetylcholinesterase gene, Ace1, provides the key resistance diagnostic in an A. coluzzii population from Côte d’Ivoire that we used for sequence-based association mapping, with replication in other West African populations. The Ace1 substitution and duplications occur on a unique resistance haplotype that evolved in A. gambiae and introgressed into A. coluzzii, and is now common in West Africa primarily due to selection imposed by other organophosphate or carbamate insecticides. Our findings highlight the predictive value of this complex resistance haplotype for phenotypic resistance and clarify its evolutionary history, providing tools to for molecular surveillance of the current and future effectiveness of pirimiphos-methyl based interventions.publishersversionpublishe

Wolbachia endobacteria depletion by doxycycline as antifilarial therapy has macrofilaricidal activity in onchocerciasis: a randomized placebo-controlled study

In a randomized, placebo-controlled trial in Ghana, 67 onchocerciasis patients received 200-mg/day doxycycline for 4–6 weeks, followed by ivermectin (IVM) after 6 months. After 6–27 months, efficacy was evaluated by onchocercoma histology, PCR and microfilariae determination. Administration of doxycycline resulted in endobacteria depletion and female worm sterilization. The 6-week treatment was macrofilaricidal, with >60% of the female worms found dead, despite the presence of new, Wolbachia-containing worms acquired after the administration of doxycycline. Doxycycline may be developed as second-line drug for onchocerciasis, to be administered in areas without transmission, in foci with IVM resistance and in areas with Loa co-infections

Resistance to pirimiphos-methyl in West African Anopheles is spreading via duplication and introgression of the Ace1 locus

Vector population control using insecticides is a key element of current strategies to prevent malaria transmission in Africa. The introduction of effective insecticides, such as the organophosphate pirimiphos-methyl, is essential to overcome the recurrent emergence of resistance driven by the highly diverse Anopheles genomes. Here, we use a population genomic approach to investigate the basis of pirimiphos-methyl resistance in the major malaria vectors Anopheles gambiae and A. coluzzii. A combination of copy number variation and a single non-synonymous substitution in the acetylcholinesterase gene, Ace1, provides the key resistance diagnostic in an A. coluzzii population from Coˆte d’Ivoire that we used for sequence-based association mapping, with replication in other West African populations. The Ace1 substitution and duplications occur on a unique resistance haplotype that evolved in A. gambiae and introgressed into A. coluzzii, and is now common in West Africa primarily due to selection imposed by other organophosphate or carbamate insecticides. Our findings highlight the predictive value of this complex resistance haplotype for phenotypic resistance and clarify its evolutionary history, providing tools to for molecular surveillance of the current and future effectiveness of pirimiphos-methyl based interventions

Genome-wide association studies reveal novel loci associated with pyrethroid and organophosphate resistance in Anopheles gambiae

Resistance to insecticides in Anopheles mosquitoes threatens the effectiveness of malaria control, but the genetics of resistance are only partially understood. We performed a large scale multi-country genome-wide association study of resistance to two widely used insecticides: deltamethrin and pirimiphos-methyl, using sequencing data from An. gambiae and An. coluzzii from ten locations in West Africa. Resistance was highly multi-genic, multiallelic and variable between populations. While the strongest and most consistent association with deltamethrin resistance came from Cyp6aa1, this was based on several independent copy number variants (CNVs) in An. coluzzii, and on a non-CNV haplotype in An. gambiae. For pirimiphos-methyl, signals included Ace1, cytochrome P450s, glutathione S-transferases and the nAChR target site of neonicotinoid insecticides. The regions around Cyp9k1 and the Tep family of immune genes showed evidence of cross-resistance to both insecticides. These locally-varying, multi-allelic patterns highlight the challenges involved in genomic monitoring of resistance, and form the basis for improved surveillance methods