Productivity and growth in organic value chains in East Africa – potentials and challenges for accessing local high value markets

The project ‘Productivity and Growth in Organic Value Chains (ProGrOV)’ is a collaboration between universities in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Denmark addressing the need for sustainable development of smallholder farming systems in East Africa with focus on value chains for local high-value markets as well as export chains. While some research has focused on improving productivity and Natural Resource Management of smallholder farmers in Eastern Africa this has most often not been linked with studies of how to link improved production to market access and quality demands. NGO’s have demonstrated the synergy of supporting ecological intensification through improved marketing and innovation capacity of groups of smallholder farmers but only very few research projects have studied this potential synergy (Pali et al., 2007; Hawkins et al., 2009; Høgh-Jensen et al., 2010). ProGrOV contributes to the development of a platform of scientific capacity and evidence on potentials of organic value chains and agroecological approaches to agricultural development

Classroom Etiquette, Social Behavior and the Academic Performance of College of Teacher Education Students at the Laguna State Polytechnic University, Los Baños Campus, A.Y. 2015-2016

This study aimed to determine the significant relationship between students’ classroom etiquette, students’ social behaviour and their academic performance of College of Teacher Education students at Laguna State Polytechnic University, Los Baños Campus, Academic Year 2015-2016. Descriptive correlational research design was employed in this study. The respondents of the study were the 207 Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEd) and Bachelor of Elementary Education students (BEEd) from second year, third year and fourth year level. A valid survey questionnaire on acceptability of students’ classroom etiquette and social behavior was utilized. Mean and Chi-square were used as statistical tools. Results revealed that students’ classroom etiquette is slightly acceptable with a mean of 1.25 as well as social behavior with a mean of 2.72. Most of the respondents GWA is range form 1.75-2.00. The results determined that a significant relationship was found between the level of acceptability of students’ classroom etiquette and academic performance with the pvalue of 0.002 as well as social behavior and academic performance of the respondents with the p-value of 0.000. The researcher concluded that the students’ classroom etiquette and social behavior affect their academic performance. Those with higher level of acceptability of etiquette and social behavior performed better academically. The researchers recommended the continuous implementation of proper classroom etiquette by instructors. Seminars on values formation and social behavior may be conducted by the College to deepen the students’ values as future educators. Further study is also recommended by the researchers since it is limited only in theCollege of Teacher Education. Keywords: Academic Performance, Classroom Etiquette, Social Behavio

Infrared Spectroscopy of GX 1+4/V2116 Oph: Evidence for a Fast Red Giant Wind?

We present infrared spectroscopy of the low-mass X-ray binary GX 1+4/V2116 Oph. This symbiotic binary consists of a 2-min accretion-powered pulsar and an M5 III red giant. A strong He I 1.083 micron emission line with a pronounced P Cygni profile was observed. From the blue edge of this feature, we infer an outflow velocity of 250(50) km/s. This is an order of magnitude faster than a typical red giant wind, and we suggest that radiation from the accretion disk or the neutron star may contribute to the acceleration of the outflow. We infer a wind mass loss rate of around 10^-6 Msun/yr. Accretion from such a strong stellar wind provides a plausible alternative to Roche lobe overflow for supplying the accretion disk which powers the X-ray source. The H I Paschen beta and He I 1.083 micron lines showed no evidence for the dramatic changes previously reported in some optical lines, and no evidence for pulsations at the 2-min pulsar period.Comment: 11 pages including 2 PS figures. To appear in ApJ Letter

Lythraceae

Hierbas, sufrútices o arbustos de hojas opuestas, raro verticiladas o alternas, simples, enteras, sésiles o brevemente pecioladas. Flores solitarias o en cimas axilares o espigas apicales. Cíclicas, zigomorfas o actinomorfas, perfectas. Tálamo tubuloso o hipocraterimorfo, persistente a la fructificación. Cáliz 4-6-lobado, emplazado en el ápice del tálamo, simple o con apéndices intersepálicos. Pétalos 4-6, iguales o desiguales, a veces vestigiales o ausentes por aborto, libres, base angostada hasta pseudopecioliforme, nervios notorios, base soldada entre los lóbulos del cáliz en el ápice del tálamo. Estambres 4-12 (-22), heterodínamos, base de los filamentos soldadas a la cara interna del tálamo, desde muy cortos (doble o triple de la long. de las anteras) hasta muy largos; anteras dorsifijas, bitécicas, dehiscencia longitudinal. Disco glandular anular o dorsal asimétrico, raro ausente, en la base del ovario súpero, 2-carpelar, 1-2-locular, placentación central, axial o basal. Ovulos pocos a numerosos. Estilo corto o largo atenuándose hacia el ápice en un estigma esférico o agudo inconspicuo. Cápsula membranácea protegida por el tálamo persistente, 1-2-locular, indehiscente o de dehiscencia diversa. Semillas pequeñas, pocas a numerosas, orbicular-aplanadas hasta prismático-alargadas, veces aladas, exalbuminadas

Geraniaceae

Hierbas anuales a perennes, muy ramificadas en la base, a veces acaules. Tallos desde postrados hasta erectos, pubescentes. Hojas estipuladas, simples (desde lobadas a pinnatipartidas) o pinnaticompuestas (raro bipinnatisectas). Pedúnculos bifloros (en ocasiones unifloros), o cimas umbeliformes terminales o axilares hasta de 10 flores. Flores actinomorfas. Sépalos 5, imbricados, múticos o mucronados, desiguales: 3 mayores muy pubescentes y los otros 2 glabrescentes, persistentes y algo acrescentes en el fruto. Pétalos 5, unguiculados y caedizos. Nectarios 5, alterni-pétalos. Estambres 10, en 2 ciclos, todos fértiles o el ciclo externo transformado en estaminodios; filamentos ensanchados, raro connados en la base; anteras versátiles. Ovario súpero, 5-carpelar, 5-locular, cada lóculo con 2 óvulos anátropos, péndulos y ± superpuestos; estilos 5 unidos en un rostro; ramas estigmáticas filiformes. Fruto esquizocárpico (regma), a la madurez se separa en 5 mericarpos monospermos, cada uno adherido al rostro estilar que se arquea o enrolla. Semillas exendospermadas; episperma foveolado o reticulado. Embrión curvo; cotiledones peciolados, foliáceos, obvolutos, con margen revoluto, mayores que la radícula cónica

Estimulación vagal en el tratamiento de la epilepsia

The vagal nerve stimulation is a new technique for the treatment of drug resistant epilepsies. DEVELOPMENT: In 1997, it was approved in United States by the FDA to be used in adults with refractory focal epilepsies not candidates for epilepsy surgery. Its mechanism of action is unknown. The results in the controlled studies indicated a decrease of 30 50% in the seizure frequency in around 50% of the patients. Although more experience is needed to corroborate these results, it seems reasonable as a treatment for patients with difficult epilepsies, especially when the response to the antiepileptic drugs is poor or they are producing secondary effects, and the resection of the focus is not possible

Gene deficiency in activating Fcγ receptors influences the macrophage phenotypic balance and reduces atherosclerosis in mice

Immunity contributes to arterial inflammation during atherosclerosis. Oxidized low-density lipoproteins induce an autoimmune response characterized by specific antibodies and immune complexes in atherosclerotic patients. We hypothesize that specific Fcγ receptors for IgG constant region participate in atherogenesis by regulating the inflammatory state of lesional macrophages. In vivo we examined the role of activating Fcγ receptors in atherosclerosis progression using bone marrow transplantation from mice deficient in γ-chain (the common signaling subunit of activating Fcγ receptors) to hyperlipidemic mice. Hematopoietic deficiency of Fcγ receptors significantly reduced atherosclerotic lesion size, which was associated with decreased number of macrophages and T lymphocytes, and increased T regulatory cell function. Lesions of Fcγ receptor deficient mice exhibited increased plaque stability, as evidenced by higher collagen and smooth muscle cell content and decreased apoptosis. These effects were independent of changes in serum lipids and antibody response to oxidized low-density lipoproteins. Activating Fcγ receptor deficiency reduced pro-inflammatory gene expression, nuclear factor-κB activity, and M1 macrophages at the lesion site, while increasing anti-inflammatory genes and M2 macrophages. The decreased inflammation in the lesions was mirrored by a reduced number of classical inflammatory monocytes in blood. In vitro, lack of activating Fcγ receptors attenuated foam cell formation, oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory gene expression, and increased M2-associated genes in murine macrophages. Our study demonstrates that activating Fcγ receptors influence the macrophage phenotypic balance in the artery wall of atherosclerotic mice and suggests that modulation of Fcγ receptor-mediated inflammatory responses could effectively suppress atherosclerosis

Respiratory Rate Derived from Pulse Photoplethysmographic Signal by Pulse Decomposition Analysis

A novel technique to derive respiratory rate from pulse photoplethysmographic (PPG) signals is presented. It exploits some morphological features of the PPG pulse that are known to be modulated by respiration: amplitude, slope transit time, and width of the main wave, and time to the first reflected wave. A pulse decomposition analysis technique is proposed to measure these features. This technique allows to decompose the PPG pulse into its main wave and its subsequent reflected waves, improving the robustness against noise and morphological changes that usually occur in long-term recordings. Proposed methods were evaluated with a data base containing PPG and plethysmography-based respiratory signals simultaneously recorded during a paced-breathing experiment. Results suggest that normal ranges of spontaneous respiratory rate (0.1-0.5 Hz) can be accurately estimated (median and interquartile range of relative error less than 5%) from PPG signals by using the studied features

Rna Interference As A Gene Silencing Tool To Control Tuta Absoluta In Tomato (solanum Lycopersicum)

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)RNA interference (RNAi), a gene-silencing mechanism that involves providing double stranded RNA molecules that match a specific target gene sequence, is now widely used in ftinctional genetic studies. The potential application of RNAi-mediated control of agricultural insect pests has rapidly become evident. The production of transgenic plants expressing dsRNA molecules that target essential insect genes could provide a means of specific gene silencing in larvae that feed on these plants, resulting in larval phenotypes that range from loss of appetite to death, In this report, we show that the tomato leafminer (Tuta absoluta) a major threat to commercial tomato production, can be targeted by RNAi. We selected two target genes ( Vacuolar ATPase-A and Arginine kinase) based on the RNAi response reported for these genes in other pest species. In view of the lack of an artificial diet for T. absoluta, we used two approaches to deliver dsRNA into tomato leaflets. The first approach was based on the uptake of dsRNA by leaflets and the second was based on "in planta-induced transient gene silencing" (PITGS), a well-established method for silencing plant genes, used here for the first time to deliver in planta-transcribed dsRNA to target insect genes. Tuta absoluta larvae that fed on leaves containing dsRNA of the target genes showed an similar to 60% reduction in target gene transcript accumulation, an increase in larval mortality and less leaf damage. We then generated transgenic `Micro-Tom' tomato plants that expressed hairpin sequences for both genes and observed a reduction in foliar damage by T absoluta in these plants. Our results demonstrate the feasibilityof RNAi as an alternative method for controlling this critical tomato pest.4Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo - FAPESP [2011/12869-6, 2010/11313-1]CAPES fellowshipCNPq (Brazilian National Research Council)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq