Taming the ‘trolls’ : major public projects in the making

Major projects are not yet sufficiently understood, and practices in project governance and project management do not yet reflect the current state of knowledge of large, complex projects. In an attempt to understand the reasons, the authors therefore investigated the latest relevant findings documented in three countries: the UK, Norway, and the Netherlands. Their examination of the effect of implementing governance frameworks for public projects in these countries indicates that efforts to improve major projects are giving rewards: Even if complex public projects, the ‘trolls’, become more challenging, efforts to ‘tame’ them are improving. The results of the study show that project planning has improved and cost overruns are reduced. However, recent observations indicate that the effect may wear off remarkably quickly. Hence, the need for continuous improvement and change is prominent. There are fundamental limitations in the use of formal systems as they cannot detect all problems and there are limitations to humans' ability in terms of optimism bias that cannot be eliminated

Aerobic fermentation during tobacco pollen development

In vegetative organs of plants, the metabolic switch from respiration to fermentation is dictated by oxygen availability. The two genes dedicated to ethanolic fermentation, pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase, are induced by oxygen deprivation and the gene products are active under oxygen stress. In pollen, these two genes are expressed in a stage-specific manner and transcripts accumulate to high levels, irrespective of oxygen availability. We have examined the expression pattern of pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase at the protein level in developing pollen and show that the active proteins are localized to the gametophytic tissue and begin to accumulate at microspore mitosis. A flux through the ethanolic fermentation pathway could already be detected very early in pollen development, occurring in all stages from premeiotic buds to mature pollen. This flux was primarily controlled not by oxygen availability, but rather by sugar supply. At a high rate of sugar metabolism, respiration and fermentation took place concurrently in developing and germinating pollen. We propose that aerobic fermentation provides a shunt from pyruvate to acetyl-CoA to accommodate the increased demand for energy and biosynthetic intermediates during pollen development and germination. A possible undesirable side-effect is the potential accumulation of toxic acetaldehyde. Our results support a model for cms-T-type male sterility in maize, in which degeneration of the tapetum is caused by the toxic effects of acetaldehyde on mitochondria weakened by the presence of the URF13 protei

Assessment of Vaccination Coverage of Sheep and Goat using Retrospective Data in Woreda Raya Alamata

A retrospective study using data of the record of the veterinary clinic of Alamata Woreda with the objective of assessment vaccine coverage in the area was conducted from May to June 2014. The data indicated that there was vaccination program for ovine pasteurellosis, sheep and goat pox, pestides petites ruminits and anthrax. The vaccination coverage in the area was very minimal and did not cover the whole livestock population. This might be the reason for the re-occurrence of the disease in different years. Hence, use of high quality and effective vaccines to cover a large number of livestock is essential for the disease mitigation in the area.Keywords: Anthrax, Pasteurellosis, Pest ides petites ruminits, Pox vaccine, Alamata, Tigray, Ethiopia

Tnt1 retrotransposon tagging of STF in Medicago truncatula reveals tight coordination of metabolic, hormonal and developmental signals during leaf morphogenesis

Tnt1 (transposable element if Nicotiana tabaccum cell type 1) is one of the very few active LTR retrotransposons used for gene tagging in plants. In the model legume Medicago truncatula, Tnt1 has been effectively used as a gene knock-out tool to generate several very useful mutants. stenofolia (stf) is such a mutant identified by Tnt1 insertion in a WUSCHEL-like homeobox transcription factor. STF is required for blade outgrowth, leaf vascular patterning and female reproductive organ development in barrel medic and woodland tobacco. Using transcript profiling and metabolite analysis, we uncovered that mutant leaves are compromised in steady-state levels of multiple phytohormones, sugar metabolites and derivatives including flavonoids and polyamines. In the lam1 mutant (caused by deletion of the STF ortholog in Nicotiana sylvestris), while glucose, fructose, mannose, galactose, myo-inositol and aromatic aminoacids are dramatically reduced, sucrose is comparable to wild-type levels, and glutamine, proline, putrescine, nicotine and sorbitol are highly increased. We demonstrated that both stf and lam1 mutants accumulate reduced levels of free auxin and ABA in their leaves, and ectopic expression of STF in tobacco leads to auxin and cytokinin overproduction phenotypes including formation of tumors on the roots and crown. These data suggest that STF mediated integration of metabolic and hormonal signals are required for lateral organ morphogenesis and elaboration

Evaluation of two new-generation global soil databases for macro-scale hydrological modelling in Norway

Lack of national soil property maps limits the studies of soil moisture (SM) dynamics in Norway. One alternative is to apply the global soil data as input for macro-scale hydrological modelling, but the quality of these data is still unknown. The objectives of this study are 1) to evaluate two recent global soil databases (Wise30sec and SoilGrids) in comparison with data from local soil profiles; 2) to evaluate which database supports better model performance in terms of river discharge and SM for three macro-scale catchments in Norway and 3) to suggest criteria for the selection of soil data for models with different complexity. The global soil databases were evaluated in three steps: 1) the global soil data are compared directly with the Norwegian forest soil profiles; 2) the simulated discharge based on the two global soil databases is compared with observations and 3) the simulated SM is compared with three global SM products. Two hydrological models were applied to simulate discharge and SM: the Soil and Water Integrated Model (SWIM) and the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model. The comparison with data from local soil profiles shows that SoilGrids has smaller mean errors than Wise30sec, especially for upper soil layers, but both soil databases have large root mean squared errors and poor correlations. SWIM generally performs better in terms of discharge using SoilGrids than using Wise30sec and the simulated SM has higher correlations with the SM products. In contrast, the VIC model is less sensitive to soil input data and the simulated SM using Wise30sec is higher correlated with the SM products than using SoilGrids. Based on the results, we conclude that the global soil databases can provide reasonable soil property information at coarse resolutions and large areas. The selection of soil input data should depend on the characteristics of both models and study areas.publishedVersio

Effects of meteorological factors on epidemic malaria in Ethiopia: a statistical modelling approach based on theoretical reasoning.

This study was conducted to quantify the association between meteorological variables and incidence of Plasmodium falciparum in areas with unstable malaria transmission in Ethiopia. We used morbidity data pertaining to microscopically confirmed cases reported from 35 sites throughout Ethiopia over a period of approximately 6-7 years. A model was developed reflecting biological relationships between meteorological and morbidity variables. A model that included rainfall 2 and 3 months earlier, mean minimum temperature of the previous month and P. falciparum case incidence during the previous month was fitted to morbidity data from the various areas. The model produced similar percentages of over-estimation (19.7% of predictions exceeded twice the observed values) and under-estimation (18.6%, were less than half the observed values). Inclusion of maximum temperature did not improve the model. The model performed better in areas with relatively high or low incidence (>85% of the total variance explained) than those with moderate incidence (55-85% of the total variance explained). The study indicated that a dynamic immunity mechanism is needed in a prediction model. The potential usefulness and drawbacks of the modelling approach in studying the weather-malaria relationship are discussed, including a need for mechanisms that can adequately handle temporal variations in immunity to malaria

Do We Perform Systematic Literature Review Right? A Scientific Mapping and Methodological Assessment

Background: Systematic literature review (SLR) is increasingly utilized to maximize the element of rigor and minimize the individual bias of research synthesis. An analysis of the Web of Science (WoS) database indicates that 90% of the literature review studies using SLR have been published between 2012 and 2022. However, this progressive agenda is impaired by the lack of methodological consistency and rigorousness. To fill this gap, this paper aims at mapping the theoretical comprehension and practices of SLR and providing a stepwise approach to employing such a framework. Methods: A comprehensive narrative review is used in this paper to analyze the studies concerning the literature review typology and the structural assessment of the SLR. Furthermore, the methodological approach of the literature review studies that adopted the SLR and were published in the Logistics journal is assessed across a set of vital criteria associated with conducting an SLR. Results: There is a concrete link between the purpose of a review, i.e., to describe, test, extend, or critique, and the literature review type. There are 17 distinct literature review types, e.g., a narrative review, a bibliometric analysis, etc., which must be justified meticulously regardless of the SLR. The ambiguity in conceiving the SLR either as a toolkit or a review type, the lack of justification regarding the review purpose and type, and vague conceptual distinguishment between the bibliometric analysis, as a distinct review type, and the SLR framework, are only a few of the shortcomings observed in the analyzed papers. Conclusions: Given the significant role of SLR in elevating the element of rigor within the literature review studies, it is deemed essential to employ this framework by paying attention to two holistic factors: (1) theoretical distinction between the literature review purpose, the literature review type, and the SLR; (2) strict adherence to the SLR procedure with a high degree of accuracy and explicitness

Aerobic fermentation during tobacco pollen development

In vegetative organs of plants, the metabolic switch from respiration to fermentation is dictated by oxygen availability. The two genes dedicated to ethanolic fermentation, pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase, are induced by oxygen deprivation and the gene products are active under oxygen stress. in pollen, these two genes are expressed in a stage-specific manner and transcripts accumulate to high levels, irrespective of oxygen availability. We have examined the expression pattern of pyruvate decarboxylase and alcohol dehydrogenase at the protein level in developing pollen and show that the active proteins are localized to the gametophytic tissue and begin to accumulate at microspore mitosis. A flux through the ethanolic fermentation pathway could already be detected very early in pollen development, occurring in all stages from premeiotic buds to mature pollen. This flux was primarily controlled not by oxygen availability, but rather by sugar supply. At a high rate of sugar metabolism, respiration and fermentation took place concurrently in developing and germinating pollen. We propose that aerobic fermentation provides a shunt from pyruvate to acetyl-CoA to accommodate the increased demand for energy and biosynthetic intermediates during pollen development and germination. A possible undesirable side-effect is the potential accumulation of toxic acetaldehyde. Our results support a model for cms-T-type male sterility in maize, in which degeneration of the tapetum is caused by the toxic effects of acetaldehyde on mitochondria weakened by the presence of the URF13 protein

Public-Private Partnership: A Bibliometric Analysis and Historical Evolution

The broad and extensive application of public-private partnership (PPP), as well as the divergent documented definitions and experiences, have led to a translucent perspective of PPP and strained academia and industry to reach a consensus on the major practice of this concept. Early contractor involvement (ECI), governance tools, and relational contracting are only a few of the frameworks attributed to PPP. This issue has received limited attention from researchers, despite the focus of review studies on different disciplines of PPP. Hence, this paper puts forward the idea of conducting a comprehensive review to not only shed light on the major practice of PPP but also provide a wider outlook on this concept based on the research carried out since 1979. A narrative review is initially accomplished to identify the major drivers and milestones that have contributed to the evolution of PPP. Employing bibliometric analysis in the following phase assists in conducting a multi-dimensional assessment of studies published within the last five decades. The economic and societal practices of PPP throughout its evolution path signified the dominant application of this concept as a business model. The bibliometric analysis revealed that PPP has contributed to various sectors, i.e., urban development, public infrastructure, transportation, health, and education, just to name a few. In addition, economic and organizational management of PPP was revealed as a major research stream that was accompanied by sustainable development. As a matter of fact, economic and environmental sustainability are the major cross-disciplinary elements that form an interplay between the drivers and attributes of PPP. Value for money (VfM), technology, and innovation, along with smart infrastructure (SI) and smart cities (SCs), are identified as the major directions for the future research agenda associated with PPP.Public-Private Partnership: A Bibliometric Analysis and Historical EvolutionpublishedVersio

Demand-aware cooperative content caching in 5G/6G networks with MEC-enabled edges

Today, billions of smart devices are interconnected via wireless networks, leading to large volumes of video contents circulating through the bandwidth-limited backhaul. This causes network performance to deteriorate. As a mitigation mechanism, caching of highly popular contents to network edges is deployed. We propose a cooperative and demand-aware caching strategy, which is modelled using the Separable Assignment Problem, to maximize the cache hit ratio. This problem is solved with a recursive enumeration method, where dynamic programming is used to fill each edge. The extensive application-level evaluations show that the proposed strategy outperforms existing caching policies.The work of Luis Alonso was supported in part by the Spanish Government under Project PID2021-125799OA-I00.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft