Field efficacy of hermetic and other maize grain storage options under smallholder farmer management

Household grain storage continues to be of paramount importance in improving food security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) where maize postharvest losses of 10-20 % are reported. On-farm trials to compare alternative solutions for reducing household maize storage losses were conducted in the 2014/15 and 2015/16 storage seasons in two contrasting agro-ecological zones in Hwedza district of Zimbabwe. A wide range of treatments including a commercial synthetic pesticide (Shumba super dust®1), unregistered but commonly used botanical pesticides (Aloe ash, Colophospermum mopane leaves, Eleusine coracana (rapoko) chaff, and Ocimum gratissimum), hermetic storage facilities (metal silos, GrainPro Super Grain Bags (SGB) IVR™, Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags), and storage bags with pesticide incorporated into their fabric (ZeroFly® bags), were evaluated. The results demonstrated the superiority of hermetic storage facilities (PICS bags, SGBs, and metal silos) in suppressing insect pest build up, insect grain damage and weight loss in stored maize grain. A newly introduced synthetic pesticide on the Zimbabwean market, Actellic gold dust®, was also evaluated in the 2015/16 season and was found to be highly effective. The following grain storage technologies; hermetic metal silos, SGB bags, PICS bags, and Actellic gold dust® pesticide are therefore recommended for smallholder farmer use to reduce stored grain losses due to insect pests

Farmers’ ethno-ecological knowledge of vegetable pests and pesticidal plant use in Malawi and Zambia

While pests are a major constraint in vegetable production in many parts of Southern Africa, little is known about farmers’ knowledge and management practices. A survey was conducted among 168 and 91 vegetable farmers in Northern Malawi and Eastern Zambia, respectively, to evaluate their knowledge, attitudes and traditional management practices in tomato and crucifers (brassica). All respondents in Malawi and Zambia reported pest damage on tomato and crucifers, and 75% had used synthetic pesticides. The use of pesticidal plants, cultural practices and resistant varieties constituted a smaller portion of the pest control options in both crucifers and tomato. Over 70% of the respondents were aware of pesticidal plants, and more female (75%) than male (55%) respondents reported using them. While over 20 different plant species were mentioned by respondents, Tephrosia vogelii accounted for 61 and 53% of the pesticidal species known to respondents in Malawi and Zambia, respectively. Farmers with small landholdings were more inclined to use pesticidal plants than those with medium and large landholding highlighting the importance of this management alternative for poor farmers. Most respondents were willing to cultivate pesticidal plants, which indicate that farmers understand the potential value of these plants in pest management

Progesterone-dependent induction of phospholipase C-related catalytically inactive protein 1 (PRIP-1) in decidualizing human endometrial stromal cells

Decidualization denotes the transformation of endometrial stromal cells into specialized decidual cells. In pregnancy, decidual cells form a protective matrix around the implanting embryo, enabling coordinated trophoblast invasion and formation of a functional placenta. Continuous progesterone (P4) signaling renders decidual cells resistant to various environmental stressors, whereas withdrawal inevitably triggers tissue breakdown and menstruation or miscarriage. Here, we show that PLCL1, coding phospholipase C (PLC)-related catalytically inactive protein 1 (PRIP-1), is highly induced in response to P4 signaling in decidualizing human endometrial stromal cells (HESCs). Knockdown experiments in undifferentiated HESCs revealed that PRIP-1 maintains basal phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Protein kinase B activity, which in turn prevents illicit nuclear translocation of the transcription factor forkhead box protein O1 and induction of the apoptotic activator BIM. By contrast, loss of this scaffold protein did not compromise survival of decidual cells. PRIP-1 knockdown did also not interfere with the responsiveness of HESCs to deciduogenic cues, although the overall expression of differentiation markers, such as PRL, IGFBP1, and WNT4, was blunted. Finally, we show that PRIP-1 in decidual cells uncouples PLC activation from intracellular Ca2+ release by attenuating inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate signaling. In summary, PRIP-1 is a multifaceted P4-inducible scaffold protein that gates the activity of major signal transduction pathways in the endometrium. It prevents apoptosis of proliferating stromal cells and contributes to the relative autonomy of decidual cells by silencing PLC signaling downstream of Gq protein-coupled receptors

Rethinking the social impacts of the arts

The paper presents a critical discussion of the current debate over the social impacts of the arts in the UK. It argues that the accepted understanding of the terms of the debate is rooted in a number of assumptions and beliefs that are rarely questioned. The paper goes on to present the interim findings of a three‐year research project, which aims to rethink the social impact of the arts, with a view to determining how these impacts might be better understood. The desirability of a historical approach is articulated, and a classification of the claims made within the Western intellectual tradition for what the arts “do” to people is presented and discussed

Impact of the Constitution's Normative Framework on the Interpretation of Provisions of the Companies Act 71 of 2008

Given the intention of section 7(a) of the Companies Act 71 of 2008 (the Act) to promote compliance with the Bill of Rights in the interpretation and application of company law in SA, this article assesses the extent to which the Act actually does this. The article thus seeks to showcase evidence of the Act's intentional alignment with the normative framework of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (the Constitution). The paper does this by answering the question: what are the implications of the Constitution's normative framework on the interpretation and application of the Act? The term "normative framework" is defined, and a distinction is drawn between the descriptive and explanatory social science research questions and the legal research questions which are evaluative and normative in nature. The article provides examples of the contexts in which the intentional alignment of the Act with the Constitution's normative framework is evident. To this extent, commentary is made on the following selected issues: remedies to facilitate the realisation and enjoyment of rights established by company law; the direct and indirect horizontal application of the Bill of Rights to provisions of the Act; and a discernible court's duty to develop the common law as necessary to improve the realisation of the rights established by the Act. A point is made in the article that judicial decisions involving the application of company law must be justified by reference to a cohesive set of values from the Bill of Rights. This is part of transformative constitutionalism. It demands that even commercial law principles should no longer be blindly accepted simply because precedent says so, or for the reason that it is expedient for the purposes of commercial certainty. The article argues that the Act permits the direct horizontal application of the Bill of Rights on its provisions in two stated ways. It is also argued that the Act permits the indirect application of the Bill of Rights through the development of the common law where it is deficient in promoting the spirit, purport and objects of the Bill of Rights. The development of the common law, it is argued, is vital for producing an incremental and cohesive body of constitutionalised common law in the company law context. &nbsp

Bile Acids Trigger GLP-1 Release Predominantly by Accessing Basolaterally Located G Protein-Coupled Bile Acid Receptors.

Bile acids are well-recognized stimuli of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) secretion. This action has been attributed to activation of the G protein-coupled bile acid receptor GPBAR1 (TGR5), although other potential bile acid sensors include the nuclear farnesoid receptor and the apical sodium-coupled bile acid transporter ASBT. The aim of this study was to identify pathways important for GLP-1 release and to determine whether bile acids target their receptors on GLP-1-secreting L-cells from the apical or basolateral compartment. Using transgenic mice expressing fluorescent sensors specifically in L-cells, we observed that taurodeoxycholate (TDCA) and taurolithocholate (TLCA) increased intracellular cAMP and Ca(2+). In primary intestinal cultures, TDCA was a more potent GLP-1 secretagogue than taurocholate (TCA) and TLCA, correlating with a stronger Ca(2+) response to TDCA. Using small-volume Ussing chambers optimized for measuring GLP-1 secretion, we found that both a GPBAR1 agonist and TDCA stimulated GLP-1 release better when applied from the basolateral than from the luminal direction and that luminal TDCA was ineffective when intestinal tissue was pretreated with an ASBT inhibitor. ASBT inhibition had no significant effect in nonpolarized primary cultures. Studies in the perfused rat gut confirmed that vascularly administered TDCA was more effective than luminal TDCA. Intestinal primary cultures and Ussing chamber-mounted tissues from GPBAR1-knockout mice did not secrete GLP-1 in response to either TLCA or TDCA. We conclude that the action of bile acids on GLP-1 secretion is predominantly mediated by GPBAR1 located on the basolateral L-cell membrane, suggesting that stimulation of gut hormone secretion may include postabsorptive mechanisms.Mesoscale GLP-1 immuno assays were performed by Keith Burling and colleagues at the Medical Research Council Metabolic Diseases Unit, Cambridge. Thisworkwas supported by the Wellcome Trust (grants 084 210/Z/07/Z, 088 357/Z/09/Z and 099 825/Z/12/Z) and the MRC (grant MRC_MC_UU_12012/ 3), the Novo Nordisk Center for Basic Metabolic Research (Novo Nordisk Foundation, Denmark) and the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development, and Demonstration Activities (Grant No. 266 408) Juraj Rievaj was supported by an EFSD Albert Renold Travel Fellowship. Ussing chamber equipment was initially kindly lent by Dr. Todd Alexander, Departments of Pediatrics& Physiology, University of Alberta, Canada.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Endocrine Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/en.2015-132

Turning round the telescope. Centre-right parties and immigration and integration policy in Europe

This is an Author's Original Manuscript of 'Turning round the telescope. Centre-right parties and immigration and integration policy in Europe', whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in the Journal of European Public Policy 15(3):315-330, 2008 [copyright Taylor & Francis], available online at: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi.org/10.1080/13501760701847341

THSim v3.2: The Talking Heads simulation tool

The field of language evolution and computation may benefit from using efficient and robust simulation tools that are based on widely exploited principles within the field. The tool presented in this paper is one that could fulfil such needs. The paper presents an overview of the tool -- THSim v3.2 -- and discusses some research questions that can be investigated with it

Joseph Booth, 1892-1919: an evaluation of his life, thought and influence on religion and politics with particular reference to British Central Africa (Malawi) and South Africa

In this dissertation we attempt to assess Booth's life and thought and the influence he exerted in the religious and political history of Central and Southern Africa. Since 1958, when George Shepperson and Thomas Price brought Joseph Booth to the attention of the academic world for the first time, controversy about Booth has continued but there has not yet appeared a major study of his life. This research work is designed to fill this gap, at least partially.The thesis we wish to assert is that although Booth was often deeply involved in doctrinal issues relating to missions, the Sabbath and to a lesser degree, the millennium, it was 'Africa for the African' that was constantly the centre of his attention to the end of his life. Indeed this theme of 'Africa for the Africans' undergirded virtually all his religious and political activities. This belief was grounded in his simple faith as to what was the clear message of the Bible about justice.Starting with the historical context, Chapter I deals briefly with the state and development of religion and politics in South Africa and British Central Africa (Malawi) in the 1890s. The purpose is to examine the socio-political setting which helped to shape Booth's missionary work.Chapter II sketches his life and career to provide a general background to the study of the major themes in his religious and political thought. Chapters III and IV examine in detail his fundamental religious views. It appears that in this area, Booth's approach to Scripture and its interpretation was very close to that of the sixteenth century radicals, the Anabaptists.Chapter V traces the emergence of Watch Tower Millenarianism in Central and South Africa. This section demonstrates that although Booth cannot be seen as a direct founder of the sect, his role nonetheless was not without significance. The men who took the central stage in the development of the movement were a number of his proteges, particularly Elliot Kamwana through whom an African version of the Watch Tower teaching spread in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe.In Chapters VI and VII, an attempt is made to describe and analyze his 'Africa^ for the African' doctrine and show it as a precursor of modern Black Theology of Liberation. The slogan 'Africa for the African' is again assessed to show Booth's role in relation to African nationalism.The dissertation concludes with a case study regarding Booth and the MI5 and the implications that resulted from his pro-African stance, especially as it related to the Defence of the Realm Act 1914, Regulation 14B. The interest taken in him by the British security authorities, together with Booth's advancing years, rapidly curtailed his activities. This did not come, however, before Booth had left a permanent mark on the religious and political history of South and Central Africa

Insect infestation sources in stored maize grain; what is more important resident versus incoming infestation?

Most studies targeted pest control inside stores; incognisant of the population dynamics in the store vicinity; leading to product re-infestation. Distinction between storage insect pest source and sink grain patches is important for effective pest management strategies. We examined the role of resident versus incoming insect infestation in phosphine-fumigated closed or open and unfumigated closed or open maize farm stores. Grain quality measurements were recorded over 32 weeks for two storage seasons. Whether open or closed, fumigated grain had significantly lower (p < 0.001) grain damage and lower grain weight loss (p < 0.05) than unfumigated grain. Fumigated open stores had significantly higher (p= 0.004) grain damage and weight loss than closed ones. Grain damage was higher in unfumigated-closed than fumigated-open, evidence that resident infestation inflicted higher food loss than incoming infestation. Prostephanus truncatus, Cryptolestes ferrugineus and Tribolium castaneum had significantly higher populations (p < 0.001, p = 0.018 and p = 0.001; respectively) at bottom levels of unfumigated and fumigated grain (T. castaneum). Sitotroga cerealella and Sitophilus zeamais were significantly higher (p < 0.001) at the top of closed than open unfumigated compartments. Grain suffers less infestation and quality loss when it is a sink patch than when it is a source patch. Population build-up and ‘settling’ to inflict significant food loss takes longer for incoming compared to resident infestation. These results have ecological implications on postharvest IPM