2,367 research outputs found
Policy Research Study to Determine the Adoption and Integration of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) into Government Policies and Planning Frameworks
No full text114 pagesPlease cite as: Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf), Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) and Quantitative Evidence Research cc (2021) Policy Research Study to Determine the Adoption and Integration of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) into Government Policies and Planning Frameworks. Available at: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11911/249Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) is an important construct in South Africa’s policy discourse as illustrated in key national planning frameworks, such as the National Development Plan (NDP) and the 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI). The White Paper focuses, amongst other things, on the use of STI to accelerate inclusive socio-economic growth and to ensure that all departments working in areas that affect STI are open to innovation uptake and that there is policy coherence across the national innovation system (NSI). The DSI has undertaken twelve (12) Innovation for Inclusive Development (IID) seminars in partnership with the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) to inform and influence the uptake of demonstrated innovation and technologies by other sector departments. However, the integration of these technologies by various government departments in their policies and programmers is unknown. It was on this basis that the DSI and ASSAf commissioned Quantitative Evidence Research to conduct a policy research study to ascertain whether departments are responsive to STI and open to innovation uptake.
The report shares recommendations based on policy document analysis and a survey of twelve (12) sector Departments.Department of Science and Innovation (DSI
Quantitative Ultrasound of Cortical Bone in the Femoral Neck Predicts Femur Strength: Results of a Pilot Study
No full textArticle first published online: 15 JAN 2013 Pour consulter la version éditeur DOI: 10.1002/jbmr.1742A significant risk of femoral neck (FN) fracture exists for men and women with an areal bone mineral density (aBMD) higher than the osteoporotic range, as measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Separately measuring the cortical and trabecular FN compartments and combining the results would likely be a critical aspect of enhancing the diagnostic capabilities of a new technique. Because the cortical shell determines a large part of FN strength a novel quantitative ultrasound (QUS) technique that probes the FN cortical compartment was implemented, aimed at testing the sensitivity of the method to variations of FN cortical properties and FN strength. Nine femurs (women, mean age 83 years) were subjected to QUS to measure the through transmission time-of-flight (TOF) at the FN and mechanical tests to assess strength. Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) scans were performed to enable analysis of the dependence of TOF on bone parameters. DXA was also performed for reference. An ultrasound wave propagating circumferentially in the cortical shell, which TOF was not influenced by the properties of the trabecular compartment Q3, was measured in all specimens. Averaged TOF for nine FN measurement positions/orientations was significantly correlated to strength (R² = 0.79) and FN cortical QCT variables: total BMD (R² = 0.54); regional BMD in the inferoanterior (R² = 0.90) and superoanterior (R² = 0.57) quadrants; and moment of inertia (R² = 0.71). The results of this study demonstrate that QUS can perform a targeted measurement of the FN cortical compartment. Because the method involves mechanical guided waves, the QUS variable is related to the geometric and material properties of the cortical shell (cortical thickness, tissue elasticity, and porosity). This work opens the way to a multimodal QUS assessment of the proximal femur, combining our approach targeting the cortical shell with the existing modality sensitive to the trabecular compartment. In vivo feasibility of our approach has to be confirmed with experimental data in patients
Advocating mixed-methods approaches in health research
No full textThis methods paper provides researchers in Nepal with a broad overview of the practical and philosophical aspects of mixed-methods research. The three authors have a wide-ranging expertise in planning and conducting mixed-methods studies. The paper outlines the different paradigms or philosophies underlying quantitative and qualitative methods and some of the on-going debates about mixed-methods. The paper further highlights a number of practical issues, such as (a) the particular mix and order of quantitative and qualitative methods; (b) the way of integrating methods from different philosophical stance; and (c) how to synthesise mixed-methods findings
Fast identification of biological pathways associated with a quantitative trait using group lasso with overlaps.
No full textWhere causal SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphisms) tend to accumulate within biological pathways, the incorporation of prior pathways information into a statistical model is expected to increase the power to detect true associations in a genetic association study. Most existing pathways-based methods rely on marginal SNP statistics and do not fully exploit the dependence patterns among SNPs within pathways.We use a sparse regression model, with SNPs grouped into pathways, to identify causal pathways associated with a quantitative trait. Notable features of our "pathways group lasso with adaptive weights" (P-GLAW) algorithm include the incorporation of all pathways in a single regression model, an adaptive pathway weighting procedure that accounts for factors biasing pathway selection, and the use of a bootstrap sampling procedure for the ranking of important pathways. P-GLAW takes account of the presence of overlapping pathways and uses a novel combination of techniques to optimise model estimation, making it fast to run, even on whole genome datasets.In a comparison study with an alternative pathways method based on univariate SNP statistics, our method demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity for the detection of important pathways, showing the greatest relative gains in performance where marginal SNP effect sizes are small
Improving interoperability in distributed and physical union catalogues through co-ordination of cataloguing and indexing policies : report for work package B of the JISC CC-interop project
No full textThis report addresses section 7.2.4 (Guidelines and Strategy for Cataloguing and Indexing Standards) of the CC-interop project plan and fulfills deliverable B3 of work
package B
Does fiscal decentralization improve health outcomes? - evidence from a cross-country analysis
No full textDecentralization of fiscal responsibilities has emerged as a primary objective on the agendas of national governments, and international organizations alike. Yet there is little empirical evidence on the potential benefits of this intervention. The authors fill in some quantitative evidence. Using panel data on infant mortality rates, GDP per capita, and the share of public expenditures managed by local governments, they find greater fiscal decentralization is consistently associated with lower mortality rates. The results suggest that the benefits of fiscal decentralization are particularly important for poor countries. They suggest also that the positive effects of fiscal decentralization on infant mortality, are greater in institutional environments that promote political rights. Fiscal decentralization also appears to be a mechanism for improving health outcomes in environments with a high level of ethno-linguistic fractionalization, however, the benefits from fiscal decentralization tend to be smaller.National Governance,Health Economics&Finance,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Theory&Research,Municipal Financial Management
Matching display relative humidity to corrosion rate: Quantitative evidence for marine cast iron cannon balls
No full textCast iron cannon balls excavated from the wreck of King Henry VIII flagship, the Mary Rose, have been actively corroding on mixed material display at 55% relative humidity (RH). A Cardiff University study has examined corrosion rates of cannon balls treated by hydrogen reduction, alkaline sulfite and Hostacor IT. Oxygen consumption of six cannon balls has been measured at five relative humidities between 20% and 60% RH as proxy corrosion rate. Results show a noticeable increase in corrosion rate at 50% to 60% RH and also returned differences in corrosion rates of cannon balls based on previous treatment. Display RH of 55% for showcases containing organic materials and cast iron is found to be unsuitable for the cannon balls and their display in these conditions is not recommended. This has implications for contextual display at the Mary Rose Trust and elsewhere. Further study with greater sample numbers is providing statistical evidence of the effect of treatment regime on corrosion rate to inform decision making for future treatment, display and storage
Evidence of a tick RNAi pathway by comparative genomics and reverse genetics screen of targets with known loss-of-function phenotypes in Drosophila
No full textBackground
The Arthropods are a diverse group of organisms including Chelicerata (ticks, mites, spiders), Crustacea (crabs, shrimps), and Insecta (flies, mosquitoes, beetles, silkworm). The cattle tick, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, is an economically significant ectoparasite of cattle affecting cattle industries world wide. With the availability of sequence reads from the first Chelicerate genome project (the Ixodes scapularis tick) and extensive R. microplus ESTs, we investigated evidence for putative RNAi proteins and studied RNA interference in tick cell cultures and adult female ticks targeting Drosophila homologues with known cell viability phenotype.
Results
We screened 13,643 R. microplus ESTs and I. scapularis genome reads to identify RNAi related proteins in ticks. Our analysis identified 31 RNAi proteins including a putative tick Dicer, RISC associated (Ago-2 and FMRp), RNA dependent RNA polymerase (EGO-1) and 23 homologues implicated in dsRNA uptake and processing. We selected 10 R. microplus ESTs with >80% similarity to D. melanogaster proteins associated with cell viability for RNAi functional screens in both BME26 R. microplus embryonic cells and female ticks in vivo. Only genes associated with proteasomes had an effect on cell viability in vitro. In vivo RNAi showed that 9 genes had significant effects either causing lethality or impairing egg laying.
Conclusion
We have identified key RNAi-related proteins in ticks and along with our loss-of-function studies support a functional RNAi pathway in R. microplus. Our preliminary studies indicate that tick RNAi pathways may differ from that of other Arthropods such as insects
Delphi Method and Nominal Group Techniques in Family Planning and Reproductive Health Research
No full textBoth the Delphi method and nominal group technique
offer structured, transparent and replicable ways of
synthesising individual judgements and have been used
extensively for priority setting and guideline development
in health-related research including reproductive
health. Within evidence-based practice they provide a
means of collating expert opinion where little evidence
exists.They are distinct from many other methods
because they incorporate both qualitative and quantitative
approaches. Both methods are inherently flexible; this
article also discusses other strengths and weaknesses of
these methods
Whole-genome analysis of diverse Chlamydia trachomatis strains identifies phylogenetic relationships masked by current clinical typing
No full textChlamydia trachomatis is responsible for both trachoma and sexually transmitted infections, causing substantial morbidity and economic cost globally. Despite this, our knowledge of its population and evolutionary genetics is limited. Here we present a detailed phylogeny based on whole-genome sequencing of representative strains of C. trachomatis from both trachoma and lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) biovars from temporally and geographically diverse sources. Our analysis shows that predicting phylogenetic structure using ompA, which is traditionally used to classify Chlamydia, is misleading because extensive recombination in this region masks any true relationships present. We show that in many instances, ompA is a chimera that can be exchanged in part or as a whole both within and between biovars. We also provide evidence for exchange of, and recombination within, the cryptic plasmid, which is another key diagnostic target. We used our phylogenetic framework to show how genetic exchange has manifested itself in ocular, urogenital and LGV C. trachomatis strains, including the epidemic LGV serotype L2b
- …
