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Abstract Background Evidence briefs for policy (EBP) draw on best-available data and research evidence (e.g., systematic reviews) to help clarify policy problems, frame options for addressing them, and identify implementation considerations for policymakers in a given context. An increasing number of governments, non-governmental organizations and research groups have been developing EBP on a wide variety of topics. However, the reporting characteristics of EBP vary across organizations due to a lack of internationally accepted standard reporting guidelines. This project aims to develop a STandard reporting guideline of Evidence briefs for Policy (STEP), which will encompass a reporting checklist and a STEP statement and a user manual. Methods We will refer to and adapt the methods recommended by the EQUATOR (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) network. The key actions include: (1) developing a protocol; (2) establishing an international multidisciplinary STEP working group (consisting of a Coordination Team and a Delphi Panel); (3) generating an initial draft of the potential items for the STEP reporting checklist through a comprehensive review of EBP-related literature and documents; (4) conducting a modified Delphi process to select and refine the reporting checklist; (5) using the STEP to evaluate published policy briefs in different countries; (6) finalizing the checklist; (7) developing the STEP statement and the user manual (8) translating the STEP into different languages; and (9) testing the reliability through real world use. Discussion Our protocol describes the development process for STEP. It will directly address what and how information should be reported in EBP and contribute to improving their quality. The decision-makers, researchers, journal editors, evaluators, and other stakeholders who support evidence-informed policymaking through the use of mechanisms like EBP will benefit from the STEP. Registration We registered the protocol on the EQUATOR network. ( https://www.equator-network.org/library/reporting-guidelines-under-development/#84 )

In response to the climate change, it is essential to provide smallholder farmers with improved field crop genotypes that may increase the resilience of their farming system. This requires a fast turnover of varieties in a system capable of injecting significant amounts of genetic diversity into productive landscapes. Crop improvement is a pivotal strategy to cope with and adapt to climate change. Modern breeding may rely on the genomics revolution to speed up the development of new varieties with adaptive potential. However, centralized breeding may not adequately address smallholder farmers’ needs for more locally acclimatized varieties or groups of varieties. This, in turn, constrains adoption of new varieties that reduces the effectiveness of a resource-intensive breeding process, an issue that may be overcome with participatory, decentralized approaches. Whether high-tech centralized breeding or decentralized participatory approaches are better suited for smallholder farmers in the global South is hotly debated. Sidestepping any false dichotomies and ideological issues in these debates, this review provides a perspective on relevant advances in a breeding approach that combines the two approaches and uses genomics for trait mining from ex situ collections of genetic materials, participatory multilocation trials and crowdsourced citizen science. It argues that this new combination of high-tech centralized and participatory decentralized methods can provide a coherent and effective approach to breeding for climate adaptation and the present review advocates on a different way forward for the future research.

Abstract Smallholder farming communities face highly variable climatic conditions that threaten locally adapted, low-input agriculture. The benefits of modern crop breeding may fail to reach their fields when broadly adapted genetic materials do not address local requirements. To date, participatory methods only scratched the surface of the exploitability of farmers’ traditional knowledge in breeding. In this study, 30 smallholder farmers in each of two locations in Ethiopia provided quantitative evaluations of earliness, spike morphology, tillering capacity and overall quality on 400 wheat genotypes, mostly traditional varieties, yielding altogether 192,000 data points. Metric measurements of ten agronomic traits were simultaneously collected, allowing to systematically break down farmers’ preferences on quantitative phenotypes. Results showed that the relative importance of wheat traits differed by gender and location. Farmer traits were variously contributed by metric traits, and could only partially be explained by them. Eventually, farmer trait values were used to produce a ranking of the 400 wheat varieties identifying the trait combinations most desired by farmers. The study scale and methods lead to a better understanding of the quantitative basis of Ethiopian smallholder farmer preference in wheat, broadening the discussion for the future of local, sustainable breeding efforts accommodating farmers’ knowledge.

Septoria tritici blotch (STB) is a devastating fungal disease affecting durum and bread wheat cultivation worldwide. The identification, development, and employment of resistant wheat genetic material is the key to overcoming costs and limitations of fungicide treatments. The search for resistance sources in untapped genetic material may speed up the deployment of STB genetic resistance in the field. Ethiopian durum wheat landraces represent a valuable source of such diversity. In this study, 318 Ethiopian durum wheat genotypes, for the most part traditional landraces, were phenotyped for resistance to different aspects of STB infection. Phenology, yield and yield component traits were concurrently measured the collection. Here we describe the distribution of STB resistance traits in modern varieties and in landraces, and the relation existing between STB resistance and other agronomic traits. STB resistance sources were found in landraces as well as in modern varieties tested, suggesting the presence of alleles of breeding relevance. The genetic material was genotyped with more than 16 thousand genome-wide polymorphic markers to describe the linkage disequilibrium and genetic structure existing within the panel of genotypes, and a genome-wide association (GWA) study was run to allow the identification of genomic loci involved in STB resistance. High diversity and low genetic structure in the panel allowed high efficiency GWA. The GWA scan detected five major putative QTL for STB resistance, only partially overlapping those already reported in the wheat literature. We report four putative loci for Septoria resistance with no match in previous literature: two highly significant ones on Chr 3A and 5A, and two suggestive ones on Chr 4B and 5B. Markers underlying these QTL explained as much as 10% of the phenotypic variance for disease resistance. We found three cases in which putative QTL for agronomic traits overlapped marker trait association deriving from STB GWA. Our results show that the Ethiopian untapped allelic diversity bears a great value in studying the molecular basis of STB resistance and in breeding for resistance in local and international material.

Smallholder agriculture involves millions of farmers worldwide. A methodical utilization of their traditional knowledge in modern breeding efforts may help the production of locally adapted varieties better addressing their needs. In this study, a combination of participatory approaches, genomics, and quantitative genetics is used to trace the genetic basis of smallholder farmer preferences of durum wheat traits. Two smallholder communities evaluated 400 Ethiopian wheat varieties, mostly landraces, for traits of local interest in two locations in the Ethiopian highlands. For each wheat variety, farmers provided quantitative evaluations of their preference for flowering time, spike morphology, tillering capacity, and overall quality. Ten agronomic and phenology traits were simultaneously measured on the same varieties, providing the means to compare them with farmer traits. The analysis of farmer traits showed that they were partially influenced by gender and location but were repeatable and heritable, in some cases more than metric traits. The durum wheat varieties were genotyped for more than 80,000 SNP markers, and the resulting data was used in a genome wide association (GWA) study providing the molecular dissection of smallholder farmers' choice criteria. We found 124 putative quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling farmer traits and 30 putative QTL controlling metric traits. Twenty of such QTL were jointly identified by farmer and metric traits. QTL derived from farmer traits were in some cases dependent on gender and location, but were consistent throughout. The results of the GWA study show that smallholder farmers' traditional knowledge can yield QTL eluding metric measurements of phenotypes. We discuss the potential of including farmer evaluations based on traditional knowledge in crop breeding, arguing for the utilization of this untapped resource to develop better adapted genetic materials for local agriculture.

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Steam power plant (SPP) is the most popular power plant and the largest power generator in Indonesia. SPP uses coal as fuel to produce heat energy. The coal that is taken and used by the SPP must be in accordance with the boiler specifications. However, at the end of 2021, Indonesia experienced a coal shortage crisis, forcing SPP to use a lower coal calorific value specification than usual. Therefore, there is a slagging phenomenon in the wall tube which makes the reliability value of the generator worse. The reliability performance of a power plant can be determined from the calculation of the Net Plant Heat Rate (NPHR). NPHR is a value that represents the amount of energy used to produce electrical energy by a generator. The greater the NPHR value indicates that the boiler efficiency worsen. This is because it used more amount of energy to make 1 kW than usual. To overcome the slagging phenomenon that increases the NPHR value, boiler maintenance companies did an injection of coal additive CORINT PC 99 in the combustion chamber and coal silo. Thus the AFT value of coal is getting higher and the slag will collapse from the wall tube. If this happens, it is expected that the heat transfer from the combustion chamber to the walltube will be better and the NPHR value will decreases. After calculation, the injection of coal additives made the NPHR value increase by 4.08% which indicates that the treatment had no significant impact. However, the success parameter of coal additive injection is not only from the NPHR value but also from the amount of slag that falls and the hardness of the fallen slag. According to these 2 parameters, the injection of coal additive has succeeded in collapsing the slag and softening the slag attached to the walltube therefore it is easier to be cleaned by soot blower. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several road sections have failed due to volume changes of expansive soils during moisture variation. While there are various common stabilization techniques, the use of agricultural byproducts in stabilization works can minimize costs and environmental effects when compared to ordinary stabilization methods. This paper discusses an experimental approach used to study the influence of lupine hull ash on expansive soil as a subgrade material. The laboratory results show that the expansive soils belong to A-7-5 and CH classes according to AASHTO and USCS, respectively. The expansive soil was mixed with varying concentrations of lupine hull ash, namely, 3%, 6%, 9%, and 12%. The plasticity index and free swell index were reduced by 68.19% and 62.67%, respectively, when treated with a 12% lupine hull ash concentration. The compaction test revealed a decrement of MDD and increment in OMC values as the percentage of the stabilizer material increased. Additionally, the UCS and CBR values increased significantly as the concentration of the expansive soil increased. The mineralogical analysis showed that the untreated soil is composed of 46.2% silica, 28.7% montmorillonite, and 25.1% kaolinite minerals. The SEM and XRD analysis proved the microstructural and mineralogical changes when the expansive soil is mixed with the optimum lupine hull ash concentration. While the CBR value of natural soil is unsuitable for subgrade material, mixing it with a 9% concentration of lupine hull ash ensures that the expansive soil complies with the standard as subgrade material. The experimental findings of this study emphasize the suitability of lupine hull ash for treating expansive soil encountered in rural road construction works.

Though engaging communities in research processes has several advantages and implications, research efforts are poorly embedded in and linked with communities, especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). There is also a need for more empirical evidence on effectively engaging communities in research in LMICs, specifically in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Thus, there is an urgent need to synthesize existing evidence on community engagement experiences in research in SSA. Therefore, this review aimed to synthesize the existing community engagement experiences and related barriers to engaging communities in health research focusing on infectious diseases of poverty in SSA. The systematic review was conducted following the JBI methodology for qualitative systematic reviews. The review included both published and unpublished studies. A thematic analysis approach was used for data synthesis. A total of 40 studies were included in the review. Community engagement in the conceptualization of the research project, analysis, dissemination, and interpretation of the result was rare. On top of this, almost all the research projects engaged the community at a lower level of engagement (i.e., informing or consulting the community at some point in the research process), suggesting the importance of integrating communities in the entire research cycle. The lack of shared control over the research by the community was one of the significant challenges mentioned. This review uncovered that community engagement in the research process is minimal. Nevertheless, the review generated valuable evidence that can inform researchers and research stakeholders to promote effective community engagement in the research process addressing infectious diseases of poverty. Despite these, it requires rigorous primary studies to examine the applicability and usefulness of community engagement, including developing valid metrics of engagement, standardizations of reporting community engagements, and views and understandings of communities and stakeholders on the values, expectations, and concepts of community engagement in research.

Abstract Background The serum lipid and immunohematological values of tuberculosis lymphadenitis (TBLN) patients is poorly documented relative to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the serum lipid and immunohematological values of patients with TBLN in comparison with PTB (PTB) patients. Methods An institution-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Northwest Ethiopia from March to December 2021. The study participants were bacteriologically confirmed PTB (n = 82) and TBLN (n = 94) cases with no known comorbidity and whose ages was greater than 18 years and with no current pregnancy. Independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, box plot, and correlation matrix were used to analyze the data. Results The body mass index (BMI), CD4 + T cell count, and high-density lipoprotein-Cholesterol (HDL-C) values were significantly higher among TBLN cases compared with PTB cases. Additionally, the total white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb), total Cholesterol (CHO) and creatinine (Cr) values were relatively higher among TBLN than PTB (P > 0.05). On the reverse, the platelet count and triacylglycerol (TAG) values were relatively higher among PTB than in TBLN cases. While the mean days of culture positivity were 11.6 days for TBLN, the mean days of culture positivity were 14.0 days for PTB. Anemia and serum lipid values showed no correlation with sputum bacilli load and time to culture positivity. Conclusion Tuberculous lymphadenitis patients were well-endowed with serum lipid, immunological and nutritional status compared with PTB cases. Hence, the high incidence rate of TBLN in Ethiopia could not be explained by low peripheral immunohematological values, malnutrition, Anemia, and dyslipidemia. Further study for identifying the predictors for TBLN in Ethiopia is highly desirable.

AbstractEfficient conservation and subsequent utilization of genetic resources are primarily dependent on the strength in the assessment of variation among genotypes. An experiment was carried out aiming at determining the extent of phenotypic variability present in a panel of 320 barley genotypes and identifying candidate lines for further evaluation in improvement programs and successive utilization. It was conducted at two locations in Ethiopia, Aris Negelle and Holetta in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 cropping seasons. Among the best 30 lines for grain yield across all the environments, lines from farmers’ varieties constitute 73% and lines that mature in less than 85 days were identified. Based on the spike row number, the best-performing lines combined across all the environments were six-rowed types. Based on the two years’ data at Arsi Negelle the two-rowed spike type dominates, and at Holetta the six-rowed type. After principal component analysis, the first three PCs with an eigenvalue greater than one explained 70% of the variation. The correlation coefficient between grain and biomass yield was significant and though low (r = 0.38***). Significant, high, and negative correlation coefficient (−0.72***) was observed between 1000 kernel weight and the number of seeds per spike. A positive correlation between biomass and grain yield attracts farmers as a feed and food crop as it has also been signified in the current research. Having the improved barley gene pool largely from international sources, combining the improved materials with farmers’ varieties may minimize the existing gap between the local and improved barley gene pool.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) that play an important role in the life cycle of human viruses. We sought to characterize human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1)-encoded miRNAs and determine their role in viral replication. Initially, a bioinformatic analysis was used to predict HIV-1-encoded miRNAs. Next, a representative number of these predicted sequences were verified using a miRNA microarray chip, reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR), and the deep sequencing of RNA extracted from HIV-1-infected cells. Eight HIV-1-encoded sncRNA sequences conforming to the criteria that define miRNAs were identified in HIV-1-infected immortalized T cells and human primary CD4+ lymphocytes; five of the eight sequences have not been previously reported. Deep sequencing validated the presence of these virus-encoded miRNA sequences and uncovered large numbers of atypical sncRNA sequences, lacking characteristics of conventional miRNAs. We named these sequences small RNAs (smRNAs). The overexpression of four candidate HIV-1-encoded miRNAs and silencing of two smRNAs significantly increased HIV-1 viral replication. Our study uncovered novel HIV-1-encoded sncRNAs that, upon deregulated expression, alter viral titers in HIV-1-infected cells, suggesting that miRNAs and smRNAs play an important role in regulating viral replication. Future studies may reveal the function of HIV-1-encoded sncRNAs and their possible implications for diagnosis and treatment.

Aim and Background: Women with marital conflict have less resilience in their lives, for this reason, the present study was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the therapeutic package of originality in the three worlds based on Rollo May existential theory on the resilience of women with marital conflict. Methods and Materials: The current research method was quantitative and of the type of quasi-experimental studies and pre-test and post-test design with a control group and a two-month follow-up period. The statistical population of this study included women who refer to the psychological clinics of Isfahan city, from which 26 were selected by convenience sampling method and randomly placed in two experimental and control groups. Resilience questionnaires were used to collect information. The experimental group received the therapeutic package during 14 sessions of 75 minutes, and the control group did not receive any intervention during this period. Data analysis was done with spss-24 software and with the statistical method of analysis of variance with repeated measures and chi-square test at the level of 0.05. Findings: Based on the chi-square test, no significant difference was observed in terms of age, education, and job between the two groups (P

The vegetative coverage throughout the world is rapidly changing, which also directly affects the land degradation. Therefore, this study was intended to investigate the vegetation vulnerability analysis triggered by land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics as an indicator of land degradation conditions using Remote Sensing and GIS in Guna-tana watershed. Trend studies and cross-sectional research design was employed, which produces data from the population at a particular point in time and to examine patterns of change with a mixed research approach to examine the degree of influence to measure the sensitivity analysis. A multi-criteria decision evaluation was used to create a vegetation vulnerability map for the research area. The vulnerability model was run using four sets of parameters: closeness to the road, slope, settlement closeness, and land use planning. Landsat imageries of 1995 and 2020 was used to conduct a comparative study of land use pattern. The study area has experienced a sequence of land degradation from 1995 to 2020, according to the results of multitemporal data. Agricultural and built-up lands have increased throughout this time, while forest and shrub land has decreased. The vegetation vulnerability of the area also shows that 19.23% extreme vulnerable and 67.03% very strongly vulnerable which is more than 80% of the area is highly vulnerable to vegetation. Vegetation suitability and land management evaluation is critical for determining the risk of land deterioration, that shows the adverse effects on ecological elements due to a decrease in metabolic capacity and patch disintegration processes.

Abstract This study provides one of the earliest examples of fruit tree cultivation worldwide, demonstrating that olive (Olea europaea) and fig (Ficus carica) horticulture was practiced as early as 7000 years ago in the Central Jordan Valley, Israel. It is based on the anatomical identification of a charcoal assemblage recovered from the Chalcolithic (7200–6700 cal. BP) site of Tel Tsaf. Given the site’s location outside the wild olive’s natural habitat, the substantial presence of charred olive wood remains at the site constitutes a strong case for horticulture. Furthermore, the occurrence of young charred fig branches (most probably from pruning) may indicate that figs were cultivated too. One such branch was 14C dated, yielding an age of ca. 7000 cal. BP. We hypothesize that established horticulture contributed to more elaborate social contracts and institutions since olive oil, table olives, and dry figs were highly suitable for long-distance trade and taxation.

The participatory method is supported by the recent expansion of the Ethiopian agricultural extension system through technological scaling-up or the implementation of best practices for technology transfer at larger stages. Agricultural extension workers are active in a number of agricultural and rural development initiatives. This study was a thorough effort that intended to examine the competence level and determinant aspects of the competence development agent’s (DA) level. The investigation was done in the East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. The research included both qualitative and quantitative research designs. Six main skill areas were determined using information from the literature research and the regional state council’s job description for DAs. In this study, 149 DAs from four districts participated as respondents. Ordinal logistic regression analysis was utilized to assess the important parameters influencing DA competency and motivation. According to the mean score findings, DAs performed above average in the communication and program implementation competence categories, with total mean scores of 3.51 and 3.24, respectively. Furthermore, they scored below average in the remaining four competency categories, with information communication technology (ICT) scoring the lowest with a mean score of 1.94. According to the regression model, independent variables such as education level, relationship with coworkers and farmers, supervisor’s visit, and appraisal have a substantial influence on extension agent competency. As a result, competence-specific on-the-job training should be structured to meet the short-term demands of DAs. As the finding suggests, building social capital and investing in education through curriculum development seem more important than interventions to sustain the agricultural extension competencies of DAs. Moreover, digitalizing the extension system could have promising outcomes as most of the DAs are young and their ICT competence has been recorded as higher compared to the older DAs.

Sepiolite is a naturally occurring clay mineral of sedimentary origin and is a magnesium hydro silicate. Sepiolite has been widely used as an additive raw material in ceramics and cement industry, pharmaceutical, cleaning-detergent, paper, paint, cosmetic agriculture, fertilizer. In this study, the natural radioactivity levels, radon emanation coefficients and radon exhalation rates of 30 sepiolite samples collected from open three sepiolite quarries (Beylikova, Polath and Sivrihisar) in Central Anatolia region of Turkey were determined by using a gamma-ray spectrometry with an HPGe detector. The average absorbed gamma dose rates directly measured in Beylikova, Polath and Sivrihisar open three sepiolite quarries located in Central Anatolia region of Turkey were found as 59,65, and 64 nGyh-1, respectively. The average activity concentrations of 226Ra, 232Th, and 40K in 30 sepiolite samples collected from those quarries were found as 38.6, 12.4, and 67.4 Bqkg-1, respectively. The average emanation coefficient and exhalation rate of radon of sepiolite samples were determined as 22 % and 0.065 Bqkg-1-h, respectively. Also, radiological parameters (outdoor absorbed gamma dose rate, annual effective dose rate, external and internal index) were estimated to evaluate the use of sepiolite samples as additive raw materials in the building sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Robotic Process Automation (RPA) adalah teknologi yang diyakini akan terus berkembang karena banyak memberikan manfaat terutama dalam membantu mengerjakan pekerjaan yang sifatnya berulang-ulang dan jumlah besar. Tulisan ini berisi tentang penelitian penggunaan perangkat lunak RPA dalam melakukan input data pada proses rekrutmen mahasiswa magang di PT. Telkom Indonesia. Proses rekrutmen ini ada 2 langkah proses yang dilakukan yaitu proses seleksi administrasi dan proses seleksi wawancara sehingga perlu dibuatkan sebuah bot RPA untuk mengotomatisasi masing-masing proses tersebut. Perangkat lunak RPA yang digunakan adalah perangkat lunak RPA yang dikembangkan oleh PT. Telkom Indonesia berbasis platform Open RPA. Penelitian dilakukan di laboratorium dan di lapangan melalui implementasi RPA secara langsung untuk proses rekrutmen mahasiswa magang. Penelitian di laboratorium untuk melihat perbandingan kecepatan proses dan akurasi antara proses menggunakan RPA dan dengan cara manual. Penelitian di lapangan untuk melihat sejauh mana keberhasilan menggunakan RPA dalam membantu proses rekrutmen mahasiswa magang serta mengetahui pendapat dari pegawai sebagai pengguna RPA. Penelitian di laboratorium menggunakan data simulasi sebanyak 40 sampel data, baik untuk proses seleksi administrasi maupun proses seleksi wawancara, Dari hasil percobaan dapat dilaporkan bahwa dengan menggunakan RPA dapat menghemat waktu sampai dengan 76% dan akurasi sebesar100%. Sementara itu untuk implementasi di lapangan, jumlah sampel data yang diproses sebanyak 1204 data untuk proses seleksi administrasi dan sebanyak 303 data untuk proses seleksi wawancara. Dari hasil implementasi RPA di lapangan, pegawai merasa sangat terbantu dan senang dengan keberadaan RPA Abstract Robotic Pocess Automation (RPA) is a technology that is believed to continue to grow because it provides many benefits, especially in helping to do repetitive and large amounts of work. This paper contains research on the use of RPA software in inputting data in the recruitment process of internship students at PT. Telkom Indonesia. This recruitment process has two processes, that are the administrative selection process and the interview selection process, so it is necessary to build an RPA bot to automate each of these processes. The RPA software used is the RPA software developed by PT. Telkom Indonesia is based on the Open RPA platform. Research is carried out in the laboratory and in the field through direct implementation of RPA for the recruitment process of internship students. Research in the laboratory to see the comparison of process speed and accuracy between processes using RPA and the manual method. Research in the field to see the extent to which the success of using RPA in helping the recruitment process of internship students and knowing the opinions of employees as users of RPA. Research in the laboratory using simulation data as much as 40 data samples, both for the administrative selection process and the interview selection process. From the experimental results it can be reported that using RPA can save time up to 76% and accuracy is 100%. Meanwhile, for implementation in the field, the number of data samples processed was 1204 data for the administrative selection process and 303 data for the interview selection process. From the results of the implementation of RPA in the field, employees feel very helpful and happy with the existence of RPA.