Local Assembly Research Articles

Solid waste management in the city of Bordj Bou Arreridj between efficiency and difficulty

Sustainable waste management is becoming the focus of debates on environmental and economic issues, waste recovery has become a new logic, improving the quality of life of citizens and the environment and adding economic value to waste. In Algeria, landfill, which is simple or even "wild", was for a long time the final destination of this waste, because of its low cost compared to other sectors such as incineration or composting, without any other concern to recover this waste. Indeed , the recycling rate of municipal waste is only 7 % in Algeria (2012) and the targets for Algeria are respectively 20 % (2015) and 25 % (2020) according to the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly Report on Waste Management at Local and Regional Levels in the Mediterranean, Brussels, 2014. The technical landfill center of the city of Bourdj Bou Arreridj comes to eradicate the uncontrolled landfills in the city, but it has experienced several weaknesses and malfunctions in the way of exploitation.pain The objective of this study is to demonstrate by a qualitative/quantitative approach that an effective waste management in the town of Bourdj Bou Arreridj requires a selective collection and a good choice of the treatment of this household and similar waste which contains 75% fermentable/recoverable waste (organic matter) and more than 24% recyclable waste.

Men Shall Be Lovers of Self, Money and Pleasure (II Timothy 3:2, 4): A Contemporary Discourse on the Apostle Paul's Prophecy of the End Times

<p><em>The present time in Nigeria and globally has been more perilous than ever, characterized with bizarre occurrences within the church and the larger society. This study explores the Pauline eschatological prediction of the perilous times when men will become lovers of self, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasure more than God (II Timothy 3:1, 2 & 5). Experiential and theological methodologies were adopted for generating qualitative primary and secondary data. The theological aspect of the research employed the tools of biblical exegesis, textual analysis, and literatures. The experiential aspect involved in-depth interviews (IDIs), observations, social media contents and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) to access current events and personalized experiences of respondents who were purposively selected from within and outside the church. The results were discussed in the light of Christian theology, social ethics and Pastoral ministry. The Nigerian society is evidently witnessing the perilous times when love of self, money and pleasure will become the untoward defining features of human society and sadly too, of men that profess the faith. Transactional gospel, gimmickry, merchandize of holy things, and self-indulgent love of money are rife in the contemporary church. Ostentatious lifestyles, lack of support for the minister at the local church, and false messages on material blessings are what trap church ministers and laypersons in this end-time evil. The context and practice of ‘full time’ ministry when the local assembly is not able to support its minister is a challenge that predisposes some to ‘Simoniacal’ presentations, offering the gifts of God for monetary gain. Sound biblical teachings to protect the people of God and expose the mercenary spirit in sacred function is the local church most potent weaponry.</em></p><strong> </strong>

Selective reading of 1 Corinthians 14:26–40 resulting in the marginalisation of women

The aim of this paper is to point out a hermeneutic gap in Assemblies of God – Back to God’s order of service where 1 Corinthians 14:26–32 is read, eschewing verses 33–38. It points out the Assemblies of God’s perception of women’s ordination into the ministry, where women are allowed to participate in public worship but are not allowed to take up the pastoral leadership of the local assembly. The research problem is the hermeneutic gap behind refusal to ordain women into the ministry. The selective reading of the Scriptures poses a problem for hermeneutical inclusiveness that embraces social exegesis to arrive at the conclusion that it is not unscriptural to ordain women into pastoral leadership. The conclusion gives the remedial actions of the scenario, to suggest breaking out of a shell, agency and resilience, engaging social exegesis and hermeneutics, and engaging the community through dialogue to justify the rationale for ordaining women into the pastoral ministry in the same par with men.Contribution: Situated within feminist theology, the study on women pastoral leadership is a burning issue for both classical Pentecostals and some of their evangelical counterparts. Pentecostal and charismatic studies should expand their understanding of Pauline theology regarding women’s leadership to arrive at inclusiveness and non-sexism.

Species pool and local assembly processes drive β diversity of ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying microbial communities in rivers along a latitudinal gradient.

Both regional species pool and local community assembly mechanism drive the microbial diversity patterns across geographical gradients. However, little has been done to separate their effects on the β diversity patterns of microbial communities involved in nitrogen (N) cycling in river ecosystems. Here, we use high-throughput sequencing of the archaeal amoA, bacterial amoA, nirK, and nirS genes, null model, and neutral community model to distinguish the relative importance of species pool and local assembly processes for ammonia-oxidizing and denitrifying communities in river wetlands along a latitudinal gradient in eastern China. Results indicated that the β diversity of the nirS-type denitrifying community co-varied with γ diversity and environmental heterogeneity, implying that regional species pool and heterogeneous selection explained variation in β diversity. However, the β diversity of ammonia-oxidizing and nirK-type denitrifying communities did not correlate with γ diversity and environmental heterogeneity. The continuous hump distribution of β deviation along the latitudinal gradient and the lower species dispersal rate indicated that the dispersal limitation shaped the variation in β diversity of ammonia-oxidizing and nirK-type denitrifying communities. Additionally, biotic interactions drove ammonia-oxidizing and nirS-type denitrifying communities by influencing species co-occurrence patterns. Our study highlights the importance of regional species pool and local community assembly processes in shaping geographical patterns of N-cycling microorganisms and extends knowledge of their adaptability to a continuously changing environment on a large scale.

Accumulated temperature dictates the regional structural variation of prokaryotic periphyton at soil-water interface in paddy fields

As a pervasive microbial aggregate found at the water-soil interface in paddy fields, periphyton plays crucial roles in modulating nutrient biogeochemical cycling. Consequently, it effectively mitigates non-point source pollution due to its diverse composition. Despite its significance, the mechanisms governing periphyton diversity across different rice planting regions remain poorly understood. To bridge this gap, we investigated periphyton grown in 200 paddy fields spanning 25° of latitude. Initially, we analyzed local diversity and latitudinal variations in prokaryotic communities within paddy field periphyton, identifying 7 abundant taxa, 42 moderate taxa, and 39 rare taxa as the fundamental prokaryotic framework. Subsequently, to elucidate the mechanisms governing periphyton diversity across large scales, we constructed interaction models illustrating triangular relationships among local richness, assembly, and regional variation of prokaryotic subcommunities. Our findings suggest that accumulated temperature-driven environmental filtering partially influences the assembly process of prokaryotes, thereby impacting local species richness and ultimately governing regional structural variations in periphyton. Furthermore, we determined that a latitude of 39° represents the critical threshold maximizing local species richness of periphyton in paddy fields. This study advances our understanding of the factors shaping periphyton geo-imprints and provides valuable insights into predicting their responses to environmental changes, potentially influencing rice production outcomes.

Alpine grassland community productivity and diversity differences influence significantly plant sexual reproduction strategies.

Whether and how community structure variation affects plant sexual reproduction is crucial for understanding species' local adaptation and plant community assembly, but remains unrevealed. In Qinghai-Tibetan grassland communities that differed in aboveground biomass (AGB) and species diversity, we found significant influence of AGB on both species' reproductive biomass allocation (RBA) and flowering and fruiting time, but of species diversity only on species' reproductive time. In high-AGB or high-diversity communities, smaller and earlier flowering species generally advanced their reproductive phenology and increased their reproductive allocation for maximizing their reproductive success, whereas larger and later flowering species delayed their reproductive phenology and decreased their reproductive allocation for maximizing their vegetative growth and resource competition. This change in reproductive allocation with the variation in community structures was more pronounced in nonclonal as compared to clonal plant species. Thus, we evidence an important influence of community structure on plant sexual reproduction strategies, and the pattern of the influence depends largely on species biological attributes.

Processes regulating local community assembly of plants and spiders in high latitude mountains

AbstractAimMountains are often used to study how environmental factors influence biodiversity. However, we have limited understanding of the processes causing biodiversity variation in mountains and whether such processes vary across trophic levels and spatial scales. The aim of this study was to evaluate (i) whether community assembly processes varied along elevational gradients, (ii) whether there were differences in such variation between primary producers (vascular plants) and secondary consumers (spiders) and (iii) whether there were scale dependencies in any elevational variation in community assembly.LocationFennoscandia, Northern Sweden.TaxonVascular plants, spiders.MethodsWe used phenotypic and phylogenetic dispersion to quantify how elevation influenced community assembly of vascular plants and spiders and whether there were any scale dependencies in such influences. Our original data of plant and spider communities came from our own field surveys, phenotypic dispersion was calculated based on matrices of ecological traits, and phylogenetic dispersion was calculated from phylogenetic trees for each organism group. Trait matrices were based on a combination of literature values and our own measurements. The phylogeny for vascular plants was based on a published plant super‐tree, whereas the phylogeny for spiders was created by ourselves based on the DNA sequences at the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI).ResultsPlants were environmentally filtered throughout all elevations and scales, but the importance of convergent evolution increased with elevation. For spiders, the importance of environmental filtering as well as niche conservatism increased with elevation. For both groups, communities at smaller scales were more influenced by biotic regulation and niche conservatism than at larger scales.Main ConclusionsOur study highlights both taxonomic differences and scale dependencies in how elevation influences community assembly. We argue that these results can have broad ramifications for our understanding of how spatial variation in biodiversity is generated and maintained. This may have particular relevance for our ability to predict the ecological consequences of climate change. Our results further highlight that high elevation specialists may suffer increased risks of climate driven extinctions due to a combination of increased competition and increased fragmentation of suitable habitats. Particularly for spiders, which had high elevation specialists clustered along specific lineages, such extinctions could lead to significant loss of phylogenetic variation.

Nuclear F-actin assembly on damaged chromatin is regulated by DYRK1A and Spir1 phosphorylation.

Nuclear actin-based movements support DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair. However, molecular determinants that promote filamentous actin (F-actin) formation on the damaged chromatin remain undefined. Here we describe the DYRK1A kinase as a nuclear activity that promotes local F-actin assembly to support DSB mobility and repair, accomplished in part by its targeting of actin nucleator spire homolog 1 (Spir1). Indeed, perturbing DYRK1A-dependent phosphorylation of S482 mis-regulated Spir1 accumulation at damaged-modified chromatin, and led to compromised DSB-associated actin polymerization and attenuated DNA repair. Our findings uncover a role of the DYRK1A-Spir1 axis in nuclear actin dynamics during early DSB responses, and highlight the intricate details of nuclear cytoskeletal network in DSB repair and genome stability maintenance.

Unraveling the diversity of hyphal explorative traits among Rhizophagus irregularis genotypes

Differences in functioning among various genotypes of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can determine their fitness under specific environmental conditions, although knowledge of the underlying mechanisms still is very fragmented. Here we compared seven homokaryotic isolates (genotypes) of Rhizophagus irregularis, aiming to characterize the range of intraspecific variability with respect to hyphal exploration of organic nitrogen (N) resources, and N supply to plants. To this end we established two experiments (one in vitro and one in open pots) and used 15N-chitin as the isotopically labeled organic N source. In Experiment 1 (in vitro), mycelium of all AM fungal genotypes transferred a higher amount of 15N to the plants than the passive transfer of 15N measured in the non-mycorrhizal (NM) controls. Noticeably, certain genotypes (e.g., LPA9) showed higher extraradical mycelium biomass production but not necessarily greater 15N acquisition than the others. Experiment 2 (in pots) highlighted that some of the AM fungal genotypes (e.g., MA2, STSI) exhibited higher rates of targeted hyphal exploration of chitin-enriched zones, indicative of distinct N exploration patterns from the other genotypes. Importantly, there was a high congruence of hyphal exploration patterns between the two experiments (isolate STSI always showing highest efficiency of hyphal exploration and isolate L23/1 being consistently the lowest), despite very different (micro) environmental conditions in the two experiments. This study suggests possible strategies that AM fungal genotypes employ for efficient N acquisition, and how to measure them. Implications of such traits for local mycorrhizal community assembly still need to be understood.

Direct elections and trust in state and political institutions: Evidence from Indonesia's election reform

People's trust in state and political institutions is a key foundation of a well-functioning economy. The question of whether direct elections affect trust remains open, especially in developing countries, due to a scarcity of studies with robust identification strategies. We estimate the impact of direct elections on people's trust in state and political institutions, using a major political reform in Indonesia as the source of exogenous variation. Pre-2005, regents, mayors, and governors were elected by the local legislative assembly. Starting in 2005, they must compete in an open election where voters directly choose their preferred leader. The historically and institutionally driven staggered implementation of these local direct elections enables us to identify the causal impact of the reform. We find that direct elections increase trust in all state and political institutions, except for the police and political parties. We find that trust only increased in districts where the elections were held with no or low hostility, implying that trust is strongly influenced by political situations during direct elections. We find that elections did not really improve well-being or satisfaction, implying that the absence of election hostility is a stronger explanation for the higher trust.

Consistent community assembly but contingent species pool effects drive β-diversity patterns of multiple microbial groups in desert biocrust systems.

One of the key goals of ecology is to understand how communities are assembled. The species co-existence theory suggests that community β-diversity is influenced by species pool and community assembly processes, such as environmental filtering, dispersal events, ecological drift and biotic interactions. However, it remains unclear whether there are similar β-diversity patterns among different soil microbial groups and whether all these mechanisms play significant roles in mediating β-diversity patterns. By conducting a broad survey across Chinese deserts, we aimed to address these questions by investing biological soil crusts (biocrusts). Through amplicon-sequencing, we acquired β-diversity data for multiple microbial groups, that is, soil total bacteria, diazotrophs, phoD-harbouring taxa, and fungi. Our results have shown varying distance decay rates of β-diversity across microbial groups, with soil total bacteria showing a weaker distance-decay relationship than other groups. The impact of the species pool on community β-diversity varied across microbial groups, with soil total bacteria and diazotrophs being significantly influenced. While the contributions of specific assembly processes to community β-diversity patterns varied among different microbial groups, significant effects of local community assembly processes on β-diversity patterns were consistently observed across all groups. Homogenous selection and dispersal limitation emerged as crucial processes for all groups. Precipitation and soil C:P were the key factors mediating β-diversity for all groups. This study has substantially advanced our understanding of how the communities of multiple microbial groups are structured in desert biocrust systems.

Expanding science skills: teaching tissue culture, data analysis, and reporting through imaging the actin cytoskeleton.

Within the eukaryotic cell, the actin cytoskeleton is a crucial structural framework that maintains cellular form, regulates cell movement and division, and facilitates the internal transportation of proteins and organelles. External cues induce alterations in the actin cytoskeleton primarily through the activation of Rho GTPases, which then bind to a diverse array of effector proteins to promote the local assembly or disassembly of actin. We have harnessed the extensively studied functions of RhoA in the dynamics of the actin cytoskeleton to craft a practical series for Stage 2 Biology students. This series not only imparts essential tissue culture laboratory skills but also reinforces them through repetition. These activities are presented in a scenario designed for students to explore the function of a hypothetical RhoA family member. Students produce slides from transfected cells, undertake fluorescence microscopy, process the images using ImageJ, and compile their findings in a comprehensive scientific report. The composition of the report requires independent acquisition of new knowledge and synoptic learning. According to student feedback, this early experience greatly aids in solidifying and honing the skills required to report on more extensive and intricate research projects, such as capstone projects.

Haplotype-resolved assembly of diploid and polyploid genomes using quantum computing

Precision medicine's emphasis on individual genetic variants highlights the importance of haplotype-resolved assembly, a computational challenge in bioinformatics given its combinatorial nature. While classical algorithms have made strides in addressing this issue, the potential of quantum computing remains largely untapped. Here, we present the vehicle routing problem (VRP) assembler: an approach that transforms this task into a vehicle routing problem, an optimization formulation solvable on a quantum computer. We demonstrate its potential and feasibility through a proof of concept on short synthetic diploid and triploid genomes using a D-Wave quantum annealer. To tackle larger-scale assembly problems, we integrate the VRP assembler with Google's OR-Tools, achieving a haplotype-resolved local assembly across the human major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region. Our results show encouraging performance compared to Hifiasm with phasing accuracy approaching the theoretical limit, underscoring the promising future of quantum computing in bioinformatics.

Local Community Assembly Mechanisms and the Size of Species Pool Jointly Explain the Beta Diversity of Soil Fungi

Fungi play vital regulatory roles in terrestrial ecosystems. Local community assembly mechanisms, including deterministic and stochastic processes, as well as the size of regional species pools (gamma diversity), typically influence overall soil microbial community beta diversity patterns. However, there is limited evidence supporting their direct and indirect effects on beta diversity of different soil fungal functional groups in forest ecosystems. To address this gap, we collected 1606 soil samples from a 25-ha subtropical forest plot in southern China. Our goal was to determine the direct effects and indirect effects of regional species pools on the beta diversity of soil fungi, specifically arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM), ectomycorrhizal (EcM), plant-pathogenic, and saprotrophic fungi. We quantified the effects of soil properties, mycorrhizal tree abundances, and topographical factors on soil fungal diversity. The beta diversity of plant-pathogenic fungi was predominantly influenced by the size of the species pool. In contrast, the beta diversity of EcM fungi was primarily driven indirectly through community assembly processes. Neither of them had significant effects on the beta diversity of AM and saprotrophic fungi. Our results highlight that the direct and indirect effects of species pools on the beta diversity of soil functional groups of fungi can significantly differ even within a relatively small area. They also demonstrate the independent and combined effects of various factors in regulating the diversities of soil functional groups of fungi. Consequently, it is crucial to study the fungal community not only as a whole but also by considering different functional groups within the community.

Localising decent work for poverty reduction in Africa: a case study of the decent work pilot project in Ghana

AbstractSince the adoption of Local Agenda 21, local governments have been enjoined to become active players in major development agendas, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Despite the proliferation of literature on localisation strategies adopted by sub-national governments in pursuance of the 17 SDGs, little is known about localised efforts to fulfil SDG 8: “Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all”, particularly in Africa. Through a qualitative case study of the Ghana Decent Work Pilot Project, this paper examines how two local districts adapted and implemented the principles of decent work in a rural setting to improve the well-being of informal workers. The findings reveal that decent work was conceptualised by local authorities to mean the achievement of four main goals: the stimulation of local employment, extension of social security to informal entrepreneurs, adoption of best business practices and enhancement of entrepreneurs’ participation in local assembly decision-making. To enhance the achievement of these goals, the local authorities launched four main interventions in a gender- and poverty-sensitive manner. These interventions include institutional embedding of the project, capacity building for entrepreneurs, the unionisation of entrepreneurs and the introduction of local health and financing schemes. The study concludes with policy recommendations that, if adopted, would help to upscale and out-scale local efforts to promote decent work across Africa.

Political vigilantism in Ghana: Motives, membership, and financing

AbstractThis comprehensive study of political vigilantism in Ghana examines the motives, membership, and financing of the phenomenon and proffers solutions to combat it. We use a qualitative methodology of personal interviews with a broad section of Ghanaian political stakeholders totaling 50 participants. This included 30 political vigilante members equally affiliated with the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress and selected from the vigilante hotbeds of the Northern, Upper East, and Ashanti regions of Ghana. The other political stakeholders total 20 and are made up of: five public political party executives, five civil society members, five police officers, and five local district assembly members. The motives include institutional weakness, winning political power, and economic and group solidarity. Membership involves family and friends, former security personnel, party members, and unemployed youth. Financing emanates from political parties, politicians, and the business class. We argue that patron–clientelism is the driving force behind political vigilantism and recommend more legal accountability for patrons, particularly through constitutional amendments guaranteeing a fixed term for the head of the police and separating the roles of Attorney General and Minister of Justice. This is to ensure that the former can impartially prosecute vigilante patrons. Punitive financial measures are also recommended to deter patrons, backed by sustained public education and more employment opportunities for the masses of unemployed youth—the bedrock of political vigilantism.Related ArticlesAkwei, Cynthia, Isaac S. Damoah, and Joseph Amankwah‐Amoah. 2020. “The Effects of Politics on the Implementation of Government Programs/Projects: Insights from a Developing Economy.” Politics & Policy 48(6): 1161–201. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12384.Asiegbu, Martin F., Okey Marcellus Ikeanyibe, Pius Otu Abang, Okwudili Chukwuma Nwosu, and Chuka Eugene Ugwu. 2024. “Natural Resource Fund Governance and the Institutionalization of Rent Seeking in Nigeria's Oil Sector.” Politics & Policy 52(1): Early View. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12579.Debrah, Emmanuel. 2016. “Decentralization, District Chief Executives, and District Assemblies in Ghana's Fourth Republic.” Politics & Policy 44 (1): 135–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/polp.12146.

Decentralization and Local Government Performance: Empirical Evidence From Ghana

Development agencies often promote decentralization as a solution for poverty reduction and a means of addressing the unique needs of local populations in developing countries. This manuscript examines the District Assembly system’s effectiveness in delivering services within the Bawku Municipality in the Upper East Region of Ghana. The study employs a mixed-methods approach to illuminate two contrasting perspectives on the local assembly’s service provision. On one hand, citizens generally express satisfaction with the delivery of services related to health infrastructure, education, electricity, and water supply. On the other hand, a significant portion of the population is dissatisfied with the local assembly’s performance in governance, sanitation, gender-related issues, and addressing vulnerability. Notably, the study also uncovers that despite the intended objective of decentralization to empower local citizens, a degree of central government control and influence undermines its effectiveness. This study presents practical and theoretical implications and identifies avenues for future research in this field.

Characterization of the intracellular neurexin interactome by in vivo proximity ligation suggests its involvement in presynaptic actin assembly.

Neurexins are highly spliced transmembrane cell adhesion molecules that bind an array of partners via their extracellular domains. However, much less is known about the signaling pathways downstream of neurexin's largely invariant intracellular domain (ICD). Caenorhabditis elegans contains a single neurexin gene that we have previously shown is required for presynaptic assembly and stabilization. To gain insight into the signaling pathways mediating neurexin's presynaptic functions, we employed a proximity ligation method, endogenously tagging neurexin's intracellular domain with the promiscuous biotin ligase TurboID, allowing us to isolate adjacent biotinylated proteins by streptavidin pull-down and mass spectrometry. We compared our experimental strain to a control strain in which neurexin, endogenously tagged with TurboID, was dispersed from presynaptic active zones by the deletion of its C-terminal PDZ-binding motif. Selection of this control strain, which differs from the experimental strain only in its synaptic localization, was critical to identifying interactions specifically occurring at synapses. Using this approach, we identified both known and novel intracellular interactors of neurexin, including active zone scaffolds, actin-binding proteins (including almost every member of the Arp2/3 complex), signaling molecules, and mediators of RNA trafficking, protein synthesis and degradation, among others. Characterization of mutants for candidate neurexin interactors revealed that they recapitulate aspects of the nrx-1(-) mutant phenotype, suggesting they may be involved in neurexin signaling. Finally, to investigate a possible role for neurexin in local actin assembly, we endogenously tagged its intracellular domain with actin depolymerizing and sequestering peptides (DeActs) and found that this led to defects in active zone assembly. Together, these results suggest neurexin's intracellular domain may be involved in presynaptic actin-assembly, and furthermore highlight a novel approach to achieving high specificity for in vivo proteomics experiments.

Quantifying the Activities of Local Assembly Members in Japan: Recent Advances and an Approach Using the BERTopic Model

Quantifying the Activities of Local Assembly Members in Japan: Recent Advances and an Approach Using the BERTopic Model

Building a Large Corpus and Pre-trained Language Models from National and Local Assembly Minutes

Building a Large Corpus and Pre-trained Language Models from National and Local Assembly Minutes