ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5324-9526
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Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 29-09-2023
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 07-10-2023
DOI: 10.3390/LAND12101879
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-12-2022
DOI: 10.1002/WFP2.12053
Abstract: Networks have increasingly played an essential role in the economic reform policy process in developing countries. However, their policy influence and impact on agriculture and the seed sector are unknown. Therefore, this study used social network analysis to understand the role of the policy networks in Malawi's harmonized seed regulation policy process. Key informant interviews were used for primary data collection for the SNA questionnaires ( N = 27). The primary data was complemented by secondary information. Data analysis used network graphs, centrality measures, and descriptive methods to understand the network's governance structure and social interaction. Three centralized networks with external affiliations were identified: seed trade and corporate citizenship representing core‐peripheral networks and the policy advocacy network as a hub‐and‐spoke. The governance structure and type of administration determined the policy networks' influence in advocating for specific policy interests. Strong technical and financial support from international organizations and the government to a network proved critical in Malawi's seed sector policy reform direction. These ensured network trust that was important in bringing cohesion and stability toward a common policy goal. This call for support for those networks representing the underprivileged in developing countries, including civil society.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2023
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-04-2019
Abstract: In this study, the cyto-compatibility and cellular functionality of cell-laden gelatin-methacryloyl (Gel-MA) hydrogels fabricated using a set of photo-initiators which absorb in 400-450 nm of the visible light range are investigated. Gel-MA hydrogels cross-linked using ruthenium (Ru) and sodium persulfate (SPS), are characterized to have comparable physico-mechanical properties as Gel-MA gels photo-polymerized using more conventionally adopted photo-initiators, such as 1-[4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)-phenyl]-2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-propan-1-one (Irgacure 2959) and lithium phenyl(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphinate (LAP). It is demonstrated that the Ru/SPS system has a less adverse effect on the viability and metabolic activity of human articular chondrocytes encapsulated in Gel-MA hydrogels for up to 35 days. Furthermore, cell-laden constructs cross-linked using the Ru/SPS system have significantly higher glycosaminoglycan content and re-differentiation capacity as compared to cells encapsulated using I2959 and LAP. Moreover, the Ru/SPS system offers significantly greater light penetration depth as compared to the I2959 system, allowing thick (10 mm) Gel-MA hydrogels to be fabricated with homogenous cross-linking density throughout the construct. These results demonstrate the considerable advantages of the Ru/SPS system over traditional UV polymerizing systems in terms of clinical relevance and practicability for applications such as cell encapsulation, biofabrication, and in situ cross-linking of injectable hydrogels.
No related grants have been discovered for Henry Hunga.