Browsing by Author "Zhou, X."
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Item Challenges and Potential Solutions for Sustainable Urban-Rural Linkages in a Ghanaian Context(Sustainability, 2020-01-09) Mensah, A.; Somanje, A.N.; Mohan, G.; Lopes, J.; Gordon, C.; Zhou, X.; Moinuddin, M.; Saito, O.; Takeuchi, K.Urban-rural linkages are an integral part of fostering development in both urban and rural communities. However, the focus on development tends to have an urban bias toward Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) with an increase in urbanization. Ghana is one of the fastest urbanizing countries in SSA. This paper sought to identify the challenges of urban-rural linkages, their corresponding solutions, and contributions to Agenda 2030 that are context-specific to Ghana through a stepwise solution scanning technique. In step 1, the study applied a scoping process to identify the urban-rural challenges. In step 2, a solution for the identified urban-rural challenges in step 1 was co-designed. In step 3, each identified solution was assessed based on its potential to contribute to all three pillars of sustainability by ranking and prioritization. In step 4, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) interlinkages of the top five prioritized potential solutions were analyzed. The identified challenges were (1) inequality and gender gaps, (2) poor and lack of basic and economic infrastructures, (3) the limited e ectiveness of decentralization, and (4) food and nutrition security dynamics. The prioritized potential solutions were gender inclusiveness, investment in infrastructures, sustainable agricultural systems, e ective decentralization, and financial inclusion. This study recommends maximizing the synergies and minimizing the trade-o s between the SDGs of the potential solutions identified.Item Impact of maize straw biochar and tied-ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting on soil erosion and soil quality in a semiarid region(WILEY, 2023) Obour, P.B.; Mak-Mensah, E.; Zhao, W.; Zhou, X.; Wang, Q.; Zhang, D.In dry land areas, integrating biochar soil amendment with in situ rainwater harvesting systems may decrease soil erosion, improve soil quality, and increase crop productivity and yield. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of maize straw biochar amendment and ridge-furrow rainwater harvesting systems on run-off, sediment yield and the physico-chemical properties of a Calcic Cambisol soil in semiarid areas. The experiment was conducted on alfalfa (Medicago sa tiva) production land at the Anjiagou Catchment experimental station in Gansu province, China. The experimental layout was a split-plot design with three replications. Biochar was applied at a rate of 0 and 30 tha−1, respectively. The tillage treatments were flat planting, open-ridging, and tied-ridging (TR). Overall, the integration of maize straw biochar with TR decreased soil bulk density at 0–40 cm depth. Biochar application reduced run-off by 37.8% and soil loss by 55.5% during alfalfa-growing seasons compared to the control. In general, biochar addition increased soil total potassium, but the same effect was not observed for soil pH, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and available phosphorus. These findings demonstrate the potential of integrating maize straw biochar and tillage systems to reduce soil erosion and improve soil quality for rainfed crop production in semi arid areas. Further studies on the effect of biochar-tillage system interaction are warranted to improve soil conditions for plant growth and increase crop yield in dryland areasItem PRP19 upregulation inhibits cell proliferation in lung adenocarcinomas by p21-mediated induction of cell cycle arrest(Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, 2014-05) Benjamin, A.-B.; Zhou, X.; Isaac, O.; Zhao, H.; Song, Y.; Chi, X.; Sun, B.; Hao, L.; Zhang, L.; Liu, L.; Guan, H.; Shao, S.Precursor messenger RNA processing factor 19 (PRP19) is known to be a critical component of the eukaryotic spliceosomal machinery and DNA damage repair system, the deregulation of which leads to many disease conditions. In many human cancers, PRP19 expression is upregulated, but its functional significance and corresponding underlying mechanisms remain to be addressed. Focusing on lung carcinomas, PRP19 upregulation was achieved by plasmid transfection into A549 adenocarcinoma cells. The transfected cells were then subjected to several in vitro and in vivo assays following in situ assessment of the protein in paired clinical lung tissues. We report that PRP19 expression is elevated in lung carcinoma tissues compared to non-tumor tissues. Following its upregulation, PRP19 repressed cell proliferation and tumor growth by upregulating the expression of the cell cycle arrest protein p21. © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS.