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NAIROBI, KENYA, 28 JANUARY 2021The Rockefeller Foundation has announced a new grant of US$12 million to the Africa Public Health Foundation to help expand the geographic coverage of testing and to strengthen contact tracing for COVID-19 in Africa through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC).

Equitable access to testing and tracing is essential to rapidly identify and respond to COVID-19 outbreaks until a vaccine is widely available to all, said Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, too many people still do not have access to the tools that they need to keep themselves, their families, and their communities healthy and safe. Were pleased to work with the Africa Public Health Foundation and Africa CDC to catalyse a more efficient and inclusive response to and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic across the continent.

This funding will support a broader effort to accelerate equitable access to testing technologies, increase testing of asymptomatic persons, and reducing community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the sub-Saharan Africa region.

Until date, more than three million COVID-19 cases have been reported in Africa, with the current daily average of new cases in the second wave surpassing that of the first wave.

Testing and tracing remain two of the strongest public health interventions for containing COVID-19 on this continent of about 1.3 billion people. Yet, only a little above 30 million tests have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic. By scaling up testing and tracing, health authorities on the continent will have access to more reliable epidemiologic data to advise governments, businesses and the public on how to better manage the pandemic and mitigate its socioeconomic impact.

Testing is the number one tool to fight this pandemic because without testing we will be fighting blindly, said Dr John Nkengasong, Director of Africa CDC. We also need to trace people who are infected, isolate them and treat them. By supporting African Union Member States to do more testing and tracing to identify and isolate infected persons, we will be able to control the virus and limit transmission.

Through the Partnership to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing (PACT), an initiative rolled out in August last year, Africa CDC is establishing partnerships across the globe to mobilize technical, material and financial resources to support African Union Member States in expanding testing, tracing and treatment for COVID-19. This grant will contribute to the implementation of PACT across the continent.

The grant will also help increase access to testing in urban and rural areas, strengthen community level contact tracing, enhance data infrastructure and accelerate screening and case finding in high-risk populations.

Dr Francisco Songane, Interim CEO of the Africa Public Health Foundation said: The Africa Public Health Foundation is sincerely grateful for the leadership and support of the team at The Rockefeller Foundation. It is our mission to forge partnerships and mobilise resources for Africa CDC. In facing the COVID-19 pandemic, this kind of collaboration is needed more than ever.

Scaling up testing and tracing for the most at-risk populations is a critical piece of The Rockefeller Foundations efforts to support an equitable pandemic response on the continent, said William Asiko, Managing Director of the Africa Regional Office, The Rockefeller Foundation. As we await widespread vaccinations, investing in testing, tracing, and public education about physical distancing and mask-wearing are the best tools we have to address Africas most urgent needs now and strengthen the systems we need to protect ourselves from future threats.

-END-

Note to the EditorsAbout the Africa Public Health Foundation

The Africa Public Health Foundation exists to forge partnerships and mobilise resources to support critical public health initiatives across the continent, in support of Africa CDC. Established in September 2019, APHF is mobilising flexible funds to accelerate the Africa CDC-led COVID-19 response and the initiatives that will follow, with the aim of strengthening public health systems. For more information and to sign up for APHFs newsletter, please visit http://www.aphf.africa.

About Africa CDC

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation advances new frontiers of science, data, and innovation to solve global challenges related to health, food, power, and economic mobility. As a science-driven philanthropy focused on building collaborative relationships with partners and grantees, The Rockefeller Foundation seeks to inspire and foster large-scale human impact that promotes the well-being of humanity throughout the world by identifying and accelerating breakthrough solutions, ideas, and conversations. For more information, sign up for our newsletter atrockefellerfoundation.organd follow us on Twitter@RockefellerFdn.

Media ContactsJohn SpanglerDirector, Communications and AdvocacyThe Rockefeller Foundationjspangler@rockfound.org

James AyodelePrincipal Communication OfficerAfrica CDCayodelej@africa-union.org

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The Rockefeller Foundation Announces Grant to Expand Access to COVID-19 Testing and Tracing in Africa Africa CDC - africacdc.org

Protein preservation speeds growth recovery

During nutrient deprivation, microbes cease to rapidly grow and enter stationary phase. Yeom and Groisman found that the decrease in intracellular ATP experienced by Salmonella in stationary phase inhibited the homeostatic degradation of critical proteins that are substrates of ATP-dependent proteases without affecting that of other protein substrates for those proteases. The selective preservation of protease substrates did not depend on the particular nutrient that was limiting, and it enabled Salmonella to rapidly resume exponential growth when the missing nutrient became available. A similar phenomenon was observed in yeast, suggesting that this may be a general mechanism for ensuring that microbes can rapidly recover from starvation.

When cells run out of nutrients, the growth rate greatly decreases. Here, we report that microorganisms, such as the bacterium Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium, speed up the return to a rapid growth state by preventing the proteolysis of functional proteins by ATP-dependent proteases while in the slow-growth state or stationary phase. This reduction in functional protein degradation resulted from a decrease in the intracellular concentration of ATP that was nonetheless sufficient to allow the continued degradation of nonfunctional proteins by the same proteases. Protein preservation occurred under limiting magnesium, carbon, or nitrogen conditions, indicating that this response was not specific to low availability of a particular nutrient. Nevertheless, the return to rapid growth required proteins that mediate responses to the specific nutrient limitation conditions, because the transcriptional regulator PhoP was necessary for rapid recovery only after magnesium starvation. Reductions in intracellular ATP and in ATP-dependent proteolysis also enabled the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to recover faster from stationary phase. Our findings suggest that protein preservation during a slow-growth state is a conserved microbial strategy that facilitates the return to a growth state once nutrients become available.

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Reduced ATP-dependent proteolysis of functional proteins during nutrient limitation speeds the return of microbes to a growth state - Science

@candacecbure

Candace Cameron Bure is quite possibly televisions most iconic big sister. She is also a Hallmark movie star, a bestselling author and a creative businesswoman that continues to grow her evolving brand. Her latest venture this week is the release of her third book in a series of childrens books titled Candaces Playful Puppy.

Childrens books are my favorite. I just loved reading to my children when they were young and it was always a dream of mine to be able to write a childrens book, Candace tells Forbes. This one is about faithfulness and just like Full House episodes, I always want a little message in each book so that children can read and learn something or read with parents and talk about it. Im also a huge dog lover. I have my doggy Boris whos ginormous. Hes the love of my life. I was trying to think of a story and convey faithfulness. I thought this is perfect because its all about not just responsibility but its being faithful in that responsibility. Keep doing it every single day, even when it gets really hard and frustrating.

Several of Candaces books, some meant for children and others for adults, have either the word kind within the title or kindness is hinted within the theme of the storys message. When sharing her personal beliefs on the importance of kindness in society today, Candace says, Its so important. I wish we could just change our cancel culture into a kindness culture. Kindness doesnt mean you have to agree with everyone. Kindness is simply an act of respect and love, whether or not you see eye-to-eye on things. I feel like the art of kindness has been lost, whether thats in-person, particularly on social media. Its the very little things that we can do that project kindness to one another that can really change someones day in an instant.

Candace is currently in Vancouver on Day 12 of a 14-Day Quarantine, before she films a new Hallmark mystery movie. The wife and mother of three has certainly experienced firsthand the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and filming during this unprecedented time, crediting her life-long career in Hollywood to provide her with the skills to maneuver. You always have to have Plan B, Plan C and D ready to go. I always learned to roll with it. I think thats part of the entertainment industry and my job. You have to be flexible and be able to handle change really quickly. Ive been handling that since I was five years old. Even when you get a script and get lines and on the fly, they have to change it. You have to adjust to the new way or the new dialogue. Same with the pandemic, everyone has adjusted.

Eric Michael Roy

Candace also says that the pandemic over the past year has given her time to re-evaluate her priorities, particularly with her family. Theres so much we are all doing from home, which has been a huge blessing in my life because of the time I get to spend with my family, but it also opened my eyes to realize that I need to invest more time. Im a little bit of a work horse because I really love it and enjoy everything that I do. It helped me re-prioritize and those are really good things. I feel like Ive just become a whole lot closer with my family over this past year and took a really deep look at my own life and choices and what Im doing and I have come out with a better balance.

Candace is in the midst of writing another book and hopes that her words have a positive impact on readers. I always want there to be a take away. I want someone to learn something from my books. I want them to have a dialogue about it. I want to encourage, I want to inspire, I want to give food for thought. It can be as simple as the little message of faithfulness or patience in the childrens book or the bigger overall life themes in my other books.

Being a public figure on social media, Candace has sometimes been the target of criticism for her personal beliefs and choices. When responding to how she overcomes the drama social media can bring, Candace says, Through my faith, I know that in Gods strength I am given love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. I pray for those things every single day. So when it does get tough on social media, trust me, there are times I will text something but I will delete it after and (laughs) Im not going to hit the send button. We all can have immediate reactions and emotions that get heated. I know God does give me self-control and I always want to be positive. Its not fake, its not phony. I want to be kind. I know when I see someone who encourages me or who is the bigger person or returns something angry or mean with kindness, it really changes you and affects your heart. I love when people do that for me and I want to be the same type of role model encouraging kindness.

Even though her new book Candaces Playful Puppy is categorized under the Christian Emotions & Feelings Fiction section on Amazon, Candace wants to emphasize that these stories are inclusive to all. Its for absolutely everyone. The only thing that was really important to me was that [character] Candace says a little prayer because her dog runs away. Its as general as only the word prayer, so I hope that families of all faiths or if they dont believe in faith, I really hope that everyone will enjoy the book. Thats what all of these [books] are intended for and not just Christian families.

@candacecbure

Beyond her book writing, Candace has become a beloved figure in many Hallmark Channel movies, something she does not plan to slow down on doing anytime soon. Right now, I love making them and I dont have any plans to stop making them, unless people just get tired of seeing me on the channel and they dont want me anymore, Candace adds. I try to have a plan in terms of the future, but its not as far thought out that I have a deadline date when I am going to move on from them. As long as I am enjoying making them and people like watching them, Ill keep doing it.

Hallmarks movies are not the only place to see Cameron these days. She has been starring on the Full House reboot series Fuller House, which recently concluded its fifth and final season on Netflix. As fans across social media plead for more story from D.J. Tanner-Fuller and her extended family of characters, Candace addresses the wants of her loyal viewers. Listen, if they wanted to bring back Fullest House, I would be there in a heartbeat and I think everyone else would be, too. We are such a close, loving family. It was like a dream come true to do Fuller House and do the show with my best friends and my family. I would be open for it, but those are the kinds of decisions that are out of my hands. So unless Warner Bros. wants to make another show, I will be the first one in.

As Candace looks to the future, a lot of growth and expansion can be expected in her business pursuits. What Im concentrating on for this year are my Hallmark movies and books. I also have developed what I call a Mindstyle brand which is the Candace brand through DaySpring and we sell faith-inspired products from t-shirts to home goods to journals and the Bible. That it is really where my heart is at and such a passion of mine to share the word of God with people. We are continuing to grow that business and it has become more available this year and next year in brick and mortar stores, as well as everywhere online and QVC. I also have a few new brands that are coming out. I have a new clothing line that is coming out in the spring and we are developing a makeup line, as well.

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Candace Cameron Bure On Prioritizing Family, New Book And Her Expanding Business Brand - Forbes

Technology giants have become powerful rivals to governments, but there are doubts over the benefits for society of their monopoly positions, Russias President Vladimir Putin told the annual World Economic Forum, on Wednesday .

Where is the line between a successful global business, in-demand services andconsolidation of big data and attempts to harshly and unilaterally govern society, replace legitimate democratic institutions, restrict ones natural right to decide for themselves how to live, what to choose, what stance to express freely?Putin wondered.

Weve all seen this just now in the US. And everybody understands what Im talking about, he added.

The Russian leader was apparently referring to the crackdown by Big Tech corporations like Twitter, Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon, mostly on Donald Trump and his supporters, during the recent presidential election in the US. The companies, which, according to some critics, sided with Democratic candidate Joe Biden, blocked President Trumps social media accounts over accusations of inciting violence, with the same being done to many pages of groups and individuals whod backed him.

However, one-sided bias claim voiced by some might be an overestimation the accounts of Democrats supporters were also subject to restrictions, but on a much smaller scale.

Conservative Twitter-like platform Parler was also forced offline, and now there are calls to block the Telegram app as well.

These events have shown that Big Tech companiesin some areas have de facto become rivals to the government,Putin said.

Billions of users spend large parts of their lives on the platforms and, from the point of view of those companies, their monopolistic position is favorable for organizing economic and technological processes, the Russian president explained.But theres a question of how such monopolism fits the interest of society,he stressed.

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Where is the line between global business & attempts to control society? Putin asks Davos as he calls out power of Big Tech - RT

The McGowan Government is investing $1.5 million into local projects which will enhance and restore the Swan and Canning Rivers.

Focusing on environmental, recreational and cultural values, the new funding is part of the State Government's commitment to improving the health of Perth's rivers.

More than $1.2 million of the funding will be allocated to 12 local foreshore managers, with remaining funds to be divided between local governments to focus on the river priority sites.

The City of Perth will receive $459,000 to upgrade the East Perth foreshore through rock revetment, bio-engineering and revegetation to improve the foreshore, visitor amenity and activate the area for community use.

The City of Melville will benefit from $100,000 for bank stabilisation and ecological restoration and improved community access and amenity at Point Heathcote in Applecross.

More than $50,000 has been granted to the City of Belmont for foreshore stabilisation and landscaping to upgrade the Bilya Kard Boodja Lookout in Belmont.

Since its inception in 2002, more than $24 million has been contributed to over 311 Riverbank projects around the Swan and Canning rivers.

Local governments have added to the State Government's contribution to Riverbank funding, resulting in a total investment of more than $55 million in approximately 19 years.

The project includes funding from the McGowan Government's Green Jobs Plan which will see more than $60 million invested into green jobs in WA over the next three years.

Comments attributed to Environment Minister Stephen Dawson:

"The McGowan Government is committed to the health of Perth's Swan and Canning river systems, and with this funding local managers will be able to complete much needed projects throughout the Swan Canning Riverpark.

"Funding will go to important site work including ecological protection, weed control, revegetation, erosion control and foreshore stabilisation.

"Not only do these projects improve the river's health and support ecological systems, but they will also enhance visitor amenity to allow the community to enjoy our beautiful waterways."

Minister's office - 6552 5800

Project sites to receive/eligible for Riverbank Funding in 2020-2021

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Media statement - Riverbank funding to restore Perth's river systems - Media Statements