Publications

2020
Martin AR, Atkinson EG, Chapman SB, Stevenson A, Stroud RE, Abebe T, Akena D, Alemayehu M, Ashaba FK, Atwoli L. Low-coverage sequencing cost-effectively detects known and novel variation in underrepresented populations. bioRxiv [Internet]. 2020. WebsiteAbstract
Background Genetic studies of biomedical phenotypes in underrepresented populations identify disproportionate numbers of novel associations. However, current genomics infrastructure–including most genotyping arrays and sequenced reference panels–best serves populations of European descent. A critical step for facilitating genetic studies in underrepresented populations is to ensure that genetic technologies accurately capture variation in all populations. Here, we quantify the accuracy of low-coverage sequencing in diverse African populations.Results We sequenced the whole genomes of 91 individuals to high-coverage (>=20X) from the Neuropsychiatric Genetics of African Population-Psychosis (NeuroGAP-Psychosis) study, in which participants were recruited from Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. We empirically tested two data generation strategies, GWAS arrays versus low-coverage sequencing, by calculating the concordance of imputed variants from these technologies with those from deep whole genome sequencing data. We show that low-coverage sequencing at a depth of >=4X captures variants of all frequencies more accurately than all commonly used GWAS arrays investigated and at a comparable cost. Lower depths of sequencing (0.5-1X) performed comparable to commonly used low-density GWAS arrays. Low-coverage sequencing is also sensitive to novel variation, with 4X sequencing detecting 45% of singletons and 95% of common variants identified in high-coverage African whole genomes.Conclusion These results indicate that low-coverage sequencing approaches surmount the problems induced by the ascertainment of common genotyping arrays, including those that capture variation most common in Europeans and Africans. Low-coverage sequencing effectively identifies novel variation (particularly in underrepresented populations), and presents opportunities to enhance variant discovery at a similar cost to traditional approaches.Competing Interest StatementA.R.M. serves as a consultant for 23andMe and is a member of the Precise.ly Scientific Advisory Board. B.M.N. is a member of the Deep Genomics Scientific Advisory Board. He also serves as a consultant for the Camp4 Therapeutics Corporation, Takeda Pharmaceutical and Biogen. M.J.D. is a founder of Maze Therapeutics. J.K.P. is an employee of Gencove, Inc. The remaining authors declare no competing interests. D.J.S. has received research grants and/or consultancy honoraria from Lundbeck and Sun.
Orinda G, Chepkwony J, Limo P. Organizational Learning, Employee Satisfaction and Employee Loyalty in The Banking Sector, Nairobi County, Republic of Kenya. Journal of Business Management and Economic Research [Internet]. 2020;4(6):425-440. WebsiteAbstract

In the contemporary working environment, insight into employee loyalty is of crucial importance and this includes the banking sector. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of organizational learning, employee satisfaction and their loyalty in the Banking sector, Republic of Kenya. A cross-sectional research strategy and systematic random sampling techniques were used in data collection using a structured questionnaire, from a sample size of 411 picked from a target population of 2433 bank employees. The results of the study demonstrate that organizational learning specifically influences employee satisfaction, which then affects employee loyalty.
Findings further show that organizational learning does not have a significant direct effect on
employee loyalty. However, results indicate that it only affects employee loyalty through employee satisfaction, thus revealing a full mediation process. Banks should therefore improve on organizational learning strategies through enhancement of knowledge awareness, intellectual cultivation and information sharing to ensure effective employee satisfaction that enhances their commitment and loyalty to their work. Findings of the current study contribute to knowledge through the mediation process by revealing a full mediation mechanism of employee satisfaction on the link between organizational learning and employee loyalty.

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