The Economics of Rotating Savings and Credit Association: Evidence from Ethiopia

Using a unique individual level data on the membership of Rotating Savings and Credit Associations (ROSCAs) collected in 1994 from seven major urban centres in Ethiopia, we provide one of the few econometric tests of the economic theory of ROSCAs. In recognition of the heterogeneity of rosca types across space, we provide basic information about the characteristics of roscas in urban areas of Ethiopia. In addition, we use individual and household level data to describe the characteristics of both rosca participants and non-participants. The findings from the descriptive part of the analysis indicate that most of the rosca members are female, relatively richer and the major motive to join roscas is to buy consumer durables. For instance, Over 45% of households reported that they joined roscas with a purpose to buy durables. In terms of frequency of saving, most rosca members tend to save weekly and monthly, the latter being the predominant choice and a non-negligible amount is being mobilise through the informal institutions. The econometric evidence shows an inverse relationship between volume of rosca contribution and size of rosca as predicted by theory. In addition, we find an inverse relationship between frequency of rosca draw/saving and amount of saving. The welfare position of the household-food expenditure- has been found to be a significant determinant of the volume of rosca contribution but not the decision to join rosca. Most of our findings are consistent with findings elsewhere

State Dependence and Causal Feedback of Poverty and Fertility in Ethiopia

The paper implements simultaneous random effect models as a means to analyse causality issues related to poverty and fertility in Ethiopia, a country which is plagued by high and persistent poverty and very high fertility rates in rural areas. Using longitudinal data from both urban and rural areas of Ethiopia, we analyse the relationship between childbearing and poverty. In addition to identifying state dependence in poverty and fertility, we investigate to what extent fertility act as a feedback mechanism leading to higher poverty and vice versa. We find that poverty itself has little effect on fertility, whereas there is evidence of state dependence in poverty and important feedback from fertility on future poverty. Not unexpected, we find substantial differences between rural and urban areas.

Heterogeneity in returns to schooling: Econometric evidence from Ethiopia

The paper investigates whether returns to schooling in Ethiopia vary across the wages distribution of individuals. To do so it adopts an instrumental variables quantile regression framework that allows for both endogeneity of schooling resulting from unmeasured ability, and possible heterogeneity in the impact of schooling. The empirical estimates indicate that education contributes more to the earnings of the individuals at a lower end of the income distribution. Under the assumption that the wage and ability distributions are related, this result is consistent with the notion that education and ability are substitutes

Effects of COVID-19 on Maternal and Child Health in Haiti

Haiti has a history of natural disasters that have played a part in the country’s weak infrastructure, poor quality health care, and short life expectancy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the experiences of health care professionals providing prenatal, perinatal, and postpartum health care services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Haiti to gain an understanding of the gaps in disaster response in reproductive health care. The theoretical bases for this study were community resilience theory and reproductive justice theory. Data were collected from interviews with 10 health care professionals working in Haiti providing reproductive health care services. Data were transcribed and manually coded into two data sets: pre-COVID-19 conditions and post-COVID-19 conditions based on the research questions. Five themes emerged from pre-COVID-19/post-COVID-19 similarities: partnerships directly impact health outcomes, impact of disparities and the need for equity, poor infrastructure and educational impact, lack of reproductive health care, and limited health care delivery. Seven themes emerged from the pre-COVID-19/post-COVID-19 differences: decrease in social support in all regions, decrease of community support, lack of reproductive health care and increased home births, increased disease prevention and limited consequences of COVID-19, decrease in all health care funding sources, very limited health care delivery and minimal quality care, and negative impact of fear. Findings indicated that disaster relief interventions have not evolved to protect peri- and postnatal women after a disaster. Findings may inform future disaster relief policy and programs

Yeast immobilization systems for second-generation ethanol production: actual trends and future perspectives

Yeast immobilization with low-cost carrier materials is a suitable strategy to optimize the fermentation of lignocellulosic hydrolysates for the production of second-generation (2G) ethanol. It is defined as the physical confinement of intact cells to a certain region of space (the carrier) with the preservation of their biological activity. This technological approach facilitates promising strategies for second-generation bioethanol production due to the enhancement of the fermentation performance that is expected to be achieved. Using immobilized cells, the resistance to inhibitors contained in the hydrolysates and the co-utilization of sugars are improved, along with facilitating separation operations and the reuse of yeast in new production cycles. Until now, the most common immobilization technology used calcium alginate as a yeast carrier but other supports such as biochar or multispecies biofilm membranes have emerged as interesting alternatives. This review compiles updated information about cell carriers and yeast-cell requirements for immobilization, and the benefits and drawbacks of different immobilization systems for second-generation bioethanol production are investigated and compared. © 2021 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Industrial Chemistry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.publishedVersio

Less Engagement in Pleasure Activities is associated with poorer quality of life for Veterans with Comorbid Post-Deployment Conditions

Objective: The presence of multiple comorbid conditions is common after combat deployment and complicates treatment. A potential treatment approach is to target shared mechanisms across conditions that maintain poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL). One such mechanism may be decrements in pleasurable activities. Impairment in pleasurable activities frequently occurs after deployment and may be associated with poorer HRQOL. Method: In this brief report, we surveyed 126 Veterans who had previously sought an assessment at a Veterans Affairs post-deployment health clinic and assessed pleasurable activities, HRQOL, and post-deployment health symptoms. Results: Forty-three percent of Veterans met our criteria for all three post-deployment conditions (PTSD, depression and chronic wide-spread physical symptoms). Greater engagement in pleasurable activities was associated with better HRQOL for all Veterans regardless of type or level of post-deployment health symptoms. Conclusion: Future research should study if interventions that encourage Veterans with post-deployment health conditions to engage in pleasurable activities are effective rehabilitation strategies

Inequities in medically assisted reproduction: A scoping review

Introduction: Infertility affects one in five women in the United States and may do so regardless of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographic location, income, or educational status. These factors, however, may play a large role in access to infertility treatments, or medically assisted reproduction (MAR). This scoping review aimed to identify gaps in research pertaining to inequities in MAR, and propose suggestions for future research directions.Methods: This review was conducted following the guidance of the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews. Searches were performed in July 2022 using MEDLINE (via PubMed) and Ovid Embase, identifying articles for screening. Articles that reported on MAR inequities, published between 2016–2021 in the United States, and written in English were included. Each article’s inequity findings were analyzed, extracted, and reported. The frequencies of the inequities investigated were recorded.Results: Ninety-six articles underwent full-text screening and 66 were included in our sample. Race/ethnicity was the most commonly reported inequity. The majority of the studies focused on MAR outcomes by race/ethnicity, and many found that historically marginalized populations had worse outcomes. Since the NIH’s classification of Sexual and Gender Minorities as a health disparity population in 2016, 15 articles within our sample investigated LGBTQ+ inequities in MAR. Historically marginalized populations were less likely to use MAR or seek infertility care and findings were similar among LGBTQ+ populations. The majority of studies found positive correlations with MAR use with income and education. The least commonly studied inequities in our sample were sex or gender and rural/under-resourced populations; findings showed that men and people from rural/under-resourced populations were less likely to access MAR. Studies that examined occupational status had varying findings.Conclusion: Our study identified research gaps regarding MAR within each of the inequities examined, though some gaps were more prominent than others. We suggest that future research be targeted toward: (1) standardizing and diversifying race/ethnicity reporting regarding MAR, (2) increasing access to infertility care for LGBTQ+ populations by providing more inclusive care, (3) increasing access to infertility care for men, and (4) increasing access to MAR for rural/under-represented populations by identifying logistic challenges

Differential Post-Exercise Blood Pressure Responses between Blacks and Caucasians

Post-exercise hypotension (PEH) is widely observed in Caucasians (CA) and is associated with histamine receptors 1- and 2- (H1R and H2R) mediated post-exercise vasodilation. However, it appears that blacks (BL) may not exhibit PEH following aerobic exercise. Hence, this study sought to determine the extent to which BL develop PEH, and the contri- bution of histamine receptors to PEH (or lack thereof) in this population. Forty-nine (22 BL, 27 CA) young and healthy subjects completed the study. Subjects were randomly assigned to take either a combined H1R and H2R antagonist (fexofenadine and ranitidine) or a con- trol placebo. Supine blood pressure (BP), cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance measurements were obtained at baseline, as well as at 30 min, 60 min and 90 min after 45 min of treadmill exercise at 70% heart rate reserve. Exercise increased diastolic BP in young BL but not in CA. Post-exercise diastolic BP was also elevated in BL after exercise with histamine receptor blockade. Moreover, H1R and H2R blockade elicited differential responses in stroke volume between BL and CA at rest, and the difference remained follow- ing exercise. Our findings show differential BP responses following exercise in BL and CA, and a potential role of histamine receptors in mediating basal and post-exercise stroke vol- ume in BL. The heightened BP and vascular responses to exercise stimulus is consistent with the greater CVD risk in BL

Chemopreventative celecoxib fails to prevent schwannoma formation or sensorineural hearing loss in genetically engineered murine model of neurofibromatosis type 2

Mutations in the tumor suppressor gene NF2 lead to Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), a tumor predisposition syndrome characterized by the development of schwannomas, including bilateral vestibular schwannomas with complete penetrance. Recent work has implicated the importance of COX-2 in schwannoma growth. Using a genetically engineered murine model of NF2, we demonstrate that selective inhibition of COX-2 with celecoxib fails to prevent the spontaneous development of schwannomas or sensorineural hearing loss in vivo, despite elevated expression levels of COX-2 in Nf2-deficient tumor tissue. These results suggest that COX-2 is nonessential to schwannomagenesis and that the proposed tumor suppressive effects of NSAIDs on schwannomas may occur through COX-2 independent mechanisms