FOOD AID TARGETING, SHOCKS AND PRIVATE TRANSFERS AMONG EAST AFRICAN PASTORALISTS

Public transfers of food aid are intended largely to support vulnerable populations in times of stress. We use high frequency panel data among Ethiopian and Kenyan pastoralists to test the efficacy of food aid targeting under three different targeting modalities, food aid's responsiveness to different types of shocks, and its relationship to private transfers. We find that self-targeting food-for-work or indicator-targeted free food distribution more effectively reach the poor than does food aid distributed according to community-based targeting. Food aid flows do not respond significantly to either covariate, community-level income or asset shocks, nor to idiosyncratic, household-level income or asset shocks. Rather, food aid flows appear to respond mainly to more readily observable rainfall measures. Finally, food aid does not appear to affect private transfers in any meaningful way, either by crowding out private gifts to recipient households nor by stimulating increased gifts by food aid recipients.Food Security and Poverty,

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry: from cluster ions to toxic metal ions in biology

In Chapter 1, electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) was used to examine clusters of protonated amine salt solutions with chloride counter ions in the negative ion mode. These ions have the general formula [(RNH3)xClx+1]-. Primary amines generate a wide cluster distribution with clusters up to 14 mers for methylamine hydrochloride clusters. Secondary and quaternary amines only generate the monomer ion under identical conditions. Collision induced dissociation (CID) of the cluster ions generates cluster ions of lower m/z with the next lower cluster being the most abundant. The product ions from MeNH3Cl 2-, Me2NH2Cl2 - and (MeNH3)2Cl3- have low threshold appearance energies of 1.24 to 2.22 eV center-of-mass frame. Secondary amine monomer ions have lower threshold CID energies than primary amine monomer ions. The amine threshold CID energy decreases as the carbon chain length increases. As an electrospray solvent, isopropyl alcohol (IPA) promotes the formation of counter ions and clustering.;In Chapter 2, salt cluster ions of alkali metal sulfates Mx(SO 4)yz- (M = Li, Na, and Cs) were studied by ESI-MS. Ions with charges up to z = -7, i.e., Na131(SO 4)697- were present in the mass spectra. The effects of capillary temperature, capillary voltage, tube lens voltage, fragmentor voltage, and various solvents were investigated. Collision induced dissociation of the clusters showed that there was an overlap of singly and multiply charged ions at the same m/z. Two different types of instrument interfaces, heated capillary and fragmentor, were utilized in this study. The different cations produced different cluster distributions with lithium sulfate clusters generating the most multiply charged cluster ions. The capillary voltage altered the cluster ion intensity and distribution more than any other parameter on the instrument with the heated capillary interface. The fragmentor voltage produced the largest variation in the cluster ion distribution. Overall, the heated capillary interface produced smaller changes to the cluster ion distribution than the fragmentor interface.;In Chapter 3, solutions comprising two metal chloride compounds were analyzed in negative ion mode by ESI-MS. Various metal clusters, MxCl z- (M = Ce3+, Co2+, Zn 2+ or Ho3+) or CexMyClz - (M = Co2+, Zn2+, or Ho 3+) were present in the mass spectra. No multiply charged ions were observed. Lower heated capillary temperatures favored mixed metal cluster ions. The abundances of the mixed metal clusters increased when a 50/50 isopropyl alcohol/water solution was used compared to a 96/4 isopropyl/water solution. Collision induced dissociation of cerium/cobalt mixed metal clusters revealed that the Co2+ ion generally leaves as part of a neutral fragment, and the negatively charged fragment retains the Ce3+ ion.;In Chapter 4, ESI-MS was used to evaluate toxic metal binding to the [Gln11]-amyloid beta-protein fragment (1-16). Cd and Pb bound to the amyloid fragment; Hg did so weakly. Collision induced dissociation (CID) studies found that Pb and Cd attached to the same binding site as the essential element Zn. Competition studies found that Pb and Cd have a higher affinity for the binding site than Zn. The signal ratio (Cd + peptide)/(Zn + peptide) was 1.39, and the ratio (Pb + peptide)/(Zn + peptide) was 1.85. Cadmium and lead displaced about 80 percent of the bound Zn ions, but an excess of Zn did not remove the bound toxic metals

U.S. Food Aid and Agricultural Cargo Preference Policy

Replaced with revised version of paper 07/20/10.Food Aid Policy, Cargo Preference, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty,

Needs-based family support – Perception, structures and challenges in practical implementation

such as low-threshold access to services. Beside structural framework conditions in context of family support, the question arises as to what extent the subjective perception of preventive family support is one more aspect of utilisation and to what extent preventive family support actually matches the needs of families. This Study asks as well what connotations and attitudes do families have regarding family support services? How important do families consider these offers and what are their needs? Based on a mixed-methods design, the Citizens’ Survey on Family Support was conducted by means of a standardised questionnaire in combination with interviews of family support users and non-users in order to elaborate deeper meaning structures through the qualitative analysis method of grounded theory. Summary survey results point out that family support in Germany includes a wide range of offers, which can promote a broad array of familial interests and competences, but not all families, diverse as they are, feel consciously addressed – or else they see obstacles to using family services. Our qualitative results point out that ‘family support’ as a term is neither clearly identified nor properly understood by many citizens – or else it has different connotations. However, those families who do use the services – within the framework of transitioning to parenthood – feel supported in their psychosocial adaptations and regulatory processes. In relation to results and as compared to other EU countries, practical implications for further developments in family support approaches are discussed

Assessing the Origin of Noise in the Precipitation Gauge Geonor T-200B

The Geonor T-200B is an all-weather precipitation gauge utilized by the Research Applications Laboratory (RAL) under the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). RAL has been dealing with a persistent issue of noise within the Geonor Devices during non-precipitation events. When there is not precipitation occurring, the data reading off the Geonor would be expected to be a constant value, as no precipitation is being collected. However, the device is producing unaccounted variation (noise) causing tremor like lines to appear in the data. The noise in the data is an issue for RAL because it makes it complicated to pinpoint the exact beginning and end of a precipitation event. Many airports use the Geonor sensors to predict unsafe flying conditions. Being able to pinpoint the beginning and ending weather patterns during storms would lead to more accurate and efficient airport scheduling. To isolate the source of the undesired noise two correlation experiments were run on the Geonor gauges. The experiments were conducted at the NCAR Marshal Field test site. The first test was to understand the effect of temperature change on the noise. The second test provided assess the effect of electrical interference on the noise in the device. The change in temperature correlated 63% to a change in frequency from the Geonor. The electrical interference test provided a reduction of variation in the frequency by two hertz. From the result of the study it can be stated that a change in temperature has a great effect on the noise from the Geonor and causes diurnal variation in the data. The electrical interference test showed promising results as a possible origin of the noise. Further experiments should be conducted to prove that adding an electrical shield reduces the noise within the device. Another source of noise to asses in further experiments would be the effect of temperature on the electrical panel that collects the data

Floquet Perturbation Theory: Formalism and Application to Low-Frequency Limit

We develop a low-frequency perturbation theory in the extended Floquet Hilbert space of a periodically driven quantum systems, which puts the high- and low-frequency approximations to the Floquet theory on the same footing. It captures adiabatic perturbation theories recently discussed in the literature as well as diabatic deviation due to Floquet resonances. For illustration, we apply our Floquet perturbation theory to a driven two-level system as in the Schwinger-Rabi and the Landau-Zener-St\"uckelberg-Majorana models. We reproduce some known expressions for transition probabilities in a simple and systematic way and clarify and extend their regime of applicability. We then apply the theory to a periodically-driven system of fermions on the lattice and obtain the spectral properties and the low-frequency dynamics of the system.Comment: v2: 28 single-column pages, 5 figures; various typos fixed; some notation and connection to other perturbation schemes clarified; new, more descriptive title and abstract. Published versio

Properties of Wood/recycled Textile Composite Panels

This study evaluated the potential to use recycled cotton textiles as filler and possibly reinforcement in the core of oriented strandboard (OSB) panels. Nominal 11.1-mm-thick, 686 x 686-mm OSB/textile fiber composite panels (50% surface and 50% core layers) were fabricated. Recycled textile material (0, 5, 15, 25, and 50% of the total weight percentage in the panel) was blended with mixed hardwood core strands. For each combination of wood and textile material, 10 panels were produced for a total of 50 panels. Internal bond strength, static bending strength and stiffness, water absorption, thickness swell, and nail withdrawal strength properties were evaluated. The major finding of the study indicated that compared with controls (ie panels with 0% textile material), panels with 5% recycled textiles did not have a statistically significant difference in bending strength (modulus of rupture) and elasticity (modulus of elasticity) or nail withdrawal strength. Additionally, although the controls had the greatest average thickness swell, none of the groups tested showed a statistically significant difference (p = 0.064). The study indicated that there is potential for adding 5% recycled textiles to the core of OSB panels without significantly decreasing physical or mechanical properties

Evaluation techniques for household water treatment projects: biosand filter pilot project in Lao PDR

Recently, many UN agencies have been promoting the household water treatment (HWT) as a viable way to begin meeting the needs of millions who lack access to safe water. This paper describes an approach that was used in a recent evaluation of a biosand filter (BSF) pilot project in a peri urban community located in Vientiane municipality, Lao PDR. Simple evaluation techniques such as household surveys, water quality testing, filter performance assessment and observations on safe water storage, source protection and sanitary conditions were used. These techniques captured user perceptions, water quality indicators, fulfilment of operating parameters, and filter effectiveness and acceptability. This approach can help project implementers and end users to understand project effectiveness and contribute to effective followup programs to overcome barriers to proper use of the filters and the handling of safe water