6,930 research outputs found
Cameroon's infrastructure : a continental perspective
The poor state of Cameroon's infrastructure is a key bottleneck to the nation's economic growth. From 2000 to 2005, improvements in information and communications technology (ICT) boosted Cameroon's growth performance by 1.26 percentage points per capita, while deficient power infrastructure held growth back by 0.28 points per capita. If Cameroon could improve its infrastructure to the level of Africa's middle-income countries, it could raise its per capita economic growth rate by about 3.3 percentage points. Cameroon has made significant progress in many aspects of infrastructure, implementing institutional reforms across a broad range of sectors with a view to attracting private-sector participation and finance, which has generally led to performance improvements. But the country still faces a number of important infrastructure challenges, including poor road quality, expensive and unreliable electricity, and a stagnating and uncompetitive ICT sector. Cameroon currently spends around 586 million lost to inefficiencies. Removing those inefficiencies would leave an infrastructure funding gap of $350 million per year. Given Cameroon's relatively strong economy and natural-resource base, as well as its success in attracting private financing, the country should be able to close that gap and meet its infrastructure goals within 13 years.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Infrastructure Economics,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Energy Production and Transportation,Banks&Banking Reform
Niger's infrastructure : a continental perspective
Between 2000 and 2005 infrastructure made a net contribution of less than a third of a percentage point to the improved per capita growth performance of Niger, one of the lowest contributions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region’s middle-income countries could boost annual growth in Niger by about 4.5 percentage points. Niger has made significant progress in some areas of its infrastructure, including water and telecommunications. But the country still faces a number of important infrastructure challenges, the most pressing of which is probably in the water and sanitation sector, as 82 percent of Nigeriens still practice open defecation, the highest in the continent. Niger also faces significant challenges in the power sector, as only 8 percent of the population is electrified. Niger currently spends about 460 million even after savings from curing inefficiencies are taken into account. Niger can close that gap by tapping alternative sources of financing or by adopting lower-cost technologies. There is plenty of room for private-sector participation in Niger's infrastructure sectors, and the adoption of lower-cost technologies could reduce the funding gap by almost half.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Infrastructure Economics,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Water Supply and Systems,Energy Production and Transportation
The Central African Republic's infrastructure : a continental perspective
Between 2000 and 2005, infrastructure contributed less than 1 percentage point to the Central African Republic's annual per capita GDP growth, despite substantial spending in the road sector. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by about 3.5 percentage points. The CAR has made significant progress in the transport, water, power, and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors. But the high cost of fuel, which raises transportation and energy costs, has been a vexing issue across all infrastructure sectors. The CAR's most pressing infrastructural challenge lies in the transport sector, which relies heavily on neighboring countries and could benefit from improved road conditions and enhanced performance at the port of Douala in Cameroon. In the power sector, the country suffers from a deteriorating infrastructure stock that it can no longer afford to maintain, and an inefficient and unreliable power supply. Additional challenges include a need for improved infrastructure in the water and sanitation and ICT sectors. Addressing the CAR's infrastructure challenges will require sustained expenditure of 134 million per year on infrastructure, with 183 million per year. Improvements in funding, coupled with the prospect of an economic rebound and prudent policies, could lift the country from its fragile state back to and beyond the prosperity standards it once enjoyed.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Energy Production and Transportation,Infrastructure Economics,E-Business
Benin's infrastructure : a continental perspective
Between 2000 and 2005 infrastructure made an important contribution of 1.6 percentage points to Benin's improved per capita growth performance, which was the highest among West African countries during the period. Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries could boost annual growth by about 3.2 percentage points. Benin has made significant progress in some areas of its infrastructure, including roads, air transport, water, and telecommunications. But the country still faces important infrastructure challenges, including improving road conditions and port performance and upgrading deteriorating electrical infrastructure. The nation must also improve the quality and efficiency of its water and sanitation systems. Benin currently spends about 101 million lost to inefficiencies. Comparing spending needs with existing spending and potential efficiency gains leaves an annual funding gap of 227 million a year. The nation would also benefit from raising tariffs to cost-recovery levels and reducing inefficiencies, which could substantially boost financial flows to the infrastructure sectors.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Infrastructure Economics,Public Sector Economics,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Economic Theory&Research
Mozambique's infrastructure : a continental perspective
In the last 10 years, Mozambique's economy has grown steadily at an impressive rate of 7.7 percent per year, driven by the service sector, light industry, and agriculture. This pace is expected to continue or even increase with the massive influx of already-planned investment on the order of 664 million per year on infrastructure during the late 2000s, with as much as 822 million per year. Mozambique could reduce inefficiency losses by positioning itself as a key power exporter. The country could reach infrastructure targets in 20 years through a combination of increased finance, improved efficiency, and cost-reducing innovations.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Infrastructure Economics,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Energy Production and Transportation,Water Supply and Systems
Burkina Faso's infrastructure : a continental perspective
Infrastructure contributed 1.3 percentage points to Burkina Faso's annual per capita gross domestic product (GDP) growth over the past decade, much of it due to improvements in information and communication technology (ICT). Raising the country's infrastructure endowment to that of the region's middle-income countries (MICs) could boost annual growth by more than 3 percentage points per capita. Burkina Faso has made significant progress developing its infrastructure in recent years, especially in the ICT sector. The country has also moved forward in the areas of road maintenance and water and sanitation, but still faces challenges in these sectors, as well as in the electricity sector. As of 2007, Burkina Faso faced an annual infrastructure funding gap of $165 million per year, or 4 percent of GDP. That gap could be cut in half by the adoption of more appropriate technologies to meet infrastructure targets in the transport and the water and sanitation sectors. Even if Burkina Faso were unable to increase infrastructure spending or otherwise close the infrastructure funding gap, simply by moving from a 10- to 18-year horizon the country could address its efficiency gap and meet the posited infrastructure targets.Transport Economics Policy&Planning,Infrastructure Economics,Town Water Supply and Sanitation,E-Business,Energy Production and Transportation
Psyllium and Laminaria partnership - An overview of possible food gel applications
Featured Application: Laminaria-psyllium gels with distinct texture and rheological features,
designed for a wide range of food applicationsSeaweeds are a novel source of important nutritional compounds with interesting biological
activities that could be processed into added-value products. In this study, two previously developed
products obtained by Laminaria ochroleuca processing (liquid extract and a purée-like mixture) were
processed with Psyllium gel to develop functional hydrogels. The optimization of the formulation and
the characterization of the Laminaria-Psyllium gels in terms of their mechanical features have allowed
the proposal of potential food applications. A beneficial interaction was found between Laminaria and
Psyllium in terms of the reinforcement of texture and rheological properties. The obtained outcomes
could provide new healthy gelling formulations with attractive properties to alleviate the growing
market demand of eco-novel food matricesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The early phase of the vaccinia virus replication induces cytokine gene expression in macrophages
Energy and Economic Life Cycle Assessment of Cool Roofs Applied to the Refurbishment of Social Housing in Southern Spain
Energy refurbishment of the housing stock is needed in order to reduce energy consumption and meet global climate goals. This is even more necessary for social housing built in Spain in the middle of the last century since its obsolete energy conditions lead to situations of indoor thermal discomfort and energy poverty. The present study carries out a life cycle assessment of the energy and economic performance of roofs after being retrofitted to become cool roofs for the promotion of social housing in Seville (Spain). Dynamic simulations are made in which the time dependent aging effect on the energy performance of the refurbished cool roofs is included for the whole lifespan. The influence of the time dependent aging effect on the results of the life cycle economic analysis is also assessed. A variety of scenarios are considered in order to account for the aging effect in the energy performance of the retrofitted cool roofs and its incidence while considering different energy prices and monetary discount rates on the life cycle assessment. This is made through a dynamic life cycle assessment in order to capture the impact of the aging dynamic behavior correctly. Results point out significant savings in the operational energy. However, important differences are found in the economic savings when the life cycle analysis is carried out since the source of energy and the efficiency of the equipment used for conditioning strongly impact the economic results
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