Can cash transfer programs work in resource-poor countries?

Cash transfer programs are rare in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper describes the evolution of a cash transfer program in major urban centers of Mozambique, from its inception in 1990 through two major reorganizations until October 1998. Appropriate design, strong multisectoral political support and adequate administrative capacity are critical factors determining the success of such programs. Key lessons applicable to other resource-poor countries designing social assistance programs are drawn, recommending adequate targeted support to truly destitute persons incapable of physical labor in urban areas where administrative costs are more manageable than in more isolated rural sites.Poverty. ,Rural population. ,Social service Mozambique. ,Subsidies. ,

The preliminary design of a wearable computer for supporting Construction Progress Monitoring

Progress monitoring has become more and more important as owners have increasingly demanded shorter times for the delivery of their projects. This trend is even more evident in high technology industries, such as the computer industry and the chemical industry. Fast changing markets, such as the computer industry, force companies to have to build new facilities quickly. To make a statement about construction progress, the status of a building has to be determined and monitored over a period of time. Depicting the construction progress in a diagram over time, statements can be made about the anticipated completion of the project and delays and problems in certain areas. Having this information, measures can be taken to efficiently >catch up< on the schedule of the project. New technologies, such as wearable computers, speech recognition, touch screens and wireless networks could help to move electronic data processing to the construction site. Progress monitoring could very much take advantage of this move, as several intermediate steps of processing progress data can be made unnecessary. The processing of progress data could be entirely done by computers, which means that data for supporting decisions can be made available at the moment the construction progress is measured. This paper describes a project, that investigates how these new technologies can be linked to create a system that enhances the efficiency of progress monitoring. During the project a first prototype of a progress monitoring system was developed that allows construction companies and site supervisors to measure construction progress on site using wearable computers that are speech controlled and connected to a central database via a wireless network

Rapid prototyping of carbon-based chemiresistive gas sensors on paper

Chemically functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are promising materials for sensing of gases and volatile organic compounds. However, the poor solubility of carbon nanotubes hinders their chemical functionalization and the subsequent integration of these materials into devices. This manuscript describes a solvent-free procedure for rapid prototyping of selective chemiresistors from CNTs and graphite on the surface of paper. This procedure enables fabrication of functional gas sensors from commercially available starting materials in less than 15 min. The first step of this procedure involves the generation of solid composites of CNTs or graphite with small molecule selectors—designed to interact with specific classes of gaseous analytes—by solvent-free mechanical mixing in a ball mill and subsequent compression. The second step involves deposition of chemiresistive sensors by mechanical abrasion of these solid composites onto the surface of paper. Parallel fabrication of multiple chemiresistors from diverse composites rapidly generates cross-reactive arrays capable of sensing and differentiating gases and volatile organic compounds at part-per-million and part-per-thousand concentrations.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier NanotechnologiesNational Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award F32CA157197

The preliminary design of a wearable computer for supporting Construction Progress Monitoring

Progress monitoring has become more and more important as owners have increasingly demanded shorter times for the delivery of their projects. This trend is even more evident in high technology industries, such as the computer industry and the chemical industry. Fast changing markets, such as the computer industry, force companies to have to build new facilities quickly. To make a statement about construction progress, the status of a building has to be determined and monitored over a period of time. Depicting the construction progress in a diagram over time, statements can be made about the anticipated completion of the project and delays and problems in certain areas. Having this information, measures can be taken to efficiently >catch up< on the schedule of the project. New technologies, such as wearable computers, speech recognition, touch screens and wireless networks could help to move electronic data processing to the construction site. Progress monitoring could very much take advantage of this move, as several intermediate steps of processing progress data can be made unnecessary. The processing of progress data could be entirely done by computers, which means that data for supporting decisions can be made available at the moment the construction progress is measured. This paper describes a project, that investigates how these new technologies can be linked to create a system that enhances the efficiency of progress monitoring. During the project a first prototype of a progress monitoring system was developed that allows construction companies and site supervisors to measure construction progress on site using wearable computers that are speech controlled and connected to a central database via a wireless network

Organic Growers of Alabama Cooperative, A Loosely Fitted Cooperative: Nurturing the Community and Growing Together

The age-old connection between the people and the land is something that seven women, who have organized themselves into a loosely fitted cooperative, are reviving. In the process of growing together as members of a cooperative, these women in Macon County, Alabama, are not only promoting healthy living and nurturing community, but are also addressing the issue of food security by making nutritious affordable produce and other agricultural products available to their community. Additionally, they are illustrating alternative strategies of community and economic development. This article examines why they chose the structure of a loosely fitted cooperative over a traditional or formal cooperative, how relationship building and partnering has been integral to their individual and collective success, and what their aspirations are

Main-Belt Comet P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS)

We present initial results from observations and numerical analyses aimed at characterizing main-belt comet P/2012 T1 (PANSTARRS). Optical monitoring observations were made between October 2012 and February 2013 using the University of Hawaii 2.2 m telescope, the Keck I telescope, the Baade and Clay Magellan telescopes, Faulkes Telescope South, the Perkins Telescope at Lowell Observatory, and the Southern Astrophysical Research (SOAR) telescope. The object's intrinsic brightness approximately doubles from the time of its discovery in early October until mid-November and then decreases by ~60% between late December and early February, similar to photometric behavior exhibited by several other main-belt comets and unlike that exhibited by disrupted asteroid (596) Scheila. We also used Keck to conduct spectroscopic searches for CN emission as well as absorption at 0.7 microns that could indicate the presence of hydrated minerals, finding an upper limit CN production rate of QCN<1.5x10^23 mol/s, from which we infer a water production rate of QH2O<5x10^25 mol/s, and no evidence of the presence of hydrated minerals. Numerical simulations indicate that P/2012 T1 is largely dynamically stable for >100 Myr and is unlikely to be a recently implanted interloper from the outer solar system, while a search for potential asteroid family associations reveal that it is dynamically linked to the ~155 Myr-old Lixiaohua asteroid family.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Spartalizumab or placebo in combination with dabrafenib and trametinib in patients with BRAF\textit{BRAF}V600-mutant melanoma: exploratory biomarker analyses from a randomized phase 3 trial (COMBI-i)

BackgroundThe randomized phase 3 COMBI-i trial did not meet its primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival (PFS) with spartalizumab plus dabrafenib and trametinib (sparta-DabTram) vs placebo plus dabrafenib and trametinib (placebo-DabTram) in the overall population of patients with unresectable/metastatic $\textit{BRAF}$V600-mutant melanoma. This prespecified exploratory biomarker analysis was performed to identify subgroups that may derive greater treatment benefit from sparta-DabTram.MethodsIn COMBI-i (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02967692), 532 patients received spartalizumab 400 mg intravenously every 4 weeks plus dabrafenib 150 mg orally two times daily and trametinib 2 mg orally one time daily or placebo-DabTram. Baseline/on-treatment pharmacodynamic markers were assessed via flow cytometry-based immunophenotyping and plasma cytokine profiling. Baseline programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) status and T-cell phenotype were assessed via immunohistochemistry; $\textit{BRAF}$V600 mutation type, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) via DNA sequencing; gene expression signatures via RNA sequencing; and CD4$^{+}$/CD8$^{+}$ T-cell ratio via immunophenotyping.ResultsExtensive biomarker analyses were possible in approximately 64% to 90% of the intention-to-treat population, depending on sample availability and assay. Subgroups based on PD-L1 status/TMB or T-cell inflammation did not show significant differences in PFS benefit with sparta-DabTram vs placebo-DabTram, although T-cell inflammation was prognostic across treatment arms. Subgroups defined by $\textit{BRAF}$V600K mutation (HR 0.45 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.99)), detectable ctDNA shedding (HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.96)), or CD4$^{+}$/CD8$^{+}$ ratio above median (HR 0.58 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.84)) derived greater PFS benefit with sparta-DabTram vs placebo-DabTram. In a multivariate analysis, ctDNA emerged as strongly prognostic (p=0.007), while its predictive trend did not reach significance; in contrast, CD4$^{+}$/CD8$^{+}$ ratio was strongly predictive (interaction p=0.0131).ConclusionsThese results support the feasibility of large-scale comprehensive biomarker analyses in the context of a global phase 3 study. T-cell inflammation was prognostic but not predictive of sparta-DabTram benefit, as patients with high T-cell inflammation already benefit from targeted therapy alone. Baseline ctDNA shedding also emerged as a strong independent prognostic variable, with predictive trends consistent with established measures of disease burden such as lactate dehydrogenase levels. CD4$^{+}$/CD8$^{+}$ T-cell ratio was significantly predictive of PFS benefit with sparta-DabTram but requires further validation as a biomarker in melanoma. Taken together with previous observations, further study of checkpoint inhibitor plus targeted therapy combination in patients with higher disease burden may be warranted