The sectoral structure of poverty during an adjustment period : evidence for Indonesia in the mid-1980s

The authors examine the structure of poverty in Indonesia by sector of employment, and how it changed during the adjustment period, 1984 to 1987. They find that, while aggregate poverty decreased during the period, the gains to the poor were quite uneven across regions and sectors. Gains to the rural sector in key regions were quantitatively important to Indonesia's success in alleviating poverty, they found. Most poverty exists -- and most gains in alleviating poverty were made -- in the rural farming sector. These gains were associated with crop diversification and continued growth in off-farm employment. The government's adjustment program favored rural areas and were crucial to Indonesia's evident success at maintaining momentum in alleviating poverty. However, one should not underrate the favorable conditions in Indonesia when adjustment started.Safety Nets and Transfers,Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Assessment,Rural Poverty Reduction,Services&Transfers to Poor

Poverty and undernutrition in Indonesia during the 1980s

Indonesia adjusted rapidly to sharply falling external terms of trade during the 1980's - using a classic package of currency devaluation, budgetary and monetary restraint, and regulatory relaxation. This paper discusses how the country fared in its efforts to alleviate poverty and undernutrition during that period. The paper studies a wide range of possible poverty lines and poverty measures - and the sensitivity of key results to many of the underlying assumptions about poverty. Although caloric intake data are not ideal, the authors found evidence that the extent of undernutrition also fell significantly. For a caloric intake level which 37 percent of the population failed to attain in 1984, only 27 percent of the population failed to attain it in 1987. Why was this so? Gains to the rural sector contributed greatly to the alleviation of poverty. Gains to the urban sector and population shifts were quantitively less important than direct gains to the rural poor. Increases in average real consumption and an improvement in overall equity both helped to reduce poverty. In addition, Indonesia's recent economic history had created conditions favorable to alleviating poverty so long as modest growth in private consumption per capita could be maintained during the adjustment period.Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Assessment,Achieving Shared Growth,Poverty Reduction Strategies,Services&Transfers to Poor

The role of groups and credit cooperatives in rural lending

Processing and collection costs of loans made to small farmers are high relative to the amount lent. Lending groups and credit cooperatives have been ascribed the potential to reach small farmers with affordable credit because the processing of one large loan rather than numerous small loans may allow for savings in administrative costs. These arrangements entail joint liability and reduce the risk of loan default. Some of the factors crucial for successful group lending are: (a) homogeneous borrowing groups that are jointly liable and assume some managerial and supervisory responsibilities; (b) establishing a common bond other than credit to enhance loan repayment as well as introduce savings mobilization; and (c) denying access to future credit to all group members in the case of default by any member. Important factors for succesful outcomes of credit cooperatives include: (a) bottom-up institutional development and training at the grass roots as well as at management levels; (b) savings mobilization by credit cooperatives rendering them financially less dependent on outside sources and enhancing borrowers incentives to repay; and (c) credit cooperatives not rushing to expand their activities beyond financial intermediation.Banks&Banking Reform,Strategic Debt Management,Financial Intermediation,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Economic Theory&Research

Selective Modulation Interferometric Spectrometer (SIMS) Technique Applied to Background Suppression

A method of using the SIMS (the Selective Modulation Interferometric Spectrometer) to measure the difference between the spectral content of two optical beams is given. The differ - encing is done optically; that is, the modulated detector signal is directly proportional to the difference between the two spectra being compared. This optical differencing minimizes the dynamic -range requirements of the electronics and requires only a simple modification of the basic cyclic SIMS spectrometer. This technique can be used to suppress background radiation for the enhancement of target detection and tracking. Laboratory measurements demonstrating the application of this technique are reported

Predicting the Focus of Cryogenicaly-Cooled Optical Systems

Results of an experimental study to ascertain how well the focal -plane location of cryogenically -cooled optical systems can be predicted are reported. These results indicate that if the required low- temperature thermal expansion and index -of- refraction data are available, the focal shift caused by cooling to cryogenic temperatures can be accurately predicted by simply computing the shift in the paraxial focus. In this study, the differences between the measured focal shifts and the computed shift in the paraxial focus were less than the diffraction -limited depth -of -focus tolerance. The results of this study also indicate that for off - the -shelf optical systems ray- tracing analysis may not adequately predict the absolute location of the focal plane. Thus, the following method of predicting the focal -plane location of a cryogenically- cooled optical system is suggested: first measure the focal -plane location with the optics at room temperature, and then add the computed paraxial focal shift to the measured location

The 8q24 Gene Desert: An Oasis of Non-Coding Transcriptional Activity

Understanding the functional effects of the wide-range of aberrant genetic characteristics associated with the human chromosome 8q24 region in cancer remains daunting due to the complexity of the locus. The most logical target for study remains the MYC proto-oncogene, a prominent resident of 8q24 that was first identified more than a quarter of a century ago. However, many of the amplifications, translocation breakpoints, and viral integration sites associated with 8q24 are often found throughout regions surrounding large expanses of the MYC locus that include other transcripts. In addition, chr.8q24 is host to a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with cancer risk. Yet, the lack of a direct correlation between cancer risk alleles and MYC expression has also raised the possibility that MYC is not always the target of these genetic associations. The 8q24 region has been described as a “gene desert” because of the paucity of functionally annotated genes located within this region. Here we review the evidence for the role of other loci within the 8q24 region, most of which are non-coding transcripts, either in concert with MYC or independent of MYC, as possible candidate gene targets in malignancy

Tunable Optical Filter Using an Interferometer for Selective Modulation

Using the selective modulation interferometric spectrometer (SIMS) as a tunable filter is proposed. This tunable filter can have a large optical throughput and a resolving power on the order of a few thousand. A basic explanation of the operation of this filter is given with an emphasis on the similarities and differences between it and a Fourier spectrometer. Several equations that have been found to be particularly useful in designing, operating, and calibrating this filter are presented. The construction and operation of a tunable filter prototype are reported

Targeting the Poor in Rural Java

Summaries This article examines the regional and household characteristics of poverty in rural Java to assess the efficacy of targeted anti?poverty programmes. Analysis of household data shows important geographic and spatial features to rural poverty in Java. However, it also highlights the limitations of geographic targeting; 43 per cent of remaining poor in rural Java live in non?poor regions. The article suggests that an effective anti?poverty strategy for rural Java would focus on continued broad?based growth, judicious use of geographic targeting, and special efforts to enhance the poor's access to productive assets, regardless of where they live

Pvt1-encoded microRNAs in oncogenesis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The functional significance of the <it>Pvt1 </it>locus in the oncogenesis of Burkitt's lymphoma and plasmacytomas has remained a puzzle. In these tumors, <it>Pvt1 </it>is the site of reciprocal translocations to immunoglobulin loci. Although the locus encodes a number of alternative transcripts, no protein or regulatory RNA products were found. The recent identification of non-coding microRNAs encoded within the <it>PVT1 </it>region has suggested a regulatory role for this locus.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mouse <it>Pvt1 </it>locus encodes several microRNAs. In mouse T cell lymphomas induced by retroviral insertions into the locus, the <it>Pvt1 </it>transcripts, and at least one of their microRNA products, mmu-miR-1204 are overexpressed. Whereas up to seven co-mutations can be found in a single tumor, in over 2,000 tumors none had insertions into both the <it>Myc </it>and <it>Pvt1 </it>loci.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Judging from the large number of integrations into the <it>Pvt1 </it>locus – more than in the nearby <it>Myc </it>locus – <it>Pvt1 </it>and the microRNAs encoded by it are as important as <it>Myc </it>in T lymphomagenesis, and, presumably, in T cell activation. An analysis of the co-mutations in the lymphomas likely place <it>Pvt1 </it>and <it>Myc </it>into the same pathway.</p