Global Nutrition Report: From Promise to Impact: Ending Malnutrition by 2030

Few challenges facing the global community today match the scale of malnutrition, a condition that directly affects 1 in 3 people. Malnutrition manifests itself in many different ways: as poor child growth and development; as individuals who are skin and bone or prone to infection; as those who are carrying too much weight or whose blood contains too much sugar, salt, fat, or cholesterol; or those who are deficient in important vitamins or minerals. Malnutrition and diet are by far the biggest risk factors for the global burden of disease: every country is facing a serious public health challenge from malnutrition. The economic consequences represent losses of 11 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) every year in Africa and Asia, whereas preventing malnutrion delivers $16 in returns on investment for every$1 spent. The world’s countries have agreed on targets for nutrition, but despite some progress in recent years the world is off track to reach those targets. This third stocktaking of the state of the world’s nutrition points to ways to reverse this trend and end all forms of malnutrition by 2030

Global Nutrition Report: Actions and Accountability to Advance Nutrition & Sustainable Development

As we move into the post-2015 era of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the world faces many seemingly intractable problems. Malnutrition should not be one of them. Countries that are determined to make rapid advances in malnutrition reduction can do so. If governments want to achieve the SDG target of ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030, they have clear pathways to follow. There are many levers to pull, and this report provides many examples of countries that have done so. Tackling malnutrition effectively is also key to meeting many other SDG targets. Good nutrition signals the realization of people’s rights to food and health. It reflects a narrowing of the inequalities in our world. Without good nutrition, human beings cannot achieve their full potential. When people’s nutrition status improves, it helps break the intergenerational cycle of poverty, generates broad-based economic growth, and leads to a host of benefits for individuals, families, communities, and countries. Good nutrition provides both a foundation for human development and the scaffolding needed to ensure it reaches its full potential. Good nutrition, in short, is an essential driver of sustainable development

Novel 3D compression methods for geometry, connectivity and texture

A large number of applications in medical visualization, games, engineering design, entertainment, heritage, e-commerce and so on require the transmission of 3D models over the Internet or over local networks. 3D data compression is an important requirement for fast data storage, access and transmission within bandwidth limitations. The Wavefront OBJ (object) file format is commonly used to share models due to its clear simple design. Normally each OBJ file contains a large amount of data (e.g. vertices and triangulated faces, normals, texture coordinates and other parameters) describing the mesh surface. In this paper we introduce a new method to compress geometry, connectivity and texture coordinates by a novel Geometry Minimization Algorithm (GM-Algorithm) in connection with arithmetic coding. First, each vertex (x, y, z) coordinates are encoded to a single value by the GM-Algorithm. Second, triangle faces are encoded by computing the differences between two adjacent vertex locations, which are compressed by arithmetic coding together with texture coordinates. We demonstrate the method on large data sets achieving compression ratios between 87%—99% without reduction in the number of reconstructed vertices and triangle faces. The decompression step is based on a Parallel Fast Matching Search Algorithm (Parallel-FMS) to recover the structure of the 3D mesh. A comparative analysis of compression ratios is provided with a number of commonly used 3D file formats such as VRML, OpenCTM and STL highlighting the performance and effectiveness of the proposed method

A novel image compression algorithm for high resolution 3D reconstruction

This research presents a novel algorithm to compress high-resolution images for accurate structured light 3D reconstruction. Structured light images contain a pattern of light and shadows projected on the surface of the object, which are captured by the sensor at very high resolutions. Our algorithm is concerned with compressing such images to a high degree with minimum loss without adversely affecting 3D reconstruction. The Compression Algorithm starts with a single level discrete wavelet transform (DWT) for decomposing an image into four sub-bands. The sub-band LL is transformed by DCT yielding a DC-matrix and an AC-matrix. The Minimize-Matrix-Size Algorithm is used to compress the AC-matrix while a DWT is applied again to the DC-matrix resulting in LL2, HL2, LH2 and HH2 sub-bands. The LL2 sub-band is transformed by DCT, while the Minimize-Matrix-Size Algorithm is applied to the other sub-bands. The proposed algorithm has been tested with images of different sizes within a 3D reconstruction scenario. The algorithm is demonstrated to be more effective than JPEG2000 and JPEG concerning higher compression rates with equivalent perceived quality and the ability to more accurately reconstruct the 3D models

A novel 2D image compression algorithm based on two levels DWT and DCT transforms with enhanced minimize-matrix-size algorithm for high resolution structured light 3D surface reconstruction

Image compression techniques are widely used in 2D and 3D image and video sequences. There are many types of compression techniques and among the most popular are JPEG and JPEG2000. In this research, we introduce a new compression method based on applying a two level Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) and a two level Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) in connection with novel compression steps for high-resolution images. The proposed image compression algorithm consists of 4 steps: 1) Transform an image by a two level DWT followed by a DCT to produce two matrices: DC- and AC-Matrix, or low and high frequency matrix respectively; 2) apply a second level DCT to the DC-Matrix to generate two arrays, namely nonzero-array and zero-array; 3) apply the Minimize-Matrix-Size (MMS) algorithm to the AC-Matrix and to the other high-frequencies generated by the second level DWT; 4) apply arithmetic coding to the output of previous steps. A novel Fast-Match-Search (FMS) decompression algorithm is used to reconstruct all high-frequency matrices. The FMS-algorithm computes all compressed data probabilities by using a table of data, and then using a binary search algorithm for finding decompressed data inside the table. Thereafter, all decoded DC-values with the decoded AC-coefficients are combined into one matrix followed by inverse two level DCT with two level DWT. The technique is tested by compression and reconstruction of 3D surface patches. Additionally, this technique is compared with JPEG and JPEG2000 algorithm through 2D and 3D RMSE following reconstruction. The results demonstrate that the proposed compression method has better visual properties than JPEG and JPEG2000 and is able to more accurately reconstruct surface patches in 3D

Multicolour correlative imaging using phosphor probes

Correlative light and electron microscopy exploits the advantages of optical methods, such as multicolour probes and their use in hydrated live biological samples, to locate functional units, which are then correlated with structural details that can be revealed by the superior resolution of electron microscopes. One difficulty is locating the area imaged by the electron beam in the much larger optical field of view. Multifunctional probes that can be imaged in both modalities and thus register the two images are required. Phosphor materials give cathodoluminescence (CL) optical emissions under electron excitation. Lanthanum phosphate containing thulium or terbium or europium emits narrow bands in the blue, green and red regions of the CL spectrum; they may be synthesised with very uniform-sized crystals in the 10- to 50-nm range. Such crystals can be imaged by CL in the electron microscope, at resolutions limited by the particle size, and with colour discrimination to identify different probes. These materials also give emissions in the optical microscope, by multiphoton excitation. They have been deposited on the surface of glioblastoma cells and imaged by CL. Gadolinium oxysulphide doped with terbium emits green photons by either ultraviolet or electron excitation. Sixty-nanometre crystals of this phosphor have been imaged in the atmospheric scanning electron microscope (JEOL ClairScope). This probe and microscope combination allow correlative imaging in hydrated samples. Phosphor probes should prove to be very useful in correlative light and electron microscopy, as fiducial markers to assist in image registration, and in high/super resolution imaging studies

Mr. Meteo: Providing climate information for the unconnected

A majority of the world remain unconnected to the World Wide Web due to issues like low literacy and relevant information. This study presents Mr. Meteo, a system that provides weather information via voice calls in local languages to rural farmers in Ghana. The study used an interdisciplinary approach to identify relevant informational needs and socio-economic implications, and early end-user and stakeholder involvement. Mr. Meteo was deployed in Bolgatanga, Ghana and represents a novel design in terms of actual web data access to rural areas. The positive feedback from farmers, and stakeholder’s interest in continuity, shows this approach to be an appropriate method of development and implementation of information systems for rural areas; successful due to end-user and stakeholder involvement, focus on existing technologies, the use of voice technologies to mitigate the problem of illiteracy, and information relevance to end-users. This paper presents the methodology and results of this novel, practical, local-context ICT4D project,that has produced a viable information system for rural communities

State-Business Relations and Investment in Egypt

This study shows that informal relationships between key policymakers and investors have played an important role in raising levels of investment and fostering economic growth. Comparative observations show that common social roots and common professional background facilitate the emergence of an effective public-private growth alliance but the only necessary conditions are common interest and common understanding of the problems to be solved. The comparative research on two old and two new sectors shows in detail how informal relationships have emerged and how they have made an impact but it warns against overstating their investment-enhancing role. Effective relationships between policymakers and investors – abbreviated to CIPI – are not the direct cause of increases in investment but can play a critical role in unleashing the profit potential of specific sectors. Research on the food industry shows how CIPI helped to overcome supply constraints and political obstacles in decision-making. Research on the communications industry shows how CIPI helped Egypt to overcome initial barriers to entry and establish a new industry virtually from scratch. While the gains were sometimes appropriated by a few actors, the research shows that exclusive relationships can have inclusive effects, depending on how the private sector is organised. Quantitative examination of whether CIPI had an enduring investment-enhancing effect was inconclusive. There is no doubt however that the CIPI was an effective transitional arrangement. It helped investors to overcome barriers to economic growth, it helped policymakers to overcome deficiencies in their own government agencies and it helped both sides to work together in establishing new sectorspecific rules and improving the general regulatory framework. The general lesson from this research is that such transitional arrangements deserve more attention, both to gain a better understanding of the political economy of investment and growth and to make research more relevant for policy

Country classifications for a changing world

The distinction between developing and developed countries has long been central to development studies and to debates on development policy. In earlier decades, it was in many respects accurate, and was for many purposes useful. Although the world is still very much divided between rich and poor countries, relationships among countries have changed so much that the developing– developed country distinction has become an obstacle to understanding current problems and opportunities and, even more, to thinking productively about the future. It is time to stop using it. Many alternative ways of categorising countries have been suggested. In recent years in particular, large numbers of organisations have begun annually to rank countries according to a wide variety of criteria: from economic vulnerability, bribe payers, competitiveness, digital access, ease of doing business, food insecurity, governance, and happiness to water poverty and welfare. These do not adequately capture the structural and relational changes that have occurred in our multi-polar world with substantially altered flows of ideas, resources and influence. Focusing on the needs of European policymakers, this paper suggests two axes for classifying countries. The first is the external capacity of states to influence and work with other states. This is captured in the (measureable) concept of ‘anchor countries’ developed by the German Development Institute and beginning to be put into practice in the enlargement from the G8 to the G20. The second is internal state capacity, as shaped by the sources of government income, in particular contrasting tax, aid, and oil. Using sources of public revenue as a way of classifying countries requires more work but would help to steer the development debate toward the key issue of improving the quality of governance and thus strengthening the capacity of poor countries to help themselves. Keywords: development (general); country classification; country ranking; national performance indicators; donor–recipient relationship; taxation; state capacity; anchor countries; future of the world