Development strategies : integrating governance and growth

A frontier challenge for development strategy is to move beyond prescribing optimal economic policies, and instead – taking a broad view of the interactions between economic, political and social constraints and dynamics -- to identify entry points capable of breaking a low-growth logjam, and initiating a virtuous spiral of cumulative change. The paper lays out four distinctive sequences via which the different dimensions might interact and evolve over time, and provides country-specific illustrations of each. Each sequence is defined by the principal focus of its initial step: 1) State capacity building provides a platform for accelerated growth via improved public sector performance and enhanced credibility for investors; strengthened political institutions and civil society come onto the agenda only over the longer term; 2) Transformational governance has as its entry point the reshaping of a country’s political institutions. Accelerated growth could follow, insofar as institutional changes enhance accountability, and reduce the potential for arbitrary discretionary action -- and thereby shift expectations in a positive direction; 3) For'just enough governance', the initial focus is on growth itself, with the aim of addressing specific capacity and institutional constraints as and when they become binding -- not seeking to anticipate and address in advance all possible institutional constraints; 4) Bottom-up development engages civil society as an entry point for seeking stronger state capacity, lower corruption, better public services, improvements in political institutions more broadly -- and a subsequent unlocking of constraints on growth. The sequences should not be viewed as a technocratic toolkit from which a putative reformer is free to choose. Recognizing that choice is constrained by history, the paper concludes by suggesting an approach for exploring what might the scope for identifying practical ways forward in specific country settings.Governance Indicators,National Governance,Parliamentary Government,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Political Economy

Climatic Controls on the Porewater Chemistry of Mid-continental Wetlands

Wetlands develop where climate and physiography conspire to maintain saturated soils at the land surface, support diverse plant and animal communities, and serve as globally important sinks for atmospheric carbon. The chemistry of wetland porewaters impacts near-surface biological communities and subsurface biogeochemical processes that influence carbon cycling in the environment. Wetland porewater chemistry is a dynamic byproduct of complex hydrogeological processes that cause meteoric waters to enter groundwater systems (recharge) or groundwater to flow to the land surface (discharge). Changes in climate can alter subsurface hydraulic gradients that determine the recharge and discharge functions of wetlands, which in turn control the hydrogeochemical evolution of wetland porewaters. The climate of mid-continental North America is influenced by competing air masses with vastly different temperature and moisture contents originating from the Pacific Coast, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Arctic. The interactions of these air masses result in large dynamic shifts of climate regimes characterized by decadal-scale oscillations between periods of drought and heavy rain. Over the course of the 20th century, a shift occurred towards wetter climate in the mid-continental region. This dissertation examines the impact of this climate shift on the porewater chemistry of two very different wetland systems, located only 350 km apart: the Glacial Lake Agassiz Peatlands (GLAP) of northern Minnesota and the Cottonwood Lake Study Area (CLSA) of North Dakota. The former study site consists of a large (7,600 km2), circumboreal peatland that developed an extensive blanket of peat over the last ~5000 years on a relatively flat glacial lake bed within a sub-humid to semi-arid climate gradient characterized by small annual atmospheric moisture surpluses and frequent droughts. The latter study site consists of a 0.92 km2 complex of small (meter-scale) “prairie pothole” wetlands located on a hummocky glacial stagnation moraine under semi-arid climate where wetlands frequently fill and dry with surface ponds over low-permeability glacial till in response to snowmelt runoff and evapotranspiration. Both sites have been the subject of long-term hydrological study since c. 1980 and are well-established examples of the sensitivity of wetland functions to changes in climate. The first chapter of this dissertation utilizes a semi-conservative tracer suite (pH, Ca, Mg, Sr, 87Sr/86Sr) to fingerprint discharge of calcareous groundwater to GLAP peat along a ~6 km transect from a bog crest downslope to an internal fen water track and bog islands. However, stable isotopes of the peat porewaters (δ18O and δ2H) show that the subsurface throughout the entire study area is currently flushed with recharge from the near surface peat. I hypothesize that back-diffusion of groundwater-derived solutes from the peat matrix to active pore-spaces has allowed the geochemical signal from paleo-hydrogeologic discharge to persist into the current regime of dilute recharge. This effect promotes methane generation in the peatland subsurface by allowing transport of labile carbon compounds from the land surface to depth while maintaining geochemical conditions (i.e. pH) in the deep peat favorable to biogenic methane production. The results of this study show that autogenic hydrogeochemical feedback mechanisms contribute to the resilience of peatlands systems and associated ecological functions against climate change. The second chapter of this dissertation consists of a detailed geoelectrical survey of a well-studied, closed-basin prairie wetland (P1) in the CLSA that has experienced record drought and heavy rains (i.e. deluge) during the late 20th century. Subsurface storage of sulfate (SO4) salts allows many such closed-basin prairie wetlands to maintain moderate surface water salinities (TDS from 1 to 10 g L-1) that influence communities of aquatic biota. I imaged saline lenses of sulfate-rich porewater (TDS \u3e 10 g L-1) in wetland sediments beneath the bathymetric low of the wetland and within the currently ponded area along the shoreline of a prior pond stand. Analyses of long-term (1979 – 2014) groundwater and surface water levels in the wetland suggest that the saline lenses formed during paleo-droughts when the groundwater levels dropped below the wetland bed and are stable in the subsurface on at least centennial timescales. I hypothesize a “drought-induced recharge” mechanism by which wetlands maintain moderate surface water salinity by subsurface storage during droughts when the wetlands dry and intermittent runoff events flush surface salts down secondary porosity created by desiccation fractures and terrestrial plant roots. Drought-derived saline groundwater has the potential to increase wetland salinity during record wet climate conditions currently prevalent in the Prairie Pothole Region. The third chapter of this dissertation extends the findings of the second chapter by a detailed geochemical survey of wetland porewater, pond water, and upland groundwater in the P1 basin. I use a natural geochemical tracer suite of halogens (Cl, Br, and I) to better understand the hydrogeochemical evolution of saline groundwater in the wetland subsurface during prior droughts. I found that saline porewater lenses contain SO4, Cl, and Br that are ~6x more concentrated from levels measured in the surface pond, due to the effects of evapo-concentration and recharge during paleo-droughts. However, I found the highest concentrations of porewater iodine (up to ~4 µM; the highest dissolved iodine concentration ever reported for a terrestrial aquatic system) occurred in vertical profiles above the saline lenses. I hypothesize that chromatographic separation of iodine from SO4, Cl, and Br occurs during droughts when sedimentary iodine oxidizes from its reduced forms (I- and organically bound I) to the less-mobile iodate compound (IO3-). Understanding the hydrogeochemical evolution and composition of drought-derived, saline groundwater can be used to fingerprint sources of salinity to wetland ponds during the record wet climate conditions currently prevalent in the Prairie Pothole Region. The three studies that comprise this dissertation illustrate diverse and complicated ways by which different wetland systems store and release salinity to their porewaters under dry and wet climate conditions. In the GLAP, geochemical buffering from the peat matrix stabilizes subsurface biogeochemical processing against the effects of climate change. At the CLSA, subsurface salinity storage during droughts allows closed-basin prairie wetlands to maintain moderate surface water salinities under semi-arid climate, which can be re-released back to wetland surface ponds during wetter conditions. These studies both have practical applications for forecasting the response of mid-continental wetlands to changes in climate, and highlight autogenic hydrogeochemical feedback mechanisms that help wetlands stabilize their ecological and biogeochemical functions under a changing climate

Evaluation of quantum dot conjugated antibodies for immunofluorescent labelling of cellular targets

Semiconductor quantum dots (Qdots) have been utilised as probes in fluorescence microscopy and provide an alternative to fluorescent dyes and fluorescent proteins due to their brightness, photostability, and the possibility to excite different Qdots with a single wavelength. In spite of these attractive properties, their implemenation by biologists has been somewhat limited and only a few Qdot conjugates are commercially available for the labelling of cellular targets. Although many protocols have been reported for the specific labelling of proteins with Qdots, the majority of these relied on Qdot-conjugated antibodies synthesised specifically by the authors (and therefore not widely available), which limits the scope of applications and complicates replication. Here, the specificity of a commercially available, Qdot-conjugated secondary antibody (Qdot-Ab) was tested against several primary IgG antibodies. The antigens were labelled simultaneously with a fluorescent dye coupled to a secondary antibody (Dye-Ab) and the Qdot-Ab. Although, the Dye-Ab labelled all of the intended target proteins, the Qdot-Ab was found bound to only some of the protein targets in the cytosol and could not reach the nucleus, even after extensive cell permeabilisation

Tracking of TV and video gaming during childhood: Iowa Bone Development Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Tracking studies determine the stability and predictability of specific phenomena. This study examined tracking of TV viewing (TV) and video game use (VG) from middle childhood through early adolescence after adjusting for moderate and vigorous physical activity (MVPA), percentage of body fat (% BF), and maturity.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>TV viewing and VG use were measured at ages 5, 8, 11, and 13 (n = 434) via parental- and self-report. MVPA was measured using the Actigraph, % BF using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and maturity via Mirwald predictive equations. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) were used to assess stability and logistic regression was used to predict children "at risk" for maintaining sedentary behaviors. Additional models examined tracking only in overfat children (boys ≥ 25% BF; girls ≥ 32% BF). Data were collected from 1998 to 2007 and analyzed in 2010.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The adjusted stability coefficients (GEE) for TV viewing were 0.35 (95% CI = 0.26, 0.44) for boys, 0.32 (0.23, 0.40) for girls, and 0.45 (0.27, 0.64) for overfat. For VG use, the adjusted stability coefficients were 0.14 (0.05, 0.24) for boys, 0.24 (0.10, 0.38) for girls, and 0.29 (0.08, 0.50) for overfat. The adjusted odds ratios (OR) for TV viewing were 3.2 (2.0, 5.2) for boys, 2.9 (1.9, 4.6) for girls, and 6.2 (2.2, 17.2) for overfat. For VG use, the OR were 1.8 (1.1, 3.1) for boys, 3.5 (2.1, 5.8) for girls, and 1.9 (0.6, 6.1) for overfat.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>TV viewing and VG use are moderately stable throughout childhood and predictive of later behavior. TV viewing appears to be more stable in younger children than VG use and more predictive of later behavior. Since habitual patterns of sedentarism in young children tend to continue to adolescence, early intervention strategies, particularly to reduce TV viewing, are warranted.</p

Shape-Dependent Thermodynamics and Non-Local Hydrodynamics in a Non-Gibbsian Steady-State of a Drift-Diffusion System

Shape-dependent thermodynamics and non-local hydrodynamics are argued to occur in dissipative steady states of driven diffusive systems. These predictions are confirmed by numerical simulations. Unlike power-law correlations, these phenomena cannot be explained by a hypothesis of ``criticality''. Instead, they require the effective Hamiltonian of the system to contain very long-range potentials, making the invariant probability measures formally ``non-Gibbsian''.Comment: 4 pages, Latex Version 2.09, 1 Postscript figur

Clinical Aspects of Feline Retroviruses: A Review

Feline leukemia virus (FeLV) and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) are retroviruses with global impact on the health of domestic cats. The two viruses differ in their potential to cause disease. FeLV is more pathogenic, and was long considered to be responsible for more clinical syndromes than any other agent in cats. FeLV can cause tumors (mainly lymphoma), bone marrow suppression syndromes (mainly anemia), and lead to secondary infectious diseases caused by suppressive effects of the virus on bone marrow and the immune system. Today, FeLV is less commonly diagnosed than in the previous 20 years; prevalence has been decreasing in most countries. However, FeLV importance may be underestimated as it has been shown that regressively infected cats (that are negative in routinely used FeLV tests) also can develop clinical signs. FIV can cause an acquired immunodeficiency syndrome that increases the risk of opportunistic infections, neurological diseases, and tumors. In most naturally infected cats, however, FIV itself does not cause severe clinical signs, and FIV-infected cats may live many years without any health problems. This article provides a review of clinical syndromes in progressively and regressively FeLV-infected cats as well as in FIV-infected cats

A reliability and validity study of the Palliative Performance Scale

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Palliative Performance Scale (PPS) was first introduced in1996 as a new tool for measurement of performance status in palliative care. PPS has been used in many countries and has been translated into other languages.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study evaluated the reliability and validity of PPS. A web-based, case scenarios study with a test-retest format was used to determine reliability. Fifty-three participants were recruited and randomly divided into two groups, each evaluating 11 cases at two time points. The validity study was based on the content validation of 15 palliative care experts conducted over telephone interviews, with discussion on five themes: PPS as clinical assessment tool, the usefulness of PPS, PPS scores affecting decision making, the problems in using PPS, and the adequacy of PPS instruction.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The intraclass correlation coefficients for absolute agreement were 0.959 and 0.964 for Group 1, at Time-1 and Time-2; 0.951 and 0.931 for Group 2, at Time-1 and Time-2 respectively. Results showed that the participants were consistent in their scoring over the two times, with a mean Cohen's kappa of 0.67 for Group 1 and 0.71 for Group 2. In the validity study, all experts agreed that PPS is a valuable clinical assessment tool in palliative care. Many of them have already incorporated PPS as part of their practice standard.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results of the reliability study demonstrated that PPS is a reliable tool. The validity study found that most experts did not feel a need to further modify PPS and, only two experts requested that some performance status measures be defined more clearly. Areas of PPS use include prognostication, disease monitoring, care planning, hospital resource allocation, clinical teaching and research. PPS is also a good communication tool between palliative care workers.</p