How Costly is it for Poor Farmers to Lift Themselves out of Subsistence?

The main objective of this paper is to provide estimates of the cost of moving out of subsistence for Madagascar's farmers. The analysis is based on a simple asset-return model of occupational choice. Estimates suggest that the entry (sunk) cost associated with moving out of subsistence can be quite large|somewhere between 124 and 153 percent of a subsistence farmer's annual production. Our results make it possible to identify farm characteristics likely to generatee large gains if moved out of subsistence, yielding useful information for the targeting of trade-adjustment assistance programs

Post-traumatic overload or acute syndrome of the os trigonum: a possible cause of posterior ankle impingement

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the post-traumatic overload syndrome of the os trigonum as a possible cause of posterior ankle impingement and hindfoot pain. We have reviewed 19 athletes who were referred to our foot unit between 1995 and 2001 because of posterior ankle pain, and in whom a post-traumatic overload syndrome of os trigonum was diagnosed. All these patients were followed up over a period of 2 years. In 11 cases a chronic repetitive movements in forced plantar flexion was found. In the other eight cases the pain appeared to persist after a standard treatment of an ankle sprain in inversion plantar flexion. The diagnosis was based on clinical history, physical examination and X-rays that revealed a non-fused os trigonum. The confirmation of diagnosis was carried-out injecting local anaesthetic under fluoroscopic control. In all cases a corticosteroid injection as first line treatment was performed. In 6 cases a second injection was necessary to alleviate pain because incomplete recovery with the first injection. Three cases (16%) were recalcitrant to this treatment and in these three cases a surgical excision of the os trigonum was carried out. Our conclusion is that after some chronic athletic activity or an acute ankle sprain the os trigonum, if present, may undergo mechanical overload, remain undisrupted and become painful. Treatment by corticosteroid injection often resolves the proble

Enhancement of power system transient stability using superconducting fault current limiters

Transient stability investigations consist of studying the rotor oscillations of generators (electro-mechanic oscillations, 0.1-2 Hz) after the occurrence of a fault of large amplitude, e.g. short circuit. The goal is to indicate if the generators are capable to stay synchronous after a fault has occurred. The fault duration is one of the most important factors to be determined. In fact, the shorter the fault, the more the maintaining of synchronisation can be guaranteed. Now in case of a fault, a fault current limiter has an extremely fast current transition in comparison to electro-mechanic time constants. This implies a quasi-instantaneous elimination of the fault through a limitation of the current and consequently a better ability to maintain the synchronisation of the system. We recall that in a classic system, the elimination of a fault, by opening a circuit breaker, is carried out in two or three cycles in the best case. We have here studied a simple, radial electric network configuration with a machine and an infinite network. The study covers simulations of a fault that can occur in a network and the consequences of the recovery time of the fault current limiter

Bi(2223) Ag sheathed tape Ic and exponent n characterisation and modelling under DC applied magnetic field

We use a dual channel digital lock-in to perform electrical measurement of AC losses at power frequencies. A DC magnetic field between 2 and 400 mT is applied with a varying angle from parallel to perpendicular to the tape surface, thus having a complete view of the loss behavior under DC applied field. Furthermore, the same experimental layout is used to acquire time series of current and voltage across the sample. Using a triangular input current, we measure and average the voltage, which then is fitted to a power law (I/Ic)^n. The measurements are repeated for the mentioned magnetic field and angle domain to give the dependencies of Ic and n with magnetic field and angle. For device modeling purposes, we can then express a phenomenological law giving Ic and n as a function of the applied magnetic field's intensity and direction

Refining Vision Videos

[Context and motivation] Complex software-based systems involve several stakeholders, their activities and interactions with the system. Vision videos are used during the early phases of a project to complement textual representations. They visualize previously abstract visions of the product and its use. By creating, elaborating, and discussing vision videos, stakeholders and developers gain an improved shared understanding of how those abstract visions could translate into concrete scenarios and requirements to which individuals can relate. [Question/problem] In this paper, we investigate two aspects of refining vision videos: (1) Refining the vision by providing alternative answers to previously open issues about the system to be built. (2) A refined understanding of the camera perspective in vision videos. The impact of using a subjective (or "ego") perspective is compared to the usual third-person perspective. [Methodology] We use shopping in rural areas as a real-world application domain for refining vision videos. Both aspects of refining vision videos were investigated in an experiment with 20 participants. [Contribution] Subjects made a significant number of additional contributions when they had received not only video or text but also both - even with very short text and short video clips. Subjective video elements were rated as positive. However, there was no significant preference for either subjective or non-subjective videos in general.Comment: 15 pages, 25th International Working Conference on Requirements Engineering: Foundation for Software Quality 201

Patients' satisfaction with community treatment: a pilot cross-sectional survey adopting multiple perspectives.

ACCESSIBLE SUMMARY: Patients' satisfaction is scarcely studied within the context of community treatment for adolescents. Thus, this study adopts a multiple perspective on patients' satisfaction (including service users as well as staff members). The results highlighted that all informants (patients, foster carers in foster homes and professional caregivers from community treatment teams) perceived the patients to be satisfied, with foster carers reporting the highest patient satisfaction rate. Considering the patient satisfaction rate from multiple perspectives provides complementary understandings. Clinical outcomes and, specifically, a reduction in emotional difficulties were related to patient's satisfaction, but only from the patients' perspective. ABSTRACT: Community treatment (CT) teams in Switzerland provide care to patients who are unable to use regular child and adolescent mental health services (i.e. inpatient and outpatients facilities). No study has considered patients' self-rated satisfaction alongside with staff members' perspectives on patient satisfaction. Thus, adopting a cross-sectional survey design, we collected patients' satisfaction using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), rated by multiple informants (patients, foster carers in foster homes and professional caregivers from CT teams). Professional caregivers assessed clinical outcomes using the Health of the Nation Outcome Scale for Children and Adolescents. The results indicated that all informants were satisfied with the community treatment teams. The satisfaction scores were not correlated across informants; however, the alleviation of emotional symptoms was correlated with patients' satisfaction. This study indicated that the use of a combined approach including the views of service users and professionals gives important complementary information. Finally, in our sample, lower emotional symptoms were linked to enhanced patient satisfaction. This study demonstrated the importance of considering multiple perspectives to obtain the most accurate picture of patients' satisfaction. Second, focusing on the reduction of emotional symptoms might lead to a higher degree of patients' satisfaction

How a haemosporidian parasite of bats gets around: the genetic structure of a parasite, vector and host compared.

Parasite population structure is often thought to be largely shaped by that of its host. In the case of a parasite with a complex life cycle, two host species, each with their own patterns of demography and migration, spread the parasite. However, the population structure of the parasite is predicted to resemble only that of the most vagile host species. In this study, we tested this prediction in the context of a vector-transmitted parasite. We sampled the haemosporidian parasite Polychromophilus melanipherus across its European range, together with its bat fly vector Nycteribia schmidlii and its host, the bent-winged bat Miniopterus schreibersii. Based on microsatellite analyses, the wingless vector, and not the bat host, was identified as the least structured population and should therefore be considered the most vagile host. Genetic distance matrices were compared for all three species based on a mitochondrial DNA fragment. Both host and vector populations followed an isolation-by-distance pattern across the Mediterranean, but not the parasite. Mantel tests found no correlation between the parasite and either the host or vector populations. We therefore found no support for our hypothesis; the parasite population structure matched neither vector nor host. Instead, we propose a model where the parasite's gene flow is represented by the added effects of host and vector dispersal patterns

From spinal central pattern generators to cortical network: integrated BCI for walking rehabilitation

Success in locomotor rehabilitation programs can be improved with the use of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Although a wealth of research has demonstrated that locomotion is largely controlled by spinal mechanisms, the brain is of utmost importance in monitoring locomotor patterns and therefore contains information regarding central pattern generation functioning. In addition, there is also a tight coordination between the upper and lower limbs, which can also be useful in controlling locomotion. The current paper critically investigates different approaches that are applicable to this field: the use of electroencephalogram (EEG), upper limb electromyogram (EMG), or a hybrid of the two neurophysiological signals to control assistive exoskeletons used in locomotion based on programmable central pattern generators (PCPGs) or dynamic recurrent neural networks (DRNNs). Plantar surface tactile stimulation devices combined with virtual reality may provide the sensation of walking while in a supine position for use of training brain signals generated during locomotion. These methods may exploit mechanisms of brain plasticity and assist in the neurorehabilitation of gait in a variety of clinical conditions, including stroke, spinal trauma, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy