The Impact of Unconditional Cash Transfers on Nutrition: The South African Child Support Grant

In light of research that has argued that the income elasticity of nutrition is low, the goal of a new generation of cash transfer programmes to boost the nutrition of poor families' children may seem surprising. This observation applies especially to South Africa's unconditional Child Support Grant (CSG), in which cash grants are made to families with no strings attached. However, in contrast to the market-generated income increases that identified low nutritional elasticities in the earlier studies, the income increases generated by the South African cash transfers are almost exclusively assigned to women. Taking advantage of a slow programme rollout that created exogenous variation in the extent of CSG treatment received by beneficiaries in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, this Working Paper utilizes the continuous treatment method of Hirano and Imbens (2004) to estimate the impact of these transfers on child nutrition as measured by child height-for-age. Large dosages of CSG treatment early in life are shown to significantly boost child height. Drawing on the best estimates in the literature, these estimated height gains in turn suggest large adult earnings increases for treated children and a discounted rate of return on CSG payments of between 160 per cent and 230 per cent.Nutrition, cash transfers, continuous treatment estimator, South Africa, poverty

MobGeoSen: facilitating personal geosensor data collection and visualization using mobile phones

Mobile sensing and mapping applications are becoming more prevalent because sensing hardware is becoming more portable and more affordable. However, most of the hardware uses small numbers of fixed sensors that report and share multiple sets of environmental data which raises privacy concerns. Instead, these systems can be decentralized and managed by individuals in their public and private spaces. This paper describes a robust system called MobGeoSens which enables individuals to monitor their local environment (e.g. pollution and temperature) and their private spaces (e.g. activities and health) by using mobile phones in their day to day life

Editorial Special Issue on Enhancement Algorithms, Methodologies and Technology for Spectral Sensing

The paper is an editorial issue on enhancement algorithms, methodologies and technology for spectral sensing and serves as a valuable and useful reference for researchers and technologists interested in the evolving state-of-the-art and/or the emerging science and technology base associated with spectral-based sensing and monitoring problem. This issue is particularly relevant to those seeking new and improved solutions for detecting chemical, biological, radiological and explosive threats on the land, sea, and in the air

Clinicopathological characteristics of histiocytic sarcoma affecting the central nervous system in dogs.

BackgroundHistiocytic sarcoma affecting the central nervous system (CNS HS) in dogs may present as primary or disseminated disease, often characterized by inflammation. Prognosis is poor, and imaging differentiation from other CNS tumors can be problematic.ObjectiveTo characterize the clinicopathological inflammatory features, breed predisposition, and survival in dogs with CNS HS.AnimalsOne hundred two dogs with HS, 62 dogs with meningioma.MethodsRetrospective case series. Records were reviewed for results of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis, CBC, treatment, and outcome data.ResultsPredisposition for CNS HS was seen in Bernese Mountain Dogs, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Corgis, and Shetland Sheepdogs (P ≤ .001). Corgis and Shetland Sheepdogs had predominantly primary tumors; Rottweilers had exclusively disseminated tumors. Marked CSF inflammation was characteristic of primary rather than disseminated HS, and neoplastic cells were detected in CSF of 52% of affected dogs. Increased neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios were seen in all groups relative to controls (P <.008) but not among tumor subtypes. Definitive versus palliative treatment resulted in improved survival times (P < .001), but overall prognosis was poor.Conclusions and clinical importanceClinicopathological differences between primary and disseminated HS suggest that tumor biological behavior and origin may be different. Corgis and Shetland Sheepdogs are predisposed to primary CNS HS, characterized by inflammatory CSF. High total nucleated cell count and the presence of neoplastic cells support the use of CSF analysis as a valuable diagnostic test. Prognosis for CNS HS is poor, but further evaluation of inflammatory mechanisms may provide novel therapeutic opportunities

\u3ci\u3eGOPHERUS POLYPHEMUS\u3c/i\u3e (Gopher Tortoise) COYOTE PREDATION

Gopherus polyphemus is listed as a species of special concern by the state of Florida (Florida Wildlife Code Chap. 39 F.A.C.), and as a threatened species by the Florida Committee on Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals (Moler 1992. Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida: Volume 111, Reptiles and Amphibians. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 291 pp.). Coyotes (Canis latrans) are invasive to Florida with ranges that are expanding within the state (Schmitz and Brown 1994. An Assessment of Invasive Non-Indigenous Species in Florida\u27s Public Lands. Florida Dept. Environmental Protection. Tallahassee, Florida. 283 pp.; Wooding and Hardinsky 1990. Florida Field Nat. 18:12-14), including the southeastern coast (Cunningham and Dunford 1970. Quart. J. Florida Acad. Sci. 33:279-280; Brady 1983. Florida Field Nat. 11:40-41; Hill et al. 1987. Wildl. Soc. Bull. 15:521-524; Wooding and Hardinsky, op. cit.). We report here evidence of Coyote predation on Gopher Tortoise hatchlings in southeastern coastal Florida

Macrophage-associated lipin-1 promotes β-oxidation in response to proresolving stimuli

Macrophages reprogram their metabolism to promote appropriate responses. Proresolving macrophages primarily use fatty acid oxidation as an energy source. Metabolites generated during the catabolism of fatty acids aid in the resolution of inflammation and tissue repair, but the regulatory mechanisms that control lipid metabolism in macrophages are not fully elucidated. Lipin-1, a phosphatidic acid phosphatase that has transcriptional coregulator activity, regulates lipid metabolism in a variety of cells. In this current study, we show that lipin-1 is required for increased oxidative phosphorylation in IL-4 stimulated mouse

Sub-wavelength terahertz beam profiling of a THz source via an all-optical knife-edge technique

Terahertz technologies recently emerged as outstanding candidates for a variety of applications in such sectors as security, biomedical, pharmaceutical, aero spatial, etc. Imaging the terahertz field, however, still remains a challenge, particularly when sub-wavelength resolutions are involved. Here we demonstrate an all-optical technique for the terahertz near-field imaging directly at the source plane. A thin layer (<100 nm-thickness) of photo carriers is induced on the surface of the terahertz generation crystal, which acts as an all-optical, virtual blade for terahertz near-field imaging via a knife-edge technique. Remarkably, and in spite of the fact that the proposed approach does not require any mechanical probe, such as tips or apertures, we are able to demonstrate the imaging of a terahertz source with deeply sub-wavelength features (<30 μm) directly in its emission plane

Lipin-1 contributes to IL-4 mediated macrophage polarization

Macrophage responses contribute to a diverse array of pathologies ranging from infectious disease to sterile inflammation. Polarization of macrophages determines their cellular function within biological processes. Lipin-1 is a phosphatidic acid phosphatase in which its enzymatic activity contributes to macrophage pro-inflammatory responses. Lipin-1 also possesses transcriptional co-regulator activity and whether this activity is required for macrophage polarization is unknown. Using mice that lack only lipin-1 enzymatic activity or both enzymatic and transcriptional coregulator activities from myeloid cells, we investigated the contribution of lipin-1 transcriptional co-regulator function toward macrophage wound healing polarization. Macrophages lacking both lipin-1 activities did not elicit IL-4 mediated gene expression to levels seen in either wild-type or lipin-1 enzymatically deficient macrophages. Furthermore, mice lacking myeloid-associated lipin-1 have impaired full thickness excisional wound healing compared to wild-type mice or mice only lacking lipin-1 enzymatic activity from myeloid cell. Our study provides evidence that lipin-1 transcriptional co-regulatory activity contributes to macrophage polarization and influences wound healin