Education Sector Foreign Aid and Economic Growth in Africa

This paper explores whether education sector foreign aid influences economic growth in Africa based on a panel of 32 countries over the period 2005 – 2017. The major novelty of the study is that on the supply side the major dependent variable, education aid flows, are disaggregated by education level. On the demand side, the recipient economies are accorded their income groups to account for capacities that complement the effects of human capital development on economic growth as well as the benevolent complementary or destabilizing effects of different political systems of government. The key findings are that: (i) education aid in aggregate form and primary education aid both enhance economic growth in low income countries; (ii) in middle income countries higher education aid is more important for economic growth than primary and secondary education foreign aid; (iii) democracies have a stronger tendency to allocate more education sector foreign aid to primary education, while in autocracies the orientation is towards higher education. The findings imply that low-income autocracies that allocate more education sector foreign aid to higher education than to primary education do so at the expense of economic growth. The same applies to middle-income democracies whose allocation orientation is more towards primary education compared to higher education

Rating Flow Regulation Structures in the Bear River Canal System

Introduction. The Bear River Canal System (Fig. 1) is located below Cutler Reservoir in Box Elder County, Utah. The average annual quantity of water conveyed through the canal system is approximately 230,000 acre-feet. Any water not consumptively used in this area eventually flows in to Great Salt Lake. Utah Power and Light Company has the rights to the waters stored in Cutler Reservoir for operating a hydroelectric plant. The irrigation distribution system below the reservoir is operated and maintained by the Utah-Idaho Sugar Company. The water is delivered to the water users through the distribution system and a nominal maintenance charge is assessed each user

The incursion, persistence and spread of peste des petits ruminants in Tanzania: Epidemiological patterns and predictions

Peste des petits ruminants virus, which causes a severe disease in sheep and goats, has only recently been officially declared to be present in Tanzania. An epidemiological study was carried out between September 2008 and October 2010 to investigate the incursion, persistence and spread of the virus in Tanzania. The investigation involved serosurveillance, outbreak investigation and computation of epidemiological indices such as the effective reproductive number, persistence and the threshold level for vaccination. Field and molecular epidemiological techniques were applied to isolate, characterise and trace the origin of the virus in Tanzania. A total of 2182 serum samples from goats and 1296 from sheep from 79 villages across 12 districts were investigated. Village-level prevalence of infection was variable (0.00% – 88.00%) and was higher in pastoral than in agro-pastoral villages. The overall antibody response to the virus was 22.10% (CI 95% = 20.72% – 23.48%). About 68.00% and 73.00% of seropositive goats and sheep, respectively, did not show clinical signs. The proportion of seropositive animals differed significantly (p ≤ 0.001) between age groups, sex and farming practices. Real-time polymerase chain reaction results showed that the isolated strains belong to lineage III, whose origin is in East Africa and the Middle East. This indicates that one of the northern neighbouring countries is most likely the source of infection. The computed overall effective reproductive number, the threshold level of vaccination necessary to eradicate the disease and persistence were 4.75% and 98.00%, respectively. These estimates indicate that achieving elimination of the peste des petits ruminants virus from pastoral flocks will require significant effort and development of highly effective intervention tools

Scalable Manufacture of Built-to-Order Nanomedicine: Spray-Assisted Layer-by-Layer Functionalization of PRINT Nanoparticles

Scalable methods, PRINT particle fabrication, and spray-assisted Layer-by-Layer deposition are combined to generate uniform and functional nanotechnologies with precise control over composition, size, shape, and surface functionality. A modular and tunable approach towards design of built-to-order nanoparticle systems, spray coating on PRINT particles is demonstrated to achieve technologies capable of targeted interactions with cancer cells for applications in drug delivery.National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence Grant 5 U54 CA151884-02)National Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research FellowshipNatural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Postdoctoral Fellowship

Assumptions behind grammatical approaches to code-switching: when the blueprint is a red herring

Many of the so-called ‘grammars’ of code-switching are based on various underlying assumptions, e.g. that informal speech can be adequately or appropriately described in terms of ‘‘grammar’’; that deep, rather than surface, structures are involved in code-switching; that one ‘language’ is the ‘base’ or ‘matrix’; and that constraints derived from existing data are universal and predictive. We question these assumptions on several grounds. First, ‘grammar’ is arguably distinct from the processes driving speech production. Second, the role of grammar is mediated by the variable, poly-idiolectal repertoires of bilingual speakers. Third, in many instances of CS the notion of a ‘base’ system is either irrelevant, or fails to explain the facts. Fourth, sociolinguistic factors frequently override ‘grammatical’ factors, as evidence from the same language pairs in different settings has shown. No principles proposed to date account for all the facts, and it seems unlikely that ‘grammar’, as conventionally conceived, can provide definitive answers. We conclude that rather than seeking universal, predictive grammatical rules, research on CS should focus on the variability of bilingual grammars

Evidence for insertional codemixing: mixed compounds and French nominal groups in Brussels Dutch

In this paper we analyse mixed compounds, such as legume+winkel ‘vegetable shop, greengrocery’ and winter+paletot ‘winter coat’ which contain a French and a Dutch element, and French nominal groups, such as carte d’identité ‘identity card’, and journal parlé ‘radio news’, which bilingual speakers from Brussels frequently insert into Brussels Dutch utterances. Using Muysken’s (2000) typology of bilingual speech, we claim that the mixed compounds and the nominal groups display the characteristics of insertional code-mixing. In addition, some evidence for the existence of a continuum between borrowing and code-switching can be obtained from these examples. As the multimorphemic units that are inserted into Dutch are neither single words, nor full constituents, their status in the lexicon raises interesting issues for researchers interested in the interface between syntax and the lexicon (see also Backus 2003). We try to argue that nominal groups such as carte d’identité and journal parlé are probably best seen as lexical templates or constructional idioms (Booij, 2002b). The insertion of French constructional idioms in Brussels Dutch represents an innovation in the lexical patterns that are available to speakers of this language, which is highly relevant for theories of language change

Fluorescent Multiblock π-Conjugated Polymer Nanoparticles for In Vivo Tumor Targeting

Highly fluorescent multiblock conjugated polymer nanoparticles with folic acid surface ligands are highly effective for bioimaging and in vivo tumor targeting. The targeted nanoparticles were preferentially localized in tumor cells in vivo, thereby illustrating their potential for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies (W911NF-13-D-0001)UNCF-Merck Postdoctoral FellowshipNational Science Foundation (U.S.). Graduate Research Fellowship ProgramMassachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professors and Scholars Program (Postdoctoral Fellowship)National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (Koch Institute Support (Core) Grant P30-CA14051)National Cancer Institute (U.S.). Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence (Grant 5 U54 CA151884-02

Effects of fuel treatments on California mixed-conifer forests

Land managers implement forest fuel reduction treatments, including prescribed fire, mastication, and hand- and mechanical thinning, to modify wildfire behavior. Fuel treatments decrease tree density, increase mean canopy base height and remove surface fuels, and have been shown to reduce fire severity in yellow pine and mixed-conifer forests, even under relatively severe weather conditions. However, less is known about the impacts of fuel treatments on other facets of forest ecology. Synthesizing evidence from the scientific literature regarding their effects on forest structure, carbon, vegetation, soils, wildlife and forest pests, we found a developing consensus that fuel treatments, particularly those that include a prescribed fire component, may have neutral to positive effects on a number of ecological processes in frequent-fire coniferous forests and may increase forest resilience to future disturbance and stress

A Study of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package Management System

This analysis of the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package (ALSEP) management system has four objectives: 1. to document in a general way the history of the ALSEP management system (EMS); 2. to document the existing ALSEP EMS; 3. to develop generalized findings and recommendations that could be applicable to future experiments programs; and 4. to study in some detail the communications interface between the ALSEP EMS and the ALSEP Principal Investigator (P.I.).Contract NAS 9-10993Prepared by Winford E. Holland, William Flannery, Melvin M. FriedlanderVolume 2. Description of the ALSEP -- Chronology of Events in ALSEP Management History -- The McDivitt Letters -- An Analysis of the Written Communication Produced by ALSEP Scientists and MSC Engineers/Managers -- Briefing Guide Used in Presentation of Research Findings -- Listing of Documents that Pertain to ALSEP