Reforming land and real estate markets

Land and real estate reforms have not been effective at achieving their objectives, in part because of how they have been designed and implemented. To be successful, reforms must become comprehensive in design, argue the authors, although implementation may be phased over time and take local conditions into account. Reform must include three elements: 1) Institutional reforms that better define property rights, reduce information asymmetry, and improve contract enforcement. 2) Capital market reforms that make mortgage finance available at reasonable rates, especially for the poor. 3) Market reforms that reduce or eliminate the main distortions in the prices of goods and services produced by land and real estate assets. In their review of land and real estate reforms supported by the World Bank, the authors find that such reforms receive less attention at the conceptual stage than they should, considering their great impact on poverty, growth, and stability. They base their conclusion on the limited coverage of land and real estate issues in country assistance strategies, the main vehicle for identifying priority areas for reform. Most Bank-supported projects do not address all three elements critical for reform. And most provide no justification for excluding them, and no plan for follow-up. The Bank's Operations Evaluation Department rates Bank-supported land and real estate projects relatively well on outcome and sustainability but not on institutional development. But land and real estate reform is institutional by nature. The authors urge the Bank and policymakers to change course. After a comprehensive assessment of the status of real estate institutions and markets, all actors in this sector should be pulled together to develop a comprehensive approach to land and real estate reform.Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies,Land and Real Estate Development,Municipal Housing and Land,Real Estate Development,Environmental Economics&Policies,Banks&Banking Reform,Municipal Housing and Land,Land and Real Estate Development,Real Estate Development

Comparison of The Functional and Oncological Outcomes of the Sub-trigonal Versus Conventional Robotic Radical Prostatectomy for Prostate Cancer

6.1. Background The subtrigonal approach for robotic assisted radical prostatectomy was first described in 2010 as the most anatomically preserving technique, in which the prostate can be completely removed through the Douglas pouch. This technique was introduced in the Urology Department of Tuebingen University Hospital in June 2013 after many years of performing the conventional transperitoneal robotic prostatectomy, however few data is available regarding its outcome. 6.2. Objectives The aim of this study is to compare the functional and oncological outcomes of subtrigonal approach versus the conventional approach for robotic radical prostatctomy 6.3. Methods Consecutive groups of patients who underwent TPRP (n=126) from 01/2012 to 05/2013, and those who switched and underwent STRP (n=62) from 01/2014 to 01/2015 were compared;. Functional outcomes were evaluated using ICIQ and IIEF of both groups by questionnaire and telephone protocols. Oncological outcomes were assessed regarding positive surgical margins and biochemical recurrence free survival (PSA ≥ 0.02 ng/ml) using the Kaplan Meier curve. Postoperative complications were classified using the Clavien-Dindo system. Statistical analysis was performed using the jmp v.12 software®. Mann-Whitney-U and Pearson x2 tests were employed to compare the continuous and categorical variables, respectively. The Kaplan Meier curve was applied to present the survival data 6.4. Results The median age and follow-up time in the TPRP and STRP groups were 64 and 62.5 years and 34 and nine months, respectively. Within 7 days of catheter removal, 37/93 patients (40%) in group A were continent compared to 23/53 (43%) in group B (p-value = 0.67). At 3, 6 and 12-month intervals, the continence recovery rates were 71%, 73% and 87% in group A versus 76%, 89% and 96% in group B. The p-values were 0.55, 0.02 and 0.054, respectively. 15 and 7 patients in group A and B, respectively, underwent bilateral nerve sparing surgery (NS). In group A, 2/15 (13%) could achieve enough erection for penetration versus 3/7 (43%) in group B; (p-value = 0.13). The overall positive surgical margin (PSM) rate was 16% in group A versus 8% in group B (p-value = 0.11). According to the pathological stage, PSM rates in pT2, pT3a and pT3b were 7.2%, 53% and 55.6% in group A compared to 2.2%, 11% and 60% in group B, respectively (p-values = 0.19, 0.03 and 0.87). PSM in pT3a was significantly lower in group B. When comparing the PSM rate at the prostatic apex, it was 9.8% in group A versus 1.6% in group B; with a significant difference (p-value = 0.02). The BCR 1y-free survival was 91% in group A versus 94% in group B (Log-rank p-value = 0.57). 6.5. Conclusion The anatomical preservative sub-trigonal approach for RARP increases the post-operative continence recoverability. Our results approved the oncological safety of this technique even in locally advanced cases. Sub-trigonal approach displayed reduction of PSM especially at the apex and in tumors with extra- capsular extension. Prospective randomized studies including bigger cohorts of patients with longer follow up are mandatory to confirm these results

Heating and Cooling Dynamics of Carbon Nanotubes Observed by Temperature-Jump Spectroscopy and Electron Microscopy

Microscopy imaging indicates that in situ carbon nanotubes (CNTs) irradiation with relatively low dosages of infrared radiation results in significant heating of the tubes to temperatures above 1300 K. Ultrafast temperature-jump experiments reveal that CNTs laser-induced heating and subsequent cooling in solution take tens and hundreds of picoseconds, respectively. Given the reported transient behavior, these observations suggest novel ways for a T-jump methodology, unhindered by the requirement for excitation of water in the study of biological structures. They also provide the rate information needed for optimization of photothermal therapy that invokes infrared irradiation to selectively heat and annihilate cancer cells

Scanning ultrafast electron microscopy

Progress has been made in the development of four-dimensional ultrafast electron microscopy, which enables space-time imaging of structural dynamics in the condensed phase. In ultrafast electron microscopy, the electrons are accelerated, typically to 200 keV, and the microscope operates in the transmission mode. Here, we report the development of scanning ultrafast electron microscopy using a field-emission-source configuration. Scanning of pulses is made in the single-electron mode, for which the pulse contains at most one or a few electrons, thus achieving imaging without the space-charge effect between electrons, and still in ten(s) of seconds. For imaging, the secondary electrons from surface structures are detected, as demonstrated here for material surfaces and biological specimens. By recording backscattered electrons, diffraction patterns from single crystals were also obtained. Scanning pulsed-electron microscopy with the acquired spatiotemporal resolutions, and its efficient heat-dissipation feature, is now poised to provide in situ 4D imaging and with environmental capability