Winners and losers among a refugee-hosting population

refugees, Tanzania migration

Untitled: A Study of Formal and Informal Property Rights in Urban Ecuador

In this paper we explore the substitutability of formal and informal property rights. We analyze new survey data from Ecuador, where households have both formal and informal claims to urban residential property. The latter come from a variety of sources, including the activity of a local boss, or organizer. We first develop a theory of the ability to sell or rent land in which a distinction is drawn between transferable property rights (e.g., title) and non-transferable claims (e.g., length of residence). We use this theory of transactions to show that the increase in price that follows the granting of title may be an overestimate of the households' utility gain. In our empirical work we find that the unconditional effect of granting title is to raise properties' value by 23.5%. However, we also find that informal property rights can substitute effectively for formal property rights, so the marginal effect of titling on the ability to transact and on prices can vary widely among communities and among households within a community. For example, the value of property owned by a newly established household with no adult males can increase by 46% with the acquisition of title. These findings suggest that titling programs should be targeted at young disorganized communities if they are to have much effect.

Technical Assessments of Future European Space Transportation Options

The paper describes some of the most recent activities in Germany in the technical assessment of future European launcher architecture. In focus is a joint effort of DLR-SART with German launcher industry in the definition of a next generation upper-medium class expendable TSTO with an initial operational capability after 2020. Involved companies are EADS astrium and MT Aerospace. This DLR-agency funded study WOTAN investigates fully cryogenic launchers as well as those with a combination of solid and cryogenic stages, fulfilling a requirement of 5000 kg single payload into GTO. Solid strap-on boosters should allow both versions further payload growth capability. In its second part the paper analyzes options for new liquid fuel upper stages to be put on the P80 solid first stage of the Vega small launcher. Versions with storable as well as cryogenic propellants are investigated in a preliminary launcher system lay-out and their technical viability is critically assessed

Comparison of three radio-frequency discharge modes on the treatment of breast cancer cells in vitro

Non-thermal plasmas (NTPs) are known for their ability to induce thermal-free cytotoxic effects on cancer cells. However, as the variety of NTP devices increases, comparison of their cytotoxic effect becomes increasingly essential. In this work, we compare the cytotoxicity of three different radio-frequency NTPs. MDA-MB-231 triple negative breast cancer cells are treated in suspension in DMEM culture medium by the effluents of a single radiofrequency (RF) discharge device operating in three modes, namely the and modes of the capacitively coupled radio-frequency (CCRF) discharge and a RF plasma jet mode. All three discharge modes reduce the proliferative capacity of MDA-MB-231 cells, but the treatment time required to reach the same efficacy is more than ten times longer using the and the modes than using the jet mode. In all cases, using the appropriate treatment time, cells exhibit an impaired proliferation and eventually start to show signs of cell death (about 48 h after treatment). The three discharge modes also induce nuclear DNA damages. Plasma-produced H2O2 was not found to contribute to the cytotoxicity of the treatment. Furthermore, short-lived reactive species (gas phase or liquid phase species with a lifetime below 1 s) are expected to play a dominant role over the long-lived reactive species in the anti-cancer effect of all three discharge modes