Financing Africa: Through the crisis and beyond.

[Dataset available: http://hdl.handle.net/10411/17679]

Locker box location planning under uncertainty in demand and capacity availability

In this paper, we address the location of locker boxes in the last-mile delivery context under uncertainty in demand and capacity. The problem is modeled as an extension of the capacitated facility location problem, in which a fixed number of facilities has to be opened, choosing among a set of potential locations. Facilities are characterized by a homogeneous capacity, but a capacity reduction may occur with a given probability. The uncertainty in demand and capacity is incorporated through a set of discrete scenarios. Each customer can be assigned only to compatible facilities, i.e., to facilities located within a given radius from the individual location. The goal is to first maximize the total number of customers assigned to locker boxes, while, in case of a tie on this primary objective, a secondary objective intervenes aiming at minimizing the average distance covered by customers to reach their assigned locker box. A stochastic mathematical model as well as three matheuristics are presented. We provide an extensive computational study in order to analyze the impact of different parameters on the complexity of the problem. The importance of considering uncertainty in input data is discussed through the usage of general stochastic indicators from the literature as well as of problem specific indicators. A real-world case related to the City of Turin in Italy is analyzed in detail. The benefit achievable by optimizing locker box locations is discussed and a comparison with the current configuration is provide

Financing Africa:Through the crisis and beyond

The environment in which African financial systems operate has changed dramatically over the past years. The global financial system has undergone a major transformation after the recent financial crisis, with the center of economic and financial power shifting from developed to several emerging countries, including China, India, and Brazil. Additionally, the crisis has led to regulatory reform discussions among developed and emerging countries, with repercussions on financial sector regulation in Africa. Finally, technology has changed the economics of retail banking, revealing its potential to increase access to financial services dramatically, but also posing new regulatory challenges. Financing Africa: Through the Crisis and Beyond takes a fresh look at Africa’s financial systems in light of these recent changes. Benefiting from better data and a wide array of experiences across the continent, the book looks at the challenges of expanding the outreach of financial systems, lengthening financial contracts, and safeguarding financial systems. The authors identify three priority areas for policy action: the positive role of innovation and competition; a stronger focus on nontraditional financial service providers; and more emphasis on addressing demand-side constraints. Recognizing that all financial sector policy is local, the authors carefully distinguish between different country groupings, differentiating between low- and middle-income and small and larger economies among others, with a special focus on resource-based economies and post-conflict countries. And unlike other publications on this topic, this book includes analysis of the North African countries.  A joint collaboration between the African Development Bank, BMZ (Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development), and the World Bank, this book is a valuable asset to practitioners, development partners, and policy makers concerned about a more inclusive and effective financial system

Sterol composition of caper (Capparis spinosa) seeds

Caper is a perennial shrub of the Mediterranean Basin. The most important economical species is Capparis spinosa. Sterols of C. spinosa seed oil isolated from seven Tunisian stands were identified andquantified. C. spinosa contained  high levels of phytosterols (2240.4 mg/kg of total extracted lipids), of which -sitosterol, with 1390 mg/kg, was the most abundant (57.53%). Campesterol and stigmasterol accounted for 382 and 265 mg/kg, respectively (17.05 and 11.85% of the total sterols, respectively). C. spinosa seed oil also contained a high level of 5-avenasterol (6%). We detect also brassicasterol (3.39 mg/kg). Cholesterol and campestanol are detected in much lower levels. These results bring attention to the richness of C.spinosa seed oil with sterols which are the most important class of the minor components

Natural genetic variation in Calligonum Tunisian genus analyzed by RAPD markers

The Calligonum genus is one of the most economically important resources of the Tunisian desert, playing an important role in the lives of desert local population. A great range of genetic diversity could be seen in diverse populations of this genus which are spread all over Tunisian areas. DNA-based molecular markers are playing increasingly important role in the analysis of genetic diversity in wide range of plants. This study is an attempt to collect, compile and collate information on the existing natural genetic diversity, at intra-specific and inter-populational levels in Calligonum genus (C.azel, C.arich and C.comosum). This study deals with 16 genotypes of Calligonum (Polygonaceae) collected from different regions of Tunisian desert using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker. In total, 46 polymorphic bands amplified by 4 random primers, with the polymorphic rate of 89.06% were recorded. The commercial software package SPSS 16 was used to develop similar matrices based on the Dice coefficient which is defined as 2a/2a+u, where “a” is the number of positive matches and “u” is the number of non-matches. From the analysis, it is imperative that predominantly obligate out breeding behavior of Calligonum genus, helps these diverse accessions to spread and occupy specific geographical niches in the Tunisian arid regions.Key words: Calligonum, genetic diversity, Inter-specific variation, RAPD marker, Tunisian desert

Cue-based decision rules of cleaner fish in a biological market task

To develop an evolutionary theory of social decision making, we require an understanding of how individuals utilize environmental cues to form decision rules. We exposed ‘cleaner’ fish (bluestreak cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus) to a biological market task, where giving priority to an ephemeral (i.e. ‘visitor’ client) food plate, over a permanent (i.e. ‘resident’ client) plate, doubled the food reward. Previously published experiments revealed that adult cleaners from a complex social environment regularly solved this task and outperformed adult cleaners from a simple social environment as well as juveniles from both habitat types. In these studies, plates were differentiated by colour and/or colour pattern. However, client size is another potentially useful cue that may be used by cleaners to solve the biological market task in nature, as visitor clients are typically larger than resident clients. Here, we tested cleaners in a setting where plates differed only in size and not colour/pattern: the majority of cleaners exhibited a spontaneous preference for inspecting larger plates or were more likely to reach the task-solving criterion if the visitor plate was larger. All cleaners were able to solve the task when we incorporated both size and colour/pattern cues; however, only cleaners from the complex social environment settled on the more precise colour/pattern cue. In contrast, cleaners from the simple social environment relied on size as the primary, yet less precise, cue to solve the task. In conclusion, our results strongly suggest that intraspecific variation in the performance of cleaners in the biological market task is based on variation in the relative salience of available cues and correlates with variation in a cleaner's natural social environment. Variation in the relative salience of available cues may therefore explain a portion of the intra- and interspecific variance in cognitive performance and social behaviour documented in other animal species