The external debt difficulties of low income Africa

Two debt crises affect developing countries. The more publicized crisis affects the middle income Baker Plan countries, including Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire. The less well known crisis affects most of Africa's 34 low income countries. Poverty and economic rigidities in the African countries make it harder for them to grow out of their debt problems without special assistance. These countries are more dependent than the highly indebted countries on primary commodity exports, which often require long investment periods to increase production. Debtor countries must take the lead in establishing and maintaining workable medium term adjustment programs. Once adjustment is occuring, it is in the interests of donors and creditors to continue supporting recovery well into the 1990s.Economic Theory&Research,Environmental Economics&Policies,Strategic Debt Management,Banks&Banking Reform,Public Sector Economics&Finance

The impact of technology: value-added classroom practice: final report

This report extends Becta’s enquiries into the ways in which digital technologies are supporting learning. It looks in detail at the learning practices mediated by ICT in nine secondary schools in which ICT for learning is well embedded. The project proposes a broader perspective on the notion of ‘impact’ that is rather different from a number of previous studies investigating impact. Previous studies have been limited in that they have either focused on a single innovation or have reported on institutional level factors. However, in both cases this pays insufficient attention to the contexts of learning. In this project, the focus has been on the learning practices of the classroom and the contexts of ICT-supported learning. The study reports an analysis of 85 lesson logs, in which teachers recorded their use of space, digital technology and student outcomes in relation to student engagement and learning. The teachers who filled in the logs, as well as their schools’ senior managers, were interviewed as part of a ‘deep audit’ of ICT provision conducted over two days. One-hour follow-up interviews with the teachers were carried out after the teachers’ log activity. The aim of this was to obtain a broader contextualisation of their teaching

A practical model for the assessment of thermal comfort in train carriages

A practical model has been developed for the assessment of human thermal comfort in rail carriages. The PMV model is based upon the existing ISO 7730 standard for assessing moderate thermal environments (PMV: Fanger 1970), with correction factors to account for the extreme environmental stimuli that may be experienced by some passengers seated next to windows (i.e. exposure to direct solar radiation or the effects of a cold window). Three sets of laboratory experiments and four field trials were conducted. Environmental conditions and mean skin temperature were recorded and thermal rating questionnaires filled in by participants. [Continues.

Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis in experimental necrotizing enterocolitis: alterations in inflammation, innate immune response, and the microbiota.

BackgroundProbiotics decrease the risk of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). We sought to determine the impact of Bifidobacterium longum subsp. infantis (B. infantis) in the established rat model of NEC.MethodsRat pups delivered 1 d prior to term gestation were assigned to one of three groups: dam fed (DF), formula fed (FF), or fed with formula supplemented with 5 × 10(6) CFU B. infantis per day (FF+Binf). Experimental pups were exposed to hypoxia and cold stress. Ileal tissue was examined for pathology and expression of inflammatory mediators, antimicrobial peptides, and goblet-cell products. Ceca were assessed for bacterial composition by analysis of the 16S rRNA sequence.ResultsAdministration of B. infantis significantly reduced the incidence of NEC, decreased expression of Il6, Cxcl1, Tnfa, Il23, and iNOS, and decreased expression of the antimicrobial peptides Reg3b and Reg3g. There was significant microbial heterogeneity both within groups and between experiments. The cecal microbiota was not significantly different between the FF and FF+Binf groups. Bifidobacteria were not detected in the cecum in significant numbers.ConclusionIn the rat model, the inflammation associated with NEC was attenuated by administration of probiotic B. infantis. Dysbiosis was highly variable, precluding determination of the precise role of the microbiota in experimental NEC

B553: Consumer Packages for Maine Mcintosh Apples

Three kinds of consumer packages for apples were developed for testing in the 1955-56 marketing season. In developing these packages, the authors modified the jumble-pack, polyethylene package in a way that would protect the fruit from most of the bruising and still maintain almost complete visibility of the fruit. One consumer package developed was a long narrow polyethylene bag, another was a polyethylene bag with a divider insert, and the third package had a cell partition placed in a similar plastic bag. All three packages were well accepted by consumers in the Portland market.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1085/thumbnail.jp

Process evaluation protocol for the I-WOTCH study : an opioid tapering support programme for people with chronic non-malignant pain

Introduction The Improving the Wellbeing of people with Opioid Treated CHronic Pain (I-WOTCH) randomised controlled trial uses a multicomponent self-management intervention to help people taper their opioid use. This approach is not widely used and its efficacy is unknown. A process evaluation alongside the trial will help to assess how the intervention was delivered, looking at the dose of intervention received and the fidelity of the delivery. We will explore how the intervention may have brought about change through the experiences of the participants receiving and the staff delivering the intervention and whether there were contextual factors involved. Methods and analysis A mixed methods process evaluation will assess how the processes of the I-WOTCH intervention fared and whether these affected the outcomes. We will collect quantitative data, for example, group attendance analysed with statistical methods. Qualitative data, for example, from interviews and feedback forms will be analysed using framework analysis. We will use a ‘following a thread’ and a mixed methods matrix for the final integrated analysis. Ethics and dissemination The I-WOTCH trial and process evaluation were granted full ethics approval by Yorkshire and The Humber—South Yorkshire Research Ethics Committee on 13 September 2016 (16/YH/0325). All data were collected in accordance with data protection guidelines. Participants provided written informed consent for the main trial, and all interviewees provided additional written informed consent. The results of the process evaluation will be published and presented at conferences