5,456 research outputs found
Using Empirical Information in the Era of HIV/AIDS to Inform Mitigation and Rural Development Strategies: Selected Results from African Country Studies
Community/Rural/Urban Development, Health Economics and Policy, Downloads July 2008-March 2009: 7,
Access to Land and Poverty Reduction in Rural Zambia: Connecting the Policy Issues
Key Policy Message: - Despite having relatively low population densities, inadequate access to land is one of the major causes of rural poverty in Zambia. - The apparent paradox of inadequate access to land for many rural households in a country of low population density is partially reconciled when taking into account that economically viable arable land requires at least some degree of access to basic services, water, road infrastructure, and markets. The basic public investments to make settlement economically viable have yet been made in many areas of Zambia. - Depending of future land allocation policy, access to good quality land with a market potential may become increasingly beyond the reach of many small-scale farm households, making it more difficult to achieve a smallholder-led, pro-poor agricultural development trajectory.zambia, food security, land, policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Security and Poverty, Land Economics/Use, q18, q15,
Marketing Policy Options for Consumer Price Mitigation Actions in the 2008/09 Maize Marketing Season in Zambia.
1) Maize prices are rising rapidly in 2008 and are fast approaching import parity levels. 2) Maize traders, millers and farmers all agree that Zambia will likely require imports by early 2009 in order to avoid domestic maize supply shortages. 3) Official food balance sheets appear to have underestimated the demand for maize this year. They may also have slightly overestimated the size of the 2007/08 maize crop. Hence the slow government recognition of the need for maize imports. 4) As of late September 2008, neither the Government of Zambia (GRZ) nor the private sector have arranged to import maize from South Africa. Trade sources suggest informal imports from Tanzania are helping to relieve the likely shortfall. 5) Zambian policy makers face a delicate balancing act: they need to maintain remunerative prices for farmers, in order to stimulate maize supply response during the coming 2008/09 production season, while at the same time moderating maize meal price increases to protect urban consumers and the many rural households who are net buyers of maize. 6) The time to respond to this balancing act challenge is now rather than later in the marketing season when costs of supplies and transport will increase. 7) Several policy actions offer potential win/win options for balancing these twin concerns:food security, food policy, Zambia, maize, marketing, Crop Production/Industries, Q20,
Poly(2âethylâ2âoxazoline) featuring a central amino moiety
Abstract The incorporation of an amino group into a bifunctional initiator for the cationic ringâopening polymerization (CROP) is achieved in a twoâstep reaction. Detailed kinetic studies using 2âethylâ2âoxazoline demonstrate the initiatorsâ eligibility for the CROP yielding wellâdefined polymers featuring molar masses of about 2000 g mol â1 . Deprotection of the phthalimide moiety subsequent to polymerization enables the introduction of a cyclooctyne group in central position of the polymer which is further exploited in a strainâpromoted alkyneâazide click reaction (SpAAC) with a Fmocâprotected azido lysine representing a commonly used binding motif for site specific polymerâprotein/peptide conjugation. Inâdepth characterization via electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI) confirms the success of all post polymerization modification steps
Resonant vibrations, peak broadening and noise in single molecule contacts: beyond the resonant tunnelling picture
We carry out experiments on single-molecule junctions at low temperatures,
using the mechanically controlled break junction technique. Analyzing the
results received with more than ten different molecules the nature of the first
peak in the differential conductance spectra is elucidated. We observe an
electronic transition with a vibronic fine structure, which is most frequently
smeared out and forms a broad peak. In the usual parameter range we find strong
indications that additionally fluctuations become active even at low
temperatures. We conclude that the electrical field feeds instabilities, which
are triggered by the onset of current. This is underscored by noise
measurements that show strong anomalies at the onset of charge transport
Introduction: Expansion and Contraction in Monopolization Law
This article introduces a special symposium issue of the Antitrust Law Journal based on a conference on monopolization. It argues that monopolization law has been experiencing simultaneous expansion and contraction processes that are not wholly contradictory but at least partly complementary. Specifically, the authors suggest that the contraction of monopolization law in the United States and the EU might serve to facilitate its expansion and increased importance worldwide, providing other antitrust regimes with more focused and effective tools to address the challenges involved in regulating dominant firms. Moreover, monopolization law\u27s increased reach internationally also has made its refinement and rationalization all the more important for jurisdictions seeking to avoid the harmful chilling effects associated with excessive enforcement in this area. Finally, the contraction of monopolization law might also be motivated by external pressures, resulting from spillover effects. A better understanding and evaluation of these expansion and contraction trends is therefore likely to necessitate their joint rather than separate evaluation in future antitrust scholarship
Anticipating and Responding to Drought Emergencies in Southern Africa: Lessons from the 2002-2003 Experience
This paper examines the efficiency and effectiveness of emergency response in southern Africa through the lens of the 2002/03 food crisis in the region. The authors outline improvements in information and operational procedures needed to enhance the response to future events. They also discuss national and regional trade regime changes that would reduce the need for emergency response, and consider what lessons the 2002/03 crisis may have for the role of Strategic Grain Reserves (SGRs).food security, drought, emergency, Southern Africa, Food Security and Poverty, Q18,
OpenSPIM - an open access platform for light sheet microscopy
Light sheet microscopy promises to revolutionize developmental biology by
enabling live in toto imaging of entire embryos with minimal phototoxicity. We
present detailed instructions for building a compact and customizable Selective
Plane Illumination Microscopy (SPIM) system. The integrated OpenSPIM hardware
and software platform is shared with the scientific community through a public
website, thereby making light sheet microscopy accessible for widespread use
and optimization to various applications.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, 6 supplementary videos, submitted to Nature
Methods, associated public website http://openspim.or
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A new inner layer silicon micro-strip detector for D0
The D{O} experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron is building a new inner layer detector (Layer-0) to be installed inside the existing D{O} Silicon Micro-strip Tracker (SMT). The Layer-0 detector is based on R&D performed for the RunIIb silicon upgrade, which was canceled in the fall of 2003. Layer-0 will be installed between the bean pipe and the the 2.2cm radius opening available in the SMT support structure. The radius of the first sampling will be reduced from 2.7cm to 1.6cm. Layer-0 will be radiation harder than the current SMT, thus ensuring that the silicon tracker remains viable through Tevatron RunII
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