Impact of remittances on economic growth in developing countries: The role of openness

The paper examines the empirical relationship between remittances and economic growth for a sample of 62 developing countries over the time period 1990–2014. Remittances seem to promote growth only in the ‘more open’ countries. That is because remittances are in themselves not sufficient for growth. The extent of the benefit depends on domestic institutions and macroeconomic environment in the receiving country. Unlike the ‘less open’ countries, ‘more open’ countries have better institutions and better financial markets to take advantage of the remittances income and channelise them into profitable investments which, in turn, accelerates the rate of economic growth in these countries.N/

Influence of Schistosoma mansoni and Hookworm Infection Intensities on Anaemia in Ugandan Villages.

BACKGROUND: The association of anaemia with intestinal schistosomiasis and hookworm infections are poorly explored in populations that are not limited to children or pregnant women. METHODS: We sampled 1,832 individuals aged 5-90 years from 30 communities in Mayuge District, Uganda. Demographic, village, and parasitological data were collected. Infection risk factors were compared in ordinal logistic regressions. Anaemia and infection intensities were analyzed in multilevel models, and population attributable fractions were estimated. FINDINGS: Household and village-level predictors of Schistosoma mansoni and hookworm were opposite in direction or significant for single infections. S. mansoni was found primarily in children, whereas hookworm was prevalent amongst the elderly. Anaemia was more prevalent in individuals with S. mansoni and increased by 2.86 fold (p-value<0.001) with heavy S. mansoni infection intensity. Individuals with heavy hookworm were 1.65 times (p-value = 0.008) more likely to have anaemia than uninfected participants. Amongst individuals with heavy S. mansoni infection intensity, 32.0% (p-value<0.001) of anaemia could be attributed to S. mansoni. For people with heavy hookworm infections, 23.7% (p-value = 0.002) of anaemia could be attributed to hookworm. A greater fraction of anaemia (24.9%, p-value = 0.002) was attributable to heavy hookworm infections in adults (excluding pregnant women) as opposed to heavy hookworm infections in school-aged children and pregnant women (20.2%, p-value = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Community-based surveys captured anaemia in children and adults affected by S. mansoni and hookworm infections. For areas endemic with schistosomiasis or hookworm infections, WHO guidelines should include adults for treatment in helminth control programmes.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from PLoS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.000419

ROLE OF TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION IN TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS DEVELOPMENT

The arousal of technology has changed a lot of aspects in human life and has drastically changed its path through a revolution that changed the whole world. This revolution took place in various aspects while affecting significantly the global economy and from those fields that considerably affect the life of human beings in the previous and current centuries are Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and transportation. It is these two factors that play a major role in the economy of countries and dominate the lives of societies in the world. Thus, this paper studies the impact of the technology revolution on communication and transportation while demonstrating the significance of these two factors and their interrelation as well that resulted from this technology revolution. It tackles the Information and Communication Technology as a crucial outcome of the technological revolution and its effect in its turn on Transportation and the influence both aspects have on individuals. This paper tends to show the relation between the development that Technology caused and the performance of individual’s life. It is quite interesting to study this relation in our life to see this relation that Technology has created in aspects like ICT and Transportation to examine how such a development improved the life of human beings

Multivariate epidemiologic analysis of type 2 diabetes mellitus risks in the Lebanese population

Background: The burden of diabetes in Lebanon requires well-targeted interventions for screening type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and prediabetes and prevention of risk factors. Newly recruited 998 Lebanese individuals, in addition to 7,292 already available, were studied to investigate the prevalence of diabetes, prediabetes and their associated risk factors. Methods: Participants had fasting blood sugar and glycohemoglobin tests in addition to a lipid profile. Clinical and demographic information were obtained from a detailed questionnaire. The relationship between T2DM, its risk factors, and its complications were tested. Comparisons of these risk factors among diabetics, healthy, and coronary artery disease (CAD) patients were performed. Results: The prevalence of T2DM significantly increased with increasing BMI (p < 0.0001). Exercise activity level negatively correlated with the disease (p = 0.002), whereas the prevalence of T2DM (p < 0.0001) and CAD family history (p = 0.006) positively correlated with the affection status. The mean levels of triglycerides and LDL-C were significantly higher in diabetics (1.87; 1.35) compared to individuals with prediabetes (1.63; 1.26) and unaffected controls (1.49; 1.19). People with T2DM showed a significant decrease in HDL-C levels. A strong correlation of overall hyperlipidemia with the diabetes affection status was shown (p < 0.0001). Other comorbid factors such as hypertension (p < 0.0001) and self-reported obesity (p < 0.0001) were highly associated with T2DM and prediabetes. Reproductive health of women showed a strong correlation between giving birth to a baby with a high weight and the occurrence of T2DM and prediabetes later in life (p < 0.0001). Retinopathy and peripheral neuropathy were significantly correlated with diabetes and prediabetes (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: The present study shows an alarming prevalence of diabetes and prediabetes in the studied subgroups representative of the Lebanese population. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1758-5996-6-89) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Do migrant remittances promote human capital formation? Evidence from 89 developing countries

The few published empirical studies on the effect of migrant remittances on educational attainments are roughly based on cross-sectional microdata from household surveys. This paper applies the generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator on aggregate level data from 1970 to 2010 in five-year intervals to examine the impact of migrant remittances on human capital formation in 89 developing countries. The estimation results show that, on average, an increase in migrant remittance inflows by 1% is associated with a 2% rise in years of schooling at both the secondary and tertiary levels. This suggests that migrant remittances have the potential to relax liquidity constraints and generate spillover effects that facilitate more schooling opportunities in remittance-receiving countries

Diarrhoeal outcomes in young children depend on diarrhoeal cases of other household members: a cross-sectional study of 16,025 people in rural Uganda

Background: There is a limited understanding of how diarrhoeal cases across other household members influence the likelihood of diarrhoea in young children (aged 1–4 years). Methods: We surveyed 16,025 individuals from 3421 households in 17 villages in Uganda. Using logistic regressions with standard errors clustered by household, diarrhoeal cases within households were used to predict diarrhoeal outcomes in young children. Regressions were adjusted for socio-demographic, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and ecological covariates. Selection bias for households with (1632/3421) and without (1789/3421) young children was examined. Results: Diarrhoeal prevalence was 13.7% (2118/16,025) across all study participants and 18.5% (439/2368) in young children. Young children in households with any other diarrhoeal cases were 5.71 times more likely to have diarrhoea than young children in households without any other diarrhoeal cases (95% CI: 4.48–7.26), increasing to over 29 times more likely when the other diarrhoeal case was in another young child (95% CI: 16.29–54.80). Diarrhoeal cases in older household members (aged ≥ 5 years) and their influence on the likelihood of diarrhoea in young children attenuated with age. School-aged children (5–14 years) had a greater influence on diarrhoeal cases in young children (Odds Ratio 2.70, 95% CI: 2.03–3.56) than adults of reproductive age (15–49 years; Odds Ratio 1.96, 95% CI: 1.47–2.59). Diarrhoeal cases in individuals aged ≥ 50 years were not significantly associated with diarrhoeal outcomes in young children (P > 0.05). These age-related differences in diarrhoeal exposures were not driven by sex. The magnitude and significance of the odds ratios remained similar when odds ratios were compared by sex within each age group. WASH factors did not influence the likelihood of diarrhoea in young children, despite influencing the likelihood of diarrhoea in school-aged children and adults. Households with young children differed from households without young children by diarrhoeal prevalence, household size, and village WASH infrastructure and ecology. Conclusions: Other diarrhoeal cases within households strongly influence the likelihood of diarrhoea in young children, and when controlled, removed the influence of WASH factors. Future research on childhood diarrhoea should consider effects of diarrhoeal cases within households and explore pathogen transmission between household members

Reconstructing Asian faunal introductions to eastern Africa from multi-proxy biomolecular and archaeological datasets

Human-mediated biological exchange has had global social and ecological impacts. In subS-aharan Africa, several domestic and commensal animals were introduced from Asia in the pre-modern period; however, the timing and nature of these introductions remain contentious. One model supports introduction to the eastern African coast after the mid-first millennium CE, while another posits introduction dating back to 3000 BCE. These distinct scenarios have implications for understanding the emergence of long-distance maritime connectivity, and the ecological and economic impacts of introduced species. Resolution of this longstanding debate requires new efforts, given the lack of well-dated fauna from high-precision excavations, and ambiguous osteomorphological identifications. We analysed faunal remains from 22 eastern African sites spanning a wide geographic and chronological range, and applied biomolecular techniques to confirm identifications of two Asian taxa: domestic chicken (Gallus gallus) and black rat (Rattus rattus). Our approach included ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis aided by BLAST-based bioinformatics, Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry (ZooMS) collagen fingerprinting, and direct AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) radiocarbon dating. Our results support a late, mid-first millennium CE introduction of these species. We discuss the implications of our findings for models of biological exchange, and emphasize the applicability of our approach to tropical areas with poor bone preservation

Temporal variability and flooding influence the ecological niche of Biomphalaria intermediate hosts for Schistosoma mansoni in rural Uganda

Understanding the niches of intermediate hosts and vectors for environmentally transmitted pathogens is crucial for identifying endemic areas, assessing habitat suitability, and targeting interventions. This study focuses on intermediate hosts of intestinal schistosomes, with over 700m people at risk of lifelong infection. We compared habitat suitability and species interactions across 674 sites in 52 villages in rural Uganda between 2022–2024, capturing a severe flooding event. Spatiotemporal models incorporating a polygon-based method to account for space with time as a fixed effect were developed to analyse snail abundance for Biomphalaria sudanica and B. stanleyi. B. sudanica was associated with marshy sites near lake shorelines and presence of hyacinths, while B. stanleyi was more likely found in deeper waters with Vallisneria plants. However, cohabitation was common for both species. Habitat suitability for each species fluctuated temporally, and more starkly with extreme flooding, resulting in switching of species dominance. Our study suggests that events consistent with climate change may influence habitat suitability without necessitating an expansion of environmental areas. Our models enable tracking of dynamic ecological niches that, if replicated elsewhere and for other intermediate hosts or vectors, can be used to better target environmental and community interventions as environmental conditions change

Spectroscopic Methods For Lubricant Quality Control In Engines And Gear Boxes

Lubricants play a vital role in reducing the wear and tear of engine/gear box metal parts. Number of analytical and spectroscopic methods have been used to analyze the quality of the lubricant oil. Moreover some parameters such as Total Acid Number (TAN), viscosity index also have been used to analyze the quality of the oil. Several used wind turbine gear oil samples were analyzed by various spectroscopic methods such as UV-Visible, Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Fluorescence Spectroscopy. Fluorescence method gave promising results among those three spectroscopic methods. In order to study thermal degradation, motor oil samples were subjected to artificial aging in the laboratory conditions by heating them up to different temperatures for different time periods and then subsequently analyzed with fluorescence spectroscopic method. Subsequently two used engine oil samples from a same diesel engine vehicle were analyzed using fluorescence spectroscopic method.  Notable variation in fluorescence emission intensities was observed with oil aging. Intensity of the fluorescence emission signal decrease with oil degradation.  Therefore fluorescence spectroscopic method can be used to predict the reusability of gear oils as well as to identify the oil degradation. This method can be further extended to develop a novel potential sensor to detect the quality of oil in various types of engines. KEYWORDS: Lubricant oil, Oil degradation, Fluorescence spectroscopy, Analytical methods