Livelihood diversification and the expansion of artisanal mining in rural Tanzania: drivers and policy implications

This paper provides an extended analysis of livelihood diversification in rural Tanzania, with special emphasis on artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM). Over the past decade, this sector of industry, which is labour-intensive and comprises an array of rudimentary and semi-mechanized operations, has become an indispensable economic activity throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, providing employment to a host of redundant public sector workers, retrenched large-scale mine labourers and poor farmers. In many of the region’s rural areas, it is overtaking subsistence agriculture as the primary industry. Such a pattern appears to be unfolding within the Morogoro and Mbeya regions of southern Tanzania, where findings from recent research suggest that a growing number of smallholder farmers are turning to ASM for employment and financial support. It is imperative that national rural development programmes take this trend into account and provide support to these people

Effective Lagrangians for BCS Superconductors at T=0

We show that the low frequency, long wavelength dynamics of the phase of the pair field for a BCS-type s-wave superconductor at T=0 is equivalent to that of a time-dependent non-linear Schr\"odinger Lagrangian (TDNLSL), when terms required by Galilean invariance are included. If the modulus of the pair field is also allowed to vary, the system is equivalent to two coupled TDNLSL's. We also refer the interested reader to our earlier paper, `Nonlinear Schrodinger equation for superconductors' [cond-mat/9312099], for a different line of derivationComment: Latex, 13 page

BCS to Bose Crossover in Anisotropic Superconductors

In this work we use functional integral techniques to examine the nearest neighbour attractive Hubbard model on a quasi-2D lattice. It is a simple phenomenological model for the high-Tc cuprates that allows both extended (non-local) s- and d-wave singlet superconductivity as well as mixed symmetry states. The Hartree-Gor'kov mean field theory of the model has a finite temperature phase diagram which shows a transition from pure s-wave to pure d-wave superconductivity, via a mixed symmetry s+id state, as a function of doping. Including Gaussian fluctuations we examine the crossover from weak-coupling BCS superconductivity to the strong-coupling Bose-Einstein condensation of composite s- or d-wave bosons and comment on the origin and symmetry of the pseudogap.Comment: 20 pages inc. 13 figure

Subleading-twist effects in single-spin asymmetries in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering on a longitudinally polarized hydrogen target

Single-spin asymmetries in the semi-inclusive production of charged pions in deep-inelastic scattering from transversely and longitudinally polarized proton targets are combined to evaluate the subleading-twist contribution to the longitudinal case. This contribution is significantly positive for (\pi^+) mesons and dominates the asymmetries on a longitudinally polarized target previously measured by \hermes. The subleading-twist contribution for (\pi^-) mesons is found to be small

Double hadron leptoproduction in the nuclear medium

First measurement of double-hadron production in deep-inelastic scattering has been measured with the HERMES spectrometer at HERA using a 27.6 GeV positron beam with deuterium, nitrogen, krypton and xenon targets. The influence of the nuclear medium on the ratio of double-hadron to single-hadron yields has been investigated. Nuclear effects are clearly observed but with substantially smaller magnitude and reduced $A$-dependence compared to previously measured single-hadron multiplicity ratios. The data are in fair agreement with models based on partonic or pre-hadronic energy loss, while they seem to rule out a pure absorptive treatment of the final state interactions. Thus, the double-hadron ratio provides an additional tool for studying modifications of hadronization in nuclear matter

Comparison of speech intelligibility in quiet and in noise after hearing aid fitting according to a purely prescriptive and a comparative fitting procedure

We compared two different types of hearing-aid fitting procedures in a double-blind randomized clinical study. Hearing aid fittings based on a purely prescriptive procedure (the NAL-RP formula) were compared to a comparative fitting procedure based on optimizing speech intelligibility scores. Main outcome measures were improvement of speech intelligibility scores in quiet and in noise. Data were related to the real-ear insertion responses that were measured after fitting. For analysis purposes subgroups were composed according to degree of hearing loss, characterized by unaided speech intelligibility in quiet, previous experience with hearing aids, unilateral or bilateral fittings and type of hearing aid. We found equal improvement of speech intelligibility in quiet, while fitting according to the prescriptive formula resulted in a somewhat better performance as expressed by the speech-to-noise ratio in comparison to the comparative procedure. Both procedures resulted in comparable real-ear insertion responses

Dexamethasone and long-term outcome in adults with bacterial meningitis

This follow-up study of the European Dexamethasone Study was designed to examine the potential harmful effect of adjunctive dexamethasone treatment on long-term neuropsychological outcome in adults with bacterial meningitis. METHODS: Neurological, audiological, and neuropsychological examinations were performed in adults who survived pneumococcal or meningococcal meningitis. RESULTS: Eighty-seven of 99 (88%) eligible patients were included in the follow-up study; 46 (53%) were treated with dexamethasone and 41 (47%) with placebo. Median time between meningitis and testing was 99 months. Neuropsychological evaluation showed no significant differences between patients treated with dexamethasone and placebo. The proportions of patients with persisting neurological sequelae or hearing loss were similar in the dexamethasone and placebo groups. The overall rate of cognitive dysfunction did not differ significantly between patients and control subjects; however, patients after pneumococcal meningitis had a higher rate of cognitive dysfunction (21 vs 6%; p = 0.05) and experienced more impairment of everyday functioning due to physical problems (p = 0.05) than those after meningococcal meningitis. INTERPRETATION: Treatment with adjunctive dexamethasone is not associated with an increased risk for long-term cognitive impairment. Adults who survive pneumococcal meningitis are at significant risk for long-term neuropsychological abnormalities

Engage to grow: transforming the UK economy through employee engagement

The conference was organised and chaired by Sarah Pass as part of on-going work on the importance of employee engagement. Speakers at the event included David MacLeod OBE (co-founder Engage for Success), Nita Clarke (co-founder Engage for Success), Paul Dreschler CBE (Chairman of the International Chamber of CommerceUK), Ben Fletcher (Chief Operating Officer Make UK), Steven Weeks (Head of Engagement at NHS Employers), Neil Carberry (CEO at Recruitment and Employment Federation), Dame Carol Black, Susan Clews (CEO ACAS), Jennifer Sproul (CEO Institute of Internal Communication), Ben Willmott (Head of Public Policy at CIPD), and David Dagger (Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs at Institute of Customer Services)

Effects of Different Up-Dosing Regimens for Hymenoptera Venom Immunotherapy on Serum CTLA-4 and IL-10

BACKGROUND: Cytotoxic T lymphocyte associated antigen-4 (CTLA-4) is involved in the activation pathways of T lymphocytes. It has been shown that the circulating form of CTLA-4 is elevated in patients with hymenoptera allergy and can be down regulated by immunotherapy. OBJECTIVE: to assess the effects on CTLA-4 of venom immunotherapy, given with different induction protocols: conventional (6 weeks), rush (3 days) or ultra rush (1 day). METHODS: Sera from patients with hymenoptera allergy were collected at baseline and at the end of the induction phase. CTLA-4 and IL-10 were assayed in the same samples. A subset of patients were assayed also after 12 months of VIT maintenance. RESULTS: Ninety-four patients were studied. Of them, 50 underwent the conventional induction, 20 the rush and 24 the ultra-rush. Soluble CTLA-4 was detectable in all patients at baseline, and significantly decreased at the end of the induction, irrespective of its duration. Of note, a significant decrease of sCTLA-4 could be seen already at 24 hours. In parallel, IL-10 significantly increased at the end of the induction. At 12 months, sCTLA-4 remained low, whereas IL-10 returned to the baseline values. CONCLUSIONS: Serum CTLA4 is an early marker of the immunological effects of venom immunotherapy, and its changes persist after one year of maintenance treatment