Facing up to inequality and exclusion to end poverty and hunger in Latin America:

Poverty reduction, Hunger, Inequality, Extreme poverty, Poverty reduction programs, Growth and targeted poverty reduction,

Development under conditions of inequality and distrust: Social cohesion in Latin America

"This paper analyzes the role of social cohesion in economic and institutional development and, broadly, the creation of welfare in Latin America. The paper defines the concept of social cohesion with reference to the notions of social capital and inequality. Using data and literature on Latin America, the paper argues that low interpersonal trust and entrenched inequality interfere with cohesion. The paper develops and introduces an exploratory index of cohesion structured around the definition proposed. Relying on correlations, and with appropriate caveats, the paper uses this index to explore tentative linkages between levels of cohesion and development outcomes. The paper presents evidence of positive linkages among social cohesion and economic growth, investment and innovation capacity, governmental effectiveness, the quality of public policies, and the predictability of the policy environment. Finally, the paper discusses the significance of these findings and some of the policy implications." from Author's AbstractSocial cohesion, Social capital, Trust, Inequality, Exclusion, Opportunities, Governance, Institutional development, economic growth, Development strategies,

Bottle-brush-shaped heterostructures of NiO-ZnO nanowires: growth study and sensing properties

We present here heterostructured ZnO-NiO nanowires, constituted by a core of single crystalline ZnO nanowires, covered by poly-crystalline NiO nanorods. The bottle-brush shape was investigated by SEM and TEM, confirming that a columnar growth of NiO occurred over the ZnO core, with a preferred orientation of NiO over ZnO nanowires. The heterostructured devices are proposed for gas sensing application. Bare ZnO nanowires and heterostructured sensors with two different thicknesses of NiO poly-crystalline nanorods were analysed for acetone, ethanol, NO2 and H2 detection. All sensors maintained n-type sensing mechanism, with improved sensing performance for lower thickness of NiO, due to high catalytic activity of NiO. The sensing dynamic is also strongly modified by the presence of heterojunction of NiO/ZnO, with a reduction of response and recovery times towards ethanol and acetone at 400°C.

Monitoring of hadrontherapy treatments by means of charged particle detection

The interaction of the incoming beam radiation with the patient body in hadrontherapy treatments produces secondary charged and neutral particles, whose detection can be used for monitoring purposes and to perform an on-line check of beam particle range. In the context of ion-therapy with active scanning, charged particles are potentially attractive since they can be easily tracked with a high efficiency, in presence of a relatively low background contamination. In order to verify the possibility of exploiting this approach for in-beam monitoring in ion-therapy, and to guide the design of specific detectors, both simulations and experimental tests are being performed with ion beams impinging on simple homogeneous tissue-like targets (PMMA). From these studies, a resolution of the order of few millimeters on the single track has been proven to be sufficient to exploit charged particle tracking for monitoring purposes, preserving the precision achievable on longitudinal shape. The results obtained so far show that the measurement of charged particles can be successfully implemented in a technology capable of monitoring both the dose profile and the position of the Bragg peak inside the target and finally lead to the design of a novel profile detector. Crucial aspects to be considered are the detector positioning, to be optimized in order to maximize the available statistics, and the capability of accounting for the multiple scattering interactions undergone by the charged fragments along their exit path from the patient body. The experimental results collected up to now are also valuable for the validation of Monte Carlo simulation software tools and their implementation in Treatment Planning Software packages

Erfahrungen mit der schweizerischen Entschuldungsfazilität

Der Artikel von Kappel zeichnet sich durch seine Ausgewogenheit aus ; wir teilen die Analyse Kappels weitgehend. Der vorliegende Kommentar versteht sich als Ergänzung zum genannten Artikel und als vorläufige Aufarbeitung gewisser Erfahrungen mit den bisher durchgeführten Entschuldungsaktionen der Schweiz. Es sei In Erinnerung gerufen, dass der Bund im Rahmen seiner Entschuldungsfazilität bisher verschiedene Rückkaufaktionen von Schulden getätigt oder unterstützt hat (auf bilateraler Ebene wur..

Search for 14.4 keV solar axions from M1 transition of Fe-57 with CUORE crystals

We report the results of a search for axions from the 14.4 keV M1 transition from Fe-57 in the core of the sun using the axio-electric effect in TeO2 bolometers. The detectors are 5x5x5 cm3 crystals operated at about 10 mK in a facility used to test bolometers for the CUORE experiment at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso in Italy. An analysis of 43.65 kg d of data was made using a newly developed low energy trigger which was optimized to reduce the detectors energy threshold. An upper limit of 0.63 c kg-1 d-1 was established at 95% C.L.. From this value, a lower bound at 95% C.L. was placed on the Peccei-Quinn energy scale of fa >= 0.76 10**6 GeV for a value of S=0.55 for the flavor-singlet axial vector matrix element. Bounds are given for the interval 0.15 < S < 0.55.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, submitted to JCA