Water, sanitation and hygiene: The missing link with agriculture

Inadequate access to safe water and sanitation services coupled with poor hygiene practices continues to kill, sicken and diminish opportunities of millions of people in developing countries. Various interventions to improve drinking water quality and service levels, sanitation and hygiene (WSH) have been applied, albeit in isolated approaches. Relevant literature focused on assessing the cost and health effectiveness of such approaches. In parallel, irrigation in agriculture, which affects all the water cycle and thus drinking water quality and quantity, has been developed without looking into the consequences for WSH. In this paper, we argue that the 'nexus' approach should take peoples' multiple water needs as a starting point for providing integrated services and thus move beyond conventional sectoral barriers of domestic and productive sectors. Isolated approaches have their drawbacks missing out on positive externalities on health and nutrition outcomes. We also argue that (the prospect of) a holistic approach including WSH and agriculture sectors for a long term health and nutrition impact should be explored. The paper reviews the body of literature dealing with WSH and irrigation agriculture, synthesizes the remarks thereof and concludes with suggestions to unravel the 'nexus' between WSH and agriculture for a long term health and nutrition impact

Abnormal mineralization of the Ts65Dn Down syndrome mouse appendicular skeleton begins during embryonic development in a Dyrk1a-independent manner

The relationship between gene dosage imbalance and phenotypes associated with Trisomy 21, including the etiology of abnormal bone phenotypes linked to Down syndrome (DS), is not well understood. The Ts65Dn mouse model for DS exhibits appendicular skeletal defects during adolescence and adulthood but the developmental and genetic origin of these phenotypes remains unclear. It is hypothesized that the postnatal Ts65Dn skeletal phenotype originates during embryonic development and results from an increased Dyrk1a gene copy number, a gene hypothesized to play a critical role in many DS phenotypes. Ts65Dn embryos exhibit a lower percent bone volume in the E17.5 femur when compared to euploid embryos. Concomitant with gene copy number, qPCR analysis revealed a  ~1.5 fold increase in Dyrk1a transcript levels in the Ts65Dn E17.5 embryonic femur as compared to euploid. Returning Dyrk1a copy number to euploid levels in Ts65Dn, Dyrk1a+/− embryos did not correct the trisomic skeletal phenotype but did return Dyrk1a gene transcript levels to normal. The size and protein expression patterns of the cartilage template during embryonic bone development appear to be unaffected at E14.5 and E17.5 in trisomic embryos. Taken together, these data suggest that the dosage imbalance of genes other than Dyrk1a is involved in the development of the prenatal bone phenotype in Ts65Dn embryos

Rethinking water management in Khorezm, Uzbekistan: Concepts and recommendations

Khorezm region is located in the northwest of Uzbekistan, approximately 350 km from the current shore of the Aral Sea. It comprises a large-scale irrigation system which conveys water from the river Amudarya to agricultural land cropped mainly with cotton, wheat, and rice. Khorezm's water resources are vulnerable because they depend on upstream developments and are indispensable for rural livelihoods and state budgets. Since water scarcity is expected to increase in the future, sustainable water management is a necessity. Hence the objectives of the paper are to (1) conceptualise the distinctive features of water management in Khorezm, (2) provide an integrated analysis of water management by establishing linkages between society, technical infrastructure, and the bio-physical environment, and (3) make policy and technology recommendations for improved water management. To conceptualise water management in Khorezm, the paper distinguishes three types of practices: formal practices, strategic practices, and discursive practices. Based on these, it presents an analysis of water management on the state water management level, the water user association level, and the farmer and field level. For each level, recommendations are given. The paper concludes that elements of IWRM such as transparency, accountability, participation, and technical efficiency are relevant to improve water management in Khorezm as elsewhere. In addition, it suggests for Khorezm in particular, to create legal space for agency and innovation. Technical tools such as models acquire additional importance in this context for facilitating transparency and enabling agents across the management hierarchy to access and make use of information

Are ODA flows effective in promoting growth?: the case of Albania

En este trabajo se analiza el impacto que tienen los flujos de Ayuda Oficial al Desarrollo (AOD) sobre el desarrollo de un país particular del continente europeo, en este caso Albania. Se diferencia el impacto que tienen los préstamos de ayuda y las subvenciones, y se calcula cuál tiene un mayor impacto sobre el crecimiento. Se revisan los estudios sobre el desarrollo en Albania. La eficacia que tienen los flujos de AOD se ha estudiado durante tres periodos diferenciados que se explicarán y se decidirá qué modelo emplear para estudiar el impacto en Albania. Se escoge el modelo propuesto por Barro que empareja el desarrollo de un país con el crecimiento del PIB per cápita, esta será la variable dependiente de un modelo econométrico al que se añaden otras variables que posiblemente tengan un impacto en el crecimiento de la economía. Antes de hacer la regresión del modelo se contextualiza la historia reciente del país para mejor entender por qué han llegado los flujos de ayuda. El largo aislamiento que sufrió el país durante la dictadura comunista de Enver Hoxha causó que a principios de los años 90 Albania fuese el país más pobre del continente europeo pero la apertura del país y la colaboración internacional que ha tenido desde entonces ha causado un crecimiento económico substancial. En este trabajo se analiza si este crecimiento es motivado por la llegada de los flujos de AOD o si son otros factores los que explican la convergencia. En el modelo estimado se obtienen resultados que confirman que los flujos de ayuda han tenido un impacto positivo sobre el crecimiento del país para el periodo 2000-2019. Solamente las ayudas en la forma de subvenciones han tenido un impacto positivo y significativo sobre el crecimiento, pero los flujos totales han tenido también un impacto positivo, aunque no estadísticamente significativo. Los homicidios han tenido un impacto negativo substancial por lo que se concluye que, para acercarse más al resto de países europeos, Albania tendrá que aliviar la tensión social y otros factores como la corrupción para tener mejores posibilidades para entrar a formar parte de la UE que es la gran meta que tienen muchos políticos y la gran mayoría de ciudadanos de Albania.In this dissertation, the impact that Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows have on the growth of a country will be analyzed. In this case the poorest country on the European continent will be selected to observe the possible effects, this being Albania. To create the model the difference between ODA grants and loans will be measured to see which has had a greater impact. A brief state of the art on studies pertaining to development in Albania will be made. Studies on the effectiveness of ODA flows have been divided into three distinct periods which will be discussed and the model for Albania will be picked from one of these methodologies. The growth model proposed by Barro will be used for Albania. In this model the development of a country will be measured by the growth of the GDP per capita to which other possible explanatory variables will be added. Before creating the regression model, the recent history of the country will be contextualized to better understand why the aid flows have been necessary. The long isolation that the country suffered during the communist dictatorship of Enver Hoxha caused Albania to be the poorest country on the European continent in the early 90s, but the progressive opening of the country and the international collaboration it has had since then has caused substantial economic growth. In this dissertation it will be measured if this growth was caused by the arrival of ODA flows or if it is other factors that explain the convergence. In the estimated model, the results obtained confirm that aid flows have had a positive impact on the country's growth for the period from 2000 to 2019. Only the aid received in the form of grants has had a positive effect on growth but when both types of aid flow are accounted for, the overall effect is positive even though it is not statistically significant. The homicide rate has had a substantially negative impact, so it is concluded that to get closer to the rest of the European countries, Albania will have to alleviate social tension and other factors such as corruption to have better chances of becoming part of the EU that being a goal that many politicians and the vast majority of Albanian citizens want to achieve.Grado en Economí

On the Impact of Smartification Strategies for the State Estimation of Low Voltage Grids

The decarbonization of for example the energy or heat sector leads to the transformation of distribution grids. The expansion of decentralized energy resources and the integration of new consumers due to sector coupling (e.g. heat pumps or electric vehicles) into low voltage grids increases the need for grid expansion and usage of flexibilities in the grid. A high observability of the current grid status is needed to perform these tasks efficiently and effectively. Therefore, there is a need to increase the observability of low voltage grids by installing measurement technologies (e.g. smart meters). Multiple different measurement technologies are available for low voltage grids which can vary in their benefit to observation quality and their installation costs. Therefore, Bayernwerk Netz GmbH and E.DIS AG in cooperation with E-Bridge Consulting GmbH and the Institute for High Voltage Equipment and Grids, Digitalization and Energy Economics (IAEW) investigated the effectiveness of different strategies for the smartification of low voltage grids. This paper presents the methodology used for the investigation and exemplary results focusing on the impact of intelligent cable distribution cabinets and smart meters on the quality of the state estimation.Comment: In proceedings of the 13th "Internationale Energiewirtschaftstagung" (IEWT2023), February 15-17, 2023, Vienna, Austri

Project #64: Home Health Visit Utilization

An opportunity exists to improve our episode management in Home Health Care, specifically for visit utilization and care coordination during the episode of care. The current process leads to improper utilization of resources, which leads to poor financial outcomes for HFHHC, and/or poor clinical outcomes for patients, as well as poor satisfaction on patient surveys (HHCAHPS). Improvement should result in better financial outcomes for HFHHC and improved patient clinical outcomes.https://scholarlycommons.henryford.com/qualityexpo2024/1060/thumbnail.jp