Comparable Context Research Articles

La promesse face à la peur: de nouveau Mc 16. 8b

AbstractThe ending of Mark, ‘And they (the women) said nothing to anyone for they were afraid’ (16.8) is one of the most famous cruxes in the New Testament. Could the author really have intended to complete the gospel in such a way? Building on a suggestion made by Joel Marcus and Benoit Standaert, this article defends the hypothesis that Mark is deliberately making a reference to Genesis 18.15 LXX. The same rare expression ἐφοβήθη γάρ which has the verb ‘to be afraid’ followed by the preposition γάρ, appears in a comparable context. In both cases, one or more women are presented by God or his messengers with what could appear to be an unlikely promise and a radical impossibility: the birth of a child in old age or the resurrection of a dead person. While presenting a critique of S. Hultgren's recent proposal that Dn 10 is the background of Mark, the approach here is to add an argument based on a scriptural allusion, which Mark was perfectly capable of making, in support of the now predominant view, but still with many critics, that the writer fully intended to end his gospel with 16.8b.

Benchmarking of ATAC Sequencing Data From BGI's Low-Cost DNBSEQ-G400 Instrument for Identification of Open and Occupied Chromatin Regions.

Background: Chromatin falls into one of two major subtypes: closed heterochromatin and euchromatin which is accessible, transcriptionally active, and occupied by transcription factors (TFs). The most widely used approach to interrogate differences in the chromatin state landscape is the Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin using sequencing (ATAC-seq). While library generation is relatively inexpensive, sequencing depth requirements can make this assay cost-prohibitive for some laboratories. Findings: Here, we benchmark data from Beijing Genomics Institute’s (BGI) DNBSEQ-G400 low-cost sequencer against data from a standard Illumina instrument (HiSeqX10). For comparisons, the same bulk ATAC-seq libraries generated from pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) and fibroblasts were sequenced on both platforms. Both instruments generate sequencing reads with comparable mapping rates and genomic context. However, DNBSEQ-G400 data contained a significantly higher number of small, sub-nucleosomal reads (>30% increase) and a reduced number of bi-nucleosomal reads (>75% decrease), which resulted in narrower peak bases and improved peak calling, enabling the identification of 4% more differentially accessible regions between PSCs and fibroblasts. The ability to identify master TFs that underpin the PSC state relative to fibroblasts (via HOMER, HINT-ATAC, TOBIAS), namely, foot-printing capacity, were highly similar between data generated on both platforms. Integrative analysis with transcriptional data equally enabled direct recovery of three published 3-factor combinations that have been shown to induce pluripotency. Conclusion: Other than a small increase in peak calling sensitivity for DNBSEQ-G400 data (BGI), both platforms enable comparable levels of open chromatin identification for ATAC-seq library sequencing, yielding similar analytical outcomes, albeit at low-data generation costs in the case of the BGI instrument.

Test of nuclear decay rate variation due to an antineutrino flux

Unexplained variations of the decay rate for weak interaction decays such as $\beta^{\pm}$-decay, electron capture, as well as strong interaction $\alpha$-decay have been reported. Some researcher interpreted these variations as caused by an unexplained fundamental interaction. The purpose of the paper is to review decay rate parameter variations experiments and place them into a common comparable context and to make decay parameter measurements at the level of 10$^{-5}$ in the presences of an antineutrino flux, $\sim 3 \times10^{12}$ $\overline{\nu} \, cm^{-2} \, sec^{-1}$, 6.5 meters from the High Flux Isotope Reactor(HFIR) reactor core having an on-off cycle time of $\sim$30 days. Two weak interaction decays, one via electron capture and the other via $\beta^-$ decay were selected because the final state and the time reverse state each contain a neutrino and anti-neutrino, covering arguments that the anti-neutrino flux may interact differently or not at all in one of the cases. The experiment searched for variation of the $^{54}_{25}$Mn, e$^-$ capture and $^{137}_{~55}$Cs, $\beta^-$ decay rate parameters. The measured variation in the decay rate parameters are found to be $\delta \lambda/ \lambda = (0.034\pm 1.38)\times 10^{-5}$ for $^{54}_{25}$Mn and $\delta \lambda/ \lambda = (0.67\pm 1.56)\times 10^{-5}$ for $^{137}_{~55}$Cs. These results are consistent with no measurable decay rate parameter variation due to an antineutrino flux, yielding a $68\%$ confidence level upper limit sensitivity for $^{54}_{25}$Mn, $\delta \lambda/ \lambda \leq 1.31\times10^{-5}$ or $\sigma \leq 1.29\times10^{-25}\,cm^{2}$ in cross section and for $^{137}_{~55}$Cs, $\delta \lambda/ \lambda \leq 2.23\times10^{-5}$ or $\sigma \leq 5.69\times10^{-27}\,cm^{2}$. These null or no observable effect measurements places cross-section upper limits $\sim 10^{4}$ times more sensitive than past experiments.

Predicting the targets of IRF8 and NFATc1 during osteoclast differentiation using the machine learning method framework cTAP

BackgroundInterferon regulatory factor-8 (IRF8) and nuclear factor-activated T cells c1 (NFATc1) are two transcription factors that have an important role in osteoclast differentiation. Thanks to ChIP-seq technology, scientists can now estimate potential genome-wide target genes of IRF8 and NFATc1. However, finding target genes that are consistently up-regulated or down-regulated across different studies is hard because it requires analysis of a large number of high-throughput expression studies from a comparable context.MethodWe have developed a machine learning based method, called, Cohort-based TF target prediction system (cTAP) to overcome this problem. This method assumes that the pathway involving the transcription factors of interest is featured with multiple “functional groups” of marker genes pertaining to the concerned biological process. It uses two notions, Gene-Present Sufficiently (GP) and Gene-Absent Insufficiently (GA), in addition to log2 fold changes of differentially expressed genes for the prediction. Target prediction is made by applying multiple machine-learning models, which learn the patterns of GP and GA from log2 fold changes and four types of Z scores from the normalized cohort’s gene expression data. The learned patterns are then associated with the putative transcription factor targets to identify genes that consistently exhibit Up/Down gene regulation patterns within the cohort. We applied this method to 11 publicly available GEO data sets related to osteoclastgenesis.ResultOur experiment identified a small number of Up/Down IRF8 and NFATc1 target genes as relevant to osteoclast differentiation. The machine learning models using GP and GA produced NFATc1 and IRF8 target genes different than simply using a log2 fold change alone. Our literature survey revealed that all predicted target genes have known roles in bone remodeling, specifically related to the immune system and osteoclast formation and functions, suggesting confidence and validity in our method.ConclusioncTAP was motivated by recognizing that biologists tend to use Z score values present in data sets for the analysis. However, using cTAP effectively presupposes assembling a sizable cohort of gene expression data sets within a comparable context. As public gene expression data repositories grow, the need to use cohort-based analysis method like cTAP will become increasingly important.

Objective Method for Determining the Importance of Unprecedented Restlessness as a Rice Crisis Indicator at the National Level

In this study, we use restlessness as an input for a rice crisis indicator, since restlessness rather than rice price provides a comparable year-to year context. We outline the significant increase in the use of unprecedented restlessness (UR) as an indicator for rice crises. The UR approach involves a precedence analysis, in contrast with the existing approach, the price shock analysis. We test UR as a new indicator for rice crises at the national level, which can be applied in Asia and other countries around the world where rice is the staple food. Strong indicators point out the effectiveness of strategic government programs and are able to assess solutions and detect rice crises, while weak indicators are only reliable in detecting whether or not there has been a crisis. UR is tested across 43 countries using two new statistics: success probability (SP) and constraint probability (CP). As a consequence of SP and CP calculations, a large number of IMR control charts for UR analysis are constructed to provide evidence that UR is a strong indicator. The optimum validity measurement result is achieved with SP = 8/26 = 0.31 and CP = 8/14 = 0.57. This means that the UR detects and is followed by only 31% of riot events. Since the value of SP is less than 0.6, we can conclude that the UR indicator is not considered valid as an indicator of rice crises at the national level. The values of CP and SP are determined subjectively as equal to 0.6. This is the main cause of the emergence of new problems in the calibration of UR as an indicator of rice crises. The subjective success criteria trigger a question regarding why the value is 0.6, for which there is no scientific justification. Based on this background, we continue to objectively establish success criteria for UR validity. After conducting a risk analysis involving a crisis recovery cost (CRC) to crisis anticipation cost (CAC) ratio, it is found that the probability of the CRC-to-CAC ratio having values greater than 7 is 0.76, which means the CRC-to-CAC ratio tends to be higher than 7. Objectively, it is concluded that UR, which has been defined as rice crisis indicator at the national level, is an important indicator.

Natural hazards as political events: framing and politicisation of floods in the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT This study explores how disasters are framed and politicised in the media to provide a systematic assessment of discursive dynamics and external political contexts of natural hazards. Utilising an actor-focused approach, it contributes with knowledge on how politicisation of disaster discourses unfolds. Two similar natural hazard events, the United Kingdom floods of 2005 and 2015, are investigated by means of a content analysis and a political claims analysis. The study finds that a tension between the national government and its contestants following the 2015 floods led to a framing contest which was heavily affected by the external political context at the time. The opposition and journalists constructed a narrative of government failure, not least by intertwining the event with the politically tense situation in the United Kingdom to further populist claims about government spending and EU policies. In 2005, the lack of a comparable external context and polarisation between actors in the media prevented a politicisation of the floods in the immediate aftermath of the disaster. These results illustrate the importance of broader political contexts, even those essentially unrelated to the natural hazard, for the politicisation of a disaster.

The Neanderthal Musical Instrument from Divje Babe I Cave (Slovenia): A Critical Review of the Discussion

The paper is a critical review of different evidence for the interpretation of an extremely important archaeological find, which is marked by some doubt. The unique find, a multiple perforated cave bear femur diaphysis, from the Divje babe I cave (Slovenia), divided the opinions of experts, between those who advocate the explanation that the find is a musical instrument made by a Neanderthal, and those who deny it. Ever since the discovery, a debate has been running on the basis of this division, which could only be closed by similar new finds with comparable context, and defined relative and absolute chronology.

Recommendations for the Evaluation of Cross-System Care Coordination from the VA State-of-the-art Working Group on VA/Non-VA Care.

In response to widespread concerns regarding Veterans' access to VA care, Congress enacted the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, which required VA to establish the Veterans Choice Program (VCP). Since the inception of VCP, more than two million Veterans have received care from community providers, representing approximately 25% of Veterans enrolled in VA care. However, expanded access to non-VA care has created challenges in care coordination between VA and community health systems. In March 2018, the VA Health Services Research & Development Service hosted a VA State of the Art conference (SOTA) focused on care coordination. The SOTA convened VA researchers, program directors, clinicians, and policy makers to identify knowledge gaps regarding care coordination within the VA and between VA and community systems of care. This article provides a summary and synthesis of relevant literature and provides recommendations generated from the SOTA about how to evaluate cross-system care coordination. Care coordination is typically evaluated using health outcomes including hospital readmissions and death; however, in cross-system evaluations of care coordination, measures such as access, cost, Veteran/patient and provider satisfaction (including with cross-system communication), comparable quality metrics, context (urban vs. rural), and patient complexity (medical and mental health conditions) need to be included to fully evaluate care coordination effectiveness. Future research should examine the role of multiple individuals coordinating VA and non-VA care, and how these coordinators work together to optimize coordination.

Geochemistry and petrogenesis of the early Archean mafic crust from the Saglek-Hebron Complex (Northern Labrador)

The Saglek-Hebron Complex located in Northern Labrador, Canada, is one of the oldest granite-greenstone terrains on Earth. It is dominated by granitoids as old as 3.9 Ga and several enclaves of supracrustal rocks. We present here the largest whole-rock major and trace element geochemical dataset (over 100 samples) on the mantle-derived rocks from the Saglek-Hebron Complex to constrain their petrogenesis. The mafic amphibolites are metavolcanic rocks basaltic in composition, have tholeiitic affinities, and exhibit relatively homogeneous compositions with flat rare-earth element profiles. They include incompatible element enriched and depleted compositions, both which appear to be related by fractional crystallization of a gabbroic assemblage within volcanic flows. The enriched mafic rocks exhibit higher Ti contents compared to the more depleted mafic rocks, representing, respectively, evolved liquids and pyroxene-rich cumulate-liquid mixtures. Previous work has suggested the occurrence of two distinct supracrustal units in the Saglek-Hebron Complex, the Eoarchean Nulliak assemblage and the Mesoarchean Upernavik assemblage. Here we report that the petrological and geochemical composition of both assemblages is indistinguishable. This suggests either that the Nulliak and Upernavik metavolcanic rocks represent a single unit, or that they were formed by identical processes in a comparable context, despite an age difference of ∼400 Ma. Contrary to some other early metavolcanic belts, such as the Isua supracrustal belt and Nuvvuagittuq greenstone belt, none of the metavolcanic rocks from the Saglek-Hebron Complex studied here exhibit geochemical compositions that could be reminiscent of suprasubduction environments. The Saglek-Hebron Complex also includes two compositionally distinct groups of ultramafic rocks characterized by different Al/Ti ratios, Fe contents and controlled by olivine fractionation with different Fo contents. Ultramafic rocks from both groups appear to be cumulates derived from distinct parental magmas with a komatiitic basalt composition. One of these parental magmas may be genetically linked through fractional crystallization with the mafic metavolcanic rocks, whereas the other group is more difficult, at least geochemically, to relate to the Saglek-Hebron basaltic rocks.

Backwards and indirect context effects in accommodating gender differences in speech

Listeners accommodate large amount of acoustic variability across talkers and phonetic contexts when categorizing speech sounds. This study examines accommodation of gender-related talker differences, which can occur in reverse (in sound sequence AB, sound B affects perception of sound A), suggesting more complicated mechanisms than peripheral auditory contrast enhancement alone. A continuum of fricatives “sh” and “s” was preappended to vowels whose acoustic parameters were manipulated by various properties ranging from typically feminine to masculine and vice versa. Other conditions provided matching or mis-matching visual cues. We examined the weighting of cues to talker gender, the duration of exposure to sound needed to obtain the full context effect, and the influence of hearing status, using listeners with cochlear implants (CIs). CI listeners used different cues to show a comparable gender context effect and also appear to use proxy cues for acoustic properties perceived more clearly by people with normal hearing (NH). All listeners showed implicit knowledge of how acoustic patterns are selectively reverse-compatible with different articulation sequences. NH listeners needed only 30 ms for full adjustment, while CI listeners’ data were much more variable. Collectively, these results show a complex process of auditory, visual and gesture-aware adjustment to a talker’s voice.Listeners accommodate large amount of acoustic variability across talkers and phonetic contexts when categorizing speech sounds. This study examines accommodation of gender-related talker differences, which can occur in reverse (in sound sequence AB, sound B affects perception of sound A), suggesting more complicated mechanisms than peripheral auditory contrast enhancement alone. A continuum of fricatives “sh” and “s” was preappended to vowels whose acoustic parameters were manipulated by various properties ranging from typically feminine to masculine and vice versa. Other conditions provided matching or mis-matching visual cues. We examined the weighting of cues to talker gender, the duration of exposure to sound needed to obtain the full context effect, and the influence of hearing status, using listeners with cochlear implants (CIs). CI listeners used different cues to show a comparable gender context effect and also appear to use proxy cues for acoustic properties perceived more clearly by people with...

Aberrant RNA splicing is the major pathogenic effect in a knock-in mouse model of the dominantly inherited c.1430A>G human RPE65 mutation.

Human RPE65 mutations cause a spectrum of retinal dystrophies that result in blindness. While RPE65 mutations have been almost invariably recessively inherited, a c.1430A>G (p.(D477G)) mutation has been reported to cause autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). To study the pathogenesis of this human mutation, we have replicated the mutation in a knock-in (KI) mouse model using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing. Significantly, in contrast to human patients, heterozygous KI mice do not exhibit any phenotypes in visual function tests. When raised in regular vivarium conditions, homozygous KI mice display relatively undisturbed visual functions with minimal retinal structural changes. However, KI/KI mouse retinae are more sensitive to light exposure and exhibit signs of degenerative features when subjected to light stress. We find that instead of merely producing a missense mutant protein, the A>G nucleotide substitution greatly affects appropriate splicing of Rpe65 mRNA by generating an ectopic splice site in comparable context to the canonical one, thereby disrupting RPE65 protein expression. Similar splicing defects were also confirmed for the human RPE65 c.1430G mutant in an in vitro Exontrap assay. Our data demonstrate that a splicing defect is associated with c.1430G pathogenesis, and therefore provide insights in the therapeutic strategy for human patients.

PRM272 - THE EUNETHTA TRANSFERABILITY TOOL: APPLICATION TO NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR RELAPSED REFRACTORY MULTIPLE MYELOMA IN THE IRISH HEALTHCARE SETTING

The EUnetHTA transferability tool for economic evaluation is a list of questions to be considered when adapting information and/or data on economic evaluations (EEs) from other jurisdictions. Transferability to Ireland should be based on the nationally agreed EE guidelines. The aim of this study was to assess the transferability of EEs to the Irish health care setting using this tool. These EEs related specifically to novel treatments in the area of relapsed refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). A systematic literature review was conducted to identify relevant studies. Eligible studies were assessed for transferability by two reviewers using the economic evaluation transferability tool of the EUnetHTA Adaption Toolkit. Eight studies were identified for inclusion. One study was from the UK, three were from the US, two were from Sweden, one was from Norway, and one was from Greece. All studies were deemed non-transferable to the Irish health care setting in terms of discount rate, personnel characteristics, factors which influence incidence and prevalence, demographic context, reproduction, and pre- and post-intervention care. All except for the UK study differed with regard to incentives. Six studies differed in relation to integration of the technology in the health care system. Technological context and indirect costs contrasted with the Irish health care setting in two. In four, the studies had a comparable epidemiological context and life expectancy to Ireland. All studies were in line with the Irish nationally agreed guidelines in terms of perspective, preferences, and relative costs. Ireland’s nationally agreed guidelines for health economic evaluation were violated in all eight studies. Data from EEs in RRMM in the jurisdictions assessed is not easily transferable to Ireland. Many of the parameters evaluated cannot be easily adapted to the Irish health care setting and this is likely to have a significant impact on results.

Impaired perceptual normalization of lexical tones in Cantonese-speaking congenital amusics.

Human listeners perceive speech sounds relative to acoustic cues in context. In this study the authors examined how congenital amusia, a pitch-processing disorder, affects perceptual normalization of lexical tones according to the distribution of F0 cues in context. Sixteen Cantonese-speaking amusics and 16 controls were tested on the effects of shifting F0 level in four types of contexts on tone perception: nonspeech, reversed speech, semantically anomalous speech, and meaningful speech contexts. Performance of controls replicated previous studies, showing contrastive changes of tone perception according to the shifted F0 level of anomalous and meaningful contexts, which were native speech contexts with phonological cues to estimate a talker's tone space. Effects of nonspeech and reversed contexts were small and inconsistent, and tone perception performance varied depending on the typicality of a talker's F0 range. In contrast to controls, amusics showed reduced context effects in anomalous and meaningful contexts, but largely comparable context effects in nonspeech and reversed contexts, indicating a deficit of amusics in tone normalization through phonological cues in native speech contexts. These findings suggest that the ability to perceive speech sounds relative to acoustic cues in context is not a universal endowment, and that this ability is impaired substantially in amusics.

Symbolic play promotes non‐verbal communicative exchange in infant–caregiver dyads

Symbolic play has long been considered a fertile context for communicative development (Bruner, 1983, Child's talk: Learning to use language, Oxford University Press, Oxford; Vygotsky, 1962, Thought and language, MIT Press, Cambridge, MA; Vygotsky, 1978, Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA). In the current study, we examined caregiver-infant interaction during symbolic play and compared it to interaction in a comparable but non-symbolic context (i.e., 'functional' play). Fifty-four (N=54) caregivers and their 18-month-old infants were observed engaging in 20min of play (symbolic, functional). Play interactions were coded and compared across play conditions for joint attention (JA) and gesture use. Compared with functional play, symbolic play was characterized by greater frequency and duration of JA and greater gesture use, particularly the use of iconic gestures with an object in hand. The results suggest that symbolic play provides a rich context for the exchange and negotiation of meaning, and thus may contribute to the development of important skills underlying communicative development. Statement of contribution Current knowledge Symbolic play has long been linked to communicative development. We do not know the extent to which the social context of symbolic play fosters communicative skills. Present study We test whether key communicative acts (joint attention, gesture) are more common in infant-caregiver dyads during symbolic versus functional play. Joint attention was established more often and sustained for longer periods in symbolic play than in functional play. Infants and caregivers produced more in-hand representational gestures in symbolic compared to functional play.

Protocol for a systematic review: Interventions to improve mathematics achievement in primary school-aged children: a systematic review.

Protocol for a systematic review: Interventions to improve mathematics achievement in primary school-aged children: a systematic review.

Transferability of demand-side policies between countries

The development of methods to determine the transferability of policies between countries has received limited attention in the energy policy field. Previous research has focussed on theoretical or less formal determinants of energy policy transferability, rather than providing practical analytical tools. The paper presents a practical framework for analysing the transferability of demand-side management (DSM) policies, and to identify where policies are transferable at different levels of policy transfer. The paper tests the framework to determine the transferability of different types of DSM policy across 30 countries and 36 sub-national states. The method is a contextual-based analysis that matches up countries/states that have a comparable context at the proposed three levels of policy transfer: direct copying, adaptation and inspiration. The paper utilises Multi-Criteria Decision-Making analysis with 17 DSM experts to validate the breakdown of contextual factors at different levels of policy transfer. Four groups of countries are identified where policy transfer is possible at the adaptation level and seven groups of countries/states are identified at the inspiration level. Overall, the paper argues that context is key and the level of contextual detail included in methods to analyse energy policy transferability will affect the level of policy transfer that is appropriate.

Differences in farmers’ perception of opportunities for farm development

This paper empirically identifies differences between dairy farmers in their perception of opportunities for farm development. The construct ‘perceived Room for Manoeuvre’ (pRfM) is used which is defined as: ‘the opportunities perceived as viable in order to obtain a (substantial part of) business income’. A unique case study of 79 dairy farmers operating in a highly comparable socio-material context at the level of the case study allows for an empirical analysis of differences in the pRfM using a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods exploratory research, a questionnaire and in-depth interviews with stakeholders in farm development. Differences in the pRfM will likely affect the early phase of strategic decision making and consequently explain heterogeneity in farm development. Data analysis revealed the following three dimensions of pRfM: perception of the opportunity (1) to diversify; (2) to end production; and (3) to maximise production. These dimensions proved useful to explain heterogeneity in farm development and thus showed the importance of a subjective approach towards opportunity identification in farm development. This paper shows the need to view the farmer as entrepreneurial actor in the process of strategic decision making who interacts with the socio-material context of the farm.

Assessing Buildings Hourly Energy Needs for Urban Energy Planning in Southern European Context

For decreasing the fossil fuels consumption and reducing air pollution at urban level, current policies encourage a transition to distributed energy generation (DG) and support initiatives towards district heating and cooling networks (DES - district energy systems), promoting the integration of renewable energy sources (RES). Based on these approaches, the assessment of the energy demand fluctuations of the building stock is preliminary for energy planning at district scale, since systems’ operation requires a complex balancing for maximizing the efficiency or minimizing the cost, combining the intermittent nature of RES (except biomasses) with non-RES and/or storage technology. Surveyed literature concerning recent studies aimed at optimizing district energy scenarios revealed that most of the assessment are limited to the seasonal and/or annual based buildings energy needs, while the ones that deal with a proper time scale (i.e. hourly based) refer to specific case studies, which are hardly replicable in other urban contexts. The purpose of the study presented in this paper was to provide reliable reference profiles of buildings thermal energy needs (for both space heating and cooling) with reference to the Italian context. Therefore, a set of building models, representative of typical solutions of different historical periods, was defined for both residential and diffuse tertiary (offices) use. Once elaborated accurate hourly internal loads curves, it was possible to provide, performing detailed simulations with TRNSYS model, profiles of energy need density, referred to cubic meter of building volume, for typical buildings placed in different climatic locations, covering the wide range of Italian context. Based on both the building typologies and the climatic variability considered, assumptions adopted for the study could be extended to other comparable context in southern Europe.

Maternal Education, Literacy and Child Mortality-Perspectives from Uganda

Despite advances in medical technology and continued economic growth, child mortality is still one of the major issues facing the developing world. There is evidence exhibiting the positive effect that maternal education has on child mortality. In this paper I revisit this relationship and explore whether maternal literacy impacts the link between mother’s education and child mortality. In recent work, Smith-Greenaway [2013] using Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) data finds that the effect of mother’s education on child mortality becomes statistically insignificant when mother’s literacy is included as one of the covariates, suggesting that literacy explains all of the effect of maternal education on child mortality. Hence, I use Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) data, to verify if that result holds in a comparable context. Using a Cox Proportional Hazards (Cox PH) method, I find that the effect of mother’s education on child mortality remains statistically significant even after the addition of mother’s literacy as one of the covariates. This result is robust to the addition of a variety of control variables. On further investigation, I find that for mothers with less than 3 years of education, literacy is significant in explaining the effect on mortality, whereas education is not. At the same time, it is exactly the opposite case for mothers with more than 3 years of education- education is significant but literacy is not. Based on these findings, I discuss potential threshold effects of the role of literacy in explaining the effect of maternal education on child mortality.

Considering the Total Cost of Electricity From Sunlight and the Alternatives [Point of View

Photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation has grown to about 17 GW in the United States, corresponding to one tenth of the global capacity. Most deployment in the country has happened during the last 6 years. Reflecting back in time, in early 2008 this author and his collaborators James Mason and Ken Zweibel, published in Scientific American and in Energy Policy a Solar Grand Plan demonstrating the feasibility of renewable energy in providing 69% of the United States electricity demand by 2050, while reducing CO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> emissions by 60% from 2005 levels; the PV contribution to this plan was assessed to be 250 GW by 2030 and 2900 GW by 2050 [1]. The DOE's more detailed SunShot vision study, released in 2012, showed the possibility of having 300 GW of PV installed in the United States by 2030, and 630 GW by 2050. Assessing the sustainability of such rapid growth of photovoltaics necessitates undertaking a careful analysis because PV markets largely are enabled by its promise to produce reliable electricity with minimum environmental burdens. Measurable aspects of sustainability include cost, resource availability, and environmental impact. The question of cost concerns the affordability of solar energy compared to other energy sources throughout the world. Environmental impacts include local-, regional-, and global-effects, as well as the usage of land and water, which must be considered in a comparable context over a long time, multigenerational horizon. Finally, the availability of material resources matters to current and future-generations under the constraint of affordability.