This paper analyzes the determinants of domestic water use in rural areas. The focus is on households without access to private
improved water sources. These households use either only free sources, only purchased sources or a combination of free and
purchased sources. We also analyze households’ water use behaviors as a function of water availability by explicitly estimating
domestic water use for both rainy and dry seasons. Using a Seemingly Unrelated Tobit approach to simultaneously account for
the censored nature of water demand and the correlation of error terms between free and purchased water use equations, we
find that purchased water demand is perfectly price inelastic due to water scarcity. The important determinants of water use
are household size and composition, access to water sources, wealth and time required for fetching water. Nevertheless, the
effects of these determinants vary between household types and seasons, and the policy implications of the findings are discussed. 相似文献
Acute appendicitis is believed to be one of the commonest causes of the acute abdomen in tropical Africa. Negative appendicectomy rates are usually above 20%, which is now considered unacceptably high because of increased risk to patients and the availability of diagnostic facilities to aid clinical decision-making. Our negative appendicectomy rate over a 4-year retrospective period was 29.7% in males, and 47% in females. These reduced to 11% and 10%, respectively, after the introduction of laparoscopy for doubtful cases of acute abdominal pain. 相似文献
With the rapid growth of the internet of things (IoT), an impressive number of IoT’s application based on wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has been deployed in various domain. Due to its wide ranged applications, WSNs that have the capability to monitor a given sensing field, became the most used platform of IoT. Therefore, coverage becomes one of the most important challenge of WSNs. The search for better positions to assign to the sensors in order to control each point of an area of interest and the collection of data from sensors are major concerns in WSNs. This work addresses these problems by providing a hybrid approach that ensures sensors deployment on a grid for targets coverage while taking into account connectivity. The proposed sequential hybrid approach is based on three algorithms. The first places the sensors so as to all targets are covered. The second removes redundancies from the placement algorithm to reduce the number of sensors deployed. The third one, based on the genetic algorithm, aims to generate a connected graph which provide a minimal path that links deployed sensors and sink. Simulations and a comparative study were carried out to prove the relevance of the proposed method.
The recent ability to integrate semiconductor‐based optoelectronic functionalities within thin fibers is opening intriguing opportunities for flexible electronics and advanced textiles. The scalable integration of high‐quality semiconducting devices within functional fibers however remains a challenge. It is difficult with current strategies to combine high light absorption, good microstructure and efficient electrical contact. The growth of semiconducting nanowires is a great tool to control crystal orientation and ensure a combination of light absorption and charge extraction for efficient photodetection. Thus far, however, leveraging the attributes of nanowires has remained seemingly incompatible with fiber materials, geometry, and processing approaches. Here, the integration of semiconducting nanowire‐based devices at the tip and along the length of polymer fibers is demonstrated for the first time. The scalable thermal drawing process is combined with a simple sonochemical treatment to grow nanowires out of electrically addressed amorphous selenium domains. First principles density‐functional theory calculations show that this approach enables to tailor the surface energy of crystal facets and favors nanowire growth along a preferred orientation, resulting in fiber‐integrated devices of unprecedented performance. This novel platform is exploited to demonstrate an all‐fiber‐integrated fluorescence imaging system, highlighting novel opportunities in sensing, advanced optical probes, and smart textiles. 相似文献
This paper estimates households' willingness to pay (WTP) to improve rural water supply in Benin. Particular attention is given to the distribution of WTP, which is traditionally addressed using parametric assumptions. To avoid distributional assumptions, a semi-nonparametric bivariate probit approach is introduced. Results provide the first evidence that, in rural Benin, households wanting to improve water supply are willing to pay more than the current price. WTP for water supply is determined by wealth, education, and characteristics of existing and new water systems. Results indicate that a demand-driven management approach can contribute to water supply improvements and sustainability. 相似文献