Center for Global Development

About: Center for Global Development is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Poverty & Population. The organization has 1472 authors who have published 3891 publications receiving 162325 citations.

Multidrug-resistant organisms, wounds and topical antimicrobial protection

Abstract: Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) are increasingly implicated in both acute and chronic wound infections. The limited therapeutic options are further compromised by the fact that wound bacteria often co-exist within a biofilm community which enhances bacterial tolerance to antibiotics. As a consequence, topical antiseptics may be an important consideration for minimising the opportunity for wound infections involving MDROs. The objective of this research was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of a silver-containing gelling fibre dressing against a variety of MDROs in free-living and biofilm states, using stringent in vitro models designed to simulate a variety of wound conditions. MDROs included Acinetobacter baumannii, community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing bacteria. Clostridium difficile was also included in the study because it carries many of the characteristics seen in MDROs and evidence of multidrug resistance is emerging. Sustained in vitro antimicrobial activity of the silver-containing dressing was shown against 10 MDROs in a simulated wound fluid over 7 days, and inhibitory and bactericidal effects against both free-living and biofilm phenotypes were also consistently shown in simulated colonised wound surface models. The in vitro data support consideration of the silver-containing gelling fibre dressing as part of a protocol of care in the management of wounds colonised or infected with MDROs.

Can International Capital Standards Strengthen Banks in Emerging Markets

Abstract: Who should determine banks' capital standards: authorities or markets? What is the right definition of core capital: equity only or equity plus subordinated debt? Can the assessment of banks' individual credit risks by external rating agencies be of equal or better quality than the assessments derived from banks' own internal rating systems? These are some of the key financial regulatory issues currently being discussed by analysts in industrial countries, especially in the context of the proposed modification to the Basel Capital Adequacy Accord: Basel II is expected to replace the original 1988 Accord. With a few exceptions, these issues are certainly not at the center of the debate in emerging market financial circles. There, the financial issues at hand depend on the country's level of development. For the least developed countries, reform agendas are just advancing in the implementation of accounting standards, disclosure, and other principles of bank supervision; Basel II is certainly not in the medium-term future. If anything, implementation of the original Accord is the issue. The more advanced emerging economies face a different dilemma. Albeit at very different paces, most of these countries embarked on a financial sector reform process in the early 1990s. One of the most important efforts by individual countries, also strongly supported by multilateral organizations, has been the adoption of the recommendations on capital adequacy requirements by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. However, in spite of significant advances in implementation, banking crises have abounded in emerging markets during the 1990s and early 2000s. Not surprisingly, some disillusion with a "traditional" reform agenda has emerged. A key debate, therefore, centers on assessing whether regulatory standards that work in industrial countries are appropriate for emerging markets. Among the most relevant issues are: (a) Can an early warning system of banking crisis particular to emerging markets be constructed? (b) How should capital adequacy ratios be designed in emerging markets? Should they diverge from the recommendations of Basel? And, (c) rather than focusing on "strengthening" banks, shouldn't emerging markets limit the role of banks, and instead, focus on the development of corporate bond markets? This paper deals with the appropriateness for emerging markets of implementing capital requirements as recommended by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. The paper is part of a research agenda that I initiated in the late-1990s. In my previous research I concluded that such capital standards have had very little usefulness as a supervisory tool in emerging markets. For fundamental reasons that go beyond the improvements in regulatory procedures, and, instead center on the particular features of financial sectors in many emerging economies, the capital-to-asset ratio has not been a useful early warning indicator of banking problems. While the limitations of capital requirements as a supervisory tool remain severe in most emerging markets, there are some countries where the increasing participation of foreign banks has helped to improve, at least to a certain extent, the usefulness of capital ratios. For these countries the appropriate choice of capital standards is key. In this paper, I advance the following questions: Can the adoption of the Basel recommendations weaken, rather than strengthen, the stability of banks in emerging markets where capital requirements are binding? Would the proposed modification of the Accord (Basel II) weaken even further the franchise value of emerging market banks? Unfortunately, the evidence seems to provide a positive answer to these questions. Therefore, I propose a set of alternative recommendations capable of strengthening banks in emerging markets. The rest of the paper is organized as follows: relying on some of my previous work on the subject, section II first shows and then explains the reasons why capital requirements have not served their intended role as supervisory tools in many emerging markets. Section III demonstrates that adopting capital requirements as advanced by Basel, and especially by the proposed Basel II, may actually deteriorate the strength of banking systems in emerging markets. Section IV presents alternative proposals to strengthen banks according to the degree of financial development in emerging markets. Where capital requirements can be enforced, the paper advances suggestions for an improved capital standard. Section V concludes the paper.

The efficacy and safety of mirabegron compared with solifenacin in overactive bladder patients dissatisfied with previous antimuscarinic treatment due to lack of efficacy: results of a noninferiority, randomized, phase IIIb trial

Abstract: Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of mirabegron 50 mg and solifenacin 5 mg in overactive bladder (OAB) patients dissatisfied with previous antimuscarinic treatment due to lack of efficac...

Free-stream turbulence effects on the instantaneous pressure and forces on cylinders of rectangular cross section

Abstract: Simultaneous measurements of instantaneous pressure distributions on rectangular cylinders of length to height ratio(B/D) of 1.0, 2.5 and 3.0 in smooth nonturbulent and homogeneous turbulent flows were made and the data were analyzed by phase averaging and spectral analysis in addition to more conventional methods. The turbulence in the inflow stream is nearly homogeneous and isotropic with the intensity and the scale of 5% and 1.2–1.5 times the cylinder height, respectively. The main effects of the turbulence in the inflow free stream of this scale and intensity are to laterally move the separated shear flow off the upstream corners and cause intermittent reattachment on the side surfaces of cylinders of B/D of 2.5 and larger. For the cylinder with smaller B/D, the flow does not reattach with or without turbulence in the free stream, and the instantaneous surface pressure distributions fluctuate quite periodically at a frequency corresponding to the Strouhal frequency of the vortex shedding. The effects of the free-stream turbulence appear in the increased fluctuation on the front surface as buffeting due to the impinging turbulence. When the separated shear layers reattach due to the influence of the free-stream turbulence, the reattachment point moves intermittently, the pressure distributions downstream of the reattachment fluctuate periodically, and a mild peak is formed in the spectra at a frequency much larger than the Strouhal frequency.

How soon is now? Evidence of present bias from convex time budget experiments

Abstract: We conduct a laboratory experiment in Kenya in which we elicit time and risk preference parameters from 494 participants, using convex time budgets and tightly controlling for transaction costs. Using the Kenyan mobile money system M-Pesa to make real-time transfers to subjects’ phones , we vary whether same-day payments are made immediately after the experimental session or at the close of the business day. We find strong evidence of present bias, with estimates of the present bias parameter ranging from 0.902 to 0.924—but only when same-day payments are made immediately after the experiment.