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We process one-dimensional (1D) NiO nanostructures in anodized alumina templates starting from electrochemically deposited Ni nanotubes (NTs), and characterize their morphology-dependent supercapacitance behavior. The morphology of the 1D NiO nanostructures is controlled by the time of annealing at 450°C. After 25 min of annealing, the NTs start to close but maintain the tubular structure, and after a further 300 min of annealing time, the tubes are completely closed and nanorods (NRs) are formed. We show that the structures obtained are highly promising for supercapacitor applications; the performance of the NiO NT structure is with a specific capacitance of 2,093 F/g, the highest ever obtained for NiO, approaching the theoretical capacitance of this material. A suitable combination of nanocrystalline grain size and the high surface area akin to the tubular structure is responsible for this high performance. In contrast, the NiO NR structure is characterized by lower performance (797 F/g). A further attribute of the proposed structure is its high stability against galvanostatic charging-discharging cycling at high current densities, with almost no alteration to performance after 500 cycles.

Progress in child mortality reduction and education attainment varies widely among oil-rich countries. We investigate the sources of this variation for 14 oil-rich countries and find five main factors: public spending on health and education, economic growth, caloric sufficiency, initial levels of child mortality and education attainment, and population density. We find that conditional convergence explains much of the cross-country variation in the rate of decline in child mortality and the rate of increase in school enrollment. As for policy factors, the level of caloric sufficiency makes a difference, whereas the contribution of public spending is not as important.

IntroductionReducing exposure to cigarette smoke is an imperative for public health and for patients with diabetes. Increasingly, combustion-free nicotine delivery systems (C-F NDS) such as e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products are substituting conventional cigarettes and accelerating the downward trends in smoking prevalence. However, there is limited information about the long-term health impact in patients with diabetes who use C-F NDS. This randomised trial of type 2 diabetic cigarette smokers will test the hypothesis that following a switch from conventional cigarettes to C-F NDS a measurable improvement in metabolic syndrome (MetS) factors will be shown over the course of 2 years.Methods and analysisThe study is multicentre and thus will take place in five locations in four countries in an ambulatory setting. A total of 576 patients with diabetes will be randomised (1:2 ratio) to either a control arm (Study Arm A), in which they will be offered referral to smoking cessation programmes or to an intervention arm (Study Arm B) assigned to C-F NDS use. Participants will be at least 23 years old and of any gender. Patient recruitment will start in February 2021 and is expected to be completed by December 2021. Primary outcome measures include fasting plasma glucose, blood pressure, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein and waist circumference, while secondary feature absolute change in the sum of the individual factors of MetS and change in each individual factor of MetS measured at each study time point.Ethics and disseminationThe approval of research ethics committee (REC) regarding the trial protocol, informed consent forms and other relevant documents is required to commence the study. Substantial amendments to the study protocol cannot be implemented until the REC grants a favourable opinion. The results of the study are intended to be published as articles in high quality peer-reviewed journals and disseminated through conference papers.Trial registration numberNCT04231838. Pre-results stage.

A strong case for looking at management quality as a source of productivity has been assembled in recent years by studies showing that variations in management quality account for a big part of the productivity gap across firms and countries. In this paper, we investigate the determinants of management quality among Pakistani manufacturing firms, using a new World Bank Enterprise Survey that provides firm-level information on the use of modern management practices. Our findings suggest that the adoption of good management practices is influenced by such characteristics as firm size, product market competition, ownership type, and the information available to staff and managers. We also find that such considerations are more relevant for medium and large firms than for small firms. Finally, we find that the link between management practices and productivity is not uniform and varies from practice to practice.

A strong case for looking at management quality as a source of productivity has been assembled in recent years by studies showing that variations in management quality account for a big part of the productivity gap across firms and countries. In this paper, we investigate the determinants of management quality among Pakistani manufacturing firms, using a new World Bank Enterprise Survey that provides firm-level information on the use of modern management practices. Our findings suggest that the adoption of good management practices is influenced by such characteristics as firm size, product market competition, ownership type, and the information available to staff and managers. We also find that such considerations are more relevant for medium and large firms than for small firms. Finally, we find that the link between management practices and productivity is not uniform and varies from practice to practice.

Size-based industrial policy (support for small firms) has long been provided by the government in Pakistan while age-based policy (support for young firms) has become prominent in recent years. Both policies are typically justified by reference to positive effects on labour absorption. Despite their popularity among policymakers, however, the empirical basis for such policies has not been adequately analysed at the national level. We address this issue using data from a large, multisector, random sample of manufacturing firms and find empirical support for size-based policies but not for age-based ones. We also find that size-based policies appear most relevant for firms with less than fifty workers.

This book reviews the experience of the MENA region with poverty and human development since the mid-1980s. It finds that poverty rates did not decline by much during this period while health and education indicators improved substantially. The stagnation of poverty rates is ascribed to the stagnation of the region?s economies during this period while the improvement in human indicators is likely due to several factors including improvement in the delivery of public health and education services.

The book contains a selection of papers presented at the Conference on Democracy, Market Economy, and Development, whose objective was to examine the extent of which democracy is important to the achievement of sustainable development. While it is widely accepted that economic freedom, as ensured broadly by the operation of the economy according to market, or laissez-faire principles, is a critical determinant of development, the role of political freedom, as ensured broadly by the practice of democracy, is less well understood. The papers focus largely on the experience of East Asia in recent years, featuring: democracy and the market economy, emphasizing both politics, and economics as essential to improve the lives of citizens; democracy and social justice, as intrinsic to development, arguing that rights and liberties are best conveyed by the democratic system of governance; participation, as fundamental to democracy and development, for it is the practice of democracy that is most critical to the long-term sustainability of development; liberal participatory democracy, as instrumental to prod sustainable economic reforms, by ensuring the legitimacy of reform efforts. Notably, the preconditions that participatory democracy requires in order to fully support reforms, are discussed, with supporting evidence from experiences in Latin America, and Asia; and, political and economic institutions of Asia, and the West, as set to converge, despite inconclusive debates on Asian values.

Of the developing nations of East Asia, Indonesia came relatively late to liberalizing its trade and investment regime. Only in the mid-1980s, when it was clear that oil revenues alone would not suffice and that a new engine of growth was needed, did the country's government swing behind a systematic deregulation effort. Tariffs were cut, non-tariff barriers were lowered, foreign investment restrictions were reduced, export promotion incentives were enhanced, and various financial sector regulations were eased. All this combined to spark a labor-intensive export-led economic boom that was accompanied by an expansion in wages and employment and a boost in productivity. This book documents how Indonesia truly became part of the East Asian miracle story starting in the mid-1980s. Destined to become a leading case study of export-led development in Indonesia, this book grew out of a World Bank/Indonesian Economic Society Symposium held in Jakarta. There was, however, a parallel story as well, of crony capitalism and weak governance, that led to the financial and political crisis of 1997-98. These aspects were reflected in continued protection of certain sectors where the cronies were active, in restrictions on domestic trade and competition that were left in place for their benefit, and in financial manipulations that were conducted to their advantage. These aspects are noted as well in the book and pulled together in the concluding chapter, which takes the story up through the crisis years to the present.

We present a case of a 38-year-old man with a previous medical history of asthma and refractory epilepsy requiring vagal nerve stimulator (VNS) placement 7 years prior to the presentation who was found to be in atrial fibrillation with a rapid ventricular response during a preoperative evaluation, which prompted transoesophageal echocardiography and subsequent cardioversion. In preparation for cardioversion, the VNS was turned off and the patient was cardioverted to normal sinus rhythm. Following cardioversion, the VNS was activated again. During recovery, the patient was experiencing several episodes of first-degree and second-degree Mobitz type-II atrioventricular (AV) block. In response, the VNS was deactivated indefinitely. On interrogation of a loop recorder 2 weeks after discharge, the patient did not have any further evidence of AV conduction delay.