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This review explores the use of energy sources, including ultrasound, magnetic fields, and external beam radiation, to trigger the delivery of drugs from liposomes in a tumor in a spatially-specific manner. Each section explores the mechanism(s) of drug release that can be achieved using liposomes in conjunction with the external trigger. Subsequently, the treatment’s formulation factors are discussed, highlighting the parameters of both the therapy and the medical device. Additionally, the pre-clinical and clinical trials of each triggered release method are explored. Lastly, the advantages and disadvantages, as well as the feasibility and future outlook of each triggered release method, are discussed.

In 2013, Myanmar’s government passed a new minimum wage law. While enacting the law was an important first step, turning it into an effective policy tool requires further steps to be taken. This CESD working paper targets Myanmar policymakers with the objective of providing them with some considerations for the way forward. More precisely, it suggests that there are three key pillars of an effective minimum wage implementation system that Myanmar policymakers should address from here onwards. First, it will be important to promote compliance with and, if needed, enforce the minimum wage law in order to, on the one hand, ensure that workers earn a minimum income that allows them to meet their own and their families’ basic needs and, on the other hand, to avoid a situation where non-compliant companies derive a competitive advantage from paying wages below the minimum. This will require efforts that incentivize compliance by employers, sanction non-compliance through penalties, and ensure proper monitoring through labor inspectorates. Second, monitoring and measuring the impacts of the minimum wage policy will be crucial to better understand the effects it has on various stakeholders, and to gauge whether the minimum wage is set at an appropriate level where the resulting benefits outweigh the costs of the policy. For such monitoring and evaluation exercises to be possible, the collection of reliable data will be essential, including through labor force and business surveys. The methodological approaches and empirical models for such impact assessments are well established – so Myanmar’s efforts in this area can draw on them. Third, regularly reviewing and adjusting Myanmar’s minimum wage system in the future will be vital to preserve its relevance by taking into account changes in the cost of living and wider economic conditions. This will require adequate institutional setups and governance mechanisms as well as decisions on the criteria to be used for such reviews and adjustments. Throughout, this working paper presents examples of approaches and practices in other countries, thereby offering valuable lessons and inspiration on the range of possible measures and mechanisms. Considering the three pillars delineated in this paper and learning from others will help Myanmar’s policymakers turn the minimum wage into an effective policy tool that contributes to putting the country on a trajectory of inclusive economic growth and shared prosperity.

The purpose of this report is to provide information and analysis to government, civil society, and donors interested in improving the well-being of the rural population of Mon State. Specifically, the report analyzes the different sources of income for rural households, as well as their socioeconomic characteristics, with a view to identifying potential pathways to improving incomes, especially for poor households, and stimulating inclusive rural growth. The overall picture that emerges is one of an economy heavily dependent on services for local employment and on international migration for income. Like a two-legged stool, such an economy is potentially unstable in the face of external shocks. Diversification of the Mon State economy, including diversification and increased productivity within the agricultural sector, will lessen the relative dependence on external migration remittances and result in more resilient growth in the future.

We report results of a preliminary study of particulate and dissolved organic carbon transport in the Ayeyarwady and Thanlwin Rivers of Myanmar, based on 52 suspended sediment samples and 9 water samples collected during conditions of low and high flow in 2005 and 2006. The Ayeyarwady transports 2.2–4.3 MtC/yr as POC with a weighted average δ 13 C value of - 24.8 ‰ , while the Thanlwin transports an additional 2.4–3.4 MtC/yr with a δ 13 C value of - 25.3 ‰ . In addition, the Ayeyarwady transports ∼ 0.9 Mt / yr , and the Thanlwin ∼ 0.23 Mt / yr , of DOC with a δ 13 C value of - 26.2 ‰ and - 27.1 ‰ , respectively. The Ayeyarwady and Thanlwin catchments adjoin each other, debouching into the Indian Ocean over a length scale similar to the deltas of the Ganges–Brahmaputra or the Amazon. Therefore, the Ayeyarwady and Thanlwin rivers should be considered a single point source contributing to the global ocean. This combined river system transports 5.7–8.8 MtC/yr of organic carbon, suggesting that it may be the second largest point source of organic carbon to the global ocean after the Amazon. The implied organic carbon yield from the catchments is 8.4–12.9 t/km2/yr, which is clearly amongst the highest in the world among rivers of similarly large size. The high organic carbon yields are likely to be the result of (i) a strongly monsoonal climate, (ii) the large area of highly productive forest present on steep slopes in a region of active tectonism, and (iii) the comparatively small area of floodplain in the catchments.