PT-symmetric supersymmetry in a solvable short-range model

The simplest purely imaginary and piecewise constant $\cal PT$-symmetric potential located inside a larger box is studied. Unless its strength exceeds a certain critical value, all the spectrum of its bound states remains real and discrete. We interpret such a model as an initial element of the generalized non-Hermitian Witten's hierarchy of solvable Hamiltonians and construct its first supersymmetric (SUSY) partner in closed form.Comment: 3 figures, 1 tabl

Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris race 1 is the main causal agent of black rot of Brassicas in Southern Mozambique

Severe outbreaks of bacterial black rot caused by Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris (Xcc) were observed in Brassica production fields of Southern Mozambique. The causal agent of the disease in the Mahotas and Chòkwé districts was identified and characterised. In total, 83 Xanthomonas-like strains were isolated from seed samples and leaves of cabbage and tronchuda cole with typical symptoms of the disease. Forty-six out of the 83 strains were found to be putative Xcc in at least one of the tests used: Classical biochemical assays, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with monoclonal antibodies, Biolog identification system, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with specific primers and pathogenicity tests. The ELISA tests were positive for 43 strains. Biolog identified 43 strains as Xanthomonas, but only 32 as Xcc. PCR tests with primers targeting a fragment of the hrpF gene were positive for all 46 strains tested. Three strains were not pathogenic or weakly pathogenic and all other strains caused typical black rot symptoms in brassicas. Race type differentiation tests revealed the Xcc strains from Mozambique as members of race 1. The prevalence of this pathogenic race of the Xcc pathogen in Mozambique should be considered when black rot resistant cultivars are evaluated or introduced into the production regions of this country

PT-supersymmetric partner of a short-range square well

In a box of size $L$, a spatially antisymmetric square-well potential of a purely imaginary strength ${\rm i}g$ and size $l < L$ is interpreted as an initial element of the SUSY hierarchy of solvable Hamiltonians, the energies of which are all real for $g < g_c(l)$. The first partner potential is constructed in closed form and discussed.Comment: 8 pages, no figure, presented at PHHQP3, Istanbul, June 20-22, 2005, to be published in Czech. J. Phy

Women’s Accessibility to Resources of Agricultural Productivity in Borno State, Nigeria

This study set out to investigate the extent of women’s accessibility to resources of agricultural productivity in Borno state, Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained from primary sources by the use of structured questionnaire. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 266 women farmers. The data obtained from the study was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics. The results showed that the respondents had mean age of 39.5 years, mean farming experience of 17.2 years, while mean family size was 10 persons. Over 80% of the respondents were married. Furthermore, the findings showed that the respondents had the highest access to farm income, farm management decision making powers, farm land and off farm income. However, their access to extension services, education, cooperatives, production inputs and credit were limited. It was recommended among others that agricultural input distribution should be gender sensitive to afford women increased access to resources. Keywords: Women, Access, Productive resources, Productivity

Women’s accessibility to resources of agricultural productivity in Borno state, Nigeria

This study set out to investigate the extent of women’s accessibility to resources of agricultural productivity in Borno state, Nigeria. Data for the study were obtained from primary sources by the use of structured questionnaire. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 266 women farmers. The data obtained from the study was analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics. The results showed that the respondents had mean age of 39.5 years, mean farming experience of 17.2 years, while mean family size was 10 persons. Over 80% of the respondents were married. Furthermore, the findings showed that the respondents had the highest access to farm income, farm management decision making powers, farm land and off farm income. However, their access to extension services, education, cooperatives, production inputs and credit were limited. It was recommended among others that agricultural input distribution should be gender sensitive to afford women increased access to resources. Key Words: Women, Access, Productive resources, Productivit

Історичний ракурс уявлень про жінку у різні епохи (Historical ideas about female in different ages)

Питання тлумачення образу і ролі жінки в суспільстві було і є одним із найцікавіших питань в історії людства. Аналіз філософських ідей і концепцій минулого щодо становища жінки, сутності фемінного й маскулінного, взаємовідносин статей у суспільстві показує неоднозначність поглядів, а іноді й суперечливість висновків. Дослідження ролі жінки та її функцій у суспільстві залишається важливим у всіх філо- софських та релігійних течіях. (The question of the interpretation of a woman’s place and role in society remains a perennial problem in history. The analysis of the philosophical ideas and concepts about a woman, the feminine and masculine nature, relationships between sexes in society reveals the ambiguity of views and sometimes leads to contradictory conclusions. Currently, there is no a single definition of the woman’s role in all cultures. In particular, during the period of Antiquity woman were deprived of any political rights and served solely as the child producer; in the Middle Ages a woman was considered to be a slave, without any authority and suffrage; a Renaissance was woman equal to a man, deserving respect, moreover having advantages over him. The first image of women originates from the primitive society. There were philosophers, who investigated a woman’s role and place, among them are: Augustine, C. Agrippa, Th. Aquinas, Aristotle, G. W. F. Hegel, T. Hobbes, J. Sc. Erigena, I. Kant, J. Locke, Plato, J.-J. Rousseau and Tertullian. The analysis of the above mentioned researches, allows us to draw the conclusion that the issue of the interpretation of the woman’s image remains dubious and controversial. The representatives of the philosophical approaches in historical periods paid considerable attention to the explanation of a woman’s place and role in society. This problem developed and was considered from another angles, within the course of time and under the influence of diverse culturals. However, there is not a distinct interpretation of a woman’s role, that would be applicable for various cultures

Identification of Factors that Influence Technical Efficiency of Food Crop Production in West Africa: Empirical Evidence from Borno State, Nigeria

The objective of this study was to examine the determinants of food crop production and technical efficiency in the guinea savannas of Borno State, Nigeria. A stochastic frontier production function, using the maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) technique was applied in the analysis of data collected from 1086 sample farmers in 2004. The MLE results reveal that farm size; fertilizer and hired labour are the major factors that are associated with changes in the output of food crops. The effect of land area on output is positive and the coefficient found to be significant (p = 0.01). Fertilizer and hired labour have positive effects on output and their coefficients are significant (p = 0.01). Mean farmers’ technical efficiency index was found to be 0.68. Farmer-specific efficiency factors, which comprise age, education, credit, extension and crop diversification, were found to be the significant factors that account for the observed variation in efficiency among the farmers. The implication of the study is that technical efficiency in food crop production could be increased by 32 percent through better use of available resources, given the current state of technology

Loss of correlation between HIV viral load and CD4+ T-cell counts in HIV/HTLV-1 co-infection in treatment naive Mozambican patients

Seven hundred and four HIV-1/2-positive, antiretroviral therapy (ART) naïve patients were screened for HTLV-1 infection. Antibodies to HTLV-1 were found in 32/704 (4.5%) of the patients. Each co-infected individual was matched with two HIV mono-infected patients according to World Health Organization clinical stage, age +/-5 years and gender. Key clinical and laboratory characteristics were compared between the two groups. Mono-infected and co-infected patients displayed similar clinical characteristics. However, co-infected patients had higher absolute CD4+ T-cell counts (P = 0.001), higher percentage CD4+ T-cell counts (P < 0.001) and higher CD4/CD8 ratios (P < 0.001). Although HIV plasma RNA viral loads were inversely correlated with CD4+ T-cell-counts in mono-infected patients (P < 0.0001), a correlation was not found in co-infected individuals (P = 0.11). Patients with untreated HIV and HTLV-1 co-infection show a dissociation between immunological and HIV virological markers. Current recommendations for initiating ART and chemoprophylaxis against opportunistic infections in resource-poor settings rely on more readily available CD4+ T-cell counts without viral load parameters. These guidelines are not appropriate for co-infected individuals in whom high CD4+ T-cell counts persist despite high HIV viral load states. Thus, for co-infected patients, even in resource-poor settings, HIV viral loads are likely to contribute information crucial for the appropriate timing of ART introduction

Contamination by aflatoxins in different food matrices produced andconsumed in Mozambique

Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by various moulds that frequently contaminate food worldwide, being significant contributors to food losses in developing countries. In Mozambique, there is no comprehensive knowledge of the risk of mycotoxins in the country, nor structured actions to reduce the impacts of mycotoxins and promote health and food security in disadvantaged populations. This research aimed to analyse the level of contamination by aflatoxins in different food matrices produced and consumed in southern Mozambique. Ten samples were collected from each matrix (maize, rice, and peanut) in each of the 3 districts (Chongoene, Manjacaze and Chókwe) of Gaza province, and 10 peanut samples in each of the 3 districts (Massinga, Inhambane and Inharrime) of Inhambane province, in a total of 120 samples. Samples were collected between January and June 2023 from local markets and producers. Samples were analysed for total aflatoxins using the lateral flow strip, AgraStrip® Pro WATEX® (Romer Labs) method. Results showed that, from all matrices, the highest levels of aflatoxins were found in maize, with averages ranging from 369.2 (in Manjacaze) to 1,972.6 g/kg (in Chokwe). Average aflatoxin levels in rice ranged between 1.2 (Chongoene) and 63.08 g/kg (Manjacaze). Peanuts from the province of Inhambane were more contaminated than those from Gaza, with averages ranging from 5.6 (Manjacaze, Gaza) to 95 g/kg (Inhambane). Considering that the maximum admissible levels for total aflatoxins recommended by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for cereals and pulses is 15 g/kg, the level of aflatoxin contamination in food produced and consumed in southern Mozambique is high and constitutes a public health risk for the population. Therefore, risk mitigation strategies are urgently needed.Fundação para a Ciência e TecnologiaAga Khan Development NetworkAcknowledgements. The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and to the Aga Khan Development Network for the financial support to the project Ref. FCT AGA-KHAN / 541590696 / 2019 MYCOTOX-PALOP Multi-actor partnership for the risk assessment of mycotoxins along the food chain in African Portuguese-speaking countries (PALOP), and to FCT for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020 and UIDP/00690/2020), SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2020), CITAB (UID/AGR/04033/2020), CEB (UIDB/04469/2020), LABBELS (LA/P/0029/2020), and Inov4Agro (LA/P/0126/2020). Cláudio Matusse thanks FCT for the PhD grant PRT/BD/15483/2022.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio