From aid to sustainable trade: driving competitive horticulture sector development : A quick scan of the horticulture sector

This report provides an overview of how the Kenyan horticulture sector performs in three analytical domains: the robustness of the supply chains, the reliability of institutional governance and the resilience of the innovation system. Analysis is by literature review, stakeholder interviews and a validation workshop guided by a SWOT framework to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The findings inform the existing opportunities and challenges that potentially impede growth in the sector. The report is a first step towards documenting and sharing insights that support the move towards a more Robust, Reliable and Resilient (3R) horticulture sector. The findings and recommendations presented will guide policy engagement and action in the transition of Dutch government bilateral engagement in Kenya from development aid–support to a trade approach in the agricultural sector, with a focus on partnering opportunities to drive competitive market-oriented horticulture sector development that attracts investments

Relative commutants of strongly self-absorbing C*-algebras

The relative commutant $A'\cap A^{\mathcal{U}}$ of a strongly self-absorbing algebra $A$ is indistinguishable from its ultrapower $A^{\mathcal{U}}$. This applies both to the case when $A$ is the hyperfinite II$_1$ factor and to the case when it is a strongly self-absorbing C*-algebra. In the latter case we prove analogous results for $\ell_\infty(A)/c_0(A)$ and reduced powers corresponding to other filters on $\bf N$. Examples of algebras with approximately inner flip and approximately inner half-flip are provided, showing the optimality of our results. We also prove that strongly self-absorbing algebras are smoothly classifiable, unlike the algebras with approximately inner half-flip.Comment: Some minor correction

\'Etale groupoids and Steinberg algebras, a concise introduction

We give a concise introduction to (discrete) algebras arising from \'etale groupoids, (aka Steinberg algebras) and describe their close relationship with groupoid C*-algebras. Their connection to partial group rings via inverse semigroups also explored

From aid to sustainable trade: driving competitive horticulture sector development : A quick scan of the horticulture sector

This report provides an overview of how the Kenyan horticulture sector performs in three analytical domains: the robustness of the supply chains, the reliability of institutional governance and the resilience of the innovation system. Analysis is by literature review, stakeholder interviews and a validation workshop guided by a SWOT framework to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The findings inform the existing opportunities and challenges that potentially impede growth in the sector. The report is a first step towards documenting and sharing insights that support the move towards a more Robust, Reliable and Resilient (3R) horticulture sector. The findings and recommendations presented will guide policy engagement and action in the transition of Dutch government bilateral engagement in Kenya from development aid–support to a trade approach in the agricultural sector, with a focus on partnering opportunities to drive competitive market-oriented horticulture sector development that attracts investments

A pregnant virgin with microperforate hymen: A noteworthy obstetric case

A Pinhead-sized hymenal opening can permit spontaneous pregnancy. A 26-year-old primigravida presented to our institution for antenatal care in the late 2nd trimester. She reported to have conceived through contact of semen with her vulva, but had never had penetrative vaginal sex. On subsequent follow up, a decision to have an elective caesarean at 39 weeks was made. We report this example because management of such cases can be challenging especially if a timely diagnosis is not made due to lack of awareness and the patient presents when pregnant.Keywords: Pregnant virgin, Elective caesarean, Microperforate hymen, Dilatio

Prevalence of depression in Parkinson's disease: effects of disease stage, motor subtype and gender

Contains fulltext : 96218.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Depression is one of the most common non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD) with a large negative impact on the quality of life. Factors such as disease stage, subtype of PD and gender might play an important role in the prevalence of depression, but a large study investigating all these factors in a within-subject design is lacking. Therefore we studied a homogeneous group of 256 Dutch PD patients (60% men, mean age=65.12 (+/-9.6) years). In total, 36.3% of the subjects had a BDI-score indicative for a minor depression, while 12.9% had a major depression. Notably, only 8.6% of the minor depressed patients and 30.3% of the major depressed patients were taking antidepressants. A higher prevalence of depression was observed in the later stages of the disease. However, this finding was absent in a smaller subsample after correction for cognitive impairment. Our data did not show a difference in the prevalence of depression between the motor subtypes and showed a trend towards higher prevalence of depression in the tremor dominant group. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of depression between men and women. We will discuss the relevance of these results in relation to the findings of other studies

Étale groupoids and Steinberg Algebras : a concise introduction

In the last couple of years, étale groupoids have become a focal point in several areas of mathematics. The convolution algebras arising from étale groupoids, considered both in analytical setting [50] and algebraic setting [23, 54], include many deep and important examples such as Cuntz algebras [27] and Leavitt algebras [40] and allowsystematic treatment of them. Partial actions and partial symmetries can also be realised as étale groupoids (via inverse semigroups), allowing us to relate convolution algebras to partial crossed products [28, 30]. Realising that the invariants long studied in topological dynamics can be modelled on étale groupoids (such as homology, full groups and orbit equivalence [41]) and that these are directly related to invariants long studied in analysis and algebra (such as K-theory) allows interaction between areas; we can use techniques developed in algebra in analysis and vice versa. The étale groupoid is the Rosetta stone