646 research outputs found
Participation in contract farming and farm performance: Insights from cashew farmers in Ghana
The global demand for cashew nuts continues to increase steadily. However, many
African countries face difficulties in marketing and adding value to the product. Using
recent survey data of 391 cashew farmers in Ghana, this paper contributes to the grow-
ing evidence on the significance of contract farming (CF) in improving the welfare
of rural households in developing countries. Specifically, the paper analyzes the fac-
tors that influence cashew farmersā decisions to participate in CF, and the impact
of participation on farmersā performance. We employ a recently developed switch-
ing regression model with endogenous explanatory variables and endogenous switch-
ing to control for selection bias caused by observable and unobservable factors. The
empirical results show that participation in CF significantly increases labor produc-
tivity and price margins, as well as cashew yields, and net revenues. A disaggregated
analysis of the sample into farm size categories reveals that small-sized cashew farms
tend to benefit more through CF, compared to medium- and large-sized farms
Investigating social deprivation and comorbid mental health diagnosis as predictors of treatment access among patients with an opioid use disorder using substance use services: a prospective cohort study
BackgroundOpioid use is a major public health concern across the globe. Opioid use and subsequent access to care is often shaped by co-occurring issues faced by people using opioids, such as deprivation, mental ill-health, and other forms of substance use. We investigated the role of social deprivation and comorbid mental health diagnoses in predicting re-engagement with substance use services or contact with crisis and inpatient services for individuals with opioid use disorder in secondary mental health care in inner-city London.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cohort study which followed individuals diagnosed with a first episode of opioid use disorder who accessed substance use services between September 2015 and May 2020 for up to 12 months, using anonymised electronic health records. We employed negative binominal regression and Cox proportional survival analyses to assess associations between exposures and outcomes.ResultsComorbid mental health diagnoses were associated with higher contact rates with crisis/inpatient services among people with opioid use disorder: incidence rate ratios (IRR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were 3.91 (1.74ā9.14) for non-opioid substance use comorbidity, 8.92 (1.81ā64.4) for a single comorbid mental health diagnosis, and 15.9 (5.89ā47.5) for multiple comorbid mental health diagnoses. Social deprivation was not associated with contact rates with crisis/inpatient services within this sample. Similar patterns were found with time to first crisis/inpatient contact. Social deprivation and comorbid mental health diagnoses were not associated with re-engagement with substance use services.ConclusionComorbid substance and mental health difficulties amongst people with an opioid use disorder led to earlier and more frequent contact with crisis/inpatient mental health services during the first 12 months of follow up. Given the common co-occurrence of mental health and substance use disorders among those who use opioids, a better understanding of their wider needs (such as social, financial and other non-medical concerns) will ensure they are supported in their treatment journeys
Spontaneous DC Current Generation in a Resistively Shunted Semiconductor Superlattice Driven by a TeraHertz Field
We study a resistively shunted semiconductor superlattice subject to a
high-frequency electric field. Using a balance equation approach that
incorporates the influence of the electric circuit, we determine numerically a
range of amplitude and frequency of the ac field for which a dc bias and
current are generated spontaneously and show that this region is likely
accessible to current experiments. Our simulations reveal that the Bloch
frequency corresponding to the spontaneous dc bias is approximately an integer
multiple of the ac field frequency.Comment: 8 pages, Revtex, 3 Postscript figure
Electrically Driven Light Emission from Individual CdSe Nanowires
We report electroluminescence (EL) measurements carried out on three-terminal
devices incorporating individual n-type CdSe nanowires. Simultaneous optical
and electrical measurements reveal that EL occurs near the contact between the
nanowire and a positively biased electrode or drain. The surface potential
profile, obtained by using Kelvin probe microscopy, shows an abrupt potential
drop near the position of the EL spot, while the band profile obtained from
scanning photocurrent microscopy indicates the existence of an n-type Schottky
barrier at the interface. These observations indicate that light emission
occurs through a hole leakage or an inelastic scattering induced by the rapid
potential drop at the nanowire-electrode interface.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Topological insulator quantum dot with tunable barriers
Thin (6-7 quintuple layer) topological insulator Bi2Se3 quantum dot devices
are demonstrated using ultrathin (2~4 quintuple layer) Bi2Se3 regions to
realize semiconducting barriers which may be tuned from Ohmic to tunneling
conduction via gate voltage. Transport spectroscopy shows Coulomb blockade with
large charging energy >5 meV, with additional features implying excited states
A valley-spin qubit in a carbon nanotube
Although electron spins in III-V semiconductor quantum dots have shown great
promise as qubits, a major challenge is the unavoidable hyperfine decoherence
in these materials. In group IV semiconductors, the dominant nuclear species
are spinless, allowing for qubit coherence times that have been extended up to
seconds in diamond and silicon. Carbon nanotubes are a particularly attractive
host material, because the spin-orbit interaction with the valley degree of
freedom allows for electrical manipulation of the qubit. In this work, we
realise such a qubit in a nanotube double quantum dot. The qubit is encoded in
two valley-spin states, with coherent manipulation via electrically driven spin
resonance (EDSR) mediated by a bend in the nanotube. Readout is performed by
measuring the current in Pauli blockade. Arbitrary qubit rotations are
demonstrated, and the coherence time is measured via Hahn echo. Although the
measured decoherence time is only 65 ns in our current device, this work offers
the possibility of creating a qubit for which hyperfine interaction can be
virtually eliminated
How the world's collective attention is being paid to a pandemic: COVID-19 related n-gram time series for 24 languages on Twitter
In confronting the global spread of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 pandemic
we must have coordinated medical, operational, and political responses. In all
efforts, data is crucial. Fundamentally, and in the possible absence of a
vaccine for 12 to 18 months, we need universal, well-documented testing for
both the presence of the disease as well as confirmed recovery through
serological tests for antibodies, and we need to track major socioeconomic
indices. But we also need auxiliary data of all kinds, including data related
to how populations are talking about the unfolding pandemic through news and
stories. To in part help on the social media side, we curate a set of 2000
day-scale time series of - and -grams across 24 languages on Twitter that
are most `important' for April 2020 with respect to April 2019. We determine
importance through our allotaxonometric instrument, rank-turbulence divergence.
We make some basic observations about some of the time series, including a
comparison to numbers of confirmed deaths due to COVID-19 over time. We broadly
observe across all languages a peak for the language-specific word for `virus'
in January followed by a decline through February and a recent surge through
April. The world's collective attention dropped away while the virus spread out
from China. We host the time series on Gitlab, updating them on a daily basis
while relevant. Our main intent is for other researchers to use these time
series to enhance whatever analyses that may be of use during the pandemic as
well as for retrospective investigations.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures, 3 table
Tunable few-electron double quantum dots and Klein tunnelling in ultra-clean carbon nanotubes
Quantum dots defined in carbon nanotubes are a platform for both basic
scientific studies and research into new device applications. In particular,
they have unique properties that make them attractive for studying the coherent
properties of single electron spins. To perform such experiments it is
necessary to confine a single electron in a quantum dot with highly tunable
barriers, but disorder has until now prevented tunable nanotube-based
quantum-dot devices from reaching the single-electron regime. Here, we use
local gate voltages applied to an ultra-clean suspended nanotube to confine a
single electron in both a single quantum dot and, for the first time, in a
tunable double quantum dot. This tunability is limited by a novel type of
tunnelling that is analogous to that in the Klein paradox of relativistic
quantum mechanics.Comment: 21 pages including supplementary informatio
- ā¦