Social and gender analysis report: Barotse Floodplain, Western Province,Zambia

There is increasing awareness that integrating gender into development frameworks is critical for effective implementation of development strategies. In working to alleviate rural poverty, the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) recognizes that “business as usual” gender integration approaches will not deliver lasting and widespread improvements in agricultural productivity, poverty reduction and food security. In response, AAS operationalized a gender transformative approach. The approach is informed by conceptual frameworks that explicitly recognize the potent influence of social relations on creating and perpetuating gender inequalities. In this way, AAS aims to address the underlying causes of rural poverty and gender inequality in Zambia’s Barotse Floodplain, where people rely extensively on riverine and wetland ecosystems for food and livelihood security. A central question guiding the research program is “How do social norms and gendered power relations influence agricultural development outcomes?” The findings presented in this report provide insights that help answer this question. The report presents a review of literature relevant to livelihoods, ecosystem services, and gender and social relations in Zambia, with a specific focus on Western Province, where AAS is currently implemented. It also presents a synthesis of findings of a social and gender analysis conducted in 2013 in 10 focal communities situated in and around the Barotse Floodplain

Selective breeding trait preferences for farmed tilapia among low-income women and men consumers in Egypt: implications for pro-poor and gender responsive fish breeding programmes

Published online: 04 Feb 2020A number of studies have highlighted the promising growth of Egyptian tilapia aquaculture and the role of genetically improved strains in this development, such as the Abbassa Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus, Linneaus, 1758). However, few studies have explored the link between aquaculture development and changes in fish demand among low-income consumers. This study combines household budgeting questionnaires and morphometric tilapia trait rankings conducted in the peak market season of 2017 to examine patterns of tilapia consumption and preferences among low-income women and men consumers across Egypt. Analysis of variance tests and a hierarchical logistic regression model were employed to determine effects of sex, age, educational status, household size, presence of children, food dependency ratio and location on tilapia consumption and trait preferences. Results showed significant differences in tilapia consumption between Lower and Upper Egypt. Greatest heterogeneity in tilapia trait rankings was found in preferences for total body weight, as well as for body width, body length and tilapia head traits. Models predicted that younger women consumers with children in Lower Egypt were more likely to consume smaller tilapia sizes and prefer larger tilapia head traits. This study offers the first evidence base of tilapia trait preferences of low-income consumers to genetic selection programmes considering the adoption of pro-poor and gender-responsive breeding objectives

A PERIOD3 variable-number-tandem-repeat polymorphism modulates melatonin treatment response in Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder

We examined whether a polymorphism of the PERIOD3 gene (PER3; rs57875989) modulated the sleep promoting effects of melatonin in Delayed Sleep-Wake Phase Disorder (DSWPD). One hundred and four individuals (53 males; 29.4±10.0 years) with DSWPD and a delayed dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) collected buccal swabs for genotyping (PER3(4/4) n=43; PER3 5 allele [heterozygous and homozygous] n=60). Participants were randomised to placebo or 0.5mg melatonin taken 1 hour before desired bedtime (or ~ 1.45 h before DLMO), with sleep attempted at desired bedtime (4 weeks; 5-7 nights/week). We assessed sleep (diary and actigraphy), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS: Sleep Disturbance, Sleep-Related Impairment), Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS), and Patient- and Clinician-Global Improvement (PGI-C, CGI-C). Melatonin treatment response on actigraphic sleep onset time did not differ between genotypes. For PER3(4/4) carriers, self-reported sleep onset time was advanced by a larger amount and sleep onset latency (SOL) was shorter in melatonin-treated patients compared to those receiving placebo (P=0.008), while actigraphic sleep efficiency in the first third of the sleep episode (SE T1) did not differ. For PER3 5 carriers, actigraphic SOL and SE T1 showed a larger improvement with melatonin (P<0.001). Melatonin improved ISI (P=0.005), PROMIS Sleep Disturbance (P<0.001) and Sleep-Related Impairment (P=0.017), SDS (P=0.019), PGI-C (P=0.028), and CGI-C (P=0.016) in PER3(4/4) individuals only. Melatonin did not advance circadian phase. Overall, PER3(4/4) DSWPD patients have a greater response to melatonin treatment. PER3 genotyping may therefore improve DSWPD patient outcomes.Michelle Magee, Tracey L. Sletten, Jade M. Murray, Christopher J. Gordon, Nicole Lovato, Delwyn J. Bartlett, David J. Kennaway, Steven W. Lockley, Leon C. Lack, Ronald R. Grunstein, Simon N. Archer, Shantha M.W. Rajaratnam, Delayed Sleep on Melatonin, DelSoM, Study Grou

A genetic variation in the adenosine A2A receptor gene (ADORA2A) contributes to individual sensitivity to caffeine effects on sleep

Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant in Western countries. Some people voluntarily reduce caffeine consumption because it impairs the quality of their sleep. Studies in mice revealed that the disruption of sleep after caffeine is mediated by blockade of adenosine A2A receptors. Here we show in humans that (1) habitual caffeine consumption is associated with reduced sleep quality in self-rated caffeine-sensitive individuals, but not in caffeine-insensitive individuals; (2) the distribution of distinct c.1083T>C genotypes of the adenosine A2A receptor gene (ADORA2A) differs between caffeine-sensitive and -insensitive adults; and (3) the ADORA2A c.1083T>C genotype determines how closely the caffeine-induced changes in brain electrical activity during sleep resemble the alterations observed in patients with insomnia. These data demonstrate a role of adenosine A2A receptors for sleep in humans, and suggest that a common variation in ADORA2A contributes to subjective and objective responses to caffeine on sleep