Farm size and nonparametric efficiency measurements for coffee farms in Vietnam

We study the efficiency of smallholder coffee farms in Vietnam. Data from a 2004 survey of farms in two districts in Dak Lak Province are used in a two-step analysis. In the first step, technical and cost efficiency measures are calculated using DEA. In the second step, Tobit regressions are used to identify factors correlated with technical and cost inefficiency. Results indicate that small farms were less efficient than large farms. Inefficiencies observed on small farms appear to be related, in part, to the scale of investments in irrigation infrastructure.Farm Management,

Systematic Development of Trans-Theoretically Based Behavioral Risk Management Programs

The authors explain the development and use of a behavioral Risk management strategy. It is designed for developing interventions to change behaviors, e.g., to lower the Risk of AIDS. The advantage of their strategy is said to be its structure combined with flexibility. Intervenors are not restricted to a single model in determining factors most relevant to changing Risky behavior

Linkages between Market Participation and Productivity: Results from a Multi-Country Farm Household Sample

We build upon international trade literature to analyze the direction of causality between market participation and productivity. Cross-country household data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala are used in a 2SLS approach with market participation and productivity as endogenous variables. Results indicate that households with higher productivity tend to participate in agricultural markets regardless of market access factors. In contrast, having better market access does not necessarily lead to higher productivity. This finding suggests that investments in market access infrastructure provide minimal, if any, improvements in agricultural productivity; whereas programs targeted at enhancements in farm structure and capital have the potential to increase both productivity and market participation.International Relations/Trade, Marketing, Productivity Analysis,

Redox stress defines the small artery vasculopathy of hypertension: how do we bridge the bench-to-bedside gap?

Although convincing experimental evidence demonstrates the importance of vascular reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS), oxidative stress, and perturbed redox signaling as causative processes in the vasculopathy of hypertension, this has not translated to the clinic. We discuss this bench-to-bedside disparity and the urgency to progress vascular redox pathobiology from experimental models to patients by studying disease-relevant human tissues. It is only through such approaches that the unambiguous role of vascular redox stress will be defined so that mechanism-based therapies in a personalized and precise manner can be developed to prevent, slow, or reverse progression of small-vessel disorders and consequent hypertension

Self-consistent Green's functions calculation of the nucleon mean-free path

The extension of Green's functions techniques to the complex energy plane provides access to fully dressed quasi-particle properties from a microscopic perspective. Using self-consistent ladder self-energies, we find both spectra and lifetimes of such quasi-particles in nuclear matter. With a consistent choice of the group velocity, the nucleon mean-free path can be computed. Our results indicate that, for energies above 50 MeV at densities close to saturation, a nucleon has a mean-free path of 4 to 5 femtometers.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Minor changes, bibliography corrected. Accepted version in Phys. Rev. Let

Agricultural Prices and Income Distribution among Farmers: A Whole-Household, Multi-Country, Multi-Year Analysis

Recent studies have emphasized that the poorest farmers are often net buyers of key commodities and therefore harmed by rising prices. We use LSMS data from Tanzania, Vietnam and Guatemala to test the degree of net purchases or sales by income level. We find that poorer farmers may be net buyers of individual crops, but only the poorest are net buyers of all crops. More generally, net sales among poor farmers are low. We conclude that agricultural price changes have a diverse but limited influence on poor farmers’ welfare, because their farm sales tend to be offset by food purchases.market participation, poverty, inequality, multi-continent multicountry, Agricultural Finance,

Addressing Problems in Evaluating Health-Relevant Programs through Systematic Planning and Evaluation

The authors argue that inconsistent terminology is often a hindrance in assessing health program implementation, effectiveness and efficiency. Attending closely to this, they propose a model scheme for conducting such evaluations

Applying the COM-B model to creation of an IT-enabled health coaching and resource linkage program for low-income Latina moms with recent gestational diabetes: the STAR MAMA program.

BACKGROUND:One of the fastest growing risk groups for early onset of diabetes is women with a recent pregnancy complicated by gestational diabetes, and for this group, Latinas are the largest at-risk group in the USA. Although evidence-based interventions, such as the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), which focuses on low-cost changes in eating, physical activity and weight management can lower diabetes risk and delay onset, these programs have yet to be tailored to postpartum Latina women. This study aims to tailor a IT-enabled health communication program to promote DPP-concordant behavior change among postpartum Latina women with recent gestational diabetes. The COM-B model (incorporating Capability, Opportunity, and Motivational behavioral barriers and enablers) and the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW) framework, convey a theoretically based approach for intervention development. We combined a health literacy-tailored health IT tool for reaching ethnic minority patients with diabetes with a BCW-based approach to develop a health coaching intervention targeted to postpartum Latina women with recent gestational diabetes. Current evidence, four focus groups (n = 22 participants), and input from a Regional Consortium of health care providers, diabetes experts, and health literacy practitioners informed the intervention development. Thematic analysis of focus group data used the COM-B model to determine content. Relevant cultural, theoretical, and technological components that underpin the design and development of the intervention were selected using the BCW framework. RESULTS:STAR MAMA delivers DPP content in Spanish and English using health communication strategies to: (1) validate the emotions and experiences postpartum women struggle with; (2) encourage integration of prevention strategies into family life through mothers becoming intergenerational custodians of health; and (3) increase social and material supports through referral to social networks, health coaches, and community resources. Feasibility, acceptability, and health-related outcomes (weight loss, physical activity, consumption of healthy foods, breastfeeding, and glucose screening) will be evaluated at 9 months postpartum using a randomized controlled trial design. CONCLUSIONS:STAR MAMA provides a DPP-based intervention that integrates theory-based design steps. Through systematic use of behavioral theory to inform intervention development, STAR MAMA may represent a strategy to develop health IT intervention tools to meet the needs of diverse populations. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02240420