Poverty and Productivity in Female-Headed Households in Zimbabwe

A household survey conducted in rural Zimbabwe in 2001 is used to compare the position of de facto and de jure female-headed households to those with a male head. These households are characterised by different forms of poverty that impinge on their ability to improve agricultural productivity. However, once inputs are accounted for, it is only for growing cotton that female-headed households' productivity is lower than that found for male-headed households. General poverty alleviation policies will benefit the female-headed household but specific interventions via extension services and access to marketing consortia are also indicated

Beyond the male breadwinner: Life-cycle living standards of intact and disrupted English working families, 1260–1850

This article provides a novel framework within which to evaluate real household incomes of predominantly rural working families of various sizes and structures in England in the years 1260-1850. We reject ahistorical assumptions about complete reliance on men's wages and male breadwinning, moving closer to reality by including women and children's contributions to family incomes. Our empirical strategy benefits from recent estimates of men's annual earnings, so avoiding the need to gross up day rates using problematic assumptions about days worked, and from new data on women and children's wages and labour inputs. A family life-cycle approach which accommodates consumption smoothing through saving adds further breadth and realism. Moreover, the analysis embraces two historically common but often overlooked family types alternative to the traditional male-breadwinner model: one where the husband is missing having died or deserted, and one where the husband is present but unwilling or unable to find work. Our framework suggests living standards varied widely by family structure and dependency ratio. Incorporating detailed demographic data available for 1560 onward suggests that small and intact families enjoyed high and rising living standards after 1700, while large or disrupted families depended on child labour and poor relief until c. 1830. A broader perspective on family structures informs understanding of the chronology and nature of poverty and coping strategies

The ‘expat factor’: the influence of working time on women's decisions to undertake international assignments in the oil and gas industry

This article examines the effect of working time on women’s willingness to go on expatriate assignments in the oil and gas exploration and production sector. The research draws upon an analysis of two case study firms’ international assignment and working time policies, semi-structured interviews with 14 Human Resource staff responsible for policy design and implementation, and a survey of the views of 71 women expatriates, supported by in-depth interviews with 26 of the survey respondents. The research identifies an ‘expat factor’: assignees state that long hours are inherent in expatriation and necessary to further their careers. However in practice, working time is not excessive and flexible working practices are utilised. Hours of work have little effect on women’s decisions to undertake long-term assignments but alternatives such as short-term and commuter assignments are unpopular as their working patterns are disruptive to family life. This article contributes to theory development by linking two discrete frameworks that explain women’s career choices when they strive to balance their career goals with their families and by identifying a career compromise threshold when expatriation is rejected in favour of family considerations. A model is proposed to link working time/patterns to women’s international assignment participation

Archaeological Testing at the Headwaters of the San Marcos River: Southwest Texas State University Raw Water Supply Project

Between April 30 and June 3, 1998, the Center for Archaeological Research of The University of Texas at San Antonio conducted subsurface testing for cultural resources along the proposed route of a water pipeline for Southwest Texas State University. The area to be impacted by the proposed waterline included a tract on the banks of the headwaters of the San Marcos River and tracts adjacent to the Aquatic Biology Building. The project area is partially within the known boundaries of site 41HY161. The archaeological investigations included shovel testing, backhoe trenching, excavation of three 1 x 1-m units, and monitoring. Upon completion, based on the results of this archaeological work, it was determined that no intact cultural resources would be impacted by the planned trench construction between the west bank of the San Marcos River and the southeast corner of the Aquatic Biology Building. However, intact cultural deposits were identified west of the Aquatic Biology Building dating to the late Paleoindian and Archaic periods. Therefore, clearance for the pipeline route was recommended in areas that did not contain cultural resources and in areas disturbed by recent or historic construction. To avoid disturbance to intact cultural materials, Southwest Texas State University was required to modify the depth of the pipeline trench west of the Aquatic Biology Building

Proteomic Analysis of Media from Lung Cancer Cells Reveals Role of 14-3-3 Proteins in Cachexia

Aims: At the time of diagnosis, 60% of lung cancer patients present with cachexia, a severe wasting syndrome that increases morbidity and mortality. Tumors secrete multiple factors that contribute to cachectic muscle wasting, and not all of these factors have been identified. We used Orbitrap electrospray ionization mass spectrometry to identify novel cachexia-inducing candidates in media conditioned with Lewis lung carcinoma cells (LCM). Results: One-hundred and 58 proteins were confirmed in three biological replicates. Thirty-three were identified as secreted proteins, including 14-3-3 proteins, which are highly conserved adaptor proteins known to have over 200 binding partners. We confirmed the presence of extracellular 14-3-3 proteins in LCM via western blot and discovered that LCM contained less 14-3-3 content than media conditioned with C2C12 myotubes. Using a neutralizing antibody, we depleted extracellular 14-3-3 proteins in myotube culture medium, which resulted in diminished myosin content. We identified the proposed receptor for 14-3-3 proteins, CD13, in differentiated C2C12 myotubes and found that inhibiting CD13 via Bestatin also resulted in diminished myosin content. Conclusions: Our novel findings show that extracellular 14-3-3 proteins may act as previously unidentified myokines and may signal via CD13 to help maintain muscle mass

A return to strong radio flaring by Circinus X-1 observed with the Karoo Array Telescope test array KAT-7

Circinus X-1 is a bright and highly variable X-ray binary which displays strong and rapid evolution in all wavebands. Radio flaring, associated with the production of a relativistic jet, occurs periodically on a ~17-day timescale. A longer-term envelope modulates the peak radio fluxes in flares, ranging from peaks in excess of a Jansky in the 1970s to an historic low of milliJanskys during the years 1994 to 2007. Here we report first observations of this source with the MeerKAT test array, KAT-7, part of the pathfinder development for the African dish component of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), demonstrating successful scientific operation for variable and transient sources with the test array. The KAT-7 observations at 1.9 GHz during the period 13 December 2011 to 16 January 2012 reveal in temporal detail the return to the Jansky-level events observed in the 1970s. We compare these data to contemporaneous single-dish measurements at 4.8 and 8.5 GHz with the HartRAO 26-m telescope and X-ray monitoring from MAXI. We discuss whether the overall modulation and recent dramatic brightening is likely to be due to an increase in the power of the jet due to changes in accretion rate or changing Doppler boosting associated with a varying angle to the line of sight.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS 14 May 201

Access to Dental Care for Children and Young People in Care and Care Leavers: A Global Scoping Review

Aims: This scoping review aimed to explore three research questions: 1. What is the dental care access for children and young people (CYP) in care and care leavers? 2. What factors influence CYP in care and care leavers’ access to dental care? 3. What pathways have been developed to improve access to oral health care for CYP in care and care leavers? Methods: Five databases (Ovid MEDLINE, Ovid Embase, CINAHL, SocINDEX and Dentistry and Oral Sciences Source) and grey literature sources were systematically searched. Articles relating to CYP in care or care leavers aged 0–25 years old, published up to January 2023 were included. Abstracts, posters and publications not in the English language were excluded. The data relating to dental care access were analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The search identified 942 articles, of which 247 were excluded as duplicates. A review of the titles and abstracts yielded 149 studies. Thirty-eight were eligible for inclusion in the review: thirty-three peer-reviewed articles, one PhD thesis and four grey literature sources. All papers were published from very high or medium Human Development Index countries. The studies indicate that despite having higher treatment needs, CYP in care and care leavers experience greater difficulty in accessing dental services than those not care-experienced. Organisational, psycho-social and logistical factors influence their access to dental care. Their experience of dental care may be impacted by adverse childhood events. Pathways to dental care have been developed, but little is known of their impact on access. There are very few studies that include care leavers. The voices of care-experienced CYP are missing from dental access research. Conclusions: care-experienced CYP are disadvantaged in their access to dental care, and there are significant barriers to their treatment needs being met

Collaborative action for person-centred coordinated care (P3C): an approach to support the development of a comprehensive system-wide solution to fragmented care

BACKGROUND: Fragmented care results in poor outcomes for individuals with complexity of need. Person-centred coordinated care (P3C) is perceived to be a potential solution, but an absence of accessible evidence and the lack of a scalable 'blue print' mean that services are 'experimenting' with new models of care with little guidance and support. This paper presents an approach to the implementation of P3C using collaborative action, providing examples of early developments across this programme of work, the core aim of which is to accelerate the spread and adoption of P3C in United Kingdom primary care settings. METHODS: Two centrally funded United Kingdom organisations (South West Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care and South West Academic Health Science Network) are leading this initiative to narrow the gap between research and practice in this urgent area of improvement through a programme of service change, evaluation and research. Multi-stakeholder engagement and co-design are core to the approach. A whole system measurement framework combines outcomes of importance to patients, practitioners and health organisations. Iterative and multi-level feedback helps to shape service change while collecting practice-based data to generate implementation knowledge for the delivery of P3C. The role of the research team is proving vital to support informed change and challenge organisational practice. The bidirectional flow of knowledge and evidence relies on the transitional positioning of researchers and research organisations. RESULTS: Extensive engagement and embedded researchers have led to strong collaborations across the region. Practice is beginning to show signs of change and data flow and exchange is taking place. However, working in this way is not without its challenges; progress has been slow in the development of a linked data set to allow us to assess impact innovations from a cost perspective. Trust is vital, takes time to establish and is dependent on the exchange of services and interactions. If collaborative action can foster P3C it will require sustained commitment from both research and practice. This approach is a radical departure from how policy, research and practice traditionally work, but one that we argue is now necessary to deal with the most complex health and social problems