Examining the gender digital divide: A case study from rural Nigeria

Rural Nigeria, with its diverse cultural and socio economic landscapes, presents unique challenges when it comes to digital inclusion. Traditional gender roles, limited educational opportunities, inadequate infrastructure, and sociocultural norms often combine to create barriers that disproportionately affect women’s access to digital technologies. As a result, women in rural areas face significant challenges in acquiring digital skills, accessing online information and services, and participating in digital platforms, thus perpetuating the gender gap and further marginalizing women from the benefits of the digital revolution. This policy note summarizes research designed to highlight the barriers female farmers in Nigeria face in accessing technology and information so that stakeholders can work together to ensure that Nigeria’s rural women are equipped with the necessary tools and resources to thrive in the digital age and contribute meaningfully to their communities

Examining the gender digital divide: A case study from rural Bangladesh

Women farmers in Bangladesh face several challenges when it comes to accessing technology and information, and this limits their ability to improve their agricultural productivity and enhance their livelihoods. The gendered digital divide is a significant contributor to inequities in agriculture and has important implications for women’s empowerment. Lack of access to information affects their ability to make informed decisions, access markets, and secure their rights. This policy note summarizes research designed to identify the barriers female farmers in Bangladesh face in accessing technology and information so that future policies and initiatives can address these challenges and, in so doing, promote gender equality and the empowerment of rural women

Design evaluation and performance assessment of rotorcraft technology by 2050

The extended Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative (JTI) within the EU Horizon 2020 Framework Programme [Ref. 1] proposes to introduce a number of concept aircraft and rotorcraft to replace reference technology counterparts at different time scales (2020/2035/2050). This Clean Sky 2 (CS2) promotes the importance of those concept configurations and their application in the future. An increasing global demand within and outside the European Union (EU) for an efficient air mobility and transportation system (i.e. more flexible, resilient, effective and affordable), and future projected growth for its application, will lead to the requirement for development of highly optimised transportation solutions

Immunophenotyping Reveals the Diversity of Human Dental Pulp Mesenchymal Stromal Cells In vivo and Their Evolution upon In vitro Amplification

International audienceMesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) from human dental pulp (DP) can be expanded in vitro for cell-based and regenerative dentistry therapeutic purposes. However, their heterogeneity may be a hurdle to the achievement of reproducible and predictable therapeutic outcomes. To get a better knowledge about this heterogeneity, we designed a flow cytometric strategy to analyze the phenotype of DP cells in vivo and upon in vitro expansion with stem cell markers. We focused on the CD31 − cell population to exclude endothelial and leukocytic cells. Results showed that the in vivo CD31 − DP cell population contained 1.4% of CD56 + , 1.5% of CD146 + , 2.4% of CD271 + and 6.3% of MSCA-1 + cells but very few Stro-1 + cells (≤1%). CD56 + , CD146 + , CD271 + , and MSCA-1 + cell subpopulations expressed various levels of these markers. CD146 + MSCA-1 + , CD271 + MSCA-1 + , and CD146 + CD271 + cells were the most abundant DP-MSC populations. Analysis of DP-MSCs expanded in vitro with a medicinal manufacturing approach showed that CD146 was expressed by about 50% of CD56 + , CD271 + , MSCA-1 + , and Stro-1 + cells, and MSCA-1 by 15-30% of CD56 + , CD146 + , CD271 + , and Stro-1 + cells. These ratios remained stable with passages. CD271 and Stro-1 were expressed by <1% of the expanded cell populations. Interestingly, the percentage of CD56 + cells strongly increased from P1 (25%) to P4 (80%) both in all sub-populations studied. CD146 + CD56 + , MSCA-1 + CD56 + , and CD146 + MSCA-1 + cells were the most abundant DP-MSCs at the end of P4. These results established that DP-MSCs constitute a heterogeneous mixture of cells in pulp tissue in vivo and in culture, and that their phenotype is modified upon in vitro expansion. Further studies are needed to determine whether co-expression of specific MSC markers confers DP cells specific properties that could be used for the regeneration of human tissues, including the dental pulp, with standardized cell-based medicinal products

Women’s dietary diversity changes seasonally in Malawi and Zambia

Objective: There is growing recognition of the role that seasonality plays in agricultural production, expenditure, food security, diet quality and nutritional status, however, annual or bi-annual surveys may not capture seasonal or intra-seasonal shifts in dietary intake which can inform agriculture and nutrition policies, programming, and monitoring and evaluation. Design, Setting and Participants: Seasonal variation in diets of women of reproductive age (WRA) living in rural Malawi and Zambia were measured bimonthly for eleven rounds, from September 2017 to May 2019. Trained enumerators collected data on a sample of 200 women using a qualitative 24-hour list-based recall of food items consumed, based on the ten food groups for Minimum Dietary Diversity of Women (MDD-W). Results and Conclusion: There were significant seasonal fluctuations in the percentage of women achieving MDD-W, ranging from a low of 18% to a high of 82%. MDD-W followed expected fluctuations, peaking during harvest season and lowering during lean season, however, there were unexpected highs and lows at other times, demonstrating the importance of regular monitoring. The study demonstrated significant seasonal fluctuations in the proportion of WRA achieving MDD-W, having implications for project monitoring and evaluation. The research provides evidence of periods of abundance and scarcity for nutritionally important food groups

Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry:Workshop Summary

This document presents a summary of the 2023 Terrestrial Very-Long-Baseline Atom Interferometry Workshop hosted by CERN. The workshop brought together experts from around the world to discuss the exciting developments in large-scale atom interferometer (AI) prototypes and their potential for detecting ultralight dark matter and gravitational waves. The primary objective of the workshop was to lay the groundwork for an international TVLBAI proto-collaboration. This collaboration aims to unite researchers from different institutions to strategize and secure funding for terrestrial large-scale AI projects. The ultimate goal is to create a roadmap detailing the design and technology choices for one or more km-scale detectors, which will be operational in the mid-2030s. The key sections of this report present the physics case and technical challenges, together with a comprehensive overview of the discussions at the workshop together with the main conclusions

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages

IMPLEMENTING FISCAL OR MONETARY POLICY IN TIME OF CRISIS? RUNNING GRANGER CAUSALITY TO TEST THE PHILLIPS CURVE IN SOME EURO ZONE COUNTRIES

This paper aims to provide empirical evidence about the theoretical relationship between inflation and unemployment in 9 European countries. Based on two major goals for economic policymakers namely, to keep both inflation and unemployment low, we use the ingredients of the Phillips curve to orient fiscal and monetary policies. These policies are prerogative for the achievement of a desirable combination of unemployment and inflation. More in detail, we attempt to address two basic issues. One strand of the study examines the size and sign of the impact of unemployment rate on percentage changes in inflation. In our preferred econometric model, we have made explicit the evidence according to which one unit increase (%) in unemployment reduces inflation of roughly 0.73 percent, on average. Next, we turn to the question concerning the causal link between inflation and unemployment and we derive a political framework enables to orient European policymakers in the implementation of either fiscal or monetary policy. In this context, by means of the Granger causality test, we mainly find evidence of a directional causality which runs from inflation to unemployment in 4 out of 9 European countries under analysis. This result implies that political authorities of Austria, Belgium, Germany and Italy should implement monetary policy in order to achieve pre-established targets of unemployment and inflation. In the same context, a directional causality running from unemployment to inflation has been found in France and Cyprus suggesting that a reduction in the unemployment level can be achieved through controlling fiscal policy. However, succeeding in this goal may lead to an increasing demand for goods and services which, in turn, might cause a higher inflation than expected. Finally, while there is no statistical evidence of a causal link between unemployment and inflation in Finland and Greece, a bidirectional causality has been found in Estonia. This implies that preestablished targets of inflation and unemployment can be achieved by political authorities by coordinating the monetary and fiscal policy