Gender analysis of sweetpotato value chains: The impact of introducing orange-fleshed varieties to industrial buyers in Homa Bay and Bungoma, Kenya.

Under the auspices of the CIP‐led Scaling Up Sweetpotato through Agriculture and Nutrition project (SUSTAIN), the study reported here sought to understand how the introduction and commercialization of orange-fleshed sweetpotato has affected opportunities and constraints for smallholder sweetpotato farmers, particularly women. A social relations approach was used for the study which included surveys, in‐depth interviews, focal groups discussions, and analysis of existing data. Data collection was carried out in March 2018

Report of the first policy advisory group meeting of the regional programme "Fisheries and HIV/AIDS: Investing in sustaining solution"

The WorldFish Center and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are currently implementing a Regional Programme entitled Fisheries and HIV/AIDS in Africa: Investing in Sustainable Solutions, to strengthen the capacity in the region to develop sustainable solutions to enhance the contributions of fish and fisheries to economic and human development. In particular, the programme is building a strategic response to HIV/AIDS in the fisheries sector that will generate benefits for vulnerable groups in wider society. With financial support from the Swedish-Norwegian Regional Programme on HIV/AIDS in Africa, this programme is conducting research-for-development activities and implementing pilot interventions in selected fishing communities in eight countries in sub-Saharan Africa, namely Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cameroon, Nigeria, Malawi, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia. In all eight countries, three technical focus areas have been identified through national consultations 1) Options for reducing vulnerability along the fish marketing chain; 2) Enhancing nutrition benefits from small scale aquaculture and fisheries; 3) Institutional change to increase investment in viable support options; This report presents initial findings by the Regional Programme, a regional synthesis and policy implications of these programme findings, and policy recommendations to address HIV/AIDS in the fisheries sector in Africa, as defined by the PAG members during its first meeting in Lilongwe.Fisheries, AIDS, Public health, HIV, Nutritive value

Fractal Electromagnetic Showers

We study the self-similar structure of electromagnetic showers and introduce the notion of the fractal dimension of a shower. Studies underway of showers in various materials and at various energies are presented, and the range over which the fractal scaling behaviour is observed is discussed. Applications to fast shower simulations and identification, particularly in the context of extensive air showers, are also discussed.Comment: Talk to be presented at the XI International Symposium on Very High Energy Cosmic Ray Interaction

Single fermion manipulation via superconducting phase differences in multiterminal Josephson junctions

We show how the superconducting phase difference in a Josephson junction may be used to split the Kramers degeneracy of its energy levels and to remove all the properties associated with time reversal symmetry. The superconducting phase difference is known to be ineffective in two-terminal short Josephson junctions, where irrespective of the junction structure the induced Kramers degeneracy splitting is suppressed and the ground state fermion parity must stay even, so that a protected zero-energy Andreev level crossing may never appear. Our main result is that these limitations can be completely avoided by using multi-terminal Josephson junctions. There the Kramers degeneracy breaking becomes comparable to the superconducting gap, and applying phase differences may cause the change of the ground state fermion parity from even to odd. We prove that the necessary condition for the appearance of a fermion parity switch is the presence of a "discrete vortex" in the junction: the situation when the phases of the superconducting leads wind by $2\pi$. Our approach offers new strategies for creation of Majorana bound states as well as spin manipulation. Our proposal can be implemented using any low density, high spin-orbit material such as InAs quantum wells, and can be detected using standard tools.Comment: Source code available as ancillary files. 10 pages, 7 figures. v2: minor changes, published versio

Advances in Research with LGBTQ Youth in Schools

Over the past decade, there has been an increase in scholarship devoted to the topic of sexual and gender minority youth in schools (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning; LGBTQ). In this special section, we highlight this group of LGBTQ youth, a group that needs as many allies as possible, a group that lacks the social standing, the financial capital necessary, and the rights afforded to adults to directly influence the political climate in ways that affect their lives. Collectively, these seven data-driven articles are reflective of the innovation that is occurring in our field as we continue to study the experiences of LGBTQ youth in schools. They also highlight how there is room to expand our research efforts to better ensure that the social, educational, and developmental needs of LGBTQ students are met by our schools

Piloting a Psychotherapy Group for Transgender Clients: Description and Clinical Considerations for Practitioners

The likelihood that a psychologist will work with a transgender client is greater today than ever before; however, many psychologists report being unfamiliar with the challenges faced by this population. Training programs provide minimal exposure to transgender issues by way of coursework and practicum experiences, and many barriers prevent transgender persons from accessing quality mental health care. The provision of group psychotherapy services in psychology training clinics may help reduce barriers to treatment, but there is little literature to guide professionals interested in facilitating such a group. In response, this article provides psychologists with a description of an experiential/process psychotherapy group for transgender clients that was offered at a university training clinic. Logistical aspects of forming the group are reviewed. Prominent themes that emerged over the course of three 12-session groups are discussed. Considerations for other professionals and training clinics interested in offering similar groups are also provided

Large Surveys in Cosmology: The Changing Sociology

Galaxy redshift surveys and Cosmic Microwave Background experiments are undertaken with larger and larger teams, in a fashion reminiscent of particle physics experiments and the human genome projects. We discuss the role of young researchers, the issue of multiple authorship, and ways to communicate effectively in teams of tens to hundreds of collaborators.Comment: Invited article for "Organizations and Strategies in Astronomy II", ed. A. Heck, Kluwer Acad. Publ., in press (7 pages, no figures