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This study analyzes how risk attitudes influence the agricultural productivity of men and women in a sub- Saharan African country, Burkina Faso. By using a large representative panel survey of farmers, the results show that as female farmers increase risk taking, the productivity of female-owned plots goes down. The study controls for various socio-economic factors and explores how the diversity o
Empowerment has been a key conceptual underpinning of participatory health research (PHR), both as a set of processes that inform how partners and diverse stakeholders engage with each other, as well as a set of outcomes that contribute to improved health and social equity. The concept of empowerment is present in a number of characteristics of PHR as described in Position Paper No. 1 of the ICPHR
148Gd may contribute to around 50% of the dose from inhalation in case of an accident at the European Spallation Source. Methods for its detection have been developed. They rely on biokinetic models predicting activities of the gamma emitters 146Gd (T1/2= 48.3 d) and 153Gd (T1/2= 240.4 d) as tracers in the lungs, urine, and faeces. The optimal choice of model parameters and associated uncertaintie
Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been shown to predict poverty and development indicators from satellite images with surprising accuracy. This paper presents a first attempt at analyzing the CNNs responses in detail and explaining the basis for the predictions. The CNN model, while trained on relatively low resolution day- and night-time satellite images, is able to outperform human
Worldwide significant efforts are ongoing to develop devices that store solar energy as fuels. In one such approach, solar energy is absorbed by semiconductors and utilized directly by catalysts at their surfaces to split water into H2 and O2. To protect the semiconductors in these photo-electrochemical cells (PEC) from corrosion, frequently thin TiO2 interlayers are applied. Employing a well-perf
Regional growth models leave a large share of variation unexplained. While we should continuously aim to improve these models, the unique combination of conditions and human agency in each region will also invariably lead to region-specific growth trajectories. Theoretically, we should thus expect systematic deviations from growth predictions. We propose an approach to explore these unexplained de
Focal non-convulsive status epilepticus (fNCSE) is a neurological condition characterized by a prolonged seizure that may lead to the development of epilepsy. Emerging experimental evidence implicates neuronal death, microglial activation and alterations in the excitatory and inhibitory synaptic balance as key features in the pathophysiology following fNCSE. We have previously reported alterations
Exposure to air pollution is associated with adverse health effects in humans, with special concern for exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The physicochemical properties of aerosols impact the health effects. Considering that we spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, it is important to gain increased understanding of indoor aerosol concentrations and properties. The overall aim of
Airway basal cells are crucial for regeneration of the human lung airway epithelium, and are thought to be important contributors to Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and other lung disorders. In order to reveal how basal cells contribute to disease, and to discover novel therapeutic targets, these basal cells need to be further characterized. In this study, we optimized a flow cytometr
Herein we present our results on the investigation of the influence of external magnetic fields on the anisotropic collective dynamics of core/shell colloidal cubes having a hematite core and silica shell. Owing to the hematite cores, these micrometer-sized particles possess permanent dipole moments, which are at an angle with respect to the long diagonal of the cubes. As a result, they self-assem
The number of elderlies is increasing but prevalence of malnutrition has been reported. The aim of the study was to determine the significance of short-term nutritional deficiencies in mice. Immune status was assessed through flow cytometry of leucocytes in Peyer’s patches (PP) and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN), and intestinal microbiota was evaluated by terminal restriction fragment length polymor
AimHirschsprung's disease is a congenital disorder requiring surgery. Most children operated on for Hirschsprung's disease experience postoperative bowel dysmotility. Although various food is known to influence bowel motility, evidence of diet's role and dietary guidelines in treatment of bowel dysfunction in Hirschsprung's disease is lacking. The aim was to explore parental experiences of dietary
Residential biomass combustion is a significant source of aerosol particles on regional and global scales influencing climate and human health. The main objective of the current study was to investigate the properties of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) emitted from biomass burning of solid fuels in different cookstoves mostly of relevance to sub- Saharan east Africa. The traditional three-stone fi
In soil, arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) meet the roots of both host and presumed nonhost plants, but the interactional mechanisms of AMF with and functional relevance for nonhost plants is little known. Here we show AMF can colonize an individually grown nonhost plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, and suppress the growth of Arabidopsis and two nonhost Brassica crops. This inhibitory effect increased
Guidelines identifying appropriate DNA extraction methods for both museum and modern biological samples are scarce or non-existent for mammalian species. Yet, obtaining large-scale genetic material collections are vital for conservation and management purposes. In this study, we evaluated five protocols making use of either spin-column, organic solvents, or magnetic bead-based methods for DNA extr
Sleep problems, in particular the difficulty in initiating and maintaining sleep are important comorbidities in children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), accompanied by a range of negative consequences for both patients and their caregivers. Melatonin, a naturally occurring hormone that is important for coordinating the body's sleep-wake cycle, has been used to
STUDY QUESTION: Which substances and signal transduction pathways are potentially active downstream to the effect of FSH and LH in the regulation of human oocyte maturation in vivo? SUMMARY ANSWER: The regulation of human oocyte maturation appears to be a multifactorial process in which several different signal transduction pathways are active. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Many studies in animal species
Biodiesel has recently reemerged as a common fuel. However, emissions from biodiesel combustion have been studied in much less detail than those from traditional petroleum-based diesel. In this experiment, emissions from the combustion of different fuel blends (BOO, B02, B20, B99, where the number after B indicates the percentage, by volume, of biodiesel in the fuel) in a VW TDi engine were analyz
