COMPARING THE PROFITABILITY OF CASSAVA-BASED PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN THREE WEST AFRICAN COUNTRIES: COTE D'IVOIRE, GHANA AND NIGERIA

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) cassava-producing countries such as Nigeria, Ghana, and Côte d'Ivoire have developed, in recent years, a renewed interest in cassava as an alternative food crop. This has led to a major expansion in cassava-based production systems in Nigeria and Ghana, whereas there has been a slower growth in Côte d'Ivoire (Nweke et al., 1998). This paper is based on the argument that the difference in various factors such as agricultural policies (i.e., trade and price policies, domestic production taxes or subsidies), location and technologies (production and processing) between Nigeria, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire the difference in the level of growth in cassava-based production systems. The paper examines, using the Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM), the magnitude of the impact of these factors on the private and social profitability of cassava production and post-production processing in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria. The topic has not been examined in previous studies. The paper relies primarily on data for Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria from the Collaborative Study of Cassava in Africa (COSCA) survey. The baseline results demonstrate the similarity in efficiencies of production in these West African countries. The simulation findings indicated that, in Côte d'Ivoire, farmers benefited from the depreciation of the equilibrium exchange rate while farmers in Ghana and Nigeria suffered losses. Simulation results also indicated that Ivorian and Ghanaian cassava/maize farmers could benefit from growing IITA's improved variety and adopting mechanized processing methods.Crop Production/Industries,

EQUINE CLIENT SATISFACTION AT THE VETERINARY TEACHING HOSPITAL, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY--JULY 1, 1999 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2000

Understanding clients' wants and needs is vital to the sustained success of any service business, and veterinary medicine offers no exception. The Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine (MSU-CVM) has successfully maintained a position at the forefront of the veterinary profession throughout most of its history. The staff has consistently been composed of clinicians who have been chosen because of their excellence and expertise. However, the assumption that emphasis on clinical excellence will, by itself, provide the foundation for sustained success in the client flow and business at the hospital has been unchallenged to date. In order to provide the best possible customer service, our clients' likes, dislikes, wants, and needs must be fully characterized and quantified. To assess client satisfaction with the VTH, a study was designed whose objective was to identify the areas in the VTH that are most valued and highly regarded versus those that need improvement in order to sustain the current success of the equine hospital. The results of this study can be used as an outline for the development of a plan to maintain and improve customer satisfaction and, ultimately, to sustain the teaching caseload and business of the hospital. In addition, this endeavor will serve to set a good example for our students by modeling the best management practices and establishing a critical blend of quality medicine/surgery and customer service.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

EQUINE REFERRING VETERINARIAN SATISFACTION WITH THE VETERINARY TEACHING HOSPITAL, MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY - JULY 1, 1999 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2000

Understanding clients' wants and needs is vital to the sustained success of any service business, and veterinary medicine offers no exception. The Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at the Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine (MSU-CVM) has successfully maintained a position at the forefront of the veterinary profession throughout most of its history. The staff has consistently been composed of clinicians who have been chosen because of their excellence and expertise. However, the assumption that emphasis on clinical excellence will, by itself, provide the foundation for sustained success in the client flow and business at the hospital has been unchallenged to date. Additionally, there are many areas in veterinary medicine that are becoming increasingly popular (e.g. oncology). Addition of, or attention to, these services is crucial in retaining our leadership role within the veterinary community. The results of a previous study indicated that 75.4% of equine clients chose MSU-VTH because they were referred by their primary veterinarian. One of the objectives of this study was to determine which factors influenced referring veterinarians in determining whether they refer their patients to MSU-VTH. Additionally, this study was designed to identify areas for possible expansion/contraction of our current service offerings in order to better serve the needs of our clients and referring veterinarians. The results of this study can be used as an outline for the development of a plan to maintain and improve referring veterinarian satisfaction and, ultimately, to sustain the teaching caseload and business of the hospital. In addition, this endeavor will serve to set a good example for our students by modeling the best management practices and establishing a critical blend of quality medicine/surgery and customer service.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

PRICES AND PRICING POLICIES FOR SMALL ANIMAL AND EQUINE VETERINARY SERVICES: A STUDY OF TEACHING HOSPITALS AND MICHIGAN PRIVATE PRACTICES DURING 2000

Prices are a key determinant of financial performance for virtually any business in either the public or private sector, and the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at Michigan State University (MSU-VTH) offers no exception. To achieve consistent success, it is critical that a business understands the prevailing conditions in the marketplace when setting prices for its goods and services. Important issues to address include: 1. What are the prices of similar goods and services produced by other firms? 2. How important is price as a choice factor when customers select a source of these goods and services? 3. How do staff members view prices at the point-of-sale? 4. How are prices determined? These questions are especially crucial in small businesses such as those typical of the veterinary profession, where the decision-makers tend to be technical experts rather than trained business managers. Without this information, these decision-makers often have very little basis on which to develop a pricing policy.Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Traitement non chirurgical de l’hématome extradural : expérience du centre hospitalier universitaire Gabriel Toue, au Mali: Non-surgical treatment of intracranial epidural hematoma: experience of Gabriel Toue University hospital, Mali

Context and objective. Epidural hematoma (EM) has always been considered a neurosurgical emergency for which surgery was unavoidable. This dogmatic concept has recently been questioned by many authors who report a satisfactory result of non-surgical “conservative” treatment for this pathology. The aim of this study was to describe clinical and therapeutic features and to assess risk factors associated to EM. Methods. This was a retrospective study on the medical treatment of EM between December 2010 and November 2014 at Gabriel Toue hospital in Bamako. Parameters of interest were epidemiological, clinical and radiological. We used the Pearson chi-square test to look for a possible clinical correlation and to highlight factors related to failure of conservative treatment. Results. 79 patients were included with an average age of 38 years and a predominance of male sex (88.6%). The road accidents were the main mechanism of head trauma (73.4%) followed by physical assaults (12.7%). About 57% of patients had a Glasgow score of 15 initially. The clinical picture was dominated by headache (92.4%). Thirteen patients had intracranial-associated lesions that consisted of meningeal hemorrhage (3 cases) and oedemato-haemorrhagic contusion (10 cases), which was significantly associated with therapeutic failure (p=0.04). Six patients had been surgically treated for failure of conservative treatment.The evolution was satisfactory in 92.4%. None of our patients had neurological sequelae. Conclusion. EM remains a neurosurgical emergency; but surgery is not the only option for patients. Conservative treatment based on clinical and radiological criteria is an effective and less aggressive therapy for the patient. Contexte et objectif. L’hématome extradural a toujours été considéré comme une urgence neurochirurgicale pour laquelle une intervention chirurgicale était inéluctable. Ce concept dogmatique a été récemment remis en cause par de nombreux auteurs qui rapportent un résultat satisfaisant du traitement non chirurgical « conservateur » pour cette pathologie. Les objectifs de la présente étude étaient de décrire les aspects cliniques et thérapeutiques et de rechercher les facteurs associés à l’échec du traitement conservateur. Méthodes. Dans une étude documentaire, tous les patients admis pour hématome extradural et traités médicalement, au Centre hospitalier universitaire de Gabriel Touré ; entre décembre 2010 et novembre 2014 ont été étudiés. Les paramètres d’intérêts étaient épidémiologiques, cliniques et radiologiques. Nous avons recouru au test de chi-carré de Pearson pour rechercher une corrélation clinique éventuelle et mettre en évidence les facteurs liés un échec du traitement conservateur. Résultats. 79 dossiers de patients avec hématome ont été colligés. Leur âge moyen était de 38 ans avec une prépondérance masculine (88,6%). Les accidents de la voie publique étaient le mécanisme principal du traumatisme crânien (73,4%) suivi par les agressions (12,7%). Environ 57% de patients avaient un score de Glasgow à 15 initialement. Le tableau clinique était dominé par des céphalées à 92,4%. Treize patients avaient présenté des lésions associées intracrâniennes à type d’hémorragie méningée (3 cas) et de contusion oedémato-hémorragique (10 cas) qui a été significativement associée à l’échec thérapeutique (p =0,04). Six patients (7,6%) avaient été traités chirurgicalement suite à un échec du traitement conservateur. L’évolution était satisfaisante dans 92,4 % des cas. Aucun de patients n’avait présenté de séquelles neurologiques. Conclusion. Le traitement conservateur de cette série basé sur des critères cliniques et radiologiques constitue une thérapeutique efficace et moins agressive pour certains patients. L’HED demeure certes une urgence neurochirurgicale ; mais la chirurgie n’est pas la seule option à proposer aux patients

Surpoids et obésité dans la population générale de 5 à 19 ans en milieu urbain bamakois (Mali)

Introduction: déterminer la prévalence du surpoids et de l'obésité dans la population âgée de 5 à 19 ans et fournir des données de référence pour de futures études. Méthodes: notre échantillon est issu de la première étude sur les pathologies cardiovasculaires basée sur l'approche STEP de l'Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) en sélectionnant tous les sujets âgés de 5 à 19 ans. Nous avons utilisé les méthodes de l'OMS et de l'International Obesity Task Force (IOTF) pour déterminer la prévalence du surpoids et de l'obésité dans la population générale. Résultats: la moyenne d'âge était de 11,75 ans ± 4,387 et le sex-ratio M:F était de 0,79. les moyennes pour le poids et la taille étaient de 36,85 kg et 143,48 cm. Selon les critères OMS 1,61% des garçons et 3,28 % des filles étaient en surpoids et 0,92% des garçons contre 1,46% des filles obèses. Selon les critères de l'IOTF 4,10% des garçons et 5,94% des filles étaient en surpoids tandis que 0,72% des garçons et 2,68% des filles étaient obèses. Conclusion: malgré sa faible prévalence le surpoids et l'obésité doivent être régulièrement étudiés pour reconnaître des tendances et prendre des mesures adéquates de prévention. Les 2 méthodes utilisées ont permis d'avoir des données de référence pour de futures études au Mali et ailleurs

Surpoids et obésité dans la population au-dessus de 20 ans en milieu urbain bamakois (Mali)

Introduction: il est question dans notre travail d'étudier le SP et l'OB et les facteurs associés dans la population âgée de 20 ans ou plus. Méthodes: notre échantillon a été obtenu à partir d'une enquête sur les pathologies cardiovasculaires dans le District de Bamako et impliquant 2199 sujets de 5-104 ans, en sélectionnant tous les sujets âgés d'au moins 20 ans (1162). Pour chaque sujet, l'IMC, rapport taille / hanche et le tour de taille ont été déterminées. Les données ont été analysées avec SPSS 12. Résultats: l'âge moyen était de 36,86 années, 61,4% étaient des femmes, 49,7% dans le secteur informel et 38,0% avaient réalisé l'enseignement primaire. Facteurs de risque cardiovasculaires étaient l'inactivité physique (72,4%), le tabagisme (12,2%) et hypertension (26,7%). La prévalence de l'obésité était de 8,8 et 14,7% respectivement sur la base de l'indice de masse et le tour de taille. Conclusion: le SP et l'OB sont à prendre en compte dans les mesures de politique sanitaire que dans la pratique quotidienne des professionnels de santé, il est peut-être plus utile d'utiliser plusieurs paramètres pour être à même de bien stratifier nos patients par rapport à leur risque

Surgical complications of Pica syndrome: About 3 cases

The Pica syndrome is an eating disorder characterized by an excessive or abnormal desire to consume a non-nourishing substance which can be relatively harmless, or potentially harmful for the health. It is a rare affection secondary to the accumulation of diverse natured foreign bodies inside the digestive tract and more especially at the stomach level. Gastro-intestinal localization is the most frequent, and can remain asymptomatic for a long time. Treatment is surgical. We report 3 cases of digestive complications of Pica syndrome

Hypertension and Associated Factors in Rural and Urban Areas Mali: Data from the STEP 2013 Survey

Background. Our study aims to estimate hypertension (HTN) prevalence and its predictors in rural and urban area. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional population-based study involving subjects aged 15 to 65 years. Collected data (sociodemographic, blood pressure, weight, height, and blood glucose) were analyzed using SPSS version 20. A logistic regression was conducted to look for factors associated with HTN. Results. Mean was 47 years. High blood pressure (HBP) prevalence was 21.1 and 24.7%, respectively, in rural and urban setting. In rural area age group significantly predicted hypertension with age of 60 years having more-than-4-times risk of hypertension, whereas, in urban area age group, sex and body mass index were predictors with OR: HTN raising from 2.06 [1.24–3.43] for 30–44 years old to 7.25 [4.00–13.13] for 60 years and more using <30 years as reference. Female sex was protective with OR of 0.45 [0.29–0.71] and using normal weight as reference OR for overweight was 1.54 [1.04–2.27] and 2.67 [1.64–4.36] for obesity. Conclusion. Hypertension prevalence is high and associated factors were age group in rural area and age group, female sex, and body mass index in urban area