Technical Efficiency Among Women Farmers in Kwara State: Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

There is food crisis in the country. Food supply can no longer meet up with food demand. This study explored the potential for improving food productivity through Technical Efficiency (TE) of Women Food Crops Farmers in Kwara State. Primary data were collected from these women using multi-stage random sampling technique. Two ADP geopolitical Zones were randomly selected from the four in the state. Following this was a random selection of four extension blocks, two from each zone from whichfour groups of women in Agriculture (WIA) were selected per block. In the final stage 100 respondents were randomly selected from the selected groups on the basis of probability proportionate to size. Data were analysed using Descriptive statistics, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), and Ordinary least squares regression (OLS) method. The mean age and farming experience of the women farmers were 47.6 ± 9.5 and 20.4± 12.3years respectively. Their mean farm size and number of plots cultivated were 1.8 ± 1.18 acres and 2.0 ± 0.84 respectively. Factors found contributing to technical efficiency of women farmers include; years of education, membership of farmers association, years of farming and extension visits. One percent increase in years of education and membership of farmers association would increase TE by 8.8%(p<0.01) and 1.0% (p<0.1) respectively, while one percent increase in years of farming and extension visits would reduce TE by 0.69% and 4.0% at (p<0.05) respectively. Technical inefficiency among women food crop farmers leads to low food productivity. Therefore, education and awareness (extension and farmers associations) are the vital variables to be considered by the policy makers to increase food productivity in Kwara state

Effect of vegetative cover and slope on soil loss by erosion using rainfall simulator

Top soil is very important for crop production but it is usually washed away in the tropical countries like Nigeria by erosion due to heavy rainfall with high intensity. In this study, a rainfall simulator was used to determine the quantity of soil loss (sediment load) from a bare soil and vegetative cover soil under different slopes. The slopes of the land for plots 1 to 5 for a bare soil varied from 5.20 to 9.7 % but for a vegetative cover soil (grown with grasses), the slopes varied from 2.8 to 3.2 %. The uniformity coefficient and drop velocity of the rainfall simulator used were 84.4 % and 8.156 m/s, respectively. The soil of the experimental site was sandy loam and the area of coverage by rainfall simulator was 3 by 3 m. Soil loss (sediment load) for a vegetative cover soil for slopes 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, 3.1 and 3.2 % were 0.252, 0.358, 0.350, 0.371 and 0.422 kg, respectively. Soil loss from a bared soil for slopes 5.2, 6.7, 9.0, 9.6 and 9.7 % were 1.045, 1.070, 1.100, 2.266 and 3.121 kg, respectively. Vegetative cover soil with grasses reduced the runoff volume and soil loss. Runoff volume and soil loss increased as slope of the land increases.Keywords: erodibility, erosion, erosivity, rainfall simulator, soil los

Relatives effectiveness of biogas production using poultry droppings and swine dung

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Prevalence and Antibiotic susceptibility pattern of Panton-Valentine Leucocidin( PVL) positive Staphylococcus aureus Strains from clinical specimens in Northeastern Nigeria

Panton-Valentine leucocidin (PVL), a synergohymentropic toxins encoded on S.aureus genes are associated with soft tissue infection and  community-acquired staphylococcal infection. The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence and antibiotic susceptibility of PVL-postive S.aureus isolates from clinical specimens.A total of 96 consecutive S.aureus isolates were examined. 12(12.5%) methicillin-resistant S.aureusstrains(MRSA) and 84(87.5%)methicillin-sentive S.aureus(MSSA) identified by disc-diffusion and PCR assay methods. Screening of S.aureus isolates for PVL locus by PCR assay, 50(52.1%) amplified the PVL genes, 35(70.0%) were recovered from outpatient, 15(30.0) from inpatient. PVL positive S.aureus were isolated from wound specimens, 20 (40.0%); 9(18.0%) urine, 6(12.0%) and least 1(2.0%) each from blood culture andendocervical swab. Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing by two standard multiplex PCR assay, revealed an uncharacterized resistance element. Overall antibiotic susceptibility pattern showed relatively highdegree of susceptibility,however 1 isolate demostrated multidrug resistant pattern, 37(74.0%)resistant to only penicillin, 5 to one additional drug with penicillin, and 3 to two-additional drugs. The high prevalence of S.aureus PVL-positive strains posed dire clinical conquences, because co-existence of MRSA strains with MSSA PVL –positive strains could result in the emergence of MRSA PVL-positive strains, with propensity of rapid dissemination within the hospital environment in the study area.Keywords: Panton-Valentine leucocidin, S.aureus , epidemiology, Northeastern Nigeri

Estimated stress and friction distributions on tool rake face in the medium density fiberboard cutting process

This paper presents a model of load distribution on the cutting edge of a tool during machining Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF). A series of cutting tests has been carried out with tools having designated rake face contact lengths. Utilising the experimental data and a mechanics approach developed earlier by the third author, a model to estimate the distribution of stresses and friction on the rake face is developed. The model provides an essential step in the design and development of cutting edge geometry to prevent early edge failure and to control and reduce thermal/mechanical loading of the tool wedge

PREVALENCE AND CLINICAL FORMS OF MALARIA AMONG FEBRILE HIV-INFECTED CHILDREN SEEN AT USMANU DANFODIYO UNIVERSITY TEACHING HOSPITAL, SOKOTO, NIGERIA

Background: Malaria and HIV infections are major health problems facing the world today. Sub-Saharan Africa with 10 percent of world’s population harbors more than half the burden of the scourge. The present study determined the prevalence and clinical forms of malaria among febrile HIV-infected children aged 3months to 15years, seen in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH), Sokoto, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Cross-sectional study among febrile HIV-infected children and their control cohort were carried out between May and October 2016. The participants had the following investigations: malarial parasite, packed cell volume, random blood sugar, retroviral test.  Results: A total of 140 febrile HIV-infected children aged 3 months to 15 years and 140 febrile HIV-negative age- and gender-matched children were recruited; 100 of the HIV-infected children were on ART and cotrimoxazole. The prevalence of malaria among the febrile HIV-infected children was 71.4% (100/140) which was significantly lower than the prevalence of 94.3% (132/140) among the control group (χ2 27.72, p=0.001). Among the febrile HIV-infected children that had malaria, 54(54.0%) had uncomplicated malaria while 46(46.0%) had severe malaria. Of the 132 controls that had malaria, 48(36.4%) had uncomplicated malaria and 84(63.6%) had severe malaria (χ2 =7.184, p=0.007). Conclusion: Malaria is a problem in HIV-infected children. Since nearly half of the febrile HIV-infected children had severe form of malaria, it is recommended that health promotion, intermittent malaria prophylaxis, early diagnosis and prompt effective treatment should be instituted for HIV-infected children. This may prevent severe form of malaria and its attendant mortality

Motivational effects of coronary artery calcium scores on statin adherence and weight loss

Aim The aim of this study was to assess the effect on adherence to statin therapy and assess the effect of beneficial changes in behavior that resulted in weight loss in patients who underwent coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring with cardiac computed tomography. Background Despite convincing data demonstrating the benefits of HmGCoA inhibitors for both primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease, they remain underused. Also, despite convincing data demonstrating the benefits of weight loss for both primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease, it remains difficult to motivate behavioral changes resulting in weight loss. In this study, we assess whether higher CAC scores are associated with increased compliance with statin medication and whether higher CAC scores are associated with beneficial lifestyle behaviors resulting in weight loss. Methods We retrospectively analyzed patients that had undergone baseline CAC testing and returned for a follow-up scan. All patients had weight documented and were administered a questionnaire regarding compliance to medications. The primary endpoint was measurable weight loss between visit one and visit two and the self-reported compliance to statin use. Results The study population with data regarding statin compliance consisted of 2608 individuals (72% men, mean age 58±8 years) who were followed for a mean of 4.1±3.2 years after an initial CAC scan. Overall, statin compliance was lowest (27.4%) among those with CAC=0, and gradually increased with higher CAC scores (1-99, 39.2%; 100-399, 53.6%; ≥400, 58.8%; P<0.001 for trend). In the group analyzed for weight loss the study population consisted of 1078 individuals (68% men, mean age 60±8 years) who were followed for a mean of 4.1±3.2 years after an initial CAC scan. Conclusion Overall, behavioral modification resulting in weight loss was lowest (19.8%) among those with CAC=0, and gradually increased with higher CAC scores (1-99, 23.4%; 100-399, 30.8%; ≥400, 33.6%; P<0.001 for trend). In addition to being a robust risk stratification tool, a higher rate of adherences with statin therapy was observed in patients with higher CAC scores

Validation of a Farsi version of the Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (F-ECOHIS)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS) has recently been developed to assess oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) of pre-school children in English speaking communities. This study aimed to translate the ECOHIS into Farsi and test its psychometric properties for use on 2- to 5-year-old children of Farsi speaking Iranian families.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>EHOHIS questionnaire was translated into Farsi using a standardized forward-backward linguistic translation method. Its face and content validity was tested in two small pilot studies. In the main study, a convenience sample of 260 parents of 2- to 5-year-old children in Isfahan and Tehran were invited to complete the final Farsi version of the ECOHIS (F-ECOHIS) and answer two global self-rating questions about their children's dental appearance and oral health. Association between F-ECOHIS scores and answers to the two self-rating questions, and the correlation between child (9 items) and family (4 items) sections of the F-ECOHIS were used to assess the concurrent and convergent validity of the questionnaire. Internal consistency reliability of the F-ECOHIS was tested using Cronbach's alpha coefficient test and item total and inter-item correlations. One third of participants were invited to complete the F-ECOHIS again after 2 weeks to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two hundred and forty six parents were included in the main study. The association between the F-ECOHIS scores and the two self-rating questions and the correlation between its child and family sections were significant (P < 0.001). Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the F-ECOHIS and its child and family sections were 0.93, 0.89, and 0.85 respectively. Coefficients did not increase by deleting any item. The corrected item total correlation coefficient ranged from 0.52 to 0.74. The inter-item correlation coefficient ranged between 0.30 and 0.73. Seventy three parents participated in the follow up study for re-testing the questionnaire. Comparison of their test and re-test scores had a weighted kappa of 0.81 and inter-class correlation (ICC) of 0.82.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The F-ECOHIS questionnaire was valid and reliable for assessing the OHRQoL of 2- to 5-year-old pre-school children of Farsi speaking parents.</p

Modelling home care organisations from an operations management perspective

Home Care (HC) service consists of providing care to patients in their homes. During the last decade, the HC service industry experienced significant growth in many European countries. This growth stems from several factors, such as governmental pressure to reduce healthcare costs, demographic changes related to population ageing, social changes, an increase in the number of patients that suffer from chronic illnesses, and the development of new home-based services and technologies. This study proposes a framework that will enable HC service providers to better understand HC operations and their management. The study identifies the main processes and decisions that relate to the field of HC operations management. Hence, an IDEF0 (Integrated Definition for Function Modelling) activity-based model describes the most relevant clinical, logistical and organisational processes associated with HC operations. A hierarchical framework for operations management decisions is also proposed. This analysis is derived from data that was collected by nine HC service providers, which are located in France and Italy, and focuses on the manner in which operations are run, as well as associated constraints, inputs and outputs. The most challenging research areas in the field of HC operations management are also discussed