508 research outputs found
Factors influencing farmer-to-farmer extension of forage legume technology
Forage legumes have been introduced to farmers in Central Kenya between 1980 and 2002 through various Institutional and Projectsâ efforts. The adoption rate of these forages among farmers has been found to be rather low, with the NDDP reporting only 1.9 % of farms surveyed and an ICRAF report indicating that the technology was only reaching 1 % of smallholder farms. An evaluation of adoption of Calliandra and Desmodium was conducted to identify farm characteristics affecting the likelihood of sharing of Desmodium and Calliandra technologies as well as to characterise the spread or diffusion of the technology from the original contact groups and the effect of distance from those groups. Three groups of farmers were approached. A first generation who received planting material from the distributors, a second generation who received planting materials from the former, and a randomly selected group of farmers at various distances from the first contacts. Informal discussions were held with the farmers and formal questionnaires filled. Out of the 133 first generation farmers contacted 64.7% still had Desmodium and 89.5% still had Calliandra. More farms in the contact sub-locations had the plants than the sub-locations further away. The small sample size of those with the forages could not allow effect of distance to be worked out. Tobit estimates of effects of farmer attributes influencing sharing of planting materials shows that the status of the household head in the community positively affected the likelihood of giving out planting material. The technology has a rather slow spread as indicated by percentages of farms with the forages. For better adoption and spread proponents of the technology should have the technology introduced to farmers who have substantial positions in farmer groups or have been bestowed community responsibility
Empirical antibiotherapy as a potential driver of antibiotic resistance: observations from a point prevalence survey of antibiotic consumption and resistance in Gombe, Nigeria
Background: Empirical use of antibiotics is a standard practice in the treatment of infections worldwide. However, its over utilization without subsequent culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing could be a major driver of resistance.Over reliance on empirical antibiotherapy is common in most developing countries where antibiotic policies and availability or utilization of clinical microbiology laboratory are suboptimal. A standardized approach to point prevalence survey (PPS) on antimicrobial use (AMU) in hospitals was employed to assess the antimicrobial prescribing practices in Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe (FTHG), Nigeria.Methodology: A PPS was conducted in April 2019 at FTHG by recruiting all in-patients present in the hospital on the day of survey. Data obtained from patientsâ records included details of the type and indication for antibiotherapy. A customized online application developed by the University of Antwerp (www.global-pps.be) was used for data-entry, validation, analysis and reporting.Results: Of the total 326 patients who were on admission on the day of survey, 70.6% and 73.4% were on at least one antibiotic in adult and paediatric wards respectively. Most commonly used antibiotics include beta lactams such as cephalosporins (29.2%) and penicillins (22.8%), fluoroquinolones (12.4%), aminoglycosides (9.1%) and macrolides (3.4%). Among patients on antibiotics, route of administration was mainly parenteral (71.6%) while 44.8% were on more than one antibiotic. Overall, 91.3% of the antibiotic treatments were empirical with adults, children and neonates accounting for 96.4%, 77.6% and 100.0% respectively. Empirical antibiotic use is also high in medical wards (86.3%), surgical wards (89.9%) and intensive care unit (100.0%).Conclusion: There is predominance and over-reliance on empirical antibiotherapy in our hospital. It further exposes the poor utilization of clinical microbiology laboratory and the potential for development of antibiotic resistance with resultant increase in morbidity/mortality and poor patient safety. There is need for further studies to highlight the dangers of over-reliance on empirical antibiotherapy and herald improvement in development and implementation of antibiotic stewardship programme.
Keywords: Empirical antibiotherapy, antimicrobial resistance, point prevalence survey, antimicrobial stewardship
French title:L'antibiothĂ©rapie empirique comme moteur potentiel de la rĂ©sistance aux antibiotiques: observations d'une enquĂȘteponctuelle de prĂ©valence de la consommation et de la rĂ©sistance aux antibiotiques Ă Gombe, au NigĂ©ria
Contexte: L'utilisation empirique d'antibiotiques est une pratique courante dans le traitement des infections dans le monde entier. Cependant, sa surutilisation sans culture ultĂ©rieure ni test de sensibilitĂ© aux antibiotiques pourrait ĂȘtre un facteur majeur de rĂ©sistance. Le recours excessif Ă l'antibiothĂ©rapie empirique est courant dans la plupart des pays en dĂ©veloppement oĂč les politiques d'antibiotiques et la disponibilitĂ© ou l'utilisation du laboratoire de microbiologie clinique sont sous-optimales. Une approche standardisĂ©e de l'enquĂȘte de prĂ©valence ponctuelle (PPS) sur l'utilisation des antimicrobiens (AMU) dans les hĂŽpitaux a Ă©tĂ© utilisĂ©e pour Ă©valuer les pratiques de prescription d'antimicrobiens au Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe (FTHG), au NigĂ©ria.MĂ©thodologie: Un PPS a Ă©tĂ© rĂ©alisĂ© en avril 2019 au FTHG en recrutant tous les patients hospitalisĂ©s prĂ©sents Ă l'hĂŽpital le jour de l'enquĂȘte. Les donnĂ©es obtenues Ă partir des dossiers des patients comprenaient des dĂ©tails sur le type et lâindication de lâantibiothĂ©rapie. Une application en ligne personnalisĂ©e dĂ©veloppĂ©e par l'UniversitĂ© d'Anvers (www.global-pps.be) a Ă©tĂ© utilisĂ©e pour la saisie, la validation, l'analyse et le reporting des donnĂ©es.RĂ©sultats: Sur les 326 patients au total qui Ă©taient admis le jour de l'enquĂȘte, 70,6% et 73,4% prenaient au moins un antibiotique dans les services pour adultes et pĂ©diatriques respectivement. Les antibiotiques les plus couramment utilisĂ©s comprennent les bĂȘta-lactamines telles que les cĂ©phalosporines (29,2%) et les pĂ©nicillines (22,8%), les fluoroquinolones (12,4%), les aminosides (9,1%) et les macrolides (3,4%). Parmi les patientsâ sous antibiotiques, la voie d'administration Ă©tait principalement parentĂ©rale (71,6%) tandis que 44,8% prenaient plus d'un antibiotique. Dans l'ensemble, 91,3% des traitements antibiotiques Ă©taient empiriques, les adultes, les enfants et les nouveau-nĂ©s reprĂ©sentant respectivement 96,4%, 77,6% et 100,0%. L'utilisation empirique d'antibiotiques est Ă©galement Ă©levĂ©e dans les services mĂ©dicaux (86,3%), les services chirurgicaux (89,9%) et les unitĂ©s de soins intensifs (100,0%).Conclusion: Il y a une prĂ©dominance et une dĂ©pendance excessive Ă l'antibiothĂ©rapie empirique dans notre hĂŽpital. Il expose en outre la mauvaie utilisation du laboratoire de microbiologie clinique et le potentiel de dĂ©veloppement d'une rĂ©sistance aux antibiotiques avec une augmentation rĂ©sultante de la morbiditĂ©/mortalitĂ© et une mauvaise sĂ©curitĂ© des patients. Des Ă©tudes supplĂ©mentaires sont nĂ©cessaires pour mettre en Ă©vidence les dangers d'une dĂ©pendance excessive Ă l'antibiothĂ©rapie empirique et annoncer une amĂ©lioration dans le dĂ©veloppement et la mise en Ćuvre d'un programme de gestion des antibiotiques.
Mots clĂ©s: antibiothĂ©rapie empirique, rĂ©sistance aux antimicrobiens, enquĂȘte ponctuelle de prĂ©valence, gestion des antimicrobiens
 
The impact of non-tariff barriers on maize and beef trade in East Africa
On March 2, 2004, the East African Community (EAC) member
states signed the protocol for the establishment of the East
African Community Customs Union, which commits them,
among others, to eliminate non-tariff barriers (NTBs) to
increase intraregional trade. However, several NTBs are still
applied by member states, raising concerns among policy
makers and the business community. There is, however, no
information about the magnitude of the impact of these
NTBs. This study identifies the existing NTBs on maize and
beef trade in East Africa and quantifies their impact on trade
and the welfare of EAC citizens using a Spatial Equilibrium
Model (SEM). Data on NTBs were collected from traders
and transporters of maize and beef cattle in East Africa. In
addition, the study found that the main types of NTBs within
the three founding members of the EAC (Kenya, Tanzania and
Uganda) are similar. They include administrative requirements
(mainly licenses, municipal and council permits), taxes/duties
(mainly excise and cess duty), roadblocks, customs barriers,
weighbridges, licensing, corruption (e.g., through bribes) and
transiting.
The results of the welfare analysis vary across the three
countries, but the net monetary gains are positive in all cases.
A complete abolishment or a reduction of the existing NTBs
in maize and beef trade increases intra-EAC maize and beef
trade flows, with Kenya importing more maize from both
Uganda and Tanzania, while Ugandaâs beef exports to Kenya
and Tanzania increase. As a result, positive net welfare gains
are attained for the entire EAC maize and beef sub-sectors. In
all cases, those who gain from the proposed reductions in NTBs
can potentially compensate the losers, leading to potential
improvements in welfare. These findings give compelling
evidence in support of the elimination of NTBs within the EAC
customs union. The study recommends taking a regional approach to
eliminating the existing NTBs since they are similar across the
member countries and across commodities so as to exploit
economies of scale. Other policy recommendations include
streamlining of administrative procedures at border points to
improve efficiency, and speeding up the implementation of
procedures at point of origin and at the border points. Finally,
the study recommends the need to design and implement
monitoring systems to provide feedback to the relevant
authorities on the implementation of measures to remove
unnecessary barriers to trade within the EAC region
The Impact of Nontariff Barriers on Cross-Border Trade in Maize and Beef Within the East African Community
Variable Step Random Walks and Self-Similar Distributions
We study a scenario under which variable step random walks give anomalous
statistics. We begin by analyzing the Martingale Central Limit Theorem to find
a sufficient condition for the limit distribution to be non-Gaussian. We note
that the theorem implies that the scaling index is 1/2. For
corresponding continuous time processes, it is shown that the probability
density function satisfies the Fokker-Planck equation. Possible forms
for the diffusion coefficient are given, and related to . Finally, we
show how a time-series can be used to distinguish between these variable
diffusion processes and L\'evy dynamics.Comment: 13pages, 2 figure
Lithographically fabricated nanopore-based electrodes for electrochemistry
We report a new technique for fabricating electrodes for electrochemical applications with lateral dimensions in the range 15â200 nm and a reproducible, well-defined geometry. This technique allows determining the electrode size by electron microscopy prior to electrochemical measurements and without contamination of the metal electrode. We measured the diffusion-limited current with stepped-current voltammetry and showed that its dependence on electrode size can be quantitatively understood if the known geometry of the electrodes is explicitly taken into account
Responding to Food Price Crisis in Eastern and Southern Africa: Policy Options for National and Regional Action
This paper addresses the magnitude and implications of food price changes in national and regional markets in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) with a view to provide the evidence base for effective policy action. Specifically, the paper:
- analyses trends and outlooks in country and regional data, presents evidence on
the regional food situation, and explores the nexus between high domestic food
prices and global food prices,
- highlights regional and national dimensions of food price increases and how they are related to food security in the region, and
- provides practical short-, medium- and long-term options for governments and
other stakeholders for addressing the problem posed by the food price crisis
A situational analysis of agricultural production and marketing, and natural resource management systems in the central region of Uganda
- âŠ