Assessment of forage quality Among the sudangrasses, sweet and grain sorghum inbred lines at different cutting time points

Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench is the world\u27s fifth mostly cultivated cereal after wheat, corn, barley, and oats. Although originated in Ethiopia, the United States is the leading producer and exporter of grain sorghum worldwide. In Africa, it is the second most widely grown crop after corn and mainly cultivated in the arid and semi-arid regions of the continent. Its hardiness to environmental stress and low costs of production has made it a more viable forage crop for animal consumption in marginal agricultural regions. In this study, twelve sorghum varieties were evaluated for their forage quality based on their agro-morphological traits and cell wall composition. Results of the agro-morphological trait analysis showed that black-seeded Sudangrass had the lowest dry weight compared to the sweet sorghum cultivars (Sugar Drip, Rex and Ramada) and this was significant at 90 days after sowing (DAS). This was reflected on its low in vitro digestibility and thus its low forage quality. In addition, the Sudan grasses exhibited a significant decrease in their fresh and dry weights, stalk diameter, leaf width and leaf number with advancing plant maturity. This correlated with their forage quality thus the best cutting time point for the Sudan grasses was at 75 DAS. Results of fiber fraction, nutritive analysis and in vitro digestibility indicated that Sugar Drip had the highest forage quality as evident from its low lignin content, high Relative Feed Value and highest Net Energy of Lactation at and this was significant at 90 DAS. This was followed by Rex, Ramada, MN1054, white-seeded Sudangrass, GK Aron and black-seeded Sudangrass. Grain sorghum cultivars were harvested at grain maturity and results of in vitro digestibility of their cell wall components were slightly comparable to sweet sorghum. However, Sohag was significantly superior to LG35 in terms of its RFV and in vitro digestible dry matter. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in one of the lignin biosynthesis genes; caffeic acid 3-O-methyltransferase (COMT) were evaluated for their effect on forage quality. The detected SNPs is expected to affect protein function. No correlation was noted between the COMT SNPs and lignin content and accumulation in the studied cultivars. Likewise, the detected SNPs did not have any effect of forage quality

Recent Trends in International Criminal Law: Perspectives from the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

This article appraises recent developments in international criminal law, with an emphasis on the jurisprudence engendered by the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for ( ICTR or Tribunal ) during 2007. It evaluates trends in the ICTR\u27s jurisprudence during the year 2007 in relation to substantive, procedural and evidentiary aspects of international criminal law. It is noteworthy that over the course of 2007, by and large, the ICTR did not break much new ground in the arena of international criminal law. Nevertheless, the ICTR addressed some critical issues that deserve evaluation. Some of the decisions reached by the ICTR provide important elaboration as to the position of international criminal law, while others raise controversies. Moreover, a number of decisions reached by the ICTR\u27s Appeals Chambera chamber also shared by the ICTY, and the only appellate and highest courtwere not unanimous. Many of these decisions generated important dissents, thus pointing to conflicting signals from the ICTR. While absence of unanimity by the judges raises challenges as to the current status of international law, arguably it equally creates some room for the possibility of remedying some questionable positions in the future, and thus may lead to the improvement of international criminal jurisprudence. In appraising the issues addressed by the ICTR over the course of 2007, this Article is arranged as follows: Part II evaluates the ICTR\u27s approach to the elements, participation in, and proof of the crime of rape, as well as issues arising from the Tribunal\u27s approach. The issues raised include the status of circumstantial evidence, and its application to the crime of rape, the scope of commission as a mode of criminal participation, and the status in the Tribunal\u27s jurisprudence of the concepts of \u27lesser included or subsumed crimes or modes of liability\u27 and \u27re-qualification\u27 of crimes. Part III deals with the ICTR\u27s approach to extermination as a crime against humanity, while the crimes of direct and public incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and persecution as crime against humanity are covered in Parts IV, V and VI respectively. These are followed by some procedural and evidentiary aspects of the Tribunal\u27s jurisprudence, namely, specificity in pleading and the status quo of hearsay evidence. They are addressed in Parts VII and VIII respectively. Concluding the analysis is Part IX, which also comments, in brief, on other issues addressed by the Tribunal, including the notion of \u27witness proofing;\u27 the scope of the rights of the accused, such as the right to be tried in one\u27s presence and the right to compensation; joint criminal enterprise liability; the powers of Trial Chambers to control proceedings, and issues arising from the Tribunal\u27s plea of guilty jurisprudence

Recent Trends in International Criminal Law: Perspectives from the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda

This article appraises recent developments in international criminal law, with an emphasis on the jurisprudence engendered by the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for ( ICTR or Tribunal ) during 2007. It evaluates trends in the ICTR\u27s jurisprudence during the year 2007 in relation to substantive, procedural and evidentiary aspects of international criminal law. It is noteworthy that over the course of 2007, by and large, the ICTR did not break much new ground in the arena of international criminal law. Nevertheless, the ICTR addressed some critical issues that deserve evaluation. Some of the decisions reached by the ICTR provide important elaboration as to the position of international criminal law, while others raise controversies. Moreover, a number of decisions reached by the ICTR\u27s Appeals Chambera chamber also shared by the ICTY, and the only appellate and highest courtwere not unanimous. Many of these decisions generated important dissents, thus pointing to conflicting signals from the ICTR. While absence of unanimity by the judges raises challenges as to the current status of international law, arguably it equally creates some room for the possibility of remedying some questionable positions in the future, and thus may lead to the improvement of international criminal jurisprudence. In appraising the issues addressed by the ICTR over the course of 2007, this Article is arranged as follows: Part II evaluates the ICTR\u27s approach to the elements, participation in, and proof of the crime of rape, as well as issues arising from the Tribunal\u27s approach. The issues raised include the status of circumstantial evidence, and its application to the crime of rape, the scope of commission as a mode of criminal participation, and the status in the Tribunal\u27s jurisprudence of the concepts of \u27lesser included or subsumed crimes or modes of liability\u27 and \u27re-qualification\u27 of crimes. Part III deals with the ICTR\u27s approach to extermination as a crime against humanity, while the crimes of direct and public incitement to commit genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, and persecution as crime against humanity are covered in Parts IV, V and VI respectively. These are followed by some procedural and evidentiary aspects of the Tribunal\u27s jurisprudence, namely, specificity in pleading and the status quo of hearsay evidence. They are addressed in Parts VII and VIII respectively. Concluding the analysis is Part IX, which also comments, in brief, on other issues addressed by the Tribunal, including the notion of \u27witness proofing;\u27 the scope of the rights of the accused, such as the right to be tried in one\u27s presence and the right to compensation; joint criminal enterprise liability; the powers of Trial Chambers to control proceedings, and issues arising from the Tribunal\u27s plea of guilty jurisprudence

Anti-Retroviral–Based HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis for Women: Recent Advances and Next Steps

There is a daunting challenge to prevent human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition in women at high risk of acquiring HIV. Of the 37 million people globally living with HIV, more than half are women. Women account for nearly 60% of adults with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, where unprotected heterosexual sex is the primary driver of the epidemic. While male condoms are effective, they are not always used, and this is not something women can control. Women urgently need prevention tools they can decide to use, independent of a husband or partner. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), in which HIV-uninfected persons with ongoing HIV risk use antiretroviral (ARV) medications as chemoprophylaxis against sexual HIV acquisition, is a promising new HIV prevention strategy. We review recent advances in the development of new biomedical HIV prevention interventions with a highlight of findings from pivotal clinical trials, as well as a discussion on future generation strategies for women

An Implementation Process of Interoperability: A Case-Study of Health Information Systems (HIS)

Several advances have been made towards health information systems (HIS) use and implementations. However, these advances have not been matched by equal advances in HIS interoperability implementations. Current challenges in this domain are partly due to lack of implementation knowledge hence resulting into a number of failed HIS interoperability implementations. To gain substantive implementation knowledge on HIS interoperability projects, we have carried out interviews through an interpretive case-study approach to investigate a successful HIS interoperability project. Through this approach we propose an initial set of HIS interoperability implementation best practices comprising of these key processes: discovering interoperability need, projecting outcome, managing change and adopting an appropriate interoperability strategy which together depict a contingence management relationship. We conclude that this initial set of best practices contributes substantive knowledge that can guide future HIS interoperability implementations

Pragmatic Podcasting: Facilitating Podcasting in developing Higher Education Institutions

MLCAT is a desktop content authoring application that is used to record lectures and presentations for educational purposes. It does not only record the audio of the speaker but also their Power Point presentation. It is able to record, encode and save the presentation in various formats. The result is one synchronized multimedia video that can be played back on a variety of feature phones. Apple has a big success with the release of podcasting solutions, iPod series and accessories. They enable the user to carry around music and videos, play them back while on a bus or even use it as a digital multimedia library. These products have been trialled and used in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the developed world. Developing world HEIs such as those in Africa have limited diffusion of these technologies due to their relative high cost; infrastructural limitations, technical skills shortages; digital divides and cultural and socio-economic issues. This paper describes a pragmatic podcasting approach and how instructors can author and supply the learner with mobile-ready lecture recordings in order to enable mobile learning “anytime – anywhere”. Our solution has been implemented and is being made available for lecturers and students to examine and evaluate. The feedback will be analyzed and enhancements to the system proposed

Using paper prototyping as a rapid participatory design technique in the design of MLCAT - a lecture podcasting tool

Podcasting has permeated the developed world higher education environments. Despite this, there is inadequate research published to explore podcasting in developing Higher Education Institutions. In areas with limited electricity, never mind the internet, how can podcasting succeed? This paper describes Participatory Design activities with university lecturers in sub-Saharan Africa (University of Cape Town and Makerere University) to design a podcasting tool. We postulate that by involving them in the design, we can identify specific requirements and they will accept and use the tool. Academics have heavy workloads and tight schedules and conducting design sessions with busy professionals demands preparation, improvisation, and clarity of purpose. Therefore, this paper presents the use of paper prototyping technique during the two hour Participatory Design sessions with lecturers in the design of a horizontal MLCAT prototype. In addition, we present formative evaluations that reveal insightful results which will be used in the further implementation of the tool

Mobile Learning Content Authoring Tools (MLCATs): A Systematic Review

Mobile learning is currently receiving a lot of attention within the education arena, particularly within electronic learning. This is attributed to the increasing mobile penetration rates and the subsequent increases in university student enrolments. Mobile Learning environments are supported by a number of crucial services such as content creation which require an authoring tool. The last decade or so has witnessed increased attention to tools for authoring mobile learning content for education. This can be seen from the vast number of conference and journal publications devoted to the topic. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to review works that were published, suggest a new classification framework and explore each of the classification features. This paper is based on a systematic review of mobile learning content authoring tools (MLCATs) from 2000 to 2009. The framework is developed based on a number of dimensions such as system type, development context, Tools and Technologies used, tool availability, ICTD relation, support for standards, learning style support, media supported and tool purpose. This paper provides a means for researchers to extract assertions and several important lessons for the choice and implementation of MLCATs