Determination of Design Inflow Rate in Furrow Irrigation Using Simulated Advance and Recession Curves

Advance and recession curves were simulated for three stages of maize growth in furrow irrigation. The selected stages were: the emergence stage, two weeks after planting; the development stage, about two months after planting; and the maturing stage, about one month to harvest time. The advance and recession times were predicted for successive points along the furrow lines for various inflow rates at the development stage of the crop growth using three models. The simulated advance and recession data were used to compute the intake opportunity time distribution along the furrow line. The infiltrated depth distribution and hence the water application efficiency and distribution uniformity were computed for the inflow rate, which gave 87% and 89% for the maize emergence stage: 75% and 60% for the maize development stage and 95% and 89% for the maize maturing stage. The design inflow rate for each furrow was taken as the minimum inflow rate which gave rise to a minimum water application efficiency of 60% and a minimum distribution uniformity of 75%. It is recommended that the procedure described in this work is useful for the modification of existing furrow irrigation systems and the establishment of new ones. Also, the design procedure presented can be used for any field that is suitable for furrow irrigation system by making use of the relevant parameter estimates that can be obtained from the field

The Mobile Phone in the Diffusion of Knowledge for Institutional Quality in Sub-Saharan Africa

This study assesses the mobile phone in the diffusion of knowledge for better governance in Sub-Saharan Africa from 2000 to 2012. For this purpose we employ Generalised Method of Moments with forward orthogonal deviations. The empirical evidence is based on three complementary knowledge diffusion variables (innovation, internet penetration and educational quality) and 10 governance indicators that are bundled and unbundled. The following are the main findings. First, there is an unconditional positive effect of mobile phone penetration on good governance. Second, the net effects on political, economic, and institutional governances that are associated with the interaction of the mobile phone with knowledge diffusion variables are positive for the most part. Third, countries with low levels of governance are catching-up their counterparts with higher levels of governance. The above findings are broadly consistent with theoretical underpinnings on the relevance of mobile phones in mitigating bad governance in Africa. The evidence of some insignificant net effects and decreasing marginal impacts may be an indication that the mobile phone could also be employed to decrease government quality. Overall, this study has established net positive effects for the most part. Five rationales could elicit the positive net effects on good governance from the interaction between mobile phones and knowledge diffusion, among others, the knowledge variables enhance: reach, access, adoption, cost-effectiveness, and interaction. In a nut shell, the positive net effects are apparent because the knowledge diffusion variables complement mobile phones in reducing information asymmetry and monopoly that create conducive conditions for bad governance. The contribution of the findings to existing theories and justifications of the underlying positive net effects are discussed

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

Fighting Capital Flight in Africa: Evidence from Bundling and Unbundling Governance

This study investigates the effect of governance on capital flight by bundling and unbundling governance. The empirical evidence is based on 37 African countries for the period 1996–2010 and the Generalised Method of Moments. Governance is bundled by principal component analysis, namely: (i) political governance from political stability and ‘voice and accountability’; (ii) economic governance from government effectiveness and regulation quality and (iii) institutional governance from corruption-control and the rule of law. The following findings are established. (i) Political stability and ‘voice and accountability’ reduce capital flight while the collective effect of political governance is not significant. (ii) Economic governance increases capital flight whereas the individual effects of regulation quality and government effectiveness are not significant. (iii) Corruption-control and institutional governance negatively affect capital flight whereas the impact of the rule of law is not significant. (iv) Taken together, Corruption-control is the most effective governance weapon in the fight against capital flight. (v) Priority in the Washington Consensus is more effective at fighting capital flight compared to the Beijing Model. Policy implications are discussed

Factors Associated With Early Functional Outcome After Hip Fracture Surgery

Background: Hip fractures are common in the elderly and are likely to become more prevalent as the US population ages. Early functional status is an indicator of longer term outcome, yet in-hospital predictors of functional recovery, particularly time of surgery and composition of support staff, after hip fracture surgery have not been well studied. Methods: Ninety-nine consecutive patients underwent hip fracture surgery by a single surgeon between 2009 and 2013. Surgery after 48 hours was deemed as surgical delay, and surgery after 5 pm was deemed as after hours. Surgical support staff experience was determined by experts from our institution as well as documented level of training. Functional status was determined by independent ambulation on postoperative day (POD) 3. Results: On POD3, 48 (79%) of 62 patients with no delay were able to ambulate, whereas only 14 (38%) of 37 patients with delayed surgery were able to ambulate ( P < .001). This relationship persisted when adjusted for American Society of Anesthesiologist classification. No delay in patients older than 80 (odds ratio [OR], 6.91; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.16-22.10) and females (OR, 7.05; 95% CI, 2.34-21.20) was associated with greater chance of early ambulation. After-hours surgery was not associated with ambulation ( P = .35). Anesthesiologist and circulating nurse experience had no impact on patient’s ambulatory status; however, nonorthopedic scrub technicians were associated with worse functional status (OR 7.50; 95% CI, 1.46-38.44, P = .01). Conclusion: Surgical delay and nonorthopedic scrub technicians are associated with worse early functional outcome after hip fracture surgery. Surgical delay should be avoided in older patients and women. More work should be done to understand the impact of surgical team composition on outcome