Direct to consumer advertising via the Internet, a study of hip resurfacing

With increased use of the internet for health information and direct to consumer advertising from medical companies, there is a concern about the quality of the information available for patients. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of health information on the internet for hip resurfacing. An assessment tool was designed to measure quality of information. Websites were measured on credibility of source; usability; currentness of the information; content relevance; content accuracy/completeness and disclosure/bias. Each website assessed was given a total score, based on number of scores achieved from the above categories websites were further analysed on author, geographical origin and possession of an independent credibility check. There was positive correlation between the overall score for the website and the score of each website in each assessment category. Websites by implant companies, doctors and hospitals scored poorly. Websites with an independent credibility check such as Health on the Net (HoN) scored twice the total scores of websites without. Like other internet health websites, the quality of information on hip resurfacing websites is variable. This study highlights methods by which to assess the quality of health information on the internet and advocates that patients should look for a statement of an "independent credibility check" when searching for information on hip resurfacing

Willingness of Herbal Medicine Practitioners and Herbs Vendors to Contribute Financially to Conservation of Medicinal Plants in Ibadan, Nigeria

Erratum: The earlier version of this paper had some errors. It included references of later than 2014, the year of its publication. These references have been removed in the whole document and replaced with others of 2014 or earlier. Further, in paragraph 1 of the Discussion, after the sentence starting with Male…, the following statement “In contrast, studies in China showed that 59.8%of acupuncturists were females (Robinson et al., 2012)” has been inserted to replace the previous one. In paragraph 6 of Discussion, the words “capita income of $2,748 in 2010. Currently, the poverty level in Nigeria is 83.9% (Akinboade, 2010).” have been added to replace previous text. In paragraph 7 of the Discussion, the words “plants, provide employment” have been added after the word “medicinal” to replace previous text. This is therefore the correct version.The study evaluated the willingness of Herbal Medicine Practitioners (HMPs) and Herb Vendors (HVs) in Ibadan, Nigeria to contribute financially to medicinal plants conservation projects. Data was collected using structured questionnaires administered on 124 HMPs and 83 HVs randomly selected from fourteen herbal associations and marketers respectively. Results showed that 79.03%of all HMPs were males and 20.97% females while 83.13% of HVs were females and 16.87% males. All the HMPs and 97.59% of HVs were willing to contribute financially and provide useful information to conservation projects. Majority (54.84%) of the interviewed HMPs were willing to contribute between N500 - N1500 annually while most of the HVs (51.8%) were willing to contribute between N201 - N500 annually. Lack of financial power and land were identified as major constraints to holding private gardens. A total of 38 commonly used medicinal plant species was identified in the existing small scale private gardens of HMPs. There is need to organise the HMPs and HVs into formidable cooperative societies for easy access to fund and institute awareness campaign on the need for conservation of important local medicinal plants if the health for all dream is to be achieved

Effects of metal-on-metal wear on the host immune system and infection in hip arthroplasty

Methods We reviewed the available literature on the influence of degradation products of MOM bearings in total hip arthroplasties on infection risk. Results Wear products were found to influence the risk of infection by hampering the immune system, by inhibiting or accelerating bacterial growth, and by a possible antibiotic resistance and heavy metal co-selection mechanism. Interpretation Whether or not the combined effects of MOM wear products make MOM bearings less or more prone to infection requires investigation in the near future

Impact of Extension Service on Farmers Production Activities in Ogbomoso Agricultural zone of Oyo State, Nigeria.

This study examines the impact of extension sendees onfarmers' production activities with a view to investigating the extension methods used by village extension workers and determine their impacts on farmers' production activities. Multistage sampling technique was used to collect datafrom 60 randomly selectedfarmers while purposively sampling technique was used to collect data from 13 extension workers in Ogbomoso Agricultural zone of Oyo State. Interview schedules and questionnaires were used to collect data from farmers and extension workers, respectively. Data were analyzed with statistical tools such asfrequency counts, percentage andmultiple regression analysis. Thefindings reveal that home andfarm visit method was the most preferred method byfarmers. It also shows that most of thefarmer's recorded increase infarm yield andproductivity with frequent use of the extension methods. The findings also reveal that village extension agents were very small in number. It was concluded that the extension sendee has made positive impact onfarmers' production activities in the study area

Impact of Extension Service on Farmers Production Activities in Ogbomoso Agricultural zone of Oyo State, Nigeria.

This study examines the impact of extension sendees onfarmers' production activities with a view to investigating the extension methods used by village extension workers and determine their impacts on farmers' production activities. Multistage sampling technique was used to collect datafrom 60 randomly selectedfarmers while purposively sampling technique was used to collect data from 13 extension workers in Ogbomoso Agricultural zone of Oyo State. Interview schedules and questionnaires were used to collect data from farmers and extension workers, respectively. Data were analyzed with statistical tools such asfrequency counts, percentage andmultiple regression analysis. Thefindings reveal that home andfarm visit method was the most preferred method byfarmers. It also shows that most of thefarmer's recorded increase infarm yield andproductivity with frequent use of the extension methods. The findings also reveal that village extension agents were very small in number. It was concluded that the extension sendee has made positive impact onfarmers' production activities in the study area

Application of Network Analysis to Project Management

ABSTRACT This paper considered the activities involved in a construction site as a network and proposed a network analytic technique namely the Critical Path Method (CPM) and a traditional method for all activities involved in the site to obtain the latest finish time (completion time) of the project. Results show that the CPM gave a shorter completion date than the traditional method since it gave a lower latest finish time and consequently, lower running and personnel costs