Chemical composition of three herbaceous tropical forage legumes grown successfully in Zimbabwe

A scientific study on animal- feed nutrition for better stock production in Zimbabwe.Desmodium uncinatum, Stylosanthes guianensis and Macroptilium atropurpureum, grown at the University of Zimbabwe Farm, were harvested serially in the early (December), mid (February) and late (April) growing season in 1992/93 and oven-dried. Field-cured hays were also made from the legumes in April 1993 and 1994. The legumes differed in phenological development which, in turn, influenced crude protein (CP) levels. The CP content of S. guianensis (132 to 167 g/kg dry matter) was the least and first rose and then fell, that of D. uncinatum (195 to 234 g/kg DM) decreased, while that of M. atropurpureum (189 to 229 g/kg DM) increased with the season. Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) was higher in the early (364 to 440 g/kg DM) than in the mid to late season (470 to 559 g/kg DM). S. guianensis was the most fibrous in April, while D. uncinatum contained the most lignin across the season (148 to 159 g/kg DM). The legumes, especially M. atropurpureum, were rich in calcium (9.8 to 20.4 g/kg DM) and phosphorus (1.8 to 3.3 g/kg DM). Hay making was associated with loss of quality (e.g., 14 to 31 percent less CP and 12 to 51 percent more NDF) that was attributable to leaf loss. D. uncinatum hay contained the most fibre, lignin and acid detergent insoluble nitrogen and the least minerals. It is concluded that, overall, M. atropurpureum was chemically the most nutritious legume

Socio-economic aspects in draught animal-crop linkages: a diagnostic study of Tsholotsho, Chinyika and Mutoko smallholder farming areas of Zimbabwe

A research paper on Zimbabwe's small-holder farmers' constraints in crop production due to shortages of draught animal power during the 1994/95 agricultural season.A survey was conducted on 451 households in Tsholotsho, Chinyika and Mutoko smallholder areas to understand farmers’ crop production constraints in relation to draught animal power (DAP) during the 1994/95 agricultural season. Farmers without DAP constituted 48.6 percent in the three districts. Of these, 54.5 percent had access to neighbours’ or relatives’ animals. The rest hired or worked in others’ fields in exchange for draught animals. Animal diseases and shortage of grazing land were noted as the major constraints in animal production. Both farmer education and experience as well as household head were found to be associated with district (p<0.001). Tsholotsho had the largest number of farmers (52.8 percent) with more than 10 years experience while Mutoko had the largest proportion (43.3 percent) of Master farmers. Farmer education and experience were found to be independent of sex. The average land holdings per farmer for Tsholotsho, Chinyika and Mutoko were 6.21 ha, 4.22 ha and 1.62 ha, respectively. Tsholotsho is a dryland communal area whilst Chinyika is a relatively wet area. Mutoko is a typical communal area with a high population pressure. Maize is the main crop in Chinyika and Mutoko whilst millet is the most common in Tsholotsho

Is Content Really King? An Objective Analysis of the Public's Response to Medical Videos on YouTube

Medical educators and patients are turning to YouTube to teach and learn about medical conditions. These videos are from authors whose credibility cannot be verified & are not peer reviewed. As a result, studies that have analyzed the educational content of YouTube have reported dismal results. These studies have been unable to exclude videos created by questionable sources and for non-educational purposes. We hypothesize that medical education YouTube videos, authored by credible sources, are of high educational value and appropriately suited to educate the public. Credible videos about cardiovascular diseases were identified using the Mayo Clinic's Center for Social Media Health network. Content in each video was assessed by the presence/absence of 7 factors. Each video was also evaluated for understandability using the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM). User engagement measurements were obtained for each video. A total of 607 videos (35 hours) were analyzed. Half of all videos contained 3 educational factors: treatment, screening, or prevention. There was no difference between the number of educational factors present & any user engagement measurement (p NS). SAM scores were higher in videos whose content discussed more educational factors (p<0.0001). However, none of the user engagement measurements correlated with higher SAM scores. Videos with greater educational content are more suitable for patient education but unable to engage users more than lower quality videos. It is unclear if the notion “content is king� applies to medical videos authored by credible organizations for the purposes of patient education on YouTube

Employment Services Utilization and Outcomes among Substance Abusing Offenders Participating in California’s Proposition 36 Drug Treatment Initiative

California drug treatment programs may use funds to address barriers to work faced by Proposition 36 offenders, most of whom are not working at treatment entry, but employment services utilization and related behavioral outcomes have never been studied. This study examined primary data collected on 1,453 offenders by 30 programs during 2004 to explore the characteristics, employment services utilization, and outcomes of those who did and did not receive employment services while in drug treatment. One-year outcomes were mostly similar across groups, however, increases in the proportion of offenders employed, receiving income from employment and family or friends, and being paid for work were significantly greater among the received-employment-services group, and a greater proportion of this group also completed drug treatment. Employment services utilization was less likely for persons recruited from outpatient settings and more likely with greater severity of family/social problems and desire for services. Odds of employment one-year post-treatment entry were higher for those of Hispanic race/ethnicity (vs. White) and for those with treatment completion/longer retention but lower for those who were older, lived in specific counties, had greater employment problem severity at intake, and received other income-related services. Strategies for improving employment services utilization and outcomes among Proposition 36 offenders are discussed

Contextual Competence: How residents develop competent performance in new settings

Introduction Medical education continues to diversify its settings. For postgraduate trainees, moving across diverse settings, especially community-based rotations, can be challenging personally and professionally. Competent performance is embedded in context; as a result, trainees who move to new contexts are challenged to use their knowledge, skills and experience to adjust. What trainees need to adapt to and what that requires of them are poorly understood. This research takes a capability approach to understand how trainees entering a new setting develop awareness of specific contextual changes that they need to navigate and learn from.Methods We used constructivist grounded theory with in-depth interviews. A total of 29 trainees and recent graduates from three internal medicine training programmes in Canada participated. All participants had completed at least one community-based rotation geographically far from their home training site. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and anonymised. The interview framework was adjusted several times following initial data analysis.Results Contextual competence results from trainees' ability to attend to five key stages. Participants had first to meet their physiological and practical needs, followed by developing a sense of belonging and legitimacy, which paved the way for a re-constitution of competence and appropriate autonomy. Trainee's attention to these stages of adaptation was facilitated by a process of continuously moving between using their knowledge and skill foundation and recognising where and when contextual differences required new learning and adaptations.Discussion An ability to recognise contextual change and adapt accordingly is part of Nussbaum and Sen's concept of capability development. We argue this key skill has not received the attention it deserves in current training models and in the support postgraduate trainees receive in practice. Recommendations include supporting residents in their capability development by debriefing their experiences of moving between settings and supporting clinical teachers as they actively coach residents through this process