Trader Behaviour and Performance in Live Animal Marketing in Rural Ethiopian Markets

In this paper, performance of a sample of 131 livestock traders in 38 rural Ethiopian highland markets was analysed in terms of their costs and margins, how these were influenced by their assets and trading practices, and the implications of the findings for policy were outlined. The paper is divided into three main sections: description of the profiles of traders, their assets, trading behaviour and practices; estimates of costs and margins for a set of recent transactions; and econometric analysis of the factors explaining differences in performance with a particular focus on transaction costs. Most traders used own capital as access to credit, especially formal credit, was limited. The livestock market was characterised by non-standardised products and lack of information in the public domain about supply, demand and prices. Consequently, livestock trading was largely a personalised business though brokers and regular buyers and sellers, a form of social capital, were sometimes used for gathering information, searching buyers/sellers, price negotiation, contract enforcement. Business relationships with these intermediaries were principally based on trust, without strong ethnic, religious or family ties. Although most transactions were conducted in physical presence of parties, contract violations were common, which were settled mainly through informal means as formal legal systems were either absent or time consuming. Estimated costs and margins of case transactions showed low returns, and losses in some cases. Market levies, transport, travel, and feeds were major items of variable cost, with some variation between cattle and shoats. Multiple regression analysis showed that traders' financial and human capital and trading practices like use of brokers and regular suppliers and customers had varying effects on margins and costs of cattle and shoat trade. Unstable price, multiple taxes, non-transparent tax system, limited access to credit and weak demand for the quality of the products traded were perceived by traders as major problems of marketing. All the problems were amenable to public policy for improving the market environment and marketing efficiency.Livestock Production/Industries, Marketing, D4, L1, O1, Q13,

Postprandial glucose response to mango, banana and sapota

Objective: Mango and Sapota are two fruits indigenous to Indian subcontinent. The objective of this study was to evaluate postprandial blood glucose response to mango and sapota in comparison to banana in patients with diabetes mellitus Type 2.METHOD: The plasma glucose response to mango, sapota and banana were determined in ten diabetic patients. Blood was tested at 0, 30, 60, 120 and 180 minutes following the ingestion of test meal.Results: The results showed that the blood glucose response to these three fruits was not different in terms of area under the curve and postprandial change in blood glucose from baseline.CONCLUSION: We conclude that glucose response to mango and sapota (fruits indigenous to Indian subcontinent) is no different from banana

Oxfendazole Resistance in Gastrointestinal Nematodes of Beetal Goats at Livestock Farms of Punjab (Pakistan)

This study was carried out to screen goat farms for anthelmintic resistance (AR) against oxfendazole (OXF) and to determine contributory factors for its development. For this purpose, Beetal goat farms (n = 18) were randomly selected, with natural mixed gastrointestinal nematodosis infection. In vivo (faecal egg count reduction test) and in vitro (egg hatch assay) tests were used to ascertain the presence of AR while a scorecard was used to determine the role of possible contributory factors for oxfendazole resistance. For in vivo test, the experimental animals were divided into two groups of 10 animals each; one group received OXF treatment, while the other served as control. Pre- and post-treatment coproculture was performed to identify the species and genera of nematodes. Egg hatch assay (EHA) was used to confirm the results of FECRT. Fecal egg count reduction test (FECRT) revealed the development of resistance on six farms and post-treatment larval cultures indicated Haemonchus contortus, Trichostrongylus colubriformis, Cooperia curticei, Teladorsagia circumcincta and Oesophagostomum spp. as dominant species with resistance. Furthermore, EHA confirmed the results of FECRT. Among the presumptive factors for AR, the highest composite score was for rotation of anthelmintics followed by treatment frequency, dose rate and nature of medication. The scorecard for the development of AR, used in this study, may be helpful for the assessment of contributory factors of AR

Standard of knowledge about their disease among patients with diabetes in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the standard of knowledge among people with diabetes.METHOD: Two hundred and thirty patients were randomly chosen from outpatient clinics and a 34-item multiple choice questionnaire administered to them. The questionnaire was structured to assess knowledge about the disease state, diagnostic tests, complications and management.Results: The average score of correct answers for the group was 40%. A significantly higher score correlated with younger age (16-30 years), educational status and regular follow-up with a diabetic clinic. There was no significant difference in the knowledge score between males and females or between those on oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) and insulin. Fifty percent of the patients could correctly answers questions regarding food and nutrition and only 60% were aware of target blood glucose levels for optimal control. It was alarming to learn that 75% of those on insulin did not know that using U-40 or U-100 insulin does not change the dose required.CONCLUSION: The study emphasizes the need for diabetes education at all levels, both for the patients as well as the health care providers to counter the pandemic of diabetes-related complications globally

Supervised training of practical procedures in the internal medicine residency

In order to get feedback whether the medical residents are getting adequate supervised training to perform practical procedures, a questionnaire was distributed among the residents asking their involvement in sixteen frequently performed procedures in the medical unit of the Aga Khan University Medical Centre. Though the residents were satisfied about their training in doing lumbar punctures, pleural and peritoneal aspirations, bone marrow aspiration and trephine and chest tubes placement, they showed their concern about training in putting central lines, venous cut downs, cardiac pacing and biopsies. A better schedule training programme, organized subspecialty rotation, continuous evaluation of resident\u27s skill, credentialing procedures and willingness on the part of faculty to teach and residents to learn may improve the training

Redesigning the 'choice architecture' of hospital prescription charts: a mixed methods study incorporating in situ simulation testing.

Objectives: To incorporate behavioural insights into the user-centred design of an inpatient prescription chart (Imperial Drug Chart Evaluation and Adoption Study, IDEAS chart) and to determine whether changes in the content and design of prescription charts could influence prescribing behaviour and reduce prescribing errors. Design: A mixed-methods approach was taken in the development phase of the project; in situ simulation was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the newly developed IDEAS prescription chart. Setting: A London teaching hospital. Interventions/methods: A multimodal approach comprising (1) an exploratory phase consisting of chart reviews, focus groups and user insight gathering (2) the iterative design of the IDEAS prescription chart and finally (3) testing of final chart with prescribers using in situ simulation. Results: Substantial variation was seen between existing inpatient prescription charts used across 15 different UK hospitals. Review of 40 completed prescription charts from one hospital demonstrated a number of frequent prescribing errors including illegibility, and difficulty in identifying prescribers. Insights from focus groups and direct observations were translated into the design of IDEAS chart. In situ simulation testing revealed significant improvements in prescribing on the IDEAS chart compared with the prescription chart currently in use in the study hospital. Medication orders on the IDEAS chart were significantly more likely to include correct dose entries (164/164 vs 166/174; p=0.0046) as well as prescriber's printed name (163/164 vs 0/174; p<0.0001) and contact number (137/164 vs 55/174; p<0.0001). Antiinfective indication (28/28 vs 17/29; p<0.0001) and duration (26/28 vs 15/29; p<0.0001) were more likely to be completed using the IDEAS chart. Conclusions: In a simulated context, the IDEAS prescription chart significantly reduced a number of common prescribing errors including dosing errors and illegibility. Positive behavioural change was seen without prior education or support, suggesting that some common prescription writing errors are potentially rectifiable simply through changes in the content and design of prescription charts

Rancang Bangun Alat Pengaduk Kerupuk Adonan Tipe Horizontal

Dalam proses produksi kerupuk ikan, tahapan pengadukan adonan kerupuk merupakan kegiatan paling membutuhkan daya besar, sehingga banyak produsen atau pengusaha kerupuk melakukan pengadukan dengan menginjak-injak adonan dengan kaki supaya cepat kalis. Cara pengadukan seperti ini tentu berpengaruh pada kehigienisan kerupuk dan apabila dilihat konsumen, akan menurunkan selera dan minat beli. Rancang bangun alat pengaduk adonan kerupuk pada penelitian ini menitikberatkan pada disain yang cocok untuk USAha skala kecil dan menengah yang mudah dalam penggunaan dan perawatan serta murah dalam biaya pengoperasian. Untuk itu penulis melakukan rancang bangun alat pengaduk adonan kerupuk tipe horizontal yang mempermudah pengeluaran adonan setelah kalis dengan kapasitas produksi rata-rata 13,5 kg/jam. Dari hasil analisa kelayakan ekonomi didapatkan biaya tetap Rp.2.179.302,9/tahun, biaya tidak tetap Rp.13.026,9786/jam, biaya pokok pengoperasian mesin Rp.101,50/kg dan break event point 5.368,5kg/tahun

Validation of fibre stress utilization model for modified ring spun yarns

To model the fibre stress utilization in modified ring spun yarns, we developed an analytical formula from the experimental data. The development of empirical formulae is carried out by using two different techniques, i.e., Cubic Spline and Artificial Neural Network methods. The experimental data of stress-strain curves of fibre and yarn has a large variation. To cope this variability, we used the smoothing spline technique to find the best-fit curve with respect to a reasonable smoothness. The best nonlinear smooth fitting can be used to extrapolate the experimental data beyond the breaking point. The modified ring spun yarns (compact, SIRO and SIRO-compact) with 20/1, 30/1 and 40/1 English count, produced from viscose staple fibre, were used to predict fibre stress utilization up to the yarn break by extrapolating the mean stress-strain curves of fibre and yarn by using the artificial neural network. Moreover, a new distribution function of fibre distribution in yarn has been proposed and successfully implemented for the prediction of fibre stress utilization in yarn. The new formulation helps to compute the fibre stress utilization in the yarn analytically. The validation of the proposed methodology is presented by comparing the numerical results with the experimental data. The predicted fibre stress utilization was in good agreement with the experimental fibre stress utilization for all types of modified ring spun yarns. It has been observed that SIRO-compact yarn exhibits improved fibre stress utilization as compared to SIRO and compact yarns. Moreover, the new distribution functions Gamma and Gaussian distribution were introduced in parallel with the Dirac delta function. In previous similar studies on ring, rotor and air-jet spun yarns, the proposed model can only predict the fibre stress utilization before the breakage point whereas the modified model, in this study, can predict the fibre stress utilization up to the breaking point

Study of the Relation between the Spiral Arm Pitch Angle and the Kinetic Energy of Random Motions of the Host Spiral Galaxies, A

In this work, we report a relation between the kinetic energy of random motions of the corresponding host galaxies and spiral arm pitch angles (Mdynσ2- P), (M*σ2- P) where Mdyn is the bulge dynamical mass, M* is bulge stellar mass, and σ is the velocity dispersion of the host galaxy bulge. We measured the spiral arm pitch angle (P) for a sample of Spitzer/IRAC 3.6-μm images of 54 spiral galaxies, estimated by using a 2D Fast Fourier Transform decomposition technique (2DFFT). We selected a sample of nearly face-on spiral galaxies and used IRAF ellipse to determine the ellipticity and major-axis position angle in order to deproject the images to face-on, and using a 2D Fast Fourier Transform decomposition technique, we determined the spiral arm pitch angles. We estimated the kinetic energy of random motions of the corresponding host galaxies (Mdynσ, M*σ2) by using Mdyn, M*, and σ, where the stellar velocity dispersion (σ) of the bulge was taken from the literature. We determined the bulge dynamical mass (Mdyn) using the virial theorem, and the bulge stellar mass (M*) was estimated by using the bulge 3.6-μm luminosity with the appropriate stellar mass-to-light ratio (M/L)