Development Of A Comprehensive Sexual Education Curriculum For A Private, Independent Day School For Students Pre-K Through 8th Grade

This paper describes the development of a comprehensive sex education (CSE) curriculum for The Country School (TCS), a coeducational, independent school in Madison, CT that serves approximately 200 students in Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade. CSE describes a wide array of sex education programs and curricula that are scientifically accurate, culturally and age-appropriate, gender-sensitive and life skills-based. The goal for this project is multi-pronged: adapt existing health education programming, build out a new health and wellness program with a distinct scope and sequence for each grade level that includes resources and supports for ongoing parent education and professional development. To inform the development of this curriculum, a literature review for best practices and exemplary domestic and global models, semi-structured interviews with experts in the field of sex education, and surveys of TCS faculty, alumni (n=7), and parents (n=59) were conducted. This data collection yielded results that showed widespread support of implementing CSE for young students, and led to the development of a recommended scope and sequence for each grade level and the compilation of resources for parents and educators, including books and publicly available lesson plans, for use at TCS

Influence of Cereal-Legume Rotation on Striga Control and Maize Grain Yield in Farmers’ Fields in the Northern Guinea Savanna of Nigeria

On-farm trials were conducted in 2001, 2002, and 2003 in the northern Guinea savanna of Nigeria to evaluate integrated Striga hermonthica control measures under farmermanaged conditions. These included intercropping a Striga-resistant maize variety with cowpea for 3 years and also cropping this maize in rotation with legume trap crops - soybean and cowpea for 1-2 two years. Intercropping Striga-tolerant maize variety, Acr. 97TZL Comp. 1-W, with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) consistently reduced Striga infestation in maize relative to continuously cropped sole maize over the threeyear period. Maize grain yield was lower in the intercrop than in the sole maize plot probably due to competition from cowpea. However, because of the high value of cowpea in the intercrop, crop value for this system was higher than sole cropped maize. Legume-maize rotation reduced Striga infestation by 35% after one year of legumes in the rotation and by 76% after two years of legumes in the rotation. Soybean was more effective in reducing Striga infestation and also gave higher maize grain yield than cowpea. The rotation of these two legumes with maize had clear advantage over continuously cropped maize. Farmers should therefore be encouraged to adopt the introduction of grain legumes into the cereal cropping systems of the Nigerian savanna

Agronomic response of drought-tolerant and Striga-resistant maize cultivars to nitrogen fertilization in the Nigerian Guinea savannahs

In additon to drought and Striga hermonthica parasitism, nitrogen deficiency is a major constraint to maize pro¬duction in the Guinea savannahs of Nigeria. The use of mineral fertilizers is limited because of unavailability and high costs. The use of maize cultivars that perform well under sub-optimal N conditons is therefore desirable. Breeders at IITA have selected maize cultivars that combine tolerance to drought and Striga hermonthica parasit¬ism. This study evaluated six of these cultivars under a range of N application rates and compared these with a widely grown variety, TZB-SR. The study was conducted in Zaria and Samaru Kataf in Kaduna State of Nigeria. Results showed N application significantly reduced days to flowering and increased yield and yield components. Cultivars selected for combined tolerance to drought and Striga recorded lower number of days to flowering under N stress and higher dry matter, higher grain yield, higher number of grains m-2 and higher 500-seed weight at all N rates. This confirms earlier reports that maize cultivars selected for tolerance to drought will perform well under N-limited conditions. Grain yield was significantly associated with dry matter, number of grains m-2 and 500-seed weight at all N levels suggesting that these agronomic traits are significant determinants of maize yield at all N rates. Two cultivars (DT STR SYN-W/IWD C3 SYN and IWD C3 SYN/DT-SYN-1-W) were particularly outstanding at all added N levels probably due to long term improvement for drought tolerance. These two cultivars can be recommended for large-scale demonstration and release to the farmers in the West African savannas

Science-based decision support for formulating crop fertilizer recommendations in sub-Saharan Africa

Open Access Article; Published online: 31 Jan 2020In sub-Saharan Africa, there is considerable spatial and temporal variability in relations between nutrient application and crop yield, due to varying inherent soil nutrients supply, soil moisture, crop management and germplasm. This variability affects fertilizer use efficiency and crop productivity. Therefore, development of decision systems that support formulation and delivery of site-specific fertilizer recommendations is important for increased crop yield and environmental protection. Nutrient Expert (NE) is a computer-based decision support system, which enables extension advisers to generate field- or area-specific fertilizer recommendations based on yield response to fertilizer and nutrient use efficiency. We calibrated NE for major maize agroecological zones in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania, with data generated from 735 on-farm nutrient omission trials conducted between 2015 and 2017. Between 2016 and 2018, 368 NE performance trials were conducted across the three countries in which recommendations generated with NE were evaluated relative to soil-test based recommendations, the current blanket fertilizer recommendations and a control with no fertilizer applied. Although maize yield response to fertilizer differed with geographic location; on average, maize yield response to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) were respectively 2.4, 1.6 and 0.2 t ha−1 in Nigeria, 2.3, 0.9 and 0.2 t ha−1 in Ethiopia, and 1.5, 0.8 and 0.2 t ha−1 in Tanzania. Secondary and micronutrients increased maize yield only in specific areas in each country. Agronomic use efficiencies of N were 18, 22 and 13 kg grain kg−1 N, on average, in Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania, respectively. In Nigeria, NE recommended lower amounts of P by 9 and 11 kg ha−1 and K by 24 and 38 kg ha−1 than soil-test based and regional fertilizer recommendations, respectively. Yet maize yield (4 t ha−1) was similar among the three methods. Agronomic use efficiencies of P and K (300 and 250 kg kg−1, respectively) were higher with NE than with the blanket recommendation (150 and 70 kg kg−1). In Ethiopia, NE and soil-test based respectively recommended lower amounts of P by 8 and 19 kg ha−1 than the blanket recommendations, but maize yield (6 t ha−1) was similar among the three methods. Overall, fertilizer recommendations generated with NE maintained high maize yield, but at a lower fertilizer input cost than conventional methods. NE was effective as a simple and cost-effective decision support tool for fine-tuning fertilizer recommendations to farm-specific conditions and offers an alternative to soil testing, which is hardly available to most smallholder farmers

Bringing the social into vaccination research: Community-led ethnography and trust-building in immunization programs in Sierra Leone

Background Vaccine hesitancy is a complex, contested social phenomenon and existing research highlights the multifaceted role of trust in strengthening vaccine confidence. However, understanding public engagement with vaccination through the lens of (mis)trust requires more contextual evidence on trust's qualitative determinants. This includes expanding the geographic focus beyond current studies' focus on High Income Countries. Furthermore, obstacles remain in effectively integrating social science findings in the design of vaccine deployment strategies, and in ensuring that those who implement interventions and are affected by them are directly involved in producing knowledge about vaccination challenges. Methods We piloted a community-led ethnographic approach, training Community Health Workers (CHWs) in Kambia District, Sierra Leone, in qualitative social science methods. Methods included participant observation, participatory power mapping and rumour tracking, focus group discussions and key stakeholder interviews. CHWs, with the support of public health officials and professional social scientists, conducted research on vaccination challenges, analysed data, tested new community engagement strategies based on their findings and elicited local perspectives on these approaches. Results Our findings on vaccine confidence in five border communities highlighted three key themes: the impact of prior experiences with the health system on (mis)trust; relevance of livelihood strategies and power dynamics for vaccine uptake and access; and the contextual nature of knowledge around vaccines. Across these themes, we show how expressions of trust centered on social proximity, reliability and respect and the role of structural issues affecting both vaccine access and confidence. The pilot also highlighted the value and practical challenges to meaningfully co-designed research. Conclusion There is scope for broader application of a community-led ethnographic approach will help redesign programming that is responsive to local knowledge and experience. Involving communities and low-cadre service providers in generating knowledge and solutions can strengthen relationships and sustain dialogue to bolster vaccine confidence

Studi In Vitro Potensi Kurkuminoid (Curcuma Domestica Vahl) dan Senyawa-senyawanya terhadap Superoksidadismutase dan pada Proses Peroksidasi Lipid Sel Monosit.

Tujuan penelitian adalah untuk mengetahui apakah masing-masing sampel ( kurkuminoid,kurkumin, desmetoksikurkumin dan bisdesmetoksikurkumin ) dengan dosis sama (3,68 ug/50ul)yang diisolasi dan dimurnikan dari rimpang kunyit (Curcuma domestica Vahl) memiliki efekterhadap aktivitas superoksidadismutase dan terhadap proses peroksidasi lipid secara in vitro.Subjek penelitian menggunakan sel monosit yang diisolasi dari darah pria dewasa normaldengan metode Boyum.Masing-masing sampel dibagi ke dalam dua grup, grup (a) dilarutkan dalam dimetilsulfoksida(DMSO), dan grup (b) dilarutkan dalam air suling. Kedua grup sampel tersebut diuji terhadapaktivitas superoksidadismutase, dilakukan dengan metode Murakami, dan juga diuji terhadapproses peroksidasi lipid sel monosit dilakukan dengan metode TBARS.Hasil penelitian dari kedua grup sampel, memiliki efek meningkatkan aktivitassuperoksidadismutase secara bermakna (p< 0,05), demikian pula dapat menghambat terhadapproses peroksidasi lipid, yang ditunjukan dengan penurunan kadar malondialdehid secarabermakna (p< 0,05).Sampel grup (a) memiliki kekuatan lebih besar terhadap peningkatan aktivitas superoksidadismutasejika dibandingkan dengan sampel grup (b), khususnya terlihat pada kurkuminoidaktivitasnya hampir menyamai α-tokoferol.Kurkumin baik dari grup (a) maupun dari grup (b) memiliki aktivitas yang lebih besar terhadappenghambatan proses peroksidasi lipid dibandingkan dengan kurkuminoid, desmetoksikurkumindan bisdesmetoksi-kurkumin. Bahkan lebih kuat dari α-tokoferol

Making GDPR Usable: A Model to Support Usability Evaluations of Privacy

We introduce a new model for evaluating privacy that builds on the criteria proposed by the EuroPriSe certification scheme by adding usability criteria. Our model is visually represented through a cube, called Usable Privacy Cube (or UP Cube), where each of its three axes of variability captures, respectively: rights of the data subjects, privacy principles, and usable privacy criteria. We slightly reorganize the criteria of EuroPriSe to fit with the UP Cube model, i.e., we show how EuroPriSe can be viewed as a combination of only rights and principles, forming the two axes at the basis of our UP Cube. In this way we also want to bring out two perspectives on privacy: that of the data subjects and, respectively, that of the controllers/processors. We define usable privacy criteria based on usability goals that we have extracted from the whole text of the General Data Protection Regulation. The criteria are designed to produce measurements of the level of usability with which the goals are reached. Precisely, we measure effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction, considering both the objective and the perceived usability outcomes, producing measures of accuracy and completeness, of resource utilization (e.g., time, effort, financial), and measures resulting from satisfaction scales. In the long run, the UP Cube is meant to be the model behind a new certification methodology capable of evaluating the usability of privacy, to the benefit of common users. For industries, considering also the usability of privacy would allow for greater business differentiation, beyond GDPR compliance.Comment: 41 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, and appendixe

La Leucémie Myéloïde Chronique Pédiatrique: Une Entité Très Rare Au Service d’Hématologie De Yopougon

Contexte: La leucémie myéloïde chronique (LMC) est un syndrome myéloprolifératif dû à une prolifération myéloïde monoclonale prédominant sur la lignée granuleuse. Son pronostic a été amélioré par l’avènement des inhibiteurs de la tyrosine kinase. Elle survient le plus souvent chez l’adulte jeune. Les auteurs rapportent un cas clinique chez un enfant de 6 ans. Présentation de cas: Il s’agissait d’un enfant de 6 ans, de sexe masculin, référé en consultation en hématologie pour splénomégalie volumineuse évoluant depuis 3 mois. L’hémogramme a montré une hyperleucocytose à 282 Giga/L avec myélémie importante et polymorphe une anémie à 66 g/l et une thrombocytose à 870G/L. L’examen cytogénétique a retrouvé le chromosome Philadelphie sans anomalie additionnelle. Le traitement par imatinib mesylate a pu être débuté. Conclusion: La leucémie myéloïde chronique est certes rare chez l’enfant mais les praticiens doivent y penser devant une hyperleucytose importante persistente. Background: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative syndrome due to monoclonal myeloid proliferation predominant over the granular line. His prognosis was improved by the advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors. It occurs most often in young adults. The authors report the clinical case of a 6-year-old child because of its rarity. Case report: This was a 6-year-old male child, referred in hematology consultation for persistent of large splenomegaly. The hemogram showed hyperleucocytosis at 282 Giga/L with large myelemia and polymorphic anemia at 66 g/l and thrombocytosis at 870 G/L. the cytogenetic analyse found the Philadelphia chromosome without additional anomaly. The treatment with imatinib mesylate has therefore begun. Conclusion: Although the CML is uncommon at young people, but practicians must think about it when we have an important hyperleucocytosis

Seed Needs Assessment in Northeastern Nigeria

Harnessing the genetic potential inherent in crops for higher yields requires the supporting role of all inputs (Manjunatha et al., 2015), of which, quality seed is the most important. In many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), a recurrent conflict has become a major factor distorting the availability of quality seeds and the seed system; this has since been the case in northeastern Nigeria. Farmers need quality seeds and planting materials of preferred crops to enable them resume agricultural activities after conflicts. Similarly, seed security is an important component of overall resilience in risk prone environments (FAO, 2016). This study was set-out to analyze existing seed systems in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe States of Northern Nigeria in order to identify practical ways of improving farmer’s access to quality seed

Studies on the background of cowpea seeds from trained community based and licensed seed producers in three states of Nigeria

Open Access Article; Published online: 30 Aug 2021The survey was carried out to compare two main sources of cowpea seed, Community Based Seed Producers (CBSP) and Licensed Seed Producers (LSP) for their source of seeds, seed production and storage systems across the three states of Benue, Kano, and Jigawa. Seed producers were interviewed during seed collection using multiple-choice questions that were divided into three main categories to enable the researcher to get information on the following parameters; background of the seed or planting material of the seed producers, seed production and Seed storage background. Questionnaires were administered to Ninety (90) respondents each from both community based seed producers (CBSP) and licensed seed producers (LSP) across the three states to give a total of 180 respondents with the help of extension agents who were trained by the researcher in order to ensure consistency in response of the questions from the respondents. Copies of the questionnaires administered to the respondents were collected immediately from respondents after completion. Data collected from seed producers interview was presented in percentages using bar charts, histogram, line graphs, pyramids and radar webs using Minitab, version 2017 statistical software. The result showed that most of the community-based seed producers adapt to the technology introduced to them by the Tropical Legume III project. Community based seed producers are comparable with the licensed seed producers in most of the seed production practices and post-harvest handling. Community based seed producers are comparable with the licensed seed producers in most of the seed production practices and post-harvest handling. Most of the community based seed producers also adapt to the technology introduced to them by the TLIII project. We therefore, concluded that community based seed producers can be used as an alternative source for seed multiplication and distribution within their environs under good training and minimum inspection as there are comparable to the licensed seed producers in most seed production and postharvest handling