Poultry Litter Affects Forage Dry Matter Yield and Total N and P Uptake

Forage crops play an important role in removing P and N from poultry litter-amended soils there byminimizing environmental pollution A three year study was conducted at Crossville AL to compare dry matter yield and total P and N removal efficiencies by forage crops from a poultry litter-amended soil Forage crops including alfalfa Medicago sativa L rye Secalecereale L corn Zea mays L sorghum-sudangrass Sorghum bicolor L cv Unigraze II tall fescue Festucaarundinacea L cv KY31 and Russell bermudagrass Cynodondactylon L were investigated The soil type at the site was a Hartsells fine sandy loam fine-loamy siliceous thermic TypicHapludults The highest dry matter yield in 2001 was observed with sorghum-sudangrass and in 2002 and 2003 it was observed with Russell bermudagrass respectively In 2001 the lowest dry matter yield was observed with alfalfa in 2002 it was observed with corn and in 2003 it was observed with sorghum-sudangrass alfalfa and Russell bermudagrass respectively Sorghum-sudangrass showed the highest N uptake in 2001 alfalfa and Russell bermudagrass showed the highest N uptake in 2002 and 2003 respectively Tall fescue showed the highest P uptake in the three-year study Russell bermudagrass appears to be the most effective forage crop for removal of N and tall fescue for the removal of P from soils amended with poultry litte

Male partners' involvement in prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission in sub-Saharan Africa : a systematic review

In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), male partners are rarely present during prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services. This systematic review aims to synthesize, from a male perspective, male partners' perceived roles, barriers and enablers of their involvement in PMTCT, and highlights persisting gaps. We carried out a systematic search of papers published between 2002 and 2013 in English on Google Scholar and PubMed using the following terms: men, male partners, husbands, couples, involvement, participation, Antenatal Care (ANC), PMTCT, SSA countries, HIV Voluntary Counseling and Testing and disclosure. A total of 28 qualitative and quantitative original studies from 10 SSA countries were included. Men's perceived role was addressed in 28% (8/28) of the studies. Their role to provide money for ANC/PMTCT fees was stated in 62.5% (5/8) of the studies. For other men, the financial responsibilities seemed to be used as an excuse for not participating. Barriers were cited in 85.7% (24/28) of the studies and included socioeconomic factors, gender role, cultural beliefs, male unfriendly ANC/PMTCT services and providers' abusive attitudes toward men. About 64% (18/28) of the studies reported enablers such as: older age, higher education, being employed, trustful monogamous marriages and providers' politeness. In conclusion, comprehensive PMTCT policies that are socially and culturally sensitive to both women and men need to be developed

Violence against health care workers in the workplace in Mozambique – An unrecognised managerial priority

Funding Information: We acknowledge support of the Niassa Provincial Health Directorate (provided administrative authorization and support for the research to be carried out). We are also thankful to all study participants for their time and effort by taking part in the study. Professor Inês Fronteira advised on the statistical analysis. The Research Center on Global Health and Tropical Medicine (GHTM) receives support from the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (grant GHTM UID/04413/2020). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.Introduction: Recognition of the relevance of violence against health workers in their work place has been growing around the world. In Mozambique, workplace violence in the health sector needs better documentation. Therefore, this article is part of a study that describes the typology and the perceived impact of violence against health care workers in their workplace at the Lichinga Provincial Hospital and at the Health Centre of the City of Lichinga in 2019. Method: This was an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. The study was carried out in a simple random sample of health workers victims of violence at the Provincial Hospital and the Health Centre of the City of Lichinga, in the Province of Niassa in northern Mozambique. The questionnaire applied was adapted from the original developed by the International Labour Organization, the International Council of Nurse, the World Health Organization and Public Services International and applied in Maputo, Mozambique during 2002. Statistical analysis was carried out with Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 20.0 and WinPepi 11.65. Results: Two hundred and 60 healthcare workers (HCW) were selected to participate, 180 agreed, 145 had inclusion criteria and five gave up participating in the study during the consent procedure. Thus, a total of 140 HCW answered the questionnaire. Predominant types of violence were: verbal threat/aggression 34% (n = 62/180); moral pressure/bullying/mobbing 30% (n = 54/180); ethnic discrimination 9% (n = 16/180); against personal property 6% (n = 10/180); physical 4% (n = 8/180); sexual harassment 4% (n = 8/180). One hundred and 37 victims reported 154 episodes of violence, where 7% (n = 13/180) reported more than one type of violence. Most victims reported no reaction (55%, n = 76/137) and few said that they confronted the offender (16%, n = 22/137, particularly victims of sexual harassment, 38%, n = 3/8). Most HCW reported non-existence (39%, n = 54/137) or unawareness (32%, n = 44/137) of procedures to report violence within the Institution. Most (80%, n = 33/41) of those knowing about the procedures, knew how to use them. More than half (55%; n = 76/137) of HCW said that they were discouraged to report acts of violence. Conclusions: Like for previous studies in Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa, the study confirms: a relatively high prevalence, a reluctance to talk about the issue and unawareness about procedures on how to report incidents. The findings reconfirm the necessity for the development and implementation of procedures to address violence incidents towards HCW, to develop support services for victims of health workplace violence. Like elsewhere in Africa, successive health workforce plans in Mozambique have failed to address this issue.publishersversionpublishe

Between tradition and transition: An Islamic Seminary, or Dar al-Uloom in modern Britain

Based on detailed ethnographic fieldwork, this article provides an insider account of life inside a British Dar al-Uloom, or a traditional Islamic religious seminary, for the first time. Given that Dar al Ulooms play an important role in the British Muslim landscape in providing training for religious leadership, the article argues that, far from the Dar al-Uloom tradition being static, it is undergoing continuous adaptation and change. After mapping the historical and geographical lineage of the modern Dar al-Uloom, the article explores its pedagogy. The postural tradition and adab (broadly translated as comportment or code of behavior) embody the notion of humility, as the classroom has become the locale for balancing a curriculum with depth and coverage, especially given the challenges young Muslims in Britain are facing. The current students of the Dar al-Uloom will become imams and faith leaders primarily responsible for addressing the changing needs of young Muslims. What has emerged is a traditional Dar al-Uloom that is in a dialogical relationship both with the modern world outside of it and within it. There is the need to embody a ‘tarbiyyatic pedagogy’ that is one that emphasises the student-teacher relationship where the student is transformed in the process of learning while interpreting Islam through the lens of the Deobandi universe. Ultimately, it will be the younger generation of teachers who determine the particular trajectory of the Dar al-Uloom

Shedding light on the modalities of authority in a Dar al-Uloom, or religious seminary, in Britain

‘God is the Light of the heavens and the eart' (Quran, 24:35.) This article sheds light on the modalities of authority that exist in a traditional religious seminary or Dar al-Uloom (hereon abbreviated to DU) in modern Britain. Based on unprecedented insider access and detailed ethnography, the paper considers how two groups of teachers, the senior and the younger generation, acquire and shine their authoritative light in unique ways. The article asserts that within the senior teachers an elect group of ‘luminaries’ exemplify a deep level of learning combined with practice and embodiment, while the remaining teachers are granted authority by virtue of the Prophetic light, or Hadith, they radiate. The younger generation of British-born teachers, however, are the torchbearers at the leading edge of directing the DU. While it may take time for them to acquire the social and symbolic capital of the senior teachers, operationally, they are the ones illuminating the way forward. The paper discusses the implications of the changing nature of authority within the DU is likely to have for Muslims in Britain

Is workplace violence against health care workers in Mozambique gender related?

Funding Information: We acknowledge support of the Niassa Provincial Health Directorate (provided administrative authorisation and support for the research to be carried out). We are also thankful to all study participants for their time and effort by taking part in the study. Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for funds to research centre GHTM UID/04413/2020. Funding Information: We acknowledge support of the Niassa Provincial Health Directorate (provided administrative authorisation and support for the research to be carried out). We are also thankful to all study participants for their time and effort by taking part in the study. Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia for funds to research centre GHTM UID/04413/2020. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Authors. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.This report revisits data used to describe the typology and the perceived impact of violence against health care workers (VHCW) at the health services of the City of Lichinga in Mozambique, based on an observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study, carried out from March to May 2019. In this report we attempt to understand if our reanalysis of VHCW in Niassa can explain it as an example of gender-based violence. Our findings—particularly that women more than men reported not knowing if the health services had any policies or procedures to deal with VHCW, felt that they were not encouraged to report acts of VHCW and were more frequently threatened/violented by different sex aggressors—although not conclusive, support the need to consider gender as a dimension when conducting research on VHCW. If we do not do so, gender will continue to be an invisible and ignored dimension of intervention strategies to prevent and address VHCW.publishersversionpublishe

Farmers Awareness and Adaptation to Climate Change in Kaffrine Region of Senegal

Climate change is a global critical issue that threatens the livelihood of most farmers, particularly in the developing countries. This study investigates farmers’ awareness and adaptation to climate change in Kaffrine Region of Senegal. The study involved a cross-sectional survey of 204 farmer household heads, selected from nine communities through a multi-stage sampling technique. Additional data was collected from 9 focus group discussions and 8 key informant interviews. The results of the study reveal that 64.7% of the respondents were aware of climatic change with an average awareness index of 0.5903 (59%). This indicates that farmers in the study area are fairly aware of the changing climate. Also, a large number of surveyed farmers representing (90%) responded to the changing climate by employing one or more adaptation strategies such as growing early maturing varieties, crop diversifications, using different planting dates, using chemical fertilizers, practicing crop rotation among others. The study suggests that the government of Senegal should develop more effective climatic change adaptation strategies as well as improve dissemination of information to farmers through extension officers in order to increase adoption of effective climatic change adaptation strategies. It would be crucial that farmers collaborate to form farmer organization to enable them have easy access to farm inputs and training on climate change in order to reduce their vulnerability and increase their resilience to the changing climate. Keywords: Senegal, Climate Change, Climate Change Awareness Index, Adaptatio

Consensus on context-specific strategies for reducing the stigma of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome in Zambe´ zia Province, Mozambique

Stigma has been implicated in poor outcomes of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) care. Reducing stigma is important for HIV prevention and long-term treatment success. Although stigma reduction interventions are conducted in Mozambique, little is known about the current nature of stigma and the efficacy and effectiveness of stigma reduction initiatives. We describe action research to generate consensus on critical characteristics of HIV stigma and anti-stigma interventions in Zambe´zia Province, Mozambique. Qualitative data gathering methods, including indepth key-informant interviews, community interviews and consensus group sessions, were utilized. Delphi methods and the strategic options development analysis technique were used to synthesize qualitative data. Key findings are that stigma enacted by the general public might be declining in tandem with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Mozambique, but there is likely excessive residual fear of HIV disease and  community attitudes that sustain high levels of perceived stigma. HIV-positive women accessing maternal and child health services appear to shoulder a disproportionate burden of stigma. Unintentional biases among healthcare providers are currently the critical frontier of stigmatization, but there are few interventions designed to address them. Culturally sensitive psychotherapies are needed to address psychological distress associated with internalized stigma and these interventions should complement current supports for voluntary counseling and testing. While advantageous for defining stakeholder priorities for stigma reduction efforts, confirmatory quantitative studies of these consensus positions are needed before the launch of specific interventions.Keywords: stigma reduction, consensus, HIV/AIDS, Mozambiqu

exploring knowledge, risk perception, and sexual behaviors

High circular mobility creates vulnerability and elevates risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). We aim to explore knowledge, perceptions of risk, and sexual behaviors in relation to STIs/HIV, in Mozambican women involved in an informal cross border trade (ICBT) and residing in South Mozambique. A cross-sectional quantitative study, in 200 women cross border traders (WICBT), affiliated to the Mukhero Association, using a structured, face-to-face questionnaire, was conducted. Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s Chi-square test were used. The median age of participants was 37.0 years (interquartile range (IQR): 31.0–43.0), 100% were literate, travelled on average six times a month. WICBT with a high education level were more likely to have awareness of Gonorrhea, Syphilis, and Candidiasis; to self-perceive being at risk of getting HIV, Syphilis, and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV); and to test for HIV and Syphilis. Those with a low education level were more likely to have misconceptions about HIV and ever have sex in exchange for money/goods/services. Married participants were more likely to know how to prevent HIV. Participants with a high income were more likely to know about HPV; to self-perceive being at risk of getting Syphilis; to point sex workers as being at higher risk of getting HPV; and to ever test for HIV. WICBT with a low income were more likely to have sex in exchange for money/goods/services. Low and inconsistent knowledge and misconceptions of STIs/HIV, high sexual risky behavior, low perception of risk of getting STIs/HIV among this neglected and key population suggests their increased vulnerability to the STIs/HIV.publishersversionpublishe