Challenges and opportunities in the okra (Abelmoschus spp.) seed system in Benin

IntroductionRetail drug sellers are a major source of health care and medicines in many countries. In Tanzania, drug shops are widely used, particularly in rural and underserved areas. Previously, the shops were allowed to sell only over-the-counter medicines, but sellers who were untrained and unqualified often illegally sold prescription drugs of questionable quality.Case descriptionIn 2003, we worked with Tanzania’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to develop a public-private partnership based on a holistic approach that builds the capacity of owners, dispensers, and institutions that regulate, own, or work in retail drug shops. For shop owners and dispensers, this was achieved by combining training, business incentives, supervision, and regulatory enforcement with efforts to increase client demand for and expectations of quality products and services. The accredited drug dispensing outlet (ADDO) program’s goal is to improve access to affordable, quality medicines and pharmaceutical services in retail drug outlets in rural or peri-urban areas with few or no registered pharmacies. The case study characterizes how the ADDO program achieved that goal based on the World Health Organization’s health system strengthening building blocks: 1) service delivery, 2) health workforce, 3) health information systems, 4) access to essential medicines, 5) financing, and 6) leadership and governance.Discussion and evaluationThe ADDO program has proven to be scalable, sustainable, and transferable: Tanzania has rolled out the program nationwide; the ADDO program has been institutionalized as part of the country’s health system; shops are profitable and meeting consumer demands; and the ADDO model has been adapted and implemented in Uganda and Liberia. The critical element that was essential to the ADDO program’s success is stakeholder engagement—the successful buy-in and sustained commitment came directly from the effort, time, and resources spent to fully connect with vital stakeholders at all levels.ConclusionsBeyond improving the quality of medicines and dispensing services, availability of essential medicines, and the regulatory system, the impact of a nationwide accredited drug seller approach on the pharmaceutical sector promises to provide a model framework for private-sector pharmaceutical delivery in the developing world that is sustainable without ongoing donor support.

In Sub-Sahara Africa, adoption rates of improved crop varieties remain relatively low, which is partly due to farmers’ limited access to information. In smallholder settings, information often spreads through informal networks. Better understanding of such networks could potentially help to spur innovation and farmers’ exposure to new technologies. This study uses survey data from Tanzania to analyze social networks and their role for the spread of information about improved varieties of maize and sorghum. Regression models show that network links for the exchange of agricultural information are more likely between farmers who have similar educational but different wealth levels. Moreover, network links are more likely when farmers have direct contacts to extension officers, suggesting that information flows through informal channels can support but not replace formal channels. Social networks play a significant role for the spread of information about open-pollinated varieties. This is not the case for maize hybrids, which are sold by private seed companies.

Objectives : The scarcity of nursing workforce in rural and underserved areas are key challenges for healthcare systems across the countries. Such inequities have not only impede quality care but also an impact to population health outcomes especially in developing countries. An understanding about nurses’ retention and attrition are crucial to inform policy and decision makers for improved rural retention among nursing workforce. The aim of the study was to examine the relationship between living conditions, work environment and intent to stay in current posts of work; and the associated factors influencing intent to stay in current posts of work among nurses in rural areas of Odisha state, India.
 Methods : A cross sectional survey was conducted among 232 nurses from October 2016 to February 2017. Multistage sampling technique was used to select the study subjects from rural hospitals. Data were collected using structured self-administered questionnaires. Descriptive statistics were computed to summarize the basic characteristics of study sample. Logistic regression model was fitted and odds ratio with 95% of confidence interval was calculated to identify associated factors
 Results: The proportion of a nurse’s intent to stay and continue working in rural areas for next 3 years was 73.7%. There was a positive correlation between intention to stay with the living conditions and work environment. Logistic regression shown that age (OR=0.95, 95% CI = 0.89 - 0.98, P = 0.047), living conditions (OR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.04 - 1.22, P=0.009) and work environment (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 1.01 – 1.14, P = 0.015) were the significant predictors that are associated with intent to stay in rural areas among the nursing profession.
 Conclusion - Improving living conditions and creating a culture of supportive work environment among the nursing community in rural areas can create increased retention in the workforce.
 Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.19(3) 2020 p.527-536

Objetivo: descrever percepção da qualidade do sono de homens usuários do SUS de Bananal – São Paulo/Brasil e sua possível associação com fatores de estilo de vida e aspectos de saúde. Método: pesquisa epidemiológica observacional, seccional. Amostra composta de 370 homens, residentes em município do interior do estado de São Paulo. Foi utilizado questionário estruturado com perguntas abertas e fechadas, contendo versão reduzida do Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ-20). Para análise dos dados, foi utilizado o software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences® 21. Resultados: percepção de sono ruim foi de 30%. Após aplicação de modelo de regressão logística múltipla binária, apresentaram associação para o desfecho hobby/lazer (RP= 1,789, IC95%=1,100-2,910); consumir drogas (RP= 2,016, IC95%=1,068-3,806); TMC (RP= 2,413, IC95%=1,251-4,654); diagnóstico prévio de hipertensão (RP= 1,701, IC95%=1,029-2,810); diagnóstico prévio de diabetes (RP= 1,707, IC95%=1,007-2,893); alimentar-se pouco (RP= 1,558, IC95%=1,130-2,148). Conclusão: foram observadas vulnerabilidades como a baixa escolaridade, desemprego e renda baixa. Também foi observada pouca busca por hábitos de prevenção em saúde e autocuidado, sedentarismo, hábitos alimentares irregulares, e busca pelos serviços de saúde para urgências, fatores que diminuem a qualidade de sono. Com os resultados apresentados, é possível promover uma melhoria na qualidade do atendimento aos homens.

Multifarious factors have contributed to the development of the private health care sector in Bangladesh. Its growth has been facilitated by the inclusion of private health care development in planning policies, by symbolic encouragement by government officials, by state patronage through medical education and training, by public sector physicians being allowed to practise privately, and by the provision of grants, subsidies and funds for investment. Opportunities for its expansion have also been created by a host of problems in the public health care system, including an inability to provide services, limited resources, poor perception and poor quality of services, a lack of personnel, absenteeism, corruption, and poor planning and management. But complains are also levelled against the private sector, as it lacks necessary infrastructure, equipment and personnel, with poor service conditions, poor quality and poor standards. The government enacted an Ordinance to regulate private health care, but evidence shows that regulatory practices are ineffective as a result of problems of legislative design, information and implementation, as well as internal and external contradictions within the regulatory system. Some policy guidelines are necessary to ensure positive outputs from the private health care sector.

One such major challenge is the accessibility to quality healthcare in rural and underserved areas in India, owing to the geographical barrier, lack of infrastructure, and shortage of healthcare professionals. Telemedicine, which uses digital technologies for remote health care services, has been proposed as a potential solution to overcome these gaps. This study investigates the role of telemedicine in private hospitals in Jaipur, Rajasthan, with regard to its impact on access, affordability, and quality of healthcare, especially for the rural population. A mixed methods design was used which incorporated both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. The quantitative data were collected by using structured questionnaires based on validated instruments from previous telemedicine and healthcare access studies, which were administered to 300 patients, 30 healthcare providers, and 10 hospital administrators, who were asked about satisfaction, perceptions, and effectiveness of telemedicine. Semi-structured interviews and observational studies were used to collect qualitative data, which provided more in-depth information about experiences with telemedicine services. Descriptive statistics, t-tests, ANOVA and regression analysis, and thematic analysis were used to analyze the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The study revealed that telemedicine had a positive impact on healthcare access and patient satisfaction, especially in chronic disease management, but challenges such as digital illiteracy, Internet connectivity, and privacy concerns were also found. The paper concludes by suggesting ways in which these challenges can be overcome to further develop telemedicine services in India.

Even though Alaska is the largest state in the United States, much of the population resides in rural and underserved areas with documented disparities in respiratory health. This is especially true in the Yukon-Kuskokwim (southwest) and Ahtna (southcentral) Regions of Alaska. In working with community members, the goal of this study was to identify the air pollution issues (both indoors and outdoors) of concern within these two regions. Over a two-year period, 328 air quality surveys were disseminated within seven communities in rural Alaska. The surveys focused on understanding the demographics, home heating practices, indoor activities, community/outdoor activities, and air quality perceptions within each community. Results from these surveys showed that there is elevated potential for PM10/PM2.5 exposures in rural Alaska communities. Top indoor air quality concerns included mold, lack of ventilation or fresh air, and dust. Top outdoor air pollution concerns identified were open burning/smoke, road dust, and vehicle exhaust (e.g., snow machines, ATVs, etc.). These data can now be used to seek additional funding for interventions, implementing long-term, sustainable solutions to the identified problems. Further research is needed to assess exposures to PM10/PM2.5 and the associated impacts on respiratory health, particularly among susceptible populations such as young children.

Background and objective Medical specialists have an essential role in promotion of generic medicines. However, misconceptions and negative perceptions about generic medicines among them could be a barrier to utilization of generic medicines. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore their knowledge, perceptions and views about generic medicines. Methods A qualitative methodology was adopted in this study. A qualitative descriptive study with phenomenology overtones was the research strategy. Face-to-face semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of medical specialists until saturation of data was achieved. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed verbatim. Then, the subsequent transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. The themes were generated using both deductive (theoretical) and inductive coding. To ensure reliability of data analysis, peer review and independent analysis of the data were done. Results Five major themes were identified: (1) factors affecting specialists' prescribing practice with regard to generic medicines and original brand medicines, (2) specialists' perceptions of efficacy, safety and quality of generic medicines, (3) specialists' knowledge and confidence with Malaysian generic regulatory approval system, (4) drug information sources used by the specialists and (5) international non-proprietary name prescribing. Conclusion The study findings showed that several factors influenced prescribing decision with regard to the brands of the medicines including familiarity and experience with generic medicines, clinical condition of the patient, availability of the medicine brand in the hospital and department financial allocations. Moreover, misconceptions about quality, safety, efficacy and bioequivalence of generic medicines were prevalent among some participants. Furthermore, many participants were not familiar with the Malaysian generic medicines approval system. Therefore, medical specialists' concerns need to be addressed. Some recommendations and suggestions were made to improve generic medicines utilization in the country.

Purpose: Service quality in game lodges context elicit customers’ emotional satisfaction, which subsequently influences consumer behavior such as revisit intentions and WOM recommendations. Service quality research has paid more focus on cognitive dimensions of customer satisfaction, giving little attention on affective or customer emotional satisfaction. Hence, the main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of service quality on tourists’ emotional satisfaction residing in star rated game lodges at Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya.
 Methodology: The study adopted epistemological research philosophy guided by positivism paradigm with a quantitative and a cross sectional survey research design. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select the respondents and data was collected using structured questionnaires that were administered to 312 respondents drawn from visitors who resided in star rated game lodges at Masai Mara national reserve and its conservancies in Kenya. Data was analyzed using structural equation model that tested hypothesis and the relationship between service quality and emotional satisfaction. Data was presented in the form of tables and figures.
 Findings: The findings suggest that in the context of game lodges, service quality is important for developing customer emotional satisfaction. The study results support a positive and significant relationship between service quality and emotional satisfaction.
 Recommendations: The study contributes immensely to the theoretical background on service marketing by providing thorough examination of the service quality and its influence on emotional satisfaction. The influence of service quality on emotional or affective aspects of customer satisfaction in game lodges context allied to value- percept display theory is rare. Thus, this study broadens the domain of value- percept display theory that has received little attention. The managers in game lodges should identify and improve on the service quality dimensions that make the most significant contribution to emotional satisfaction. This is a significant input to the service marketing especially in the little researched area in service quality perceptions and emotional responses among the traditional, domestic and the emerging tourism markets in game lodges in Kenya.

The new video coding standard: High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC)/H265 developed by ISO-IEC/MPEG and ITU-T/VCEG, has a goal to improve compression performance over the current H264/MPEG-4 standard, in the range of 50% bit-rate reduction for equal perceptual video quality. However the complexity of the algorithm and data structure of H265 is much higher than H264, that means H265 based codec will require more computing resource/power than its predecessor. In this paper we investigate the HEVC codec characters, focus on CPU based software video trans-coding technologies that provides the best video quality and most flexible programming model, maximize x86 platform capabilities at one HEVC codec, to achieve real-time performance for HEVC encoding codec on x86 platform.

The awareness and perception of ascochyta blight by farmers is an important factor that affects the type of bean genotype adopted. Although farmers in Rwanda prefer large-seeded bean genotypes, both for consumption and for market, these genotypes are susceptible to ascochyta blight. It has been observed that farmers are abandoning large-seeded bean genotypes, in preference for smaller seeded genotypes, which seem to be more resistant. Therefore, the objective of this study was to assess the awareness and perceptions of bean farmers regarding the influence of ascochyta on the type of bean genotypes being grown. A participatory study was conducted in the districts of Burera and Musanze in northern Rwanda, Kamonyi in southern Rwanda and Rwamagana in eastern Rwanda, during February-November 2014. In addition, the severity and incidence of ascochyta in beans was assessed over two seasons (2014B and 2015A). The study revealed that diseases were the most important bean production constraints. Based on the visual symptoms in the bean fields visited, as a whole, and on the leaves and pods of plants sampled per field, there were more ascochyta infections during Season B than during Season A. The incidence of ascochyta was generally highest in northern Rwanda where, in villages such as Busogo and Rwerere, all the bean fields visited had ascochyta symptoms.Bean growers were able to identify bean ascochyta, but the control measures taken were insignificant, probably due to the lack of knowledge and resources. The disease was associated with excessive rainfall and many other environmental factors, as well as poor crop management practices. Varietal preferences were based on yielding ability, early maturity, marketability, diseases and drought tolerance. Other factors that were considered important, included taste, climbing growth habit, cooking time, large seed size and seed colour. Generally, large-seeded bean varieties were the most preferred in both regions. Farmers that preferred the small-seeded bean genotypes based their preferences on the ability to resist pests and diseases and on their ability to thrive under harsh environments, such as excessive rainfall, drought and mist. However, the large-seeded climbing and red mottled kidney bean genotypes, though susceptible to ascochyta, were the most popular bean varieties grown both for consumption and for sale in the northern and eastern regions, respectively. This therefore, indicated the need to develop bean genotypes that have the qualities of the large-seeded genotypes, but which are resistant or tolerant to, diseases such as ascochyta blight. Keywords: Bean, production constraints, ascochyta blight, farmers Cite this Article Clement Urinzwenimana, Rob Melis, Julia Sibiya . Participatory Evaluation of Bean Ascochyta Blight [ Phoma exigua var. diversispora (Bubak) Boerema] and Constraints of Bean Production in Rwanda . Research & Reviews: Journal of Crop Science and Technology . 2017; 6(2): 25–37p.

The study analyzed farmer’s perception on the effect of climate change on groundnut production in Obi Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. Despite the fact that efforts have been made towards combating climate change, research and policies directed towards understanding of local perception are useful in understanding the true implications of changing climate. This study was therefore conducted against this backdrop based on groundnut production in the study area. Data were collected by using structured questionnaire and administered on 100 farmers randomly selected. Results were analyzed using descriptive statistics and spearman’s correlation. About 61.0% of the farmers were female, while 34.0% of them were between 31 and above 40 years old. While 26.0% had no formal education, 74.0% had various levels of formal education. About 77.0% of the farmers had many years of farming experience ranging from less than 10 years to 20 years. Most farmers (70.0%) had farm size of less than 20.50.0% had household size of between 6-16 persons; 49.0% and 34.0% had less than ₦5,000 monthly income and less than N50,000 annual income respectively . All the farmers (100%) were aware of the effects climate change in the area. The correlation result showed a significant relationship at 0.01 between effect of climate change and groundnut production. Farmers perceived high rainfall, temperature and spread of pests and diseases among others, as the greatest adverse effects of climate change. Some of the strategies adopted to combat the adverse effects included; use of fertilizer, use of improved crop varieties and conservation of soil, among. While barriers encountered were lack of information, high cost of fertilizer, lack of government responsiveness to climate change.Keywords: Farmers Perception, Effect, Climate Change, Groundnut Production

The introduction of innovations makes it possible to ensure a stable economic situation for the business entity – both at the level of the national financial sector and in the international financial services market. The spread of financial technologies in the world continues to evolve through the emergence of new products and services. Despite different approaches to the development of enterprises and organizations in the financial sector, the common features remain the desire for innovation, ensuring the security of the financial system and protecting consumers. The contemporary tendency towards the introduction of flexible models of response to changes in the economic environment is one of the major strategies for creating favorable conditions for the development of innovative technologies in the financial sector. The aim of the publication consists in a theoretical generalization of the international experience in the implementation of financial innovations and to develop recommendations for its implementation in domestic practice. Financial innovation technologies are an important component of the development of the national economy of Ukraine. Our country has significant potential for the development of financial technologies, but its regulatory framework still needs significant changes to create a favorable environment for innovation. Unlike the UK or the EU, where regulations are aimed at accelerating the introduction of financial technologies, in Ukraine this process is just beginning. The article analyzes the international experience in the introduction of innovative technologies in the financial sector. The experience of fintech innovations in the USA, Great Britain, China, Singapore, South Korea is considered, the features of implementation and the possibility of their adaptation to activities of the business entities in Ukraine are determined. The existing regulatory obstacles to the possibilities of generation of fintech startups in Ukraine are identified. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), which is the key regulator of the national financial sector, is gradually introducing new rules and conditions for the development of financial technologies. However, at present, the limited legal framework for cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies and other innovative solutions remains a problem, which hinders the development of such instruments. An analysis of the experience of implementing innovative technologies in the leading countries of the world proves that Ukraine already has a fairly flexible regulatory system, which creates potential advantages for the generation of financial startups, but at the same time there are certain risks of an imperfect regulatory system.

How many pediatricians? pitfalls in analysis and possible approaches

The article examines the impact of internationalization on students’ perceptions of educational quality and the usefulness of acquired knowledge for their professional careers in English-taught business programs at selected public universities in Poland. The empirical study involved over 130 bachelor’s and master’s students, who completed structured questionnaires supplemented by an analysis of institutional materials and program documentation. Results indicate a high level of internationalization in program content, effectively integrating global perspectives and international materials. Students emphasized the importance of English for developing professional competencies and highlighted the value of internships, particularly those in international environments. The presence of international students, academic exchanges, and culturally diverse student groups further enhances intercultural skills development. Programme boards, including academic staff, students, and business partners, play a crucial role in sustaining and advancing internationalization. The findings point to the need for further research on the effects of different forms of internationalization on educational quality and graduates’ career trajectories.