Adoption of veterinary vaccines, determining factors, and barriers in Southwest Ethiopia: Implications for livestock health and disease management strategies.

In Ethiopia, the use of veterinary vaccines to control animal diseases is an effective strategy. A study conducted in Southwest Ethiopia from October 2020 to October 2021 aimed to determine the adoption level of veterinary vaccines and factors affecting their use. The study used multistage random sampling to select districts and interviewed 476 farmers who had either adopted or not adopted the vaccines. The study found that certain diseases should be prioritized for vaccination to safeguard the health of cattle, sheep, goats, and poultry. These include anthrax (19.12 %), blackleg (17.65 %), foot and mouth disease (10.50 %), and lumpy skin disease (8.82 %) in cattle, and pasteurellosis (18.07 %), contagious caprine pleuropneumonia (15.97 %), peste des petits ruminants (14.15 %), and Orf (13.45 %) in sheep and goats. Newcastle disease (21.85 %), infectious bursal disease (19.33 %), and coccidiosis (17.02 %) were identified as high-priority diseases for flock health. Overall, 30.7 % of farmers were adopters of veterinary vaccines, while 69.3 % were non-adopters. The study identified several factors that influence the likelihood of adopting veterinary vaccines, including breed type (OR = 9.1, p < 0.0001), production size (OR = 9.7, p < 0.0001), production type (OR = 2.7, p < 0.0001), and farm location (OR = 9.8, p = 0.001). Common barriers to vaccination included a lack of disease knowledge, high vaccine costs, limited vaccine availability, and administration difficulties. Insights from the study can guide strategies for promoting veterinary vaccine adoption in Ethiopia. Stakeholders should pay attention to these findings since vaccine use is crucial for controlling animal diseases, enhancing animal health, and preventing economic losses. Further research is needed to investigate factors affecting enhanced veterinary vaccine adoption.

A joint evaluation method of dynamic spectrum extraction methods for non-invasive blood component measurement based on stability coefficient, data point adoption rate, and smoothness of the spectrum.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Dynamic spectrum (DS) theory is a new non-invasive detection method of human blood components that can theoretically eliminate individual differences in static tissues and the influence of other measurement conditions to achieve blood component analysis with high precision. In order to obtain a high signal-to-noise ratio dynamic spectrum, researchers have proposed various dynamic spectrum extraction methods. METHODS: In this article, we propose three indexes: stability coefficient (SC), data point adoption rate (DAR), and smoothness of spectrum (SS). These solve the difficulty in evaluating different dynamic spectrum extraction methods without establishing mathematical models. RESULTS: In this study, DS is extracted using different dynamic spectrum extraction methods from the experimental data of 677 volunteers. Then three indexes, SC, DAR, and SS, are calculated. The trends in the scatter plot of the relationship between the three indexes and modeling results of hemoglobin, red blood cell count, and white blood cell count and the related coefficients demonstrate that SC, DAR, and SS are feasible and effective for evaluation. The results show that the root mean square extraction performs best, while the peak-to-peak value and the fast Fourier transform extraction are the worst. CONCLUSIONS: This study proposes feasible and effective indexes for evaluating dynamic spectrum extraction methods, providing a possibility for further research on high-precision dynamic spectrum extraction methods.

Challenges for rotational grazing practice: Views from non-adopters across the Great Plains, USA.

Many ranchers who practice rotational grazing have experienced economic and ecological benefits. However, the adoption rate of rotational grazing has stagnated. To identify major challenges faced by non-adopters of rotational grazing as well as factors that affect the perceptions about different challenges, we conducted a mail survey of 4250 eligible ranchers in North Dakota, South Dakota and Texas, USA. Key categories of information obtained included basic ranch information, rotational grazing adoption status, and related information. Among 875 respondents, 40.4% identified themselves as non-adopters and perceived labor and water source constraints as the two major challenges, followed by high initial investment costs. This indicates the need for technical support and educational programs to address producers' concerns in addition to the monetary support from government subsidy programs. Findings from logistic regression analyses further indicate that landowners with higher quality soil, relatively more grassland (in both acres and percentage) and more owned land, generally perceive lower barriers to choosing rotational grazing practices and, therefore, may be a suitable target group for more effective outreach efforts and public fund investments to enhance the adoption of beneficial rotational grazing practices.

Open or Closed: A Project Proposal for Investigating Two Different EHR Platform Approaches.

Technical platforms form the fundament on which IT systems and Electronic Health Records (EHRs) are implemented. The use of either open or proprietary standards and technologies for information modelling and interoperability have implications for how clinical and health data is handled and made available for the system users. In Norway, two different EHRs are procured in different health regions of the Specialist healthcare service. The two platforms are characterized as one being open platform-based and the other being closed platform-based. The study aims to identify and describe consequences and implications related to two different platform approaches for EHRs from an end-user perspective. The study will employ three methods of data capturing; scoping study, interviews, and questionnaires. Data will be systematically analyzed through proven methods. Interviews and questionnaire data will be gathered from European hospitals having implemented EHRs in recent years. Results will be compared to the Norwegian context. The technical platform used for health IT systems in general, and the EHR specifically, can have substantial consequences for clinicians and organization of work. Closed platform-based EHRs still constitutes the majority of the market, but open platform approaches are rapidly gaining popularity. An assessment of the consequences related to different platform designs can shed light on the implications the chosen technical approach will have on clinical and organizational practice.

Comparing the Trends of Electronic Health Record Adoption Among Hospitals of the United States and Japan.

The goal of this study is to examine the trends of Electronic Health Record (EHR) adoption among hospitals in Japan compared to those in the United States. Japan's nationwide survey of hospitals was utilized to extract the EHR adoption rates among Japanese hospitals. Comparable datasets from the Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) were utilized to extract EHR adoption rates among U.S. hospitals. The trends of EHR adoption were stratified and analyzed by hospital size and hospital ownership status. As of 2014, the U.S. hospitals had a wider adoption of 'basic with clinical notes' EHRs compared to Japan (45.6% vs. 27.3%), but large hospitals (400+ beds) in Japan have shown a similar adoption rate of EHR systems than those of U.S. (65.6% vs. 68.5%). Governmental hospitals tend to be more advanced in EHR adoption than non-profit hospitals in Japan (53.0% vs. 21.5%). Non-profit hospitals show the highest adoption rate of 'basic' EHR systems in the U.S. as of 2014 (63.3%). Using the 'certified' definition of EHRs, the EHR adoption rate was close to 96% among U.S. hospitals as of 2016; however, updated EHR adoption data from Japanese hospitals has yet to be collected and published. U.S. and Japan have considerably increased EHR adoption among hospitals; however, this analysis indicates different trends of EHR adoption among hospitals by size and ownership status in both countries. Learnings from government programs supporting EHR adoption in the U.S. and Japan can be helpful in planning useful strategies for future hospital-oriented health IT policies in other developed nations.

Utilizing the RE-AIM framework to understand adoption of nutrition policies at food pantries across the USA.

Emergency food networks consist of food banks, food pantries, and other feeding programs. Food pantries help supplement the diets of low-income populations through direct distribution of food. There is a gap in understanding whether food pantries are adopting nutrition policies to guide food donation and distribution. Guided by the RE-AIM framework, which has been applied to public health policies, this study aimed to determine the adoption of nutrition policies at food pantries across the USA. A secondary research question was to determine if the perceived barriers that food pantries associate with distributing healthful foods differed among pantries with a formal, informal, or no policy. A cross-sectional electronic survey was distributed to a national sample of food pantry directors (N = 5,500). The response rate for the survey was 28% (n = 1,539). Survey respondents were categorized by policy and analyses were conducted to determine differences between the three groups in characteristics and perceived barriers to distributing healthful foods. Two hundred eighty-two pantries (20.9%) were identified as having a formal nutrition policy, 677 (50.2%) were determined to have an informal policy, and 389 (28.9%) had no policy. There were significant differences between mean barrier scores and policy types for 8 of the 10 barriers. More research is needed to better understand how nutrition policies affect donations and distribution of food at food pantries. Using additional RE-AIM dimensions can allow for researchers to fully understand the role these policies have on the nutritional quality of food at food pantries.

Use of physician-recommended non-pharmacological strategies for hypertension control among hypertensive patients.

This study aims to evaluate the 4 non-pharmacological strategies adopted by patients for hypertension control and patient characteristics that affect the choice of strategies. Four thousand hypertensive patients aged ≥18 years were selected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Odds ratios of the choice of strategies were analyzed using weighted logistic models. Clinical recommendations of non-pharmacological strategies for hypertension control were relatively low. More exercise was the least frequent strategy used for hypertension control. More patients reported using ≥3 strategies than using ≤2 strategies (79.1% vs 20.9%, P < .0001). Non-Hispanic blacks were more likely to use each individual strategy and to use ≥3 strategies simultaneously. Patients with obesity and diabetes were less likely to attempt weight control or more exercise, but more likely to use ≥3 strategies than peers. Educational programs should be developed to enhance physician's advice for lifestyle modifications and to increase patient's acceptance of physical activity.

Biotech crop planting resumes high adoption in 2016.

The global area of biotech crops in 2016 increased from 179.7 million hectares to 185.1 million hectares, a 3% increase equivalent to 5.4 million hectares. Some 26 countries planted biotech crops, 19 of which were developing countries and seven were industrial. Information and data collected from various credible sources showed variations from the previous year. Fluctuations in biotech crop area (both increases and decreases) are influenced by factors including, among others, acceptance and commercialization of new products, demand for meat and livestock feeds, weather conditions, global market price, disease/pest pressure, and government's enabling policies. Countries which have increased biotech crop area in decreasing order in 2016 were Brazil, United States of America, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Bolivia, Philippines, Spain, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Colombia, Honduras, Chile, Sudan, Slovakia, and Costa Rica. Countries with decreased biotech area in decreasing order were China, India, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Mexico, Portugal, and Czech Republic, in decreasing incremental decrease in biotech area. Pakistan and Myanmar were the only countries with no change in biotech crop (cotton) planted. Information detailed in the paper including future crops and traits in each country could guide stakeholders in informed crafting of strategies and policies for increased adoption of biotech crops in the country.

Supporting the Development and Adoption of Automatic Lameness Detection Systems in Dairy Cattle: Effect of System Cost and Performance on Potential Market Shares.

Most automatic lameness detection system prototypes have not yet been commercialized, and are hence not yet adopted in practice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to simulate the effect of detection performance (percentage missed lame cows and percentage false alarms) and system cost on the potential market share of three automatic lameness detection systems relative to visual detection: a system attached to the cow, a walkover system, and a camera system. Simulations were done using a utility model derived from survey responses obtained from dairy farmers in Flanders, Belgium. Overall, systems attached to the cow had the largest market potential, but were still not competitive with visual detection. Increasing the detection performance or lowering the system cost led to higher market shares for automatic systems at the expense of visual detection. The willingness to pay for extra performance was €2.57 per % less missed lame cows, €1.65 per % less false alerts, and €12.7 for lame leg indication, respectively. The presented results could be exploited by system designers to determine the effect of adjustments to the technology on a system's potential adoption rate.

RandAgiamo™, a Pilot Project Increasing Adoptability of Shelter Dogs in the Umbria Region (Italy).

Current Italian legislation does not permit euthanasia of dogs, unless they are ill or dangerous. Despite good intentions and ethical benefits, this 'no-kill policy' has caused a progressive overpopulation of dogs in shelters, due to abandonment rates being higher than adoption rates. Shelter overcrowding has negative implications for dog welfare and increases public costs. The aim of this paper is to describe the pilot project "RandAgiamo" implemented in a rescue shelter in the Umbria Region and to evaluate its effectiveness on the rate of dog adoption using official data. RandAgiamo aimed to increase adult shelter dogs' adoptability by a standard training and socialization programme. It also promoted dogs' visibility by publicizing them through social media and participation in events. We analysed the official data of the Umbria regional health authorities regarding dog shelters of the Perugia province of the year 2014. In the RandAgiamo shelter, the dog adoption rate was 27.5% higher than that of dogs housed in other shelters located in the same geographical area (P < 0.001). The RandAgiamo project could be beneficial for the dogs' welfare, owner satisfaction, shelter management, and public perception of shelter dogs. However, staff were required to provide dog training and related activities.