BACKGROUND Program effectiveness is influenced by the degree and quality of implementation, thus requiring careful examination of delivery processes and how the program is or is not being implemented as intended. Implementation fidelity is defined by adherence to intervention design, exposure or dose, quality of delivery, and participant responsiveness. As part of the process evaluation (PE) of...

This study was undertaken to assess the socio-economic impact of producing export oriented agricultural crops on the livelihoods of the farmers, in eastern Ethiopia. A random sample of 305 farmers was studied. Comparisons were made between producers and non-producers using the Ztest and regression analysis. It was found that producers of export oriented crops are better off than the non-produce...

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to examine the predictive relationships between employee health risk factors (HRFs) and workers' compensation (WC) claim occurrence and costs. METHODS Logistic regression and generalised linear models were used to estimate the predictive association between HRFs and claim occurrence and cost among a cohort of 16 926 employees from 314 large, medium an...

In the study of arthropods in poultry manure, the key predator of house fly larvae encountered was the beetle Carcinops pumilio Erichson (Coleoptera: Histeridae) (Achiano and Giliomee, 2003, 2005a, b, 2006a, b). It is also considered as a major predator in the suppression of synanthropic flies in poultry houses in the USA (Legner, 1971; Geden and Stoffolano, 1987) and in Britain (Bills 1973, Co...

The use of litter and manure in welfare-oriented systems for laying hens may negatively affect the air quality and the work environment. The objective of the current case study was to compare concentrations of ammonia, dust and bacteria in 3 such systems: 1) a floor housing system, 2) a multilevel system, and 3) a system with furnished cages. Data was collected from 3 houses of each type, and 1...

Dong Min Kim (Dane) Writing 340 Illumin Article June-12-2013 Abstract Building a house using 3-D printing technology is available to people in near future. Contour crafting is the method that can build a house quickly, safely, and economically. Since the robots and computers are the main part of the construction, human labor restriction that causes expensive and inefficient construction will be...

BACKGROUND In Ethiopia where tuberculosis epidemic remains high, studies that describe hotspots of the disease are unavailable. This study tried to detect the spatial distribution and clustering of smear-positive tuberculosis cases in Dabat, Ethiopia. METHODS AND FINDINGS A population-based cross sectional study conducted in the Dabat Health and Demographic Surveillance System site from Octob...

A total of 14 epidemiologic studies from four countries, involving 2,786 workers is reviewed for respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function, antibodies to swine house allergens, and exposure-response variables. Cough and phlegm were the most common symptoms (ranging from 12 to 55%). Tightness of chest and wheezing were frequently reported (12 to 33%) as well as episodes of organic dust toxic synd...

Current pig house cleaning procedures are hazardous to the health of farm workers, and yet necessary if the spread of disease between batches of animals is to be satisfactorily controlled. Autonomous cleaning using robot technology offers salient benefits. This paper addresses the feasibility of designing a vision-based system to locate dirty areas and subsequently direct a cleaning robot to re...

Since the 1960’s, attempts have been made to reduce alfalfa flower damage from Lygus bug feeding by developing resistant alfalfa varieties. Much of this work was conducted at New Mexico State University by Dr. B. A. Melton and his graduate students (Vering 1968, Knipe 1969, Arledge 1972, Auld 1973). In order to identify plants that could withstand damage from Lygus. bug feeding these workers de...