Low-cost soil conservation technique for controlling gully erosion in the semi-arid area of the Free State province

In South Africa, soil erosion is a major problem confronting natural resources. Gully erosion has a huge negative impact on soil productivity and potable water supplies, while measures to control it are expensive. Sannaspos farm which has been threatened by gully erosion was selected as a demonstration site for controlling gully erosion using low-cost control measures. The main aim of this study was to control gully erosion resulting in improved rangeland production. The technique entailed the use of old tyres and bags filled with soil. Three reference points were selected along a 240 m gully in August 2016 and monitored over 42 months. After 17 months (January 2018), gully depth decreased from 70 to 34 cm, 45 to 20 cm and 35 to 19 cm at the three reference points. After 24 months (August 2018) gully depth further decreased from 34 to 27 cm, 20 to 14 cm, and 19 to 10 cm for the three points. Thirty months after installing control measures (February 2019), the gully was sealed at all reference points. By February 2020 (42 months after initiation of the trial), the entire gully was sealed and covered with various vegetation types. Use of this low-cost method to control gully erosion is recommended under similar conditions.

Health information technology interventions and engagement in HIV care and achievement of viral suppression in publicly funded settings in the US: A cost-effectiveness analysis

Background The US National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) emphasizes the use of technology to facilitate coordination of comprehensive care for people with HIV. We examined cost-effectiveness from the health system perspective of 6 health information technology (HIT) interventions implemented during 2008 to 2012 in a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Special Projects of National Significance (SPNS) Program demonstration project. Methods/findings HIT interventions were implemented at 6 sites: Bronx, New York; Durham, North Carolina; Long Beach, California; New Orleans, Louisiana; New York, New York (2 sites); and Paterson, New Jersey. These interventions included: (1) use of HIV surveillance data to identify out-of-care individuals; (2) extension of access to electronic health records (EHRs) to support service providers; (3) use of electronic laboratory ordering and prescribing; and (4) development of a patient portal. We employed standard microcosting techniques to estimate costs (in 2018 US dollars) associated with intervention implementation. Data from a sample of electronic patient records from each demonstration site were analyzed to compare prescription of antiretroviral therapy (ART), CD4 cell counts, and suppression of viral load, before and after implementation of interventions. Markov models were used to estimate additional healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years saved as a result of each intervention. Overall, demonstration site interventions cost $3,913,313 (range = $287,682 to $998,201) among 3,110 individuals (range = 258 to 1,181) over 3 years. Changes in the proportion of patients prescribed ART ranged from a decrease from 87.0% to 72.7% at Site 4 to an increase from 74.6% to 94.2% at Site 6; changes in the proportion of patients with 0 to 200 CD4 cells/mm3 ranged from a decrease from 20.2% to 11.0% in Site 6 to an increase from 16.7% to 30.2% in Site 2; and changes in the proportion of patients with undetectable viral load ranged from a decrease from 84.6% to 46.0% in Site 1 to an increase from 67.0% to 69.9% in Site 5. Four of the 6 interventions—including use of HIV surveillance data to identify out-of-care individuals, use of electronic laboratory ordering and prescribing, and development of a patient portal—were not only cost-effective but also cost saving ($6.87 to $14.91 saved per dollar invested). In contrast, the 2 interventions that extended access to EHRs to support service providers were not effective and, therefore, not cost-effective. Most interventions remained either cost-saving or not cost-effective under all sensitivity analysis scenarios. The intervention that used HIV surveillance data to identify out-of-care individuals was no longer cost-saving when the effect of HIV on an individual’s health status was reduced and when the natural progression of HIV was increased. The results of this study are limited in that we did not have contemporaneous controls for each intervention; thus, we are only able to assess sites against themselves at baseline and not against standard of care during the same time period. Conclusions These results provide additional support for the use of HIT as a tool to enhance rapid and effective treatment of HIV to achieve sustained viral suppression. HIT has the potential to increase utilization of services, improve health outcomes, and reduce subsequent transmission of HIV.

From Drive-By-Wire to Autonomous Vehicle: Urban Freight Vehicle Perspectives

Freight Urban RoBOTic vehicle (FURBOT) is a complete drive-by-wire vehicle expected to perform autonomously in an urban setting. This upgrading has raised issues that need to be resolved/addressed for the vehicle to achieve a higher level of autonomy. This research addresses two of these main issues. The First is the legal framework/licensing issue necessary to be addressed for the vehicle to be insured and legally drive on public roads. The second is the changes and upgrading the vehicle must go through to become a complete autonomous freight handling vehicle. The outcome of this research led to the decision for correct categorization of the vehicle for resolving its licensing issue and its legal status on the European roads by understanding the limitations of the vehicle, which includes vehicle current state and its structural properties. An additional contribution of this research is identifying the software and hardware changes the vehicle has to go through to be fully autonomous. This includes identification of correct sensors and their placement and quantities. In addition, in-depth study for software identification for the vehicle is provided resulting in favorable choice for an off-the-shelf software. Additionally, foreseeable issues, expectations from the vehicle and requirements (considering its demonstration as an autonomous vehicle) that need to be fulfilled are also highlighted. For demonstration site, use cases and site dynamics are also studied for achieving autonomy. Fulfillment of these requirements is necessary for the vehicle to demonstrate autonomous navigation and freight handling for SHOW (SHared automation Operating models for Worldwide adoption) H2020 project for delivering freight in an urban setting.

Lessons from a community based interdisciplinary learning exposure: benefits for both students and communities in Uganda

Background Makerere University implemented a One Health Institute (OHI) in 2016 involving undergraduate students selected from different disciplines. The students were first taken through theoretical principles of One Health followed by a field attachment in communities. The field attachment aimed to expose students to experiential educational opportunities in the communities in a One Health approach. In this paper, we present students’ experiences and their contributions to the communities of attachment. Methods This was a cross-sectional study, utilizing qualitative data collection methods. The study involved students who participated in the OHI field attachment and community members in a One Health demonstration site-Western Uganda. Four focus group discussions (FGDs) and four in-depths interviews (IDIs) were conducted among the students, while four FGDs and twelve IDIs were conducted among community members. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed manually. Results The four themes that emerged are: students’ understanding and appreciation of One Health concept, their experiences and gains from the multi-disciplinary field attachment, students’ contributions to the community, and challenges faced by the students. Students had good knowledge of One Health. They appreciated that health cannot be achieved by one discipline or sector and thus the need to collaborate across sectors. Regarding experiences and gains during the multi-disciplinary field attachment, the students appreciated that each discipline had a role to play in achieving health in the community. They appreciated the training citing skills gained in communication, team work and collaboration. They also reported a feeling of gratitude and accomplishment because they felt they made a positive change to the community by putting in place interventions to address some of the community challenges. Similarly, the communities appreciated the students’ contribution in solving their health challenges, ranging from conducting health education to improving sanitation and hygiene. Conclusions Through the OHI, students gained One Health competencies including communication, teamwork, and collaboration. Adopting an interdisciplinary model in university teaching system especially during field placement would strengthen skills of collaboration, team work and communication which are critical for a multi-disciplinary approach which is needed among the future workforce in order to solve the current health challenges.

Seasonality and frequency of snake and goanna incursions on an Australian agricultural institute and the attitudes of staff regarding coexistence

A number of snakes and goannas persist in areas frequented by humans, such as the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute in New South Wales, Australia. This institute is used as both an office location and an agricultural demonstration site, which inevitably results in snakes and goannas coming close to institute buildings, prompting concerns for human safety. Reports of snakes and goannas within 100m of institute buildings were collected over a three-year period; an analysis of those data identified a seasonal pattern of incursions by three species between September and March. A short verbal survey revealed that more staff had encountered goannas than snakes. Most were cautious to curious when snakes and goannas were reported, whereas only a minority admitted to being fearful when snakes were reported.

Geochemical Modelling of the Evolution of Caprock Sealing Capacity at the Shenhua CCS Demonstration Project

CO2 geological storage is considered as an important measure to reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions to the atmosphere for addressing climate change. The key prerequisite for long-term CO2 geological storage is the sealing capacity of caprock. This study investigates the evolution of sealing capacity of caprock induced by geochemical reactions among CO2, water and caprock using TOUGHREACT code based on the Heshanggou Formation mudstone at the Shenhua Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) demonstration site of China. The results show that the self-sealing phenomenon occurs in the lower part of the caprock dominated by the precipitation of dawsonite, magnesite, siderite, Ca-smectite and illite. While the self-dissolution occurs in the upper part of caprock mainly due to the dissolution of kaolinite, K-feldspar, chlorite and Ca-smectite. Sensitivity analyses indicate that the precipitation of dawsonite, magnesite, siderite is highly advantageous leading to self-sealing of caprock, with albite and chlorite dissolution providing Na+, Mg2+ and Fe2+. The dissolution of K-feldspar dominates illite precipitation by providing required K+, and albite affects Ca-smectite precipitation. The self-sealing and self-dissolution of caprock are enhanced significantly with increasing temperature, while the effect of salinity on caprock sealing capacity is negligible perhaps due to the low salinity level of formation water.

10 Behavior and Landscape-Use Pattern of Small Ruminants Co-grazed in Woodlands with different Vegetation Characteristics

Woodland is the major landcover in Alabama (69%) and other states of the Southeast (≈60%). The understory vegetation present in woodlands can be a great feed resource for small ruminants when woodland grazing is practiced well, for which the understanding of animals’ landscape-use pattern is important. The study objective was to determine the diurnal behavior and landscape-use pattern of Kiko wethers and Katahdin rams co-stocked in woodlands. Eight Kiko wethers (77±2.5 kg. LW) and five Katahdin rams (92±4.6 kg. LW) were co-stocked rotationally in three woodland plots (0.4-ha. each) during May–August 2019 in Atkins Agroforestry Research and Demonstration site, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama. Each study plot contained four treatments, where the average canopy height were 0.82 m, 1.34 m, 1.67 m and 1.73 m. The diurnal behavior (grazing, browsing, loafing, lying) and landscape-use pattern of animals were monitored from dawn to dusk when they were in each study plot at each rotation. Diurnal period was categorized into morning (dawn–11:00 am), midday (11:00 am–3:00 pm), and post-midday (3:00 pm–dusk) for the analysis and diurnal behavior and distribution pattern of animals were analyzed in SAS 9.4, GLM procedure with MANOVA option. Animal species differed in their feeding behavior (P < 0.0001), with wethers mostly browsing and rams grazing. Significant interaction effects of animal species and diurnal period occurred on all behavior categories, except loafing and lying (P < 0.0001). Wethers spent less time grazing (84–88%), but more time browsing (90%) during morning and post-midday vs. rams. Animals were actively feeding when the weather was nice and cool, and resting when it was hot. Feeding behavior was dominant during the post-midday period (3 PM–dusk) and lying during midday (11 AM–3 PM). The specific behavior and landscape-use pattern observed in this study can be useful to design and utilize woodland resources more efficiently.

Effect of Different Rates of N and Intrarow Spacing on Growth Performance of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in Gurage Zone, Wolkite University, Ethiopia

A field experiment was conducted in Wolkite University, Horticulture department practical demonstration site, from February to June 2019 with the objective of determining the optimum level of N and intrarow spacing for better growth of lettuce. The experiment consisted of four levels of N (N0 (0 kg/ha), N1 (50 kg/ha), N2 (100 kg/ha), and N3 (150 kg/ha)) and three levels of intrarow spacing (S1 (15 × 30 cm), S2 (20 × 30 cm), and S3 (25 × 30 cm)). The interrow spacing was maintained as 30 cm. The experiment was laid out in 3 × 4 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) and replicated three times. The main effect of nitrogen resulted maximum yield (9.45 ton/ha), dry weight per plant (28.75 g), and fresh weight per plant (57.57 g) which were recorded by the application of 150 kg/ha nitrogen. Likewise, the main effect of intrarow spacing gave maximum yield (8.01 ton/ha), dry weight per plant (21.31 g), and fresh weight per plant (59.15 g) from 25 × 30 cm plant spacing. For interaction effect, the highest yield (10.38 ton/ha), dry weight per plant (50.96 g), and fresh weight per plant (77.88 g) was found from N3S3 (150 kg/ha N and 25 × 30 cm plant spacing). Therefore, in the study, area using 150 kg/ha urea with 25 × 30 cm plant spacing could be advisable for optimum lettuce production.