Half Years Research Articles

Entrustable Professional Activities in endocrine surgery: A national pilot study

IntroductionThe American Association of Endocrine Surgeons drafted Entrustable Professional Activities for Comprehensive Endocrine Surgery to assess trainees in core topics. MethodsFourteen Entrustable Professional Activities were defined. There were 10 “core” Entrustable Professional Activities, with 6 having 3 phases (pre-, intra-, and postoperative) and 4 having a single phase. There were also 4 elective Entrustable Professional Activities, all of which had 3 phases. Beginning in July 2022, 10 institutions collected 3-item microassessments of trainee performance in Entrustable Professional Activities using a web-based platform. Entrustment was measured on a 5-point scale. ResultsA total of 698 microassessments were submitted between July 2022 and September 2023, with a wide range between programs (3–449, median: 24). Four-hundred ninety-two microassessments were completed for endocrine surgery fellows, 6 for chief residents, 6 for postgraduate year 4 students, 166 for postgraduate year 3 students, and 28 for postgraduate year 2 students. Entrustment scores for fellows improved in the second half of the academic year, with 38.2% of microassessments with highest (4/5) entrustment scores in the first 6 months of the academic year and 80.1% with highest scores in the second half of the year (P < .001). Intraoperative entrustment scores were lowest in the adrenal category, with only 13 of 117 (11.1%) of microassessments with highest entrustment compared with 85 with 230 (37.0%) in the thyroid category, and 65 of 165 (39.4%) in the parathyroid category (P < .001). Trainees were more likely to achieve highest entrustment in the first 6 months for preoperative (36/70, 28.5%) and postoperative (15/28, 53.5%) phases of care, compared with the intraoperative phase of care (79/334, 23.6%) (P < .001). ConclusionEntrustment scores improved in the second half of the academic year, and trainees were likely to achieve entrustment earlier in nonoperative phases of care.

Dairy Farmers’ Perception on Dairy Cattle Feeds and Feeding System: Brewery By-product Utilization Practice at Kombolcha Regiopolitan City, Ethiopia

A survey was conducted in three selected kebeles of Kombolcha Regiopolitan City in South Wollo Zone. The selected kebeles were in proximity to brewery factory, Ethiopia. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect perception data from purposively selected three kebeles and a total of 57 randomly selected dairy farmers. Data collected were analyzed with a statistical package for social sciences (Version 20) and Microsoft Excel (2010). Smallholder dairy farmers had average herd size of 10.7 and 0.08 hectare total dairy farm per household. Average daily milk yield and lactation length of dairy cows was 10.8 liter/day and 9.5 months, respectively. The majority of farmers (59.6%) reared dairy cows with 50-75% exotic blood. The most smallholder dairy farmers satisfied their feed demand from the market and had a trend of providing both dense and poor quality affordable feed ingredients. Smallholder dairy farmers gave priority to feed different kind of cattle in the order of lactating cows, calve, pregnant, heifers and dry cows and used (100%) wet brewery spent grain as a source of dairy feed. Though, there was a brewery by-product supply deficit for half of year. The majority smallholder dairy farmers delivered brewery by-product directly from the brewery factories and followed by wholesalers and retailers. The majority of smallholder dairy farmers (96.4%) stated that the brewery spent grain was fed and stored freshly using different conservation techniques, and the remaining stored in ensiled (1.8%) and dried (1.8%) forms. Smallholder dairy farmers had no brewery spent grain ensiling practice and feeding brewery yeast to dairy animals. Smallholder dairy farmers indicated that high price due to abnormal market chain and shortage of brewery spent grain supply were the major challenges to sustain dairy industry in the study area, and the majority (40.6%) claimed to get swift solutions at high cost and less accessible brewery by-product.

The relative age effect and its influence on athletic performance in Chinese junior female' tennis players.

The relative age effect (RAE) has been the focus of numerous studies; however, there are still fewer studies in women's sports than in men's sports. In this study, all female players (N = 2,255) who participated in Chinese junior tennis competitions (U12, U14, U16, and the National Junior Team) from 2014 to 2019 were investigated in terms of competitors' birth dates and year-end rankings. For the purposes of the analysis, the birth dates were also separated into quarters and half years. The study's objectives were to analyze the prevalence of the RAE among young Chinese female tennis players and to further examine how the RAE affects athletic performance. Differences between the observed and expected distributions of birth dates were tested using the chi-square statistic, and subsequent calculations were tested using odds ratios. The RAE was discovered to be present in every group of Chinese junior female tennis players (p < 0.001), with the proportions of those born in the first half of the year being 56.4% (U12), 53.1% (U14), and 57.0% (U16), respectively. The RAE for athletes selected for the National Women's Junior Tennis Team was even more significant, with the percentage of birth dates in the first half of the year at 61.2%. Finally, we observed a tendency for the effect of the RAE on the athletic performance of adolescent female tennis players to diminish with age.

(152) Efficiency Improvement Veno-Occlusive Surgeries for Treatment of Venous Leak with Autologous Stem Cell, VEGF and PRP

Abstract Introduction The venous leakage is one of the most often reason of erectile dysfunction (ED) in young and middle age men. The main reason of venous leakage or veno-occlusive Erectile Dysfunction (VOED) is the insufficiency venous obstruction under tunica albuginea of corpora cavernosa. Accordingly all types of veno-occlusive operations have particular and short term effect up to renovation of venous leakage in half year. Conservative treatment of VOED with PDE-5 has a low or mild effectiveness. Evermore young patients deny penile prosthesis implantation for psychological reason. Objective We want to stimulate growth of endothelial valves under tunica albuginea with injections autological mesenchymal stem cells (ASC) and autological VEGF (Vascular endothelial growth factor) and combine it with veno-occlusive surgeries. Methods 2012–2022 we treated 178 patients with VOED. The average patient age is 36.5 +4.1 years. Patients with prostatitis or depression/anxiety were excluded from the investigation or treated previously. We embolizated deep dorsal and Santorini plexus veins for patients with distal form of VOED–47 patients -Group 1. We ligated deep dorsal and penile veins for proximal form of VOED – 68 patients – Group 2. And we made both methods together for 65 patients –Group 3 with combination of proximal and distal leak. Patients with only surgical methods created subgroup A – 105 men. For improving of veno-occlusive mechanism for 73 patients (subgroup B) we injected to each corpus cavernosa 1 mln of autological stem cells 6 times (2 times before, during surgery and 3 times after surgery) each month and we performed 15 microinjections of VEGF each 10 days. Then we compared short (2 months) and long term (10 months) results. Results The efficacy of surgical treatment according to subjective data (questionnaires on IIEF-5) in 2 months was almost equal (16.7+3.1 and 16.9+3.0), but in 10 months significantly higher in SubGroup B(14.3+3.2 and 19.6+3.4). According to Doppler Penile Ultrasound in 10 months adding microinjections ASC and VEGF to surgery significantly improves Erectile function (absence of venous leakage) 56.4% - subgroup A and 87.4% - subgroup B. Only 6.8% patients subgroup B (opposite to 35.9% subgroup A) have to take PDE-5 inhibitors for maintain erectile function. Conclusions Half year injections of ASC and VEGF improve of veno-occlusive mechanism and increases effectiveness and long term result of veno-occlusive operations for treatment of VOED. Combine occlusive method (embolisation and ligation of veins) has the highest effectiveness and should be used in different types of leakage. Disclosure No.

Scattering Polarimetry in the Hard X-ray Range

In one and a half years, the Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer has demonstrated the role and the potentiality of Polarimetry in X-ray Astronomy. The next steps include extension to higher energies. There is margin for an extension of the photoelectric approach up to 20–25 keV, but above that energy the only technique is Compton Scattering. Grazing incidence optics can focus photons up to 80 keV, not excluding a marginal extension to 150–200 keV. Given the physical constraints involved, the passage from photoelectric to scattering approach can make less effective the use of optics because of the high background. I discuss the choices in terms of detector design to mitigate the problem and the guidelines for future technological developments.

Reducing maternal mortality in low- and middle-income countries: the Nepalese approach of helicopter retrieval

Ninety-four percent of global maternal deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The UN has a goal of reducing maternal deaths to <70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, but progress is minimal. Maternal deaths in LMICs are associated with 3 delays in the care of women with obstetrical emergencies: 1) in the family of the woman realizing that her life is at risk, 2) in the transport of the woman to a hospital, and 3) in providing care after arrival at the hospital. These 3 delays function like links in a chain, and failure of any link leads to maternal death. LMICs have characteristics that make it likely that the chain will break. Women in LMICs frequently have low standing, and cultural beliefs often lead to delay in the recognition of obstetrical emergencies. LMICs are characterized by poor roads and long distances to hospitals leading to transport delays. Cultural and other factors also lead to treatment delays when a woman reaches a suitably-equipped and staffed hospital. Nepal has addressed these delays and reduced maternal mortality. Firstly, we have reported in the Journal the use of culturally acceptable approaches to improving the knowledge about antenatal care in remote villages. In the case of Nepal, singing songs related to maternal care proved to be a highly effective strategy. We now report that the government of Nepal has repurposed military helicopters to overcome the tyranny of poor roads to allow rapid transport of women with obstetrical emergencies to a small number of fully-equipped and staffed hospitals. As of June 2023, this service has successfully retrieved 625 women in four and half years. The Nepalese government has included questions on maternal mortality in the 2021 national census, followed by a verbal autopsy. These data indicate a fall in the maternal mortality ratio from 239 in 2016 to 151 in 2021. The efficiency of the triage service continues to improve, suggesting that maternal mortality will continue to fall. This may provide a model that can be implemented in other LMICs and highlights factors that may be responsible for recent increases in the US maternal mortality ratio.

The Effect Of “Sovereign Europe” Strategy on The Economic and Trade Relation Between China And EU

China and the EU are powerful international actors that play an essential role in the current international society. Economic and trade cooperation between China and the EU is a significant aspect of China-EU cooperation. However, China-EU relations have been facing several challenges since 2019. The concept of ‘sovereign Europe’ was implemented in 2020, in which the EU aims to gain ‘autonomy’ and ‘independence’. By using secondary data on China’s total trade value between 2019 and 2023, it is found that the total trade value between China and the EU shows an increasing trend before the end of 2021, apart from a decrease in the first half year of 2020, and starts to decrease since 2022. These trends are shown in several European countries, including France, Germany, and Spain. However, European countries such as Sweden and Estonia show a different trend. These trends show that the efforts to establish a ‘sovereign Europe’ did not cause the decline of China-EU economic cooperation until 2022 due to interdependence and the EU’s need to cooperate with China in combating the US’s influences in defense and finance. However, after 2022, the Russia-Ukraine conflict increases the EU’s concerns about geopolitical tension and, thus, views China more as a ‘threat’. As a result, the decline of the China-EU economic relation is likely due to the combined effect of building a ‘sovereign Europe’ and the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Population survey of Holothuria (Halodeima) grisea (Aspidochirotida: Holothuriidae) at its limit of geographic distribution in the Western South Atlantic

Introduction: The sea cucumber Holothuria (Halodeima) grisea Selenka, 1867 is a common echinoderm in intertidal regions along the Brazilian coast, which recently became the focus of unreported and unregulated fisheries. This study was carried out in sandy-rocky substrates at Armação do Itapocoroy, Penha, Santa Catarina (26o47’ S; 48o36’ W), near its southern limit of geographic distribution.&#x0D; Objective: To determine the densities (individuals*m-2) of Holothuria (H.) grisea within a spatial-temporal perspective as well as to determine biometric and growth characteristics of the population.&#x0D; Methods: Two-meter wide transects perpendicular to the coastline were carried out in winter and spring 2019 and in summer and spring 2020, in periods of spring low-tides. In each sampling occasion the total number of specimens of H. grisea were determined, and a group of 90 organisms was submitted to in situ biometrics (weight, length and width), and immediately returned alive to their habitat.&#x0D; Results: The densities of H. (H.) grisea were significantly higher in the subtidal sector and lower in the upper intertidal sector with no indication of significant differences among sampling campaigns. Depth was the primary factor explaining the observed density patterns and rugosity of the substrate was secondary but also important. The body length ranged from 5.2 to 22.5 cm, whereas the weight varied from 6.0 to 230 g. The mean and modal lengths were 12.54 and 13 cm, respectively. Approximately 75 % of the population sampled was between 10 and 14 cm and the average weight was 60 g. Estimates from von Bertalanffy growth function indicate that the youngest sea cucumber was one year-old, and the oldest had approximately two and a half years.&#x0D; Conclusions: This is the first study to determine biometric parameters for H. (H.) grisea in southern Brazil and the first one to estimate growth and age estimates for a wild population of this species. The densities recorded in the present study were lower than those previously reported for this region, suggesting anthropic influence.

A linked index for an oral Tamil folk epic: a case study

Some projects have a life of their own, and in this case study Ronnie Seagren presents the experience of a straightforward book indexing project that grew into its own saga, including editing and work with a hybrid publisher. She was asked to index an important medieval Tamil epic story that was both obscure and out of print. This republishing journey took two and a half years. The index had to meet the needs of several very different audiences: Tamil scholars, students comparing epic stories, and a general public just wanting to learn something about South Asian folk culture. Indexing a work of fiction poses specific indexing dilemmas. Working with a small hybrid publisher, where the author bore all of the costs of publishing, posed many more. The project was very specific, but it has implications for indexing both fiction and self-published books.

Buccal swabs for long-term DNA storage in conservation genetics of fish: One-and-a-half-year analysis timeframe

Conservation genetic research is essential for the management and recovery of endangered taxa. However, the invasive collection of biological material for DNA analysis is controversial. From an ethical perspective, non-destructive sampling methods leave the aquatic specimen alive and less invasive procedures minimize stress on the animals. DNA can be obtained from fish using minimally invasive techniques such as buccal swabs. Here we evaluated the performance of buccal swabs for long-term storage of DNA obtained from brown trout (Salmo trutta). The buccal swabs were stored at room temperature and cut into pieces, one part of which was used for extraction of an aliquot and the others were stored as a “biobank” of biological material. The elapsed time from sampling to molecular analysis was one and half year. The amplification of three different DNA targets was tested to assess the effectiveness of the extraction: mitochondrial DNA (the D-LOOP region), nuclear DNA (the LDH gene) and microsatellite DNA at multiple loci. The results showed high quantification (mean value: 281.84±72.4 ng/µL), indicating that DNA could be effectively extracted from the buccal swabs. Our study results suggest that buccal swabs for long-term storage of DNA at room temperature are promising for use in field conservation studies.

Optimal duration of breastfeeding

Introduction. The question of the optimal timing of cessation of lactation from the perspective of maternal-child relationships remains controversial.Aim. Тo determine the optimal timing for stopping breastfeeding based on data on the formation of the child’s personal characteristics and the relationship with the mother.Materials and methods. The results of a prospective study of mother-child relationships during the period of cessation of breastfeeding are presented. The age of the child was assessed at the termination of breastfeeding, the difficulties experienced by the mother and the child at its termination (affective attachment, characteristics of the child’s behavior). Observation was carried out in the classroom in the group of short-term stay in preschool conditions 1–2 times a week for at least 1.5 hours. 108 mother-child pairs were under observation. Depending on the duration of breastfeeding, couples were divided into two groups. The first group – 64 children who are breastfed for no more than 18 months, the second group – 44 children who are breastfed for more than 18 months. Statistical processing of the obtained data was carried out using the Excel program using Student’s t-test and Pearson’s χ2 method. Differences were considered statistically significant at p &lt; 0.05.Results and discussion. Since the conditions of the children’s polyclinic do not allow for monitoring the child and his mother, the study was carried out in a group of short-term stay in a preschool educational institution, which is quite typical for the modern urban maternal population. The work was carried out jointly with teachers and psychologists who developed criteria for assessing mother-child relations and the child’s behavioral characteristics. In the group of children who were breastfed after 18 months, affective attachment to the mother, use of the breast to soothe them in the absence of breast milk, anxiety when falling asleep, were 2 times more common than in children who were breastfed for less than 18 months. The data obtained indicate the need to inform nursing mothers about the mental characteristics of a child’s development in certain age periods, a decrease in lactation after a year, and its frequent termination by 18 months.Conclusions. Based on the data obtained, it can be considered appropriate the optimal duration of breastfeeding up to one and a half years.

A cloud-based data processing and visualization pipeline for the fibre roll-out in Germany

To support the roll-out of fibre broadband Internet in Germany, Deutsche Telekom has set itself the goal of connecting more than 2.5 million households per year to FTTH (Fibre to the Home). However, planning and approval processes have been very complex and time-consuming in the past due to high communication overhead between stakeholders, missing automation, and lack of information about planning areas. Telekom addresses this problem by collecting large amounts of geospatial data (3D point clouds and 360°panorama images), which can be used to automatically find suitable routes for fibre optic lines, to determine possible locations for distribution cabinets, as well as to build a 3D visualization helping to create detailed plans and to present them to decision makers. This speeds up planning tremendously, but processing this data and creating the visualization in a short time requires automation. In this systems paper, we present a data processing platform that we have built and operated together with Telekom over the course of the last six and a half years. The platform makes use of the cloud to manage Big Data in a scalable and elastic manner. It builds upon research results from us, specifically a scientific workflow management system to automate processing, as well as Fibre3D, a web-based tool that planners can use to display the processed data and to perform fine-planning. Besides the technological aspects, this paper also describes a practical use case that shows how the platform and Fibre3D help Telekom speed up the planning and approval process. We also summarize lessons learned and give recommendations for the design of systems similar to ours. With the presented technology, Telekom has been able to already connect more than 8 million households to FTTH and expects to even improve on this in the future. We consider our collaboration, therefore, an example of how well knowledge and technology transfer between research and industry can work, and, at the same time, what impact it can have on society.

Age difference of patients with and without invasive aspergillosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Invasive Aspergillosis (IA) is a life-threatening fungal disease with significant mortality rates. Timely diagnosis and treatment greatly enhance patient outcomes. This study aimed to explore the association between patient age and the development of IA, as well as the potential implications for risk stratification strategies. We searched National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases for publications until October 2023 containing age characteristics of patients with and without IA. A random-effects model with the application of inverse-variance weighting was used to pool reported estimates from each study, and meta-regression and subgroup analyses were utilized to assess sources of heterogeneity. A systematic review was conducted, resulting in the inclusion of 55 retrospective observational studies with a total of 13,983 patients. Meta-analysis revealed that, on average, patients with IA were approximately two and a half years older (95% Confidence Interval [CI] 1.84-3.31 years; I2 = 26.1%) than those without the disease (p < 0.0001). No significant moderators could explain the observed heterogeneity in age difference. However, subgroup analysis revealed that age differences were more pronounced within particular patient groups compared to others. For example, patients with and without IA who had primary severe lung infections exhibited a greater difference in mean age than other patient cohorts. Further research, such as individual patient data meta-analysis, is necessary to better understand the potential relationship between increasing age and the likelihood of IA. Improved risk stratification strategies based on patient age could potentially enhance the early detection and treatment of IA, ultimately improving patient outcomes.

Long-term recovery dynamics determined by the degree of the disturbance – Ten years tracking of aquatic macroinvertebrate recolonisation after an industrial disaster (Red Sludge Disaster, Hungary)

A ten-year-long examination of macroinvertebrate community recovery was conducted following a catastrophic spill of highly alkaline red sludge (pH >13) into lowland streams. Our primary objective was to compare recovery patterns after coarse- and fine-grain disturbances, focusing on two aspects: i) trend analysis to reveal long-term changes of six community parameters, and ii) variation analyses to assess parameter changes over time. We conducted statistical analysis on long-term data series of macroinvertebrates obtained from quantitative samples collected at four sections with varying degrees of disturbance along the impacted stream sections.We developed a comprehensive theoretical framework comprising a series of sequential phases: Ramp-up, Overshoot, and Oscillation Phases.i) A trend analysis revealed that disturbances show a gradual recovery pattern, while variance analyses showed an asymptotic convergence to an equilibrium.ii) Evaluating these trends across phases unveiled that the initial recovery phase exhibited a steep trajectory, lasting 4–9 months, irrespective of disturbance severity. Coarse-grain disturbances induced a remarkable Overshoot phenomenon across all community metrics. The more severe the disturbance, the greater the height and duration of the Overshoot. Our results suggest that the presence or absence of Overshoot can serve as an indicator for coarse-grain disturbances in the context of large and infrequent disturbances (LID). The entire recovery process lasts for 2.5–3 years irrespective of the severity of the LID.In conclusion, a minimum survey duration of two and half years is deemed imperative to capture the phases of recovery, and changes associated with LID are not expected to extend beyond the three-year threshold. The theoretical framework, including Overshoot parameters, may assist future studies in comparing recovery patterns of different LID types. Furthermore, our theoretical framework is likely to be applicable to other groups of organisms given a sufficiently long monitoring of recovery, influenced also by the length of reproductive cycles.

السلطان ألب أرسلان (455ه/1063م _465ه/1072م) ومهارته في القضاء على المشكلات الداخلية

السلطان ألب ارسلان هو ثاني السلاطين السلاجقة الكبار الذي دام حكمه بحدود تسع سنوات ونصف الذي امتد من سنة (455ه/1063م) حتى سنة (465ه/1072م) التي تقع ضمن مدة بداية الدولة السلجوقية واستقرارها. وصف هذا السلطان بأنه كان طموحاً، وذا ميول عسكرية متميزة، فأمضى كل مدة حكمه في الحروب والتوسع، سواء أكان في تثبيت حكمه ضد التحديات الداخلية التي واجهته من البيت السلجوقي أم من التحديات والتمردات الخارجية الأخرى. وبرزت جهوده الداخلية لتثبيت الحكم وابرز التحديات الداخلية التي واجهته والتي منها تحديات الأسرة السلجوقية وكيف تغلب عليها؟

Connectedness between sustainable exchanged‐traded funds in the presence of the Ukrainian war: Does political risk matter?

AbstractThis paper analyses the connectivity between geopolitical risk (GPR) and several segments of exchanged‐traded funds, aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in order to understand the implications of risk associated with wars, political tensions and terrorist acts in the dynamics generated by this type of asset. We studied the behaviour of assets representative of 6 SDGs and 2 GPR indices, over a period of approximately 14 and a half years, characterized by several market phases, with special emphasis on the pandemic crisis and the war in Ukraine. Resorting to dynamic analysis, based on several multivariate models, it was possible to identify spillover effects in phases corresponding to turbulence in financial markets, in particular in the downward movements of prices of sustainable assets, generated from the geopolitical threat index. The results obtained are relevant for understanding the effect of GPR on sustainable investment, being of interest to various market actors.

A comparative study of central corneal thickness in patients with diabetes and without diabetes mellitus

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is becoming increasingly and seriously prevalent lifestyle health problem worldwide. Up to 70% of diabetic patients can develop corneal changes and are also difficult to manage. Several studies were done to find out the morphological changes in cornea in type 2 DM, but the results are highly variable. Central corneal thickness (CCT) is widely considered as a constant parameter, so are measured only once during follow up in our daily clinical practice. Here we study the effect of diabetes over CCT, for a better understanding of the impact of diabetes over CCT.A comparative observational study of one and half years done among 106 diabetes and 106 non diabetic patients between 35 to 75 years old, attending ophthalmology OPD. CCT of both eyes was measured and mean CCT and was compared between diabetic and non-diabetic groups, among different subgroups of diabetic subjects and other parameters.CCT was thicker among diabetic groups (553.4434um) than non-diabetic groups (549.8491) but was not statistically significant according to our study. But there was statistically significant (p value 0.000165) thickening with increasing grades of diabetic retinopathy (DR) (mild DR (535.4524), moderate DR (543) and PDR (591.5)). Our study concludes that DM is associated with thicker cornea; hence CCT values can vary with time in DM. So repeated CCT measurements for corrected IOP values is advised and warranted in DM patients for proper management of IOP.

Doing/Undoing Stigma: The Moral Enterprise of Territorial Stigma

In this article I focus on stigma, and more specifically on territorial stigma in a Dutch suburb built in the 1970s. This publication is based on ethnographic fieldwork that lasted two and half years and which took place at the end of the 1980s. The data is reanalyzed in the light of recent developments in studies on stigma and territorial stigma, specifically how this is countered. I will use the conceptual pair—doing stigma and undoing stigma—to unpack stigma as a complex and dynamic process in which a diverse range of actors, such as inhabitants, civil servants and youth, are involved. The aim of this article is twofold: to describe and analyze the social construction of territorial stigma (doing stigma) of the neighborhood over a period of ten years and whether and how this stigma is countered (undoing stigma). This article highlights the agency of those targeted by stigma by paying attention to local narratives and using a multi-perspective ethnographic lens. The narratives show that stigma did not gain a master status because (1) the stigma producers were marginal in the social world of the targeted inhabitants and (2) it did not align with structural stigma (as in e.g., housing, health care, income, and education).

Analyses of Climate Variability and Trends in the Oil Palm Belt of Ghana

The current production of oil palm in Africa has been severely limited by long periods of drought and perennial floods due to the increased rates of climate change. The study was aimed at assessing the climatic variability trends in 7 major Oil Palm growing areas (Benso, Mpohor, Bogoso, Twifo Praso, Kade, Juabeng and Brewaniese) located in the oil palm belt in Ghana spanning the semideciduous and the wet evergreen rainforest zones of Ghana using 30 years of historical weather data (1993-2022). The data was analysed to evaluate the extent of seasonal changes in weather over the 30-year period using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 20.0 version), using descriptive statistics and time series analysis. Trend analysis was conducted using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall (MK) and Sen’s slope estimator tests. A seasonal trend in rainfall was observed at all sites with maximum levels observed between May and July as well as a minor rainy season in September to Mid-November. The Mann-Kendall trend analysis showed a generally increasing trend at most stations in rainfall, temperature and solar radiation. A generally increasing trend in annual rainfall was observed from 1993-2022 with significant trends at Mpohor and Juabeng. The trend was higher in the moist evergreen rainforest zone than in the semi-deciduous rainforest zone. An average increase of 6.7 mm/yr in rainfall trend was observed for the period. An increasing trend in monthly maximum, minimum and mean temperatures were also observed. Significant increases in mean temperatures were observed at Bogoso (0.022°C/yr), Benso (0.018°C/yr), Juabeng (0.011°C/yr) and Mpohor (0.017°C/yr). The trend in mean annual solar radiation was generally not significant except in Benso where the mean solar radiation increased at the rate of 0.044 MJ/day. Higher drought levels in the first half year combined with very heavy rains later in the year are features of the ongoing climate change menace.

Conservative management of a fracture of the greater trochanter of the femur in an adult horse

SummaryAn 8‐year‐old Warmblood cross mare was presented for further investigation of an acute‐onset lameness of the right hindlimb. Three weeks prior to presentation, the horse was found markedly lame at walk following a fall during exercise. The horse was initially managed with field rest, but the lameness persisted. A marked right hindlimb lameness at trot graded 5/10 was confirmed. Atrophy of the right gluteal musculature was evident, and palpation over the region of the right coxofemoral joint provoked a pain reaction. Nuclear scintigraphy revealed a diffuse area of increased radiopharmaceutical uptake in the right femoral head, neck and greater trochanter. Radiographs identified a complete, slightly displaced fracture of the base of the greater trochanter of the right femur. Ultrasound examination of the proximal femur demonstrated an irregularity of the caudolateral bone surface of the greater trochanter, extending along its attachment to the femur; this was consistent with the radiological findings. On re‐examination, after 9 months of stable rest, the horse was found to be sound when trotted in a straight line on the hard surface. Follow‐up two and a half years after the initial incident reported the horse to be nonlame and at its previous level of work.