Enhancing Livelihood Security in Arid Land through Use of Bio-pesticides in Cumin(Cuminum cyminum L.)

Being very susceptible crop to diseases, organic cultivation of cumin is a challenge. With the use of Neem cake as soil treatment and Aspergillus Versicolor for seed treatment, the disease incidence minimised that resulted in good yield. Both the treatment found economic and helped in livelihood sustainability of the farmers of arid zone

Adoption of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) production technology in arid zone of Rajasthan

A study was conducted in four districts of Rajasthan, namely, Jodhpur, Pali, Bikaner and Jaisalmer, to determine the extent of adoption of various technologies in cumin (Cuminum cyminum) by farmers in the arid zone of the state. The study revealed that a majority (62.5%) of the farmers had adopted various production technologies to a medium level. Out of 16 variables, 5 variables, namely, education, occupation, irrigation facilities, sources of information and knowledge were positively and significantly correlated with overall adoption whereas, age and farming experience were negatively and significantly correlated with overall adoption of production technologies. The 16 independent variables taken together explained 59.9% of the variation in adoption of cumin production technology. &nbsp

Factors influencing technological gaps in adoption of mustard (Brassica juncea L.) production technology in arid zone of Rajasthan

A study was conducted in four districts of Rajasthan namely, Jodhpur, Pali, Bikaner andJaisalmer, to identify the technological gaps in adoption of mustard (Brassica juncea) productiontechnology and to find out the relationship between the socio-economic characteristics offarmers and technological gaps in adoption of the technology. The study revealed that 68.2%of farmers belonged to medium technological gap category and there was a high technologicalgap in seed treatment, method of sowing, dose, time and method of application of fertilizersand herbicide, irrigation and plant protection measures. Out of 16 variables, 9 variablesnamely, education, caste, irrigation facilities, type of family, extension contact, sources ofinformation and knowledge were negatively and significantly correlated with overalltechnological gap, whereas, age and farming experiences were positively and significantlycorrelated with overall technological gap. The 16 independent variables taken togetherexplained 53.7% of the variation in technological gap, and knowledge of farmers was themost important predictor of the technological gap. &nbsp

Constraints in adoption of production technologies in cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.)

A study was conducted in four districts of Rajasthan, namely, Jodhpur, Pali, Bikaner andJaisalmer, to study the constraints in adoption of production technologies in cumin (Cuminumcyminum). The study revealed that non-availability of seeds of high yielding varieties at propertime, lack of knowledge and interest, high cost of seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, lack oftechnical guidance and lack of finance were perceived by farmers as main constraints inadoption of improved technologies. &nbsp

AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY: UNEARTHING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES FOR THE HELPING PROFESSIONS

Empirical work related to African spirituality in the social sciences, particularly within the social work context, is sparse. It is crucial that practitioners have a deeper understanding of the beliefs and practices that can support therapeutic goals in practice. Using qualitative research methodology, 20 child and youth care students at a selected university in South Africa, who are proponents of African spirituality, were interviewed with regards to their  beliefs and practices. The major objective was to gain a richer insight into African spirituality and those African healing methodologies considered most relevant to child and youth care practice.  Prayer to the ancestral spirits, sacrificial rituals and music were considered to be some of the most important practices identified that could guide both child and youth care practice and social work.

Case Study on Landslide Investigations in Himalayas

The great Himalayan mountains are a majestic cluster of several, more or less parallel, hill ranges intervened by numerous vallies and extended plateaus. At the two ends of Himalayan ranges, other mountain ranges converge. Burmese ranges are in the Eastern and Karakoram-Hidkush mountain ranges in the North-Wester end. The individual hill ranges generally present a steep slope towards the plains of India and are more gently inclined towards the north. There are large variations in the geological features of different areas, however, the common phenomena in the landslides occurrence is that they are generally induced by rainfall. In this paper the case history of landslide in limestones at Uttar Pradesh Hill areas and sandstone in Arunachal Pradesh have been presented

LEVELS OF ESSENTIAL AND NON-ESSENTIAL METALS IN ETHIOPIAN OUZO

The levels of selected metals (Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, Mn, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Cd and Pb) in five different brands (Kokeb, National, Liyu Addis, Victoria and Balezaf) of Ethiopian ouzo sampled from different supermarkets in the capital city Addis Ababa were determined. 10 mL of ouzo samples were digested by using 2 mL of HNO3 and 5 mL of H2O2 for 90 minutes at a temperature of 180°C and the levels of the minerals in the digests analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectrometer. The following results were recorded in mg/L for each five ouzo brands Na (8.529–18.194), Ca (8.330–12.830), Mg (1.345–10.977), Fe (0.942–2.881), Zn (0.642–2.215), Mn (0.015–0.225), Cr (0.054–0.121), Co (0.072–0.130). Cu (0.212 mg/L) was detected only in Kokeb brand while Ni and Cd were below the method detection limit in all the five brands of ouzo analyzed. The toxic metal Pb (0.127–0.507 mg/L) was detected in all the five brands of ouzo samples. The level of Na was the highest in all the brands followed by Ca and Mg respectively except for Kokeb ouzo in which the level of Mg was higher than Ca. Among the trace elements, Zn was found to be highest next to Fe followed by Mn and Co. The levels of metals were higher in Liyu Addis ouzo compared to the other brands. Generally, ouzo contains some nutritionally essential minerals in large quantity so that it can be used as one source of minerals. Non-essential and trace metals were either not detected or found only in smaller quantity. But non-essential metal Pb was detected in all ouzo brands which ranged from 0.13 to 0.51 mg/L. Thus, periodic determinations are advisable in view of the potential medium and long-term risks associated with Pb contamination

Concentration levels of metals in commercially available Ethiopian roasted coffee powders and their infusions

The concentrations of nine essential metals (K, Mg, Ca, Na, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Co) and two non-essential (Pb, Cd) metals were determined in three brands of commercially available roasted Ethiopian coffee powders (Abyssinia, Alem and Pride) obtained from local markets and their infusions using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). An optimized digestion procedure was developed using 5 mL of HNO3 and 1 mL of HClO4 with 4 hours total time at temperature around 350 oC for digestion of 0.5 g of powder sample while 4 mL of HNO3 and 1 mL of HClO4 with 4 hours total time for 25 mL infusion evaporated to dryness. The validity of the optimized procedure was evaluated by the analysis of spiked samples whose recovery of analytes was in the range of 97-103 % for the coffee powder and 95-102 % for the infusion samples. The mean concentration of each metal in the three brands of coffee powder samples was (μg element/g): K (14488±467), Mg (1964±78), Ca (945±65), Na (484±12), Fe (52.0±4.0), Mn (23.0±0.9), Cu (14.0±0.6), Zn (15.0±0.8), Co (1.60±0.05) while that in their infusions (mg element/100 mL): K (37205±1501), Mg (2829±105), Ca (1619±102), Na (591±20), Fe (18.3±1.5), Mn (23.7±1.2), Cu (3.0±0.3), Zn (24.0±1.1), Co (1.8±0.1), respectively. The metal concentrations of the coffee powders were higher than those of coffee infusions, when expressed in the same units. The extraction was highest for K (85.6%), intermediate for Zn (57.5%), Ca (56.6%), Mg (48.0%), Na (40.7%), Co (39.8%), and Mn (33.5%) and lowest for Fe (11.6%) and Cu (6.8%). The concentrations of metals in the Ethiopian coffees were comparable to the values reported in other parts of the world.KEY WORDS: Coffee, Roasted coffee powder, Coffee infusion, Essential metals, Non-essential metals, FAASBull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2011, 25(1), 11-24.

Pulmonary hypertension leading to right heart failure in a patient with iga gammopathy

Amyloidosis is a rare disorder characterized by the deposition of amorphous, extracellular, insoluble fibrillar protein in various tissues of the body. Pulmonary hypertension usually occurs in the last stages of the disease with co-existing left ventricular failure. Amyloidosis causing pulmonary hypertension in a patient with no evidence of left ventricular failure is rarely mentioned in literature. Here, we present a patient with IgA gammopathy presenting with pulmonary hypertension leading to progressive right heart failure and death