Morphometric Analysis and Prioritization of Watersheds for Soil Erosion Management in Upper Gibe Catchment

As morphometric investigation is connected to prioritization of watershed, morphometric analysis has got a significance role in light of soil and water conservation. In this study, an endeavour for the examination of point by point morphometric analyses of sub-basins was accomplished through the measurement of linear and shape parameters by using ArcGIS-9.3 software. Specifically, linear and shape morphometric parameters like stream length, stream order, drainage density, stream frequency, bifurcation ratio, Length of overland flow, basin perimeter, form factor, compactness coefficient, elongation ratio has been considered. The SRTM DEM (30 x 30 m) is processed for the delineation resulting in 61 sub-basins. The morphometric parameters which affect the soil erodibility are considered to organize the sub-basins and relegate positions on the premise of their association with erodibility to get compound parameter (Cp) esteem. Based on the value of Cp the sub-basin with the lowest Cp value was given the highest priority and then categorized the sub-basins into three classes as high, medium and low in terms of priority. Accordingly, high priority zone comprises 11 sub-basins, medium 19 and low 31 sub-basins. The sub-basins which are falling under high priority were a great deal more defenceless to soil disintegration and ought to be given high need for land preservation measures

Imaging findings and management of paediatric pulmonary hydatidiosis in an Ethiopian Referral Hospital

No Abstrac

Approach of the NGC 1977 star cluster to the TOI-2796 host star

We study of possible encounters in past epochs of the open star cluster NGC 1977 with host stars. For this purpose, the age of the cluster was determined based on our catalog data. Stars with planetary systems were selected from the NASA Archive. The age of the cluster was determined using the color - absolute magnitude diagram and the isochron system. By extending the track of the movement of the cluster and stars in past epochs, 10 Myr. The time of the maximum approach 32 pc of the host star with planetary system TOI-2796 with the NGC 1977 are found. The place of approach in the sky is shown, this point can be considered as the place of appearance of interstellar comets. Thus, the result of our work is that the we found approach of the host star to the cluster entailed effects associated with the gravitational influence of the cluster on the nuclei of comets located in the outer parts of the Oort cloud of the planetary system. The effect of approach on comets is estimated

Analysis of road traffic crashes in the State of Qatar

Road traffic crashes (RTCs) are globally acknowledged as increasing threat to society, because they can affect many lives when they result in severe injury or fatality. In the State of Qatar RTCs are getting more awareness and attention, aiming to improve the traffic safety in the country. This study is an exploratory research providing different analyses of the crash data for seven consecutive years, ranging from 2010 to 2016, which is obtained from the Traffic Department in the Ministry of Interior for the State of Qatar. The objectives aim to evaluate the trend of RTC rate over time and create understanding of the influencing factors related to RTC frequency. Time series analyses show an increasing trend of RTCs leading to severe injury and a slight decreasing trend for fatal RTCs. Secondly, different RTC severity levels are related to diverse RTC causes. Furthermore, the results revealed that crashes with severe injuries or fatality for drivers as well as pedestrians are found to be significantly affected by seasonal weather variations, with the highest vulnerability in winter and autumn season. This study therefore suggests the implementation of strategies to prioritize the traffic safety of road users during the crash-prone winter and autumn seasons. - 2019, - 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.This publication was made possible by the NPRP award [NPRP 9-360-2-150] from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of The Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

Treatment outcomes of patients with MDR-TB and its determinants at referral hospitals in Ethiopia.

There is limited empirical evidence in Ethiopia on the determinants of treatment outcomes of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) who were enrolled to second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs. Thus, this study investigated the determinants of treatment outcomes in patients with MDR-TB at referral hospitals in Ethiopia. Design and methods This study was underpinned by a cross-sectional quantitative research design that guided both data collection and analysis. Data is collected using structured questionnaire and data analyses was performed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Multi-variable logistic regression was used to control for confounders in determining the association between treatment outcomes of patients with MDR-TB and selected predictor variables, such as co-morbidity with MDR-TB and body mass index. Results From the total of 136 patients with MDR-TB included in this study, 31% had some co-morbidity with MDR-TB at baseline, and 64% of the patients had a body mass index of less than 18.5 kg/m2. At 24 months after commencing treatment, 76 (69%), n = 110), of the patients had successfully completed treatment, while 30 (27%) died of the disease. The odds of death was significantly higher among patients with low body mass index (AOR = 2.734, 95% CI: 1.01-7.395; PConclusionThe higher proportion of mortality among patients treated for MDR-TB at Adama and Nekemte Hospitals, central Ethiopia, is attributable to co-morbidities with MDR-TB, including HIV/AIDS and malnutrition. Improving socio-economic and nutritional support and provision of integrated care for MDR-TB and HIV/AIDS is recommended to mitigate the higher level of death among patients treated for MDR-TB

Biodiversity Strategy Improved in Ethiopia by Using Optimal Control System

Biodiversity Strategy (BS) explains conserving biodiversity is not just a matter of protecting wildlife in nature reserves. It is also about safeguarding the natural systems of the Earth that are our life support systems, purifying the waters, recycling oxygen, carbon and other essential elements, maintaining the fertility of the soil, providing food from the land, freshwaters, and seas, yielding medicines and safeguarding the genetic richness on which we depend in the creaseless struggle to improve our crops and livestock. Biodiversity can be divided into three hierarchical categories – Genes, species and ecosystems that describe quite different aspects of living systems and that scientists’ measure in different ways. We tried to measure BS with suitable parameters by using Optimal Control Systems including Hamiltonian – Jacobi – Bellman Equation (HJBE) and state, costate with control aimed at to improve BS in Ethiopia and explain how to improve and implemented it in Ethiopia in future properly

Restoring Rangelands for Nutrition and Health for Humans and Livestock

Drylands cover 40% of the global land area and host 2 billion people, of which 90% live in low- or middleincome countries. Drylands often face severe land degradation, low agricultural productivity, rapid population growth, widespread poverty, and poor health. Governance structures and institutions are often eroded. Livestock-based livelihoods, largely depending on seasonal migration are common. Pastoralist communities and their land are highly vulnerable to climate shocks, while there are also changes in land tenure, insecurity/conflicts and rapid infrastructure development. Drylands Transform is an interdisciplinary research project revolving around the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The project aim is to contribute new knowledge to a transformative change and sustainable development of drylands in East Africa to help escape the ongoing negative spiral of land, livestock and livelihood degradation. We investigate the links between land health, livelihoods, human well-being, and land management and governance with several study sites along the Kenya-Uganda border. Through strong stakeholder engagement we will explore challenges and pathways towards a social-ecological transformation in these drylands. The entry point is the urgent need to identify and enhance synergies between food and nutrition security (SDG2), land and ecosystem health (SDG15) and governance and justice (SDG16) for sustainable dryland development, aiming to improve health and equity (SDGs 3 and 5), while minimizing trade-offs between agricultural productivity, natural resources management and climate change. We are using innovative field research approaches focusing on livelihood improvement through rangeland (grazing areas) restoration and governance interventions. We will present results from the initial work to assess land health using the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework and explore the links with human health and well-being through household survey data. We will also show how we will co-develop sustainable dryland management options (e.g., field experiments with fodder grasses and shrubs) with local communities and set-up knowledge sharing hubs

Least concern to endangered: applying climate change projections profoundly influences the extinction risk assessment for wild Arabica coffee

Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) is a key crop in many tropical countries and globally provides an export value of over US$13 billion per year. Wild Arabica coffee is of fundamental importance for the global coffee sector and of direct importance within Ethiopia, as a source of harvestable income and planting stock. Published studies show that climate change is projected to have a substantial negative influence on the current suitable growing areas for indigenous Arabica in Ethiopia and South Sudan. Here we use all available future projections for the species based on multiple general circulation models (GCMs), emission scenarios and migration scenarios, to predict changes in Extent of Occurrence (EOO), Area of Occupancy (AOO) and population numbers for wild Arabica coffee. Under climate change alone, our results show that population numbers could reduce by 50% or more (with a few models showing over 80%) by 2088. EOO and AOO are projected to decline by around 30% in many cases. Furthermore, present-day models compared to the near future (2038), show a reduction for EOO of over 40% (with a few cases over 50%), although EOO should be treated with caution due to its sensitivity to outlying occurrences. When applying these metrics to extinction risk, we show that the determination of generation length is critical. When applying the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red list of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) criteria, even with a very conservative generation length of 21 years, wild Arabica coffee is assessed as Threatened with extinction (placed in the Endangered category) under a broad range of climate change projections, if no interventions are made. Importantly, if we do not include climate change in our assessment, Arabica coffee is assessed as Least Concern (Non-threatened) when applying the IUCN Red List criteri

Shear behavior of RC beams strengthened with different types of FRCM: Effect of stirrups' configuration

Fabric-reinforced cementitious matrix, (FRCM) system has shown to be promising for the strengthening of reinforced concrete (RC) beams. However, the available experimental investigation on the shear strengthening efficacy of FRCM system is limited, particularly for deep beams. Moreover, to the authors' knowledge, no literature is available on the effect of the stirrups' configuration relative to the FRCM strips on the shear capacity of FRCM-strengthened beams. Studying this effect will aid in a better understanding of the FRCM/stirrups interaction. Thus, in this paper the experimental study on the shear behavior of RC deep beams strengthened in shear using FRCM system is presented. The test matrix involved two unstrengthened and six FRCM-strengthened deep beams tested under three-point bending. The primary test variable was the effect of stirrups' configuration relative to the FRCM strips. The other test variable includes the effect of different types of FRCM fabric (made of carbon, glass, and polyparaphenylene benzobisoxazole, PBO). Experimental results demonstrated an effective application of the FRCM in improving the load capacities of RC deep beams, up to 40.3% increase in the load capacity was achieved.This paper was made possible by NPRP grant # NPRP 9-110-2-052 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation).Scopu