A SURVEY OF AFLATOXIN CONTENTS IN MAIZE, SORGHUM

ABSTRACTUsing the Thin Layer Chromatographic (TLC) methods of the AOAC procedures, the aflatoxin content of 486 samples of six cereal varieties was determined and 71 (14.6%) of these were found to be positive, anging from 9 mcg/kg to 39.0 mcg/kg. Of these, 23 (32.4%) were maize grains followed by the white sorghum, 12 16.9%) and mixed sorghum, 11 (15.5%). The positive numbers of white, mixed and red teff samples were significantly as low as 7 (9.8%),8(11.3%) and 10 (14.1%), respectively. Similarly, out of the 60 injera samples tested only 1 (5%) sample of teff injera was positive at the 7th day of storage, while 5 (25%) and 7 (35%) samples of maize and sorghum respectively, were positive after the 4th day of storage. In all cases, it was observed that some environmental factors like temperature, moisture content and relative humidity have influenced the aflatoxin formation in the examined samples. It was also confinned that poor storage conditions like open sacs in market areas and warehouses were more conducive to aflatoxin formation than the modern silo bin storage systems. Although the maximum level of aflatoxin yield (39 mcg/kg) determined in this study is not much greater than the accepted standard limit (30 ppb ), it is possible to deduce that maize and sorghum are more susceptible to aflatoxin accumulation than teff grains both before and after baking. In view of these results, therefore, we consider it necessary to recommend some essential measures of controlling food materials for aflatoxin contamination

The extent and impacts of decentralization reforms in Ethiopia

Devolution of power, responsibilities, and resources from central to local governments has been the foundation of decentralization reforms in developing countries like Ethiopia. The most recent decentralization reforms in Ethiopia began in the early 2000s at the woreda (district) level, focusing on strengthening local governments as institutions of democratic governance and efficient service delivery. Until now, decentralization in Ethiopia has attracted very little research; this study aims to fill that knowledge gap. The extent of decentralization is examined from a holistic framework, including the three dimensions of decentralization (political, fiscal and administrative), while its impacts are explored by focusing on access, equity, efficiency and quality indicators of education service delivery. Using a qualitative case study approach, this research consists of semi-structured interviews of key informants in government and educational administration, field observations, and review of relevant documents. Four local governments and twelve schools within two regional states of Ethiopia were selected as the sample frame. This dissertation argues that the implementation of woreda decentralization reforms in Ethiopia has proven problematic, as the official establishment of devolution operates within centralized structures and practices. Regional governments have established political, administrative and fiscal decentralization, as evidenced by the existence of legal authority and mechanisms of accountability, expanded functions, and significant allocation of unconditional grants transferred to woredas. Despite much progress, the further deepening of decentralization reforms has been hampered by centralizing practices, including the dominant roles of the ruling party, weak administrative capacity at the local government and school levels, and limited resource base of local governments. The link between decentralization reforms and improved local service delivery has been inconclusive. This study suggests that the impact of decentralization on primary education has been mixed. While decentralization reforms may have facilitated the impressive expansion of access to primary education, quality indicators such as dropout rates and student learning assessments have shown little to no improvements. This study lays the groundwork for continued research into the vital link between decentralization and basic service delivery in Ethiopia and beyond

Factors Affecting the Implementation of New Product Development in Faffa Food Share Company

New product development has an important role in the implementation of both corporate and Marketing strategy, and the development of new products should involvement of all elements of the business. Because of the high rate and cost of failure for new products, it is imperative that firms develop systematic procedures for identifying and screening new products development. However the efficient implantation of a new product plan requires effective pricing, advertising and other marketing programs. The product life cycle concept is especially important to the Marketing strategy planning. It shows that a firm needs different Marketing Mixes- and even strategies. This is an important points because profit changes during the life cycle. The failure rate of new product is high- but it is lower for better managed firms that recognize product development and management as vital process. The focus of this study was on how to develop new product to the faffa food share company in order to maximize the profit as well as the demand for its product by identifying the problem and the reasons for failure in implementing the development of the product.Jimma Universit

Some notes on a workshop on a Feed Resource Assessment in Smallholder Systems

A small group met for three days with the aim of developing a simple tool for characterizing the smallholder feeding system in different environments. The vision was to produce something that would be useful for development agencies to diagnose feed issues and provide guidance for potential interventions. With this in mind, the group included participants from the NGO sector (BAIF and Himothan) to maintain the focus of the researchers making up the rest of the group, on producing something practical

Substitution Effect of Maize (Zea Mays) with Grain Milling By-Products on Egg Production and Hatchability of Eggs in White Leghorn Layer Hens

The substitution effect of maize grain with grain milling by-products (GMP) was investigated on egg production and fertility parameters in White Leghorn layer hens. To this effect, four treatment (T) diets were formulated to contain GMP (g/kg) at zero (T1), 100 (T2), 150 (T3) and 200 (T4) by partially replacing the maize grain. One-hundred forty four White Leghorn layer hens were allocated randomly to the treatment diets, replicated thrice consisting of 12 hens each. The experiment was conducted for 20 weeks. The results indicated that the hen-housed egg production and daily egg mass output was higher (p<0.001) in hens fed with T1 and T2 diets than those of T3 and T4. Birds fed with T1 diet produced heavier (p<0.001) eggs than those reared in T2, T3 and T4 diets, the former being significantly different with the latter two. The daily feed intake differed significantly among treatment diets being higher (p<0.001) in birds fed with T1 and T2 than that of T3 and T4 diets, which had similar values. No significant difference was observed in hen-housed egg production, daily egg mass output, and daily feed intake among hens fed with T1 and T2 diets. Similarly, no significance difference was observed in egg weight, total and daily feed intake between hens fed with T3 and T4 diets. The feed conversion ratio (FCR, kg feed/kg egg mass) were different among treatment diets in which the lowest value being observed in those chickens reared in T1 followed by T2 diets. Birds fed with T4 diet had the highest FCR as compared with the rest of the treatment groups. Fertility and hatchability of eggs set were similar among chickens reared in T1 and T2 diets; but were higher (p<0.05) than those of T3 and T4 which had similar values. However, hens fed with T4 diet had lower (p<0.05) value in hatchability of fertile eggs than the rest of other treatments. In conclusion, the substitution of maize grain with 10% GMP showed similar effect with that of the control group in all studied performance parameters. Thus, GMP could be safely incorporated in replacement of maize for layer hen diets up to 10%. Keywords: egg fertility; egg production; grain milling by-products; maize grain; White Leghorn chicken DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-9-02 Publication date:May 31st 202

Pastoral Livelihoods in Urban and Peri-urban Spaces of Ethiopia: The Case of Yabello, Borana Zone

This paper outlines the emergence of pastoral settlements in urban and peri-urban spaces of Ethiopia focusing on Yabello, the present capital of Borana zone. By doing so, the paper seeks to contribute to ongoing debates on the manner in which pastoral livelihoods are changing in Ethiopia, and elsewhere in Africa. More specifically, a livelihoods approach is adopted to examine the wellbeing of Borana pastoralists in peri-urban spaces of Yabello in terms of their asset status and use of those assets to pursue various livelihood strategies. The conceptualization of assets goes beyond economic assets to incorporate social and human assets which are equally important to improve wellbeing. Due to intra-household differentiation, particular attention is paid to gendered differences in livelihood strategies and their consequent implications for men and women’s wellbeing. Drawing on data from a household survey that covered 170 households within a 20 km radius of Yabello, the paper highlights the ‘paucity’ of assets owned by Borana pastoralists in urban and peri-urban settlements which limits the range of livelihood strategies they can access to those which are ‘opportunistic’ and unsustainable in the long term. The results also suggest the importance of gender as a critical determinant of Borana men and women’s participation in various livelihood strategies available within urban and peri-urban spaces. The paper proposes strategies for incorporating these pastoralists into development planning with a view to enhancing the sustainability of their livelihoods

Assessing the feeding values of leaves, seeds and seeds-removed pods of Moringa stenopetala using in vitro gas production technique

This study presents the feeding values of leaves, seeds and seeds-removed pods of Moringa stenopetala for ruminants as evaluated by in vitro gas production technique. Feed samples were analyzed for proximate nutrients using official methods. Each feed samples (200 mg) were incubated in buffered rumen fluid for 96 h and fermentation characteristics were estimated using established in vitro gas production models. Metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD) and short chain fatty acids (SCFA) were calculated from corrected 24 h gas production data. The gross energy content (MJ/kg DM) was 24.9, 18.6 and 16.8 for seeds, leaves and seeds-removed pods, respectively. The crude protein ranged from 11.2% in seeds-removed pods to 39.5% in seeds, the average being 16.8%. The sugar content was 10.7 and 7.3% for leaves and seeds respectively. The OMD value was highest in leaves (74.3%) followed by seeds (52.3%) and seeds-removed pods (38.1%). The highest SCFA (103 mmol) was obtained from leaves and the lowest from seeds-removed pods (31 mmol). The ME (MJ/kg DM) ranged from 4.15 in seeds-removed pods to 9.94 in leaves. The average gas production from insoluble but with time fermentable fraction was 53.0, 32.4, and 26.1 ml/200 mg DM for leaves, seeds and seeds-removed pods, respectively. In vitro gas volumes at various incubation times were positively correlated with ash, sugar, nitrogen free extract and non-fiber carbohydrate; while they were negatively correlated with cellulose, hemicelluloses, neutral and acid detergent fibers. In conclusion, Moringa stenopetala leaves can be used as potential sources of protein and energy supplements to tropical livestock feeding system by replacing expensive conventional feed resources.Keywords: Chemical compositions, feeding values, in vitro gas production, leaves, M. stenopetala, seeds, seeds-removed pod

Risk Perception of Developing Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Healthcare Related Majors at the University of Rhode Island

Objective: To determine risk perception of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus in health orientated majors at the University of Rhode Island and if perceived risk is significantly different in those who have trouble affording nutritious foods. Methods: An email was sent to an academic advisor for the doctorate of pharmacy, nursing, physical therapy, kinesiology, pre-professional health studies, nutrition, and health studies programs at the University of Rhode Island. Pre-pharmacy was included in pre-professional health studies. An additional email was sent to a professor in the nutrition department. The advisors and the nutrition professor then sent out an email with the survey link to their academic students. Survey Monkey Pro was used to format, record, and deliver the risk perception survey. The Risk Perception Survey in Developing Diabetes (RPS-DD) is a 43 item validated survey that measures personal control, worry, optimistic bias, personal disease risk, comparative environmental risk, and diabetes risk knowledge. Scoring was determined by using the scoring guide developed by the author. Eight additional demographic questions were added to the beginning of the survey. The additional questions asked subjects their age, gender, year in school, major, GPA, diabetes status, how often they hear or read about diabetes, and if they are financially capable of purchasing adequate amounts of fresh fruits and vegetables. Results: Of the 184 students who responded to their advisor’s email by beginning the survey, 125 students completed the survey. All respondents did not have type 2 diabetes at the time of the survey, and 35 of the 125 respondents believed they were not financially capable of affording adequate amounts of non-processed foods such as fruits and vegetables. Composite risk perception in the study population was at an average of 2.03 with the highest perceived risk rated as a 4. On average, healthcare majors at the university answered 7 correct questions out of the 11 questions on the diabetes knowledge assessment included in the survey. A parametric Levene’s test for equality of variance was performed to determine if financial burden has an impact in personal control, worry, optimistic bias, personal disease risk, comparative environmental risk, and diabetes risk knowledge. The results from the test indicate that variance is equal between the 2 groups in all parameters measured (p\u3e0.05). Conclusions: Perceived risk of developing diabetes in health focused majors at the University of Rhode Island is relatively mild and does not appear to be significantly different in the population unable to afford adequate amounts of nutritious foods

In vitro evaluation of utilizable crude protein using ruminal fluid in leaves, whole and seeds-removed pods of Moringa stenopetala and Moringa oleifera grown in the rift valley of Ethiopia

The prime objective of this study was to evaluate the effective utilizable crude protein (uCP) in leaves, whole and seeds-removed pods of Moringa stenopetala and Moringa oleifera using ruminal fluid in vitro. Samples were analyzed for proximate nutrients using official methods. The metabolizable energy (ME), organic matter digestibility (OMD), short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and effective uCP were estimated using the Hohenheim in vitro gas test method. The CP contents (g/kg DM) ranged from 104 in seeds-removed pods to 289 in leaves of M. oleifera. The highest gross energy (MJ/kg DM) was obtained from whole pods (18.0) and the lowest from leaves (16.8) of M. oleifera. Leaves and seeds-removed pods of M. stenopetala had significantly (