Determinants of Capital Adequacy of Commercial Banks in Ethiopia

This thesis aimed to see the determinant factors for capital adequacy using seven (7) selected banks operating in Ethiopia from 2007 to 2019. The research conducted different estimation to see the relationship between the dependent variable, Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) and independent Variables which include Bank size (SIZE), DAR (Deposit to Asset Ratio), Loan to Asset Ratio (LAR), Loan to Deposit (LTD), Return on Asset (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Loan Loss Provision (LPR), and macroeconomic variables (gross domestic product and inflation). The variables SIZE, DAR, LAR and ROE affect CAR negatively whereas ROA and LPR affects positively. Hence, it is recommended that to be sure that banks have adequate adequacy reserve, commercial banks and National Bank of Ethiopia should give attention to the risk associated with banks size, caring of banks loan and deposit, initiating  to  increase  their  return  on  their  asset  and  to  manage  their  equity  return. Keywords: capital, adequacy and commercial banks, Ethiopia. DOI: 10.7176/RJFA/11-21-05 Publication date: November 30th 202

The Effect of iron fertilization on nodulation, yield and yield traits of soybean genotypes with different maturity groups as affected by Brady Rhizobium Inoculations

Iron (Fe) deficiency is the major constraint for soybean cultivation in calcareous soils. Its availability affects symbiotic association of the host plant and the endosymbiont and eventually the yield of soybean. However, the effectiveness of integrated application of Bradyrhizobium and Fe fertilizer on nodulation and yield of soybean genotypes with different maturity group has not been studied. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of Bradyrhizobium inoculated soybean genotypes with different maturity group on FeSO4 and Fe-EDTA nutrient requirement supplied through the foliage and applied directly to the soil. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse and field conditions. Six soybean genotypes, three late maturing (Wogayen, TGx-1336424 and Belsa) and the remaining three medium maturing (GIZA, Afgat and Gishame) were used for greenhouse experiment. Based on the greenhouse result, only two promising genotypes, namely GIZA and TGx-1336424, were selected for further investigation under field experiment. Eight treatments which synthesized by combining three Bradyrhizobium inoculations, with and without Fe fertilizer (0 and 4 mg kg-1 soil), including N-treated (20 kg N ha-1) and the control, were tested in pot experiment arranged in a completely randomized design (CRD). Four levels of inoculation factorially combined with three levels of Fe-EDTA application were used for field experiment. These treatments were laid out in a spilt plot in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results of the present study indicate significant improvement of most investigated traits of tested medium maturing genotypes, but not for late maturing soybean genotypes under greenhouse conditions. A significant increase of nodule number (NN) and nodule dry weight (NDW) with increasing rates of Fe for selected genotypes were observed in field experiment. Application of Fe, however, showed differential effect on both genotypes on other investigated traits. All investigated traits, except NN, NDW and shoot dry matter (SDW) did not improve significantly by Fe application for TGx-1336424 genotype. In contrast, significant improvement of number of pods per plant (NPP), total biomass yield (TBY), grain yield (GY) and plant total nitrogen concentration (PTC) with increasing rates of Fe were observed for GIZA genotype. The regression analysis indicates different degree of dependence of TBY, NDW, NN and GY of both genotypes with increasing rates of Fe application with different Bradyrhizobium sp. inoculation treatments. Hence, it can be concluded that the effect of Fe application is dependent on maturity groups of soybean genotypes and effectiveness of inoculated Bradyrhizobium sp

An Assessment of the Quality of Sachet Water Produced and Sold in Obanlikwu, Obudu and Bekwara Local Government Areas of Cross River State

This paper investigated the microbiological quality of the sachet water produced and sold in Obudu, Bekwarra and Obanlikwu Local Government Areas of Cross River State, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty sachets from forty brands of sachet waters were collected daily for fourteen days and evaluated for microbial content.  In all the Local Areas investigated, the total coliform count, faecal coliform count, and E. coli were well above regulated limits of the World Health Organization, with the highest of these values being 39 9.54, 21 6.23, 7 2.59 respectively. Keywords: E. coli, coliform, faecal count, sachet water

Functional Studies on Par14/Par17 with Emphasis on Chromatin, the Cell Cycle, and Protein-Protein Interactions

Par14 and Par17 are members of the parvulin family of peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans iso-merases. Par14 has been shown to be enriched in the nucleus and Par17 was dem-onstrated to be located in the mitochondrial matrix. It has been suggested that Par14 plays a role in chromatin remodeling on basis of sequence and structural identities to HMGB and HMGN proteins. Both Par14 and Par17 have been shown to bind to double-stranded DNA in vitro. However, the cellular functions of both proteins have not been characterised, and we aimed in this study to give insights to their function. By means of biochemical fractionations, we have shown that Par14 is enriched in chromatin 3-fold higher than in the nuclear matrix. In the same experiments, we also observed that Par14 was released from the chromatin fraction after treatment with DNase I indicating its binding to DNA. In the light of this, we performed another bio-chemical fractionation scheme enriching nucleic acid-binding proteins. Using a phos-pho-cellulose column, we eluted Par14 at 0.35 and 1 M NaCl from the nucleic acid-binding fraction. This gave credit to the fact that Par14 was associated with DNA in vivo. Following Par14’s association with chromatin, pilot experiments were initiated using Chromatin Affinity Purification (ChAP) to search for DNA-binding motifs for Par14. Pin1 is the other member of the parvulin family and it has been characterised as a mitotic regulator. As a result, we were interested to investigate the role of Par14/Par17 in the cell cycle. Using our established cell cycle synchronisation system by serum deprivation, we showed with the aid of qRT-PCR that Par14 and Par17 were 2- and 3-fold up-regulated respectively during the S-phase at the mRNA level. A 3- and 5-fold up-regulation was seen for Par14 and Par17 in the G2/M phase respectively. The transcriptional increase of Par14 in the S and G2/M phases was correlated with a 4-fold translational increase as analysed by western blotting. As concerns Par17, we observed that Par17 was 4- and 3-fold up-regulated when cellular lysates from the individual cell cycle phases were used. Moreover, there was the occurrence of a 28 kDa variant of Par17 in all the phases of the cell cycle before and after the fractionation of the cellular lysates. As a strategy to elucidate the function of Par14/Par17, we used affinity purification coupled with mass spectrometry to find their interaction partners. A Par17 construct fused to Strep-tag was transfected in HCT116 cells and the cellular lysates were passed over a modified streptavidin (Strep-Tactin) column. Elution was done with desthiobiotin and the eluted proteins were sent for tandem mass spectrometry. After filtering spurious and non-specific binders, EZR was among the 17 potential interaction partners of both parvulin proteins. EZR plays a role in the cytoskeletal network; but it remains to be validated by other techniques whether it is a bona fide Par14/Par17 interactor. We were interested to know if some of the potential interaction partners found were up- or down-regulated in the advent of a successful Par14/Par17 knock-down. Our protein-protein interaction data paved the way to perform gene knock-down experiments for Par14/Par17 using siRNA technology. HeLa and HCT116 cells were transfected and knock-down was investigated by performing qRT-PCR and western blot experiments. No appreciable knock-down of Par14/Par17 mRNAs and their gene products was registered. Fluorescence microscopic studies were also done on transfected cells to check for any morphological abnormalities as a result of Par14/Par17 loss. Still, no visible phenotypic changes were observed. Taken together, Par14 can be described as a chromatin and DNA-binding protein. The transcriptional up-regulation of Par14 and Par17 was directly proportional to their translational up-regulation. If EZR is validated as an interaction partner of Par14/Par17, this may suggest a role of Par14/Par17 as anchor proteins that link the cytoskeletal apparatus to a DNA-related process in the nucleus or in the mitochondria

Caregivers' burden of caring for children with cerebral palsy in Lagos, Nigeria

Introduction Cerebral Palsy is a disorder that affects the development of movement and posture causing limitation of activity and participation restriction. Due to the physical challenges faced by children with cerebral palsy, they depend on their caregivers (which include parents, grandparents) and other relatives of the family for their activities of daily living and care. Caring for a child with activity limitation increases the burden of care on the caregivers. Investigations on caregivers’ quality of life (QoL), socio-economic and psychosocial factors of caring for CP children had been done; however, there is a dearth of literature on the burden of care on caregivers of children with CP. Aim: This research sought to establish caregivers’ burden of caring for children with cerebral palsy in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: A sequential mixed method design was used. This involved collecting quantitative data first, followed by qualitative data from the same population sample. A purposive sampling method was used to select the participants. The Zarit Burden Interview questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data and focus group discussions were used to collect the qualitative data. The Zarit Burden Interview questionnaire was handed to 120 participants who are caregivers of children with cerebral palsy on the day of their appointment to the clinic. All participants were required to complete the questionnaire; thereafter the same participant joined the focus group discussion (FGD), for qualitative data collection. There were six (6) FGDs comprising often (10) participants in each group, adding to a total of sixty (60) participants. Data from the Zarit Burden Interview questionnaire were analysed using descriptive statistics and chi-square tests, whilst data from FGD were transcribed verbatim and analysed using open coding. Conclusion: The findings of the study show that caregivers of children with CP face challenges that make caring for their children burdensome. The study showed that the caregivers faced challenges in the following areas; accessibility to healthcare and education, mode of transporting their children, financial, and social support. It was recommended that policymakers and the government intervene by making policies and setting up structures that will help alleviate the burden of the caregivers. The introduction of community awareness programs and support groups was recommended. Key terms: Burden of caring, Caregivers, Care giving, Cerebral Palsy, Children, PhysiotherapyDissertation (MPhysiotherapy)--University of Pretoria, 2021.PhysiotherapyMPhysiotherapyUnrestricte

Polyethylene Terephthalate Wastes as a Partial Replacement for Fine Aggregates in Concrete Mix, Case of Jimma Town, South West Ethiopia

In this research Concrete mix designs were prepared according to the DOE method and a total of 6 mixes with 72 samples prepared to consist of concrete grade C-25. The test samples were produced with the percentage of substitution for the fine aggregate by 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5% of PET plastic waste aggregate. Moreover, a control mix without replacement for the fine aggregate was used to have a relative analysis. The prepared samples consist of concrete cubes, cylinders, and beams. Furthermore, laboratory experiments were carried out for the prepared concrete test samples. The lists of experiments conducted were; material property, slump, unit weight, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, and flexural strength tests. The test results were analyzed and compared with the respective conventional concrete characteristics and show that there was a slight increase in compressive strength of the concrete up to 3% replacement and reduction in compressive strength increases beyond 3% replacement due to the replacement of PET aggregates. Also like compressive strength there was an increase of tensile strength recorded with increasing PET bottle aggregate content up to 3% replacement. But more than 3% substitution of fine aggregate with PET bottle fiber results in a reduction in tensile strength, flexural strength. This test result shows that as it is possible to use PET bottles in concrete production as a partial substitution for fine aggregates not more than 3% replacement