Phenotypic, Host Range and Symbiotic

AbstractSoybean is an exotic crop to Ethiopia and may not necessarily have a specific endosymbiont in the soil. However, since it is a promiscuous host, nodulated by cross nodulating rhizobia, it is likely that some compatible endosymbionts exist from heterologous hosts that could nodulate it with effective nitrogen fixation. This necessitated the search for effective indigenous rhizobia isolates and/or compatible and effective cross-inoculating rhizobia that are already adapted to local conditions. To this end, a total of 67 bacterial isolates were trapped from different soil samples using two soybean varieties (Clark-63K and Awassa-95) and one cowpea variety (Bole), to evaluate their diversity and screen for their symbiotic effectiveness. Accordingly, the majority of isolates (93%) were tentatively categorized into alkali producing slow growing Bradyrhiobium spp. and the others (7%) were fast growing and acid producing rhizobia. The isolates showed differences in utilizing various carbon and nitrogen sources and tolerance to acidity, salinity and temperature. The isolates were also diverse in their inherent antibiotic and heavy metal resistance. All the isolates were able to nodulate soybean variety Clark-63K with significant difference in their capacity to infect and effectively fix nitrogen evidenced from variations in nodulation parameters and shoot dry weights. Accordingly, the isolates induced nodulation with nodule number ranging from 2 to 49 nodules plant-1; nodule dry weight of 16 mg plant-1 to 94 mg plant-1 and shoot dry weight between 585 and 1012 mg plant-1. Using shoot dry weight as an indicator of the relative effectiveness of the isolates, 12% of the isolates were highly effective (SE > 80%) and 88% were effective (SE from 50 to 80%) on soybean. Furthermore, the isolates showed narrow and broad host ranges on four legume species viz., cowpea, mung bean, pigeon pea, and peanut. Accordingly, many isolates (67%) formed nodules with effective nitrogen fixation with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) (47%), and on few cases with mung bean (Vigna radiata) showing different level of effectiveness. However, the data showed very narrow host range on peanut (Arachis hypogaea) where, only one isolate formed effective nodules

ICT Integration in Ethiopian High Schools

The purpose of this research is to describe the status of ICT integration in Ethiopian high schools. Ethiopian government invested millions of dollars every year to purchase of ICT devices and provide short term ICT training for teachers. However, the impact of this initiative was not systematically assessed whether it brings the expected impact on the quality of education. In other words, if teachers integrate ICT with pedagogy (use ICT to deliver instructions in the classroom), it is assumed that ICT is used to improve the quality of education. The research was undertaken using descriptive research method. For data collection, questionnaire, one to one interview, focused group discussion and classroom observation was used. The participants of the study include teachers, students, vice directors for teachers’ professional development, ICT technicians, and ICT4E and teachers professional development experts. During the study, 600 teachers, 120 students, 30 directors, 30 ICT technicians and 12 regional ICT4E and teachers professional development experts and four ICT4E expert at the federal level were involved The data was analyzed using descriptive statistical methods. There are two basic type of ICT devices used in the school, namely Plasma TV and computers. Plasma TV was introduced as instructional delivery tools. The main finding of the research is that ICT is still at a lower stage of integration. Although the Plasma was intended to enrich the classroom instruction with technology, almost in 50% of the schools, it is not used because of timely maintenance and power interruption. Computers are mainly used for teaching basic computer skills. Very few teachers try to use computers to enrich their instruction in the classroom. This is done by the individual teacher’s initiative. There is no school level vision how ICT is used for pedagogical application. The study concludes that ICT integration in the schools require careful planning that considers contextual factors such as availability of electricity, availability of ICT technicians, availability of adequate budget to maintain existing devices and buy new devices, good ICT pedagogical knowledge and overall ICT strategy plan to integrate in the schools. In the Ethiopian case, there is no well articulated and detailed plan how ICT is integrated and specific expected benefits to be achieved rather than stating general benefits adopted from the literature

a case study of the dedebit credit and saving institution (DECSI)

Thesis(Master) --KDI School:Master of Business Administration,2006Outstandingmasterpublishedby Daniel Assefa Abera

A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE MICROFLORA LEVEL OF SOME FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

ABSTRACT: Samples of 15 different fruit and vegetable types were purchased from five small groceries around Addis Ababa. Enumeration, isolation and identification processes were performed for the microbial flora of each sample before and after 15-30 days of preservation. Both direct and enrichment culture media were used to distinguish these microflora as members of the groups of normal contaminants, indicators, spoilage and foodborne disease causing organisms. The overall result of this work indicates that a total of 25 different organisms, comprising 3 (12%) indicators, 15 (60%) spoilage, 5 (20%) food-borne pathogens and 2 (8%) normal contaminants, were isolated. The predominant isolates of these groups were Escherishia coli type I, among the indicators Bacilli, molds and Enterobacter species among the spoilage and Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhimurium and Bacillus cereus among the pathogens. The direct inoculation method revealed the isolation of more than one indicator organisms from each of 7 (46.7%) fresh or unpreserved fruit and vegetable samples, more than 3 spoilage organisms from each of 8 (53.3%) samples, and, at least, one pathogenic organism from each of another 8 (53.3%) samples. When enrichment culture method was applied, all these results were increased as: >1 indicators in 10 (67%), >3 spoilage organisms in 9 (60%), and pathogens in 9 (60%) of the unpreserved samples. The enumeration values of the indicator/organisms and the spoilage groups of mesophyllic aerobes/anaerobes, molds and/or yeasts were all above the accepted limits for such fruits and vegetable samples. This was shown to be true in 10 (66.7%), 4 (26.7%) and 6 (40%) samples for the indicators, spoilage mesopheles, and mold or yeasts respectively. The preservation processes have proved to be effective in eliminating or reducing the numbers and types of the organisms isolated from each fresh sample. The effectivity of the preservation methods is discussed and its applicability in a simplified and comprehensive manual for a small-scale (household level) preservation of fruits and vegetables has been recommended

Maternal near miss among women admitted in major private hospitals in eastern Ethiopia:a retrospective study

Background Since maternal mortality is a rare event, maternal near miss has been used as a proxy indicator for measuring maternal health. Maternal near miss (MNM) refers to a woman who nearly died but survived of complications during pregnancy, childbirth or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. Although study of MNM in Ethiopia is becoming common, it is limited to public facilities leaving private facilities aside. The objective of this study was to assess MNM among women admitted in major private hospitals in eastern Ethiopia. Methods An institution based retrospective study was conducted from March 05 to 31, 2020 in two major private hospitals in Harar and Dire Dawa, eastern Ethiopia. The records of all women who were admitted during pregnancy, delivery or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy was reviewed for the presence of MNM criteria as per the sub-Saharan African MNM criteria. Descriptive analysis was done by computing proportion, ratio and means. Factors associated with MNM were assessed using binary logistic regression with adjusted odds ratio (aOR) along with its 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Of 1214 pregnant or postpartum women receiving care between January 09, 2019 and February 08, 2020, 111 women developed life-threatening conditions: 108 MNM and 3 maternal deaths. In the same period, 1173 live births were registered, resulting in an MNM ratio of 92.1 per 1000 live births. Anemia in the index pregnancy (aOR: 5.03; 95%CI: 3.12-8.13), having chronic hypertension (aOR: 3.13; 95% CI: 1.57-6.26), no antenatal care (aOR: 3.04; 95% CI: 1.58-5.83), being > 35 years old (aOR: 2.29; 95%CI: 1.22-4.29), and previous cesarean section (aOR: 4.48; 95% CI: 2.67-7.53) were significantly associated with MNM. Conclusions Close to a tenth of women admitted to major private hospitals in eastern Ethiopia developed MNM. Women with anemia, history of cesarean section, and old age should be prioritized for preventing and managing MNM. Strengthening antenatal care and early screening of chronic conditions including hypertension is essential for preventing MNM

Phenotypic, host range and symbiotic characteristics of indigenous soybean nodulating rhizobia from Ethiopian soils

Open Access ArticleSoybean is an exotic crop to Ethiopia and may not necessarily have a specific endosymbiont in the soil. However, since it is a promiscuous host, nodulated by cross nodulating rhizobia, it is likely that some compatible endosymbionts exist from heterologous hosts that could nodulate it with effective nitrogen fixation. This necessitated the search for effective indigenous rhizobia isolates and/or compatible and effective cross-inoculating rhizobia that are already adapted to local conditions. To this end, a total of 67 bacterial isolates were trapped from different soil samples using two soybean varieties (Clark-63K and Awassa-95) and one cowpea variety (Bole), to evaluate their diversity and screen for their symbiotic effectiveness. Accordingly, the majority of isolates (93%) were tentatively categorized into alkali producing slow growing Bradyrhiobium spp. and the others (7%) were fast growing and acid producing rhizobia. The isolates showed differences in utilizing various carbon and nitrogen sources and tolerance to acidity, salinity and temperature. The isolates were also diverse in their inherent antibiotic and heavy metal resistance. All the isolates were able to nodulate soybean variety Clark-63K with significant difference in their capacity to infect and effectively fix nitrogen evidenced from variations in nodulation parameters and shoot dry weights. Accordingly, the isolates induced nodulation with nodule number ranging from 2 to 49 nodules plant-1; nodule dry weight of 16 mg plant-1 to 94 mg plant-1 and shoot dry weight between 585 and 1012 mg plant-1. Using shoot dry weight as an indicator of the relative effectiveness of the isolates, 12% of the isolates were highly effective (SE > 80%) and 88% were effective (SE from 50 to 80%) on soybean. Furthermore, the isolates showed narrow and broad host ranges on four legume species viz., cowpea, mung bean, pigeon pea, and peanut. Accordingly, many isolates (67%) formed nodules with effective nitrogen fixation with cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan) (47%), and on few cases with mung bean (Vigna radiata) showing different level of effectiveness. However, the data showed very narrow host range on peanut (Arachis hypogaea) where, only one isolate formed effective nodules

Effect of phosphorus and determination of optimum nitrogen for bread wheat in Kofele District, West Arsi Zone of Oromia, Ethiopia

Optimum nutrients are basic for proper and balanced fertilizer recommendations as paramount importance in order to confirm food security and increase crop productivity in a sustainable way for farmers and other stakeholders. Soil test based crop response phosphorus calibration study for bread wheat at kofole district in 2016 with objectives to determine the optimum nitrogen of bread wheat to nitrogen-fertilizer applications in soils and to give quantitative guidelines and recommendations of nitrogen-fertilizer for bread wheat on Eutric Vertisols. The study was conducted on farmers’ fields across the district. The treatments considered for optimum nitrogen determination were four levels of nitrogen (0, 46, 69 & 92) and phosphorus (0, 23, 46 & 92) fertilizer included in the treatments. The treatments were arranged in a factorial combination of complete block design with two replications. The plot size of 5mx4m with a seed rate of 150kg/ha a variety of Ogolcho which had been recommended for the area was used. The analysis of variance showed that there were significant differences (p<0.05) among treatments application for all locations. The highest grain yield was obtained on the application 69N kg/ha with no application of phosphorus fertilizers on Eutric Vertisols. Minimum grain yield was obtained on the control plots at all sites. Optimum determination with the partial budget analysis made using the annual average bread wheat grains prices showed that 69 kg N ha-1 gave a marginal rate of return of 122.41%, which is above the acceptable minimum rate of return. Therefore, future research should focus on soil test crop response based phosphorus calibration study of on the result optimum nitrogen of the farmland could be a pre request of the technology before to the end user

Impact of landscape management scenarios on ecosystem service values in Central Ethiopia

This study aimed at modeling scenarios of future land use and land cover (LULC) change and estimating ecosystem service (ES) values for the year 2051 compared to 2021 in Central Ethiopia. The future LULC changes for the year 2051 were simulated for four scenarios, namely Business-as-Usual (BAU), Rapid Agricultural Expansion (RAE), Ecosystems Protection and Agricultural Development (EPAD) and Landscape Ecosystems Restoration and Conservation (LERC). The four LULC change scenarios were simulated based on anticipated assumptions that were derived from existing spatial policies, a consultation workshop report on scenarios of agricultural development in Ethiopia, suitability analysis, population growth analysis and expert knowledge of the study area characteristics. We used a Multi-Layer Perceptron–Artificial Neuron Network (MLP–ANN) model-based projected LULC for the BAU scenario and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model to generate RAE, EPAD and LERC scenarios in the study landscape. The benefit transfer method was used to estimate the total ES values and for trade-off analysis. The result showed that LULC changes in the study area varied across simulated scenarios compared to the base year 2021. Under the BAU and RAE scenarios, cultivated land increased by 146,548 ha (22%) and 193,965 ha (29%), whereas forest, water body, wetland and shrub-bush land were reduced. However, forest cover increased by 31,725 ha and 100,080 ha but bare land was reduced by 8466 ha (21%) and 10,379 ha (25%) under the EPAD and LERC scenarios. The forest cover annual rate of change was 3.2% and 6% under the EPAD and LERC scenarios. As a result, the total ES value increased by USD 24.5 and 78.5 million under the EPAD and LERC scenarios for the year 2051, whereas the total ES value was reduced under the BAU and RAE scenarios by USD 27.1 and 73.2 million. The trade-offs among ecosystem services were significantly synergized under the LERC scenario compared to RAE. Therefore, EPAD and LERC could be used as a reference for sustainable landscape planning and management. Landscape ecosystems restoration integrated with a sustainable agricultural intensification approach would enable us to ensure the sustainability of both agricultural production and ecosystem service synergies without negatively affecting the natural environment

A systematic review of studies on freshwater lakes of Ethiopia

Study Region: The study covers the freshwater lakes of Ethiopia, which constitute about 87 billion cubic meters of water volume. The lakes are facing continued ecosystem degradation threats. Study Focus: The aim of this study was to make an inventory of existing literature regarding the freshwater lakes of Ethiopia and identify gaps and priorities for future research directions. This was done through a systematic review of published scientific literature related to the lakes and characterizing each study based on different criteria. New Hydrological Insights for the Region: We found a total of 231 articles on freshwater lakes of Ethiopia published in peer-reviewed journals between 1930 and March 2021. Most studies were focused on hydrochemical and biological characteristics of lakes, with less attention to physical structure and processes (including siltation, lake morphometry and catchment biophysical characteristics). Furthermore, (a) less attention was given to the spatial and temporal dynamics of variables that affect the freshwater lakes, (b) there was limited linkage between landscape hy drological dynamics and freshwater lakes and (c) the smaller highland lakes were given limited attention. Future research should be oriented to the study of the relationship between catchment biophysical dynamics and lake hydrological characteristics

Ecosystem service valuation along landscape transformation in Central Ethiopia

Land degradation and discontinuation of ecosystem services (ES) are a common phe nomenon that causes socio-economic and environmental problems in Ethiopia. However, a dearth of information is known about how ES are changing from the past to the future with regard to land use land cover (LULC) changes. This study aimed at estimating the values of ES based on the past and future LULC changes in central Ethiopia. Maximum likelihood classifier and cellular automata artificial neuron network (CA-ANN) models that integrate the module for land use change evaluation (MOLUSE) were used to classify and predict LULC. The CA-ANN model learning and validation was employed to predict LULC of 2031 and 2051. Following LULC change detection and prediction, the total ES values were estimated using the benefit transfer method. Results revealed that forests, wetlands, grazing lands, shrub-bush-woodlands, and water bodies were reduced by 9755 ha (37%), 4092 ha (38.4%), 21,263 ha (81%), 63,161 ha (25.7%), and 905 ha (1%), respectively, between 1986 and 2021. Similarly, forests, wetlands, grazing lands, shrub-bush lands, and water bodies will experience a decline of 1.5%, 0.5%, 2.6%, 19.6%, and 0.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, cultivated lands, bare-lands, and built-up areas will experience an increase between 1986 and 2051. The estimated total ES values were reduced by US$58.3 and 85.4 million in the period 1986–2021 and 1986–2051. Food production and biological control value increased while 15 other ES decreased throughout the study periods. Proper land use policy with strategic actions, including enforcement laws for natural ecosystems protection, afforestation, ecosystems restoration, and conservation practices, are recommended to be undertaken to enhance multiple ES provision