PHYSICOCHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF STARCH ISOLATED FROM ETHIOPIAN POTATO (PLECTRANTHUS EDULIS)

Starch from the tubers of Ethiopian potato (Plectranthus edulis) (Fam. Lamiaceae) has been isolated and examined for its chemical composition, amylose content and physicochemical properties. The starch yield was about 80.4% on dry weight basis. The proximate composition of the starch on dry weight basis was found to be 0.14% ash, 0.21% lipid, 0.43% protein, and 99.2% starch. The amylose content was 30.6%. Its true density and moisture content values were 1.47 g/mL and 11.2%, respectively. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the starch granules showed characteristic morphology that was by and large oblong (elliptical) with some oval-shaped granules. The starch has normal granule size distribution with a mean particle size of 36.2 µm. The DSC thermograms of the starch obtained from starch-water mixtures (1:1), exhibited gelatinization onset temp. (To) of 69.2 oC, peak temp. (Tp) of 74.3 oC and endset temp. (Te) of 83.3 oC. X-ray diffraction pattern of the starch was typical B-type with a distinctive maximum peak at 17.5o 2θ.The starch possesses higher swelling power and moisture sorption pattern but lower solubility values than those of potato starch at all temperatures studied. Considering the high yield and some similar physicochemical properties to those of potato starch, P. edulis (Ethiopian potato) can be explored as an alternative source of starch for various applications

Speciation of chromium in Algeciras bay

Algeciras Bay is exposed to contamination from chromium because of the industrial activities carring out around the water, i.e Steel Industry and two Petrol Refineries can be mentioned. More over there are several activities which are being carried out including big ports, fishing and recreational activities. Most of the other trace metals in the water have been studied. Considering the environmental and health effects of this metal, study of its level and speciacion in the bay is necessary for wellbeing of all which are directly or indirectly dependent on this water. Unfiltered samples were used for total chromium determination and filtered samples were used for the other fractions and species of chromium determinations. The samples were collected from five different sampling points and four times between 2007 and 2009. The first and third samplings were done in autumn of 2007 and 2008 respectively. The second and the fourth samplings were done in spring of 2008 and 2009 respectivelly. Total chromium levels in the water from the bay were lower than the maximum guideline level to cause toxicity but it was higher than the background levels indicating artificial introduction of chromium to the water from industrial and/or domestic sources and activities carring out on the water. It is also found that the total and trivalent chromium level in Algeciras bay were higher than that of Mediterranean sea but there were no significant differences (=0.05) between hexavalent chromium levels of the two waters. It is also found that the total chromium, the different fractions and species of chromium in Algeciras Bay is lower than similar water bodies. There were no significant differences among the levels of all chromium forms and species studied during the four seasons but there were significant differences in sampling points for active chromium as well as dissolved chromium. There also were significant differences in the sampling years for particulate chromium as well as dissolved chromium. The correlations among the chromium fractions and species were also studied

Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Modeling of Nanoceria Systemic Distribution in Rats Suggests Dose- and Route-Dependent Biokinetics

Background: Cerium dioxide nanoparticles (nanoceria) are increasingly being used in a variety of products as catalysts, coatings, and polishing agents. Furthermore, their antioxidant properties make nanoceria potential candidates for biomedical applications. To predict and avoid toxicity, information about their biokinetics is essential. A useful tool to explore such associations between exposure and internal target dose is physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling. The aim of this study was to test the appropriateness of our previously published PBPK model developed for intravenous (IV) administration when applied to various sizes of nanoceria and to exposure routes relevant for humans. Methods: Experimental biokinetic data on nanoceria (obtained from various exposure routes, sizes, coatings, doses, and tissues sampled) in rats were collected from the literature and also obtained from the researchers. The PBPK model was first calibrated and validated against IV data for 30 nm citrate coated ceria and then recalibrated for 5 nm ceria. Finally, the model was modified and tested against inhalation, intratracheal (IT) instillation, and oral nanoceria data. Results: The PBPK model adequately described nanoceria time courses in various tissues for 5 nm ceria given IV. The time courses of 30 nm ceria were reasonably well predicted for liver and spleen, whereas the biokinetics in other tissues were not well captured. For the inhalation, IT instillation, and oral exposure routes, re-optimization was difficult due to low absorption and, hence, low and variable nanoceria tissue levels. Moreover, the nanoceria properties and exposure conditions varied widely among the inhalation, IT instillation, and oral studies, making it difficult to assess the importance of different factors. Conclusion: Overall, our modeling efforts suggest that nanoceria biokinetics depend largely on the exposure route and dose

Genotypes and their Growing Environments Influence on Physicochemical Qualities of Tef Grain in the Highlands of Ethiopia

አህፅሮት  ከዋና ዋና የብርዕ አገዳ ሰብሎች መካከል አንዱ የሆነው የጤፍ ሰብል  እና ከሱ የሚሰራው እንጀራ ለአብዛኛው የኢትዮጵያ ህዝብ ዋና ምግብ ሆኖ በማገልገል ላይ ይገኛል፡፡ የጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊ/ቅርፃዊ ይዘት በተለይም ቀለሙ የበላተኛውን ቀልብ በመሳብ፣ የገበያ ዋጋን በመወሰንና በአልሚ ምግብ ይዘቱ ላይ ከፍተኛውን ድርሻ ይወስዳል፡፡ ይሁንና የጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊና ኬሚካላዊ ባህርያት ልዩነቶች ከጤፉ ዝርያ  ወይም ከሚበቅልበት አካባቢ ተፈጥሯዊ ሁኔታ ጋር የሚዛመድ ወይም የማይዛመድ መሆኑን እስከ አሁን በጥናት አልተረጋገጠም፡፡ በመሆኑም ይህ ጥናት የጤፍ ፍሬ አካለዊና ስነ-ምግባዊ/ኬሚካላዊ/ ይዘት በጤፍ ዝርያዎችና ጤፍ በሚበቅልበት ቦታ ያለው ከባቢያዊ ሁኔታ ሊያደርስ የሚችለውን ተፅዕኖ ውጤት ዳስሷል፡፡ በአስር የተለያዩ ሥነ-ምህዳር (የአየር ፀባይና የአፈር ዓይነት) ባላቸው የመካከለኛውና ሰሜን ምዕራብ ኢትዮጵያ አካባቢዎች እና ዘጠኝ የተለያዩ ባህርያት ያለቸው የጤፍ ዝርያዎች (የፍሬ ቀለማቸው ነጭ የሁኑ ሰባት እና ቀይ ሁለት) ለአንድ ዓመት (በ2009/10 ዓ.ም፣ የመኸር ወቅት) ተዘርተው የአካላዊና ኬሚካላዊ ባህርያታቸው ተጠንቷል፡፡ በጥናቱ መሰረት በአብዛኛው በጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊም ይሁን ስነ-ኬሚካለዊ ባህርያት ላይ በዝርያዎች ዓይነት፣ በተዘሩበት ቦታ እና ዝርያዎች ከተዘሩበት ቦታ ጋር ባላቸው መስተጋብር መካከል ከፍተኛ ልዩነት (P ≤ 0.01)  አስመዝግበዋል፡፡ የነጭ ጤፍ ዝርያዎች በጤፍ ቀለም መለኪያ መስፈርት ማለትም የቀለም ጥግበት/ምጠት/ (saturation) እና የቀለም ፍካት/ብሩህነት/ (brightnes) ልዩነቶች የመጡት በአብዛኛው በሚበቅሉበት አከባቢ ተፅዕኖ (43.9በመቶ, እና 66.8በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) እና ዝርያዎቹ ከሚበቅሉበት አካባቢ ያላቸው መስተጋበር (33.7በመቶ, እና 24.5በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) ሲሆን የዝርያዎች ልዩነት በተናጥል ያመጣው ለውጥ ግን አነስተኛ (22.5በመቶ, እና 8.7በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) ሆኖ ተገኝቷል፡፡ ጤፉ የተዘራበት አካባቢ የዝናብ መጠን ሲጨምር የፍሬው ቀለም ፍካት የመቀነስ ሁኔታዎች ነበሩት፡፡ በተጨማሪም ጤፍ የተዘራበቸው መሬቶች የአፈር ባህርያት ለምሳሌ ኮምጣጣነት፣ የንጥረ-ነገር ቅይይር ብቃት፣ ካልሽየም፣ ማግኒዝየም እና ፎስፎረስ የመሳሰሉት በቀለም ፍካት ላይ ቀጥተኛ/አወንታዊ እንዲሁም በቀለሙ ጥግበት ላይ አሉታዊ ተፅዕኖ ፈጥረውበታል፡፡ ይሁንና የጤፍ ፍሬ ንጥረ-ነገር ይዘት ከፍሬ ቀለሙ ጋር አጥጋቢ ተዛምዶ እንዳለው ጥናቱ አያሳይም፡፡ ጤፍ የበቀለባቸው ቦታዎች የአፈር ባህርያትና  የአየር ፀባይ ከጤፍ ፍሬ ክብደትና መጠን ጋር ግን ዝምድና እንዳለቸው ይሳያል፡፡ የዝርያዎቹ ባህሪ ከጤፍ ፍሬ ክብደት ይልቅ መጠን ላይ ያላቸው ተፅዕኖ ይጎላል፡፡ ጤፍ የተዘራበት አካበባቢ ከባህር ወለል ከፍታው እና የዝናብ መጠን በጨመረ ቁጥር የጤፍ ፍሬ ክብደት እየጨመረ የመሄድ አዝማሚያ ታይቷል፡፡ ጤፍ የተመረተበት አካባቢ ሁኔታ እንዲሁም ዝርያዎች ከተዘሩበት አካባቢ ጋር ያለው መስተጋብር በጤፍ ፍሬ ንጥረ-ነገር (ፎስፎረስ፣ ፖታሽየም፣ ካልሽየም፣ ማግኒዠየም፣ ሶዲየም፣ አይረን፣ ዚነክ፣ ማንጋኒዝ፣ መዳብ፣ እና ሞሊቢዲነም)  ላይ ያላቸው ተፅዕኖ ዝርያዎቹ በተናጥል ከሚያሳዩት ተፅዕኖ በእጅጉ በልጦ ተገኝቷል፡፡ የጤፍ ፍሬ የቃጫ፣ የቅባት፣ የፕሮቲን እና የሰታርች መጠንም ጤፍ በበቀለበት አካባቢ 70.0በመቶ, 46.9በመቶ, 70.9በመቶ, እና 20.5በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) እና የጤፍ ዝርያዎች ከበቀሉበት አካባቢ ያለው መስተጋብር (28.3በመቶ, 47.3በመቶ, 27.5በመቶ, እና  67.7በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) ከፍተኛውን ልዩነት ያመጡ ሲሆን ዝርያዎቹ በተናጥል (1.7በመቶ. 5.8በመቶ, 1.6በመቶ, እና  11.8በመቶ, በቅደም-ተከተል) እምብዛም ተፅዕኖ አላደረሱም፡፡ የዝርያዎች ከበቀሉበት አካባቢ ጋር ያለው መስተጋብር ለጤፍ ፍሬ ንጥረ-ነገሮች እና ለቃጫ፣ ለቅባት፣ ለፕሮቲን እና ስታርች ያበረከተውን መጠን በትንተና ሲታይ በአስሩም አካባቢዎች አንድ ዝርያ ብቻውን ከሌሎች በልዩነት ገንኖ አልወጣም፡፡ የቀይ ጤፍ ፍሬ በንጥረ-ነገር ይዘቱ ከነጭ ይበልጣል የሚለው አሰተሳሰብ በዚህ ምርምር ውጤት ተቀባይነት አላገኘም፡፡ ይለቁንም ሁለቱም ቀይ የጤፍ ዝርያዎች በስታርች ይዘታቸው ከሁሉም ያነሱ ሁነው ተመዝግበዋል፡፡ በአጠቃላይ የዚህ ምርምር ውጤት የሚያሳየው የጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊና ኬሚካላዊ ባሕርያት ልዩነቶች የሚመጡት በአብዛኛው የተዘራበት አካባቢ እና ዝርያዎቹ ከተዘሩበት አካባቢ ያለቸው መስተጋብር የፈጠረው መሆኑን ነው፡፡ ስለዚህ በኢትዮጵያውያን ተፈላጊ የሆኑ የጤፍ ፍሬ አካላዊ ባህርያት እና ኬሚካላዊ ይዘት ማሻሻል ይቻል ዘንድ ለሰብሉ ተስማሚ የሆነ አካባቢ፣ የአፈር ኮምጣጣነትን የማስተካከል እና የአፈር ንጥረ-ነገሮችን መምረጥ አስፈላጊ ነው፡፡   Abstract Tef is one of the main cereal crops and its injera is the major staple food for the majority of Ethiopians. Tef grain physical quality especially color is an important attribute influencing preference of consumers, the market prices and nutritional quality. However, the effect of the growing environment and the genotype on its physicochemical quality is not yet investigated. The study was, therefore, aimed at assessing the effects of genotypes (G) and growing environments (E) on physicochemical quality of tef grain. Ten diverse locations and nine tef genotypes were selected based on soil and climatic variability as well as variation in grain color [seven white and two brown). Most of tef grain physicochemical contents significantly (P ≤ 0.01) different between genotype, environment and G x E interaction effects. The environment, wherein tef was grown, accounted for the greatest proportion of variation in S (saturation), and V (brightness) values of the white grain genotypes (16.8%, 43.9%, and 66.8%) and  G x E interaction effects (33.7%, and 24.5%) as compared to genotype alone (22.5%, and8.7%).  Growing areas of greatest precipitation will reduce the brightness value of tef grain.  Soil parameters such as soil pH, Ca, Mg, and P play a positive and negative roles in grain brightness and saturation values of tef, respectively. However, grain minerals had no influential role on the color of tef grain in this study. Tef growing areas tied to both climatic and edaphic factors are critical in governing both grain density and size.  The role of genotype was more influential in the grain size of tef than the grain density. The raise of growing locations altitudes and precipitation increased tef grain density. The environment and genotype by environment interaction  effects accounted a greater proportion of  the variation of grain P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, S, Fe, Zn, B, Mn, Cu, and Mo minerals concentrations, while the genotype effect was relatively low.  The variability of grain fiber, fat, protein, and starch compositions were also due to environment (70.0%, 46.9%, 70.9%, and 20.5%, respectively), and genotype by environment interaction (28.3%, 47.3, 27.5%, and 67.7%, respectively), while genotype played a minor role (1.7%. 5.8%, 1.6%, and 11.8%. respectively). With location by genotype interactions, there was no consistency in the dominance of any single genotype across all 10 locations in most of the tef grain mineral concentration and proximate compositions. The brown grain color genotype superiority in grain mineral and proximate composition is not supported by this research, rather the brown color genotypes were the lowest in grain starch concentration on the majority of the locations in this study. Generally, most physical and chemical quality variables of tef grain were markedly influenced by tef growing environments and their interactions with a minuscule role of genotype. Therefore, selection of suitable teff growing environments and proper soil pH and nutrient management would be so important for harnessing the maximum potentials of tef with the desired physicochemical quality of tef grain in Ethiopia.   &nbsp

Nutrient management: as a panacea to improve the caryopsis quality and yield potential of durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) under the changing climatic conditions

The increasing human population and the changing climate, which have given rise to frequent drought spells, pose a serious threat to global food security, while identification of high-yielding drought-tolerant genotypes coupled with nutrient management remains a proficient approach to cope with these challenges. An increase in seasonal temperature, recurring drought stress, and elevated atmospheric CO2 are alarmingly affecting durum wheat production, productivity, grain quality, and the human systems it supports. An increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide can improve wheat grain yield in a certain amount, but the right amount of nutrients, water, and other required conditions should be met to realize this benefit. Nutrients including nitrogen, silicon, and sulfur supply could alleviate the adverse effects of abiotic stress by enhancing antioxidant defense and improving nitrogen assimilation, although the effects on plant tolerance to drought stress varied with nitrogen ionic forms. The application of sewage sludge to durum wheat also positively impacts its drought stress tolerance by triggering high accumulation of osmoregulators, improving water retention capacity in the soil, and promoting root growth. These beneficial effect of nutrients contribute to durum wheat ability to withstand and recover from abiotic stress conditions, ultimately enhance its productivity and resilience. While these nutrients can provide benefits when applied in appropriate amounts, their excessive use can lead to adverse environmental consequences. Advanced technologies such as precision nutrient management, unmanned aerial vehicle-based spraying, and anaerobic digestion play significant roles in reducing the negative effects associated with nutrients like sewage sludge, zinc, nanoparticles and silicon fertilizers. Hence, nutrient management practices offer significant potential to enhance the caryopsis quality and yield potential of durum wheat. Through implementing tailored nutrient management strategies, farmers, breeders, and agronomists can contribute to sustainable durum wheat production, ensuring food security and maintaining the economic viability of the crop under the changing climatic conditions

Current fishery status in Ethiopian reservoirs: challenges and management

Ethiopia is branded as the Water Tower of Africa because of its abundant inland water bodies that may be used sustainably to boost the economy. This review article’s goal is to examine the current status and future potential of Ethiopia’s fisheries, with a special focus on reservoirs. There are 200 known fish species (194 native, 40 endemic, and 11 exotic) in in Ethiopia’s inland water. Ethiopia’s fish production has increased by a factor of more than five in the past three decades (3,500 tons in 1983 to 15,681 tons in 2000 and 18,058 tons in 2010). However, fish produced in reservoirs is too low (8,059 t/year). The current fish harvests from reservoirs are significantly below the predicted potential yield, accounting for only 35% of the calculated fish production capacity. In this review, 14 potential reserves were revealed. A total of 48 fish species have been reported in these, of which 26 species (or around 54%) are present in Alwero reservoir. 19 of the 48 species that have been officially recognized belong to the Cyprinidae family and made up nearly 40% of the fish population in Ethiopian reservoirs. There has been, however, a decline in the productivity of Ethiopia’s reservoir fish. Hence, actively start fishing in the numerous reservoirs that have been neglected yet, link the potential of fisheries and the benefits of the fish farming supply chain, let’s begin building several other reservoirs similar to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and beginning mechanized-based fish harvesting

Competitiveness as an Indicator of Sustainable Development of Tourism: Applying Destination Competitiveness Indicators to Ethiopia

Competitiveness can be applied to predict the economic sustainability of tourism in destinations which has been measured in terms of leakages and linkage related to employment and income generation opportunities to the destinations. This article examines destination competitiveness of Ethiopia based on the analyses of administrative records, academic journals, face-to-face discussion with the key industry players and email communication. The main objective of this study is to assess sustainability of economic benefits of tourism for Ethiopia by applying destination competitiveness indicators. The result shows that potential destination competitiveness is significant for the growth of tourism and its economy especially to employment and income generation in Ethiopia. As the competitiveness of Ethiopia is being improved, it will result in the increase of tourist arrivals that will sustain economic benefits of tourism

Sustainable management practices for durum wheat production: Analyzing specific agronomic interventions on productivity, grain micronutrient content, and quality

As compared with single agronomic crop management practices during grain formation, knowledge about integrated agronomic management practices on grain mineral composition and grain technological properties in durum wheat is limited. This knowledge is important for determining management strategies aimed at increasing grain yield without affecting grain nutritional quality. Integrated agronomic practices such as foliar nutrient application × seeding rate × varieties combined with growing locations were investigated to evaluate the dynamics of yield and grain quality traits. Two durum wheat varieties, three-level of micronutrients (i.e. control, FeSO4, and ZnSO4), and four levels of seeding rate (i.e. 100, 125, 150, and 175 kg ha−1) were arranged in split-split plot design under two different growing locations (environments). The main plots were assigned to the varieties, subplots to micronutrients, and sub-sub plots to the seeding rate treatments. Zinc and iron were applied in a form of ZnSO4 and FeSO4 at the early flowering stage, both at a rate of 25 kg ha−1. Results showed a linear increment in biomass (21.5%) and grain yield (23.5%) under a high seeding rate, even though the 1000-grain weight, the number of grains spike−1, spike length, and the number of grains spike−1 were decreased. Higher varietal and environmental response of seeding rate was observed between varieties. The grain protein content, gluten, and zeleyn index decreased as the seeding rate increased. Grain micronutrient content was significantly influenced by seeding rate and varietal difference. The grain protein content was higher in a dryland environment than in a wet environment. A combined use of density-tolerant varieties, high seeding rate, and foliar-based iron application can improve the grain yield from 2.01 to 3.20 t ha−1 under a potential environment. Hence, all stakeholders should consider the genotype (G), environment (E), management (M), and their synergies, as far as grain yield and quality are considered simultaneously

Perinatal exposure to potential endocrine disrupting chemicals and autism spectrum disorder: From Norwegian birth cohort to zebrafish studies

publishedVersionpublishedVersio