Evaluation of Newly Released Improved Haricot Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Varieties Under Smallholder Famers’ Condition in Metekel Zone, Northwestern Ethiopia

Ethiopia has favorable agro ecologies for haricot bean production. The people habitually consume it besides serve as a cash crop across the country. The current production status is not comparable to the existing market and consumption needs coupled with low productivity due to absence of improved haricot bean varieties. This study focused on evaluation of newly released improved haricot bean varieties under smallholder farmers’ condition in Metekel Zone. The evaluation was done in Debate and Mandura districts due to their potential. Five kebeles and 22 hosted farmers were selected purposively based on their experience and willingness to implement the demonstration. SER-119, SER-125 and NASIR varieties were the materials used for evaluation. Each participant farmer provided a 25 m* 25 m (625 m2) plot of land for each variety. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 42 farmers (20 control group) through appropriate data collection tools. The data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSS (version 26) software package. Farmers’ preference ranking also carried out accordingly based their own criteria. Marketability, grain yield, seed color, maturity date, pod number per plant and disease resistance were the main preference traits for famers. Results show the highest (1303.55 kg ha-1) mean grain yield observed from SER-119 variety in all testing sites. Although yield variability observed among the varieties, all the evaluated improved varieties have significant yield increment over the control at (p<0.01). The highest net return (16,539.19 ETB ha-1) received from SER-119. Findings revealed that SER-119 and SER-125 dominated NASIR variety particularly regarding grain yield and preferred varieties by farmers. Therefore, farmers have been encouraged to use the preferred varieties accordingly for large-scale production with close guidance of development agents and experts. Keywords: Demonstration, Farmers’ preference, Haricot Bean, Metekel and Varieties DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/12-20-04 Publication date:October 31st 2021

Evaluation of Newly Released Soybean Varieties (Glycine max.) under Smallholder Farmers’ Condition in Western Ethiopia

Soybean is a miracle legume crop in the world due to its multipurpose use. The global demand of the crop is increasing rapidly because of its growing demand particularly in the animal feed industries. But, the current production status of the commodity is not comparable to the rapidly increasing demands. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of improved soybean varieties under smallholder farmers’ condition in western Ethiopia. Six kebeles were selected purposively in Pawe and Jawe districts based on their potential and suitability for soybean production. A total of 24 hosted farmers were selected purposively by considering their willingness and performance to implement the demonstration. Pawe-1, Pawe-2, Pawe-3 and Ethio-Yugoslavia varieties were the materials used in the evaluation.  Grain yield, seed size, pod number per plant, seed number per pod, plant height, disease resistant and maturity date were the main preference traits for farmers. Bothe qualitative and quantitative data were collected from 41 farmers (17 control group). The collected data were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics by using SPSS software package. Farmers’ preference ranking also conducted based of their selection criteria. The combined results over locations show that 1767.58, 1723.46, 1619.58 and 1600.08 kg ha-1mean grain yield recorded from Pawe-3, Ethio-Yugoslavia, Pawe-1 and Pawe-2 varieties respectively. Overall mean grain yield of improved varieties was 1677.68 kg ha-1.  The least (927.41 kg ha-1) mean grain yield observed from the local variety. Findings revealed that all the demonstrated improved varieties have significant yield advantage over the control at (p<0.01) in all locations. Farmers put Pawe-3 variety in the first rank based on the total score of their preference traits. Agricultural professionals and other concerned bodies have to give more emphasis to promote the newly released proven soybean varieties with full recommended packages to increase the production status further to ensure the demands of domestic processing and export marketing and this will contribute to the overall economic growth. Keywords: Demonstration, farmers’ preference, soybean variety, western Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/12-13-04 Publication date:July 31st 202

Effect of curing conditions and harvesting stage of maturity on Ethiopian onion bulb drying properties

The study was conducted to investigate the impact of curing conditions and harvesting stageson the drying quality of onion bulbs. The onion bulbs (Bombay Red cultivar) were harvested at three harvesting stages (early, optimum, and late maturity) and cured at three different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 oC) and relative humidity (30, 50 and 70%). The results revealed that curing temperature, RH, and maturity stage had significant effects on all measuredattributesexcept total soluble solids

Prevalence and predictors of immunologic failure among HIV patients on HAART in southern Ethiopia

Immunologic monitoring is part of the standard care for patients on antiretroviral treatment. Yet, little is known about the routine implementation of immunologic monitoring in Ethiopia. This study assessed the pattern of immunologic monitoring, immunologic response, level of immunologic treatment failure and factors related to it among patients on antiretroviral therapy in selected hospitals in southern Ethiopia. A retrospective longitudinal analytic study was conducted using documents of patients started on antiretroviral therapy. A total of 1,321 documents of patients reviewed revealed timely immunologic monitoring were inadequate. Despite overall adequate immunologic response, the prevalence of immunologic failure was 11.5% (n=147). Having WHO Stage III/IV of the disease and a higher CD4 (cluster differentiation 4) cell count at baseline were identified as risks for immunologic failure. These findings highlight the magnitude of the problem of immunologic failure. Prioritizing monitoring for high risk patients may help in effective utilisation of meager resourcesHealth StudiesM. A. (Public Health

Exploratory analysis of time from HIV diagnosis to ART start, factors and effect on survival: A longitudinal follow up study at seven teaching hospitals in Ethiopia

Background: the HIV care in Ethiopia has reached 79% coverage. The timeliness of the care provided at the different levels in the course of the disease starting from knowing HIV positive status to ART initiation is not well known. This study intends to explore the timing of the care seeking, the care provision and associated factors.Methods: This is a longitudinal follow-up study at seven university hospitals. Patients enrolled in HIV care from September 2005 to December 2013 and aged ≥14 years were studied. Different times in the cascade of HIV care were examined including the duration from date HIV diagnosed to enrollment in HIV care, duration from enrollment to eligibility for ART and time from eligibility to initiation of ART. Ordinal logistic regression was used to investigate their determinants while the effect of these periods on survival of patients was determined using cox-proportional hazards regression.Results: 4159 clients were studied. Time to enrollment after HIV test decreased from 39 days in 2005 to 1 day after 2008. It took longer if baseline CD4 was higher, and eligibility for ART was assessed late. Young adults, lower baseline CD4, HIV diagnosis<2008, late enrollment, and early eligibility assessment were associated with early ART initiation. Male gender, advanced disease stage and lower baseline CD4 were consistent risk factors for mortality.Conclusion and recommendation: Time to enrollment and duration of ART eligibility assessment as well as ART initiation time after eligibility is improving. Further study is required to identify why mortality is slightly increasing after 2010.Key words: HIV, HIV testing, enrollment, eligibility, antiretroviral therapy, mortality, Ethiopia

Design of Packaging Vents for Cooling Fresh Horticultural Produce

Abstract This review focuses on the design of vents in packages used for handling horticulture produce. The studies on vent designs that are conducted to obtain fundamental understanding of the mechanisms by which different parameters affect the rate and homogeneity of the airflow and the cooling process are presented. Ventilated packages should be designed in such a way that they can provide a uniform airflow distribution and consequently uniform produce cooling. Total opening area and opening size and position show a significant effect on pressure drop, air distribution uniformity and cooling efficiency. Recent advances in measurement and mathematical modelling techniques have provided powerful tools to develop detailed investigations of local airflow rate and heat and mass transfer processes within complex packaging structures. The complexity of the physical structure of the packed systems and the biological variability of the produce make both experimental and model-based studies of transport processes challenging. In many of the available mathematical models, the packed structure is assumed as a porous medium; the limitations of the porous media approach are evident during vented package design studies principally when the containerto-produce dimension ratio is below a certain value. The complex and chaotic structure within horticultural produce ventilated packages during a forced-air precooling process complicates the numerical study of energy and mass transfer considering each individual produce. Future research efforts should be directed to detailed models of the vented package, the complex produce stacking within the package, as well as their interaction with adjacent produce, stacks and surrounding environment. For the validation of the numerical models, the development of better experimental techniques taking into account the complex packaging system is also very important

Investigation into air distribution systems and thermal environment control in chilled food processing facilities

Air flow distribution in chilled food facilities plays a critical role not only in maintaining the required food products temperature but also because of its impact on the facility energy consumption and CO2 emissions. This paper presents an investigation of the thermal environment in existing food manufacturing facilities, with different air distribution systems including supply/return diffusers and fabric ducts, by means of both in-situ measurements and 3D CFD simulations. Measurements and CFD simulations showed that the fabric duct provides a better environment in the processing area in terms of even and low air flow if compared to that with the diffusers. Moreover, temperature stratification was identified as a key factor to be improved to reduce the energy use for the space cooling. Further modelling proved that air temperature stratification improves by relocating the fabric ducts at a medium level. This resulted in a temperature gradient increase up to 4.1 °C in the unoccupied zone

“Every Newborn-INDEPTH” (EN-INDEPTH) study protocol for a randomised comparison of household survey modules for measuring stillbirths and neonatal deaths in five Health and Demographic Surveillance sites

Background: Under-five and maternal mortality were halved in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) era, with slower reductions for 2.6 million neonatal deaths and 2.6 million stillbirths. The Every Newborn Action Plan aims to accelerate progress towards national targets, and includes an ambitious Measurement Improvement Roadmap. Population-based household surveys, notably Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, are major sources of population-level data on child mortality in countries with weaker civil registration and vital statistics systems, where over two-thirds of global child deaths occur. To estimate neonatal/child mortality and pregnancy outcomes (stillbirths, miscarriages, birthweight, gestational age) the most common direct methods are: (1) the standard DHS-7 with Full Birth History with additional questions on pregnancy losses in the past 5 years (FBH+) or (2) a Full Pregnancy History (FPH). No direct comparison of these two methods has been undertaken, although descriptive analyses suggest that the FBH+ may underestimate mortality rates particularly for stillbirths. Methods: This is the protocol paper for the Every Newborn-INDEPTH study (INDEPTH Network, International Network for the Demographic Evaluation of Populations and their Health Every Newborn, Every Newborn Action Plan), aiming to undertake a randomised comparison of FBH+ and FPH to measure pregnancy outcomes in a household survey in five selected INDEPTH Network sites in Africa and South Asia (Bandim in urban and rural Guinea-Bissau; Dabat in Ethiopia; IgangaMayuge in Uganda; Kintampo in Ghana; Matlab in Bangladesh). The survey will reach >68 000 pregnancies to assess if there is ≥15% difference in stillbirth rates. Additional questions will capture birthweight, gestational age, birth/death certification, termination of pregnancy and fertility intentions. The World Bank's Survey Solutions platform will be tailored for data collection, including recording paradata to evaluate timing. A mixed methods assessment of barriers and enablers to reporting of pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes will be undertaken. Conclusions: This large-scale study is the first randomised comparison of these two methods to capture pregnancy outcomes. Results are expected to inform the evidence base for survey methodology, especially in DHS, regarding capture of stillbirths and other outcomes, notably neonatal deaths, abortions (spontaneous and induced), birthweight and gestational age. In addition, this study will inform strategies to improve health and demographic surveillance capture of neonatal/child mortality and pregnancy outcomes.Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF

Numerical Modelling Of Humid Air Flow Around A Porous Body

This paper presents an example of humid air flow around a single head of Chinese cabbage under conditions of complex heat transfer. This kind of numerical simulation allows us to create a heat and humidity transfer model between the Chinese cabbage and the flowing humid air. The calculations utilize the heat transfer model in porous medium, which includes the temperature difference between the solid (vegetable tissue) and fluid (air) phases of the porous medium. Modelling and calculations were performed in ANSYS Fluent 14.5 software