ALTERATIONS IN GABAERGIC NTS NEURON FUNCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH TLE AND SUDEP

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that is characterized by aberrant electrical activity in the brain resulting in at least two unprovoked seizures over a period longer than 24 hours. Approximately 60% of individuals with epilepsy are diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and about one third of those individuals do not respond well to anti-seizure medications. This places those individuals at high risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). SUDEP is defined as when an individual with epilepsy, who is otherwise healthy, dies suddenly and unexpectedly for unknown reasons. SUDEP is one of the leading causes of death in individuals with acquired epilepsies (i.e. not due to genetic mutations), such as TLE. Previous studies utilizing genetic models of epilepsy have suggested that circuitry within the vagal complex of the brainstem may play a role in SUDEP risk. Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons of the nucleus tractus solitarius (NTS) within the vagal complex receive, filter, and modulate cardiorespiratory information from the vagus nerve. GABAergic NTS neurons then project to cardiac vagal motor neurons, eventually effecting parasympathetic output to the periphery. In this study, a mouse model of TLE was used to assess the effect of epileptogenesis on GABAergic NTS neuron function and determine if functional alterations in these neurons impact SUDEP risk. It was discovered that mice with TLE (i.e. TLE mice) have significantly increased mortality rates compared to control animals, suggesting that SUDEP occurs in this model. Using whole cell electrophysiology synaptic and intrinsic properties of GABAergic NTS neurons were investigated in TLE and control mice. Results suggest that during epileptogenesis, GABAergic NTS neurons become hyperexcitable, potentially due to a reduction in A-type potassium channel current and increased excitatory synaptic input. Increases in hyperexcitability have been shown to be associated with an increased risk of spreading depolarization and action potential inactivation leading to neuronal quiescence. This may lead to a decreased inhibition of parasympathetic tone, causing cardiorespiratory collapse and SUDEP in TLE

Phenotypic Diversity among Faba Bean (Vicia faba L) Landraces from the Ethiopian Highlands

አህፅሮት ባቄላ በኢትዮጵያ የብዝሀነት ስርጭት ያለዉና ፈርጀ-ብዙ የአመራረት፣ የአመጋገብና የጤና ጠቀሜታ ያለው ሰብል ቢሆንም ምርታማነቱ በተለያዩ ማነቆዎች የተነሳ በሰፊው ከሚመረቱት የጥራጥሬ  ሰብሎች አንፃር እጅግ ዝቅ ያለ ነው፡፡ በመሆኑም የባቄላ ዝርያ ብዝh zRN ተለያይነት ማጥናት  እነኚህን የምርት ማነቆዎች ተቋቁመው የተሻሻሉ ምርት ሊሰጡ የሚችሉ ዝርያዎችን ለማግኘት ዕድል ይፈጠራል፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ዓላማ ከኢትዮጵያ የባቄላ አምራች ደጋማ xካባቢዎች ከአገርአቀፍ የደጋ ጥራጥሬ ምርምር ምንጮች እንዲሁም ከአለም አቀፍ ምርምር ተቋማት የተገኙ 50 የባቄላ ብዝሃ-ዘሮችን በሆለታ ምርምር ማዕከል ውስጥ Randomized Complete Block Design ዘርቶ በመገምገም ያላቸውን የዝርያ ተለያይነት፣ ብዝሃነትና ስብጥር ምን እንደሚመስል ለማወቅ ሲሆን የዚህ ጥናት መረጃዎች በ ቫሪያንስ፣ bክሊስተር እና bፕሪንሲፓል ኮምፖንነት ትንተና ዘዴዎች ትንተና ውጤት እንdሚያመለክተዉ በባቄላ ብዝሃ-ዘሮቹ ስብስቦች መካከል ከፍተኛ የሆነ በሽታ የመቋቋም፣ የሞርፎሎጂ ባህሪያት፡ የምርታማነት እና የምርት ኮምፖነንት  ተለያይነት  እንዳላቸዉ ይጠቁማል፡፡ በተጨማሪ የክላስተር ትንተና በጥናቱ ውስጥ የተካተቱ 50 የባቄላ ብዝሃ-ዘሮችን ሶስት ቦታ ሲመድባቸው፤ በተለያየ ንዑስ ቡድን ተከፋፍለዋል፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ውጤት በአጠቃላይ  የእነዚህ በባቄላ ብዝሃ-ዘሮቹ ስብስቦች መካከል መለያየት ዝርያ ለማሻሻያ መልካም አጋጣሚነትን  በመጠቀም በባቄላ ምርት ማሻሻያ ምርምር  ውስጥ ለመጠቀም የሚያስችል የባቄላ የብዝሃ-ዘር ተለያይነት እንዳለ በጥናቱ ይጠቁማል፡፡    AbstractKnowledge of phenotypic diversity is important for devising the breeding strategy for faba bean (Vicia faba L.) program in Ethiopia. This study was conducted to determine phenotypic diversity among 50 faba bean genotypes collected from the major faba bean growing areas of Ethiopia and International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). The genotypes were evaluated at two locations using a randomized complete block design with three replications. All agronomic data, yield and yield component, chocolate spot (Botrytis fabae) disease incidence disease severity were collected and analyzed using analysis of variance, principal component analysis and the Shanon-Weaver index, using SAS V9.3 and PAST V 3.0 software. There were significant differences (p< 0.001) among the genotypes on most of phenotypic traits, chocolate spot disease severity, yield and its component. The genotypes were categorized into three clusters and different sub-groups. Six principal components were identified explaining more than 80% of the total variation. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index, which ranged from 3.82 for pod weight to 7.15 for number of basal branches per plant, revealed high diversity among and within the genotypes. The observed high variation among the faba bean genotypes would be exploited in new faba bean varieties development program

Women's economic empowerment and entrepreneurship in agriculture : a case of Mashonaland West Province in Zimbabwe.

Doctor of Philosophy in Entrepreneurship. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard College 2015.Gender equality and women’s empowerment has been widely acknowledged as an important goal for international development, especially within the agricultural sector. The agricultural sector is a critical sector for many developing economies, particularly Zimbabwe which is agro based. Women are active players in agriculture and they make enormous contributions towards food production and income generating activities through entrepreneurship. This study combines three under researched contemporary discourses in research namely women’s economic empowerment, women entrepreneurship and agriculture. The study explores the nexus between women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship in agriculture in Mashonaland West province in Zimbabwe. In particular, the main aim of the study is to investigate whether economic empowerment of women through entrepreneurship in agriculture can lead to improved quality of lives for women. A mixed method approach was used to collect data from a sample of two hundred and forty eight (248) women involved in agricultural entrepreneurship. Two types of non-probability sampling techniques known as purposive and convenience sampling were used to identify the women. Data was collected in three phases. The first phase collected qualitative data using two focus groups involving fourteen (14) women entrepreneurs. The second phase used a questionnaire survey to collect quantitative data from two hundred and thirty four (234) women entrepreneurs. Data collection was wrapped up with in-depth interviews with ten (10) women who had also participated in the questionnaire survey. Content analysis was used to analyse qualitative data, while descriptive and inferential statistics such as Principal Component Analysis and ANOVA were used to analyse quantitative data. The results revealed that economic empowerment has indeed improved the lives of women and their families. The results also indicated that women are generally receiving support from the government in the form of agricultural inputs, training, agriculture equipment, with a few women receiving farming loans. The results also revealed that although the quality of women’s livelihood has improved, lack of skills in agriculture and entrepreneurship is hampering the full potential of economic empowerment among women. In addition, the study revealed that the majority of women are involved in agriculture out of necessity to provide food for their families and as a result of poverty, rather than as an entrepreneurial venture. This has serious implications on economic development and food security in Zimbabwe, bearing in mind that the economy is mainly dependent on agriculture. Therefore, policy makers should find ways of changing the mindset of Zimbabweans and encourage people, especially women and the youth to consider agriculture as a profitable business venture. In addition, more support is required to capacitate women with the necessary skills that would enable them to take agriculture entrepreneurship to a higher level that contributes significantly to the Zimbabwean economy. Future research should focus on finding ways to economically empower women in rural areas, especially in Zimbabwe where the majority of the population is living in poverty

Combining ability analysis and heterotic grouping for grain yield among maize inbred lines selected for the mid-altitude and highland zones of Rwanda

Development and identification of maize parental lines that belong to different heterotic groups is a fundamental requirement for any hybrid production programme. The objective of this study was, therefore, to determine combining ability, heterosis and heterotic patterns for grain yield among ten selected local (unknown heterotic groups) and exotic (known heterotic groups) maize inbred lines and their progenies under mid-altitude and highland conditions of Rwanda. Forty-five single crosses from a 10 x 10 half-diallel mating design plus three checkswere tested in a 6 x 8 alpha-lattice design across twelve environments. General combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects were both highly significant (P<0.001-0.01), suggesting presence of both additive and non-additive gene effects. The percentage mid-parent heterosis (MPH) for grain yield ranged from36.4to 267.7% with a mean of 164%, while high-parent heterosis (HPH) varied from 33.2% to 236% with a mean of 130.4%. Based on MPH, the seven local maize inbred lines were discriminated and assigned into four different heterotic groups (S4, S7, S4/S6 and S6/S7). The highest heterotic patterns were realized between tester S4and tester S6 (hybrid S4/S6) and between group S7 and tester S4 (hybrid S2/S4). Identified patterns would be potentially useful for maize hybrid production in Rwanda. Similarly, the resulting hybrids could be recommended in sub-Saharan African regions with similar ecosystems. Significance of both additive and non-additive geneticeffects in the current germplasm suggests that the Rwandan breeding programme could use both hybridization and recurrent selection methods

A review of government initiatives to stimulate women entrepreneurship in South Africa : 1955-2009.

Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2011.Worldwide, women entrepreneurs play a major role in the economic growth and development of any nation, yet women are still facing a multiplicity of challenges in the small business sector. Women entrepreneurs could play a more significant role in the small business sector given all the necessary support. The main objective of this study was to review the South African government initiatives that were designed to stimulate women entrepreneurship during 1995 to 2009. This topic is exploratory as well as descriptive in nature. As a result of this, qualitative and quantitative data was collected in order to address the research objectives of the study. A non probability sampling technique, known as snowballing was used to identify the research participants. The sample for the study was made up of two different groups of participants; namely women entrepreneurs and experts from the field of entrepreneurship. Data was analysed using content analysis. Although content analysis is often used for analysing qualitative data, it has a limitation in that it sometimes fails to interpret delicate and intricate texts (Denscombe, 2003:221). Because of this limitation, Kruskal Wallis and Chi square tests were used in order to complement content analysis. These two data analysis tools were adopted because of the non parametric nature of the research data. The main limitation of the study was that primary data was collected in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu Natal due to limited resources. In addition to this, the sampling technique used has a disadvantage in that the results of the research cannot be generalized to the population at large. However, the empirical results in conjunction with the literature review could assist in policy evaluation of the initiatives that could stimulate the development of women entrepreneurs in this country to a higher level. The empirical findings of the study revealed that women entrepreneurs are still experiencing a lot of barriers to entry into the small business sector such as access to finance, lack of entrepreneurial training and lack of information, just to mention a few. The results also revealed that the government support programmes are failing to address the barriers to entry that women are experiencing in the small business sector. In as much as the government is making progress in providing support programmes towards women entrepreneurship, the empirical findings also revealed that the majority of women entrepreneurs are not aware of the available support programmes that are targeting them. Lack of awareness of the available government initiatives was cited as the major reason why women are not benefiting fully from the government support programmes. Based on the research findings, it could be recommended that the government should review the current policies and programmes that are designed to assist women entrepreneurs in this country in order to evaluate the weaknesses and strengths that are inherent in the system. Future programmes should be designed based on empirical research in order to match the actual needs of women entrepreneurs in relation to the challenges that they encounter. This is crucial because women in the small business sector are a heterogeneous group with different needs and challenges. For this reason, a small business research foundation should be established with the core mandate of carrying out on-going research on the small business sector in this country

Consumer acceptance of yellow, provitamin A-biofortified maize in KwaZulu-Natal

Objectives: To assess the acceptance of popular maize food products (phutu, thin porridge and samp), prepared with yellow, provitamin A-biofortified maize varieties, in 212 subjects between the ages of three and 55 years, from rural KwaZulu-Natal.Design: A cross-sectional study.Method: Preschool, primary school and secondary school subjects were randomly selected from two primary schools and one secondary school, respectively, while adult subjects constituted a convenience sample. Pre- and primary school children completed a paired preference test. Secondary school and adult subjects completed a five-point facial hedonic and a preference ranking test. Focus group discussions were conducted using adult subjects.Results: Preschool children preferred yellow maize to white maize food products: phutu (81% vs. 19%; p-value &lt; 0.001), thin porridge (75% vs. 25%; p-value &lt; 0.001) and samp (73% vs. 27%; p-value &lt; 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in preference for white and yellow maize by primary school children. Secondary school and adult subjects preferred white maize to yellow maize. Focus group discussions confirmed the preference for white maize by the adults.Conclusion: The study findings suggest that yellow, provitamin A-biofortified maize has the potential to succeed as a new strategy of dealing with the serious problem of vitamin A deficiency, especially among children of preschool age. However, in older groups, this strategy is unlikely to be successful, unless other strategies are implemented, including intensive nutrition education programmes on the nutritional benefits of the maize, targeting the market price at which yellow maize is sold, increasing its availability in local grocery stores, and improving its sensory properties through breeding.Keywords: yellow maize, provitamin A, vitamin A deficiency, consumer acceptanc

A review of genetic analysis and response to selection for resistance to Busseola fusca and Chilo partellus, stem borers in tropical maize germplasm: A Kenyan perspective

This paper provides a review on the context for the research in maize improvement for resistance to stem borers (Chilo partellus and Busseola fusca) in tropical environments. The following aspects are reviewed a) major productions constraints in East Africa, b) the stem borer problem in maize, c) genetic studies on maize resistance to stem borers. The explanations of key technical issues on progress and challenges in breeding for stem borer resistance in maize, inheritance of stem borer resistance and combining ability in maize, maize heterotic patterns, determination of heterotic orientations, application of the line x tester mating design, screening methods, selection indices, genotype x environment interactions, and response to selection for resistance to stem borers are addressed. Therefore, this paper forms a setting of reference for the study

Genetic effects and associations between grain yield potential, stress tolerance and yield stability in southern African maize (Zea mays L.) base germplasm.

Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.Maize (Zea mays L.) is the principal crop of Southern Africa but production is threatened by gray leaf spot (Cercospora zea-maydis L.) and phaeosphaeria leaf spot (Phaeosphaeria maydis L.) diseases, drought and the use of unadapted cultivars, among other constraints. There are few studies of gray leaf spot (GLS) and Phaeosphaeria leaf spot (PLS) resistance, drought tolerance, yield stability and maize cultivar preferences in Southern Africa. The objective of this study was to: a) determine farmers’ preferences for cultivars; b) investigate the gene action and heritability for resistance to GLS and PLS, and drought tolerance; and c) evaluate yield stability and its relationship with high yield potential in Southern African maize germplasm. The study was conducted in South Africa and Zimbabwe during 2003 to 2004. A participatory rural appraisal (PRA) established that farmers preferred old hybrids of the 1970s because they had better tolerance to drought stress. Farmers also preferred their local landrace because of its flintier grain and better taste than the hybrids. The major prevailing constraints that influenced farmers’ preferences were lack of appropriate cultivars that fit into the ultra short seasons, drought and low soil fertility. Thus they preferred cultivars that combine high yield potential, early maturity, and drought tolerance in all areas. However, those in relatively wet areas preferred cultivars with tolerance to low soil fertility, and weevil resistance, among other traits. A genetic analysis of 72 hybrids from a North Carolina Design II mating revealed significant differences for GLS and PLS resistance, and drought tolerance. General combining ability (GCA) effects accounted for 86% of genetic variation for GLS and 90% for PLS resistance indicating that additive effects were more important than non-additive gene action in controlling these traits. Some crosses between susceptible and resistant inbreds had high resistance to GLS suggesting the importance of dominance gene action in controlling GLS resistance. Resistance to GLS and PLS was highly heritable (62 to 73%) indicating that resistance could be improved by selection. Also large GCA effects for yield (72%), number of ears per plant (77%), and anthesis-silking interval (ASI) (77%) under drought stress indicated that predominantly additive effects controlled hybrid performance under drought conditions. Although heritability for yield declined from 60% under optimum to 19% under drought conditions, heritability for ASI ranged from 32 to 49% under moisture stress. High heritability for ASI suggested that yield could be improved through selection for short ASI, which is positively correlated with high yield potential under drought stress. The stability analyses of the hybrids over 10 environments indicated that 86% had average stability; 8% had below average stability and were adapted to favourable environments; and 6% displayed above average stability and were specifically adapted to drought stress environments. Grain yield potential and yield stability were positively correlated. In sum, the study indicated that farmers’ preferences would be greatly influenced by the major prevailing constraints. It also identified adequate genetic variation for stress tolerance, yield potential and yield stability in Southern African maize base germplasm, without negative associations among them, suggesting that cultivars combining high yield potential, high stress tolerance and yield stability would be obtainable.Submitted to the African Centre for Crop Improvement

Acceptance of a complementary food prepared with yellow, provitamin A-biofortified maize by black caregivers in rural KwaZulu-Natal

Objectives: The objective was to assess the sensory acceptability and consumer perceptions of soft porridge made with yellow, provitamin A-biofortified maize by black African female infant caregivers from rural KwaZulu-Natal.Design: This was a cross-sectional study.Setting: The study was conducted at Edendale Hospital, located in the uMgungundlovu District, KwaZulu-Natal province. The hospital serves a high proportion of people from rural areas in this district.Subjects: Sixty black African female infant caregivers participated in the study.Outcome measures: The sensory acceptability of soft porridge made from two varieties of provitamin-A biofortified maize and one variety of white maize were evaluated by black African female infant caregivers (n = 60) using a five-point facial hedonic scale. Some of the subjects (n = 21) participated in focus group discussions to assess consumer perceptions.Results: There was no significant difference in the sensory acceptability of the biofortified maize porridge and the white maize porridge, irrespective of caregiver age (p-value &gt; 0.05). The caregivers expressed a willingness to give their infants porridge made with provitamin A-biofortified maize if it was more affordable, readily available and beneficial to health.Conclusion: The biofortified maize soft porridge was found to be as  acceptable as the white maize soft porridge to black African female infant caregivers from rural KwaZulu-Natal. Provitamin A-biofortified maize has the potential to be used as a complementary food item that would contribute to the alleviation of vitamin A deficiency