Food insecurity in Farta District, Northwest Ethiopia: A community based cross–sectional study

Background Access to sufficient food is essential for household welfare as well as for accomplishing other development activities. Households with insufficient access to food often face other challenges related to food insecurity including poor health and a decline in productivity. These challenges can often create a vicious circle whereby households are unable to produce enough food even during a good crop season. Thus, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of food insecurity and its determinants in rural households of Farta District, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods A community based cross-sectional study was conducted from September to October 2012. Household heads were recruited using a multistage random sampling technique. Data were collected by face-to-face interviews using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) tool after verbal informed consent. Data were entered to Epi info 2002 and exported to SPSS version 16 for analysis. Multiple logistic regressions were fitted and odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to identify associated factors and control confounding effect. Results A total of 836 households were included in this study. Nearly three quarters of the households (70.7%) had food insecurity. Households headed by females (AOR = 3.18, 95% CI:1.08, 15.21), lack of education (AOR = 2.59, 95% CI: 1.46, 4.60), family size of 4-7 (AOR = 2.39, 95% CI: 1.21,4.70), family size of >7 (AOR = 13.23,95% CI:6.18, 28.32), few or absence of livestock (AOR = 5.60, 95% CI:1.28, 24.43), absence of income from off-farm activities (AOR = 3.12, 95% CI:1.53, 6.36), lack of irrigation (AOR = 3.54, 95% CI:2.14, 5.18) and lack of perennial income (AOR = 3.15, 95% CI:1.88, 5.27) were factors associated with food insecurity. Conclusions This study revealed that most households of the district were food insecure. Hence, the promotion of contraceptive use, off-farm employment activities and the development of small scale irrigation are important recommendations to reduce food insecurity

Management, use and ecology of medicinal plants in the degraded dry lands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia

An ethnomedicinal study was conducted to document the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge on the management, use, and ecology of locally important medicinal plants in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Ethnobotanical data were collected from 250 people, using semi-structured questionnaires, field observation and informal discussion. The ethnomedicinal use of 259 plant species mainly herbs (31 to 51%), shrubs (31 to 46%) and trees (13 to 39%) used to treat 147 human and livestock ailments were documented in the study area. The most frequently used plant part were roots (49%), followed by leaves (37%) and bark (14%)... Crushing (59%), homogenizing with ingredients (17%) and chewing (14%) were the commonly used forms of herbal preparation. Drinking (45%), smoke inhalation (12%) and tie and hold on (10%) were the most frequently used methods of application. Most of the medicinal plants are collected from the wild. The use of more than one species was reported for remedy preparations and some health problems were treated by more than one medicinal plant. Our result showed that the local communities give less attention for the management of medicinal plants as local communities consider medicinal plants as wild, have unattractive market value and lack of knowledge. The mismanagement together with loss of habitat showed that ethnomedicinal plant species used by healers are under serious threat which indicates the need for urgent attention towards their documentation, conservation and sustainable utilization

Release of Nitrogen and Phosphorus from Poultry Litter Amended with Acidified Biochar

Application of poultry litter (PL) to soil may lead to nitrogen (N) losses through ammonia (NH3) volatilization and to potential contamination of surface runoff with PL-derived phosphorus (P). Amending litter with acidified biochar may minimize these problems by decreasing litter pH and by retaining litter-derived P, respectively. This study evaluated the effect of acidified biochars from pine chips (PC) and peanut hulls (PH) on NH3 losses and inorganic N and P released from surface-applied or incorporated PL. Poultry litter with or without acidified biochars was surface-applied or incorporated into the soil and incubated for 21 d. Volatilized NH3 was determined by trapping it in acid. Inorganic N and P were determined by leaching the soil with 0.01 M of CaCl2 during the study and by extracting it with 1 M KCl after incubation. Acidified biochars reduced NH3 losses by 58 to 63% with surface-applied PL, and by 56 to 60% with incorporated PL. Except for PH biochar, which caused a small increase in leached NH4 +-N with incorporated PL, acidified biochars had no effect on leached or KCl-extractable inorganic N and P from surface-applied or incorporated PL. These results suggest that acidified biochars may decrease NH3 losses from PL but may not reduce the potential for P loss in surface runoff from soils receiving PL

Acceptability of HIV counselling and testing among tuberculosis patients in south Ethiopia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To benefit from available care and treatment options, patients should first be counselled and tested for HIV. Our aim was to assess the acceptability of HIV testing among tuberculosis patients under routine care conditions in south Ethiopia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We interviewed all adult tuberculosis patients who were treated at Arba Minch Hospital in Ethiopia between January and August 2005. After recording socio-demographic information and tuberculosis treatment history, we referred those patients who showed initial willingness to a counsellor for HIV counselling and testing. Rapid test methods were used following a pretest counselling session. The results were disclosed during a post-test counselling session. We used the logistic regression method to assess factors associated with willingness and acceptability.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>190 adult tuberculosis patients were treated at the hospital and all of them consented to take part in the study. Their median age was 30 years (range, 15–68) and 52% of them were males. 49 patients (26%) were previously tested including 29 (59%) HIV positive. Of 161 patients (excluding the 29 already positive), 118 (73%) were willing to be tested and 58% (68/118) of those willing accepted the test. The overall acceptability rate was 35% (56/161). Fourteen (20.6%) were HIV positive and women were more likely to be HIV infected (p = 0.029). Unemployment and self-perceived high risk of HIV infection were associated with initial willingness (OR [95%CI]:2.6 [1.3–5.5] vs. 5.0 [1.1–22.4], respectively). However, only being unemployed was associated with accepting the test (OR = 4.2; 95%CI = 1.9–9.3).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The low acceptability of HIV counselling and testing among tuberculosis patients poses a challenge to the scale-up of TB/HIV collaborative efforts. There is a need for alternative counselling and testing strategies.</p

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed

Effects of spatial arrangement on tuber yields of some potato cultivars.

An experiment was conducted in 1995 and 1996 to determine optimum spacing for potato cultivars Awash, Menagesha and Tolcha that differ in canopy morphology. There were significant varietal and spacing effects on seed tuber size, average tuber weight (ATW) and number (ATN) per square metre. Highest yields of 38.5, 62.6 and 46.5 t ha-1 were obtained for Awash, Menagesha and Tolcha, respectively, from a 45 cm between-row spacing with either 25 or 30 cm in-row spacing. However, in Menagesha tuber size exceeding 40 mm constituted >80% of the total yield thus showing the need for a narrower in-row distance for seed size tuber production. In-row spacing regulated tuber size more than yield. Varieties showed different requirements for spacing for the development of optimum leaf area and maximum tuber number and yield. Key Words: Awash, canopy morphology, Ethiopia, Menagesha, Solanum tuberosum, spacing, Tolcha (African Crop Science Journal 2001 9(1): 67-76

Role of Iron-Rich Georgia Soils in Controlling Nitrate Contamination of Ground Water

Proceedings of the 2003 Georgia Water Resources Conference, held April 23-24, 2003, at the University of Georgia.Nitrate contamination of ground water is widespread in the USA, and is often associated with nutrient losses from grazing and row-crop agriculture. Studies in Georgia find, however, generally lower levels of nitrate in ground water than in many other parts of the country. The mechanisms controlling the fate of nitrate and related N compounds in groundwater are poorly understood, but the commonality of iron minerals in Georgia soils suggests iron may play a role. We monitored ground water for several solutes for a year and examined the data thermodynamically. The redox states quantified as electron activity pE between couples of N-species (NO₃⁻, NO₂⁻, NH₄+) were found to lie on the intersection of the stability field of freshly precipitated Fe(OH) ₃ with Fe²⁺ on a Pourbaix (pE-pH)diagram. Moreover, the evident redox potential relationship between these couples seems stable through time as well. This strongly suggests that the energy generating nitrification and denitrification reactions are being drawn toward equilibrium with Fe(OH) ₃/Fe²⁺₊redox couple. These observations support the hypothesis that nitrate reduction proceeds largely by oxidation of Fe²+ to an amorphous solid that subsequently recrystallizes to a meta-stable ferric hydroxide. An inverse relationship between [Fe²⁺] and [NO₃-] in GA waters noted in other studies, suggests that this phenomenon might exercise a regional control on [NO₃-] in ground waters of the southeastern USA

Replication data for: Management, use and ecology of medicinal plants in the degraded dry lands of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia (version 4)

An ethnomedicinal study was conducted to document the indigenous medicinal plant knowledge on the management, use, and ecology of locally important medicinal plants in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. Ethnobotanical data were collected from 250 people, using semi-structured questionnaires, field observation and informal discussion. The ethnomedicinal use of 259 plant species mainly herbs (31 to 51%), shrubs (31 to 46%) and trees (13 to 39%) used to treat 147 human and livestock ailments were documented in the study area. The most frequently used plant part were roots (49%), followed by leaves (37%) and bark (14%)... Crushing (59%), homogenizing with ingredients (17%) and chewing (14%) were the commonly used forms of herbal preparation. Drinking (45%), smoke inhalation (12%) and tie and hold on (10%) were the most frequently used methods of application. Most of the medicinal plants are collected from the wild. The use of more than one species was reported for remedy preparations and some health problems were treated by more than one medicinal plant. Our result showed that the local communities give less attention for the management of medicinal plants as local communities consider medicinal plants as wild, have unattractive market value and lack of knowledge. The mismanagement together with loss of habitat showed that ethnomedicinal plant species used by healers are under serious threat which indicates the need for urgent attention towards their documentation, conservation and sustainable utilization

Perceptions of Justice and Its Impact on Work Motivation Among Lecturers at Universities in Hanoi, Vietnam

Purpose: The study had the fundamental purpose of investigating perceptions of justice and its impact on work motivation among university lectures in Hanoi, Vietnam. Methodology/Approach/Design: A quantitative research approach was employed with survey questionnaire as a data collection tool. To achieve the study objective, 416 lecturers who work at public and non-public universities in Hanoi were included in this study. The correlation coefficient and multiple regression analysis were applied to measure the relationship between the lecturers' perceptions of justice and their work motivation. Results: Findings indicated that perceptions of justice in payment, recognition, opportunities for promotion, the attitudes, and treatments of leaders had a significant and positive correlation with lecturers' work motivation. The study also showed that Vietnamese lecturers are more concerned with non-monetary than monetary compensation, such as promotions, training, and professional development opportunities. Practical Implications: This study presents implications for Vietnam's higher education authorities. The results might be of interest for any project aiming at motivating faculty and improving their working conditions. Originality/Value: The originality of the study is in the exploration of perception of justice and its effect of lecturers' motivation. It is recognized that providing a justice/fairness based environment will ensure that schools can motivate their lecturers