Assessment of Improved Tef (Eragrostis tef L.) Varieties for Yield and Yield Related Traits at Nono Benja and Cheliya Districts, Oromia, Ethiopia

Tef (Eragrostis tef) is one of the most important and strategic cereal crop grown to drought prone areas of Ethiopia. Genetic variability, genotypic correlations and yield components are prerequisite for selection of crop breeding, cultivation of improved varieties that provides optimum seed yield is one of the major constraints of the crop. The present study was aimed to investigate the adaptive and best performing tef varieties based on their yield and related traits under rain fed conditions at Nono Benja and Celia districts in Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted by using split plot design with three replications, sixteen improved varieties and one local landrace. The combined analysis of variance revealed that varieties were significantly different for studied characters except panicle length, total tiller number and spikelet length. The mean yields of nine improved  varieties (Dukem, Asgori, Tesfa, Negus, Quncho, Kora, Koye, Boset and key tena) were relatively higher than the local check comparing with mean values of grain yield ranged from Welkomi (372.08 kg/ ha) to Dukem (1315.41 kg/ ha).Grain yields were studied high in four varieties across two locations were (Dukem (1315.4 kg/ ha), asgori (1279.6 kg/ ha), Tesfa (1206.02 kg/ ha), Negus (1072.61 kg/ ha) with 72.8%, 68.2%, 58.5 %, and 41% over local check. The genotypic coefficient variation was observed that from 4.6% to 82.9% for loading index and the phenotypic coefficient variation range from 5.8% to 91.0% for loading index at Cheliya, respectively, the fertilizer application (0, 60/40 P/N kgha-1) showed highly differences among all traits except in GFP, PH and TGW traits. The varieties Gibe, Koye, Boset, Gimbichu, Enat and Kora were observed highly strong association with the environment, similarly Asgori and Gedo varieties were showed highly significant and strong connection with the environment Nono Benja with fertilization. Results reveal that the correlation studies provide a better understanding of yield components during the selection of tef genotypes

Chronic Wasting Disease and Potential Transmission to Humans

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) of deer and elk is endemic in a tri-corner area of Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, and new foci of CWD have been detected in other parts of the United States. Although detection in some areas may be related to increased surveillance, introduction of CWD due to translocation or natural migration of animals may account for some new foci of infection. Increasing spread of CWD has raised concerns about the potential for increasing human exposure to the CWD agent. The foodborne transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy to humans indicates that the species barrier may not completely protect humans from animal prion diseases. Conversion of human prion protein by CWD-associated prions has been demonstrated in an in vitro cell-free experiment, but limited investigations have not identified strong evidence for CWD transmission to humans. More epidemiologic and laboratory studies are needed to monitor the possibility of such transmissions

Assessment of Improved Tef (Eragrostis tef L.) Varieties for Yield and Yield Related Traits at Nono Benja and Cheliya Districts, Oromia, Ethiopia

Tef (Eragrostis tef) is one of the most important and strategic cereal crop grown to drought prone areas of Ethiopia. Genetic variability, genotypic correlations and yield components are prerequisite for selection of crop breeding, cultivation of improved varieties that provides optimum seed yield is one of the major constraints of the crop. The present study was aimed to investigate the adaptive and best performing tef varieties based on their yield and related traits under rain fed conditions at Nono Benja and Celia districts in Ethiopia. The experiment was conducted by using split plot design with three replications, sixteen improved varieties and one local landrace. The combined analysis of variance revealed that varieties were significantly different for studied characters except panicle length, total tiller number and spikelet length. The mean yields of nine improved  varieties (Dukem, Asgori, Tesfa, Negus, Quncho, Kora, Koye, Boset and key tena) were relatively higher than the local check comparing with mean values of grain yield ranged from Welkomi (372.08 kg/ ha) to Dukem (1315.41 kg/ ha).Grain yields were studied high in four varieties across two locations were (Dukem (1315.4 kg/ ha), asgori (1279.6 kg/ ha), Tesfa (1206.02 kg/ ha), Negus (1072.61 kg/ ha) with 72.8%, 68.2%, 58.5 %, and 41% over local check. The genotypic coefficient variation was observed that from 4.6% to 82.9% for loading index and the phenotypic coefficient variation range from 5.8% to 91.0% for loading index at Cheliya, respectively, the fertilizer application (0, 60/40 P/N kgha-1) showed highly differences among all traits except in GFP, PH and TGW traits. The varieties Gibe, Koye, Boset, Gimbichu, Enat and Kora were observed highly strong association with the environment, similarly Asgori and Gedo varieties were showed highly significant and strong connection with the environment Nono Benja with fertilization. Results reveal that the correlation studies provide a better understanding of yield components during the selection of tef genotypes

National Trends in Cessation Counseling, Prescription Medication Use, and Associated Costs Among US Adult Cigarette Smokers

Importance: Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States. When used separately or in combination, smoking cessation counseling and cessation medications have been associated with increased cessation rates. Objectives: To present trends in self-reported receipt of physician advice to quit smoking and in use of prescription smoking cessation medication along with their associated expenditures among a nationally representative sample of active adult smokers in the United States. Design, Setting, and Participants: This repeated cross-sectional study of US adults aged 18 years or older was conducted from July 5, 2018, through August 15, 2018. Data were collected between January 1, 2006, and December 31, 2015, from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, an annual US survey of individuals and families, health care personnel, and employers. Participants (n = 29 106) were noninstitutionalized civilians who were randomly drawn from the respondents of the previous year’s National Health Interview Survey. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the associations between sociodemographic factors and receipt of physician cessation advice and use of cessation prescription medication. A 2-part econometric model was used to assess health care expenditures. Main Outcomes and Measures: Trends in self-reported receipt of physician advice to quit and uptake of prescription smoking cessation medications with associated total and out-of-pocket expenditures. Results: The study sample consisted of 29 106 participants, with a mean (SD) age of 57 (10) years and a composition of 13 670 women (47.0%). The results were weighted to provide estimates for 31.2 million active adult cigarette smokers. The proportion of smokers who reported receiving physician advice to quit increased from 60.2% (95% CI, 58.5%-62.0%) in 2006 to 2007 to 64.9% (95% CI, 62.8%-66.9%) in 2014 to 2015, with a P for trend = .001. The odds of receiving physician cessation advice was statistically significantly higher in women (odds ratio [OR], 1.50; 95% CI, 1.39-1.59) and lower among uninsured participants (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.52-0.65). Overall, prescription smoking cessation medication use decreased with a corresponding reduction in total expenditures from $146 million (out-of-pocket cost,$46 million) in 2006 to 2007 to $73 million (out-of-pocket cost,$9 million) in 2014 to 2015. Male (odds ratio [OR], 0.78; 95% CI, 0.66-0.91), uninsured (OR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.41-0.83), and racial/ethnic minority (African American: OR, 0.51 [95% CI, 0.38-0.69]; Asian: OR, 0.31 [95% CI, 0.10-0.93]; Hispanic: OR, 0.53 [95% CI, 0.36-0.78]) participants were less likely to use prescription smoking cessation medications. Conclusions and Relevance: The lower rates of delivery of physician advice to quit smoking and the lower uptake of known prescription smoking cessation medications among men, younger adults, uninsured individuals, racial/ethnic minority groups, and those without smoking-associated comorbidities may be associated with the higher smoking rates among these subgroups despite an all-time low prevalence of smoking in the United States; this finding calls for a more targeted implementation of smoking cessation guidelines

Barriers to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Autopsies, California

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) surveillance relies on autopsy and neuropathologic evaluation. The 1990–2000 CJD autopsy rate in California was 21%. Most neurologists were comfortable diagnosing CJD (83%), but few pathologists felt comfortable diagnosing CJD (35%) or performing autopsy (29%). Addressing obstacles to autopsy is necessary to improve CJD surveillance

Measure of indigenous perennial staple crop, Ensete ventricosum, associated with positive food security outcomes in southern Ethiopian highlands

Enset-based food systems are unique to southern Ethiopia where they serve as a staple food for millions of households. Enset, a banana relative of which the entire pseudostem and corm are edible, possesses a highly unusual combination of crop traits including perenniality, highly flexible planting and harvest times, and tolerance of a very wide range of environmental conditions, which together earn it the local name of “the tree against hunger.” Previous studies have identified the strategic food security value of mature enset stands for household food security, but a multisector panel data set makes identifying wider enset food security associations tractable for the first time. We assess whether household data on area of mature enset is associated with four indicators of food security together with demographic, asset, and consumption covariates. We find that area of mature enset significantly improves estimates for three of four food security indicators, thus improving our understanding of the role of understudied indigenous crops. Consistent and reliable food security indicators are needed to improve monitoring, particularly with regard to stability. Variance components of multilevel longitudinal models indicate that exposure to both idiosyncratic and covariate disturbance affects food security stability in a way that is consistent with reports of enset acting as both a food security buffer and an active adaptation strategy in the face of shocks or change. Here we show that living assets comprising culturally relevant indigenous crops such as enset can improve accuracy of food insecurity assessments, which may encourage wider investigation of other agrifood system-specific asset-like natural stores of value associated with food security and resilience

Constant Transmission Properties of Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in 5 Countries

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) has been reported in 12 countries. We hypothesized that a common strain of agent is responsible for all vCJD cases, regardless of geographic origin. To test this hypothesis, we inoculated strain-typing panels of wild-type mice with brain material from human vCJD case-patients from France, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United States. Mice were assessed for clinical disease, neuropathologic changes, and glycoform profile; results were compared with those for 2 reference vCJD cases from the United Kingdom. Transmission to mice occurred from each sample tested, and data were similar between non-UK and UK cases, with the exception of the ranking of mean clinical incubation times of mouse lines. These findings support the hypothesis that a single strain of infectious agent is responsible for all vCJD infections. However, differences in incubation times require further subpassage in mice to establish any true differences in strain properties between cases

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Death, United States

Reports of secondary bloodborne transmission of vCJD add to the uncertainty about the future of the vCJD outbreak