Hydrogen, nitrogen and syngas enriched diesel combustion

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel UniversityOn-board hydrogen and syngas production is considered as a transition solution from fossil fuel to hydrogen powered vehicles until problems associated with hydrogen infrastructure, distribution and storage are resolved. A hydrogen- or syngas-rich stream, which substitutes part of the main hydrocarbon fuel, can be produced by supplying diesel fuel in a fuel-reforming reactor, integrated within the exhaust pipe of a diesel engine. The primary aim of this project was to investigate the effects of intake air enrichment with product gas on the performance, combustion and emissions of a diesel engine. The novelty of this study was the utilisation of the dilution effect of the reformate, combined with replacement of part of the hydrocarbon fuel in the engine cylinder by either hydrogen or syngas. The experiments were performed using a fully instrumented, prototype 2.0 litre Ford HSDI diesel engine. The engine was tested in four different operating conditions, representative for light- and medium-duty diesel engines. The product gas was simulated by bottled gases, the composition of which resembled that of typical diesel reformer product gas. In each operating condition, the percentage of the bottled gases and the start of diesel injection were varied in order to find the optimum operating points. The results showed that when the intake air was enriched with hydrogen, smoke and CO emissions decreased at the expense of NOx. Supply of nitrogen-rich combustion air into the engine resulted in a reduction in NOx emissions; nevertheless, this technique had a detrimental effect on smoke and CO emissions. Under low-speed low-load operation, enrichment of the intake air with a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen led to simultaneous reductions in NOx, smoke and CO emissions. Introduction of a mixture of syngas and nitrogen into the engine resulted in simultaneous reductions in NOx and smoke emissions over a wide range of the engine operating window. Admission of bottled gases into the engine had a negative impact on brake thermal efficiency. Although there are many papers in the literature dealing with the effects of intake air enrichment with separate hydrogen, syngas and nitrogen, no studies were found examining how a mixture composed of hydrogen and nitrogen or syngas and nitrogen would affect a diesel engine. Apart from making a significant contribution to existing knowledge, it is 3 believed that this research work will benefit the development of an engine-reformer system since the product gas is mainly composed of either a mixture of hydrogen and nitrogen or a mixture of syngas and nitrogen.UK Engineering and Physical Science Research Counci

Isolation and Identification of Aerobic Bacterial Flora from Healthy and Diseased Donkeys Eye of Central Ethiopia

The study was conducted from November 2012 to June 2013 to isolate aerobic bacteria residing in the eye of working donkeys. Forty five apparently healthy donkeys (APHDE) and 45 donkeys with clininicaly diagnosed ocular disease (DCDO) were used for the study. Swabs were collected from the conjunctiva. Isolation and identification of the bacteria was under aerobic condition. Each of the samples collected yielded at least one bacterium species .A total of 256 bacteria species were recovered from both groups of donkeys. The majority 189/256 (73.8%) of the isolates were Gram- positive and the rest 67/256 (26.2%) were Gram- negative. Bacterial isolates identified in order of magnitude were coagulase negative staphylococcus species (27%), Pseudomonas species (22%), Corynbacterium species (19.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (15%), Streptococcus species (7%), Escherichia coli (5%), and Bacilli species (4%). There was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) in the isolation rate of Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus species, Pseudomonas species and Bacillus species between APHDE and DCDO. The isolation rate of Coagulase negative staphylococcus species was higher in apparently healthy donkeys and this was statistically significant (p<0.05). Corynbacterium species and Escherichia coli were isolated at higher rate in donkeys with clininicaly diagnosed ocular disease and this was statistically significant (p<0.05). The result indicated the predominance of Gram- positives in both cases (p<0.05). Bacteria were recovered at a higher rate (1.47) in APHDE than the rate in DCDO (1.38).The quality of bacteria isolated in both cases was comparable except Escherichia coli which were not recovered from APHDE.  Isolation of most bacteria both from APHDE and DCDO might suggest that the bacterium which resides in the conjunctiva have a chance to invade and cause opportunistic infections. Keywords: aerobic bacteria, eye, donkey

Vitamina D nel periodo perinatale e nei primi due anni di vita

Premessa. La vitamina D è un pro-ormone fondamentale nella regolazione del metabolismo del calcio e del fosforo, a cui sono state recentemente attribuite numerose funzioni extra-scheletriche. In età pediatrica appare soprattutto interessante il ruolo protettivo che essa sembra svolgere nella difesa dalle infezioni delle vie respiratorie. Inoltre, nel periodo perinatale, uno stato vitaminico materno ottimale sembra importante per numerosi outcomes fetali, neonatali e anche a più lungo termine, tra cui la modalità di parto, i parametri auxologici alla nascita e infantili e le infezioni respiratorie del bambino nel primo anno di vita. Accanto a queste nuove acquisizioni, si registra a livello mondiale una diffusa prevalenza di ipovitaminosi e deficit vitaminico D in età pediatrica. I dati epidemiologici italiani riguardanti lo stato vitaminico ed i fattori di rischio di ipovitaminosi nel periodo perinatale e nella prima infanzia sono limitati. Infine è ancora controversa la definizione dello stato vitaminico ottimale in età pediatrica e mancano linee guida condivise sulla supplementazione vitaminica D pediatrica e in gravidanza. Scopi dello studio. Questo studio ha valutato lo stato vitaminico D ed i possibili fattori di rischio di deficit vitaminico ed ipovitaminosi dalla nascita a 2 anni di età. Sono stati esaminati gli effetti della supplementazione materna in gravidanza e nella prima infanzia sui livelli sierici di 25-idrossivitamina D (25-OH-D), metabolita della vitamina D la cui valutazione è indice dello stato vitaminico. È stato inoltre valutato il rapporto tra vitamina D ed ormone paratiroideo (PTH) ed altri parametri correlati al metabolismo osseo. Infine sono stati esaminati alcuni effetti extrascheletrici della vitamina D nella prima infanzia, in particolare la determinazione della modalità di parto e dei parametri antropometrici alla nascita e nei primi tre mesi di vita e la prevenzione degli episodi infettivi delle vie aeree. Pazienti e metodi. Sono stati reclutati 40 neonati, ricoverati alla nascita presso la Neonatologia dell’Università di Pisa nel periodo marzo – maggio 2013, e 86 bambini di età compresa tra 1 mese e 2 anni, ricoverati presso la Clinica Pediatrica dell’Università di Pisa nel periodo febbraio 2011- ottobre 2012. In tutti i pazienti sono stati valutati i livelli di 25-OH-D, nel primo gruppo su campione cordonale alla nascita, nel secondo gruppo su prelievo di sangue venoso. Nel gruppo di neonati sono stati analizzati i possibili fattori di rischio di ipovitaminosi D: sesso, supplementazione materna in gravidanza, BMI materno prima della gravidanza, esposizione solare e fattori ad essa correlati nel periodo precedente la gravidanza. Nel gruppo di bambini di età compresa tra 1 mese e 2 anni sono stati invece presi in considerazione la profilassi in corso, la stagione di nascita e di prelievo, l’etnia e la tipologia di allattamento. Per la valutazione degli effetti scheletrici della vitamina D è stato esaminato il rapporto tra livelli sierici di 25-OH-D e di PTH, calcio, fosforo e fosfatasi alcalina. Per la valutazione degli effetti extra-scheletrici, nel gruppo di neonati sono stati presi in considerazione età gestazionale, modalità di parto, parametri auxologici (peso e lunghezza SDS) alla nascita, ad un mese e a tre mesi di età ed incidenza di episodi infettivi delle vie respiratorie nel primo mese e nei primi tre mesi di vita. Nel gruppo di soggetti compresa tra 1 mese e 2 anni è stato invece valutato il rapporto tra i livelli di 25-OH-D e la diagnosi di episodio infettivo delle vie aeree alla dimissione. Risultati. Periodo perinatale: i livelli di 25-OH-D valutati su campioni cordonali sono risultati deficitari (25-OH-D < 20 ng/ml) nell’82.5% dei casi ed insufficienti (25-OH-D = 20-29 ng/ml) nel 17.5% dei casi. I livelli cordonali di 25-OH-D erano significativamente più elevati nei figli delle madri che avevano assunto supplementazione vitaminica D durante la gravidanza o avevano trascorso un periodo di villeggiatura durante l’estate precedente la gravidanza. Inoltre, i livelli di 25-OH-D erano significativamente più elevati nei neonati di sesso maschile rispetto alle femmine. Tra gli outcomes extra-scheletrici, solo la lunghezza SDS ad un mese di vita è risultata correlare positivamente con i livelli di 25-OH-D. Non è stata trovata alcuna associazione statisticamente significativa tra i livelli di 25-OH-D e le altre variabili analizzate. Età 1 mese – 2 anni: in questo campione di 86 soggetti, lo stato vitaminico era sufficiente solo nel 30.2% (≥ 30 ng/ml), mentre nel 24.4% e nel 45.4% dei casi risultava rispettivamente insufficiente (20-29 ng/ml) e deficitario (< 20 ng/ml). I soggetti di etnia non caucasica mostravano livelli di 25-OH-D significativamente più bassi dei soggetti di etnia caucasica. Anche la profilassi con vitamina D al momento della valutazione influenzava significativamente lo stato vitaminico, con un rischio di deficienza ed insufficienza vitaminica di 10 e 38 volte maggiore nei bambini non in profilassi. Tra i lattanti non in profilassi e non ancora divezzati, i livelli di 25-OH-D differivano in base all’etnia e alla tipologia di allattamento, con un maggiore rischio di carenza vitaminica a carico dei bambini di etnia non caucasica e degli allattati al seno. Gli altri fattori valutati (sesso, età, stagione di nascita, stagione del prelievo) non influenzavano lo stato vitaminico D. I livelli di 25-OH-D sono risultati correlare inversamente con i valori di PTH ma non con i valori di calcio, fosforo, fosfatasi alcalina. Non è stata evidenziata alcuna differenza statisticamente significativa tra i livelli di 25-OH-D dei soggetti dimessi con diagnosi di episodio infettivo a carico delle vie respiratorie e soggetti dimessi con altra diagnosi. Conclusioni. È stata rilevata una elevata prevalenza di deficit vitaminico nella fascia di età pediatrica dalla nascita a 2 anni. Lo stato vitaminico D è influenzato nel periodo perinatale dalla supplementazione materna durante la gravidanza e dal sesso del neonato. Anche l’esposizione solare materna nel periodo precedente la gravidanza influenza i livelli cordonali di 25-OH-D. Per quanto riguarda i bambini di età compresa tra un mese e 2 anni, lo stato vitaminico è in relazione all’etnia e all’assunzione della supplementazione vitaminica. Nei bambini non ancora divezzati e non in supplementazione, anche la tipologia dell’allattamento gioca un ruolo nella determinazione dello stato vitaminico

A Review on Production Status and Consumption Pattern of Vegetable in Ethiopia

Agriculture is the main stay of Ethiopian economy, contributing 50% share in the gross domestic product (GDP) vegetables and root crops generate foreign currency earnings in the country. A serious challenge to human survival, particularly in the developing world, is the ever growing gap between human population and food supply. The World Health Organization Estimate that low fruit and Vegetable intake contributes to approximately 2.7 million deaths a year from chronic disease and causes about 31% of is chaemic heart diseases and 11% of strokes worldwide In the overall, WHO places low fruit and vegetable consumption among its twenty risk factors in global mortality, just behind the better known killers such as tobacco use and high cholesterol levels. The status of vegetable production including indigenous one and consumption in the country yet need further improvement. According to the CSA (2008) 453,608.8 ha of land is under vegetable in Ethiopia, in general. Production of vegetables contributes 2.95% of the total crops production, conversely, of the total production of vegetables. ). Large scale production and processing of fruits and vegetables is carried out only by state organizations. The number of small-scale producers involved in horticulture is estimated at 5.7 million farmers. The area under vegetables increased from 350,600 ha with production of 2.36 million tons in 2010 to 396,510 ha with production of 4.48 million tons in 2013 for smallholder farmers. This implies that the area cultivated to vegetables increased by 13% while the production increased by 103%, between 2010 and 2013. The proportion of households who did not produce/cultivate any vegetable was highest in Addis Ababa (99.7%), followed in Afar (94.9%), Dire Dawa (94.2%), Tigray (86.4%) and Harari (63.1%) regions. Recently, despite of the ups and downs observed, the demand for vegetables especially for export is increasing. Ethiopia mainly due to cereal based food habit is practicing and largely affect children’s in most part of the country. Many research reports indicated that an estimated five million people are suffering from lack of vitamins and essential minerals. A deficiency problem in Ethiopia especially for children’s rest on increasing the availability of vitamin. In general 60 to 80 % of health problems in Ethiopia are due communicable diseases and nutritional problems. Ethiopia has got an immense potential to develop intensive vegetable production especially at commercial scale. In general, the drawback to this sector include social and cultural habits of the population like dietary preferences for meat and other animal products, and distaste for vegetable crops, lack of consumer awareness, economic reasons of the local consumers, absence of nutrition intervention programme using vegetables. Keywords:  production, consumption, vegetabl

Metabolomics application in maternal-fetal medicine

Metabolomics in maternal-fetal medicine is still an "embryonic" science. However, there is already an increasing interest in metabolome of normal and complicated pregnancies, and neonatal outcomes. Tissues used for metabolomics interrogations of pregnant women, fetuses and newborns are amniotic fluid, blood, plasma, cord blood, placenta, urine, and vaginal secretions. All published papers highlight the strong correlation between biomarkers found in these tissues and fetal malformations, preterm delivery, premature rupture of membranes, gestational diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, neonatal asphyxia, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. The aim of this review is to summarize and comment on original data available in relevant published works in order to emphasize the clinical potential of metabolomics in obstetrics in the immediate future

Public agriculture extension and information and communication technologies : a case study in South Wollo, Ethiopia

Effective agriculture extension services require a continuous transformation and introduction of new and effective interventions, approaches, methods, and tools. Information Communication Technologies (ICT) are given immense expectations to address some of the challenges of agriculture extension by improving the capacity and effectiveness of extension advisors through new modes of communication and easier ways of accessing up-to-date and relevant information. There is ample knowledge on adoption rates, use intensity, and impact of ICTs for agriculture extension, specifically in a farmers context. However, there is limited research on experts perceptions of ICTs usefulness, as well as organizational dimensions that facilitate ICT use. In particular, the interdependency between ICT tools and the social and organizational aspects in the context of agriculture extension is poorly understood. This thesis aims to provide evidence on the implementation process of ICT initiatives in agriculture extension organizations and their use. The three specific objectives of the thesis are the following: (i) to provide empirical evidence on the complex interaction of social and technical actors and their assemblage to set up an ICT-based initiatives called Agricultural Knowledge Centers (AKCs); (ii) to provide empirical evidence on experts perceptions and their use of ICTs in agriculture extension offices; and (iii) to bring insights on organizational characteristics that facilitate or hinder the learning of an organization for successfully applying ICTs in agriculture extension services. This thesis analyzes the innovation process of ICT-based initiatives in agriculture extension by building on the definition of innovation as an alignment of hardware (technical devices, bodily skills), software (mode of thinking, discourse, perceptions) and orgware (rules, structure, and standards). The thesis adopted a research approach that can be broadly labeled as an interpretive research approach that allows for understanding a phenomenon by interpreting stakeholders and research participants experiences. It relied on a case study methodology and review of existing knowledge on ICTs in agriculture extension. The case studies are AKCs located in agriculture extension offices in South Wollo, in the Amhara region of Ethiopia. The research-for-development project, Livestock and Irrigation Value Chains for Ethiopian Smallholders (LIVES) from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), piloted AKCs to contribute to the governments effort to strengthen the extension system. This thesis contains three empirical chapters in addition to the introduction and general discussion. The first empirical chapter analyzes the process of establishing AKCs in five extension organizations in South Wollo by capturing the role of human actors (employees of the project, experts in the extension offices, and the ICT managers) and the role of the non-human actors (computers, internet connectivity, texts, and office infrastructure) in carrying out the AKC initiative. The Actor Network Theory (ANT) framed the analysis of the results. The findings show how people and technology came together to establish AKCs that provide access to digital knowledge. Conditions that contributed to creating and stabilizing the AKC actor network were the following: (i) the presence of an actor to facilitate the process, (ii) alignment of interests among actors in the network, (iii) building the capacities and motivation of the various actors to execute their roles, and (iv) availability of computers with strong internet connections. The second empirical chapter analyzes extension experts perceptions of ICTs usefulness for their extension job and how they used ICTs in four AKCs in South Wollo. The three concepts from the Theory of Planned Behavior: attitude, social norms, and perceived behavioral control framed the analysis of the results. Extension experts had a positive attitude towards the usefulness of ICTs for personal benefits. However, they did not perceive ICTs as useful for searching and exchanging agricultural information because the rigid extension approach used in their organizations allows primarily for specific printed knowledge resources. The results show that while access to the ICT hardware is a prerequisite, it is not a guarantee that extension experts will apply ICTs for professional use. For ICTs to be used by agriculture extension experts, there needs to be greater flexibility for experts response to farmers needs and favorable conditions that facilitate self-initiated knowledge-seeking behavior among extension experts. The third empirical chapter analyzes the organizational characteristics identified in the existing literature for accelerating or hindering ICT use for agriculture extension. The qualitative review of 49 articles highlights that most of the scientific studies focus on individuals characteristics to explain ICT use and only partially investigate organizational aspects. Organizational characteristics identified in these 49 articles were further analyzed using the seven dimensions of the learning organization concept. The analysis showed that opportunities for training and creating structures to encourage learning were prominent characteristics limiting or supporting ICT use. However, the literature documented no evidence on characteristics such as collaboration, leadership style, and empowerment for creating a shared vision for improving services via ICT use. The review results illustrate the importance of strategizing ICT use in agricultural advisory organizations and following principles of organizational learning for capacity development at an individual, team, and organizational level. Based on the three empirical chapters, chapter five discusses that optimal ICT use for agriculture extension can be achieved when the introduction of technology is supported by new rules and organizational structures, and when the intended purpose fits the shared way of thinking and the future vision employees have for their extension work. This section highlights that successful ICT use in agriculture extension organizations requires not only the technical devices, individuals attitudes, or institutions, but also the alignment of all the three dimensions. Therefore, aiming to improve the extension services only through the provision of ICT devices would be too simplistic; it ignores the complex interaction of the various components. This thesis makes the following recommendations for the design and implementation of future ICT-based initiatives in Ethiopia and other countries with a similar context: (i) a project initiator should create awareness on the purpose of ICT for agriculture extension and develop the capacity of targeted beneficiaries on ICT use; (ii) organizations that aim to utilize ICT should create organizational conditions that facilitate learning at the levels of the individual, team, and organization; (iii) development projects and programs should recognize and stimulate interaction between innovation components to successfully implement ICT in agriculture extension and ensure their utilization; and (iv) the government should create an enabling environment that provides support structures for knowledge sharing and information exchange to respond to farmers needs.Effektive landwirtschaftliche Beratungsdienste erfordern eine kontinuierliche Transformation und Einführung neuer und effektiver Interventionen, Ansätze, Methoden und Instrumente. Informations- und Kommunikationstechnologien (IKT) sind eines der Instrumente, die mit großen Erwartungen verbunden sind, um die Kompetenz und Effektivität der landwirtschaftlichen Beratungskräfte zu erhöhen, indem sie neue Kommunikationsformen und einfachere Möglichkeiten des Zugangs zu aktuellen und relevanten Informationen verbessern. Es gibt umfassendes Wissen zu den Übernahmeraten, die zur Nutzungsintensität und den Auswirkungen von IKT in der Landwirtschaft. Allerdings ist bisher nur wenig erforscht, wie Beratungskräfte den Nutzen von IKT wahrnehmen und wie organisatorische Merkmale, die die Nutzung von IKT fördern können. Insbesondere die Wechselwirkung zwischen IKT-Instrumenten und den sozialen und organisatorischen Aspekten im Rahmen der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung ist unzureichend untersucht. Vor diesem Hintergrund zielt diese Dissertation darauf ab, Erkenntnisse über die Umsetzung von IKT-Initiativen in landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsorganisationen und deren Nutzung zu liefern. Die drei spezifischen Ziele der Arbeit sind: (i) empirische Erkenntnisse über die komplexe Interaktion zwischen sozialen und technischen Akteuren und ihrer Assemblage zur Gründung einer IKT-basierten Initiative namens Agricultural Knowledge Centers (AKCs) zu liefern; (ii) empirische Erkenntnisse über die Wahrnehmung von Beratungskräften und ihre Nutzung von IKT in landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsorganisationen zu liefern; und (iii) Erkenntnisse über organisatorische Merkmale zu liefern, die die erfolgreiche Anwendung von IKT-Instrumente für landwirtschaftliche Beratungsdienste erleichtern oder behindern. Diese Arbeit analysiert den Innovationsprozess von IKT-basierten Initiativen in der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung aufbauend auf der Definition von Innovation als eine Abstimmung von Hardware (technische Geräte, körperliche Fähigkeiten), Software (Denkweisen, Diskurse, Wahrnehmungen) und Orgware (Regeln, Strukturen und Standards). Die Arbeit nutzt hierzu den Forschungsansatz, der allgemein als interpretativer Forschungsansatz bezeichnet werden kann. Dieser Ansatz ermöglicht es, ein Phänomen durch die Interpretation der Erfahrungen von Forschungsteilnehmenden zu verstehen. Dabei wurde eine Fallstudienmethodik und die Recherche zu vorhandenem Wissen über IKT in der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung eingesetzt. Die Fallstudien wurden in AKCs in South Wollo, Amhara Region in Äthiopien durchgeführt. Das Entwicklungsforschungsprojekt "Wertschöpfungsketten für Viehzucht und Bewässerung für äthiopische Kleinbauern " (LIVES) des International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) pilotierte AKCs, um die Bestrebungen der Regierung zur Stärkung des Beratungssystems zu unterstützen. Diese Arbeit enthält drei empirische Kapitel sowie eine Einleitung und eine allgemeine Diskussion. Das erste empirische Kapitel analysiert den Prozess der Gründung von AKCs in fünf Beratungsorganisationen in South Wollo, indem es die Rolle menschlicher Akteure wie dem Projektpersonal, dem Beratungspersonal und dem IKT-Manager sowie die Rolle der nicht-menschlichen Akteure wie Computer, Internetkonnektivität, Texte und Büroinfrastruktur bei der Durchführung der AKC-Initiative erfasst. Die Akteur-Netzwerk-Theorie (ANT) diente als konzeptioneller Rahmen für die Analyse der Ergebnisse. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, wie Menschen und Technologie zusammenkamen, um die AKCs zu gründen und Zugang zu digitalem Wissen zu schaffen. Bedingungen, die zur Schaffung und Stabilisierung des AKC-Akteursnetzwerks beigetragen haben, waren (i) die Anwesenheit eines Akteurs, um den Prozess zu erleichtern, (ii) die Abstimmung der Interessen zwischen den Akteuren im Netzwerk, (iii) der Aufbau der Kompetenzen und der Motivation der verschiedenen Akteure zur Wahrnehmung ihrer Aufgaben sowie (iv) die Verfügbarkeit von Computern mit guten Internetverbindungen. Das zweite empirische Kapitel analysiert die Wahrnehmungen von Beratungskräften über den Nutzen von IKT für ihre Arbeit und wie sie IKT in vier AKCs in South Wollo verwendeten. Die drei Konzepte aus der Theorie des geplanten Verhaltens: Einstellung, soziale Normen und wahrgenommene Verhaltenskontrolle rahmen die Analyse der Ergebnisse ein. Die Beratungskräfte hatten eine positive Haltung gegenüber der Nützlichkeit von IKT für den persönlichen Gebrauch. Sie sahen die IKT jedoch nicht als nützlich für die Suche und den Austausch landwirtschaftlicher Fachinformationen an, da der unflexible Beratungsansatz in Äthiopien nur die Verwendung ausgewählter gedruckter Wissensressourcen erlaubt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass der Zugriff auf die IKT Hardware zwar Voraussetzung, aber keine Garantie für die Anwendung von IKT durch Beratungskräfte für den beruflichen Einsatz ist. Damit IKT in der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung eingesetzt werden können, benötigen die Beratungskräfte einerseits einer höhere Flexibilität, um die Bedürfnisse der Landwirte zu berücksichtigen und andererseits müssen organisatorische Rahmenbedingungen für ein proaktives wissensorientiertes Verhalten der Beratungskräfte geschaffen werden. Das dritte empirische Kapitel analysiert anhand einer Literaturrecherche organisatorische Merkmale, die den Einsatz von IKT in der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung vorantreiben oder behindern. Die qualitative Durchsicht von 49 Artikeln zeigte, dass sich die meisten wissenschaftlichen Studien auf die Merkmale von Individuen konzentrieren, die die Nutzung von IKT beeinflussen. Weniger Studien untersuchen hingegen die organisatorischen Aspekte. Die identifizierten organisatorischen Merkmale wurden anhand der sieben Dimensionen des Konzepts der Lernenden Organisation weiter analysiert. Die Analyse zeigte, dass Weiterbildung und die Schaffung von lernfördernden Strukturen herausragende Merkmale sind, die die Nutzung von IKT positiv beeinflussen. Allerdings wurden die Merkmale der Zusammenarbeit, des Führungsstils und der Ermächtigung zur Schaffung einer gemeinsamen Vision, die die Dienstleistungen durch die Nutzung von IKT verbessert, in der Literatur kaum untersucht. Die Ergebnisse der Literaturstudie verdeutlichen die Wichtigkeit einer Strategie der IKT-Nutzung in landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsorganisationen und die Beachtung von Prinzipien des Organisationslernens für die Kompetenzentwicklung auf individueller, team- und organisatorischer Ebene. Aufbauend auf den drei empirischen Kapiteln analysiert Kapitel fünf die Wechselwirkung zwischen Technologie und Gesellschaft, um zu erklären, warum IKT in der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung (nicht) erfolgreich eingesetzt werden. Diese Wechselwirkung verdeutlicht, dass ein erfolgreicher Einsatz von IKT in landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsorganisationen nicht nur technische Geräte, die Einstellung des Einzelnen oder Institutionen erfordert, sondern auch die Abstimmung aller Dimensionen von Hardware, Software und Orgware. Daher ist der Versuch, die Beratungsdienste allein durch die Bereitstellung von IKT-Geräten zu verbessern, simplifiziert; die komplexen Interaktionsprozesse der verschiedenen Komponenten werden dabei ignoriert. Die Ergebnisse der Arbeit bestätigen, dass eine erfolgreiche Nutzung von IKT für die landwirtschaftliche Nutzung die Anpassung technischer Geräte an neue soziale und organisatorische Strukturen erfordert. Diese Arbeit gibt die folgenden Empfehlungen für die Konzeption und Umsetzung zukünftiger IKT-basierter Initiativen in landwirtschaftlichen Beratungsorganisationen in Äthiopien und anderen Ländern mit einem ähnlichen Kontext: (i) der Projektinitiator sollte das Bewusstsein für den Zweck der IKT in der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung schaffen und die digitale Kompetenz der Zielgruppen entwickeln; (ii) Organisationen, die die IKT nutzen wollen, sollten organisatorische Voraussetzungen schaffen, die das Lernen auf der Ebene von Individuen, Teams und Organisationen erleichtern; (iii) Entwicklungsprojekte und -programme sollten die Interaktion zwischen Innovationskomponenten erkennen und fördern, um IKT erfolgreich in der landwirtschaftlichen Beratung einzusetzen und deren Nutzung sicherzustellen; und (iv) Regierungen sollten ein förderndes Umfeld schaffen, das Anreize für den Wissens- und Informationsaustausch gibt und Beratungskräften die Flexibilität zur Berücksichtigung der Bedürfnisse der Landwirte ermöglicht

A Review on Distribution, Biology and Management Practice of Russian Wheat Aphid Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) (Hemiptera:Aphididae), in Ethiopia

Ethiopian agriculture sector is predominantly important for the economy of the country which contributes about 50% to the total GDP and 90% of exports item (Haile and Raja, 2012).Several species of fruit crops are grown in Ethiopia including citrus, grape, pineapple, banana, papaya, avocado, mango and temperate fruits like peach and apple. The major reason for the low yield is that the crop is produced under numerous constraints, including insect pests (Alemu et al., 2012). Russian Wheat Aphids (RWA) Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko, Hemiptera: Aphididae) is a significant pest problem in many areas in the world (Anna-Maria et al., 2003).The Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), is the major insect that reduces barley yields, and it has a worldwide distribution including the Middle East, USA, South Africa, and Ethiopia .Understanding of the epidemiology of aphid-borne viruses is very important for the development of appropriate management strategies (Simon  et al., 2009). Russian wheat aphid is an important pest of wheat and barley in several countries of North Africa and West Asia, e.g., Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Turkey and Iran. Host plant resistance is the most economical and practical means of controlling this insect. Field The green peach aphid, M. persicae and the mustard aphid, L. erysimi were the most abundantly found aphid L. erysimi is an important pest of Brassicaceae including broccoli, cabbage, Chinese broccoli, daikon, mustard cabbage and radish, and is a vector of 10 non-persistent viruses (Blackman and Easton, 2000). M. persicae is an established pest of pepper and found thorough out the world (Blackman and Eastop, 2000). It has been reported as a vector of EPMV from laboratory studies (Tameru, 2004) and is a well known vector of several other persistently and non persistently transmitted viruses. Among the identified aphid species, Hayhurstia atriplicis (L..), Hyperomyzus lactucae (L.), Schoutedenia ramulensis Rübsaamen and Tetraneura spp. were not reported so far from Ethiopia. Aphis gossypii Glover, M. persicae and M. euphorbiae have also been reported earlier from Ethiopia on pepper (Simon et al., 2009). From the identified aphid species, S. ramulensis and Tetraneura spp. occurred less frequently than the other species in the collected samples S. ramulensis was recorded only from Awassa, while Tetraneura spp. from Ziway There is diverse cropping system at both the study locations, where maize, beans, pea, cabbage, onion,tomato, wheat, teff, barley and potato were the major crops found around the pepper fields (Simon et al., 2009)

Liposome Mediated Transfection in Eukaryoic Cell: An Overview

In Gene therapy Nucleic acids can be inserted into human cells to provide enhancement or reduction of protein expression for the prevention, treatment or elimination of the problem. For this to happen foreign gene should be inserted in to the cells using different mechanisms. The commonly used ways of gene delivery in to eukaryotic cells are of viral and non viral delivery systems. The non viral delivery are of different types of which the liposome mediated tranfection is the most widely used. Liposome mediated transfect ion represent approved non-toxic biocompatible nanoparticles for the application of medicine. Excellent biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, delivery of large piece of nucleic acid and simplicity of handling are the major advantages one has to see in liposome transfection. But the presence of positive charge on liposomes vectors which may favour nonspecific interaction with negatively charged serum protein, enzymes and causing in to decreased cell adhesion, hemolysis and low transfection are among the disadvantages. In this short review different types of liposomes and their reagents are highlighted. Generally the use liposome in the area of biomedicine (not only for gene delivery) gives a paramount relief specially in this era of drug resistance, vaccine failure, threatening emerging and re-emerging pandemics in the globe. Keywords:-Liposome, Gene therapy, Transfection, Eukaryotic cel

A Novel Hybrid Machine Learning-Based Model for Rockfall Source Identification in Presence of Other Landslide Types Using LiDAR and GIS

© 2019, King Abdulaziz University and Springer Nature Switzerland AG. Abstract: Rockfall is a common phenomenon in mountainous and hilly areas worldwide, including Malaysia. Rockfall source identification is a challenging task in rockfall hazard assessment. The difficulty rise when the area of interest has other landslide types with nearly similar controlling factors. Therefore, this research presented and assessed a hybrid model for rockfall source identification based on the stacking ensemble model of random forest (RF), artificial neural network, Naive Bayes (NB), and logistic regression in addition to Gaussian mixture model (GMM) using high-resolution airborne laser scanning data (LiDAR). GMM was adopted to automatically compute the thresholds of slope angle for various landslide types. Chi square was utilised to rank and select the conditioning factors for each landslide type. The best fit ensemble model (RF–NB) was then used to produce probability maps, which were used to conduct rockfall source identification in combination with the reclassified slope raster based on the thresholds obtained by the GMM. Next, landslide potential area was structured to reduce the sensitivity and the noise of the model to the variations in different conditioning factors for improving its computation performance. The accuracy assessment of the developed model indicates that the model can efficiently identify probable rockfall sources with receiver operating characteristic curve accuracies of 0.945 and 0.923 on validation and training datasets, respectively. In general, the proposed hybrid model is an effective model for rockfall source identification in the presence of other landslide types with a reasonable generalisation performance. Graphic Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.]