OPTIMUM SOIL QUALITY ATTRIBUTE LEVELS AND VALUES

We develop a dynamic optimal cropping systems model for the northern Great Plains, taking into account the impact of the system on soil quality attributes organic and inorganic carbon. Continuous wheat and direct planting is the most profitable system under most economic conditions. This system has low soil erosion and results in high soil quality.Land Economics/Use,

Impact of Mixed Fertilizer Applications under Different Planting Methods and Seed Rates on Yield, Yield Components and Nutrient Use Efficiency of Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter]

Inappropriate agronomic and input management practices such as continuous utilization of DAP and urea with surface broadcast method of application has led to inefficient nutrient use, which could finally cause low productivity of tef. Thus, this study was conducted on two soil types (Vertisol and Cambisol) in Northern Ethiopia during the 2011 main crop season to examine the different compound fertilizer applications under different planting methods and seed rates. An improved tef variety ‘Quncho’ (Dz-Cr-387) was used as a test crop and 5 treatments evaluated using RCBD with 3 replications. The treatments were: 1) band application of complete fertilizer under drill seed in row at 5 Kg ha–1 seed rate; 2) broadcast complete fertilizer and seed (at 25 Kg ha–1 seed rate); 3) band application of DAP and urea under drill seed in row at 5 Kg ha–1 seed rate; 4) broadcast DAP and urea and seed (at 25 Kg ha–1 seed rate); 5) broadcasting tef at 25 Kg ha–1 seed rate with no fertilizer application (control). The treatments showed significant post harvest residual effects on the soil available P, but insignificant effect on total N in both trials. Band application of complete fertilizer under the row planting tef at 5 Kg ha–1 seed rate significantly improves agronomic efficiency, nutrient uptake, nutrient recoveries and crude protein content as compared to the other treatments. Keywords: Band application. Complete fertilizer. DAP + urea. Crude protein. Nutrient uptake. Nutrient recoveries. Marginal rate of return. Soil types

SOIL QUALITY ATTRIBUTE TIME PATHS: OPTIMAL LEVELS AND VALUES

We develop a dynamic soil quality model to evaluate optimal cropping systems in the northern Great Plains. Modeling soil quality attributes is feasible, and attribute model results apply to a wide range of soils. A crop production system with continuous spring wheat and direct planting is the most profitable system. This system has low soil erosion and high quality attributes, indicating the benefits of increased soil quality exceed the higher maintenance costs. On-site value of additional soil organic carbon (OC) ranges from $1 to$4/ton OC/hectare/year. These values for soil OC impact the optimum tillage practice, but not the crop rotation.Crop Production/Industries,

Prevalence and associated risk factors of ophthalmic problems of working donkeys (Equus asinus) in Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2017 to March 2018 aimed at determining the prevalence and associated risk factors of ophthalmic problems of working donkeys in Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia. Study animals were selected by random sampling method to obtain the primary data in the form of direct physical examination and history was obtained from the owner of each examined donkey at the same time. Descriptive statistics was employed to summarize the data and uni-variant logistic regression was used to quantify the degree of association between ophthalmic problems and identified risk factors. Accordingly, out of the total 384 examined, 181 were found to be positive for ophthalmic problems with an overall prevalence of 47.14%. In this study, a statistical significant difference (P<0.05) were found among age groups and sexes. Female donkeys (63.01%) were 2.08 (OR=2.08; 95% CI: 1.105, 3.942) times more likely to have ophthalmic problems compared to male donkeys (44.97%). Donkeys with age category of >10 years (62.07%) and 6-10 years (49.6%) were 3.34 (OR=3.34; 95% CI: 2.002, 5.578) and 2.01 (OR=2.01; 95% CI: 1.225, 3.296) times more likely to have ophthalmic problems as compared to the age group of <6 years (32.87%) old, respectively. Ophthalmic problems are relatively higher in the right eye (41.44%) than the left (39.78%). Higher percentages were observed due to conjuctival defect (29.28%), followed by general lesion of eyelid (26.52%) and corneal defects (13.26%). The possible causes were diseases (62.98%) and mechanical damages (37.02%). In conclusion, the prevalence of ophthalmic problems in the study area is very high. Therefore, better management practices and awareness creation among donkey owners is highly recommended. Keywords: Mekelle; Ophthalmic problems; Prevalence; Risk Factors; Working Donkey

Evaluation of static and dynamic land use data for watershed hydrologic process simulation: A case study in Gummara watershed, Ethiopia

Land Use Land Cover (LULC) change significantly affects hydrological processes. Several studies attempted to understand the effect of LULC change on biophysical processes; however, limited studies accounted dynamic nature of land use change. In this study, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT 2012) hydrological model and statistical analysis were applied to assess the impacts of land use change on hydrological responses such as surface runoff, evapotranspiration, and peak flow in Gummara watershed, Ethiopia. Moreover, the effects of static and dynamic land use data application on the SWAT model performance were evaluated. Two model setups, Static Land Use (SLU) and Dynamic Land Use (DLU), were studied to investigate the effects of accounting dynamic land use on hydrological responses. Both SLU and DLU model setups used the same meteorological, soil, and DEM data, but different land use. The SLU setup used the 1985 land use layer, whereas the DLU setup used 1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015 land use data. The calibration (validation) results showed that the model satisfactorily predicts temporal variation and peak streamflow with Nash Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of 0.75 (0.71) and 0.73 (0.71) in the DLU and SLU setups, respectively. However, the DLU model setup simulated the detailed biophysical processes better during the calibration period. Both model setups equally predicted daily streamflow during the validation period. Better performance was obtained while applying the DLU model setup because of improved representation of the dynamic watershed characteristics such as curve number (CN2), overland Manning's (OV_N), and canopy storage (CANMX). Expansion of agricultural land use by 11.1% and the reduction of forest cover by 2.3% during the period from 1985 to 2015 increased the average annual surface runoff and peak flow by 11.6 mm and 2.4 m3/s, respectively and decreased the evapotranspiration by 5.3 mm. On the other hand, expansion of shrubland by 1% decreased the surface runoff by 1.2 mm and increased the evapotranspiration by 1.1 mm. The results showed that accounting DLU into the SWAT model simulation leads to a more realistic representation of temporal land use changes, thereby improving the accuracy of temporal and spatial hydrological processes estimation

Countdown to 2015: Ethiopia's progress towards reduction in under-five mortality: 2014 country case study

On September 13, 2013 the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) of Ethiopia and UNICEF announced that Ethiopia has successfully reduced the under-five mortality rate by two thirds between 1990 and 2012, which is the target for achieving Millennium Development Goal-4. In 1990, the under-five mortality rate in Ethiopia was one of the highest in the world at 205/1,000 live births. However, by 2012, this rate had declined to 68/1,000 live births with an average annual rate of decline of 5.0%. This exceeded the 4.3% annual rate of decline needed to reach MDG4 and was significantly higher than the decline rates observed in many sub-Saharan African countries and even other low and middle-income countries. In an effort to understand the story behind Ethiopia’s remarkable achievement of MDG-4, EPHI has conducted this in-depth Case Study which is supported by Countdown to 2015. The findings are believed to generate valuable lessons and guidance for other low-income countries in their quest for accelerating health improvements and reducing child deaths

Hf–Zr anomalies in clinopyroxene from mantle xenoliths from France and Poland: implications for Lu–Hf dating of spinel peridotite lithospheric mantle

Clinopyroxenes in some fresh anhydrous spinel peridotite mantle xenoliths from the northern Massif Central (France) and Lower Silesia (Poland), analysed for a range of incompatible trace elements by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, show unusually strong negative anomalies in Hf and Zr relative to adjacent elements Sm and Nd, on primitive mantle-normalised diagrams. Similar Zr–Hf anomalies have only rarely been reported from clinopyroxene in spinel peridotite mantle xenoliths worldwide, and most are not as strong as the examples reported here. Low Hf contents give rise to a wide range of Lu/Hf ratios, which over geological time would result in highly radiogenic εHf values, decoupling them from εNd ratios. The high 176Lu/177Hf could in theory produce an isochronous relationship with 176Hf/177Hf over time; an errorchron is shown by clinopyroxene from mantle xenoliths from the northern Massif Central. However, in a review of the literature, we show that most mantle spinel peridotites do not show such high Lu/Hf ratios in their constituent clinopyroxenes, because they lack the distinctive Zr–Hf anomaly, and this limits the usefulness of the application of the Lu–Hf system of dating to garnet-free mantle rocks. Nevertheless, some mantle xenoliths from Poland or the Czech Republic may be amenable to Hf-isotope dating in the future

Characteristics of Early-Onset vs Late-Onset Colorectal Cancer: A Review.

The incidence of early-onset colorectal cancer (younger than 50 years) is rising globally, the reasons for which are unclear. It appears to represent a unique disease process with different clinical, pathological, and molecular characteristics compared with late-onset colorectal cancer. Data on oncological outcomes are limited, and sensitivity to conventional neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy regimens appear to be unknown. The purpose of this review is to summarize the available literature on early-onset colorectal cancer. Within the next decade, it is estimated that 1 in 10 colon cancers and 1 in 4 rectal cancers will be diagnosed in adults younger than 50 years. Potential risk factors include a Westernized diet, obesity, antibiotic usage, and alterations in the gut microbiome. Although genetic predisposition plays a role, most cases are sporadic. The full spectrum of germline and somatic sequence variations implicated remains unknown. Younger patients typically present with descending colonic or rectal cancer, advanced disease stage, and unfavorable histopathological features. Despite being more likely to receive neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapy, patients with early-onset disease demonstrate comparable oncological outcomes with their older counterparts. The clinicopathological features, underlying molecular profiles, and drivers of early-onset colorectal cancer differ from those of late-onset disease. Standardized, age-specific preventive, screening, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies are required to optimize outcomes