Soaking and drying of cassava roots reduced cyanogenic potential of three cassava varieties at Jimma, Southwest Ethiopia

Detoxification of three cassava varieties (NR-44/72, NW-45/72 and NW-44/72) by traditional methods of processing to produce cassava flour was investigated at the college of agriculture, Jimma University during February to May, 2007. The total hydrogen cyanide (HCN) quantitative determination in cassava flour was carried out using a simple enzymatic picrate paper method. Results show that varieties, soaking time and their interactions highly significantly reduced (P<0.01) total HCN content (ppm) in the flour. Soaking of cassava chips in water for about 24 h prior to sun drying reduced the HCN from 108.37 to 10.83 ppm (reduced by 90%), from 66.45 to 13.33 ppm (reduced by 79.94%) and from 58.63 to 15.0 (reduced by 74.42%) for varieties NW-44/72, NR-44/72 and NW-45/72, respectively. It was noted that total HCN content in cassava flour can be substantially eliminated (by more than 80%) by soaking of cassava chips in water. This study highlighted the importance of soaking of cassava chips for at least 24 h prior to sun drying for a safe level of HCN in the flour. However, it is also important to develop new and improved processing techniques to reduce HCN substantially.Key words: Cassava flour, soaking, total hydrogen cyanide

Is fine needle aspiration cytology a useful tool for the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis

Objective: To study the role of fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) in the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis and find a place for FNAC as laboratory diagnostic method in tuberculosis (TB) control programmes. Design: Prospective laboratory study. Method: Duplicate smears from 127 lymphnode aspiration were prepared. Both slides were air-dried. Giemsa stain for cytological examination and Ziehl-Neelsen stain for demonstration of acid fast bacillus(AFB) were used and examined by a pathologist and laboratory technologist respectively. Setting: Tigrai Regional Health Research and Laboratory Centre which is the only unit with microbiological and cytopathological service in the region. Subjects: Patients with one or more enlarged lymph nodes who were sent for FNAC were included. Results: The AFB positivity among the cytologically diagnosed cases of TB lymphadenitis was 56.77%. If we had used culture media for Mycobacterium spp, the positivity would have probably been higher. The positivity rate varied depending on the type of the aspirate. Caseous aspirate showed a higher positivity rate of 60.47% whereas no AFBs were detected in haemorrhagic aspirates. Conclusion: This study has demonstrated the usefulness of FNAC in the diagnosis of TB lymphadenitis and the national TB and leprosy control programmes should encompass FNAC as a diagnostic means instead of biopsy which is more invasive and costly.East African Medical Journal, May 1999, 260-26

Bayesian Approach to Zero-Inflated Bivariate Ordered Probit Regression Model, with an Application to Tobacco Use

This paper presents a Bayesian analysis of bivariate ordered probit regression model with excess of zeros. Specifically, in the context of joint modeling of two ordered outcomes, we develop zero-inflated bivariate ordered probit model and carry out estimation using Markov Chain Monte Carlo techniques. Using household tobacco survey data with substantial proportion of zeros, we analyze the socioeconomic determinants of individual problem of smoking and chewing tobacco. In our illustration, we find strong evidence that accounting for excess zeros provides good fit to the data. The example shows that the use of a model that ignores zero-inflation masks differential effects of covariates on nonusers and users

Results-based monitoring and evaluation for organizations working in agricultural development: a guide for practitioners

The purpose of this guide for practitioners is to contribute to the development of RBM&E capacity and to facilitate its institutionalization in organizations dealing with agricultural development. The target audiences of the guide include the staff in planning, monitoring and evaluation departments/units of public organizations and non-governmental organizations dealing with agricultural development at federal, regional, zonal or district levels. Staff of the agricultural research and higher learning institutes may also find the guide useful. It is assumed that users of the guide would have some basic knowledge of project/program/policy planning and implementation. The guide is based on an extensive review of M&E literature and the experiences of the RBM&E activities of the IPMS (Improving Productivity and Market Success) of Ethiopian farmers project.1 As part of its overall approach to market-oriented agricultural development, the IPMS project is working to facilitate the use and institutionalization of RBM&E system. The guide is organized as follows. Section two deals with basic concepts of RBM&E. Section three presents the relationships between the concepts and practices of M&E. Section four deals with the concepts and applications of participatory monitoring and evaluation. Sections five and six present the practices and processes of the selection of results to monitor and evaluate, and the selection of key performance indicators, respectively. Section seven discusses the methods of setting baseline data and targets, and section eight deals with data collection and analysis. While section nine deals with reporting and using M&E information, section ten discusses issues, approaches and requirements for institutionalizing and sustaining the RBM&E system

Dynamic analysis of spur gear with backlash using ADAMS

Gear tooth profile can deviate from its initial design shape and size as a result of increasing service time under time-varying load, introducing external agents like debris, overheating due to friction, wear, and in generally due to other nonlinear factors such as backlash. As a result, the dynamics of the gear will also vary depending on the resulting gear tooth profile. In this study, the worn-out gear tooth is modelled as a backlash by assuming a uniformly distributed worn out surface and the effect on the dynamic performance is investigated. By changing the amount of backlash of the gear tooth from 0 mm to 1 mm by 0.2 mm increment, the gear is modelled and analysed for three loading cases using MSC ADAMS software. This paper discusses the effect of backlash or uniformly worn out spur gear tooth faces on the dynamics specifically the contact and angular accelerations of the gear.publishedVersio

Prevalence of physical, verbal and nonverbal sexual harassments and their association with psychological distress among Jimma university female students: A cross-sectional study

Background: A number of studies conducted on sexual harassment focused on general magnitude rather than specific details of the various forms of sexual harassment and their effect on psychological health. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the prevalence rates of the various forms of sexual harassments and their associations with psychological distress among Jimma University female students. Methods: Three hundred and eighty five (385) female participants were selected from all colleges using stratified and systematic sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire consisting of items on the various forms of sexual harassment and psychological distress was administered.Results: The prevalence rates of physical, verbal and nonverbal sexual harassments were 78.2%, 90.4% and 80.0%, respectively, while the prevalence rate of psychological distress among students who had experienced sexual harassment was 63.0%. The multivariable logistic regression analyses indicated that students who were physically [adjusted OR = 3.950, 95% CI = (1.979, 7.884)] and nonverbally [(adjusted OR = 12.099, 95% CI= (5.190, 28.205] harassed were 4 and 12 times more likely to experience psychological distress, respectively, adjusted for all other variables. Conclusion: The prevalence of various forms of sexual harassment were higher and strongly associated with psychological distress. Important implications for University officials and policy makers including creating harassment free University have been drawn. Otherwise, female students tend to dropout and their academic achievements suffer a lot as a result of psychological distress; and the government’s effort for realizing the gender parity in education would be compromised.Keywords: Verbal sexual harassment, Nonverbal sexual harassment, Physical sexual harassment, Psychological distres

Correction: The effect of national antenatal care guidelines and provider training on obstetric danger sign counselling: a propensity score matching analysis of the 2014 Ethiopia service provision assessment plus survey.

After publication of this article [1], the authors reported that in the section ‘Sample size and selection process’ in the first sentence, the number ‘1237’ should have read ‘1327’. Moreover, reference [50] should have been replaced by [53]. References [54–87] were renumbered. The original article [1] has been corrected

Effect of curing conditions and harvesting stage of maturity on Ethiopian onion bulb drying properties

The study was conducted to investigate the impact of curing conditions and harvesting stageson the drying quality of onion bulbs. The onion bulbs (Bombay Red cultivar) were harvested at three harvesting stages (early, optimum, and late maturity) and cured at three different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 oC) and relative humidity (30, 50 and 70%). The results revealed that curing temperature, RH, and maturity stage had significant effects on all measuredattributesexcept total soluble solids

Contact temperature analysis of the classical Geneva mechanism through numerical methods

In this study, the flash temperature of the classical Geneva mechanism has been studied using the numer- ical method. An excessive sliding motion between the wheel and pin leads to the generation of heat at the contact surfaces, which raises the surface temperature of the two contacting bodies. The flash tempera- ture has been anticipated for different loading cases and coefficients of friction. The analytical Blok equa- tion results are compared with the finite element results, and the results are satisfactory for maximum temperature. Based on the simulation results, the maximum contact temperature occurred in the driving crankpin within 10-15° and 70–75° of the angular position, and as the load increased the contact temper- ature also increases. In addition, the angular velocity increment produced higher temperatures than the torque load increments.publishedVersio

The effectiveness of low level laser therapy and acupuncture as interventions for temporomandibular joint disorders in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) encompass a range of disorders of the temporomandibular joint, the masticatory muscles and other associated structures. The main symptom of TMD patients is pain within the orofacial region. The objective of this review is to compare the effectiveness of low level laser therapy (LLLT) and acupuncture as interventions for TMD. Randomized controlled trials comparing LLLT versus PLT and real acupuncture versus placebo acupuncture were included within the review. The primary outcome was subjective pain intensity expressed via a numerical visual analogue scale (VAS) upon palpation of the masseter muscles. Secondary outcomes include pain intensity via VAS upon palpation of other areas of the myofascial region; the lateral pole of the condyle, the pre-auricular region and the external auditive meatus. The author performed the data extraction, analysis and the risk of bias assessment. 10 studies (n=317) were included in assessment of LLLT vs PLT. LLLT was found to be statistically more effective than PLT in reducing subjective pain intensity upon palpation. Six studies (n=165) were included in the assessment of real acupuncture versus placebo acupuncture. Acupuncture was not statistically more effective in reducing subjective pain compared to placebo acupuncture in TMD patients. The I2 statistic described the percentage of variability in the effect estimates from the different subgroups which shows considerable heterogeneity across the subgroups. In comparing both treatments as measures for managing pain intensity in patients with TMD, LLLT significantly reduced subjective pain on palpation of the masseter muscles, lateral pole of the condyle, the pre-auricular region and the external auditive meatus. Acupuncture therapy, on the other hand, did not significantly reduce pain intensity upon palpation of the masseter muscles in patients with temporomandibular disorders. The results suggest that LLLT is a more effective non-invasive intervention for TMD