Performances of Arsi-Bale Lambs Fed Diets Based on Sugarcane Tops Silage and Hay as a Partial Substitute for Natural Pasture Hay

አህፅሮት በዚህ ጥናት ከሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ የተዘጋጀ ድርቆሽና ገፈራ (ሳይሌጅ) ከተፈጥሮ የሣር ድርቆሽ ጋር ያለው አንጻራዊ የመኖ ጠቃሜታ በታዳጊ የሥጋ በጎች ላይ ተገምግሟል፡፡ ከሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ፤ ከሞላሰስና ዩሪያ ውህድ የተዘጋጀን ገፈራ ወይም ድርቆሽ እንደአማራጭ አሳራማ መኖ በመጠቀምና የተፈጥሮ ሣር ድርቆሽን በከፊል (0፤33 እና 67 እጅ) በመተካትና ለሶስት ወራት ያህል በጎችን በመመገብ በመኖ ተበይነት፤ በበጎች እድገት፤ በሥጋ ምርትና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ጠቃሜታ ላይ መረጃዎች ተሰብስቧል፡፡ የጥናቱም ውጤት እንደምያሳየው አጠቃላይ የደረቅ መኖ ተበይነት ደረጃ ከሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ሳይሌጅ መጠን መጨመር ጋር ተያይዞ ቀንሷዋል፡፡ይሁን እንጂ የመኖዎች መለያየት በበጎች እድገትና የሥጋ ምርት ላይ እምብዛም ልዩነት አላሳየም፡፡  በተጨማሪም አብላጫውን (67በመቶ) የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ድርቆሽ ወይም ገፈራ ያለውን መኖ የተመገቡ በጎች የተፈጥሮ ሣር ብቻ የያዘ መኖ ከተመገቡት በጎች የበለጠ አዋጪ (አትራፊ) ሆኗል፡፡ በመሆኑም በጥሩ ሁኔታ የተዘጋጀ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ገፈራ ወይም ድርቆሽ የተፈጥሮ ሣር ድርቆሽን በመተካት ለሥጋ እንስሳት  ጠቃሚ  እንደሆነ ጥናቱ ያሳያል፡፡  Abstract This study was conducted to evaluate nutrient intake, growth performance, carcass characteristics and economic performances of yearling Arsi-Bale lambs fed diets based either sugarcane tops (SCT) silage or hay replacing natural pasture hay as a roughage source. The treatments were: natural pastures hay (NPH) without SCT (T1, control); substituting 33 and 67% NPH with either SCT silage (T2, T3) or SCT hay (T4, T5), on dry matter (DM) basis, respectively. Roughages were fed ad libitum along with 350 g/head/day concentrate mix. Thirty yearling Arsi-Bale lambs (Initial body weight, 19.36±0.27 kg) were allotted to the treatments in randomized complete block design. The feeding trial lasted for 90 days followed by slaughter for carcass evaluation. Dry matter intake was lower (P<0.05) for lambs on the higher silage based diet, but not affected (p>0.05) by the level of SCT hay. Lambs fed on a diet containing higher SCT hay had the lowest (P<0.0001) crude protein (CP) intake, while the intake of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were lower (P<0.05) on higher silage diet, which associated with lower DM intake. Treatments did not vary (P>0.05) in growth performances, feed efficiency (FE) and carcass characteristics of the lambs. The average final body weight, body weight change, average daily gain (ADG) and feed efficiency (FE) were: 27.21 kg, 7.85 kg, 87.22 g and 0.110 (g gain/g DM intake), respectively. Higher net income (113.08 Birr/lamb) and profit margin (0.47 Birr/lamb) were fetched by lambs fed on the silage based diet, followed by the group fed SCT hay and control diet. In conclusion, SCT silage or hay can replace up to 67% of natural pasture hay for yearling Arsi-Bale lambs at an economic advantage. &nbsp

Prevalence and burden of primary headache in Akaki textile mill workers, Ethiopia

Headache disorders are the most common complaints worldwide. Migraine, tension-type and cluster headaches account for majority of primary headaches and impose a substantial burden on the individual, family or society at large. The burden is immense on workers, women and children in terms of missing work and school days. There are few studies that show relatively lower prevalence of primary headaches in Africa as compared to Europe and America. There might be many reasons for this lower prevalence. The objective of this study is to determine the prevalence and burden of primary headaches among the Akaki textile factory workers, which may provide data for the local and international level toward the campaign of lifting the burden of headache worldwide. The overall 1-year prevalence of all types of primary headaches was found to be 16.4%, and that of migraine was 6.2%. The prevalence of migraine in females was 10.1% while it was 3.7% in males. The prevalence of tension-type headaches was found to be 9.8%. This was 16.3 % in females as compared to 5.7% in males. The burden of the primary headaches in terms of lost workdays, gross under recognition and absence of effective treatment is tremendous. In conclusion, the prevalence of primary headaches in the Akaki textile mill workers is significant, particularly in females, and the burden is massive, in a place of poverty and ignorance. We recommend the availability and administration of specific therapy to the factory workers with primary headaches, and community based well-designed study for the whole nation’s rural and urban population

Chemical Composition, In vitro Digestibility and Drying Rate of Sugarcane Tops Using Different Curing Methods

አህፅሮትየሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ በአገራችን በስኳር ፋብሪካዎች አከባቢና እና በአነስተኛ ሸንኮራ አገዳ አምራች ገበሬዎች ዘንድ የሚገኝ የእንስሳት መኖ ሀብት ነው፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ በሀገራችን እስካሁን የመኖ ጠቃሜታውን ለማሻሻልና በአያያዝ ጉድለት የሚመጣውን ብክነት ለመቀነስ የተካሄደ ጥናት በስፋት የለም። የዚህ ጥናት ዓላማም የርጥብ ሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍን ድርቆሽ በማዘጋጀት ሳይበላሽ ለረጅም ጊዜ ለማቆየት እንዲቻል ጥራቱን በተለያዩ የድርቆሽ አዘገጃጀት ዘዴዎች መፈተሽ ነው። ይህም በሳት የተቃጠለና (የተለበለበ) ያልተቃጠለ (ያልተለበለበ) የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍን ሳይከረታተፍና ተከረታትፎ በፀሀይና በጥላ ሥር በማድረቅ ዘዴ የሚዘጋጀውን ድርቆሽ የንጥረ-ነገር ይዘት፣ የመፈጨት ደረጃውንና ለመድረቅ የሚፈጀውን ጊዜ ለመገምገም ነበር። የእያንዳንዱን አሰራር ዘዴ አምስት ጊዜ በመደጋገምና በተለያዩ ጊዜያት ናሙናዎች በመውሰድ አማካይ የድርቀት መጠናቸዉ 85 በመቶ ሲቃረብ በማቆም የናሙናዎች ኬየሚካለዊ ትንተና ተካሂደዋል። በተለበለቡና ባልተለበለቡ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ መነሻ ናሙናዎች (fresh/original sugarcane tops) መካከል ያለው የመኖ ንጥረ-ነገር ይዘት ልዩነት የጎላ አልነበረም። ተከርትፈዉ በፀሀይ የደረቁት የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ናሙናዎች ሦስት ቀናት ባልበለጠ ጊዜ የደረቁ ሲሆን፤ በአንፃሩ ያልተከረተፉት ናሙናዎች ለመድረቅ ከ45 እስከ 68 ቀናት ወስዶባቸዋል። በማድረቂያ ዘዴዎችና በሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ዓይነቶች መለየት ምክንያት በሚንራል(ash)፣ በቃጫ (NDF, ADL)፣በሟሚ ካርቦኃይድሬቶች (NFC)፣ በኃይል ሰጪ (ME)፣ በፎስፈረስ ይዘትና በተፈጭነት ደረጃ (digestibility) ልዩነት ማየት ተችሏል። የማድረቂያ ዘዴዎቹ መለያየት ከናሙናዎቹ ድርቀት(DM) እና ፕሮቲን ይዘት ዉጪ በሌሎች ንጥረ-ነገሮች ይዘቶች ላይ ልዩነት አልነበራቸዉም። በሌላ በኩል በፀሀይ የደረቀ ያልተከረተፈ-የተቃጠለ የሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ድርቆሽ የቃጫ(NDF) ይዘት አነስተኛና በፀሀይ ከደረቀው ያልተከረተፈ-ያልተቃጠለ ናሙና ልዩነት የለውም። በአንፃሩ የተከረተፉና በፀሐይ የደረቁ ናሙናዎች ሳይከረተፉ ከደረቁት ናሙናዎች በሟሚ ካርቦሀይድሬት፣ በቅባትና በሄማይሴሉለስ-ቃጫ ይዘት ከፍተኛ ሆነው በADF-ቃጫ ይዘት በእጅጉ ያነሱ ናቸዉ። በአጠቃላይ ከሸንኮራ አገዳ ጫፍ ድርቆሽ ለማዘጋጀት መከርተፍና በፀሀይ ማድረቅ የሚወስደዉን ጊዜ በእጅጉ ይቀንሳል፣ ብልሽትንና የንጥረ-ነገር ብክነትን በመቀነስ የመኖ ጠቀሜታውን ያጎላል። AbstractThis study was conducted to evaluate effects of different drying methods on chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and drying rate of sugarcane tops (SCT). Treatments were set in factorial arrangement (2 SCT types (green and burnt) x 3 drying methods (shed and sun drying of intact SCT and sun drying of chopped SCT) in a completely randomized design. Each treatment was replicated 5 times and samples were dried at a swath density of 4 kg/m2. Dry matter (DM) of samples was determined at time interval until the treatment average approached the safest content (≈ 85% DM) for storage. Fresh (samples at harvesting) and dried samples were chemically analyzed. The fresh burnt SCT had slightly higher DM, ash, EE, ADL, Ca, P, IVDMD, IVOMD and ME contents, but had lower CP and NFC contents than the fresh green SCT. The chopped burnt and green SCT dried at a rate of 19.8 and 20.7% per day, respectively. Rate of drying was highest in the 1st week for all drying methods, then after decreased progressively. The lowest dehydration rate (0.92 and 0.99% per day), or longest drying time (68 and 60 days) was attained by shed dried intact green and burnt SCT, respectively. There were significant interaction effects (P<0.05) of drying methods and SCT types on ash, NDF, ADL, IVDMD, IVOMD, ME, NFC and P contents. Except for DM and CP, the drying methods had varied (P<0.0001) effect on nutrient content of SCT. The NDF content of burnt SCT was lower (P<0.05) for intact sun dried samples compared to other drying methods, but values for the green SCT did not vary (P>0.05) among the drying methods. However, ADF contents of sun- and shed dried intact SCT were not different (P>0.05), but were higher (P>0.05) than that of chopped sun-dried SCT. The sun-dried chopped SCT had higher (P<0.05) ether extract (EE) and hemicelluloses contents. However, sun-dried chopped green SCT had lower NDF and ADL than sun-dried chopped burnt SCT, but were similar (P>0.05) in DM, OM digestibility and ME contents. The NFC content was inversely related to the fiber fraction, being lower (P<0.05) for sun-dried chopped burnt SCT and shed-dried intact burnt SCT. The under shed dried intact green SCT had higher NFC content than sun dried chopped green SCT (P<0.05). In conclusion, the drying methods used in this study had variable effect on chemical composition, although lacks consistency in the trend. Chopping SCT clearly increases drying rate, shorten drying period and conserve nutrients that has been reflected in better in vitro digestibility and ME.

Factors Affecting Profitability of Insurance Companies in Ethiopia

The study was attempted to examine factors affecting profitability of insurance companies in Ethiopia for the period of 2014-2018, employed descriptive research design. The target populations were 17 insurance companies taken by census method. The study employed secondary sources of data from audited financial statement of National bank of Ethiopia. The study was used multiple regression models. The regression was run by using random effect model through Stata software version 14. The researchers found that the positive and significant relationship between ROA and liquidity, capital adequacy, real GDP as well as real effective exchange rate. Contrary, ROA has negative and significant relation with leverage, underwriting risk, premium growth. Besides, ROA has positive and insignificant relation with age and size whereas negative and insignificant relation with inflation. Thus, Insurance industry should give emphasis on liquidity ratio, and capital adequacy ratio to sustain its profitability.

Dog bite as a public health concern in Addis Ababa

Introduction: Animal bites and scratches represent the most important public health issue related to dogs and cats because of the risk of rabies transmission associated with physical, psychological trauma and wound infection. Objective: The study was aimed at estimating the prevalence of animal bite of human beings in Addis Ababa. Methods: Data on the kind of animal, age of the patients, gender, site of bites and /or scratch were collected from the registry book and analyzed using SPSS version 11.5. Results: A total of 1299 cases of bite and/or scratch were reported for the period September 2008 to August 2009. The majority of bites were made by dogs where stray dogs are much higher (X2 = 0.83, p= 0.36). There is statistically highly significant difference of bites between sex (p = 0.001) and between age group (F = 5.41, p=0.02). The animal bite made by dogs was higher on legs (55.6 %) followed by hands (26.45 %) and multiple bites (7.51 %). Conclusions: The majority of bites were attributed to stray dogs followed by cats, horses, donkeys. To reduce the problem a preventative public education is suggested

Overview of Rabies in and around Addis Ababa, in Animals Examined in EHNRI Zoonoses Laboratory Between, 2003 and 2009

A retrospective data on the number of confirmed animal rabies cases and applied rabies control measures over the period 2003-2009 were collected and analyzed to elucidate the situation of animal rabies in and around Addis Ababa. Over the last seven years, 2517 animals brain tissue samples from Dogs, Cats, Cattle, Horses, Donkeys, Shoats, Hyenas and Monkeys were examined for rabies using Fluorescent Antibody Test. Out of all samples examined, 76.9% (n=1936) were positive for rabies antigen. A statistically significant difference (χ2 = 34.08(1),

Burden of podoconiosis in poor rural communities in Guliso woreda, western Ethiopia

Background. Podoconiosis is an environmental lymphoedema affecting people living and working barefoot on irritant red clay soil. Podoconiosis is relatively well described in southern Ethiopia, but remains neglected in other parts of the Ethiopian highlands. This study aimed to assess the burden of podoconiosis in rural communities in western Ethiopia. Methodology/Principal Findings. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Gulliso woreda (district), west Ethiopia. A household survey in the 26 rural kebeles (villages) of this district was conducted to identify podoconiosis patients and to measure disease prevalence. A more detailed study was done in six randomly selected kebeles to describe clinical features of the disease, patients’ experiences of foot hygiene, and shoe wearing practice. 1,935 cases of podoconiosis were registered, giving a prevalence of 2.8%. The prevalence was higher in those aged 15 – 64 years (5.2%) and in females than males (prevalence ratio 2.6:1). 90.3% of patients were in the 15 – 64 year age group. In the detailed study, 335 cases were interviewed and their feet assessed. The majority of patients were farmers, uneducated, and poor. Two-third of patients developed the disease before the age of thirty. Almost all patients (97.0%) had experienced adenolymphangitis (ALA - red, hot legs, swollen and painful groin) at least once during the previous year. Patients experienced an average of 5.5 ALA episodes annually, each of average 4.4 days, thus 24 working days were lost annually. The incidence of ALA in podoconiosis patients was higher than that reported for filariasis in other countries. Shoe wearing was limited mainly due to financial problems. Conclusions. We have documented high podoconiosis prevalence, frequent adenolymphangitis and high disease-related morbidity in west Ethiopia. Interventions must be developed to prevent, treat and control podoconiosis, one of the core neglected tropical diseases in Ethiopia

A systems model describing the impact of organic resource use on farming households in low to middle income countries

We are grateful for support from the DFID-NERC El Niño programme in project NE P004830, “Building Resilience in Ethiopia’s Awassa region to Drought (BREAD)”, the ESRC NEXUS programme in project IEAS/POO2501/1, “Improving organic resource use in rural Ethiopia (IPORE)”, and the NERC ESPA programme in project NEK0104251 “Alternative carbon investments in ecosystems for poverty alleviation (ALTER)”. We are also grateful to Dr. V.U.M. Rao (Former Project Coordinator, AICRP on Agrometeorology, CRIDA, Hyderabad) and Dr. S.K. Chaudhari (DDG, NRM Division, KAB-II, ICAR, New Delhi) for their assistance in collecting meteorological data of Parbhani, Maharashtra.Peer reviewedPostprin

Treatment of organic resources before soil incorporation in semi-arid regions improves resilience to El Niño, and increases crop production and economic returns

We are grateful for support from the DFID-NERC El Niño programme in project NE P004830, “Building Resilience in Ethiopia’s Awassa region to Drought (BREAD)”, the ESRC NEXUS programme in project IEAS/POO2501/1, “Improving organic resource use in rural Ethiopia (IPORE)”, and the NERC ESPA programme in project NEK0104251 “Alternative carbon investments in ecosystems for poverty alleviation (ALTER)”. We are also grateful to Anke Fischer (James Hutton Insitute) for her comments on the paper.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Sodium Stibogluconate (SSG) & Paromomycin Combination Compared to SSG for Visceral Leishmaniasis in East Africa: A Randomised Controlled Trial

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a parasitic disease with about 500,000 new cases each year and is fatal if untreated. The current standard therapy involves long courses, has toxicity and there is evidence of increasing resistance. New and better treatment options are urgently needed. Recently, the antibiotic paromomycin (PM) was tested and registered in India to treat this disease, but the same dose of PM monotherapy evaluated and registered in India was not efficacious in Sudan. This article reports the results of a clinical trial to test the effectiveness of injectable PM either alone (in a higher dose) or in combination with sodium stibogluconate (SSG) against the standard SSG monotherapy treatment in four East African countries—Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda. The study showed that the combination of SSG &PM was as efficacious and safe as the standard SSG treatment, with the advantages of being cheaper and requiring only 17 days rather than 30 days of treatment. In March 2010, a WHO Expert Committee recommended the use of the SSG & PM combination as a first line treatment for VL in East Africa