Evaluation of Sorghum for Salt Stress Tolerance Using Different Stages as Screening Tool in Raya Valley, Northern Ethiopia

አህፅሮት የአፈር ጨዋማነት በሰብሎች ላይ አሉታዊ ተፅዕኖ በመፍጠር ምርትና ምርታማነትን እንዲቀንስ ያደርጋል፡፡ በመሆኑም በራያ ተፋሰስ ይህ መነሻ በማድረግ የአፈር ጨዋማነትን ተቋቁመው የተሻለ ምርትና ምርታማነት ሊሰጡ የሚችሉ  የማሽላ ዝርያዎችን ከተለያዩ ማሽላ ኣብቃይ ከሆኑ አከባቢዎች በመሰብሰብ  የተለያዩ የጨው መጠን  (0, 10, 15 and 20 dS m-1) በመለካት በቤተ ጥናት ግሪንሃዉስ ተዘርቶ ከዚህ በማጣራት ደሞ ጨዋማ በሆነ መሬት ላይ በመዝራት ጨዋማነቱን በመም የተሻለ የመብቀል እና ምርት መስጠት የሚችሉ የማሽላ ዝርያዎች እንዲለዩ ተደርገዋል፡፡ ይህን የሚያመላክተዉ የአፈር ጨዋማነት እየጨመረ በሄደ ቁጥር የማሽላን የመብቀል አቅምና አጠቃላይ እድገቱን ይቀንሳል፡፡ በተመሳሳይ መልኩ የአፈር ጨዋማነት እየጨመረ በሄደ ቁጥር የማሽላን ምርትና ምርታማነቱን ይቀንሳል፡፡ ስለዚህ ሜኮ እና 76T1 ቁጥር 23 የተባሉ የማሽላ ዝርያዎች ለአከባቢው የአፈር ጨዋማነትን ተቋቁመው የተሻለ ምርትና ምርታማነትን ይጨምራሉ፡፡ በመሆኑም እነዚህን ሁለቱ የማሽላ ዝርያዎች ወደ ገበሬ ከመግባታቸው በፊት ሰፊ በሆኑ ማሳዎች ላይ ለገበሬዎች  የሰርቶ ማሳያ እና የማስተዋወቅ ስራ ሊሰራባቸው ይገባል፡፡     Abstract Salinity is one of the major environmental problem that lead to deterioration of agricultural land and, as a result, to reduction in crop productivity. Evaluation of sorghum varieties/lines for salt tolerance were conducted with the objectives to evaluate and identify salinity stress tolerance and to determine the effect of salinity at different levels of NaCl in Raya valley, northern Ethiopia. The screening procedures were conducted at three stages; germination, seedling and field experiment through exposing to salt stress condition. Initially, 46 varieties/lines of sorghum were placed in Petri plates using 0 and 20 dS m-1 level of NaCl and better performing were selected based on their total germination percentage and germination stress tolerance index. Then, control (0 dS m-1) and three salinity levels (10, 15 and 20 dS m-1) of NaCl were prepared at germination and seedling stages. Results indicated that, all investigated traits were affected by salt stress at germination and seedling stages. Similarly, soil salinity reduced yield and yield components of sorghum at field experiments. Both Meko and 76T1#23 were more yielded than the national average compared to the tested sorghum varieties in the two consecutive cropping seasons. Thus, Meko and 76T1#23 were promising varieties as indicated by all investigated traits and hence, recommended for yield and yield traits maximization Raya valley. Therefore, these varieties should be validated and demonstrated to more numbers of farmers in larger plots to recommend to extension users.&nbsp

Assessment of reuse, recycle, and recoverable potential of solid waste

A study was conducted to assess the reuse, recycle, and recoverable potential of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW). Generation rate, waste type, and physicochemical analysis of MSW were evaluated. Results of MSW analysis indicated that the total amount of MSW generation rate per day at Haramaya University (HU) is estimated to be 2608.56 kg/day. The per capita solid waste generation rate is estimated to be 0.134 kg/cap/day. The three waste categories that contributed the greatest proportion of the total sorted waste at all sources are compostable organic matter (57.31%), papers (16.26%), and fines (10.98%) respectively. These three waste categories accounted for approximately 84.55% of the total waste sorted. The remaining 15.45% of the sorted waste were plastic material (5.82%), miscellaneous (4.45%), cardboards (2.37%), metals (1.30%), glass (0.87%), and textiles (0.63%). The particle size distribution of compostable organic matter is 42.76% (greater than 50 mm), 53.2% (between 10-50 mm), and 4.04% (less than 10 mm). The result shows that a large proportion of compostable organic waste is found in the particle size range of 10-50 mm. The physicochemical composition of selected compostable organic waste was compared with standard values suitable for the composting process. The study further revealed that there has been a generation rate of potentially recyclable were 169.45 tonnes/year papers and carton, 59.49 tonnes/year plastic material, and 11.82 tonnes/year metals (can). These materials should be collected separately (source separation) and can also be a means of income generation to the institute

Land use land cover change detection in Gibe Sheleko National Park, Southwestern Ethiopia

Purpose. The main aim of the study was to assess land use land cover change detection (LULCC) from 1990 to 2016 in case of Gibe Sheleko National Park (GSNP), Southwestern Ethiopia. Methodology / approach. Multi-temporal Landsat images and topographic map were acquired in 2016. Field observation using GPS was carried out to generate the ground truth points for image classification and accuracy assessment from December 2016 to June 2017. A total 200 GPS points were purposively collected. The data were analysis by using ERDAS IMGINE 2010 and ArcGIS 10.3.1 software. Supervised classification was carried out to identify the overall land use land cover class. Results. Forest land was rapidly declined with average of 478.5 ha/year for the last 27 years. This revealed that over 66.8 % of forest was diminished from 1990 to 2016 due to anthropogenic factors in the study area. Bush & shrub land was upraised from 12600 ha (31.5 %) to 20600 ha (51.5 %) from 1990 to 2016. Grazing land and bare land was also showed an increment of 3500 ha and 2240 ha with average increment of 134.6 ha/year and 86.5 ha/year respectively from 1990 to 2016. This indicated as most forest land was changed in to bush & shrub land due to human induced factors. Hence, it brings negative effects on the wildlife conservation and socio-economic development. Originality / scientific novelty. This study is orginal research finding by employ above indicated methedology and stated the last 27 years land use land cover change of Gibe Sheleko National Park for fist time. It also discovered that the rate of land use land cover change in the study area for the past 27 years. Practical value / implications. The main results of the study of land cover change can be used to ensure planning to be sustainable and integrated management of the natural resources. Participatory management practice should be implemented in the study area to regenerate the changed land use type

A mixed-methods study exploring adherence to the referral of severely sick children in primary health care in Southern Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: We have shown that Ethiopian primary healthcare providers refer only half of the severely sick children who, according to guidelines, should get an urgent referral. Frequently parents of referred ill children don't bring their children to the next level. We aimed to describe the referral of severely ill Ethiopian children based on primary healthcare register reviews and explore health care providers' and parents' perceptions regarding factors that hinder or enhance referral. METHODS: A mixed-methods study was conducted in 11 districts and a town administration of the Hadiya zone in Ethiopia's Southern region from May to June 2019. Data collection included interviews and focus group discussions with healthcare providers, key informant interviews with parents of sick children who had been referred, and reviewing registers of sick children treated during the last 12 months at health posts and health centres. We analysed the association between healthcare providers' and sick children's characteristics and providers' compliance with referral guidelines for sick children 0-59 months old. Content analysis was undertaken to explore the perceived factors that influenced referral and adherence to referral from providers' and parents' perspectives. RESULTS: Healthcare providers did not refer nearly half of the severely ill children that should have been referred, according to guidelines. Providers who had received in-service training on child healthcare were more likely to adhere to referral guidelines. The severity of the child's illness and mobile phone communication and transport availability were perceived to be positively associated with adherence to referral guidelines. Lack of knowledge of treatment guidelines and skills, and high health worker workload, were among the factors perceived to be linked to lower adherence to guidelines. The healthcare providers considered parents of referred sick children as having low compliance with the referral advice. In contrast, parents had the opinion that compliance with a referral for sick children was high. Perceived awareness of severity of the child's illness, ability to afford referral costs, and availability of transport or ambulance services were perceived to motivate parents to take their children to the referral facility. Traditional illness perceptions, lack of confidence in the referral site's medical care, and a long distance were perceived to hurdle caregivers' referral compliance. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the healthcare providers' adherence to referral guidelines was not optimal. Care providers and parents had divergent opinions on parents' compliance with referral advice. Factors related to the health system, family economy, and available ambulance services influence whether care providers and parents pursued severely ill children's referral. Adequate referral of sick children is an aspect of primary healthcare quality that is essential to avoid unnecessary under-five deaths

Soil organic carbon dynamics along chrono-sequence land-use systems in the highlands of Ethiopia

Soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics along land-use changes influences the terrestrial and global carbon cycle, the climate, soil fertility, agricultural productivity, and food security. Taking soils under native forests as an appropriate ecological reference, we studied changes in soil organic carbon stock along eight land-use types in the highlands of Ethiopia. The general objective of the study was to investigate the dynamics of SOC stock following chrono-sequence land-use/cover systems in the highlands of Ethiopia. The specific objectives were to: (1) analyze loss due to land degradation; (2) analyze gain due to land restoration; and (3) estimate partial balance of SOC stock for the highlands of Ethiopia. The study followed the principle of the Forest Transition Theory (FTT). Eleven sub-areas were considered from the highlands of Ethiopia. A total of 241 auger composite samples from the topsoil (0−20 cm depth) were collected during December 2017 to June 2018, and analyzed at CropNut soil lab in Nairobi. The study results revealed that there were statistically significant variations (P < 0.05) across the land-use types with the mean stocks ranging from 31.4 Mg SOC ha−1 in soils of intensively grazed lands to 145.0 Mg SOC ha−1 in soils of guasa grasslands. Soils of natural/pristine vegetation and protected guasa grasslands contain the highest amount of SOC stock. Therefore, there should be more aggressive efforts towards an effective protection of these ecosystems. Soils under intensively used croplands and intensively grazed lands lost, respectively, 64.95% and 78.16%, SOC stocks originally accumulated in the top surface layers of the pristine forests. This points for the need to adopt locally feasible land management practices that lead to increased SOC stock and simultaneously reduced CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions from croplands and intensively grazed lands of the highlands of Ethiopia. Compared to stocks of SOC of intensively grazed lands (31.44 Mg SOC ha−1 ), the annual stock gains in soils of controlled grazing lands (4.60 Mg ha−1 ) were > gains in soils of enclosures (3.17 Mg ha−1 ) > gains in soils of afforestation (2.35 Mg SOC ha−1 ), which signifies that converting degraded lands to either controlled grazing lands, enclosures, or afforestation would be a promising practice for an enhanced carbon sequestration across the highlands of Ethiopia. This practice is in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. The estimated regional partial stock balance revealed that the loss and gain ratio was 35.1 in 1991, and it declined to 15.4 in 2001, 2.2 in 2011 and 1.8 in 2015. These decreasing ratios indicate the possibility of closing the gap between the losses and the gains in the near future, and eventually shifting to higher rates of gains than losses. It is also important to note that determined efforts towards the effective protection of natural forests and the creation of enclosures and reforestation areas by local communities for enhanced carbon sequestration will benefit them from payments of carbon emission reduction (CER) credits

Population-based Screening for Pulmonary Tuberculosis utilizing Community Health Workers in Ethiopia

Objective To evaluate the utility of a volunteer health development army in conducting population screening for active TB in a rural community in Southern Ethiopia. Methods A population-based cross-sectional survey was conducted in sixKebeles (the lowest administrative units).Volunteer women community workers led a symptom screening program to identify adults ≥15 years with TB in the community. Individuals with cough ≥ 2 weeks had spot and morning sputum samples and were examined using AFB smear microscopy, culture and Xpert MTB/RIF. Results All 24,517 adults in the study area had a symptom screen performed; 544 (2.2%) had cough ≥ 2 weeks. Among a positive symptom screen, 13 (2.4%) had a positive sputum AFB smear microscopy, 13 (2.4%) a positive culture and 32 (5.8%) a positive Xpert MTB/RIF test. Overall, 34 TB cases (6%) were identified by culture and/or Xpert which corresponds to a prevalence of 139 per 100,000 persons. Conclusion We demonstrate the capability of community health workers (volunteer and paid) to rapidly conduct a large-scale population TB screening evaluation and highlight the high yield of such a program to detect previously undiagnosed cases when combined with Xpert MTB/RIF testing. This could be a model to implement in other similar settings

High utility of active tuberculosis case finding in an Ethiopian prison

SETTING: Hawassa Prison, Southern Region of Ethiopia. OBJECTIVE: To determine the burden of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) using active case finding among prisoners. DESIGN: In this cross-sectional study, prisoners were screened for TB using a symptom screen. Those with cough of 2 weeks had spot and morning sputum samples collected for acid-fast bacilli (AFB) smear microscopy and molecular diagnostic testing (Xpert® MTB/RIF). RESULTS: Among 2068 prisoners, 372 (18%) had a positive cough screen. The median age of these 372 persons was 23 years, 97% were male and 63% were from urban areas. Among those with a positive symptom screen, 8 (2%) were AFB sputum smear-positive and 31 (8%) were Xpert-positive. The point prevalence of pulmonary TB at the prison was 1748 per 100 000 persons. In multivariate analysis, persons with cough >4 weeks were more likely to have TB (OR 3.34, 95%CI 1.54–7.23). CONCLUSION: A high prevalence of TB was detected among inmates at a large Ethiopian prison. Active case finding using a cough symptom screen in combination with Xpert had high utility, and has the potential to interrupt transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in correctional facilities in low- and middle-income, high-burden countries

Factors associated with the referral of children with severe illnesses at primary care level in Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

Context and objective Ethiopia's primary care has a weak referral system for sick children. We aimed to identify health post and child factors associated with referrals of sick children 0-59 months of age and evaluate the healthcare providers' adherence to referral guidelines. Design A cross-sectional facility-based survey. Setting This study included data from 165 health posts in 52 districts in four Ethiopian regions collected from December 2018 to February 2019. The data included interviews with health extension workers, assessment of health post preparedness, recording of global positioning system (GPS)-coordinates of the health post and the referral health centre, and reviewing registers of sick children treated during the last 3 months at the health posts. We analysed the association between the sick child's characteristics, health post preparedness and distance to the health centre with referral of sick children by multivariable logistic regressions. Outcome measure Referral to the nearest health centre of sick young infants aged 0-59 days and sick children 2-59 months.ResultsThe health extension workers referred 39/229 (17%) of the sick young infants and 78/1123 (7%) of the older children to the next level of care. Only 18 (37%) sick young infants and 22 (50%) 2-59 months children that deserved urgent referral according to guidelines were referred. The leading causes of referral were possible serious bacterial infection and pneumonia. Those being classified as a severe disease were referred more frequently. The availability of basic amenities (adjusted OR, AOR=0.38, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.96), amoxicillin (AOR=0.41, 95% CI 0.19 to 0.88) and rapid diagnostic test (AOR=0.18, 95% CI 0.07 to 0.46) were associated with less referral in the older age group. Conclusion Few children with severe illness were referred from health posts to health centres. Improving the health posts' medicine and diagnostic supplies may enhance adherence to referral guidelines and ultimately reduce child mortality

Antimicrobial Resistance Profile of E. coli

Aim. Foodborne illnesses represent a public health problem in developed and developing countries. They cause great suffering and are transmitted directly or indirectly between animals and humans and circulate in the global environment. E. coli are among them, causing a major public health problem. The aim of this study was therefore to study the antimicrobial resistance profile of E. coli from raw cow milk and fruit juice. Materials and Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2016 to June 2017 on 258 samples collected from milk shops (n=86), dairy farms (n=86), and fruit juice (n=86) in different subcities of Mekelle. Bacteriological procedures were used for isolation of E. coli in the collected samples and for identification of the antimicrobial resistance profile. Result. The overall mean viable bacterial count and standard deviation of samples from milk shop, fruit juice, and dairy milk were found to be 8.86 ± 107, 7.2 ± 107, and 8.65 ± 107 CFU/ml and 33.87 ± 106, 6.68 ± 106, and 22.0 ± 106, respectively. Of the samples tested, 39 from milk shops (45.35%), 20 from fruit juice (23.26%), and 24 from dairy farms (27.91%) were found to be positive for E. coli. The isolated E. coli were highly resistant to ampicillin (70%), sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim (60%), clindamycin (80%), erythromycin (60%), chloramphenicol (50%), and kanamycin (50%) and were found to be susceptible to some antibiotics like gentamicin (100%), norfloxacin (100%), tetracycline (60%), polymyxin B (90%), and ciprofloxacin (90%). Conclusion. The current study supports the finding that raw milk and fruit juice can be regarded as critical source of pathogenic E. coli. This supports the need for strict monitoring and the implementation of effective hygienic and biosecurity measures in the whole food chain of these products as well as a prudent use of antimicrobials

Characterizing and evaluating the impacts of national land restoration initiatives on ecosystem services in Ethiopia

Land restoration is considered to be the remedy for 21st century global challenges of land degradation. As a result, various land restoration and conservation efforts are underway at different scales. Ethiopia is one of the countries with huge investments in land restoration. Tremendous land management practices have been implemented across the country since the 1970s. However, the spatial distribution of the interventions has not been documented, and there is no systematic, quantitative evidence on whether land restoration efforts have achieved the restoration of desired ecosystem services. Therefore, we carried out a meta‐analysis of peer‐reviewed scientific literature related to land restoration efforts and their impacts in Ethiopia. Results show that most of the large‐scale projects have been implemented in the highlands, specifically in Tigray and Amhara regions covering about 24 agro‐ecological zones, and land restoration impact studies are mostly focused in the highlands but restricted in about 11 agro‐ecological zones. The highest mean effect on agricultural productivity is obtained from the combination of bunds and biological interventions followed by conservation agriculture practices with 170 % and 18% increases, respectively. However, bunds alone, biological intervention alone, and terracing (Fanya Juu) reveal negative effects on productivity. The mean effect of all land restoration interventions on soil organic carbon is positive, the highest effect being from “bunds + biological” (139%) followed by exclosure (90%). Reduced soil erosion and runoff are the dominant impacts of all interventions. The results can be used to improve existing guidelines to better match land restoration options with specific desired ecosystem functions and services. While the focus of this study was on the evaluation of the impacts of land restoration efforts on selected ecosystem services, impacts on livelihood and national socio‐economy have not been examined. Thus, strengthening socio‐economic studies at national scale to assess the sustainability of land restoration initiatives are an essential next step