Brief Note: The Effect of Alpha-Chlorohydrin on the Fertility of Male Rats

Author Institution: Center for Environmental Research and Services, Bowling Green Universit

MESUROL AS A BIRD REPELLENT ON GRAPES IN OHIO

Schafer and Brunton (1971) determined that methiocarb [3,5-dimethyl-4-(methylthio)phenol methylcarbamate] was efficaceous as a bird repellent, reporting low R50 and LD50 values for several bird species. Guarino (1972) suggested that bird damage to corn, soybeans, rice, sorghum, cherries, and grapes could be reduced by spraying with methiocarb. Crase and DeHaven (1976) concluded that methiocarb could be an effective broad-spectrum bird repellent and crop protectant. Bollengier et al. (1973), Stone et al. (1974), Ali (1978), Teklehaimanot (1978), and Jackson et al. (1978) reported that bird damage to blueberries was significantly lower in methiocarb-treated fields than in the untreated fields. Rogers (1974) describes Mesurol as a conditioning repellent that has post-ingestional effects. Guarino (1972) reported that house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus), and starlings (Sturnus vulgarus) constituted 51.5% and 28.8%, respectively, of the birds observed in grape fields in California. In New Hampshire, robins (Turdus migratorius), primarily, and starlings, catbirds, (Dumetella carolinensis), and scarlet tanagers (Piranga olivacea) fed heavily on grapes (Guarino 1972). The birds damaged the upper, exposed clusters more than those on lower, covered branches. Crase et al. (1976) estimated the amount of bird damage to grapes in the U.S.A. at $4.4 million. Peck damage was reported higher than pluck damage. Larger birds, such as starlings and robins, were observed taking the whole berry, while smaller birds (finches, sparrows, and bluebirds) were pecking holes in the individual berry (Crase et al., 1976). Crase (1975), while reporting a high ratio of pecked to plucked fruit in treated fields, observed a higher proportion of plucked in the untreated area; house sparrows (Passer-domesticus) were the most prevalent species. He suggested that birds may be first pecking, and, if no effect is detected, they would take the whole grape. Previous observations in California had indicated Mesurol treatments to vineyards were efficaceous (Crase 1975, 1976; Crase et al. 1976). Bailey and Smith (1979) obtained twice the yield on vines protected from blackbirds (Turdus merula) and silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis) in South Australia with this compound. While failures have been reported in protecting cherries (Stickley and Ingram 1973) and blueberries (Dolbeer et al. 1973), their experimental designs may have been deficient. The objective of the present study was to evaluate methiocarb bird repellency in five selected grape fields in Ohio. The methiocarb formulation used was 75% wettable powder (WP), which is registered as Mesurol. These experiments were conducted under an experimental use permit (#3125-EUP-140). Additional details are found in Kassa and Jackson (1978)

Malaria prevention and control in Ethiopia

This study investigated the implementation of the roll back malaria (RBM) programme at household and at health post levels and examined factors that negatively impact on malaria prevention and control activities. Quantitative, descriptive, analytic crosssectional research, guided by the conceptual framework of the Health Belief Model, was conducted. Structured interviews were conducted with 857 women (for the household survey in phase 1) and 53 health extension workers (HEWs) in phase 2 of the study, in nine malaria endemic districts of Sidama Zone, southern Ethiopia. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20. The study’s findings indicate that 53.3% (n=457) of the household respondents and 24.5% (n=13) of the HEWs had low levels of overall malaria-related knowledge. Household respondents aged 25-34 years, (p<0.01); regularly received malaria-related information, (p<0.001) and the less poor women (p<0.001) had good levels of knowledge. Of the households, 38.9% (n=333) reported poor RBM practices. Wealth, knowledge, perceived threat of malaria and perceived benefits of implementing malaria preventive measures were positively associated with good RBM practices. Indoor residual spraying (63.6%; 422 out of 664), consistent use of insecticide treated bed nets (51.6%; 368 out of 713), and environmental sanitation (38.6%; 331 out of 857) were the most commonly implemented malaria prevention strategies in the study area. Out of the 252 reported malaria cases, 53.6% (n=135) occurred among children under five years of age who also comprised 50.0% (n=16) of 32 reported malaria-related deaths. The RBM practices were poorly implemented in the study area despite malaria prevention and control efforts. Slow progress in behavioural changes among household members, lack of transportation services for referring malaria patients, lack of support given to HEWs and lack of feedback and supervision from higher level health care facilities were identified as potential challenges facing RBM implementation in the study area. Future efforts need to focus on effective behavioural changes based on intervention studies and regular monitoring of the RBM programme. The workloads of the HEWs should also be reconsidered and lay health educators should be used more effectively. Health posts should always have sufficient anti-malaria drugs and other resource such as rapid diagnostic kits.Health StudiesD. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies

Effect of a Manager Training and Certification Program on Food Safety and Hygiene in Food Service Operations

Food safety is an important public health issue in the U.S. Eating at restaurants and other food service facilities increasingly has been associated with food borne disease outbreaks. Food safety training and certification of food mangers has been used as a method for reducing food safety violations at food service facilities. However, the literature is inconclusive about the effectiveness of such training programs for improving food safety and protecting consumer health. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of food manger training on reducing food safety violations. We examined food inspection reports from the Toledo/Lucas County Health Department (Ohio) from March 2005 through February 2006 and compared food hygiene violations between food service facilities with certified and without certified food managers. We also examined the impact on food safety of a food service facility being part of a larger group of facilities

Understanding Factors Affecting the Performance of Agricultural Extension System in Ethiopia

አህፅሮት ይህ የምርምር ጽሁፍ የአገራችንን የግብርና ስርፀት አሁን ያለበትን ብቃትና አፈጻጸም እንዲሁም ለግብርና ስርፀቱ ዋና ዋና ማነቆ የሆኑ ምክንያቶችን በመለየት ይተነትናል፡፡ ምንጃር ሸንኮራና አደአ ወረዳ የጥናቱ መነሻ በማድረግ በግብርና ስርፀቱ ዋና ፈጻሜ የሆኑትን 143 የልማት ጣቢያ ሰራተኞችንና ሱፐርቫይዘሮችን በወካይነት አካቷል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ይህ ጥናት በግብርና ስርጸት ውስጥ በቂ ልምድ ካካበቱ ተመራማሪዎች፣ የልማት ጣቢያ ሰራተኞችና አርሶ አደሮች መረጃ አካቷል፡፡ ይህ ጥናት እንደሚያሳየው ምንም እንኳን መንግስት የግብርና ስርጸቱ ለሁሉም ተጠቃሚዎች በበቂ ሁኔታ እንዲደርስ በከፍተኛ ቁርጠኝነት እየሰራ ያለ ከመሆንም በተጨማሪ ከፍተኛ የሆነ የልማት ጣቢያ ሰራተኞችን ያሰለጠነና በማሰልጠን ላይ ቢሆንም፤ የግብርና ልማቱ በሚፈለገው ደረጃ ሊያድግ አልቻለም፡፡ ስለሆነም የግብርና ስርጸቱን አንቆ የያዙትን ማነቆዎች መፍታት ተገቢ እንደሆነ ይታመናል፡፡ የጥናት ውጤቱ እንደሚያሳየው በልማቱ ውስጥ ያሉ ዋና ዋና አካላትና አጋሮች ግንኙነትና ጥምረት ደካማ መሆን፣ የገበሬ ማሰልጠኛ ማዕከላት አስፈላጊ የሆኑ ግብዓቶች አለመሟላት፣ የልማት ጣቢያ ሰራተኞች በቅርበት ለገበሬው ተደራሽ ለመሆን የትራንስፖርት ችግር፣ የልማት ጣቢያ ሰራተኞች የስራ ተነሳሽነት በሚፈለገው ደረጃ አለማደግና የአቅም ውስንነት፣ የልማት ጣቢያ ሰራተኞች ከዕቅድ እስከ ግምገማ ባለው ሂደት ተሳትፎ ውስን መሆን እና ጠንካራ ክትትልና ድጋፍ አለመኖር ዋና ዋና ማነቆዎች መሆናቸው ተለይቷል፡፡ ከዚህ በተጨማሪ ይህ ጥናት ከመንግስት ቁርጠኝነትና ከሰው ሃይል ልማቱ ጎን ለጎን የልማት ጣቢያ ሰራተኞች የስራ ከባቢ ምቹ ማድረግና ለስራው የሚያስፈልጉ ግብዓቶችን በሚፈለገው ጊዜና መጠን መቅረብ እንደሚገባው ይጠቁማል፡፡ በመሆኑም የግብርና ስርጸት ማነቆዎችን በመፍታት የወደፊቱን ልማት ማፋጠን እንደሚቻል ጥናቱ ጠቁሟል፡፡ &nbsp;Abstract &nbsp;This study is assessing the performance of the agricultural extension system and identifying factors explaining it. The paper used both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Quantitative data gathered based on a questionnaire survey of 143 development agents (DAs) in Minjar Shenkora and Ada’a districts. Qualitative data were collected from 25 key informants and eight separate focus group discussants. Quantitative data was analyzed by both descriptive statistics and econometric model while qualitative data were analyzed through categorization, narration and interpretation. Results show that, despite huge government investments and having one of the highest DA-to farmers’ ratio, Ethiopia has not been able to achieve the desired goals of agricultural advancement. This is mainly because of weak and limited interactions, synergies and partnership among actors, lack of adequate facilities of FTCs, lack of physical resources for mobility, DAs lack of work motivation, lack of strong supervision, lack of technical competence of DAs, and lack of involvement of DAs in the decision making process. The Econometric model results reveal that systems of rewards and sanctions, enforcement of performance targets, interaction and partnership among relevant actors, supervision, donor funding, number of motorbikes, and DAs capacity building trainings are most significantly influenced the performance of agricultural extension service. This research showed that number of DAs is not a sufficient condition of enhancing extension performance, but an effective extension system needs to focus on the enabling environment for DAs to be motivated to work as mandated

Effectiveness of Summer Upgrading Teachers’ Education Program of Primary Schools in Tigray Regional State

Effectiveness of teachers is important in maintaining quality of education and achievement of goal of schooling. To this effect, teachers are being upgraded through summer in-service program. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the in-service teachers upgrading program in Tigray Regional State. Cross sectional survey design and a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods were used. 514 upgraded teachers, 80 from school principals; parents and other school communities with an emphasis on PTSAs; leaders and teachers from CTEs; experts from selected woreda education offices and from Regional State Education Bureau Teacher Development Program and experts from the Teacher Education and Leadership Directorate of the Federal Ministry of Education; and 194 class observations were considered as sources of data. The data were collected by using a questionnaire survey, interview, documents analyses and class observation. Data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, narrations by using excerpts, and cross referencing. The results depicted that the prime objective of capacitating teachers in their subject knowledge mastery has been successfully achieved through the summer upgrading program. But the neglect shown at the commencement of the program towards the professional (pedagogical training part) has negatively influenced the implementation and outcome of the program. The upgrading program for teachers’ capacity was in short sight for not including school principals. School governance has been found a stumbling block for upgraded teachers to experiment and innovate back in their schools after upgrading

Exploration of Systemic Barriers to Tef Research and Development in Central Ethiopia: A Coupled Structural-Functional Innovation Systems Analysis

Over the years, there has been a continuous increase in the demand for tef (Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter) due to population growth, average incomes and urbanization in Ethiopia, but its innovation system has not been fully explored. This research aims to determine the supportive effect of tef innovation system on its investigation and development as well as the systemic constraints in the process. A coupled structural-functional innovation system analysis was used to explore the barriers faced in Central Ethiopia. The results revealed the constraints affecting the innovation system, namely limited capacity of existing actors, weak interactions and partnerships among actors, weak enforcement of institutions as well as inadequate/poor infrastructure. They also showed that technology development, technology diffusion, entrepreneurial activities, market development, resource mobilization and legitimacy creation have been the weak functions of tef innovation. Furthermore, a failure in one of the functions has a knock-on effect on others, which causes an overall dysfunctional innovation system. Based on the results, failures of the structural elements along with weaknesses of functions have constrained the development of tef innovation systems sector. A combination of technological, institutional and technical intervention must be implemented to overcome this problem

Inhalation Exposures to Particulate Matter and Carbon Monoxide during Ethiopian Coffee Ceremonies in Addis Ababa: A Pilot Study

The unique Ethiopian cultural tradition of the coffee ceremony increases inhalation exposures to combustion byproducts. This pilot study evaluated exposures to particulate matter and carbon monoxide in ten Addis Ababa homes during coffee ceremonies. For coffee preparers the geometric mean (57 μg/m3) and median (72 μg/m3) contributions to an increase in a 24-hour time-weighted average exposure were above World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. At 40% of the study sites the contribution to the 24-hour average exposure was greater than twice the WHO guideline. Similar exposure increases existed for ceremony participants. Particulate matter concentrations may be related to the use of incense during the ceremony. In nearly all homes the WHO guideline for a 60-minute exposure to carbon monoxide was exceeded. Finding control measures to reduce these exposures will be challenging due to the deeply engrained nature of this cultural practice and the lack of availability of alternative fuels

Teff and Wheat Yield Variation With Phosphorus Application In Jamma District, Ethiopia

Different plant species has different nutrient requirements and utilize nutrients in different ways. Biological activity contributes to P solubilization through mineralization, wheathering, and other physicochemical reactions so that the soil plow layer is the major source of soil availabile P for crops. Ethiopia Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource and ATA recommended six types of blended fertilizers (NPSZnB, NPKSB, NPKSZnB, NPSZn, NPSB and NPS) for the Amhara region. Our study was conducted in Jamma districts of eastern Amhara, Ethiopia, during &nbsp;2018 cropping season to attest the yield of teff (Dega teff) and wheat (Danda’a) due to phosphorus fertilizer application. Fertilizer treatments tested were the recommended dose of N only, recommended dose of NP, 50 kg.ha-1 NPS, 100 kg.ha-1 NPS, and 150kg. ha-1 NPS, set up in a. randomized complete block design with three replication, and conducted on four sites. Our study demonstrated that applications of N and P fertilizers significantly improved grain yield of wheat and teff, and that there was significant yield differences (P &lt; 0.05) between different rates of P fertilizer. Therefore, even though the soil P levels were shown to be sufficient, application of both N and P fertilizer in the Jamma district is essential to increase yield of teff and wheat