Assessment of food insecurity and coping mechanisms among pastoral households of Afar national regional state: The case of Chifra district, Ethiopia

Inspired by the current vulnerability of pastoral households, this study was carried out in Chifra district of Afar National Regional State; Ethiopia, with specific objectives of assessing the status of food security, the local food insecurity coping strategies employed by different food security status groups and identifying the major determinants of food insecurity. In order to achieve these objectives cross-sectional data on demographic and socio-economic characteristics, and institutional aspects were collected from 120 households that were drawn by a multi-stage sampling procedure from 3 randomly selected Pastoral Kebeles through structured interview schedule and focus group discussion during January and February 2011. The main tools of analysis for this study include descriptive and inferential statistics and binary logit econometric model. Results of descriptive and inferential statistics indicate that using the calorie intake approach, 65.8% of sample respondents were food insecure, while 34.2% were food secure. Further analysis showed that sale of sheep and goats (shoats), reducing number and size of meals; seasonal migration (some of the family members), receiving food aid and borrowing cash or food from neighbors or relatives were the frequently practiced copping strategies by pastoralists of the study district. On the other hand, analysis of the logistic regression model resulted in eight statistically significant variables affecting the food security status of the sampled households in the district. Family size, age of household head, dependency ratio, livestock disease incidence were causing food insecurity whereas sex of household head, herd size, income from livestock production and non-farm income were working against food insecurity. The study recommends that appropriate policy measures be taken towards limiting dependent population size through integrated and accessible health and education services, improving the contribution of the pastoralist women through trainings that could help remove cultural barriersand supporting the livestock sector through proper forage development as well as extended veterinary service and disease control programs.Keywords: Pastoral household; food insecurity; coping mechanisms; Chifra district; Ethiopi

Child nutritional status, mothers’ nutritional knowledge and practice and Household food security status in Tehuledere Woreda, South Wollo, Ethiopia

Child under nutrition due to household food insecurity remains critical issues in many households in Ethiopia. Literature in nutrition knowledge and practice of mothers and the nutritional status of their infants is scanty. This study aimed to assess the nutritional status of six to 23-month-oldchildren, mothers’ knowledge, attitude and practice of child nutrition and household food security status in a semi-urban and a rural kebeles. A community based cross-sectional study was undertaken in semi-urban and rural kebeles in Tehuledere Woreda (district) to assess household food security and nutritional status of six to 23-month children. A total of 245 mother-child pairs were selected randomly from the two kebeles. Anthropometric indices were used to determine the nutritional status of under-two children. Child age, weight and height were measured and used to calculate weight-for-age, weight-for-height and height-for-age Z-scores. Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (ciaf) was calculated to determine total malnutrition. Household food insecurity access scale (hfias) was used to assess food security status. Structured questionnaires were used to collect data on mothers’ knowledge, attitude and practice in child nutrition, food diversity and child feeding. Data were statistically analyzed. Stunting was noted in 7.5% and 17% of under-two children in the urban and rural kebeles, respectively. Similar levels of thinness (6%) were observed in both kebeles. There were more under-weight children in the semi-urban (5.2%) than in the rural (3.6%) kebeles. Chronic energy deficiency was noted in 20% and 15% of the children in semi-urban and rural kebeles, respectively. ciaf was higher in children in the semi-urban kebele (48%) than in the rural kebele (31%). A small proportion of study households were food secure (17.9%). The rest were either mildly (54.4%) or moderately (27.8%) food insecure. Average knowledge of child nutrition among mothers in the semi-urban and rural kebeles was very low (about 34% and 37%, respectively).The low anthropometric measurements of the children in this study could be due to poor food diversity, insufficient food intake, and poor nutritional knowledge and practice of mothers. Creating awareness in child feeding practices and diet diversity is recommended. &nbsp

Solid-state diffusion and NMR

Diffusion in solids, which requires the presence of crystal defects or disorder, has both microscopic and macroscopic aspects. Nuclear magnetic resonance techniques provide access to microscopic diffusion parameters like atomic jump rates and activation energies as well as to the tracer diffusion coefficient for macroscopic transport. Microscopic NMR methods include spin-lattice relaxation spectroscopy of stable and beta-radioactive nuclei, spin-spin relaxation or linewidth and spin alignment decay measurements, whereas macroscopic NMR methods are represented by the techniques of static and pulsed field gradient NMR. We recall some basic principles of the mentioned techniques and review case studies for their application to various solids like glassy and crystalline aluminosilicates, nanocrystalline composites, an intercalation compound and a simple bcc metal. Taken together, jump rates in solids are covered over about 10 decades by the microscopic, and diffusion coefficients over 3 decades by the macroscopic NMR methods

AC and DC Conductivity in Nano- and Microcrystalline Li2O : B2O3 Composites: Experimental Results and Theoretical Models

We report on impedance measurements of nano- and microcrystalline composites of the Li ion conductor Li2O and the ionic insulator B2O3 as well as their interpretation in the frame of percolation models. In the experimental part, besides the dc conductivity and its dependence on composition and temperature (i.e. its activation energy) also the ac conductivity and its dependence on composition, temperature and frequency (i.e. the conductivity exponent) are presented. Striking differences between the nanocrystalline and the corresponding microcrystalline composites were found. Deviations of the ac from the dc results can be explained by the fact that the experiments probe ion dynamics on different time and thus length scales. In the theoretical part, a continuum percolation model, a brick-layer type bond percolation approach and a Voronoi construction are alternatively used to model the dc behaviour. Based merely on the largely different volume fractions of the interfaces between ionic conductor and insulator grains in the nano- and microcrystalline composites, good overall agreement with the experimental dc results is obtained. The high critical insulator content above which the experimental conductivity vanishes in the nanocrystalline composites suggests the presence of an additional Li diffusion passageway of nanometer length in the interface between nanocrystalline insulator grains. © 2005, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag Gmb

A “Solvent-Free” Crystal Structure of [FeN(SiMe3)23] – Synthesis, Structure and Properties

For the synthesis of the ferric bis(trimethylsilyl)amido complex [Fe{N(SiMe3)2}3] literature gives differing synthetic protocols based on crystallization from solution. In this report we present a ‘solvent‐free’ structural phase of [Fe{N(SiMe$_{3}$)$_{2}$}$_{3}$] which was isolated by sublimation of the product obtained from the reaction of 2 eq FeCl$_{3}$ with 3 eq LiN(SiMe$_{3}$)$_{2}$ in benzene. It could be characterized by single crystal as well as powder XRD and elemental analysis. However, $_{57}$Fe Mößbauer spectroscopy suggests a contamination of the main product with an Fe(II) species. Also, a part of the solid reaction byproducts from the reactions in solution were identified by powder XRD and $_{7}$Li MAS NMR which indicate distinct redox side reactions between oxidizing FeCl$_{3}$ and reducing LiN(SiMe$_{3}$)$_{2}$, a fact which rationalizes the lower than expected yields and the observation of an Fe(II) impurity compound. AC magnetic measurements of [Fe{N(SiMe$_{3}$)$_{2}$}$_{3}$] ave been performed in an extended frequency range up to 10$^{4}$ s$^{-1}$ allowing for a more precise evaluation of the magnetic relaxation parameters when compared to previously published measurements