The Role of Conservation Agriculture for Soil Quality Improvement: A Review

አህፅሮት በኢትዮጵያ በሰብል መሬት ላይ ያለው የአፈር መከላት በዓመት ከ40-130 ቶን በሄክታር የሚደርስ ሲሆን፣ ከ1.0-1.5 ሚሊዮን ቶን እህል ምርትን እያሳጣት ይገኛል፡፡ የዕቀባ እርሻ በሶስት እርስ በእርስ በሚደጋገፉ መሰረታዊ መርሆዎች ላይ ተመስርቶ የአፈር መከላትን በመቀነስ፣ የአፈርን ጥራት በማሻሻል እና ዘላቂነት ላለው የግብርና ምርት አስተዋጽኦ እያደረገ ስለመሆኑ በሰፊው ይታወቃል፡፡ በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ከሶስት አስርት ዓመታት በላይ የምርምር እና የሰርቶ ማሳያ ጥረቶች ቢኖሩም የረጅም ጊዜ ጥናቶች ለአፈር ጥራት መጎልበት ያለዉን ጥቅሞች በበቂ ሁኔታ በማሳየት ላይ ውስንነት አለባቸው፡፡ በሀገር ውስጥም ሆነ በውጭ የረጅም ጊዜ የዕቀባ እርሻ ጥናቶችን መዳሰስ እና ያለውን እውቀት መቀመር የወደፊት የዕቀባ እርሻ አጠቃቀም ላይ ትክክለኛ ውሳኔዎችን ለመስጠት፤ እንዲሁም የምርምር እና የማስተዋወቅ ስራዎች ለመምራት ይረዳል፡፡ ይህ ጥናት ዓላማው የዕቀባ እርሻ ለአፈር ጥራት መሻሻል እና ተያያዥ ተግዳሮቶች ላይ የተሰሩ ጥናቶችን በመተንተን በኢትዮጵያ የወደፊት አቅጣጫን ለማሳየትና አርሶ አደሮች ተጠቃሚ የሚሆኑበትን መንገድ ለመጠቆም ነው፡፡ የዕቀባ እርሻ ከ3-5 ዓመታት ውስጥ የአፈር ጥራትን ሊያሻሽል እንደሚችል እና ዘላቂነት ላለው የግብርና ምርት አስተዋፅዖ እንደሚያበረክት የታዩት ጥናቶች ያመለክታሉ፡፡ በተጨማሪም ዝቅተኛ ርጥበት ባለባቸው አካባቢዎች የሰብል ምርት መሻሻልን በአጭር ጊዜ ውስጥ ማምጣት እንደሚችል ያሳያሉ፡፡  ሆኖም በኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ የዕቀባ እርሻ የመጠቀም ልምድ በአርሶ አደሩ ዘንድ እምብዛም አልሰፋም፡፡ ለዚህም ዋና ዋና ምክንያቶች የሰብል ተረፈ-ምርቶች ለተለያዩ ጠቀሜታዎች መዋልና የአቅርቦት እጥረት፣ ለዕቀባ እርሻ ተብለው የተመከሩ አሰራሮች እና ግብዓቶች ውስንነት፣ ለዕቀባ እርሻ ምቹና አቅም ያላቸው አካባቢዎችን ቅድሚያ ሰጥቶ አለመሥራት፣ የኤክስቴንሽን አገልግሎቶች ውስንነት እና ለዕቀባ እርሻ ትግበራ ምቹ ሁኔታዎች የማመቻቸትና የማስቀጠል ውስንነቶች ናቸው፡፡ በአጠቃላይ ከተለያዩ የሙያ ዘርፎች ባለሙያዎችን በማሳተፍ፣ አካባቢያዊ ማህበራዊና ኢኮኖሚያዊ ሁኔታዎችን ያማከለ የዕቀባ እርሻን በማጎልበት ለተጠቃሚው ማቅረብ እና ለሚኖሩት ተግዳሮቶች ቀድሞ ተገቢዉን አማራጭ መፍትሄዎችን በመተግበር ከዕቀባ እርሻ ሊገኝ የሚችለውን ጥቅም ለአርሶ አደሩ ማሳየትና ተጠቃሚ ማድረግ ያስፈልጋል፡፡ ለተመራማሪዎች፣ ለኤክስቴንሽን ሰራተኞች ለልማት ባለሙያዎች እና ለአርሶ አደሮች እንዲሁም ለወሳኝ ባለድርሻ አካላት የሚታዩትን ውስንነቶች የሚቀርፍ በቂ የአቅም ግንባታ ሥራም ወሳኝነት አለው፡፡   Abstract Ethiopia experiences a very high soil loss of 40–130 t ha-1year-1 from croplands that costs the country about 1.0-1.5 million tons loss of grain production per year. Founded on its three interlinked principles, Conservation Agriculture (CA) is widely documented to reduce soil loss, improve soil quality and contribute to sustainable agricultural production. Despite more than three decades of research and promotion efforts on CA in Ethiopia, long-term comprehensive studies are scanty to sufficiently demonstrate its benefits for soil quality enhancement. Drawing lessons from long-term CA studies both within and outside the country would help to make informed decisions for wider use of CA and guide future research and promotion activities. Available pertinent CA literatures from peer-reviewed journals, research reports, dissertations, and proceedings were reviewed. This review was aimed to collate and analyse studies documented the effect of CA practices on soil quality improvement and associated challenges, and suggest the way forward for its application by smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. The review indicated that, when properly implemented, CA improves soil quality in 3-5 years and contributes to sustainable agricultural production. Besides, yield improvement is possible in early stages of CA application in the low moisture areas under sufficient crop residue retention. However, CA adoption in Ethiopia is generally low which is mainly attributed to limited availability and competing uses of crop residue, limited availability and use of CA based recommendations, mis-location of CA promotions, limited participatory extension services and enabling conditions. Overall, the review suggested the need for a concerted multi and inter-disciplinary research effort to develop CA innovations suiting to the different biophysical environments and socioeconomic circumstances. Effectively demonstrating the power of CA on relieving soil problems, and providing alternative solutions for the challenges surrounding it are requisites to get its full benefits. Capacity building on innovative CA practices is crucial for researchers, extension workers, development practitioners and the smallholder farmers. &nbsp

Radial artery ultrasound predicts the success of transradial coronary angiography

Background: The transradial approach has become the preferred vascular access during conventional coronary angiography (CCA). Hereby, we evaluated the impact of pre-procedural radial artery diameter (RAD), the cross-sectional area (CSA), and the perimeter on vascular complications (VACs). Methods: We conducted a single-center prospective analysis of 513 patients who underwent CCA. Radial artery ultrasonography was performed before and after CCA to measure the RAD, CSA, and perimeter. Results: The average RAD, CSA, and perimeter were 2.60 ± 0.48 mm, 6.2 ± 3.0 mm2, and 8.9 ± 1.7 mm, respectively. Vascular complications were reported in 56 (11%) patients. The RAD, CSA, and perimeter were significantly smaller in patients in whom procedure-related VACs were observed than in those with no complications: 2.3 ± 0.5 vs. 2.70 ± 0.54 mm (p = 0.0001), 4.9 ± 2.1 vs. 6.4 ± 3 mm2 (p = 0.001), and 7.6 ± 2.1 vs. 9.2 ± 1.6 mm (p = 0.0001), respectively. Univariate logistic regression showed that RAD, CSA and perimeter can independently predict VACs (OR 0.833, 95% CI 0.777–0.894, p < 0.0001; OR 0.647, 95% CI 0.541–0.773, p < 0.0001; OR 0.545, 95% CI 0.446–0.665, p < 0.0001, respectively). Conclusions: Ultrasonographic study of the radial artery before CCA can provide valuable information regarding vascular access.  

Low-Cost Methods for Molecular Characterization of Mutant Plants: Tissue Desiccation, DNA Extraction and Mutation Discovery: Protocols

Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Biological Techniques; Nucleic Acid Chemistr

Repurposing of the β-Lactam Antibiotic, Ceftriaxone for Neurological Disorders: A Review

To date, there is no cure or disease-modifying agents available for most well-known neurological disorders. Current therapy is typically focused on relieving symptoms and supportive care in improving the quality of life of affected patients. Furthermore, the traditional de novo drug discovery technique is more challenging, particularly for neurological disorders. Therefore, the repurposing of existing drugs for these conditions is believed to be an efficient and dynamic approach that can substantially reduce the investments spent on drug development. Currently, there is emerging evidence that suggests the potential effect of a beta-lactam antibiotic, ceftriaxone (CEF), to alleviate the symptoms of different experimentally-induced neurological disorders: Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, epileptic-seizure, brain ischemia, traumatic brain injuries, and neuropathic pain. CEF also affects the markers of oxidative status and neuroinflammation, glutamatergic systems as well as various aggregated toxic proteins involved in the pathogenesis of different neurological disorders. Moreover, it was found that CEF administration to drug dependent animal models improved the withdrawal symptoms upon drug discontinuation. Thus, this review aimed to describe the effects of CEF against multiple models of neurological illnesses, drug dependency, and withdrawal. It also emphasizes the possible mechanisms of neuroprotective actions of CEF with respective neurological maladies

Epidemiological Characteristics and Survival Studies of Rhabdomyosarcoma in East Egypt: A Five-Year Multicenter Study

Background. Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children, it represents 5–8% of childhood malignancies. Aim of the Work. To evaluate the epidemiological characteristics and treatment outcome in two pediatric oncology centers. Patients and Method. A retrospective analysis was performed on 41 medical records of children with RMS during 6 years period. Results. The median age of patients was 6 years with 80.4% below 10 years. Head and neck was the most common primary site. Embryonal RMS was the most frequent histopathologic subtype. Stage IV was the most frequent stage. According to IRS postsurgical grouping classification, group 4 was the most frequent group. There was a significant relationship between histopathologic subtypes of tumor and metastasis, primary site of tumor and histopathologic subtype, age, metastasis, IRS presurgical stage and IRS postsurgical group and outcome. The overall survival rate was 56.9% ± 8.4 and the failure free survival rate was 68.3% ± 7.6. Conclusion. The epidemiological characteristics of our patients are quite near to the worldwide data, apart from the higher prevalence of stage IV and group 4 with most of the primary tumor site in the extremities. CWS2002 protocol of therapy had led to improvement in the curability of the disease

Effect of Occupational Cadmium Exposure on Parathyroid Gland

BACKGROUND: Cadmium (Cd) is used in many industries. High-level exposure is associated with severe kidney and bone damage.AIM: This study investigates the possible effect of occupational cadmium exposure on parathyroid gland and some minerals in workers.METHODS: Environmental air monitoring of cadmium was done. Serum and urine cadmium levels, kidney function, some minerals, and plasma parathormone were estimated in the studied groups. RESULTS: The exposed workers had significantly higher Cd concentration in serum and urine than controls. The mean levels of plasma parathyroid hormone, serum phosphorus and magnesium were significantly lower among the exposed group. However, the mean levels of serum creatinine and calcium were significantly higher in the same group when compared to referents. There was a significant positive correlation between Cd concentration in the serum and urine for the exposed group. The biological Cd exposure indices correlated positively with serum calcium and negatively with plasma PTH level. The prevalence of musculoskeletal complaints, bone ache, joint pain and muscle spasm were more prevalent among the exposed workers compared with the controls with odds ratio 4.316, 3.053 and 3.103 respectively.CONCLUSIONS: Occupational cadmium exposure has an adverse effect on PTH level and serum human minerals

Hormonal Perturbations in Occupationally Exposed Nickel Workers

BACKGROUND: Nickel exposure is recognized as an endocrine disruptor because of its adverse effects on reproduction.AIM: This study was designed to investigate the possible testiculo-hormonal perturbations on workers occupationally exposed to nickel and to assess its effects on human male sexual function. METHODS: Cross-sectional comparative study, comprising 105 electroplating male non-smoker, non-alcoholic workers exposed to soluble nickel and 60 controls was done. Serum luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, testosterone levels and urinary nickel concentrations were determined for the studied groups. RESULTS: Serum luteinizing hormone, follicle stimulating hormone, urinary nickel and the simultaneous incidence of more than one sexual disorder were significantly higher in the exposed workers compared to controls. The occurrence of various types of sexual disorders (decreased libido, impotence and premature ejaculation) in the exposed workers was 9.5, 5.1 and 4.4 folds respectively than the controls.CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to nickel produces possible testiculo-hormonal perturbations in those exposed workers

Low-Cost Methods for Molecular Characterization of Mutant Plants: Tissue Desiccation, DNA Extraction and Mutation Discovery: Protocols

Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Biological Techniques; Nucleic Acid Chemistr

Protecting the malaria drug arsenal: halting the rise and spread of amodiaquine resistance by monitoring the PfCRT SVMNT type

The loss of chloroquine due to selection and spread of drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum parasites has greatly impacted malaria control, especially in highly endemic areas of Africa. Since chloroquine removal a decade ago, the guidelines to treat falciparum malaria suggest combination therapies, preferentially with an artemisinin derivative. One of the recommended partner drugs is amodiaquine, a pro-drug that relies on its active metabolite monodesethylamodiaquine, and is still effective in areas of Africa, but not in regions of South America. Genetic studies on P. falciparum parasites have shown that different pfcrt mutant haplotypes are linked to distinct levels of chloroquine and amodiaquine responses. The pfcrt haplotype SVMNT (termed after the amino acids from codon positions 72-76) is stably present in several areas where amodiaquine was introduced and widely used. Parasites with this haplotype are highly resistant to monodesethylamodiaquine and also resistant to chloroquine. The presence of this haplotype in Africa was found for the first time in 2004 in Tanzania and a role for amodiaquine in the selection of this haplotype was suggested. This commentary discusses the finding of a second site in Africa with high incidence of this haplotype. The >50% SVMNT haplotype prevalence in Angola represents a threat to the rise and spread of amodiaquine resistance. It is paramount to monitor pfcrt haplotypes in every country currently using amodiaquine and to re-evaluate current combination therapies in areas where SVMNT type parasites are prevalent