Assessments of fodder values of 3 indigenous and 1 exotic woody plant species in the highlands of central Ethiopia

Leaves and twigs of indigenous woody plant species are used as a source of supplemental animal feed in the mountainous landscapes of central Ethiopia. A study was carried out from 2004 to 2006 to assess the nutritional value of three indigenous and one exotic species, based on the chemical composition, tannin contents, in vitro dry matter digestibility, and digestible energy. The species studied were Hagenia abyssinica (Bruce) J.F. Gmel., Dombeya torrida (J.F. Gmel.) P. Bamps, Buddleja polystachya Fres., and Chamaecytisus palmensis (Christ) Bisby & K. Nicholls. The first three are indigenous, and the last one is an exotic species. The Na content of the foliage and flower bud in the four species was much lower than the minimum requirement for ruminants, while other micro- and macronutrients were within the recommended range of nutrient concentrations in animal feeds. On the other hand, the crude protein content of the foliage and flower bud in the four fodder species was higher than the minimum required level. The foliage and flower bud in vitro dry matter digestibility of H. abyssinica and C. palmensis was 70% and 71%, respectively. The digestible energy of the foliage of H. abyssinica and C. palmensis was significantly higher than the digestible energy of D. torrida and B. polystachya. Therefore, the foliage and flower bud of most of those species can be used as sources of supplemental fodder with a proper feeding management scheme

Review on Overall Status of Soil and Water Conservation System and Its Constraints in Different Agro Ecology of Southern Ethiopia

Soil erosion is one of the major challenges of Ethiopia deteriorating the productivity of land. Soil and water conservation is the only practice to reverse the threat and protect the land. Over the last three decades, different soil and water conservation activities have been undertaken. However, soil erosion still persists and become major threats of the southern regional state. This study was conducted to assess and identify major constraints existing in soil and water conservation system of the region. Lack of integrated bio-physical measures, absence of integrating indigenous practices, negative impacts of incentives, lack of considering socio-economic profile, low perception and participation of farmers, poor conservation design, mis land use, less maintenance, weak monitoring and evaluation of soil and water conservation are the major constraints exist in midlands. Synonymously, low perception, less involvement  of farmers and open grazing are the dominate constraints in lowlands. Moreover, low interest of farmers, land use change and less treatment of gully areas are major constraints at highland agro-ecology. The findings recommended that use of agronomic and integrated soil conservation measures, subsidy of agricultural inputs, efficient use of incentives, socio-economic considerations, use of effective approach in mobilizing community, adoption and dissemination of best technologies, integrating indigenous practices and policy issues should be considered in implementing soil and water conservation. In conclusion, to reduce soil erosion sustainably, different soil and water conservation options should be introduced and used considering agro ecology, socio-economic profile and climatic condition of the intervention area. Keywords: Soil and water conservation; Agro-ecology; Soil erosion; South Ethiopi

Relationship between Mutual Fund Type, Portfolio Turnover, Longevity, Management Turnover, and Performance

Mutual fund portfolio managers do not always meet risk-adjusted performance expectations, resulting in loss of capital reserves. Out of 3,612 U.S. based open-ended mutual funds, the risk-adjusted performance of 2,890 (80%) failed to meet or beat the S&P 500 (index fund) performance between the year 2006 to 2016. Grounded in Markowitz\u27s modern portfolio theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between mutual fund class type, portfolio turnover, fund longevity, management turnover, and annual fund risk-adjusted performance. Archival data were collected from 88 U.S. based equity mutual funds companies. The results of the multiple regression analysis indicated the model as a whole was able to significantly predict annual fund risk-adjusted performance for the 5-year period ending 2016, F (4, 83) = 3.581, p =.043, R2 = .147. In the final model, mutual fund class type and portfolio turnover were statistically significant with mutual fund class type (Ã?= .249, t = 2.302, p = .024) accounting for a higher contribution to the model than portfolio turnover (Ã? = .238, t = 2.312, p = .023). Mutual fund longevity and management turnover did not explain any significant variance in annual fund risk-adjusted performance. Society can benefit from the results of this doctoral study because investors and mutual fund managers could better predict the return based on the information from the study, which may lead to higher families\u27 confidence in the positive contribution of the mutual fund in their portfolio

Bovine brucellosis seroprevalence, farmers’ awareness, practices and animal health extension services inputs in Mpwapwa district, Tanzania

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by gram negative cocobacillus bacteria of the genus Brucella. In cattle, the disease is caused by Brucella abortus. One of the main symptoms of brucellosis is the induction of abortion in the late term of gestation and first trimester in humans, drop in milk production resulting in economic and public health. Livestock is a key agricultural sub sector in Tanzania, depended by over 80% of rural household and contribute 5.9% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and cattle contribute 75% of all livestock in the country. In Mpwapwa District (Dodoma region), livestock keeping is one of the major means of economic activities, contribute 45% of district GDP and has significant contribution to the poverty reduction and food security. This district had sporadic cases of abortions in cattle and fever of unknown origin human possible related to brucellosis. Therefore, this study was aimed to determine the current seroprevalence of brucellosis in this district where there is no history of vaccination against brucellosis. A total of 545 serum samples were collected from sexually active cows and heifers in extensive farming system to detect antibodies against Brucella abortus using Rose Bengal Plate test(RBPT) followed by competitive ELISA(cELISA). A questionnaire to assess knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) related to milk borne zoonosis (brucellosis) and efficiency of animal health extension services delivery was administered to 73 livestock keepers. Bovine brucellosis seroprevalence indicated that 57/545 (10.5%) cows tested were positive  reactors by RBPT as screening test of which 5/57 (0.92%) confirmed positive by cELISA. 45% of the farmers have experienced several abortions in their cows, 78% were not aware of milk born zoonosis, 43% drink raw milk, 7% eat uncooked meat and 91% are not aware of the zoonotic potential of raw milk consumption. As for animal health services delivery, only 52% of farmers had access to animal health extension services and 97% of farmers have never seen samples being taken from their animals for further laboratory analysis. The findings from this study suggest that both bovine and humans are at potential risk of contracting brucellosis because of the presence of the disease in cattle population, the habit of drinking raw milk, unawareness of the disease and its impact to humans and inadequate extension service delivery. Keywords: Rose Bengal Plate test, Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Knowledge and Attitude

The effects of Moringa stenopetala on blood parameters and histopathology of liver and kidney in mice

Background: Moringa stenopetala and related species are commonly used in folk medicine for various human diseases such as antimalarial, antihypertensive, antidiabetic and as antispasmodic. Objective: The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of M. stenopetala on blood parameters, and histopathology of liver and kidney in experimental mice. Methods: Fresh leaves of M. stenopetala were collected from Arbaminch area, Southwest Ethiopia, in November 2005. The leaves were dried and extracted with water. Three month-old Swiss albino male mice, which were kept under uniform laboratory conditions, were randomly divided into four groups (one group of controls and three experimental). (The control group was orally given 0.5 ml of distilled water, and groups II, III and IV were given the aqueous leaf extract of M. stenopetala using intragastric tube to achieve the required doses of 600, 750 and 900 mg/kg body weight, respectively once a day at 24 hours intervals for six weeks and then sacrificed). Blood sample was collected from each mouse and examined for hematological and biochemical parameters. Liver and kidney were removed, stained and examined for histopathological profiles. The effects of treatment with aqueous extract of M. stenopetala on hematological, biochemical and histopathology features were compared with control group following standard procedures. Results: Mice treated with 900 mg/kg of the extract per kg of body weight showed a significant increase in body weight compared to the controls (P=0.014). Neither a significant change in the weight nor in histopathology of liver and kidney were observed in the animals treated with aqueous extract of M. stenopetala compared to those of the controls. Serum glucose level (P=0.034) and serum cholesterol level (P=0.016) decreased significantly after six weeks treatment. Conclusion: The aqueous leaf extract of M. stenopetala is shown to increase body weight and reduce serum glucose and cholesterol level in mice. This indicates nutritional and medicinal values, but we cannot yet recommend its therapeutic use before more and complete studies are done

Electromagnetic modeling and optimization of packaged photodetector modules for 100 Gbit/s applications

In this paper, we propose an accurate full 3D EM behavioral model of PD chips for the first time. The model, which is meshed at 130 GHz, runs for about 17 minutes on an Intel Core2 Duo CPU@3 GHz PC with 3.5 GB of RAM. The impact of various parameters in wire- bonding transitions for transmission characteristic is summarized in the Table I. When numbers of bonding wires are placed separately all through strips of CBCPWs as well as keeping an optimized gap of transitions, more than 10 GHz bandwidth improvement can be achieved compared the worst case. We also notice that optimization on bonding wires does not significantly improve the fast decay beyond 60 GHz. Further investigation and optimization of the transition is required including a redesign of the CBCPW