Assessment of the production and importance of cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) walp]: Cases from selected districts of southern Ethiopia

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.Walp) is an important legume in the hot, dry tropics and subtropics of sub-Saharan Africa, serving a multiple role for  the livelihoods of millions of relatively low-income people. The entire plant can be used for either human or livestock consumption and with  considerable drought-tolerating capacity. Tender young leaves, green pods and matured seeds are used as human food. Moreover, the crop serves  for sustainable soil fertility improvement due to its excellent nitrogenfixing capacity. However, its production and utilization are limited in Ethiopia  partly due to dependence on the conventional agronomic practices and lack of information on its wide ranging uses. This study was conducted to  assess the cowpea agronomy and the contributions the crop has in the livelihoods of farmers at Loka-Abaya and Humbo districts of Southern  Ethiopia. Multi-stage sampling techniques were employed to achieve the set objectives. Both primary and secondary data were collected to solicit  the required information. The data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics such as multiple linear regression model using the SPSS  Software version 20 and STATA 13. Multiple linear regression model results showed that education, land size, climate information access, credit  access, lack of market chain, availability of seed of improved varieties, and pests significantly (P<0.001) affected cowpea production in the studied  areas. The trend analysis showed that the cowpea yield and production area coverage is increasing in Humbo District whereas, a decreasing trend  was observed at the Loka Abaya. According to the household interview data, about 76 % of the respondents reported a decrease in the cultivated  area of cowpea. According to the respondents, lack of access to improved seed and lack of extension support services contributed 79 % and 73 %,  respectively to the low yield observed in the area. The majority of the respondents cultivate cowpea as intercropping and rotation with cereals and  in the main field with the main purpose to replenish soil fertility (97 %). On the other hand, 62 % of the respondents cultivate cowpea for home  consumption. According to the survey result, 48 % of the respondents use the matured grain for consumption. The production trends of the cowpea  are highly variable mainly due to less attention paid by the extension systems to boost the yield of the crop, reliance of farmers on local  varieties, pest occurrence and poor market chain. Therefore, modern production technologies including the supply of improved varieties of seed  with their full production package should be introduced to the area so as to improve the yield and optimize its contribution towards achieving food  security.&nbsp

Importance of Coverage and Endemicity on the Return of Infectious Trachoma after a Single Mass Antibiotic Distribution

Trachoma, caused by ocular chlamydia infection, is the most common infectious cause of blindness in the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the SAFE strategy (eyelid surgery, antibiotics, facial hygiene, environmental improvements) for trachoma control. Oral antibiotics reduce the transmission of ocular chlamydia, but re-infection of treated individuals is common. Therefore, the WHO recommends annual mass antibiotic treatments to the entire village. The success of treatment is likely based on many factors, including the antibiotic coverage, or percentage of villagers who receive antibiotics. However, no studies have analyzed the importance of antibiotic coverage for the reduction of ocular chlamydia. Here, we performed multivariate regression analyses on data from a clinical trial of mass oral antibiotics for trachoma in a severely affected area of Ethiopia. At the relatively high levels of antibiotic coverage in our study, coverage was associated with post-treatment infection at two months, but not at six months. The amount of infection at baseline was strongly correlated with post-treatment infection at both two and six months. These results suggest that in areas with severe trachoma treated with relatively high antibiotic coverage, increasing coverage even further may have only a short-term benefit

Reduction and Return of Infectious Trachoma in Severely Affected Communities in Ethiopia

Trachoma is one of the leading causes of blindness in the developing world. The World Health Organization has a multi-pronged approach to controlling the ocular chlamydial infection that causes the disease, including distributing antibiotics to entire communities. Even a single community treatment dramatically reduces the prevalence of the infection. Unfortunately, infection returns back into communities after treatment, at least in severely affected areas such as rural Ethiopia. Here, we assess whether additional scheduled treatments in 16 communities in the Gurage area of Ethiopia further reduce infection, and whether the disease returns after distributions are stopped. In communities with the highest levels of trachoma ever studied, we find that repeated mass oral azithromycin distributions gradually reduce the prevalence of trachoma infection in a community, as long as these treatments are given frequently enough and to enough people in the community. Unfortunately, infection returns into the communities after the last treatment. Sustainable changes or complete local elimination of infection will be necessary to stop the return of ocular chlamydial in communities with very high prevalence of the disease

Observation of Hadronic W Decays in t-tbar Events with the Collider Detector at Fermilab

We observe hadronic W decays in t-tbar -> W (-> l nu) + >= 4 jet events using a 109 pb-1 data sample of p-pbar collisions at sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV collected with the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). A peak in the dijet invariant mass distribution is obtained that is consistent with W decay and inconsistent with the background prediction by 3.3 standard deviations. From this peak we measure the W mass to be 77.2 +- 4.6 (stat+syst) GeV/c^2. This result demonstrates the presence of two W bosons in t-tbar candidates in the W (-> l nu) + >= 4 jet channel.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR

Measurement of the lepton charge asymmetry in W-boson decays produced in p-pbar collisions

We describe a measurement of the charge asymmetry of leptons from W boson decays in the rapidity range 0 enu, munu events from 110+/-7 pb^{-1}of data collected by the CDF detector during 1992-95. The asymmetry data constrain the ratio of d and u quark momentum distributions in the proton over the x range of 0.006 to 0.34 at Q2 \approx M_W^2. The asymmetry predictions that use parton distribution functions obtained from previously published CDF data in the central rapidity region (0.0<|y_l|<1.1) do not agree with the new data in the large rapidity region (|y_l|>1.1).Comment: 13 pages, 3 tables, 1 figur

Measurement of the Associated γ+μ±\gamma + \mu^\pm Production Cross Section in ppˉp \bar p Collisions at s=1.8\sqrt{s} = 1.8 TeV

We present the first measurement of associated direct photon + muon production in hadronic collisions, from a sample of 1.8 TeV $p \bar p$ collisions recorded with the Collider Detector at Fermilab. Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) predicts that these events are primarily from the Compton scattering process $cg \to c\gamma$, with the final state charm quark producing a muon. Hence this measurement is sensitive to the charm quark content of the proton. The measured cross section of $29\pm 9 pb^{-1}$ is compared to a leading-order QCD parton shower model as well as a next-to-leading-order QCD calculation.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures Added more detailed description of muon background estimat