Cold stratification complements cold water in enhancing the germination of Juniperus procera seeds

Enhancing seed germination is a fundamental step for conservation of plant genetic resources but less is understood specifically for endangered native and endemic tree species in the tropics.We examined how cold stratification and application of different treatments impact the germination of Juniperus procera seeds. We collected seeds from nine different altitudes of Managesha forest, Oromia region, Ethiopia. The seeds were stored in gene bank at -10oC for four years for cold stratification as a dormancy breaking method. We employed three treatments: cold water, 70oC hot water and 100 ml of 1% H2O2 to setup germination experiment in completely randomized design with four replications (50 seeds each). The germinated seeds were counted every fifth day until no more germinated seeds were observed. We analyzed data using two-way ANOVA and the significant for mean difference among altitudinal gradients was computed with Tukey HSD tests. The germination percent from cold stratified and moistened in cold water was higher than either from control, soaking in 70oC hot water or applying 1% H2O2 solution. Moreover, the germination percent varied among the altitudinal gradients for all the three treatments. At some altitudes, the germination was higher or lower consistently throughout control and the three treatments. The variations in altitudinal gradient and the associated environmental factors have triggered the differences in germinability of J. procera seeds. Our overall results suggest that cold stratification can complement cold water to break the dormancy and enhance the germination of J. procera seeds

Perceptions of practicum actors in the primary teacher education practicum program

AbstractThis study looked at the perceptions of the three practicum actors (prospective teachers, placement school teachers (mentors), and teacher educators (tutors) of the primary teacher education practicum program of the Amhara Region, Ethiopia. To that end, a mixed methods approach with a concurrent design was utilized. The quantitative data were collected from randomly selected 799 participants (290 prospective teachers, 252 placement school teachers, and 257 teacher educators) using a survey questionnaire; while the qualitative data were garnered using interviews and focus group discussions from 60 practicum actors. The data were analyzed quantitatively using mean, standard deviation, one sample t-test, and one-way ANOVA and qualitatively using descriptions and narrations. The findings revealed that although teaching practicum is supposed to be an imperative aspect of teacher learning that is instrumental to putting theories into practice, the overall perception of the three practicum actors was lower than the expected level. By far, student teachers’ and placement school teachers’ level of understanding of the basic assumptions of practicum in line with the reflective practitioner model of teacher education was minimal. Knowledge is still considered as transferring from the teacher to students, learning as receiving, and teaching as a process of transferring knowledge. Hence, continuous awareness creation on the basic assumptions of the reflective practitioner model of practicum and its core values is required. Besides, there should be a structure formed carefully of experts in teacher education to lead the program through strong school-college link and collaborative work of the hosting schools and teacher education colleges

Temporal vegetation cover dynamics in Northwestern Ethiopia: Status and trends

The vegetation cover change of northwestern Ethiopia’s high forests has not been investigated and no information is available on temporal changes in particular with vegetation cover dynamics. Thus, our study explores the trend of vegetation cover changes of the study area in the last 42 years. Landsat satellite images of the years 1973, 1987, 2001 and 2014 were acquired from the Earth Explorer website. Preprocessing of images, image classification, accuracy assessment, post classification image processing and change detection were carried out. The overall classification accuracy and Kappa coefficient were found to be above 85% and 0.8, respectively, for all study years. Four land use/cover classes were identified for the supervised classification. In 1973, the largest proportion (40%) was covered by primary forest, followed by agriculture (39%), grassland (12%) and secondary forest (9%). In 2014, agriculture covered the largest proportion (45%), followed by secondary forest (29%), grassland (17%) and primary forest (9%). The rate of conversion of the primary forest cover to other land use types was found to be above the national average conversion rate; which is highly alarming. Thus, introducing appropriate management options is urgently needed to halt those conversions

Assessment of Maternal Satisfaction and Associated Factors among Parturients Who Underwent Cesarean Delivery under Spinal Anesthesia at University of Gondar Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia, 2019

Background. Spinal anesthesia is the most common anesthetic technique for cesarean delivery. Patient satisfaction is a subjective and complicated concept, involving physical, emotional, psychological, social, and cultural factors. Regular evaluation of maternal satisfaction related to anesthesia service is an important parameter to the required changes and expansion of high-quality care services. We aimed to assess maternal satisfaction and associated factors among parturients who underwent cesarean delivery under spinal anesthesia. Methods. Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted from February to May 2019. A total of 383 parturients were enrolled to assess maternal satisfaction using a 5-point Likert scale. Both bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were done. Variables of p value ≤0.2 in the bivariable analysis were a candidate for multivariable logistic regression. A p value <0.05 was considered as significantly associated with maternal satisfaction at 95% CI. Results. This study revealed that 315 (82.3%) of the parturients were satisfied. Single spinal prick attempts (AOR = 2.08, 95% CI = 1.05–4.11), successful spinal block (AOR = 7.17, 95% CI = 3.33–15.43), less incidence of postdural puncture headache (AOR = 2.36, 95% CI = 1.33–4.20), and prophylactic antiemetic use (AOR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.19–0.66) were positively associated with maternal satisfaction. Conclusions. The overall maternal satisfaction receiving spinal anesthesia was considerably low. Single spinal prink attempts, successful spinal block, and less incidence of postural puncture headache can increase maternal satisfaction. Therefore, effective perioperative management, skillful techniques, and using the small-gauge Quincke spinal needle (25–27 gauge) may increase the maternal satisfaction and quality of spinal anesthesia management