Evaluation of Screening Methods for the Detection of Urinary Tract

No abstract - Available on PD

A model for teaching learning methods of geography in the Ethiopian colleges of teacher education

In this study the status of the active learning methods of teaching employed in Teachers‟ Training Colleges in Ethiopia was examined from the perspective of the trainee-teachers and their lecturers. Factors relating to active learning were discussed within the framework of the social-cognitive constructivists‟ theory, as learning (knowledge construction) requires the direct involvement of an individual, as well as interaction with the social environment. Three main groups of learning theories were investigated, namely the behavioural, the cognitive and the constructivist theories. The behavioural theories emphasise the transmission of information from the teacher to the learner, whereas the cognitive and constructivist theories emphasise the learners‟ construction of knowledge from their own experiences and their interaction with one another. The methods and strategies for teaching Geography in Ethiopian Teachers‟ Training Colleges were also discussed. The empirical research investigated the perceptions of trainee-teacher and lecturers regarding active learning methods at their respective colleges, the current teaching-learning methods and strategies that the trainee-teachers employ, how they experience the current teaching methods and approaches and other related matters, such as class size and facilities, the integration of assessment with active learning, the teachers‟ attitudes towards active learning, whether or not the lecturers receive short-and long-term training on active learning, the support obtained from the managing body, and whether or not any guidelines existed. Interviews were conducted as embedded research that was intended to supplement the quantitative findings. The results of the empirical investigation indicated a lack of systematic and appropriately organised active learning at college level. Some of the barriers that profoundly hindered the use of active learning pedagogies are the lecturers‟ tendency to maintain the traditional (lecture) method of teaching, insufficient pre-service and in-service training, the large class sizes, the lack of administrative support, the scarcity of resources/facilities, the lack of integration between assessment and active learning, and finally, the absence of guidelines. Pertinent information was extracted from the relevant literature and the empirical study to develop a model to address the problem of active learning in Teachers‟ Training Colleges. Thus, a Model of Active Learning, which is relevant to the teaching of the learning of Geography at College level in the Ethiopian context, was developed.Curriculum and Instructional StudiesD. Ed. (Curriculum Studies

Characterization and Assessment of Genetic Diversity for Agro-Morphological Traits of Ethiopian Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) landraces

This experiment was conducted in 2016 at Sirinka and Jari, under rainfed conditions to characterize and assess genetic diversity among the Ethiopian chickpea landraces. Two hundred two new germplasm accessions were grown in an alpha lattice design with three replications. Data on 16 traits were collected and analysed. Differences among the accessions were significant  P<0.01). The genotypes were grouped into five clusters with different sizes. The genetic distances among the clusters were significant. The highest diversity indices pooled over characters within zones were recorded for accessions from South West Shewa (H= 2.03 ± 0.05) followed by Gurage (H=0.81 ± 0.08), West Shewa (H=0.73 ± 0.04) and North Gonder (H= 0.72 ± 0.05). The existence of wider morpho-agronomic diversity among the chickpea collections implies the potential to improve the crop and the need to conserve the diversity. Future collecting operations of chickpea accessions should strategically focus on areas with relatively large variation. From a genetic conservation point of view, it appears that South West Shewa, Gurage, West Shewa and North Gonder could be suitable as in situ conservation sites. Keywords: Accessions; diversity; clustering

Enhancing Chickpea Seed Production through Irrigation Production System at Lowlands of North Wollo

<p>The seed multiplication activity conducted at Kobo districts, which was selected based on its irrigation potential and experience to produce chickpea seedduring 2018 cropping season to increase production and productivity of chickpea in the major producing areas of the region and to improve livelihood of farmers. Totally 189 (52 F) farmers were participated by this activity with 54ha of their land covered by 7.56 tones seed.The seed source was directly purchased from seed grower farmers association.Training was also given for participating farmers and development agents on production packages of chickpea. Field days were organized for further promotion to farmers. The variety was acceptable after field days by farmers due to its yield performance and disease tolerant response. Participant farmers area major seed source for others chickpea producing areas. Totally, 86 tons of habru variety seed produced.Thus, this variety has potential to increase chickpea production and productivity for high producing areas of north and south Wollo zones. Further seed multiplication of this variety will be continued to addressing other potential areas and increase production and productivity of chickpea in regional level</p&gt

Cationisation of Cotton with Natural Source Based Gelatin for Salt-Free Reactive Dyeing of Cationised Cotton

Cotton fabric was chemically modified with gelatin, extracted from fleshing waste of collagen by thermal hydrolysis process to increase the dyeing capability of reactive dye. Gelatin imparts new functional groups with fabric and develops Ammonia ion in slightly acid conditions to obtain cationized cotton fabric permit salt and alkali-free reactive dyeing with acceptable shade depth. The imparting of gelatin on the cotton fabric was confirmed by FTIR, UV/VIS absorption, and K/S values. The result shows that they have advantage of high dye utilization and better fastness. Color fastness of treated dyed fabric was equal to the untreated dyed fabric and obtained 4/5 washing fastness, 5 rubbing fastnesses, and 4/5 perspiration fastness. The UV/VIS absorption results show 6.4% improvement in exhaustion and K/S results have 7% improvement in fixation and 9.4% in dye utilization to that of untreated dyeing with salt. Cationized fabric not only increased the exhaustion of the dye but also improved the crease resistance angle at 120° due to the formation of cross-linkage between amide group and the carboxylic acid. To obtain the expected results, cationization was done at alkaline media and the optimum parameter was determined, whereas dyeing conducted at slightly acidic media with optimum parameters

Adaptability Evaluation of Kabuli Chickpea Varieties under Irrigation Production at Kobo, Ethiopia

<p>The experiment was executed during the 2018 – 2019 irrigation cropping season to evaluate the adaptability and yield performance of kabuli type chickpea varieties with the involvement of farmers based on their preferences criteria. Ten improved varieties were laid out in RCB design with three replications for the mother trial and the baby trial, a single rep of the mother trial, which was used for farmers' preference selections. Data on days to maturity, number of pods per plant, number of seeds per pod, number of branches, plant height, biomass, hundred seed weight, and grain yield were collected and analyzed. The farmers evaluated and selected the varieties depending on their criteria from the baby trial. The criteria were grain productivity, earliness, seed size, and free from any diseases. Farmers' selection was analyzed by the PairWise and Matrix ranking method. The analysis of variance showed a significant difference (P<0.05) for grain yield and most traits. The result showed that variety Akuri was the best yielder with seed yield 2558kg/ha, followed by harbu (2300.5kg/ha) and Kobo (1922.5kg/ha), respectively. Grain yield was the first prioritized trait to farmers for selecting the best adaptable chickpea variety under irrigation. Akuri was the best variety based on ANOVA result and visually selected by the farmers as good for grain yield under irrigation followed by Harbu and Kobo. Therefore; based on researchers' and farmers' perception Akuri and Harbu varieties will be recommended and pre-scale up for producing areas in the district and similar agro-ecological zones under irrigation production system</p&gt

Assessing the Industrial Effluent Effect on Irrigation Water Quality and Farm Soil near Kombolcha Town, Ethiopia

This study evaluated various industrial effluents’ effect on irrigation water quality and farm soil near Kombolcha town. Several industries such as brewery, steel iron, textile, and tannery have been installed near the Borkena River that crosses Kombolcha town. Representative samples of irrigation water and farm soil were collected from the upper and down part of Borkena river. The upper site was used as a control as it was not contaminated by industrial effluents. The analysis for selected parameters showed that the downstream irrigation water quality had mean concentrations of pH = 8.54, magnesium (Mg+2) = 5.27 mg/l, carbonate (CO3−2) = 1.25 mg/l, bicarbonate (HCO3−) = 9.10 mg/l, copper (Cu) = 0.21 mg/l, chromium (Cr) = 0.31 mg/l, and cadmium (Cd) = 0.03 mg/l which were above the permissible limit of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO’s) irrigation water quality standard. The mean concentrations of electric conductivity (EC) = 0.96 ds/m, sodium (Na+) = 3.35 mg/l, chloride (Cl−) = 7.67 mg/l, and total dissolved solids (TDS) = 612.98 mg/l were slightly and moderately restricted for irrigation. Moreover, the concentration of heavy metals, calcium (Ca+2) = 16.61 mg/l, iron (Fe) = 4.25 mg/l, manganese (Mn) = 0.18 mg/l, and lead (Pb) = 0.47 mg/l, was below the permissible limit of the FAO and nonrestricted. However, the mean concentration of EC, HCO3−, Cu, Cr, Cd, and TDS for downstream-irrigated farm soil samples was above the permissible limit of the FAO. The concentration of most selected parameters in downstream farm soil was also decreasing along with depth except pH, CO3−2, and HCO3-. Generally, there is a significant quality difference (at P ≤ 0.05) between the upstream and downstream irrigation water quality on the parameters of Mg+2, Cl−, Pb, and Cu

Prevalence and pathology of indigestable foreign bodies in rumen and reticulum of cattle slaughtered at Kombolcha Elfora Abattoir, north east Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from October, 2015 to April, 2016 at Kombolcha ELFORA Abattoir, South Wollo Zone, Amhara National Regional State, with the objectives of determining the prevalence of foreign bodies in forestomach of slaughtered cattle, gross pathological lesions and associated risk factors for the occurrences of foreign bodies. Postmortem examination was employed to examine the foreign body from rumen and reticulum after slaughter. The study animals were selected by using systematic random sampling method. From the total of 700 cattle examined, 219(31.28%) were found positive for indigestible foreign bodies in rumen and reticulum. Sands (12.32%), clothes (10.50%), ropes (8.67%) and stones (8.67%), were the most common types of foreign bodies observed. The prevalence of foreign body in cattle was significantly associated with sex (χ2 = 7.11, P<0.05), breed (χ2 = 8.87, P<0.05) and body condition (χ2 =8.03; P<0.05) of cattle. However there was no significant difference in the prevalence of foreign bodies in animals of different age groups (χ2 =3.08, P>0.05) and origins (χ2 =2.62; P>0.05). Abscess (60%) was the most common lesion encountered followed by hemorrhage (21.81%), ulcer (9.09%), ruminal atony (7.27%) and reticular fistula (1.81%). Most of the lesions (67 %) were caused by metallic foreign bodies compared to non-metallic foreign bodies. The study demonstrated that ruminants in the area ingest various types of indigestible foreign materials, which can hamper their health and productivity. To avert the problem, collaborative intervention schemes need to be applied involving professionals, policy makers, livestock keepers, and environmental activistsKeywords: Abattoir, Cattle, Foreign body, Ethiopia, Reticulum, Rume

Urinary Tract Infection among Antiretroviral Therapy Users and Nonusers in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Jimma, Ethiopia

Background. The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has dramatically reduced morbidity related with bacterial infection including urinary tract infection (UTI) among patients with HIV/AIDS. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of UTI and identify common bacterial etiologies among HIV/AIDS patients of ART users and nonusers in Jimma University Specialized Hospital. Methods. A comparative cross sectional study was conducted from September to December 2012 on 367 ART users and 114 nonuser patients attending ART clinic. Sociodemographic characteristics, associated factors, and urine samples were collected; culture, biochemical tests, Gram stain, and drug sensitivity tests were done. Results. Of 467 examined urine samples, 56 (12%) had significant bacterial growth. Forty-six (12.5%) of the cases were ART users and 10 (10%) were nonusers. E. coli was the predominant isolate in both ART users (25 (54.3%)) and nonusers (6 (6%)). Majority of the bacterial isolates were from females. Most (>75%) of the isolates from both groups were resistant to ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole but sensitive to norfloxacine, ceftriaxone, and chloramphenicol. Conclusion. There was no statistically significant difference regarding the prevalence of significant bacterial growth between ART users and nonusers. Therefore, it is recommended that UTI in both groups should be managed with drugs that show sensitivity

Harvest and post-harvest handling practices associated with Fumonisin B1 Contamination in maize (Zea mays L.): Dietary exposure and risk characterization in Eastern Ethiopia

Maize is the main staple food crop in the eastern part of Ethiopia. However, maize loss is a major issue due to fungal contamination especially at the post-harvest stage owing to inadequate handling practices. This study aimed to assess post-harvest handling and awareness against fungal development and fumonisin B1 (FB1) in maize and to calculate risk exposures of FB1. A total of 197 maize samples (grain and flour) were collected from five districts (Haramaya, Kersa, Meta, Oda Bultum, and Tullo). FB1 was detected using LC–MS/MS qTRAP. Exposure assessment was done based on the maize consumption rate per day in Ethiopia for different age groups (infants, children, and adults). Risk characterization depends on the margin of exposure (MoE) combined with the lower confidence limit of the benchmark dose level (BMDL). About 81% of farmers were not physically separating undamaged maize ears with damaged from either birds or fungi. Moreover, 100% were not using improved storage material. In storage samples, FB1 was detected as high as 1058 μg/kg ± 234 in the Kersa district while a minimum of 22.60 μg/kg ± 5.27 in Meta. In flour samples, the maximum FB1 (327 μg/kg) was detected from the Oda Bultum district. The maximum exposure of infants was estimated at Kersa (1131 µg/kg bw/day), followed by Oda Bultum (1073 µg/kg bw/day) and Haramaya (854 µg/kg bw/day). Overall, FB1 exposures ranged from 6.09 to 1131 µg/kg bw/day, which is 3 to 500 µg/kg bw/day higher than the maximum tolerable daily intake of 2 µg/kg bw/day recommended by the World Health Organization. The MoE ranged from 0.15 to 176, with infants being at higher risk than adults. The study highlights the urgent need to enhance growers’ awareness and knowledge of good post-harvest practices to reduce mycotoxin contamination in maize. Further biomarker analysis must be pursued to determine the risk exposure assessment for different age groups in these areas with a priority for the Kersa district