69 research outputs found
Determinants of Adoption of Rainwater Management Technologies among Farm Households in the Nile River Basin
Agriculture is the main sector of the Ethiopian economy, as is the case in many sub-Saharan African countries. In this region, rainfall distribution is extremely uneven both spatially and temporally. Drought frequently results in crop failure, while high rainfall intensities result in low infiltration and high runoff, causing soil erosion and land degradation, which contribute to low agricultural productivity and high levels of food insecurity. High population growth and cultivation of steep and marginal lands, together with poor land management practices and lack of effective rainwater management strategies, aggravate the situation. Over the past two decades, the Government of Ethiopia has attempted to address these issues through the large-scale implementation of a range of soil and water conservation measures, including stone terraces, soil bunds and area enclosures. Despite these efforts, adoption of the interventions remains low. Studies from the Ethiopian Highlands show that the adoption of rainwater management technologies is influenced by a variety of factors, including biophysical characteristics such as topography, slope, soil fertility, rainfall amount and variability. However, even when technologies are appropriate to a particular biophysical setting, they may not be implemented, because farmers usually consider a variety of factors when making their decisions to adopt technologies. Thus, gaining an understanding of the factors that influence the adoption of rainwater management technologies is crucial for improved management of land and water resources. In this context, this study has been carried out within the framework of the Nile Basin Development Challenge (NBDC) project of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF), which aims to improve rural livelihoods and their resilience through a landscape approach to rainwater management in the Ethiopian part of the Blue Nile River Basin
Assessment of farmersâ rainwater management technology adoption in the Blue Nile basin
Agricultural productivity in Ethiopian highlands is constrained mainly by high climate variability. Although use of soil and water conservation technologies is recognized as a key strategy to improve agricultural productivity, adoption of technologies has been very low as farmers consider a variety of factors in their adoption decision. This study assesses the adoption pattern of interrelated rainwater management technologies and investigates factors that influence farm household adoption and scaling-up of rainwater management technologies and draws recommendations for policy. Our results show that rainwater management technologies are interdependent to each other implying that technology adoption decisions need to capture the spillover effect on the adoption of other technologies and have follow a multi-dimensional approach. Moreover, our results suggest that instead of promoting blanket recommendations, it is important to understand the socio-economic, demographic characteristics and biophysical suitability of the rainwater management technologies. Although impact of gender is likely technology-specific and generalization is not possible, our result indicates that male-headed households have a comparative advantage in rainwater management technologies adoption in the Nile Basin and suggests the need to address the constraints of women farmers to give them an opportunity to actively participate in rural economic activities
Sexâbiased disease dynamics increase extinction risk by impairing population recovery
The periodicity of lifeâcycle events (phenology) modulates host availability to pathogens in a repeatable pattern. The effects of sexual differences in host phenology have been little explored in wildlife epidemiological studies. A recent series of ranavirosis outbreaks led to serious declines of Boscasâ newt populations at Serra da Estrela (Portugal). The peculiar phenology of this species, in which a large number of females remain in the aquatic habitat after the breeding season, turns it into a suitable model to test how sexâbiased mortality can affect host population persistence in the context of infectious diseases. We investigated how the phenology of Bosca's newt (i.e. biased number of females) mediated the impact of Ranavirus. We then evaluated the risk of extinction of the population under different scenarios of sexâbiased mortality using a population viability analysis. Two newt populations (one subject to yearly outbreaks and a comparative site where outbreaks have not been recorded) were tracked for trends over time following emergence of ranaviral disease, allowing us to assess the differential impact of the disease on both sexes. In addition to a significant decline in abundance of adult newts, our data suggest that phenology can affect disease dynamics indirectly, leading to reduction in females and a reversal of the sex ratio of the breeding population. Our models suggest that femaleâbiased mortality does not exacerbate Ranavirusâdriven population declines in the shortâterm, but is likely to have a deleterious impact during the recovery process once the lethal effect of disease is removed from the system
Mixing and matching: Combining âbest betâ practices into rainwater management strategies suited to the local environment
A Humanized Anti-VEGF Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody Inhibits Angiogenesis and Blocks Tumor Growth in Xenograft Models
Rabbit antibodies have been widely used in research and diagnostics due to their high antigen specificity and affinity. Though these properties are also highly desirable for therapeutic applications, rabbit antibodies have remained untapped for human disease therapy. To evaluate the therapeutic potential of rabbit monoclonal antibodies (RabMAbs), we generated a panel of neutralizing RabMAbs against human vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF). These neutralizing RabMAbs are specific to VEGF and do not cross-react to other members of the VEGF protein family. Guided by sequence and lineage analysis of a panel of neutralizing RabMAbs, we humanized the lead candidate by substituting non-critical residues with human residues within both the frameworks and the CDR regions. We showed that the humanized RabMAb retained its parental biological properties and showed potent inhibition of the growth of H460 lung carcinoma and A673 rhabdomyosarcoma xenografts in mice. These studies provide proof of principle for the feasibility of developing humanized RabMAbs as therapeutics
Nile Basin Focal Project. Synthesis report
The Nile basin experiences wide spread poverty, lack of food and land and water
degradation. Because poverty is linked to access to water for crop, fish and
livestock based livelihoods, improving access to water and increasing agricultural
water productivity can potentially contribute substantially to poverty reduction.
The major goal of the Nile Basin Focal project is to identify high potential
investments that reduce poverty yet reverse trends in land and water
degradation. This is done through the implementation of six interlinked work
packages allowing us to examine water availability, access, use, productivity,
institutions and their linkages to poverty. Important in the Nile BFP is knowledge
management and the uptake of results for ultimate impact
The football is medicine plaform-scientific evidence, large-scale implementation of evidence-based concepts and future perspectives
The idea that football can be used as therapy and as a high-intensity and literally breath-taking training regime goes back centuries. To take one prominent example, the French philosopher Voltaire describes in the Book of Fate (1747), how a patient is cured by playing with a sacred football: â⊠full-blown and carefully covered with the softest Leather. You must kick this Bladder, Sir, once a Day about your Hall for a whole Hour together, with all the Vigour and Activity you possibly canâ, âOgul, upon making the first Experiment, was ready to expire for want of Breathâ, âIn short, our Doctor in about 8 days Time, performed an absolute Cure. His Patient was as brisk, active and gay, as One in the Bloom of his Youth.â1 Today, Voltaire and his main character, philosopher Zadig, have been proved right: Football is indeed a breath-taking activity and it can be used as therapy. Albeit today's recommendations suggest a lower training frequency, longer training periods and encourage group-based training, and say that any football can be applied
Are oral health conditions associated with schoolchildren's performance and school attendance in the Kingdom of Bahrain? A life-course perspective
Background
The link between oral diseases and school performance and school attendance remains unclear among Middle Eastern children.
Aim
To investigate the relationship of oral conditions with schoolchildrenâs school performance and attendance using the life course approach.
Design
A cross-sectional study was conducted with 466 schoolchildren aged 7-8 years from Kingdom of Bahrain (KoB) and their parents. Questionnaire data on childrenâs current and at birth environmental characteristics were completed by their parents. Childrenâs oral health measures, including ICDAS (International Caries Detection and Assessment System), PUFA (Pulp, Ulcer, Fistula, Abscess), and DDE (Developmental Defects of Enamel) indices, were the exposure variables. School performance and school attendance data obtained from the school register were the outcome variables. The data were analysed using multivariate ordinal logistic regression.
Results
The odds of Excellent school performance were significantly lower for children with untreated dentine caries (OR = 0.98 CI 95%: 0.96-0.99). Children with caries-treated teeth showed greater odds of Excellent school performance (OR=1.41 CI 95%: 1.15-1.74). A permissive parental style was associated with poor school attendance (OR= 2.63 CI 95%: 1.08-6.42).
Conclusion
Dental caries was associated with poor school performance but not with school attendance. Treated caries was associated with good school performance
Relação entre a variabilidade da frequĂȘncia cardĂaca e VO 2pico em mulheres ativas
- âŠ