Causes of child mortality in Gondar hospital, Ethiopia

Abstract: During a five year period (1987"1992). a total of 656 childhood hospital deaths. between the age of days and 15 years were registered in the Paediatrics Department, Gondar College of Medical Sciences. Protein-energy malnutrition (24.5%). bronchopneumonia (12.2%). pyogenic meningitis (8.4 ) , septicemia (7 % ) and disseminated tuberculosis (6. 1 % ) were the five primary leading causes of death. Four hundred eighty five (73.9%) of the deaths occurred in children under five years of age. Two hundred seventy (41.2%) children were admitted in a moribund state and died within 24 hours of admission.[Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1996; 10(3): 145-148

Realpolitik behind Humanitarian Interventions in Africa

The UN has assumed significant number of humanitarian interventions worldwide since the end of the cold war However the motives behind humanitarian interventions are debated in the scholarship of international relations specially between realism and liberalism Since 2005 referenceshave been made to the norm of R2P in UN interventions which are presumed to be a pragmatic move towards pursuing humanitarian interest in defending civilians from casualty This paper aims to analyze whether the council member states have shifted from pursuing realpolitik national interest to purely humanitarian intentionusing case studies of humanitarian interventions in African conflicts in the periods before and after the adoption of R2P The paper argues that though there are limited humanitarian outcomes because of interventions especiallyafter the adoption of R2P yet the Council members national interest remains the main determinant of interventions in Afric

Household level rainwater harvesting in the drylands of northern Ethiopia

To overcome the challenges caused by climate change, and to improve food security, the Ethiopian government, together with local communities, have made large efforts by constructing rainwater harvesting techniques (RWHTs) such as household ponds, cisterns, check dams and roof water harvesting at community and household level. This study performed a literature review to synthesize research on how these efforts have had positive effects on food security in communities and household in the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia. The result of the review indicates that the present RWHTs in the region contribute to increased crop productivity, crop diversity, livestock productivity, livestock feed, and reduced distance and time to water points. Despite the advantages RWHTs provide, their expansion to a larger region are constrained by many factors; initial investment costs, material availability and quality, risk of disease such as malaria, water loss to evaporation, limited technical design capacity and irrigation calendar skills. This study concludes that if implemented successfully, and in accordance with local climate and geographic conditions, rainwater harvesting can serve as a powerful tool to increase reliable access to water so as to respond to the impacts of climate change and increase food and nutrition security for poor households

Modeling and visualization of trace data

ASML Lithography machines trace data are vital inputs for configuration and calibration of machine components. To visualize these trace data, ASML engineers regularly utilize Gantt chart based visualization tools. Different components of lithography machines use different data formats to log their behavior. Accordingly different departments in ASML are using different trace data visualization tools. Developing and maintaining multiple visualizer tools is costly, time consuming and reduces interoperability. This report describes a project conducted to achieve a generic and an extensible Gantt visualization tool. The tool is developed using Model Driven Engineering (MDE) methodology. To capture generic trace data attributes, Gantt figure elements and the mapping between the two languages, Gantt data, Gantt figure and Gantt mapping language are defined. Furthermore, transformation modules that transform data from one format to another are specified. The extensibility of the Gantt visualization tool is verified by porting the tool in to two different domains. The effort required to port the tool to a new domain was found to be very minimal (12 man-hours). This is a considerable gain compared to an average of four to six months that would take if the tool was developed from scratch

Determinants of Smallholder Farmers’ Cash Crop Production Decision and Its Effect on Household Income in Humbo District, Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

Producing market oriented crops at smallholder farmer level is very important for improving the rural household’s income. The aim of this study was identifying factors that determine smallholder farmers’ cash crop production decision and its effect on household income in Humbo District, Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia. Data for the study was collected from 254 rural households using interview schedule. Multi-stage sampling technique was used as sampling technique. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and Heckman’s two stage model. Accordingly, the study identified cash crops such as pepper, cabbage, onion, and cotton are dominantly produced by smallholder farmers; male headed households are more likely producing these crops relative to female headed; and farmers at the age range of 31 and 64 years are more likely producing than at other age category. Lack of timely supply of agricultural inputs, higher prevalence of crop diseases, fluctuation of market price, and perishable nature of crops are identified as the major crop problems in the study area. Based on the Binary Logistic Regression result, sex, experience on farming activities, access to extension service, off-farm income, and distance from farm land to water sources were significantly determining cash crop production decision. On the other side, Multiple Linear Regression model result revealed as access to credit, off-farm income, number of oxen, landholding size, and education level were significantly determining rural household income. Accordingly: the government should intervene in timely provision of modern agricultural inputs and create favorable linkage between farmers and research centers. The credit institutions should be accessible to ensure timely purchase of agricultural inputs. Keywords: Smallholder farmers, participation, income, cash crops, Heckman two stage; DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-25-05 Publication date:September 30th 202

The Archaeological Excavation of an Antebellum Educational Boarding House in Cane Hill, Arkansas 3WA1233

This thesis is an archaeological evaluation of the remains of a two related structures located in Cane Hill, Arkansas. In order to establish the function and/or affiliation of the structures, historical documentation was combined with the analysis of the artifact assemblage. Based on artifacts recovered and archival sources, these two structures appear to be associated with a former boarding house used for male students attending Cane Hill College. This research provides insight into educational boarding facilities as well as multiple cultures cohabitating in the 19th Century Ozarks

Evaluation of Point Source Pollutants impact on Water Quality and Self-purification Capacity of Abay River in Ethiopia

This study was conducted to evaluate influence of point source pollutants on self-purification capacity of Abay River within 8 kms from Lake Tana to Sebatamit. For assessment of the overall water quality level, the water quality index was used. The river's self-cleaning potential was assessed based on physicochemical parameters as indicators and using the modified Streteer-Phelps model after selecting the best reaeration coefficient through velocity and depth measurements. The outcome of the study showed that TDS, EC, BOD5, Ammonia, temperature, pH, and salinity were found within the permissible limits of EPA. The turbidity was higher than the WHO limit at sampling point two and DO value was below the WHO and EPA limit at sampling points two, three, four, five and six. The result shows that the critical distance and time in which the river attains its self-purification capacity is at 1.3, 2.8 and 0.3 kms from Bahirdar Textile, Bahir Dar municipal and Habesha Tannery Effluent mixing points for 1.68, 0.82 and 0.48 hour, respectively. This showed that the river have good purification capacity at a moment even though the point sources are discharging an effluent which is not properly treated. Keywords: Physicochemical parameters, Reaeration coefficient, Water Quality Index DOI: 10.7176/CER/12-3-01 Publication date:March 31st 202

Review on Economic Efficiency of Maize Production in Ethiopia

Despite the fact that, agriculture remains to be the most significant sector of the Ethiopian economy, its performance has been disappointing and food production has been lagging behind population growth. Although increasing population pressure and low levels of agricultural productivity have aggravated the food insecurity situation by widening the gap between the demand for and supply of food in the country. This gap can be decreased by improving productivity either through the introduction of modern technologies or improving the efficiency of crop production. However, as the possibility to enhance production by bringing more resources into use became more and more limited, the efficiency with which the farmers use available resources has received the greatest attention. Since maize is a significant contributor to the Ethiopian economy, escalating productivity and efficiency of maize production could be taken as an important step in achieving food security. This review was aimed at assessing the levels of technical, allocative and economic efficiencies of smallholder maize producers; and to identify factors affecting the efficiency of smallholder farmers in maize production in Ethiopia. In these review factors like education, land fragmentation, livestock ownership, a frequency of extension contact, soil fertility, off/non-farm activities, sex, land owned, credit utilization and perception on agricultural policy are identified as the key determinants of the economic efficiency of maize production in Ethiopia. The frequency distribution of technical, allocative and economic efficiency levels was not fairly distributed. The maize farms were being operated in a different level of efficiency. This implies that a large number of maize farmers in Ethiopia faced inefficiency problems. Keywords: Maize, Economic efficiency, Determinants, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/84-0