Effect of Tillage and Fertilizer Practices on Sorghum Production in Abergelle Area, Northern Ethiopia

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) production is mainly constrained by soil water and nutrient deficits in northern Ethiopia. The aim of this research was to evaluate the effects of tillage and fertilizer practices on productivity of two sorghum varieties in Abergelle area, northern Ethiopia. The experimental design was split-plot design. The main-plot treatments included five tillage practices. These were shilshalo (traditional ridge without ties) for broadcasted planting (SBP), tied-ridging at planting (TR0WAP), tied-ridging at four weeks after planting (TR4WAP), zero tillage (ZT), and shilshalo for row planting (SRP). Two fertilizer rates of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), as0-0 N-P ha-1(without fertilizer, F1) and 32-10 kg N-P ha-1 (with fertilizer, F2) treatments, were used in the sub-plots. The local sorghum varieties i.e., Woitoziraand Chibal (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) were tested for two years (2002-2003). The pooled and yearly-basis data analysis showed that the main and interaction treatment effects were significantly (P ≤ 0.05) influenced the yield and yield components of both varieties. This study also demonstrated sorghum yield increment by 7 to 48% due to the interaction effect of TR0WAP with F2 as compared to the interaction effects of the other tillage treatments with F2. However, the increment of yield and yield components due to the tied-ridging and fertilizer interaction effects were higher for Chibalas compared to Woitozira. The mean sorghum crop yield due to TR0WAP interaction with F2 for Chibal was 1.45 t ha-1 and that of Woitozirawas 1.31t ha-1. Thus, suitable time of tied-ridging integrated with proper rate of fertilizer should be adopted for effective increase of crop production in the semi-arid areas of northern Ethiopia such as the Abergelle area.Keywords: Abergelle area, Fertilizer, Sorghum varieties, Tied-ridging, Tillage practices, Northern Ethiopi

Estimating Soil Bulk Density and Total Nitrogen from Catchment Attributes in Northern Ethiopia

Even though data on soil bulk density (BD) and total nitrogen (TN) are essential for planning modern farming techniques, their data availability is limited for many applications in the developing word. This study is  designed to estimate BD and TN from soil properties, land-use systems, soil types and landforms in the Mai-Negus catchment, northern Ethiopia using stepwise multiple regression (SMR) and generalized linear model (GLM) analyses. Different soil properties and other catchment attributes were collected following a standard procedure. The SMR analysis showed overall model coefficients of determination (R2) of 0.91 and 0.89 with significant F-statistics for the relationships of BD and TN, respectively, with soil properties, land-use and landforms. In addition, the GLM analysis resulted in an overall R2 of 0.92 with significant F-statistic for BD, and an R2 of 0.94 with significant F-statistic for TN. The model coefficients of both analyses for the dependent variables showed higher for organic carbon (OC) as compared to the other variables even though higher values were found from GLM. This study thus confirmed that practices which improve OC can strongly influence the variation of both dependent variables. This study suggested that BD and TN should be estimated based on the  relationships explained by the different techniques (analysis) in similar conditions in order to improve data availability; however, the GLM is preferable as it considers the effect of the interaction terms.Keywords: Bulk density, Total nitrogen, Stepwise multiple regression, Generalized linear model, Mai-Negus catchment

Adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy and Associated Factors Among HIV-Infected Children in Public Health Institutions of Adwa, Axum, and Shire Towns of Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: A Cross-Sectional Study

Tadis Brhane Tesfahunegn,1 Negassie Berhe,2 Teklehaymanot Huluf Abraha,1 Solomon Hintsa,3 Goitom Yohanes,1 Kahsay Desta,4 Haileselasie Berhane Alema,5 Elsa Hagos,6 Gebreamlak Gidey,7 Gebreyesus Brhane Teshahunegn8 1Department of Reproductive Health, College of Health Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia; 2Department of Human Nutrition, College of Health Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia; 3Department of Epidemiology, College of Health Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia; 4School of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia; 5Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia; 6Department of Medical Laboratory, College of Health Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia; 7Department of Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia; 8College of Agriculture, Aksum University, Shire, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Haileselasie Berhane Alema Department of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Aksum University, P.O.Box: 298, Aksum, Ethiopia Tel +251914006933 Email [email protected]: Antiretroviral therapy (ART) provision was among the major challenge of treatments. Maintaining the optimal level of adherence among children living with HIV/AIDS is a pivotal step towards achieving treatment success. However, there are limited studies on child’s ART adherence. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the level of adherence to antiretroviral therapy and associated factors among HIV-infected children in health institutions of Adwa, Axum, and Shire towns, Tigray, Northern Ethiopia.Methods: An institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children in between February and April, 2016. A total of 255 children who were taking antiretroviral therapy in the randomly selected three health facilities from Adwa, Axum and Shire towns were included. Data were collected using pretested and structured questionnaires using a face-to-face interview. The collected data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and then exported to SPSS version 21 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression models were used to determine the factors associated with adherence to antiretroviral therapy among HIV-infected children.Results: A total of the 255 study participants were included in the study. The level of ART adherence among HIV-positive children was 212 (84.8%). Knowledge of caregivers about ART treatment (AOR = 2.78, 95% CI: 1.18, 6.53), occupational status (AOR = 4.78, 95% CI: 1.26, 18.91), appointment to ART less than two months (AOR = 3.05, 95% CI: 1.21, 7.70) and use of memory aids (AOR = 4.58, 95% CI: 1.73, 12.13) were independently associated with adherence to ART.Conclusion: The level of adherence to antiretroviral therapy was low. Healthcare providers should reinforce adherence intervention and counseling sessions during follow-up and address the proper use of medication reminders to help children take their drugs appropriately.Keywords: HIV, adherence, ART, children, Ethiopi

Kernel-based robust tracking for objects undergoing occlusion

Visual tracking has been a challenging problem in computer vision over the decades. The applications of Visual Tracking are far-reaching, ranging from surveillance and monitoring to smart rooms. Occlusion is one of the major challenges that needs to be handled in tracking. In this work, we propose a new method to track objects undergoing occlusion using both sum-of-squared differences (SSD) and color-based mean-shift (MS) trackers which complement each other by overcoming their respective disadvantages. The rapid model change in SSD tracker is overcome by the MS tracker module, while the inability of MS tracker to handle large displacements is circumvented by the SSD module. Mean-shift tracker, which gained more attention recently, is known for tracking objects in a cluttered environment. Since the MS tracker relies on the global object parameters such as color, the performance of the tracker degrades when the object undergoes partial occlusion. To avoid the adverse effect of this global model, we use the MS tracker so as to track the local object properties instead of a global one. Further a likelihood ratio weighting is used for SSD tracker to avoid drift during partial occlusion and to update the MS tracking modules. The proposed tracker outperforms the traditional MS tracker, as illustrated in the instances applied