Effects of intervention with the SAFE strategy on trachoma across Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The impact of the SAFE strategy (surgery, antibiotics, face washing, environmental hygiene), recommended to eliminate blinding trachoma, is not well explored. We determined the operational effectiveness of the whole SAFE intervention package. METHODS: Analytical cross-sectional trachoma surveys were conducted in four program areas across Ethiopia before and after 3 years of intervention with the SAFE strategy. A total of 8358 children 1-9 years, 4684 people above 14 and 3572 households were assessed in the follow-up evaluations using methodologies recommended by the WHO. Effects were measured by comparing follow-up proportions with baseline estimates of four key indicators. RESULTS: Coverage was 36% for trichiasis surgery, 59% for antibiotic and 57% for health-promotion services. Prevalence of trachoma trichiasis (TT) decreased from 4.6% (95% CI: 3.6% to 5.8%) down to 2.9% (CI: 2.1% to 3.9%). Prevalence of trachoma inflammation-follicular (TF) dropped from 36.7% (33.9% to 39.6%) to 18.4% (CI: 15.4% to 21.8%). The proportion of unclean faces and households not using latrines fell from 72.8% (68.9% to 76.4%) and 74.5% (69.9% to 78.7%) down to 47.0% (CI: 43% to 51%) and 51.7% (47.2% to 56.2%), respectively. All the reductions related with antibiotic (TF), face washing (clean face) and environmental (latrine) components were statistically significant except for Surgery (TT). CONCLUSIONS: Considerable decline in the magnitude of trachoma and its risk factors was observed in areas where the SAFE strategy was implemented. The coverage of services should be maintained or improved in order to eliminate blinding trachoma by the year 2020

Analysis of tax compliance and its determinants : evidence from Kaffa, Bench Maji and Sheka zones category B tax payers, SNNPR, Ethiopia

Despite the fact that tax is an important stream of revenue for government of any country, there is tax avoidance and tax evasion which are constraints serving as a bottlenecks for efficient tax collection performance. Therefore, this study examines tax compliance and its determinants in Kaffa, Bench Maji and Sheka Zones category ‘B’ business income tax payers, Ethiopia. To do this, data was collected with the aid of structured questionnaires, administered to 311 respondents using proportionate simple random sampling procedure. The data was examined with the use of descriptive statistics and econometric model particularly ordered logit model. The result of ordered logistic regression showed that, among different variables tested, tax compliance was positively affected by education level of tax payers, tax knowledge and awareness of tax payers, simplicity of the tax system, attitude of tax payers towards tax, perceived role of government expenditure, and rewarding scheme for loyal tax payers. It is therefore recommended that the tax authority ought to conduct effective and sustainable awareness creation programmes and tax education to the general public in general and to tax payers in particular through printed and electronic medias and face-to-face cessions. The tax authority should also simplify the tax system particularly the tax return, tax forms and tax laws so that they become easily and clearly understandable to tax payers. Moreover, the government should consider provisions of trophy in terms of tax rewards and inducements to honest and dedicated tax payers. Lastly, the government shall maintain accountability and transparency on how the revenue collected from taxation was being disbursed and provide social services efficiently and effectively to the society so that tax payers will have trust and positive attitude towards the tax that they pay and become loyal to the tax system.peer-reviewe

Stability of a strongly anisotropic thin epitaxial film in a wetting interaction with elastic substrate

The linear dispersion relation for longwave surface perturbations, as derived by Levine et al. Phys. Rev. B 75, 205312 (2007) is extended to include a smooth surface energy anisotropy function with a variable anisotropy strength (from weak to strong, such that sharp corners and slightly curved facets occur on the corresponding Wulff shape). Through detailed parametric studies it is shown that a combination of a wetting interaction and strong anisotropy, and even a wetting interaction alone results in complicated linear stability characteristics of strained and unstrained films. PACS: 68.55.J, Morphology of films; 81.15.Aa, Theory and models of film growth; 81.16.Dn, Self-assembly.Comment: Accepted in EPL (http://epljournal.edpsciences.org

From plateau to pseudo-plateau bursting:Making the transition

Bursting electrical activity is ubiquitous in excitable cells such as neurons and many endocrine cells. The technique of fast/slow analysis, which takes advantage of time scale differences, is typically used to analyze the dynamics of bursting in mathematical models. Two classes of bursting oscillations that have been identified with this technique, plateau and pseudo-plateau bursting, are often observed in neurons and endocrine cells, respectively. These two types of bursting have very different properties and likely serve different functions. This latter point is supported by the divergent expression of the bursting patterns into different cell types, and raises the question of whether it is even possible for a model for one type of cell to produce bursting of the type seen in the other type without large changes to the model. Using fast/slow analysis, we show here that this is possible, and we provide a procedure for achieving this transition. This suggests that the design principles for bursting in endocrine cells are just quantitative variations of those for bursting in neurons

Nutritional Comparison of White and Red Coccinia Abyssinica (Lam.) Cong. Accessions: An Under-Utilised Edible Tuber of the Ethiopian Highlands

Anchote (Coccinia abyssinica) is an indigenous tuber crop of the Ethiopian Highlands. It is popular in the western Oromia Region of the country. Apart from food, the crop is also used in traditional medicine. Anchote tubers possess two variations in its tissue colour, red and white. In this study, a small market survey and a nutritional comparison of red and white anchote were conducted. White tissue anchote seems to be more popular, due to its soft texture and ease of cooking. However, the red variant was considered for flour making (by dehydration), for use in porridge and soups for various medicinal and supplementary food applications. Red anchote tubers contained significantly higher protein content (16.85 mg/100 g dry matter basis) than the white variant. However, apart from the marginally higher protein content compared to other tropical root and tuber crops, anchote seems to remain a primary source of carbohydrates. In macro minerals, white anchote proves to be a more important source of Ca with 81 mg/100 g edible portion; however, on dry matter basis, the content was similar to the red variant (316 and 309 mg/100 g dry matter, white and red respectively). Further research on vitamin content (especially vitamin A in the red variant) would be useful to understand the full nutrition potential of the crop

Assisting differential clinical diagnosis of cattle diseases using smartphone-based technology in low resource settings : a pilot study

BACKGROUND: The recent rise in mobile phone use and increased signal coverage has created opportunities for growth of the mobile Health sector in many low resource settings. This pilot study explores the use of a smartphone-based application, VetAfrica-Ethiopia, in assisting diagnosis of cattle diseases. We used a modified Delphi protocol to select important diseases and Bayesian algorithms to estimate the related disease probabilities based on various clinical signs being present in Ethiopian cattle. RESULTS: A total of 928 cases were diagnosed during the study period across three regions of Ethiopia, around 70% of which were covered by diseases included in VetAfrica-Ethiopia. Parasitic Gastroenteritis (26%), Blackleg (8.5%), Fasciolosis (8.4%), Pasteurellosis (7.4%), Colibacillosis (6.4%), Lumpy skin disease (5.5%) and CBPP (5.0%) were the most commonly occurring diseases. The highest (84%) and lowest (30%) levels of matching between diagnoses made by student practitioners and VetAfrica-Ethiopia were for Babesiosis and Pasteurellosis, respectively. Multiple-variable logistic regression analysis indicated that the putative disease indicated, the practitioner involved, and the level of confidence associated with the prediction made by VetAfrica-Ethiopia were major determinants of the likelihood that a diagnostic match would be obtained. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study demonstrated that the use of such applications can be a valuable means of assisting less experienced animal health professionals in carrying out disease diagnosis which may lead to increased animal productivity through appropriate treatment

Upper Primary School Basic Science Curriculum Materials Development Process in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

The purpose of this study was to explore upper primary school basic science curriculum materials development process in Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia. For the purpose of this study, qualitative research method, more specifically, case study design was used.  Non-probability purposive sampling techniques was used to select participants from various groups. To this effect, sample of five basic science curriculum experts were selected and used as a sample of the study. Interview guides and document analysis were employed to gather information.  Qualitative data analysis method was used to analyze the data. Qualitative data were analyzed through narrative description and direct quotations of the opinions of the participants. The result of data analyses revealed that curriculum experts from the Oromia Region Education Bureau, representatives from the Ministry of Education, representatives from colleges and universities were involved in the process of curriculum development. However, concerned bodies from primary school teachers, students, parents, who are the main actors of curriculum implementers were not involved in the process of curriculum development in Oromia Regional State. The study also revealed that no clearly defined model was used for the development and the selection of the components of the basic science curriculum in the upper primary in Oromia Regional State.  Based on the findings, it is recommended that policy makers and curriculum developers in the region reconsider and revisit the developed upper primary school basic science curriculum materials currently implemented in Oromia regional state. Keywords: Curriculum, Curriculum materials, Curriculum development, Basic science and Upper primary school. DOI: 10.7176/JEP/10-1-0

The Role Of Multipurpose Farmer Cooperatives In The Supply Chain Of Wheat In Gedeb-Hasasa Woreda, Oromia Regional State, Ethiopia

Cooperative in general and MPFCs in particular is used as key pillar in the rural development strategy of Ethiopia to address the existing malfunctioning agricultural marketing system. This research is conducted on role of MPFCs in the supply chain of Wheat in Gedeb-Hasasa Woreda, Ethiopia. The main objectives were to identify financial performance, role of MPFCs in marketing farmers output, to investigate and describe wheat marketing channel, role of cooperative in farm inputs supply, members participation and perception to the cooperative service and determinant of MPFCs involvement in marketing farmers output and factors that motivates farmers to supply their wheat to the cooperatives. To accomplish this study both primary and secondary sources that combine qualitative and quantitative data were used. Moreover, two-stage random sampling was employed to select 5 MPFCs and 160 sample on basis of statistical random sampling technique of probability proportional to size. Structured interview schedule was used to collect primary data from famer members. Moreover, semi structured interview for sample traders and focus group discussion was held with committee members and organizer. Data analysis was carried out using financial ratio analysis, descriptive statistics and econometric model. Descriptive statistics like frequency, mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values had been used. Furthermore, financial analysis was done using 2 years audit report to assess the financial performance of the 5 MPFCs. Besides, econometrics model called a multiple linear regression employed using STATA software version 10 to investigate factors that influence farmers to supply their wheat to the cooperatives. As financial ratio analysis shows, cooperatives under investigation were not at better financial position to undertake the output marketing and in diversifying their services to satisfy farmers demand for services. MPFCs under investigation using current ratio all except Abdi Boru were below satisfactory level on the basis of the 2009/10 audit report. While in the year 2010/11 cooperatives current ratio was showed slight improvement. Surplus ratio of the MPFCs has been insignificant based on the two years audit report under investigation. Further, leverage ratio analysis shows that cooperatives under investigation for the last two years more than 65% of their assets were financed by outsiders rather than cooperatives own worth. As the result of descriptive analysis shows, most (47.5%) of the farmers did not use cooperatives as their farm outlet. Besides, MPFCs role in the study area in purchasing the members wheat rated as poor by majority (71.25%) of sample farmers and 47.5% and 31.88% sample farmers sold their wheat to wholesalers and local market respectively. Moreover, of the total sample, 31.25% of them rented-out their land to outsiders. Accordingly, of the 13 explanatory variables access to credit, yield of wheat and educational level found to exert direct and significant impact on farmers supply of wheat while, price offered and proximity to district market were found to have negative significant influence on farmers supply of wheat to the cooperatives. Improving financial capacity, extending credit and tractor service, training and education, delivery time of farm inputs, members’ participation and saving habits of farmers, purchasing role of cooperatives, avoiding interferences, and minimizing bilateral role of traders were some of the interference areas that need to be considered by concerned stakeholders to improve the role and function of MPFCs in marketing out puts of farmers in the supply chain

Trends and Variability of Precipitation: Implications for Water Resources in Lake Ziway Watershed, Central Ethiopian Rift

Precipitation is the significant climatic variable that governs the availability of water resources in the country, Ethiopia, but it is highly erratic and variable in spatial-temporal scales. The purpose of this paper was to analyse trends and variability of rainfall at seasonal to annual sales in the Ziway Lake Watershed. The non-parametric Mann-Kendall (MK) and Sen’s Slope (SS) estimation were used to detect the trends and compute the magnitudes of slopes respectively. The Coefficient of Variation (CV) was employed to reveal the variations in rainfall. The spatial interpolations mapping was made by using IDW (Inverse Distance Weighting). The results revealed that the western Ziway Lake watershed had experienced more rainfall variability than the eastern Ziway Lake watershed. The results also indicated that the annual and summer rainfall did not exhibit significant evidence of a monotonic trend. On the other hand, almost all rainfall stations in the spring season revealed decreasing trends (significant and non-significant), for instance, there are three stations (Ogalcho, Butajira, and Koshe) showed significantly decreasing trends at 5% of significant level and the two stations (Kulumsa and Meki) indicates significantly decreasing trends at 10% significant level. Moreover, the magnitudes of slope (changes in mm/year) estimated by SS for stations in the spring season that display significantly decreasing trends were as follows: -8.702, - 6.58, -4.018, and -3.681,-3.667 for Butajira, Koshe, Kulumsa, Ogalcho, and Meki respectively. Droughts can be expected to increase if the decline precipitation trend continues. This could lead to over-exploitation of the water resources. The similarities in patterns of the intra-annual variability of precipitation and river discharges imply that any changes in rainfall pattern would have effects on water availability. The results of this investigation can significantly contribute to guiding water managers and decision-makers for more efficient water resources planning and management. Keywords: Central Ethiopian Rift,, Ziway Lake Watershed, Precipitation, Variability, Trends DOI: 10.7176/JEES/10-10-03 Publication date:October 31st 2020