Effect of Solid and Liquid Media on in vitro Propagation of Plectranthus edulis (Vatke) (Agnew)

Plectranthus edulis (Vatke), Agnew is one of the four economically important tuber bearing species of Plectranthus. It originated in Ethiopia and has been grown in mid and high altitude areas. The plant is propagated vegetatively by tuber. During cultivation of P. edulis farmers face shortage of disease free planting materials. In vitro propagation of P. edulis can be used for production of disease free planting material. The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of solid and liquid media on in vitro axillary shoot proliferation of P. edulis. Shoots were multiplied using MS solid and liquid media containing different concentrations of BAP or TDZ either alone or in combinations. Rooting experiment was done using half strength MS medium containing different concentrations of IAA and IBA. Among the different treatment combinations used for multiplication,5.85±2.17and 6.07±2.30 mean numbers of axillary shoots were obtained on 1.5 mg/l BAP + 0.5 mg/l TDZ, on solid and liquid media respectively. In vitro developed shoots were rooted best with mean root number of 10.55±5.47 on solid medium and 13.11±7.15 on liquid medium in 0.1 mg/l IAA. The survival rate of the acclimatized plantlets in the glasshouse was 100% and 82.85% from solid and liquid media, respectively. Moreover the overall effect of solid and liquid media was observed to be best of shoot multiplication and rooting, respectively. Keywords: Acclimatization, Oromo Dinich, Shoot multiplication, Tube

Review on the Role of Soil Microorganisms on Soil Physico-Chemical Properties and Plant Growth

The review summarizes the literature on the role of soil microorganisms on soil physico-chemical properties and plant growth. Most of investigators confirmed that Soil microbial activity is very important to improve soil health for Healthy crop growth because microorganisms play an important role in building a complex link between plants and soil. Soil microbes are a dynamic component of soil and performed many beneficial functions in the soil system. Microbes help in different biological transformation such as organic matter conversion and biological nitrogen fixation. Moreover, they enhanced the availability of nutrients to the plants. Typically, one gram of soil having more than 90 million bacteria help plants in nutrient uptake by conversion of unavailable nutrients into available form. Due to lack of knowledge regarding their importance, people think about the negative impact of microorganisms because in many cases microbes act as disease-causing agents. However, according to the agricultural point of view microbes are very well beneficial for plant growth. Now a day’s biotic stress is a big challenge for agrarian because dramatic increase in the human population is causing land degradation and reduces the microbial population which ultimately negatively affect the plant growth. Therefore, the present review describes the role of soil microbes in agricultural crop production. Keywords: Crop Production, Organic Matter, Soil Fertility, Soil Healthy, Soil Microbes DOI: 10.7176/JNSR/14-10-01 Publication date:July 31st 202

Phase-change thin films growth and functionality:towards phase-change memory and reconfigurable nanophotonics

Computing and fast data transfers propelled our technological progress in the past few decades with fundamental research on semiconductor materials. However, classical storage and computing technologies face scaling limitations and the Von Neumann architectural bottleneck. Phase-change materials (PCMs), with more than one stable phase and significant electrical and optical contrasts, are the primary contenders for fast, non-volatile, and large storage capacity devices for future optoelectronic applications. GeSbTe alloys, specifically Ge2Sb2Te5 (GST225), are the most studied and at the center of research in the field. However, major reliability issues hinder the full integration of the GeSbTe alloys into functioning devices. This thesis focuses on the growth, characterization, and functionality of various new-generation phase-change alloys. Thin films of phase-change alloys, with unique properties attractive for data storage and optoelectrical applications, have been produced by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique. Growth optimization, characterization, and device designs and testing based on monatomic Sb, binary GaSb and Sb2Se3, and ternary Ge-rich GST thin films are detailed in this thesis. Superior properties, such as thickness-dependent crystallization dynamics, increased crystallization temperatures, and attractive optical contrasts, have been realized through state-of-the-art characterization tools. Moreover, optoelectrical devices utilizing the phase-change alloys and the realized properties have been designed, fabricated, and tested for applications in data storage, reflective-based display, and optical sensors

The Impact of Privatization on Employees (Particular Case in B.G.I Ethiopia Pvt.Ltd.Co.)

A cross-sectional employees based study was conducted in B.G.!. Ethiopia Pvt. Ltd. Co. head office in Addis Ababa to investigate the effect of privatization on employees of the company. This employee-based survey includes 30 among the total number of 295 employees currently working in the company. A close-ended questionnaire consisting of different questions as well as some open-ended questions was included in the questionnaire. The study found that, 28(93%) respondents in the sample taken provided with salary increment after privatization and among those who have got salary increment 13 (46%) accepted negatively that it is not in consideration to years of service, work load, risk level and other factors and the rest 8(29%) very good and 7(25%) partially good. 12(40%) responded for small number of employees currently and 6(20%) for great shortage of employees. The overall attitude of employees for privatization policy shows 9(30% )-good, 12(40%)- partially good and 9(30% )-bad. It has concluded that the company may enhance employees satisfaction and motivation level in making decisions which will critically consider employees rights and benefits.Jimma Universit

A Review on Climate Change and Hydrological Models

Various ongoing researches are there on topics like which model will give more compatible results with that of observed discharges. It was argued that even complex modeling does not provide better results. Rainfall-runoff models are classified based on model input and parameters and the extent of physical principles applied in the model. This paper discussed various climate change and Hydrological models. Majorly, there are three types of models such as: Empirical model, conceptual mode and physical model. Empirical model is observation oriented models which take only the information from the existing data without considering the features and processes of hydrological system and hence these models are also called data driven models. Conceptual model (parametric models) describes all of the component hydrological processes. And physical model is a mathematically idealized representation of the real phenomenon. Global Climate Models (GCMs) have grown from the Atmospheric General Circulation Models (AGCMs) broadly used for daily weather prediction. It has been used for a range of applications, including investigating interactions between processes of the climate system, simulating evolution of the climate system, and providing projections of future climate states under scenarios that might vary the evolution of the climate system. Hydrological models are mainly used for predicting system behavior and understanding various hydrological processes. A model consists of various parameters that define the characteristics of the model. SWAT is a semi-empirical and semi-physical model. Keywords: Climate change, GCM, Hydrology, SWAT DOI: 10.7176/APTA/87-01 Publication date: January 31st 202

Investigations on Index Properties and Maximum Dry Density of Soils Found in Kemise Town

The objective of this research is investigations on some of the index properties and maimum dry density of soils found in Kemise town. To find the necessary information from the sub soil, geotechnical investigation on engineering properties of soil is very essential and it is one of the most important parts of Foundation engineering. However, the engineering properties of soils in the area are not studied. To achieve the central aim of this research nineteen disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected from eleven test pits. Thereafter, tests for engineering properties were carried out in the laboratory. The dry densities of the soil are ranges from 1.37 to 1.61 g/ , while the optimum moisture content ranges from 20 to 31%. So the dry density of cohesion less soil has relatively higher dry density than cohesive soil. According to engineering properties test results, it is concluded that the type of soils found in Kemise town is clay, silt and silty sand. The tentative soil map is prepared according to the USCS soil classification. Keywords: Investigation, Index property, Atterberg limit, Maximum dry density, Optimum moisture content, Unified Soil Classification System, Soil map

Determination of Compression Index and Coefficient of Permeability of the Soils

The main objectives of this study are determination of compression index, coefficient of permeability and over consolidation ratio of the soils. The undisturbed soil samples were prepared from four study area locations at 3m depth. The one dimensional consolidation tests were conducted in the laboratory using oedometer apparatus. The results obtained from this research shown that, the compression index value of clay is 0.26 and silt soil ranges from 0.3 to 0.4, the coefficient of permeability values ranges from  to 1510-9">  cm/sec.  The over consolidation ratio values ranges from 2.0 to 3. This shows that, the study area over loaded in the past with maximum effective stress. Keywords: Coefficient, Permeability, Over consolidation ratio, Compression, Inde

Chronic Undernutrition and Associated Factors among School Age Children in South West Ethiopia, 2015

Background: Undernutrition remains to be a primary cause of morbidity and mortality among children in developing countries. School-age children are among the most commonly affected groups by chronic undernutrition. In Ethiopia, little is known about the magnitude of undernutrition in this older children, studies conducted in Addis Ababa indicated 31% of school age children were undernourished. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the magnitude of chronic undernutrition and identify the major factors associated with it that will guide a good intervention approach to halt the problem. Methods: A school based cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 376 school children at Aman Sub town, south-west Ethiopia. Simple random sampling technique was applied to select schools and participants. Structured and pretested questionnaire was used to assess Sociodemographic and other variables. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.0. For nutritional indices WHO Anthro plus was used. Results: Two-fifth (40.2%) and almost one-third (28.2%) of children were stunted and underweight respectively. Older age groups (10-14), boys, having illiterate and employed mothers, maternal age of < 20 years during birth, lower monthly income (<50USD), large family size (>8) and rural resident were associated with an increase in the odds of stunting. Likewise, occupation of the mother, meal frequency, family size, monthly income and presence of chronic diseases were significantly associated with underweight in children.Conclusion and Recommendation: chronic undernutrition in the form of stunting and underweight is prevalent among school age children living in south west Ethiopia. Therefore, improving school feeding programme and provisions of health education regarding child nutrition should be considered. Keywords: chronic, undernutrition, factors, school age, children, Ethiopi