Review on Bioactive Peptides in Milk and Dairy Products, and Their Health Benefits

Bioactive peptides (BAPs) are defined as peptides with hormone or drug like activity that bind to specific receptors leading to induction of physiological responses. The objective of this seminar is to summarize literature reports on the bioactive peptides in milk and dairy products, and their health-benefits on human body. Milk and milk products are important source of bioactive peptides. The bioactive peptides in milk are encrypted in the structure of the parent proteins; therefore it requires enzymatic hydrolysis or food processing to make them active. Different BAPs released from milk protein have different physiological functions which improve the problem of different chronic diseases. Keywords: Milk protein, Bioactive peptides, Generating methods, Health benefits DOI: 10.7176/FSQM/118-02 Publication date:August 31st 202

On the design and implementation of environmental conservation mechanisms:Evidence from field experiments

This doctoral dissertation consists of three chapters on the design and implementation of environmental conservation mechanisms using economic experiments. The first chapter examines how variations in information and context affect the outcomes of valuation using field experiment. The chapter shows the evidence that people’s contributions increase significantly and substantially if attention is drawn to their own responsibility in the deforestation and desertification process, suggesting, the ‘responsibility effect’ is important in the valuation-an extension of the previous examination on the role of behavior in valuation. The second chapter revisits Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) and the determination of the optimal price by comparing the performance of Uniform Price Auctions (UPA) and Take-it-or-leave (TILI) mechanism. Using both laboratory and field experiments it is found that given the same level of price, the sign-up rate to a PES project differs between the two mechanisms. More subjects are willing to sign-up in TILI than was predicted in UPA. The findings also suggest that this disparity can be explained by the hypothesis of more deliberate decision making in UPA than TILI. The third chapter examines how trust and trustworthiness evolve in the community (engaged in public good provision) to predict the sustainability of common good conservation. The chapter deals with trust and trustworthiness, as important social norms, between the cooperators and non- cooperator in common good provision. The findings of the chapter support the hypothesis that higher trust is placed on the cooperators than non-cooperators with payoff consequences-contrary to standard economic prediction. The cooperator type receives more money, but sends and returns less to non-cooperators which allow the cooperator type to receive a consistently higher payoff- which was predicted by the Ostrom’s theory of collective actions

The impact of foreign aid on economic growth of Ethiopia

Poor countries including Ethiopia need successful transformations that lead them to targeted economic growth which in turn improves the living standard of their people. But under the scenario of visible resource gap notably low domestic saving that does not satisfy the increase in investment demand the targeted growth cannot be simply achieved. Thus, to fill the resource gap the problem calls for the country to lookup for and depend on external assistance from developed countries. However, there has been a great debate on the contribution offoreign aidfor economic growth since the long years channeling of resources to this country. Therefore, the main nidus of this study is to examine the impact offoreign aid on economic growth of Ethiopia using multivariate co integration analysis over the period of 1969/70 to 2010/11. The result of co integration test, using Johansen cointegration approach, indicates the existence of long run relationship among the variables entered the specified growth model. The estimated short run model comments that the current and past level of aid inflow entered alone has a negative impact on economic growth. Similarly, current level of aid interacted with policy has also negative effect on economic growth. However, in the long run foreign aid inflow entered alone has a negative and significant impact on economic growth. Whereas, aid interacted with policy appears to have a positive contribution to economic growth of Ethiopia in the long run. Thus, the results of the study calls for better focus on internal factors specifically investment on human capital (labor force) and domestic investment arising from domestic saving to foster economic growth than external one which can be uncertain even when donor countries face long recession. In addition, the study also found that aid remains as a key tool of enhancing the economic growth of Ethiopia if and only if assisted by favorable macroeconomic environments (i.e., good monetary, fiscal and trade policies). viiiJimma Universit

Oromo Oral Pun (Miliqqee): Confusion with Oromo Idiom (Jechama) focusing on Yadate's Miliqqee part of 'Qorii Qorsaa', western Oromia, Ethiopia

Puns are language arts that globally got broad attention, but in Oromo language, the researcher has found some mere collections of puns in confusion with idiom. The purpose of this study was to identify the general problems, confusion between Oromo pun and Oromo idiom, and to investigate factors for Yadate's confusion based on miliqqee part of Yadate's "Qorii Qorsaa". The nature of the study was of a qualitative and quantitative type and the data were analysed by describing the existing qualities of the puns on theoretical basis. The tools used were content analysis, questionnaire and interview. The result shows that idiomatic meanings have been used as puns, was confusion of puns with idioms. As to the analysis, the confusion occurred mainly due to lack of awareness on the nature of puns and idiom and to some extent by fixedness and using concept from cross-cultural communication. Some of the recommendations for solution are: encouraging researches and availing publications on miliqqee, and including them in Oromo language curricula beginning from lower grades. Keywords: Confusion Concealing Items Oromo Oral Pun Literal Meaning Idiomatic Meanin

Mixed grazing of sheep and cattle using continuous or rotational stocking

Two consecutive experiments were conducted to test a hypothesis that mixed grazing outcome is influenced by the type of stocking system applied. The objective of both experiments was to investigate the influence of co-grazing with sheep on cattle liveweight gain (LWG) under continuous (C) and rotational (R) stocking, where sheep weekly liveweight change under the two stocking systems was kept similar. In experiment I nine yearling heifers (266 ± 4.5 kg liveweight) and 27 ewe hoggets (54±0.9 kg liveweight) were continuously stocked for 19 weeks on an irrigated perennial ryegrass-white clover pasture (2.95 ha) maintained at a sward surface height (SSH) of 5cm by adding or removing additional animals in a fixed ratio (1: 1 W⁰.⁷⁵ cattle:sheep). An equal area of pasture was rotationally stocked by a similar group of animals where they received a new area of pasture daily and also had access to the grazed area over the previous 2 days. The size of the new area provided daily was such that the weekly liveweight change of rotationally co-grazed sheep was equal to that of those continuously co-grazed with cattle. Similar groups of animals were used in the second experiment with additional group of 9 heifers grazed alone on C and R pastures. Liveweight of animals was recorded weekly and final fasted weight was determined after 24-hour total feed restriction. SSH on both treatment swards was recorded daily. There were three intake measurement periods spread over the trial period. Organic matter intake (OMI) was predicted from the ratio of N-alkanes in faeces and herbage. Diet composition was determined by dissecting oesophageal extrusa samples. Grazing behaviour (bite rates and grazing time) were also recorded. The mean SSH for C pasture was 5.1±0.09 cm. Overall pre- and post-grazing SSH for R pasture was 15.9 ±0.12 and 5.6 ±0.07 cm, respectively. As determined by the protocol average daily LWG of sheep was similar between C and R (147 (±5.8) vs 138 (±6.7) g day⁻¹; (P>0.05). In contrast, cattle continuously stocked with sheep grew 200 g day⁻¹ slower than those rotationally stocked with sheep (800 (±41.6) vs 1040 (±47.7) g day⁻¹, P<0.0l). R heifers achieved 30 kg higher final fasted liveweight than C heifers (350 vs 381 kg; P<0.01). Overall LWG per ha was also 6 % higher under R than C stocking (674 vs 634 kg ha⁻¹). The OMD of both sheep (73.5 vs 75.8 %) and cattle (75.8 vs 78.0 %) diets was similar under continuous and rotational stocking. There was no significant difference OMI data also concurred with the L WG data (Cattle: 7.94 vs 6.31 (±0.32) kg day⁻¹ (P<0.05); sheep: 1.40 vs 1.44 (±0.04) kg day⁻¹ for Rand C treatments, respectively). There was no difference in clover content of cattle diet under C and R treatments. C heifers had higher number of bites per minute than R heifers (62 vs 56; P<0.05). Proportion of heifers seen grazing (every 15-minute) during four 24-hour observations was greater on C than R pasture (0.44 vs 0.31 (±0.03); P<0.05). The similarity coefficient between sheep and cattle diet was 0.61 and 0.76 under C and R stocking, respectively. The lower daily LWG of C heifers was attributed to (a) the lower SSH under C than R stocking and/or (b) the inability of cattle to compete well with sheep where there is small, continual renewal of resources (C) in contrast to a large periodic renewal under R stocking. This experiment showed that the outcome of mixed gruing can be influenced by the stocking system chosen. But it was not possible to apportion the difference in LWG of cattle between mixed grazing per se and the difference in mean grazed sward height (5.1 for C vs 10.8 cm for R). A second experiment was conducted to determine the relative performance of cattle co-grazed with sheep (CS) and grazed alone (CA) under each stocking system. Hence, there were four treatments. CA- continuous stocking (CA-C), CS- continuous stocking (CS-C), CA- rotational stocking (CAR) and CS- rotational stocking (CS-R). A total area of 4.42 ha was allocated to each stocking system. Under C stocking, 2.95 ha (2/3) was assigned to CS-C and 1.47 ha (1/3) to CA-C, and SSH on both treatments was kept at 4 cm by adding or removing extra animals. Under R stocking, CA-R and CS-R grazed side by side separated by an electric fence. They were given a fresh area daily, the size of which was varied such that the weekly LW change of R sheep was equal to that of the C sheep. CA-R received one-third of the new area though the size was adjusted regularly to achieve the same post-grazing SSH with CS-R. Measurements included: weekly liveweight change, OMI (two periods) and diet composition (using N-alkanes). The mean SSH of CA-C and CS-C swards was 4.27 and 4.26 (±0.02) cm, respectively. CA-R and CS-R swards had mean pre-grazing SSH of 14.9 and 15.2 (±0.08) cm and post-grazing heights of 4.87 and 4.82 cm (±0.03), respectively. The proportion of areas infrequently grazed was higher for CA-C than CS-C swards (0.22 vs 0.17, respectively). C and R sheep daily LWG: 155 (±0.6) and 147 (±0.7) g, and OMI: 1.96 and 2.04 (±0.ll) kg, respectively, were not significantly different. They also had similar diet composition. In comparison, CS-C heifers grew only at 69 % of the daily LWG achieved by CS-R heifers (706 vs 1028 (±72) g; P0.05). Differences in OMI followed a similar pattern to daily LWG. Mean daily OMI was 8.98, 6.24, 8.80 and 9.45 (±0.40) kg for CA-C, CS-C, CA-R and CS-R, respectively. Clover content of the diet of CA-C heifers was three times higher than that of CS-C heifers (30.7 vs 10.4 % OM; P<0.05); there was no difference in clover content of diets of CS-R and CA-R heifers (21.5 vs 23.9 % OM, respectively). In both stocking systems LWG per ha was higher on CA than CS treatments. These results suggested that the disadvantage of selective clover grazing by sheep outweighed the advantages of sheep grazing around cattle dung patches under continuous stocking. Under rotational stocking, rapid diurnal changes in sward conditions probably limited selective grazing by both sheep and cattle such that there was no disadvantage to CS cattle. The results do not provide a basis for recommending grazing cattle with sheep rather than cattle alone, but do provide some basis for recommending co-grazing of sheep and cattle using rotational rather than continuous stocking

PRELIMINARY BASELINE SURVEY OF AVIFAUNAL DIVERSITY IN JIMMA ZONE, SOUTH-WESTERN ETHIOPIA

Multidimensional poverty, which is deeply-rooted within least-developed African countries like Ethiopia, is forcing local people to heavily rely on natural resources for their subsistent livelihoods. As a result, remaining wilderness areas in tropical Africa which support huge but little known biological diversity, are subject to extensive habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation in turn causing loss of plant and animal species and ecosystem services provided by them. Coffee forest fragment within the Jimma Zone of Ethiopia cannot be expected to be an exception to such scenario. Taking this persistent problem into consideration, we carried out a preliminary survey of bird biodiversity in selected areas of Jimma Zone during a short term bird ringing training held from Sept. 30 to Oct. 20, 2008. The main objective of the survey was to identify and document bird species of Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia, for further in-debth ornithological studies. Survey data were collected through exhaustive observations in and around 10 coffee forest fragments in Garuke, one fragment in Eladale, one urban area site in Jimma town and in scrubland vegetation around Gilgel Ghibe hydropower reservoir, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia. In addition, five mist-nets were employed to capture understory forest birds in two purposively selected coffee forest fragments. Mist nets were opened at 5:50 A.M. and checked every 30 minutes until they were closed at 12:00 A.M. Over 196 bird species were identified during this survey and of these, 41 individuals belonging to 20 species were captured in Garuke and 23 individuals of 9 bird species in Eladale. Montane white-eye (Zosterops poliogastrus) followed by Olive sunbird (Nectarinia olivacea), Abyssinian slaty-flycatcher (Melaenornis chocolatinus) and Rupell&#x2019;s robinchat (Cossypha semirufa) were the most frequently captured bird species. Of the sites surveyed, Gilgel Ghibe hydropower reservoir had strikingly highest bird species diversity. We approached the reservoir almost in a constant site near Bulbul Kebele (the smallest administrative unit in Ethiopia) and recorded over 115 bird species within about 300 meters distance! We learnt that this area was an important and most appropriate site to see a number of migrant and resident species as well as to undertake future bird ringing activities. We believe that the result of this survey will contribute much for the preparation of a comprehensive bird species checklist for Jimma Zone that could serve as important baseline information for more focused future ornithological investigations in the area so as to promote bird conservation through ecotourism activities and improve the livelihood of local people

Challenges in conserving forest ecosystems through coffee certification: a case study from southwestern Ethiopia

Certification schemes, aimed at simultaneously promoting ecologically sustainable agriculture and improving livelihood, are being utilized at a global scale. Among such certification schemes, the Rainforest Alliance is known as one of the most widely used environmental certification programs throughout the world. Previous studies have compared the ecological impacts of certified and non-certified farmlands, or evaluated the economic outcomes of certification. However, few studies have assessed the long-term impacts of the certification scheme. This paper attempts to analyze the long-term outcomes of the Rainforest Alliance certification program through a case study of coffee farming practices in southwestern Ethiopia. We conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with key informants who were deeply involved in the certification program, together with field observations and secondary data collection. The results of the assessment indicated that some areas of the certified coffee forests have been deforested or ecologically degraded and that the Rainforest Alliance program requirements were not uniformly applied. The possible causes include rapid population increase, government policies promoting intensive coffee production, presence of members who did not participate in the certification program, a lack of conservation incentives, and loopholes in the auditing process. To determine the overall success of the Rainforest Alliance certification program would require: monitoring of population growth rates and providing alternative livelihood opportunities, promoting collaboration between environmental and agricultural government authorities, conducting a more stringent on-site inspection, and to provide direct incentives for environmental conservation to all farmers living in or near the certified areas

Recent advances in Omega-3: Health benefits, sources, products and bioavailability

The joint symposium of The Omega-3 Centre and the Australasian Section American Oil Chemists Society; Recent Advances in Omega-3: Health Benefits, Sources, Products and Bioavailability, was held November 7, 2013 in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. Over 115 attendees received new information on a range of health benefits, aquaculture as a sustainable source of supply, and current and potential new and novel sources of these essential omega-3 long-chain (LC, ≥C20) polyunsaturated fatty acid nutrients (also termed LC omega-3). The theme of “Food versus Fuel” was an inspired way to present a vast array of emerging and ground breaking Omega-3 research that has application across many disciplines. Eleven papers submitted following from the Omega-3 Symposium are published in this Special Issue volume, with topics covered including: an update on the use of the Omega-3 Index (O3I), the effects of dosage and concurrent intake of vitamins/minerals on omega-3 incorporation into red blood cells, the possible use of the O3I as a measure of risk for adiposity, the need for and progress with new land plant sources of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6ω3), the current status of farmed Australian and New Zealand fish, and also supplements, in terms of their LC omega-3 and persistent organic pollutants (POP) content, progress with cheap carbon sources in the culture of DHA-producing single cell organisms, a detailed examination of the lipids of the New Zealand Greenshell mussel, and a pilot investigation of the purification of New Zealand hoki liver oil by short path distillation. The selection of papers in this Special Issue collectively highlights a range of forward looking and also new and including positive scientific outcomes occurring in the omega-3 field

Responses to oral glucose challenge differ by physical activity volume and intensity : a pilot study.

Background: One hour postprandial hyperglycaemia is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity has short-term beneficial effects on post-meal glucose response. This study compared the oral glucose tolerance test results of 3 groups of people with habitually different levels of physical activity. Methods: Thirty-one adults without diabetes (age 25.9 ± 6.6 years; body mass index 23.8 ± 3.8 kg.m-2) were recruited into 3 groups based on self-reported physical activity volume and intensity: Low Activity = < 30 min.day-1 of 'moderate' intensity activity (n = 11), Moderately Active = ≥ 30 min.day-1 of 'moderate' intensity physical activity (n = 10), and Very Active = ≥ 60 min.day-1 of 'intense' physical activity (n = 10). Participants completed an oral glucose tolerance test (50 g glucose) with capillary blood samples obtained at baseline, 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 minutes post-ingestion. Results: There were no significant differences between groups for age or percentage body fat or glycated haemoglobin (p> 0.05). The groups were significantly different in terms of baseline glucose, gender and BMI and this was accounted for in the analysis. There was a statistically significant effect of physical activity on the one hour postprandial glucose results (p=0.029), with differences between Very Active and Low Activity (p=0.008) groups but not between the Moderately Active and Low Activity groups (p=0.360), even when baseline glucose and gender differences were accounted for. For iAUC there was no significant effect of activity group once gender and bodyfat % had been accounted for. Those in the Low Activity group took an average 13.2 (95% CI: 2.8 – 23.5) minutes longer to reach peak glucose level than those in the Very Active group and this was significant (p=0.015). Conclusion: The results suggest that high levels of physical activity have a beneficial effect on postprandial blood glucose profiles when compared to low and moderate levels of activity

Effects of delayed feeding, sodium butyrate and glutamine on intestinal permeability in newly-hatched broiler chickens

The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of delayed feeding, and supplementation with sodium butyrate or glutamine in drinking water, on intestinal permeability (IP) in young broiler chickens. Newly-hatched male chickens (Ross 308) were allocated to four groups comprising Control, 24 h delayed fed (DF), DF supplemented with sodium butyrate (0.1%) in the drinking water and DF supplemented with glutamine (1%) in the drinking water. On days 2, 4 and 7, twelve birds per group were randomly selected, weighed and orally gavaged with fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran (FITC-d) at 2.2 mg / ml / chicken. Serum FITC-d concentration was analysed by spectrophotometry while serum diamine oxidase and D-lactic acid concentrations were analysed by microplate reader. FITC-d concentrations in the Control and DF groups were not statistically different on any day, suggesting that delayed feeding did not affect IP. Additionally, sodium butyrate increased IP compared to DF and Control on day 2 only (p