Simple and low-cost drip irrigation system: An alternative approach to raise household farm productivity

Drip irrigationIrrigation designCrop production

Nutritional composition of food plants of geladas (Theropithecus gelada) in Guassa Community Protected Area, Ethiopia

Understanding the nutritional needs of geladas is a key to determine the species ecology, as adequate nutrition is a prerequisite for successful reproduction. Chemical analysis method was used for the study, and major food items which were dominantly forage by geladas in both wet and dry seasons were selected for the analysis. The result showed that there is a less diversity and abundance of food items of gelada in the study area. A total of 13 food plants of eighteen identified species eaten by the geladas in both wet and dry seasons were used for chemical analysis. These food plant species include Ranunculus multifidus, Cotula cryptocephala, Haplocarpha schimperi, Alchemilla abyssinica, Agro charis melonata, Cupressus lusitanica, Eremurus robustus,  Adenostemma  caffrum, Malva  verticillata, Galium  asparinoides, Festuca  macrophyla, Sonchus  oleraceus and Rubus  apetalus. With regard to the result of nutritive value of the preferred food plants, the highest percentages of crude protein content (27.14 %), crude fiber (48.75%), fat content (4.9%), ash (23.1%), dry matter (91.06 %) and neutral detergent fiber (45.23 %) are found in Malva verticillata, Haplocarpha schimperi, Ranunculus multifidus, Cotula cryptocephala, Sonchus oleraceus and Haplocarpha schimperi, respectively. In the study area, geladas’ food appeared to have less water and high dry matter content. This showed that water scarcity is not a serious issue in the study area for geladas’. Keywords: Feeding behaviour, food items, gelada, Guassa, nutritive valu

Carcass Yield and Quality of Pork from Pigs Fed Graded Levels of Fig (Ficus sur) Fruits Mixed with Maize Grain

Twenty growing Yorkshire piglets of 27.8±1.4kg (mean ± SD) average initial weight were used to investigate the effect of feeding different proportions of ground Ficus sur fruits (FSF) mixed with ground maize grain (MG) on carcass yield and quality attributes. The experiment was conducted in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with four treatments and five replications per treatment. The treatment diets were: 100% FSF and 0%MG represented as (100FSF), 67% FSF and 33% MG (67FSF), 33% FSF and 67% MG (33FSF) and 0% FSF and 100% MG (0FSF). For all treatments protein supplement (NSC+SBM) was given to provide about 18% CP to make the ration isonitrogenous. Except for the slaughter weight, which significantly (P<0.05) increased with increase in MG level in the diets, all other carcass measurements and primal cuts did not differ (P>0.05) among the treatments. However, lungs (P=0.012) and gastro intestinal tract (GIT) (P=0.001) among the viscera organs were varied. None of the quality attributes of the pork significantly differed (P>0.05) in color, taste, flavor, juiciness, tenderness and texture among the treatments. This indicates that similar quality pork can be produced by feeding FSF as those fed with MG. It is, therefore, concluded that substitution of MG with FSFs in the diets of pigs can result in comparable carcass yield and quality attributes

Rapid Assessment as an Evaluation Tool for Polio National Immunisation Days in Brong Ahafo Region, Ghana

Background: Despite reported high coverage of National Immunization Days (NIDs) campaign in many countries children are still being missed during these campaigns. This is a study of a rapid assessment done to determine OPV coverage during an immunization campaign. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, regional supervisors in Brong Ahafo region of Ghana visited randomly selected houses during the first round of the Polio NIDs in October 2004 to identify under-5 children that were reached with OPV vaccines in the households and those missed during the campaign. Results: In the 13 districts a 1607 houses visited by regional supervisors for rapid assessment, volunteers did not visit 4 (0.24%) houses. There were 3737 under five in all the houses visited by the supervisors for rapid assessment out which 42 (1.2%) were missed and unvaccinated and the reason was that the children were not at home. The assessment showed that the main sources of information to mothers / caretakers on NIDs were Gong-gong and radio. The assessment provided opportunities to identify proportion of children missed and ensure necessary intervention to reach them. Conclusion: Rapid assessment is a valuable tool for evaluation of NIDs; it enables timely intervention in covering missed children and helps in careful interpretation of the usual over 100% coverage often recorded during NIDs. It is recommended that this be practiced widely to improve quality of NIDs for early global eradication of poliomyelitis.Contexte : Malgr\ue9 la haute couverte rapport\ue9e lors des campagnes nationales d'immunisation, dans plusieurs pays des enfants sont toujours rat\ue9s par ces campagnes. Nous proposons une estimation rapide de la couverture durant une campagne d'immunisation. M\ue9thodes : Dans cette \ue9tude descriptive sur un \ue9chantillon repr\ue9sentatif, des maisons choisies au hasard ont \ue9t\ue9 visit\ue9 par les superviseurs r\ue9gionaux de la r\ue9gion de Brong Ahafo, Ghana lors du premier passage des journ\ue9es nationales d'immunisation contre la Polio en Octobre 2004. Il s'agissait d'identifier les enfants de moins de 5 ans ayant re\ue7u le vaccin dans ces maisons et d'identifier ceux qui n'ont pas \ue9t\ue9 vaccin\ue9s dans cette campagne. R\ue9sultats : Dans 13 districts, un total de 1607 maisons visit\ue9es par les superviseurs r\ue9gionaux, pour estimation rapide. Quatre maisons (0,24%) n'avaient pas \ue9t\ue9 visit\ue9es par les volontaires. Il y'avaient 3737 enfants de moins de 5 ans dans l'ensemble des maisons visit\ue9es par les superviseurs, parmi eux 42 (1,2%) n'avaient pas \ue9t\ue9 vaccin\ue9s et la raison \ue9taient que ces enfants \ue9taient absents de la maison. L'\ue9valuation avait montr\ue9 que les principales sources d'information des mamans/gardiens lors des journ\ue9es nationales d'immunisation \ue9taient les Gong-gong et la radio. L'estimation avait donn\ue9 des opportunit\ue9s pour la d\ue9termination de la proportion d'enfants non vaccin\ue9s et des interventions \ue0 faire afin d'atteindre ces enfants. Conclusion : L'estimation rapide est un instrument important pour l'\ue9valuation des journ\ue9es nationales d'immunisation, elle permet des interventions opportunes pour couvrir les enfants manqu\ue9s. Elle permet aussi de faire une interpr\ue9tation prudente du taux de couverture de 100% habituellement rapport\ue9 durant ces journ\ue9es nationales d'immunisation. Il est recommand\ue9 de vulgariser cette v\ue9rification afin d'am\ue9liorer la qualit\ue9 de ces journ\ue9es nationales d'immunisation pour une \ue9radication globale de la poliomy\ue9lite

Electrolytes and Interphases in Sodium-Based Rechargeable Batteries: Recent Advances and Perspectives

For sodium (Na)-rechargeable batteries to compete, and go beyond the currently prevailing Li-ion technologies, mastering the chemistry and accompanying phenomena is of supreme importance. Among the crucial components of the battery system, the electrolyte, which bridges the highly polarized positive and negative electrode materials, is arguably the most critical and indispensable of all. The electrolyte dictates the interfacial chemistry of the battery and the overall performance, having an influence over the practical capacity, rate capability (power), chemical/thermal stress (safety), and lifetime. In-depth knowledge of electrolyte properties provides invaluable information to improve the design, assembly, and operation of the battery. Thus, the full-scale appraisal of both tailored electrolytes and the concomitant interphases generated at the electrodes need to be prioritized. The deployment of large-format Na-based rechargeable batteries also necessitates systematic evaluation and detailed appraisal of the safety-related hazards of Na-based batteries. Hence, this review presents a comprehensive account of the progress, status, and prospect of various Na+-ion electrolytes, including solvents, salts and additives, their interphases and potential hazards

Measuring Hidden Support for Physical Intimate Partner Violence: A List Randomization Experiment in South-Central Ethiopia

Understanding how and why physical intimate partner violence (IPV) persists in high-risk communities has proven difficult. As IPV is both sensitive and illegal, people may be inclined to misreport their views and experiences. By embedding a list randomization experiment (LRE), which increases respondent privacy, in a survey of 809 adult Arsi Oromo men and women in rural south-central Ethiopia, we test the reliability of direct questioning survey methods (e.g., used in the Demographic and Health Surveys) for measuring attitudes that underpin the acceptability of IPV. Participants were randomly assigned versions of the survey in which they were asked either directly or indirectly about the acceptability of wife-beating. By comparing responses across these surveys, we identify the extent to which views are being misreported using direct questioning methods, as well as identifying the "true" predictors of continued support for wife-beating. Indirect questioning reveals that almost one third of the sample believe that wife-beating is acceptable. Adults (particularly men) who are less educated (50% endorsement). These individuals, however, are also more inclined to hide their approval when asked directly by an interviewer. That we find high but underreported support for wife-beating among some members of the community demonstrates a clear need to encourage a more open dialogue, to prevent violence toward women remaining undetected and thus unchanged. This finding also raises questions about the accuracy of traditional direct questioning for capturing information on IPV attitudes and norms. Of relevance to policy, we find that wife-beating is entirely absent only among adults with higher levels of education, living in households where decision making is shared between couples.Wellcome Trust Seed AwardMinisterio de Educación, Cultura y Deport

Anthropogenic forcing increases the water-use efficiency of African trees

Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations affect climate directly through radiative effects and indirectly by changing plant water-use efficiency. Under global warming scenarios these widely reported changes will have a substantial impact on future bush encroachment, crop yields, river flow and climate feedbacks. Tree-ring intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) records for Africa show a 24.6% increase over the 20th century. As high iWUE can partly counterbalance projected decreases in regional precipitation, this research has important implications for those involved in water resource management and highlights the need for climate models to take physiological forcing into account.National Geographic Society - Science and Exploration Europe (grant GEFNE80-13), the Royal Geographical Society, the Quaternary Research Association, the Palaeo-Anthropological Scientific Trust, the National Research Foundation, SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training (START) and the Climate Change Consortium of Wales.http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-14172017-05-31hb2016Mammal Research Institut

The fidelity and dose of message delivery on infant and young child feeding practice and nutrition sensitive agriculture in Ethiopia: a qualitative study from the Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction in Ethiopia (SURE) programme.

BACKGROUND: In Ethiopia, 38% of children under 5 years of age are stunted (low height for age). A novel government-led intervention called the Sustainable Undernutrition Reduction in Ethiopia (SURE) aims to tackle the burden of stunting by improving complementary feeding and dietary diversity among young children. The SURE programme design applies a transtheoretical model of behaviour change, whereby exposure to recommended infant and young child feeding (IYCF) and nutrition-sensitive agriculture messages is a first stage to adopting key behaviours. This qualitative study explored the fidelity and dose of the IYCF and nutrition-sensitive agriculture messages delivered by extension workers. METHODS: A qualitative study was conducted across four regions in Ethiopia (Oromiya, Amhara, SNNP and Tigray) between April and October 2017. Across the four regions, 81 key informant interviews, 90 FGDs and 81 observations were conducted with 180 extension workers, 18 development agents and 54 mother-father pairs. Digitally recorded audio files were transcribed verbatim, and the data were analysed based on a framework analysis approach using NVivo (version 12) by coding and categorising texts into major themes and sub-themes. RESULTS: SURE target households had the intended exposure to messages about exclusive breastfeeding, timing of initiation of complementary feeding, food groups, diversified food consumption, irrigation, rearing small animals and vegetables. Few households reported receiving messages on the content or frequency of complementary feeding of a child beyond 6 months of age. Frequency of household visits and hence exposure to SURE messages was also variable. Agricultural messages delivered during household visits focussed on improving standard agricultural practices and rarely covered the importance of nutrition-sensitive agriculture to improve household or child nutrition. CONCLUSION: Despite variability observed in the breadth and depth of messages delivered, large-scale behaviour change communication programmes can achieve moderate to good message exposure among target groups. Qualitative data provide an in-depth insight into fidelity and may supplement our understanding of programme roll-out and implementation. Further research is required to understand longer-term message saturation including frequency and reach

A comparison of MITS counseling and informed consent processes in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Ethiopia

Globally, more than 5 million stillbirths and neonatal deaths occur annually. For many, the cause of death (CoD) is unknown. Minimally invasive tissue sampling (MITS) has been increasingly used in postmortem examinations for ascertaining the CoD in stillbirths and neonates. Our study compared the counseling and consent methods used in MITS projects in five countries in Africa and south Asia. Key informant interviews were conducted with researchers to describe the characteristics and backgrounds of counselors, the environment and timing of consent and perceived facilitators and barriers encountered during the consent process. Counselors at all sites had backgrounds in social science, psychology and counseling or clinical expertise in obstetrics/gynecology or pediatrics. All counsellors received training about techniques for building rapport and offering emotional support to families; training duration and methods differed across sites. Counselling environments varied significantly; some sites allocated a separate room, others counselled families at the bedside or nursing stations. All counsellors had a central role in explaining the MITS procedure to families in their local languages. Most sites did not use visual aids during the process, relying solely on verbal descriptions. In most sites, parents were approached within one hour of death. The time needed for decision making by families varied from a few minutes to 24 h. In most sites, extended family took part in the decision making. Because many parents wanted burial as soon as possible, counsellors ensured that MITS would be conducted promptly after receiving consent. Barriers to consent included decreased comprehension of information due to the emotional and psychological impact of grief. Moreover, having more family members engaged in decision-making increased the complexity of counselling and achieving consensus to consent for the procedure. While each site adapted their approach to fit the context, consistencies and similarities across sites were observed