Livestock Production Challenges and Improved Forage Production Efforts in the Damot Gale District of Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

This study was conducted to identify major livestock production constraints and improved forage production efforts in the Damot Gale district. Four representative kebeles, two associated with our NGO project and two from nonproject outreach activities, were selected. Forty farmers from each kebele were randomly chosen for the purpose of individual interviews using a semistructured questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS (version 20) and Excel. The topmost livestock production constraint was feed shortage where a larger proportion of farmers (75.6%) suffered from the problem with higher ( p ≤ 0.01) severity in nonproject intervention areas. Of these, 38.6% were challenged for a period of three months while another 61.4% suffered for about four months. Purchasing grass (31.4%) and concentrate (33.5%) and feeding enset (Ensete ventricosum) leaf (21.49%) were the most commonly adopted coping mechanisms to alleviate feed shortages during the dry season, while using purchased grass and enset leaf was the main coping strategy in nonproject intervention ( p ≤ 0.01) areas. The majority of households (90.75%) participate in improved forage production regardless of farm size. Desho grass (Pennisetum pedicellatum) (71.38%) and elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) (42.63%) are the most common improved forages in both study areas. These forages are produced for the purpose of two or more functions (feed, cash, and preventing erosion) that vary ( p ≤ 0.01) among intervention status. Major niche locations adopted for improved forage production include farm land, soil and water conservation structures, and perimeter fencing. Greatest constraints on improved forage production were seed/material shortage followed by land shortage and lack of awareness. Project intervention ( p ≤ 0.01), tropical livestock unit (TLU) holding ( p ≤ 0.01), and forage seed/planting material access ( p < 0.05) were identified as factors (among others) having significant relationship with improved forage development. Strong extension services and efficient input delivery for farmers are vital to support profitable livestock production and resource utilization.

Measurement of intragastric pressure: an objective method to ascertain whether gastric wall extension is sufficient for assessment of the non-extension sign

Background and study aims The optimal intragastric pressure (IP) for strong gastric wall extension is unclear. We aimed to develop an accurate method to measure IP using endoscopy and determine the pressure required for strong gastric wall extension. Methods An in vitro experiment using an endoscope with a rubber attached at its tip was conducted. The process of inserting the pressure measurement probe into the forceps channel was skipped, and the tube of the pressure measurement device was directly connected to the forceps channel. In vivo, the pressure in 51 consecutive patients at the time of strong gastric wall extension was measured. Strong extension of the gastric wall was defined as when the folds in the greater curvature were flattened as a result of sufficient extension of the gastric wall by insufflated air during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The IP at that time was measured. Results In vitro, 20 mL of tap water was injected once into the forceps channel and then aspirated for 10 seconds. Pressure measurement after irrigation of the forceps channel as well as the measurement by inserting the probe procedure were accurately performed. In vivo, among the 51 included patients, the mean IP (range) was 14.7 mmHg (10–23). Strong extension of the gastric wall was obtained in 96.1 % of patients when the IP was 20 mmHg. Conclusions We developed an accurate method to measure IP using upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Strong extension of the gastric wall was obtained in almost all patients when the IP was 20 mmHg.

Extension of the Stoney Equation for a Taiko Wafer (Si and SiC)

An extension of the Stoney formula for the case of a back side metallized 8&rdquo; silicon taiko wafer has been developed, in the elastic regime, within the frame of the theory of elasticity. A good correlation between the calculated warpage, determined by the stress released by a given back side metallization (BSM), and the corresponding experimental warpages of the same thick metal layers deposited on an 8&rdquo; silicon taiko wafer provides evidences of the correctness of the developed theory. This development suggests the possibility to extend this approach to the case of 8&rdquo; taiko wafers based on a wide band gap semiconductor such as silicon carbide (SiC).

Improved forage production practice and challenges in Libokemkem District, Ethiopia

Cross sectional study was conducted with the objective of assessing improved forage production practice and challenges faced by farmers. Both random and purposive sampling techniques were used to select respondents in the district. The collected data were analyzed using statistical package for social science version 16. The major feed resource in the dry season was crop residue (Index value = 0.312) and natural pasture in wet season (Idex value=0.392). Majority of the households (55.6%) were not cultivating improved forage and the most frequently cultivated improved forages were elephant grass (Index value 0.211), rhodes grass (Index value 0.163), and dasho grass (index value 0.155). Shortage of land, lack of input, lack of awareness, and poor extension service were the challenges faced by farmers in their descending order of importance. From this result it can be concluded that improved forage production practice is poor and strong extension service delivery is recommended.

Effect of Notching, 6-Benzyladenine, and 6-Benzyladenine plus Gibberellin A4 + A7 on Budbreak and Shoot Development from Paradormant Buds on the Leader of Young Apple Trees

Notching is a technique to stimulate shoot growth from paradormant buds with the long-term objective of increasing the cropping potential of fruit trees by developing new fruiting scaffolds. Notching is not commonly practiced by apple (Malus ×domestica) growers in the southeastern United States because results can be inconsistent; notched buds frequently develop into weak spurs producing a few leaves rather than strong extension shoot growth. Therefore, a study was initiated to investigate the potential of 6-benzyladenine (6-BA) to enhance the shoot growth response from notched buds on 2- or 3-year-old wood. Notching paradormant buds on the leader of young ‘Granny Smith’/‘M.26 EMLA’ (‘M.26’) trees at the pink bud stage resulted in new growth developing on 59% of notched buds; however, fewer than 4% of these extended beyond 1.0 cm in length. Spray application of a solution of 1.5 g·L−1 6-BA into the notch increased budbreak to 95% and the proportion of new growth that developed into shoots to 89%, with a mean new shoot length of 7.9 cm. In a timing study on ‘Granny Smith’/‘M.26’, the optimum budbreak and shoot growth responses to notching plus 6-BA treatment were observed between budbreak and 2 weeks after budbreak. Notching paradormant buds on the leader of ‘Fuji’/‘M.9 T337’ (‘M.9’) trees increased budbreak, with 83% of the new growth developing into extension shoots. Spray application of 0.75 g·L−1 6-BA into the notch did not increase budbreak or extension growth of ‘Fuji’/‘M.9’ compared with notching alone. Spray application of a solution of 6-BA directly into a notch made above a paradormant bud may greatly enhance budbreak and shoot extension responses in cultivars or situations where a poor response to notching alone is expected.

The opisthotonic posture of vertebrate skeletons: postmortem contraction or death throes?

An extreme, dorsally hyperextended posture of the spine (opisthotonus), characterized by the skull and neck recurved over the back, and with strong extension of the tail, is observed in many well-preserved, articulated amniote skeletons (birds and other dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and at least placental mammals). Postmortem water transport may explain some cases of spinal curvature in fossil tetrapods, but we show how these can be distinguished from causes of the opisthotonic posture, which is a biotic syndrome. Traditional biotic explanations nearly all involve postmortem causes, and have included rigor mortis, desiccation, and contraction of tendons and ligaments. However, examination of the process of rigor mortis and experimental observations of drying and salinity in carcasses of extant animals show that these explanations of the “dead bird” (opisthotonic) posture account for few or no cases. Differential contraction of cervical ligaments after death also does not produce the opisthotonic posture. It is not postmortem contraction but perimortem muscle spasms resulting from various afflictions of the central nervous system that cause these extreme postures. That is, the opisthotonic posture is the result of “death throes,” not postmortem processes, and individuals so afflicted assumed the posture before death, not afterward. The clinical literature has long recognized that such afflicted individuals perish from asphyxiation, lack of nourishment or essential nutrients, environmental toxins, or viral infections, among other causes. Accepting the actual causes of the opisthotonic posture as perimortem and not postmortem provides insights into the causes of death of fossilized specimens, and also revises interpretations of paleoenvironmental conditions of many fossil deposits. The opisthotonic posture tells us more about the circumstances surrounding death than about what happened after death. Finally, the opisthotonic posture appears to have a phylogenetic signal: it is so far reported entirely in ornithodiran archosaurs (dinosaurs and pterosaurs) and in crown-group placentals, though the distribution in mammals may expand with further study. It seems important that the opisthotonic posture has been observed extensively only in clades of animals that are known or thought to have high basal metabolic rates: hypoxia and related diseases would be most likely to affect animals with high oxygen use rates.

REGULARITY CONSTANTS OF THE STOKES PROBLEM: APPLICATION TO FINITE-ELEMENT METHODS ON CURVED DOMAINS

For bounded smooth domains, we study how the solution of the Stokes problem is bounded in terms of the data when the domain changes. We show that standard bounds for a fixed domain hold with the same constant for wide classes of domains. This is done by first reviewing the original results of Cattabriga and then, in terms of geometric properties of the domains, by specifying when to apply Cattabriga's intermediate results. We do the same with standard strong extension and trace theorems. We apply these results to an elegant technique of analysis due to Wahlbin to overcome the disparity between a curved domain and the domains where finite-element computations are carried out in practice without resorting to numerical quadrature.