1,720,960 research outputs found
Multiple mycotoxins associated with maize (Zea mays L.) grains harvested from subsistence farmers’ fields in southwestern Ethiopia
No full textDevelopment of a photovoltaic driven ventilation system to modified traditional Ethiopian gombisa for on-cobs-maize drying
Full text linkMycotoxin-producing fungal growth commonly reported from traditional maize storage system in southwestern Ethiopia. Un-safe moisture content at loading and non-climatically controlled nature of gombisa results in mycoflora growth and development on maize in storage system. Therefore, this paper was aimed to develop a photovoltaic driven ventilation system fitted to modified gomibsa for natural air in-bin drying of on-cobs-maize and increase the shelf life of the product. Modified gombisa was constructed from locally available materials for the current experiment. An appropriate fan type and size, humidistat set at >70% and two 20 Wp photovoltaic panels were used for ventilation purpose, fan control and power the fan, respectively. In total 1.76 m3 of on-cobs-maize with an average moisture content of 22% was used in this study. Solar irradiance, photovoltaic array, current, air velocity and; both temperature and relative humidity inside the storage system and ambient condition data collected for both experiments. Computational fluid dynamics simulation results showed the uniformity of the air velocity rapidly after certain distances above the plenum chamber. The trend of temperature revealed high variability and fluctuation for ambient compared with inside the store. A similar result was observed for the relative humidity during both experiments. Throughout fan operating hours, inlet temperatures significantly higher by 7.8oC and 7.2oC than outlet temperatures for the first and second experiment, respectively. However, outlet relative humidity was higher by an average value of 22.9% and 15.1% compared to inlet relative humidity for the first and second experiments, with the respective order. Hourly average of energy output for the selected day was 658 Wm-2. Ventilation of on-cobs-maize for 10-12 days resulted in a reduction of moisture content to almost 14 (db). Solar irradiance data obtained from Jimma area, Ethiopia showed better energy output compared to the current experiment, demonstrating a possibility to apply ventilation and drying system to the tropical region. Generally, storing maize inside modified gombisa plays a role in protecting the stored product from outside weather conditions. Also, monitored temperature, relative humidity, and energy output showed the system was able to reduce to safe moisture content for storage without mould development. This promising research result needs to be tested and validated in tropical regions of the world
Development of Maize Post-harvest Loss Reduction Mechanism Owing to Mycotoxin-producing Fungi Contamination Along Agro-ecology and Supply Chain in Southwestern Ethiopia
Full text linkA modification of a traditional Ethiopian maize store for solar powered ambient drying to reduce post-harvest losses
Full text linkGefördert durch den Publikationsfonds der Universität Kasse
Gendering post-harvest loss research: responsibilities of women and men to manage maize after harvest in southwestern Ethiopia
Full text linkGefördert im Rahmen des Projekts DEALThrough an initiative for research on the Global Food Supply (GlobE) by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in cooperation with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) for the project: Reduction of Post-Harvest Losses and Value Addition in East African Food Value Chains (RELOAD) (Grant Number 031A247D
Gendering post-harvest loss research: responsibilities of women and men to manage maize after harvest in southwestern Ethiopia
No full textPost-harvest losses are a significant problem worldwide, leading to a waste of resources when they are becoming scarcer. Rather than putting more energy into increasing production volume, addressing post-harvest losses can increase food availability without increasing yields. Using maize in Ethiopia to introduce gendering post-harvest loss research, we analyze the gendered division of labor in post-harvest management and then discuss implications. The study was conducted from 2014–2015 in southwestern Ethiopia as part of a broader research project from 2013–2018. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 208 male and female farmer heads of household. Our results show that although maize post-harvest activities are deemed to be the responsibility of women, the overall management of maize after harvest requires the cooperation of all household members. For example, both women and men contribute to time-sensitive harvest, packing and de-husking activities. Men tend to have the responsibility for ensuring that maize is stored well. Critically, women tend to sell small quantities of maize to pay for everyday household expenses including purchasing other foods to diversify diets. Often recommendations in literature to reduce maize post-harvest losses include building processing centers and formalizing the supply chain. However, as shown in this research, women's role to decide which maize to consume in the home and which to sell is important for access to quality food. Without gendering post-harvest loss research, it is possible that gender harms are enacted when women's livelihoods are impacted in the process of reducing post-harvest losses, and this may compromise food security
Community congruence between macroinvertebrates and wetland dependent birds in natural wetlands of southwest Ethiopia
No full textAssessment and monitoring of biodiversity is critical for conservation planning. Considering the cost and time associated to monitoring, selecting proper bio-indicators is important, particularly in countries where financial resources are limited. The objectives of this study were to investigate community congruence of macroinvertebrates and wetland birds in natural wetlands of southwest Ethiopia, exposed to different levels of human disturbance and to identify important environmental variables related to these bio-indicators. Data on macroinvertebrates, birds, physico-chemical water quality, human disturbance and vegetation cover were collected from 54 sampling sites distributed over 12 wetlands during dry and wet season of 2015. Procrustes analysis was used to quantify community congruence between the two assemblages across different disturbance levels. The congruence of macroinvertebrates and wetland dependent birds was higher for low disturbed wetlands (R2 = 0.60) than for moderately disturbed wetlands (R2 = 0.31). Moderately disturbed wetlands showed no significant congruence between macroinvertebrates and wetland birds and between wetland dependent and wetland associated birds. A significant and positive relation between richness of macroinvertebrates and wetland dependent birds was observed when the full data set was used, whereas no significant relation was observed when the data was split according to the different levels of human disturbance. Vegetation cover, dissolved oxygen, water depth, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and conductivity were significantly correlated with both macroinvertebrate and wetland bird occurrence. Based on our study we suggest to monitor both bio-indicators as they provide important complementary information on the status of the wetlands
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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