In search for an efficient means of building up the carbon stock, improving the fertility levels and aggregate stability of tropical soils for optimum crop yield, a field study was carried using different biochars and comparing the effects with inorganic fertilizer. The biochars were palm bunch biochar (PBB), saw dust biochar (SDM) and rice mill husk biochar (RMHB). Treatments consisted of 10 t/ha palm bunch biochar + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T1), 10 t/ha rice mill husk biochar + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T2), 10 t/ha saw dust biochar + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T3), 500kg/ha N.P.K 15:15:15 fertilizer + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T4) and plot without biochar + 0.25t/ha poultry manure (T5) (control plot). These were replicated five times on experimental plots of 4m2 in a randomized complete block design. Maize (Zea mays) was used as a test crop and data obtained were statistically analyzed using analysis of variance and correlation. Soils amended with biochars significantly improved soil pH, organic carbon, exchangeable bases and base saturation than non biochar fertilized soils. Saw dust biochar increased soil carbon stock by 95.1% against NPK fertilizer plots and control. There was 19% decrease in soil bulk density and 17% increase in soil pH with application of palm bunch biochar. Amending soils with palm bunch biochar increased soil organic carbon by 51.5%. The biochars increased the values of critical level of soil organic matter, modifies clay ratio and reduced the value of clay flocculation index more than NPK fertilized soils or control. Among the treatments, rice mill husk biochar recorded the highest maize cob weight though not significant with palm bunch biochar. Therefore, applying biochars on eroded soil is an effective measure of improving the stability, soil carbon stock as well as enhancing higher maize yield than inorganic fertilizer.

In Ethiopia livestock feed shortage and soil acidity are serious problems. In recent years sweet lupins (white and blue species) were introduced as multipurpose crops in the country. However, there is no information about their nodulation potential. This study was conducted to evaluate nodulation potential of these sweet lupins and their effect on nitrogen (N) and phosphorous (P) content of the soil. Seven lupin varieties were evaluated using factorial arrangement (seven varieties * two inoculations) in a randomized complete block design in two locations for two years. The result showed that effect of inoculation and location was not significant (P > 0.05) on biomass, seed, nodule number and soil parameters. While the effect of variety was significant (P < 0.05) on nodule parameters. Its effect on dry biomass and seed yields was also significant in either of the years. Variety and year had no effect on soil N and P contents. In the first year, blue sweet lupin entries had the highest nodule number per plant, 222 nodules.  In the second year similar nodulation performance was observed among species and varieties. Soil N and P were not affected by varieties and inoculation. In addition to their yield advantage, compared to the sweet white entries, blue sweet lupin varieties had high potential in nodulation. Therefore, these introduced sweet blue lupins can be used as multipurpose crops in acidic soils of Ethiopia.

In this study, the bioclimatic comfort status for tourism was determined through PET using RayMan model in the case of rural settlements of Kırklareli/Kofçaz located in the northwest part of Turkey. For calculating the thermal comfort index of PET in RayMan, monthly average temperature, relative humidity, and wind measurement long- term values between 1980-2018 with respect to 13 climate stations located within the borders of Turkey and Bulgaria were used and interpolated with the IDW method in ArcGIS program. Afterwards, seasonal, and monthly climatic maps were established regarding annual average temperature, relative humidity and wind speed. The maps obtained were classified according to the comfort zones that determine the bioclimatic comfort and the bioclimatic comfort map of the study area was created. As a result of the assessments performed, it has been determined that the bioclimatic comfort situation varies temporally and spatially. The results obtained from the study will be effective in determining the period and place preferences in tourism planning, determining rural development-oriented strategies, and ensuring the quality of life and comfort of the relevant stakeholders. It will serve as a reference for the climate-sensitive approach targeted in upper-scale plans and policies within the scope of combating climate change.

The analysis of the spatial interrelationship between soil properties and slope aspect is vital for understanding the range of influence on soil depth, moisture, and stone content distribution. This study aimed to investigate the spatial interrelationship of topsoil moisture and stone content in different slope aspects and soil depth. The 53.7 km2 watershed was divided into a 500m by 500m grid using ArcGIS and 230 soil samples were collected. In each sampling point, the soil was taken at three soil depth classes (0–25cm, 25–60cm, and 60–100cm) using a cylindrical auger, then soil samples were tested to determine the percentage of topsoil moisture, and stone content. The spatial interrelationship between aspect, soil depth, topsoil moisture, and stone content was analyzed using the R and GS+ software. The study had shown non-significant effects of aspect on topsoil moisture, stone content, and soil depth. However, topsoil moisture tends to be higher on the north-facing slope, while stone content tends to be higher on the southeast-facing slope. The analysis of Local Moran’s I revealed that topsoil moisture, stone content, and soil depth were significantly autocorrelated. The cross-semivariogram analysis of soil depth with topsoil stone content depicted a negative spatial correlation. The experimental cross-semivariogram of soil depth versus topsoil moisture was positively fitted to the exponential function, whereas soil depth with topsoil stone content was best fitted to the Gaussian model. Overall, soil depth is the more influential factor than the slope aspect regarding topsoil moisture depletion and stone content distribution in the study watershed.

Dermatophytosis is a mycotic disease of the skin that is resistant to treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the treatment efficacy of a novel antimicrobial agent, Hypochlorous Acid (HOCL), on dermatophytosis of cats and dogs, in comparison with Ketaconazole. In this study, a total of 76 animals (26 cats and 50 dogs) without any disease other than skin fungal infection after clinical, hematological, biochemical, microscopic and Wood's lamp examinations were used. Subjects were randomly assigned to two equal treatment groups within their own species as HOCL: HP and Ketaconazole: KT. Naked eye inspection results were collected on the 8th, 11th and 15th days of all patients. The study was terminated on the 15th day by collecting the Wood's lamp and microscopic examination data together with the last inspection finding. Findings were analyzed statistically with chi-square and CART (Classification and Regression Tree) algorithm test. Inspection results of the treatment groups exhibited significant recovery over time (day 8, 11 and 15) for both species (p0.05). According to the microscopic examination results, a significant statistical difference was observed between the HP and KT groups (p0.05). As a result, it was concluded that HOCl has an effect on dermatophytosis of cat and dogs, although not as much as Ketaconazole, but further studies are needed to reveal the results more clearly.

Taking long-term threats on food supply and safety, effects of Covid-19 pandemic on nutritional habits of consumers were investigated in this study. Consumers living in Yeşilyurt district of Tokat province in 2021 constituted the primary material of the present study. Simple random sampling method was used in selection of the sample size and 162 people participated into face-to-face interviews. Changes in food consumption habits of consumers before and after the pandemic were investigated. Present findings revealed an increase in monthly food expenditures of consumers during the pandemic period. About 45% of the participating consumers stated that their nutrition levels were affected during the pandemic period. The variables that had the highest positive correlation with the nutritional effects after Covid-19 pandemic were identified as consumption of dietary supplements (vitamins, etc.) and medicinal-aromatic plants after the pandemic. Path analysis was applied to survey findings and the variables with the greatest direct effects on nutritional level of the consumers after Covid-19 pandemic were identified as change in winter preparations (88.88%), monthly fruit consumption (84.59%) and monthly meat consumption (83.44%).

The aim of this study was to assess the nutrient composition and sensory properties of breakfast cereal made from yellow maize and enriched with soybean and groundnut flours. Yellow maize was replaced with groundnut (GF) (15–35%) and soybean flour (SBF) (10–15%) to produce a more nutritionally balanced breakfast cereal. Proximate, mineral, vitamin, and sensory analysis were carried out on the formulated breakfast cereals. The results showed that groundnut and soybean flour supplementation significantly increased the protein content (20.90–23.01%) as compared to the control along with an increase in fat (10.52-11.28%), crude fibre (2.98–3.90%), and ash (1.99–2.60%), while carbohydrate (57.09–52.66%) and energy (406.64–403.79 Kcal) decreased with the incremental addition of SBF and GF. Similarly, calcium (36.16-37.98 mg/100g), magnesium (32.16-37.98 mg/100g), potassium (10.62-12.16 mg/100g), iron (42.21-48.65 mg/100g) and vitamin A (70.07-74.01) g/dl) content of the breakfast cereals also increased significantly with increasing SBF and GF substitution, while a decrease was observed for phosphorus. The highest total score of sensory evaluation was for the control sample (golden morn), which was followed closely by the sample containing 20% GF and 15% SBF. Higher levels of SBF and GF can improve the nutritional value of breakfast cereals.

The research was conducted in the years of 2020-2021 during the growing seasons such as 2021A started from September 2020 till the end of January 2021 and 2021 B started from February till end of June 2021, in Busogo sector, Musanze District, Northern Province. The purpose of this project was to assess the impact of fertilization and drying methods such as sun drying, dry shelter and kitchen drying on aflatoxin contamination in maize before and after harvesting. The area from which this project was conducted was chosen due to the availability of a lot of number of maize growers who cultivate them not only for consumption but also for trade purpose either processed or non-processed. During this study, a total of twenty-four samples were collected, examined and evaluated for aflatoxin levels in both seasons. In the season 2021A and 2021B sample collection equivalent to twelve in each season was done then dried them within 30 days by using different drying methods such as dry shelter, kitchen drying, sun drying. Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four treatment of fertilizer combination in four replications was used in this study and all experimental plots were planted with one maize variety (H628) purchased from Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board. Except samples from maize cultivated without fertilizer, level of aflatoxin infection was found to be higher 10 Parts per billion. The East African countries community standard limit of 10 parts per billion which indicate a health risk to the consumer, when comparing the three drying methods employed in this study, the kitchen drying method produced lower levels of aflatoxin (1.6 parts per billion) than the dry shelter (3.2 parts per billion) and sun drying methods (2.9 parts per billion), samples taken from the control plot (T4) stands for no fertilizer application resulted greater levels of aflatoxin with an average of 25.75 prts per billion compared to other treatments which yielded aflatoxin levels of at lower than 10 parts per billion. The use of kitchen drying can be recommended as well as mixture of both organic and inorganic fertilizers when growing maize in order to reduce the level of aflatoxin.

Honey, bee venom, royal jelly, pollen, propolis and other bee products are natural products that are used to protect and maintain human health, to create a strong and dynamic health condition, and used as a ethnopharmacological medicine in the therapy of some illness. The use of different bee products to strengthen the immune system is still very common today. In this study, it was aimed to determine the in vitro effects of royal jelly samples collected from Sivas province in HUVEC cell culture conditions by determining the healing endothelial damage. In this context, royal jelly samples were obtained from the province of Sivas, where beekeeping is carried out intensively and successfully, in the 2022 harvest period. The effect of royal jelly extracts on the cell proliferation of endothelial cell culture was investigated. Repair of endothelial cell damage, cell growth and development and migration values were measured using the HUVEC cell line, and the data were evaluated with SPSS, GraphPad, ImageJ programs. Although there were significantly important increases in cell growth, development and cell viability values in HUVEC cells treated with different doses of royal jelly at the end of 24 and 48 hours, no statistically significant difference was found in terms of cell migration ratio compared to the control group.

Sorghum is one of the major staple crops grown in the poorest and most food-insecure regions of Ethiopia. Sorghum production is predominantly based on local seeds with limited use of commercial fertilizer or other chemicals. This study is therefore aimed to demonstrate the improved sorghum variety with its improved management practices and to assess farmers’ and extension workers’ reactions. The newly released variety of Beletew was evaluated with the variety of Melkam. The experiments were implemented using a simple plot design with farmers’ fields as a replicate. The result revealed that in both locations, the studied varieties showed nonsignificant variation in grain yield. Besides, all the participant farmers were agreed that the variety Beletew had compacted panicle, a larger number of spikes per panicle, stayed green character and yellow seed color. Similarly, about 78.3% and 65.6% of the participant farmers from Efratana gidim and Ensaro Districts respectively agreed that the variety Beletew had a larger panicle size than the variety Melkam and expected higher grain yields from it. Therefore based on the grain yield performance of the result of farmers’ evaluation, the new variety of Beletew was recommended to be pre-scale on a wider scale to sorghum-growing lowland areas as an alternative shortmatured varieties.