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While much has been written about the impact of metrics in higher education, less is known about the variety of response orientations that individual academics may adopt in reaction to the increasing metricization of academia. Taking the English higher education sector as a case study, this research surveyed the views of academics from Education and Economics departments in England regarding the impact of teaching and research metrics on their academic identity and practice. Based on a hierarchical cluster analysis of their survey and interview responses, we proposed three distinct response orientations which we called true-belief, pragmatism or alienation, based on how they negotiated or accommodated their academic practices in response to metrics-based evaluation. This heterogeneity of academics' responses to metrics-based evaluation, proposed by our research, suggests the need for a leadership culture which acknowledges a more varied set of attitudes and challenges resulting from that evaluation. The findings of our study also make the case for a more inclusive approach to deciding the institutional response to metrics; allowing all individuals within an institution to make meaningful contributions which are better aligned to their academic identities and professional values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the rights contained in the Freedom of Information Act, we collected data on the teaching undertaken by staff at 52 UK universities. In contrast to workload modelling, our data reveals the extent of the variation in contact hours by institution, subject, and seniority. We provide for the first time an accurate measure of the teaching undertaken by staff on different contract types. One of our findings is that few universities employ full-time Teaching-only staff. It is some of the most prestigious universities that are leading the way in promoting this specialisation, with important implications for teaching and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing focus worldwide on accountability and quality assurance in universities has forced senior management to develop policies to address academic support at institutional-level. One such area is the mathematical and statistical skills that students in many disciplines need to succeed. In common with many countries, large numbers of students at English universities arrive inadequately prepared for their courses' quantitative demands. University-wide mathematics and statistics support provision has been developed to mitigate this problem. We explore such provision from the perspective of institutional accountability and quality assurance, researching the extent to which such support is referenced in institutionally-written regulatory documents. The documents reveal that mathematics and statistics support is stated as contributing to retention, achievement, employability and widening participation. The paper closes with implications and recommendations drawn from the analysis of these documents and therefore is of relevance to those responsible for development and implementation of institutional teaching and learning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancement of heat transfer in solar air heater systems using corrugations has the dual benefit of enhanced heat transfer area and enhanced flow turbulence. This work presents two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis to evaluate the effect of discrete triangle wave corrugations on the absorber plate for different flow Reynolds numbers of 6000–24000. The geometric parameters of corrugation such as the non-dimensional amplitude (A = 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1) and non-dimensional wavelength (WL = 0.113, 0.226 and 0.453) are varied to establish the thermo-hydraulic performance. The CFD results reveal that the presence of discrete triangle wave corrugations significantly affect the flow structure near the absorber surface and exhibit enhanced fluid turbulence levels. The highest increase in the Nusselt number is found to be about 2.082 times higher than that of the smooth duct for A = 0.1 and WL = 0.453 at Re = 6000. The maximum rise in friction factor is about 2.568 times that of the smooth duct at Re = 6000 for the configuration of WL = 0.113 and A = 0.1. The configuration having A = 0.1 and WL = 0.453 can be particularly useful for lower flow rate requirements and exhibits the highest thermal enhancement factor (TEF) of about 1.612 at Re = 6000 among all the configurations considered in the present study. However, the configuration having A = 0.05 and WL = 0.453 provides a relatively steady TEF performance for a wider range of flow rates with a maximum TEF of 1.473 at Re = 12,000. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Durum wheat semolina is the preferable ingredient for pasta products preparation. However, it has low protein quality, micronutrient and fiber composition. In this study, response surface methodology was applied to optimally formulate a macaroni by supplementing durum wheat semolina with tef (0 to 40)% and chickpea (0 to 15)% flours. The aim was improving the nutritional quality of the product while maintaining the cooking quality. Supplementing the durum wheat semolina (S) with tef (T) and chickpea (C) flours improved the Water Absorption Capacity and Index (WAC and WAI) significantly (p <.05). Among the 11 flour blending ratios of S:T:C, (60: 40: 0)%, (85: 0: 15)%, (60: 25: 15)%, and (68: 28: 4)% improved the WAC and WAI of the semolina flour by (36, 8)%, (25, 7)%, (32, 9)%, and (31, 3)%, respectively. With the same blending ratios, the cooking weight and the WAC of the control macaroni increased by (15, 15)%, (10, 19)%, (17, 18)%, and (22, 23)%, respectively (p <.05). Interestingly, these blending ratios significantly reduced the wet gluten content of the semolina by 58%, 28%, 53%, and 42% (p <.05). With higher tef and chickpea incorporation, the macaroni had lower and higher firmness. The macaroni prepared with incorporation of chickpea (3.5–15)% appeared to have better color and comparable overall acceptability score with control. The optimum formulation of macaroni for desirable sensorial and cooking quality (better firmness, lower stickiness and cooking loss) was 73.46 g/100 g semolina, 11.55 g/100 g tef flour, and 14.25 g/100 g chickpea flour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adoption of Tef production technology has paramount importance to increase Tef productivity, foster food security, and secure the well-being of smallholder farmers. Hence, this study aims to identify the determinants of adoption of Tef technology packages in Yilmana Densa district, and subsequently assess the factors influencing the intensity of adoption of the technology. In this study, 224 sample households were selected using systematic random sampling techniques. The data were obtained mainly from sampled Tef grower households via structured interviews, and it was supported by key informant interviews. Descriptive statistics such as Chi-square, t-test, and one-way ANOVA were employed. First-hurdle of double hurdle model result revealed that adoption decision of Tef technology packages was determined via the frequency of extension contact, agricultural training, farmers' perception, and farmers' cooperative membership, positively. The second-hurdle result also shown that the adoption intensity of Tef technology packages was influenced by the frequency of extension contact, agricultural training, demonstration participation, and seed multiplication membership, positively, whereas the distance to input market and land fragmentation influenced negatively. Therefore, efforts to be expected from the Ministry of Agriculture, extension agents, and other stockholders to enhance the adoption level of farmers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) is an evaluation of teaching quality at UK universities. The aim of the TEF is to raise esteem for teaching in line with research and recognise teaching excellence. In 2017 all universities who took part in the TEF exercise were awarded ratings of gold, silver or bronze for teaching quality. These awards were based on a set of quantitative measures and a 15-page provider submission from each university to describe teaching at their institution. In this paper, we analyse the provider submissions that played a crucial role in universities' TEF rating. We conducted a corpus-assisted discourse analysis of all of the provider statements (232 statements; 1,742,438 words) submitted by participating institutions in order to un-earth the discourse of the TEF. We found that the themes driving success in the TEF are (1) employment, (2) employability (3) student outcomes and (4) research. Recognising what discourse is rewarded in the TEF has important implications for the accepted discourse of teaching excellence in UK higher education. It is anticipated that, in future, university discourse around teaching quality will continue to be dominated by employability discourse (rather than discourse around, for instance, social goods, personal development or equity). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A field experiment was conducted for three consecutive years (2017 to 2019) to determine the appropriate time of nitrogen (N) fertilizer application during the crop growth cycle for increased tef productivity and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) at central highlands of Ethiopia. A split-plot experimental design was used with two varieties and eight timings of N application at different growth stages. The results showed that variety and time of N application had a significant effect on growth parameters, NUE traits, yield, and yield components of tef at both locations. Kora variety gave higher growth parameters of tef at both locations and higher yield at Ude. Regarding time of N application, the highest yield was obtained when N was applied 50% at planting +25% at tillering + 12.5% at flag leaf +12.5% at heading, though not significantly different from other split applications at Ude. Split application increased grain yield and NUE traits as compared to full N application at once. However, at Minjar, split application didn't show any significant difference of grain yield and NUE traits with that of full application. Partial budget analysis at Ude also showed that N application of 50% at planting +25% at tillering + 12.5% at flag leaf +12.5% at heading gave the highest net benefit and MRR. Therefore, four times (50% at planting +25% at tillering + 12.5% at flag leaf +12.5% at heading of split N fertilizer application can be recommended for higher economic yield and NUE of tef at Ude area, but split application is not advantageous at Minjar area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of circular tube fitted with an array of novel semi-elliptical vortex generator inserts using air as working fluid. The study makes use of computational fluid dynamics methodology and the influence of varying aspect ratio (AR = 1, 2, 4 and 6), flow attack angle (45°, 60°, 75° and 90°) and longitudinal pitch (P = 30 mm, 60 mm and 90 mm) of vortex generator is investigated for the turbulent flow Reynolds number regime of 8000–26000. The numerical results reveal that the presence of semi-elliptical vortex generator has significant influence on both Nusselt number and friction factor characteristics of circular tube. The vortex generators produce strong longitudinal vortices which intensifies fluid mixing near the tube wall region thereby augmenting the heat transfer to the flowing air stream. In addition, the presence of flow impingement effect on the upstream side and flow reattachment zones on the downstream side of vortex generator is found to contribute to enhanced heat transfer. The influence of aspect ratio on heat transfer is found to be more significant than that of flow attack angle. However, both parameters affect the friction factor significantly. On the other hand, the pitch distance of insert significantly affects both heat transfer and friction factor. The maximum rise in Nusselt number and friction factor is about 2.1 times and 6.34 times higher than plain tube, respectively, for P = 30 mm. The thermal enhancement factor (TEF) is found to decrease with increasing flow attack angle and aspect ratio for all flow rates considered in the study. However, the TEF increases with decreasing pitch distance of inserts and the overall TEF is found to be in the range of 0.86–1.19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil fertility depletion is the most important concern all over the world mainly in Sub-Saharan African. The principal one is N fertilizer and it is the most yield-limiting nutrients for crop growth, development as well as production. However, most farmers applied a limited N fertilizer rate for tef production. Hence, a study was to investigate the effects of four nitrogen fertilizer rates (0, 30, 60, and 90 kg N/ha−1), on the grain yield of tef. The study was carried out in a randomized complete block design with three replications in East Badewacho district at the farmers training center in the 2019 cropping season. All the relevant data were collected and then subjected to SAS software 9.4 and mean differences were compared using LSD at 5%. The effects of the N rate showed significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) for all parameters of tef studied. Application of N rate at 90 kg ha−1 was significantly (P ≤ 0.01) improved yield and yield components of tef. Furthermore, N rates increased the magnitudes of all the important yield attributes. Hence, it is tentatively thinkable to conclude that a further supply of N fertilizer rate advances yields components of crops. Thus, the application of 90 kg N ha−1 gave the highest yield which can be suggested for the East Badewacho areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that recent government interventions in higher education – some based in consumer law and others in the form of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) have failed to put prospective students in a position to make informed choices about courses or universities. Consumer law-based interventions do not give students all the information they need, although they may help to improve the standard of information and to control marketing excess. The TEF, with its focus on outputs rather than inputs, similarly misses the mark. These failures are bad for students and, to the extent that higher education is a market which depends on students making informed choices, bad for higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a statistical model for a TEF metric that could liberate the "oppressed" (international students) and the "oppressors" (home students) from the influence of public policies which, through constructions of international students as "supplicants" and "beneficiaries" of the prestigious British education system, have created conditions for their exclusion in the classroom. It is argued in the paper that such representations have contributed to international students' subordination through coloniality and have also limited home students' agency to engage with their international peers on socially and politically equal terms. The paper conceptualises the design and philosophical nature of a supplementary TEF metric that could prevent such symptoms of public policies. It also shows how such a metric could work in practice by modelling the UK Engagement Survey (UKES) data from a case study university. The paper proposes ideas about how understandings and practice of internationalisation could be re-articulated through the proposed metric. As such, it also discusses new "standards" of internationalisation that could enter reputational rankings and ways in which they could be applied internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper critiques key international teaching excellence and higher education outcomes frameworks for their lack of attention to epistemic equality. It subsequently argues that adequate 'datafication' of these frameworks, to demonstrate the extent to which universities offer teaching experiences which promote intellectual equivalence of all 'knowers' could advance present understandings of teaching excellence beyond benchmarked performativity. The paper theorises the philosophical basis of a changed 'datafication' process under selected national and supra-national frameworks for measuring teaching excellence at universities and shows, by statistically modelling selected national data, how a 'metric' evaluating universities on epistemic equality could work in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ethiopian cereal, tef, is a healthy food stuff for the people, and most preferred and palatable feed stuff for livestock. Evaluation of performance of genotypes at a number of locations provides useful information to determine their adaptation and stability. The objectives of the study were to estimate the magnitude of genotype-environment interaction (G × E), to determine its effects, and to identify stable tef genotypes. In the study, twelve genotypes of tef were evaluated in seven environments in the Northeast part of Ethiopia. The result showed that effects of genotype, environment and the G × E were significant and explained 5.08%, 82.67% and 12.25% of the treatment variance signifying that environment was the predominant contributor of the variation. The AMMI analysis showed that five of the IPCAs were significant. The first two, being very important, explained 66.04% and 20.35% of the G × E variance, respectively. The AMMI2 biplot showed that genotypes 202416A, 202382A and 205958 were not affected by environmental fluctuations as they had minimum interaction. The GGE analysis showed that 50.12% and 33.47% of the GGE variance were captured by the first and the second IPCAs, respectively. Based on the stability statistics considered, the genotypes 205953 and 202416A could be recommended as desirable (high yielding and stable) genotypes on the locations (environments) under study; both can be used as parents for future tef crossing programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in 2016 has placed the practice and quality of teaching centre of the UK university agenda, with concerns around contact, delivery, research/teaching balance and facility support framing debates within institutions. Situating the implementation of blended learning on a year 2 cultural geography in the broader context of these discussions, this paper explores some of the challenges and opportunities this approach has in addressing some of these broader concerns, whilst improving student engagement and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field experiments were carried out to evaluate the productivity of tef under different tillage practices during 2016–2017 at Alem Tena and Minjar in Central Ethiopia. The experiment was carried out using split-plot design with three replications. The treatments consisted of two tef varieties (Boset and Kora) assigned in the main plot and four tillage practices (conventional tillage, reduced tillage with residue retained, reduced tillage without residue retained and zero tillage) assigned as sub-plots. The results showed that the main effect of tillage practices and variety was significant on grain yield and biomass at Alem Tena. However, at Minjar, only main effect of variety had a significant effect on grain yield. At both locations, the Variety × Tillage interactions were absent; the tef variety, Kora, performed better in yield and than Boset. At Alem Tena, the highest yield (2673 and 2343 kg/ha) and biomass (16,713 and 13,518 kg/ha) were obtained in farmer practice and reduced tillage with residue retained, respectively. Similarly, at Minjar, the highest biomass (9439 kg/ha) was obtained in farmer practice, but was not significantly different from reduced tillage with residue retained and zero tillage. The economic analysis revealed that reduced tillage with residue retained gave highest net benefit and marginal rate of return (MRR) as compared to other practices at both locations. Zero tillage gave lowest net benefit and MRR at both locations. Therefore, reduced tillage with residue retained can be recommended as an alterantive tillage practice for resource poor farmers in central Ethiopia without significantly affecting yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is our contention that the process of higher education could be read as a commodity and in both Marxian and Freudian assumptions, a fetish. Instrumental in this discussion are Marx’s theorising of the commodity fetish that deceives by conflating the distinction between use and exchange value; and Freud’s re-visiting of his theory of fetishism, where he considers the fetish in the context of dealing with separation and loss in everyday life. This paper highlights how the consequence of fetishised behaviour has led to violent outcomes, such as the policy decision in England to introduce a ‘Teaching Excellence Framework’ (TEF). We argue that the TEF may bring about the death of learning in HE and diminish the role of academic staff. Nevertheless, influenced by Winnicott, Cixous and Biesta, we offer a more hopeful ‘Teaching that is Good Enough Framework’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present universities are facing the introduction of a revised Research Excellence Framework, the extension of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework to subject-level assessment, and the emergence of a Knowledge Exchange Framework. Against this background are particular interests in, or imperatives surrounding, the development of research-informed activity involving undergraduate students, and in university public engagement. The practice of local history has a long and proud tradition of internally and externally collaborative and enquiry-led co-production in higher education and more broadly, and is now a fitting reference point and a timely source of inspiration. This research discusses the development of, and relationships between, REF, TEF and KEF, the place of research-informed teaching, and the contemporary significance of local history. The study also reports on some of the results of a student-engagement activity involving the indexing, analysis and interpretation of a provincial newspaper, for Ilfracombe, in Devon. Such a choice of primary source is particularly apt, not least because its demanding material format invites group reading and collective scrutiny. In addition, provincial-press publications yield and test knowledge of what the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought to districts and communities; they also demand an appreciation of conceptual and critical understanding; and, in addition, support diverse and advanced methodological experimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers a critical review of the developments in the proposals for the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) in the UK, focusing particularly on international students. The analysis points to the absence of views and discussions regarding the group of international learners, which warrants the claim that international students have been “TEF-ed out”. The article provides the answerwhy. The article draws on the coverage of the TEF in theTimes Higher Educationand relevant literature on international students. It is concluded that the TEF reveals signs of “othering” of international students, pointing to the fundamental problem with the TEF as a national tool that legitimises subordination of this group in recent moves and changes to higher education. The article also discusses Internationalisation at Home (IAH) as a possible metric that could create more equal conditions for cultural plurality in the TEF. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

About 15,000M2seeds of ethyl-methane-sulphonate (EMS)-mutagenized population were screened along with Al-tolerant and sensitive checks and theM0variety. Strongly acidic soil with an external application of a toxic Al-solution and exposure to moisture stress was used to maximize selection pressure. Twenty-oneM2plants with root lengths of greater than the mean of the tolerant check were selected and planted for seed production. CandidateM3plants were investigated for Al-tolerance and for morpho-agronomic traits under greenhouse and field conditions, respectively. Highly significant differences were observed for Al-tolerance between the candidate mutant lines and theM0(P < .001), and between mutant lines and the sensitive check (P < .001). Similarly, significant differences were observed between the mutant lines for 16 of the 20 quantitative traits measured. This study is the first to report successful induction of enhanced Al-tolerance in tef by using EMS mutagenized population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In June 2015, the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) proposed a lighter touch quality assessment regime that would place greater reliance on institutions' own governance arrangements. In July 2015 the Minister for Higher Education announced a Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) parts of which appear inconsistent with HEFCE's proposals. In August the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) responded to HEFCE's proposals envisaging some developments to its present quality assessment arrangements. This article analyses the key issues and principles that will supposedly govern the design of a new quality assessment regime from 2017. It proposes points of reference against which to evaluate the proposals for that new regime; these are whether the approach to review that is adopted: a) differentiates between institutions on the basis of their capacities to manage their responsibilities; b) shows the regulator's willingness to trust institutions to discharge their responsibilities (with verification) and willingness by institutions to accept their responsibilities; c) adopts an approach to risk and its management that is forward-looking and enables pre-emptive actions to forestall negative outcomes; and d) makes greater use of metrics that are interpreted by experts qualified to make judgements on academic matters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A vast majority of the Ethiopian population lives in rural areas and agricultural activities are the main income for them. The aim of this study is to analyse soil productivity parameters and problems with food production in regional and local contexts. At local level two villages in Wenchi district in West Shewa are compared while a comparison with Tehuledere district in South Wollo is done at the regional level. Soil samples from 70 fields were analysed at the Soil Laboratory in Addis Ababa with respect to pH, organic matter, cation exchange capacity, macronutrients, and soil texture among others. Physical observations and semi-structured interviews with farmers were also conducted to obtain the goals. When comparing the two districts, results indicate minor differences in terms of soil fertility. The very low amount of organic content (1%) in Tehuledere must be mentioned though. Low values of organic content have a negative impact on soil productivity. In conclusion, we emphasize the importance to study several parameters, such as farm area, livelihood assets and rainfall pattern to understand the problems the rural population has to face to secure food production. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objective of this study was to investigate the concentration level and distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface water of the Raba River; the largest Danube tributary in Hungary. A total of 54 water samples were collected in the period of 2008–2011 and analysed for PAHs by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC/MS) method. The total PAH concentrations (sum of the concentrations of 17 individual PAH compounds) ranged from 41 to 437 ng/L with the mean value of 111 ±  69.4 ng/L. Phenanthrene and naphthalene were the dominant species in the surface water. Using TEF approaches on the mean concentration PAH data, benzo[a]pyrene and dibenz[ah]anthracene contributed the highest carcinogenic exposure equivalent. A selected number of concentration ratios of specific PAH compounds were calculated to evaluate the possible sources of PAH contamination. The ratios reflected a pattern of pyrogenic input as a major source of PAHs. The comparison of the total PAH concentrations observed for Raba River with other surface waters of the world confirmed that the Raba River could not be regarded as a contaminated river according to the levels of PAHs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The unambiguous identification in environmental samples of the potent carcinogen dibenzo[a,l]pyrene (DBalP) and the other DBPs (DBaeP, DBaiP, DBahP), whose evidence of carcinogenicity was recently re-evaluated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), is an analytical challenge. This is attributed to their low concentrations in the environment and to the co-presence of several 302 MW isomers. In this study the four DBPs were identified in air, together with further four isomers with MW 302, based on an overall evaluation of five acceptance criteria. Their annual mean concentrations were quantified, for the first time to our knowledge. Thirteen other isomers were tentatively identified by comparison with previously published gas chromatographic profiles. The determinations were performed on PM10 samples collected every sixth day at a site in Rome, solvent extracted and analysed using GC/LRMS. The primary objective was to determine the mean DBP concentrations the population may be exposed to, and their consequent carcinogenic risks relative to benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) taken as a reference polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH). The mean concentrations of DBalP, DBaeP, DBaiP and DBahP were, respectively, 0.014, 0.07, 0.02 and 0.01 ng m−3 (BaP: 0.65 ng m−3). Based on the available toxicity equivalence factors, DBalP contributed the carcinogenic risk of the PAH mixture by a factor of 2 relative to the risk attributable to BaP. DBaeP, DBahP and DBaiP contributed by, respectively, 11%, 1% and 0.3% of BaP. The instrumental conditions used to determine the 302 MW isomers allowed to unambiguously identify and to quantify other PAHs, ‘possibly carcinogenic’ to humans according to IARC, whose atmospheric concentrations reported in literature are scarce or missing: benzo[c]phenanthrene, 5-methylchrysene and benzo[j]fluoranthene (the latter being baseline resolved from isomers b and k). Finally, for completeness of information on PAHs recently upgraded by IARC to ‘possibly carcinogenic’, the concentrations of cyclopenta[cd]pyrene are reported. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Tef, Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter, is the main Ethiopian cereal grown on 2.5 million ha annually, and serving as a staple food grain for more than 50 million people. The major constraints in tef husbandry are low productivity (average about 1 t ha21) and lodging. Scientific research on tef began in the late 1950s and over the years a number of improved varieties and management practices have been developed. However, the research outputs have, until recently, been little adopted by farmers. This paper gives an overview of new and impactful technological, institutional and partnership innovation undertaken by Debre Zeit Agricultural Research Centre with a new tef variety called Quncho. Quncho was developed from an intra-specific hybridization between two improved pure line selection varieties (DZ-01-974 and DZ-01-196). The variety DZ-01-974 is high yielding, but because of the seed colour (pale white) its preference by farmers was limited. On the other hand, the variety DZ-01-196 has been popular for its very white seed colour, but its productivity has been relatively low (1.6-1 .Bt ha21). Hence, a targeted cross to bring together the high- yielding traits of DZ-01 -974 with the seed quality of DZ-01 -196 was made in 2000. Quncho was then developed as an F2-derived recombinant inbred line (RIL) through a single- seed descent breeding method. Officially released in 2006, the Quncho variety is presently attracting farmers and seed growers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. Celiac disease (CD) is a multifactorial disease with a strong genetic association. It is caused by a T-cell-mediated immune response to wheat gluten. The treatment is a strict gluten-free diet (GFD). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the naturally gluten-free cereal Eragrostis tef (tef) is associated with health problems when used by CD patients. Material and methods. In March 2006, all 7990 members of the Dutch Celiac Disease Society were invited to complete a questionnaire on tef use and the development of symptoms after tef consumption. Respondents and their family members willing to participate were sent an extended questionnaire on the use of commercially available tef products and on the character of their subsequent symptoms. Results. Thirty-six percent responded to the first questionnaire of whom 53% consumed tef and 15% reported complaints. For the second questionnaire, out of the 1828 participants willing to complete it, 1545 had biopsy-proven CD (median duration GFD: 6.5 years (range: 0-66.5 years)). Of these, 66% used tef (median duration 1.4 years (range: 0.1-5 years)) and 17% reported symptoms after consumption. The percentage for symptoms was significantly lower than that in patients without tef consumption reporting on their regular GFD (17% versus 61%; p=0.0001). Conclusions. Tef is frequently used by Dutch CD patients and a wide majority can consume tef without experiencing any clinical symptoms. CD patients using tef reported a significant reduction in symptoms, possibly related to a reduction in gluten intake or to an increase in fiber intake. Hence, tef can be a valuable addition to the GFD of CD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most farmers in the Ethiopian highlands depend on rain-fed agriculture. Some areas have the favourable situation of having two rainy seasons, Belg (February-May) and the long rainy season Kiremt (June-October), which is the case in some parts of South Wollo. Tef (Eragrostis tef) is the staple crop that farmers prefer to grow and the 90-day variety is suitable for growing during the short rainy season. One out of eight Ethiopians lives in tef potential areas which have Belg rainfall. The aim in this study is to analyse rainfall variation in South Wollo, in particular the area east of the small town of Hayk, and to study its effect on the ability to grow tef during the Belg season. Results from interviews showed that a more difficult farming situation had emerged during the past 40 years, largely due to deterioration of physical resources such as rainfall. Rainfall is analysed by comparing daily rainfall data from four stations in two periods, 1963 to 1982 and 1984 to 2003, for changes in totals, seasonal distribution and variability. Coefficient of variance, rainy days, rainfall intensity and dry spells were analysed. Results from this study show that there have been minor rainfall changes but greater rainfall variability. During fieldwork key informants were asked if they were able to harvest tef during the past nine years, a period that has been used in a model of rainfall influence on tef cultivation during the Belg season. In both 20–year periods, farmers were able to grow tef every second year. In spite of a greater variability in rainfall the farmers proved their knowledge and flexibility and were able to harvest tef in the same number of years during both periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]