Incorporating weather information into real-time speed estimates: comparison of alternative models

Weather information is frequently requested by travelers. Prior literature indicates that inclement weather is one of the most important factors contributing to traffic congestion and crashes. In this paper, we propose a methodology to use real-time weather information to predict future speeds. The reason for doing so is to ultimately have the capability to disseminate weather-responsive travel time estimates to those requesting information. Using a stratified sampling technique, we select cases with different weather conditions (precipitation levels) and use a linear regression model (called the base model) and a statistical learning model (using Support Vector Machines for Regression) to predict 30-minute ahead speeds. One of the major inputs into a weather-responsive short-term speed prediction method is weather forecasts; however, weather forecasts may themselves be inaccurate. We assess the effects of such inaccuracies by means of simulations. The predictive accuracy of the SVR models show that statistical learning methods may be useful in bringing together streaming forecasted weather data and real-time information on downstream traffic conditions to enable travelers to make informed choices

Feed resources availability, utilization and marketing in central and eastern Tigray, northern Ethiopia

This survey explored the situation of different feed resources for ruminant livestock in two zones (central and eastern) in Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. These two zones account for the region’s 12% of the total land mass, 23% of the human population, 28% of the cattle population, and 56% of the small ruminant population. Farmers feed their livestock a variety of feed resources that range from crop residues to non-conventional feeds.The overall contribution of crop residues exceeds 50% of the livestock feeds currently used by smallholder farmers, and this reflects the level of integration between crop and livestock farming. Overall, the management and utilization of crop residues with particular attention to collection and transportation is constrained by factors such as labour shortage, distance from harvesting field to animals and delayed harvest in the project districts. Grazing land management and improvement is seldom considered by farmers or the extension system. Acute shortages of AIBPs supply from the sources and high price fluctuation in the main towns of the districts are discouraging smallholder dairy and small ruminant farmers from using them on a regular basis. The contribution of improved forage plants is not as expected and forage genetic material multiplication sites are operating with insufficient budget and manpower, and not supported by proper research. The overall feed supply to demand ratio in four districts in the eastern zone is not enough to cover the annual maintenance requirements of the present stock

Pós-colheita de frutos de macaúba em ambiente com temperatura controlada: efeito sobre a água na polpa.

Este trabalho objetivou avaliar a perda de massa, a atividade de água e a estabilidade oxidativa em frutos de macaúba armazenados a 20 ºC

Arresting gully formation in the Ethiopian highlands

Over the past five decades, gullying has been widespread and has become more severe in the Ethiopian highlands. Only in very few cases, rehabilitation of gullies has been successful in Ethiopia due to the high costs. The objective of this paper is to introduce cost effective measures to arrest gully formation. The research was conducted in the Debre-Mewi watershed located at 30 km south of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Gullying started in the 1980s following the clearance of indigenous vegetation and intensive agricultural cultivation, leading to an increase of surface and subsurface runoff from the hillside to the valley bottoms. Gully erosion rates were 10–20 times the measured upland soil losses. Water levels, measured with piezometers, showed that in the actively eroding sections, the water table was in general above the gully bottom and below it in the stabilized sections. In order to develop effective gully stabilizing measures, we tested and then applied the BSTEM and CONCEPT models for their applicability for Ethiopian conditions where active gully formation has been occurring. We found that the model predicted the location of slips and slumps well with the observed groundwater depth and vegetation characteristics. The validated models indicated that any gully rehabilitation project should first stabilize the head cuts. This can be achieved by regrading these head cuts to slope of 40 degrees and armoring it with rock. Head cuts will otherwise move uphill in time and destroy any improvements. To stabilize side walls in areas with seeps, grass will be effective in shallow gullies, while deeper gullies require reshaping of the gullies walls, then planting the gully with grasses, eucalyptus or fruit trees that can be used for income generation. Only then there is an incentive for local farmers to maintain the structures

Soil nutrient maps of Sub-Saharan Africa: assessment of soil nutrient content at 250 m spatial resolution using machine learning

Spatial predictions of soil macro and micro-nutrient content across Sub-Saharan Africa at 250 m spatial resolution and for 0–30 cm depth interval are presented. Predictions were produced for 15 target nutrients: organic carbon (C) and total (organic) nitrogen (N), total phosphorus (P), and extractable—phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), sulfur (S), sodium (Na), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al) and boron (B). Model training was performed using soil samples from ca. 59,000 locations (a compilation of soil samples from the AfSIS, EthioSIS, One Acre Fund, VitalSigns and legacy soil data) and an extensive stack of remote sensing covariates in addition to landform, lithologic and land cover maps. An ensemble model was then created for each nutrient from two machine learning algorithms

Generalized Fractional Calculus Operators Involving the Product Of the Jacobi Type Orthogonal Polynomials And Multivariable Polynomials

The objective of this paper is to establish four theorems for the Marichev-Saigo-Maeda fractional integration and differentiation formula to the product of the finite classes of the classical orthogonal polynomials with the general class of multivariable polynomials. The results are presented in terms of the Wright generalized hypergeometric function. Corresponding assertions in terms of Saigo, Erdelyi-Kober and Riemann-Liouville type of fractional integrals are also presented. Further, we point out also their relevance

Feed, food and fuel: Competition and potential impacts on small-scale crop-livestock-energy farming systems

CGIAR System-wide Livestock Programm

Performance of coffee marketing co-operatives and members’ satisfaction in Dale District: SNNPRS-Southern Ethiopia

People form cooperatives to do something better than they could do individually or through a non-cooperative form of business. Forming a cooperative will not automatically solve business problems faced by individual households. This is because of cooperatives are subject to the same economic forces, legal restrictions and international relations that other business face. Cooperative members’ expectations about the types and quality of services that should be offered and their criteria for performance of these services have a major impact on the level of satisfaction or dissatisfaction felt. Members’ satisfaction on the benefits obtained by establishing cooperatives should be evaluated by the level of the deviation of service expectation from perceived service performance. Thus, cooperatives performance should be continuously checked against the level of members’ satisfaction. This study therefore, aims at assessing the performance of primary coffee marketing cooperatives and thereby to identify factors that impede members’ satisfaction. To evaluate the performance of coffee marketing cooperatives in the study area, financial ratios was computed based on annual audit reports of the cooperatives. Here, efficiency ratios, income ratios and creditworthiness ratios were calculated as performance indicators. As a result, almost all the coffee marketing cooperatives in the study area were performing their business inefficiently. Probit regression model was also employed to identify factors influencing the members’ satisfaction taking the overall cooperatives performance, the adequacy and context of services rendered by the cooperatives, and the major services as function of socio-economic and institutional explanatory variables. The model analysis revealed that, age, family size, terms of payment for red cherry and dry cherry were found to be statistically significant at significance level of 5%, 5% 1% and 5% respectively to influence negatively except the terms of payment for dry cherry which was influenced positively, the satisfaction of members’ of the coffee marketing cooperatives in the study area, with reference to the overall performance of the cooperatives as dependent variable