Ecological Assessment of Lake Hora, Ethiopia, Using Benthic and Weed-bed Fauna

Urbanization and human settlement in close proximity to the Ethiopian lakes are among the potential causes of changes in water quality and quantity. The drastic changes occurred into one of the Bishoftu crater lakes (Kilole) best exemplify this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was ecological assessment of Lake Hora using benthic and weed-bed fauna. Samples of benthic and weed-bed were collected monthly from September 2009 to March 2010 at 3 sampling stations (A, B, C), with a standard Ekman grab. Station A is in front of Ras Hotel, Station B is place of Irecha and station C was to the south crater of the lake. The benthic and weed-bed fauna of Lake Hora included a total of 6958 individuals within 27 taxa belonging principally to Copepod (2812) and Chironomidae (1460) and Ecdyonuridae (735). A high number of organisms were observed mainly at stations B and A (3198 and 2342respectively). The correlation result indicates that oxygen showed strong relation to benthic and weed bed fauna distribution and abundance. There were high number of individuals, taxa diversity, evenness and grate number of rare taxa of benthic and weed-bed fauna at stations A and B, but these stations were affected by the community around the lake area for different reasons (for example washing clothes, boat parking and others).However low density and abundance of macroinvertabrates at station C could be due to: low organic matter load at station C which was free of human interactions; steeply slope geographical setting of the profoundly and its catchment and low vegetation cover. The Family Biotic Index result for all the sampling stations was 7.55, according to Hilsenhoff Family Biotic Index this value is indicating likely severe organic pollution and very poor water quality in all sampling sites. As this research finding indicates Lake Hora needs protection management strategies to maintain its sustainable use.Keywords: Benthic Fauna, Ethiopia, Lake Hora, Specimens, Weed-be

Selection criterion for improved grain yields in Ethiopian durum wheat genotypes

Wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) is the most important cereal crop grown in the intermediate and highland areas of northeastern Ethiopia. Durum wheat dominates in these areas where water logging is the major production constraint. Because of the predominant problem of water logging coupled with other various biotic and abiotic production hobbling factors, the average productivity of wheat in the northeastern region never exceeds 8.4 ha -1, which is below the national average of 14.4 ha -1 (ECSA, 2002). Screening of wide durum wheat germplasm has been undertaken to improve durum wheat grain yield. But, selection based on the performance of grain yield alone, a polygenically controlled complex character, is usually not very efficient. An experiment was conductedat Geregera testing site of Sirinka Agricultural Research Centre, during the 2003-cropping season with the objective of estimating the associations between yield and yield-related traits and to identify direct and indirect effects of characters for durum wheat grain yield improvement. The experimental material consisted of 44 indigenous durum wheat genotypes, which are randomly taken from the indigenous germplasm collections. Mean sum of squares for all the characters considered showed highly significant differences (

Genetic divergence in selected durum wheat genotypes of Ethiopian plasm

Wheat of both the tetraploid (Triticum durum Desf.) and hexaploid (Triticum aestivum L.), is the most important cereal crop in Ethiopia, ranking third in total production (17%) next to maize (Zea mays L.) and tef (CSA, 2002). Wheat covers a total arable land of 110,434 ha with average productivity of about 8.4 qt ha-1, which is below thenational average (14.4 qt ha-1). A field experiment was conducted at the Sirinka Agricultural Research Centre, northeastern Ethiopia, to estimate the genetic divergence among indigenous durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) genotypes of diverse origin, and clustering them into homogenous groups for the hybridisation programme. Genetic divergence analysis was done based on multivariate analysis using Mahalanobis’s D2 statistic, which grouped the durum wheat genotypes into ten clusters. The highest inter-cluster distance was between clusterll and cluster-lll (D2 = 57.15). There was no correspondence between geographic and genetic distances, i.e., germplasms, collected from the same geographic area were placed into different cluster groups and those collected from different geographic regions were placed into the same cluster. The presence of significant genetic variabilityamong the evaluated durum wheat genotypes suggests an opportunity for improvement of grain yield through hybridisation of genotypes from different clusters and subsequent selection from the segregating generations

The P2X3 receptor antagonist filapixant in patients with refractory chronic cough: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: P2X3 receptor antagonists seem to have a promising potential for treating patients with refractory chronic cough. In this double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study, we investigated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the novel selective P2X3 receptor antagonist filapixant (BAY1902607) in patients with refractory chronic cough. METHODS: Following a crossover design, 23 patients with refractory chronic cough (age: 60.4 ± 9.1 years) received ascending doses of filapixant in one period (20, 80, 150, and 250 mg, twice daily, 4-days-on/3-days-off) and placebo in the other. The primary efficacy endpoint was the 24-h cough frequency on Day 4 of each dosing step. Further, subjective cough severity and health-related quality of life were assessed. RESULTS: Filapixant at doses ≥ 80 mg significantly reduced cough frequency and severity and improved cough health-related quality of life. Reductions in 24-h cough frequency over placebo ranged from 17% (80 mg dose) to 37% (250 mg dose), reductions over baseline from 23% (80 mg) to 41% (250 mg) (placebo: 6%). Reductions in cough severity ratings on a 100-mm visual analog scale ranged from 8 mm (80 mg) to 21 mm (250 mg). No serious or severe adverse events or adverse events leading to discontinuation of treatment were reported. Taste-related adverse events occurred in 4%, 13%, 43%, and 57% of patients treated with filapixant 20, 80, 150, and 250 mg, respectively, and in 12% treated with placebo. CONCLUSIONS: Filapixant proved to be efficacious, safe, and-apart from the occurrence of taste disturbances, especially at higher dosages-well tolerated during the short therapeutic intervention. Clinical trial registration EudraCT, eudract.ema.europa.eu, 2018-000129-29; ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03535168

Oral doxycycline for the prevention of postoperative trachomatous trichiasis in Ethiopia: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Trachomatous trichiasis is treated surgically to prevent sight loss. Unfavourable surgical outcomes remain a major challenge. We investigated the hypothesis that doxycycline might reduce the risk of postoperative trichiasis following surgery in patients with trachomatous trichiasis through anti-matrix metalloproteinase and anti-inflammatory activity. METHODS: In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults (aged >18 years) with upper lid trachomatous trichiasis in association with tarsal conjunctive scarring were recruited through community-based screening and surgical outreach campaigns in Ethiopia. Individuals who had previously had eyelid surgery were excluded. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1), with random block sizes of four or six, to receive oral doxycycline (100 mg once a day) or placebo for 28 days immediately after trichiasis surgery. Randomisation was stratified by surgeon. Patients, investigators, surgeons, and all other study team members were masked to study group allocation and treatment. Participants were examined at 10 days, and 1, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The primary outcome was the cumulative proportion of individuals who developed postoperative trichiasis by 12 months. Primary analyses were done in all participants who attended at least one of the four follow-up assessments. Safety analyses were done in all participants who attended either the 10 day or 1 month follow-up assessments. This trial is registered with the Pan African Clinical Trials Registry, number PACTR201512001370307. FINDINGS: Between Dec 21, 2015, and April 6, 2016, 1000 patients with trichiasis were enrolled and randomly assigned to treatment (499 patients to doxycycline, 501 patients to placebo). All but one participant attended at least one follow-up assessment. Thus, 999 participants were assessed for the primary outcome: 498 in the doxycycline group and 501 in the placebo group. By month 12, 58 (12%) of 498 patients in the doxycycline group and 62 (12%) of 501 patients in the placebo group had developed postoperative trichiasis (adjusted odds ratio 0·91, 95% CI 0·61 to 1·34, p=0·63), with a risk difference of -0·5% (-4·5% to 3·5%). Significantly more patients in the doxycycline group had an adverse event than in the placebo group (18 [4%] of 498 vs six [1%] of 501; odds ratio 3·09, 95% CI 1·21-7·84; p=0·02). The most frequent adverse events in the doxycycline group were gastritis symptoms (n=9), constipation (n=4), and diarrhoea (n=4). INTERPRETATION: Doxycycline did not reduce the risk of postoperative trichiasis and is therefore not indicated for the improvement of outcomes following trachomatous trichiasis surgery. Surgical programmes should continue to make efforts to strengthen surgical training and supervision to improve outcomes. FUNDING: The Wellcome Trust

Water spreading weirs altering flood, nutrient distribution and crop productivity in upstream–downstream settings in dry lowlands of Afar, Ethiopia

Afar in Ethiopia is a drought prone area characterized by low rainfall, high temperature and suffering from flash flood emerging from adjacent mountains. We introduced a flood barrier, water spreading weirs (WSWs) in 2015 to convert floods to a productive use and assessed its effect in 2016 and 2017. WSWs resulted in deposition of sediments where sand deposition was higher in the upside of upstream weir whereas silt and clay deposition was prominent at the central location between the two weirs. There was a moisture gradient across farming fields with volumetric water content (VWC) at 20 cm depth varying between 10 and 22% depending on the relative position/distance of fields from the WSWs, consequently, effecting significant difference in yield between fields. There was a positive relationship between VWC made available by WSWs at planting and the yield (P < 0.001, r = 0.76) and biomass productivity (P < 0.005, r = 0.46). WSWs created differing farming zone following soil moisture regime, affecting grain and biomass yield. In good potential zones with high moisture content, the WSW-based farming enabled to produce up to 5 and 15 t ha−1 yr−1 of maize grain and biomass, respectively, while in low potential zones there was a complete crop grain failure. The system enabled pastoralists to produce huge amount of biomass and grain during Belg (short) and Meher (long) growing seasons that was stored and utilized during succeeding dry periods. Furthermore, the practice ensured a visible recovery of degraded rangelands. This was evident from the filling up of the riverbed as well as the two WSW wings with 1 m high and about 450 m length each with fertile sediment from Belg and Meher seasons of 2016 and 2017. Hence, future studies should analyze the sustainability and the potential of flood-based development at large scale

Effect of repeated epilation for minor trachomatous trichiasis on lash burden, phenotype and surgical management willingness: A cohort study.

BACKGROUND: WHO endorsed the use of epilation as an alternative treatment to surgery for the management of both minor unoperated TT (UTT) and postoperative TT (PTT). However, some trachoma control programmes hesitated to implement epilation citing concerns that it would hamper TT surgical acceptance and result in larger numbers of and stiffer trichiatic eyelashes than the original TT lashes. We investigated the burden and phenotypes of post-epilation trichiatic eyelashes, and willingness to accept surgical management separately in unoperated and postoperative TT cases. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We recruited cases with minor (≤5 eyelashes from the upper eyelid touching the eye or evidence of epilation in <1/3rd of the upper eyelid) UTT (170) and PTT (169) from community-based screenings in Amhara Region, Ethiopia. Participants eyes were examined and data on present and future willingness to accept surgical management collected at baseline and every month for 6-months. Eyelashes touching the eye were counted and their phenotypes documented. Participants were trained on how to epilate. Epilation was done by the participants at home and by the examiner during follow-ups when requested by the participant. Follow-up rates were ≥97%. There was evidence of a significant reduction in the burden of trichiatic eyelashes in unoperated (mean difference = -0.90 [-1.11- -0.69]; RR = 0.50 [95% CI, 0.40-0.62]; p<0.0001), and postoperative (mean difference = -1.16 [-1.36- -0.95]; RR = 0.38 [95% CI, 0.31-0.48]; p<0.0001) cases 6-month after frequent epilation. Post-epilation trichiatic eyelashes at 6-months had higher odds of being thin (40.2% vs 55.8%, OR = 1.88 [95% CI, 1.21-2.93]; p = 0.0048), weak (39.8% vs 70.8%, OR = 3.68 [95%CI,2.30-5.88]; p<0.0001), and half-length (30.9% vs 43.3%, OR = 1.71 [1.09-2.68]; p = 0.020) than the pre-epilation trichiatic eyelashes in unoperated cases. There was a significant increase in the proportion of weak trichiatic eyelashes (OR = 1.99 [95% CI, 1.03-3.83; p = 0.039) in postoperative cases. In all 6 follow-up time points, 120/164 (73.2%) of unoperated and 134/163 (82.2%) of postoperative cases indicated that they would accept surgery if their trichiasis progressed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In this study setting, frequent epilation neither hampers surgical acceptance nor results in more damaging trichiatic eyelashes than the pre-epilation lashes; and can be used as an alternative to the programmatic management of minor unoperated and postoperative TT cases

Pharmacological assessment of ibuprofen arginate on platelet aggregation and colon cancer cell killing

This work was funded in part by grants from the Wellcome Trust (0852551Z108/Z, to J.A.M.) and British Heart Foundation (FS/16/1/31699, to NSK). SM is a recipient of a PhD award from the King of Saud University, AT is a recipient of a MRC PhD studentship