Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Role of Gerontechnology in Elderly Well-being

Ageing population is becoming a major concern in many parts of the world. Advancements in medical science coupled with the declining rate of child birth is contributing to the growing number of elderly population in the developed world. However, ageing comes with different chronic illnesses, deteriorations of mental as well as physical abilities. These growing needs of care for the elderly put strain on the health care system which contributes to the declining quality of care for the elderly. Shortage of resources and personnel contributes to the marginalization and isolation of the elderly which leads to depression, low self-esteem and unhealthy well-being. Gerontechnology is playing a major role in helping with providing alternative ways and assistance in the field of elderly care. The purpose of this thesis project is to create awareness among nurses and healthcare professionals about the roles that technology is playing in maintaining elderly well-being as well as detailing currently available technologies in the field of Gerontechnology. Relevant data was collected from MastoFinna, CINHAL, EBSCO, PubMed and Elsevier Science Direct. Final qualitative data analysis was performed on 13 carefully selected and studied articles. The study has shown that technology has various roles in the field of care for elderly wellbeing. These roles are telecare medicine, elderlies’ safety, entertainment, independent living, different activities for elderly, increasing productivity and positive social wellbeing. The authors recommend future research to include various database sources which were not accessible freely but could have contributed to find even more outcomes.Ikääntyvästä väestöstä on tulossa merkittävä huolenaihe monissa osissa maailmaa. Lääketieteen edistysaskeleet ja lapsen syntymän väheneminen edistävät kehittyneiden maiden ikääntyneen väestön kasvavaa määrää. Ikääntymiseen liittyy kuitenkin erilaisia ​​kroonisia sairauksia, heikkenemistä henkisesti ja fyysisesti. Nämä ikääntyneiden hoidon kasvavat tarpeet asettavat terveydenhuoltojärjestelmälle rasitusta, mikä osaltaan heikentää iäkkäiden hoidon laatua. Resurssien ja henkilöstön puute edistää vanhusten syrjäytymistä ja eristäytymistä, mikä johtaa masennukseen, alhaiseen itsetuntoon ja hyvinvointiin. Geronteknology on tärkeä rooli mietittäessä vaihtoehtoisia tapoja ja avuntarvetta vanhustenhuollon alalla. Tämän opinnäytetyön tarkoituksena oli korostaa ikääntyvän väestön ja hyvinvoinnin haasteita, teknologian rooleja ikääntyvän hyvinvoinnin ylläpitämisessä sekä nykyisen teknologian alalla geronteknologian alalla. Tärkeät tiedot kerättiin lähteistä MastoFinna, CINHAL, EBSCO, PubMed ja Elsevier Science Direct. Lopullinen laadullinen analyysi tehtiin 13 huolella valituista ja tutkituista artikkeleista. Tutkimus on osoittanut, että tekniikalla on erilaisia rooleja vanhusten hyvinvoinnin hoidossa. Nämä roolit ovat telekargialääketiede, vanhukset turvallisuuden, viihteen, itsenäisen elämän, erilaiset aktiviteetit vanhuksille, tuottavuuden lisääminen ja myönteinen sosiaalinen hyvinvointi. Olisi suositeltavaa tutkimuksen kannalta sisällyttää mukaan erilaiset tietokannat, jotka eivät olleet vapaasti käytettävissä, mutta jotka olisivat voineet auttaa löytämään parempia tuloksia

Complex Samples Logistic Regression Analysis of Predictors of the Use of Modern Contraceptives Among Married or In-Union Women in Ethiopia.

Abstract Background: Modern contraceptive use by currently married Ethiopian women has steadily increased over the last 15 years. The main objective of this study was to identify the magnitude and predictors of current use of modern contraceptives among married or in-union women aged (15-49) in Ethiopia using complex sampling. Methods: The study used data from the 2016 Ethiopia Demographic and Health Survey (EDHS, 2016) dataset. In the study a total number of 7,346 married or in-union women age 15-49 in Ethiopia were included. The current use of modern contraceptives among reproductive-age married or in-union women in Ethiopia, measured as ‘Yes’ (currently using a modern method) and ‘No’(using a folkloric method, traditional method, and no method) is considered as a dependent variable. Complex samples binary logistic regression was performed to examine the importance of each explanatory variables using SPSS version 23, and statistical significance was attached at p=0.05. Results: The study found that age 40–44 years (AOR = 2.064), wealth index Middle (AOR = 1.553); Rich (AOR =1.71), working status yes (AOR = 1.279), and sexual activity in the last 4 weeks active in the last 4 weeks (AOR=3.614) were highly significantly associated with current use of modern contraceptive. Conclusion: The variables age, religion, residence, region, wealth status, husband desire for children, women's working status, sexual activity in the last 4 weeks, and total number of children ever born were statistically significant predictors for the current use of modern contraceptives among married or in union women in Ethiopia.</jats:p

Working animal welfare and their multidimensional roles on livelihood improvement in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Working animals have a crucial socio-economic role to play for many low-income communities. One such example is in Ethiopia where virtually all the draught power for agricultural production derives from working animals. However, despite this, the welfare status of working animals in this country remains poor. Hence, a clear understanding of the major welfare problems faced by working animals is key to helping improve their welfare status and to maximise their economic contribution. This systematic literature review encompasses 28 studies published between 2010–2024, that address the role of working animals and the factors impinging on their welfare. Suitability of papers for inclusion (and exclusion) involved use of a PRISMA flow diagram. In this review, we also sought to define the exact role of working animals with them found to be used not only for draught power but also as a direct source of food as well as income. A lack of medical care was also highlighted with animals afforded limited access to feed and water, subjected to regular physical abuse, and deprived of access to shelter. Insufficient assessment of welfare and improper methods of data analysis were also found to be an issue, factors that require to be addressed by future researchers to help improve the welfare of working animals in this regio

Study on the causes of calf morbidity and mortality and its associated risk factors in South Omo Zone, South-Western Ethiopia

A cross-sectional and longitudinal observational study with the objectives to identify calf management and husbandry practices and to investigate the major causes of calf morbidity and mortality and its associated risk factors was conducted in South Omo Zone from 2015 to 2016. A total of 85 calf owners were interviewed and 255 calves of those farmers were longitudinally followed for six months from the very first day of their birth. Accordingly, retained placenta 17/85 (20%), narrow pelvic outlet 17/85 (17.6%) and prolonged labour 8/85 (9.4%) were ranked as maternal-related calving problems whereas, ‘navel ill’ 34/85 (40.0%), dead birth 9/85 (10.6%), oversized calve 16/85 (18.8%) and abnormal presentation 9/85 (10.6%) were identified as calf-related problems. The traditional healers 31/85 (36.47%) and veterinarians 24/85 (28.23%) were dominant calving assistants in the study areas. Moreover, bloody diarrhea 24/85 (28.2%), ectoparasites 10/85 (11.8%), pneumonia 7/85 (8.2%) and constipation 3/85 (3.5%) were categorized as the major health problems that frequently affected the calves. From the calves longitudinally followed, 85 calves (33.3%) were encountered different health problems which resulted in calf morbidity and mortality. Identified health problems were not significantly associated (p&gt;0.05) with study sites, sex and breed of calves. According to multiple logistic regression analysis, six variables (calf housing system, dam vaccination history, colostrum feeding frequency, calf house clearing frequency, parity of the dam and calf delivery problem) were significantly associated (p&lt;0.05) with calf morbidity. However, none of the variables was significantly associated with calf mortality. Through six months follow-up, 4.41% crude calf mortality rate was recorded. Sudden death with unknown cause, bloody diarrhea, pneumonia, “evil eye” and physical damages were responsible for 36.36, 18.18, 18.18, 9.09 and 18.18% case fatality and responsible for 1.60, 0.80, 0.80, 0.40 and 0.80% crude mortality respectively. The crude mortality varies among sex; 3.13 and 6.67% respectively in male and female calves. Similarly, it was relatively higher in calves under one week of age (5.73%) and decreasing as the calf’s age increased. It can be concluded that improving herd management and husbandry practices which negatively affecting calf health could minimize calf morbidity and mortality. Moreover, improving the whole herd health system and awareness creation to calve owners to improve the dynamism of their future replacement calve is very important in this area.</jats:p

Value and Feasibility of Telephone Follow-Up in Ethiopian Surgical Patients

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) represent a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ethiopia. Lack of post-discharge follow-up, including identification of SSIs, is a barrier to continued patient care, often because of financial and travel constraints. As part of a surgical quality improvement initiative, we aimed to assess patient outcomes at 30 days post-operative with a telephone call. Patients and Methods: We conducted mobile telephone follow-up as part of Lifebox's ongoing Clean Cut program, which aims to improve compliance with intra-operative infection prevention standards. One urban tertiary referral hospital and one rural district general hospital in Ethiopia were included in this phase of the study; hospital nursing staff called patients at 30 days post-operative inquiring about signs of SSIs, health-care-seeking behavior, and treatments provided if patients had any healthcare encounters since discharge. Results: A total of 701 patients were included; overall 77% of patients were reached by telephone call after discharge. The rural study site reached 362 patients (87%) by telephone; the urban site reached 176 patients (62%) (p &lt; 0.001). Of the 39 SSIs identified, 19 (49%) were captured as outpatient during the telephone follow-up (p &lt; 0.001); 22 (34%) of all complications were captured following discharge (p &lt; 0.001). Telephone follow-up improved from 65%-78% in the first half of project implementation to 77%-89% in the second half of project implementation. Conclusion: Telephone follow-up after surgery in Ethiopia is feasible and valuable, and identified nearly half of all SSIs and one-third of total complications in our cohort. Follow-up improved over the course of the program, likely indicating a learning curve that, once overcome, is a more accurate marker of its practicability. Given the increasing use of mobile telephones in Ethiopia and ease of implementation, this model could be practical in other low-resource surgical settings

Bridging the know-do gap in low-income surgical environments: Creating contextually appropriate training videos to promote safer surgery in Ethiopia

Although international guidelines exist for the prevention of surgical site infections, their implementation in diverse clinical contexts, especially in low and middle-income countries, is challenging due to the lack of available resources and organizational structure of facilities. The goal of this project was to develop a series of video training aids to highlight best practices in surgical infection prevention in hospitals with limited resources and to provide practical solutions to common challenges faced in these settings. Using the validated Clean Cut education framework for infection prevention developed by Lifebox, a charity devoted to improving surgical and anesthetic safety, we partnered with clinicians in one Ethiopian hospital to create six educational videos giving practical guidelines for infection prevention under resource variable conditions. These include: 1) proper use of the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, 2) hand and skin antisepsis, 3) confirming instrument sterility, 4) maintaining the sterile field, 5) antibiotic prophylaxis, and 6) gauze counting. Gaps in available online educational materials were identified in each of the six areas. Videos were created providing setting-specific education and addressing gaps in existing materials for each of the infection prevention topics. These videos are now integrated into infection prevention curricula through Lifebox in Ethiopia and ongoing data collection to evaluate acceptability and efficacy is ongoing. Surgical education videos on infection prevention topics addressing location-specific resources and workarounds can be useful to hospitals operating in resource-limited settings for training staff and supporting quality and safety efforts in surgery