One-handed hammer-spanner for chucks

Modified spanner wrench with a heavy hammer-piece hinged to its handle allows one hand removal of a tool from a chuck

Free conjuctival autograft in the management of advanced primary and recurrent pterygia

Objectives: To evaluate the outcome of free conjuctival autograft in patients with grades III and IV pterygia and to determine the  post-operative recurrence rate.Design: A prospective descriptive study.Setting: Menelik II Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.Participants: Thirty four patients, 32 with primary and two with recurrent pterygia.Intervention: A superficial Keratectomy extending beyond the corneal lesion all around and sufficiently deep to Bowman’s layer to produce a perfectly clear cornea in the excised area followed by suture a free conjuctival autograft on the excised area.Main outcome measures: Improvement in visual acuity and  recurrence rate of pterygia at follow up.Results: Of the 32 patients followed up, the visual acuity remained the same on eight and improved in 24 cases. There were no intraoperative complications. Pterygia recurred in two patients between three and four months postoperatively.Conclusion: This study suggests that a free conjuctival autograft in the management of stage III and IV pterygia is a useful operation resulting in a very low recurrence rate of the pathology

The status of school sanitation facilities in some selected primary and secondary schools in Dessie City Administration, South Wello Zone, Amhara Region

Background: There is a growing demand on school hygiene and sanitation facilities given the growing number of school enrolment in Ethiopia. A safe school environment plays a key role in facilitating education and enduring pupils with improved life skills. Although there is much attention given for the expansion of schools to reach all school aged children in Ethiopia, the concern on focusing school hygiene and sanitation remains to be a challenge.Objectives of the study: A assessing the status of water and sanitary facilities in selected schools of Dessie Town with the intention of obtaining exploring baseline to serve for implementation of an Urban Health Extension Program in the region.Methods: This study was done in May 2010 in Dessie City Administration. Questionnaire-based interviews with school principals and record reviews supplemented by physical observation were used to collect the necessary data. Descriptive statistics was used to present the findings.Results: The overall latrine to school population ratio was (1:64), which was about twice less than the recommended one. The ratio for female students was significantly lower than that for males. The access to drinking water facilities (water taps) and hand washing facilities were very much limited to the extent not conforming to the standard. The presence of school-based water, sanitation, and hygiene committee and clubs was unheard.Conclusion: The inadequate sanitation facility in schools poses a health risk that would impact students’ potential to attend education. Hence, a coordinated effort among all concerned school to safeguard the school environment should be considered as one part of the path for reaching the MDG goals with respect to at least sanitation

Some basic properties of isolators as circuit elements

In order to determine the maximum number of adjustments needed to obtain any given tolerance for reflections, one must make use of the fact that the reflection coefficient at a junction between an isolator and a reciprocal line is the same when measured from either side of the junction. This fact is true for any reciprocal device. In order to prove this for an isolator, a thermodynamical argument is offered

Antagonistic Effect of Native Bacillus Isolates against Black Root Rot of Faba Bean

Faba bean (Vicia faba L.) is one of the most important pulse crops grown in eastern Africa. Black root rot (Fusarium solani) is known to cause great yield losses in faba bean, especially in the highlands of Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to evaluate the biological control ability of native Bacillus species on the basis of their antagonistic effects against F. solani. The study was conducted in vitro and in a greenhouse. All tested Bacillus isolates significantly (P<0.05) reduced radial mycelial growth of the pathogen. Seven bacterial isolates restricted growth of the pathogen to <14 mm diameter, and showed 39-44% efficacy over the positive control. Isolate BP048 was the most effective, with 43.6% efficacy. The lowest inhibitory effects, 15.5 and 27.8%, were recorded from isolates BS083 and BS0102, respectively. The culture filtrate of the bacterial isolates also inhibited F. solani spore germination. In vivo, the isolates significantly reduced severity of black root rot on artificially inoculated faba bean seedlings. The antagonist Bacillus isolates kept black root rot severity low with more than 50% disease suppression, compared to the untreated control.Keywords: Ethiopia, Fusarium solani, Vicia faba

Integration of Family Planning Services within Post Abortion Care at Health Facilities in Dessie –North East Ethiopia

The aim of this study is to investigate the integration of family planning services within post abortion care that plays a vital role in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality resulting from abortion and its  complications. Facility based cross - sectional study design was used including both quantitative and qualitative data collection method. The sample size was 291. The number of study units to be sampled from each facility was determined using proportional allocation to size and systematic random sampling was employed to select and approach each study  subjects. A validated semi structured questionnaire was used to collect thedata. Bi-variate analysis and multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify the most important predictors of integrating family planning services within post abortion care. A total of 282 post abortion women were included in the exit interview. Among these 158 (56.0%) reported that they have got family planning (FP) counselling and 134 (47.5%) left the health facility with modern contraceptive method. Lack of trained provider, being over loaded by other routine activities, absence of separate post abortion room, lack of commodities and supplies were major identified barriers of integrating family planning services within post  abortion care. Family planning services were partially integrated within post abortion care. Attention should be given in service providers training,  availing post abortion family planning supplies and equipments in the post abortion recovery room