Genetic Variability and Heritability in Ethiopian Grasspea (lathyrus sativus l.) Accessions

Comprehensive information on genetic variability and selection parameters is very crucial to design breeding strategies. However, very limited information is available in Ethiopian grasspea germplasm. Therefore, the present study was conducted to estimate genetic variability, broad sense heritability and genetic advance; and determine scope of selection for 18 quantitative traits using 426 Ethiopian grasspea accessions. The analysis of variance showed highly significant (P < 0.0001) differences for most of the traits demonstrating the presence of high genetic diversity among the studied grasspea accessions. Higher differences between PCV and GCV estimates were observed for number of pods, effective pods and seed yield signifying the importance of environmental factors influence. High heritability coupled with high genetic advance was observed for many of agronomically important traits indicating that the high heritability is due to additive gene effects and therefore, selection can be effective for the improvement of grasspea for those traits. On the contrary, low heritability coupled with low genetic advance was recorded for number of seeds per pod indicating greater contribution of non-additive gene effects on the expression of this trait

Assessing the Practice of Birth Defect Registration at Addis Ababa Health Facilities

BACKGROUND፡ Birth defects are conditions that exist at birth and cause structural changes in one or more parts of the body. In order to plan proper management and design preventive activities of these conditions, accurate tracking, registration and analyses of the registered data are important. We assessed the practice of birth defect registration at Addis Ababa health facilities.METHODS: We retrospectively checked the existence of a separate birth defect registry book and assessed the delivery room registration book for completeness in registering birth defects. We also assessed the total number of birth defects registered during 2010-2015.RESULTS: We assessed the practice of birth defect registration at 37 delivery service providing health facilities in Addis Ababa, 20 public and 17 private institutions. Of the 37 health institutions assessed, 23 registered birth defects (3 of them used a separate birth defect registry books, and 20 used a regular registration book to register birth defects). The remaining 14 did not register any congenital anomaly. Of the institutions that do not register congenital anomalies, 10 are private and four are public.CONCLUSION: Only three delivery providing health facilities had a dedicated birth defect registry book which is close to ideal for a birth defect registration. There is a need for others to do the same until an electronic birth defect registration is established. This registration will serve as a resource for clinical governance and studies into quality of life, quality of care, etiology and prevention

The Role of Environmental Factors in the Etiology of Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts

Background: Nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (NSOFCs) represent the most common congenital anomalies in the head and neck region. Multiple factors contribute to the occurrence of this anomaly. The etiology of NSOFCs in the Ethiopian population has not been investigated prior to this study.Aims of the Study: To assess the role of maternal environmental factors in the occurrence of NSOFCs in the Ethiopian Population.Methods: The authors used unmatched case control study design and evaluated the role of environmental factors to the occurrence of NSOFCs in the Ethiopian population. The participants were recruited from the same institution (Yekatit 12 Hospital Medical College). The authors studied 760 mothers (359 mothers of children born with NSOFCs and 401 mothers of children born without any congenital anomalies). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to calculate relative risk by odds ratio and 95% confidence interval.Results: Mothers who gave history of bronchial asthma and mothers who were admitted for threatened abortion had a higher risk of delivering a child with NSOFCS P value=0.013; AOR=0.194, 95% CI [0.053-0.712], P value &lt;0.001; AOR= 0.179, 95% CI [0.091-0.352] respectively. Higher number of children with NSOFCs were born to mothers who were exposed to diagnostic X-ray investigation during early pregnancy than those who were not exposed P value 0.048; AOR=0.375, 95% CI [0.142-0.990].Conclusion: Maternal exposure to diagnostic x-ray, maternal chronic illness like bronchial asthma and threatened abortion were found to be associated with the occurrence of NSOFCS in the studied population.</p

Tef (Eragrostis tef) Variety ‘Tesfa’

 አህፅሮት ጤፍ በኢትዮጵያ ከሚመረቱ የብርዕና አገዳ ሰብሎች ዋናው ሲሆን በየዓመቱ ቁጥር ከ6.5 ሚሊዮን የማያንስ አርሶ አደር ያመርተዋል፡፡ ይህም አጠቃላይ በብርዕና አገዳ ሰብሎች ከሚሸፈነው ማሳ 30% ድርሻ አለው፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ ከሌሎች ሰብሎች ጋር ሲነፃፀር ምርታማነቱ አነስተኛ ነው፡፡ ለዚህም ምክንያቱ በከፊል አርሶ አደሩ ያልተሻሻሉ የአካባቢ ዝርያዎችን በመጠቀሙና፣ የሰብሉ ተፈጥሯዊ የመጋሸብ ባህሪ ናቸው፡፡  የዚህ ጥናት ዓላማ በተለየ ምርምር አሰራር የተገኘን የጤፍ ዝርያን በመፈተሸ የተሻለ ምርት፤ የአገዳ ጥንካሬን አንዲሁም የዘር ቀለም ያለውና በአርሶ አደሩ ተመራጭ ዝርያ ማፍለቅ ነበር፡፡ በጥናቱ በቅርቡ የተለቀቀ አንድ ዝርያና አንድ የአካባቢ ዝርያን ጨምሮ 10 የተለያዩ የጤፍ አይነቴዎችን በማካተት በስድስት ወካይ ጤፍ አብቃይ ቦታዎች ላይ ተፈትሸው ተስፋ (ደዘ-ክሮስ-457) ተብሎ የተሰየመውና የተለያዩ የጤፍ አይነቴዎች ተዳቅለው የተገኘው ዝርያ ከሌሎች ማወዳደሪያ ተፈታሽ ዝርያዎች የተሻለ ውጤት በማስመዝገቡ በብሄራዊ የዝርያ አፅዳቂ ኮሚቴ ተገምግሞ ለምርት እንዲለቀቅ ተወስኗል፡፡ ይህ ዝርያ ከሌሎች ዝርያዎች በንፅፅር መጋሸብን በመቋቋሙ፤ የተሻለ ምርት በመስጠቱ በአርሶአደሩ ተፈላጊ ከመሆኑም በሻገር ከዝርያው ባህሪ የተነሳ ለመስኖ እርሻና በሰብል መድረሻ ጊዜ የማጨጃ የእርሻ መሳሪያ መጠቀም ያስችላል፡፡ Abstract Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is extensively cultivated cereal crop in Ethiopia where it is annually grown by about 6.5 million smallholder farmers on about 30% of the total area allocated to cereal crops.However, the productivity of tef is very low compared to other cereals mainly due to lack of high yielding and lodging tolerant cultivars. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the recently released tef variety called Tesfaand to provide unique morphological and agronomic descriptions of this new variety. Ten genotypes which were derived from three independent crosses and bred for at least eight generations plus a local and standard check varieties were tested at six tef growing sites in Ethiopia (namely, Adet, Chafe Donsa,DebreZeit black soil, DebreZeit light soil,Ginchiand Holetta) using RandomizedCompleteBlock Design with three replications. The study found that Tesfa(DZ-Cr-457 RIL-181) which was obtained from a cross between kinde (a semi-dwarf mutant line developed at the University of Bern, Switzerland) and Kay Murri(a landrace) outperformed other genotypes and approved for release by the Ethiopian National Variety Release Committee in March 2017.The main advantages of Tesfa over other tested lines were its higher grain yield and higher lodging tolerance. In addition, Tesfa possesses unique properties for which high acceptance by growers is expected. These are its compact panicle, lack of shattering, and thick and strong culm which makes it potentially cultivated under irrigation and also mechanically harvested

Oral Health-Related Quality of Life of Children Born With Orofacial Clefts in Ethiopia and Their Parents

Objective: To assess the oral health–related quality of life (OH-RQoL) using a translated standardized measure in an understudied population of Ethiopian children born with orofacial clefts (OFCs) and their parents. Methods: Using a descriptive study design, we assessed the OH-RQoL of 41 patients with OFCs between the ages of 8 and 17 years and their parents. Participants received multidisciplinary cleft care from 2008 to 2016. They completed an Amharic translation of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP). Results: There was strong internal reliability with the translated COHIP for parents and patients. Parents’ COHIP scores ranged from 67 to 186, and patients’ scores were 78 to 190. The mean for patients and parents was 155, indicating good OH-RQoL. Conclusion: The Amharic translation of the COHIP appears appropriate for use with families in Ethiopia. Both parents and patients reported OH-RQoL at similar levels as other international populations. </jats:sec

Novel <i>IRF6 </i>mutations in families with Van Der Woude syndrome and popliteal pterygium syndrome from sub-Saharan Africa

Orofacial clefts (OFC) are complex genetic traits that are often classified as syndromic or nonsyndromic clefts. Currently, there are over 500 types of syndromic clefts in the Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) database, of which Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) is one of the most common (accounting for 2% of all OFC). Popliteal pterygium syndrome (PPS) is considered to be a more severe form of VWS. Mutations in the IRF6 gene have been reported worldwide to cause VWS and PPS. Here, we report studies of families with VWS and PPS in sub-Saharan Africa. We screened the DNA of eight families with VWS and one family with PPS from Nigeria and Ethiopia by Sanger sequencing of the most commonly affected exons in IRF6 (exons 3, 4, 7, and 9). For the VWS families, we found a novel nonsense variant in exon 4 (p.Lys66X), a novel splice-site variant in exon 4 (p.Pro126Pro), a novel missense variant in exon 4 (p.Phe230Leu), a previously reported splice-site variant in exon 7 that changes the acceptor splice site, and a known missense variant in exon 7 (p.Leu251Pro). A previously known missense variant was found in exon 4 (p.Arg84His) in the PPS family. All the mutations segregate in the families. Our data confirm the presence of IRF6-related VWS and PPS in sub-Saharan Africa and highlights the importance of screening for novel mutations in known genes when studying diverse global populations. This is important for counseling and prenatal diagnosis for high-risk families

Mutations in Van Der Woude Families From Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) is the most common syndromic orofacial cleft which accounts for approximately 2% of all cleft lip (CL) and/or palate cases. It is characterized by the presence of lower lip pits, in addition to CL, CL with or without cleft palate, cleft palate only, and hypodontia. It is inherited as an autosomal-dominant trait with almost complete penetrance but variable expressivity, and different variants in IRF6 gene have been reported in different populations around the world including African populations (Ethiopian, Ghanaian, and Nigerian). METHODS AND FINDINGS: The authors investigated the role of IRF6 in Ethiopian families with VWS. The DNA of 7 families with VWS from Ethiopia were screened by Sanger sequencing. The authors screened all 9 exons of IRF6 and found a novel missense variant in exon 4 (p. Gly65Glu). This variant was predicted to be deleterious/probably damaging by Sift and PolyPhen, respectively. The IRF6 variant (p. Gly65Glu) segregates in the family since it was identified in the father and a sibling. CONCLUSION: Several of the individuals with lower lip pits in this study did not seek treatment. This is due to lack of awareness about the significance of this minor looking deformity and its consequences, and availability of treatment for birth defects. Therefore, it is important to educate families. Finally, screening for novel variants in known genes has a role in counseling and prenatal diagnosis for high-risk families

Molecular biological characterization of soil treated with new biological preparations

Šī pētījuma mērķis bija noskaidrot divu jaunu bioloģisko preparātu ietekmi uz augsnes mikroorganismu ģenētiskā materiāla koncentrācijām un sugu sastāvu. Pētījums tika sadalīts divos neatkarīgos eksperimentos. Pirmajā eksperimentā pētāmie augsnes parauglaukumi tika apstrādāti ar mikroorganismus saturošu kūdras preparātu, bet otrajā – rapša salmiem un mikroorganismiem ar celulolītisko aktivitāti. Parauglaukumos audzēja miežus un rapsi. Pētījumā tika pielietotas gan klasiskās mikrobioloģijas metodes, lai identificētu augsnes mikrobiotas raksturīgākos pārstāvjus, gan molekulārās – PCR, qPCR, ARDRA, lai noteiktu augsnes mikroorganismu ģenētiskā materiāla koncentrācijas. Tika veikta klasteranalīze paraugu ģenētiskā profila salīdzināšanai. Abi pētītie jaunie bioloģiskie preparāti ietekmēja mikroorganismu koncentrāciju miežu un rapša augsnē, un atšķirīgos veidos izmainīja mikrobiotas sugu sastāvu. Augsnes paraugos dominēja nepatogēnu sugu baktērijas: Bacillus mycoides, Brevibacillus brevis, Brevundimonas vesicularis un Sphingomonas paucimobilis.The aim of this study was to identify effects of two new biological preparations on soil microbial genetic material concentrations and species composition. The study was divided into two independent experiments. In the first experiment studied soil plots were treated with peat preparation containing microorganisms, while the second - rape straw and microorganisms with cellulolytic activity. Barley and rape were grown in the plots. The study used classical microbiological methods for the identification typical representatives of soil microbiota and molecular - PCR, qPCR, ARDRA methods to determine the concentration and analyze soil microbial genetic material. Comparison of genetic profile of samples was carried out using cluster analysis. New biological preparations affected microbial concentration in barley and rape soil and in different ways changed species composition of microbiota. The soil samples were dominated by non-pathogenic bacterial species: Bacillus mycoides, Brevibacillus brevis, Brevundimonas vesicularis and Sphingomonas paucimobilis

The Impact of Asymptomatic Helminth Co-Infection in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Tuberculosis in North-West Ethiopia

Background: Areas endemic of helminth infection, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV are to a large extent overlapping. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of asymptomatic helminth infection on the immunological response among TB patients with and without HIV, their house hold contacts and community controls. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanMethodology: Consecutive smear positive TB patients (n = 112), their household contacts (n = 71) and community controls (n = 112) were recruited in Gondar town, Ethiopia. Stool microscopy, HIV serology, serum IgE level, eosinophil and CD4 counts were performed and tuberculosis patients were followed up for 3 months after initiation of anti-TB treatment. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanResults: Helminth co-infection rate was 29% in TB patients and 21% in both community control and household contacts (p = 0.3) where Ascaris lumbricoides was the most prevalent parasite. In TB patients the seroprevalence of HIV was 47% (53/112). Eosinophilia and elevated IgE level were significantly associated with asymptomatic helminth infection. During TB treatment, the worm infection rate of HIV+/TB patients declined from 31% (10/32) at week 0 to 9% (3/32) at week 2 of TB treatment, whereas HIV2/TB patients showed no change from baseline to week 2, 29% (13/45) vs. 22.2% (10/45). This trend was stable at week 8 and 12 as well. less thanbrgreater than less thanbrgreater thanConclusion: One third of smear positive TB patients were infected with helminths. Eosinophilia and elevated IgE level correlated with asymptomatic worm infection, indicating an effect on host immunity. The rate of worm infection declined during TB treatment in HIV+/TB co-infected patients whereas no decline was seen in HIV2/TB group.Funding Agencies|Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries||Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SAREC/SIDA)||European-Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EU/EDCTP)|JP 10800.006|Swedish Research Council||Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation (Oscar II Jubilee Foundation)||</p

Tef (Eragrostis tef) Variety ‘Tesfa’

ጤፍ በኢትዮጵያ ከሚመረቱ የብርዕና አገዳ ሰብልች ዋናው ሲሆን የዓመቱ ቁጥር ከ6.5 ሚሉዮን የማያንስ አርሶ አዯር ያመርተዋሌ፡፡ ይህም አጠቃሊይ በብርዕና አገዳ ሰብልች ከሚሸፈነው ማሳ 30% ድርሻ አሇው፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ ከላልች ሰብልች ጋር ሲነፃፀር ምርታማነቱ አነስተኛ ነው፡፡ ሇዚህም ምክንያቱ በከፊሌ አርሶ አዯሩ ያሌተሻሻለ የአካባቢ ዝርያዎችን በመጠቀሙና፣ የሰብለ ተፈጥሯዊ የመጋሸብ ባህሪ ናቸው፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ዓሊማ በተሇየ ምርምር አሰራር የተገኘን የጤፍ ዝርያን በመፈተሸ የተሻሇ ምርት፤ የአገዳ ጥንካሬን አንዲሁም የዘር ቀሇም ያሇውና በአርሶ አዯሩ ተመራጭ ዝርያ ማፍሇቅ ነበር፡፡ በጥናቱ በቅርቡ የተሇቀቀ አንድ ዝርያና አንድ የአካባቢ ዝርያን ጨምሮ 10 የተሇያዩ የጤፍ አይነቴዎችን በማካተት በስድስት ወካይ ጤፍ አብቃይ ቦታዎች ሊይ ተፈትሸው ተስፋ (ዯዘ-ክሮስ-457) ተብል የተሰየመውና የተሇያዩ የጤፍ አይነቴዎች ተዳቅሇው የተገኘው ዝርያ ከላልች ማወዳዯሪያ ተፈታሽ ዝርያዎች የተሻሇ ውጤት በማስመዝገቡ በብሄራዊ የዝርያ አፅዳቂ ኮሚቴ ተገምግሞ ሇምርት እንዲሇቀቅ ተወስኗሌ፡፡ ይህ ዝርያ ከላልች ዝርያዎች በንፅፅር መጋሸብን በመቋቋሙ፤ የተሻሇ ምርት በመስጠቱ በአርሶአዯሩ ተፈሊጊ ከመሆኑም በሻገር ከዝርያው ባህሪ የተነሳ ሇመስኖ እርሻና በሰብሌ መድረሻ ጊዜ የማጨጃ የእርሻ መሳሪያ መጠቀም ያስችሊሌ፡፡Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is extensively cultivated cereal crop in Ethiopia where it is annually grown by about 6.5 million smallholder farmers on about 30% of the total area allocated to cereal crops.However, the productivity of tef is very low compared to other cereals mainly due to lack of high yielding and lodging tolerant cultivars. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of the recently released tef variety called Tesfaand to provide unique morphological and agronomic descriptions of this new variety. Ten genotypes which were derived from three independent crosses and bred for at least eight generations plus a local and standard check varieties were tested at six tef growing sites in Ethiopia (namely, Adet, Chafe Donsa,DebreZeit black soil, DebreZeit light soil,Ginchiand Holetta) using RandomizedCompleteBlock Design with three replications. The study found that Tesfa(DZ-Cr-457 RIL-181) which was obtained from a cross between kinde (a semi-dwarf mutant line developed at the University of Bern, Switzerland) and Kay Murri(a landrace) outperformed other genotypes and approved for release by the Ethiopian National Variety Release Committee in March 2017.The main advantages of Tesfa over other tested lines were its higher grain yield and higher lodging tolerance. In addition, Tesfa possesses unique properties for which high acceptance by growers is expected. These are its compact panicle, lack of shattering, and thick and strong cul