Intimate partner violence against women in western Ethiopia: prevalence, patterns, and associated factors

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Intimate partner violence against women is the psychological, physical, and sexual abuse directed to spouses. Globally it is the most pervasive yet underestimated human rights violation. This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence, patterns and associated factors of intimate partner violence against women in Western Ethiopia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional, population based household survey was conducted from January to April, 2011 using standard WHO multi-country study questionnaire. A sample of 1540 ever married/cohabited women aged 15-49 years was randomly selected from urban and rural settings of East Wollega Zone, Western Ethiopia. Data were principally analyzed using logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Lifetime and past 12 months prevalence of intimate partner violence against women showed 76.5% (95% CI: 74.4-78.6%) and 72.5% (95% CI: 70.3-74.7%), respectively. The overlap of psychological, physical, and sexual violence was 56.9%. The patterns of the three forms of violence are similar across the time periods. Rural residents (AOR 0.58, 95% CI 0.34-0.98), literates (AOR 0.65, 95% CI 0.48-0.88), female headed households <b>(</b>AOR 0.46, 95% CI 0.27-0.76) were at decreased likelihood to have lifetime intimate partner violence. Yet, older women were nearly four times (AOR 3.36, 95% CI 1.27-8.89) more likely to report the incident. On the other hand, abduction (AOR 3.71, 95% CI 1.01-13.63), polygamy (AOR 3.79, 95% CI 1.64-0.73), spousal alcoholic consumption (AOR 1.98, 95% CI 1.21-3.22), spousal hostility (AOR 3.96, 95% CI 2.52-6.20), and previous witnesses of parental violence (AOR 2.00, 95% CI 1.54-2.56) were factors associated with an increased likelihood of lifetime intimate partner violence against women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In their lifetime, three out of four women experienced at least one incident of intimate partner violence. This needs an urgent attention at all levels of societal hierarchy including policymakers, stakeholders and professionals to alleviate the situation.</p

Spatio-temporal water body and vegetation changes in the Nile swamps of southern Sudan

International audienceAn assessment to describe and quantify the extent of changes in the channel and lagoon system of the Sudd was carried out using Landsat satellite images of 1973, 1979, 1997 and 2002. Using supervised classification and visual interpretation after referencing the images, the water bodies for a representative area between Bor and Shambe (a stretch of 150 km) were delineated. The resulting files were compared to establish and quantify changes in-between the years and as well compared to Lake Victoria outflow data to assess a likely correlation which was found for the largely water level dependent lagoon system. Changes in the channel system were interpreted to happen in a certain pattern but the extent of changes could not be correlated to the outflow data as they are influenced by other, here not considered factors like wind drift and channel blockages by vegetation

Crohn's disease and the NOD2 gene: A role for Paneth cells

BACKGROUND and AIMS: The NOD2 gene, which is strongly associated with susceptibility to Crohn's disease (CD) of the terminal ileum, interacts with bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS), inducing cellular activation. However, the mechanisms by which NOD2 mutations cause terminal ileitis are unknown, and NOD2 is expressed most highly by peripheral blood monocytes, which are distributed ubiquitously and readily respond to LPS via cell-surface receptors. Paneth cells on the other hand, are most numerous in the terminal ileum, are critically important in enteric antibacterial defense, and respond to LPS through as yet undefined pathways. We therefore determined if these specialized intestinal epithelial cells also expressed the NOD2 gene. METHODS: In situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry, and laser-capture microdissection were used to determine RNA and protein expression in tissue sections, and real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to quantitate gene expression in intestinal epithelial cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. RESULTS: NOD2 was detected readily in monocytes, but not in mature macrophages in the lamina propria or within granulomas, and levels declined as monocytes differentiated into macrophages in vitro, so that Caco-2 cells expressed more NOD2 mRNA than macrophages. NOD2 mRNA was enriched in crypts compared with villi, and in situ, Paneth cells were the most prominent cells expressing NOD2 in normal and CD-affected intestinal tissue, where they also strongly expressed tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) RNA. CONCLUSIONS: The NOD2 gene product is most abundant in Paneth cells in the terminal ileum, which could therefore play a critical and hitherto unrecognized role in the pathogenesis of NOD2-associated CD

Factors Associated with 30-Day in-Hospital Mortality Among Patients Admitted with Severe Covid-19 in Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital

Andrew Mutekanga,1,&ast; Edwin Nuwagira,1,&ast; Elias Kumbakumba,2 Victoria Nyaiteera,3 Stephen Asiimwe,4 Medal Gasumuni,5 Nelson Wandera,5 Robert Natumanya,5 Denis Akena,5 Siraje Senoga,1 Joseph Kyobe Kiwanuka,6 George Kateregga,6 Emmanuel Munyarugero,6 Fardous Charles Abeya,1 Paul Stephen Obwoya,1 Stephen Ttendo,6 Rose Muhindo1,&ast; 1Department of Medicine, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 2Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 3Department of ENT, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda; 4Global Health Collaborative, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; 5Department of Medicine, Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital, Mbarara, Uganda; 6Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara, Uganda&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Rose Muhindo, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, P.O. Box 1410, Mbarara, Uganda, Tel +256772406337, Email [email protected]: COVID-19 has created a burden on the healthcare system globally. Severe COVID-19 is linked with high hospital mortality. Data regarding 30-day in-hospital mortality and its factors has not been explored in southwestern Uganda.Methods: We carried out a retrospective, single-center cohort study, and included all in-patients with laboratory-confirmed, radiological, or clinical severe COVID-19 admitted between April 2020 and September 2021 at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital (MRRH). Demographic, laboratory, treatment, and clinical outcome data were extracted from patients’ files. These data were described comparing survivors and non-survivors. We used logistic regression to explore the factors associated with 30-day in-hospital mortality.Results: Of the 283 patients with severe COVID-19 admitted at MRRH COVID-19 unit, 58.1% were male. The mean age ± standard deviation (SD) was 61± 17.4 years; there were no differences in mean age between survivors and non-survivors (59 ± 17.2 versus 64.4 ± 17.3, respectively, p=0.24) The median length of hospital stay was 7 (IQR 3– 10) days (non-survivors had a shorter median length of stay 5 (IQR 2– 9) days compared to the survivors; 8 (IQR 5– 11) days, p< 0.001. The most frequent comorbidities were hypertension (30.5%) and diabetes mellitus (30%). The overall 30-day in-hospital mortality was 134 of 279 (48%) mortality rate of 47,350× 105 with a standard error of 2.99%. The factors associated with 30-day in-hospital mortality were age: 65 years and above (aOR, 3.88; 95% CI, 1.24– 11.70; P =0.020) a neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio above 5 (aOR, 4.83; 95% CI, 1.53– 15.28; P =0.007) and oxygen requirement ≥ 15L/min (aOR, 15.80; 95% CI, 5.17– 48.25; P < 0.001).Conclusion: We found a high 30-day in-hospital mortality among patients with severe forms of COVID-19. The identified factors could help clinicians to identify patients with poor prognosis at an early stage of admission.Keywords: severe, COVID-19, 30-day in hospital mortalit