Bovine cysticercosis and human taeniosis in South-west Shoa zone of Oromia Region, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted in cattle slaughtered at Sebeta, Tulu Bolo and Weliso abattoirs in southwest shoa zone of Oromia region, Ethiopia to estimate the prevalence of bovine cystiercosis using routine meat inspection method, and questionnaire surveys were undertaken to assess the status of taeniosis and associated risk factors in human in these towns. Accordingly, out of 1216 carcasses examined, 4.6 % were found infected with Cysticercus bovis. Among the positive cases for C. bovis, 39.3 % were viable and 60.7% were non-viable cysts while it was more prevalent in the heart and tongue (39.3% and 30.4%, respectively) than in the diaphragm and liver. Out of 392 respondents, 55.1% had contracted T. saginata at least once in the past years. The prevalence was significantly higher in adults (> 20 years) than youngsters (< 20 years) (P<0.001), in male than females (P=0.046), in Christian than Muslim community (P=0.011), in butchers and abattoir workers than in other occupation (P<0.001), in illiterate than in literate and university graduates (P=0.001) and in raw meat consumers than in others (P<0.01. In conclusion, bovine cysticercosis caused by C. bovis and associated human taeniosis are important problems in the study areas. Improvement in meat inspection procedures and sanitary conditions in the study areas are needed.Key words: Cysticercosis, Cattle, Human, Taeniosis, Ethiopia

Daily versus weekly iron supplementation and prevention of iron deficiency anaemia in lactating women

Objective: To demonstrate the effectiveness and social feasibility of weekly versus daily iron supplementation in preventing and treating iron deficiency anaemia among anaemic mothers. Design: A longitudinal in nature. Setting: Seven urban slum communities in Teklehaimanot Wereda, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Subjects: Two hundred seven eligible mothers were assigned to the daily supplementation, weekly supplementation or control groups following randomisation between March and May 2001. The daily supplemented groups (n=71) received 60 mg of elemental iron containing 300 mg ferrous sulphate and 400 µg folic acid from monday to friday. The weekly group (n=68) received one tablet once a week every monday supervised while the control group (n=68) was advised to take no medications without the knowledge of the investigators until the completion of the study. To eliminate a major source of variation, subjects participating in the study were de-wormed at the beginning of the study. Main outcome measures: Haemoglobin and serum ferritin concentrations were compared before and after the intervention among the groups. Results: The mean haemoglobin (Hgb), and serum ferritin concentration (SFC) at baseline were practically similar among the groups. Haemoglobin levels significantly increased at the end of the study in all the groups and the proportion of anaemia decreased from 6.9% to 1.6% in the daily, 6.7% to 1.7% in the weekly supplemented and 6.7% to 6.1% in the control groups. The difference noted between the daily and weekly supplemented groups was not significant. The improvement of SFC concentration was better in the daily than the weekly group but not statistically significant. Daily supplementation schedule caused more side effects and lower compliance level than the weekly supplementation schedule. Conclusion: Weekly supplementation is simple, comparable to daily supplementation and economically advantageous. Thus, it is recommended to adopt the strategy for controlling anaemia. Further because of higher compliance rate and lower side effects, it is deemed to be socially feasible. (East African Medical Journal: 2003 80(1): 11-16

Co-producing Gender-responsive Climate Services for Enhanced Food and Nutrition Security and Health in Ethiopia and Tanzania (COGENT) – Consultative Workshop for Ethiopia

The COGENT-Climate Services Consultative Workshop was conducted on May 27-28, 2022 in Yirba town, Boricha woreda. [Add some information on the aim and objectives, how many participants, from which institutions]. COGENT represents an inter-disciplinary approach to improving household food security and nutrition-related health outcomes among women and children in the face of climate change in selected areas of Ethiopia. Over the past decades, growing investments have been made in developing climate services that can help reduce societal vulnerabilities and enhance adaptation and resilience to the impacts of climate variability and change. The development of climate services rests on several assumptions. First, that providing more, and better climate information will enhance the uptake of this information into decision-making. Second, that the application of climate services will lead to improved development outcomes. COGENT aims to advance understanding of the key mechanisms that facilitate production of usable climate information, with the potential to improve the quality of climate services across other African contexts. It works to strengthen the long-term capacities of local institutions to undertake high-quality, policy-relevant research while simultaneously building new interdisciplinary networks and collaborative experience and expertise within the climate research community

Exudative pleurisy of coccidioidomycosis: A case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Community-acquired pneumonia is the most common manifestation in primary coccidioides infections (<it>Coccidioides immitis, C. posadasii</it>). It is essential that this endemic dimorphic fungus be considered in order to proceed with the most appropriate diagnostic tools and therapy.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We present a rare case of primary pleural coccidioides and a review of the current literature for optimal diagnostic methods and therapeutic strategies.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>With increased domestic and international travel, coccidioidomycosis will likely be encountered in nonendemic regions. Recognition by physicians is critical for a timely diagnosis and therapy. Tissue culture can assist in the diagnosis and polymerase chain reaction analysis shows potential as a possible addition.</p

Direct Fabrication of Atomically Defined Pores in MXenes

Controlled fabrication of nanopores in atomically thin two-dimensional material offers the means to create robust membranes needed for ion transport, nanofiltration, and DNA sensing. Techniques for creating nanopores have relied upon either plasma etching or direct irradiation using electrons or ions; however, aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) offers the advantage of combining a highly energetic, sub-angstrom sized electron beam for atomic manipulation along with atomic resolution imaging. Here, we utilize a method for automated nanopore fabrication with real-time atomic visualization to enhance our mechanistic understanding of beam-induced transformations. Additionally, an electron beam simulation technique, Electron-Beam Simulator (E-BeamSim) was developed to observe the atomic movements and interactions resulting from electron beam irradiation. Using the 2D MXene Ti3C2Tx, we explore the influence of temperature on nanopore fabrication by tracking atomic transformation pathways and find that at room temperature, electron beam irradiation induces random displacement of atoms and results in a pileup of titanium atoms at the nanopore edge. This pileup was confirmed and demonstrated in E-BeamSim simulations around the small, milled area in the MXene monolayer. At elevated temperatures, the surface functional groups on MXene are effectively removed, and the mobility of atoms increases, which results in atomic transformations that lead to the selective removal of atoms layer by layer. Through controllable manufacture using e-beam milling fabrication, the production and then characterization of the fabricated defects can be better understood for future work. This work can lead to the development of defect engineering techniques within functionalized MXene layers.Comment: Experimental and simulations on the electron beam interactions with MXene monolayers to form nanopores as a function of temperatur

Advances in water resources research in the Upper Blue Nile basin and the way forward: A review

The Upper Blue Nile basin is considered as the lifeline for ∼250 million people and contributes ∼50 Gm3/year of water to the Nile River. Poor land management practices in the Ethiopian highlands have caused a significant amount of soil erosion, thereby threatening the productivity of the Ethiopian agricultural system, degrading the health of the aquatic ecosystem, and shortening the life of downstream reservoirs. The Upper Blue Nile basin, because of limited research and availability of data, has been considered as the “great unknown.” In the recent past, however, more research has been published. Nonetheless, there is no state-of-the-art review that presents research achievements, gaps and future directions. Hence, this paper aims to bridge this gap by reviewing the advances in water resources research in the basin while highlighting research needs and future directions. We report that there have been several research projects that try to understand the biogeochemical processes by collecting information on runoff, groundwater recharge, sediment transport, and tracers. Different types of hydrological models have been applied. Most of the earlier research used simple conceptual and statistical approaches for trend analysis and water balance estimations, mainly using rainfall and evapotranspiration data. More recent research has been using advanced semi-physically/physically based distributed hydrological models using high-resolution temporal and spatial data for diverse applications. We identified several research gaps and provided recommendations to address them. While we have witnessed advances in water resources research in the basin, we also foresee opportunities for further advancement. Incorporating the research findings into policy and practice will significantly benefit the development and transformation agenda of the Ethiopian government

Nitrogen deficiency tolerance and responsiveness of durum wheat genotypes in Ethiopia

Development of low-nitrogen (N) tolerant and N-responsive durum wheat genotypes is required since nitrogen efficiency has emerged as a highly desirable trait from economic and environmental perspectives. Two hundred durum wheat genotypes were evaluated at three locations under optimum (ON) and low (LN) nitrogen conditions to screen genotypes for low-nitrogen tolerance and responsiveness to an optimum N supply. The results showed significant variations among the durum wheat genotypes for low-N tolerance and responsiveness. The average reduction in grain yield under the LN condition was 48.03% across genotypes. Only 17% of the genotypes tested performed well (grain yield reduction <40%) under LN conditions. Based on the absolute grain yield, biomass yield, and normalized difference vegetative index value, on average, 32, 14, 17, and 37% of the tested genotypes were classified as efficient and responsive, efficient and nonresponsive, inefficient and responsive, and inefficient and nonresponsive, respectively. Considering the absolute and relative grain yield, biomass yield, normalized difference vegetative index values, and stress tolerance indices as selection criteria, 17 genotypes were chosen for subsequent breeding. Among the screening indices, geometric mean productivity, stress tolerance index, yield index, and stress susceptibility index exhibited positive and significant correlations with grain yield under both N conditions; hence, either of these traits can be used to select low-N-tolerant genotypes. The common genotypes identified as LN-tolerant and responsive to N application in this study could be used as parental donors for developing N-efficient and responsive durum wheat varieties

Towards an applied metaecology

The complexity of ecological systems is a major challenge for practitioners and decision-makers who work to avoid, mitigate and manage environmental change. Here, we illustrate how metaecology - the study of spatial interdependencies among ecological systems through fluxes of organisms, energy, and matter - can enhance understanding and improve managing environmental change at multiple spatial scales. We present several case studies illustrating how the framework has leveraged decision-making in conservation, restoration and risk management. Nevertheless, an explicit incorporation of metaecology is still uncommon in the applied ecology literature, and in action guidelines addressing environmental change. This is unfortunate because the many facets of environmental change can be framed as modifying spatial context, connectedness and dominant regulating processes - the defining features of metaecological systems. Narrowing the gap between theory and practice will require incorporating system-specific realism in otherwise predominantly conceptual studies, as well as deliberately studying scenarios of environmental change. (C) 2019 Associacao Brasileira de Ciencia Ecologica e Conservacao. Published by Elsevier Editora Ltda.Peer reviewe