Hydrometallurgical removal of uranium and thorium from Ethiopian tantalite ore

This study focused on the leaching of uranium and thorium from a high grade Ethiopian tantalite ore using sulfuric acid. The effects of variables such as acid concentration, temperature and leaching time were studied. In general, the leaching efficiency of uranium increases with increasing temperature from 100 to 300 °C whereas the opposite trend was observed for thorium. The amount of uranium leached increased from 69.1% at contact time of 1 hr to 88.6% when the tantalite ore was leached for 3 hrs. On the other hand, for the experiments conditions considered in this study, the leaching behavior of uranium and thorium did not change significantly with varying sulphuric acid concentration from 70 to 90 wt%. Overall, the highest dissolution of uranium and thorium were achieved at 100 °C, 70 wt% H2SO4 concentration and 1 hr contact time

Treatment outcome of children with severe acute malnutrition admitted to therapeutic feeding centers in Southern Region of Ethiopia

Background: Inadequate intake of carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins and minerals is one of the causes for malnutrition. It often affects young children and contributes to more than 60% of deaths in children in developing countries. One in four of malnourished children receiving traditional treatment die during or soon after treatment. The study aimed to assess the treatment outcome of children treated in therapeutic feeding centers (TFC) in southern Ethiopia.Methods: A retrospective review of reports submitted by the TFCs was done during 2003-2004. Data was collected from the monthly reports using standardized formats. The variables included age, treatment centers, type of malnutrition and treatment outcome which were analyzed using descriptive statistics.Results: Of 11,335 cases of malnutrition, 47% (5447) had severe wasting and 53% (6103) had edematous malnutrition. Of the total, 87% (11,191) were cured while 3.6% (468) had died. The average length of stay was 25 and 21 days with an average weight gain of 14 and 13.4 g/kg/d for children with severe wasting and edematous malnutrition, respectively. With increasing age, the death rate decrease  and cure rate increased (p < 0.05 for both).Discussion: Our results show that the new management approach  implemented in the TFC improved the treatment outcome of malnourished children compared to the minimum international standard set for  management of severe acute malnutrition which is cure rate of at least 75% and death rate less than 10%, average length of stay of less than30 days and average weight gain of 8g/kg/day

Iodine deficiency in primary school children and knowledge of iodine deficiency and iodized salt among caretakers in Hawassa Town: Southern Ethiopia

Background: More than two billion individuals worldwide have inadequate iodine intake and the adverse consequences of iodine deficiency are widely observed.Objective: To assess the iodine status of primary school children and the knowledge of iodine deficiency disorders among their caretakers.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Hawassa Town, Southern Ethiopia. The study participants were school children (n=116) aged 7-9 years. A two-stage sampling method was used to select participants. Goiter and urinary iodine concentration were measured in the children to evaluate their iodine status. Socioeconomic characteristics, dietary patterns and caretaker knowledge of iodine deficiency were assessed by using questionnaires. Household salt iodine concentration was also measured.Results: Total goiter rate was 13.6% and was significantly associated with age [AOR=13.4 (3.2-55.7)]. Eighty two percent of the children had urinary iodine concentration below 50 ìg/L, indicating the presence of moderate iodine deficiency. None of the households were using adequately iodized salt. More than half of the respondents did notknow about the importance of iodized salt. Conclusion: The observed degree of iodine deficiency in children and the limited knowledge about iodine in an urban area such as Hawassa stress the urgent need for implementing interventions to combat iodine deficiency. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2012;26(1):30-35

Incidence and associated factors of extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) in preterm infants, a cross-sectional study in selected NICUs in Ethiopia

BackgroundPreterm infants have high risk of developing growth restriction and long-term complications. Enteral feeding is often delayed in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) for the fear of feeding intolerance and the associated necrotising enterocolitis, and recent advances in nutritional support are unavailable in low-income countries.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to assess the incidence and associated factors of extrauterine growth restriction (EUGR) among preterm infants in selected NICUs in Ethiopia.MethodThis was a cross-sectional study involving a subgroup analysis of preterm infants admitted to hospitals, from a multicentre descriptive study of cause of illness and death in preterm infants in Ethiopia, conducted from 2016 to 2018. EUGR was defined as weight at discharge Z-scores <-1.29 for corrected age. Clinical profiles of the infants were analysed for associated factors. SPSS V.23 software was used for analysis with a significance level of 5% and 95% CI.ResultFrom 436 preterm infants included in the analysis, 223 (51%) were male, 224 (51.4%) very low birth weight (VLBW) and 185 (42.4%) small for gestational age (SGA). The mean (SD) of weight for corrected age Z-score at the time of discharge was -2.5 (1.1). The incidence of EUGR was 86.2%. Infants who were SGA, VLBW and longer hospital stay over 21 days had increased risk of growth restriction (p-value<0.01). SGA infants had a 15-fold higher risk of developing EUGR at the time of discharge from hospital than those who were appropriate or large for gestational age (OR (95%CI)=15.2 (4.6 to 50.1).ConclusionThe majority of the infants had EUGR at the time of discharge from the hospital, which indicates suboptimal nutrition. Revision of national guidelines for preterm infants feeding and improvement in clinical practice is highly required

Comparison of neonatal outcomes of small for gestational age and appropriate for gestational age preterm infants born at 28-36 weeks of gestation: a multicentre study in Ethiopia

PurposeThe aim of this study was to assess morbidity and mortality pattern of small for gestational age (SGA) preterm infants in comparison to appropriate for gestational age (AGA) preterm infants of similar gestational age.MethodWe compared neonatal outcomes of 1336, 1:1 matched, singleton SGA and AGA preterm infants based on their gestational age using data from the study 'Causes of Illness and Death of Preterm Infants in Ethiopia (SIP)'. Data were analysed using SPSS V.23. ORs and 95% CIs and chi (2) tests were done, p value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.ResultThe majority of the infants (1194, 89%) were moderate to late preterm (32-36 weeks of gestation), 763 (57%) were females. Male preterm infants had higher risk of being SGA than female infants (p<0.001). SGA infants had increased risk of hypoglycaemic (OR and 95% CI 1.6 (1.2 to 2.0), necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) 2.3 (1.2 to 4.1), polycythaemia 3.0 (1.6 to 5.4), late-onset neonatal sepsis (LOS) 3.6 (1.1 to 10.9)) and prolonged hospitalisation 2.9 (2.0 to 4.2). The rates of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), apnoea and mortality were similar in the SGA and AGA groups.ConclusionNeonatal complications such as hypoglycaemic, NEC, LOS, polycythaemia and prolonged hospitalisation are more common in SGA infants, while rates of RDS and mortality are similar in SGA and AGA groups. Early recognition of SGA status, high index of suspicion and screening for complications associated and timely intervention to prevent complications need due consideration

Prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms and their determinant factors among patients with cancer in southern Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveThe study was aimed to assess the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms and their determinant factors among patients with cancer attending follow-up at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital cancer treatment centre, Ethiopia.DesignInstitution-based cross-sectional study design was implemented.SettingPatients with cancer at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital cancer treatment centre from October 2019 to December 2019.ParticipantsRandomly selected 415 patients with cancer who had follow-up at cancer treatment centre.Main outcome measuresAnxiety and depression symptoms were assessed using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.ResultThe prevalence rates of depression and anxiety symptoms were found to be 244 (58.8%) and 249 (60.0%), respectively. Older age (&gt;50 years) (AOR (adjusted OR)=2.24, 95% CI=1.14 to 4.40), being unemployed (AOR=1.96, 95% CI=1.08 to 3.56), advanced stage of cancer such as stage III (AOR=5.37, 95% CI=1.34 to 21.45) and stage IV (AOR=4.55, 95% CI=1.12 to 18.44), comorbid psychotic symptoms (AOR=1.67, 95% CI=1.07 to 2.61) and eating problem in the past 2 weeks (AOR=6.16, 95% CI=1.98 to 19.11) were independent factors significantly associated with depressive symptoms. In addition, cancer stage such as stage II (AOR=3.92, 95% CI=1.07 to 14.36) and stage IV (AOR=5.04, 95% CI=1.44 to 17.59) and comorbid psychotic symptoms (AOR=1.73, 95% CI=1.12 to 2.66) were significantly associated with anxiety symptoms.ConclusionDepression and anxiety symptoms among patients with cancer were considerably high. Age, occupation, cancer stage, comorbid psychotic symptoms and eating problem were determinant factors of depressive symptoms among patients with cancer. Moreover, cancer stage and comorbid psychosis were determinants of anxiety symptoms. Healthcare professionals working in the oncology unity need to conduct routine screening and treatment of depression and anxiety symptoms for patients with cancer.</jats:sec

Outcome of preterm twins compared to preterm singleton neonates, a multicenter prospective observational study in Ethiopia

Background: In recent decades there has been a major increase in multiple birth rates, and the rate of twining vary from 6-9 per thousand life births to 20 per thousand live births across differ-ent areas of the world. Many studies have demonstrated higher neonatal and perinatal mortality and morbidity rates in twin deliveries compared to singleton births. This study was aimed to com-pare the outcomes of preterm twins and preterm singletons.Methods: A prospective, observational multicenter study was conducted from July 2016 to May 2018 in five tertiary hospitals in Ethiopia. All preterm, liveborn infants born at or transferred at less than 7 days of life to one of the study hospitals with an estimated gestational age below 37 weeks were included.Results: A total of 3,703 preterm neonates admitted to participating neonatal intensive care units were included in the study, of which 1171(31.6%) were twins. After adjusting for birth weight and gestational age, the mortality rate for preterm singletons of 31.0% was higher than the mortality rate for preterm twins of 24.8%, which was statistically significant (p-value = 0.001), OR of 1.37 (95% CI: 1.15 to 1.64). The study also identified an inverse relationship between birth weight and gestational age, and mortality. Male singletons were more likely to die than male twins (440 (32.4%) vs. 141 (23.4%); AOR 1.56 (95% CI: 1.22, 1.99); p=0.001)Conclusion: Our study showed that the mortality of a singleton preterm infant was significantly higher than the mortality of a preterm twin infan