Optimized isolation and characterization of cellulose for extraction of cellulose nanocrystals from Ensete ventricosum pseudo-stem fibre using a two-stage extraction method

AbstractAlkali treatment followed by alkalinized hydrogen peroxide delignification yielded 73.90% cellulose from Ensete ventricosum pseudo stem fibre, with parameters optimized using response surface methodology. The optimal reaction parameters were 157 min, 73 °C, and 3.8% NaOH concentration. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transfer infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy were used to examine the thermal properties, crystal structure, chemical structure, and morphological structure of isolated cellulose (SEM). Based on the findings, cellulose has a rod-like shape. The XRD results revealed that the crystallinity index of cellulose increased from 65 to 75% when compared with raw E. ventricosum pseudo stem fibre (Ensete fibre). The resultant cellulose demonstrated relatively higher thermal stability than the unprocessed ensete fibre, according to the thermogravimetric examination. When compared to raw ensete fibre, FTIR analysis revealed that cellulose had a modified chemical functional structure, which suggested that alkali and alkalized hydrogen peroxide treatments had altered the chemical structure of cellulose. As a result of the isolated cellulose’s high yield, high crystallinity index, good thermal stability, and morphological structure, cellulose nanocrystals can be extracted

Hand Washing Practice and Food Insecurity are Associated With Undernutrition of Breastfeeding Mothers in Rural Ethiopia: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Breastfeeding mothers are prone to undernutrition. However, factors contributing to maternal undernutrition are not exhaustively understood. Hence, this study aimed to determine prevalence of undernutrition among breastfeeding mothers and identify associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 606 breastfeeding mothers from selected rural districts in Oromia and Sidama regional states of Ethiopia. Data were collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Nutritional status was assessed using body mass index (BMI) and mid-upper-arm-circumference (MUAC). Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with maternal undernutrition. Results: One out of ten breastfeeding mothers was found undernourished as determined by BMI (12.6%) and MUAC (10.7%). Mothers who did not practice hand washing after cleaning children’s bottom were 2 and 3 times more likely to be undernourished compared to their counters, as measured by BMI (AOR = 2.29, P  = .002) and MUAC (AOR = 3.03, P  < .001), respectively. Mothers living in mildly or moderately food insecure households (AOR = 2.37, P  = .019) were more than two times more likely to be undernourished as determined by MUAC. Mothers who breastfed children in the age range of 9 to 11 (AOR = 2.79, P  = .025) or 12 to 23 (AOR = 2.57, P  = .018) months were more than two and half times more likely to be undernourished as determined by BMI. Conclusions: Maternal undernutrition is a medium-level public health problem in rural districts of Oromia and Sidama regional states in Ethiopia. The lack of hand washing practice after cleaning a child’s bottom, household food insecurity and higher child age increased the odds of maternal undernutrition. Mothers should prioritize and improve their nutritional care as the age of their breastfed child increases. Nutrition programs in rural districts of Ethiopia should also aim to improve personal hygiene practices and food insecurity integrated with implementation researches to evaluate program’s impact on nutritional status of breastfeeding mothers

Prevalence of Celiac Disease Autoimmunity in Ethiopian Pregnant Women: A Cross Sectional Study from the Oromia region

Celiac disease is a chronic small bowel disease induced by ingestion of gluten in genetically susceptible individuals affecting 1% among Caucasians in the Western world. The prevalence of celiac disease is still unknown in most developing countries, especially in Africa which suffer from lack of resources to perform screening of the general population. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of celiac disease autoimmunity in women undergoing antenatal care in selected Ethiopian health institutes. A total of 1942 pregnant women were included at median 25 (range 15-45) years of age who were attending antenatal care at 14 health centers of Central and South-East Oromia regional state of Ethiopia. Serum samples were analyzed for both IgA and IgG autoantibodies against tissue transglutaminase (tTG) using radioligand binding assays. Celiac disease autoimmunity defined as testing positive for both of IgA-tTG and IgG-tTG. In all, 4 of 1942 (0.2%) were positive for IgG-tTG of whom one participant (0.05%) was positive for both IgA-tTG and IgG-tTG and defined as having celiac disease autoimmunity. Based on these results, it was concluded that celiac disease autoimmunity is expected to be less common among the female adult Ethiopian population compared with the expected prevalence in Caucasians

Prevalence and Determinants of Peripheral Neuropathy among Type 2 Adult Diabetes Patients Attending Jimma University Medical Center, Southwest Ethiopia, 2019, an Institutional-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background. Diabetes chronic complications are major causes of morbidity and mortality, among which diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) stands out. One of the tools to screen DPN is the Michigan neuropathy screening instrument. However, there is no data compiled using this tool to assess the prevalence and its determinants in Jimma. So, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of DPN and its determinants among patients with diabetes mellitus at Jimma University Medical Center. Methods. A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Jimma University Medical Center on 366 type 2diabetic patients. Data were collected using pretested structured questionnaire and entered into EpiData 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Both bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regressions were employed to identify factors associated with DPN. A variable having a p value of < 0.25 in the bivariate model was subjected to multivariate analysis to avoid confounding variable’s effect. Adjusted odds ratios were calculated at 95% confidence interval and considered significant with a p value of ≤ 0.05. Results. The mean age of participants was 50.1±14.28 years. The study finding showed that the prevalence of DPN was 53.6% among study participants. According to the multivariate logistic regression age above 40 years (AOR=4.57; 95% CI: 1.50, 13.9), above 50 years (AOR=6.5; 95% CI: 2.24, 18.79), duration of diabetes above 5 years (AOR=3.06; 95% CI: 1.63, 5.77), duration above 10 years (AOR=7.1; 95% CI: 2.99, 17.28), physical inactivity (AOR=2.02; 95% CI: 1.14, 3.55), and smoking (current smoker AOR=7.96, 95% CI: 3.22, 19.64; former smoker (AOR=2.65; 95% CI: 1.22, 5.77) were independent predictors of DPN among study participants. Conclusion. Almost half of the study participants had DPN. Age above 40 years, diabetes duration of above 5 years, physical inactivity, and smoking were significantly associated with DPN. Early detection and appropriate interventions are important among patients with age above 40 years, physically inactive, smokers, and diabetes duration of above 5 years

Spatiotemporal Distribution of Tuberculosis in the Oromia Region of Ethiopia: A Hotspot Analysis

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major public health concern in low- and middle-income countries including Ethiopia. This study aimed to assess the spatiotemporal distribution of TB and identify TB risk factors in Ethiopia’s Oromia region. Descriptive and spatiotemporal analyses were conducted. Bayesian spatiotemporal modeling was used to identify covariates that accounted for variability in TB and its spatiotemporal distribution. A total of 206,278 new pulmonary TB cases were reported in the Oromia region between 2018 and 2022, with the lowest annual TB case notification (96.93 per 100,000 population) reported in 2020 (i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic) and the highest TB case notification (106.19 per 100,000 population) reported in 2019. Substantial spatiotemporal variations in the distribution of notified TB case notifications were observed at zonal and district levels with most of the hotspot areas detected in the northern and southern parts of the region. The spatiotemporal distribution of notified TB incidence was positively associated with different ecological variables including temperature (β = 0.142; 95% credible interval (CrI): 0.070, 0.215), wind speed (β = −0.140; 95% CrI: −0.212, −0.068), health service coverage (β = 0.426; 95% CrI: 0.347, 0.505), and population density (β = 0.491; 95% CrI: 0.390, 0.594). The findings of this study indicated that preventive measures considering socio-demographic and health system factors can be targeted to high-risk areas for effective control of TB in the Oromia region. Further studies are needed to develop effective strategies for reducing the burden of TB in hotspot areas

Utilization of KASP technology for wheat improvement

Hundreds of experiments involving genotyping and phenotyping of the plants are planned daily by plant researchers worldwide for wheat improvement. There are a plethora of molecular markers available that are being widely used in wheat genetic studies but have their own limitations. Developments in the areas of next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics applications have aided in the development of SNP-based markers. SNP-based assays have revolutionized the method of genotyping as these consume less time and have high accuracy and effectiveness. Among the SNP genotyping platforms, kompetitive allele-specific PCR (KASP) assay is a promising technology for high throughput SNP genotyping which is based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) method. KASP genotyping mainly involves two allele-specific forward primers, one common reverse primer and FRET cassettes which results in the identification of respective alleles having a particular SNP or InDel. It is playing a significant role in performing various genetic studies such as genetic diversity analysis, genome-wide association studies and marker assisted selection in wheat. In this review, for the first time, we attempt to give an overview of the KASP assays developed for various biotic and abiotic stresses, agronomic, physiological and quality traits for wheat improvement and the assays developed for genetic diversity analysis and genotyping by sequencing