METALLIC NUTRIENTS IN ENSET (ENSETE VENTRICOSUM) CORM CULTIVATED IN WOLLISO AND WOLKITE TOWNS IN ETHIOPIA

Enset is an adaptable and drought resistant plant with multiple usages including consumption as co-staple diet in some parts of Ethiopia and has been dubbed “a tree against hunger”. With the plant gaining increased recognition as a food and cash crop, the need for multi-faceted research initiatives appears to be undisputable to preserve its features, maximize its productivity and document changes that would have occurred over the years. The metallic composition of unprocessed corm collected in Wolkite and Wolliso towns in Ethiopia has been investigated. As well as providing information on health benefits or risks, metallic composition may suggest fortification opportunities to improve its nutritive value or that of others and give an insight into temporal alterations. The levels of calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese, chromium, cobalt, copper, nickel, cadmium and lead determined with flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS) in digested unprocessed corm samples varied as follows: Ca 36.1–39.1; Mg 24.9–26.9 and  K 14.1–32.2 (mg/g); Zn 11.9–42.3; Cu 1.5–5.2; Co 2.8–10.5; Cr 5.8–7.6; Fe 18.2–54.4; Mn 2–5; Ni 1–4 and Cd 0.6–1.8 (mg/g) with 15.3 μg/g lead being detected in one sample from Wolkite. Method accuracy evaluated as percentage recovery was within 90–110. The levels of metals were higher in samples from Wolliso than those from Wolkite, except for Pb, Mn and Cd. These results indicate that the enset corm, which is low in non-essential nutrients and rich in Ca, Mg, K, Zn and Fe can be recommended as nutritional supplement for deficiencies of Ca, Mg, K, Zn, and Fe

Prospective Assessment of Patients with Stroke in Tikur Anbessa Specialised Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Introduction: The burden of stroke is increasing in many low- and middle-income countries. In Ethiopia, stroke has become a major cause of morbidity, long-term disability, and mortality. Time from stroke onset to hospital presentation is a critical factor in acute stroke care. This study aimed to describe risk factors for stroke and clinical presentation of patients presenting to the emergency centre with stroke. Methods: We conducted a cross sectional study conducted from August 2015 to January 2016 in an urban tertiary care centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate associations between stroke types and stroke risk factors, and delayed presentation and clinical indicators. P-values less than .05 were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 104 patients were included. The mean age was 53years, and 56% were male. Only 30% of patients arrived using an ambulance service. The most common presenting symptoms were altered mental status (48%), hemiparesis (47%), facial palsy (45%), hemiplegia (29%), and aphasia (25%). Hypertension was the most common risk factor (49%), followed by cardiovascular disease (20.2%) and diabetes mellitus (11%). The majority of strokes were haemorrhagic in aetiology (56%). The median arrival time to the emergency centre was 24h after symptoms onset; only 15% presented within three hours. Patients with hypertension, or presented with loss of consciousness were significantly more likely to have haemorrhagic stroke (\u3c .001 and p=.01 respectively). The only risk factor robustly associated with ischaemic stroke was cardiac illness (odds ratio 3.99, p=.01). Discussion: Our study identified hypertension to be the most common risk factor for stroke. The predominant aetiology type in this cohort is haemorrhagic stroke. Lastly, the median arrival time to an emergency centre was 24h after symptom onset

A survey of emergency medicine and orthopaedic physicians’ knowledge, attitude, and practice towards the use of peripheral nerve blocks

Introduction: Peripheral nerve blocks (also known as regional anaesthesia) are currently used by many anaesthesiologists and emergency physicians for perioperative and procedural pain management. Methods: This is a cross sectional descriptive study conducted to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and current practice towards use of peripheral nerve blocks for lower extremity injuries at Black Lion Hospital, a tertiary trauma centre in Addis Ababa. Results: A standardised survey was conducted with 64 participants working in emergency medicine [30/64 (46.9%)] and orthopaedics [34/64 (53.1%)]. Twenty-three of 64 (35.9%) respondents had received formal training. Knowledge was acquired from didactic/workshop format for 15/23 (65.2%), followed by peer training 6/23 (39.1%). The majority, 62/64 (96.9%), believed that knowledge of general anatomy and nerve blocks are very important. Thirty-one of 64 (48%) of the respondents did not routinely perform peripheral nerve blocks. A majority, 27/31 (87.1%) stated they lacked the required skills. Ultrasound guidance of the femoral nerve 16/33 (48.5%) was the most commonly performed peripheral nerve block, followed by ankle block using anatomic landmarks 15/33 (45.5%). Almost all (15/16) ultrasound-guided nerve blocks were done by emergency medicine providers, while all anatomic land mark guided blocks were done by orthopaedic teams. A majority of the respondents (93.8%) (n = 60) were optimistic that their practice on peripheral nerve blocks would increase in future. A highly significant association was found between previous training on peripheral nerve blocks and the number of peripheral nerve blocks performed in a month; p value – 0.006. Discussion: This study indicates peripheral nerve blocks are likely underutilised due to lack of training. There was a positive attitude towards peripheral nerve blocks but gaps on knowledge and practice

Improvement in Analytical Methods for Determination of Sugars in Fermented Alcoholic Beverages

The main objective of this study was to improve the performance of analytical methods for the determination of sugars in fermented alcoholic beverages based on mid-infrared-partial least squares (MIR-PLS), high-performance liquid chromatography with the ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV), high-performance liquid chromatography with the refractive index detector (HPLC-RI), and sulfuric acid methods. The MIR-PLS method was found to give good prediction of individual sugars: glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose in the alcoholic beverages with less than 4% error. The HPLC-UV method can be used for the determination of glucose in alcoholic beverages after derivatization with p-aminobenzoic acid ethyl ester. The HPLC-RI method was found to be applicable for the determination of individual sugars: glucose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose in the alcoholic beverages. The limit of detection (%, w/w) and recovery (%) of the individual sugars by the HPLC-RI method were fructose 0.001, 89.4–106; glucose 0.002, 92.4–109; and sucrose 0.002, 94.2–95.1. The sulfuric acid method was found to be useful for the determination of total sugar in the alcoholic beverages. The limit of detection (%, w/w) and recovery (%) of the total sugar by the sulfuric acid method were found to be 0.009, 98.2–109. The HPLC-RI method was applied to determine the level of individual sugars, while the sulfuric acid method was used to determine total sugar in Ethiopian traditional fermented alcoholic beverages: Tella, Netch Tella, Filter Tella, Borde, Tej, Korefe, Keribo, and Birz. The sugar contents in the real samples were found in the ranges (%): glucose 0.07–5.60, fructose 0.09–8.50, sucrose and maltose 0.08–3.00, and total sugar 12.0–64.5. The levels of sugars in Ethiopian traditional fermented alcoholic beverages were found to be comparable with literature data

Geomorphology, soils and palaeosols of the Chencha area (Gamo Gofa, south western Ethiopian Highlands)

The landscape of the Chencha Highland (south western Ethiopia) is characterized by flat plateau bordered by steep slopes affected by landslides and dissected by concave valleys and gullies. Coalescing alluvial fans are found along the eastern piedmont at the transition to the Lake Abaya shores. A major rift-plateau escarpment, with minor synthetic and antithetic faults, is located along the eastern slopes of the highlands. Soil erosion is a widespread process and the soil cover is usually thin and discontinuous. Immature Cambisols formed on colluvial deposits containing lithic tools, pottery fragments and charcoal represent the most recent phase of soil formation. They are related to the clearance of the original forest cover and the introduction of extensive agricultural and pastoral practices. On the slopes these soils locally unconformably overlie reddish, strongly weathered buried Nitisols and Luvisols that can be classified as Palaeoedlisols with formation of saprolite. Thicker and better preserved Palaeoeldisols can be found on the summit plateau, due to reduced runoff erosion. Different generations of clay illuviation indicate that they underwent polycyclic processes, recording soil processes probably older than Holocene. Along the slopes, gully erosion exhumed a palaeo-gully system infilled by colluviums of soils and buried soils containing Middle Stone Age artifacts suggesting that important slope degradational processes occurred also during the Late Pleistocene. Buried brownish soils in these infillings show moderate clay illuviation that indicates short-lived climatic amelioration and phases of slope stability