Assessment of Woody Species Composition and Tree Species with Highest Carbon Stock Potential in Kubayo Forest, Bale Zone, Southeastern Ethiopia

Back Ground: Climate change, mainly caused by global warming, is the most pressing environmental problem of the world today and it is a phenomenon partly resulting from abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The problem of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide can be addressed in a number of ways. One of such actions is forestry development and forest management undertakings that can contribute to climate change mitigation.Objective: Assessment of Woody Species Composition and Tree Species With highest Carbon Stock Potential in Kubayo Forest of Bale Zone was carried out in 2018. This study was conducted in Kubayo Forest, with the objectives of identifying the composition of woody plant species and identifying tree species with highest carbon stock potential in the area. Methodology: Data were collected from the field by measuring plants with a DBH of ≥ 5 cm and the carbon stocks of each plant was analyzed. Aboveground biomass was estimated by using allometric models. A systematic sampling method was used to conduct the woody species sampling. In order to collect woody species data, a total of 63 quadrats, each with the size of 20 m x 20 m at an interval of 100 m were laid along the established transects at 200 m apart. The result was analyzed by SPSS software, version 20. Result: The findings of the study revealed that, Juniperus procera was the most dominant and Ficus sycomorus was the least dominant one. Juniperus procera store the highest average carbon 39.76 ton/ha and the lowest carbon was recorded from Dodonaea viscosa 0.30 ton/ha among 24 tree species studied. The maximum and minimum above ground carbon stock potential of Kubayo forest was 172.53 and 81.03 ton/ha respectively. The mean above ground carbon stock of the study area was 141.06 ton/ha. The maximum and minimum AG carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration of the study site was 633.18 and 297.40 ton/ha respectively. The mean above ground carbon dioxide sequestration of the study area was 517.68 ton/ha. Recommendation: As a recommendation, regional and federal administrations should have to give attention on rising awareness to the local people regarding participatory forest management and sustainable use of natural resources. Keywords: Aboveground carbon stock, Woody species, Kubayo forest, DOI: 10.7176/ALST/77-05 Publication date: January 31st 2020

Bacteriological profile of burn patients at Yekatit 12 Hospital Burn Center, Ethiopia: A longitudinal study

Introduction: Burn is one of the most common devastating and a very painful form of trauma. Significant thermal injuries induce a state of immune-suppression that predisposes burn patients to infection complications.Materials and methods: A prospective hospital based study was carried out from December 2010 to February 2011 at Yekatit 12 hospital burn center. Periodic wound swabs and blood samples were collected on 1st, 7th, and 14th days of hospital stay and processed with conventional culture and biochemical tests. Isolates were tested against commonly used antibiotics by Modified Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion methods. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 17.0 for Windows.Results: From the total of 104 pus cultures, 101 isolates were identified. At the 1st day of pus culture the dominant isolate was Staphylococcus aureus 15(46.9%). On the 7th day of pus culture S. aureus 21 (46.1%) and Pseudomonas spp 20 (44.4%) were isolated. Similarly, at the 14th day the most frequent isolates were S. aureus 12 (50%) and Pseudomonas spp11 (45.8 %). There was no significant change on time regarding blood culture isolates. Of 92 blood cultures, 15 gram positive isolates were identified the majority being coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS), 8 (53.3%). Gram negative isolates, mainly Pseudomonas spp were found resistant for most of antibiotics used in the hospital.Conclusions: The nature of periodic microbial wound colonization, flora changes and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern should be taken into consideration in empirical antimicrobial treatment of burned patients

Carbon Storage Potential of Kubayo Forest and Its Implication for Climate Change Mitigation, Bale Zone, Southeastern Ethiopia

Background: Environmental degradation particularly, climate change is currently becoming a horrific and multi-faced global phenomenon. Addressing it requires the amalgamation of numerous disciplines and cooperation among nations. Addressing this problem requires the incorporation of numerous disciplines and cooperation among citizens. Forestry development and management can be one of such actions that can contribute to climate change mitigation. Objective: An investigation was conducted in Kubayo forest, with the objective to estimate carbon stock of the forest in the study area. Methodology: Aboveground biomass was estimated by using allometric models while belowground biomass was determined based on the ratio of belowground biomass to aboveground biomass factors. The liter layer and soil organic carbon were estimated from the samples taken from the sample plot. In order to collect litter and soil sample data, a total of 63 quadrats, each with the size of 20 m x 20 m at an interval of 100 m were laid along the 9 established transects at 200 m apart. In addition, five quadrats each with the size of 1 m x 1 m were established at four corners and center of every quadrat. Data Analysis: The result was analyzed by Microsoft excel, Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software version 20 and Based on the collected data (DBH, fresh and dry weights of litter and soil organic matter), biomasses of each tree species in all sample quadrats were calculated by using developed allometric models. Result: The findings of the study showed that, the total maximum and minimum carbon stock estimated were 532.57 and 212.30 ton/ha respectively, with the average value of 370.34 ton/ha. The average carbon dioxide sequestered were 1359.15 ton/ha. Recommendation: The study recommends that, the existing forest management systems should integrate indigenous and scientific methods to play vital role to maximize the mitigation of climate change and global warming Keywords: Kubayo forest, biomass, carbon stock, climate change mitigation. DOI: 10.7176/CMR/11-9-02 Publication date: November 30th 201

Socio-economic history of North Shawa, Ethiopia (1880s-1935)

This thesis attempts to address how and why North Shäwa deteriorated from a political heartland to a region of impoverished peasants by the beginning of the 20th century. One of the factors that determine the selection of the place for a seat of the government for a region or country and sustainability of its system is its resource potential. In this case, arable and grazing land with other related land resources were decisive. They were some of the major factors contributing to both the origin and development of the kingdom. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, the region was abandoned by the court and by a significant proportion of its population. This was mainly because of the impoverishment of the region. The growth of the number of consumers (town dwellers) and the supplies needed by the kingdom exceeded the carrying capacity of North Shäwa. The economic productivity of the region could not correspond to the development of its needs. Thus, this thesis accords due emphasis to the factors that contributed to the impoverishment of North Shäwa and the consequences that followed. Throughout the thesis, North Shäwan peasants are the main subject of discussion. Political, social, cultural and geographical factors that impacted on the peasants’ economy and that retarded its development are discussed in the study. It also attempts to unearth the measures taken by the court and peoples of North Shäwa to withstand or escape from the prevailing socio-economic problems. Finally a comparison is made with other regions of the country to describe the political and socio-economic status of North Shäwans that continue to live in the region. This discussion covers the period from the 1880s up to the Italian occupation of Ethiopia in 1935HistoryD.Litt. et Phil. (History

The magnitude of episiotomy among women who gave birth in Ethiopia: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Episiotomy is one of the most common obstetric procedures done by health providers putting the client at high risk of developing complications and lacerations. These days, episiotomy has been done at an alarming rate in Ethiopia as compared to the slant set by World Health Organization. Be that as it may, there is a need for nationally representative data. This study aimed to determine the pooled prevalence of episiotomy practice among women who gave birth at public health institutions in Ethiopia. We accessed PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, EMBASE, and manual search was used to retrieve articles. The extractions of the data were done by using Microsoft Excel and analyzed by STATA version 11 statistical software. The publication bias was checked by funnel plot visually and Egger's test and Begg’s test, with P < 0.05 considered indicating potential publication bias. I2 was used to check the presence of heterogeneity of the studies. Overall estimated analysis was done. Subgroup analysis was done by region. We carried out a leave-one-out sensitivity analysis. The Joanna Briggs Institute risk of bias assessment tool was used. Out of 254 articles retrieved, 9 studies met the eligibility criteria and are thus included in this study. The overall episiotomy practice in Ethiopia was 45.01% (95% CI: 36.288, 53.741). Based on the sub-group analysis, prevalence of episiotomy practice was 49.32% (95%CI: 12.67, 85.97), 46.92% (95%CI: 29.47, 64.37), 44.23% (95%CI: 37.77, 50.99) and 38.29 (95%CI: 32.38, 44.20) among South region, Addis Ababa, Amhara region and Tigray region respectively. The findings revealed that the prevalence of episiotomy practice in Ethiopia was high (45.01%). Therefore, it is better to have periodic training for birth attendants on the indication of episiotomy and the appropriate use of guidelines to reduce the rate of episiotomy

Prevalence, risk factors and bacterial causes of bovine mastitis in southern Ethiopia

Mastitis is one of the most economically important diseases in dairy farms worldwide. It is particularly important in Ethiopia where no routine prevention and control practices are in place. This cross-sectional study was carried out between October 2017 and June 2018 to estimate the prevalence of mastitis, identify the associated risk factors and isolate bacterial causes in dairy farms located in southern Ethiopia using standard microbiological methods and questionnaire survey. A total of 686 lactating cows which were found in 122 selected dairy farms were investigated by physical examination and California mastitis test. The overall cow-level prevalence of mastitis was 54.2% (95% CI: 50.5 – 57.9%). Based on the study site, the prevalence was 55.7% in Hawassa, 54.3% in Arsi Negele, 52.6% each in Wondo Genet and Wolayta Soddo towns with no significant (p > 0.05) difference among the sites. The majority of mastitis cases were subclinical (48.1%) while the clinical mastitis was only 6.1%. Of the 122 herds tested, 109 (89.3%; 95% CI: 82.1 – 93.9%) had at least a cow positive for mastitis. The study showed that high parity number (OR = 1.6; p = 0.015), flat (OR = 4.5; p <0.001) and round (OR = 2; p <0.001) teat end shape, history of mastitis in preceding lactation (OR = 3.3; p <0.001), and slightly (OR = 3.5; p < 0.001), moderately (OR = 4.9; p < 0.001), and very dirty (OR = 9.2; p < 0.001) udder and legs were the major risk factors which are significantly associated with higher prevalence of mastitis. Based on the available media and reagents, the major bacteria isolated from subclinical mastitic milk samples were Staphylococcus spp. (57.3%), Streptococcus spp. (18.6%), E. coli (17.3%) and Bacillus spp. (7.5%) in order of their abundance. The present study revealed a high prevalence of mastitis, particularly the subclinical one, and the associated risk factors. Enhancing the awareness of dairy farmers, regular screening of cows for subclinical mastitis, proper treatment of the clinical cases, improving the hygienic condition of the cows, and culling of chronically infected cows are critically important to prevent and control bovine mastitis. Keywords: Mastitis, Prevalence, Risk factors, Southern Ethiopi

Neonatal Resuscitation Practice and Associated Factors among Health Care Workers in Public Health Facilities in West Guji Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Background: Although neonatal resuscitation has the potential to prevent neonatal mortality rates, several factors hinder it is effectiveness. This study aimed to assess the neonatal resuscitation practice and associated factors among health workers in public health facilities in West Guji zone, Oromia, Ethiopia 2021.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted from February 01 to March 30/2021. Data were collected with a structured self-administered questionnaire and observational checklist. Finally, a convenience sampling technique was employed to select 407 study participants. Binary and Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted with 95% confidence intervals and statistical significance is declared at P<0.05.Results: Out of the 407 sampled study population, 402 healthcare workers were involved in the study with a 98.7% response rate and 270 (67.2%) of healthcare workers had good practice in neonatal resuscitation with a 95% confidence interval of 62.6% to 71.8%.  Factors associated with neonatal resuscitation practice were the age of health care workers who are 30 to 34 (AOR= 3.52, 95%CI; 1.27 - 9.74) and 35 to 39 years AOR= 4.00, 95%CI; 1.24 -12.97), work experience (AOR= 5.72, 95%CI; 2.72 - 12.03, training on neonatal resuscitation (AOR=3.6,95%CI;2.16-6.00), availability of neonatal resuscitation guidelines (AOR= 2.29, 95%CI; 1.13 - 4.69), knowledge status (AOR=1.82, 95%CI; 1.0 -3.10), and attitude of healthcare workers towards neonatal resuscitation(AOR=2.18, 95%CI; 1.37 -3.48). Conclusion: The finding shows the neonatal resuscitation practice was low compared with others. Factors associated with neonatal resuscitation practice were identified.  Health institutions should organize healthcare providers on neonatal resuscitation by giving on-the-job training, providing guidelines, and supervising all health facilities to produce competent healthcare workers and reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity

Drug and Therapeutics Committee (DTC) evolvement and expanded scope in Ethiopia [version 2; peer review: 2 approved]

As a key partner of Ministry of Health (MOH) Ethiopia, The Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI) had been implementing the Child Survival Project (CSP) since October 2015. Strengthening DTC was one of its focuses to improve overall supply chain management (SCM). The objective of this study are to review the evolution of DTCs in Ethiopia from their early years to current practice and identify the major driving and hindering factors for their functionality. A descriptive mixed study design was employed. The study made use of qualitative data supplemented with quantitative data, generated from both primary and secondary sources through key informant interviews and desk review methods. DTCs were introduced in Ethiopia in the early 1980s. The mandate of DTCs has been given to four different government organizations during that time. As a result, due to a lack of coordination among these organizations, its implementation was lagging. Recently, the government and its partners have given attention to DTCs. More than 5847 professionals underwent DTC training from 2016 onwards. DTC establishment in health facilities improved from 85% to 98% between 2015 and 2019 during baseline and end-line assessments carried out by CHAI/CSP. Similarly, DTC functionality in HFs improved from 20% to 63%. The CHAI/CSP regular supervision data analysis revealed that DTC establishment improved from 83% to 100% of HFs, while its functionality improved from 5% to 72% between 2016 and 2019, respectively. A chi-square test of independence examining the relationship between facility and pharmacy head training on DTCs and functionality of DTC in the same facility revealed a significant association between the two variables at p<0.0001. Conclusions: Providing consistent capacity building and availing strong monitoring and evaluation system improves functionality of DTCs. Moreover, national coordinating bodies for DTCs and similar structures at Regional Health Bureaus and woreda health offices should be established