Vernal keratoconjunctivitis among primary school students in Butajira Town

Background: In Ethiopia, there is no epidemiological data on the magnitude of vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) in the community.Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify the magnitude, types, related family allergy and complications of VKC among school children of Butajira town.Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between January 1st and February 28th 2008 to clinically evaluate students of Butajira primary school for the presence of VKC. Stratified random sampling of all grades was used to identify the study population. An operational definition was set to classify the types of VKC and hand held slit lamp microscope was used to examine all study subjects.Results: A total of 792 students, 348 (43.9%) males and 444 (56.1%) females, were screened. VKC was diagnosed in 41 (5.2%) of the cases. Out of the cases, 26 (63.4%) were males and 15 (36.6%) were females, making a male to female ratio of 1.7:1. The majority of VKC patients, 23 (56.2%) were between 11 and 15 years of age. Limbal, mixed and palpebral types of VKC were seen in 24 (58.5%), 12 (29.3%) and 5 (12.2%) cases, respectively. Related family allergy was obtained in 5 (12.2%) cases. Keratoconus and corneal ulceration were not foundConclusion: The finding of 5.2% VKC cases indicates that the disease is one of the common causes of ocular morbidity among the study population. As VKC is a chronic, recurrent condition, school health education about its supportive and symptomatic management need to be given to teachers and students

Revisiting money and labor for valuing environmental goods and services in developing countries

Many Stated Preference studies conducted in developing countries provide a low willingness to pay (WTP) for a wide range of goods and services. However, recent studies in these countries indicate that this may partly be a result of the choice of payment vehicle, not the preference for the good. Thus, low WTP may not indicate a low welfare effect for public projects in developing countries. We argue that in a setting where 1) there is imperfect substitutability between money and other measures of wealth (e.g. labor), and 2) institutions are perceived to be corrupt, including payment vehicles that are currently available to the individual and less pron to corruption may be needed to obtain valid welfare estimates. Otherwise, we risk underestimating the welfare benefit of projects. We demonstrate this through a rural household contingent valuation (CV) survey designed to elicit the value of access to reliable irrigation water in Ethiopia. Of the total average annual WTP for access to reliable irrigation service, cash contribution comprises only 24.41 %. The implication is that socially desirable projects might be rejected based on cost-benefit analysis as a result of welfare gain underestimation due to mismatch of payment vehicles choice in valuation study.Comment: There is no difference between the previous version and the current version. This version is to link with the published version DO

Stay-green expression in early generation sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] QTL introgression lines

Reduced leaf senescence (stay-green) has been demonstrated to improve tolerance of post-Xowering moisture stress in grain sorghum. A number of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with staygreen have been identiWed in sorghum, to facilitate transfer of this trait into adapted genetic backgrounds. This study reports initial evaluations, in both well watered and post-Xowering stress environments, following partial introgression (BC2F3/BC1F4 generations) of four stable stay-green QTLs (StgB, Stg1, Stg3 and Stg4) from donor parent B35 to senescent variety R 16. The majority of the introgression lines had higher leaf chlorophyll levels at Xowering (a distinctive trait of the donor parent) and a greater percentage green leaf area during the latter part of grain Wlling, than did R 16, indicating that the stay-green QTLs were expressed phenotypically in the R 16 background. None of the QTL introgression lines achieved the same level of stay-green as B35, however. Maintenance of a greater relative green leaf area during the latter half of grain Wlling was related to a greater relative grain yield in two of three post-Xowering moisture deWcit environments in which the materials were evaluated (r2 = 0.34 in 2004–2005 and r2 = 0.76 in 2005–2006), as was a direct measure of leaf chlorophyll in one of the post-Xowering stress environments in which this was measured (r2 = 0.42, P < 0.05). Thus the study provided useful evidence that the marker-assisted backcross transfer of staygreen QTLs from B35 into an adapted, but senescent background has the potential to enhance tolerance of post-Xowering drought stress in sorghum

GENETIC DIVERSITY AND ECO-GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF ELEUSINE SPECIES COLLECTED FROM ETHIOPIA

Eleusine is a small grass genus with three basic chromosome numbers (x=8, 9 and 10) and comprises of eight species including E. coracana subsp. coracana, (finger millet), which is an important subsistence crop in Africa and India. Research on these species could assist the development of high yielding and multiple stress tolerant variety(s) of the cultivable species, and also guide development of strategic genetic resource management and utilisation of the genus. A total of 72 accessions, sampled from five major species, E. coracana (including both E. coracana subsp. coracana and E. coracana subsp. africana), E. intermedia, E. indica, E. multiflora and E. floccifolia were analysed for genetic variation and inter-relationships using 20 microsatellite markers. All the SSR markers displayed high genetic polymorphism, with polymorphic information content ranging from 0.46 (UGEP110) to 0.91 (UGEP66). A total of 286 alleles were observed with an average of 14.3 alleles per locus. Classic F-statistics revealed the highest intra-specific polymorphism recorded for E. africana (32.45%), followed by E. coracana (16.83%); implying that genetic polymorphism is higher in the cultivable subspecies and its wild relatives, than the other species. Allelic frequency based inter-species genetic distance analysis, showed wider genetic distance between E. indica and E. multiflora (0.719); a narrow genetic distance between E. coracana sub-species africana and E. coracana subspecies coracana (0.3297). The weighted neighbor joining-based clustering revealed that the majority of the accessions in a species share strong similarity and are grouped together than do accessions of inter species.Eleusine est une herbe avec trois nombres de chromosomes de base (x=8, 9 et 10) et comprend huit esp\ue8ces dont E. coracana subsp. coracana, (finger millet), qui est une culture de subsistence importante en Afrique et en Inde. La recherche sur ces esp\ue8ces pourrait aider dans le d\ue9veloppement des vari\ue9t\ue9s d\u2019esp\ue8ces cultivables \ue0 rendement \ue9lev\ue9 et de tol\ue9rance aux stress multiples, et guider le d\ue9veloppement de la gestion des ressources g\ue9n\ue9tiques strat\ue9giques et l\u2019utilisation du genus. Un total de 72 accessions \ue9chantillonn\ue9es de cinq esp\ue8ces majeurs \ue0 savoir E. coracana (incluant E. coracana subsp. coracana et E. coracana subsp. africana), E. intermedia, E. indica, E. multiflora et E. floccifolia \ue9taient analys\ue9es pour variation g\ue9n\ue9tique et relations mutuelles utilisant 20 marqueurs microsatellites. Tous les marquers SSR ont manifest\ue9 un polymorphisme g\ue9n\ue9tique \ue9lev\ue9, avec un contenu d\u2019information polymorphique allant de 0.46 (UGEP110) \ue0 0.91 (UGEP66). Un total de 286 all\ue8les \ue9tait observ\ue9 avec une moyenne de 14.3 all\ue8les par locus. Les statistiqies classiques F ont r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 le polymorphisme intrasp\ue9cifique le plus \ue9lev\ue9 enregistr\ue9 pour le E. africana (32.45%), suivi de E. coracana (16.83%), ce qui implique que le polymorphisme g\ue9n\ue9tique est le plus \ue9lev\ue9 dans les sous esp\ue8ces cultivables et ses homologues sauvages que les autres esp\ue8ces. L\u2019analyse de la fr\ue9quence all\ue9lique de la distance g\ue9n\ue9tique entre esp\ue8ces a montr\ue9 une plus large distance g\ue9n\ue9tique entre E. indica et E. multiflora (0.719); une \ue9troite distance g\ue9n\ue9tique entre les sous esp\ue8ces Africana de E. coracana et les sous esp\ue8ces coracana de E. coracana (0.3297). La pond\ue9ration des groupements a r\ue9v\ue9l\ue9 que la majorit\ue9 des accessions au sein d\u2019une esp\ue8ce partage une forte similarit\ue9 et sont group\ue9es ensemble en comparaison aux accessions des intra-esp\ue8ces

Integrated Modelling Frameworks for Environmental Assessment and Decision Support

As argued in Chapter 1, modern management of environmental resources defines problems from a holistic and integrated perspective, thereby imposing strong requirements on Environmental Decision Support Systems (EDSSs) and Integrated Assessment Tools (IATs). These systems and tools tend to be increasingly complex in terms of software architecture and computational power in order to cope with the type of problems they must solve. For instance, the discipline of Integrated Assessment (IA) needs tools that arc able to span a wide range of disciplines, from socio-economics to ecology to hydrology. Such tools must support a wide range of methodologies and techniques like agent-based modeling, Bayesian decision networks, optimization, multicriteria analyses and visualization tools, to name a few

Podoconiosis treatment in northern Ethiopia (GoLBet): study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Podoconiosis is one of the forgotten types of leg swelling (elephantiasis) in the tropics. Unlike the other, better-known types of leg swelling, podoconiosis is not caused by any parasite, virus or bacterium, but by an abnormal reaction to minerals found in the clay soils of some tropical highland areas. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) have been responsible for the development of simple treatment methods without systematic evaluation of its effectiveness. It is essential that a large scale, fully controlled, pragmatic trial of the intervention is conducted. We aim to test the hypothesis that community-based treatment of podoconiosis lymphoedema reduces the frequency of acute dermatolymphangioadenitis episodes ('acute attacks') and improves other clinical, social and economic outcomes. METHODS/DESIGN This is a pragmatic, individually randomised controlled trial. We plan to randomly allocate 680 podoconiosis patients from the East Gojjam Zone in northern Ethiopia to one of two groups: 'Standard Treatment' or 'Delayed Treatment'. Those randomised to standard treatment will receive the hygiene and foot-care intervention from May 2015 for one year, whereas those in the control arm will be followed through 2015 and be offered the intervention in 2016. The trial will be preceded by an economic context survey and a Rapid Ethical Assessment to identify optimal methods of conveying information about the trial and the approaches to obtaining informed consent preferred by the community. The primary outcome will be measured by recording patient recall and using a simple, patient-held diary that will be developed to record episodes of acute attacks. Adherence to treatment, clinical stage of disease, quality of life, disability and stigma will be considered secondary outcome measures. Other outcomes will include adverse events and economic productivity. Assessments will be made at baseline and at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months thereafter. DISCUSSION The evidence is highly likely to inform implementation of the new master plan for integrated control of Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), in which podoconiosis is identified as one of eight NTDs prioritised for control. Potentially, an estimated 3 million patients in Ethiopia will therefore benefit from the results of this trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number. REGISTRATION NUMBER ISRCTN67805210 . Date of registration: 24 January 2013

High APACHE II score and long length of bowel resection impair the outcomes in patients with necrotic bowel induced hepatic portal venous gas

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Hepatic portal venous gas (HPVG) is a rare but potentially lethal condition, especially when it results from intestinal ischemia. Since the literatures regarding the prognostic factors of HPVG are still scarce, we aimed to investigate the risk factor of perioperative mortality in this study.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed data for patients with intestinal ischemia induced HPVG by chart review in our hospital between 2000 and 2007. Factors associated with perioperative mortality were specifically analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 22 consecutive patients receiving definite bowel resection. 13 cases (59.1%) died after surgical intervention. When analyzing the mortality in patients after bowel resections, high Acute Physiology And Chronic health Evaluation (APACHE) II score (<it>p < 0.01</it>) and longer length of bowel resection (<it>p </it>= 0.047) were significantly associated with mortality in univariate analyses. The complication rate was 66.7% in alive patients after definite bowel resection.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Bowel resection was the only potential life-saving therapy for patients with mesenteric ischemia induced HPVG. High APACHE II score and severity of underlying necrotic bowel determined the results in patients after bowel resection.</p

Ancestral Diversity in Lipoprotein(a) Studies Helps Address Evidence Gaps

INTRODUCTION: The independent and causal cardiovascular disease risk factor lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) is elevated in \u3e1.5 billion individuals worldwide, but studies have prioritised European populations. METHODS: Here, we examined how ancestrally diverse studies could clarify Lp(a)\u27s genetic architecture, inform efforts examining application of Lp(a) polygenic risk scores (PRS), enable causal inference and identify unexpected Lp(a) phenotypic effects using data from African (n=25 208), East Asian (n=2895), European (n=362 558), South Asian (n=8192) and Hispanic/Latino (n=8946) populations. RESULTS: Fourteen genome-wide significant loci with numerous population specific signals of large effect were identified that enabled construction of Lp(a) PRS of moderate (R CONCLUSIONS: Our results emphasise the merits of prioritising ancestral diversity when addressing Lp(a) evidence gaps

Multispacer Sequence Typing Relapsing Fever Borreliae in Africa

In Africa, relapsing fevers are caused by four cultured species: Borrelia crocidurae, Borrelia duttonii, Borrelia hispanica and Borrelia recurrentis. These borreliae are transmitted by the bite of Ornithodoros soft ticks except for B. recurrentis which is transmitted by louse Pediculus humanus. They cause potentially undifferentiated fever infection and co-infection with malaria could also occur. The exact prevalence of each Borrelia is unknown and overlaps between B. duttonii and B. crocidurae have been reported. The lack of tools for genotyping these borreliae limits knowledge concerning their epidemiology. We developed multispacer sequence typing (MST) and applied it to blood specimens infected by B. recurrentis (30 specimens), B. duttonii (18 specimens) and B. crocidurae (13 specimens), delineating these 60 strains and the 3 type strains into 13 species-specific spacer types. B. crocidurae strains were classified into 8 spacer types, B. duttonii into 3 spacer types and B. recurrentis into 2 spacer types. These findings provide the proof-of-concept that that MST is a reliable tool for identification and genotyping relapsing fever borreliae in Africa