Study on gross pulmonary lesions in lungs of slaughtered animals and their economic importance in Tigray, Ethiopia

A cross-sectional epidemiological study on slaughtered cattle at Mekelle abattoir, Northern Ethiopia, was conducted from November 19, 2008 to February 21, 2009 to investigate the distribution and risk factors of pulmonary lesions. The pulmonary lesions and diseases were diagnosed on the basis of pathological findings. Out of the 1,148 slaughtered cattle examined, 990 (86.2%) had one or more lesions. The prevalence of pulmonary lesions in the slaughtered cattle varied among categories of the study variables. The most common lesions were congestion (38.5%), emphysema (36.3%), hydatidosis (18.3%), abscesses (7.1%) and verminous pneumonia (3.2%). The risk factors identified on statistical basis (p < 0.05) were fat in cattle in pulmonary congestion, old age (>7 years) and very lean cattle in pulmonary emphysema and pulmonary abscesses and young age (<7 years) in verminous pneumonia. A total of 990 lungs (86.2%) were condemned or partially trimmed due to pulmonary lesions with an economic loss of 7,920 Ethiopian Birrs (ET Birr). This loss was calculated from the mean retail local market price of cattle lung and the total number of lungs condemned during the study period. Annual economic lose due to lung condemnation, determined by considering annual slaughter rate of cattle and prevalence of lung lesions in the abattoir, was estimated to be 65,000 ET Birr (US$). Keywords: Pulmonary lesions, Cattle, Abattoir, Economic loss, Ethiopia

A multiple-imputation-based approach to sensitivity analyses and effectiveness assessments in longitudinal clinical trials.

It is important to understand the effects of a drug as actually taken (effectiveness) and when taken as directed (efficacy). The primary objective of this investigation was to assess the statistical performance of a method referred to as placebo multiple imputation (pMI) as an estimator of effectiveness and as a worst reasonable case sensitivity analysis in assessing efficacy. The pMI method assumes the statistical behavior of placebo- and drug-treated patients after dropout is the statistical behavior of placebo-treated patients. Thus, in the effectiveness context, pMI assumes no pharmacological benefit of the drug after dropout. In the efficacy context, pMI is a specific form of a missing not at random analysis expected to yield a conservative estimate of efficacy. In a simulation study with 18 scenarios, the pMI approach generally provided unbiased estimates of effectiveness and conservative estimates of efficacy. However, the confidence interval coverage was consistently greater than the nominal coverage rate. In contrast, last and baseline observation carried forward (LOCF and BOCF) were conservative in some scenarios and anti-conservative in others with respect to efficacy and effectiveness. As expected, direct likelihood (DL) and standard multiple imputation (MI) yielded unbiased estimates of efficacy and tended to overestimate effectiveness in those scenarios where a drug effect existed. However, in scenarios with no drug effect, and therefore where the true values for both efficacy and effectiveness were zero, DL and MI yielded unbiased estimates of efficacy and effectiveness

Marketing channels, dynamics and economic incentives for onion production in Ethiopia: A case study from Oromiya Regional State, Ethiopia

This research was initiated to assess the market channels and develops value chain map and econometric model outputs for the onion in Ambo and Toke Kutaye districts of West Showa Zone, Oromiya Regional State, Ethiopia. Primary data were collected using interview guided questionnaires from 183 respondents’ of different actors in onion value chain and four focus group discussions of onion producers. Descriptive and inferential statistics; value chain mapping; marketing margin analysis; and econometrics analysis were used to analyze the data. About four marketing channels were identified in the study areas. The econometric result showed that  education level of household, onion farming experience, number of oxen owned, land size used for onion farming, amount of fertilizer used, access to extension services and family size of house hold were variables those significantly influenced the marketable supply of onion at farmers level. Multiple linear regression model indicated that variables like age, farm experience, family size, selling price and improved inputs were significant in affecting onion marketable supply. Thus, to increase the onion productivity, market channel and performances of all actors to maximize the profits of all value chain actors, it is important to integrate all concerned bodies of the onion value chains along with the supporting sectors

Maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity of uterine rupture and its association with prolonged duration of operation in Ethiopia: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Uterine rupture is the leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and it accounts for 36% of the maternal mortality in Ethiopia. The maternal and perinatal outcomes of uterine rupture were inconclusive for the country. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity of uterine rupture and its association with prolonged duration of operation. METHODS: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist was used for this systematic review and meta-analysis. We systematically used PubMed, Cochrane Library, and African Journals online databases for searching. The Newcastle- Ottawa quality assessment scale was used for critical appraisal. Egger's test and I2 statistic used to assess the check for publication bias and heterogeneity. The random-effect model was used to estimate the pooled prevalence and odds ratios with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The pooled maternal mortality and morbidity due to uterine rupture in Ethiopia was 7.75% (95% CI: 4.14, 11.36) and 37.1% (95% CI: 8.44, 65.8), respectively. The highest maternal mortality occurred in Southern region (8.91%) and shock was the commonest maternal morbidity (24.43%) due to uterine rupture. The pooled perinatal death associated with uterine rupture was 86.1% (95% CI: 83.4, 89.9). The highest prevalence of perinatal death was observed in Amhara region (91.36%) and the lowest occurred in Tigray region (78.25%). Prolonged duration of operation was a significant predictor of maternal morbidity (OR = 1.39; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.81). CONCLUSIONS: The percentage of maternal and perinatal deaths due to uterine rupture was high in Ethiopia. Uterine rupture was associated with maternal morbidity and prolonged duration of the operation was found to be associated with maternal morbidities. Therefore, birth preparedness and complication readiness plan, early referral and improving the duration of operation are recommended to improve maternal and perinatal outcomes of uterine rupture

Incidence and Predictors of Pre-Eclampsia Among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Care at Debre Markos Referral Hospital, North West Ethiopia: Prospective Cohort Study.

BackgroundPre-eclampsia is a pregnancy-induced hypertension that occurs after 20 weeks of gestation. It is the leading cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality globally, but it is higher in developing countries. In Ethiopia, conducting research on the incidence and predictors of pre-eclampsia is crucial due to the paucity of information.MethodsA prospective cohort study was undertaken using 242 pregnant women between November 1, 2018 and March 30, 2019 at Debre Markos Referral Hospital. All eligible women who fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in this study. Data were entered into the epic-data Version 4.2 and analyzed using the STATA Version 14.0 software. The Cox-proportional hazard regression model was fitted and Cox-Snell residual test was used to assess the goodness of fit. Pre-eclampsia free survival time was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve. Both bivariable and multivariable Cox-proportional hazard regression models were fitted to identify predictors of pre-eclampsia.ResultsThe overall incidence rate of pre-eclampsia was 3.35 per 100 person-years. Having a pre-existing history of diabetes mellitus [AHR=2.7 (95% CI=1.43-8.81)], having a history of multiple pregnancy [AHR=3.4 (95% CI=2.8-6.9)] and being ≥35 years old age [AHR=2.5 (95% CI=1.42-3.54)] were the significant predictors of pre-eclampsia.ConclusionThe incidence of pre-eclampsia was high in this study. Having (pre-existing diabetes and multiple pregnancy) and being ≥35 years old age were the significant predictors of pre-eclampsia. Inspiring pregnant women's health-seeking behavior should provide a chance to diagnose pre-eclampsia early to prevent the medical complication of pre-eclampsia

Lactobacillus acidophilus: effects on the pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin in rats

Background: Probiotics are currently produced commercially and widely used for improving human and animal health. They modulate the gut environment through secretion and production of different molecules and enzymes. Hence, they play a major role in changing the pharmacokinetics of an orally administered drug. Purpose: To determine the effect of Lactobacillus acidophilus (KCTC 3140) on the pharmacokinetics of marbofloxacin.Materials and Methods: Five male and five female 8-week old healthy Sprague Dawley rats were treated with 109 CFU/ml of L. acidophilus daily for seven days via the intra-gastric route. Marbofloxacin (20 mg/kg) was administered orally at the beginning and the end of the experiment. The plasma concentration of marbofloxacin was measured using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Results: The area under the curve (AUC) of marbofloxacin declined from 5.78 µg.h/ml to 2.57 µg.h/ml after treatment with L. acidophilus. Similarly, the maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of the drug decreased from 2.4 µg/ml to 1.2 µg/ml and the Tmax increased from 0.54 to 0.73 h. The elimination half-lives of marbofloxacin before and after treatment with L. acidophilus were 1.19 h and 0.69 h, respectively. The study was conducted by separating the male and female rats; no significant difference was observed between the sexes. Conclusion: The treatment of rats with L. acidophilus decreased the plasma AUC and Cmax after oral administration of marbofloxacin. Hence, studying the interaction of a probiotic with an antibiotic drug is essential prior to co-administration of the probiotic with the oral antibiotic

Simulating the effects of plant traits for increasing grain sorghum in waterlimited environments: a case study of West Africa Sudano-Sahelian region

The need to improve the performance of dryland crops in semiarid environments cannot be over emphasized, because growth and development of such crops are often limited by moisture and other abiotic factors. Sorghum production in commercial situations requires maximising grain yield on limited available water resources, which requires maximizing the ratio of yield to evapotranspiration. In this study, a system analysis was undertaken to identify those plant traits that might be altered to improve sorghum yield in a moisture-limited environment. APSIM model was used to simulate sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. moench) for 30-year period at two locations (Kano, Nigeria and Bamako, Mali), characterized by high inter-annual rainfall variability and evapotranspiration in the Sudano-Sahelian region of West Africa. Since sorghum is known to be better adapted to drier environments, a number of individual plant traits were adjusted in the calibrated APSIM sorghum-module for the two selected varieties. In the tested environments, it was found that decreasing leaf size and increasing seed growth both resulted in decreased yield while the ratio of grain yield to evapotranspiration was decreased. Combining sorghum plant traits in the model resulted in increased yield and the ratio of grain yield to evapotranspiration when the average for all the years simulated. In addition, the simulated grain yield show decline up to 25% in Bamako, Mali and 35% in Kano, Nigeria for both varieties. These results indicate future adaptations strategy to climate variability and change for sorghums variety is required while maintaining improving soil quality in a continuing process

Immunogenicity and efficacy of non-adjuvant tissue culture-based rabies vaccine produced in Ethiopia

Rabies is 100% fatal, but it is preventable. More than 95% of human rabies cases occur in improperly treated individuals. This is partly due to the fact that modern post-exposure rabies prophylaxis is expensive and therefore not readily available in many endemic regions. Nervous tissue vaccine has been in use for more than 100yrs. These vaccines have now been superseded in purity, potency, immunogenicity and safety. The efficacy and immunogenicity of inactivated tissue culture rabies vaccine, produced in Ethiopia was evaluated. Twelve experimental dogs from local breed were duly conditioned during a quarantine period and assigned to two groups randomly. Animals in group I (cases) were vaccinated subcutaneously with 1 ml of our experimental vaccine. Dogs in group II served as non-vaccinated controls. The immune response of each dog was monitored for 90 days. On the day 90 after final sampling, all dogs were challenged in the masseter muscle with a rabies street virus of canine origin. To evaluate the titer of the rabies virus neutralizing antibodies (VNA), sera were analyzed by Fluorescent Antibody Virus Neutralization (FAVN) Test. Geometric Mean Titers (GMT) to rabies virus was determined at days 7, 15, 21, 30, 60 and 90. Geometric mean titers were equal to 1.59, 1.73, 2.19, 3.58, 3.17 and 3.35 IU/ml respectively. All dogs showed VNA titers higher than the 0.5 IU/ml mandated WHO recommended threshold. All vaccinated dogs, survived the challenge. In contrast, 83.3% of dogs in the control (non-vaccinated group), developed rabies and died. This study indicated that cell culture-based anti-rabies developed inhouse, with no adjuvant is efficacious and immunogenic

Impacts of fertilization management strategies on improved sorghums varieties in smallholder farming systems in Mali: Productivity and profitability differences

Sorghum is an important cereal crop cultivated by smallholder farmers of Mali, contributing significantly to their food demand and security. The study evaluated different fertilization strategies that combined organic and inorganic fertilizer applications with three sorghum varieties. The experiments were conducted over three cropping seasons (2017–2019) in three sites (Bamako, Bougouni, and Koutiala respectively) within the Sudanian region of Mali. Our results showed a significant effect of season, variety, and fertilization strategies on grain and stalk yields. Grain yield increased by 8–40% in Koutiala, 11–53% in Bougouni, and 44–110% in Bamako while the average stalk yield was above 5000 kg h