Is linum usitatissimum seed a potential medicine in the therapy of peptic ulcer?

Abstract: The spasmolytic and indomethacin-induced ulcer protective effects of Linum usitatissimum seed in guinea pig ileum and mouse stomach, respectively, were investigated. The water extract of the whole seed, after being soaked for different periods, was employed to test it spasmolytic effect and its protective action against experimental ulcerogenesis. The extract was observed to show significant spasmolytic activity and protective effect against experimental ulcerogenesis (p < 0.01). Both effects were observed to increase with increase in the soaking period (p < 0.01). The present findings suggest that the seed of Linum usitatissimum could be a potential medicine in peptic ulcer therapy. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1996; 10(2):79-82

Determinants of infant and early childhood mortality in a small urban community of Ethiopia: a hazard model analysis

Abstract: By applying Cox's proportional hazard model regression analysis to data collected using a retrospective survey conducted in Sebeta, a town 25 Km west of Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia, the paper examines the factors impinging on the survival of infants and children between 1 - 3 years of age. It is shown that for higher order births (more than 5), for births to young women (under 20 years of age), and for those to older women (more than 34 years of age), the risk of dying at infancy is higher. The risk of infant mortality is also high for births with short previous birth intervals. In fact, the length of the previous birth interval is found to be the single most important factor affecting the chances of survival during infancy. It is further shown that education of mother, occupation of father, household income, source of drinking water, availability of latrine, and survival status of older sibling have direct effect on infant mortality. Among these, source of water and availability of latrine are identified as having significant effects on infant mortality even after controlling for the effects of other variables. During early childhood, however, the effects of age at maternity, birth order and preceding birth interval becomes trivial. Following birth interval appears to have a strong effect on the chances of survival during early childhood. Household income, religion and survival status of the previous sibling are found to have significant effects on early childhood mortality. The findings provide solid ground to support strategies to broaden MCH/FP services, environmental health and income generating scheme to reduce the risk of death for infants and children. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 1997;11(3):189-200

Synergistic Surfactant Interactions and the Consequences on Phase Behavior, Interfacial Tension Reduction and Hydrophobic Surface Wetting

The ability for some of the nonionic trisiloxane surfactants to completely and rapidly wet a hydrophobic surface has been well documented for several years. However, to date, the behavior of the trisiloxane surfactants at the solid-liquid interface is not yet completely understood, leading to an incomplete understanding of the mechanism for complete wetting. In this work we report our findings with regard to the synergistic interactions between polyethylene oxide surfactants of the general structure CiE j and compare the behavior to a known super wetting surfactant. Pendant drop tensiometry experiments and sessile drop contact angle measurements on hydrophobic surfaces were conducted on combinations of CiE j surfactants with 1-dodecanol. We found that a number of combinations were capable of reducing significantly the air-liquid tension, however only systems that exhibited the propensity to form extended liquid crystalline phases, as shown by the combination of cross-polarized microscopy, cryo-TEM, and light scattering experiments, were able to improve on the wetting performance of the these systems. We have also conducted the parallel experiment focused on the surfactant adsorption at the hydrophobic solid-liquid interface. Using in-situ infrared internal reflection spectroscopy and complimentary sum-frequency generation spectroscopy, we are able to dynamically interrogate the surfactant adsorption kinetics and interfacial water structure evolution at the hydrophobic solid-liquid interface. We will relate these findings to gain insight into the molecular requirements for superspreading

Trends in social indicators and social sector financing

Over the past three decades, per capita GDP has increased worldwide. The authors examine whether this has resulted in better quality of life in developing countries. This paper documents the evolution of social indicators (health, education, nutrition), private consumption, and government expenditure on the social sectors. They conclude that developing countries made uneven progress in the quality of life in the period under study. Key findings include: (a) health indicators showed stable improvements in all regions, but Africa's rates were the slowest; (b) of all social indicators, education made the greatest gains, however, net enrollment ratios actually decreased in Africa in the 1980s; (c) while developing nations as a group enjoyed improved indices of undernutrition in 1965-85, the degree of undernutrition worsened in more than one-third of sub-Saharan African countries; (d) Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean also saw declines in average per capita private consumption during the 1980s; and (e) the share of total government expenditure on health remained stable in all regions, but that of education declined in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors also note that any effort to assess trends is severely hampered by lack of information. The quality of existing data is not systematically trustworthy, and there are many gaps.Health Economics&Finance,Early Childhood Development,Demographics,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Early Child and Children's Health

Structural adjustment and living conditions in developing countries

The authors compare trends in per capita private consumption, social sector indicators, and government spending in the social sectors, between countries that received Bank adjustment loans and countries that did not. They point out that there is little reason to believe that the poor are being hurt by adjustment because absorption is reduced. But there is still cause for concern : real per capita spending in the social sectors decreased in many countries, especially those adjusting intensely. Improving the living conditions of the poor calls for growth oriented policies, the effects of which will be felt only in the long run. During adjustment, immediate interventions are needed to mitigate short run welfare losses experienced by readily identifiable groups.Environmental Economics&Policies,Poverty Assessment,Inequality,Health Economics&Finance,Economic Theory&Research

In vivo anti-malarial activity of hydroalcoholic extracts from Asparagus africanus Lam. in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei

Background: Malaria is a major public health problem in the world in general and developing countries in particular, causing an estimated 1-2 million deaths per year, an annual incidence of 300-500 million clinical cases and more than 2 billion people are at risk of infection from it. But it is also becoming more difficult to treat malaria due to the increasing drug resistance. Therefore, the need for alternative drugs is acute. Objective: The This study aims at investigating the in vivo antiplasmodial activity of extracts of the roots and area parts from traditionally used medicinal plant, named Asparagus africanus (Liliaceae). Methods: A rodent malaria parasite, Plasmodium berghei, which was maintained at the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institute (EHNRI) laboratory, was inoculated into Swiss albino mice. The mice were infected with 1x107 parasites intraperitoneally. The extracts were administered by an intra gastric tube daily for four days starting from the day of parasite inoculation. The control groups received the same amount of solvent (vehicle) used to suspend each dose of the herbal drug. Chloroquine was used as a standard drug, and was administered through the same route. Results: Extracts from the roots and aerial parts of A.africanus were observed to inhibit Plasmodium berghei parasitaemia in the Swiss albino mice by 46.1% and 40.7% respectively. Conclusion: The study could partly confirm the claim in Ethiopian traditional medicine that the plant has therapeutic values in human malaria. There is, thus, the need to initiate further in-depth investigation by using different experimental models. The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development Vol. 20 (2) 2006: 112-11

Impact of irrigation on poverty and environment in Ethiopia. Draft Proceeding of the Symposium and Exhibition held at Ghion Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 27th -29th November, 2007

Poverty, Crop management, Irrigated farming, Rainfed farming, Irrigation systems, Food security, Water harvesting, Institutions, Environmental effects, Public health, Malaria, GIS, Remote sensing, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Health Economics and Policy, Institutional and Behavioral Economics, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

AN INVESTIGATION OF DIARRHOEAL DISEASE OUTBREAK AT DILATE MILITARY TRAINING CENTRE

ABSTRACT: This study was conducted to investigate a reported diarrhoeal diseaseboutbreak among higher education students recruits in Bilate Military Training Centre, Sidamo Administrative Region, Out of the total patients of 5,248 who visited at the out-patient department 1,616 (30.1% ) were patients with diarrhoea. There were 99 patients admitted to the hospital out of which 27 (27.2 % ) were diarrhoeal patients. There ere no deaths reported. A total of 965 (75.6%) were treated with antimicrobial, mainly Tetracyclines, Chloramphenicol, Metronidazole and Chloroquine. Only 114 (8.9% ) were treated with Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) while 86 (7.11 % ) with Anti-diarrhoeal (Charcoal) and ORS. There was no proper excreta disposal and the water source was found to be bacteriologically non-potable. Among the 34 stool specimens collected for culture and sensitivity tests, the genus Shigella was isolated in 6 patients; where 4 were higellaflexneri (Group B) and 2 were Shigella dysenteriae (Group A) one type 1 (Shiga's Bacillus) and the other type 2 (Schmittz's Bacillus). Shigella dysenteriae serogroups 1 and 2 showed resistance to eight and seven drugs including Trimethoprim Sulpha-Methoxazole (TSM) respectively. This study highlights the importance of safe water and improvement of general hygiene and environmental sanitation for prevention and control of epidemics and indicates the importance of continuous surveillance of drug resistant Shigella for the control of outbreaks of Shigellosis

The role of statins in Alzheimer’s disease: A meta-analysis

Background In Alzheimer’s disease (AD) Amyloid Beta (Aâ) is deposited in the form of extracellular plaques and previous studies have showed Aâ generation is cholesterol dependent. The use of statins in the prevention and treatment of AD is poorly explored. The aim of this work was, therefore, to perform a review of studies on the efficacy and safety of statins in the prevention as well as treatment of AD. Methods and Findings Medline and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews search was performed for original research articles published in English language in which participants received any type of statins for at least 6 months and evaluated for their cognitive changes. Selected articles were grouped into two, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies, and meta-analyzed separately. Thirteen studies identified, 4 RCTs including 1153 AD patients with trial period ranging from 26 to 72 weeks and 9 observational studies including 21,819 study participants with follow up period of up to 12 years. The 4 RCTs assessed change in Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale- consisting of the cognitive subscale (ADAS-Cog) and when the results of each studies were combined there was no significant difference in ADAS-Cog between the statin and placebo group [Mean difference = -0.57, 95% CI, -1.39, 0.25, p=0.17]. Four of the 9 observational studies provided computed effect sizes in the form of Hazard ratio (HR) and common HR were computed and showed that statins had significant protective effect against AD [HR=0.69, 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.542, 0.882, p=0.003]. Three of the 9 observational studies were also combined for their Odds ratio (OR) and they showed that statins were protective against AD [OR=0.447, 95% CI, 0.299, 0.668, p=000]. Treatment related adverse effects were similar between statin and placebo [OR=2.84, 95% CI, 0.41, 19.69, p=0.29]. Conclusion Though observational studies have shown statins’ protective effect against AD, there is insufficient evidence to recommend statins for the treatment of AD, as RCTs failed to show significant efficacy. Statins are generally well tolerated in AD