Characterization of the indigenous goat production system in Asossa zone, Benishangul Gumuz region, Ethiopia

Most of the livestock population in Asossa zone is comprised of indigenous goats, which have remarkable socioeconomic relevance to the society. This study aimed to generate information on the production system and production constraints of goats in the study area. The study was conducted based on a household survey in which 192 householdswere purposively sampled. The households were located in Sherkole, Kurmuk and Menge districts that have a high goat population in Asossa zone. Data were recorded inMS Excel data sheet and analyzed using SAS. A chi-square and GLM procedure of SAS was used to test significant differences among categorical and quantitative variables. The primary reason for keeping goats was for cash income with an index value of 0.46, 0.34 and 0.31 for Sherkole Kurmuk and Menge districts, respectively. Milk was the second purpose for rearing goats, with a ranking index value of 0.29, 0.30 and 0.30 for Sherkole, Kurmuk, and Menge districts, respectively. Grazing on natural pasture was the major feed source for goat production in the three districts (with an index of 0.86, 0.91 and 0.0.87 for Sherkole, Kurmuk and Menge districts, respectively). Although the majority of households (59 %, 75% and 62.5% in Sherkole, Kurmuk, and Menge districts, respectively) used yard type of housing, the number of households that used this type of housing was significantly different (p<0.05) among the three districts. Majority of goat owners used an uncontrolled type of mating that accounts 92.2%, 89.1% and 85.9% in Sherkole, Kurmuk, and Menge districts, respectively. Feed shortage (with ranking index value of 0.30, 0.34 and 0.28 in Sherkole Kurmuk and Menge districts, respectively) and water shortage (with ranking index value 0.21, 0.23 and 0.22 in Sherkole Kurmuk and  Menge districts, respectively) were the first and second goat production constraints. Age at sexual maturity was 7.52 months for males and 7.84 months for female goats in this region. Goats play a multi-functional role for the community by adapting to the different constraints that need intervention mechanisms from responsible bodies to boost the productivity of the sector.Key words: constraints, Ethiopia, feed, housing, indigenous goats, reproductive performance, production system, wate

Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis of Ethiopian white lupine (Lupinus albus L.)

White lupine (Lupinus albus L.) collected from two zones (West Gojjam and Awi) of Amhara region and one zone (Metekel) of Benishangul - Gumuz regional state of Ethiopia were studied using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers in an attempt to assess the genetic diversity. Four ISSR primers of which three were dinucleotide repeats and one, a penta nucleotide repeat amplified a total of 39 clear and reproducible bands. Both unweighted pair- group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA) phenograms and a neighbor joining (NJ) trees were constructed for the individuals and populations using Jaccard’s similarity coefficient. The dendrogram clearly indicated four distinct groups/populations based on the area of origin. The principal coordinates (PCO) analysis also recovered UPGMA and neighbor joining tree groups, although Amhara region white lupine were intermixed with each other. The genetic diversity among white lupine population considered in the present study indicated that Merawi was the highest (0.223) followed by Addis Kidam, Sekela and Wembera with genetic diversity of 0.198, 0.189 and 0.167, respectively. Generally, Amhara region white lupine (0.203) population shows higher genetic diversity than white lupine population of B-Gumuz region (0.167). Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) in both grouping and without grouping revealed larger genetic diversity within the populations (74.6%) than among populations (25.4%). Shannon’s diversity index also confirmed the existence of higher genetic diversity in Amhara region lupine populations than in Benishangul-Gumuz. Furthermore AMOVA demonstrated highly significant (P = 0.00) genetic differences among populations within groups, among groups and within populations. Of the total variation, 64.64% was attributable to within populations, 27.23% to among groups and the least, 8.13% to among populations within groups. Generally, on the basis of samples of 39 bands in the four populations, ISSR was able to reveal moderate to high levels of genetic diversity within and among Ethiopian white lupine population.Keywords: Amhara, Benishangul - Gumuz, Ethiopia, genetic diversity, ISSR, white lupine.Abbreviation: ISSR, Inter simple sequence repeats; UPGMA, unweighted pair- group method with arithmetic average; NJ, neighbor joining; PCO, principal coordinates; AMOVA, analysis of molecular variance; RAPD, random amplified polymorphic DNA; AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphism

THREE DIMENSIONAL SIMULATION OF SUSPENSION FLOW IN A MOLD CAVITY

ABSTRACT This paper presents three-dimensional simulation of fiber suspension flows in a cavity using the Finite Volume Method (FVM). The numerical simulation model described makes it possible to predict the propagation of the fiber-polymer solution and fiber orientation during the filling phase. Therefore, the objective of the work is to develop a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to simulate and characterize the fiber suspension flow in three dimensional cavities. The model is intended to describe the fiber orientation distribution in three dimensional mold cavities. The continuity, momentum, energy and the fiber orientation equations are solved using the FVM. The flow is considered to be incompressible, non-isothermal, transient, and to behave as non-Newtonian fluid. A numerical analysis is presented to illustrate the application of the FVM to dilute suspension flows in injection molding processes. The volume-of-fluid method is employed to describe the flow of the two incompressible, immiscible phases, i.e., liquid suspension and air. Since the flow is a non-Newtonian, the Cross model is used to describe the shear-thinning behavior of the suspension. The governing equations of the flow and the fiber are implemented and solved by means of the open source code OpenFOAM. The evolution equation of the fiber orientation contains a fourth order orientation tensor which is approximated in terms of second order tensor through the use of appropriate closure rules. In this study the Hybrid closure model of Advani and Tucker is used to approximate the fourth order orientation tensor. To validate the numerical algorithm, test cases of suspension flow in a rectangular cavity are modeled for different fiber-polymer matrices. The numerical results are compared with available experimental findings and with those of Newtonian flows

Pharyngeal carriage of Neisseria species in the African meningitis belt.

OBJECTIVES: Neisseria meningitidis, together with the non-pathogenic Neisseria species (NPNs), are members of the complex microbiota of the human pharynx. This paper investigates the influence of NPNs on the epidemiology of meningococcal infection. METHODS: Neisseria isolates were collected during 18 surveys conducted in six countries in the African meningitis belt between 2010 and 2012 and characterized at the rplF locus to determine species and at the variable region of the fetA antigen gene. Prevalence and risk factors for carriage were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 4694 isolates of Neisseria were obtained from 46,034 pharyngeal swabs, a carriage prevalence of 10.2% (95% CI, 9.8-10.5). Five Neisseria species were identified, the most prevalent NPN being Neisseria lactamica. Six hundred and thirty-six combinations of rplF/fetA_VR alleles were identified, each defined as a Neisseria strain type. There was an inverse relationship between carriage of N. meningitidis and of NPNs by age group, gender and season, whereas carriage of both N. meningitidis and NPNs was negatively associated with a recent history of meningococcal vaccination. CONCLUSION: Variations in the prevalence of NPNs by time, place and genetic type may contribute to the particular epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the African meningitis belt

EnDPoINT: protocol for an implementation research study to integrate a holistic package of physical health, mental health and psychosocial care for podoconiosis, lymphatic filariasis and leprosy into routine health services in Ethiopia

Introduction Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) causing lower limb lymphoedema such as podoconiosis, lymphatic filariasis (LF) and leprosy are common in Ethiopia. Routine health services for morbidity management and disability prevention (MMDP) of lymphoedema caused by these conditions are still lacking, even though it imposes a huge burden on affected individuals and their communities in terms of physical and mental health, and psychosocial and economic outcomes. This calls for an integrated, holistic approach to MMDP across these three diseases. Methods and analysis The ‘Excellence in Disability Prevention Integrated across NTDs’ (EnDPoINT) implementation research study aims to assess the integration and scale-up of a holistic package of care—including physical health, mental health and psychosocial care—into routine health services for people with lymphoedema caused by podoconiosis, LF and leprosy in selected districts in Awi zone in the North–West of Ethiopia. The study is being carried out over three phases using a wide range of mixed methodologies. Phase 1 involves the development of a comprehensive holistic care package and strategies for its integration into the routine health services across the three diseases, and to examine the factors that influence integration and the roles of key health system actors. Phase 2 involves a pilot study conducted in one subdistrict in Awi zone, to establish the care package’s adoption, feasibility, acceptability, fidelity, potential effectiveness, its readiness for scale-up, costs of the interventions and the suitability of the training and training materials. Phase 3 involves scale-up of the care package in three whole districts, as well as its evaluation in regard to coverage, implementation, clinical (physical health, mental health and psychosocial) and economic outcomes. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval for the study has been obtained in the UK and Ethiopia. The results will be disseminated through publications in scientific journals, conference presentations, policy briefs and workshops. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits others to copy, redistribute, remix, transform and build upon this work for any purpose, provided the original work is properly cited, a link to the licence is given, and indication of whether changes were made

Pharyngeal carriage of Neisseria species in the African meningitis belt.

OBJECTIVES: Neisseria meningitidis, together with the non-pathogenic Neisseria species (NPNs), are members of the complex microbiota of the human pharynx. This paper investigates the influence of NPNs on the epidemiology of meningococcal infection. METHODS: Neisseria isolates were collected during 18 surveys conducted in six countries in the African meningitis belt between 2010 and 2012 and characterized at the rplF locus to determine species and at the variable region of the fetA antigen gene. Prevalence and risk factors for carriage were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 4694 isolates of Neisseria were obtained from 46,034 pharyngeal swabs, a carriage prevalence of 10.2% (95% CI, 9.8-10.5). Five Neisseria species were identified, the most prevalent NPN being Neisseria lactamica. Six hundred and thirty-six combinations of rplF/fetA_VR alleles were identified, each defined as a Neisseria strain type. There was an inverse relationship between carriage of N. meningitidis and of NPNs by age group, gender and season, whereas carriage of both N. meningitidis and NPNs was negatively associated with a recent history of meningococcal vaccination. CONCLUSION: Variations in the prevalence of NPNs by time, place and genetic type may contribute to the particular epidemiology of meningococcal disease in the African meningitis belt.MenAfriCar was funded by the Wellcome Trust (086546/Z/08/Z) and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (51251). Kanny Diallo holds a Wellcome Trust Training Fellowship in Public Health and Tropical Medicine.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Elsevier via https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2016.03.01

The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In estimating the global burden of cancer, adolescents and young adults with cancer are often overlooked, despite being a distinct subgroup with unique epidemiology, clinical care needs, and societal impact. Comprehensive estimates of the global cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (aged 15–39 years) are lacking. To address this gap, we analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, with a focus on the outcome of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), to inform global cancer control measures in adolescents and young adults. Methods: Using the GBD 2019 methodology, international mortality data were collected from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and population-based cancer registry inputs modelled with mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). Incidence was computed with mortality estimates and corresponding MIRs. Prevalence estimates were calculated using modelled survival and multiplied by disability weights to obtain years lived with disability (YLDs). Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated as age-specific cancer deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age of death. The main outcome was DALYs (the sum of YLLs and YLDs). Estimates were presented globally and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintiles (countries ranked and divided into five equal SDI groups), and all estimates were presented with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). For this analysis, we used the age range of 15–39 years to define adolescents and young adults. Findings: There were 1·19 million (95% UI 1·11–1·28) incident cancer cases and 396 000 (370 000–425 000) deaths due to cancer among people aged 15–39 years worldwide in 2019. The highest age-standardised incidence rates occurred in high SDI (59·6 [54·5–65·7] per 100 000 person-years) and high-middle SDI countries (53·2 [48·8–57·9] per 100 000 person-years), while the highest age-standardised mortality rates were in low-middle SDI (14·2 [12·9–15·6] per 100 000 person-years) and middle SDI (13·6 [12·6–14·8] per 100 000 person-years) countries. In 2019, adolescent and young adult cancers contributed 23·5 million (21·9–25·2) DALYs to the global burden of disease, of which 2·7% (1·9–3·6) came from YLDs and 97·3% (96·4–98·1) from YLLs. Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death and tenth leading cause of DALYs in adolescents and young adults globally. Interpretation: Adolescent and young adult cancers contributed substantially to the overall adolescent and young adult disease burden globally in 2019. These results provide new insights into the distribution and magnitude of the adolescent and young adult cancer burden around the world. With notable differences observed across SDI settings, these estimates can inform global and country-level cancer control efforts. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities, St Baldrick's Foundation, and the National Cancer Institute

Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorders, 1990–2016 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

Background: Neurological disorders are increasingly recognised as major causes of death and disability worldwide. The aim of this analysis from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2016 is to provide the most comprehensive and up-to-date estimates of the global, regional, and national burden from neurological disorders. Methods: We estimated prevalence, incidence, deaths, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs; the sum of years of life lost [YLLs] and years lived with disability [YLDs]) by age and sex for 15 neurological disorder categories (tetanus, meningitis, encephalitis, stroke, brain and other CNS cancers, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, motor neuron diseases, idiopathic epilepsy, migraine, tension-type headache, and a residual category for other less common neurological disorders) in 195 countries from 1990 to 2016. DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, was the main method of estimation of prevalence and incidence, and the Cause of Death Ensemble model (CODEm) was used for mortality estimation. We quantified the contribution of 84 risks and combinations of risk to the disease estimates for the 15 neurological disorder categories using the GBD comparative risk assessment approach. Findings: Globally, in 2016, neurological disorders were the leading cause of DALYs (276 million [95% UI 247–308]) and second leading cause of deaths (9·0 million [8·8–9·4]). The absolute number of deaths and DALYs from all neurological disorders combined increased (deaths by 39% [34–44] and DALYs by 15% [9–21]) whereas their age-standardised rates decreased (deaths by 28% [26–30] and DALYs by 27% [24–31]) between 1990 and 2016. The only neurological disorders that had a decrease in rates and absolute numbers of deaths and DALYs were tetanus, meningitis, and encephalitis. The four largest contributors of neurological DALYs were stroke (42·2% [38·6–46·1]), migraine (16·3% [11·7–20·8]), Alzheimer's and other dementias (10·4% [9·0–12·1]), and meningitis (7·9% [6·6–10·4]). For the combined neurological disorders, age-standardised DALY rates were significantly higher in males than in females (male-to-female ratio 1·12 [1·05–1·20]), but migraine, multiple sclerosis, and tension-type headache were more common and caused more burden in females, with male-to-female ratios of less than 0·7. The 84 risks quantified in GBD explain less than 10% of neurological disorder DALY burdens, except stroke, for which 88·8% (86·5–90·9) of DALYs are attributable to risk factors, and to a lesser extent Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (22·3% [11·8–35·1] of DALYs are risk attributable) and idiopathic epilepsy (14·1% [10·8–17·5] of DALYs are risk attributable). Interpretation: Globally, the burden of neurological disorders, as measured by the absolute number of DALYs, continues to increase. As populations are growing and ageing, and the prevalence of major disabling neurological disorders steeply increases with age, governments will face increasing demand for treatment, rehabilitation, and support services for neurological disorders. The scarcity of established modifiable risks for most of the neurological burden demonstrates that new knowledge is required to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112