Levels of fluoride in bottled soft drinks marketed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

The main objective of this study was to determine the levels of fluoride in soft drinks (Coca Cola, Pepsi, Mirinda, Fanta and Sprite) marketed and widely consumed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Three glass-bottled and three plastic-bottled soft drink samples from each brand were purchased randomly from Arat Kilo, Shiromeda and Shola supermarkets, kiosk and tea houses in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Levels of fluoride in the soft drink samples were determined by fluoride ion selective electrode. The method was validated by spiking test which provided percentage recoveries of fluoride in the soft drinks in the range 91-96%. The mean fluoride concentration (mg/L) in the glass-bottled and plastic-bottled soft drink samples, respectively, were: Coca Cola (0.03±0.01, 0.06±0.01), Pepsi (0.23±0.01, 0.10±0.01), Mirinda (0.21±0.02, 0.09±0.01), Fanta (0.03±0.01, 0.05±0.01) and Sprite (0.04±0.01, 0.27±0.01). Pearson correlation showed that the levels of fluoride in the soft drinks were found to correlate positively with each other, which indicates similar source of main component (the water used for dilution). The low levels of fluoride in the soft drinks may not impose health risk in the adults but excessive consumption of soft drinks regularly by the children may result in dental fluorosis.               KEY WORDS: Fluoride, Coca cola, Pepsi, Mirinda, Fanta, Sprite Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(2), 203-213.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i2.

Delay in initiating tuberculosis treatment and factors associated among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in East Wollega, Western Ethiopia

Background: Delay in treatment is also likely to be associated with a greater number of secondary cases per index case. Objective: to assess the length of patient and health system delays; and identify factors influencing these delays among pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study in 13 selected government health facilities that provide both diagnostic and treatment services using Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) program. Data were collected from pulmonary TB patients aged 15 years and above during their intensive phase of DOTS treatment using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: The median total delay was 90 days; with 28 days patient delay and 42 days health system delay. A large proportion (63%) of the overall total delay was contributed by health system delay. Patients from urban areas were 46% more likely to present to health care providers than patients from rural areas, adjusted hazard ratio (AHR) of 1.46 (95% CI: 1.10 - 1.95). Patients from urban areas were 54% more likely to be diagnosed and start treatment earlier than patients from rural areas, AHR of 1.54 (95% CI: 1.15-2.07). Female patients were more delayed to present to health providers than their male counterparts with AHR of 0.63 (95%CI: 0.47–0.84) but had shorter health system delay than male patients with AHR of 1.51 (95% CI: 1.1-22.04). Conclusion: A greater proportion of the overall total delay was contributed by health system delay. The health system should be more accessible for the unmet need. New approaches to make health services more accessible to those in greatest need (rural and women) should be designed and developed.The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development Vol. 21 (2) 2007: pp. 148-15

Surgical robotics beyond enhanced dexterity instrumentation: a survey of machine learning techniques and their role in intelligent and autonomous surgical actions

PURPOSE: Advances in technology and computing play an increasingly important role in the evolution of modern surgical techniques and paradigms. This article reviews the current role of machine learning (ML) techniques in the context of surgery with a focus on surgical robotics (SR). Also, we provide a perspective on the future possibilities for enhancing the effectiveness of procedures by integrating ML in the operating room. METHODS: The review is focused on ML techniques directly applied to surgery, surgical robotics, surgical training and assessment. The widespread use of ML methods in diagnosis and medical image computing is beyond the scope of the review. Searches were performed on PubMed and IEEE Explore using combinations of keywords: ML, surgery, robotics, surgical and medical robotics, skill learning, skill analysis and learning to perceive. RESULTS: Studies making use of ML methods in the context of surgery are increasingly being reported. In particular, there is an increasing interest in using ML for developing tools to understand and model surgical skill and competence or to extract surgical workflow. Many researchers begin to integrate this understanding into the control of recent surgical robots and devices. CONCLUSION: ML is an expanding field. It is popular as it allows efficient processing of vast amounts of data for interpreting and real-time decision making. Already widely used in imaging and diagnosis, it is believed that ML will also play an important role in surgery and interventional treatments. In particular, ML could become a game changer into the conception of cognitive surgical robots. Such robots endowed with cognitive skills would assist the surgical team also on a cognitive level, such as possibly lowering the mental load of the team. For example, ML could help extracting surgical skill, learned through demonstration by human experts, and could transfer this to robotic skills. Such intelligent surgical assistance would significantly surpass the state of the art in surgical robotics. Current devices possess no intelligence whatsoever and are merely advanced and expensive instruments

Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Sorghum [Sorghum Bicolor (L.) Moench] Accessions as Revealed by Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers

Ethiopia is the center of origin for sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench], where the distinct agro-ecological zones significantly contributed to the genetic diversity of the crops. A large number of sorghum landrace accessions have been conserved ex situ. Molecular characterization of this diverse germplasm can contribute to its efficient conservation and utilization in the breeding programs. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity of Ethiopian sorghum using gene-based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. In total, 359 individuals representing 24 landrace accessions were genotyped using 3,001 SNP markers. The SNP markers had moderately high polymorphism information content (PIC = 0.24) and gene diversity (H = 0.29), on average. This study revealed 48 SNP loci that were significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium with excess heterozygosity and 13 loci presumed to be under selection (P < 0.01). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) determined that 35.5% of the total variation occurred within and 64.5% among the accessions. Similarly, significant differentiations were observed among geographic regions and peduncle shape-based groups. In the latter case, accessions with bent peduncles had higher genetic variation than those with erect peduncles. More alleles that are private were found in the eastern region than in the other regions of the country, suggesting a good in situ conservation status in the east. Cluster, principal coordinates (PCoA), and STRUCTURE analyses revealed distinct accession clusters. Hence, crossbreeding genotypes from different clusters and evaluating their progenies for desirable traits is advantageous. The exceptionally high heterozygosity observed in accession SB4 and SB21 from the western geographic region is an intriguing finding of this study, which merits further investigation

Genotype by environment interaction, correlation, AMMI, GGE biplot and cluster analysis for grain yield and other agronomic traits in sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench)

Genotype by environment (GxE) interaction is a major factor limiting the success of germplasm selection and identification of superior genotypes for use in plant breeding programs. Similar to the case in other crops, GxE complicates the improvement of sorghum, and hence it should be determined and used in decision-making programs. The present study aimed at assessing the GxE interaction, and the correlation between traits for superior sorghum genotypes. Three hundred twenty sorghum landraces and four improved varieties were used in alpha lattice experimental design-based field trial across three environments (Melkassa, Mieso and Mehoni) in Ethiopia. Phenotypic data were collected for days to flowering (DTF), plant height (PH), panicle length (PALH), panicle width (PAWD), panicle weight (PAWT) and grain yield (GY). The results revealed that the variance due to genotype, environment and GxE interaction were highly significant (P < 0.001) for all traits. GY and PAWT were highly affected by environments and GxE whereas DTF, PALH, PAWD and PH were mainly affected by genotypic variation. Therefore, multi-environment testing is needed for taking care of G x E interaction to identify high yielding and stable sorghum landraces. GY and PAWT revealed highly significant positive correlations indicating the possibility of effective selection of the two traits simultaneously. Among the studied populations, South Wello, West Hararghe and Shewa zones had highly diverse genotypes that were distributed across all clusters. Hence, these areas can be considered as hotspots for identifying divergent sorghum landraces that could be used in breeding programs. Melkassa was the most representative environment whereas Mieso was the most discriminating. Five genotypes (G148, G123, G110, G203 and G73) were identified as superior across the test environments for grain yield with farmer-preferred trait, such as plant height. The identified stable and high yielding genotypes are valuable genetic resources that should be used in sorghum breeding programs

Exploring the Variation in Grain and Straw Yield and Straw Quality Traits of Improved Varieties of Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter]

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is an indigenous Ethiopian cereal providing healthy and nutritious diets for people and a palatable straw for livestock. Thirty-five released varieties and a local check were grown at two locations over two years in Ethiopia to investigate the variation in grain and straw yield and straw quality traits of tef. The investigated traits were grain yield (GY), straw yield (STY), crude protein (CP), in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD), metabolizable energy (ME), acid detergent fiber (ADF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent lignin (ADL). GY, CP, IVOMD and ME were significantly (P < 0.01) affected by the variety of tef, the cultivation environment and their interactions. The performances of the GY, CP, IVOMD and ME traits were higher (P < 0.01) at mid-altitude, in Debre Zeit, compared to the high-altitude site, Holetta, and in 2016 than 2015. Similarly, the associations observed between GY and STY, among CP, ME and IVOMD, and among NDF, ADF and ADL were significant (P<0.01) and positive. Conversely, the association between yield and quality traits was significant and negative. The present study also identified four groups of varieties based on their grain and straw yield and straw quality traits, with some varieties performing above the mean for both yield and quality traits. Hence, varieties like Melko which possess better grain and straw yield and quality traits could be promoted for immediate utilization as a dual-purpose variety or as a parental line in changing the existing tef breeding strategy that focuses on grain yield improvement alone

Genome-wide analyses using multi-locus models revealed marker-trait associations for major agronomic traits in Sorghum bicolor

Globally, sorghum is the fifth most important cereal crop, and it is a major crop in Ethiopia, where it has a high genetic diversity. The country's sorghum gene pool contributes significantly to sorghum improvement worldwide. This study aimed to identify genomic regions and candidate genes associated with major agronomic traits in sorghum by using its genetic resources in Ethiopia for a genome-wide association study (GWAS). Phenotypic data of days to flowering (DTF), plant height (PH), panicle length (PALH), panicle width (PAWD), panicle weight (PAWT), and grain yield (GY) were collected from a GWAS panel comprising 324 sorghum accessions grown in three environments. SeqSNP, a targeted genotyping method, was used to genotype the panel using 5,000 gene-based single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. For marker-trait association (MTA) analyses, fixed and random model circulating probability unification (FarmCPU), and Bayesian-information and linkage-disequilibrium iteratively nested keyway (BLINK) models were used. In all traits, high phenotypic variation was observed, with broad-sense heritability ranging from 0.32 (for GY) to 0.90 (for PALH). A population structure, principal component analysis, and kinship analysis revealed that the accessions could be divided into two groups. In total, 54 MTAs were identified, 11 of which were detected by both BLINK and farmCPU. MTAs identified for each trait ranged from five (PAWT and GY) to fourteen (PH) representing both novel and previously identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Three SNPs were associated with more than one trait, including a SNP within the Sobic.004G189200 gene that was associated with PH and PAWT. Major effect SNP loci, Sbi2393610 (PVE = 23.3%), Sbi10438246 (PVE = 35.2%), Sbi17789352 (PVE = 11.9%) and Sbi30169733 (PVE = 18.9%) on chromosomes 1, 3, 5 and 9 that showed strong association signals for PAWD, DTF, GY and PALH, respectively, were major findings of this study. The SNP markers and candidate genes identified in this study provide insights into the genetic control of grain yield and related agronomic traits, and once validated, the markers could be used in genomics-led breeding

Novel sources of drought tolerance in sorghum landraces revealed via the analyses of genotype-by-environment interactions

Globally, sorghum is the fifth most important crop, which is used for food, feed and fuel. However, its production and productivity are severely limited by various stresses, including drought. Hence, this study aimed to determine the responses of different drought-tolerance related traits in the Ethiopian sorghum germplasm through multi-environment field trials, thereby identifying novel sources of germplasm that can be used for breeding the crop for drought-tolerance. Three hundred twenty sorghum landraces and four improved varieties were grown at three sites within drought-prone areas (Melkassa, Mieso and Mehoni) in Ethiopia. The targeted traits were chlorophyll content at flowering (CHLF), chlorophyll content at maturity (CHLM), green leaf number at flowering (GLNF), stay-green (SG), flag leaf area (FLA), peduncle length (PDL), and panicle exertion (PAE). Multi-variate analyses of the collected data revealed the presence of high phenotypic variation in all traits. The combined and AMMI Analysis of variance showed that phenotypic variation due to the genotypes was higher for SG, CHLM, CHLF and GLNF and lower for FLA, PE and PDL in comparison with variation due to the environments or genotype by environment interactions. High broad sense heritability was observed for CHLF, CHLM, SG, GLNF, FLA, and PDL, whereas PAE showed moderate heritability. Due to the high heritability of chlorophyll content and the relatively small effect of environmental factors on it, it could serve as a criterion for selecting desirable genotypes for drought-tolerant breeding in sorghum. It has been found that chlorophyll content has a significant positive correlation with stay-green and grain yield, indicating that high chlorophyll content contributes to increasing grain yield by delaying the process of leaf senescence. The analyses of AMMI, GGE biplot, and genotype selection index revealed that several sorghum landraces outperformed the improved varieties with respect to CHLF, CHLM, and SG. Such landraces could serve as novel sources of germplasm for improving drought tolerance through breeding

Study design and rationale for the Olpasiran trials of Cardiovascular Events And lipoproteiN(a) reduction-DOSE finding study (OCEAN(a)-DOSE).

BACKGROUND Data support lipoprotein(a) (Lp[Lp(a)]) being a risk factor for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). Olpasiran is a small interfering RNA molecule that markedly reduces Lp(a) production in hepatocytes. STUDY DESIGN The Olpasiran trials of Cardiovascular Events And lipoproteiN(a) reduction-DOSE finding study is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-finding study in 281 subjects with established ASCVD and Lp(a) > 150 nmol/L. Patients were randomly allocated to one of 4 active subcutaneous doses of olpasiran (10 mg q12 weeks, 75 mg q12 weeks, 225 mg q 12 weeks, or 225 mg q24 weeks) or matched placebo. The primary objective is to evaluate the effects of olpasiran dosed every 12 weeks compared with placebo on the percent change in Lp(a) from baseline at 36 weeks. Enrollment is now complete and follow-up is ongoing. CONCLUSIONS OCEAN(a)-DOSE trial is assessing the Lp(a)-lowering efficacy and safety of olpasiran. These data will be used to determine optimal dosing and design for a cardiovascular outcomes trial

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