Employees’ Perception of Organizational Climate and Its Implications for Organizational Effectiveness in Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia

The growing significance placed on understanding of employees and their behaviour within the organization has produced a great deal of interest in investigating employees perceptions of climate within the organization especially, at times of significant change is taking place. The study aimed at determining the level of Organizational Climate (OC) as perceived by the civil servants and find out whether there is meaningful relationship between OC and Organizational effectiveness (OE). The research followed a quantitative approach and descriptive and causal designs while the data was analyzed using parametric statistical tools such as multiple linear regressions, Pearson’s Product-moment Correlation Coefficients, Independent-samples T- test, and One-way ANOVA T-test. Overall, the findings are: the independent aggregate variables; Human Relations Values (HRV) and Open Systems Values (OSV) positively and significantly predicted the dependent variable (OE) and 32.5% of the variation in OE is explained by HRV and OSV combined. The research results will have implications to policy makers and future researches in that it might contribute for promoting a fundamental improvement in efficiency and performance of organizations as well as job satisfaction of employees.Key Words: Organizational climate, Organizational effectiveness, Competing Values, Model, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopi

Following successful anti-leishmanial treatment, neutrophil counts, CD10 expression and phagocytic capacity remain reduced in visceral leishmaniasis patients co-infected with HIV

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) patients co-infected with HIV (VL/HIV patients) experience frequent treatment failures, VL relapses, opportunistic infections, and higher mortality. Their immune system remains profoundly suppressed after clinical cure and they maintain higher parasite load. This is in contrast with patients with VL alone (VL patients). Since neutrophils play a critical role in the control of Leishmania replication and the regulation of immune responses, we tested the hypothesis that neutrophil activation status and effector functions are fully restored in VL, but not in VL/HIV patients. Our results show the neutrophil counts and all activation markers and effector functions tested in our study were reduced at the time of diagnosis in VL and VL/HIV patients as compared to controls. CD62L, CD63, arginase 1 expression levels and reactive oxygen species production were restored at the end of treatment in both groups. However, neutrophil counts, CD10 expression and phagocytosis remained significantly lower throughout follow-up in VL/HIV patients; suggesting that dysregulated neutrophils contribute to the impaired host defence against pathogens in VL/HIV patients

Visceral leishmaniasis patients display altered composition and maturity of neutrophils as well as impaired neutrophil effector functions

Immunologically, active visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is characterised by profound immunosuppression, severe systemic inflammatory responses and an impaired capacity to control parasite replication. Neutrophils are highly versatile cells, which play a crucial role in the induction as well as the resolution of inflammation, the control of pathogen replication and the regulation of immune responses. Neutrophil functions have been investigated in human cutaneous leishmaniasis, however, their role in human visceral leishmaniasis is poorly understood. In the present study we evaluated the activation status and effector functions of neutrophils in patients with active VL and after successful anti-leishmanial treatment. Our results show that neutrophils are highly activated and have degranulated; high levels of arginase, myeloperoxidase and elastase, all contained in neutrophils’ granules, were found in the plasma of VL patients. In addition, we show that a large proportion of these cells are immature. We also analysed effector functions of neutrophils that are essential for pathogen clearance and show that neutrophils have an impaired capacity to release neutrophil extracellular traps, produce reactive oxygen species and phagocytose bacterial particles, but not Leishmania parasites. Our results suggest that impaired effector functions, increased activation and immaturity of neutrophils play a key role in the pathogenesis of VL

Comparison of PCR assay with serum and whole blood samples of experimental trials for detection and differentiation of Brucella melitensis.

Brucellosis poses a significant animal and public health problem in many developing countries and requires fast and accurate diagnosis. A PCR assay amplifying part of the Brucella melitensis specific IS711 gene was developed and applied to mice clinical samples on an experimental trial. Over an 8 week period of infection, whole blood and serum were examined from 78 experimental mice, with a total of 60 samples from B. melitensis infected mice and a group of 96 control samples from mice inoculated with Brucella abortus 544, Yersinia enterocolitica O:9 and Brucella broth. Regardless of date of infection, the sensitivity of whole blood and serum based PCR assay with samples from B. melitensis infected mice was found to be 100% (30/30) and 83.3% (25/30), respectively. Serum samples collected at 60 days post infection (p.i) of B. melitensis failed to show a positive result. An amplicon of 252 bp was obtained in all PCR positive samples. All samples obtained from the control groups tested negative, conferring an assay specificity of 100%. These results show that the use of serum-PCR may lead to assay simplification and shorten turnaround time, but the optimal clinical specimen for this test was not serum but whole blood, which leads to maximum assay sensitivit

Impaired in vitro Interferon-gamma production in patients with visceral leishmaniasis is improved by inhibition of PD1/PDL-1 ligation

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a neglected tropical disease that causes substantial morbidity and mortality and is a growing health problem in Ethiopia, where this study took place. Most individuals infected with Leishmania donovani parasites will stay asymptomatic, but some develop VL that, if left untreated, is almost always fatal. This stage of the disease is associated with a profound immunosuppression, characterised by impaired production of Interferonγ (IFNγ), a cytokine that plays a key role in the control of Leishmania parasites, and high expression levels of an inhibitory receptor, programmed cell death 1 (PD1) on CD4+ T cells. Here, we tested the contribution of the interaction between the immune checkpoint PD1 and its ligand PDL-1 on the impaired production of IFNγ in VL patients. Our results show that in the blood of VL patients, not only CD4+, but also CD8+ T cells express high levels of PD1 at the time of VL diagnosis. Next, we identified PDL-1 expression on different monocyte subsets and neutrophils and show that PDL-1 levels were significantly increased in VL patients. PD1/PDL-1 inhibition resulted in significantly increased production of IFNγ, suggesting that therapy using immune checkpoint inhibitors might improve disease control in these patients

Process optimisation of non-cyanide Ag–PTFE metal matrix composite electroplating for threaded connections

Silver-PTFE metal matrix composite coatings were deposited onto ANSI 304 stainless steel to assess the potential of using a novel non-cyanide electroplating process to produce a corrosion resistant, self-lubricating composite coating. During this study, 32 different bath parameter sets, derived from 5 variables were used to develop the non-cyanide electroplating process without the use of a surfactant or strike. SEM/EDS as well as XPS microscopy equipment was used to analyse the samples. In addition, the functional characteristic and adhesion strength of the coating was assessed using a bi-directional tribometer (to measure the coefficient of friction) and a pull-off test conducted on an Instron tensile test machine. The experimental results revealed that a friction coefficient of 0.23 was achievable (62% improvement over pure silver coating) where adhesion strength is not a primary consideration. For solid lubrication applications requiring high coating adhesive strength, the maximum adhesion strength achieved for the silver-PTFE composite coating was 2.5MPa (44% reduction over pure silver coating) with a friction coefficient of 0.32 achieved (47% improvement over pure silver coating)

Recurrent visceral leishmaniasis relapses in HIV co-infected patients are characterised by less efficient immune responses and higher parasite load

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) and HIV co-infection (VL/HIV) has emerged as a significant public health problem in Ethiopia, with up to 30% of patients with VL co-infected with HIV. These patients suffer from recurrent VL relapses and increased mortality. Those with a previous history of VL relapses (recurrent VL/HIV) experience increased VL relapses as compared to patients with HIV presenting with their first episode of VL (primary VL/HIV). Our aim was to identify drivers that account for the higher rate of VL relapses in patients with recurrent VL/HIV (n = 28) as compared to primary VL/HIV (n = 21). Our results show that the relapse-free survival in patients with recurrent VL/HIV was shorter, that they had higher parasite load, lower weight gain, and lower recovery of all blood cell lineages. Their poorer prognosis was characterized by lower production of IFN-gamma, lower CD4+ T cell counts, and higher expression of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) on T cells

Photoemission Spectroscopy and Atomic Force Microscopy Investigation of Vapor Phase Co-Deposited Silver/Poly(3-hexylthiophene) Composites

Nanocomposite matrices of silver/poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) were prepared in ultrahigh vacuum through vapor-phase co-deposition. Change in microstructure, chemical nature and electronic properties with increasing filler (Ag) content were investigated using in-situ XPS and UPS, and ambient AFM. At least two chemical binding states occur between Ag nanoparticles and sulfur in P3HT at the immediate contact layer but no evidence of interaction between Ag and carbon (in P3HT) was found. AFM images reveal a change in Ag nanoparticles size with concentration which modifies the microstructure and the average roughness of the surface. Under co-deposition, P3HT largely retains its conjugated structures, which is evidenced by the similar XPS and UPS spectra to those of P3HT films deposited on other substrates. We demonstrate here that the magnitude of the barrier height for hole injection and the position of the highest occupied band edge (HOB) with respect to the Fermi level of Ag can be controlled and changed by adjusting the metal (Ag) content in the composite. Furthermore, UPS reveals distinct features related to the C 2p (Sigma states) in the 5-12 eV regions, indicating the presence of ordered P3HT which is different from solution processed films.Comment: Scudier and Wei provided equal contributio

Two-Thirds of Smear-Positive Tuberculosis Cases in the Community Were Undiagnosed in Northwest Ethiopia: Population Based Cross-Sectional Study

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) case detection rate remains low in Ethiopia. One of the underlying reasons is the emphasis on passive case finding strategy which may seriously underestimate the burden of the disease. Estimating the prevalence of smear-positive pulmonary TB through active case finding at population level can help assessing the degree to which passive case detection is successful. Methods and findings: This is population based cross-sectional study. The study population was all individuals aged $14 years. Interviews using a uniform questionnaire were done initially to identify individuals with chronic cough ($15 days) and the two sputum (spot and morning) samples were gathered for standard smear microscopy. A total of 23,590 individuals aged $14 years were interviewed and 984 had a chronic cough for$15 days. Of 831 individuals who provided two sputum samples for acid fast bacilli (AFB), 41 had positive smears. A total of 22 smear-positive TB cases detected through passive case finding were on anti-TB treatment. The prevalence of new smear-positive TB was 174 per 100,000 in persons aged $14 years (95$45 years [AOR: 2.26, 95 % CI (1.12–4.59). Conclusions: The study revealed that about two-thirds of patients with active TB remain undiagnosed and thus untreated. This may indicate the need for strengthening case detection at the community level. Furthermore, the high burden of T