Khat Chewing and Mental Distress: A Community Based Study, in Jimma City, Southwestern Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Khat (Catha edulis) contains a psychoactive substance, cathinone, which produces central nervous system stimulation analogous to amphetamine. It is believed that khat chewing has a negative impact on the physical and mental health of individuals as well as the socioeconomic condition of the family and the society at large. There is lack of community based studies regarding the link between khat use and poor mental health. The objective of this study was to evaluate the association between khat use and mental distress and to determine the prevalence of mental distress and khat use in Jimma City. METHODS: A cross-sectional community-based study was conducted in Jimma City from October 15 to November 15, 2009. The study used a structured questionnaire and Self Reporting Questionnaire-20 designed by WHO and which has been translated into Amharic and validated in Ethiopia. By multi stage sampling, 1200 individuals were included in the study. Data analysis was done using SPSS for window version 13. RESULTS: The Khat use prevalence was found to be 37.8% during the study period. Majority of the khat users were males (73.5%), age group 18-24 (41.1%), Muslims (46.6%), Oromo Ethnic group (47.2%), single (51.4%), high school students (46.8%) and employed (80%). Using cut-off point 7 out of 20 on the Self Reporting Questionnaire-20, 25.8% of the study population was found to have mental distress. Males (26.6%), persons older than 55 years (36.4%), Orthodox Christians (28.4%), Kefficho Ethnic groups (36.4%), widowed (44.8%), illiterates (43.8%) and farmers (40.0%) had higher rates of mental distress. We found that mental distress and khat use have significant association (34.7% Vs 20.5%,

Evaluation of disease incidence and severity and yield loss of finger millet varieties and mycelial growth inhibition of Pyricularia grisea isolates using biological antagonists and fungicides in vitro condition.

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a survey on the disease incidence and severity at 5 agroecological zones of Ethiopia. Moreover, the study was also designed to carry out pathogenicity test, estimate yield losses caused by test pathogen and in vitro evaluation of fungicides and biocontrol agents against finger millet blast isolates. Methodology and Results: The incidence of finger millet blast was assessed as the percentage of plants with visible symptoms in a field and greenhouse. Blast severity was also evaluated as the percentage of leaf area with symptoms. From the surveyed areas, maximum disease incidence and severity were recorded in west Wollega zone with 63.03 and 34.60%, and lowest disease incidence and severity was recorded in Awi zone with 46.7 and 15.7%, respectively. A total of 42 isolates of P. grisea were collected and isolated from infected finger millet plants and wild relatives from five agro-ecological zones of Ethiopia. The pathogenicity test conducted in greenhouse on three finger millet varieties also indicated that among P. grisea isolates, Pg.11, Pg.41 and Pg.40 showed the highest disease incidence on all the three varieties with 74.8, 69.5 and 66.5%, respectively. Moreover, the highest disease severity with 27.7 and 27.8% were observed by isolates Pg.11 and Pg.41, respectively. In vitro evaluation and testing of Trichoderma viride have showed maximum mycelial growth inhibition with 77.1% and 74.1% by isolates Pg.41 and Pg.22, respectively; while Pseudomonas fluorescens showed maximum mycelial growth inhibition by isolates Pg.40 (57.2%), followed by Pg.26 (56.1%). The efficacy tests of four fungicides evaluated for their antifungal activity showed Sancozeb (85.50- 88.40%) as the most effective fungicide to inhibit mycelial growth of P. grisea.Conclusion and application of findings: The highest percent of mycelial growth inhibition of P. grisea isolates was observed by T.harzianum and T. viride and followed by Pseudomonas fluorescens. Sancozeb was the most effective fungicide and also showed the highest mycelial growth inhibition on the isolate of P. grisea and followed by ridomil, bayleton, and curzate. From in vitro evaluation of the effectiveness of biological agents and fungicides against the mycelia growth of P.grisea isolates, fungicides were most effective for the control of blast disease of finger millet than biological agents.Keywords: Biocontrol, Blast disease, Eleusine coracana, Fungicide, Pyricularia grisea

Morphological characteristics and genetic diversity of Ethiopian sesame genotypes

Sesame ( Sesamum indicum L.) is produced worldwide, although more than 96% of the world sesame seed is produced in Africa and Asia. The objective of this study was to determine morphological properties and identify the genetic diversity of cultivated sesame genotypes grown in different parts of Ethiopia. Three hundred sesame genotypes collected from diverse ecologies of Ethiopia and introduced from different African and Asian countries, were used in this study. Genotypes showed wide variability for most morphological traits, except for plant growth type, leaf glands, anther filament colour, anther connective tip gland, and anthocyanin colouration of the capsule. Genetic divergence using Mahalanobis D2 statistics was computed, and the genotype lines were grouped into six different clusters. Clustering was not associated with the geographical distribution; instead genotypes were grouped mainly based on morphological differences. The lowest divergence was noticed between cluster I and V (10.06). Maximum inter-cluster distance was observed between clusters IV and VI (D2 =342.56, followed by clusters I and VI (D2 =217.9783), and III with IV (D2 =190.8707). Maximum genetic recombination and variation in the subsequent generation, is expected from crosses that involve parents from the clusters characterised by maximum distances. Thus, maximum distances or varation could maximise opportunities for transgressive segregation, since unrelated genotypes would contribute unique desirable alleles at different loci.Le s\ue9same ( Sesamum indicum L.) est produit dans le monde entier, bien que plus de 96% de la graine de s\ue9same mondiale soit produite en Afrique et en Asie. L\u2019objectif de cette \ue9tude \ue9tait de d\ue9terminer les propri\ue9t\ue9s morphologiques et d\u2019identifier la diversit\ue9 g\ue9n\ue9tique des g\ue9notypes de s\ue9same cultiv\ue9s dans diff\ue9rentes r\ue9gions d\u2019\uc9thiopie. Trois cents g\ue9notypes de s\ue9same collect\ue9s dans diverses \ue9cologies d\u2019\uc9thiopie et introduits dans diff\ue9rents pays africains et asiatiques ont \ue9t\ue9 utilis\ue9s dans cette \ue9tude. Les g\ue9notypes ont montr\ue9 une grande variabilit\ue9 pour la plupart des caract\ue8res morphologiques, \ue0 l\u2019exception du type de croissance des plantes, des glandes foliaires, de la couleur du filament d\u2019anth\ue8re, de la glande de l\u2019extr\ue9mit\ue9 conjonctive de l\u2019anth\ue8re et de la coloration anthocyanique de la capsule. La divergence g\ue9n\ue9tique \ue0 l\u2019aide des statistiques de Mahalanobis D2 a \ue9t\ue9 calcul\ue9e, et les lign\ue9es g\ue9notypiques ont \ue9t\ue9 regroup\ue9es en six groupes diff\ue9rents. Le regroupement n\u2019\ue9tait pas associ\ue9 \ue0 la r\ue9partition g\ue9ographique; au lieu de cela, les g\ue9notypes ont \ue9t\ue9 regroup\ue9s principalement en fonction des diff\ue9rences morphologiques. La divergence la plus faible a \ue9t\ue9 observ\ue9e entre les grappes I et V (10,06). La distance maximale d\u2018 inter-grappes a \ue9t\ue9 observ\ue9e entre les grappes IV et VI (D2 = 342,56, suivie des grappes I et VI (D2 = 217,9783) et III avec IV (D2 = 190,8707). La recombinaison g\ue9n\ue9tique maximale et la variation dans la g\ue9n\ue9ration suivante est attendu de croisements qui impliquent des parents des grappes caract\ue9ris\ue9es par des distances maximales. Ainsi, les distances maximales ou la variation pourraient maximiser les possibilit\ue9s de s\ue9gr\ue9gation transgressive, puisque des g\ue9notypes non apparent\ue9s apporteraient des all\ue8les uniques souhaitables \ue0 diff\ue9rents locus

Comparison of PID Controller with Model Predictive Controller for Milk Pasteurization Process

Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID) controllers are used in many of the Industries for various process control applications. PID controller yields a long settling time and overshoot which is not good for the process control applications. PID is not suitable for many of the complex process control applications. This research paper is about developing a better type of controller, known as MPC (Model Predictive Control). The aim of the paper is to design MPC and PID for a pasteurization process. In this manuscript comparison of PID controller with MPC is made and the responses are presented. MPC is an advanced control strategy that uses the internal dynamic model of the process and a history of past control moves and a combination of many different technologies to predict the future plant output. The dynamics of the pasteurization process was estimated by using system identification from the experimental data. The quality of different model structures was checked using best fit with data validation, residual and stability analysis. Auto-regressive with exogenous input (ARX322) model was chosen as a model structure of the pasteurization process and fits about 80.37% with datavalidation. MPC and PID control strategies were designed using ARX322 model structure. The controller performance was compared based on settling time, percent of overshoot and stability analysis and the results are presented

Ocular Dermoid in Crossbred calf- A Case Report

The present paper deals with a typical case of ocular dermoid cyst in three weeks old crossbred calf. The patient had a history of lacrimation and a hairy growth in the left eye. Based on the history and clinical examination, the case was diagnosed as ocular dermoid cyst and removed successfully by superficial keratectomy.Key words: Calf, Dermoid, Keratectomy, Teratolog

Ancestry specific associations of a genetic risk score, dietary patterns and metabolic syndrome: A longitudinal ARIC study

BACKGROUND: Associations have been observed among genetic variants, dietary patterns, and metabolic syndrome (MetS). A gap in knowledge is whether a genetic risk score (GRS) and dietary patterns interact to increase MetS risk among African Americans. We investigated whether MetS risk was influenced by interaction between a GRS and dietary patterns among Whites and African Americans. A secondary aim examined if molecular genetic clusterings differed by racial ancestry. METHODS: We used longitudinal data over 4-visits (1987-1998) that included 10,681 participants aged 45-64y at baseline from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study (8451 Whites and 2230 African Americans). We constructed a simple-count GRS as the linear weighted sum of high-risk alleles (0, 1, 2) from cardiovascular disease polymorphisms from the genome-wide association studies catalog associated with MetS risk. Three dietary patterns were determined by factor analysis of food frequency questionnaire data: Western, healthy, and high-fat dairy. MetS was defined according to the 2016 National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria but used 2017 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology criteria for elevated blood pressure. Analyses included generalized linear model risk ratios (RR), 95% confidence intervals (CI), and Bonferroni correction for multiple testing. RESULTS: The Western dietary pattern was associated with higher risk for MetS across increasing GRS tertiles among Whites (p \u3c 0.017). The high-fat dairy pattern was protective against MetS, but its impact was most effective in the lowest GRS tertile in Whites (RR = 0.62; CI: 0.52-0.74) and African Americans (RR = 0.67; CI: 0.49-0.91). Among each racial group within GRS tertiles, the Western dietary pattern was associated with development and cycling of MetS status between visits, and the high-fat dairy pattern with being free from MetS (p \u3c 0.017). The healthy dietary pattern was associated with higher risk of MetS among African Americans which may be explained by higher sucrose intake (p \u3c 0.0001). Fewer genes, but more metabolic pathways for obesity, body fat distribution, and lipid and carbohydrate metabolism were identified in African Americans than Whites. Some polymorphisms were linked to the Western and high-fat dairy patterns. CONCLUSION: The influence of dietary patterns on MetS risk appears to differ by genetic predisposition and racial ancestry

Impact of land use/cover change and slope gradient on soil organic carbon stock in Anjeni watershed, Northwest Ethiopia

Today’s agri-food systems face the triple challenge of addressing food security, adapting to climate change, and reducing the climate footprint by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). In agri-food systems, changes in land use and land cover (LULC) could affect soil physicochemical properties, particularly soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. However, the impact varies depending on the physical, social, and economic conditions of a given region or watershed. Given this, a study was conducted to quantify the impact of LULC and slope gradient on SOC stock and C sequestration rate in the Anjeni watershed, which is a highly populated and intensively cultivated area in Northwest Ethiopia. Seventy-two soil samples were collected from 0–15 and 15–30 cm soil depths representing four land use types and three slope gradients. Soil samples were selected systematically to match the historical records (30 years) for SOC stock comparison. Four land use types were quantified using Landsat imagery analysis. As expected, plantation forest had a significantly (p \u3c 0.05) higher SOC (1.94 Mg ha−1) than cultivated land (1.38 Mg ha−1), and gentle slopes (1–15%) had the highest SOC (1.77 Mg ha−1) than steeper slopes (\u3e 30%). However, higher SOC stock (72.03 Mg ha−1) and SOC sequestration rate (3.00 Mg ha−1 year−1) were recorded when cultivated land was converted to grassland, while lower SOC stock (8.87 Mg ha−1) and sequestration rate (0.77 Mg ha−1 year−1) were recorded when land use changed from cultivation to a plantation forest. The results indicated that LULC changes and slope gradient had a major impact on SOC stock and C sequestration rate over 30 years in a highly populated watershed. It is concluded that in intensively used watersheds, a carefully planned land use that involves the conversion of cultivated land to grassland could lead to an increase in soil C sequestration and contributes to reducing the carbon footprint of agri-food systems

Review of ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological evidences of some Ethiopian medicinal plants traditionally used for the treatment of cancer

Background: Ethiopia is endowed with enormous diversity of plants. However, the majority of these plants have not been scientifically investigated. Traditional knowledge on the use of plants as medicinal agents has been transferred from generation to generation, as guarded secrets, through the word of mouth, and scientific studies on these herbs have not been properly compiled.Objectives: The main objective of this study was to review published ethnobotanical and ethnopharmacological evidences of Ethiopian medicinal plants with anticancer potentials.Material and methods: A total of 92 articles have been reviewed. They were obtained from search engines such as PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar. The following keywords were used to search for the literature inside the databases: plant extract, anticancer, Ethiopia, antioxidant compounds, cytotoxic compounds and in vivo toxicity.Results: The current literature review revealed that about 136 anticancer plants belonging to 57 families have been identified in Ethiopia. Among these, 98 plant species were reported for their traditional use to treat different types of symptomatic cancers. However, only 29 species were scientifically studied for their in vitro cytotoxic or free radical scavenging activities. Plant parts commonly used for preparation of anticancer remedies were leaves (41.4%) and roots (32.8%). Among the reported plant species, whilst the crude extracts of Artemisia annua, Acokanthera schimperi and Catha edulis were found to be potent cytotoxic agents (IC50<15 g/ml), the total extracts of Cassia arereh, Rubus steudneri and Thymus schimperi showed strong radical scavenging activity (IC50 <15 g/ml). Chronic administration of Syzygium guineense hydroalcoholic leaf extract, on the other hand, induced pathological changes in liver and kidney of mice.Conclusions: Although several Ethiopian plants traditionally used for the treatment of cancer were shown to possess cytotoxic and free radical scavenging activities, in most cases compounds responsible for such activities have not been identified. Therefore, activity-guided detailed phytochemical studies coupled with evaluation of the safety particularly on those plant extracts that demonstrated potent activities should be carried out as this may lead to the discovery of safe and cost effective anticancer agents. [Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2017;31 (3):161-187]Keywords: Ethiopian medicinal plants, Antioxidant, Anticancer, Ethnopharmacology, Traditional us

Education—migration nexus: Understanding youth migration in Southern Ethiopia

The purpose of this study is to unravel the education–migration nexus in the African context, specifically Ethiopia. It examines why young people terminate their education to migrate out of the country. The study applies de Haas’ aspiration—capability framework and Turner’s macro, meso and micro sociology as its analytical lenses. It offers unique insight into the terrain of youth migration in southern Ethiopia based on empirical data obtained from two rural sub-districts known for high levels of youth out-migration. Data are generated based on interviews with would-be migrant youth, parents, teachers and school principals. The findings reveal that education has both direct and indirect impacts on youth migration. On the other hand, the results indicate that though terminating school could have negative ramifications on human capital accumulation at micro and macro levels, migration can positively impact households and local communities through investments made by individual migrants, migrant-returnees, and remittance-receiving households in small businesses or community development projects, which included better resourced schools