Response of Yield and Yield Components of Tef [Eragrostis Tef (Zucc.) Trotter] to Optimum Rates of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Fertilizer Rate Application in Assosa Zone, Benishangul Gumuz Region

 አህፅርኦት ይህ የመስክ ላይ ሙከራ በቤንሻንጉል ጉሙዝ ክልል በአሶሳ ዞን በአሶሳና ባምባስ ወረዳ በአርሶ አደር ማሳዎች ላይ ሇሁሇት ተከታታይ ዓመታት (ከ2005 – 2006 ዓ.ም) የተከናወነ ሲሆን ዋና )ዓላማዉም የናይትሮጅንና የፎስፈረስ ማዳበሪያ ላይ ያላቸዉን ተጽዕኖ መገምገም ነበር፡፡ ይህንንም ሇማጥናት አምስት(5) የናይትሮጅን እና አራት(4) የፎስፈረስ ደረጃዎች ድብልቅ በአጠቃላይ ሀያ (20) ተጠኚዎችን በFactorial combination RCBD ዲዛይንና በሦስት ድግግምሽ ተሞክሯል፡፡ ዉጤቱ እንደሚያሳየዉ የጤፍ ዕድገትና ምርት በናይትሮጂንና በፎስፈረስ ማዳበሪያ መጠቀም አመርቂ ሇዉጥ አሳይቷል፡፡ በመሆኑም 46 ኪ.ግ ናይትሮጅን እና 10 ኪ.ግ ፎስፈረስ በሄክታር በመጠቀም 1681.1 ኪ.ግ የጤፍ ምርት በሄክታር ተገኝቷል፡፡ ይህ የማዳበሪያ መጠን ምንም ማዳበሪያ ካልተጨመረበት ጋር ሲነፃፀር በ137% የምርት ጭማሪን ያስገኛል፡፡ የዋጋ አዋጭነትን ስንመሇከትም ይህ የማዳበሪያ መጠን አዋጭ መሆኑን ያረጋግጣል፡፡ ስሇዚህም 46 ኪ.ግ ናይትሮጅን እና 10 ኪ.ግ ፎስፈረስ በሄክታር መጠቀም ከፍተኛ የሆነ ትርፍ ያሇዉና አዋጭ የማደበሪያ አጠቃቀም መሆኑ ተረጋግጧል፡፡ AbstractTef (Eragrostis tef) is one of most important food crops grown in Benishangul Gumuz region of Ethiopia and is produced in different agro-ecologies in the region. However, its productivity is constrained by a number of problems, of which soil nutrient is the most important one. Information on the response of tef to Nitrogen (N) and Phosphorus (P) fertilizers in Assosa Zone is inadequate. Field experiments were conducted at two locations for two years (2012-2013) to investigate the response of tef to N and P fertilization. Five levels of nitrogen (0, 23, 46, 69 and 92 N kg ha–1) and four levels of phosphorus (0, 10, 20 and 30 kg P ha–1) were studied in factorial combinations in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The results revealed substantial responses of tef to the main effect of N and P on days to heading and panicle length, the main effect of N on days to emergency, and the main effect of P on days to 90% physiological maturity. Nitrogen by P interaction effect was significant on plant height, straw and grain yield. Grain yield increased significantly from 708.6 to 1681.1 kg ha-1 with increase in the level of N and P from the control (0/0 N/P) to 46 kg N and 10 P kg ha-1. The magnitude of increase in grain yield due to application of 46 kg N along and 10 kg P ha -1 was 137 % higher as compared to the control. The partial budget analysis also indicates that applications of 46 kg N ha-1 and 10 kg P ha-1 are the most economical fertilizer rates to tef growers compared to the other levels in the study area

Assessment of plasma D-dimer level and its correlation with disease severity among hypertensive patients

It has been reported that inappropriate acute thrombus formation is the pathophysiological substrate underlying increased risk and severity of target organ damage in hypertension. However, the relationship between severity of hypertension and D-dimer has not been well characterized. This study was aimed to assess plasma D-dimer level and its correlation with disease severity among hypertensive at Yikatit 12 Hospital Medical College (Y12HMC), Ethiopia. A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted at Y12HMC among 100 participants (60 hypertensive and 40 controls). The correlations between variables were determined using correlation coefficients, regression analysis, and different parametric and nonparametric tests. We observed higher D-dimer levels among hypertensive compared to the healthy controls (P<0.001). The D-dimer levels were found to be increased significantly with the severity of hypertension (P<0.001). D-dimer was found to have a diagnostic power of 86.9% in differentiating complicated from uncomplicated hypertension at 0.83mg/l cut-off value. This study suggests that D-dimer level was higher among hypertensive than control groups and it was also increasing significantly with the severity of hypertension. This suggests that hypercoagulability of fibrin plays a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disorders and thromboembolic complications of hypertensive patients. Further studies need be done on larger scale and using more robust study designs such as cohort to establish the causality of the association between severity of hypertension and D-dimer level

Management of bacterial infections in young infants in Ethiopia: Facility preparedness, health workers' knowledge and quality of care.

AIM: We assessed primary care facility preparedness, health workers' knowledge and their classification and treatment of possible serious bacterial infection and local bacterial infection in young infants aged 0-59 days. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four regions of Ethiopia, including 169 health posts with 276 health extension workers and 155 health centres with 175 staff. Registers of 1058 sick young infants were reviewed. RESULT: Antibiotics to treat possible serious bacterial infection were available in 71% of the health centres and 38% of the health posts. Nine of ten health extension workers and eight of ten health centre staff mentioned at least one sign of possible serious bacterial infection and local bacterial infection. Among the registered cases with signs of bacterial infections, the health extension workers classified 49% as having a possible serious bacterial infection and 88% as local bacterial infection. The health centre staff classified 25% as possible serious bacterial infections and 86% as local bacterial infections. One-fourth (26%) of possible serious bacterial infection received the recommended treatment at health posts and 35% at health centres. CONCLUSION: Many health posts lacked antibiotics. The classification and treatment of possible serious bacterial infection did not follow guidelines. The lack of medicines and poor adherence compromise the quality of care

Serum level of high sensitive C-reactive protein and IL − 6 markers in patients with treatment-resistant schizophrenia in Ethiopia: a comparative study

Background Accumulating evidence indicates that schizophrenia is accompanied by significant activation of the immune system; however, there is limited data from low and middle-income countries (LMIC). Inflammatory markers may be more relevant in LMIC settings where infectious conditions are more prevalent and may thus play some role in the causation and maintenance of schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to assess the level of inflammatory markers high sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in patients with schizophrenia. Materials and methods The study population consisted of a total of 132 study participants; 82 participants with schizophrenia and 50 controls. hsCRP and IL-6 were measured using Cobas Integra 400 Plus and Cobas e 411 analysers respectively. Results The levels of hsCRP and IL-6 were significantly increased among participants with schizophrenia compared to controls: hsCRP mean value 2.87 ± 5.6 vs 0.67 ± 0.6 mg/L; IL-6 mean value 6.63 ± 5.6 vs 3.37 ± 4.0 pg/ml. Controlling for potential confounders (age, sex and body mass index), having a diagnosis of schizophrenia remained significantly associated with increased hsCRP and IL-6. Conclusion The results confirm that inflammatory processes may have a role in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia regardless of setting. Despite failure of some interventions with anti-inflammatory properties, interventions to reduce inflammation are still worth pursuing

Does a complex intervention targeting communities, health facilities and district health managers increase the utilisation of community-based child health services? A before and after study in intervention and comparison areas of Ethiopia.

INTRODUCTION: Ethiopia successfully reduced mortality in children below 5 years of age during the past few decades, but the utilisation of child health services was still low. Optimising the Health Extension Programme was a 2-year intervention in 26 districts, focusing on community engagement, capacity strengthening of primary care workers and reinforcement of district accountability of child health services. We report the intervention's effectiveness on care utilisation for common childhood illnesses. METHODS: We included a representative sample of 5773 households with 2874 under-five children at baseline (December 2016 to February 2017) and 10 788 households and 5639 under-five children at endline surveys (December 2018 to February 2019) in intervention and comparison areas. Health facilities were also included. We assessed the effect of the intervention using difference-in-differences analyses. RESULTS: There were 31 intervention activities; many were one-off and implemented late. In eight districts, activities were interrupted for 4 months. Care-seeking for any illness in the 2 weeks before the survey for children aged 2-59 months at baseline was 58% (95% CI 47 to 68) in intervention and 49% (95% CI 39 to 60) in comparison areas. At end-line it was 39% (95% CI 32 to 45) in intervention and 34% (95% CI 27 to 41) in comparison areas (difference-in-differences -4 percentage points, adjusted OR 0.49, 95% CI 0.12 to 1.95). The intervention neither had an effect on care-seeking among sick neonates, nor on household participation in community engagement forums, supportive supervision of primary care workers, nor on indicators of district accountability for child health services. CONCLUSION: We found no evidence to suggest that the intervention increased the utilisation of care for sick children. The lack of effect could partly be attributed to the short implementation period of a complex intervention and implementation interruption. Future funding schemes should take into consideration that complex interventions that include behaviour change may need an extended implementation period. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN12040912

Tobacco use and its predictors among Ethiopian adults: A further analysis of Ethiopian NCD STEPS survey-2015

Background: Consuming any form of tobacco is one of the leading causes of preventable morbidity and mortality. Tobacco smoking has been identified as one of the major risk factors for NCDs, including cardiovascular, chronic respiratory diseases, and different cancers. Although there is national information on magnitude of tobacco use, to date there is limited nationally representative data on factors associated with tobacco use. The aim of this study is to assess the distribution and predicators of tobacco use in Ethiopian adult population between 15 -59.Objectives: The main aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of tobacco use and its predictor in Ethiopia.Methods: A cross-sectional population based study design was employed among population age from 15- 69 years. A stratified, three-stage cluster sampling was used to identify the study subjects. Households in each cluster were selected using simple random sampling method. The sampling frame was based on the population and housing census conducted for Ethiopia in 2007. Data was collected using WHO NCD STEPS questionnaire; current tobacco use of any type was taken as the dependent variable. Five hundred thirteen enumeration areas (EAs) as primary sampling units (PSUs) (404 rural and 109 urban) were selected with probability proportionate to size, followed by selection of households as a secondary sampling units (SSUs). A total of 10,260 households were selected from the 513 EAs (20 households per EA). Eligible individuals were selected from households using Kish method (a pre-assigned table of random numbers to find the person to be interviewed). Descriptive statistics using frequency table, mean, median, interquartile range and standard deviations were computed. Step wise logistic regression was used to analyse the predictors of tobacco use. An Estimator of 95% confidence interval was used both for computing descriptive statistics as well testing associations using logistic regression.Results: The prevalence of tobacco use (all tobacco products) was 4.2%. The mean age (± SD) of starting tobacco use was 21(7) years. The mean frequency of tobacco use was 2 times per day. Hierarchical Logistic regression analysis revealed that participants in age groups 30-44 years, and 60-69 years were less likely to use any tobacco type compared to younger age group of15-29 years. Heavy episodic drinking, AOR 2.46 [95% CI= 1.4 – 4.5], and khat chewing, AOR 4.71[95%= 2.26 – 9.8], were independently associated with tobacco use.Conclusion and recommendations: The overall prevalence of tobacco use was relatively higher in males. Factors associated with tobacco use were heavy episodic drinking and khat chewing. Although tobacco use is an important risk factor for different disease on its own, the additional use of these substances exposes individuals to increased risk of NCDs. The findings warrant the need to implement existing anti-tobacco laws in the country, enhance anti-tobacco awareness raising efforts, and implement interventions to help current tobacco users, focusing attention more on regions with high rates of tobacco use and males. Key words: Ethiopia, NCDs, Predictors, Risk factors, Tobacco use, WHO STEP