Determinants of under-five mortality in Gilgel Gibe Field Research Center, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: In developing countries like Ethiopia where there is no vital events registration system and laboratory diagnosis is lacking, causes of death in under-five children and its determinants could not be well known. The objective of this study was to investigate causes of death and its determinants in under-five children in Gilgel Gibe Field Research Center. Methods: A case-control study was conducted from December 12 to 27, 2005. Cases of under-five children who died between August 27, 2004 and September 22, 2005 and controls of alive children with the same age (+/-2 months) as cases were identified by a survey as the study population. Data were collected by trained enumerators using structured questionnaire adopted from World Health Organization (WHO). Causes of death were determined using the expert algorithm based on verbal autopsy data. Results: Neonatal and infant mortality rates were respectively 38 and 76.4 per 1000 live births. The two most common causes of death during neonatal period were prematurity (26.4%) and pneumonia (22.6%). Whereas the top causes of death in post-neonatal period were pneumonia (42%), malaria (37%) and acute diarrheal diseases (30%). Maternal education, practice and perception of mothers on the severity of illness and benefits of modern treatment were found to be independent predictor of child survival. Conclusion: Neonatal causes, pneumonia, malaria and diarrheal diseases were the major killers of under-five children in Ethiopia. In this study, practice of mothers and perceived benefits on the modern treatment are identified as the key predictors of child survival which are amenable to future intervention.The Ethiopian Journal of Health Development Vol. 21 (2) 2007: pp. 117-12

Sensitive electrochemical determination of ethambutol in pharmaceutical formulation and human urine at nickel nanoparticles/electrochemically reduced graphene oxide modified electrode

This paper describes the application of nickel nanoparticles decorated electrochemically reduced graphene oxide modified glassy carbon electrode (NiNPs/ERGO/GCE) for the determination of ethambutol (ETB), an anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis drug. The modified electrode showed remarkable electrocatalytic properties accompanied with a significant enhancement in the peak current response towards ETB compared to the bare electrode. The results showed that the composite modified electrode played a significant catalytic role due to the synergetic effect of NiNPs and ERGO. The NiNPs/ERGO modified electrode demonstrated excellent square wave voltammetric response towards ETB determination at the NiNPs/ERGO/GCE in the range 0.05‒100 µM. The sensor demonstrated outstanding sensitivity towards ETB determination with limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.023 and 0.075 µM, respectively. The developed sensor was effectively validated for real sample study using drug formulation and urine samples which showed an acceptable recovery (99.6‒109%). The electrode also exhibited good precision (RSD < 1%, n = 20), reproducibility (RSD < 1.9%, n = 3), long-term stability (92% of its initial response after two weeks) and selectivity towards interfering substances in the determination of ethambutol.               KEY WORDS: Ethambutol, Glassy carbon electrode, Square wave voltammetry, Electrochemically reduced graphene oxide, Nickel nanoparticles Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(2), 215-228.DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i2.

Computational studies on heterogenization of homogeneous catalyst of iron(III), nickel(II) and copper(II) N,N′-disalicylidene-1,2-phenylenediamine complex

Density functional theory (DFT) calculations were carried out on iron(III), nickel(II) and copper(II) complexes of N,N′-ethylenebis(salicylimine) both at molecular level (isolated complexes) and encapsulated in a zeolite framework to investigate changes that occur in their geometrical and electronic parameters as well as in their reactivity and stability. The computational results showed that the zeolite encapsulated metal complexes have higher reactivity and less stability as compared to the isolated metal complexes.               KEY WORDS: Density functional theory, N,N′-ethylenebis(salicylimine), Computational studies, Heterogenization, Electronic parameters Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2019, 33(1), 91-102DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v33i1.

Multi-Level Analysis and Spatial Interpolation of Distributions and Predictors of Childhood Diarrhea in Nigeria.

Background: Diarrhea is one of the health problems contributing to Nigeria's under-5 mortality rate, ranked as the eighth highest globally. As our search is concerned, there is limited evidence on the spatial distribution of childhood diarrhea in Nigeria. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the spatial distribution and predictors of diarrhea among under-5 children in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: Using data from the child's recode file of the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, a sample of 28 583 children of women of reproductive age was considered as the sample size for this study. The outcome variable used in this study was childhood diarrhea. We employed both multilevel and spatial analyses to ascertain the factors associated with childhood diarrhea as well as its spatial clustering. Results: The regional distribution of the prevalence of diarrhea among children in Nigeria ranged from 0% to 62%. The hotspots for childhood diarrhea were in Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Sokoto, Imo, and Taraba. The likelihood of a child having diarrhea in Nigeria was higher among women whose partners have secondary education and above [aOR = 1.18; 95%CI = 1.05-1.33], women currently working [aOR = 1.24; 95%CI = 1.13-1.35], women practicing Islam [aOR = 1.24; 95%CI = 1.04-1.46], and women who were exposed to mass media [aOR = 1.29; 95%CI = 1.18-1.42], compared to women whose partners had no formal education, women not currently working, women practicing Christianity, and those who were not exposed to mass media. Children born to mothers who reside in North East [aOR = 2.55; 95%CI = 2.10-3.10], and communities with medium socioeconomic status [aOR = 1.44; 95%CI = 1.09-1.91] were more likely to experience diarrhea compared to those born to mothers residing in the North Central and in communities with low socioeconomic status. Conclusion: High proportions of childhood diarrhea among under-5 children in Nigeria were located in Yobe, Bauchi, Gombe, Kano, Sokoto, Imo, and Taraba. Policies and interventions that seek to reduce or eliminate diarrhea diseases among under-5 children in Nigeria should take a keen interest in the factors identified as predictors of childhood diarrhea in this study as this will help in achieving the aims of WASH, ORT corners, and SDG 3 by the year 2030

Prevalence, Reasons, and Perceived Effects of Khat Chewing Among Students of a College in Gondar Town, Northwestern Ethiopia: A Cross‑sectional Study

Background: The estimate of the number of people chewing Khat globally ranges from 5 to 10 million people. Its use may result in a variety of effects due to the different compounds in it with effects on the gastro‑intestinal system and nervous system being the principal ones. Aim: To assess the prevalence, factors, and effects of Khat chewing among students of a college in Gondar town, northwestern Ethiopia. Subjects and Methods: An institution‑based cross‑sectional study was conducted from 15th to 20th of April 2009 on a total sample of 424 students who were selected using stratified random sampling technique. Data were collected by three of the principal investigators using a structured pretested data collection instrument and analyzed by Epi Info version 3.5.2. Results: The lifetime and current prevalence of Khat chewing among the respondents were 42% (168/400) and 32.5% (130/400), respectively. Sex (P < 0.01), religion (P < 0.001), and income (P < 0.01) showed statistically significant variation in Khat chewing. The commonest frequency of Khat chewing was once a day 33.1% (43/130) while alcohol (40.8% [53/130]) and cigarette (40.0% [52/130]) were the mostly used substances with Khat. More than half of the chewers (53.85% [70/130]) reported spending 1–4 h for one Khat chewing ceremony. Financially majority of the chewers reported spending up to 10 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) (1.13 United States Dollar) on Khat ( 54.6% [71/130]) and other substances (64.6% [84/130]). Nearly two‑thirds (62.3% [81/130]) of the chewers mentioned seeking concentration during study as their main reason for chewing. Among chewers, 83.1% (108/130) reported they faced problem associated to sleep disturbance, 82.3% (107/130) loss of appetite, and 80.8% (105/130) constipation. Conclusion: The prevalence of Khat chewing was fairly high among the students and the majority among them used other substances together with Khat. Spending of a significant amount of money and facing health problems were reported to be consequences of the habit. The college should take steps to make students aware of the ills of Khat chewing and associated habits.Keywords: College, Effects, Gondar, Khat, Prevalence, Reason

Rapid In-Vitro Inactivation of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Using Povidone-Iodine Oral Antiseptic Rinse

Purpose To investigate the optimal contact time and concentration for viricidal activity of oral preparation of povidone‐iodine (PVP‐I) against SARS‐CoV‐2 (‘corona virus’) to mitigate the risk and transmission of the virus in the dental practice. Materials and Methods The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) USA‐WA1/2020 strain, virus stock was tested against oral antiseptic solutions consisting of aqueous povidone‐iodine (PVP‐I) as the sole active ingredient. The PVP‐I was tested at diluted concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%. Test media without any virus was added to 2 tubes of the compounds to serve as toxicity and neutralization controls. Ethanol (70%) was tested in parallel as a positive control, and water only as a negative control. The test solutions and virus were incubated at room temperature (22 ± 2 °C) for time periods of 15 and 30 seconds. The solution was then neutralized by a 1/10 dilution in minimum essential medium (MEM) 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 50 µg/mL gentamicin. Surviving virus from each sample was quantified by standard end‐point dilution assay and the log reduction value (LRV) of each compound compared to the negative (water) control was calculated. Results PVP‐I oral antiseptics at all tested concentrations of 0.5%, 1%, and 1.5%, completely inactivated SARS‐CoV‐2 within 15 seconds of contact. The 70% ethanol control group was unable to completely inactivate SARS‐CoV‐2 after 15 seconds of contact, but was able to inactivate the virus at 30 seconds of contact. Conclusions PVP‐I oral antiseptic preparations rapidly inactivated SARS‐CoV‐2 virus in vitro. The viricidal activity was present at the lowest concentration of 0.5 % PVP‐I and at the lowest contact time of 15 seconds. This important finding can justify the use of preprocedural oral rinsing with PVP‐I (for patients and health care providers) may be useful as an adjunct to personal protective equipment, for dental and surgical specialties during the COVID‐19 pandemic

A Roadmap for Building Data Science Capacity for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa

Technological advances now make it possible to generate diverse, complex and varying sizes of data in a wide range of applications from business to engineering to medicine. In the health sciences, in particular, data are being produced at an unprecedented rate across the full spectrum of scientific inquiry spanning basic biology, clinical medicine, public health and health care systems. Leveraging these data can accelerate scientific advances, health discovery and innovations. However, data are just the raw material required to generate new knowledge, not knowledge on its own, as a pile of bricks would not be mistaken for a building. In order to solve complex scientific problems, appropriate methods, tools and technologies must be integrated with domain knowledge expertise to generate and analyze big data. This integrated interdisciplinary approach is what has become to be widely known as data science. Although the discipline of data science has been rapidly evolving over the past couple of decades in resource-rich countries, the situation is bleak in resource-limited settings such as most countries in Africa primarily due to lack of well-trained data scientists. In this paper, we highlight a roadmap for building capacity in health data science in Africa to help spur health discovery and innovation, and propose a sustainable potential solution consisting of three key activities: a graduate-level training, faculty development, and stakeholder engagement. We also outline potential challenges and mitigating strategies

Comparison of In Vitro Inactivation of SARS CoV-2 with Hydrogen Peroxide and Povidone-Iodine Oral Antiseptic Rinses

Purpose To evaluate the in vitro inactivation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and povidone‐iodine (PVP‐I) oral antiseptic rinses at clinically recommended concentrations and contact times. Materials and Methods SARS‐CoV‐2, USA‐WA1/2020 strain virus stock was prepared prior to testing by growing in Vero 76 cells. The culture media for prepared virus stock was minimum essential medium (MEM) with 2% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 50 µg/mL gentamicin. Test compounds consisting of PVP‐I oral rinse solutions and H2O2 aqueous solutions were mixed directly with the virus solution so that the final concentration was 50% of the test compound and 50% of the virus solution. Thus PVP‐I was tested at concentrations of 0.5%, 1.25%, and 1.5%, and H2O2 was tested at 3% and 1.5% concentrations to represent clinically recommended concentrations. Ethanol and water were evaluated in parallel as standard positive and negative controls. All samples were tested at contact periods of 15 seconds and 30 seconds. Surviving virus from each sample was then quantified by standard end‐point dilution assay and the log reduction value of each compound compared to the negative control was calculated. Results After the 15‐second and 30‐second contact times, PVP‐I oral antiseptic rinse at all 3 concentrations of 0.5%, 1.25%, and 1.5% completely inactivated SARS‐CoV‐2. The H2O2 solutions at concentrations of 1.5% and 3.0% showed minimal viricidal activity after 15 seconds and 30 seconds of contact time. Conclusions SARS‐CoV‐2 virus was completely inactivated by PVP‐I oral antiseptic rinse in vitro, at the lowest concentration of 0.5 % and at the lowest contact time of 15 seconds. Hydrogen peroxide at the recommended oral rinse concentrations of 1.5% and 3.0% was minimally effective as a viricidal agent after contact times as long as 30 seconds. Therefore, preprocedural rinsing with diluted PVP‐I in the range of 0.5% to 1.5% may be preferred over hydrogen peroxide during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Parthenium weed (Parthenium hysterophorus L.) research in Ethiopia: Investigation of pathogens as biocontrol agents

Parthenium is an exotic invasive weed that now occurs widely in Ethiopia. Surveys to determine the presence and distribution of pathogens associated with parthenium and further evaluation of the pathogens found as potential biocontrol agents were carried out in Ethiopia since 1998. Several fungal isolates of the genus Helminthosporium, Phoma, Curvularia, Chaetomium, Alternaria, and Eurotium were obtained from the seeds and other plant parts. However, all of the isolates tested were non-pathogenic except Helminthosporium isolates. The two most important diseases were the rust, Puccinia abrupta var. partheniicola and the phyllody, caused by a phytoplasma belonging to the species “Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia”. Host specificity tests revealed that the rust, P. abrupta, only sporulates on parthenium while the phyllody infected parthenium, groundnut, sesame, grass pea, lentil, and chickpea. Suspected insect vectors were examined for phytoplasma infection by means of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). The successful acquisition of phytoplasma’s by the leafhopper, Orosius cellulosus Lindberg (Cicadellidae), was determined by molecular detection of phytoplasma. Phytoplasma was also detected from a single bait plant after feeding by the leafhopper. Sequencing data from phytoplasma obtained from parthenium and the above mentioned crops was identical with sequence identities > 98%. The rust was commonly found at 1400 – 2500 m.a.s.l. with disease incidence up to 100% in some locations while phyllody was observed at 900 – 2300 m.a.s.l. with incidence up to 75%. Individual effects of the rust and phyllody diseases on Parthenium in different locations under field condition showed significant reduction on seed and morphological parameters. Seed production was reduced by 42 and 85% due to rust and phyllody, respectively

A robust SNP barcode for typing Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex strains

Strain-specific genomic diversity in the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is an important factor in pathogenesis that may affect virulence, transmissibility, host response and emergence of drug resistance. Several systems have been proposed to classify MTBC strains into distinct lineages and families. Here, we investigate single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as robust (stable) markers of genetic variation for phylogenetic analysis. We identify ~92k SNP across a global collection of 1,601 genomes. The SNP-based phylogeny is consistent with the gold-standard regions of difference (RD) classification system. Of the ~7k strain-specific SNPs identified, 62 markers are proposed to discriminate known circulating strains. This SNP-based barcode is the first to cover all main lineages, and classifies a greater number of sublineages than current alternatives. It may be used to classify clinical isolates to evaluate tools to control the disease, including therapeutics and vaccines whose effectiveness may vary by strain type