Modeling of Cascade Dams and Reservoirs Operation for Hydropower Energy Generation

Water Resources Planning and Managemen

A multi-equation demand model for air transportation services.

Thesis. 1978. M.S.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics.MICROFICHE COPY AVAILABLE IN ARCHIVES AND AERONAUTICS.Includes bibliographical references.M.S

Assessment of irrigation water potential and water requirements of selected crops in the Wabe-Shebelle River Basin, Ethiopia

Knowing water resources for irrigation available and water requirements of selected crop are important for planning irrigation. From a number of uncertainties, the watershed constrained that stream flows in the watershed have not been identified and matched with the water requirements of some crops commonly grown in the watershed. So, the study was initiated with the objective of evaluating irrigation water potential and water requirements of selected crops under the Wabe Shebelle River Basin conditions, Ethiopia. Estimation of irrigation water requirement and surface water resources of river catchments were the steps followed to assess the irrigation potential of the study area. In these identified irrigable areas, three crops such as maize, sorghum and potato were selected and their gross irrigation demands were calculated using nearby meteorology stations. The discharges at un-gauged sites were estimated from gauged sites by applying runoff coefficient method and results were obtained on a monthly basis. The irrigation requirements of the identified command area vary according to nearby meteorology stations and type of crops selected. By comparing gross irrigation demand of irrigable land with available flow in rivers, a gross irrigation demand of potentially irrigable land of 58,995.15 ha are not fulfill with the present flow. It was concluded that, the total annual irrigation water potential/annual available flow above abstraction site is 335.7 m3 s-1 or 2.9 hm3

Methods and Costs for Pond-Catchment Rehabilitation on the Borana Plateau

The Borana Plateau is an important rangeland for Ethiopia. One key limitation for people and livestock is lack of drinking water. Hundreds of ponds are important water sources for most of the year. Pond catchments are poorly managed because livestock access is uncontrolled. Catchments are stripped bare of vegetation due to trampling and heavy grazing, and unprotected soil is prone to erosion. When the rains come the ponds quickly fill with sediment. Sedimentation reduces pond holding capacity and much labor is required to clean them out. As part of a pilot research project we rehabilitated four ponds and their immediate catchment using a combination of: (1) Perimeter bush-fencing to confine livestock access to a few narrow corridors leading to the water\u27s edge; (2) erosion control using dams and trenches to capture sediment prior to it entering the ponds; and (3) pond de-sedimentation using human labor. In tandem these methods have completely renovated the four sites in less than two years and could be adopted by the pastoralists. Here we report how we implemented each method as well as estimate the total cost of rehabilitation. Overall, the average cost to rehabilitate one seven-hectare pond catchment was 283, 045 Ethiopian Birr (or USD $14,152) including cash and in-kind sources. Costs were almost entirely labor. The largest outlay was for de-sedimentation at 87 percent of total costs on average, followed by erosion control (9 percent) and bush fencing (4 percent). If all 162 ponds in our study area were rehabilitated the cost would exceed 46 million Birr; this might be defrayed if communities can donate some of the labor. The high cost of rehabilitation illustrates that poor catchment management has major economic consequences that undermine system sustainability. Cost data also reveal that a small investment in preventing sedimentation via bush-fencing, grazing management, and erosion control would yield high returns in terms of reducing the need for regular, and expensive de-sedimentation via manual labor

Magnitude of Antiretroviral Drug toxicity in adult HIV patients in Ethiopia: A cohort study at seven teaching hospitals

Background: The introduction of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has resulted in significant mortality reduction and improvement in the quality of life. However, this has come at a cost of increased drug toxicity. The objective of this study was to assess the patterns and predictors of ART toxicity in adult HIV patients in Ethiopia.Methods: This is a prospective cohort study conducted at seven teaching hospitals between September 2009 and December 2013 involving 3921 HIV patients on ART. Adverse drug reactions (ADR) due to ART were identified based on clinical assessment and/or laboratory parameters. Multivariable random effects Poisson regression analysis was used to identify factors independently associated with toxicity.Result: ADR due to ART drugs was reported in 867 (22.1 %) of the participants; 374 (9.5%) had severe forms. About 87% of reported toxicities were limited to three organ systems – the skin, nervous system and blood. The overall incidence of ADR was 9 per 100 person years. About a third of toxicities occurred during the first six months after ART initiation with the incidence rate of 22.4 per 100 person years. Concomitant anti-tuberculosis treatment was the strongest independent predictor of toxicity.Conclusion: ADR was found to be highly prevalent in HIV patients on ART at tertiary hospitals in Ethiopia. Most of these conditions occurred early after ART initiation and in those with concomitant anti-tuberculosis treatment. Thus, routine monitoring of patients on ART should be strengthened with particular emphasis in the first 6 months. Strategies should also be devised to replace older and more toxic agents with newer and safer drugs available.Key words: HIV, ART, adverse drug reaction, incidence rate, ACM, Ethiopi

HIV-1 INFECTION AMONG EMPLOYEES OF THE ETHIOPIAN FREIGHT TRANSPORT CORPORATION

SUMMARY: In the study on HIV-l infection conducted in July 1988, 995 long distance truck drivers, their assistants, and lorry technicians employed by the Ethiopian Freight Transport Corporation (EFTC) were enrolled. 89.4% of trips made by the drivers were along the Addis Ababa -Assab road. The HIV prevalence rates were 13% among 468 drivers, 12.9% among 209 drivers assistants, and 4.1% among 318 technicians. The prevalence rate among those who served for < 5 yrs was 4.7% (n = 297) .Those who served longer in the Corporation (82.9% of whom are drivers) had a mean prevalence rate of 12.5% (n=698). Drivers had more sexual partners and more frequently experienced sexually transmitted diseases than the technicians. The study indicated that the long distance truck drivers in Ethiopia practiced frequent contacts with female sex workers. They were at a significantly higher risk to acquire HIV infection than the technicians employed at the same corporation

Outcomes of a Pastoral Sustainability Conference: The Borana People Must Better Manage Rangelands and Diversify Livelihoods for a Brighter Future

The Borana Plateau is an important region for Ethiopia— but it is challenged by very serious problems. Both the human and livestock populations are growing while poverty is increasing for the majority of pastoralists. The rangeland also shows signs of extreme degradation including gullying, bush encroachment, and high rates of pond siltation. This brief summarizes points made at a pastoralist conference held for 71 participants during December, 2014, in Yabelo town in the Borana Zone. The purpose of the conference was to chart a way forward for the Boran society to better address problems. The conference included speakers from the pastoral community, policy-making realm, private sector, and research organizations. It was concluded that the pastoralists must begin to better manage grazing, rehabilitate the land, and diversify livelihoods. Both the traditional leadership and the government must work together in this process, but it is the people themselves who have the power to make these changes

The global burden of adolescent and young adult cancer in 2019 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background In estimating the global burden of cancer, adolescents and young adults with cancer are often overlooked, despite being a distinct subgroup with unique epidemiology, clinical care needs, and societal impact. Comprehensive estimates of the global cancer burden in adolescents and young adults (aged 15-39 years) are lacking. To address this gap, we analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019, with a focus on the outcome of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), to inform global cancer control measures in adolescents and young adults. Methods Using the GBD 2019 methodology, international mortality data were collected from vital registration systems, verbal autopsies, and population-based cancer registry inputs modelled with mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs). Incidence was computed with mortality estimates and corresponding MIRs. Prevalence estimates were calculated using modelled survival and multiplied by disability weights to obtain years lived with disability (YLDs). Years of life lost (YLLs) were calculated as age-specific cancer deaths multiplied by the standard life expectancy at the age of death. The main outcome was DALYs (the sum of YLLs and YLDs). Estimates were presented globally and by Socio-demographic Index (SDI) quintiles (countries ranked and divided into five equal SDI groups), and all estimates were presented with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs). For this analysis, we used the age range of 15-39 years to define adolescents and young adults. Findings There were 1.19 million (95% UI 1.11-1.28) incident cancer cases and 396 000 (370 000-425 000) deaths due to cancer among people aged 15-39 years worldwide in 2019. The highest age-standardised incidence rates occurred in high SDI (59.6 [54.5-65.7] per 100 000 person-years) and high-middle SDI countries (53.2 [48.8-57.9] per 100 000 person-years), while the highest age-standardised mortality rates were in low-middle SDI (14.2 [12.9-15.6] per 100 000 person-years) and middle SDI (13.6 [12.6-14.8] per 100 000 person-years) countries. In 2019, adolescent and young adult cancers contributed 23.5 million (21.9-25.2) DALYs to the global burden of disease, of which 2.7% (1.9-3.6) came from YLDs and 97.3% (96.4-98.1) from YLLs. Cancer was the fourth leading cause of death and tenth leading cause of DALYs in adolescents and young adults globally. Interpretation Adolescent and young adult cancers contributed substantially to the overall adolescent and young adult disease burden globally in 2019. These results provide new insights into the distribution and magnitude of the adolescent and young adult cancer burden around the world. With notable differences observed across SDI settings, these estimates can inform global and country-level cancer control efforts. Copyright (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe