Special challenges Eritrean refugees face in Europe

As Syrians refugees fleeing turmoil reach Europe, Yohannes Woldemariam discusses the impact on the flow of Eritreans also seeking a safe haven

Morocco’s new tango with the African Union #28thAUSummit

Ahead of the African Union Summit which takes place from 22-31 January 2017 in Addis Ababa, Yohannes Woldemariam analyses Morocco’s campaign for readmission to the continental body

Eritreans are being sacrificed in the Ethiopian civil war

The suffering of Eritrean refugees in Tigray has been largely hidden from coverage of Ethiopia’s current conflict. At the same time, a military intervention waged by the Eritrean state can only benefit the country’s ruling elites. Signs the war may be protracted reinforce the need for both countries to pursue a relationship that works for all people in the region, not one used for political advantage

The case for a loose confederation in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is in the grip of violent identity politics, with a regional conflict at risk of creating country-wide civil war. A loose political confederation could be necessary reform to prevent further escalation, says Yohannes Woldemariam, but only with significant planning and careful implementation

Desperately poor countries host refugees while the affluent world abandons them

Yohannes Woldemariam argues that European leaders could learn from Uganda’s compassionate policy towards refugees

Military confrontation in Ethiopia, Trump and the geopolitics of dams

Ethiopia’s internal conflicts are worsening at a time it needs unity for its tense relations with Egypt and Sudan resulting from the GERD infrastructure project. Donald Trump’s interjection into the controversy has only exacerbated the issue, with little regard for complexity in the region. Given the emerging conflict, asks Yohannes Woldemariam, will the countries affected by the dam use Ethiopia’s worsening situation to push through their agenda

The unenviable situation of Tigreans in Ethiopia

As ordinary Tigreans are increasingly targeted because of their ethnic association to Ethiopia's ruling party, Yohannes Woldemariam points out that the vast majority do not benefit from the rule of Tigrean People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and live in much the same conditions as most Ethiopians

Distribution of Stress Around a Tunnel Cavity, Using the Finite Element Method

Civil Engineerin

Antioxidant effect of yeast on lipid oxidation in salami sausage

Salami is a kind of fermented meat product with rich nutrition and unique flavor. Because it is rich in fat, it is easy to oxidize to produce bad flavor. Compared with the way of adding artificial or natural antioxidants to reduce the degree of sausage oxidation, the antioxidant characteristics of developing the starter itself deserve more attention. In this study, firstly the antioxidant activities of 5 strains of yeast were measured in vitro, and then the mixture of yeast and Lactobacillus rhamnosus YL-1 was applied to fermented sausage model. The effect of the starter in the sausage model was investigated through physicochemical parameters, degree of fat oxidation, free fatty acid content, and though volatile flavor compound analysis, sensory evaluation and various indexes after storage were observed. Metagenomics was used to explore metabolic pathways, functional genes and key enzymes related to lipid oxidizing substances in sausage in yeast. The results showed that Wickerhamomyces anomalus Y12-3 and Y12-4 had strong tolerance to H2O2, and had higher SOD and CAT enzyme activities. The addition of yeast effectively reduced the material value of peroxidation value and active thiobarbiturate in salami. In flavor analysis, the content of flavor compounds associated with lipid oxidation, such as hexanal, heptanal, nonanal and (E)-2-decenal were significantly lower with the use of Debaryomyces hansenii Y4-1 and Y12-3. Meanwhile, the possible pathways of yeast metabolism of flavor substances related to lipid oxidation (mainly aldehydes) were discussed with the help of metagenomic techniques. According to the results of metagenomics, fatty acid degradation (ko00071) metabolic pathway was related to the degradation of aldehydes through aldehyde dehydrogenase, which was the potential key enzyme

Reading list: most popular blog posts of 2018

As the final few hours of 2018 dwindle away, let’s look back at 2018 and discover the best-read Africa@LSE blog posts of the year