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As the Ethiopian energy demand urges for fuel options, it is essential to identify biomass fuels and estimate their energy potential. This study quantified the agricultural residues' biomass resources and their energy potential. Further analyzed and characterized the potential nature through quantitative and qualitative methodologies with descriptive, comparative, explanatory, and exploratory studies. Five-year crop yield data of 27 crops were collected from the Central Statistical Agency of Ethiopia. Conversion factors into energy were surveyed from the literature. Subsequently, the residues available and their energy potentials were estimated. Mathematical and statistical analysis methods were considered in an Excel sheet. A new measure of natural potential capacity for energy was defined in two views (resource and application). Accordingly, their potential capacities were rated and prioritized comparatively. The gross energy potential of all the residues was estimated to be 494.7 PJ. With 30% collecting efficiency, it corresponds to the imported petroleum fuel in 2018. Five major crops contributed to 80% of this gross potential. Maize and sorghum presented the highest potential due to their superior yields and good natural potential capacities. They are also well distributed in all the regions. Cotton and maize's natural potential capacities are the best in both views. Generally, commercial crops presented better capacities than the major cereal crops. However, major crops' energy potentials dominated due to their yields. These resources need mobilization into modern and commercially accessible fuel forms that await intervention. Densified and carbonized forms of consumption in nearby industries and households are most viable for the Ethiopian case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has put an enormous encumbrance on the healthcare system and healthcare workers (HCWs) worldwide, particularly in war-torn areas. As the world strives to end the pandemic, knowing the magnitude of the infection and its contributing factors in fragile settings is critical to prevent further waves of the pandemic. Methods: Using rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs), a facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the prevalence of COVID-19 and its associated factors. The study was conducted among 326 unvaccinated HCWs in two hospitals in Tigray, Ethiopia from. The study period was from June 26 to December 31, 2021. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the characteristics of study participants and the magnitude of COVID-19 while multivariate logistic regression was applied to assess factors affecting COVID-19 infection among HCWs. Results: The seroprevalence of COVID-19 among HCWs in the war-torn region of Tigray was 52.4% and 56.5% using Cellex and INNOVA antibody RDTs, respectively. The point prevalence, using Abbot Antigen test, was 14.2%. The overall infection prevention and control practice (IPC) and facility preparedness was poor with >85% of the HCWs reporting not wearing eye goggle/face shield and respirator in activities that needed transmission-based precautions; none of the participants reporting as having separate waste disposal system for COVID-19 cases; and only 56.8% reporting as having an isolation area during the time of testing. In the multivariate analysis, not having isolation area (AOR = 19.6, 95% CI: 7.57–50.78), re-using of personal protective equipment (PPE) (AOR = 3.23, 95% CI: 1.54–6.77), being symptomatic (AOE = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.02–5.67), and being a medical doctor, doctor of dental surgery, and anesthetist (AOR = 3.64, 95% CI: 1.05–12.66) were significantly associated with having at least one positive result. Conclusions: Shortage of PPE supply, poor IPC practice, suboptimal facility preparedness, and low vaccination coverage in the region contributed to the high rate of COVID-19 infection among HCWs observed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the era of the Internet of Things (IoT), the demand for accurate positioning services has become increasingly critical, as location-based services (LBSs) depend on users' location data to deliver contextual functionalities. While the Global Positioning System (GPS) is widely regarded as the standard for outdoor localization due to its reliability and comprehensive coverage, its effectiveness in indoor positioning systems (IPSs) is limited by the inherent complexity of indoor environments. This paper examines the various measurement techniques and technological solutions that address the unique challenges posed by indoor environments. We specifically focus on three key aspects: (i) a comparative analysis of the different wireless technologies proposed for IPSs based on various methodologies, (ii) the challenges of IPSs, and (iii) forward-looking strategies for future research. In particular, we provide an in-depth evaluation of current IPSs, assessing them through multidimensional matrices that capture diverse architectural and design considerations, as well as evaluation metrics established in the literature. We further examine the challenges that impede the widespread deployment of IPSs and highlight the potential risk that these systems may not be recognized with a single, universally accepted standard method, unlike GPS for outdoor localization, which serves as the golden standard for positioning. Moreover, we outline several promising approaches that could address the existing challenges of IPSs. These include the application of transfer learning, feature engineering, data fusion, multisensory technologies, hybrid techniques, and ensemble learning methods, all of which hold the potential to significantly enhance the accuracy and reliability of IPSs. By leveraging these advanced methodologies, we aim to improve the overall performance of IPSs, thus paving the way for more robust and dependable LBSs in indoor environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercropping is an important practice for controlling crop pests in Ethiopia. However, there is a limited studies on the maize–faba bean intercropping benefits for controlling stemborer (Busseola fusca) pests. This study was carried out at Wukro Agricultural College, Tigray, Ethiopia, to investigate the effects of maize intercrops with two faba bean varieties (Gora and Moti) at three different population levels (25%, 50%, and 75%) of the recommended sole faba bean (250,000 plants ha−1) on infestation, density, and damage of stemborer on maize. The intercrops significantly (p < 0.05) reduced the stemborer infestation, density, and damage on maize over to the sole maize. Maize intercrops with the Gora faba bean variety at a density of 50% lowered the pest damage on maize cobs by 35% relative to the sole maize. The intercrop also reduced the grain yield and economic losses due to the pest by 48% and 53%, respectively, compared to the sole maize. The results recommended that maize intercropped with the Gora faba bean variety at a density of 50% could be used as an alternative farming against stemborer pest in the semiarid farming systems of northern Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While there has been extensive research on well-known psychosocial problems like depression, anxiety, and stress among higher education students, emerging issues such as emotional problems, antisocial behavior, trauma experiences, and academic difficulties are not as thoroughly studied, particularly in the context of Ethiopian higher education students. These updated psychosocial problems are crucial to explore due to their potentially significant impact on students' academic performance, personal development, and future prospects. Therefore, this study aims to explore the current psychosocial issues faced by adolescent students at Arba Minch University and identify the factors associated with them. To accomplish this objective, a survey questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 300 university students through a cross-sectional study. The survey questionnaire was designed to provide a thorough understanding of the various types of psychosocial problems experienced by the students. The findings revealed that the most prevalent psychosocial problems among higher education adolescent students were emotional problems (6.7% high/severe, 46.3% moderate), antisocial behavior (5% high/severe, 54.7% moderate), trauma experiences (7% high/severe, 23% moderate), and academic problems (8.3% high/severe, 23% moderate). The prevalence of no/low psychosocial problems was 47%, 40.3%, 69.3%, and 68.7%, respectively. Additionally, statistically significant (p < 0.05) associated factors to these psychosocial problems were identified: gender for academic problems, religion affiliation for antisocial behavior, trauma experiences, marital status for trauma experiences, living situation during holidays for emotional problems, age for emotional problems and antisocial behavior, and educational sponsorship for antisocial behavior. The study found that students who lacked a support system, such as family or friends, were more likely to experience psychosocial problems. In conclusion, psychosocial problems among adolescent students in higher education are a pressing issue that requires immediate attention. By understanding the challenges faced by these students, universities can implement effective interventions to support their mental well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article questions the justification for restricting political party membership as a condition for receiving political service retirement benefits in Ethiopia (a restriction first imposed through the Administration of the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Proclamation and endorsed in the Rights and Benefits of Outgoing Heads of State and Government, Senior Government Officials, Members of Parliament and Judges Proclamation). After reviewing relevant law, literature and comparative experience from Kenya and Tanzania, the article argues that prohibiting political party membership without a pressing need for non-partisan service is an unjust restriction on the right to freedom of political party membership. Benefits for retiring high-ranking government officials are part of the right to social security and should not be disallowed based on political party membership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Menstruation is a natural cyclic occurrence experienced by reproductive age females in a good health which deemed a proper management, otherwise, it ends with various health complications and impaired quality of life. The aim of this study was to investigate the menstrual hygiene management practice and its determinant factors among reproductive age females living in the IDPs camps of Shire town, Northern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 633 reproductive age females in Shire town from May to June 2022. Data were entered, cleaned, and analyzed using SPSS version 23. Descriptive analysis and binary and multivariable logistic regression were conducted to obtain the descriptive findings and to investigate the strength of the association respectively. P-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. The prevalence of good menstrual hygiene management practice among the reproductive age females was 41.9% (95% CI, 38-45.8%). Menstrual hygiene management practice was significantly (p < 0.05) associated with access to sanitary materials, educational level, availability of continuous water supply and sex-separated latrines. The results of this study demonstrated that more than a half of the reproductive age females did not have good menstrual hygiene management practices. Consequently, it is recommended to work collaboratively to enhance the menstrual hygiene practice, especially in IDPs camps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimizing agricultural crop production involves utilizing proper irrigation and fertilization techniques. A two-year experiment conducted in the Tselemty district during the off seasons of 2019 and 2020 aimed to assess the impact of varying irrigation levels and nitrogen fertilizer application rates on the growth, yield, and crop water productivity of pepper. The study included three irrigation levels (75%, 100%, and 125% of the required irrigation) and three nitrogen fertilizer application rates (75%, 100%, and 125% of the recommended amount). Analysis of the results using Gen-Stat software revealed that most pepper yield attributes were not significantly affected by the different irrigation and fertilizer levels. However, the marketable yield showed significant variation based on the combined application rates. The research indicates that, under ideal circumstances, the optimal approach for pepper growers is a combination of meeting 100% of the irrigation requirement and applying 100% of the recommended nitrogen fertilizer rate. Nevertheless, in scenarios where water resources are limited and fertilizer expenses are high, a reduced irrigation level of 75% of the requirement coupled with 75% of the recommended nitrogen fertilizer rate could be a viable alternative that does not lead to a substantial decrease in yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has been disturbing the present species distribution ranges, resulting in the shifting of cultivation areas and decreases in production and quality. Tea (Camellia sinensis L.), which seeks optimum climatic resources, is a key cash crop economically in Kenya. In this study, the shifting of tea suitability was projected with the MaxEnt model under the SSP (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5) climate scenarios for the 2050s and 2090s relative to the 1970–2000 distribution. Analysis under the current climatic condition showed that the proportions of optimal and medium- and marginal-suitable areas were 2%, 3%, and 24% of the total area, respectively, and located in south-western (SW), central, and north-eastern (NE) Kenya and, to some extent, in the Rift Valley. It was projected that the potential suitable tea-growing areas would migrate from the western areas to the central, eastern, and north-eastern highlands in Kenya. It was detected that the precipitation of the driest period (July), precipitation of the wettest quarter (April, May, and June), and annual temperature range could be the main climatic factors determining the shift in tea distribution. Compared to the current distribution (29%), the climatically suitable areas for tea production could reach 32.58% of Kenya's land area under the SSP1-2.6 scenarios in the 2050s and 35.08% in the 2090s under the SSP5-8.5 scenario. On the contrary, it was found that the optimal climate-suitable habitats were projected to shrink by 2% and 1% in the 2050s and 2090s under all scenarios on the west side of the Great Rift Valley compared to the current distribution. In comparison, the sizes of medium- and marginal-suitable habitats would increase by 1% and 3%, respectively. The findings indicated that unless adaptive climate actions are taken, climate change could reduce the tea planting areas in western Kenya. Meanwhile, climate suitability was projected to expand upward on the east side of the Rift Valley, enhancing the potential distribution of tea. The developed climate information could be used to design and implement adaptation interventions in the lower elevation areas. Finally, we highlight that the available scientific literature on the climate suitability of tea in Kenya should be broadened by adding non-climatic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wi-Fi fingerprint-based indoor localization methods are effective in static environments but encounter challenges in dynamic, real-world scenarios due to evolving fingerprint patterns and feature spaces. This study investigates the temporal variations in signal strength over a 25-month period to enhance adaptive long-term Wi-Fi localization. Key aspects explored include the significance of signal features, the effects of sampling fluctuations, and overall accuracy measured by mean absolute error. Techniques such as mean-based feature selection, principal component analysis (PCA), and functional discriminant analysis (FDA) were employed to analyze signal features. The proposed algorithm, Ada-LT IP, which incorporates data reduction and transfer learning, shows improved accuracy compared to state-of-the-art methods evaluated in the study. Additionally, the study addresses multicollinearity through PCA and covariance analysis, revealing a reduction in computational complexity and enhanced accuracy for the proposed method, thereby providing valuable insights for improving adaptive long-term Wi-Fi indoor localization systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although antiseizure medications play a crucial role in the management of epilepsy, their benefit can be compromised due to drug-related problems. Drug therapy problems can lead to poor seizure control, reduced quality of life, and increased morbidity and mortality in patients with epilepsy. However, in our setting, there is limited knowledge about drug therapy problems and the factors that contribute to them. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and contributing factors of drug-therapy problems among patients with epilepsy. Methodology: A hospital-based prospective observational study was conducted at the neurologic clinic of Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, located in the Tigray region of Northern Ethiopia. The study included adult patients diagnosed with epilepsy who had been taking at least one antiseizure medication for a minimum of six months. Data were collected by conducting patient interviews and expert reviews of medical and medication records. Prior to data review and interviews, each patient provided written informed consent. Drug therapy problems were identified and classified using Cipolle's method, followed by a consensus review conducted with a panel of experts. Statistical analysis was performed using a statistical software package; SPSS version 22. Binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the contributing factors of drug therapy problems. Statistical significance was determined at p<0.05. Results: A study conducted on 250 participants revealed that 55.2% of the patients experienced one or more drug therapy problems. Our analysis identified a total of 282 drug therapy problems, with a mean of 2±0.52 drug therapy problems per patient. The most commonly observed drug therapy problems were dosage too low (30.0%), noncompliance (22%), adverse drug reaction (18%), and unnecessary drug therapy (16.4%). The commonly involved antiseizure medications in these drug therapy problems were phenytoin (22.8%), Valproic acid (20.8%), and Phenobarbital (18.4%). Furthermore, our findings revealed that combination therapy (AOR: 3.92, 95%CI: 1.19–12.97) and uncontrolled seizure (AOR: 108.37, 95%CI: 38.7–303.6) exhibited significant associations with drug therapy problems. Conclusion: Drug therapy problems were prevalent among patients with epilepsy. The use of combination therapy and the presence of uncontrolled seizures were identified as significant indicators of drug therapy problems. Therefore, more emphasis should be given to patients with multiple medications and uncontrolled seizures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report the syntheses, crystal structures, and magnetic properties of the title compounds [Fe(III)L2]Cl·CH3OH, 1 and [Fe(III)L2]NH(C2H5)3, 2 formulated from pyrazolone-based thiosemicarbazone ligand (L) at room temperature. Structurally, the Fe(III) spin centre was chelated under N2O2S2 coordination environment and then completed by charge-neutralizing counter ions for charge balance, i.e., the anion chloride (Cl−) for 1 and the cation triethylammonium (NH(C2H5)3+) for 2. Interestingly, the counter ions guided extended arrangement facilitated by halogen bonding of the Cl− and hydrogen bonding of the NH(C2H5)3+ were mainly responsible for obtaining the diamond- and hexagonal-shaped spin centre arrangements for 1 and 2, respectively. Magnetic examination revealed that both compounds are high-spin (HS) at all the measurement temperature ranges, and the experimental bond distances (at 300 K) were also in good agreement for the HS state. Strong ligand field chemical modification on the ligand that stabilizes the low spin (LS) state is suggested to realize the spin crossover (SCO) phenomenon. Moreover, further biological and catalytic investigation of the reported new compounds is suggested, as thiosemicarbazone-containing HS metal complexes are good candidates for these applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Ethiopia, the mortality rate for children under five is a public health concern. Regretfully, the problem is notably underestimated and underreported, making it impossible to fully recognize how serious the situation is in the nation's developing regions. Unfortunately, no single study has been conducted to reveal the rates and predictor factors of under-five child death in Ethiopia's pastoral regions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the critical variables that led to a shorter survival time to death for children in Ethiopia's pastoral regions under the age of five. Methods: Between January 18 and June 27, 2016, a retrospective follow-up study was done among under-five children in pastoral areas of Ethiopia. The statistically significant difference between categorical predictors was shown using the log-rank test, and the Kaplan-Meier survival curve was used to determine the survival time. In order to identify the time-to-death predictor factors in children under five, Cox proportional hazards (PH) model analyses of bivariable and multivariable variables were fitted. Results: A total 7,677 children were included in the study. The overall incidence rate of under-five mortality was 8.4% (95% CI 7.77%, 9.0%). In the multivariable Cox PH model analysis, children vaccinated (AHR: 0.72, 95% CI: 0.59, 0.88), mothers aged 35–40 (AHR: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.52), and above 41 (AHR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.59, 2.98), not initiating exclusively breastfeeding (AHR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.55), the agriculture sector of the mother's occupation (AHR: 2.57, 95% CI: 1.74, 3.31), the male sex of the household head (AHR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.81), non-anemic child (AHR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.55, 0.83), and rural residence (AHR: 3.27, 95% CI: 1.45, 7.38) were identified as main predictors of time to death among under-five children. Conclusions: In this study, the authors found a higher rate of under-five deaths than the national figure. A child vaccinated, exclusively breastfeeding, mother's occupation, sex of household head, anemic child, mother's age, and residence were found to be the most influential predictors for time-to-death. Therefore, to lower the high incidence of under-five mortality, the government should focus on the pastoral regional states of Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the association between maternal education and completion of childhood vaccination among aged 12–23 months children in Ethiopia. Systematic review and meta-analysis. PubMed-Medline, EMBASE, SCOPUS, Global Health, and Google Scholar were searched for articles published from January 2010 to January 2020. The data extraction was reported based on the PRISMA guideline (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis) guidelines. We performed the I2 test and a funnel plot to assess heterogeneity and check for publication bias. We assessed 841 studies for eligibility, of which 43 studies were included in the qualitative synthesis, and 28 studies were fully accessed for meta-analysis. The overall pooled effect of this systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrated a positive association between maternal education and completion of childhood vaccination. Having a primary level of maternal education was correlated with a 1.87 times higher likelihood (95% CI 1.76–1.98) of completing childhood vaccination compared to having no education. Furthermore, attending secondary education and above was associated with a 3.47 times higher likelihood (95% CI 3.18–3.78) of completing childhood vaccination compared to having no education. This systematic review and meta-analysis study revealed that as the level of maternal education increases, the completion of childhood vaccination accelerates. Therefore, investment in maternal education should be prioritized as an intervention. Empowering mothers through education can contribute to the reduction and prevention of vaccine-preventable diseases and associated risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Every year, 60% of deaths from diarrhoeal disease occur in low and middle-income countries due to inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene. In these countries, diarrhoeal diseases are the second leading cause of death in children under five, excluding neonatal deaths. The approximately 100,000 people residing in the Bentiu Internally Displaced Population (IDP) camp in South Sudan have previously experienced water, sanitation, and hygiene outbreaks, including an ongoing Hepatitis E outbreak in 2021. This study aimed to assess the gaps in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH), prioritise areas for intervention, and advocate for the improvement of WASH services based on the findings. Methods: A cross-sectional lot quality assurance sampling (LQAS) survey was conducted in ninety-five households to collect data on water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) coverage performance across five sectors. Nineteen households were allocated to each sector, referred to as supervision areas in LQAS surveys. Probability proportional to size sampling was used to determine the number of households to sample in each sector block selected using a geographic positioning system. One adult respondent, familiar with the household, was chosen to answer WASH-related questions, and one child under the age of five was selected through a lottery method to assess the prevalence of WASH-related disease morbidities in the previous two weeks. The data were collected using the KoBoCollect mobile application. Data analysis was conducted using R statistical software and a generic LQAS Excel analyser. Crude values, weighted averages, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for each indicator. Target coverage benchmarks set by program managers and WASH guidelines were used to classify the performance of each indicator. Results: The LQAS survey revealed that five out of 13 clean water supply indicators, eight out of 10 hygiene and sanitation indicators, and two out of four health indicators did not meet the target coverage. Regarding the clean water supply indicators, 68.9% (95% CI 60.8%-77.1%) of households reported having water available six days a week, while 37% (95% CI 27%-46%) had water containers in adequate condition. For the hygiene and sanitation indicators, 17.9% (95% CI 10.9%-24.8%) of households had handwashing points in their living area, 66.8% (95% CI 49%-84.6%) had their own jug for cleansing after defaecation, and 26.4% (95% CI 17.4%-35.3%) of households had one piece of soap. More than 40% of households wash dead bodies at funerals and wash their hands in a shared bowl. Households with sanitary facilities at an acceptable level were 22.8% (95% CI 15.6%-30.1%), while 13.2% (95% CI 6.6%-19.9%) of households had functioning handwashing points at the latrines. Over the previous two weeks, 57.9% (95% CI 49.6–69.7%) of households reported no diarrhoea, and 71.3% (95% CI 62.1%-80.6%) reported no eye infections among children under five. Conclusion: The camp's hygiene and sanitation situation necessitated immediate intervention to halt the hepatitis E outbreak and prevent further WASH-related outbreaks and health issues. The LQAS findings were employed to advocate for interventions addressing the WASH gaps, resulting in WASH and health actors stepping in. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although, written corrective feedback (hereafter referred to as CF) is applauded in many writing courses for fostering students' quality writing, its impact on grammatical accuracy in L2 students' writing remains a debated topic. Thus, this study looked into the effect of CF types on L2 students' grammatical accuracy in writing. To achieve this objective, the design of this study was quasi-experiment. During the intervention of the study three groups: two experimental groups and one control group were participated with a total of 150 students. Over the intervention of 8 weeks, the students received pretest, immediate post-test and a delayed post-test was given. The data collected through the writing tests was analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Scheffe post hoc tests. The findings indicated that although CF types have positive effects during the immediate posttest scores, they did not have any positive effect on L2 students' grammatical accuracy in writing context in the delayed posttest scores. This implies that CF alone is not sufficient for improving the grammatical accuracy of high school students in Ethiopia. Although the CF literature discussed its importance in the language acquisition, teachers are advised to focus on students' additional exposures in writing accuracy rather than grammatical correction in their writing classes and use longer treatment to allow language learners' engagement with the CF types provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breastfeeding is a crucial feeding practices that significantly contributes to the healthy development of children. However, the effect of breastfeeding duration on caries risk is unclear, as different studies have found different results. This study aims to assess the prevalence of dental caries and its association with breastfeeding duration among young children aged 12–36 months in selected health facilities of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study among 380 children aged 12–36 months from 11 health centers in Addis Ababa was conducted. Questionnaires and dental examinations were used to collect data. Dental caries was measured by the deft (decayed–extracted–filled teeth) index. Binary logistic regression was used to assess the association between dental caries and duration of breastfeeding, after adjusting for the confounders. Results: The prevalence of dental caries was 53.4% (95% CI: 48.3, 58.5%), with 13.7% having high caries and 39.7% having low caries. Breastfeeding duration was not significantly associated with dental carries, after adjusting for confounders. However, sugar intake, older age, mothers' unemployment, and not being in marital union are risk factors for dental caries development. Conclusions: Promotion of healthy diet, especially limiting intake of sugar and sweets, and integration of oral health into primary health care programs are recommended. Further research using longitudinal design or meta-analysis is recommended to establish more concise evidence on the association between breastfeeding duration and dental caries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how African migrants are confronted in Europe with contrasting mobility rules. We argue that mobility rules not only come from formalized immigration bureaucracies but also emerge from people's transnational social spaces. From there, we first seek to capture the particular mobility regimes and the social imaginaries that produce desirable and undesirable mobility. Subsequently, we ethnographically engage with people's actual responses to particular formal and informal mobility rules. These insights construct a highly dynamic and trans local topology whereby bureaucracies and social life worlds intersect, which makes questions of success/failure, good migranthood as well as mobility/immobility highly diffuse. We use these insights to reflect on uncertainty in the light of shifting im/mobility itineraries and consider migrant navigations as political acts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Maternal sepsis is the third leading cause of maternal death in the world. Women in resource-limited countries shoulder most of the burdens related to sepsis. Despite the growing risk associated with maternal sepsis, there are limited studies that have tried to assess the impact of maternal sepsis in resource-limited countries. The current study determined the outcomes of maternal sepsis and factors associated with having poor maternal outcomes. Methods: A facility-based retrospective cross-sectional study design was employed to assess the clinical presentation, maternal outcomes, and factors associated with maternal sepsis. The study was conducted in Ayder Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Tigray, Ethiopia, from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2021. Sociodemographic characteristics, clinical characteristics and outcomes of women with maternal sepsis were analyzed using a descriptive statistic. The association between dependent and independent variables was determined using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Among 27,350 live births, 298 mothers developed sepsis, giving a rate of 109 maternal sepsis for every 10,000 live births. There were 22 maternal deaths, giving rise to a case fatality rate of 7.4% and a maternal mortality ratio of 75 per 100,000 live births. Admission to the intensive care unit and use of mechanical ventilator were observed in 23.5% and 14.1% of the study participants, respectively. A fourth (24.2%) of the mothers were complicated with septic shock. Overall, 24.2% of women with maternal sepsis had severe maternal outcomes (SMO). Prolonged hospital stay, having parity of two and above, having the lung as the focus of infection, switchof antibiotics, and developing septic shock were significantly associated with SMO. Conclusions: This study revealed that maternal sepsis continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality in resource-limited settings; with a significant number of women experiencing death, intensive care unit admission, and intubation attributable to sepsis. The unavailability of recommended diagnostic modalities and management options has led to the grave outcomes observed in this study. To ward off the effects of infection during pregnancy, labor and postpartum period and to prevent progression to sepsis and septic shock in low-income countries, we recommend that concerted and meticulous efforts should be applied to build the diagnostic capacity of health facilities, to have effective infection prevention and control practice, and to avail recommended diagnostic and management options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatitis B (HBV) and C virus (HCV) coinfection are the major causes of liver-related morbidity and mortality among people living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The burden of hepatitis among HIV-positive individuals has not been studied in the Afar region. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of HBV and HCV coinfection and associated factors among HIV-positive patients in Afar Regional State, northeast Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 477 HIV-positive patients between February 2019 and May 2019. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and associated factors. Five milliliters of blood was collected, and Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HCV antibodies were detected using rapid test kits. Positive samples were confirmed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify associated factors. Statistical significance was set at P <0.05. Results: Among the 477 study participants, 320/477(67.1%) of them were females and 157(32.9%) males. The overall prevalence of HIV-HBV and HIV-HCV coinfection was 25(5.2%) and 7(1.5%), respectively. Multi-sexual practice was significantly associated with HIV-HBV coinfection (AOR = 5.3; 95% CI: 1.2–24.4, P = 0.032). Conclusion: The prevalence of both HIV-HBV and HIV-HCV coinfection was intermediate. Multi-sexual practice was significantly associated with HIV-HBV coinfection. Screening of all HIV-positive patients for HBV and HCV and health education regarding the transmission modes should be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of water is a major concern in regions with limited water resources. In such regions, the focus of irrigation management shifted from producing per unit area to producing per unit of water consumed, water productivity. An experiment was carried out, for two consecutive years(2020 and 2021) at the research farm of Shire-Maitsebri Agricultural Research Center, Tselemty district, Tigray, Ethiopia to exmine the response of tomato to deficit irrigation at various growth stages. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Combination of three irrigation regimes (100%, 50%, and 25% of full irrigation requirement) and four FAO-defined tomato growth stages (initial, developmental, mid, and late seasons) were considered to form a total of nine treatments. Data on agronomy and irrigation water were collected and analyzed statistically. The results revealed that reducing irrigation amount up to 75% during the development growth stage significantly decreased marketable yield by 66.5%. However, the highest water use efficiency (9.2 kg/m3) was achieved by reducing irrigation amount by 75% during the end-growth stage of tomatoes. Treatments with the lowest water use efficiency (3.5 kg/m3) were those receiving 75% less irrigation amount than the full requirement during the development growth stage. Reducing irrigation to less than 75% of the full requirement during tomato development stages can greatly impact marketable yield and water use efficiency. Therefore, the tomato crop is highly susceptible to water stress when receiving more than 50% of the full irrigation requirement during its developmental growth stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) is a continuously evolving disease with a high mortality rate despite different advances in treatment. In Ethiopia, there is a paucity of data regarding IE. Therefore, this study is aimed at assessing IE-related in-hospital mortality and characterization of IE patients based on their microbiological, clinical features, and management profiles in the Ayder Comprehensive Specified Hospital (ACSH). Methods: We conducted a hospital-based prospective follow-up study with all consecutive sampling techniques for suspected infective endocarditis patients admitted to ACSH from January 2020 to February 2022. Echocardiography was performed, and three sets of blood samples for blood culture were taken as per the standard protocol. We also performed isolation of microbial etiologies and antimicrobial susceptibility tests. The data was analyzed using STATA version 16. Stepwise logistic regression was run to identify predictors of in-hospital mortality. Effects were measured through the odds ratio at the 5% level of significance. Results: Seventy-four cases of suspected infective endocarditis were investigated; of these, 54 episodes fulfilled modified Duke's criteria. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) (85.2%) was the most common underlying heart disease. Murmur (94.4%), fever (68.5%), and pallor (57.4%) were the most common clinical findings. Vegetation was present in 96.3% of episodes. Blood culture was positive only in 7 (13%) episodes. Complications occurred in 41 (75.9%) cases, with congestive heart failure being the most common. All patients were managed medically, with no surgical intervention. The in-hospital mortality was 14 (25.9%). IE-related in-hospital mortality was significantly associated with surgery recommendation and myalgia clinical symptoms. Conclusion: IE occurred relatively in a younger population, with RHD as the most common underlying heart disease. There was a high rate of culture-negative endocarditis, and the majority of patients were treated empirically. Mortality was high. The establishment of cardiac surgery and strengthening microbiology services should be given top priority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is important to explore factors that may hinder early childhood development in AEDC Emotional Maturity and Social Competence domains as these underpin the foundation for health, well-being, and productivity over the life course. No previous study has examined whether, or to what extent, preeclampsia increases the risk of developmental vulnerability in social and emotional domains in early childhood. We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study on the association between preeclampsia and childhood developmental vulnerability in emotional maturity and social competence domains in children born in Western Australia in 2009, 2012 and 2015. We obtained records of births, developmental anomalies, midwives notifications and hospitalisations. These data were linked to the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), from which developmental vulnerability in emotional maturity and social competence domains at a median age of 5 years was ascertained. Causal relative risks (RR) were estimated with doubly robust estimation. A total of 64,391 mother-offspring pairs were included in the final analysis. For the whole cohort, approximately 25 % and 23 % of children were classified as developmentally vulnerable or at-risk on AEDC emotional maturity and social competence domains, respectively. Approximately 2.8 % of children were exposed in utero to preeclampsia. Children exposed to preeclampsia were more likely to be classified as developmentally vulnerable or at-risk on the emotional maturity (RR = 1.19, 95%CI:1.11–1.28) and social competence domains (RR = 1.22, 95 % CI:1.13–1.31). Children exposed to pre-eclampsia in utero were more likely to be developmentally vulnerable in emotional maturity and social competence domains in this cohort. Our findings provide new insights into the harmful effect of preeclampsia on childhood developmental vulnerability. • Offspring exposed to preeclampsia had an increased risk of emotional maturity and social competence problems. • The increased risk of emotional maturity and social competence problems was not explained by preterm birth. • Early screening and prevention of preeclampsia could possibly reduce childhood developmental vulnerability in offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we present a hybrid cavity opto-magnomechanical system to generate distant bipartite entanglement between different quantum carriers. Accordingly, the system consists of two cavity photons, a phonon of yttrium iron garnet (YIG), a magnon, and a phonon of membrane. Specifically, the two cavities are coupled through an optical fiber, and one of the optical cavities consists of a membrane coupled with the cavity photon through radiation pressure force. While the other cavity contains a YIG, the magnon mode connects to the cavity photon via magnetic dipole interaction and, simultaneously, couples to the mechanical resonator of the YIG through magnetostrictive interaction. We show that entanglement generation can be realized under indirectly coupled bipartitions for parameters and detunings within appropriate regimes. Furthermore, for various bipartitions, we also obtain appropriate cavity and magnon detuning values for a considerable remote entanglement. Moreover, the generation of distant bipartite entanglements and entanglement transfer between subsystems is predominantly influenced by the coupling strength. Remarkably, the distant bipartite entanglement is strongly contrary to the environmental temperature. Thus, optimizing the system's parameters allows for the maximum possible entanglement between various quantum carriers. We believe our results could provide more stable bipartite entanglements and serve as a potential quantum interface to realize particularly long-range entanglement transfers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (Pst) is adept at overcoming resistance in wheat cultivars, through variations in virulence in the western provinces of China. To apply disease management strategies, it is essential to understand the temporal and spatial dynamics of Pst populations. This study aimed to evaluate the virulence and molecular diversity of 84 old Pst isolates, in comparison to 59 newer ones. By using 19 Chinese wheat differentials, we identified 98 pathotypes, showing virulence complexity ranging from 0 to 16. Associations between 23 Yr gene pairs showed linkage disequilibrium and have the potential for gene pyramiding. The new Pst isolates had a higher number of polymorphic alleles (1.97), while the older isolates had a slightly higher number of effective alleles, Shannon's information, and diversity. The Gansu Pst population had the highest diversity (uh = 0.35), while the Guizhou population was the least diverse. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that 94% of the observed variation occurred within Pst populations across the four provinces, while 6% was attributed to differences among populations. Overall, Pst populations displayed a higher pathotypic diversity of H > 2.5 and a genotypic diversity of 96%. This underscores the need to develop gene-pyramided cultivars to enhance the durability of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the complex nature of writing, many students are hesitant to tackle difficult subjects. To help those facing writing difficulties and increase their motivation, this study examines the effect of teacher-student collaboration through guided-writing instruction. A two-group quasi-experimental design was used with a pre-treatment-post-tests format. The participants in this study were 50 11th-grade students (aged 17-24; 28 male and 22 female) from Data Sana Memorial School in Wolaita Sodo City, South Ethiopia. Writing skill tests and questionnaires about writing motivation were used to collect data, which was then analyzed using independent smples t-test analysis to determine the effectiveness of guided-writing on students' writing improvement and motivation. Although the pre-test results did not show a significant difference between the mean scores of the control and experimental groups, the post-test results of the writing skill tests showed a statistically significant difference between the means of the experimental and control groups. Additionally, the results of the writing motivation questionnaires revealed that the mean score of the experimental group increased significantly in the post-test compared to the pre-test. These findings demonstrate the usefulness of guided-writing instruction in assisting students with writing difficulties and motivation. In conclusion, the findings have implications for teaching writing through guided-writing instruction and it is recommended to help students struggling with writing and a lack of motivation. Moreover, further research into writing instruction through guided-writing in various ecological aspects and grade levels is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Continuous adoption of improved maize varieties in the last three decades has changed farm landscapes from heterogeneity to maize homogeneity in semiarid areas of Ethiopia. This has substantially decreased maize productivity. Recently, farmers have integrated faba bean into maize-based farming systems aimed at increasing productivity. Yet, there is limited information on the effects of maize-faba bean intercropping on productivity and land-use efficiency. We studied the effects of maize intercrops with two faba bean varieties (Gora and Moti) at three different densities (25, 50, and 75%) of the recommended sole faba bean (250,000 plants ha−1) on yield, economic return, and some soil fertility indicators in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Randomized complete block design with three replications was used for the experiment. The intercrops revealed that a significantly higher total grain yield, economic revenue, and land equivalent ratio (LER) over the sole cropping. Intercrops also showed higher soil organic carbon and total nitrogen compared to the preplanting soil and sole maize. Maize intercropped with the Gora faba bean variety at a density of 50% increased the total grain yields, economic return, and LER, respectively, by 13, 42, and 38% over the sole maize. The intercrop also increased soil total N by 55 and 22% compared to the preplanting soil and sole maize, respectively. Intercropping maize with faba bean significantly improved crop yield, income, land-use productivity, and some soil fertility indicators than either the sole maize or faba bean crop in the semiarid region of northern Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2030 sustainable development goal (SDG7) target progress indicators show that developing countries are off track. Ethiopia's low performance to the SDG7 has endangered its economic, societal, and environmental sustainability. The performance in clean cooking has contested its policy, institutional setup, and R&D. The objective of this paper lies in evaluating four improved cook stoves against a traditional stove based on fuel consumption, cooking time, and emission. The study would contribute to solving the clean-cooking challenges by giving scientific evidence on the technological status of these stoves. The evaluation results show that the TCS consumed 2.7 kg of fuel, had a cooking time of 1:30 h, and used 4.3 kg CO2 per cooking period. Similarly, the ICSs required: 1.2 kg, 2 h, and 1.9 kg (EZY); 1.5 kg, 3 h, and 2.4 kg (Tikikkle); and 1.4 kg, 5 h, and 3.2 kg (Lakech), respectively. In addition, these stoves registered a thermal efficiency of 25, 17, and 19%, respectively. The metal body, insulation, and air inlet caused EZY to perform better. However, these technologies are low-order technologies, and their performance is found to be a major locking factor in ICS adoption. This evidence would help ICS actors to understand where to intervene for better adoption. Furthermore, the authors gave implementation fix recommendations to improve ICS programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lean production has been industrialized in manufacturing industry in the Global North on account of delivering quality products. The industry in the Global South on the other hand is facing problems that could easily be minimized using the production principle. This paper is organized to adapt lean production for improving productivity of garment industry in Ethiopia. The target is to alleviate variety between company's productivity and customer demand. Shop floor visit, questionnaire survey, and focus group discussion-based data mining approaches have been used for this purpose. The qualitative part was used to map out baseline data of existing manufacturing process whereas the quantitative part was aimed to construct empirical findings obtained from qualitative organization. Aggregate results accordingly show that there are substantial lean wastes such as longer lead time, high WIP inventory, longer routes, and unutilized resources. It has been meanwhile renown that if appropriate lean production tools have framed and implemented, the impact of these wastes could meaningfully be minimized and a smooth process flow can be ensured. For instance, a lead time for a single round neck t-shirt in the case study has shown an improvement of 18.3% and a 3.9% improvement of resource utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mushroom is a fungus growing on decomposing substrates. It is the substrate type that affects the yield and quality of oyster mushroom. It can be cultivated by landless people to alleviate poverty. The objective of this study was to evaluate the growth and yield performance of oyster mushroom in waste leaves and sawdust. Spawn were purchased from YB Plant Micropropagation Plc; Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia. Euclea racemosa waste leaves, Cordia africana waste leaves, and sawdust were prepared and inoculated with the spawn. Cotton husks were used as a control. 60 grams of spawn was used for 1000 g of each substrate and supplemented with 3% wheat bran and 1% gypsum. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. A one-way ANOVA model was used to indicate significant mean differences at 95% confidence interval between flushes. Treatment means were compared using Turkey's t test. In the first flush, primordial initiation was fastest and took 6.33 days in Cordia africana waste leaves and provide higher (166 ± 48.49, 131.6 ± 32.71, 49.66 ± 15.53 gram) mean yield and BE (16.6 ± 4.84, 13.16 ± 3.27, 4.96 ± 5.5%) in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd flushes, respectively. However, in the 2nd and 3rd flushes, a lower (24.66 ± 4.61, 14.66 ± 0.57 gram) mean yield was recorded in Euclea racemosa waste leaves. Higher (10.63 ± 1.00, 7.83 ± 3.92, 6.56 ± 2.26 cm) mean pileus diameter and pileus thickness (8.3 ± 1.47, 7.76 ± 1.32, 4.10 ± 0.85 mm) were noted in sawdust in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd flushes, respectively. This study confirmed that the waste leaves of Cordia africana and Euclea racemosa could be used as an alternative substrate for the cultivation of oyster mushroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied tree seedling survival rates and plantation success of the Growth and Transformation Plan I—GTP I (2011–2015) in the drylands of Northern Ethiopia. The study was carried out in six randomly selected districts of Tigrai region that represent three agro-ecological zones: the highland, midland and lowland. A biophysical survey was conducted to assess the survival rates of tree seedlings and the success rate of the plantation interventions. The study employed both primary and secondary data sources. Results revealed that there were variations (P < 0.05) in the survival of planted tree seedlings among plantation sites of the same village, between the villages of the same district and among the districts. The regional mean survival rate of planted tree seedlings was 53%. The planting interventions were not encouraging due to lack of pre- and post-planting management, moisture stress, poor soil and site conditions, planting an unmanageable number of seedlings, weak law enforcement and lack of proper monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. In the study areas, four types of ownership were identified: private, communal, state and youth groups. Among the ownership types, private ownership had the highest rate of success, whereas community ownership had the lowest rate. For sustaining successful plantation development, watering, pre- and post-planting management of planted tree seedlings and permanent employment of guards are important. Highlights: Poor survival of planted tree seedlings and plantation success is not satisfactory. There was discrepancy on what is reported and verified in the field. Plantation success varies with tree species, agroecology and ownership types. Better tree seedling survival rate was found in the private ownership type. Lowest tree seedling survival rate was found in the communal plantation types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was carried out to examine the combined effects of varying seed sowing and multinutrient fertilizer levels on maize yield in Shire area, Northern Ethiopia, in two consecutive cropping seasons (2018-2019). The experimental plots were designed in a split plot design with three replications. Sowing dates were determined based on the rainfall criteria of the AquaCrop model. Accordingly, the sowing date treatments were set as June 1, June 7, June 12, and June 16 for the 2018 cropping season, and the corresponding sowing dates for the 2019 cropping season were May 26, June 3, June 8, and June 12. The multinutrient fertilizer levels included 0, 100, 200, and 300 kg·ha−1. Agronomic related data were subjected to the analysis of variance, and partial budget analysis was applied for the economic performance evaluation. Maize yield was agronomically and economically influenced by sowing dates and multinutrient levels. Relative yield superiority that varies between 48.9 and 87.7% was found for each 100 kg·ha−1 multinutrient applied. On the other hand, with 4–6 days shifted towards earlier sowing resulted in an average yield increase by 4.9–66.9%. Application of 300 kg·ha−1 multinutrient for the early sown maize seems agronomically the superior treatment. However, from the economic analysis perspective, early maize sowing combined with the application of 200 kg·ha−1 multinutrient fertilizer was reported as the most profitable treatment. Late sowing of maize with the application of multinutrient fertilizer beyond 200 kg·ha−1 resulted in negative economic returns. The regression analysis results also indicated that maize grain yield tends to increase with the level of multinutrient fertilizer application ( R 2 = 0.841–0.864), whereas yield decreased with the delay in sowing dates ( R 2 = 0.927–0.995). Hence, this study concluded that the treatments with the best agronomic performance are not necessarily the best in terms of profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Food borne diseases is a challenging problem nowadays. Salmonella and Shigella species are great concern of food-born outbreaks. Thus, this study was aimed to assess the prevalence, antimicrobial susceptibility test and associated factors of Salmonella and Shigella species in fruit juices and salads. Methods: A community based cross sectional study design was carried out on 50 juice houses from December to March 2020 in Mekelle. One hundred fifty samples were collected aseptically from the juice houses for laboratory analysis. Information related to risk factors was obtained using a structured questionnaire. In the laboratory, samples were homogenized using peptone water and incubated overnight for enrichment. Then, Salmonella and Shigella species were isolated on Salmonella-Shigella agar and Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate agar. Disc diffusion method was used to perform antimicrobial susceptibility test. Using SPSS (version 22) package, descriptive statistics and Chi square test (χ2) were used to analyze the data, and p < 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Result: The overall prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella species was 41/150 (27.33%; 95% CI: 20.20 – 34.46) with 33 (22%) Salmonella spp. and 8(5.33%) Shigella spp. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests of both Salmonella and Shigella spp.showed high resistance against ampicillin (100%), tetracycline (63.6 and 62.5%, respectively) and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (100%). Accessibility of fruits to flies and dust had statistical association (p = 0.021) with occurrence of Salmonell a and/or Shigella spp. Conclusion: The overall prevalence of Salmonella and Shigella spp. was found to be significant. The resistant rate of isolates against ampicillin, tetracycline and amoxicillin-clavulanic acid was high. Storage sites for fruits should be inaccessible to flies and dust. Therefore, routine monitoring of juice houses should be promoted and regular evaluation of bacterial resistance pattern should be done for selective antimicrobial therapy. Furthermore, consistent training of juice makers on food safety and hygiene should be implemented by the concerned body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apart from the inequality in vaccination, war zones and areas where communication is disrupted are affected by myths and misconceptions about COVID-19 vaccines, heightening vaccine hesitancy. Local data on adverse events of the vaccines and their mildness can increase confidence and acceptance of the vaccines in the respective population. In areas of conflict and communication blackouts, the perception of the vaccines by health workers is of paramount importance as public health recommendations may not reach the public. Therefore, the scientific evaluation of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in such areas is invaluable. This cross-sectional, facility-based study was conducted using a structured, interviewer-administered questionnaire to assess the adverse events experienced by healthcare workers who received the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. The sample was divided proportionally to the number of vaccinated healthcare workers for the different healthcare professions, and participants were then randomly selected from each profession. Prior to data collection, a pilot test was conducted with 5% of the sample size outside the selected hospital. The study was conducted using a structured questionnaire completed by an interviewer to assess adverse events in 442 healthcare workers who had received the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine between July 11 and 25, 2022. The study period was from August 15 to September 15, 2022. A significant number of healthcare workers [366 (83.3%); 95% CI 79.5%, 86.5%] experienced at least one adverse event. Nearly 90% of participants reported that the adverse events were mild to moderate. Pain at the injection site [307 (69.5%); 95% CI 65.0%, 73.6%] and headache [247 (55.9%); 95% CI 51.2%, 60.4%] were the most common local and systemic adverse events, respectively. Two HCWs experienced anaphylactic reaction. Younger age was significantly associated with the occurrence of adverse events. We deciphered that the adverse events reported by the study participants were not different from the typically occurring vaccine-related adverse reactions, and therefore concluded that post-vaccination reactions in healthcare workers were minor. Although vaccination in Tigray is currently stalled due to the siege, responsible stakeholders should develop a mechanism to track population-wide adverse events once the vaccines start to rollout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pilot contamination is a serious issue in massive multi–input–multi–output systems which significantly degrades system performance. In this paper, we investigate a new pilot assignment scheme by integrating two-dimensional genetic algorithm with Tabu-Search algorithm (TS) to mitigate the pilot contamination problem. Firstly, we design a two-dimensional genetic algorithm equipped with elitism strategy as a principal algorithm for solving the pilot assignment problem; then, aiming to enhance the convergence speed of the genetic algorithm to the ideal optimal solution, we integrate TS with the genetic algorithm. This integrated pilot assignment scheme, henceforth designated as GATS-PA, is found to be powerful in mitigating the pilot contamination problem. Numerical simulation results verify that the proposed pilot assignment scheme is very close to the ideal optimal solution with few numbers of iterations and outperforms existing methods in terms of enhancing the average uplink rate per user over a wide range of simulation parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Woody and non-woody plant species conservation is one of the ecosystem services provided by agroforestry (AF) systems across the agricultural landscapes. Little attention has been paid to assessing the conservation of plant diversity in AF systems. This study was, thus, aimed at investigating plant species diversity, structure, and composition of three AF systems in Gedeo zone of south-eastern rift–valley agricultural landscape of Ethiopia. The study was conducted in three agroforestry systems, namely, enset based, coffee–enset based (C–E based AF), and coffee–fruit trees–enset based (C–Ft–E based AF) agroforestry systems. Twenty farms representative of each AF system were randomly selected, and inventory of the floristic diversity was employed in a 10 m × 10 m sample plot per farm. A total of 52 perennial woody and non-woody plant species belonging to 30 families were recorded. Of all species identified, 33 (63.5%) were native, of which two species, namely Millettia ferruginea (Hochst.) Baker and Erythrina brucei Schweinf., were registered as endemic. The highest proportion of native species was recorded in enset based AF (93.3%), and the least were in C–Ft–E based AF (59%). According to the IUCN Red List and local criteria, 13 species were recorded as being of interest for conservation in all AF systems. The woody species Prunus africana was identified as both vulnerable by IUCN Red List and rare for 25% of species that least occur. The Shannon diversity index and richness showed that C–Ft–E based AF systems were significantly different from the two remaining AF systems. However, the species abundance and evenness did not show significant differences between the three AF systems. In general, retaining such numbers of woody and non-woody perennial plant species richness under the AF systems of the present study underlines their potential for biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand for energy and the depletion of fossil fuel resources has led to the search for an alternative energy source. The search for such alternative fuel sources has oriented biodiesel synthesis as the ultimate alternative energy resource of the future. The purpose of this study was to produce castor oil and optimize biodiesel production using full factorial central composite design (CCD) through the response surface methodology (RSM) approach. The castor oil was extracted using a mechanical press, and free fatty acids were reduced with acid esterification and biodiesel produced through the transesterification process using homogeneous catalysts. The physicochemical properties of extracted castor oil and biodiesel including density, kinematic viscosity, saponification number, free fatty acid, acid number, cetane number, and iodine number were determined. The ideal conditions for producing biodiesel from castor oil are anticipated to be a reaction period of 105 min at a temperature of 50°C, a catalyst loading weight of 1.5%, and a methanol-to-oil ratio of 5 : 1. The biodiesel yield obtained was 95.0%, and the results of the measured parameters of biodiesel were compared with the international standards of the European norms (EN14214) and the American Society Test Material (ASTM) D6751. The weight composition of both fatty acid and methyl ester was determined by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The study concluded that the results of this research are beneficial in optimizing the parameters for making biodiesel from extracted castor oil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. In Sub-Saharan African (SSA) nations, including Ethiopia, anemia is a significant public health issue. Ethiopia has continued to bear the enormous burden of anemia infections. Over time, the prevalence of anemia has significantly increased in Ethiopia. In addition, there is a paucity of literature and regional variations in the pace of increment expansion. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of anemia and risk factors among women in Ethiopia's two most anemic regions. Methods. 2,519 women participated in a community-based cross-sectional study from January 18 to June 27, 2016. In order to determine the causes of anemia in women in two of Ethiopia's most anemic regions, an ordinal logistic regression model was taken into consideration. The applicability of the proportional odds test was evaluated using the chi-square test of the parallelism assumption. A p value of 0.05 or below was used to define crucial and statistically significant predictor variables. Results. The overall prevalence rate of anemia was 56.8% (95% CI (54.8%–58.7%)). The chi-square test of the parallelism assumption indicated that the odds ratios were constant across all cut-off points of women's anemia levels at a 5% significance level (p value = 0.122). Of the severity of anemia levels among women, 48.2, 46.1, and 5.7% had mild, moderate, and severe anemia levels, respectively. In multivariable ordinal logistic regression analyses, being born (lived) in the Somali region (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.37, 1.90), having a parity of 4–5 (AOR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.05, 1.66), and having ≥6 children (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.7), being a contraceptive user (AOR = 3, 95% CI: 2.5, 3.6), being currently pregnant (AOR = 2.8, 95% CI: 2.3, 3.4), having no ANC follow-up (AOR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.6, 2.3), being married women (AOR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.9), and user of unimproved toilet facility (AOR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1, 1.6) were significantly positively associated with anemia. Conclusions. Finally, the anemia burden was dangerously greater than the national average. The region, usage of contraceptives, being pregnant at the time, ANC follow-up, toilet facilities, parity, and marital status all had a substantial impact on anemia. Therefore, to lessen the prevalence of anemia in certain parts of Ethiopia, public health initiatives that improve maternal health service utilization are required, such as ANC follow-up to minimize parity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of many naturally biosynthesized compounds produced by Cannabis sativa. There is limited information available in the literature on hydrogenated CBD (tetrahydro cannabidiol or H4CBD) (Adams et al., 1940b). As hydrogenated derivatives of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and CBD become increasingly popular in consumer markets, toxicological assessments are vital in identifying toxic characteristics, if any, caused by hydrogenated cannabinoids. Objectives: Assessment of the preclinical toxicology of hydrogenated CBD is provided through the in vitro safety study of racemic H4CBD in hepatocytes, normal human lung fibroblasts (NHLF), and primary human neural progenitor (NPC) cell lines. The importance of these cell lines is related to major organs and is the primary focus in determining any major toxic characteristics when consuming products. The inclusion of the human ether-a-go-go related gene (hERG) patch clamp test, observes any inhibition of sodium and potassium ion channels related to the arrhythmia of the heart. Also, the AMES test was conducted to determine any carcinogenic characteristics that H4CBD might impose. Materials and Methods: Plated NHLF, hepatocytes, and NPC were used in a preclinical 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5 diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay for cytotoxicity observations with the visible color change of cellular use of formazan, while a plated AMES test was conducted to monitor any visible mutations within Escherichia coli for carcinogenic activity. Plated cloned HEK293 cells were given set voltages to determine ion channel activity to determine if H4CBD causes inhibition within these pathways, which would mimic any arrhythmia potential in cardiomyocytes. Results: Screening of the MTT assay had a median calculated 3.25 micromolar concentration where cell viability remained high in NHLF and NPC, with higher concentrations leading to decreased cell viability. A 3.25 micromolar concentration is also the median for hepatocytes, with a discrepancy in some of the data that could be accounted for by miscounting colonies. The hERG patch clamp test provided a zero net inhibition with values adding up to zero, determining that the compound did not inhibit normal processes within the ion channels of the plated HEK293 cells. The analysis of the different cell types revealed varying responses to H4CBD. NHLF exhibited a concentration-dependent reduction in cell viability, with sustained concentrations over 24 h at 6.25 µM resulting in a significant loss of viability. Conversely, hepatocytes showed a trend of decreased viability at longer exposure times and higher concentrations, but severe cytotoxicity was not observed. This suggests that hepatocytes are less susceptible to the cytotoxic effects of H4CBD compared to NHLF. In the hERG assay, H4CBD did not inhibit the action potentials within cardiomyocytes, indicating no inhibition of ion channels involved in cardiac function. This finding is important for assessing the potential cardiovascular effects of H4CBD. The AMES test results were negative, indicating that H4CBD did not demonstrate mutagenic activity in the tested strains. Conclusion: This supports the conclusion that H4CBD does not possess carcinogenic potential based on this assay. Both human NPC and NHLF showed a median concentration of 3.25 µM before exhibiting a significant reduction in cell viability. This information is valuable for determining research or consumer usage limits for H4CBD. It is important to note that this study represents a preclinical assessment, and further studies are required. The experimental design followed protocols typically used for preclinical assessments of novel pharmaceuticals. These findings provide insight into the cytotoxic effects of H4CBD and contribute to establishing research and safety parameters as these compounds continue to gain attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigated the quantum correlation of nano-electro-optomechanical system enhanced by an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) and Coulomb-type interaction. In particular, we consider a hybrid system consisting of a cavity and two charged mechanical oscillators with an OPA, where the optical cavity mode is coupled with a charged mechanical oscillator via radiation pressure, and the two charged mechanical oscillators are coupled through a Coulomb interaction. We use logarithmic negativity to quantify quantum entanglement, and quantum discord to measure the quantumness correlation between the two mechanical oscillators. We characterize quantum steering using the steerability between the two mechanical oscillators. Our results show that the presence of OPA and strong Coulomb coupling enhances the quantum correlations between the two mechanical oscillators. In addition, Coulomb interactions are more prominent in quantum correlations. Besides, in the presence of OPA, the maximum amount of quantum entanglement, quantum steering, and quantum discord were achieved between the two mechanical oscillators is greater than in the absence of OPA. Moreover, a proper phase choice of the optical field driving the OPA enhances quantum correlations under suitable conditions. We obtain quantum entanglement confines quantum steering and quantum discord beyond entanglement. Furthermore, quantum entanglement, quantum steering, and quantum discord decrease rapidly with increasing temperature as a result of decoherence. In addition, quantum discord persists at higher temperature values, although the quantum entanglement between the systems also vanishes completely. Our proposed scheme enhances quantum correlation and proves robust against fluctuations in the bath environment. We believe that the present scheme of quantum correlation provides a promising platform for the realization of continuous variable quantum information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invasion of ecosystems by non-native species is recognized as one of the most significant global challenges, particularly in semiarid regions where native biodiversity is already under stress from drought and land degradation. The implicit assumption is that invaders are strong competitors, but a greenhouse pairwise experiment conducted to examine intraspecific and interspecific competition effects of Opuntia ficus-indica, a widespread invader in semiarid ecosystems, with two species native to the highlands of Eritrea, Ricinus communis and Solanum marginatum, revealed that O. ficus-indica is a weak competitor. The unique ability of O. ficus-indica’s fallen cladodes to undergo vegetative growth becomes a fundamental trait contributing to its spread. This growth strategy allows O. ficus-indica to outgrow native species and establish a significant presence. In direct interaction, the competition in aboveground productivity measured by the logarithmic response ratio for O. ficus-indica was 3.4-fold and 5.9-fold higher than for R. communis and S. marginatum, respectively. Belowground, the native R. communis was facilitated (− 1.00 ± 0.69) by O. ficus-indica which itself suffered from high competition. This pattern became even more evident under water shortage, where aboveground competition for S. marginatum decreased 5.7-fold, and for O. ficus-indica, it increased 1.4-fold. Despite being a poor competitor, O. ficus-indica outperformed R. communis and S. marginatum in both aboveground (4.3 and 3.8 times more) and belowground (27 and 2.8 times more) biomass production, respectively. The findings of this study challenge the common interpretation that invasive species are strong competitors and highlight the importance of considering other factors, such as productivity and tolerance limits when assessing the potential impacts of invasive species on semiarid ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing the delivery of medications and supplies to Tigray hit the dialysis unit particularly hard, as these CKD patients are already vulnerable and fragile with multiple comorbidities. Herein we will elaborate on the recent conflict that affected the Tigray region of Ethiopia as an example of a forgotten conflict that has dramatically affected the lives of patients with kidney diseases. In addition to the enormous and tragic direct impacts of war, indirect effects caused by the destruction of civilian infrastructure claim many lives. Patients with CKD requiring dialysis were self-funded and most patients with AKI were subsidized by charitable donations to obtain the service [[9]]. [Extracted from the article]

Education with science and mathematics as its major components determines the level of welfare of people and a nation. Nowadays, great attention is given to technological advancements and mathematics education. Hence, this paper explicitly discusses the use of mathematics laboratories and their implication for teaching mathematics, finding out the practices and impact on teaching mathematics and teachers' frequency of using teaching aids (manipulatives) in high schools of Mekelle zone. Manipulatives are valuable aid to teachers that can be used by analyzing students' concrete representations of mathematical concepts. In addition to this, topics like geometry and measurement are topics that are frequently taught using tools. On the contrary, solving equations, relations, and functions is rarely taught using these manipulatives. This study indicates that there is no direct correlation between teachers' teaching experience years and the use of manipulatives in their classrooms. It is, therefore, recommended that mathematics teachers should get training and workshops on the use of teaching aids (manipulatives), useful software like (geogebra, sketchpad, and other timely used technologies) and other methods of teaching mathematics in mathematics laboratories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The days following childbirth are a critical phase in the lives of mothers and newborns. Postpartum length of stay is a critical indicator of the efficiency of health care delivery. This study aims to explore maternal length of hospital stay (LOS) following childbirth and associated factors in a rural health facility in Eritrea. Methodology: A retrospective study of all mothers who delivered at Nakfa Hospital between 2020 and 2022 was conducted. Sociodemographic, past obstetric, and neonatal factors associated with postpartum LOS were evaluated for both vaginal delivery (VD) and cesarean delivery (CD). The determinants of LOS following VD were explored using negative binomial regression. Results: A total of 2025 mothers [1975 (97.5%) VD and 50 (2.5%) CD] were included in the study. The median LOS following childbirth was 1 (IQR: 0–1) day for VD and 6 (IQR: 4–8) days for CD. A substantial proportion of mothers were found to have inadequate stays following VD [29% (95% CI: 27–31)], whereas 68% (95% CI: 54-81%) stayed for > 4 days following CD. In this study, VD that were attended by physicians had no inadequate stay, whereas 27.4% of deliveries attended by midwives and 31.3% by associate nurses resulted in inadequate stay (P-value < 0.001). Determinants of LOS following VD were: the presence of maternal complications (IRR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.6-5, p-value < 0.001), delivery years 2020 and 2021 (IRR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.2–1.8, p-value < 0.001 and IRR = 1.4, 95% CI: 1.2–1.7, p-value < 0.001, respectively), and delivery hour interval 23:00–7:00 (IRR = 0.8, 95% CI: 0.7–0.9, p-value = 0.03). Conclusion: A substantial proportion of mothers stay too short post-VD to allow adequate postnatal care, which can have untoward consequences for maternal and child health. Going forward, improved coverage of antenatal care for early diagnosis of maternal complications in pregnancy as well as assessing the level of knowledge and provisions of training and refresher courses for birth attendants should be worked upon. In addition, efforts to conduct studies that explore maternal and health care provider perspectives on LOS should be emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we investigated the quantum correlation of nano-electro-optomechanical system enhanced by an optical parametric amplifier (OPA) and Coulomb-type interaction. In particular, we consider a hybrid system consisting of a cavity and two charged mechanical oscillators with an OPA, where the optical cavity mode is coupled with a charged mechanical oscillator via radiation pressure, and the two charged mechanical oscillators are coupled through a Coulomb interaction. We use logarithmic negativity to quantify quantum entanglement, and quantum discord to measure the quantumness correlation between the two mechanical oscillators. We characterize quantum steering using the steerability between the two mechanical oscillators. Our results show that the presence of OPA and strong Coulomb coupling enhances the quantum correlations between the two mechanical oscillators. In addition, Coulomb interactions are more prominent in quantum correlations. Besides, in the presence of OPA, the maximum amount of quantum entanglement, quantum steering, and quantum discord were achieved between the two mechanical oscillators is greater than in the absence of OPA. Moreover, a proper phase choice of the optical field driving the OPA enhances quantum correlations under suitable conditions. We obtain quantum entanglement confines quantum steering and quantum discord beyond entanglement. Furthermore, quantum entanglement, quantum steering, and quantum discord decrease rapidly with increasing temperature as a result of decoherence. In addition, quantum discord persists at higher temperature values, although the quantum entanglement between the systems also vanishes completely. Our proposed scheme enhances quantum correlation and proves robust against fluctuations in the bath environment. We believe that the present scheme of quantum correlation provides a promising platform for the realization of continuous variable quantum information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being biocompatible, less toxic, cheap, easily available, and environmentally friendly, there is an increased trust in natural polymers in the drug delivery system. Mucilages, among the natural polymers, are the primary metabolites of plants that have been widely utilized in pharmaceutical manufacturing for different purposes, and mucoadhesive is one among them. The present study was designed to investigate the use of LSM as a mucoadhesive polymer using ibuprofen as a model drug. The mucilage was extracted following an aqueous extraction method and its percentage yield was found to be 13.2% w/w. Besides, three microsphere formulations of ibuprofen were prepared using synthetic polymer hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) K100M and the LSM in polymer to drug ratios of 1 : 1, 1 : 5, and 3 : 5 by applying ionotropic gelation followed by solvent evaporation methods. The microspheres were evaluated for various micromeritic properties and all the formulations exhibited free-flowing properties. Optical microscopic pictures of almost all the microspheres except F3 and F6 (which had more or less spherical shapes) were found to have irregular and discrete shapes. Besides, the surfaces of all the formulations were rough in texture. The drug entrapment efficiency of the microspheres was found to be between 52.08% ± 0.80 and 87.97% ± 0.72. The in-vitrowash-off test evidenced that almost 50 percent (especially F3) of the microspheres were able to adhere up to 18 h and showed remarkable bioadhesion properties. The in-vitro drug release profile indicated that all the formulations were able to prolong their drug release up to 12 h with a non-fickian release mechanism, except for F4, which followed a fickian release. Therefore, based on the findings of this study, LSM can be used as a potential alternative mucoadhesive excipient for sustained release formulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Ethiopia is one of the countries facing a very high burden of perinatal death in the world. Despite taking several measures to reduce the burden of stillbirth, the pace of decline was not that satisfactory. Although limited perinatal mortality studies were conducted at a national level, none of the studies stressed the timing of perinatal death. Thus, this study is aimed at determining the magnitude and risk factors that are associated with the timing of perinatal death in Ethiopia. Methods: National perinatal death surveillance data were used in the study. A total of 3814 reviewed perinatal deaths were included in the study. Multilevel multinomial analysis was employed to examine factors associated with the timing of perinatal death in Ethiopia. The final model was reported through the adjusted relative risk ratio with its 95% Confidence Interval, and variables with a p-value less than 0.05 were declared statistically significant predictors of the timing of perinatal death. Finally, a multi-group analysis was carried out to observe inter-regional variation among selected predictors. Result: Among the reviewed perinatal deaths, 62.8% occurred during the neonatal period followed by intrapartum stillbirth, unknown time of stillbirth, and antepartum stillbirth, each contributing 17.5%,14.3%, and 5.4% of perinatal deaths, respectively. Maternal age, place of delivery, maternal health condition, antennal visit, maternal education, cause of death (infection and congenital and chromosomal abnormalities), and delay to decide to seek care were individual-level factors significantly associated with the timing of perinatal death. While delay reaching a health facility, delay to receive optimal care health facility, type of health facility and type region were provincial-level factors correlated with the timing of perinatal death. A statistically significant inter-regional variation was observed due to infection and congenital anomalies in determining the timing of perinatal death Conclusion: Six out of ten perinatal deaths occurred during the neonatal period, and the timing of perinatal death was determined by neonatal, maternal, and facility factors. As a way forward, a concerted effort is needed to improve the community awareness of institutional delivery and ANC visit. Moreover, strengthening the facility level readiness in availing quality service through all paths of the continuum of care with special attention to the lower-level facilities and selected poor-performing regions is mandatory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the effect of vaginal scarring on the recovery from surgical repair of obstetric fistula in Northern Ethiopia from 2015 to 2020. Methods: A hospital‐based retrospective cohort study was conducted among 224 women who had obstetric fistula repair surgery in Northern Ethiopia from March 1 to March 31, 2020. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to determine the adjusted predictors of recovery for each main baseline predictor variable, using 95% confidence interval (CI) and P < 0.05 to declare statistical significance. Results: The overall recovery rate was 57 of 1000 women (43 of 1000 and 73 of 1000 for women with and without vaginal scar, respectively), with an overall median time to recovery from obstetric fistula repair surgery of 15 days. Vaginal scarring (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.58 [95% CI, 1.13–2.21]), age of the patient (aHR, 4.05 [95% CI, 1.56–10.5]), mode of delivery (aHR, 2.14 [95% CI, 1.31–3.49]), place of delivery (aHR, 1.91 [95% CI, 1.17–3.12]), prior repair (aHR, 1.90 [95% CI, 1.08–3.35]), and duration of catheterization (aHR, 12.91 [95% CI, 7.21–23.13]) were independent predictors of recovery. Conclusions: In the present study, we found that women who had no vaginal scar, age older than 30 years, facility and spontaneous vaginal delivery, first attempt repair, and shorter duration of catheterization had a shorter recover time. Synopsis: Vaginal scarring is an important factor for predicting the time to recovery after surgical repair of obstetric fistula. This will guide health professionals and health policy makers to identify indicators for monitoring women with obstetric fistula and applying necessary preventive and appropriate measures to decrease time to recovery of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is focused on characterization and comparative study of agave americana and agave sisalana leaf fibers which can be used as potential alternative for synthetic fibers in engineering applications. Physico-chemical and mechanical properties of agave fibers were determined using different analytical procedures and instruments. According to the experimental data, the mean length and diameter of agave americana fibers were maximum of 1.76 m and 411 μm, respectively. Furthermore, the particular fibers possess larger amount of hemicellulose (17.4%) and moisture (~8%) which confirmed they are relatively hydrophilic in nature. Conversely, agave sisalana fibers possess larger amount of cellulose (66.4%) and ligni10.1080/10942912.2023.2246677n (~16%) compared to agave americana fibers. Meanwhile, SEM microstructure also proved surface of agave americana fibers was comparably rough, full of cracks and linings. EDAX analysis showed presence of significant amount of C and O, including trace amount of Ca, K, Si and S. Similarly, the semicrystalline agave americana fibers are longer and thicker possessing greater mean linear density (29.68 Tex). Agave sisalana fibers recorded maximum breaking tensile strength and elongation at break (512 MPa) and (~6%), respectively. These findings strongly suggested that agave fibers possess interesting features which can be used as potential reinforcement fibers for composite engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]