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Background: Tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (TB/HIV) co-infection is an important global public health problem and result multidirectional tricky. The mortality rate of co-infected patient’s comes from many aspects or factors. Identification of these factors is important for planning and for the intervention of care and treatment. The aim of this study was to examine the co-infected patients’ mortality rate and its predictors. Methods: A five-year retrospective cohort study was employed among 471 randomly selected TB/HIV co-infected patients enrolled from January, 2012 to December, 2016. Relevant variables of data were collected from patients ‘medical cards. The collected data were entered into Epi-data 4.2.0.0 and exported to SPSS version 24 for analysis. Univariate analyses were used to describe the baseline characteristics of the patients. Kaplan Meir curve were used for the comparison of time to recovery among the different groups of patients and Cox model was used to identify independent predictors. Results: A total of 79 (16.8%) deaths occurred during the median follow-up period of 685 days. being infected with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) [AHR=1.99 (95% CI:1.16-3.41)], WHO clinical stage III [AHR=2.88 (95% CI:1.56-5.30)], IV [AHR=4.20 (95% CI:2.21-8.01)], ambulatory functional status [AHR=4.15 (95% CI:1.57-10.98)], bedridden functional status [AHR=6.34 (95% CI:2.43-16.59)] and delayed Co-trimoxazole preventive therapy [AHR=2.45 (95% CI:1.54-3.91)] were important predictors associated with high mortality rate of TB/HIV co-infected patients. Conclusions: about one to six TB/HIV co-infected persons died in their course of treatment follow-up. Important contributing factors were PTB infection, WHO clinical staging III and IV, ambulatory and bed ridden functional status and delayed co-trimoxazole preventive therapy.

Cervical cancer is one of the most common malignancies affecting women worldwide with large geographic variations in prevalence and mortality rates. It is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Ethiopia, where vaccination and screening are less implemented. However, there is a scarcity of literature in the field. Therefore, the objective of this review was to describe current developments in cervical cancer in the Ethiopian context. The main topics presented were the burden of cervical cancer, knowledge of women about the disease, the genotype distribution of Human papillomavirus (HPV), vaccination, and screening practices in Ethiopia.Published literature in the English language on the above topics until May 2021 were retrieved from PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS, Google Scholar, and the Google database using relevant searching terms. Combinations of the following terms were considered to retrieve literature; Cervical cancer, uterine cervical neoplasms, papillomavirus infections, papillomavirus vaccines, knowledge about cervical cancer, genotype distribution of HPV and Ethiopia . The main findings were described thematically.Cervical cancer is the second most common and the second most deadly cancer in Ethiopia, The incidence and prevalence of the disease is increasing from time to time because of the growth and aging of the population, as well as an increasing prevalence of well-established risk factors. Knowledge and awareness about cervical cancer is quite poor among Ethiopian women. According to a recent report (2021), the prevalence of previous screening practices among Ethiopian women was at 14%. Although HPV 16 is constantly reported as the common genotype identified from different grade cervical lesions in Ethiopia, studies reported different HPV genotype distributions across the country. According to a recent finding, the most common HPV types identified from cervical lesions in the country were HPV-16, HPV-52, HPV-35, HPV-18, and HPV-56. Ethiopia started vaccinating school girls using Gardasil-4™ in 2018 although the coverage is insignificant. Recently emerging reports are in favor of gender-neutral vaccination strategies with moderate coverage that was found superior and would rapidly eradicate high-risk HPVs than vaccinating only girls.Cervical cancer continues to be a major public health problem affecting thousands of women in Ethiopia. As the disease is purely preventable, classic cervical cancer prevention strategies that include HPV vaccination using a broad genotype coverage, screening using a high precision test, and treating cervical precancerous lesions in the earliest possible time could prevent most cervical cancer cases in Ethiopia. The provision of a focused health education supported by educational materials would increase the knowledge of women about cervical cancer in general and the uptake of cervical cancer prevention and screening services in particular.

To this day, numerous maintenance actions follow preventive and run-to-failure methods. In this work, it has been attempted to show the power of predictive maintenance (PdM) from vibration data using a machine learning technique implementing convolutional neural networks (CNN). Actual data was collected from six different bearings on a machine element fault analysis test rig. The bearings were of the ball bearing type, where one of them was healthy and the rest were faulty at the inner race, the outer race, the rolling element, or a combination of these three, and another had severe damage at either the rolling element or the rings. From the vibration signatures specific to the health status of the bearings, a powerful deep learning convolutional neural network model was built. The model was able to successfully classify the states of bearings with accuracy values ranging between 76.7 and 99.9% based on unseen data. The results indicate that this CNN model can be used as a diagnostic tool for undertaking maintenance operations. KEYWORDS: CNN, predictive maintenance, Zede Journal of Ethiopian Engineers and Architects, Vol. 41 (2023): Zede Journal of Ethiopian Engineers and Architects

BACKGROUND: Rapid Ethical Assessment (REA) is a rapid qualitative study anticipated to understand the ethical sphere of the research setting prior to recruiting study subjects. This study assessed the communities’ knowledge about tuberculosis (TB) and research, understand the social arrangements advisable for recruiting research participant and appraised the information provision and consent process. METHODS: The study was conducted in Amhara region, Ethiopia from 5th-30th January 2021. Google-based survey, face-to-face in-depth interview and focus group discussion were carried out to collect the data from researchers, data collectors, health professionals, TB program officers. A structured questionnaire was administered to assess the knowledge of TB patients and healthy controls about TB, research, gene, (co)evolution and consent process. RESULTS: Over 71% of researchers were not satisfied with the current consent process, and 82.7% of researchers agreed that the best interest of the research participants was not adequately addressed in the current research practices in ANRS. TB patients and healthy controls misunderstood research and its goals. Participants advised the researchers to approach the community with the assistance of health extensionworkers(HEW)orreligious/localleaders.Combined use of verbal and written based information provision at individual participant level is the preferred way for information provision. CONCLUSIONS:The adherence of researchers to standard information provision and consent process was very low. Healthy controls and TB patients have low level of knowledge and awareness about research, ethics and genomic research-related common terms. Hence, public education is required to strengthen the research ethics in the region.

Background: Visual short-term memory (VSTM) and attention were found to modulate neural activity predominantly in a superior parietal lobule. This is thought to be the selective attention importance for encoding and manipulation in VSTM. The major area of investigation mainly rested with the differences in the neural substrates and networks mediating these cognitive processes in near and far cortical structures. Summary: Based on previous investigations, the dynamic temporal window route of attention and time locked associated cognitive processes and sub-processes are sketched and its implication in VSTM study is discussed. Imaging cortical structures to isolate closely linked cognitive tasks require circumscribing to certain time-windows in which the paradigm should support to tap time-locked associated processes and sub-processes. Key Messages: The neural activities in intraparietal sulcus area 1–2 and angular gyrus during VSTM encoding are beyond the modulatory effects of selective and sustained attention.

Background The serum lipid and immunohematological values of tuberculosis lymphadenitis (TBLN) patients is poorly documented relative to pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the serum lipid and immunohematological values of patients with TBLN in comparison with PTB (PTB) patients. Methods An institution-based comparative cross-sectional study was conducted in Northwest Ethiopia from March to December 2021. The study participants were bacteriologically confirmed PTB (n = 82) and TBLN (n = 94) cases with no known comorbidity and whose ages was greater than 18 years and with no current pregnancy. Independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, box plot, and correlation matrix were used to analyze the data. Results The body mass index (BMI), CD4 + T cell count, and high-density lipoprotein-Cholesterol (HDL-C) values were significantly higher among TBLN cases compared with PTB cases. Additionally, the total white blood cell (WBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb), total Cholesterol (CHO) and creatinine (Cr) values were relatively higher among TBLN than PTB (P > 0.05). On the reverse, the platelet count and triacylglycerol (TAG) values were relatively higher among PTB than in TBLN cases. While the mean days of culture positivity were 11.6 days for TBLN, the mean days of culture positivity were 14.0 days for PTB. Anemia and serum lipid values showed no correlation with sputum bacilli load and time to culture positivity. Conclusion Tuberculous lymphadenitis patients were well-endowed with serum lipid, immunological and nutritional status compared with PTB cases. Hence, the high incidence rate of TBLN in Ethiopia could not be explained by low peripheral immunohematological values, malnutrition, Anemia, and dyslipidemia. Further study for identifying the predictors for TBLN in Ethiopia is highly desirable.

Background Episiotomy is the surgical enlargement of the posterior aspect of the vagina by an incision made on the perineum during the last phase of the second stage of labor. The rate of episiotomy is on the decline in developed countries but remains high in less industrialized countries. Studies are limited to showing the extent of the problem and the reasons behind episiotomy practice. The objective of this study was to assess the proportion of episiotomy practice and its associated factors among mothers who gave birth at public health institutions in Debark town, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods Institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted among 410 mothers who gave birth from 1 April 2021 to 30 June 2021 in Debark town. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants. Data were entered into Epi data version 3.1, coded, cleaned, and then exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Variables with p-value

IntroductionMarriage between serodiscordant individuals accounts for 65–85% of new infections. Pre-marital Human Immune Virus (HIV) testing opens the door for HIV infection prevention and control. There are no studies that have evaluated the coverage and factors influencing pre-marital HIV testing at the community level in Ethiopia.MethodsThis study was conducted using 10,008 samples of data extracted from Ethiopian demographic and health surveys (EDHS), 2016. To identify individual and community level factors a multi-level binary logistic regression model was used. Among fitted models, “full” model was taken as the best model. To declare the presence or absence of significant association with pre-marital HIV testing, a p-value < 0.05 with confidence interval (CI) was used.ResultsIn Ethiopia, 21.4% (95% CI: 20.6, 22.2%) of study participants had pre-marital HIV testing. Age 35–49 years (AOR = 0.25; 95% CI: 0.09, 0.66), educated (AOR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.17, 2.79), rich (AOR = 1.95; 95% CI: 1.13, 3.55), having media exposure (AOR = 1.54; 95% CI: 1.30, 4.71), and high community level literacy (AOR = 0.38; 95% CI: 0.22, 0.66) were factors significantly associated with pre-marital HIV testing.ConclusionThe low coverage of pre-marital HIV testing in Ethiopia is insufficient to have a significant influence on the HIV/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic. Information dissemination to create awareness about human rights and public health implications of pre-marital HIV testing áre necessary while it is made mandatory.

Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes differ by geographic location. With the advent of HPV vaccination and HPV-based cervical screening tests in Ethiopia, a nationwide dataset on the genotype distribution of HPV among women has paramount importance in the fight against cervical cancer. However, there is limited data in this regard in the northwest part of the country. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the genotype distribution of high-risk HPVs among women presenting with cervical abnormalities. Methods A health facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted at Felege Hiwot Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (FHCSH), Bahir Dar–Ethiopia. Women aged ≥ 30 years who visited the hospital gynecology unit from 01 March 2019 to 30 October 2021 were included. Following general and pelvic examinations, a senior gynecologist collected cervical punch biopsies for histopathological examinations and cervical swabs for HR-HPV detection using the Abbott Alinity m system (Abbott Molecular, Des Plaines, IL, USA). Extended genotyping was carried out with the INNO-LiPA HPV Genotyping Extra II assay (INNO-LiPA; Fujirebio Europe, Ghent, Belgium) as per the manufacturer protocols at the Institute of Virology, Leipzig University Hospital, Germany. Results We included 355 women with a mean age of 46.4 ± 11.4 years. The majority of the participants, 277 (79.4%) were sexually active before the age of 18 years and 180 (51.6%) had multiple sexual partners. Forty-eight (13.5%) of the participants were HIV positive. The proportion of HR-HPV was 53.0% (n = 188; 95%CI: 47.8–58.1%). From these samples, 13 different HR-HPV types with a total of 258 sequences were identified. The detection of HR-HPV increased significantly with an increase in the age of the participants. The predominant identified HR-HPV was HPV16, 50.4% followed by HPV31 (9.7%), HPV33 (8.5%), HPV39, and HPV68 each (5.8%) and HPV18 (4.7%). Of the total HR-HPV-positive women, 23.9% (45/188) were infected with multiple HR-HPV types. All HPV16, HPV18, HPV35, and HPV45 genotypes (as a single or in coinfections) were found to be associated with either high-grade lesions or cervical cancer. Conclusions HR-HPV infection was reportedly higher among women in the present study area. Based on our findings, we strongly recommend the nonavalent HPV vaccine for immunization and any HPV-based screening method to take into consideration the predominant genotypes circulating in the country. The role of multiple HPV infections in high-grade cervical lesions entails further study in Ethiopia.

Behavioral and neurophysiological experiments have demonstrated that distinct and common cognitive processes and associated neural substrates maintain allocentric and egocentric spatial representations. This review aimed to provide evidence from previous behavioral and neurophysiological studies on collating cognitive processes and associated neural substrates and linking them to the state of visuospatial representations in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Even though MCI patients showed impaired visuospatial attentional processing and working memory, previous neuropsychological experiments in MCI largely emphasized memory impairment and lacked substantiating evidence of whether memory impairment could be associated with how patients with MCI encode objects in space. The present review suggests that impaired memory capacity is linked to impaired allocentric representation in MCI patients. This review indicates that further research is needed to examine how the decline in visuospatial attentional resources during allocentric coding of space could be linked to working memory impairment.

Background Gender-based violence (GBV) violates human rights, has terrible repercussions on the educational system, and is remarkably underreported. The primary objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the combined prevalence of gender-based violence (GBV) and its determinants among female students in high schools in Ethiopia. Methods Data base search were conducted through PubMed, Science Direct, HINARI. Web of Science,and Cochrane Library. Essential data were extracted using a Microsoft Excel format and analyzed by using STATA Version 17.0. Heterogeneity were checked by using heterogeneity I2 test and p-values at (I2 = 98.9%, p

Background & Aim: The Glasgow Coma Scale is a helpful instrument for measuring patients’ level of consciousness with neurosurgical disorders. Literature showed a majority of nurses don’t believe the Glasgow Coma Scale assessment is their area of practice. This study aimed to examine the Glasgow Coma Scale assessment practice and associated factors among nurses working in adult intensive care units of federally administered hospitals Methods & Materials: : Institutional-based cross-sectional study was conducted on conventionally selected 126 nurses working in adult intensive care units. Six clinical scenarios were used to assess practice, and those who correctly answered at least four scenario questions out of 6 practical scenario questions for the Glasgow Coma Scale assessment were considered good practice. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. The Chi-square test was applied to examine the variables affecting Glasgow Coma Scale practice. Furthermore, the proportions of categorical variables’ replies were contrasted among the various groups. Result: With a response rate of 96.03%, 121 nurses participated in the study. (53.7%) was males. In this study, the overall good Glasgow Coma Scale assessment practice of intensive care units nurses was 47.1%. Lack of training (77.7%), job overload (73.6%), and insufficient knowledge and skills (61.2 %) are barriers for nurses to assess Glasgow Coma Scale. Conclusion: In this, only nearly half of the participants displayed good practice on the Glasgow Coma Scale. Sex and educational status were both found to be significant factors in nurses’ Glasgow Coma Scale assessment practice.

Habtamu Esubalew,1 Moges Wubie,2 Yilkal Tafere,2 Wodaje Gietaneh,2 Bekalu Endalew,2 Samuel Derbie Habtegiorgis,2 Tsige Gebre,2 Eyerus Tesfaw,2 Hailemariam Abiy,2 Animut Takele Telayneh2 1Debre Elias Woreda Health Office, Amhara, Ethiopia; 2Department of Public Health, College of Health Science, Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Animut Takele Telayneh, Debre Markos University, P.O. Box 269, Debre Markos, Ethiopia, Tel +251918215993, Email animuttakele@gmail.comIntroduction: Podoconiosis is endemic non-filarial elephantiasis of the lower legs swelling caused by barefoot exposure to red clay soil. The burden of disability occurs among the poorest populations. Self-care practice is the most cost-effective prevention strategy practiced at home to improve lymphedema, working functionality, and quality of life. Despite this, there is a scarce of knowledge about self-care practices and associated factors among podoconiosis patients in Ethiopia.Objective: To determine self-care practice and its associated factors among podoconiosis patients in East Gojjam zone North West, Ethiopia.Methods: Community-based cross-sectional study design was used among 633 podoconiosis patients. Computer-generated simple random sampling technique was used to recruit participants. All patients who started podoconiosis treatment were the source population. Data were entered using Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 25 for cleaning and analysis. Variables with 95% CI corresponding AOR were used to identify statistically significant factors for self-care practice.Results: In this study, the self-care practice of podoconiosis patient was 64%. Females [AOR: 0.38 (95% CI: 0.22, 0.65)], 55– 65 years age [AOR: 0.41 (95% CI: 0.22, 0.74)], above 65 years age [AOR: 0.22 (95% CI: 0.11, 0.450)], 4– 6 km distance from water source [AOR: 0.06 (95% CI: 0.03, 0.12)], above 6 km distance from water source [AOR: 0.03 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.09)], educational level [AOR: 0.05 (95% CI: 0.01, 0.40)], marital status [AOR: 5.40 (95% CI: 2.30, 12.90)], and distance from health institution [AOR: 0.35 (95% CI: 0.23, 0.54)] were statistically identified associated factors for self-care practice of podoconiosis patient.Conclusion: In this study, the self-care practice of podoconiosis patients was not well practiced. Socio-demographic factors are identified as associated factors for self-care practice. Strengthening health education and behavioral changes are required to improve self-care practice.Keywords: podoconiosis, self-care, practice, adults, Ethiopia

Background. Fetal bowel could pass meconium, a green viscous fluid, before or during labour and most intrauterine passage of meconium is associated with several fetomaternal factors that lead to increased risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Given that there is a paucity of data, this study was conducted to assess the proportion and associated factors of meconium-stained amniotic fluid (MSAF) in women who came for labour and delivery service in a tertiary hospital. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 June to 31 August 2018 among 606 labouring mothers at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital, northwest Ethiopia. Study participants were selected using a systematic random sampling technique. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered pretested questionnaire and data checklist. Factors associated with MSAF were explored using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results. MSAF occurred in 24.6% (149/606) of pregnancies. Nonreassuring fetal heart rate patterns (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR]: 21.9, 95% Confidence interval [95% CI]: 10.96–43.83), postterm pregnancy (AOR: 4.54, 95% CI: 2.24–9.20), duration of labour more than 15 hours (AOR: 2.83, 95% CI: 1.76–4.53), pregnancy-induced hypertension (AOR: 2.43, 95% CI: 1.45–4.05), oligohydramnios (AOR: 2.53, 95% CI: 1.25–5.12), interpregnancy interval less than 2 years (AOR: 2.24, 95% CI: 1.12–4.51), and monthly family income less than 5000 Ethiopian Birr (185 USD) (AOR: 2.03, 95% CI: 1.18–3.51) were significantly associated with MSAF. Conclusions. In this study, the proportion of MSAF was at 24.6% which was higher than a previous report in Ethiopia. Nonreassuring fetal heart rate pattern, postterm pregnancy, duration of labour more than 15 hours, pregnancy-induced hypertension, oligohydramnios, interpregnancy interval less than 2 years, and monthly family income less than 5000 Ethiopian Birr were factors associated with an increased risk for MSAF. Therefore, interventions aimed at detecting MSAF early should consider these factors.

The uniqueness of neural processes between allocentric and egocentric spatial coding has been controversial. The distinctive paradigms used in previous studies for manipulating spatial coding could have attributed for the inconsistent results. This study was aimed to generate converging evidence from previous functional brain imaging experiments for collating neural substrates associated with these two types of spatial coding. An additional aim was to test whether test-taking processes would have influenced the results. We obtained coordinate-based functional neuroimaging data for 447 subjects and performed activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis. Among the 28 experiments, the results indicate two common clusters of convergence. They were the right precuneus and the right superior frontal gyrus as parts of the parieto-frontal circuit. Between-type differences were in the parieto-occipital circuit, with allocentric showing convergence in the superior occipital gyrus (SOG) cluster compared with egocentric showing convergence in the middle occipital gyrus (MOG) cluster. Task-specific influences were only found in allocentric spatial coding. Spatial judgment-oriented tasks seem to increase the demands on manipulating spatial relationships among the visual objects, while spatial navigation tasks seem to increase the demands on maintaining object representations. Our findings address the theoretical controversies on spatial coding that both the allocentric and egocentric types are common in their processes mediated by the parieto-frontal network, while unique and additional processes in the allocentric type are mediated by the parieto-occipital network. The positive results on possible task-specific confound offer insights into the future design of spatial tasks for eliciting spatial coding processes.

Background: Schizophrenia is a syndrome, which is characterized by affecting of thinking, perception, emotions, language, sense of self, and behavior of an individual. Schizophrenic people are faced more difficulty than the rest in the community at the areas of their social interaction. This study aimed to identify factors associated with poor social support in schizophrenia patients who were on follow up in public health hospital in mekelle city. Methods: Data were collected using interviewer administered questionnaire. Double population proportion was used to calculate sample size, and we used Oslo‐3 Social Support Scale (OSS‐3) to assess social support. Systematic sampling technique was employed to collect the data. Data was entered in the computer using Epidata manager 4.4.2.1 version and analyzed by using SPSS 25 version. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to identify the associated factors. The p-value less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant.Results: divorced/window (AOR=3.93, 95%CI: 1.07, 14.43), and had no religious practice (AOR=6.6, 95%CI: 1.44, 30.29) were significantly associated with poor social support in schizophrenia patients. But, age, educational level and substance use were not significantly associated.Conclusion: This study identified important associated factors with poor social support in schizophrenia patients in the study area. Among the studied factors, divorced/window, and had no religious practice were found to be associated with poor social support of schizophrenia patients.

Background Rapid Ethical Assessment (REA) is a rapid qualitative study anticipated to understand the ethical sphere of the research setting prior to recruiting study subjects. The aim of this study was to gather ethnographic data to assess the knowledge about TB and research, study the social arrangements of the community and appraise the research ethics process in Amhara National Regional State (ANRS). Methods An ethnographic study was conducted in ANRS from January 5 to 30, 2021. Google based quantitative survey was carried out to assess the perceptions of researchers about REA. Face to face indepth interview (IDI) and focus group discussion (FGDs) were carried out to collect the qualitative views of participants. The study was conducted among researchers, data collectors, health professionals and community and religious leaders. The information was structured in to seven themes. Results Over 71% of researchers were not satisfied with the current consent process, and 82.7% of researchers agreed that the best interest of research participants was not adequately addressed in the current research practice. Tuberculosis is well known by the community as disease of cough. The community misunderstood and misinterpreted what research is and its goals. For community based research, participants advised researchers to approach the community either with health extension workers (HEW), religious leaders or local health professionals for data collection. Combined use of verbal and written based information provision at individual participant level. Conclusion and recommendations: The general public in ANRS have low level of knowledge and awareness about research, goal of research, research ethics and TB host genetic study key terms. Hence, a short flyer of key terms to research, ethics and TB genomic study shall be prepared in the local language and shared to the community using available public media. Besides the international ethical standards, it is appropriate to adhere to local rules and regulations.

Allocentric and egocentric are two types of spatial coding. Previous studies reported the dorsal attention network's involvement in both types. To eliminate possible paradigm-specific confounds in the results, this study employed fine-grained cue-to-target paradigm to dissociate allocentric (aSC) and egocentric (eSC) spatial coding. Twenty-two participants completed a custom visuospatial task, and changes in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (O2-Hb) were recorded using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator-regularized principal component (LASSO-RPC) algorithm was used to identify cortical sites that predicted the aSC and eSC conditions' reaction times. Significant changes in O2-Hb concentration in the right inferior parietal lobule (IPL) and post-central gyrus regions were common in both aSC and eSC. Results of inter-channel correlations further substantiate cortical activities in both conditions were predominantly over the right parieto-frontal areas. Together with right superior frontal gyrus areas be the reaction time neural correlates, the results suggest top-down attention and response-mapping processes are common to both spatial coding types. Changes unique to aSC were in clusters over the right intraparietal sulcus, right temporo-parietal junction, and left IPL. With the left pre-central gyrus region, be the reaction time neural correlate, aSC is likely to involve more orienting attention, updating of spatial information, and object-based response selection and inhibition than eSC. Future studies will use other visuospatial task designs for testing the robustness of the findings on spatial coding processes.

Background Surgical wound infections (SWI) remain as a major source of postoperative illness that increases the time of hospital stay and health care related costs globally. On top of this, the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens continue to challenge the proper management of surgical wound infections. Methods A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted at Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital (FHRH). A total of 165 study participants were included. Socio-demographic data were collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire. Isolates were identified by conventional bacteriological technique and antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed using the Kirby-Bauer disc diffusion method. Results Among 165 study participants, 98 (59.4%) were males. The overall prevalence of culture confirmed surgical wound infection was 115 (69.7%). A total of 125 bacteria isolates were identified among which, Staphylococcus aureus was predominant followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella species with a proportion of 31 (24.8%), 26 (20.8%) and 17 (13.6%), respectively. Majority (80.8%) of the isolates were found multidrug resistant (MDR). Dirty wound and duration of hospital stay were found significantly associated with culture confirmed surgical wound infections. Conclusions S. aureus, P. aeruginosa and Klebsiella species were the most common isolates identified from surgical wound sites. Most of these pathogens were found MDR. Therefore, regular surveillance on the types of bacterial isolates and their drug resistance pattern should be considered.

Background Tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are among the major health problems in Ethiopia. This study assessed the proportion of tuberculosis lymphadenitis (TBLN), HIV infection and their co-infection among TBLN presumptive individuals at the selected hospitals in Northwest Ethiopia. Methods Institution based cross sectional study was carried out. Data on demographic and clinical variables were collected with standardized questionnaire. Microbiological culture was done on specimen obtained by fine needle aspirates. The HIV status was determined by rapid anti-HIV antibody test. Data was entered and scrutinized using SPSS version 20 statistical packages. A stepwise logistic regression model was used. The result was considered as statistically significant at P

Background The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among uropathogens is increasing, especially in resource limited settings due to a number of reasons. The production of Extended Spectrum β-Lactamase (ESBL) by some strains of E. coli and methicillin resistant Staphylococcus species, limits the choice of antimicrobials in the treatment of urinary tract infection (UTI) globally. However, little is known about the type of uropathogenes and their current AMR profile among pregnant women in Hargeisa, Somaliland. Methods Clean-catch mid-stream urine samples were collected and processed for bacteriological culture and antimicrobial sensitivity testing (AST). Ceftazidime (30µg) and Cefotaxime (30µg) disks were used for ESBL screening as per CLSI guideline and each ESBL screening positive isolate were phenotypically confirmed by a combination disk test. Results Among 376 study participants, 79 (21.0%) had significant bacteriuria (SBU). Majority at 58(73.4%) of the isolates were Gram-negative. The most predominant isolate was E.coli, 36(45.6%) followed by K. pneumonea 16(20.3%) and S. aureus at 9(11.4 %). The proportion of ESBL producing isolates was 25(32.9%). Gram-negatives showed high level resistance to ampicillin, amoxicillin, cefotaxime, and cephalexin at 87%, 85%, 57%, and 52%, respectively. Previous history of UTI, monthly income, educational status and having dysuria were significantly associated with SBU (p

Background. Africa still bears the largest burden of malaria as the majority of infections in the continent are caused by P. falciparum. Artemether-lumefantrine (AL, Coartem®) is the most widely used artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT), for treating uncomplicated falciparum malaria globally. However, the development of resistance to antimalarial drugs is a major challenge for malaria control. In this review, the efficacy of AL for the treatment of uncomplicated falciparum malaria in Africa was evaluated. Methods. Articles published between January 2015 and July 2019 were systematically searched using comprehensive search strings from PubMed/Medline, SCOPUS, and grey literature from Google Scholar. Interventional studies that followed patients for at least 28 days were included. Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. All the included articles were measured to be good quality. While computing the efficacy of AL, polymerase chain reaction (PCR)–corrected cure rate (adequate clinical and parasitological response, ACPR) at day 28 was considered as the main endpoint. Meta-analysis was computed using STATA v 15 to calculate the pooled ACPR. Results. In this review, 39 articles that reported the treatment outcome of 8,320 patients were included. After 28 days of follow-up, the pooled PCR uncorrected and corrected APCR was at 87% (95% CI: 85-90%) and 97.0% (95% CI: 96-98%), respectively. Moreover, the proportion of early treatment failure (ETF) was almost 0%, while most of the included articles reported

This study was conducted in three agro-ecological Zones of Ankober Woreda to generate information on the existing performance and marketing systems of chicken.

Objective Gonorrhea is the second most common sexually transmitted bacterial infection (STI) next to Chlamydia. Untreated cases could results in major complications like pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy, infertility, miscarriage, fetal death and congenital infections. Gonorrhea has been treated with antibiotics for more than eight decades. However, the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in gonococcus seriously compromises the management of the disease. The aim of this review was to describe the current developments in the field of azithromycin resistant gonococci. Methods Literatures published in English in the last 10 years were retrieved from PubMed, SCOPUS, Google scholar, Cochrane library and the Google databases using relevant searching terms. Results Gonococcus is capable of using a number of strategies to confer resistance as the bacterium has an extraordinary capacity to alter its genome. So far the accumulated data on the field showed that the world is heading towards a pandemic of extensively drug-resistant (XDR) gonococcus which is now seems to be evolving into a true “superbug”. Hence, in the near future gonorrhea may become untreatable on the international basis unless new drugs become available. An antibiotic resistance in gonococcus has been noted beginning in 1940s against sulfonamides. Since then, resistance has rapidly emerged to penicillins, tetracyclines, macrolides, fluoroquinolones, and cephalosporins. Currently, in most nations, the injectable extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC), i.e. ceftriaxone based therapy is the only remaining option for gonorrhea. Based on the WHO and the US-CDC recommendations, countries are increasingly using a combination of cephalosporin and azithromycin for the treatment of gonorrhoea. Azithromycin revolutionized gonoccocal therapy as it shortened treatment time by more than half from 7 to 14 days and improved patient compliance due to high tissue levels and long half-life. However, constantly emerging reports from different parts of the globe showed that N. gonorrhoeae is developing significant level of resistance against azithromycin, and so far more than 33% level of resistance was reported. Two strategies have been commonly implicated in gonococcal resistance against azithromycin: over expression of an efflux pump (due to mutations at mtrR coding region) and decreased antimicrobial affinity (due to mutations in genes encoding the 23S ribosomal subunit). Conclusions With no alternative antimicrobial treatment options for gonorrhoea and only a few new drugs in the development pipeline, it is necessary to monitor drug resistance and optimize treatment regimens regularly. Moreover, investigations for novel drugs should be wired.

Background Cryptococcosis is an opportunistic fungal infection that primarily affects people with advanced HIV/AIDS and is an important cause of morbidity and mortality around the globe. By far the most common presentation of the disease is cryptococcal meningitis (CM), which leads to an estimated 15–20% of all HIV related deaths worldwide, 75% of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. However, to the best of our knowledge there is quite limited reviewed data on the epidemiology of cryptococcal antigenemia in a large HIV-infected population in resource limited settings. Methods Articles published in English irrespective of the time of publication were systematically searched using comprehensive search strings from PubMed/Medline and SCOPUS. In addition, Google Scholar and Google databases were searched manually for grey literature. Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. The pooled prevalence of cryptococcal antigenemia was determined with 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Among 2941 potential citations, we have included 22 studies with a total of 8338 HIV positive individuals. The studies were reported in ten different countries during the year (2007–2018). Most of the articles reported the mean CD4 count of the participants below 100 cells/μl. The pooled prevalence of cryptococcal antigenemia at different CD4 count and ART status was at 8% (95%CI: 6–10%) (ranged between 1.7 and 33%). Body mass index (BMI) 2, CD4 count Conclusions Implementing a targeted screening of HIV patients with low BMI, CD4 count

Livestock production in Ethiopia contributes about 16.5% of the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 35.6% of the agricultural GDP, 15% of export earnings, and 30% of agricultural employment. The performance of livestock product marketing was poor in the last decade, despite some improvement in recent years, especially in terms of aggressive policy and strategy on export of livestock and livestock products, indicating that the sector is still underexploited. There is need to promote the market-oriented production of milk export. Knowing the common challenges and opportunities are very much important in designing smart livestock and livestock product marketing systems in the country. The common milk processing products market constraints in Ethiopia include lack of clear milk marketing system, factors of culture and religion, inaccessibility of market and lack of transport, seasonal based demand, lack of effective extension service to use newer technologies and practices, lack of market information, lack of holistic intervention and localized markets. Despite these challenges, there are some golden opportunities that increase the milk demand and to some extent increase milk consumption trend. Hence, the need to review this work was to access literatures available regarding milk processing, status, challenges and opportunities in Ethiopia.

BackgroundGenital infection with certain types of Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a major cause of cervical cancer globally. For early detection of premalignant dysplasia, evidences are coming out on the usefulness of HPV E6/E7 mRNA test as a potential tool compared with cytology and HPV DNA testing. Taking into account shortage of compiled data on this field, the aim of this systematic review was to describe the latest diagnostic performance of HPV E6/E7 mRNA testing to detect high grade cervical lesions (CIN2+) where by histology was taken as a gold standard.MethodsArticles published in English were systematically searched using key words from PubMed/Medline and SCOPUS. In addition, Google Scholar and the Google database were searched manually for grey literature. Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility, risk of bias and extracted the data. We performed a descriptive presentation of the performance of E6/E7 mRNA test (in terms of sensitivity, specificity, negative and positive predictive values) for the detection of CIN2 + .ResultsOut of 231 applicable citations, we have included 29 articles that included a total of 23,576 study participants (age range, 15–84 years) who had different cervical pathologies. Among the participants who had cervical histology, the proportion of CIN2+ was between 10.6 and 90.6%. Using histology as a gold standard, 11 studies evaluated the PreTect HPV Proofer, 7 studies evaluated the APTIMA HPV assay (Gen-Probe) and 6 studies evaluated the Quantivirus® HPV assay. The diagnostic performance of these three most common mRNA testing tools to detect CIN2+ was; 1) PreTect Proofer; median sensitivity 83%, specificity 73%, PPV 70 and NPV 88.9%. 2) APTIMA assay; median sensitivity 91.4%, specificity 46.2%, PPV 34.3% and NPV 96.3%. 3) Quantivirus®: median sensitivity 86.1%, specificity 54.6%, PPV 54.3% and NPV was at 89.3%. Further, the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AU-ROC) curve varied between 63.8 and 90.9%.ConclusionsThe reported diagnostic accuracy implies that HPV mRNA based tests possess diagnostic relevance to detect CIN2+ and could potentially be considered in areas where there is no histology facility. Further studies including its cost should be considered.

Introduction Cervical cancer is an important public health problem in Ethiopia. However, the disease is not well characterized and studied in various parts of the country. This study was designed to describe the histopathological profile of cervical biopsies and to identify risk factors associated with high-grade cervical lesions and cancer (CIN2+C). Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted at Felege Hiwot Compressive Specialized Hospital (FHCSH) between 1 March 2019 and 30 October 2021. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the participants’ demographic, reproductive and gynecologic history. From women presented with different degrees of cervical lesions, a senior gynecologist collected cervical swabs using (Digene HC2 DNA collection device: Qiagen, Hilden, Germany) for detection of high-risk Human papillomaviruses (HR-HPV) and punch biopsy for histopathological examinations. HR-HPVs were detected using the Abbott Alinity m system following the manufacturer protocol at the Institute of Virology, Leipzig University Hospital, Germany. Collected data entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25. A logistic regression model was used for both bivariable & multivariable analysis in order to determine the association between independent variables and CIN2+C. Statistical significance was set at a p-value Results In this study, 335 women were included; the mean age was at 46.5±11.4 years. Most were living in rural settings, 221(66%) and had no formal education, 259 (77.3%). More than half of the participants, 193(57.6%) were unaware of cervical cancer. The prevalence of HIV infection and previous history of cervical screening were 44(13.1%) and 93(27.8%), respectively. HR-HPVs were detected in 178(54.3%) of the participants. The majority of biopsies, 140(41.8%; 95%CI: 36.6–47.1%), were diagnosed as cervical carcinoma. Normal histology, cervicitis, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)-1, CIN-2, and CIN-3 accounted for 74(22.1%), 30(9.0%), 40(11.9%), 12(3.6%), and 12(3.6%), respectively. High-grade lesions and cancer (CIN2+C) together accounted 164(49.0%; 95%CI: 43.6–54.2). Cervical cancer increased steadily with the age of the participants (ppp = 0.035) and being infected with HR-HPVs (AOR: 14.23; 95%CI: 7.9–25.64; p Conclusions The findings of this study revealed that cervical cancer continues to be an important women’s health challenge in northwest Ethiopia. Postmenopausal women, who had no screening history within a five-year period and those women who tested positive for HR-HPV need special attention. It is important to increase the awareness of women about cervical cancer and actions for early detection of precancerous lesions should be expanded.

As the world's aging population grows, nutrition and health issues are becoming a major concern. The aim of the present study was to identify the factors associated with nutritional status among old age population. A community-based cross-sectional study was employed among randomly selected 739 elders over the age of 60 in Dire Dawa City administration, eastern Ethiopia. The validated full mini nutritional assessment tool and appetite test (SNAQ) was used to assess the nutritional status of the study population. Considering the ranked nature of the data, a bivariate and multivariable ordinal logistic regression model (under the generalised linear model) was conducted, with crude and adjusted odds ratios reported along with 95 % confidence intervals. Statistically significant associations are declared at P-value less than 0⋅05. In this study, 22 % (95 % CI: 19 %, 25 %) of elders were malnourished. Participants with >75 years old (AOR 4⋅95; 95 % CI 1⋅54, 8⋅4), being female (AOR 1⋅6; 95 % CI 1⋅1, 2⋅2), illiterate (AOR 1⋅5; 95 % CI 1⋅01, 2⋅2), severe depression (AOR 13⋅9; 95 % CI 8⋅2, 23⋅7) and with poor appetite (AOR 3⋅3; 95 % CI 2⋅3, 4⋅8) were important predictors of malnutrition among older age group. We found that the prevalence of malnutrition and the risk of malnutrition is a public health concern that warrants intervention in the area. Advanced age, illiteracy, depression and poor appetite were important risk factors for malnutrition among older age group. The identified risk factors will guide public health professionals and programmes in the design, implementation of interventions to improve the nutritional status of older age group.

Searching for good sources of value-added lipids that can be utilized for industrial and domestic applications is getting a fast-growing attention. Hence, the exploitation of underutilized fruit species for oil production is of particular care. But, rapid and accurate characterization of oil-bearing biomass before considering it as an alternative source is essential to know the properties of interest which significantly influence biomass conversion. Instead of testing oilseed components to know their lipid reach part via extractive techniques, one of the rapid analysis methods is Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic approach. Thus, this paper aims to identify the unique characteristic bands of lipids in oilseed components confirmed via Ethiopian desert date fruit (i.e., mesocarp, endocarp, kernel and oil). While all parts of the fruit were subjected to oil extraction, it was proved that the only fatty portion containing about 40.32% wt of lipid was in its kernel. Accordingly, the only functional groups observed in the oil-rich part include = C–H stretching at 3006/7 cm(−1) in aromatic and olefins of unsaturated fatty acid, symmetrical C–H stretching of aliphatics in the –CH(3) groups at 2853 cm(−1), C–O stretching in esters due to asymmetric vibrations of C–C(=O)–O bonds at 1159/66 cm(−1), and C–H rocking vibration of methylene in alkanes at 718/23 cm(−1).

BackgroundAging disrupts the optimal balance between neural nodes underlying orienting and attention control functions. Previous studies have suggested that age-related changes in cognitive process are associated to the changes in the myelinated fiber bundles, which affected the speed and actions of the signal propagation across different neural networks. However, whether the age-related difference in allocentric and egocentric spatial coding is accounted by the difference in white-matter integrity is unclear. In this study, using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we sought to elucidate whether age-related differences in white matter integrity accounts for the difference in nodes to the distributed spatial coding-relevant brain networks.Material and MethodOlder (n = 24) and younger (n = 27) participants completed the structural DTI and fMRI scans during which they engaged in a cue-to-target task to elicit allocentric or egocentric processes.Results and ConclusionEfficient modulation of both allocentric and egocentric spatial coding in fronto-parietal attention network (FPAN) requires structure–function interaction. Allocentric task-modulated connectivity of the fronto-parietal network (FPN) and dorsal attention network (DAN) with the temporal lobe was influenced by the aging differences of the white-matter tracts of the posterior and superior corona radiata (PCR and SCR), respectively. On the other hand, aging difference of the superior longitudinal fasciculus mainly influenced the egocentric-task-modulated connections of the DAN and FPN with frontal regions and posterior cingulate cortex. This study suggested that functional connections of the FPAN with near and far task-relevant nodes vary significantly with age and conditions.

Fikremariam Fenta,1 Derbie Alemu,1 Dagninet Alelign2 1Department of Medical Laboratory Science, Arba Minch College of Health Science, Arba Minch, Ethiopia; 2Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Dagninet Alelign, Tel: +251 964-428-118, Email dagninet.alelign@gmail.comBackground: The emergence and the incidence of antimicrobial-resistant Gram-positive bacteria increase the risk of treatment failure of ocular infection. Thus, this study aimed to determine the magnitude of drug-resistant Gram-positive bacterial pathogens and associated factors among patients attending Jinka General Hospital Ophthalmic Clinic in Southern Ethiopia.Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 347 external ocular infected patients attending Jinka General Hospital Ophthalmic Clinic from 15th March to 20th June 2021. Study participants were selected by a systematic random sampling technique. Required data were collected by using structured questionnaires. Swabs of the external eye were obtained with a sterile cotton swab and processed in the Jinka branch Public Health Laboratory. Each sample was inoculated on blood agar, chocolate agar, and mannitol salt agar and incubated aerobically and micro-aerobically at 37°C for 48 hrs. Identification was done by standard microbiological protocols and antimicrobial resistance testing by Kirby Bauer’s disk diffusion technique. Logistic regression was used to identify the associated factors with Gram-positive bacterial external-ocular infection.Results: The overall prevalence of Gram-positive bacterial pathogens among external ocular samples was 119/347 (34.3%). S. aureus 57/119 (47.39%), followed by coagulase-negative Staphylococcus spp. 38/119 (31.9%), and S. pneumoniae 13/119 (10.9%) were predominantly isolated. Overall, multi-drug resistance was observed in 72/119 (60.5%) of the bacteria isolates. The 78.9% of isolated S. aureus were MDR. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and Methicillin-resistant CoNS (MR-CoNS) were accounted for 45.6% and 36.8%, respectively. Previous use of ocular antibiotics was statistically associated to external-ocular Gram-positive bacterial infection [AOR= 1.624, 95% CI: (1.037– 2.542)].Conclusion: High levels of drug resistance were observed for commonly prescribed antibiotics, which attracted the attention of an ophthalmic clinic. Thus, for the effective treatment and management of bacterial eye infections, regular monitoring of drug resistance trends is essential.Keywords: external-ocular infection, drug-resistant, gram-positive bacteria, Jinka, Ethiopia

Additional file 1. Search strategy.

Background. Streptococcus agalactiae (group B Streptococcus, GBS) is one of the causes of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in many parts of the world. It is associated with severe maternal and neonatal outcomes. The colonization rate, associated factors, and antimicrobial sensitivity (AST) profile of GBS among pregnant women in Eastern Ethiopia is less studied. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 st March to 30 th May, 2021 in Jigjiga. A total of 182 pregnant women with a gestational period of ≥36 weeks were included. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on the participants’ demographic and clinical history. Vaginal-rectal samples were collected by brushing the lower vagina and rectum with a sterile cotton swab for bacteriological culture. An antimicrobial sensitivity test (AST) was performed using the Kary-Bauer disk diffusion method. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 25. The logistic regression model was used to find out factors associated with GBS colonization. Results. GBS colonization among pregnant women attending antenatal care was at 15.9% (29/182). The AST result showed that the majority of the isolates were sensitive to vancomycin (96.6%), chloramphenicol (96.6%), ampicillin (93.1%) azithromycin (89.7%), and penicillin (86.2%). In contrast, the isolates were found to be resistant to ceftriaxone, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, clindamycin, and tetracycline at 17.2%, 20.7%, 27.6%, 27.6%, and 34.5%, respectively. Multidrug resistance (MDR) was noted in 4 isolates (13.79%). GBS colonization was significantly associated a with history of preterm labor (18 hr.) (AOR = 3.44, 95% CI = 1.34–8.83). Conclusions. The colonization rate of GBS was considerably high among pregnant women attending antenatal care in the present study area. The observed antimicrobial resistance for the common drugs and the reported MDR level calls for routine screening of pregnant women for GBS and actions to minimize antimicrobial resistance (AMR) should be strengthened.

Background Cervical cancer is caused by infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HR-HPVs). It is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths in Ethiopia and globally. To develop efficient vaccination and HPV-based cervical cancer screening approaches, data on genotype distribution of HPVs is crucial. Hence, the study was aimed to review HPV genotype distribution in Ethiopia. Methods Research articles were systematically searched using comprehensive search strings from PubMed/Medline and SCOPUS. Besides, Google Scholar was searched manually for grey literature. The last search was conducted on 18 August 2021. The first two authors independently appraised the studies for scientific quality and extracted the data using Excel sheet. The pooled HPV genotype distribution was presented with descriptive statistics. Results We have included ten studies that were reported from different parts of the country during 2005 and 2019. These studies included 3633 women presented with different kinds of cervical abnormalities, from whom 29 different HPV genotypes with a sum of 1926 sequences were reported. The proportion of high-risk, possible/probable high-risk and low-risk HPVs were at 1493 (77.5%), 182 (9.4%) and 195 (10.1%), respectively. Of the reported genotypes, the top five were HPV 16 (37.3%; 95% CI 35.2.1–39.5%), HPV 52 (6.8%; 95% CI 5.8–8.0%), HPV 35 (4.8%; 95% CI 3.9–5.8%), HPV 18 (4.4%; 95% CI 3.5–5.3%) and HPV 56 (3.9%: 95% CI 3.1–4.9%). Some of other HR-HPV groups include HPV 31 (3.8%), HPV 45 (3.5%), HPV 58 (3.1%), HPV 59(2.3%), and HPV 68 (2.3%). Among the high-risk types, the combined prevalence of HPV 16/18 was at 53.7% (95% CI 51.2–56.3%). HPV 11 (2.7%: 95% CI 2.1–3.5%), HPV 42 (2.1%: 95% CI 1.5–2.8%) and HPV 6 (2.1%: 95% CI 1.4–2.7%) were the most common low-risk HPV types. Conclusions We noted that the proportion of HR-HPV types was higher and HPV 16 in particular, but also HPV 52, HPV 35 and HPV 18, warrant special attention in Ethiopian’s vaccination and HPV based cervical screening program. Additional data from other parts of the country where there is no previous HPV genotype report are needed to better map the national HPV genotypes distribution of Ethiopia.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the main etiology of tuberculosis (TB), is predominantly an intracellular pathogen that has caused infection, disease and death in humans for centuries. Lipid droplets (LDs) are dynamic intracellular organelles that are found across the evolutionary tree of life. This review is an evaluation of the current state of knowledge regarding Mtb-LD formation and associated Mtb transcriptome directly from sputa.Based on the LD content, Mtb in sputum may be classified into three groups: LD positive, LD negative and LD borderline. However, the clinical and evolutionary importance of each state is not well elaborated. Mounting evidence supports the view that the presence of LD positive Mtb bacilli in sputum is a biomarker of slow growth, low energy state, towards lipid degradation, and drug tolerance. In Mtb, LD may serve as a source of chemical energy, scavenger of toxic compounds, prevent destruction of Mtb through autophagy, delay trafficking of lysosomes towards the phagosome, and contribute to Mtb persistence. It is suggest that LD is a key player in the induction of a spectrum of phenotypic and metabolic states of Mtb in the macrophage, granuloma and extracellular sputum microenvironment. Tuberculosis patients with high proportion of LD positive Mtb in pretreatment sputum was associated with higher rate of poor treatment outcome, indicating that LD may have a clinical application in predicting treatment outcome.The propensity for LD formation among Mtb lineages is largely unknown. The role of LD on Mtb transmission and disease phenotype (pulmonary TB vs extra-pulmonary TB) is not well understood. Thus, further studies are needed to understand the relationships between LD positivity and Mtb lineage, Mtb transmission and clinical types.

Breast neoplasm is the most frequently diagnosed and the leading cause of cancer death in the vast majority of the countries. Breast cancer self-examination is a check-up of a woman does at home to look for changes or problems in the breast tissue. The benefit of early recognition is for early treatment that is more effective, higher long-term survival rates and better quality of life. The aim of this review was to determine the pooled prevalence of breast cancer self-examination practice and identify its associated factors among Ethiopian women.Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, web of science, and Cochrane Library were used for search of articles. This review includes thirty four articles conducted in Ethiopia between 2011 and 2020. The review contains 14,908 women to determine the ever pooled prevalence of breast cancer self-examination practice. Health workers and students made up 28.35% of the total participants. Data were extracted using a standardized data extraction format prepared in Microsoft Excel and analyzed with Stata 14. To assess heterogeneity IIn Ethiopian women, the overall ever and regular pooled breast cancer self-examination practice was 36% (95% CI: 28, 43) and 16% (95% CI: 28, 43) respectively. The ever pooled prevalence for health workers or students was 53% (95% CI: 41, 65), whereas for other participants it was 25% (95% CI: 19, 30). Good knowledge about breast self-examination (AOR: 3.69: 95% CI: 2.70, 5.05), positive attitude towards BCSE (AOR: 2.72: 95% CI: 1.74, 4.24), Getting to know people with breast cancer(AOR: 2.77: 95% CI: 1.51, 5.09), family history of breast cancer (AOR: 2.49: 95% CI: 1.60, 3.88) and personal history of breast cancer (AOR: 2.26: 95% CI: 1.70, 3.01) were associated factors to BCSE practice among Ethiopian women. All of the studies included in this review were conducted in a cross-sectional design was a limitation of this review and meta-analysis.This review and meta-analysis showed the ever and regular pooled prevalence of BCSE among Ethiopian women. More than one third of Ethiopian women ever practiced BCSE. We recommend that awareness creation should be perform in order to tackle the risk of breast cancer.

The common bamboo species in Ethiopia are Arundinaria alpina and Oxytenanthera abyssinica. Arundinaria alpina is a highland bamboo species growing in altitudes from 2400 – 3500 and Oxytenanthera abyssinica is a lowland bamboo growing within the altitudes from 500 - 1800 meter above sea level. But those two bamboo species grow scarcely in the study area. Keeping the importance of increasing diversity, generation of high economic earnings would possible through introducing available bamboo species for different agroecology. From this perspective, it is imperative to identify the best adaptable exotic bamboo species in the north eastern part of Amhara region. The experiment was conducted in Kobo research site of Amhara regional state, Ethiopia. Randomized complete block design with three replications was used to conduct the experiment. Bamboo seedlings were obtained from international network for bamboo and rattan (INBAR-Ethiopia) and planted on July 22/ 2013. An observation on the survival of the propagated material, diameter, height and number of newly emerged shoots were recorded every three months with follow up on every month. The species were Denderocalamus brandisii, Bambusa tulda, Bambusa balcooa and Denderocalamus asper. The results showed that, Bambusa balcooa and Bambusa tulda has better survival percentage than Denderocalamus brandisii and Denderocalamus asper. Additionally, Bambusa balcooa and Bambusa tulda had significantly higher height and Diameter at Breast Height than Denderocalamus asper. Therefore, both Bambusa balcooa and Bambusa tulda should be demonstrated and popularized around kobo and other areas that have similar soil and climatic conditions., Abyssinia Journal of Science and Technology, Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021)

The cyst nematodes Heterodera schachtii and Heterodera trifolii, whose major hosts are sugar beet and clover, respectively, damage a broad range of plants, resulting in significant economic losses. Nematodes synthesize metabolites for organismal development and social communication. We performed metabolic profiling of H. schachtii and H. trifolii in the egg, juvenile 2 (J2), and female stages. In all, 392 peaks were analyzed by capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry, which revealed a lot of similarities among metabolomes. Aromatic amino acid metabolism, carbohydrate metabolism, choline metabolism, methionine salvage pathway, glutamate metabolism, urea cycle, glycolysis, gluconeogenesis, coenzyme metabolism, purine metabolism, pyrimidine metabolism, and tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle for energy conversion (β-oxidation and branched-chain amino acid metabolism) energy storage were involved in all stages studied. The egg and female stages synthesized higher levels of metabolites compared to the J2 stage. The key metabolites detected were glycerol, guanosine, hydroxyproline, citric acid, phosphorylcholine, and the essential amino acids Phe, Leu, Ser, and Val. Metabolites, such as hydroxyproline, acetylcholine, serotonin, glutathione, and glutathione disulfide, which are associated with growth and reproduction, mobility, and neurotransmission, predominated in the J2 stage. Other metabolites, such as SAM, 3PSer, 3-ureidopropionic acid, CTP, UDP, UTP, 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaric acid, 2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl-1,3-propanediol, 2-hydroxy-4-methylvaleric acid, Gly Asp, glucuronic acid-3 + galacturonic acid-3 Ser-Glu, citrulline, and γ-Glu-Asn, were highly detected in the egg stage. Meanwhile, nicotinamide, 3-PG, F6P, Cys, ADP-Ribose, Ru5P, S7P, IMP, DAP, diethanolamine, p-Hydroxybenzoic acid, and γ-Glu-Arg_divalent were unique to the J2 stage. Formiminoglutamic acid, nicotinaminde riboside + XC0089, putrescine, thiamine 2,3-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 3-methyladenine, caffeic acid, ferulic acid, m-hydrobenzoic acid, o- and p-coumaric acid, and shikimic acid were specific to the female stage. Overall, highly similar identities and quantities of metabolites between the corresponding stages of the two species of nematode were observed. Our results will be a valuable resource for further studies of physiological changes related to the development of nematodes and nematode–plant interactions.

BACKGROUND: Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) and its human host are the most competent organisms with co-evolutionary trajectory. This review determined the phylogeography, clinical phenotype-related genotype and transmission dynamics of MTBC in Africa.METHODS: Spoligotyping and mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR) based articles from Africa published in the English language were included. Articles were retrieved from PubMed and Scopus on 12 May 2018.RESULTS: In Africa, respectively 92% and 7% of tuberculosis (TB) cases were caused by M. tuberculosis and M. africanum. Among M. tuberculosis lineages (L), L4 was the predominant, at 67%, followed by L3/Central Asian (CAS; 10%). L7/ETH1 and L5/6/Maf were restricted to the Horn and Western Africa, respectively. L4.6/SIT37, H37Rv like, L4.1.2/Haarlem and H3-Ural were proportionally more frequent among tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBLN) than among pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) cases. On 24-locus MIRU-VNTR, clustering rate was 31%; the secondary case rate from a single primary source case was 20%.CONCLUSION: Africa in general, and the east-west pole of Africa in particular, harboured a genetically diverse population of MTBC, with characteristics of geographic segregation. Both generalist and specialist genotypes are circulating in the region. L4 is dominant across the continent, while M. bovis is rarely detected as a cause for human TB. The clinical significance of genetic diversity of MTBC in the different geographic and population groups of Africa is not fully understood. Both person-to-person transmission and reactivation mode of TB is significant in Africa. Prevention and control strategies should therefore envisage these two scenarios.

Sclerotinia rot and Phytophthora blight are devastating diseases of perilla that can cause huge loss of perilla production. Screening disease resistant genetic resources is necessary to develop disease-resistant cultivars and conduct related research. The objective of this study was to find suitable inoculation methods for screening of Sclerotinia rot and Phytophthora blight in perilla germplasm. Three different inoculation methods [i.e., detached leaf (agar plug placed on start point of vein, 1/3 point of leaf vein & front side, back side), stem tip, and soil drenching] with three-growth stages (two, four & six-leaf stage) at two different temperatures (20 & 25°C) were assayed for their effectiveness for screening using IT 229019 & Sang-yeop perilla germplasm. Based on disease lesion, 20°C in two-leaf stage with detached leaf method (start point of vein) was found to be an efficient method for screening of Sclerotinia rot whereas 25°C in two-leaf stage with stem tip was an effective method for screening of Phytophthora blight in perilla germplasm. However, stem tip method was laborious as it required more time. Therefore, detached leaf method (start point of vein & back side) was a simple and rapid method that could be preferably used for screening of Sclerotinia rot and Phytophthora blight in perilla germplasm.