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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).

Background: Tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus (TB/HIV) co-infection is an important global public health problem. The consequence of co-infection is multidirectional. The mortality rate of co-infected patients’ comes from many aspects or factors. Identification of these factors is important for planning and for the intervention of care and treatment.Objective: To assess tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus co-infected patients’ mortality rate and its predictors in Dire Dawa, Eastern Ethiopia. Method: Institution based 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. Result: 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. Conclusion: 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.Key words: Dire Dawa, Ethiopia, Retrospective cohort, mortality rate, TB/ HIV co-infection. Funding Statement: No financial support was gained to conduct the study. Declaration of Interests: The authors state that they have no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: This study has got ethical approval from Haramaya University College of Health and Medical Sciences, Institutional Health Research Ethical Review Committee (IHRERC). Permission for data collection was also secured from each hospitals and Health Centers.

The molecular epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis, Mtb) is poorly documented in Ethiopia. The data that exists has not yet been collected in an overview metadata form. Thus, this review summarizes available literature on the genomic diversity, geospatial distribution and transmission patterns of Mtb lineages (L) and sublineages in Ethiopia. Spoligotyping and Mycobacterial Interspersed Repetitive Units-Variable Number Tandem Repeats (MIRU-VNTR) based articles were identified from MEDLINE via PubMed and Scopus. The last date of article search was done on 12th February 2019. Articles were selected following the PRISMA flow diagram. The proportion of (sub)lineages was summarized at national level and further disaggregated by region. Clustering and recent transmission index (RTI) were determined using metan command and random effect meta-analysis model. The meta-analysis was computed using Stata 14 (Stata Corp. College Station, TX, USA). Among 4371 clinical isolates, 99.5% were Mtb and 0.5% were M. bovis. Proportionally, L4, L3, L1 and L7 made up 62.3%, 21.7%, 7.9% and 3.4% of the total isolates, respectively. Among sublineages, L4.2. ETH/SIT149, L4.10/SIT53, L3. ETH1/SIT25 and L4.6/SIT37 were the leading clustered isolates accounting for 14.4%, 9.7%, 7.2% and 5.5%, respectively. Based on MIRU-VNTR, the rate of clustering was 41% and the secondary case rate from a single source case was estimated at 29%. Clustering and recent transmission index was higher in eastern and southwestern Ethiopia compared with the northwestern part of the country. High level of genetic diversity with a high rate of clustering was noted which collectively mirrored the phenomena of micro-epidemics and super-spreading. The largest set of clustered strains deserves special attention and further characterization using whole genome sequencing (WGS) to better understand the evolution, genomic diversity and transmission dynamics of Mtb.