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Although addition of pyrolyzed organic materials (biochars) to soil generally results in increased growth and physiological performance of plants, neutral and negative responses have also commonly been detected. Toxicity of organic compounds generated during pyrolysis, sorbed by biochars, and then released into the soil solution, has been implicated as a possible mechanism for such negative effects. Conversely, water-soluble biochar constituents have also been suggested to have "hormetic" effects (positive effects on plants at low concentrations); however, no specific compounds responsible have been identified. We investigated the relative phytotoxicity-and possible hormetic effects-of 14 organic compounds common in aqueous extracts of freshly produced lignocellulosic biochars, using seed germination bioassays. Of the compounds examined, volatile fatty acids (VFAs: acetic, propionic, butyric, valeric, caproic, and 2-ethylbutyric acids) and phenol, showed acute phytotoxicity, with germination-based ED50 values of 1-30 mmol L -1 , and 2-ethylbutyric acid showed ED50 values of 0.1-1.0 mmol L -1 . Other compounds (benzene, benzoic acid, butanone, methyl salicylate, toluene, and 2,4-di-tert-butylphenol) showed toxic effects only at high concentrations close to solubility limits. Although phytotoxic at high concentrations, valeric and caproic acid also showed detectable hormetic effects on seedlings, increasing radicle extension by 5-15% at concentrations of ~ 0.01-0.1 mmol L -1 . These data support the hypothesis that VFAs are the main agents responsible for phytotoxic effects of lignocellulosic biochar leachates, but that certain VFAs also have hormetic effects at low concentrations and may contribute to positive effects of biochar leachates on early plant development in some cases., Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42773-024-00339-w., Competing Interests: Competing interestsThe authors declare that there is no conflict of interest., (© The Author(s) 2024.)

Introduction: Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) during armed conflicts has serious ramifications with women and girls disproportionally affected. The impact of the conflict that erupted in November 2020 in Tigray on SGBV is not well documented. This study is aimed at assessing war-related SGBV in war-affected Tigray, Ethiopia., Methods: A community-based survey was conducted in 52 (out of 84) districts of Tigray, excluding its western zone and some districts bordering Eritrea due to security reasons. Using a two-stage multistage cluster sampling technique, a total of 5171 women of reproductive age (15-49 years) were randomly selected and included in the study. Analysis used weighted descriptive statistics, regression modelling and tests of associations., Results: Overall, 43.3% (2241/5171) of women experienced at least one type of gender-based violence. The incidents of sexual, physical and psychological violence, and rape among women of reproductive age were found to be 9.7% (500/5171), 28.6% (1480/5171), 40.4% (2090/5171) and 7.9% (411/5171), respectively. Of the sexual violence survivors, rape accounted for 82.2% (411/500) cases, of which 68.4% (247) reported being gang raped. Young women (aged 15-24 years) were the most affected by sexual violence, 29.2% (146/500). Commonly reported SGBV-related issues were physical trauma, 23.8% (533/2241), sexually transmitted infections, 16.5% (68/411), HIV infection, 2.7% (11/411), unwanted pregnancy, 9.5% (39/411) and depression 19.2% (431/2241). Most survivors (89.7%) did not receive any postviolence medical or psychological support., Conclusions: Systemic war-related SGBV was prevalent in Tigray, with gang-rape as the most common form of sexual violence. Immediate medical and psychological care, and long-term rehabilitation and community support for survivors are urgently needed and recommended., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

The war in Tigray region of Ethiopia that started in November 2020 and is still ongoing has brought enormous damage to the health system. This analysis provides an assessment of the health system before and during the war. Evidence of damage was compiled from November 2020 to June 2021 from various reports by the interim government of Tigray, and also by international non-governmental organisations. Comparison was made with data from the prewar calendar year. Six months into the war, only 30% of hospitals, 17% of health centres, 11.5% of ambulances and none of the 712 health posts were functional. As of June 2021, the population in need of emergency food assistance in Tigray increased from less than one million to over 5.2 million. While the prewar performance of antenatal care, supervised delivery, postnatal care and children vaccination was 64%, 73%, 63% and 73%, respectively, but none of the services were likely to be delivered in the first 90 days of the war. A conservative estimate places the number of girls and women raped in the first 5 months of the war to be 10 000. These data indicate a widespread destruction of livelihoods and a collapse of the healthcare system. The use of hunger and rape as a weapon of war and the targeting of healthcare facilities are key components of the war. To avert worsening conditions, an immediate intervention is needed to deliver food and supplies and rehabilitate the healthcare delivery system and infrastructure., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Low back pain is one of the major occupational health problems ranked the highest in terms of years lived with disability, and it has an economic burden on individuals and society in general. Hairdressers are high-risk professionals, but they are usually getting less attention in research and policy actions. The objective of this study is to assess the magnitude and associated factors of low back pain among hairdressers working in female beauty salons of Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was employed from January up to March 2018. A simple random sampling was applied to select 344 participants. Interviewer-administered, pretested, and structured questionnaire was used. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were performed using SPSS version 23. A p value of <0.05 was used to declare statistical significance. A total of 314 hairdressers participated, with a 91.3% response rate. The study found that the prevalence of low back pain was 47.5% with 95% CI (41.8-53.1). Marital status (AOR: 0.40, 95% CI (0.23-0.71)), awkward posture (AOR: 2.59, 95%CI (1.45-4.63)), working greater than 4 days in a week (AOR: 5.12, 95% CI (1.94-13.70)), the task of washing the client's hair (AOR: 4.45, 95% CI (1.93-10.26)), having adjustable washing basin (AOR: 0.35, 95% CI (0.18-0.69)), job stress (AOR: 0.45, 95% CI (0.27-0.77)), and job satisfaction (AOR: 0.58, 95% CI (0.34-0.98)) were factors that show a statistically significant association with low back pain. This study found that low back pain is a major health problem among hairdressers. Marital status, awkward postures, working days per week, the task of washing the client's hair, adjustable washing basin, job stress, and job satisfaction show a strong association with low back pain. The result suggests that effective intervention strategies for low back pain need to include ergonomic improvements and psychosocial and behavioral aspects of the participants., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Gebrerufael Solomon Tsegay et al.)

Bamboo-derived biocarbon (BA900) and wood-derived biocarbon (THOC700) have exhibited graphite-like characteristics through transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) spectroscopy analysis. Lightweight composites of biocarbons were manufactured by a mechanism of shear controlled melt-phase mixing, ensuring the preservation of biocarbon pore structures and simultaneously taking full advantage of low density polyolefin substrates. Effective tensile strength was improved by approximately 10% in the polypropylene-based bamboo carbon composite, whereas no appreciable improvement was observed in the tensile and impact strength of bamboo-derived biocarbon formulations compared to neat polymer. However, the tensile and flexural moduli and flexural strength of the THOC700-PP composites were significantly enhanced, by 56%, 67%, and 19%, respectively, compared to neat polymer. The most significant finding of the investigation was the retention of density in polyolefin polymer (ρ PP  = 0.91; ρ THOC  = 0.95; ρ BA900  = 0.99), with enhanced mechanical performance useful for lightweighting applications. Bamboo biocarbon provides a viable alternative to another abundantly available industrial carbon feedstock, reclaimed carbon fiber (RCF), in manufacturing thermoplastic composites. The origin of the carbon plays an important role in defining ultimate composite performance. A mechanism for retaining lightweight structural performance has been proposed in this original work, paving the way to develop next-generation lightweight thermoplastic structures for transportation and other industrial and consumer products., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Background: The role of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is not well-known., Purpose: To assess the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and harms of FMT for CDI., Data Sources: MEDLINE (1980 to January 2015), Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov, followed by hand-searching references from systematic reviews and identified studies., Study Selection: Any study of FMT to treat adult patients with CDI; case reports were only used to report harms., Data Extraction: Data were extracted by 1 author and verified by another; 2 authors independently assessed risk of bias and strength of evidence., Data Synthesis: Two randomized, controlled trials (RCTs); 28 case-series studies; and 5 case reports were included. Two RCTs and 21 case-series studies (516 patients receiving FMT) reported using FMT for patients with recurrent CDI. A high proportion of treated patients had symptom resolution; however, the role of previous antimicrobials is unclear. One RCT comparing FMT with 2 control groups (n = 43) reported resolution of symptoms in 81%, 31%, and 23% of the FMT, vancomycin, or vancomycin-plus-bowel lavage groups, respectively (P < 0.001 for both control groups vs. FMT). An RCT comparing FMT route (n = 20) reported no difference between groups (60% in the nasogastric tube group and 80% in the colonoscopy group; P = 0.63). Across all studies for recurrent CDI, symptom resolution was seen in 85% of cases. In 7 case-series studies of patients with refractory CDI, symptom resolution ranged from 0% to 100%. Among 7 patients treated with FMT for initial CDI, results were mixed., Limitation: Most studies were uncontrolled case-series studies; only 2 RCTs were available for analysis., Conclusion: Fecal microbiota transplantation may have a substantial effect with few short-term adverse events for recurrent CDI. Evidence is insufficient on FMT for refractory or initial CDI treatment and on whether effects vary by donor, preparation, or delivery method., Primary Funding Source: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.