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Background: Chronic kidney disease is a progressive loss in renal function that is more accepted as global public health importance and its magnitude is overgrowing in the least developed countries like Ethiopia. No data was found in Debre Birhan Central Ethiopia on the magnitude of chronic kidney disease among type 2 diabetes patients. Methods: Institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 327 at Debre Berhan Referral Hospital from March to June 2019 in Adult (≥ 18 years) type 2 diabetes follow-up patients who volunteered to give informed written consent were included in the study. Systematic random sampling was used. Data were collected by interviews using structured and pre-tested questionnaires. Descriptive statistics of the continuous and categorical variables were done. The bi-variable and multivariable logistic regression was done to show the net effect of explanatory variables on chronic renal disease. Results: A total of 327 study participants were involved in the final analysis. The Prevalence of CKD among type 2 diabetic patients was 15.9%. A significant association was found with age > 60 years [AOR 3.5 (95% CI 1.8-6.8)], alcoholic patients [AOR 2.4 (95% CI 1.2-5.1)], glycated hemoglobin levels above 7% [AOR 2.5 (95 CI 1.5-4.1)], higher level of LDL greater than 100 g/dl [AOR 2.7 (95% CI 1.9-4)] and lower level of HDL [AOR 2.9 (95% CI 1.4-6)]. Conclusion: The magnitude of chronic kidney disease among type 2 diabetic follow-up patients was 15.9%. Estimated GFR should be determined for diabetic patients at regular intervals of time for earlier diagnosis of chronic kidney disease.

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is extensively cultivated cereal crop in Ethiopia where it is annually grown by about 6.5 million smallholder farmers on about 30% of the total area allocated to cereal crops. However, the productivity of tef is very low compared to other cereals mainly due to little scientific research on the crop, widespread use of local varieties coupled with traditional cultural practices, and lack of drought tolerant varieties. A multi-environment field experiment was, therefore, carried with the objectives of identifying and releasing high yielding and farmer- and consumer-preferred tef variety for moisture deficit areas of the country. The drought tolerant tef genotypes tested were derived from two independent crosses of Dtt2 x Dtt13 and DZ-Cr-387 x Dtt2. The parental lines Dtt2 (drought tolerant tef2) and Dtt13 (drought tolerant tef 13) were obtained by screening 5,000 ethylmethane sulfonate (EMS) mutagenized populations from an improved variety called Tsedey. Twelve candidate droughts tolerant tef genotypes from preliminary variety trials and a local as well as standard check varieties (Boset) were tested over two years (2018 and 2019 main cropping seasons) at five moisture deficit tef growing areas in Ethiopia (viz. Debre Zeit light soil, Minjar, Alemtena, Melkassa and Sirinka) using randomized complete block design with four replications. Late sowing combined with light textured soils was used to simulate terminal drought stress at Debre Zeit light soil and Minjar. The combined analyses of variance did not exhibit statistically significant difference for genotype by environment interaction. However, among the tested lines, the candidate line RIL 37 from Dtt2 x Dtt13 cross was found superior in grain yield over the standard check Boset variety (by 13.2%) and the local cultivar (by 27.6%). The candidate line was further evaluated in the variety verification trial during the 2020 main cropping season and approved for the release by the National Variety Release Committee in 2021 with name DZ-Cr-498 (RIL 37) or Boni.

The low productivity of tef is associated with problems inherent to tef botany and lodging. The small seed size of tef poses a major inheritance problem during sowing operations. Techniques such as pelleting seed with organic matter are effective to make them uniform in size and shape. A field study was conducted to determine optimum sowing depth and seed rate of pelleted tef for reducing lodging, and improving productivity of tef under Vertisol conditions during two consecutive cropping seasons (2019 and 2020). A factorial combination of four sowing depths (0, 1, 2 and 3 cm) and three pelleted tef seed rates (60, 90 and 120 kg/ha~5, 7.5 and 10 kg/ha of un-pelleted tef) were used as a treatment. The experiments were laid out in RCBD with three replications. Sowing depth had a significant effect on biomass and grain yield of tef. Tef sowing at the shallowest depth (0 cm) and 1 cm gave the highest biomass yield (11889 kg/ha and 9639 kg/ha, respectively) and grain yield (2786 kg/ha and 2536 kg/ha, respectively). In contrast, the deepest sowing (3 cm) reduced biomass and grain yield of tef. Seed rate played an important role in the biomass yield of tef, the highest biomass yield (10399 kg/ha) was recorded from the 120 kg/ha seed rate of pelleted tef. Regarding lodging, the deepest sowing and lowest seed rate reduced lodging index and a number of root lodged plant. The average lodging index for the deepest sowing (3 cm) was 30.8%, while the shallowest (0 cm) was 69.3%. The result revealed that pelleted tef seed can successfully emerge from a depth of 1 cm without any apparent penalty of yield. Tef even emerged from 2 to 3 cm depth, while showing reduced lodging, but these had a yield penalty. Therefore, it can be concluded that a 1 cm sowing depth and 90 kg/ha pelleted tef are optimal for sowing pelleted tef seed for reducing lodging and improving yield.&nbsp

አህፅሮት ኢትዮጵያ ውስጥ ጤፍ (Eragrostis tef) ከ6.5 ሚሊዮን በሚበልጡ አነስተኛ አርሶ አደሮች ይመረታል፡፡ ሆኖም ግን የተሻሻሉ ቴክኖሎጂዎችና የምርጥ ዘር ተጠቃሚነት ውስን በመሆኑ የሰብሉ ምርታማነት ዝቅተኛ እንደሆነ ቀጥሏል፡፡ ስለሆነም አነስተኛ አርሶ አደሮች ጥራቱን ለጠበቀ የጤፍ አራቢ ዘር ያላቸውን ተደራሽነት ለመጨመር ዓላማ ያደረገ ጥናት በ254 መሪ አርሶ አደሮች ማሳ ላይ ተካሂዷል፡፡ በጥናቱም በቅርብ ጊዜ የተለቀቁ ሦስት አዳዲስ ዝርያዎች እና አንድ ቀደም ብሎ የተለቀቀ ዝርያ (ቦሰት) ተካተው ተገምግመዋል፡፡ ለእያንዳንዱ መሪ-አርሶ አደር የአራቱም ዝርያዎች ማለትም የኮራ፣ የተስፋ፣ የዳግም እና የቦሰት አራቢ ዘር ተሰጥቷል፡፡ የአራቱ ዝርያዎች የዘር ምርት ተቀራራቢ (ኮራ = 1.94፣ ተስፋ = 2.31፣ ዳግም = 2.24 እና ቦሰት = 2.36 ቶን በሄክታር) ነበር፡፡ ጥናቱ በተካሄደባቸው ወረዳዎች ያለውን የግብዓት ዋጋ እና የምርት ዋጋ እሳቤ ውስጥ ሲገባ የተገኘው አማካይ ያልተጣራ ገቢ 65,355.90 ብር በሄክታር ሲሆን አማካይ የማምረቻ ወጪው ደግሞ 26,355.52 ብር በሄክታር ነበር፡፡ ከማምረቻ ወጪዎች መካከል ለጉልበት የወጣው ወጪ ትልቁን ድርሻ ሲይዝ ከጠቅላላው ወጪ 58 በመቶ ድርሻ ነበረው፡፡ በአጠቃላይ የገቢ-ወጪ ምጣኔ 1.5 በመሆኑ የተሻሻለ የጤፍ ዝርያ ቴክኖሎጂ መጠቀም በጣም ትርፋማ እንደሆነ ጥናቱ ያመልክታል፡፡ ይህም በመሆኑ አዳዲስ የሚወጡ የጤፍ ዝርያዎችን ዘር አባዝቶ ለገብያ ማቅረብን ትኩረት ያደረገ የሰርቶ ማሳያ ስራ ቢሰራ ለአርሶ አደሮች ሳቢና አዋጭ ሆኖ ተገኝትዋል፡፡ ጠቋሚ ቃላት፡ መሪ አርሶ አደሮች፤ የጤፍ ዝርያዎች፤ የምርጥ ዘር ምርት፤ የጤፍ ጭድ፤ የምርት ዋጋ Abstract Tef (Eragrostis tef) is extensively cultivated by over 6.5 million smallholder farmers in Ethiopia. However, the productivity of the crop remains low mainly due to the limited use of improved technologies including seeds. In this study, three recently released and one old (as a check) tef varieties were evaluated on 254 lead farmers’ fields with the main aim of increasing farmers’ access to quality breed seeds.Each lead farmer was provided with breeder seeds of four improved tef varieties, namely Kora, Tesfa, Dagim, and Boset.The seed yield from the four tef varieties were comparable (Kora = 1.94, Tesfa = 2.31, Dagim =2.24 and Boset = 2.36 t ha-1). Given the input and output prices that prevail in the selected districts, the mean revenue was 65,355.90 Birr ha-1 while the mean production cost was 26,355.52 Birr ha-1. Among production costs, labor took for the lion’s share as it contributed to 58% of the total cost. In general, with a benefit-cost ratio of 1.5, our technology is highly profitable and attractive to farmers if newly released tef varieties are disseminated in the seed-business-oriented method. &nbsp

In summary, whilst the generation of basic scientific information on the genetics, genomics, physiology and other related biosciences is still a fundamental requirement, the overall improvement of tef in Ethiopia requires a concerted and holistic multi-disciplinary approach. This, in turn, calls for enhancement of national, regional and international networking, collaboration and data sharing among research and development, and donor institutions and organizations. Last but not least, in order to see the impact on the genetic progress research on tef, it is imperative to undertake large-scale popularization of the released varieties, where the end-user farmers can see the impact of such improved technologies through demonstrations and scaling up activities involving improved varieties coupled with commensurate management practices.

Due to the large influence of the environment on plant development and morphology, there is a lot of potential to use a variety of crop management processes to improve tef production. A major benefit of this is that these methods can be used to promote development of desirable traits in tef varieties already preferred by farmers. Initiatives such as Sustainable Rice Intensification (SRI), a basic system of crop management practises for rice, are already improving cereal crop performance around the world (Mishra et al., 2006).

Getaneh Baye Mulu,1 Worku Misganaw Kebede,1 Solomon Adanew Worku,1 Yohannes Moges Mittiku,1 Birhanu Ayelign2 1College of Health Sciences, Debre Berhan University, Debre Berhan, Ethiopia; 2Department of Immunology and Molecular Biology, School of Biomedical and Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Science, Gondar, EthiopiaCorrespondence: Getaneh Baye Mulu P.O.box: 445 Tel +251920633075Email getanehbaye6@gmail.comBackground: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging respiratory disease that is caused by a novel coronavirus and was first detected in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. The disease is highly infectious, and its main clinical symptoms include fever, dry cough, fatigue, myalgia, and dyspnea. Healthcare providers are in front in fighting the coronavirus spread by making themselves the risk of contracting the disease.Objective: To assess the preparedness and responses of healthcare providers to combat the spread of COVID-19 among North Shewa Zone Hospitals, Amhara, Ethiopia.Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2020 among 422 healthcare providers in the North Shewa Zone, Amhara, Ethiopia using a self-administered questionnaire. Study subjects were selected through systematic random sampling based on their proportional distribution of sample size to each hospital. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data were coded and entered into the Epi data 4.2.1 version and the analysis was carried out in Statistical Package for Social Science 25 versions.Results: Four hundred four participants involved in the study have been given a response rate of 95.7%. The self-satisfaction of healthcare providers revealed 301 (74.5%) of study participants feel unsafe in their workplace. Two-third, 260 (64.4%), of them responded that they feel anxious while working with febrile patients. Nearly one-third (31%), 27.4%, 15.9%, 14.5%, 14.2% of HCPs had access to gloves, facemask, goggle, shoe, and apron respectively in hospitals.Conclusion: Protecting healthcare workers is a public health priority. Access to essential personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic was limited. The poor perception of healthcare professionals about not having enough support from medical institutions and public health authorities raises the need to urgently implement strategies to protect healthcare workers in the time of the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords: coronavirus, preparedness, responses, healthcare provider, North Shewa

Tef [Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter] is the major cultivated cereal crop in Ethiopia and serves as staple food grain for over 65% of the population. The area under tef cultivation is over three million hectares of land each year. Depending on the type of seed color, tef grains are categorized into white and brown, while some admixtures and intermediate seed colors also exist. However, the productivity of tef is very low as compared to other cereals due, among others, to lack of high yielding varieties. The objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of released brown seeded tef variety called Felagot and to provide unique morphological and agronomic descriptions of this new variety. Twelve genotypes resulting from two independent crossesnd breed for at least seven generations plus local and standard check varieties were tested over two years (2014 and 2015 main season) at six tef growing locations namely: Debre Zeit light soil, Debre Zeit Black soil, Minjar, Adet, Bichena and Holetta using randomized complete block design with four replications. The study found that Felagot (DZ-Cr-442/ RIL-77C) which was obtained from a cross between Quncho (the popular variety) and Gea Lammie (local cultivar) exceled the other genotypes and it was approved for release by the Ethiopian National Variety Release Committee in March 2017. The main advantages of Felagot over the other tested lines were its higher grain yield together with high straw yield and brown seed color. In addition, it was released under the brown seed category after one and half decades. Furthermore, it is anticipated that because of the brown seed color Felagot will command high external market preferences and prices, and thereby contribute for future tef export market., ጤፍ በኢትዮጵያ ከሚመረቱ የብርዕና አገዳ ሰብሎች ዋነኛው ሲሆን ከ65 በመቶ ለማያንስ ህዝብ ዋና የምግብ ሰብል በመሆን ያገለግላል፡፡ የጤፍ የዘር ቀለም ተለያይነት ያለው ሲሆን በአብዛኛው ነጭና ቡናማ/ቀይ አንዳንዴም ድብልቅ እና መካከለኛ የዘር ቀለም በየዓመቱ ከሶሰት ሚሊዮን ማሳ በላይ በመሸፈን ይመረታል፡፡ ይሁን እንጂ ከሌሎች ሰብሎች ጋር ሲወዳደር ምርትና ምርታማነቱ ዝቅተኛ ነው፡፡ ለዚህም ዋና ዋና ምክንያት በመሆን የሚጠቀሰው የተሻሻሉ ዝርያዎች በበቂ ሁኔታ አለመኖር ነው፡፡ የዚህ ጥናት ዋና ዓላማ እየጨመረ የመጣውን የቡናማ/ቀይ ጤፍ ፍላጎት ለማሟላት በተለያየ የምርምር አሰራርና ሂደት የተገኘ የጤፍ ዝርያን በመፈተሽ የተሻለ ምርት የሚሰጥና በአርሶ አደሩና በተጠቃሚው ተመራጭ የሆነ ዝርያ ማፍለቅ ነበር፡፡ በጥናቱም አስራ ሁለት የተለያዩ የጤፍ ዓይነቶችን ጨምሮ አንድ በቅርቡ የተለቀቀ እና አንድ የአካባቢ ዝርያን በማካተት በስድስት ወካይ ጤፍ አብቃይ ቦታዎች ላይ ተፈትሸው ፍላጎት (ደዘ-ክሮስ-442) የተባለው ቡናማ/ቀይ ዘር ቀለም ያለው ዝርያ ከሌሎች ማወዳደሪያ ዝርያዎች የተሻለ ውጤት በማስመዝገቡ በብሄራዊ የዝርያ አፅዳቂ ኮሚቴ ተገምግሞ ለምርት እንዲውል ተወስኗል፡፡ በተጨማሪም ይህ ዝርያ ቡናማ/ቀይ ዘር ቀለም ያለው ዝርያ ከተለቀቀ ከአስራ አምስት አመታት በኃላ የተገኘና የወደፊት የውጭ ገበያ ፍላጎትን ለሟሟላት ከፍተኛ አስተዋፅኦ ሊያበረክት የሚችል ነው፡፡