77 research outputs found
Determinants of Time-to-Under-Five Mortality in Ethiopia: A Comparison of Various Parametric Shared Frailty Models
No full textUnder-five mortality is one of the critical indicator of development of a country. It tells of
children’s access to basic health interventions such as vaccinations, medical treatment and
inadequate nutrition (WHO, 2013). According to preliminary estimates, the global U5MR has
declined by more than half, dropping from 90 to 43 deaths per 1,000 live births between 1990 and
2015. But, at today’s rate of progress, it will take about 10 more years to reach the global target
(UNICEF, 2015). The main objective of this study is to identify the determinants of time to underfive mortality in Ethiopia. The data for the study were taken from the 2014 Ethiopian Mini
Demographic and Health Survey of women in the age group15-49 years. Mothers’ educational
level, mothers’ age at first birth, place of residence, household size, sex of child born, preceding
birth interval, economic status of family, place of delivery, marital status of family, and source of
drinking water were identified as determinant factors that affect the time to under-five mortality
from the socio-economic and demographic variables, and environmental factors. Regions of study
were used as clusters which was taken care of the frailty term at regional level and shared frailty
models were explored. Comparison of the model was done by using AIC, and Weibull-Gamma
shared frailty model was selected for time-to-under-five mortality in Ethiopia. Based on the result
of selected model, except marital status of family and age of mothers’ at first birth, all the identified
predictor variables had significant effect on time to under-five mortality. Great attention should
be given to these predictor variables while planning to increase child survival time
Sugar crystal size characterization using digital image processing.
No full textThesis (PhD)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.The measurement of the crystal size distribution is a key prerequisite in optimising the growth of sugar crystals in crystalisation pans or for quality control of the final product. Traditionally, crystal size measurements are carried out by inspection or using mechanical sieves. Apart from being time consuming, these techniques can only provide limited quantitative information. For this reason, a more quantitative automatic system is required. In our project, software routines for the automated measurement of crystal size using classical image analysis techniques were developed. A digital imaging technique involves automatically analyzing a captured image of a representative sample of ~ 100 crystals for the automated measurement of crystal size has been developed. The main problem of crystals size measurements using image processing is the lack of an efficient algorithm to identify and separate overlapping and touching crystals which otherwise compromise the accuracy of size measurement. This problem of overlapping and touching crystals was addressed in two ways. First, 5 algorithms which identify and separate overlapping and touching crystals, using mathematical morphology as a tool, were evaluated. The accuracy of the algorithms depends on the technique used to mark every crystal in the image. Secondly, another algorithm which used convexity measures of the crystals based on area and perimeter, to identify and reject overlapping and touching crystals, have been developed. Finally, the two crystal sizing algorithms, the one applies ultimate erosion followed by a distance transformation and the second uses convexity measures to identify overlapping crystals, were compared with well established mechanical sieving technique. Using samples obtained from a sugar refinery, the parameters of interest, including mean aperture (MA) and coefficient of variance (CV), were calculated and compared with those obtained from the sieving method. The imaging technique is faster, more reliable than sieving and can be used to measure the full crystal size distributions of both massecuite and dry product
Prevalence of abomasal nematodes in sheep and goats slaughtered at Haramaya municipal abattoir, eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia
No full textThe study was conducted from November 2009 to March 2010 in Haramaya district, eastern Hararghe zone of
Oromiya region, Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of abomasal nematodes of
small ruminants slaughtered at Haramaya municipal abattoir. During the study period a total of 384 abomasums
of small ruminants (181 sheep and 203 goats) were examined. Three genera of nematodes were identified in
both sheep and goats abomasa with overall prevalence of 95.8%. The prevalence in sheep and goats were
94.5% and 97% respectively. The prevalence in both animal species was 85.7% Haemonchus contortus, 82.3%
Trichostrongylus axei and 79.9% Teladorsagia. The specific prevalence observed were 90% for Haemonchus
contortus, 75.7 % for Trichostrongylus axei, and 80.7 % for Teladorsagia spp. in sheep and 81.8 % for
Haemonchus contortus, 88.2 % for Trichostrongylus axei and 79.3 % for Teladorsagia spp. in goats.
Statistically significant differences (P<0.05) in nematode species except Teladorsagia species was observed.
There was no statistically significant differences (P>0.05) among the risk factors of age and sex considered in
relation to the prevalence of abomasal nematodes. Generally, a high infection rate of small ruminants with
abomasal nematodes was observed during the study period
Prevalence of abomasal nematodes in sheep and goats slaughtered at Haramaya municipal abattoir, eastern Hararghe, Ethiopia
No full textThe study was conducted from November 2009 to March 2010 in Haramaya district, eastern Hararghe zone of Oromiya region, Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to determine the prevalence of abomasal nematodes of small ruminants slaughtered at Haramaya municipal abattoir. During the study period a total of 384 abomasums of small ruminants (181 sheep and 203 goats) were examined. Three genera of nematodes were identified in both sheep and goats abomasa with overall prevalence of 95.8%. The prevalence in sheep and goats were 94.5% and 97% respectively. The prevalence in both animal species was 85.7% Haemonchus contortus, 82.3% Trichostrongylus axei and 79.9% Teladorsagia. The specific prevalence observed were 90% for Haemonchus contortus, 75.7 % for Trichostrongylus axei, and 80.7 % for Teladorsagia spp. in sheep and 81.8 % for Haemonchus contortus, 88.2 % for Trichostrongylus axei and 79.3 % for Teladorsagia spp. in goats. Statistically significant differences (P<0.05) in nematode species except Teladorsagia species was observed. There was no statistically significant differences (P>0.05) among the risk factors of age and sex considered in relation to the prevalence of abomasal nematodes. Generally, a high infection rate of small ruminants with abomasal nematodes was observed during the study period. Keywords: Small ruminants, Abomasal nematodes, Prevalence, Haramaya, Abattoi
Surgical Admissions and Treatment Outcomes at a Tertiary Hospital Intensive Care Unit in Ethiopia: A Two-Year Review
No full textBACKGROUND፡ Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a special unit where critically ill patients who require advanced respiratory or hemodynamic support are admitted. Little has been published about surgical intensive care unit patients in Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the pattern of admission and treatment outcomes of adult surgical patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College (SPHMMC).METHODS: A two-year retrospective medical record review of all adult surgical patients admitted to Intensive Care Unit at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College .RESULTS: Surgical patients made up 91(22.1%) of 411 admissions of adult intensive care unit.Of these, 82 (M: F = 1.5:1) patients were analyzed. Age ranged from 16 to 82 years with a mean age of 43 years (SD +/-18.2). Emergency admissions accounted for 70(85.4%) cases. The top three primary admission diagnoses were generalized peritonitis secondary to perforated viscus (25,30.5%), bowel obstruction (21,25.6 %) and trauma (13,15.9%). Acute respiratory failure (38,46.3%) and septic shock (23,28.0%) were the leading indications of intensive care unitadmission. Most patients (62,75.6%) received mechanical ventilatory support.The mean length of intensive care unit stay was 7.3 days (SD+/-5.2).Death occurred in 33(40.2%) patients. Mortality was higher in those who stayed for 48hours (OR=5.6;95% CI 1.60-19.69; p=0.007) and in ventilated patients (OR=5.3; 95% CI 1.41-19.98; p=0.013).CONCLUSION:The observed mortality in this review was higher than the one in most reports. It was significantly high in patients who stayed for 48 hours and in those who required mechanical ventilatory support. 
Determinants of Nutritional Status Among Lactating Women in Subsistence Farming Households from Dedo And Seqa-Chekorsa Districts, Jimma Zone, 2014
No full textackground: Nutritional status of women is particularly important, because it is through women
and their off-spring that the pernicious effects of malnutrition are propagated to future
generations. The extra calories and nutrients required to support breastfeeding makes lactating
mothers among groups with special nutritional needs. Nevertheless, many African lactating
mothers, including Ethiopians, remained to be undernourished and micronutrient deficient and
there is scarcity of studies on the area both in Ethiopia and in the study area..
Objectives: This study was aimed at assessing factors associated with nutritional status of
lactating mothers living under HFP-CCC (Home-based food production and child centered
counseling) project Kebeles in Dedo and Seqa-Chekorsa districts of Jimma zone, south-west
Ethiopia from Feb. 3 to March 2, 2014.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Feb. 3 to March 2, 2014
on 355 lactating mothers who were beneficiaries of the HFP-CCC project. Data on demographic
characteristics and nutritional risk factors were gathered through structured interview, whereas
anthropometry and hemoglobin concentration measurements were done to assess nutritional
status. Data were entered using Epi-data manager and client entry version 1.4.4.0 and analyzed
using SPSS for windows version 20. Percentages and means (SD) were used to describe the
study population by nutritional status and explanatory variables. Logistic regression was used to
identify the predictors of underweight and ane+mia among the explanatory variables.
Result: The mean (SD) dietary diversity score of study participants was 4.9(1.9). Majority of
study participants ate cereals in the preceding 24 hour of data collection. 92% of study
participants didn’t eat additional meal other than common family meal. 40.6% of lactating
mothers were underweight and 27.8% were anemic. Maternal dietary diversity score (IWDDS)
was identified as predictor of undernutrition whereas educational status and dietary diversity
were predictors of anemia.
Conclusion: Feeding practice of study participants was poor while undernutrition and anemia
were high among participants so that HFP-CCC project, woreda health offices, health extension
workers and other responsible sectors have to give due attention to improve the situation
Determinants of Time-to-Under-Five Mortality in Ethiopia
No full textThis article describes how under-five mortality rate is one of the critical indicators of development of a country. This rate tells of children's access to basic health interventions such as vaccinations, medical treatment and adequate nutrition. This article proposes to identify the determinants of time to under-five mortality in Ethiopia based on the 2014 data taken from the Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey of women of the age group15-49 years. In this survival quantitative analysis, this article considers relevant socioeconomic, demographic variables and environmental factors. Various parameters shared among frailty models are employed to identify the determinants of Time-To-Under-Five Mortality of Ethiopia. The selection of the best-fit survival model is done by applying the Akaike information criterion (AIC). The AIC prevailed that the Weibull-gamma multivariable-shared frailty model is relatively the best-fit model. The estimation result of the Weibull-gamma multivariable-shared frailty model predicted that the major factors identified for under-five mortality in Ethiopia were mothers' educational level, mothers' age at first birth, place of residence, household size, sex of child born, preceding birth interval, economic status of family, place of delivery, marital status of family, and source of drinking water. The result implied that vast work is expected from governmental and non-governmental bodies to reduce the under-five mortality in the country by considering the identified factors.</jats:p
Removal of Turbidity and Microbial Load for Household Water Treatment
No full textBackground: The use of inorganic chemicals for the removal of turbidity and bacteria was
recognized as one of the public health and environment concern due to disinfection byproduct
formation and sludge production. In addition, unsafe drinking water is a paramount concern
because of the fact that, 75% of all diseases in developing countries are arising from polluted
drinking water especially in rural parts of developing countries. We conducted a series of
experiments on the effectiveness of in removing turbidity and microbes by using both synthetic
and natural surface water samples in the laboratory of Environmental Health Sciences and
Technology, Jimma University from February to April, 2013. A conventional jar test apparatus
was used to achieve uniform agitation rate throughout the experiment. The experiments were
designed targeting both dose and contact time of plant coagulants and synthetic chemicals while
recording major influencing water quality parameters. Spread plating method was employed for
microbial test using plant species. Plant coagulants showed relatively lower removal efficiency
(≈70%) as compared to alum (≈80%) at low turbidity (20 NTU) in synthetic water. However, in
natural water samples of low turbidity, plant coagulants showed high rate of turbidity removal
efficiency (≈90%) like that of alum. Plant coagulants can also achieve maximum turbidity
removal (≈97%) like that of alum in medium turbidity level (200 NTU) in both natural and
synthetic water samples. The experimental result revealed that plant coagulants were able to
meet World Health Organization standards of drinking water quality (< 5 NTU) in terms of
turbidity. The microbial reduction experiment also revealed that plant coagulants can effectively
disinfect water at low turbidity but becomes less potent disinfectant as turbidity increases
Ordinal Logistic Regression Analysis in Determining Factors Associated with Socioeconomic Status of Household in Tepi Town, Southwest Ethiopia
No full textBackground. Socioeconomic status (SES) refers to an individual’s or group’s social position or class, which is often determined by a combination of education, income, and occupation. Knowing factors that affect the SES of the society might help to take action and improve their economy. In addition, using an ordinal logistic regression model for ordered SES outcomes will yield suitable results and conclusions. This study aimed to utilize an ordinal logistic regression model to find the factors associated with SES for households in Tepi town, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods. The community-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Tepi town, southwest Ethiopia, with data collected from 382 households using a simple random sample technique. The ordinal logistic regression models were evaluated and contrasted for proper accounting of ordinal form. In addition, to come up with a better model, we compared fitted ordinal logistic models with the likelihood-ratio test and AIC criteria. We performed data analysis using STATA version 16. Results. Of all 382 household heads, 170 (45.5%), 120 (31.4%), and 92 (24.1%) were at low, medium, and high SES of households, respectively. According to the result of the multivariable, partial proportional odds model (PPOM), age, education level, family size, and the saving habit were significantly associated with the SES of households at a 5% level of significance. Conclusions. According to the findings of this study, ordinal regression may be a better option in the event of the ordinal form of the outcome. Furthermore, PPOM may be a preferable option if any of the covariates violate the proportionality requirement. Based on the result of this study, the most likely associated indicators with the SES of families in Tepi town, southwest Ethiopia, were family size, age, saving habit, and education level. It is recommended that action should be taken to improve the SES of households
Ecological Status of Hot Springs in Eastern Amhara Region: Macroinvertebrates Diversity
No full text Springs are the places where ground water is discharged at specific locations. They vary dramatically as to the type of water they discharge. Hot springs is having the temperature of the water lies significantly above the mean of annual air temperature of that region. Temperature is one of the most important factors that govern species abundance and distribution. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between biological parameters (macroinvertebrate diversity) with physicochemical water and habitat quality of hot springs in Easter Amhara Region. A cross-sectional study of physical, chemical and biological components of the hot springs was carriedout to assess their ecological status. Samples were collected from March to May 2013. Biological samples were collected to provide a qualitative description of the community composition at each sampling site. Water samples were collected for analysis of selected physicochemical parameters following water quality assessment protocols. A total of 1095 macroinvertebrates classified into 10 orders and 31 families of macroinvertebrates were collected from the 12 sampling sites. The most abundant orders were Diptera 49.90%, Odonata 15.53%, Coleopteran 12.97%, and Ephmeropetra 9.5% represented by 14 families. Macroinvertebrate taxa were absent at B1 and H1 sites with the temperature of 72 0C and 70 0C respectively. However, in this study, the macroinvertebrate taxa (Chironomidae and Hydrobiidae) were found within a temperature of 52 oC at S1 and H1 sites. The results are also revealed that as the temperature gradient declines, the macroinvertebrate diversity flourished.Due to this fact, both macroinvertebrate diversity and family biotic index were negatively correlated with temperature and the correlations were significant. Human disturbance and habitant conditions varied considerably among sites in the study area. Although human disturbance and water pollution are among the factors influencing ecological quality, the strong correlations between water temperature and species diversity suggest that temperature is the major environmental gradient affecting aquatic biodiversity in hot springs
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