Effect of curing conditions and harvesting stage of maturity on Ethiopian onion bulb drying properties

The study was conducted to investigate the impact of curing conditions and harvesting stageson the drying quality of onion bulbs. The onion bulbs (Bombay Red cultivar) were harvested at three harvesting stages (early, optimum, and late maturity) and cured at three different temperatures (30, 40 and 50 oC) and relative humidity (30, 50 and 70%). The results revealed that curing temperature, RH, and maturity stage had significant effects on all measuredattributesexcept total soluble solids

Mesoporosity and Functional Group Dependent Endocytosis and Cytotoxicity of Silica Nanomaterials

We report different mesoporosity-dependent and functional group-dependent cytotoxicity and endocytosis of various silica nanomaterials on suspended and adherent cells. This dependency further varied with incubation time and particle dosage, and appeared to be associated with the particles\u27 endocytotic efficiency and their chemical and physical properties. We studied two common mesoporous nanomaterials (MSNs), MCM-41 and SBA-15, and one type of solid-cored silica microsphere, paralleled by their quaternary amine functionalized counterparts. Compared to SBA-15, MCM-41 has a larger surface area but smaller pore size, whereas SMS exhibits low surface area and poor porosity. In Jurkat cells, SBA-15 and MCM-41 exhibited different cytotoxicity profiles. However, no significant cell death was detected when treated with the aminated MSNs, indicating that the positively charged quaternary amines prevented cellular injury from mesoporous nanoparticles. Furthermore, the effective internalization of MSN but not aminated-MSNs was clearly observed, in line with their consequent cytotoxicity. SK-N-SH (human neuroblastoma) cells were found to be more resistant to the treatment of MSN, whether aminated or not. Incubation with either SBA-15 or MCM-41 over time showed a recovery in cell viability, while exposure to MSN-N particles did not induce a noticeable cell death until longer incubation with high dosage of 200 μg/mL was applied. Both aminated and nonaminated silica spheres exhibited instant and constant toxicity on Jurkat (human T-cell lymphoma) cells. TEM images revealed successful endocytosis of SMS and SMSN, although SMS-N appeared to accumulate more in the nucleus. For SK-N-SH cells, low dosage of SMS was found to be less toxic, whereas high dosage produced profound cell death

Problems And Challenges of Quality Education in Ethiopian Higher Education Entrance Exams: A Case Study in Dire Dawa

This study aims to investigate the problems and challenges of quality education in the Ethiopian higher education entrance exam in Dire Dawa. The National Educational Entrance Examination results from the past six years were used in administrative secondary schools located in rural areas to illustrate the trend in academic achievement in science and mathematics. Data from student and teacher surveys and a trend analysis of academic performance on entrance exams between 2017 and 2022 are the foundation of this study. The study utilized structured questionnaires and a random sample method to gather basic information. The results revealed that science and mathematics performance in secondary schools under the Dire Dawa administration is primarily due to inadequate quality teaching, inadequate resources and methods for learning and teaching students, and their negative attitudes towards science and mathematics. The data indicated that the most common causes of insufficient performance were the science and mathematics teaching techniques employed by instructors, a scarcity of reference materials, and well-equipped laboratories. Instructors must receive frequent in-service training to become acquainted with the latest digital and contemporary pedagogical strategies for teaching science and math. Based on the slant investigation, there's anticipated to be an advancement in scholarly accomplishment between 2017 and 2022. The most significant impediments to students' academic admission to the institution were school attendance (71.4%), self-study hours per week (70.9%), and language (68.8%). Seventy-six percent of those polled stated that their ability to succeed on the admission exam was hampered by the educational setting. Cheating is widespread from elementary through high school, according to 92% of those polled. The teachers were not assigned according to their specialization. For example, you may have an engineering degree but teach math, physics, or chemistry. To improve the quality of education, we can build school communities in which all stakeholders come together to share ideas, challenges, and solutions within a cross-sectional learning framework

Mesoporosity and Functional Group Dependent Endocytosis and Cytotoxicity of Silica Nanomaterials

We report different mesoporosity-dependent and functional group-dependent cytotoxicity and endocytosis of various silica nanomaterials on suspended and adherent cells. This dependency further varied with incubation time and particle dosage, and appeared to be associated with the particles’ endocytotic efficiency and their chemical and physical properties. We studied two common mesoporous nanomaterials (MSNs), MCM-41 and SBA-15, and one type of solid-cored silica microsphere, paralleled by their quaternary amine functionalized counterparts. Compared to SBA-15, MCM-41 has a larger surface area but smaller pore size, whereas SMS exhibits low surface area and poor porosity. In Jurkat cells, SBA-15 and MCM- 41 exhibited different cytotoxicity profiles. However, no significant cell death was detected when treated with the aminated MSNs, indicating that the positively charged quaternary amines prevented cellular injury from mesoporous nanoparticles. Furthermore, the effective internalization of MSN but not aminated- MSNs was clearly observed, in line with their consequent cytotoxicity. SK-N-SH (human neuroblastoma) cells were found to be more resistant to the treatment of MSN, whether aminated or not. Incubation with either SBA-15 or MCM-41 over time showed a recovery in cell viability, while exposure to MSN-N particles did not induce a noticeable cell death until longer incubation with high dosage of 200 μg/mL was applied. Both aminated and nonaminated silica spheres exhibited instant and constant toxicity on Jurkat (human T-cell lymphoma) cells. TEM images revealed successful endocytosis of SMS and SMSN, although SMS-N appeared to accumulate more in the nucleus. For SK-N-SH cells, low dosage of SMS was found to be less toxic, whereas high dosage produced profound cell death

How Mistimed and Unwanted Pregnancies Affect Timing of Antenatal Care Initiation in three Districts in Tanzania

Early antenatal care (ANC) initiation is a doorway to early detection and management of potential complications associated with pregnancy. Although the literature reports various factors associated with ANC initiation such as parity and age, pregnancy intentions is yet to be recognized as a possible predictor of timing of ANC initiation. Data originate from a cross-sectional household survey on health behaviour and service utilization patterns. The survey was conducted in 2011 in Rufiji, Kilombero and Ulanga districts in Tanzania on 910 women of reproductive age who had given birth in the past two years. ANC initiation was considered to be early only if it occurred in the first trimester of pregnancy gestation. A recently completed pregnancy was defined as mistimed if a woman wanted it later, and if she did not want it at all the pregnancy was termed as unwanted. Chisquare was used to test for associations and multinomial logistic regression was conducted to examine how mistimed and unwanted pregnancies affect timing of ANC initiation. Although 49.3% of the women intended to become pregnant, 50.7% (34.9% mistimed and 15.8% unwanted) became pregnant unintentionally. While ANC initiation in the 1st trimester was 18.5%, so was 71.7% and 9.9% in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed that ANC initiation in the 2nd trimester was 1.68 (95% CI 1.10‒2.58) and 2.00 (95% CI 1.05‒3.82) times more likely for mistimed and unwanted pregnancies respectively compared to intended pregnancies. These estimates rose to 2.81 (95% CI 1.41‒5.59) and 4.10 (95% CI 1.68‒10.00) respectively in the 3rd trimester. We controlled for gravidity, age, education, household wealth, marital status, religion, district of residence and travel time to a health facility. Late ANC initiation is a significant maternal and child health consequence of mistimed and unwanted pregnancies in Tanzania. Women should be empowered to delay or avoid pregnancies whenever they need to do so. Appropriate counseling to women, especially those who happen to conceive unintentionally is needed to minimize the possibility of delaying ANC initiation.\u

Letter to the Editor - Resumption of pulmonary function testing (Spirometry) at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during the COVID-19 pandemic

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Perception of asthma control among asthmatics seen inChest Clinic at Tertiary Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Background Patient awareness of asthma severity is important for optimal asthma management. However, there is often a discrepancy between physician assessment of asthma control based on guidelines and patient discernment of control. We compared physician and patient perception of asthma control in a clinic population seen at a tertiary hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 182 consecutive patients with a physician diagnosis of asthma seen in Chest Clinic at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) between July and December 2015 were studied. Demographics, asthma symptoms, medication use in the past month, and self-perception of asthma control in the past 7 days were obtained from the clinic records. Physician assessed asthma control was based on the GINA asthma symptom control assessment tool. Lung function was measured using a Diagnostic EasyOne Plus model 2001 SN spirometer. The institutional review board approved the study protocol. Results Of the 182 subjects, 68.1% were female. The mean age was 52 ± 12 years, and the mean (SD) duration of asthma was 19.4 ± 12.7 years. Forty-four (24.2%) patients had physician determined well-controlled asthma and 138 (75.8%) patients had physician determined partly controlled/uncontrolled asthma. One hundred and fifty-one (83%) patients thought their asthma control was good. However, the degree of concordance between physician evaluation and patient perception of asthma control was low (kappa index = 0.09). On multivariate analysis, self-perceived poor asthma control was associated with any activity limitation due to asthma and inconsistent inhaled corticosteroid use. Conclusion In our study, the first of its kind in Ethiopia, a high percent of patients with physician determined well-controlled asthma has appropriate perception of their disease state. However, those patients with partly controlled/uncontrolled asthma had poor self-perception of their disease, emphasizing the need for further patient education. These conclusions may be especially useful in the care of asthmatics from other low-income countries