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Aligned with global childhood tuberculosis (TB) road map, Ethiopia developed its own in 2015. The key strategies outlined in the Ethiopian roadmap are incorporating TB screening in Integrated Maternal, Neonatal and Child Illnesses (IMNCI) clinic for children under five years (U5) and intensifying contact investigations at TB clinic. However, these strategies have never been evaluated. To evaluate the integration of tuberculosis (TB) screening and contact investigation into Integrated Maternal, Neonatal and Child Illnesses (IMNCI) and TB clinics in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The study used mixed methods with stepped-wedge design where 30 randomly selected health care facilities were randomized into three groups of 10 during August 2016-November 2017. The integration of TB screening into IMNCI clinic and contact investigation in TB clinic were introduced by a three-day childhood TB training for health providers. An in-depth interview was used to explore the challenges of the interventions and supplemented data on TB screening and contact investigation. Overall, 180896 children attended 30 IMNCI clinics and145444 (80.4%) were screened for TB. A total of 688 (0.4%) children had presumptive TB and 47(0.03%) had TB. During the pre-intervention period, 51873 of the 85278 children (60.8%) were screened for TB as compared to 93570 of the 95618 children (97.9%) in the intervention (p<0.001). This had resulted in 149 (0.30%) and 539 (0.6%) presumptive TB cases in pre-intervention and intervention periods (p<0.001), respectively. Also, nine TB cases (6.0%) in pre-intervention and 38 (7.1%) after intervention were identified (p = 0.72). In TB clinics, 559 under-five (U5) contacts were identified and 419 (80.1%) were screened. In all, 51(9.1%) presumed TB cases and 12 (2.1%) active TB cases were identified from the traced contacts. TB screening was done for 182 of the 275 traced contacts (66.2%) before intervention and for 237 of the 284 of the traced (83.5%) under intervention (p<0.001). Isoniazid prevention therapy (IPT) was initiated for 69 of 163 eligible contacts (42.3%) before intervention and for 159 of 194 eligible children (82.0%) under intervention (p<0.001). Over 95% of health providers indicated that the integration of TB screening into IMNCI and contact investigation in TB clinic is acceptable and practical. Gastric aspiration to collect sputum using nasogastric tube was reported to be difficult. Integrating TB screening into IMNCI clinics and intensifying contact investigation in TB clinics is feasible improving TB screening, presumed TB cases, TB cases, contact screening and IPT coverage during the intervention period. Stool specimen could be non-invasive to address the challenge of sputum collection.

In response to the continually increasing sediment concentrations in rivers and lakes, the Ethiopian government is leading an effort where farmers are installing soil and water conservation measures to increase infiltration and reduce erosion. This paper reports on findings from a four year study in the 95 ha Debre Mawi watershed where under the government led conservation works, mainly terraces with infiltration furrows were installed halfway in the period of observation. The results show that runoff volume decreased significantly after installation of the soil and water conservation practices but sediment concentration decreased only marginally. Sediment loads were reduced mainly because of the reduced runoff. Infiltration furrows were effective on the hillsides where rain water could infiltrate, but on the flat bottom lands that become saturated with the progress of the monsoon rain, infiltration was restricted and conservation practices became conduits for carrying excess rainfall. This caused the initiation of gullies in several occasions in the saturated bottomlands. Sediment concentration at the outlet barely decreased due to entrainment of loose soil from unstable banks of gullies in the periodically saturated bottom areas. Since most uphill drainage were already half filled up with sediments after two years, long term benefits of reducing runoff can only be sustained with continuous maintenance of uphill infiltration furrows.

Gully erosion is the leading cause of elevated sediment yields in the world. Few low-cost techniques are available for rehabilitating gullies. The objective of this research was to evaluate the applicability of a low-cost horizontal sub-surface drainage system for decreasing gully erosion by stabilizing gully banks. The study was conducted in the sub-humid Ethiopian highlands in two active gullies, one in a Vertisol and another in a Nitisol. One bank was drained with a plastic pipe, and the other bank acted as the control. The two opposite banks are hydrologically isolated from one another. The surrounding groundwater tables were continuously monitored for two years. Over two wet seasons, the average bank retreat in the Vertisol gully was 0.62 m for the control and 0.15 m for the drained bank. Similarly, in the Nitisol gully, in 1.1 m for the control and 0.29 m for the drained bank. The average groundwater table of the drained bank was 20% lower than the non-drained banks during the monitoring periods. These results suggest that bank dewatering maintained higher levels of stability of gully banks and promoted lower rates of bank retreat on both soil types. The initial cost of the dewatering treatments was significantly less than the conventional bank stabilization measures. Bank dewatering could be one of the technologies for gully rehabilitation. Gully management techniques in Ethiopia and elsewhere could benefit from integrating bank drainage with other physical and biological protective measures.

Heating effect on total phenol, flavonoids, antioxidant activity, and sugar content of six onion varieties has been quantitatively investigated to explore the effect of different temperatures. The onion varieties comprised one red-skinned variety, two white-skinned varieties, and three yellow-skinned varieties. The heating temperature was scanned at 80°C, 100°C, 120°C, and 150°C for 30 minutes each, and quantitative analysis was performed relative to the powdered onion at ambient temperature. Quercetin, glucosides and sugar content were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. The total phenolic and antioxidant content increased in all six varieties. The total flavonoid levels showed a considerable change. On heating the onion samples at 120°C for 30 minutes, the red-skinned variety showed the highest level of total phenolic content [13712.67 ± 1034.85 μg of gallic acid equivalent/g dry weight (μg GAE/g DW)] and total flavonoids [3456.00 ± 185.82 μg of quercetin equivalents/g dry weight (μg Q/g DW)], whereas the content of total phenolics and total flavonoids were 13611.83 ± 341.61 μg GAE/g DW and 3482.87 ± 117.17 μg Q/g DW, respectively, for the yellow-skinned (Sunpower) variety. Quercetin and its glucoside contents increased up to 120°C and then decreased at 150°C, whereas the sugar content continuously decreased with heating. All cultivars showed the same pattern in the heating effect, and the predominant flavonoids were destroyed at higher temperatures. Therefore, it is improper to expose onion powder to a temperature higher than 120°C.

Drainage of paved and unpaved roads has been implicated as a major contributor of overland flow and erosion in mountainous landscapes. Despite this, few watershed models include or have tested for the effect roads have on discharge and sediment loads. Though having a model is an important step, its proper application and attention to distinct landscape features is even more important. This study focuses on developing a module for drainage from a road and tests it on a nested watershed (Shanko Bahir) within a larger previously studied site (Debre Mawi) that receives overland flow contributions from a highly compacted layer of soil on an unpaved road surface. Shanko Bahir experiences a sub-humid monsoonal climate and was assessed for the rainy seasons of 2010, 2011, and 2012. The model chosen is the Parameter Efficient Distributed (PED) model, previously used where saturation-excess overland flow heavily influences discharge and sediment concentration variation, though infiltration-excess occasionally occurs. Since overland flow on unpaved surfaces emulates Hortonian flow, an adjustment to the PED model (the developed module) advances possible incorporation of both flow regimes. The modification resulted in similar modeling performance as previous studies in the Blue Nile Basin on a daily basis (NSE = 0.67 for discharge and 0.71 for sediment concentrations). Furthermore, the road while occupying a small proportion of the sub-watershed (11%) contributed importantly to the early discharge and sediment transport events demonstrating the effect of roads especially on sediment concentrations. Considerations for the dynamic erodibility of the road improved sediment concentration simulation further (NSE = 0.75). The results show that this PED modeling framework can be adjusted to include unpaved compacted surfaces to give reasonable results, but more work is needed to account for contributions from gullies, which can cause high influxes of sediment.

Gully expansion in the Ethiopian Highlands dissects vital agricultural lands with the eroded materials adversely impacting downstream resources, for example as they accumulate in reservoirs. While gully expansion and rehabilitation have been more extensively researched in the semiarid region of Ethiopia, few studies have been conducted in the (sub)humid region. For that reason, we assessed the severity of gully erosion by measuring the expansion of 13 selected permanent gullies in the subhumid Debre Mawi watershed, 30 km south of Lake Tana, Ethiopia. In addition, the rate of expansion of the entire drainage network in the watershed was determined using 0.5 m resolution aerial imagery from flights in 2005 and 2013. About 0.6 Mt (or 127 t ha−1 yr−1) of soil was lost during this period due to actively expanding gullies. The net gully area in the entire watershed increased more than 4-fold from 4.5 ha in 2005 to 20.4 ha in 2013 (> 3 % of the watershed area), indicating the growing severity of gully erosion and hence land degradation in the watershed. Soil losses were caused by upslope migrating gully heads through a combination of gully head collapse and removal of the failed material by runoff. Collapse of gully banks and retreat of headcuts was most severe in locations where elevated groundwater tables saturated gully heads and banks, destabilizing the soils by decreasing the shear strength. Elevated groundwater tables were therefore the most important cause of gully expansion. Additional factors that strongly relate to bank collapse were the height of the gully head and the size of the drainage area. Soil physical properties (e.g., texture and bulk density) only had minor effects. Conservation practices that address factors controlling erosion are the most effective in protecting gully expansion. These consist of lowering water table and regrading the gully head and sidewalls to reduce the occurrence of gravity-induced mass failures. Planting suitable vegetation on the regraded gully slopes will in addition decrease the risk of bank failure by reducing pore-water pressures and reinforcing the soil. Finally, best management practices that decrease runoff from the catchment will reduce the amount of gully-related sediment loss.

Discontinuation of contraception for reasons other than wanting to become pregnant is a public health concern as it affects women's autonomy in sexual and reproductive health decision making as well as gender equality. Studies identified various factors, including community perception and users' dissatisfaction that limited the reach and impact of contraceptives, primarily LARCs, on women's wellbeing. In Ethiopia, however, the reasons for early discontinuation of LARCCs are not adequately explored. Against this backdrop, this study explores the main reasons for the early discontinuation of LARCs among Ethiopian women in selected public health facilities. This study used an institution-based qualitative study design and covered selected university hospitals and health centers in Addis Ababa, Gondar, Mekelle, and Jimma. It involved in-depth interviews with 29 women aged 15-49 to gather data and explore the decision-making processes involved in the early discontinuation of LARCs. It used description, narration and thematic interpretation as data analysis procedures. Interviewees reported several reasons for early discontinuation of LARCs, including side effects (eg, weight gain/loss, heavy menses, tiredness, and reduced libido), desire to conceive, and husbands' disapproval. This study found that women were sufficiently aware of alternative contraceptives, including LARCs. Many reported experimenting before deciding on an option. Conversely, others' reports reveal the influences of gender roles and community misconceptions on women's decisions to discontinue LARCs. The common threads in interviewees' narratives highlight the significance of traditional values, gender roles, community perception, and experience with side effects to women's early discontinuation of LARCs. This study concludes with remarks on how to improve the effectiveness of family planning programming by adopting the gender transformative approach (GTA) in their design and implementation.

Erosion is of great concern in the Ethiopian highlands. The objective of this study was to determine the soil erosion rates under actual farming conditions by measuring the dimensions and number of rills in 15 agricultural fields in the Debre Mewi watershed near Lake Tana, and to understand farmers’ attitudes towards land conservation through personal interviews with one-third of the watershed households. The annual rill erosion rate was 8 to 32 t ha−1. Greatest rates of erosion occurred at planting early in the season but became negligible in August. Major factors influencing land conservation decisions were the demand of labor and lack of technical support for implementing new conservation measures from experts.

A comprehensive quantitative analysis of flavonoids, sugars, phenylalanine, and tryptophan have been carried out in different onion scales during storage at ambient temperature (20–23 °C) and relative humidity (60–80 %). Depending on the length of storage, dry matter content and composition shows variation inside the onion bulbs. Inner sprouts were observed on longitudinally cut bulbs after 2 months and visible sprouts appeared after 5 months of storage. The bulbs lost 20 to 30 % of their weight at the end of the storage. Higher dry matter content was observed in the inner scales. Significantly high content of quercetin in inner scales and high level of quercetin-3,4′- O -diglucoside and quercetin-4′- O -monoglucoside in outer scales was observed during a 7 months storage. During storage period, high content of fructose and glucose was observed in the middle scales while sucrose was high in the inner scales. There was no particular trend observed within analyzed amino acids. However, the content of phenylalanine was higher than tryptophan.

Following the outbreak of novel Coronavirus disease, the rising concerns about the prevalence of alcohol-based hand sanitizers' inappropriate use and substandard products in the market create an ongoing safety concern. They can cause frequent exposure of microorganisms to below the alcohol concentrations to the range recommended for infection prevention and development of mutations. Thus, it is invaluable to sensitize the scientific community for further researches to provide additional evidence. Additionally, regulation of quality and proper use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers should be effectively promoted. This commentary justifies the impact of COVID-19 on the current and future use of alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Keywords: COVID-19, alcohol-based hand sanitizers, antimicrobial resistance