Publications by authors named "Biruk Belay"

Rural areas in Ethiopia serve as the primary source of charcoal for urban populations, mainly produced using traditional kilns. However, this traditional method significantly contributes to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, exacerbating climate change and deforestation. While banning charcoal production is not currently feasible in Ethiopia because of the lack of affordable alternative energy sources (fuel), improving the efficiency of the traditional production system can mitigate the climate impact caused by charcoal production.

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Background: Post-acute COVID-19 syndrome is a condition where individuals experience persistent symptoms after the acute phase of the COVID-19 infection has resolved, which lowers their quality of life and ability to return to work. This study assessed the prevalence and associated risk factors of post-acute COVID-19 syndrome (PACS) among severe COVID-19 patients who were discharged from Millennium COVID-19 Care Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using data collected from patient charts and a follow-up telephone interview after two years of discharge.

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Plastic pollution is overflowing in rivers. A limited understanding of the physics of plastic transport in rivers hinders monitoring, the prediction of plastic fate and restricts the implementation of effective mitigation strategies. This study investigates two unexplored aspects of plastic transport dynamics across the near-surface, suspended and bed load layers: (i) the complex settling behaviour of plastics and (ii) their influence on plastic transport in river-like flows.

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Current riverine plastic monitoring best practices mainly consider surface observations, thus neglecting the underlying distribution of plastics in the water column. Bias on plastic budgets estimations hinders advances on modelling and prediction of plastics fate. Here, we experimentally disclose the structure of plastics transport in surface water flows by investigating how thousands of samples of plastics commonly found in fluvial environments travel in turbulent river flows.

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