Analyzing Factors Affecting Farmers' Safe Pesticide Handling Practices in Southwest of Ethiopia: Implications for Policy.

Background: Pesticides play a crucial role in enhancing agricultural productivity by controlling pests. However, inadequate pesticide handling practices have a considerable adverse impact on human health. Nevertheless, there is limited knowledge regarding the extent of safe pesticide handling practices, particularly in low-income settings like Ethiopia.

Adsorption enrichment integrated with paper-based devices for detection of trace levels of hexavalent chromium in water samples.

In the present study, a sensitive microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μ-PADs) integrated with adsorption enrichment procedure was developed to analyze Cr(VI) in water samples. The affecting factors, including pH and amounts of reagents were optimized. The limit of detection of 0.

Herd and animal level seroprevalence and associated risk factors of small ruminant brucellosis in the Korahey zone, Somali regional state, eastern Ethiopia.

Introduction: Brucellosis is a zoonosis of major public health and economic importance that is endemic in livestock in Ethiopia with varying levels of seroprevalence.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out to determine the individual and herd-level seroprevalence of brucellosis in small ruminants in the Korahey zone of the Ethiopian Somali Region. A total of 324 sera from 63 herds of small ruminants were collected randomly using a multistage sampling technique and the sera were tested using the Rose Bengal Plate Test, and seropositive reactors were confirmed by the Complement Fixation Test.

Undernutrition was a prevalent clinical problem among older adult patients with heart failure in a hospital setting in Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: Undernutrition is a frequently noticed medical problem in patients with heart failure. It is caused by poor nutrient intake, malabsorption, systemic inflammation, neurohumoral activation, oxidative stress, and hypermetabolic state. Undernutrition results in a decrease in the quality of life and the survival rate in patients with heart failure.

Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction coupled with microfluidic paper-based analytical device for the determination of organophosphate and carbamate pesticides in the water sample.

A microfluidic paper-based analytical device (µ-PAD) is a promising new technology platform for the development of extremely low-cost sensing devices. However, it has low sensitivity that might not enable to measure maximum allowable concentration of various pollutants in the environment. In this study, a dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) was developed as a preconcentration method to enhance the sensitivity of the µ-PAD for trace analysis of selected pesticides.

Microfluidic Paper Based Analytical Devices for the Detection of Carbamate Pesticides.

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μ-PADs) are a new technology platform for the development of extremely low-cost sensing applications. In this study, μ-PADs has been developed for quantitative determination of carbamate pesticides. Key experimental parameters including concentration and volume of acetylcholinesterase, acetylthiocholine iodide and 5,5'-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid), incubation time and image capturing time were systematically optimized.

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices coupled with coprecipitation enrichment show improved trace analysis of copper ions in water samples.

The present study focused on improving sensitivity to trace levels of Cu(II) by subjecting microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μ-PADs) to a preconcentration process via coprecipitation using aluminum hydroxide. The experimental conditions were optimized for the pH of the coprecipitation, centrifugation, and amounts of reagents that were deposited onto µ-PADs for the Cu(II) assay. The resultant limit of detection reached as low as 0.

Case Report: Khat Chewing and Acute Myocardial Infarction in Two Young Men without Underlying Risk Factors.

Khat (Catha edulis) chewing is linked to several social, psychological, and health-related problems. Studies show that khat is associated with gastrointestinal and nervous system diseases. However, little is known about khat's effect on the cardiovascular system.

Optimization of microwave-assisted carbohydrate extraction from indigenous sp. grown in brewery effluent using response surface methodology.

The use of wastewater as a nutrient source for microalgae cultivation is considered as a cost-effective approach for algal biomass and biofuel production. The microalgal biomass contains carbohydrates that can be processed into bioethanol through different extraction methods. The objective of this study is to optimize the microwave-assisted extraction (MAE) of carbohydrates from the indigenous sp.

Speciation of chromium in water samples using microfluidic paper-based analytical devices with online oxidation of trivalent chromium.

Speciation of chromium (Cr) was demonstrated using microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μ-PADs) that permit the colorimetric determination of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) and trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) via online oxidation. The μ-PADs consist of left and right channels that allow the simultaneous measurements of Cr(VI) and total Cr based on the colorimetric reaction of Cr(VI) with 1,5-diphenylcarbazide (DPC). For the determination of Cr(VI), a sample solution was directly reacted with DPC in the left channels whereas total Cr was determined in the right channels, which permitted online oxidation in the pretreatment zone containing cerium (IV) (Ce(IV)) followed by a colorimetric reaction with DPC.

Remote Investigation of Total Chromium Determination in Environmental Samples of the Kombolcha Industrial Zone, Ethiopia, Using Microfluidic Paper-based Analytical Devices.

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μ-PADs) fabricated in Japan were employed for the determination of total chromium (Cr) in water, soil, and lettuce irrigated with wastewater in Ethiopia. The μ-PADs, which were printed by wax printing in Japan, were transported to Ethiopia and prepared for the determination of total Cr by adding appropriate reagents to the pretreatment and detection zones. Soil and lettuce samples were determined by the μ-PADs and a UV-Vis spectrophotometer in Ethiopia.

Toxicity of Millettia ferruginea darasana (family: Fabaceae) against the larvae and adult ticks of Amblyomma variegatum Fabricius a three-host tick in cattle.

The in vitro toxicity of Millettia ferruginea darasana (family: Fabaceae) was tested against the larvae adult male and female of a three-host tick, Amblyomma variegatum Fabricius (family: Ixodidae or hard tick), known as 'tropical bont tick' parasitic mainly to cattle found in Ethiopia and other equatorial Africa. The 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 % concentrations of the seed oil extracted with petroleum ether were found to kill all (100 % mortality) larvae after 12, 9, 6, 3 and 1.5 h respectively.

Determination of organochlorine pesticide residue levels in chewable parts of the khat (Catha edulis) plant.

In this study, the levels of DDT and its metabolite residues were determined in chewable parts of Catha edulis plants grown in the southern part of Ethiopia. The levels of p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE were found to be in the range of 10.8-19.

Removal of nitrite from aqueous solution using sugarcane bagasse and wheat straw.

Sugarcane bagasse and wheat straw were applied for the removal of nitrite ions from water samples. Batch experiments were conducted to establish optimum pH (5), initial nitrite concentration (5 mg/L), adsorbent dose (3 mg/L) and contact time (90 min). Under the optimized conditions, raw sugarcane bagasse was found to be a more effective (removal efficiency 90 %) adsorbent in removing nitrite ions than wheat straw (removal efficiency 63 %).

Assessment of organochlorine pesticide pollution in Upper Awash Ethiopian state farm soils using selective pressurised liquid extraction.

Upper Awash Agro Industry Enterprises (UAAIE) is one of the major state farms in Ethiopia with known large-scale pesticide use. Although organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) have been applied for about three decades, no studies have been carried out on levels of residue in the region. In this work a fast selective pressurised liquid extraction (SPLE) methodology has successfully been applied for screening of 13 OCPs in 12 soil samples from different fields in UAAIE, which further strengthen this methodology.

Selective pressurized liquid extraction for multi-residue analysis of organochlorine pesticides in soil.

A selective pressurized liquid extraction (SPLE) procedure capable of performing simultaneous extraction and clean-up has been demonstrated for multi-residue analysis of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in soil. The final method was performed at 100 degrees C for 3 x 10 min using acetone/n-heptane (1:1, v/v). Florisil was placed inside the extraction cell downstream the sample to remove interfering compounds.

Optimisation of pressurised liquid extraction for the determination of p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE in aged contaminated Ethiopian soils.

The effectiveness of extracting p,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDE from aged contaminated soil samples by means of pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) was evaluated. Two soil samples, which were contaminated more than 10 years ago, were used in the investigation. The static extraction time was optimised and then validated against the total sum of target analytes obtained from multiple sequential extractions.

Extracting Syringe for determination of organochlorine pesticides in leachate water and soil-water slurry: a novel technology for environmental analysis.

The Extracting Syringe (ESy), a novel membrane-based sample preparation technique directly coupled as an autosampler to gas chromatography, has been employed for the analysis of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in raw leachate water. The ESy has also been applied for extraction of OCPs from contaminated soil samples and its performance has been compared to liquid-solid extraction (LSE) and accelerated solvent extraction (ASE). Extraction of 3-mL leachate sample at the optimised conditions resulted in enrichment factors from 32 (Endrin aldehyde) to 242 (Endrin) and detection limits from 1 to 20 ng/L.

Development of a pressurized liquid extraction and clean-up procedure for the determination of alpha-endosulfan, beta-endosulfan and endosulfan sulfate in aged contaminated Ethiopian soils.

Pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) was investigated for the extraction of two endosulfan isomers and their metabolite from two real contaminated soil samples. PLE for 3x10min at 100 degrees C was proven to be more exhaustive than Soxhlet extraction (SOX) in one soil sample. On the other soil sample investigated the method was found to be equally exhaustive as SOX.