Modelling the epidemiological and economic impact of digital adherence technologies with differentiated care for tuberculosis treatment in Ethiopia.

Background: Digital adherence technologies (DATs) with associated differentiated care are potential tools to improve tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes and reduce associated costs for both patients and healthcare providers. However, the balance between epidemiological and economic benefits remains unclear. Here, we used data from the ASCENT trial to estimate the potential long-term epidemiological and economic impact of DAT interventions in Ethiopia.

Case detection delay in leprosy: Testing tool reliability and measurement consistency in Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

Background: Case detection delay (CDD) in leprosy is defined as the period between the onset of the first signs and symptoms and the time of diagnosis. A tool, consisting of a questionnaire and a detailed guide for researchers, which includes photos of typical skin signs and notes on establishing the timing of events, was developed to determine this period of delay in months in recently diagnosed leprosy patients. The aims of the study were to determine the reliability and consistency of this CDD assessment tool.

Feasibility and acceptability of the smart pillbox and medication label with differentiated care to support person-centered tuberculosis care among ASCENT trial participants - A multicountry study.

Introduction: Digital adherence technologies (DATs) can offer alternative approaches to support tuberculosis treatment medication adherence. Evidence on their feasibility and acceptability in high TB burden settings is limited. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among adults with drug-sensitive tuberculosis (DS-TB), participating in pragmatic cluster-randomized trials for the Adherence Support Coalition to End TB project in Ethiopia (PACTR202008776694999), the Philippines, South Africa and Tanzania (ISRCTN 17706019).

Evaluating the equity impact and cost-effectiveness of digital adherence technologies with differentiated care to support tuberculosis treatment adherence in Ethiopia: protocol and analysis plan for the health economics component of a cluster randomised trial.

Background: Tuberculosis remains a leading infectious cause of death in resource-limited settings. Effective treatment is the cornerstone of tuberculosis control, reducing mortality, recurrence and transmission. Supporting treatment adherence through facility-based observations of medication taking can be costly to providers and patients.

Efficiency of TB service provision in the public and private health sectors in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian Government has identified efficiency of TB services as a key priority in planning and budgeting. Understanding the magnitude and sources of inefficiencies is key to ensuring value for money and improved service provision, and a requirement from donors to justify resource needs. This study identifies the cost of providing a wide range of TB services in public and private facilities in Ethiopia.

Determining factors associated with cholera disease in Ethiopia using Bayesian hierarchical modeling.

Background: Cholera is a diarrheal disease caused by infection of the intestine with the gram-negative bacteria Vibrio cholera. It is caused by the ingestion of food or water and infected all age groups. This study aimed at identifying risk factors associated with cholera disease in Ethiopia using the Bayesian hierarchical model.

Evaluation of implementation and effectiveness of digital adherence technology with differentiated care to support tuberculosis treatment adherence and improve treatment outcomes in Ethiopia: a study protocol for a cluster randomised trial.

Background: Digital adherence technologies (DATs) are recommended to support patient-centred, differentiated care to improve tuberculosis (TB) treatment outcomes, but evidence that such technologies improve adherence is limited. We aim to implement and evaluate the effectiveness of smart pillboxes and medication labels linked to an adherence data platform, to create a differentiated care response to patient adherence and improve TB care among adult pulmonary TB participants. Our study is part of the Adherence Support Coalition to End TB (ASCENT) project in Ethiopia.

PEP4LEP study protocol: integrated skin screening and SDR-PEP administration for leprosy prevention: comparing the effectiveness and feasibility of a community-based intervention to a health centre-based intervention in Ethiopia, Mozambique and Tanzania.

Introduction: Leprosy, or Hansen's disease, remains a cause of preventable disability. Early detection, treatment and prevention are key to reducing transmission. Post-exposure prophylaxis with single-dose rifampicin (SDR-PEP) reduces the risk of developing leprosy when administered to screened contacts of patients.

Genome-wide association analysis unveils novel QTLs for seminal root system architecture traits in Ethiopian durum wheat.

Background: Genetic improvement of root system architecture is essential to improve water and nutrient use efficiency of crops or to boost their productivity under stress or non-optimal soil conditions. One hundred ninety-two Ethiopian durum wheat accessions comprising 167 historical landraces and 25 modern cultivars were assembled for GWAS analysis to identify QTLs for root system architecture (RSA) traits and genotyped with a high-density 90 K wheat SNP array by Illumina.

Results: Using a non-roll, paper-based root phenotyping platform, a total of 2880 seedlings and 14,947 seminal roots were measured at the three-leaf stage to collect data for total root length (TRL), total root number (TRN), root growth angle (RGA), average root length (ARL), bulk root dry weight (RDW), individual root dry weight (IRW), bulk shoot dry weight (SDW), presence of six seminal roots per seedling (RT6) and root shoot ratio (RSR).

Evaluating the integration of tuberculosis screening and contact investigation in tuberculosis clinics in Ethiopia: A mixed method study.

Background: 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.

Genetic diversity and population structure analysis based on the high density SNP markers in Ethiopian durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. durum).

Background: Ethiopia has been considered as a center of diversity and the second possible center of domestication of durum wheat. Genetic diversity and population structure analysis in the existing Ethiopian durum wheat germplasm have enormous importance in enhancing breeding effort and for sustainable conservation. Hence, 192 Ethiopian durum wheat accessions comprising 167 landraces collected from major wheat-growing areas of the country and 25 improved varieties released from Debre Zeit and Sinana Agricultural Research Centers, Ethiopia in different years (1994-2010) were assembled for the current study.

Novel Sources of Stripe Rust Resistance Identified by Genome-Wide Association Mapping in Ethiopian Durum Wheat ( ssp. ).

Stripe rust of wheat, caused by f. sp. (), is a global concern for wheat production, and has been increasingly destructive in Ethiopia, as well as in the United States and in many other countries.

Searching for novel sources of field resistance to Ug99 and Ethiopian stem rust races in durum wheat via association mapping.

Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici, the causative agent of stem rust in wheat, is a devastating disease of durum wheat.

IgG anti-IgE in circulating immune complexes in the hyper-IgE syndrome.

We fractionated, by gel chromatography, sera with high IgE content from atopic subjects and five cases with the hyper-IgE syndrome, and measured the presence of IgE in high molecular weight (HMW) fractions. Two out of four asthmatics and four out of five hyper-IgE had HMW IgE. The same serum fractions gave positive results for conglutinin binding IgG (all six) and IgA (three cases) as well as C1q binding complexes (five cases).

Enhancement by TP-1, a thymic extract, of pokeweed mitogen-induced differentiation of B cells from normal subjects but not of those from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

We studied the ability of TP-1, a calf thymic extract, to influence in vitro pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-induced plasma cell generation and blastogenesis of peripheral blood lymphocytes from normal donors and from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In normal subjects, TP-1 significantly increased plasma cell generation, but did not affect the mitogenic response to PWM. On the contrary, differentiation of B cells from SLE patients was not enhanced by this extract.