Automated speech analytics in ALS: higher sensitivity of digital articulatory precision over the ALSFRS-R.

: Although studies have shown that digital measures of speech detected ALS speech impairment and correlated with the ALSFRS-R speech item, no study has yet compared their performance in detecting speech changes. In this study, we compared the performances of the ALSFRS-R speech item and an algorithmic speech measure in detecting clinically important changes in speech. Importantly, the study was part of a FDA submission which received the breakthrough device designation for monitoring ALS; we provide this paper as a roadmap for validating other speech measures for monitoring disease progression.

Epidemiology and Outcomes of Critical Illness and Novel Predictors of Mortality in an Ethiopian Medical Intensive Care Unit.

Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) bear most of the global burden of critical illness. Managing this burden requires improved understanding of epidemiology and outcomes in LMIC intensive care units (ICUs), including LMIC-specific mortality prediction scores. This study was a retrospective observational study at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, examining all consecutive medical ICU admissions from June 2014 to April 2015.

A speech-based prognostic model for dysarthria progression in ALS.

: We demonstrated that it was possible to predict ALS patients' degree of future speech impairment based on past data. We used longitudinal data from two ALS studies where participants recorded their speech on a daily or weekly basis and provided ALSFRS-R speech subscores on a weekly or quarterly basis (quarter-annually). : Using their speech recordings, we measured articulatory precision (a measure of the crispness of pronunciation) using an algorithm that analyzed the acoustic signal of each phoneme in the words produced.

Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of COVID-19 Patients at Eka Kotebe General Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Data from much of Africa are still scarce on the clinical characteristics, outcomes of treatment, and factors associated with disease severity and mortality of COVID-19. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Eka Kotebe General Hospital, Ethiopia's first COVID-19 treatment center. All consecutive symptomatic SARS CoV-2 RT-PCR positive individuals, aged 18 and older, admitted to the hospital between March 13 and September 16, 2020, were included.

The prevalence of malnutrition during admission to the pediatric intensive care unit, a retrospective cross-sectional study at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Introduction: malnutrition is a common problem in Ethiopia. Studies show malnourished children in intensive care units succumb more often to infection and death but Ethiopia has no available data to assess the prevalence of malnutrition in children admitted to pediatric Intensive Care Unit and their clinical patterns, this study was conducted to assess these variables in a tertiary hospital in Ethiopia.

Methods: this was a retrospective cross sectional study done on 243 children, ranging from 1 month to 15 years of age, from January 2016 to December 2018.

Clinical Characteristics and Molecular Profiles of Lung Cancer in Ethiopia.

Introduction: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for 1.8 million deaths each year. Only 20% of lung cancer cases are reported to occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Prevalence and risk factors of pulmonary hypertension among adult patients with HIV infection in Ethiopia.

Globally, non-communicable diseases are increasing in people living with HIV. Pulmonary hypertension is a rare non-communicable disease in people living with HIV with a reported prevalence of <1%. However, data on pulmonary hypertension in people living with HIV from Africa are scarce and are non-existent from Ethiopia.

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.

Articulatory-acoustic relations in the production of alveolar and palatal lateral sounds in Brazilian Portuguese.

Lateral approximant speech sounds are notoriously difficult to measure and describe due to their complex articulation and acoustics. This has prevented researchers from reaching a unifying description of the articulatory and acoustic characteristics of laterals. This paper examines articulatory and acoustic properties of Brazilian Portuguese alveolar and palatal lateral approximants (/l/ and /ʎ/) produced by six native speakers.

Creating a specialist physician workforce in low-resource settings: reflections and lessons learnt from the East African Training Initiative.

Many African countries have extremely low ratios of physicians to population, and there are very, very few specialists. This leaves most patients without access to specialised care, and importantly also leaves many countries with insufficient expertise to properly evaluate the burden of illness and the needs of the population overall. The challenges to training a specialised physician workforce in resource-limited settings are many, and they go far beyond the (relatively simple) task of transmission of clinical skills.

Level of asthma control and risk factors for poor asthma control among clinic patients seen at a Referral Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Objective: Uncontrolled asthma negatively impacts patients, families, and the community. The level of symptom control among asthmatics in Ethiopia has not been well studied. We investigated the level of asthma control and risk factors for poor asthma control in clinic patients seen in the largest public hospital in Ethiopia.

The relation between tongue shape and pitch in clarinet playing using ultrasound measurements.

Tongue shapes during clarinet performances of chromatic scale, portamento and pitch bending exercises were imaged using an ultrasound machine while audio and video were recorded synchronously. Analysis of the data from four participants revealed that tongue position varies non-monotically with note frequency in the lowest register (up to ≈ 440 Hz) and then descends monotonically as note frequencies rise through the upper registers. The descent of the tongue results in an expansion of the vocal tract's posterior oral cavity, resulting in a vocal tract input impedance maximum tuned to high frequency.

SEQUELAE OF PATIENTS TREATED FOR PULMONARY TUBERCULOSIS IN CHEST CLINIC, TIKUR ANBESSA SPECIALIZED HOSPITAL (TASH), ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA.

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) is one of the most common infectious diseases worldwide, and contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality in developing countries. Despite availability of effective treatment, a significant number of patients suffer from permanent lung damage, which predisposes patients to numerous pulmonary complications.

Objective: To assess chronic sequelae of patients treated for PTB in a chest clinic at Tikur Anbessa Hospital.

The East African Training Initiative. A Model Training Program in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine for Low-Income Countries.

Despite an extensive burden of lung disease in East Africa, there are remarkably few pulmonary physicians in the region and no pulmonary subspecialty training programs. We developed a unique training program for pulmonary medicine in Ethiopia. The East African Training Initiative (EATI) is a 2-year fellowship program at Tikur Anbessa (Black Lion) Specialized Teaching Hospital, the largest public hospital in Ethiopia and the teaching hospital for the Addis Ababa University School of Medicine.

Low correlation between household carbon monoxide and particulate matter concentrations from biomass-related pollution in three resource-poor settings.

Household air pollution from the burning of biomass fuels is recognized as the third greatest contributor to the global burden of disease. Incomplete combustion of biomass fuels releases a complex mixture of carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter (PM) and other toxins into the household environment. Some investigators have used indoor CO concentrations as a reliable surrogate of indoor PM concentrations; however, the assumption that indoor CO concentration is a reasonable proxy of indoor PM concentration has been a subject of controversy.

Factors associated with isolated right heart failure in women: a pilot study from western Kenya.

Background: Small observational studies have found that isolated right heart failure (IRHF) is prevalent among women of sub-Saharan Africa. Further, several risk factors for the development of IRHF have been identified. However, no similar studies have been conducted in Kenya.

An unusual case of pulmonary embolism in a young healthy female competitive rower.

Young healthy women without a genetic predisposition are considered to be at low risk for deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary emboli. We present an unusual case of pulmonary embolism in a 21-year-old female competitive rower likely caused by oral contraception and trauma of the axillary-subclavian vein by extrinsic compression due to repetitive arm movements.

Feasibility intervention trial of two types of improved cookstoves in three resource-limited settings: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Exposure to biomass fuel smoke is one of the leading risk factors for disease burden worldwide. International campaigns are currently promoting the widespread adoption of improved cookstoves in resource-limited settings, yet little is known about the cultural and social barriers to successful improved cookstove adoption and how these barriers affect environmental exposures and health outcomes.

Design: We plan to conduct a one-year crossover, feasibility intervention trial in three resource-limited settings (Kenya, Nepal and Peru).

Waiting to inhale: An exploratory review of conditions that may predispose to pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure in persons exposed to household air pollution in low- and middle-income countries.

The health effects of exposure to household air pollution are gaining international attention. While the bulk of the known mortality estimates due to these exposures are derived from respiratory conditions, there is growing evidence of adverse cardiovascular health effects. Pulmonary hypertension and right heart failure are common conditions in low- and middle-income countries whose etiology may be related to common exposures in these regions such as schistosomiasis, human immunodeficiency virus, tuberculosis infections and other causes.