Potential drug-drug interactions among elderly patients admitted to medical ward of Ayder Referral Hospital, Northern Ethiopia: a cross sectional study.

Background: The elderly are considered as special population, as they differ from younger adults in terms of comorbidity, polypharmacy, pharmacokinetics, vulnerability to drug-drug interactions and adverse drug reactions. Despite the fact that the elderly patients are at high risk of having drug interaction and potential adverse outcomes, studies in this regard are scarce in resource limited settings like Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and determinants of potential drug-drug interaction in elderly patients admitted to medical ward of Ayder Referral Hospital in Northern Ethiopia.

Evolution of some physical properties related to soil quality in the degraded ecosystems of "raña" formations from SW Spain.

The dynamics of some physical properties of the soil: bulk density, porosity and percentage of water stable aggregates, which usually are taken as indicators for evaluation of soil quality, have been studied on the flat surfaces of the Cañamero's "raña" formation (Cáceres, SW Spain). The study shows a high relationship between all these physical soil parameters, the degradation level of the natural vegetation, and years of the soil under tillage. As the deterioration of the natural soil increases the bulk density of the fine earth is increased, diminishing porosity, field capacity moisture content, percentage of water stable aggregates in soil and water infiltration.