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Background: Homegardens (HGs) are well-time-honored traditional land use systems in small plots of land with purposely designed intricate structure and a mixture of planted vascular plants (VPs) for different purposes. Hence, the present study was initiated to investigate the ethnobotanical information of vascular plants of homegardens and their use, conservation and management practice by the people of Dawuro in southwestern Ethiopia. Methods: A total of 162 farmer informants were selected and interviewed within a distance of < 2 km, 2–4 km and > 4 km between the natural forest and homegardens, and 0.8–1 km between the homegardens. Quadrats of three 5 m × 10 m were laid (except front yard) around each living houses. Shannon–Wiener diversity index was used for analysis of diversity. Results: There were 345 vascular plants in the homegardens distributed in 252 genera and 79 families. The most frequently recorded plant families were Fabaceae with 38 (11%), Asteraceae 33 (10%), and Lamiaceae 26 (7.5%). The species richness recorded per homegardens ranged from 13 to 59. Ensete ventricosum, Persea americana, Colocosia esculenta, Coffea arabica, Solanum capsicoides, and Ocimum basilicum were the most frequently occurred species. The homegarden was enset-based agrobiodiversity system providing food, medicine and other uses where the highest, 290 species were for medicine. Men are responsible for planting and propagating large-sized plant species in the homegardens, while small-sized were managed by women and children. The α-diversity (H') ranged from 1.4 to 3.4 and the gamma diversity was 4.2. Culture has positive effect on diversity however, the diversity of species is affected by distance from natural forest (x2 = 14.825, df = 4, p = 0.005) at P < 0.05 level. Conclusion: Awareness raising designed and executed by farmer experts and researchers focusing on managing homegarden is necessary to fill the observed gaps in knowledge and attitude of the new generation. The enset-based homegarden management knowledge and practice as well as avoiding the diseases and other constraints of enset should be given attention. Furthermore, decisions on avoiding the growth and management of invasive exotic plant species like eucalyptus tree in the homegardens have to be made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ascites is a pathological collection of free fluid in the peritoneal cavity, which is a common complication in patients with cirrhosis, an advanced liver disease. Bacterial infection increases the mortality rate of hospitalized patients with cirrhosis, irrespective of the severity of the liver disease. Around 60% of patients with compensated cirrhosis developed ascites within 10 years during the course of their disease. The in-hospital mortality rate due to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) could exceed 90%, but with early diagnosis and prompt antibiotic therapy, this rate has been shown to decrease to 20%. Here, we enrolled adult (age ≥ 18) patients with liver disease with evidence of cirrhosis who developed ascites and assessed the presence of spontaneous ascites fluid infection (SAFI) in these patients. Of the total 218 patients, 22.9% (50/218) develop ascites infection. The liver organ function tests like alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, total bilirubin, and direct bilirubin were found to be significantly (P < 0.05) higher in patients with ascites fluid infection compared to patients with non-ascites fluid infection. Of the gram-negative bacteria, K. pneumonia and E. coli were isolated and found to be 100% resistant to amoxicillin and clavulanate. From the gram-positive bacterial isolates, S. aureus was only resistant to penicillin, whereas Str. viridans was resistant to ceftriaxone, cefotaxime, cefepime, and penicillin. On the other hand, clinical features such as a history of jaundice, low arterial blood pressure, and ultrasound results such as a shrunken liver and enlarged spleen were also independent predictors of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis. In conclusion, given the high probability of death following SAFI, early detection, and treatment, as well as knowledge of the microbial agent, resistance profile, and predictive markers in various contexts, are essential for the timely diagnosis and management of SAFI in these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Improving maternal and child health is one of the public health priorities in several African countries including Ethiopia. However, research on herbal medicine use during pregnancy is scarce in Ethiopia. The present study aimed at assessing the prevalence and correlates of herbal medicine use among pregnant women on antenatal care (ANC) follow-up at Gondar university referral hospital, Ethiopia Methods: An institutional-based cross sectional study was conducted on 364 pregnant women attending ANC clinic from March to May 2016 at University of Gondar referral and teaching hospital, northwest Ethiopia. Data on socio-demography, pregnancy related information as well as herbal medicine use was collected through an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to determine prevalence and associated factors of herbal medicine use. Results: From 364 respondents, 48.6% used herbal medicine during current pregnancy. ginger (40.7%) and garlic (19%) were the two most commonly used herbs in pregnancy. Common cold (66%) and inflammation (31.6%) were the most common reasons for herbal use. Majority of herbal medicine users (89.8%) had not consulted their doctors about their herbal medicine use. Rural residency (Adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 3.15, Confidence interval (CI): 1.17-6.14), illiteracy (AOR: 4.05, CI: 2.47-6.62) and average monthly income less than 100 USD (AOR: 3.08CI: 1.221-7.77) were found to be strong predictors of herbal medicine use. Conclusions: The use of herbal medicine during pregnancy is a common practice and associated with residency, level of education and average monthly income. From the stand point of high prevalence and low disclosure rate, the health care providers should often consult pregnant women regarding herbal medicine use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]