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Planning for drought relief and floods in developing countries is greatly hampered by the lack of a sufficiently dense network of weather stations measuring precipitation. In this paper, we test the utility of three satellite products to augment the ground-based precipitation measurement to provide improved spatial estimates of rainfall. The three products are the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) product (3B42), Multi-Sensor Precipitation Estimate-Geostationary (MPEG) and the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR). The accuracy of the three products is tested in the Lake Tana basin in Ethiopia, where 38 weather stations were available in 2010 with a full record of daily precipitation amounts. Daily gridded satellite-based rainfall estimates were compared to (1) point-observed ground rainfall and (2) areal rainfall in the major river sub-basins of Lake Tana. The result shows that the MPEG and CFSR satellites provided the most accurate rainfall estimates. On average, for 38 stations, 78 and 86% of the observed rainfall variation is explained by MPEG and CFSR data, respectively, while TRMM explained only 17% of the variation. Similarly, the areal comparison indicated a better performance for both MPEG and CFSR data in capturing the pattern and amount of rainfall. MPEG and CFSR also have a lower root mean square error (RMSE) compared to the TRMM 3B42 satellite rainfall. The bias indicated that TRMM 3B42 was, on average, unbiased, whereas MPEG consistently underestimated the observed rainfall. CFSR often produced large overestimates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal dynamics of soil respiration change in response to different land management practices are not well documented. This study investigated the effects of soil bunds on the monthly and diurnal dynamics of soil respiration rates in the highlands of the Upper Blue Nile basin in Ethiopia. Six plots (with and without soil bunds, three replicates) were used for measurement of seasonal soil respiration, and 18 plots were used for measurement of diurnal soil respiration. We collected seasonal variation data on a monthly basis from September 2020 to August 2021. Diurnal soil respiration data were collected four times daily (5 a.m., 11 a.m., 5 p.m., and 11 p.m.) for 2 weeks from 16 to 29 September 2021. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that seasonal soil respiration rates differed significantly (p < 0.05) between soil bund and control plots in all seasons. In plots with soil bunds, seasonal soil respiration rates were lowest in February (1.89 ± 0.3 µmol CO 2 m -2  s -1 , mean ± SE) and highest in October (14.54 ± 0.5 µmol CO 2 m -2  s -1 ). The diurnal soil respiration rate was significantly (p < 0.05) higher at 11 a.m. than at other times, and was lowest at 5 a.m. Seasonal variation in soil respiration was influenced by soil temperature negatively and moisture positively. Diurnal soil respiration was significantly affected by soil temperature but not by soil moisture. Further study is required to explore how differences in soil microorganisms between different land management practices affect soil respiration rates., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Introduction: The spleen is a vital lymphoid soft organ that demands constant attention from the clinical point of view. It is a multi-dimensional organ that enlarges in its all dimensions during some disease condition. The detection of the spleen by palpation is not an indicator of an enlarged spleen because normal spleen may be palpable. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the morphometry of spleen dimensions and its determinants among individuals living in Arba Minch town by sonographic examinations., Methods and Materials: Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Arba Minch town from February 1 to March 30, 2020. Seven hundred and eight study participants were selected using a multi-stage systematic random sampling technique. Data were checked for completeness, edited, coded and entered into Epi-Data version 3.1 and exported to STATA software version 16 for analysis., Result: The mean splenic length, width, thickness and volume were 10.24 cm, 4.79 cm, 3.93 cm, and 109.34 cm 3 , respectively. The mean spleen length, width, thickness and volumes among males were 10.64 cm, 4.92 cm, 4.05 cm and 119.81 cm 3 and among females were 9.75 cm, 4.63 cm, 3.78 cm and 96.50 cm 3 respectively. As age increased by one year the mean spleen length, width, thickness and volume was decreased by 0.032 cm, 0.018 cm 0.004 cm and 0.012 cm respectively. As height increased by 1 cm the mean spleen width and volume were increased by 0.096 cm and 0.052 cm respectively. As we go from male to female the mean spleen length decreased by 0.294 cm., Conclusion: The spleen dimensions were higher in males than females. Splenic length was determined by age & sex, the spleen width was determined by age & height, the spleen volume was determined by age & height and the spleen thickness was determined by age., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Intestinal obstruction is defined as a blockage or partial blockage of the passage of the intestinal contents. It is a potentially risky surgical emergency associated with high morbidity and mortality. Its pattern differs from country to country and even from place to place within a country. Therefore, this study aimed to find out the magnitude, pattern and management outcome of intestinal obstruction in Arba Minch General Hospital., Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in Arba Minch General hospital from January 09, 2015, to November 09, 2018. The data collection period was from December 15, 2018, to February 09, 2019. A simple random technique was applied to select 801 study participants. Then, the required data entered into Epi Info version 7.2.1.0 and exported to the statistical package for the social sciences software package version 20 for analysis. The binary logistic regression analysis has been done to determine crude statistical associations between independent variables and dependent variables. Linearity, Multivariate normality and multicollinearity were checked between independent and dependent variables by using scatter plot and Q-Q plot respectively. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.25 in the binary logistic regression analysis were entered into multivariable logistic regression. Statistical significance factors were identified based on a p-value of < 0.05 and with a 95% confidence interval., Result: This study revealed that the overall magnitude of intestinal obstruction was 40.60% with 95% CI (34.95-45.95). The magnitude of unfavorable management outcomes and deaths during the study period were 22.3% with 95% CI (18.00-27.00) and 7.1% with 95% CI (4.00-10.00) respectively. Persistent tachycardia 10.3 (3.28-32.42), Dehydration 13.7 (3.34-56.56), elevated serum creatinine 10.2 (1.89-54.94), gangrenous small bowel volvulus 2.7 (1.27-5.84), ischemic bowel 3.4 (1.17-9.81) and perforated bowl 7.68 (2.96-19.93) were significantly associated with the management outcome of intestinal obstruction., Conclusion and Recommendation: Intestinal obstruction was the most common among all acute abdomen cases and its management outcome highly associated with dehydration. Adequate early preoperative resuscitation and proper post-operative care with appropriate surgical techniques and wound care with sterile techniques would help to reduce further mortality. This could be achieved by increasing public awareness of health-seeking behavior. Moreover, health facilities capable of handling patients with small bowel obstruction should be available within the reach of the community.

The role of community engagement (CE) in improving demand for immunization merits investigation. The International Rescue Committee developed a CE strategy to implement a vaccine defaulter-tracing tool and a color-coded health calendar aimed at increasing uptake of immunization services in north-west Ethiopia ( 'The Fifth Child Project'). We report findings from a formative evaluation of this project. In May/June 2016 we conducted 18 participant observations of project activities, 46 semi-structured interviews and 6 focus groups with caregivers, health workers, community members/leaders. Audio-recordings and fieldnotes were transcribed, anonymized, translated and analyzed thematically using inductive and deductive coding. Additional data was collected in November 2016 to verify findings. The project was suitably integrated within the health extension program and established a practical system for defaulter-tracing. The calendar facilitated personalized interactions between health workers and caregivers and was a catalyst for health discussions within homes. At the community level, a regulation exercise of sanctions was observed, which served as a deterrent against vaccine default. Pre-existing community accountability mechanisms supported the CE, although varying levels of engagement between leaders and health workers were observed. The benefits of shared responsibility for immunization were evident; however, more transparency was required about community self-regulatory measures to ensure health-related discussions remain positive., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.