Carbapenemase-encoding genes in critical gram-negative bacteria isolated from ICU patients with infections and/or gastrointestinal carriage, and environmental samples in the amhara National Regional state, Ethiopia.

Effective infection control requires identifying and eliminating carbapenemase-producing (CP) Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) in high-risk groups like intensive care unit (ICU) patients and from contaminated environmental surfaces. This study aimed to describe the diversity of carbapenemase-encoding genes among critical GNB isolates from ICU patients with infection and/or gastrointestinal (GI) colonization, as well as from ICU environmental surfaces in the Amhara National Regional state, Ethiopia.A total of 169 carbapenem-resistant isolates were identified, including 26 from infections, 82 from GI colonization, and 61 from environmental samples.

Folate, Vitamin B12, and Homocysteine Levels in Women With Neural Tube Defect-Affected Pregnancy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Background: Neural tube defects (NTDs) are prevalent congenital defects associated with pre-pregnancy diet with low levels of maternal folate. They are linked to severe morbidity, disability, and mortality, as well as psychological and economic burdens.

Objective: The goal of this study was to determine the levels of folate, vitamin B12, and homocysteine in the blood of women who had a pregnancy impacted by NTDs.

Integration of cytopathology with molecular tests to improve the lab diagnosis for TBLN suspected patients.

Background: Tuberculosis lymphadenitis (TBLN) diagnosis is often challenging in most resource poor settings. Often cytopathologic diagnosis of TBLN suspected patients is inconclusive impeding timely clinical management of TBLN suspected patients, further exposing suspected patients either for unnecessary use of antibiotics or empirical treatment. This may lead to inappropriate treatment outcome or more suffering of suspected patients from the disease.

Occult Hepatitis B Virus Infection and Its Risks of Cryptic Transmission in Southern Ethiopia.

Background: The detection of hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in serum remains the mainstay in diagnosing and screening of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in most developing countries. The absence of HBsAg in the blood may not indicate the absence of circulating HBV and might be infectious. Thus, this study aimed to estimate the burden and its cryptic transmission risks of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) among HBsAg negative healthy individuals in Southern Ethiopia.

Quality of Service (QoS) improving schemes in optical networks.

In optical networks, such as OPS/OBS, the network results into significant loss in the network layer. When the loss significantly deteriorates the QoS by increasing the Bit Error Rate (BER), a viable approach can be used to increase the performance. This paper presents state of the art of Quality of Service (QoS) schemes used for improving the performance of optical networks.

Feasibility study of antenna synthesis using hyper beamforming.

Wireless communication requires an effective antenna synthesis that characterizes adequate infrastructures to provide the broader bandwidth and reduced interference. Antenna design with minimal signal degradation, optimal gain directive main beam to sustain minimal loss has been a hot issue among many communication engineers for several years. In this paper, the effects of eccentricity of the antenna, element-spacing, number of elliptical rings and number of elements are evaluated.

Professional Pragmatism and Abortion Stigma: Assessing the Performance of the Stigmatizing Attitudes, Beliefs and Actions Scale (SABAS) among Ethiopian Midwives.

This study assessed the applicability to medical professionals in Ethiopia of an abortion stigma assessment tool developed for community members, and examined the relationship between stigma and willingness to provide safe abortion care (SAC). The Stigmatizing Attitudes, Beliefs and Actions Scale (SABAS) was fielded to a convenience sample of 397 Ethiopian midwives. Scale reliability and validity were assessed, and associations were examined using multivariate linear and logistic regression.