Pepper wilt disease intensity was assessed on-farm in Bako Tibbe and Nonno districts of West Shewa Zone, Ethiopia during the main cropping season of October 2012. The wilt causing pathogens were identified from 50 diseased samples collected from the two districts. Of the 120 hot pepper fields surveyed, 116 fields were found to be infected with wilt disease. The overall percent prevalence and incidence of wilt disease was 96.7 and 86.4%, respectively. Identification and pathogenicity tests revealed that Ralstonia solanacearum and four fungal wilt pathogens (Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium spp., Phytophthora spp. and Verticillium spp.) were detected in the surveyed fields. The percentage of occurrence of Rhizoctonia solani, Fusarium spp., Phytophthora spp. and Verticillium spp. were 45.0, 17.48, 12.59 and 11.89%, respectively; whereas, the frequency of R. solanacearum was 100%. Wilt disease in pepper in these two districts was caused by more than one wilt causing pathogen, thus management strategies should focus on these complex pathogens.

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In Ethiopia, stem rust caused by Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici (Pgt) is one of the most serious wheat diseases. On vulnerable cultivars, it has the ability to cause yield losses of up to 100%. The infection responses of forty-two wheat lines at the seedling stage against eleven isolates of stem rust race TTKSK (Ug99 race), TTRTF, TKTTF (Digalu race), JRCQC, TKKTF, TRTTF, TTTTF, TTKTF, TTKTT, RRTTF, and TKPTF were evaluated in a study. Wheat lines were experimentally infected with urediniospores of the races under controlled conditions at Ambo Plant Protection Research Center in 2021. Against the Pgt races that were examined, different seedling resistance responses were seen. Thirteen wheat lines,

Environmental factors play a crucial role in determining the health and well-being of individuals in both developed and developing countries. In Ethiopia, small towns are particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of environmental factors on health. This study aimed to examine the relationship between environmental factors and health-related outcomes among residents of small towns in Ethiopia. A survey was conducted with a sample of 225 individuals, including questions about demographics, health-related behaviors, and environmental factors. The findings suggest that air pollution, access to green spaces, and physical activity opportunities are important determinants of health in these communities. Addressing these environmental factors requires a comprehensive and community-engaged approach that involves collaboration between various sectors and engagement with community members and local stakeholders. Future research could further explore the relationships between environmental factors and health-related outcomes in small towns of Ethiopia and other low- and middle-income countries.

The study was basically focused on demonstration of bread wheat technologies for wider demand-driven technology diffusion in major wheat growing area in high land of eastern Amhara. The objectives were in order to evaluate and demonstrate improved bread wheat variety with their production package to the farming community and assess farmers and extension workers reaction towards improved bread wheat technology. The activity was conducted in main season 2019/2020 at Jama and Meket districts. The fact that wheat production and productivity in the region as well as in the particular study area low because farmers are using low yielding, disease and pest resistant local varieties. The improved bread wheat variety was demonstrated along with the local variety at 12 farmers' fields. Yield data, economic data, farmers’ perception and preferences were collected throughout the demonstration stages and data were analyzed by using ANOVA, partial budget analysis and preference ranking. The results of ANOVA showed that yield and yield related parameters statistically significant at the probability level of  0.01% and 0.05% among treatments. The highest mean yield was recorded from "Hibist" with improved management 2.49 ton/ha and 1.42 ton/ha at Jama and Meket districts respectively followed by local with improved management and the lowest was from local with farmers practices. Furthermore, the result of partial budget analysis show that the use of improved and local variety with recommended package more profitable with the MRR of 1.96 and 0.81 than farmer practices at Jama district and 74.26 and 9.26 at Meket district respectively. Farmer preference analysis improved & local variety with improved management ranks 1st and 2nd at Jama respectively while reverse at Meket and lastly ranks farmer practices at both districts. Generally, improved bread wheat with recommended package has higher yield advantage, financial feasibility and social acceptance than control and farmer practices, it is recommended to be scale out for further dissemination.

Introduction: Obliterative Arteriopathy of the Lower Limbs (OALL) is one of the most prevalent cardiovascular diseases in the world with high morbidity and economic impact. In Cameroon, this condition is also present but little studied. For this purpose, this study aims to analyze the epidemiological profile and prognosis of patients operated for OALL at the Yaounde General Hospital (YGH). Materials and Methods:We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study in the surgery department of the YGH relating to ninety-seven medical records of OALL operated patients between 2008 and 2018 (ten years) using a quantitative research approach. Results: It emerges from this study that the mean age was 67.1 ± 13.3 years. Male sex was predominant (57.7%). Stroke was the most frequent clinical past history (15.5%). The most frequent cardiovascular risk factors were arterial hypertension (63.9%), diabetes mellitus (41.2%) and smoking (32.9%). Grade III-IV and acute limb ischemia were the most prevalent OALL grades (41.2% and 32% respectively). Amputation was the most practiced surgical procedure (41.2%). The one-year mortality rate was 39.2%. We found no factor associated with one-year survival. Conclusion: We, therefore, suggest that public health actors develop actions and interventions to exercise in order to reduce this health indicator (mortality rate) and revalue the place of psychosocial care in amputees.

Hot pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an economically important crop in Ethiopia. Wide variability in hot pepper germplasm in Ethiopia is expected due to the presence of diverse environmental conditions and variation in farming systems. The present study was carried out to evaluate the resistance of 75 hot pepper accessions to wilt disease and assess their genetic diversity using SSR markers. Out of 75 accessions tested, the present study identified 23 accessions that showed resistance (R) with the value of 1-10% disease incidence. The genetic diversity assessment using 13 polymorphic SSR markers allowed the detection of 111 clear and scorable bands. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 5 to 13, with an average of 8.54. The PIC value ranged from 0.27 to 0.87 with an average of 0.59. The gene diversity indices were highly variable across SSR loci and ranged from 0.29 to 0.88 with mean genetic diversity of 0.62. Observed heterozygosity was also highly variable between loci (0.01-0.45) indicating that the accessions were not fixed to homozygosity. Furthermore, genetic diversity parameters were estimated among populations by grouping accessions based on their origin. Within populations, the PIC value ranged from 0.31 to 0.77. The genetic distances among the eight populations ranged from 0.15 to 0.48. The observed highest genetic diversity (0.80) in the Amhara region (Gojam) may indicate this area as the primary site for designing in situ conservation for this crop in Ethiopia. The research findings provide baseline information on disease resistance germplasm sources to be used for the breeding program, as well as the status of genetic diversity of the accessions for efficient conservation and proper utilization of the existing genetic resources in the country.

The study was conducted in 2019/2020 for two years in Habru, Kobo, and Dawa Chefa districts of the Eastern Amhara with the main objectives of evaluating and validating the productivity, evaluating economic feasibility and selecting the best performing sowing method and seed rate of tef technologies under farmers condition. The districts were selected based on their representativeness for the growth of tef. Three treatments were used for the study namely row planting with 5kg.ha-1, row planting with 10kg.ha-1, and hand broadcasting methods. Tef (Zoble variety) was used for the study purpose. Based on the data obtained, the highest yield was obtained from the hand broadcasting (25kg.ha-1) and the lowest yield was from the row planting (5kg.ha-1). The mean yield of tef from the hand broadcasting (25kg.ha-1) was 16.5% higher than the row planting (5kg.ha-1). Similarly, the labor utilization has increased from hand broadcasting 25kg.ha-1to row planting of (5kg.ha-1) and 10kg.ha-1. The labor cost for row plantings of tef was also higher, whereas the hand broadcasting (25kg.ha-1) consumed the least labor. This study therefore has proved that hand broadcasting is both high yielder and economically feasible in the Eastern Amhara. In addition to this, the study suggests that there should be additional seed rate study on broadcasting In order to gain optimum tef yield with feasible economic advantage.