Browsing by Author "Tadesse, Zelalem"

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    Levels of Trace Cadmium and Essential Zinc in Wheat flour Commercially Available in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa Universty, 2006-07) Tadesse, Zelalem; Subbaiyan, M. (Professor)
    Samples of wheat flour were collected from five different wheat flour processing industries (DHGEDA, KOJJ, Akwan, Redfam, and Misrak.). Different digestion procedures were tested by varying the type of reagent, temperature and time of digestion to develop optimum digestion procedure. The optimal procedure required 4 hours and consumed 6mL of 70% HNO3 and 2mL of 37% HCl to completely digest 10g of wheat flour sample. The accuracy of optimal procedure was checked by digesting a mixture of standard solutions and determining the percent recovery. The recoveries were 92% for Cd and 94% for Zn. the concentrations of Cd and Zn in wheat flour samples were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometery employing a four point external calibration curve. The mean concentration of Cd and Zn in wheat flour in this study ranged (mg/kg DW) from 0.011 to 0.024 mg/kg and 5.93 to 9.88mg/kg respectively. There was no significant difference observed in the levels of Cd and Zn in wheat flour samples obtained from different industries. The wheat flour samples examined in this study are non compliant with the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) for Cd in wheat
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    The Practice of Holy Water Therapy for Mental Disorders and other Conditions: at St. Michael Church Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
    (Addis Ababa University, 2018-01) Tadesse, Zelalem; Pain, Claire (MD)
    Ethiopians tend to emphasize supernatural explanations for illness, especially in the case of mental illness. The most common indigenous therapy is the use of holy water. Despite some recent studies on indigenous therapy, there has been little exploration of the interface between mental health and religion in Ethiopia. Thus the primary purpose of this study is to systematically explore the process of holy water therapy for mental disorders at Shinkuru Michael one of the principal traditional therapy centers in the outskirts of Addis Ababa. This research project used a descriptive study methodology, which is derived from and could be classified as a sub-branch of the qualitative approach. Non probability purposive sampling methods were used due to their appropriateness in dealing with sensitive issues related to mental illness. Data was collected from nine participants through in-depth interview, participant observation, and informal interview. Primary and secondary data collection methods were also used to gather additional data. All data were organized thematically and analyzed using thematic analysis. The study found that the nature of tsebel therapy demands the individual’s active involvement in fasting, prostration, Emnet (use of holy ash) and worship, for it to be effective. A wide variety of patients frequently made use of tsebel since it has a dual nature, being considered as an effective preventive measure and also as a cure, for mental illness and other diseases. Thus, based on the research, one can conclude that since the religious establishment plays a major role in the treatment of mental illness, there is a strong imperative for a certain amount of re-education, awareness raising and the promotion of cooperation among religious healers at tsebel/holy water sites, and mental health practitioners of every kind of health care system.