Search results for: eczema action plan

Authors: Marlene Rosa, Susana Lopes

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There are few studies that explore the potential of board games as a performance measure, despite it can be an interesting strategy in the context of frailty populations. In fact, board games are immersive strategies than can inhibit the pressure of being evaluated. This study aimed to test the ability of gamed-base strategies to assess executive function in elderly population. Sixteen old participants were included: 10 with affected executive functions (G1 – 85.30±6.00 yrs old; 10 male); 6 with executive functions with non-clinical important modifications (G2 - 76.30±5.19 yrs old; 6 male). Executive tests were assessed using the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), which is a quick-applicable cognitive screening test (score<12 means impairment). The board game used in this study was the TATI Hand Game, specifically for training rhythmic coordination of the upper limbs with multiple cognitive stimuli. This game features 1 table grid, 1 set of Single Game cards (to play with one hand); Double Game cards (to play simultaneously with two hands); 1 dice to plan Single Game mode; cards to plan the Double Game mode; 1 bell; 2 cups. Each participant played 3 single game cards, and the following data were collected: (i) variability in time during board game challenges (SD); (ii) number of errors; (iii) execution speed (sec). G1 demonstrated: high variability in execution time during board game challenges (G1 – 13.0s vs G2- 0.5s); a higher number of errors (1.40 vs 0.67); higher execution velocity (607.80s vs 281.83s). These results demonstrated the potential of implementing board games as a functional assessment strategy in geriatric care. Future studies might include larger samples and statistical methodologies to find cut-off values for impairment in executive functions during performance in TATI game.

Keywords: board game, aging, executive function, evaluation

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Authors: Ileen Van den Berg, Reinier J. Daals, Chris E. M. Heuberger, Sven P. Hildering, Bob E. Van Maris, Carla M. Smulders, Rafael Aránguiz

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Chile is located along the subduction zone of the Nazca plate beneath the South American plate, where large earthquakes and tsunamis have taken place throughout history. The last significant earthquake (Mw 8.2) occurred in September 2015 and generated a destructive tsunami, which mainly affected the city of Coquimbo (71.33°W, 29.96°S). The inundation area consisted of a beach, damaged seawall, damaged railway, wetland and old neighborhood; therefore, local authorities started a reconstruction process immediately after the event. Moreover, a seismic gap has been identified in the same area, and another large event could take place in the near future. The present work proposed an integrated tsunami reconstruction plan for the city of Coquimbo that considered several variables such as safety, nature & recreation, neighborhood welfare, visual obstruction, infrastructure, construction process, and durability & maintenance. Possible future tsunami scenarios are simulated by means of the Non-hydrostatic Evolution of Ocean WAVEs (NEOWAVE) model with 5 nested grids and a higher grid resolution of ~10 m. Based on the score from a multi-criteria analysis, the costs of the alternatives and a preference for a multifunctional solution, the alternative that includes an elevated coastal road with floodgates to reduce tsunami overtopping and control the return flow of a tsunami was selected as the best solution. It was also observed that the wetlands are significantly restored to their former configuration; moreover, the dynamic behavior of the wetlands is stimulated. The numerical simulation showed that the new coastal protection decreases damage and the probability of loss of life by delaying tsunami arrival time. In addition, new evacuation routes and a smaller inundation zone in the city increase safety for the area.

Keywords: tsunami, Coquimbo, Chile, reconstruction, numerical simulation

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Authors: Mohammed S. Mohammed, Asmaa M. S. Mohammed

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Background: To achieve the quality of cancer care, the oncologic academic programs should be continuously developed with establishing new ones. We highlighted three disciplines, Clinical nutrition, medical biophysics and radiobiology and Psycho-oncology programs; without a doubt, the Egyptian National Cancer Institute, in ‎the accreditation era, will be establishing them ‎ due to their importance in improving the skills of cancer practitioners. Methods: The first suggested program in Clinical Nutrition that is dealing with the assessment of the patient's well-being before, during and after treatment to avoid the defects in the metabolism resulting from the cancer disease and its treatment by giving the supplements in the patient's diet. The second program is Medical Biophysics and Radiobiology, which there's no denying that it ‎is ‎provided ‎in Cairo University as a good program in the faculty of science but lacks the clinical ‎practice. Hence, it is probably better to establish this program in our institute to ‎improve the ‎practitioner skills and introduce a tailored radiation therapy regimen for every patient according to ‎their characteristic profile.‎ While patients are receiving their treatment, the risk of post-traumatic stress disorder arises, so the importance of the third program, Psycho-Oncology, is clearly obtained. This program is concerned with the psychological, social, behavioral, and ethical aspects of cancer. The area of multi-disciplinary interest has boundaries with the major specialties in oncology: the clinical disciplines (surgery, medicine, pediatrics, and radiotherapy), epidemiology, immunology, endocrinology, biology, pathology, bioethics, palliative care, rehabilitation medicine, clinical trials research and decision making, as well as psychiatry and psychology. Results: It is a prospective academic plan which is compatible with the institutional vision and its strategic plan. Conclusion: In this context, evaluating and understanding the suggested academic programs has become a mandatory part of cancer care. And it is essential to be provided by the NCI.

Keywords: clinical nutrition, psycho-oncology, medical biophysics and radiobiology, medical education

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Authors: Ru-Yu Lien, Shih-Hsin Hung, Shu-Fen Lu, Shu-I Chin, Wen-Ju Yang, Wan Ming-Shang, Chien-Ying Wang

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Background: Upon recovery from critical condition, patients are normally transferred from the intensive care units (ICUs) to the general wards. However, transferring patients to a new environment causes stressful experiences for both patients and their families. Therefore, there is a necessity to communicate with the patients and their families to reduce psychological stress and unplanned return. Methods: This study was performed in the general ICUs from January 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021, in Taipei Veteran General Hospital. The patients who were evaluated by doctors and liaison nurses transferred to the general wards were selected as the research objects and ranked by the Critical Care Transition Program (CCTP). The plan was applied to 40 patients in a study group and usual care support for a control group of 40 patients. The psychological condition of patients was evaluated by a migration stress scale and a hospital anxiety and depression scale. In addition, the rate of return to ICU was also measured. Results: A total of 63 patients out of 80 (78.8%) experienced moderate to severe degrees of anxiety, and 42 patients (52.6%) experienced moderate to severe degrees of depression before being transferred. The difference between anxiety and depression changed more after the transfer; moreover, when a transition program was applied, it was lower than without a transition program. The return to ICU rate in the study group was lower than in the usual transition group, with an adjusted odds ratio of 0.21 (95% confidence interval: 0.05-0.888, P=0.034). Conclusion: Our study found that the transfer program could reduce the anxiety and depression of patients and the associated stress on their families during the transition from ICU. Before being transferred out of ICU, the healthcare providers need to assess the needs of patients to set the goals of the care plan and perform patient-centered decision-making with multidisciplinary support.

Keywords: ICU, critical care transition program, healthcare, transition program

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Authors: Fayez Hanna, Viet Tran

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A 20 years old lady- primigravida 6 weeks pregnant with unremarkable past history, presented to the emergency department at the Royal Hobart Hospital, Tasmania, Australia, with hyperemesis gravidarum associated with, dehydration and complicated with hematemesis and chest pain resistant. Accordingly, we conducted laboratory investigations which revealed: FBC: WBC 23.9, unremarkable U&E, LFT, lipase and her VBG showed a pH 7.4, pCo2 36.7, cK+ 3.2, cNa+ 142. The decision was made to do a chest X-ray (CXR) after explaining the risks/benefit of performing radiographic investigations during pregnancy and considering the patient's plan for the termination of the pregnancy as she was not ready for motherhood for shared decision-making and consent to look for pneumoperitoneum to suggest perforated viscus that might cause the hematemesis. However, the CXR showed pneumomediastinum but no evidence of pneumoperitoneum or pneumothorax. Consequently, a decision was made to proceed with CT oesophagography with imaging pre and post oral contrast administration to identify a potential oesophageal tear since it could not be excluded using a plain film of the CXR. The CT oesophagography could not find a leak for the administered oral contrast and thus, no oesophageal tear could be confirmed but could not exclude the Mallory-Weiss tear (lower oesophageal tear). Further, the CT oesophagography showed an extensive pneumomediastinum that could not be confirmed to be pulmonary in origin noting the presence of bilateral pulmonary interstitial emphysema and pneumothorax in the apex of the right lung that was small. The patient was admitted to the Emergency Department Inpatient Unit for monitoring, supportive therapy, and symptomatic management. Her hyperemesis was well controlled with ondansetron 8mg IV, metoclopramide 10mg IV, doxylamine 25mg PO, pyridoxine 25mg PO, esomeprazole 40mg IV and oxycodone 5mg PO was given for pain control and 2 litter of IV fluid. The patient was stabilized after 24 hours and discharged home on ondansetron 8mg every 8 hours whereas the patient had a plan for medical termination of pregnancy. Three weeks later, the patient represented with nausea and vomiting complicated by a frank hematemesis. Her observation chart showed HR 117- other vital signs were normal. Pathology showed WBC 14.3 with normal U&E and Hb. The patient was managed in the Emergency Department with the same previous regimen and was discharged home on same previous regimes. Five days later, she presented again with nausea, vomiting and hematemesis and was admitted under obstetrics and gynaecology for stabilization then discharged home with a plan for surgical termination of pregnancy after 3-days rather than the previously planned medical termination of pregnancy to avoid extension of potential oesophageal tear. The surgical termination and follow up period were uneventful. The case is considered rare as pneumomediastinum is a very rare complication of hyperemesis gravidarum where vomiting-induced barotrauma leads to a ruptured oesophagus and air leak into the mediastinum. However no rupture oesophagus in our case. Although the combination of pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum without oesophageal tear was reported only 8 times in the literature, but none of them was due to hyperemesis gravidarum.

Keywords: Pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, hyperemesis gravidarum, pneumopericardium

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Authors: Hamide Farshad, Mohammadreza Javidi Abdollah Zadeh Aval

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As a result of the growing penetration of the media into human life, a new role under the title of "audience" is defined in the social life .A kind of role which is dramatically changed since its formation. This article aims to define the audience position in the new media equations which is concluded to the transformation of the media role. By using the Library and Attributive method to study the history, the evolutionary outlook to the audience and the recognition of the audience and the media relation in the new media context is studied. It was perceived in past that public communication would result in receiving the audience. But after the emergence of the interactional media and transformation in the audience social life, a new kind of public communication is formed, and also the imaginary picture of the audience is replaced by the audience impact on the communication process. Part of this impact can be seen in the form of feedback which is one of the public communication elements. In public communication, the audience feedback is completely accepted. But in many cases, and along with the audience feedback, the media changes its direction; this direction shift is known as media feedback. At this state, the media and the audience are both doers and consistently change their positions in an interaction. With the greater number of the audience and the media, this process has taken a new role, and the role of this doer is sometimes taken by an audience while influencing another audience, or a media while influencing another media. In this article, this multiple public communication process is shown through representing a model under the title of ”The bilateral influence of the audience and the media.” Based on this model, the audience and the media power are not the two sides of a coin, and as a result, by accepting these two as the doers, the bilateral power of the audience and the media will be complementary to each other. Also more, the compatibility between the media and the audience is analyzed in the bilateral and interactional relation hypothesis, and by analyzing the action law hypothesis, the dos and don’ts of this role are defined, and media is obliged to know and accept them in order to be able to survive. They also have a determining role in the strategic studies of a media.

Keywords: audience, effect, media, interaction, action laws

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Authors: Arezoo Fallahi

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Introduction: Exposure to second-hand smoke is an important global health problem and threatens the health of people, especially children and women. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of education based on the Health Belief Model on preventive behaviors of exposure to second-hand smoke in women. Materials and Methods: This experimental study was performed in 2022 in Sanandaj, west of Iran. Seventy-four people were selected by simple random sampling and divided into an intervention group (37 people) and a control group (37 people). Data collection tools included demographic characteristics and a second-hand smoke exposure questionnaire based on the Health Beliefs Model. The training in the intervention group was conducted in three one-hour sessions in the comprehensive health service centers in the form of lectures, pamphlets, and group discussions. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21 and statistical tests such as correlation, paired t-test, and independent t-test. Results: The intervention and control groups were homogeneous before education. They were similar in terms of mean scores of the Health Belief Model. However, after an educational intervention, some of the scores increased, including the mean perceived sensitivity score (from 17.62±2.86 to 19.75±1.23), perceived severity score (28.40±4.45 to 31.64±2), perceived benefits score (27.27±4.89 to 31.94±2.17), practice score (32.64±4.68 to 36.91±2.32) perceived barriers from 26.62±5.16 to 31.29±3.34, guide for external action (from 17.70±3.99 to 22/89 ±1.67), guide for internal action from (16.59±2.95 to 1.03±18.75), and self-efficacy (from 19.83 ±3.99 to 23.37±1.43) (P <0.05). Conclusion: The educational intervention designed based on the Health Belief Model in women was effective in performing preventive behaviors against exposure to second-hand smoke.

Keywords: education, women, exposure to secondhand smoke, health belief model

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Authors: Eduardo Lanzagorta Garcia, Chaitra Venkatesh, Romina Pezzoli, Laura Gabriela Rodriguez Barroso, Declan Devine, Margaret E. Brennan Fournet

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New antimicrobial interventions are urgently required to combat rising global health and medical infection challenges. Here, an innovative antimicrobial technology, providing price competitive alternatives to antibiotics and readily integratable with currently technological systems is presented. Two cutting edge antimicrobial materials, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) and uncompromised sustained Ag+ action from triangular silver nanoplates (TSNPs) reservoirs, are merged for versatile effective antimicrobial action where current approaches fail. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) exist widely in nature and have recently been demonstrated for broad spectrum of activity against bacteria, viruses, and fungi. TSNP’s are highly discrete, homogenous and readily functionisable Ag+ nanoreseviors that have a proven amenability for operation within in a wide range of bio-based settings. In a design for advanced antimicrobial sustainable plastics, antimicrobial TSNPs are formulated for processing within biodegradable biopolymers. Histone H5 AMP was selected for its reported strong antimicrobial action and functionalized with the TSNP (AMP-TSNP) in a similar fashion to previously reported TSNP biofunctionalisation methods. A synergy between the propensity of biopolymers for degradation and Ag+ release combined with AMP activity provides a novel mechanism for the sustained antimicrobial action of biopolymeric thin films. Nanoplates are transferred from aqueous phase to an organic solvent in order to facilitate integration within hydrophobic polymers. Extrusion is used in combination with calendering rolls to create thin polymerc film where the nanoplates are embedded onto the surface. The resultant antibacterial functional films are suitable to be adapted for food packing and biomedical applications. TSNP synthesis were synthesized by adapting a previously reported seed mediated approach. TSNP synthesis was scaled up for litre scale batch production and subsequently concentrated to 43 ppm using thermally controlled H2O removal. Nanoplates were transferred from aqueous phase to an organic solvent in order to facilitate integration within hydrophobic polymers. This was acomplised by functionalizing the TSNP with thiol terminated polyethylene glycol and using centrifugal force to transfer them to chloroform. Polycaprolactone (PCL) and Polylactic acid (PLA) were individually processed through extrusion, TSNP and AMP-TSNP solutions were sprayed onto the polymer immediately after exiting the dye. Calendering rolls were used to disperse and incorporate TSNP and TSNP-AMP onto the surface of the extruded films. Observation of the characteristic blue colour confirms the integrity of the TSNP within the films. Antimicrobial tests were performed by incubating Gram + and Gram – strains with treated and non-treated films, to evaluate if bacterial growth was reduced due to the presence of the TSNP. The resulting films successfully incorporated TSNP and AMP-TSNP. Reduced bacterial growth was observed for both Gram + and Gram – strains for both TSNP and AMP-TSNP compared with untreated films indicating antimicrobial action. The largest growth reduction was observed for AMP-TSNP treated films demonstrating the additional antimicrobial activity due to the presence of the AMPs. The potential of this technology to impede bacterial activity in food industry and medical surfaces will forge new confidence in the battle against antibiotic resistant bacteria, serving to greatly inhibit infections and facilitate patient recovery.

Keywords: antimicrobial, biodegradable, peptide, polymer, nanoparticle

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Authors: Suchana Marahatta, Sabina Bhattarai, Bishnu Hari Paudel, Dilip Thakur

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Background: Every year thousands of patients develop nerve damage and disabilities as a result of leprosy which can be prevented by early detection and treatment. So, early detection and treatment of nerve function impairment is of paramount importance in leprosy. Objectives: To assess the electrophysiological pattern of the peripheral nerves in leprosy patients and to compare it with clinical assessment tools. Materials and Methods: In this comparative cross-sectional study, 74 newly diagnosed leprosy patients without reaction were enrolled. They underwent thorough evaluation for peripheral nerve function impairment using clinical tests [i.e. nerve palpation (NP), monofilament (MF) testing, voluntary muscle testing (VMT)] and nerve conduction study (NCS). Clinical findings were compared with that of NCS using SPSS version 11.5. Results: NCS was impaired in 43.24% of leprosy patient at the baseline. Among them, sensory NCS was impaired in more patients (32.4%) in comparison to motor NCS (20.3%). NP, MF, and VMT were impaired in 58.1%, 25.7%, and 9.4% of the patients, respectively. Maximum concordance of monofilament testing and sensory NCS was found for sural nerve (14.7%). Likewise, the concordance of motor NP and motor NCS was the maximum for ulnar nerve (14.9%). When individual parameters of the NCS were considered, amplitude was found to be the most frequently affected parameter for both sensory and motor NCS. It was impaired in 100% of cases with abnormal NCS findings. Conclusion: Since there was no acceptable concordance between NCS findings and clinical findings, we should consider NCS whenever feasible for early detection of neuropathy in leprosy. The amplitude of both sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) and compound nerve action potential (CAMP) could be important determinants of the abnormal NCS if supported by further studies.

Keywords: leprosy, nerve function impairment, neuropathy, nerve conduction study

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Authors: Vacharee Svamivastu

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This research investigates the application of geometrical relationship to the ancient religious assembly hall (Vihara) housing a reclining Buddha statue of Thailand's Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park. The study utilizes the archaeological and wooden roof structure remains of the Vihara as the prima facie evidence, supplemented with evidence from other active archaeological sites with architectural kinship as well as Buddhist ideology. At present, the wooden roofs of the Vihara fell prey to the elements and there remain only the base, columns and enclosing walls. Unlike typical Viharas whose floor plan are of rectangular shape, the floor plan of the Vihara housing the reclining Buddha is of square configuration of 25x25m. Further observation has revealed the utilization of large laterite boulders as the principal construction material of the assembly hall (Vihara) columns. The laterite columns are of square shape (1x1m) and various heights (H), ranging from 3.50m to 5.50m. The erection of the Vihara required a total of 36 laterite columns. The pattern of columns arrangement is of two rows of inner columns, two rows of outer columns and two rows of verandah columns. The space between pairs of the verandah columns was stacked with laterite blocks of varying sizes to form the Vihara walls with small openings for ventilation. Upon applying the geometrical relationship-grid system to the Vihara, the results reveal that the placement of the columns was deliberately and masterfully undertaken such that the center of the square-shaped Vihara is conspicuously spacious so as to accommodate the sacred reclining Buddha statue. The elegance of the Vihara demonstrates the ingenious application of geometrical relationship to transforming a space into a structure (i.e. Vihara) of architectural and religious significance.

Keywords: geometrical relationship, the religious assembly hall, Vihara, Kamphaeng Phet School of Master Builder

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Authors: Kyle Yatich Terik, Collins Oduor

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The current healthcare system has made healthcare more accessible and efficient by the use of information technology through the implementation of computer algorithms that generate menus based on the diagnosis. While many systems just like these have been created over the years, their main objective is to help healthy individuals calculate their calorie intake and assist them by providing food selections based on a pre-specified calorie. That application has been proven to be useful in some ways, and they are not suitable for monitoring, planning, and managing hospital patients, especially that critical condition their dietary needs. The system also addresses a number of objectives, such as; the main objective is to be able to design, develop and implement an efficient, user-friendly as well as and interactive dietary management system. The specific design development objectives include developing a system that will facilitate a monitoring feature for users using graphs, developing a system that will provide system-generated reports to the users, dietitians, and system admins, design a system that allows users to measure their BMI (Body Mass Index), the system will also provide food template feature that will guide the user on a balanced diet plan. In order to develop the system, further research was carried out in Kenya, Nairobi County, using online questionnaires being the preferred research design approach. From the 44 respondents, one could create discussions such as the major challenges encountered from the manual dietary system, which include no easily accessible information of the calorie intake for food products, expensive to physically visit a dietitian to create a tailored diet plan. Conclusively, the system has the potential of improving the quality of life of people as a whole by providing a standard for healthy living and allowing individuals to have readily available knowledge through food templates that will guide people and allow users to create their own diet plans that consist of a balanced diet.

Keywords: DMS, dietitian, patient, administrator

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Authors: Dmitry Yu. Korulkin, Raissa A. Muzychkina

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In review the generalized data about different methods of extraction, separation and purification of natural and modify anthraquinones is presented. The basic regularity of an isolation process is analyzed. Action of temperature, pH, and polarity of extragent, catalysts and other factors on an isolation process is revealed.

Keywords: anthraquinones; isolation; extraction; polarity; chromatography; precipitation; bioactivity; phytopreparation; chrysophanol; aloe-emodin; emodin; physcion.

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Authors: Saúl Rivero, Estefanya Marín, Katherine Bolaño, Elena Urán, Juan Yepes, Andrés Cossio

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Medellín is the Colombian city with the best public transport systems in the country, which is made up of two metro lines, five metrocables, two BRT-type bus lines, and a tram. But despite the above, the Aburrá Valley, the area in which the city is located, has about 3000 km of roads, which for the existing population of 3.2 million inhabitants, gives an indicator of 900 meters of road per 1000 inhabitants, which is lower than the country's average, which is approximately 3900 meters. In addition, given that in Medellín, there is approximately one vehicle for every three inhabitants, the problems of congestion and environmental pollution have worsened over the years. In this sense, due to the limitations of physical space, the low public investment in road infrastructure, it is necessary to opt for mobility alternatives according to the above. Among the options for the city, there is what is known as micromobility. Micromobility is understood to be those small and light means of transport that are used for short distances, that use electrical energy, such as skateboards and bicycles. Taking into account the above, in this work, the current state and future of micromobility in the city of Medellín were analyzed, carrying out a prospective analysis, supported by a PEST analysis, but also of the crossed impact matrices; of influence and dependence; and the technique of the actor's game. The analysis was carried out for two future scenarios: one normal and one optimistic. Result of the analysis, it was determined that micromobility as an alternative social practice to mobility in the city of Medellín has favorable conditions since the local government has adopted strategies such as the Metropolitan Bicycle Master Plan of Valle de Aburrá and the plan " Bicycle paths in the city: more public spaces for life,” where a projection of 400 kilometers of bicycle paths was estimated by the year 2030, as for that same year it is expected that 10% of all trips in the region will be in bike mode. The total trip indicator is an achievable goal, while that of the number of kilometers of bike paths would be close to being met.

Keywords: electric vehicles, micromobilty, public transport, sustainable transport

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Authors: Paolo Lenzuni

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Cost-effectiveness of noise abatement treatments at the workplace has not yet received adequate consideration. Furthermore, most of the published work is focused on productivity, despite the poor correlation of this quantity with noise levels. There is currently no tool to estimate the social benefit associated to a specific noise abatement treatment, and no comparison among different options is accordingly possible. In this paper, we present an algorithm which has been developed to predict the cost-effectiveness of any planned noise control treatment in a workplace. This algorithm is based the estimates of hearing threshold shifts included in ISO 1999, and on compensations that workers are entitled to once their work-related hearing impairments have been certified. The benefits of a noise abatement treatment are estimated by means of the lower compensation costs which are paid to the impaired workers. Although such benefits have no real meaning in strictly monetary terms, they allow a reliable comparison between different treatments, since actual social costs can be assumed to be proportional to compensation costs. The existing European legislation on occupational exposure to noise it mandates that the noise exposure level be reduced below the upper action limit (85 dBA). There is accordingly little or no motivation for employers to sustain the extra costs required to lower the noise exposure below the lower action limit (80 dBA). In order to make this goal more appealing for employers, the algorithm proposed in this work also includes an ad-hoc element that promotes actions which bring the noise exposure down below 80 dBA. The algorithm has a twofold potential: 1) it can be used as a quality index to promote cost-effective practices; 2) it can be added to the existing criteria used by workers’ compensation authorities to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of technical actions, and support dedicated employers.

Keywords: cost-effectiveness, noise, occupational exposure, treatment

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Authors: Nathalie Baeza-Kallee, Raphaël Bergès, Victoria Hein, Stéphanie Cabaret, Jeremy Garcia, Abigaëlle Gros, Emeline Tabouret, Aurélie Tchoghandjian, Carole Colin, Dominique Figarella-Branger

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Glioblastoma (GBM) contains cancer stem cells that are resistant to treatment. GBM cancer stem cell expresses glycolipids recognized by the A2B5 antibody. A2B5, induced by the enzyme ST8 alpha-N-acetyl-neuraminide alpha-2,8-sialyl transferase 3 (ST8Sia3), plays a crucial role in the proliferation, migration, clonogenicity, and tumorigenesis of GBM cancer stem cells. Our aim was to characterize the resulting effects of neuraminidase that remove A2B5 in order to target GBM cancer stem cells. To this end, we set up a GBM organotypic slice model; quantified A2B5 expression by flow cytometry in U87-MG, U87-ST8Sia3, and GBM cancer stem cell lines, treated or not by neuraminidase; performed RNAseq and DNA methylation profiling; and analyzed the ganglioside expression by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in these cell lines, treated or not with neuraminidase. Results demonstrated that neuraminidase decreased A2B5 expression, tumor size, and regrowth after surgical removal in the organotypic slice model but did not induce a distinct transcriptomic or epigenetic signature in GBM CSC lines. RNAseq analysis revealed that OLIG2, CHI3L1, TIMP3, TNFAIP2, and TNFAIP6 transcripts were significantly overexpressed in U87-ST8Sia3 compared to U87-MG. RT-qPCR confirmed these results and demonstrated that neuraminidase decreased gene expression in GBM cancer stem cell lines. Moreover, neuraminidase drastically reduced ganglioside expression in GBM cancer stem cell lines. Neuraminidase, by its pleiotropic action, is an attractive local treatment against GBM.

Keywords: cancer stem cell, ganglioside, glioblastoma, targeted treatment

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Authors: Ahmad Zamzam

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With the development of the economy in recent years, Saudi Arabia has been maintaining high economic growth. Therefore, its energy consumption has increased dramatically. This economic growth reflected on the expansion of high-rise tower's construction. Jeddah coastal strip (cornice) has many high-rise buildings planned to start next few years. These projects required a massive amount of electricity that was not planned to be supplied by the old infrastructure. This research studies the effect of the building envelope on its thermal performance. It follows a parametric simulation methodology using Ecotect software to analyze the effect of the building envelope design on its cooling energy load for an office high-rise building in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which includes building geometrical form, massing treatments, orientation and glazing type effect. The research describes an integrated passive design approach to reduce the cooling requirement for high-rise building through an improved building envelope design. The research used Ecotect to make four simulation studies; the first simulation compares the thermal performance of five high-rise buildings, presenting the basic shape of the plan. All the buildings have the same plan area and same floor height. The goal of this simulation is to find out the best shape for the thermal performance. The second simulation studies the effect of orientation on the thermal performance by rotating the same building model to find out the best and the worst angle for the building thermal performance. The third simulation studies the effect of the massing treatment on the total cooling load. It compared five models with different massing treatment, but with the same total built up area. The last simulation studied the effect of the glazing type by comparing the total cooling load of the same building using five different glass type and also studies the feasibility of using these glass types by studying the glass cost effect. The results indicate that using the circle shape as building plan could reduce the thermal cooling load by 40%. Also, using shading devices could reduce the cooling loads by 5%. The study states that using any of the massing grooving, recess or any treatment that could increase the outer exposed surface is not preferred and will decrease the building thermal performance. Also, the result shows that the best direction for glazing and openings from thermal performance viewpoint in Jeddah is the North direction while the worst direction is the East one. The best direction angle for openings - regarding the thermal performance in Jeddah- is 15 deg West and the worst is 250 deg West (110 deg East). Regarding the glass type effect, comparing to the double glass with air fill type as a reference case, the double glass with Air-Low-E will save 14% from the required amount of the thermal cooling load annually. Argon fill and triple glass will save 16% and 17% from the total thermal cooling load respectively, but for the glass cost purpose, using the Argon fill and triple glass is not feasible.

Keywords: passive cooling, reduce thermal load, Jeddah, building shape, energy

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Authors: Abraham Finkelman

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Computerized Surgical Guides have been proven to be a predictable way to perform dental implants, with a relatively high accuracy in comparison to a treatment plan. When using the CSG Bone supported, it allows us to make the necessary changes of the hard tissue prior to the implant placement and after the implant placement. The CSG gives us an accurate position for the drilling, and during the implant placement it allows us to alter the vertical position of the implant altering the final position of the abutment and avoiding any risk of any damage to the adjacent anatomical structures. Any Changes required to the bone level can be done prior to the fixation of the CSG using a reduction guide, which incur extra surgical fees and the need of a second surgical guide. Any changes of the bone level after the implant placement are at the risk of damaging the implant neck surface. The technique consists of a universal system that allows us to remove the excess bone around the implant sockets prior to the implant placement which then enables us to place the implant in the vertical position with accuracy as planned with the CSG. The systems consist of a hollow pin of different sizes and diameters. Depending on the implant system that we are using. Length sizes are from 6mm-16mm and a diameter of 2.6mm-4.8mm. Upon the completion of the drilling, the pin is then inserted into the implant socket-using the insertion tool. Once the insertion tool has unscrewed the pin, we can continue with the bone reduction. The bone reduction can be done using conventional methods upon the removal of all the excess bone around the pin. The insertion tool is then screwed into the pin and the pin is then removed. We now, have the new bone level at the crest of the implant socket which is our mark for the vertical position of the implant. In some cases, when we are locating the implant very close to anatomical structures, any form of deviation to the vertical position of the implant during the surgery, can cause damage to such anatomical structures, creating irreversible damages such as paresthesia or dysesthesia of the mandibular nerve. If we are planning for immediate loading and we have done our temporary restauration in base of our computerized plan, deviation in the vertical position of the implant will affect the position of the abutment, affecting the accuracy of the temporary prosthesis, extending the working time till we adapt the prosthesis to the new position.

Keywords: bone reduction, computer aided navigation, dental implant placement, surgical guides

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Authors: Isaiah Phillip Smith, Sam Erevbenagie Usadolo, Pamela Theresa Tancsik

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This paper is part of ongoing doctoral research that examines the role of Theatre for Development (TfD) in addressing climate change in the Mosuthu community in Reservoir Hills, Durban, South Africa. The context of the research underscores the pressing challenges facing South Africa, including drought, water shortages, deterioration of land, and civil unrest that require innovative approaches to the mitigation of climate change. TfD, described as a dialogical form of theatre that allows communities to express and contribute to development, emerges as a strategic medium for engaging communities in the process. The research problem focused on the unexamined potential of TfD in promoting community involvement and critical awareness of climate change. The study objectives included assessing the community's understanding of climate change, exploring TfD's potential as a participatory tool, examining its role in community mobilization, and developing recommendations for its effective implementation. A review of relevant literature and preliminary investigations in the research community indicates that TfD is an effective medium for promoting societal transformation and engaging marginalized communities. Through culturally resonant narratives, TfD can instill a deeper understanding of environmental challenges, fostering empathy and motivating behavioural changes. By integrating community voices and cultural elements, TfD serves as a powerful catalyst for promoting climate change awareness and inspiring collective action within the South African context. This research contributes to the global discourse on innovative approaches to climate change awareness and action.

Keywords: TfD, climate change, community involvement, societal transformation, culture

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Authors: Rasouli Divkalaee Zeinab, Kalteh Safa, Roudbari Aliakbar

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Introduction: Medical waste can lead to the generation and transmission of many infectious and contagious diseases due to the presence of pathogenic agents, thereby necessitating the need for special management to collect, decontaminate, and finally dispose of such products. This study aimed to design a centralized health care (medical) waste management program for the cities of Semnan, Mahdishahr, and Shahmirzad. Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted for six months in the cities of Semnan, Mahdishahr, and Shahmirzad. In this study, the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the generated wastes were determined by taking samples from all medical waste production centers. Then, the equipment, devices, and machines required for separate collection of the waste from the production centers and for their subsequent decontamination were estimated. Next, the investment costs, current costs, and working capital required for collection, decontamination, and final disposal of the wastes were determined. Finally, the payment for proper waste management of each category of medical waste-producing centers was determined. Results: 1021 kilograms of medical waste are produced daily in the cities of Semnan, Mahdishahr, and Shahmirzad. It was estimated that a 1000-liter autoclave, a machine for collecting medical waste, four 60-liter bins, four 120-liter bins, and four 1200-liter bins were required for implementing the study plan. Also, the estimated total annual medical waste management costs for Semnan City were determined (23,283,903,720 Iranian Rials). Conclusion: The study results showed that establishing a proper management system for medical wastes generated in the three studied cities will cost between 334,280 and 1,253,715 Iranian Rials in fees for the medical centers. The findings of this study provided comprehensive data regarding medical wastes from the generation point to the landfill site, which is vital for the government and the private sector.

Keywords: clinics, decontamination, management, medical waste

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Authors: Anderson S. Fonseca, Italo F. S. Da Silva, Robert D. A. Santos, Mayara G. Da Silva, Pedro H. C. Vieira, Antonio M. S. Sobrinho, Victor H. B. Lemos, Petterson S. Diniz, Anselmo C. Paiva, Eliana M. G. Monteiro

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In Brazil, the National Electric Energy Agency (ANEEL) establishes that electrical energy companies are responsible for measuring and billing their customers. Among these regulations, it’s defined that a company must bill your customers within 27-33 days. If a relocation or a change of period is required, the consumer must be notified in writing, in advance of a billing period. To make it easier to organize a workday’s measurements, these companies create a reading plan. These plans consist of grouping customers into reading groups, which are visited by an employee responsible for measuring consumption and billing. The creation process of a plan efficiently and optimally is a capacitated clustering problem with constraints related to homogeneity and compactness, that is, the employee’s working load and the geographical position of the consuming unit. This process is a work done manually by several experts who have experience in the geographic formation of the region, which takes a large number of days to complete the final planning, and because it’s human activity, there is no guarantee of finding the best optimization for planning. In this paper, the GBKMeans method presents a technique based on K-Means and genetic algorithms for creating a capacitated cluster that respects the constraints established in an efficient and balanced manner, that minimizes the cost of relocating consumer units and the time required for final planning creation. The results obtained by the presented method are compared with the current planning of a real city, showing an improvement of 54.71% in the standard deviation of working load and 11.97% in the compactness of the groups.

Keywords: capacitated clustering, k-means, genetic algorithm, districting problems

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Authors: Patcharaporn Sakulpong, Wiriya Phokhwang

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Background: Banpunrug (Love Sharing House) established in 2013 provides a community-based palliative care for patients with cancer from 7 provinces in southern Thailand. These patients come to receive outpatient chemotherapy and radiotherapy at Suratthani Cancer Hospital. They are poor and uneducated; they need an accommodation during their 30-45 day course of therapy. Methods: A community-participatory action research (PAR) was employed to establish a model of palliative care for patients with cancer. The participants included health care providers, community, and patients and families. The PAR process includes problem identification and need assessment, community and team establishment, field survey, organization founding, model of care planning, action and inquiry (PDCA), outcome evaluation, and model distribution. Results: The model of care at Banpunrug involves the concepts of HHHS model, in that Banpunrug is a Home for patients; patients live in a house comfortable like in a Hotel resource; the patients are given care and living facilities similarly to those in a Hospital; the house is a School for patients to learn how to take care themselves, how to live well with cancer, and most importantly how to prepare themselves for a good death. The house is also a humanized care school for health care providers. Banpunrug’s philosophy of care is based on friendship therapy, social and spiritual support, community partnership, patient-family centeredness, Live & Love sharing house, and holistic and humanized care. With this philosophy, the house is managed as a home of the patients and everyone involved; everything is costless for all eligible patients and their family members; all facilities and living expense are donated from benevolent people, friends, and community. Everyone, including patients and family, has a sense of belonging to the house and there is no authority between health care providers and the patients in the house. The house is situated in a temple and a community and supported by many local nonprofit organizations and healthcare facilities such as a health promotion hospital at sub-disctrict level and Suratthani Cancer Hospital. Village health volunteers and multi-professional health care volunteers have contributed not only appropriate care, but also knowledge and experience to develop a distinguishing HHHS community-based palliative care model for patients with cancer. Since its opening the house has been a home for more than 400 patients and 300 family members. It is also a model for many national and international healthcare organizations and providers, who come to visit and learn about palliative care in and by community. Conclusions: The success of this palliative care model comes from community involvement, multi-professional volunteers and distributions, and concepts of HHHS model. Banpunrug promotes a consistent care across the cancer trajectory independent of prognosis in order to strengthen a full integration of palliative

Keywords: community-based palliative care, model, participatory action research, patients with cancer

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Authors: Rahul Paul, Kedar Nath Das

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The paradigm of Reinforcement Learning (RL) has become prominent in training intelligent agents to make decisions in environments that are both dynamic and uncertain. The primary objective of RL is to optimize the policy of an agent in order to maximize the cumulative reward it receives throughout a given period. Nevertheless, the process of optimization presents notable difficulties as a result of the inherent trade-off between exploration and exploitation, the presence of extensive state-action spaces, and the intricate nature of the dynamics involved. Evolutionary Optimization Methods (EOMs) have garnered considerable attention as a supplementary approach to tackle these challenges, providing distinct capabilities for optimizing RL policies and value functions. The ongoing advancement of research in both RL and EOMs presents an opportunity for significant advancements in autonomous decision-making systems. The convergence of these two fields has the potential to have a transformative impact on various domains of artificial intelligence (AI) applications. This article highlights the considerable influence of EOMs in enhancing the capabilities of RL. Taking advantage of evolutionary principles enables RL algorithms to effectively traverse extensive action spaces and discover optimal solutions within intricate environments. Moreover, this paper emphasizes the practical implementations of EOMs in the field of RL, specifically in areas such as robotic control, autonomous systems, inventory problems, and multi-agent scenarios. The article highlights the utilization of EOMs in facilitating RL agents to effectively adapt, evolve, and uncover proficient strategies for complex tasks that may pose challenges for conventional RL approaches.

Keywords: machine learning, reinforcement learning, loss function, optimization techniques, evolutionary optimization methods

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Authors: Liam Martin, Martha Watson

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Patients with learning disabilities (LD) are at increased risk of physical and mental illness due to health inequality. To address this, NICE recommends that people from the age of 14 with a learning disability should have an annual LD health check. This consultation should include a holistic review of the patient’s physical, mental and social health needs with a view of creating an action plan to support the patient’s care. The expected standard set by the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) is that each general practice should review at least 75% of their LD patients annually. During COVID-19, there have been barriers to primary care, including health anxiety, the shift to online general practice and the increase in GP workloads. A surgery in North London wanted to assess whether they were falling short of the expected standard for LD patient annual reviews in order to optimize care post Covid-19. A baseline audit was completed to assess how many LD patients were receiving their annual reviews over the period of 29th September 2020 to 29th September 2021. This information was accessed using EMIS Web Health Care System (EMIS). Patients included were aged 14 and over as per QOF standards. Doctors were not notified of this audit taking place. Following the results of this audit, the creation of learning disability clinics was recommended. These clinics were recommended to be on the ground floor and should be a dedicated time for LD reviews. A re-audit was performed via the same process 6 months later in March 2022. At the time of the baseline audit, there were 71 patients aged 14 and over that were on the LD register. 54% of these LD patients were found to have documentation of an annual LD review within the last 12 months. None of the LD patients between the ages of 14-18 years old had received their annual review. The results were discussed with the practice, and dedicated clinics were set up to review their LD patients. A second pass of the audit was completed 6 months later. This showed an improvement, with 84% of the LD patients registered at the surgery now having a documented annual review within the last 12 months. 78% of the patients between the ages of 14-18 years old had now been reviewed. The baseline audit revealed that the practice was not meeting the expected standard for LD patient’s annual health checks as outlined by QOF, with the most neglected patients being between the ages of 14-18. Identification and awareness of this vulnerable cohort is important to ensure measures can be put into place to support their physical, mental and social wellbeing. Other practices could consider an audit of their annual LD health checks to make sure they are practicing within QOF standards, and if there is a shortfall, they could consider implementing similar actions as used here; dedicated clinics for LD patient reviews.

Keywords: COVID-19, learning disability, learning disability health review, quality and outcomes framework

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Authors: Raquel Zydeck, Karina Azzolin, Luis Kosteski, Alisson Milani

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This work presents numerical models in plane deformations (2D), using the Discrete Element Method formedbybars (LDEM) andtheFiniteElementMethod (FEM), in structuralmasonrywallswith horizontal chasesof 20%, 30%, and 50% deep, located in the central part and 1/3 oftheupperpartofthewall, withcenteredandeccentricloading. Differentcombinationsofboundaryconditionsandinteractionsbetweenthemethodswerestudied.

Keywords: chases in structural masonry walls, discrete element method formed by bars, finite element method, numerical models, boundary condition

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Authors: K. R. Roopesh Bharatwaj, Avinash Maharana, Favour Tobi Aborisade, Roger Young

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Presently, there are few cases of complete automation of drones and its allied intelligence capabilities. In essence, the potential of the drone has not yet been fully utilized. This paper presents feasible methods to build an intelligent drone with smart capabilities such as self-driving, and obstacle avoidance. It does this through advanced Reinforcement Learning Techniques and performs object detection using latest advanced algorithms, which are capable of processing light weight models with fast training in real time instances. For the scope of this paper, after researching on the various algorithms and comparing them, we finally implemented the Deep-Q-Networks (DQN) algorithm in the AirSim Simulator. In future works, we plan to implement further advanced self-driving and object detection algorithms, we also plan to implement voice-based speech recognition for the entire drone operation which would provide an option of speech communication between users (People) and the drone in the time of unavoidable circumstances. Thus, making drones an interactive intelligent Robotic Voice Enabled Service Assistant. This proposed drone has a wide scope of usability and is applicable in scenarios such as Disaster management, Air Transport of essentials, Agriculture, Manufacturing, Monitoring people movements in public area, and Defense. Also discussed, is the entire drone communication based on the satellite broadband Internet technology for faster computation and seamless communication service for uninterrupted network during disasters and remote location operations. This paper will explain the feasible algorithms required to go about achieving this goal and is more of a reference paper for future researchers going down this path.

Keywords: convolution neural network, natural language processing, obstacle avoidance, satellite broadband technology, self-driving

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Authors: John Q. Todd

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Given that modern equipment can provide comprehensive health, status, and error condition data via built-in sensors, maintenance organizations have a new and valuable source of insight to take advantage of. This presentation will expose what these data payloads might look like and how they can be filtered, visualized, calculated into metrics, used for machine learning, and generate alerts for further action.

Keywords: condition based maintenance, equipment data, metrics, alerts

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Authors: Lota Largavista

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This study entitled, ‘The Organizational Structure, Development Features, and Metadiscoursal Elements in the Expository Writing of Freshman College Writers’ aimed to examine essays written by college students. It seeks to examine the organizational structure and development features of the essays and describe their defining characteristics, the linguistic elements at both macrostructural and microstructural discourse levels and the types of textual and interpersonal metadiscourse markers that are employed in order to negotiate meanings with their prospective readers. The different frameworks used to analyze the essays include Toulmin’s ( 1984) model for argument structure, Olson’s ( 2003) three-part essay structure; Halliday and Matthiesen (2004) in Herriman (2011) notions of thematic structure, Danes (1974) thematic progression or method of development, Halliday’s (2004) concept of grammatical and lexical cohesion ;Hyland’s (2005) metadiscourse strategies; and Chung and Nation’s( 2003) four-step scale for technical vocabulary. This descriptive study analyzes qualitatively and quantitatively how freshman students generally express their written compositions. Coding of units is done to determine what linguistic features are present in the essays. Findings revealed that students’ expository essays observe a three-part structure having all three moves, the Introduction, the Body and the Conclusion. Stance assertion, stance support, and emerging moves/strategies are found to be employed in the essays. Students have more marked themes on the essays and also prefer constant theme progression as their method of development. The analysis of salient linguistic elements reveals frequently used cohesive devices and metadiscoursal strategies. Based on the findings, an instructional learning plan is being proposed. This plan is characterized by a genre approach that focuses on expository and linguistic conventions.

Keywords: metadiscourse, organization, theme progression, structure

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Authors: Chenhao Zhu

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Quantitative mapping is playing a growing role in guiding urban planning, such as using a heat map created by CFX, CFD2000, or Envi-met, to adjust the master plan. However, there is no effective quantitative link between the mappings and planning formation. So, in many cases, the decision-making is still based on the planner's subjective interpretation and understanding of these mappings, which limits the improvement of scientific and accuracy brought by the quantitative mapping. Therefore, in this paper, an effort has been made to give a methodology of building a parametric link between the mapping and planning formation. A parametric planning process based on radiant mapping has been proposed for creating an urban green system. In the first step, a script is written in Grasshopper to build a road network and form the block, while the Ladybug Plug-in is used to conduct a radiant analysis in the form of mapping. Then, the research creatively transforms the radiant mapping from a polygon into a data point matrix, because polygon is hard to engage in the design formation. Next, another script is created to select the main green spaces from the road network based on the criteria of radiant intensity and connect the green spaces' central points to generate a green corridor. After that, a control parameter is introduced to adjust the corridor's form based on the radiant intensity. Finally, a green system containing greenspace and green corridor is generated under the quantitative control of the data matrix. The designer only needs to modify the control parameter according to the relevant research results and actual conditions to realize the optimization of the green system. This method can also be applied to much other mapping-based analysis, such as wind environment analysis, thermal environment analysis, and even environmental sensitivity analysis. The parameterized link between the mapping and planning will bring about a more accurate, objective, and scientific planning.

Keywords: parametric link, mapping, urban green system, radiant intensity, planning strategy, grasshopper

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Authors: Hamed Seddighi Khavidak

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Voluntary work has a lot of economic and social benefits for a country, but the economic value is ignored because it is voluntary. The aim of this study is reviewing Monetary Value of Voluntary Work methods and comparing opportunity cost method and replacement cost method both in theory and in practice. Beside monetary value, in this study, we discuss cost-benefit analysis of health and safety plan in the New Year that conducted by young volunteers of Red Crescent society of Iran. Method: We discussed eight methods for monetary value of voluntary work including: Alternative-Employment Wage Approach, Leisure-Adjusted OCA, Volunteer Judgment OCA, Replacement Wage Approach, Volunteer Judgment RWA, Supervisor Judgment RWA, Cost of Counterpart Goods and Services and Beneficiary Judgment. Also, for cost benefit analysis we drew on 'value audit and volunteer investment' (VIVA) technique that is used widely in voluntary organizations like international federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. Findings: In this study, using replacement cost approach, voluntary work by 1034 youth volunteers was valued 938000000 Riyals and using Replacement Wage Approach it was valued 2268713232 Riyals. Moreover, Yazd Red Crescent Society spent 212800000 Riyals on food and other costs for these volunteers. Discussion and conclusion: In this study, using cost benefit analysis method that is Volunteer Investment and Value Audit (VIVA), VIVA rate showed that for every Riyal that the Red Crescent Society invested in the health and safety of New Year's travelers in its volunteer project, four Riyals returned, and using the wage replacement approach, 11 Riyals returned. Therefore, New Year's travelers health and safety project were successful and economically, it was worthwhile for the Red Crescent Society because the output was much bigger than the input costs.

Keywords: voluntary work, monetary value, youth, red crescent society

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Authors: Erinma Chibuzo Nwandu

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Graduates unemployment has risen astronomically in spite of the emphasis on teaching of small scale business and Entrepreneurship in schools. This study sets out to evaluate the effect of teaching small scale business and Entrepreneurship on graduates’ unemployment in Nigeria. This study adopted the survey research design. Thus the nature of data for this study is primary, sourced by the use of a questionnaire administered to a sample of two thousand and sixty-five (2065) respondents drawn from groups of graduates who are employed, unemployed and self-employed in South East Nigeria. Simple percentages, Chi-square and regression analysis were used to derive useful and meaningful information and test the hypotheses respectively. Findings from the study suggest that Nigeria graduates are ill prepared to embark on small-scale business and entrepreneurship after graduation, and that teaching of small scale business and entrepreneurship in Nigeria tertiary institutions is ineffective on graduate unemployment reduction. Findings also suggest that while a lot of graduates agreed that they have taken a class(s) on small scale or entrepreneurship, they received more theoretical teachings than practical, more so while teachings on small scale business or entrepreneurship motivated graduates to think of self-employment, most of them cannot do a good business plan and hence could not benefit from some kind of Government assisted program for small-scale business and bank loan for the sake of small scale business. Thus, so many graduates are not interested in small scale business or entrepreneurship development as a result of lack of startup capital. The study thus recommends that course content and teaching method of entrepreneurship education needs to be reviewed and re-structured to constitute more practical teachings than theoretical teachings. Also, graduates should be exposed to seminar /workshop for self-employment at least once every semester. There should be practical teaching and practice of developing a business plan that will be viable to attract government or private sponsorship as well for it to be viable to attract financing from financing institutions. Government should provide a fund such as venture capital financing arrangement to empower business startups in Nigeria by graduates’.

Keywords: entrepreneurship, small scale business, startup capital, unemployment

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