Search results for: private hospital.

Authors: Keunsu Han

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Sports has been used as a valuable tool for countries to enhance brand image and to pursue higher political interests. Olympic games are one of the best examples as a mega sport event to achieve such nations’ purposes. The term, “soft power,” coined by Nye, refers to country’s ability to persuade and attract foreign audiences through non-coercive ways such as cultural, diplomatic, and economic means. This concept of soft power provides significant answers about why countries are willing to host a mega sport event such as Olympics. This paper reviews the concept of soft power by Nye as a theoretical framework of this study to understand critical motivation for countries to host Olympics and examines the effects of 2016 Rio Olympics as the state’s soft power strategy. Thorough data analysis including media, government and private-sector documents, this research analyzes both negative and positive aspects of the nation’s image created during Rio Olympics and discusses the effects of Rio Olympics as Brazil’s chance to showcase its soft power by highlighting the best the state has to present.

Keywords: country brand, olympics, soft power, sport diplomacy, mega sport event

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Authors: U. P. Rathnakar, Medha Urval, K. Ashok Shenoy

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Introduction: There are many tools available for the measurement of health literacy. REALM (Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine) is a very commonly used tool in advanced countries. It comes in two forms-one with 66 words and shorter version (REALM-SF) with seven words. We decided to test the applicability of shorter version of the REALM test among our patients. Methodology: REALM (SF) was tested among 200 patients in a tertiary hospital. Discussion and conclusion: From the analysis of results, when the results of pronunciation indicate adequate levels of HL skills, analysis of comprehension shows that mere reading skills is likely to be misleading. So it is proposed that in Indian population who have adequate reading skills without adequate comprehension the REALM-SF test tool in its present form may not be an ideal testing tool for assessing HL.

Keywords: health literacy, REALM, short form, India

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Authors: Nick Toossi, Joseph Hartland

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Background: Malawi is an example of a low resource setting which faces a chronic shortage of doctors and other medical staff. This shortfall is made up for by clinical officers (COs), who are para-medicals trained for 4 years. The literature suggests to improve outcomes surgical skills training specifically should be promoted for COs in district and mission hospitals. Accordingly, the primary author was tasked with developing a basic surgical skills teaching package for COs of Mulanje Mission Hospital (MMH), Malawi, as part of a 4th year medical student External Student Selected Component field trip. MMH is a hospital based in the South of Malawi near the base of Mulanje Mountain and works in an extremely isolated environment with some of the poorest communities in the country. Traveling to Malawi the medical student author performed an educational needs assessment to develop and deliver a bespoke basic surgical skills teaching package. Methodology: An initial needs assessment identified the following domains: basic surgical skills (instrument naming & handling, knot tying, suturing principles and suturing techniques) and perineal repair. Five COs took part in a teaching package involving an interactive group simulation session, overseen by senior clinical officers and surgical trainees from the UK. Non-organic and animal models were used for simulation practice. This included the use of surgical skills boards to practice knot tying and ox tongue to simulate perineal repair. All participants spoke and read English. The impact of the session was analysed in two different ways. The first was via a pre and post Single Best Answer test and the second a questionnaire including likert’s scales and free text response questions. Results: There was a positive trend in pre and post test scores on competition of the course. There was increase in the mean confidence of learners before and after the delivery of teaching in basic surgical skills and simulated perineal repair, especially in ‘instrument naming and handling’. Whilst positively received it was discovered that learners desire more frequent surgical skills teaching sessions in order to improve and revise skills. Feedback suggests that the learners were not confident in retaining the skills without regular input. Discussion: Skills and confidence were improved as a result of the teaching provided. Learner's written feedback suggested there was an overall appetite for regular surgical skills teaching in the clinical environment and further opportunities to allow for deliberate self-practice. Surgical mentorship schemes facilitating supervised theatre time among trainees and lead surgeons along with improving access to surgical models/textbooks were some of the simple suggestions to improve surgical skills and confidence among COs. Although, this study is limited by population size it is reflective of the small, isolated and low resource environment in which this healthcare is delivered. This project does suggest that current surgical skills packages used in the UK could be adapted for employment in low resource settings, but it is consistency and sustainability that staff seek above all in their on-going education.

Keywords: clinical officers, education, Malawi, surgical skills

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Authors: Khaled Abu Awwad, Abdussalam Shibani, Michel Ghostin

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In the last few years, building information modelling (BIM) has been acknowledged as a new technology capable of transforming the construction sector to a collaborated industry. The implementation of BIM in the United Kingdom (UK) construction sector has increased significantly in the last decade, particularly after the UK government mandated the use of BIM in all public projects by 2016. Despite this, there are many indicators that BIM implementation is the main concern for large companies, while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are lagging behind in adopting and implementing this new technology. This slow adoption of BIM leads to an uncompetitive disadvantage in public projects and possible private projects. On the other hand, there is limited research focusing on the implementation of BIM Level 2 within SMEs. Therefore, the aim of this study is to bridge this gap and provide a conceptual framework to aid SMEs in implementing BIM Level 2. This framework is a result of interpreting qualitative data obtained by conducting semi-structured interviews with BIM experts in the UK construction industry.

Keywords: building information modelling, critical success factors, small and medium-sized enterprises, United Kingdom

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Authors: Pius Agbebi Alaba

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The study emphasized on the effects of contemporary and prospect trends on the development of Hospitality and Tourism in Nigeria. Specifically, the study examined globalization, safety and security, diversity, service, technology, demographic changes and price–value as contemporary trends while prospect trends such as green and Eco-lodgings, Development of mega hotels, Boutique hotels, Intelligent hotels with advanced technology using the guest’s virtual fingerprint in order to perform all the operations, increasing employee salaries in order retain the existing Staff, More emphasis on the internet and technology, Guests’ virtual and physical social network were equally examined. The methodology for the study involved review of existing related study, books, journal and internet. The findings emanated from the exercise showed clearly that the impact of both trends on the development of Hospitality and Tourism in Nigeria would bring about rapid positive transformation of her socio-economic, political and cultural environment. The implication of the study is that it will prepare both private and corporate individuals in hospitality and tourism business for the challenges inherent in both trends.

Keywords: hospitality and tourism, Nigeria's centenary, trends, implications

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Authors: Mohammad Hossain Validad, Maryam Nakhaei-Moghadam, Monire Mahjoob

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Introduction: The prevalence of type 1 diabetes is increasing worldwide, and given the role of ethnicity and race in complications of diabetes, this study was designed to evaluate the ocular complications of type 1 diabetes mellitus in Zahedan. Methods: This prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on Type 1 diabetic children that referred to Alzahra Eye Hospital. All patients had a dilated binocular indirect ophthalmoscopy using a +90 D condensing lens and slit-lamp biomicroscopy. Age, gender, onset, duration of diabetes, and HbA1c level were recorded. Results: 76 type 1 diabetes patients with an age of 11.93 ± 3.76 years participated in this study. Out of 76 patients with diabetes, 19 people (25%) had ocular complications. There was a significant difference in age (P=0.01) and disease duration (P=0.07) between the two groups with and without ocular complications. Odd ratios for ocular complications with age and duration of diabetes were 1.32 and 1.32, respectively. Conclusion: Cataract was the most common ocular complication in type 1 diabetes in Zahedan, a tropical region that was significantly related to the duration of the disease and the age of the patients.

Keywords: diabet mellitus type one, cataract, ocular complication, hemoglobin A1C

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Authors: Rhaed Khiati, Muhammad Hanif

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In the past decade, smart healthcare systems have been on an ascendant drift, especially with the evolution of hospitals and their increasing reliance on bioinformatics and software specializing in healthcare. Doctors have become reliant on technology more than ever, something that in the past would have been looked down upon, as technology has become imperative in reducing overall costs and improving the quality of patient care. With patient-doctor interactions becoming more necessary and more complicated than ever, systems must be developed while taking into account costs, patient comfort, and patient data, among other things. In this work, we proposed a smart hospital bed, which mixes the complexity and big data usage of traditional healthcare systems with the comfort found in soft beds while taking certain concerns like data confidentiality, security, and maintaining SLA agreements, etc. into account. This research work potentially provides users, namely patients and doctors, with a seamless interaction with to their respective nurses, as well as faster access to up-to-date personal data, including prescriptions and severity of the condition in contrast to the previous research in the area where there is lack of consideration of such provisions.

Keywords: big data, smart healthcare, distributed systems, bioinformatics

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Authors: Sunil Arora, Anitya Kumar Jena, S. A. Ravi

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India is at the cusp of major reforms in the hydrocarbon sector. Oil and gas sector is highly liberalised to attract private investment and to increase domestic production. Major hydrocarbon Exploration & Production (E&P) activity here have been undertaken by Government owned companies but with easing up and reworking of hydro carbon exploration licensing policies private players have also joined the fray towards achieving energy security for India. Government of India has come up with policy and administrative reforms including Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP), Sagarmala (port-led development with coastal connectivity), and Development of Small Discovered Fields, etc. with the intention to make industry friendly conditions for investment, ease of doing business and reduce gestation period. To harness the potential resources of Deep water and Ultra deep water, High Pressure – High Temperature (HP-HT) regions, Coal Bed Methane (CBM), Shale Hydrocarbons besides Gas Hydrates, participation shall be required from both domestic and international players. Companies engaged in E&P activities in India have traditionally been managing through their captive supply base, but with crude prices under hammer, the need is being felt to outsource non-core activities. This necessitates establishment of a robust support services to cater to E&P Industry, which is currently non-existent to meet the bourgeon challenges. This paper outlines an agenda for creating an Integrated Services Hub (ISH) under Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to facilitate complete gamut of non-core support activities of E&P industry. This responsive and proficient multi-usage facility becomes viable with better resource utilization, economies of scale to offer cost effective services. The concept envisages companies to bring-in their core technical expertise leaving complete hardware peripherals outsourced to this ISH. The Integrated Services Hub, complying with the best in class global standards, shall typically provide following Services under Single Window Solution, but not limited to: a) Logistics including supply base operations, transport of manpower and material, helicopters, offshore supply vessels, warehousing, inventory management, sourcing and procurement activities, international freight forwarding, domestic trucking, customs clearance service etc. b) Trained/Experienced pool of competent Manpower (Technical, Security etc.) will be available for engagement by companies on either short or long term basis depending upon the requirements with provisions of meeting any training requirements. c) Specialized Services through tie-up with global best companies for Crisis Management, Mud/Cement, Fishing, Floating Dry-dock besides provision of Workshop, Repair and Testing facilities, etc. d) Tools and Tackles including drill strings, etc. A pre-established Integrated Services Hub shall facilitate an early start-up of activities with substantial savings in time lines. This model can be replicated at other parts of the world to expedite E&P activities.

Keywords: integrated service hub, India, oil gas, offshore supply base

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Authors: Filomena Lopes, Sandra Fernandes

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Active learning strategies are at the center of any change process aimed to improve the development of student skills. This paper aims to analyse the impact of teaching strategies, including problem-based learning (PBL), in the curricular unit of information system for management, based on students’ perceptions of how they contribute to develop the desired learning outcomes of the curricular unit. This course is part of the 1st semester and 3rd year of the graduate degree program in management at a private higher education institution in Portugal. The methodology included an online questionnaire to students (n=40). Findings from students reveal a positive impact of the teaching strategies used. In general, 35% considered that the strategies implemented in the course contributed to the development of courses’ learning objectives. Students considered PBL as the learning strategy that better contributed to enhance the courses’ learning outcomes. This conclusion brings forward the need for further reflection and discussion on the impact of student feedback on teaching and learning processes.

Keywords: higher education, active learning strategies, skills development, student assessment

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Authors: Gokulan Vethanayakam, Daniel Aston

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Introduction: The ReSPECT process supports healthcare professionals when making patient-centered decisions in the event of an emergency. It has been widely adopted by the NHS in England and allows patients to express thoughts and wishes about treatments and outcomes that they consider acceptable. It includes (but is not limited to) cardiopulmonary resuscitation decisions. ReSPECT conversations should ideally occur prior to ICU admission and should be documented in the eight sections of the nationally-standardised ReSPECT form. This audit evaluated the use of ReSPECT on a busy cardiothoracic ICU in an NHS Trust where established policies advocating its use exist. Methods: This audit was a retrospective review of ReSPECT forms for a sample of high-risk patients admitted to ICU at the Royal Papworth Hospital between January 2021 and March 2022. Patients all received one of the following interventions: Veno-Venous Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (VV-ECMO) for severe respiratory failure (retrieved via the national ECMO service); cardiac or pulmonary transplantation-related surgical procedures (including organ transplants and Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) implantation); or elective non-transplant cardiac surgery. The quality of documentation on ReSPECT forms was evaluated using national standards and a graded ranking tool devised by the authors which was used to assess narrative aspects of the forms. Quality was ranked as A (excellent) to D (poor). Results: Of 230 patients (74 VV-ECMO, 104 transplant, 52 elective non-transplant surgery), 43 (18.7%) had a ReSPECT form and only one (0.43%) patient had a ReSPECT form completed prior to ICU admission. Of the 43 forms completed, 38 (88.4%) were completed due to the commencement of End of Life (EoL) care. No non-transplant surgical patients included in the audit had a ReSPECT form. There was documentation of balance of care (section 4a), CPR status (section 4c), capacity assessment (section 5), and patient involvement in completing the form (section 6a) on all 43 forms. Of the 34 patients assessed as lacking capacity to make decisions, only 22 (64.7%) had reasons documented. Other sections were variably completed; 29 (67.4%) forms had relevant background information included to a good standard (section 2a). Clinical guidance for the patient (section 4b) was given in 25 (58.1%), of which 11 stated the rationale that underpinned it. Seven forms (16.3%) contained information in an inappropriate section. In a comparison of ReSPECT forms completed ahead of an EoL trigger with those completed when EoL care began, there was a higher number of entries in section 3 (considering patient’s values/fears) that were assessed at grades A-B in the former group (p = 0.014), suggesting higher quality. Similarly, forms from the transplant group contained higher quality information in section 3 than those from the VV-ECMO group (p = 0.0005). Conclusions: Utilisation of the ReSPECT process in high-risk patients is yet to be well-adopted in this trust. Teams who meet patients before hospital admission for transplant or high-risk surgery should be encouraged to engage with the ReSPECT process at this point in the patient's journey. VV-ECMO retrieval teams should consider ReSPECT conversations with patients’ relatives at the time of retrieval.

Keywords: audit, critical care, end of life, ICU, ReSPECT, resuscitation

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Authors: Tasneem Alfalah, Salsabeel Alfalah, Jannat Alfalah

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The quality of higher education as a service is fundamental to a country’s development because universities prepare the professionals who will work as managers in companies and manage public and private resources and care for the health and education of new generations. Knowledge sharing involves the interaction of all activities between individuals. Thus, the higher education institutions are aiming to improve and assist their academics in generating new ideas by encouraging them to work as a team, to simplify the exchange of the new knowledge and to further improve the learning process and achieving institutional aims. Moreover, the sources of competitive advantage in universities derive from intellectual capital and innovations in which innovation comes through knowledge sharing. Using quality tools is to define the exact requirements needed to create the concept of knowledge sharing and what are the barriers to achieve this in universities. The purpose of this research is critically evaluating the role of using quality tools to facilitate the concept of knowledge sharing and improve the academic staff level in the Jordanian universities.

Keywords: higher education, knowledge sharing, quality, management tools

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Authors: F. Noto, G. Costa, L. Celona, F. Chines, G. Ciavola, G. Cuttone, S. Gammino, O. Leonardi, S. Marletta, G. Torrisi

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At Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare – Laboratorio Nazionale del Sud (INFN-LNS), a broad experience in the design, construction and commissioning of ECR and microwave ion sources is available. The AISHa ion source has been designed by taking into account the typical requirements of hospital-based facilities, where the minimization of the mean time between failures (MTBF) is a key point together with the maintenance operations, which should be fast and easy. It is intended to be a multipurpose device, operating at 18 GHz, in order to achieve higher plasma densities. It should provide enough versatility for future needs of the hadron therapy, including the ability to run at larger microwave power to produce different species and highly charged ion beams. The source is potentially interesting for any hadron therapy facility using heavy ions. In this paper, we analyzed the dimensional test and electrical test about an innovative solution for the containment chamber that allows us to solve our isolation and structural problems.

Keywords: FEM analysis, electron cyclotron resonance ion source, dielectrical measurement, hadron therapy

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Authors: Lauren Zammerilla Westcott, Ronald C. Jones, James W. Fleshman

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The surgical treatment of breast cancer has rapidly evolved over the past 50 years, progressing from Halsted’s radical mastectomy to a public campaign of surgical options, aesthetic reconstruction, and patient empowerment. This article examines the happenings that led to the transition of breast surgery as a subset of general surgery to its own specialized field. Sparked by the research of Dr. Bernard Fisher and the first National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project trial in 1971, the field of breast surgery underwent significant growth over the next several decades, enabling general surgeons to limit their practices to the breast. High surgical volumes eventually led to the development of the first formal breast surgical oncology fellowship in a large community-based hospital at Baylor University Medical Center in 1982. The establishment of the American Society of Breast Surgeons, as well several landmark clinical trials and public campaign efforts, further contributed to the advancement of breast surgery, making it the specialized field of the current era.

Keywords: breast cancer, breast fellowship, breast surgery, surgical history

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Authors: Benjamin Anabaraonye, Okafor Joachim Chukwuma, Olamire James

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The impacts of climate change are greatly felt on Nigeria’s agricultural sector which in turn affects the economy of the nation. There is an urgent need to educate farmers and fishermen in rural areas in Nigeria on climate change adaptation and mitigation for sustainable development. Through our literature and participant observation, it has been discovered that many farmers and fishermen in rural areas in Nigeria have little or no knowledge about climate change adaptation and mitigation. This paper seeks to draw the attention of policy makers in government, private sectors, non-governmental organizations and interested individuals to the need to seek for innovative ways of educating farmers and fishermen in rural areas about climate change adaptation and mitigation for global sustainability. This study also explores the effective methods of bridging the communication gaps through efficient information dissemination, intensive awareness outreach, use of climate change poems and blogs, innovative loan scheme to farmers and fishermen, etc. to help ensure that farmers and fishermen in rural areas in Nigeria are adequately educated about climate change adaptation and mitigation for global sustainability.

Keywords: agriculture, climate change, farmers, fishermen

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Authors: Theodosios Paralikas, Evangelia Kotrotsiou, Mairy Gouva, Manolis Mentis, Stiliani Stavrotheodorou, Stiliani Kotrotsiou, Maria Malliarou

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There is a big discussion in the international literature on empathy, job satisfaction and job occupational among various of disciplines, including social workers. Νevertheless these parameters have not been specifically studied in the Greek territory. This paper aims to study empathy of social workers, to produce results related to whether empathy is influenced by demographic factors such as gender, age, marital status, level of education and study their perceived stress levels and also the satisfaction they derive from their work. For the first time, an attempt is made to link the empathy of these professionals to their job satisfaction and their anxiety. The sample of this survey consists of 165 social workers working on providers of public and private social services. The results showed that social workers have high levels of empathy contrary to the perceived stress levels which were low to moderate. Regarding the field of the job satisfaction, the survey showed that social workers are very satisfied with their workpiece and workplace. The survey shows no significant relationship between empathy and demographic factors, but there is a significant relationship between empathy and the workpiece/job satisfaction and the feeling of success.

Keywords: empathy, stress, job satisfaction, social workers

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Authors: Azeez O. Ganiyu

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Climate change is expected to lead to substantial changes in rainfall patterns in southwest Nigeria, and this may have substantial consequence for forest management and for conservation outcomes throughout the region. We examine three different forest types across an environmental spectrum from semi-arid to humid subtropical and consider their response to water shortages and other environmental stresses; we also explore the potential consequence for conservation and timber production by considering impacts on forest structure and limiting stand density. Analysis of a series of scenarios provides the basis for a critique of existing management practices and suggests practical alternatives to develop resilient forests with minimal diminution of production and environmental services. We specifically discuss practical silviculture interventions that are feasible at the landscape-scale, that are economically viable, and that have the potential to enhance resilience of forest stands. We also discuss incentives to encourage adoption of these approaches by private forest owners. We draw on these case studies in southwestern Nigeria to offer generic principle to assist forest researchers and managers faced with similar challenges elsewhere.

Keywords: climate change, forest, future, silviculture, Nigeria

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Authors: Renjith George Pallivathukal, Preethy Mary Donald

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Asymptomatic oral lesions are often ignored by the patients and usually will be identified only in advanced stages. Early detection of precancerous lesions is important for better prognosis. It is also important for the oral health care person to be aware of the regional prevalence of oral lesions in order to provide early care for the same. We conducted a retrospective study to assess the prevalence of oral lesions based on the information available from patient records in a teaching dental school. Dental records of patients who attended the department of Oral medicine and diagnosis between September 2014 and September 2016 were retrieved and verified for oral lesions. Results: The ages of the patients ranged from 13 to 38 years with a mean age of 21.8 years. The lesions were classified as white (40.5%), red (23%), ulcerated (10.5%), pigmented (15.2%) and soft tissue enlargements (10.8%). 52% of the patients were unaware of the oral lesions before the dental visit. Overall, the prevalence of lesions in dental patients lower to national estimates, but the prevalence of some lesions showed variations.

Keywords: oral mucosal lesion, pre-cancer, prevalence, soft tissue lesion

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Authors: Maryam Fallahpoor, Biswajeet Pradhan

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Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) serves as a valuable tool in mitigating the scarcity of human resources required for the evaluation and categorization of vast quantities of medical imaging data. When AI operates with optimal precision, it minimizes the demand for human interpretations and, thereby, reduces the burden on radiologists. Among various AI approaches, deep learning (DL) stands out as it obviates the need for feature extraction, a process that can impede classification, especially with intricate datasets. The advent of DL models has ushered in a new era in medical imaging, particularly in the context of COVID-19 detection. Traditional 2D imaging techniques exhibit limitations when applied to volumetric data, such as Computed Tomography (CT) scans. Medical images predominantly exist in one of two formats: neuroimaging informatics technology initiative (NIfTI) and digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM). Purpose: This study aims to employ DL for the classification of COVID-19-infected pulmonary patients and normal cases based on 3D CT scans while investigating the impact of image format. Material and Methods: The dataset used for model training and testing consisted of 1245 patients from IranMehr Hospital. All scans shared a matrix size of 512 × 512, although they exhibited varying slice numbers. Consequently, after loading the DICOM CT scans, image resampling and interpolation were performed to standardize the slice count. All images underwent cropping and resampling, resulting in uniform dimensions of 128 × 128 × 60. Resolution uniformity was achieved through resampling to 1 mm × 1 mm × 1 mm, and image intensities were confined to the range of (−1000, 400) Hounsfield units (HU). For classification purposes, positive pulmonary COVID-19 involvement was designated as 1, while normal images were assigned a value of 0. Subsequently, a U-net-based lung segmentation module was applied to obtain 3D segmented lung regions. The pre-processing stage included normalization, zero-centering, and shuffling. Four distinct 3D CNN models (ResNet152, ResNet50, DensNet169, and DensNet201) were employed in this study. Results: The findings revealed that the segmentation technique yielded superior results for DICOM images, which could be attributed to the potential loss of information during the conversion of original DICOM images to NIFTI format. Notably, ResNet152 and ResNet50 exhibited the highest accuracy at 90.0%, and the same models achieved the best F1 score at 87%. ResNet152 also secured the highest Area under the Curve (AUC) at 0.932. Regarding sensitivity and specificity, DensNet201 achieved the highest values at 93% and 96%, respectively. Conclusion: This study underscores the capacity of deep learning to classify COVID-19 pulmonary involvement using real 3D hospital data. The results underscore the significance of employing DICOM format 3D CT images alongside appropriate pre-processing techniques when training DL models for COVID-19 detection. This approach enhances the accuracy and reliability of diagnostic systems for COVID-19 detection.

Keywords: deep learning, COVID-19 detection, NIFTI format, DICOM format

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Authors: Shobha Rani R. Hiremath, Keerthana R., Madhuvan H. S.

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BACKGROUND: Type 2 Diabetes is a chronic health condition where the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces, leading to elevated blood sugar levels It is often associated with lifestyle factors and insulin resistance. Globally, diabetes is on the rise, with urban areas like Bangalore seeing a surge due to lifestyle changes, stress, and dietary habits. To manage diabetes effectively, over 50 medications are available, each serving to regulate blood sugar through different mechanisms. This reflects the complex and individualized nature of diabetes treatment. Given the increase in medications for Type 2 diabetes mellitus, it is important to evaluate their effectiveness and safety so that clinicians can make informed choices while treating their patients. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effectiveness of various anti-diabetic medications used in the hospital in Type 2 diabetes patients by monitoring their HbA1c levels. To assess the safety of these medications by monitoring Adverse drug reactions if any. METHODOLOGY Design : Prospective Cohort study, Study period: 8 months, Sample Size: 100 patients, Inclusion Criteria: Patients above 18 years of both genders who were diagnosed with T2DM and who were prescribed oral hypoglycaemic agents. Exclusion Criteria: Diabetic patients with hepatic/renal failure, patients prescribed with insulin /not prescribed with OHAs and patients who were terminally ill, pregnant and lactating patients. Source of Data: Prescriptions, lab reports, ECG reports. Data collection forms were used to collect data which consisted of patient demographic details, drugs prescribed, laboratory investigations such as HbA1C, FBS, PPBS , ECG and any ADRs experienced. Data was collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. It was statistically analyzed using SPSS (version 26) software. RESULTS: Greater number of patients (46%) were in the age group of greater than 61 years. 43 patients had no co-morbidities whereas 51 patients had Hypertension as the co morbidity. Basically 5 Drug combinations were prescribed as follows. Combination 1: Tablet Metformin HCL + Glimepiride (500, 2 mg) : 1-0-1, Combination 2: Tablet Sitagliptin + Metformin HCL (50, 500 mg) : 1-0-1, Combination 3: Tablet Vildagliptin + Metformin HCL (50, 500 mg): 1-0-1, Combination 4: Tablet Voglibose+ Glimepiride+ Metformin HCL (0.2 ,2 ,500mg): : 1-0-1, Combination 5: Tablet Voglibose+ Glimepiride+ Metformin HCL (0.2, 2 ,500mg): : 1-0-1 and T. Sitagliptin +Metformin HCL (50, 500 mg): 0-1-0. Combination 5 (Voglibose, Glimepiride, Metformin, Sitagliptin) was most effective in reducing HbA1c levels, showing a significant decrease (-0.00682, p = 0.001), followed by Combinations 4 and 3. However, Combination 5 also had the highest incidence of gastrointestinal side effects (72.7%) and ECG abnormalities (27.3%). Combination 1 (Metformin + Glimepiride) had the highest occurrence of hypoglycemia due to Glimepiride's insulin-stimulating effects. Weight loss was most notable in Combination 5, affecting 36.36% of patients. CONCLUSION: The enhanced effectiveness of Combinations 3, 4, and 5 suggests that a multi-drug approach that incorporates different mechanisms of action is more effective in managing HbA1c levels in patients with diabetes. Adverse effect profiles should be considered for personalized treatment strategies.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes, safety, oral anti diabetic medications, effectiveness

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Authors: Solomon Olusegun Olugbenro

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The purpose of this study is to ascertain the relationship of teachers' personalty and peer pressure on adolescents' personalty in mainland local government, Lagos State, Nigeria. The research design for this study was survey. A representative fraction of the population of mainland local government of lagos was used as sample. One hundred and fifty (150) teenagers whose age ranged from 11-19 from six randomly selected public and private secondary schools in mainland local government area of lagos were used. A four-point likert type questionnaire was constructed for eliciting data for this study. Data were analysed using t-test. The study revealed that there is a significant relationship between teachers' and adolescents' personality development. The study also revealed that there is significant relationship between peer pressure and adolescents' personality development. It was recommended that teachers should be role models to students as they manipulate environmental factors to assist adolescents in their personality development.

Keywords: adolescents, behavior, development, peer pressure, personality, relationship, significant, teachers

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Authors: Jonathan Nii Laryea Ashong, Samuel Opare

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Current sustainable cities debate focuses on the formidable problems for the Ghana’s largest urban and rural agglomerations, the majority of all urban dwellers continue to reside in far smaller urban settlements. It is estimated that by year 2030, almost all the Ghana’s population growth will likely be intense in urban areas including Nkawkaw in the Kwahu West Municipality of Ghana. Nkawkaw is situated on the road and former railway between Accra and Kumasi, and lies about halfway between these cities. It is also connected by road to Koforidua and Konongo. According to the 2013 census, Nkawkaw has a settlement population of 61,785. Many international agencies, government and private architectures’ are been asked to adequately recognize the naming of streets and property addressing system among the 170 districts across Ghana. The naming of streets and numbering of properties is to assist Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to manage the processes for establishing coherent address system nationally. Street addressing in the Nkawkaw in the Kwahu West Municipality which makes it possible to identify the location of a parcel of land, public places or dwellings on the ground based on system of names and numbers, yet agreement on how to progress towards it remains elusive. Therefore, reliable and effective development control for proper street naming and property addressing systems are required. The Intelligent Addressing (IA) technology from the UK is being used to name streets and properties in Ghana. The intelligent addressing employs the technique of unique property Reference Number and the unique street reference number which would transform national security and other service providers’ ability to respond rapidly to distress calls. Where name change is warranted following the review of existing streets names, the Physical Planning Department (PPDs) shall, in consultation with the relevant traditional authorities and community leadership (or relevant major stakeholders), select a street name in accordance with the provisions of the policy and the processes outlined for street name change for new development. In the case of existing streets with no names, the respective PPDs shall, in consultation with the relevant traditional authorities and community leadership (or relevant major stakeholders), select a street name in accordance with the requirements set out in municipality. Naming of access ways proposed for new developments shall be done at the time of developing sector layouts (subdivision maps) for the designated areas. In the case of private gated developments, the developer shall submit the names of the access ways as part of the plan and other documentation forwarded to the Municipal District Assembly for approval. The names shall be reviewed first by the PPD to avoid duplication and to ensure conformity to the required standards before submission to the Assembly’s Statutory Planning Committee for approval. The Kwahu West Municipality is supposed to be self-sustaining, providing basic services to inhabitants as a result of proper planning layouts, street naming and property addressing system that prevail in the area. The implications of these future projections are discussed.

Keywords: Nkawkaw, Kwahu west municipality, street naming, property, addressing system

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Authors: Amjad Al Shammari, Ashraf Ibrahim, Laila Seada

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Background and Objectives: Incidence of thyroid carcinoma has been increasing world-wide. In the present study, we evaluated diagnostic accuracy of Fine needle aspiration (FNA) and its efficiency in early detecting neoplastic lesions of thyroid gland over a 3-year period. Methods: Data have been retrieved from pathology files in King Khalid Hospital. For each patient, age, gender, FNA, site & size of nodule and final histopathologic diagnosis were recorded. Results: Study included 490 cases where 419 of them were female and 71 male. Male to female ratio was 1:6. Mean age was 43 years for males and 38 for females. Cases with confirmed histopathology were 131. In 101/131 (77.1%), concordance was found between FNA and histology. In 30/131 (22.9%), there was discrepancy in diagnosis. Total malignant cases were 43, out of which 14 (32.5%) were true positive and 29 (67.44%) were false negative. No false positive cases could be found in our series. Conclusion: FNA could diagnose benign nodules in all cases, however, in malignant cases, ultrasound findings have to be taken into consideration to avoid missing of a microcarcinoma in the contralateral lobe.

Keywords: FNA, hail, histopathology, thyroid

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Authors: W. Mazari, K. Boucherit, Z. Boucherit-Otmani, M. N. Rahmoun, M. Benabdallah

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The hospital or any other establishment of care can be considered as an ecosystem where the patient comes into contact with a frightening microbial universe and a risk to contract infection that is referred to as nosocomial or health care-associated. In these last years, the incidence of these infections has risen sharply. Several microorganisms are the cause of these nosocomial infections and the emergence of resistance of the microbial strains against antibiotics creates a danger to public health. The search for new antimicrobial agents to overcome this problem has produced interesting compounds through chemical synthesis, which plays a very important role in the research and discovery of new drugs. It is in this framework that our study was conducted at our laboratory and it involves evaluating the antibacterial activity of thirteen 2-pyridone derivatives synthesized by two methods, the diffusion disc method and the dilution method against eight Gram negative bacterial strains. The results seem interesting especially for two products that have shown the best activities against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 and Enterobacter cloacae ATCC 13047 with CMI of 512µg/ml.

Keywords: heterocyclic derivatives, chemical synthesis, antimicrobial activity, biotechnology

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Authors: Aminu Fagge Muhammad

Abstract:

The digital economy is fast becoming the most innovative and widest reaching economy in the world, especially in developing countries. The paper aimed at examining role of digital economy in the emerging countries like Nigeria. The methodology used in the study is Business Model Perspective: lying between the process and structural perspectives, bring in the idea of the new business models that are being enabled e.g. e-business or e-commerce. The paper concluded that, the policy objectives and measures, and processes and structures necessary to enhance digital economy growth and its contribution to socio-economic development. The finding reveals that, digital infrastructure is in part incomplete, costly and poorly-performing in emerging economies like Nigeria. The wider digital ecosystem suffers a shortfall in human capabilities, weak financing, and poor governance. It is also found that, Growth in the digital economy is exacerbating digital exclusion, inequality, adverse incorporation and other digital harms. It is recommended that, government in partnership with private sector should build strong local infrastructure to enable broadband availability and accessibility and to create an enabling environment for strong competition in the telecom and technology ecosystem.

Keywords: Digital Economy, Emerging Countries, Business Model , Nigeria

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Authors: Muhammad Naveed, Yang Caixia

Abstract:

The need for national space legislation is pivotal, particularly in light of the fact that in recent years space activities have grown immensely both in volume and diversity. Countries are progressively developing capabilities in space exploration and scientific discoveries, market their capabilities to manufacture satellites, provide launch services from their facilities and are looking to privatize and commercialize their space resources. Today, nations are also seeking to comprehend the technological and financial potential of the private sector and are considering to share their financial burdens with them and to limit their exposures to risks, but they are lagging behind in legal framework in this regard. In the perspective of these emerging developments, it is therefore, felt that national space legislation should be enacted with the goal of building and implementing a vibrant and transparent legal framework at the national level to hasten investments and to ensure growth in this capital intensive - highly yield strategic sector. This study looks at (I) the international legal framework that governs space activities; (II) motivation behind making national space laws; and (III) the need for national space legislation. The paper concludes with some recommendations with regards to the conceivable future direction for national space legislation, in particular space empowered sub-areas for countries.

Keywords: international conventions, national legislation, space faring nations, space law

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Authors: Nirav P. Vaghela

Abstract:

Work-related musculoskeletal symptoms (WMS) are a major health issue in many occupations all over the world. Past research on hospital workers have mainly been focused on nurses [8] and very few studies have examined musculoskeletal symptoms among doctors in various specialties. The work of surgeons can involve high levels of mental concentration and very precise movements that can be categorized as mild-to-moderate physical demands. Design: Forty-three surgeons were enrolled in this study. To investigate musculoskeletal disorder among the surgeons we had used Standardised Nordic Questionnaire, Quick Exposure Check (QEC) and Workstyle Short Form. Result: In the current study, total 43 surgeons participants out of 30 males and 13 females. Their mean age was 42.07 ± 12.35, and the mean working years of the group were 15.14years ±9.017. On the average, they worked a total of about 8.58 h (±1.967) per day. The prevalence of work related musculoskeletal symptoms among the surgeons indicating 83.70% surgeons had atleast one joint affected while 16.30% had no symptoms at all. Conclusion: The present survey study has shown high prevalence rates of neck, back and shoulder musculoskeletal symptoms in surgeons.

Keywords: repetitive stress injury, pain, occupational hazards, disability, abneetism, physical health, quality of life

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Authors: Yuhiro Mizunuma, Keita Tsuji

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In Japan, local governments have long managed public libraries; however, organizations including private enterprises took over their management with the introduction of an outsourcing system in 2003. Now, whether local governments should apply this system to public libraries is under discussion, and many argue that it is inappropriate for public libraries. In this study, to provide basic data for such discussions, the differences between public libraries managed by outsourcing (henceforth, 'outsourcing libraries') and those managed directly by local governments (henceforth 'direct management libraries') were examined, focusing on bestsellers. We chose the 435 books on the top-20 bestseller lists published from 1996 to 2015 inclusive, as our sample bestseller books; and 413 outsourcing libraries' and 2,619 direct management libraries' holdings of them were investigated using the Calil API (a free Web service that can perform cross-library searches on libraries in Japan). Results show that outsourcing libraries tend to hold fewer bestsellers than direct management libraries. It was also found that direct management libraries tend to hold many duplicates of bestsellers, and that, in many cases, many of those were not being borrowed in direct management libraries.

Keywords: bestseller books, book collection, Japanese public libraries, outsourcing

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Authors: L. J. de Bessa Neto, M. R. B. Guerra Vale, F. K. O. M. Varella Guerra

Abstract:

In recent years, solar energy has established itself as one of the main sources of renewable energy, gaining a large space in electricity generation around the world. However, due to the low performance of photovoltaic panels, technologies need to be sought to maximize the production of electricity. In this regard, the present study aims to develop a prototype of solar tracker for didactics applications, controlled with the Arduino® platform, that enables the movement of photovoltaic plates in relation to the sun positions throughout the day through an electromechanical system, optimizing, thus, the efficiency of solar photovoltaic generation and improvements for the photovoltaic effect. The solar tracking technology developed in this work was presented of the shape oral and practical in two middle schools in the municipality of Mossoró/RN, being one of the public network and other of the private network, always keeping the average age of the students, in the case, around 16 years, contemplating an average of 60 students in each of the visits. Thus, it is concluded that the present study contributed substantially to the dissemination of knowledge concerning the photovoltaic solar generation, as well as the study of solar trackers, thus arousing the interest and curiosity of the students regarding the thematic approached.

Keywords: alternative energy, solar tracker, energy efficiency, photovoltaic panels

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Authors: Jaimin Patel

Abstract:

Cloud computing is one of the most sharp and important movement in various computing technologies. It provides flexibility to users, cost effectiveness, location independence, easy maintenance, enables multitenancy, drastic performance improvements, and increased productivity. On the other hand, there are also major issues like security. Being a common server, security for a cloud is a major issue; it is important to provide security to protect user’s private data, and it is especially important in e-commerce and social networks. In this paper, encryption algorithms such as Advanced Encryption Standard algorithms, their vulnerabilities, risk of attacks, optimal time and complexity management and comparison with other algorithms based on software implementation is proposed. Encryption techniques to improve the performance of AES algorithms and to reduce risk management are given. Secure Hash Algorithms, their vulnerabilities, software implementations, risk of attacks and comparison with other hashing algorithms as well as the advantages and disadvantages between hashing techniques and encryption are given.

Keywords: Cloud computing, encryption algorithm, secure hashing algorithm, brute force attack, birthday attack, plaintext attack, man in middle attack

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Authors: Anum Akhter, Sumaira Altaf

Abstract:

Purpose: To study the effect of low vision devices i.e. telescope and magnifying glasses on distance visual acuity and near visual acuity of children with Stargardt’s disease. Setting: Low vision department, Alshifa Trust Eye Hospital, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Methods: 52 children having Stargardt’s disease were included in the study. All children were diagnosed by pediatrics ophthalmologists. Comprehensive low vision assessment was done by me in Low vision clinic. Visual acuity was measured using ETDRS chart. Refraction and other supplementary tests were performed. Children with Stargardt’s disease were provided with different telescopes and magnifying glasses for improving far vision and near vision. Results: Out of 52 children, 17 children were males and 35 children were females. Distance visual acuity and near visual acuity improved significantly with low vision aid trial. All children showed visual acuity better than 6/19 with a telescope of higher magnification. Improvement in near visual acuity was also significant with magnifying glasses trial. Conclusions: Low vision aids are useful for improvement in visual acuity in children. Children with Stargardt’s disease who are having a problem in education and daily life activities can get help from low vision aids.

Keywords: Stargardt, s disease, low vision aids, telescope, magnifiers

Procedia PDF Downloads 539