Volkmann's Ischaemic Contracture following acute compartment syndrome - a case report

Background: Compartment syndrome involving the extremities is one of orthopaedic emergencies. If not well managed it can lead to serious damage to soft tissues rendering the limb non functional. Design: A case report Setting: PCEA Kikuyu hospital Methods: An eight year old boy was treated and followed up after he had suffered compartment syndrome on his left forearm. This occurred after he fell and sustained fractures of both radius and ulnar. He was put in a cast at a peripheral hospital. East African Orthopaedic Journal, Vol. 4: September 201

Total hip replacements at Kikuyu Hospital, Kenya

Background: Total joint arthroplasty is a highly effective procedure that is frequently performed in elderly patients. This is not so in the third world and is not frequently performed. Total hip replacement (THR) relieves the pain and functional disability experienced by patients with moderate to severe arthritis of the hip, improving their quality of life. It is a highly cost-effective procedure. Many patients deserving this operation cannot afford it in this part of the world and hence do not have it done. Objective: To analyse total hip replacement surgical procedures done in a mission orthopaedic hospital in Kenya with emphasis on early complications. Design: A retrospective hospital based study Setting: Kikuyu hospital Methods: Medical records of patients who underwent primary total hip arthroplasty between June 2006 and January 2008 in a sample of 97 patients done surgery at Kikuyu hospital. The patient’s medical records were looked at from the time a patient is first seen at the clinic by an orthopaedic surgeon and is recommended for a total hip arthroplasty and is followed up until 6 months after the operation. The difficulties encountered either by the surgeon or the patient during this period were recorded and analysed. Results: Of the 97 patients seen 99 operations were done and there were, two dislocations, two superficial and one deep wound infections, one upper gastro intestinal bleeding, two Deep Vein Thrombosis, one sciatic nerve neuropraxia, one haematoma formation and one intraoperative femoral fracture. Out of the 97 patients 40 of them had the surgery performed more than six months after a proper diagnosis was made and hip arthroplasty recommended. This is mainly due to lack of finances. At operation two cases were really difficult and took longer than the usual timing. Conclusion: Total hip arthroplasty is a safe operation even in the third world with satisfactory results. Just like in any other surgical procedure difficulties and complications are bound to occur. East African Orthopaedic Journal, Vol. 4: September 201

An elementary algorithm to evaluate trigonometric functions to high precision

Evaluation of the cosine function is done via a simple Cordic-like algorithm, together with a package for handling arbitrary-precision arithmetic in the computer program Matlab. Approximations to the cosine function having hundreds of correct decimals are presented with a discussion around errors and implementation

Coaching school leadership in Primary Education in Rwanda. Evolutions in Head Teachers’ self-assessment

School leadership is identified as a crucial element for improving the quality of education. This article describes a project on school leadership in Rwandan primary education, in which different groups of head teachers received inputs in varying degrees input on school leadership and follow-up coaching by their sector education officers. A self-assessment tool has been developed to map training needs and to measure professional capacity development, addressing eight dimensions of school leadership. By comparing the mean self-assessment scores of about 196 head teachers, over the course of the first year of the project, we identify how the different experimental groups perceive similar training needs, especially on the dimensions of “reshaping conditions for teaching and learning”, “enriching the curriculum” and “enhancing teacher quality”. However, even at the start of the project, the different experimental groups seem to use the self-assessment tool in different ways. We discuss that further research is needed on the use of the self-assessment tool as measurement as well as capacity development instrument.Keywords: school leadership; primary education; coaching;  self-assessment; capacity developmen

Enhancing the enzymatic browning inhibition capacity of Moringa oleifera seed extract via the Maillard reaction

The antioxidant and anti-browning activity of heated plant extracts have been attributed to the formation of Maillard reaction products (MRPs) via the Maillard reaction (MR). The inhibitory effect of heated Moringa oleifera (MO) seed extract on banana polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was investigated. The Plain MO seed extracts and those with added glucose and glycine (1.5 mM each) were heated at 100°C for 15, 30, 60 and 120 min. The pH and brown colour development decreased and increased significantly (P <0.05) with increased reaction time, respectively, with heated moringa glucose-glycine HMGGL for 120 min exhibiting the highest pH reduction (2.58) and darkest extracts at an L* value of 8.11. This phenomenon is associated with progression of the MR. With reference to enzymatic browning, heated MO seed extracts exhibited stronger inhibitory effect against banana PPO activity in vivo and in vitro than the unheated counterpart. Evident to this are the higher inhibition percentages and lower ΔE values. Among model systems, the highest in vitro browning inhibition was exhibited mostly by longer heating times of 60 and 120 min. Model system HMGGL 120 min proved to be superior at 96% inhibition, which was comparable to known synthetic commercial antioxidants such as ascorbic acid (AA) at 99%, as well as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and citric acid (CA), both at 100% inhibition. In vivo enzymatic browning inhibition followed a similar trend, where the brown pigment (melanin) intensified as shown by an increase in ΔE as the storage time increased from 0.5 to 24 h. The model system UMGGL exhibited highest inhibition of brown melanin (p <0.05). Although it was the best amongst other model systems, it was surpassed by synthetic antioxidants AA, EDTA and CA, which were ranked amongst the top three in inhibiting brown pigment formation in vivo. To further illustrate the effect of MR augmented MO seed extracts on enzyme activity inhibition, UMGGL 60 and 120 at 5 and 24 h storage surpassed the inhibitory effect of AA. At the said storage times, AA lost its inhibitory potential against pigment formation. This was due to oxidation of AA to form dehydroascorbic acid, which lacks inhibitory potential. This study proved that heating MO plant extracts increases their enzymatic browning inhibition potential, furthermore, the inhibitory capacity was heightened when reacted via the MR

Summer Atmospheric Circulation Anomalies over the Arctic Ocean and Their Influences on September Sea Ice Extent: A Cautionary Tale

Numerous studies have addressed links between summer atmospheric circulation patterns and inter-annual variability and the downward trend in total September Arctic sea ice extent. In general, low extent is favored when the preceding summer is characterized by positive sea level pressure (SLP) anomalies over the central Arctic Ocean north of Alaska. High extent is favored when low pressure dominates. If such atmospheric patterns could be predicted several months out, these links provide an avenue for improved seasonal predictability of total September extent. We analyze de-trended September extent time series (1979-2015), atmospheric reanalysis fields, ice age and motion, and AIRS data, to show that while there is merit to this summer circulation framework, it has limitations. Large departures in total September extent relative to the trend line are preceded by a wide range of summer circulation patterns. While patterns for the four years with the largest positive departures in September extent have below average SLP over the central Arctic Ocean, they differ markedly in the magnitude and location of pressure and air temperature anomalies. Differences in circulation for the four years with the largest negative departures are equally prominent. Circulation anomalies preceding Septembers with ice extent close to the trend also have a wide range of patterns. In turn, years (such as 2013 and 2014) with almost identical total September extent, were preceded by very different summer circulation patterns. September ice conditions can also be strongly shaped by events as far back as the previous winter or spring

Fragility curves for non-ductile reinforced concrete frames that exhibit different component response mechanisms

Around the world, a large percentage of buildings in regions of high seismicity are older, non-ductile reinforced concrete. To assess the risk posed by these buildings, fragility functions are required to define the likelihood that these buildings will sustain damage and collapse under earthquake loading. This paper presents the initial phase of a research effort to develop fragility functions for non-ductile concrete frames using numerical simulation; the research presented in this paper focuses on development of the numerical model and application of the model to develop fragility functions for a prototype non-ductile concrete frame. To enable numerical simulation of concrete frame buildings, response models for beam–column joints and columns are developed to provide (1) appropriate simulation of component response and, thereby, reliable assessment of risk and (2) computational efficiency and robustness. These new models are developed using existing experimental data, build on response models proposed by others, and employ component and material models available in the OpenSees analysis platform (http://opensees.berkeley.edu). A new beam–column joint model combines a new expression for joint strength and newly developed cyclic response parameters; a new column response model includes a new shear-strength model and newly developed cyclic response parameters. Numerical models of a prototype non-ductile concrete frame are developed that include simulation of one or more of the following characteristics: (1) rigid beam–column joint, (2) nonlinear joint shear response, (3) nonlinear joint shear and bond–slip response, and (4) column shear failure. Dynamic analyses are performed using these frame models and a suite of ground motions; analysis results are used to develop fragility curves. Fragility curves quantify the vulnerability of the frame and provide understanding of the impact of different component failure mechanisms on frame vulnerability.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation under NSF Grant # 1000700.This is the accepted manuscript of a paper published in Engineering Structures (J-S Jeon, LN Lowes, R DesRoches, I Brilakis, Engineering Structures 2015, 85, 127–143

The dysbindin-containing complex (BLOC-1) in brain: developmental regulation, interaction with SNARE proteins and role in neurite outgrowth.

Previous studies have implicated DTNBP1 as a schizophrenia susceptibility gene and its encoded protein, dysbindin, as a potential regulator of synaptic vesicle physiology. In this study, we found that endogenous levels of the dysbindin protein in the mouse brain are developmentally regulated, with higher levels observed during embryonic and early postnatal ages than in young adulthood. We obtained biochemical evidence indicating that the bulk of dysbindin from brain exists as a stable component of biogenesis of lysosome-related organelles complex-1 (BLOC-1), a multi-subunit protein complex involved in intracellular membrane trafficking and organelle biogenesis. Selective biochemical interaction between brain BLOC-1 and a few members of the SNARE (soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor attachment protein receptor) superfamily of proteins that control membrane fusion, including SNAP-25 and syntaxin 13, was demonstrated. Furthermore, primary hippocampal neurons deficient in BLOC-1 displayed neurite outgrowth defects. Taken together, these observations suggest a novel role for the dysbindin-containing complex, BLOC-1, in neurodevelopment, and provide a framework for considering potential effects of allelic variants in DTNBP1--or in other genes encoding BLOC-1 subunits--in the context of the developmental model of schizophrenia pathogenesis

Diversité des espèces de mouches des fruits (Diptera : Tephritidae) dans un verger mixte dans la localité de Malang (Ngaoundéré, Cameroun)

La présente étude avait pour but d’inventorier les espèces de mouches des fruits (Diptera :Tephritidae) inféodées au manguier dans la localité de Malang, située dans la région de l’Adamaoua (Ngaoundéré, Cameroun), en zone Soudano-Guinéenne. Pour cela, nous avons identifié les principales espèces présentes dans le verger grâce à un piégeage de détection d’avril 2008 à avril 2009, et, d’autre part, nous avons cherché à connaître les espèces responsables des dégâts à partir du ramassage des mangues dans le verger. Au total, 83 052 adultes de mouches des fruits appartenant à neuf espèces ont été capturés et huit espèces ont été déterminées. L’espèce invasive Bactrocera invadens Drew Tsuruta & White est la plus abondante dans les pièges (66,55% des captures), suivie de Dacus punctatifrons (Karsch) (29,92% des captures). La troisième espèce par ordre d’importance est Ceratitis cosyra (Walker) (3,38% des captures).Six autres espèces sont présentes mais en très faible effectif (avec au total 0,15% des captures). Les adultes de Tephritidae qui ont émergé des mangues mûres ramassées sous les arbres appartiennent à deux espècesB. invadens (98,5%) et D. punctatifrons (1,5%). Le pic de pullulation de B. invadens coïncide avec celui des mangues arrivées à maturité alors que D. punctatifrons est surtout présent après la période de maturitédes mangues. B. invadens est la principale espèce de Tephritidae responsable des dégâts sur mangues à Malang. Les organisations de protection phytosanitaire doivent mettre en oeuvre dans les meilleurs délais des programmes de lutte intégrée afin de pouvoir réduire les dégâts de cette nouvelle espèce invasive en dessous d’un seuil économique de nuisibilité