Rola edukacji i innowacji w promocji energii odnawialnej w krajach OECD i BRICS

Extreme climatic catastrophes and increasing emission levels demonstrate that humanity and nature are in confrontation. In this situation, the responsibility falls on intellectuals who engage in critical thinking, research, and innovation, propose solutions to problems, and bring society together to pursue a common goal. The present study assesses the role of education and Innovation in climate change mitigation in OECD and BRICS countries, where the use of renewable energy and decreasing the use of non-renewable energy are considered climate change mitigation strategies. The GMM approach is used to test the empirical model. The results indicate that increasing education and innovation levels in OECD and BRICS countries positively impact renewable energy consumption. However, the role of education and innovation in reducing the use of non-renewable energy consumption in the BRICS is insignificant, while in OECD countries, it is found significant. Thus, this study recommends that environmental education and green innovation be the focus to get sustainable development.Ekstremalne katastrofy klimatyczne i rosnące poziomy emisji zanieczyszczeń pokazują, że ludzkość i natura są w stanie konfrontacji. W tej sytuacji odpowiedzialność spada na intelektualistów, którzy angażują się w krytyczne myślenie, badania i innowacje, proponują rozwiązania problemów i jednoczą społeczeństwo w dążeniu do wspólnego celu. Niniejsze badanie ocenia rolę edukacji i innowacji w łagodzeniu zmian klimatu w krajach OECD i BRICS, gdzie wykorzystanie energii odnawialnej i zmniejszenie wykorzystania energii nieodnawialnej są uważane za strategie łagodzenia zmian klimatycznych. Do testowania modelu empirycznego zastosowano podejście GMM. Wyniki wskazują, że rosnący poziom edukacji i innowacyjności w krajach OECD i BRICS pozytywnie wpływa na zużycie energii odnawialnej. Jednak rola edukacji i innowacji w ograniczaniu zużycia energii nieodnawialnej w krajach BRICS jest znikoma, podczas gdy w krajach OECD jest uznawana za znaczącą. W związku z tym niniejsze badanie zaleca, aby edukacja środowiskowa i zielone innowacje były głównym celem osiągnięcia zrównoważonego rozwoju

Case report: lady with bone pains for 5 years-parathyroid carcinoma

Background: Parathyroid cancer is a rare cause of primary hyperparathyroidism. It presents a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge that may not be recognized preoperatively, and is often not conclusively identified during the operation. We present the case of a lady with backache and hypercalcemia, but with inadequate work-up for her condition for several years. Case Presentation: A middle aged lady of Asian descent presented with backache. Initial work up revealed mild hypercalcemia, negative work up for multiple myeloma, negative sestamibi scan for parathyroid pathology. A phenomenally elevated parathormone (PTH) level-2105 pg/mL (16-87 pg/mL), and rising serum calcium, 15.1 mg/dL, (8.6-10.5 mg/dL), ordered years later prompted a repeat sestamibi scan and ultrasonography of neck. Based on these investigations, a diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism, with high suspicion of parathyroid cancer was made. The patient underwent surgical tumour resection, with subsequent histopathological confirmation of diagnosis. Conclusion: In the setting of hypercalcemia, PTH level assessment is a must. This helps to differentiate between the parathyroid dependant and independent causes of high serum calcium, thereby encouraging a comprehensive pathway to the work up of the cause of hypercalcemia. The parathyroid cancer is a very rare cause of hypercalcemia, which needs to be considered in the differentials of primary hyperparathyroidism, particularly in the setting of high PTH levels

Preparation and Study the Structural and Optical characteristics of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Thin Films.

In this study, thin films of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) were prepared on glass substrates at a temperature of 350oC using theThermo Chemical Spray Pyrolysis (CSPT) technique. Zinc chloride salts (ZnCl2 (.The structural properties and surface morphology of the CdS thin films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM).. Thestructural properties and surface morphology of the ZnO thin films were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The XRD analysis revealed that all the prepared films exhibited a polycrystalline hexagonal structure, with multiple peaks and angles, and a preferred orientation along the (002) direction. The XRD results also indicated that an increase in the solution concentration led to a significant increase in intensity and a slight increase in the crystallite size of the ZnO film. AFM analysis was performed to investigate the surface topography of the films. The results showed that as the molarity increased, the surface roughness, root mean square (RMS), and grain size roughness increased. This can be attributed to the increased molar concentration, which resulted in a slight increase in droplet size. However, despite these surface roughness variations, the prepared films can still be used as windows in solar cells. The optical properties, including transmittance, absorption coefficient, and band gap energy, were determined by measuring the absorbance spectrum using a UV-Visible Spectrophotometer within the wavelength range of 300 nm to 1100 nm. The ZnO prepared films have direct transitions taking place and exhibited transmittance values ranging from approximatel

City tumour board Karachi: an innovative step in multidisciplinary consensus meeting and its two years audit.

Management of cancer patients is a team work which usually comprises of surgeons, oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, psychiatrist, nutritionist and a nurse. Any patient who is suffering from any tumour needs a multimodality meeting as cancer treatment is not a single persons job. Most of the time, it is difficult to get the whole team together for a plan discussion due to their busy schedule. This problem was overcome by starting a tumour board meeting early morning of Sunday in Karachi which was named City Tumour Board (CTB) Karachi . Its first meeting was held on Sunday March 28, 2010 and since then it takes place regularly fortnightly. Till March 2012, 44 sessions were conducted and total 264 cases were discussed. Here we present an audit of these two years. On average, in 60% of cases, tumour was up (36%) or down staged (12%) while in 52% of cases the stage remained unchanged. In 70% of cases (inclusive of above 60%), initial treatment plan was changed after discussion in the tumour board. This data signifies the importance of tumour board especially in a Pakistani setup where patient and even referring persons are not well aware of this disease and its outcome. It is advisable that every case should be discussed in tumour board before embarking on any treatment so that the best treatment plan can be given. It is also important that all relevant specialists should be present in the tumour board when planning for any treatment

PRIMARY MALIGNANT MELANOMA UTERINE CERVIX

A 40-year-old premenopausal female presented with foul-smelling per vaginal discharge for 3 months. Diagnostic work revealed a locally advanced primary malignant melanoma of uterine cervix. The patient declined pelvic surgery and was treated with Dacarbazine. Malignant melanoma is a rare tumour of skin and has been ranked in the top ve cancers of Australia and Sweden. It is a tumour of melanocytes which forms melanin pigment in the skin. In men, the most common site is trunk while in females common site is limbs. However, melanoma can arise from mucosal surfaces where the melanocytes are present. Most common mucosal sites are head and neck followed by female genital tract. Key words: Cervix, dacarbazine, malignant melanoma

Delay in Diagnosis of Brain Tumors: A Dilemma For Neurosurgical Community Due To Spirituality and Quackery In A Developing Country

Objectives:  Primary and metastatic brain tumors are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity. The complex pathway to a cancer diagnosis is not human error and the achievements of better outcomes solely depend on the early diagnosis and management of symptomatic tumors. The estimated time between the first presentation to any health care professional and diagnosis is approximately 3 times longer in the UK as compared to other developed countries. Material and Methods:  It was a descriptive study and included 52 patients who were admitted to the Neurosurgery department at Jinnah hospital Lahore. The required data were collected either directly from the patients or from the hospital record of discharged patients. Our study compares the time interval difference of presentation of a patient to a local care provider (Quacks, Hakeem, and spiritual healers) and Neurosurgeon as well as delay in surgical intervention even after diagnosis and radiological investigations. Results:  54% of patients presented with supratentorial lesions and out of these, parietal lobe lesions were more common (39%) while 29% of lesions were infratentorial. Around 50% of patients presented to a Local Care Provider within 20 days. However, only 42% of patients presented to a neurosurgeon after 6-9 months of the onset of symptoms. Conclusion:  Public awareness is the key to timely diagnosis, proper management, and better outcomes. The availability of specialists in peripheral hospitals can bring a change in this regard

Neural network-based failure rate prediction for De Havilland Dash-8 tires

An artificial neural network (ANN) model for predicting the failure rate of De Havilland Dash-8 airplane tires utilizing the twolayered feed-forward back-propagation algorithm as a learning rule is developed. The inputs to the neural network are independent variables and the output is the failure rate of the tires. Six years of data are used for model building and validation. Model validation, which reflects the suitability of the model for future prediction is performed by comparing the predictions of the model with that of Weibull regression model. The results show that the failure rate predicted by the ANN is closer in agreement with the actual data than the failure rate predicted by the Weibull model

Failure-Rate Prediction for De Havilland Dash-8 Tires Employing Neural-Network Technique

An artificial neural-network model for predicting the failure rate of De Havilland Dash-8 airplane tires utilizing the two-layered feedforward back-propagation algorithm as a learning rule is developed. The inputs to the neural network are independent variables, and the output is the failure rate of the tires. Six years of data are used for model building and validation. Model validation, which reflects the suitability of the model for future prediction, is performed by comparing the predictions of the model with that of theWeibull regression model. The results show that the failure rate predicted by the artificial neural network more closely agrees with the actual data than the failure rate predicted by the Weibull model

Impact Assessment of Patient Experience Capacity-Building Program Using Kirkpatrick Model for Program Evaluation at a Regional Healthcare System

Introduction The patient experience (PX) is central to improving the quality of healthcare services. We launched a PX capacity- and capability-building program at the Armed Forces Hospitals Taif Region, which is integral to our regional healthcare cluster transformation plans and is an initial step toward developing a culture of improvement in human experience in healthcare. Methods A multidisciplinary PX committee recruited five frontline interprofessional PX heads, one from each of our regional healthcare hospitals. The Kirkpatrick model for program evaluation was used to assess the impact on four key levels: reaction, learning, behavior, and results. A pre-program competency assessment was conducted to evaluate the level of expertise across various PX competencies, and a program curriculum was developed accordingly. Participants underwent an intensive workshop-based PX capacity-building training program. A post-program competency assessment was performed along with a post-program survey. The PX-related activities led by interprofessional frontline PX heads at their respective hospitals’ post-programs were tracked. The impact on the regional PX mean score across various settings, including inpatient, outpatient, and emergency settings, was measured using Press Ganey PX surveys. Our work is reported in accordance with the SQUIRE-EDU guidelines of the EQUATOR network. Results The PX capacity-building program led to a significant improvement in participants’ expertise across various PX competencies. Significant improvements beyond the strategic targets were observed in the PX mean score in inpatient departments pre-program (83.31) vs. post-program (86.34), with a p-value of < 0.001 across the regional healthcare system. Conclusion The PX capacity-building program is a first step toward major cultural change amid the healthcare cluster transformation in our regional healthcare system. The Kirkpatrick model helps evaluate the impact of PX capacity- and capability-building training programs comprehensively through an organizational approach. Sustainable improvements in PX over a long period through a capacity-building program alone remain challenging

Virtual reality in neurosurgery- a neurostimulator – based postgraduate residency training: a novel step towards skillful young neurosurgeons

Introduction/Objective: Virtual Reality (VR) is the need of time in every field of life. Recent biotechnological advances have molded the surgeon-computer relationship. Department of Neurosurgery Jinnah Hospital Lahore has updated the postgraduate training program by adding the virtual reality simulator. We aim to explore the current and future roles and applications of VR and simulation in neurosurgical training that may reduce the learning curve, improve conceptual understanding and enhance visuospatial skills. Materials &amp; Methods: Eight residents were enrolled in this program. They exercised the basic skills of neurosurgery e.g. suction, use of bipolar cautery, handling of CUSA, use of micro scissors, etc., and the automated software recorded each participant’s graph of performance separately. After 1.5 years, they were assessed in real-time on actual patients under the direct supervision of a qualified neurosurgeon. The assessment was done on DOPS (Directly Observed Procedural Skills) Performa. Results: The results showed that there was a gradual upward learning curve in simulator-based procedures from negative marking to 70% in basic surgical skills and 60% in advanced procedures on average for all the residents whereas the DOPS showed that all residents performed above expectation i.e., 4 or above. Conclusion: Neurostimulator-based postgraduate training program is opening new horizons for the safe and skillful training of residents. With the advancement of artificial intelligence, its use in training programs will lead to structured and systematic training patterns in the world of neurosurgery