Radiological Features and Postoperative Histopathologic Diagnosis of Intracranial Masses at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital and MCM Hospital

Background: Intracranial mass lesions are common causes of neurological morbidity and are detectable by cranial imaging. Given the wide range of pathological processes that can present as intracranial mass lesions, the radiologist can limit the differential diagnosis to inform clinical decision-making. The main objective of this review was to analyze radiologicfeatures and postoperative histopathology diagnosis of intracranial mass lesions.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 96 patients who underwent surgery for intracranial mass lesions at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH) and Myungsung Christian Medical Center (MCM) in a period of 3 years (Feb 2009-Dec 2011). Patients werelimited to those who had histopathologic result and either CT (n=67), MRI (n=14) scan report or both (n=15).Results: Histopathologically confirmed intracranial masses constituted meningioma = 32 (39%), glioma =15 (18.3%), pituitary adenoma = 14 (17%), and tuberculoma = 6 (7.3%).The CT scan sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in differentiating meningiomas from other intracranial masses, taking the first differential as most likely diagnosis, was 80%, 95% and 88.6% whereas for gliomas it was 71%, 85.7% and 83% respectively. The higher rate of meningiomas found in this study may result from surgeons bias toward preference of resection of extra axial tumors or longer survival of meningioma patients.Conclusion: Meningiomas were the commonest histologically diagnosed intracranial mass lesions followed by glioma, but their prevalence may have been overestimated in this study because surgeons are more likely to resect them and confirm their diagnosis. Tuberculoma was the commonest non-tumor lesion. CT scan was more accurate, sensitive and specific in diagnosing benign than malignant masses

A review on the integrated agro-technology of papaya fruit

The aim of this review was first to explore the effect of different pre-harvest factors affecting the quality of papaya including genetic factors, climatic conditions, cultural practices on post-harvest quality of the papaya fruit. Post-harvest physiology of papaya in terms of its respiration, ethylene production and sensitivity and transpiration was reviewed. Post-harvest handling and factors affecting quality of papaya were also examined. Post-harvest biochemistry of papaya including enzyme activity, carbohydrates, organic acids, pigments and volatiles in papaya fruit were assessed. A review on post-harvest handling of papaya fruit including packaging and storage environments (temperature and relative humidity) were presented. On the other hand, the post-harvest microbiology of papaya was reviewed. Papaya supply chain is much limited to local destinations with quite few exceptions mainly due to lack of integrated post-harvest handling technologies. Pre- and post-harvest treatments were found to have a significant effect on post-harvest quality of papaya and the fruit storage stability under dry and hot climatic conditions of Africa. An integrated agro-technology research and development approach aimed at improved yield and quality at harvest as well as the maintenance of qualities of papaya fruit in order to encourage farmers to produce and for marketing of the papaya fruit under African local supply chain conditions and for export market is recommended.Key words: Papaya fruit, post-harvest, agro-technology, pre-harvest

Medication Non-Adherence among Adult Psychiatric Out-patients in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia

Background: Information on adherence of adult psychiatric patients to biological modes of treatment is scarce in Ethiopia. Knowledge on adherence is essential in terms of future prognosis, quality of life and functionality of such patients. This study was conducted to assess the magnitude and associated factors of non-adherence to medication.Methods: A hospital based cross-sectional study was conducted in November 2011 at the psychiatry facility of Jimma University Specialized Hospital, which provides service to more than 10 mill people. A sample of 422 adults with psychiatric illness in the follow-up outpatients was selected consecutively. Data was collected using a pre-tested questionnaire by face-to-face interview and from patient medical records. The four-item Morisky scale was used to assess degree of medication adherence. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 16 and descriptive, chi-square test and logistic regression statistical methods were used. P-Value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant in the final model.Results: Out of the 422 patients, 40.3% were females and 59.7% males. The prevalence rate for nonadherence was 41.2%, non-affective psychoses diagnosis contributing the highest rate (44.5%). From the total non-adherent respondents, 78.2% attributed their non-adherence to forgetting. Irregular follow-up, poor social support and complex drug regimen were independently associated variables with nonadherence.Concluction: The result of the study showed that non-adherence among psychiatric patients in Southwest Ethiopia is high and revealed possible associated factors. Adherence needs integrated efforts in creating a mechanism in enhancing regular follow-up, informal social support system and ongoing awareness creation among professionals.Keywords: mental illness, non-adherence, Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Ethiopi

Significant association between perceived HIV related stigma and late presentation for HIV/AIDS care in low and middle-income countries: A systematic review and metaanalysis

Background Late presentation for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care is a major impediment for the success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) outcomes. The role that stigma plays as a potential barrier to timely diagnosis and treatment of HIV among people living with HIV/AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) is ambivalent. This review aimed to assess the best available evidence regarding the association between perceived HIV related stigma and time to present for HIV/AIDS care. Methods Quantitative studies conducted in English language between 2002 and 2016 that evaluated the association between HIV related stigma and late presentation for HIV care were sought across four major databases. This review considered studies that included the following outcome:late HIV testing',late HIV diagnosis' andlate presentation for HIV care after testing'. Data were extracted using a standardized Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) data extraction tool. Meta-Analysis was undertaken using Revman-5 software. I2 and chi-square test were used to assess heterogeneity. Summary statistics were expressed as pooled odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals and corresponding p-value. Results Ten studies from low-And middle- income countries met the search criteria, including six (6) and four (4) case control studies and cross-sectional studies respectively. The total sample size in the included studies was 3,788 participants. Half (5) of the studies reported a significant association between stigma and late presentation for HIV care. The meta-Analytical association showed that people who perceived high HIV related stigma had two times more probability of late presentation for HIV care than who perceived low stigma (pooled odds ratio = 2.4; 95%CI: 1.6±3.6, I2 = 79%). Conclusions High perceptions of HIV related stigma influenced timely presentation for HIV care. In order to avoid late HIV care presentation due the fear of stigma among patients, health professionals should play a key role in informing and counselling patients on the benefits of early HIV testing or early entry to HIV care. Additionally, linking the systems and positive case tracing after HIV testing should be strengthened

Design and Manufacture of 1kW Wind Turbine Blades

To meet sustainable development goals and address concerns on climate change, much of the world's energy demand is expected to be delivered from clean alternative energy sources. Small-scale wind turbines have proven to be applicable for off-grid electrification. The objective of this study is to present the details on the design and manufacture of a 1 kW wind turbine blade for specified conditions. Blade element moment theory is adopted in the design of the geometry of the blade. Accordingly, the aerodynamic analysis on NACA 64A410 airfoil resulted in a blade radius of 1.95m, an overall twist angle of 31°, and a gradually tapering chord length of 0.062m at the root and 0.247m at the tip of the blade. Then, the wind turbine blades are manufactured from fiberglass (mat350g), resin, catalyst, and gelcoat.  Experimental results reveal the wind turbine blades started producing power at a cut-in wind speed of 3m/s. The maximum power achieved during the testing process was 900W at a hub wind velocity of 9m/s. This is lower than the expected 1000W theoretical power output due to not perfect workmanship in the manufacture of the wind turbine blades. This study will help in building local manufacturing facilities and enhance rural electrification through off-grid technologies

Phasor Measurement Units Optimal Placement and Performance Limits for Fault Localization

In this paper, the performance limits of faults localization are investigated using synchrophasor data. The focus is on a non-trivial operating regime where the number of Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) sensors available is insufficient to have full observability of the grid state. Proposed analysis uses the Kullback Leibler (KL) divergence between the distributions corresponding to different fault location hypotheses associated with the observation model. This analysis shows that the most likely locations are concentrated in clusters of buses more tightly connected to the actual fault site akin to graph communities. Consequently, a PMU placement strategy is derived that achieves a near-optimal resolution for localizing faults for a given number of sensors. The problem is also analyzed from the perspective of sampling a graph signal, and how the placement of the PMUs i.e. the spatial sampling pattern and the topological characteristic of the grid affect the ability to successfully localize faults. To highlight the superior performance of presented fault localization and placement algorithms, the proposed strategy is applied to a modified IEEE 34, IEEE-123 bus test cases and to data from a real distribution grid. Additionally, the detection of cyber-physical attacks is also examined where PMU data and relevant Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) network traffic information are compared to determine if a network breach has affected the integrity of the system information and/or operations

Effects of interpregnancy interval on pregnancy complications: protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: Interpregnancy interval (IPI) is the length of time between a birth and conception of the next pregnancy. Evidence suggests that both short and long IPIs are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy and perinatal outcomes. Relatively less attention has been directed towards investigating the effect of IPI on pregnancy complications, and the studies that have been conducted have shown mixed results. This systematic review will aim to provide an update to the most recent available evidence on the effect of IPI on pregnancy complications. Method and Analysis: We will search electronic databases such as Ovid/MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed to identify peer-reviewed articles on the effects of IPI on pregnancy complications. We will include articles published from start of indexing until 12 February 2018 without any restriction to geographic setting. We will limit the search to literature published in English language and human subjects. Two independent reviewers will screen titles and abstracts and select full-text articles that meet the eligibility criteria. The Newcastle-Ottawa tool will be used to assess quality of observational studies. Where data permit, meta-analyses will be performed for individual pregnancy complications. A subgroup analyses by country categories (high-income vs low and middle-income countries) based on World Bank income group will be performed. Where meta-analysis is not possible, we will provide a description of data without further attempt to quantitatively pool results. Ethics and Dissemination: Formal ethical approval is not required as primary data will not be collected. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences. Prospero Registration Number: CRD42018088578

Systems biology of ferroptosis: A modeling approach.

Ferroptosis is a recently discovered form of iron-dependent regulated cell death (RCD) that occurs via peroxidation of phospholipids containing polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) moieties. Activating this form of cell death is an emerging strategy in cancer treatment. Because multiple pathways and molecular species contribute to the ferroptotic process, predicting which tumors will be sensitive to ferroptosis is a challenge. We thus develop a mathematical model of several critical pathways to ferroptosis in order to perform a systems-level analysis of the process. We show that sensitivity to ferroptosis depends on the activity of multiple upstream cascades, including PUFA incorporation into the phospholipid membrane, and the balance between levels of pro-oxidant factors (reactive oxygen species, lipoxogynases) and antioxidant factors (GPX4). We perform a systems-level analysis of ferroptosis sensitivity as an outcome of five input variables (ACSL4, SCD1, ferroportin, transferrin receptor, and p53) and organize the resulting simulations into \u27high\u27 and \u27low\u27 ferroptosis sensitivity groups. We make a novel prediction corresponding to the combinatorial requirements of ferroptosis sensitivity to SCD1 and ACSL4 activity. To validate our prediction, we model the ferroptotic response of an ovarian cancer stem cell line following single- and double-knockdown of SCD1 and ACSL4. We find that the experimental outcomes are consistent with our simulated predictions. This work suggests that a systems-level approach is beneficial for understanding the complex combined effects of ferroptotic input, and in predicting cancer susceptibility to ferroptosis