The Role of Open and Distance Learning in Promoting Professional Training and Development in Tanzania. A Case Study of The Open University Tanzania

This paper unveils the unique role played by ODL in promoting professional training and development in Tanzania. ODL is significantly increasing in its importance in most societies if not all; this is justified by the increasing in enrolment in ODL institutions. In order to cope with the demanding world, individuals need to properly utilize their time. Hence, they opt for ODL institution as a medium of knowledge transmission, since they can benefit from the flexibility that it offers. In the course of this study, the researchers have adopted a qualitative research approach. Where, the main case study institution being The Open University of Tanzania. Respondents from this study have been carefully sampled through a non probabilistic sample size, and these respondents were OUT students only (current and previous). Among all constraints, ICT remains a common barrier among most ODL students in Tanzania, as all the respondents in the study indicated so

Adherence of Sudanese Coronary Artery Disease Patients to Secondary Prevention Medications at Elshaab Teaching Hospital, Sudan

Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD), worldwide, is the most common type of heart disease. Adherence to the evidence-based medications for secondary prevention is associated with further improvement in the outcomes.Objectives: To identify level of adherence towards secondary prevention medications among Sudanese ischemic heart disease patients.Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional hospital-based study, performed in the period from August 2012 through January 2013.Audit of Adherence of Sudanese Cardiac Patients to Secondary Prevention of Ischemic Heart Disease at Elshaab Teaching Hospital Khartoum, Sudan was done using a questionnaire for assessment.Results: A total of 210 patients were included in this study. Their mean (±SD) age was 60.8(±12.3) years. Of them, 190 patients have high risk factors and 167 were on regular follow up. 195(92.9%)patients were on ACEI/ARBs and Aspirin. 116(55.2%) were on clopidogrel and 203 (96.7%) on statin.Conclusion: 140(66.7%) patients were strictly adherent to medications, 21(10%) partially adherent and 49(23.3%) were totally not adherent. Lack of adherence was mainly due to poverty and high cost of medications.Key words: Adherence, coronary artery disease, secondary prevention, evidence-based medications, Sudan

Lymphangioma CircumscriptumA Rare Form Of Lymphangiomas

Superficial lymphangiomas are either cavernous type, diffuse or circumscribed (circumscriptum). Lymphangima circumscriptum (LC) is a rare benign condition characterized by the appearance of persistent clusters in the skin and subcutaneous tissue which may contain fluctuant cysts1. The firstreported description ofLC was done by Fox and Fox2 in1878. They named it as lymphangiectodes2. The term LC is first used by Morris3 in1889. Complete surgical excision is the main treatment. Here we are reporting a case of lymphangioma circumscritum of the thigh in a six-year old girl

Day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Sudan

Background: Laparoscopic surgery faces lots of constraints in the less developing countries. The aim: To audit day-case laparoscopic cholecystectomy in our set up in Sudan. Method: Prospective collection of data for 602 consecutive laparoscopic cholecystectomies. 136 patients were discharged 10 hours after surgery. They were selected according to clinical and social criteria. Pain, nausea and vomiting, operative time, period of hospitalization and patient satisfaction were studied. Results: 136 patients operated as day case have mean (±SD) age 46.92(± 14.95) years and ASA score I (n = 122), II (n = 14) and their mean operative time (±SD) was 61.62 (±24.17) (range 25-150) min. There was no conversion or common bile duct injury. 122 patients were pleased with the day case procedure, 12 were satisfied and two thought that overnightstay could have been better. Conclusion: Success of day case laparoscopic cholecystectomy is reflected by the annual steadily increasing number of patients from 25 in 1998 to 50 in 2002. Good planning, patient selection, and encouragement of early mobilization make postoperative hospitalization unnecessary in the majority of cases. Keywords: ambulatory cholecystectomy, laparoscopic cholecystectomy Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 1(1) 2006: 48-5

Sudanese Medical Students and Scientific Research

Background: Most of developing countries face problems in assessment of their public health practices. Gain of this knowledge is orchestrated by  research. Medical students can play an essential role in improving public database.Objective: to explore knowledge, attitude and skills of medical students in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS), Omdurman Islamic University (OIU) towards research.Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional, institution-based study. A total of 442 students, equally from each batch participated in the study. Equal numbers of male andfemale were considered to eliminate gender and seniority bias. Structured pretested questionnaire was used for data collection. Data collected were fed to Statistical Package for Social Sciences(SPSS) version 15. Means, standard deviation and correlations were done where appropriate. Statistical  significance was taken at P =0.05.Results: The mean knowledge score was 37% and attitude was positive in 77.1% of the students. Only 18.3% had attended research methodology workshop. The rate of internet navigation is directly proportional to the social class. Only 14.7% knew the engines used for finding medical literature.Conclusion: The low knowledge score is due to lack of application of research in the academic curriculum; however, the students have a fairly positive attitude. The knowledge is expected to improve with the intended policy to include practical research in the curriculum.Key Words: Public health, academic curriculum, Suda

The impact of gender on difficulty of classical open cholecystectomy

Background: Cholecystectomy demands attention, and expectation of abnormal anatomy in the veins, arteries or ducts. Prediction of difficult cholecystectomy does not only helpin patient counseling but also helps the surgeon to prepare better for the technical difficulties that may be encountered1-3.The aim: To find out whether there is impact of gender on the difficulty of surgery during open cholecystectomy.Patients and methods: This is a prospective hospital based study. Patients who presented to Ibn Sina Hospital for open cholecystectomy during the period from April 2011 to April 2012 were included in this study. Special emphasis was put on gender, the operative time, difficulty of surgeryand complications of open cholecystectomy. A pre-tested questionnaire was filled during interview of patients and operating surgeons.Results: A total 327 operations were included in the study. Of them there were 34(64.2%) males and 99(36.1%) females presented early i.e. after the first diagnosis was made. The mean operative time was 44.6 min for males and 43.57 min for females. Difficult surgery was described in 6(11.3%) of male and 23(8.4%) females.Conclusion: There was no significant statistical difference in the operative time, difficulty of operation and complication rate between males and females.Key words: Open cholecystectomy, difficulty, gender

Rapid Fabrication of Oxygen Defective α-Fe2O3(110) for Enhanced Photoelectrochemical Activities

This is the author accepted manuscript.Defect engineering is increasingly recognized as a viable strategy for boosting the performance of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting by metal oxide-based photoelectrodes. However, previously developed methods for generating point defect associated with oxygen vacancies is rather time-consuming. Herein, high density oxygen deficient α-Fe2O3 with dominant (110) crystal plane is developed in very short timescale of 10 minutes by employing aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition and pure nitrogen as gas carrier. The oxygen defective film exhibits almost 8 times higher photocurrent density compared to hematite photoanode with low concentration of oxygen vacancies which is prepared in purified air. The existence of oxygen vacancies improves light absorption ability, accelerates charge transport in the bulk of film, and promotes charge separation at electrolyte/semiconductor interface. DFT simulations verify that oxygen defective hematite has a narrow band gap, electron-hole trapped centre, and strong adsorption energy of water molecules compared to that of pristine hematite. This strategy might bring PEC technology another step further towards large-scale fabrication for future commercialization.Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysi

Minimizing disruptions to immunization services in the context of COVID-19 in Senegal: lessons learnt and policy options

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the vulnerability of essential health services globally and caused major disruptions, particularly in immunization services. In 2020, an estimated two thirds of 105 countries reported disruptions to routine facility-based and/or outreach immunization services (WHO, 2020b). Within the same year, an estimated 23 million children missed out on basic childhood vaccinations, accounting for the highest number since 2009 and representing a significant increase from 2019 (UNICEF, 2021; WHO, 2021a). Some settings experienced an upsurge in deadly diseases, such as measles outbreaks observed in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire between late 2020 and early 2021 (WHO, 2022a). The indirect effects of the pandemic on routine immunization services will likely lead to increased illness and death for many years, particularly among vulnerable populations such as women and children

Stock identification: advancing in the knowledge of stock structure as a requirement for stock assessment

DEMERSTEM- Objectives of WP 1: -Improve the knowledge on the selected demersal stocks with a particular effort to solve the problems of stock identification and improvement of the quality of the data used for the assessment. -This follows the recommendations regularly made by CECAF.Peer reviewe