Electroencephalographic Findings, Antiepileptic Drugs and Risk Factors of 433 Individuals Referred to a Tertiary Care Hospital in Ethiopia

Background: Little is known about the characteristics of electroencephalogram (EEG) findings in epileptic patients in Ethiopia. The objective of this  study was to characterize the EEG patterns, indications, antiepileptic drugs (AEDs), and epilepsy risk factors.Methods: A retrospective observational review of EEG test records of 433 patients referred to our electrophysiology unit between July 01, 2020 and  December 31, 2021.Results: The age distribution in the study participants was right skewed unipolar age distribution for both sexes and the mean age of 33.8 (SD=15.7) years. Male accounted for 51.7%. Generalized tonic clonic seizure was the most common seizure type. The commonest indication for EEG was  abnormal body movement with loss of consciousness (35.2%). Abnormal EEG findings were observed in 55.2%; more than half of them were Interictal epileptiform discharges, followed by focal/or generalized slowing. Phenobarbitone was the commonest AEDs. A quarter (20.1%) of the  patients were getting a combination of two AEDs and 5.2% were on 3 different AEDs. Individuals taking the older AEDs and those on 2 or more AEDs  tended to have abnormal EEG findings. A cerebrovascular disorder (27.4%) is the prevalent risk factor identified followed by brain tumor, HIV  infection, and traumatic head injury respectively.Conclusion: High burden of abnormal EEG findings among epileptic patients referred to our unit. The proportion of abnormal EEG patterns was  higher in patients taking older generation AEDs and in those on 2 or more AEDs. Stroke, brain tumor, HIV infection and traumatic head injury were  the commonest identified epilepsy risk factors

Impact of poor communication on project performance among diverse teams

Abstrakt Byggenæringen er kompleks og risikabel virksomhet. Den består av prosjekter og prosjekter karakteriseres som fragmenterte, dynamiske og består av mangfoldige team. Kommunikasjon i et byggeprosjekt er alt. Kommunikasjon er en kontinuerlig og dynamisk prosess. For bedre ytelse og resultater bør kommunikasjonen mellom ulike team være effektiv og effektiv. Effektiv kommunikasjon er kjernekompetanseelementet for å lykkes med prosjekter. På grunn av sin natur utføres prosjekter av forskjellige team, og disse teamene har forskjeller mellom teammedlemmer. Disse forskjellene kan være kulturelle, språk, ferdigheter, verdier, utdanning, erfaring, personlig og religiøs tro. Siden kommunikasjon er et middel for å overføre prosjektinformasjon mellom teammedlemmer, krever det effektiv ledelse da det direkte påvirker prosjektets suksess. Derfor trenger den administrerende avdelingen et effektivt tiltak for å unngå kommunikasjonsproblemer. Dårlig kommunikasjon påvirker produktiviteten og ytelsen til prosjektet. Prosjektledere blir bedt om å forbedre og eliminere den dårlige kommunikasjonen mellom teammedlemmer. Denne forskningsoppgaven fokuserer på å identifisere virkningene av dårlig kommunikasjon og foreslå forbedringer som kan implementeres for å forbedre kommunikasjonsferdighetene blant teammedlemmer. Kvalitativ tilnærming ble brukt for å gjennomføre studien ved å bruke et semistrukturert spørreskjema for å utføre intervjuer. Fra de empiriske dataene og litteraturgjennomgangen identifiserer denne studien 19 virkninger av dårlig kommunikasjon relatert til temaet for studien og foreslår 17 tiltak som forbedrer dårlig kommunikasjon mellom ulike team. Nøkkelord: dårlig kommunikasjon, tillit til konstruksjon, kommunikasjon, mellommenneskelig konflikt, formell og uformell kommunikasjo

Digital marketing strategy development plan

The importance of digital marketing for online businesses relies on its ability to reach targeted audience cost-effectively in a measurable way. Because digital marketing works in real-time and shows the success of each digital tactic that businesses has been used. This research based Thesis aim to explore the concept of digital marketing strategy and its impact on increasing brand awareness and traffic generation to the new website. The theoretical part of this study focuses on digital marketing strategies and evaluates the power of those strategies in the success of web-based business. A Case-company study was conducted to support the theory and the data from the study been critically analyzed and used as a source for the development of a digital marketing plan. The research part focuses on how digital marketing tools can be applied for brand awareness in the beginning of business operation because brand awareness is vital to meet digital marketing goals of the Company. Furthermore, it outlines how and why digital marketing strategy plans are important to web-based business by using different sources of evidence, including experiment interviews and surveys for prospect customers of case company. The development part concentrated on creating a digital marketing strategy plan that would suit to the needs of Case Company X new Web-shop

Kompetenshierarkin för framtida revisorer: vilka kompetenser och färdigheter väger mest? : En kvalitativ undersökning av kompetensgapet mellan de uppfattningar och verkliga kompetenserna för revisorstudenter

ABSTRACT Date:                                   2023-05-30 Level:                                  Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution:                       School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:                            Meron Yohannes             Helin Yildirim             Sabri Abdulahad                                                                (01-12-14)                        (01-05-06)                   (01-03 22).                            Title:                                   The competency hierarchy for future auditors: which competencies                                                    and skills weigh the most? Supervisor:                     Oksana Feicher Keywords:                       Competence, auditing, skills, hierarchy of competences, soft and hard                                              competence, accounting students         Research questions:   Which skills and competence requirements are valued most in the                                               professional role of accountant?                                                              How is the gap between perception and real skills/competencies                                               matched based on accountants and accounting students? Purpose:                          The purpose of this paper is to study and understand the gap between                                               the perception and real competences educational and the auditing                                                 industry has on the accounting students.  Method:                           In this work, the data has been collected through a qualitative study.                                              We have used semi-structured interviews. The selection group have                                              passed of accounting students and accountants.                     Conclusion:                  The study's conclusion indicates that there is a gap between students'                                             perceptions and real competences in the accounting profession. The                                             students and accountants answer in different ways which competences                                             are valued most within the hierarchy. They believe that work                                             experience can be important, but highlight that the education only                                             provides content knowledge. The reasons for this discrepancy are that                                             there is no consensus on the accountant's real competences, the                                             universities have not managed to be sufficiently informative about the                                             competence requirement for the professional role and that has led to a                                             lack of students' own responsibility in studies

Kompetenshierarkin för framtida revisorer: vilka kompetenser och färdigheter väger mest? : En kvalitativ undersökning av kompetensgapet mellan de uppfattningar och verkliga kompetenserna för revisorstudenter

ABSTRACT Date:                                   2023-05-30 Level:                                  Bachelor thesis in Business Administration, 15 cr Institution:                       School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:                            Meron Yohannes             Helin Yildirim             Sabri Abdulahad                                                                (01-12-14)                        (01-05-06)                   (01-03 22).                            Title:                                   The competency hierarchy for future auditors: which competencies                                                    and skills weigh the most? Supervisor:                     Oksana Feicher Keywords:                       Competence, auditing, skills, hierarchy of competences, soft and hard                                              competence, accounting students         Research questions:   Which skills and competence requirements are valued most in the                                               professional role of accountant?                                                              How is the gap between perception and real skills/competencies                                               matched based on accountants and accounting students? Purpose:                          The purpose of this paper is to study and understand the gap between                                               the perception and real competences educational and the auditing                                                 industry has on the accounting students.  Method:                           In this work, the data has been collected through a qualitative study.                                              We have used semi-structured interviews. The selection group have                                              passed of accounting students and accountants.                     Conclusion:                  The study's conclusion indicates that there is a gap between students'                                             perceptions and real competences in the accounting profession. The                                             students and accountants answer in different ways which competences                                             are valued most within the hierarchy. They believe that work                                             experience can be important, but highlight that the education only                                             provides content knowledge. The reasons for this discrepancy are that                                             there is no consensus on the accountant's real competences, the                                             universities have not managed to be sufficiently informative about the                                             competence requirement for the professional role and that has led to a                                             lack of students' own responsibility in studies

Prevalence of Hyperhomocysteinaemia and Associated Factors among Ethiopian Adult Population in a 2015 National Survey

Hyperhomocysteinaemia (HHcy) is an independent risk factor for major cardiovascular diseases, but data on the prevalence and predictors of HHcy in low- and middle-income countries like Ethiopia are scant. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of HHcy and associated risk factors in the Ethiopian adult population. A cross-sectional survey on risks of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) using the STEPwise approach to surveillance (STEPS) survey was conducted between April and June 2015. A total of 4,175 study participants were surveyed. Serum homocysteine (Hcy) and metabolic profile were determined using Cobas Integra 400 Plus and CardioChek PA analyzer, respectively. Factors associated with HHcy were determined using logistic regression. The mean serum tHcy concentration was 14.6 μmol/L, with 16.4 μmol/L in males and 13.4 μmol/L in females. Overall, 38% had HHcy, with figures in males (49%) higher than females (30%). Increased age, being male, and high blood pressure and/or taking blood pressure medication, as well as low consumption of fruit and/or vegetables, were independent risk factors for HHcy. In conclusion, the prevalence of HHcy among the adult Ethiopian population is alarmingly high. Improving diets through the promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption is needed to reduce the risk of NCDs

Evaluation of COVID-19 related knowledge and preparedness in health professionals at selected health facilities in a resource-limited setting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BackgroundThe World Health Organization has declared that infection with SARS-CoV-2 is a pandemic. Experiences with SARS in 2003 and SARS-CoV-2 have shown that health professionals are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19. Hence, it has been recommended that aperiodic wide-scale assessment of the knowledge and preparedness of health professionals regarding the current COVID-19 pandemic is critical.ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the knowledge and preparedness of health professionals regarding COVID-19 among selected hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from the last week of March to early April, 2020. Government (n = 6) and private hospitals (n = 4) were included. The front-line participants with high exposure were proportionally recruited from their departments. The collected data from a self-administered questionnaire were entered using EpiData and analyzed in SPSS software. Both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics (chi-square tests) are presented.ResultsA total of 1334 health professionals participated in the study. The majority (675, 50.7%) of the participants were female. Of the total, 532 (39.9%) subjects were nurses/midwives, followed by doctors (397, 29.8%) and pharmacists (193, 14.5%). Of these, one-third had received formal training on COVID-19. The mean knowledge score of participants was 16.45 (±4.4). Regarding knowledge about COVID-19, 783 (58.7%), 354 (26.5%), and 196 (14.7%) participants had moderate, good, and poor knowledge, respectively. Lower scores were seen in younger age groups, females, and non-physicians. Two-thirds (63.2%) of the subjects responded that they had been updated by their hospital on COVID-19. Of the total, 1020 (76.5%) participants responded that television, radio, and newspapers were their primary sources of information. Established hospital preparedness measures were confirmed by 43-57% of participants.ConclusionThe current study revealed that health professionals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, already know important facts but had moderate overall knowledge about the COVID-19 pandemic. There were unmet needs in younger age groups, non-physicians, and females. Half of the respondents mentioning inadequate preparedness of their hospitals point to the need for more global solidarity, especially concerning the shortage of consumables and lack of equipment

Africa needs context-relevant evidence to shape its clean energy future

Aligning development and climate goals means Africa’s energy systems will be based on clean energy technologies in the long term, but pathways to get there are uncertain and variable across countries. Although current debates about natural gas and renewables in Africa are heated, they largely ignore the substantial context specificity of the starting points, development objectives and uncertainties of each African country’s energy system trajectory. Here we—an interdisciplinary and majority African group of authors—highlight that each country faces a distinct solution space and set of uncertainties for using renewables or fossil fuels to meet its development objectives. For example, Ethiopia is headed for an accelerated green-growth pathway, but Mozambique is at a crossroads of natural gas expansion with implicit large-scale technological, economic, financial and social risks and uncertainties. We provide geopolitical, policy, finance and research recommendations to create firm country-specific evidence to identify adequate energy system pathways for development and to enable their implementation

The Palgrave Handbook of South–South Migration and Inequality

The Palgrave Handbook of South–South Migration and Inequalit

Global case fatality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) by continents and national income: a meta‐analysis

The aim of this study is to provide a more accurate representation of COVID-19's CFR by performing meta-analyses by continents and income, and by comparing the result with pooled estimates. We used multiple worldwide data sources on COVID-19 for every country reporting COVID-19 cases. Based on the data, we performed random and fixed meta-analyses for CFR of COVID-19 by continents and income according to each individual calendar date. CFR were estimated based on the different geographical regions and level of income using three models: pooled estimates, fixed- and random-model. In Asia, all three types of CFR initially remained approximately between 2.0% and 3.0%. In the case of pooled estimates and the fixed model results, CFR increased to 4.0%, by then gradually decreasing, while in the case of random-model, CFR remained under 2.0%. Similarly, in Europe, initially the two types of CFR peaked at 9.0% and 10.0%, respectively. The random-model results showed an increase near 5.0%. In high income countries, pooled estimates and fixed-model showed gradually increasing trends with a final pooled estimates and random-model reached about 8.0% and 4.0%, respectively. In middle-income, the pooled estimates and fixed-model have gradually increased reaching up to 4.5%. in low-income countries, CFRs remained similar between 1.5% and 3.0%. Our study emphasizes that COVID-19 CFR is not a fixed or static value. Rather, it is a dynamic estimate that changes with time, population, socioeconomic factors and the mitigatory efforts of individuals countries