Curriculum Innovations in Design and Technology at the University of Botswana, Southern Africa

The paper describes the rationale, methodology, and outcome of several innovations in developing the curriculum in design and technology for teacher education at the University of Botswana. The rationale for the development was to bring the curriculum up-to-date in the face of developments in design and technology in Botswana, and other parts of the world. The university's decision to semesterise all programmes of study commencing 2002-03 accelerated the process of curriculum development. The exercise involved a number of formally constituted bodies consisting of stakeholders from academia, government and industry. The final programme structure incorporating the new curriculum and regulations have been approved by the Departmental Board, Departmental Advisory Board, Faculty Executive, Faculty Advisory Board, the University Academic Policy Review and Planning Committee as well as the Senate. The new curriculum has a number of distinctive and innovative features, which transform the progranune from the Bachelor's Degree of Education (design and technology) into Bachelor's Degree of Design (design and technology education). It commences with building a science-based foundation followed by basic engineering principles. Courses in the area of education are offered alongside courses in design and technology as professional studies, culminating in projects in the areas of design and technology and education. The emphasis o

Deep Learning for Automated Image Segmentation of the Middle Ear: A Scoping Review

Objective: Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have revolutionized medical image segmentation in recent years. This scoping review aimed to carry out a comprehensive review of the literature describing automated image segmentation of the middle ear using CNNs from computed tomography (CT) scans. Data Sources: A comprehensive literature search, generated jointly with a medical librarian, was performed on Medline, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane, using Medical Subject Heading terms and keywords. Databases were searched from inception to July 2023. Reference lists of included papers were also screened. Review Methods: Ten studies were included for analysis, which contained a total of 866 scans which were used in model training/testing. Thirteen different architectures were described to perform automated segmentation. The best Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) for the entire ossicular chain was 0.87 using ResNet. The highest DSC for any structure was the incus using 3D-V-Net at 0.93. The most difficult structure to segment was the stapes, with the highest DSC of 0.84 using 3D-V-Net. Conclusions: Numerous architectures have demonstrated good performance in segmenting the middle ear using CNNs. To overcome some of the difficulties in segmenting the stapes, we recommend the development of an architecture trained on cone beam CTs to provide improved spatial resolution to assist with delineating the smallest ossicle. Implications for Practice: This has clinical applications for preoperative planning, diagnosis, and simulation

Prediction of preterm labour by cervical length

Background: Preterm birth is one of the commonest causes of perinatal mortality. Cervical length is one of the major determinants of preterm delivery.Methods: This prospective observational study of 100 pregnant women attending ANC OPD was carried out at D.Y. Patil Hospital, Kolhapur. The pregnant women were scanned for cervical length between 11-14 weeks and 20-22 weeks of gestation, using USG machine with TVS probe (mindray DC-7).Results: The mean value of cervical length in pregnant women at 11-14 weeks was 3.94 cm and at 20-22 weeks of gestation it was 3.38 cm. There was shortening in the pregnant cervix from first to second trimester. In the study 12% of patients delivered prematurely who had reduction in cervical length from first trimester to second trimester. The inverse relation between the cervical length during pregnancy and frequency of preterm delivery was confirmed. The decrease in cervical length at 11-14 weeks of gestation and 20-22 weeks of gestation was useful for identifying patients at increased risk for pre-trerm.Conclusions: Our findings confirm those of previous studies that have found an inverse relation between the length of the cervix, as measured by transvaginal ultrasonography during pregnancy, and the frequency of preterm delivery. We found that the cervical length measured at 11-14 weeks and 20-22 weeks gestation was decreased in asymptomatic women with single to n pregnancies was useful for identifying patients at increased risk for preterm delivery

Varicella bullosa a rare form of chickenpox in an immunocompromised child: a case study

The common human alpha herpesvirus known as varicella-zoster virus (VZV) causes both varicella (chicken pox) and herpes zoster (shingles). The frequent paediatric illness varicella is characterized by fever, viremia, and sporadic vesicular skin lesions. The bullous onset of chickenpox, is a very uncommon symptom that typically affects children who are immunosuppressed. Modern methods, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), have shed new light on this issue and strongly suggest that VZV can be involved in the development of bullae. Adequate prophylaxis and vaccination coverage help high-risk populations avoid complications. A7-year-old girl with polymorphic rash all over the body with comorbid diseases, diabetes mellitus type 1 and celiac disease. Past medical history stated suffering from COVID-19 infection. Physical examination revealed vesicular rashes of healing stages on various parts of the body with intense itching along with other symptoms of weakness, lethargy and lack of appetite. Based on the history, physical exam, and laboratory investigations, a definitive diagnosis of uncomplicated chickenpox, bullous form of moderate severity, was made. Treatment with saline infusion, iodinol, brilliant green solution, loratadine, acyclovir, amoklav, topical levofloxacin, and topical noxivin was initiated. The outcomes demonstrated that immunosuppression, autoimmune diseases and unvaccinated state of immunity might be the predisposing factors for development of bullous varicella. Inspite of its rarity, the disease have a good prognosis.

Prospective Cohort Study of Childhood-Onset Stargardt Disease: Fundus Autofluorescence Imaging, Progression, Comparison with Adulthood-Onset Disease, and Disease Symmetry

Purpose To determine the reliability and repeatability of quantitative evaluation of areas of decreased autofluorescence (DAF) from fundus autofluorescence (FAF) images and track disease progression in children with Stargardt disease (STGD1), and investigate clinical and genotype correlations, disease symmetry and intra-familial variability. Design Prospective Cohort Study. Methods Children and adults with molecularly confirmed STGD1 (n=90) underwent longitudinal FAF imaging with subsequent semi-automated measurement of the area of DAF and calculation of the annual rate of progression. The age of disease onset was recorded for all subjects, as well as the electroretinography (ERG) group at baseline (n=86). Patients were grouped for analysis based on the age at baseline and age of onset, into children (n=56), adults with childhood-onset STGD1 (n=15), and adults with adulthood-onset (n=19). Fifty FAF images were selected randomly and analysed by two observers to evaluate repeatability and reproducibility. Differences between groups, interocular symmetry, genotype-phenotype correlations and intrafamilial variability were also investigated both for baseline measurements as well as progression rates. Results Visual acuity, molecular genetics, ERG group, FAF metrics and their correlations. Results Mean age of onset ± SD was 9.6 ± 3.4 years for childhood-onset (n=71) and 28.3 ± 7.8 years for adulthood-onset STGD1 (n=19). The intra-observer and inter-observer reliability of DAF quantification was excellent (ICC; 0.995 and 0.987). DAF area was symmetric between eyes and the mean rate of progression (SD) was 0.69 (0.72), 0.78 (0.48) and 0.40 (0.36) mm2/year for children, adults with childhood-onset, and adults with adulthood-onset disease respectively. Patients belonging to a group 3 ERG phenotype (generalised cone and rod dysfunction) had a significantly greater progression rate. Limited intrafamilial variability was observed. Conclusions This is the first large prospective study of FAF in a cohort of molecularly confirmed children with STGD1. DAF area quantification was highly reliable and may thereby serve as a robust structural end-point. A high rate of progression was observed in childhood-onset disease, making this subtype of STGD1 ideally suited to be considered for prioritisation in clinical trials

Surgeon motivations behind the timing of breast reconstruction in patients requiring postmastectomy radiation therapy

OBJECTIVES: Although postmastectomy radiation therapy (PMRT) has been shown to reduce breast cancer burden and improve survival, PMRT may negatively influence outcomes after reconstruction. The goal of this study was to compare current opinions of plastic and reconstructive surgeons (PRS) and surgical oncologists (SO) regarding the optimal timing of breast reconstruction for patients requiring PMRT. METHODS: Members of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), the American Society of Breast Surgeons (ASBS), and the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) were asked to participate in an anonymous web-based survey. Responses were solicited in accordance to the Dillman method, and they were analyzed using standard descriptive statistics. RESULTS: A total of 330 members of the ASPS and 348 members of the ASBS and SSO participated in our survey. PRS and SO differed in patient-payor mix (p \u3c 0.01) and practice setting (p \u3c 0.01), but they did not differ by urban versus rural setting (p = 0.65) or geographic location (p = 0.30). Although PRS favored immediate reconstruction versus SO, overall timing did not significantly differ between the two specialists (p = 0.14). The primary rationale behind delayed breast reconstruction differed significantly between PRS and SO (p \u3c 0.01), with more PRS believing that the reconstructive outcome is significantly and adversely affected by radiation. Both PRS and SO cited patient-driven desire to have immediate reconstruction (p = 0.86) as the primary motivation for immediate reconstruction. CONCLUSIONS: Although the optimal timing of reconstruction is controversial between PRS and SO, our study suggests that the timing of reconstruction in PMRT patients is ultimately driven by patient preferences and the desire of PRS to optimize aesthetic outcomes

Cartilage repair using hydrogels: a critical review of in vivo experimental designs

Prova tipográfica This review analyzes the outcomes and technical aspects of in vivo studies published in the past decade using gels and hydrogels for cartilage repair. Using PubMed search engine, original research publications during the period of 2002/01/01 to 2015/04/30 identifi ed 115 published papers. Of these, 3 studies failed to fi nd a statistically significant improvement of treatment group as compared to control and 18 studies did not clearly identify hyaline-like cartilage formation in the treated groups. The most frequent repaired lesion was the rabbit acute full thickness trochlear defect, using a scaff old combining a gel or hydrogel and other material. One third of the scaff olds were cell-free (35%) and the majority of the studies did not use growth factors (71%). The present review may constitute a useful tool in design of future studies, as limitations of study designs are pointed and results in terms of translation to human application is discussed.ARTICULATE project 623 (QREN-13/SI/2011-23189

Right ventricular outflow tract velocity time integral-to-pulmonary artery systolic pressure ratio: a non-invasive metric of pulmonary arterial compliance differs across the spectrum of pulmonary hypertension.

Pulmonary arterial compliance (PAC), invasively assessed by the ratio of stroke volume to pulmonary arterial (PA) pulse pressure, is a sensitive marker of right ventricular (RV)-PA coupling that differs across the spectrum of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and is predictive of outcomes. We assessed whether the echocardiographically derived ratio of RV outflow tract velocity time integral to PA systolic pressure (RVOT-VTI/PASP) (a) correlates with invasive PAC, (b) discriminates heart failure with preserved ejection-associated PH (HFpEF-PH) from pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and (c) is associated with functional capacity. We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients with PAH (n = 70) and HFpEF-PH (n = 86), which was further dichotomized by diastolic pressure gradient (DPG) into isolated post-capillary PH (DPG \u3c 7 mmHg; Ipc-PH, n = 54), and combined post- and pre-capillary PH (DPG ≥ 7 mm Hg; Cpc-PH, n = 32). Of the 156 patients, 146 had measurable RVOT-VTI or PASP and were included in further analysis. RVOT-VTI/PASP correlated with invasive PAC overall (ρ = 0.61, P \u3c 0.001) and for the PAH (ρ = 0.38, P = 0.002) and HFpEF-PH (ρ = 0.63, P \u3c 0.001) groups individually. RVOT-VTI/PASP differed significantly across the PH spectrum (PAH: 0.13 [0.010-0.25] vs. Cpc-PH: 0.20 [0.12-0.25] vs. Ipc-PH: 0.35 [0.22-0.44]; P \u3c 0.001), distinguished HFpEF-PH from PAH (AUC = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.63-0.81) and Cpc-PH from Ipc-PH (AUC = 0.78, 95% CI = 0.68-0.88), and remained independently predictive of 6-min walk distance after multivariate analysis (standardized β-coefficient = 27.7, 95% CI = 9.2-46.3; P = 0.004). Echocardiographic RVOT-VTI/PASP is a novel non-invasive metric of PAC that differs across the spectrum of PH. It distinguishes the degree of pre-capillary disease within HFpEF-PH and is predictive of functional capacity

Infrared spectral studies of Zn-substituted CuFeCrO4 spinel ferrite system

The spinel solid solution series Znx Cu1–x FeCrO4 with x = 0.0,0.2,0.4 and 0.6 has been studied by infrared absorption spectroscopy. The IR-spectrum showed two main absorption bands ν1 and ν2 in the range 400-600 cm-1 arising from tetrahedral (A) and octahedral (B) interstitial sites in the spinel lattice. The absence of ν4 band suggests that lattice vibrations are insignificant. No shoulder or splitting is observed around ν1 and ν2 bands confirming absence of Fe+2 ions in the system. The sharpening of band with Zn- content (x) is due to the fact that the system changes from inverse to normal spinel structure. The structural and optical properties are correlated and the bulk modulus, compressional and shear velocity values determined through IR spectral analysis are in good agreement to those obtained through ultrasonic pulse transmission technique.Author Affiliation: M C Chhantbar, U N Trivedi, P V Tanna, H J Shah, R P Vara, H H Joshi and K B Modi Department of Physics, Saurashtra University, Rajkot-360 005, Gujarat, India E-mail : [email protected] of Physics, Saurashtra University, Rajkot-360 005, Gujarat, Indi