Implementation Assessment of Electronic Records Management System in Bayelsa State, Nigeria

The quality of information available to medical practitioners when delivering treatment to patients influences the outcome of service delivery. In the healthcare industry, health information technology has been shown to improve patient safety and treatment quality. The purpose of this research is to identify the facilitators and hurdles to the deployment of an electronic records management system at NDUTH, Okolobiri. For this study, a descriptive cross-sectional research design was used. The stratified random sample was taken from the 204 staff members that participated in the survey at NDUTH Okolobiri. Telephone interviews were also conducted with a small number of hospital staff who had deployed the electronic records system. According to the findings, the majority of participants (51.0%) were female, with an average age of 37(SD+9.0) years. The respondents’ overall understanding of electronic records management systems was 45.9%. The overall implementation rate was 22.8%. The study’s facilitators were leadership support along with the availability of ICT equipment, whereas the barriers were funding, a lack of power, insufficient ICT infrastructures, administrative challenges, poor staff compliance, a lack of government support, and poor maintenance of software and ICT equipment. The findings indicate that government and private enterprises should invest more in healthcare delivery via electronic records management systems. This is critical because the quality of information that medical practitioners have access to when caring for patients influences the effectiveness of health service delivery. It has also been discovered to ensure the proper operation of health institutions

Dual functionality of <i>O</i>-GlcNAc transferase is required for <i>Drosophila </i>development

Post-translational modification of intracellular proteins with O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAc) catalysed by O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) has been linked to regulation of diverse cellular functions. OGT possesses a C-terminal glycosyltransferase catalytic domain and N-terminal tetratricopeptide repeats that are implicated in protein–protein interactions. Drosophila OGT (DmOGT) is encoded by super sex combs (sxc), mutants of which are pupal lethal. However, it is not clear if this phenotype is caused by reduction of O-GlcNAcylation. Here we use a genetic approach to demonstrate that post-pupal Drosophila development can proceed with negligible OGT catalysis, while early embryonic development is OGT activity-dependent. Structural and enzymatic comparison between human OGT (hOGT) and DmOGT informed the rational design of DmOGT point mutants with a range of reduced catalytic activities. Strikingly, a severely hypomorphic OGT mutant complements sxc pupal lethality. However, the hypomorphic OGT mutant-rescued progeny do not produce F2 adults, because a set of Hox genes is de-repressed in F2 embryos, resulting in homeotic phenotypes. Thus, OGT catalytic activity is required up to late pupal stages, while further development proceeds with severely reduced OGT activity

Targeting a critical step in fungal hexosamine biosynthesis

Acknowledgements We wish to thank the Dundee Drug Discovery Unit for access to the Fragment library and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Grenoble and Diamond Light Source, Oxford for time at the beamline. The assistance from Mr Martin Kierans, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee with the Electron Microscopy is gratefully acknowledged. Funding and additional information This work was supported by a Wellcome Trust Postdoctoral Research Training Fellowship for Clinicians (WT105772/A/14/Z) to DL and an MRC Programme Grant (MR/M004139/1) to DMFvA. DB was funded by a University of Aberdeen Summer Research Scholarship.Peer reviewedPostprintPublisher PD

A Systematic Approach to Study Electoral Fraud

Integrity of elections relies on fair procedures at di?erent stages of the election process, and fraud can occur in many instances and di?erent forms. This paper provides a general approach for the detection of fraud. While most existing contributions focus on a single instance and form of fraud, we propose a more encompassing approach, testing for several empirical implications of di?erent possible forms of fraud. To illustrate this approach we rely on a case of electoral irregularities in one of the oldest democracies: In a Swiss referendum in 2011, one in twelve municipalities irregularly destroyed the ballots, rendering a recount impossible. We do not know whether this happened due to sloppiness, or to cover possible fraudulent actions. However, one of our statistical tests leads to results, which points to irregularities in some of the municipalities, which lost their ballots: they reported significantly fewer empty ballots than the other municipalities. Relying on several tests leads to the well known multiple comparisons problem. We show two strategies and illustrate strengths and weaknesses of each potential way to deal with multiple tests

Infected pancreatic necrosis: outcomes and clinical predictors of mortality. A post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study

: The identification of high-risk patients in the early stages of infected pancreatic necrosis (IPN) is critical, because it could help the clinicians to adopt more effective management strategies. We conducted a post hoc analysis of the MANCTRA-1 international study to assess the association between clinical risk factors and mortality among adult patients with IPN. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify prognostic factors of mortality. We identified 247 consecutive patients with IPN hospitalised between January 2019 and December 2020. History of uncontrolled arterial hypertension (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.135-15.882; aOR 4.245), qSOFA (p = 0.005; 95% CI 1.359-5.879; aOR 2.828), renal failure (p = 0.022; 95% CI 1.138-5.442; aOR 2.489), and haemodynamic failure (p = 0.018; 95% CI 1.184-5.978; aOR 2.661), were identified as independent predictors of mortality in IPN patients. Cholangitis (p = 0.003; 95% CI 1.598-9.930; aOR 3.983), abdominal compartment syndrome (p = 0.032; 95% CI 1.090-6.967; aOR 2.735), and gastrointestinal/intra-abdominal bleeding (p = 0.009; 95% CI 1.286-5.712; aOR 2.710) were independently associated with the risk of mortality. Upfront open surgical necrosectomy was strongly associated with the risk of mortality (p &lt; 0.001; 95% CI 1.912-7.442; aOR 3.772), whereas endoscopic drainage of pancreatic necrosis (p = 0.018; 95% CI 0.138-0.834; aOR 0.339) and enteral nutrition (p = 0.003; 95% CI 0.143-0.716; aOR 0.320) were found as protective factors. Organ failure, acute cholangitis, and upfront open surgical necrosectomy were the most significant predictors of mortality. Our study confirmed that, even in a subgroup of particularly ill patients such as those with IPN, upfront open surgery should be avoided as much as possible. Study protocol registered in ClinicalTrials.Gov (I.D. Number NCT04747990)

Early Diagnosis of HIV Infection in Infants - One Caribbean and Six Sub-Saharan African Countries, 2011-2015.

Pediatric human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection remains an important public health issue in resource-limited settings. In 2015, 1.4 million children aged 50% decline. The most common challenges for access to testing for early infant diagnosis included difficulties in specimen transport, long turnaround time between specimen collection and receipt of results, and limitations in supply chain management. Further reductions in HIV mortality in children can be achieved through continued expansion and improvement of services for early infant diagnosis in PEPFAR-supported countries, including initiatives targeted to reach HIV-exposed infants, ensure access to programs for early infant diagnosis of HIV, and facilitate prompt linkage to treatment for children diagnosed with HIV infection

The Potential Social Impacts of Shale Gas Development in North Carolina

A review and analysis of the potential social impacts of developing shale gas in North Carolina

Dunn County and Watford City, North Dakota: A case study of the fiscal effects of Bakken shale development

The Bakken region of North Dakota and Montana has experienced perhaps the greatest effects of increased oil and gas development in the United States, with major implications for local governments. Though development of the Bakken began in the early 2000s, large-scale drilling and population growth dramatically affected the region from roughly 2008 through today. This case study examines the local government fiscal benefits and challenges experienced by Dunn County and Watford City, which lie near the heart of the producing region. For both local governments, the initial growth phase presented major fiscal challenges due to rapidly expanding service demands and insufficient revenue. In the following years, these challenges eased as demand for services slowed due to declining industry activity and state tax policies redirected more funds to localities. Looking forward, both local governments describe their fiscal health as stronger because of the Bakken boom, though higher debt loads and an economy heavily dependent on the volatile oil and gas industry each pose challenges for future fiscal stability.Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio