Patterns of MRI Findings in Patients with Chronic Headache: A Retrospective Study from a Private Diagnostic Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Headache is one of the most common complaints that lead the patient to seek medical advice however only a few patients with recurrent headaches have a secondary cause like intracranial mass. The appropriate utilization of neuroimaging is important to rule-out secondary cause of headache in resource-limited regions. The objective of this study is to describe the patterns of MRI findings in the evaluation of patients with chronic headache and to determine the clinical variables helpful in identifying patients with intracranial lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross sectional study was conducted among 590 selected patients who underwent an MRI scan of the head from September 2016 to January 2018 at Wudassie Diagnostic center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Siemens Magnetom 0.35T MRI was used. RESULTS: Out of 590 patients, 372 (63.1%) were females and 218 (36.9%) were males; 300 (50.8%) patients with the mean age of 38.6 + 0.5 years and a median of 37 + 16.7years have normal brain MRI and 290(49.2%) have abnormal brain MRI reports. The abnormal findings further divided into non-significant findings were 166(28%) that did not alter patient management and clinically significant findings were 124 (21%) which included by decreasing order of frequency tumors, infection, hydrocephalus, hemorrhage, and vascular abnormalities. CONCLUSION: It was 1.3 times higher rate of positive brain MR findings in patients who had headaches plus abnormal neurologic findings as compared to patients without neurologic abnormality (P-value = 0.01).  There is a high rate of significant abnormal MRI findings in this study as compared to studies from developed nations

Early Grade Mathematics in Ethiopia: Alignment of Contents in the Textbooks with the Corresponding Syllabuses

An alignment of textbooks with their corresponding syllabuses contributes to effective learning. This study examined the alignment of the Ethiopian early grade (grades 1-4) mathematics textbooks (EEGMTB) with their corresponding syllabuses. Four early grade mathematics teachers at Halaba Zone of South Nations and Nationalities Peoples Reginal State (SNNPRS) participated in this study. In addition, curriculum experts at the zone and the ministry of education (MoE) participated. Data were collected through interview and document analysis by using a content analysis protocol developed by reviewing different studies on textbook quality (Bhatti, Jumani, & Bilal, 2015; Fuchs, 2013; Hashmi, Hussain, & Shoaib, 2018; Sunday, 2014; Taye, 2011), and validated. The data were analyzed qualitatively and the percentage was used to summarize the findings. The findings of this study depict that EEGMTBs were not completely aligned with the corresponding syllabuses as expected. Therefore, the study recommends special focus to be given to the alignment of textbooks with the corresponding syllabuses, especially in considering the learning outcomes when developing the textbooks. The study also suggests further research on the adequacy of the contents of early grade textbooks to equip early children with the necessary knowledge and skills expected at the level

Ocular Dermoid in Crossbred calf- A Case Report

The present paper deals with a typical case of ocular dermoid cyst in three weeks old crossbred calf. The patient had a history of lacrimation and a hairy growth in the left eye. Based on the history and clinical examination, the case was diagnosed as ocular dermoid cyst and removed successfully by superficial keratectomy.Key words: Calf, Dermoid, Keratectomy, Teratolog

Preparation materials for final examination on human anatomy specialiti 1 79 01 01 (General medicine)

АНАТОМИЯ ЧЕЛОВЕКАУЧЕБНЫЕ ПОСОБИЯПОДГОТОВИТЕЛЬНЫЕ МАТЕРИАЛЫМАТЕРИАЛЫ К ЭКЗАМЕНУТЕСТЫПособие включает подготовительные материалы для студентов медицинских вузов к экзамену по анатомии человека

A Roadmap for Building Data Science Capacity for Health Discovery and Innovation in Africa

Technological advances now make it possible to generate diverse, complex and varying sizes of data in a wide range of applications from business to engineering to medicine. In the health sciences, in particular, data are being produced at an unprecedented rate across the full spectrum of scientific inquiry spanning basic biology, clinical medicine, public health and health care systems. Leveraging these data can accelerate scientific advances, health discovery and innovations. However, data are just the raw material required to generate new knowledge, not knowledge on its own, as a pile of bricks would not be mistaken for a building. In order to solve complex scientific problems, appropriate methods, tools and technologies must be integrated with domain knowledge expertise to generate and analyze big data. This integrated interdisciplinary approach is what has become to be widely known as data science. Although the discipline of data science has been rapidly evolving over the past couple of decades in resource-rich countries, the situation is bleak in resource-limited settings such as most countries in Africa primarily due to lack of well-trained data scientists. In this paper, we highlight a roadmap for building capacity in health data science in Africa to help spur health discovery and innovation, and propose a sustainable potential solution consisting of three key activities: a graduate-level training, faculty development, and stakeholder engagement. We also outline potential challenges and mitigating strategies

Empathy without borders? Cross-cultural heart and mind-reading in first-year medical students

Background: This cross-cultural study was designed to examine cultural differences in empathy levels of first-year medical students.Methods: A total of 257 students from the academic year 2010/11, 131 at Jimma University, Ethiopia, and 126 at the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany, completed the Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale (BEES), the Reading the Mind in the Eyes (RME-R) test, and a  questionnaire on sociodemographic and cultural characteristics. Furthermore, we conducted a qualitative analysis of the students’ personal views on the definition of empathy and possible influencing factors. Group comparisons and correlation analyses of empathy scores were performed for the entire cohort and for the Jimma and Munich students separately. We used a regression tree analysis to identify factors influencing the BEES.Results: The male students in Jimma (39.1 ± 22.3) scored significantly higher in the BEES than those male students from Munich (27.2 ± 22.6; p = 0.0002). There was no significant difference between the female groups. We found a moderate, positive correlation between the BEES and RME-R test, i.e. between emotional and cognitive empathy, within each university. Nevertheless, the RME-R test, which shows only Caucasian eyes, appears not to be suitable for use in other cultures.Conclusions: The main findings of our study were the influence of culture, religion, specialization choice, and gender on emotional empathy (assessed with the BEES) and cognitive empathy (assessed with the RME-R test) in first-year medical students. Further research is required into the nature of empathy in worldwide medical curricula.Keywords: Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale, Cross-cultural, Empathy, Medical Student

Transcript profiling of two alfalfa genotypes with contrasting cell wall composition in stems using a cross-species platform: optimizing analysis by masking biased probes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The GeneChip^®<it>Medicago </it>Genome Array, developed for <it>Medicago truncatula</it>, is a suitable platform for transcript profiling in tetraploid alfalfa [<it>Medicago sativa </it>(L.) subsp. <it>sativa</it>]. However, previous research involving cross-species hybridization (CSH) has shown that sequence variation between two species can bias transcript profiling by decreasing sensitivity (number of expressed genes detected) and the accuracy of measuring fold-differences in gene expression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Transcript profiling using the <it>Medicago </it>GeneChip^®was conducted with elongating stem (ES) and post-elongation stem (PES) internodes from alfalfa genotypes 252 and 1283 that differ in stem cell wall concentrations of cellulose and lignin. A protocol was developed that masked probes targeting inter-species variable (ISV) regions of alfalfa transcripts. A probe signal intensity threshold was selected that optimized both sensitivity and accuracy. After masking for both ISV regions and previously identified single-feature polymorphisms (SFPs), the number of differentially expressed genes between the two genotypes in both ES and PES internodes was approximately 2-fold greater than the number detected prior to masking. Regulatory genes, including transcription factor and receptor kinase genes that may play a role in development of secondary xylem, were significantly over-represented among genes up-regulated in 252 PES internodes compared to 1283 PES internodes. Several cell wall-related genes were also up-regulated in genotype 252 PES internodes. Real-time quantitative RT-PCR of differentially expressed regulatory and cell wall-related genes demonstrated increased sensitivity and accuracy after masking for both ISV regions and SFPs. Over 1,000 genes that were differentially expressed in ES and PES internodes of genotypes 252 and 1283 were mapped onto putative orthologous loci on <it>M. truncatula </it>chromosomes. Clustering simulation analysis of the differentially expressed genes suggested co-expression of some neighbouring genes on <it>Medicago </it>chromosomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The problems associated with transcript profiling in alfalfa stems using the <it>Medicago </it>GeneChip as a CSH platform were mitigated by masking probes targeting ISV regions and SFPs. Using this masking protocol resulted in the identification of numerous candidate genes that may contribute to differences in cell wall concentration and composition of stems of two alfalfa genotypes.</p

Prevalence of Trachoma in Gambella Region, Ethiopia: Results of Three Population-Based Prevalence Surveys Conducted with the Global Trachoma Mapping Project.

PURPOSE: In Ethiopia, trachoma is a major public health problem, accounting for 11.5% of all cases of blindness. In Gambella, one of the country's most remote regions, the 2005-2006 National Survey of Blindness, Low Vision and Trachoma estimated a region-level prevalence of active trachoma of 19.1% in those aged 1-9 years. Detailed district or sub-regional level estimates are required to implement interventions. METHODS: Population-based prevalence surveys were carried out following a 2-stage cluster random sampling methodology and Global Trachoma Mapping Project protocols. As the 13 districts (woredas) in Gambella had relatively small populations, they were grouped together to form three evaluation units (EUs) of about 100,000 persons each, and all subsequent survey planning and sampling was carried out at EU-level. RESULTS: Altogether, 558 cases of TF (17.2%) were identified in 3238 children aged 1-9 years across the three EUs. The adjusted TF prevalences in 1-9-year-olds for the three EUs were 11.5%, 12.5% and 19.3%; 14.4% for Gambella overall. A total of 142 cases of trichiasis (3.8%) were identified among 3781 adults aged 15 years or older, with age- and sex-adjusted EU-level trichiasis prevalences in adults being 0.8%, 1.3% and 2.4%; 1.5% overall. CONCLUSION: The high prevalences of TF and trichiasis throughout Gambella indicate a need for rapid scaling up of the World Health Organization SAFE strategy (surgery, antibiotics, facial cleanliness, and environmental improvement) to help meet the 2020 target of global elimination of trachoma as a public health problem