Book-format preference and interest among students with disabilities in Nasarawa State University, Keffi

This study focused on book-format preference among students with disabilities in Nasarawa State University, keffi. Quantitative approach to research was used, survey design employed, with 60 students purposively sampled across different programmes in the university. Three null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. A 20 item questionnaire with reliability coefficient of 0.85 was developed, validated and used for data collection. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, the hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance. Findings revealed a disparity in students’ preferences, which may be attributed to types of disability, socio-economic factors of the students, personal characteristics, health of the eyes, and digital generation of the student among other factors

Day clinics and hospitals - a cost comparison

Objective. To determine the types of surgical procedures currently undertaken in day clinics and to compare the number of procedures, the average in-facility cost, and the pre- and post-discharge costs for each procedure or group of procedures.Design. A retrospective descriptive study of medical aid claims data.Setting. Department of Family Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.Subject. Three private sector medical aid schemes with in excess of 170 000 principal members (380 000 lives).Outcome measures. For each surgical procedure. the following were compared: (i) the total number of procedures done; (ii) the average total in-facility cost; and (iii) the cost of professional fees and medicines for 7 days before admission, during admission, and for 14 days after discharge.Results. During 1997, 89 216 patients underwent surgery. Day clinics and hospitals accounted for 5 490 and 83 726 admissions respectively. Fifty-one different types of procedures were identified that met the inclusion criteria.On average the in-facility costs for 45 (88%) of the 51 compared procedures were lower in day clinics compared with hospitals. Average costs can be as much as 90% lower in day clinics. Some procedures, particularly certain dental operations, cost more in day clinics. The professional fees of attending doctors and the cost of medicines are generally higher when the procedure is undertaken in a hospital.Conclusion. In South Africa, as is the case in the USA, day clinics have the potential to reduce the cost of surgical procedures

RAB25 expression is epigenetically downregulated in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with lymph node metastasis

Oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OOSCC) have a low survival rate, mainly due to metastasis to the regional lymph nodes. For optimal treatment of these metastases, a neck dissection is required; however, inaccurate detection methods results in under- and over-treatment. New DNA prognostic methylation biomarkers might improve lymph node metastases detection. To identify epigenetically regulated genes associated with lymph node metastases, genome-wide methylation analysis was performed on 6 OOSCC with (pN+) and 6 OOSCC without (pN0) lymph node metastases and combined with a gene expression signature predictive for pN+ status in OOSCC. Selected genes were validated using an independent OOSCC cohort by immunohistochemistry and pyrosequencing, and on data retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas. A two-step statistical selection of differentially methylated sequences revealed 14 genes with increased methylation status and mRNA downregulation in pN+ OOSCC. RAB25, a known tumor suppressor gene, was the highest-ranking gene in the discovery set. In the validation sets, both RAB25 mRNA (P = 0.015) and protein levels (P = 0.012) were lower in pN+ OOSCC. RAB25 mRNA levels were negatively correlated with RAB25 methylation levels (P < 0.001) but RAB25 protein expression was not. Our data revealed that promoter methylation is a mechanism resulting in downregulation of RAB25 expression in pN+ OOSCC and decreased expression is associated with lymph node metastasis. Detection of RAB25 methylation might contribute to lymph node metastasis diagnosis and serve as a potential new therapeutic target in OOSCC

Analysis of the contribution of ergonomics to the management system and organizational governance

The purpose is To analyze the application of ergonomics in management systems and organizational governance demonstrating the relevance of the potential of its application. The methodology is marked by three major stages. The first is the identification of scientific texts that address the theory of ergonomics. The second is the identification of reports of experiences of application of ergonomics. In the third, the content analysis of the identified scientific texts is carried out and the discussion of the results obtained contributing to organizational theory and practices. The findings come from literature review methods and secondary data from case studies. It concludes that the organizational culture should value the application of ergonomics in projects. The contributions of ergonomics to the management system, compliance and organizational governance are described. The main limitations present in the research are inherent to the chosen methods, that is, the Bibliographic Review does not cover all the possibilities of application of the concepts of ergonomics to the management system and to governance. The conclusions, finally, go through the subjectivity of the researcher in the analysis of the peculiarities of the case studies identified and cited. The main contributions of this work are focused on the support and guidance of organizational practices for the management system and good governance practices. The academic contribution consists of the ergonomic analyzes articulated and aggregated to the management system and organizational governance

DIAGNÓSTICO E MAPEAMENTO DE FÍSTULA – RELATO DE CASO CLÍNICO

Introdução: O abscesso dentoalveolar é uma coleção purulenta de uma infecção da polpa que se propaga até o ligamento periodontal podendo ser agudo ou crônico. À medida que evolui espontaneamente, a sintomatologia aumenta apresentando tumefação e rubor localizados na gengiva e pele, enquanto o pus procura os pontos mais fáceis para a propagação, induzindo a formação de uma fistula para drenar as secreções da necrose pulpar

Antimicrobial Resistance of Klebsiella pneumoniae -ESBL Producing Strains Isolated from Clinical Specimens in Abidjan (Cote de Ivoire)

Aims: The objective of this study is to detect the prevalence of qnr genes in broad-spectrum beta-lactamase producing Klebsiella pneumoniae, involved in hospital and community-acquired infections. Study Design: It is a retrospective study. Place and Duration of Study: Bacteriology and virology laboratorie of Institut Pasteur, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Methodology: From January 2011 to June 2016, 350 Klebsiella pneumoniae were isolated from various clinical specimens and identified by conventional bacteriological tests. Antibiotic resistance (beta-lactams, quinolones and aminoglycosides) and detection of broad-spectrum beta-lactamases were assessed by the diffusion method and the synergy test, respectively. Molecular characterization of quinolone resistance genes (qnr A, qnr B and qnr S) was performed by the conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results: Of the 350 Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates, 91(26%) were detected as ESBL producer, 36.2% (n=33) recovered from urine, 24.2% (n=22) from pus and 20.8% (n=19) from blood culture respectively. 46(33%) strains were idenifed to carry qnr genes, qnrB predominate 33(71%), followed by qnr 12(26.1%) and qnrA 1(2.2%). The strains exhibited high resistance to most of the agents tested, expect imipemen, low resistance to amikacin 4.1%, moderate to cefoxitin 31.8% and 54.9% with amoxicillin-clauvanic acid. Conclusion: Although these observed prevalences are small proportions, this can be seen as a warning signal for the future. The emergence and dissemination of resistance genes in Côte d'Ivoire could pose a public health problem. Thus, the establishment of a relevant resistance surveillance policy to better control the circulation of multidrug-resistant strains is necessary

Discovery of new methylation markers to improve screening for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2/3

Background: Assessment of DNA promoter methylation markers in cervical scrapings for the detection of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and cervical cancer is feasible, but finding methylation markers with both high sensitivity as well as high specificity remains a challenge. In this study, we aimed to identify new methylation markers for the detection of high-grade CIN (CIN2/3 or worse, CIN2+) by using innovative genome-wide methylation analysis (MethylCap-seq). We focused on diagnostic performance of methylation markers with high sensitivity and high specificity considering any methylation level as positive. Results: MethylCap-seq of normal cervices and CIN2/3 revealed 176 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) comprising 164 genes. After verification and validation of the 15 best discriminating genes with methylation-specific PCR (MSP), 9 genes showed significant differential methylation in an independent cohort of normal cervices versus CIN2/3 lesions (p < 0.05). For further diagnostic evaluation, these 9 markers were tested with quantitative MSP (QMSP) in cervical scrapings from 2 cohorts: (1) cervical carcinoma versus healthy controls and (2) patients referred from population-based screening with an abnormal Pap smear in whom also HPV status was determined. Methylation levels of 8/9 genes were significantly higher in carcinoma compared to normal scrapings. For all 8 genes, methylation levels increased with the severity of the underlying histological lesion in scrapings from patients referred with an abnormal Pap smear. In addition, the diagnostic performance was investigated, using these 8 new genes and 4 genes (previously identified by our group: C13ORF18, JAM3, EPB41L3, and TERT). In a triage setting (after a positive Pap smear), sensitivity for CIN2+ of the best combination of genes (C13ORF18/JAM3/ANKRD18CP) (74 %) was comparable to hrHPV testing (79 %), while specificity was significantly higher (76 % versus 42 %, p <= 0.05). In addition, in hrHPV-positive scrapings, sensitivity and specificity for CIN2+ of this best-performing combination was comparable to the population referred with abnormal Pap smear. Conclusions: We identified new CIN2/3-specific methylation markers using genome-wide DNA methylation analysis. The diagnostic performance of our new methylation panel shows higher specificity, which should result in prevention of unnecessary colposcopies for women referred with abnormal cytology. In addition, these newly found markers might be applied as a triage test in hrHPV-positive women from population-based screening. The next step before implementation in primary screening programs will be validation in population-based cohorts

Dietary diversity in primary schoolchildren of south-central Côte d'Ivoire and risk factors for non-communicable diseases

BACKGROUND: A balanced nutrition is important for children's physical and cognitive development; yet, remains a challenge in many parts of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Early detection of nutritional deficiency and metabolic syndrome in school-aged children is necessary to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in later life. This study aimed at obtaining baseline data on health, nutritional status, and metabolic markers of NCDs among primary schoolchildren in Cote d'Ivoire. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 620 children from 8 public primary schools located in the south-central part of Cote d'Ivoire. Underweight and overweight were defined as a body mass index (BMI; kg/m2) < 5th and 85th up to 95th percentile for sex and age, respectively. Dietary diversity of children was calculated based on a 24-hour recall conducted with the primary caretaker according to the guideline of Food and Agriculture Organization. Anaemia, malaria, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and blood glucose levels (HbA1c) were assessed, using capillary blood samples. Logistic models were performed to identify risk factors associated with overweight, HDL-C, LDL-C, and HbA1c. RESULTS: Among the 620 children (330 girls, 290 boys; Mage 8.0 (+/- 1.7) years), 530 children attended school in a semi-urban and 90 in a rural area. Around 60% of children had a medium dietary diversity score (DDS). Children in peri-urban areas consumed more cereals (80.2% vs. 63.3%, p < 0.05). Most children were normal weight (n = 496), whereas 3.9% of children classified as prediabetic, 5% were underweight, and 15% overweight. LDL-C and HDL-C levels of children were associated with age, high DDS, and moderate anaemia. A significant association was found between prediabetes and malaria infection, as well as medium and high DDS. Overweight was associated with malaria infection and moderate anaemia. CONCLUSION: Overweight, prediabetes, low HDL-C, malaria, and anaemia are the main concerns of children's health in Taabo. Our findings highlight interactions between infectious diseases, particularly malaria, and NCD risk factors. Monitoring NCD risk and infectious disease comorbidity in LMIC paediatric populations simultaneously is essential to better understand the dual diseases burden and apply early prevention measures