Early functional and radiological outcomes between plaster cast and fiberlass cast in stable thoracolumbar burst fracture

Introduction: Burst fracture results from compression failure of both the anterior and middle columns under substantial axial loads. Conservative treatment was a method of treatment for fractures without neurological deficit. This cross sectional study was designed to evaluate the functional and radiological outcome of patient with thoracolumbar burst fracture treated conservatively. Methods: 40 cases were recruited from January 2013 till December 2015. They were followed-up with minimum period of 1 year and evaluated for the functional (Oswetry Disbility Index) and radiological outcomes (kyphotic angle deformity and anterior body compression). Results: 20 patients were treated with body cast made form plaster of Paris and remaining 20 patients with fiberglass cast. In plaster of Paris group, mean kyphotic angle deformity at last follow up was 16.60 ± 2.95 with a mean improvement 4.45 degree and anterior body compression at last follow up was 30.35% ± 10.2 with mean improvement of 9.30%. In fiberglass group, mean kyphotic angle deformity at last follow up was 15.55 ± 3.38 with a mean improvement 7.25 degree and anterior body compression at last follow up was 25.90% ± 7.81 with mean improvement of 3.45%. The functional outcome showed Oswetry Disability Index (ODI) score in plaster of Paris group was 23.70 (SD = 7.82) and in fiberglass group was 18.50 (SD = 5.94). Conclusions: Application of body cast using a fiberglass material give better radiological outcome hence less pain, more functional and higher patient’s satisfaction as compared to plaster of Paris

Unexpected case of ankle tuberculosis in a young professionals leading to delay in diagnosis

We report a case of a 38 year-old engineer presented with left ankle pain for 2 years and initially treated as gouty arthritis because of high serum uric acid. A year later his left ankle become swollen and plain radiograph showed soft tissue swelling around the ankle with normal articular surface and bone. An MRI investigation reported as gouty arthritis of ankle with tophi. While on treatment for gouty arthritis, he developed pus discharge from the swelling. The ankle pain also worsen and he was unable to weight bear on the affected leg. An incision and drainage shown pus from the ankle joint which grew pseudomonas aeruginosa. He was treated with intravenous followed by oral ciprofloxacin 250 mg bd. However his condition does not improved and a month after antibiotic treatment a repeated radiograph shows narrowing of joint space with irregular cortical destruction, osteopenic bone . suggestive of worsening of his septic arthritis. During this period he deny of having any fever, cough or night sweats. However he did notice some loss of weight and loss of appetite. He has worked in Africa and Russia before in petroleum industry. After 4 months of antibiotic and no sign of improvement, a biopsy and repeat culture was taken from the ankle which reveal tuberculous arthritis and positive for AFB culture. A plain chest radiograph revealed miliary tuberculosis picture. He was started on a anti TB treatment and the wound healed after a few weeks. After 4 months of treatment he was able to walk without support with reduce ankle range of motion. This case illustrate that the diagnosis was delay because tuberculosis was not suspected in a young professionals with ankle pain and elevated serum uric acid level. Further delay in diagnosis because MRI report also suggestive of gouty tophi and the pus culture and sensitivity grew pseudomonas aeruginosa

The role of human and organizational culture in the context of technological change

The purpose of this paper is to understand the role of three main factors of management: information technology (IT), people, and organizational culture. The first section identifies some managerial challenges, which are inherent in any technological change. Essentially, the change process highlights the interdependent relationship of those three main factors. In the second section, issues of technology, people and organizational culture are discussed in further detail, with some examples from literature. Why people change, what it takes to minimize resistance and how to make change successful are questions that emerge again and again and need further understanding. Consequently, by reviewing the relevant literatures, the authors summarize some of the research with a focus on the decisions made by management when selecting new systems. They investigate those decisions with respect to the three distinct "threads" or factors that directly influence technological change. Lastly, by establishing fundamental propositions, the final two sections provide some implications and conclusions as well as possibilities for future researc

Islamic perspective: Virtual worlds as a western-centric technology

Although the number of virtual worlds and their participants is growing rapidly, this phenomena is primarily a Western Culture dominated environment. There is little if any attention paid to other cultures.This article examines this issue from an Islamic perspective? It examines the assumption that if virtual worlds are to become a truly global platform for collaboration, particularly in multinational enterprises, then it will be essential to "encode" the flexibility for social interactions to take place in a way that is sensitive to other cultures

Exploring the state of discipline on the formation of swift trust within global virtual teams

The study of global virtual teams (GVTs) is important in the Information System (IS) field because GVTs employ a work structure that is heavily dependent on information communication technology.Besides the use of technology, GVTs are also composed of people from different cultural backgrounds.As such, GVTs are challenged not only to collaborate and coordinate projects in a virtual environment, but also to promote a trusting working relationship among culturally diverse members. In this meta-synthesis research, we sampled 3239 documents spanning fifteen (15) years, from 1995-2010 in seven (N=7) top IS journals.Trained coders read through all the articles systematically and coded the contents manually; only 55 useable articles were found that matched three or four of the codes (i.e., GVTs, virtual teams, trust, and swift trust).In the 15-year period, we found a startling result: less than 2% of articles published in the selected top IS journals have discussed this crucial topic. Hence, many more studies are warranted in order for the topic to be fully understood by IS scholars. We present the findings based on two thematic analyses: 1) GVTs vs. virtual teams and 2) GVT and trust and swift trust

Scanning electron microscopic evaluation of natural coral (Porites sp.) post-implantation in sheep femur

The study was carried out with the aim to evaluate natural coral (Porites spp.) implanted in sheep femur using SEM. Twelve adult, male sheep divided into four groups (n=3) were used in this study. The large bone defect (2.5x0.5x05 cm) was created surgically under general anaesthesia on the left proximal femur. The defect area was implanted with coral and monitored for up to 12 weeks. Implants were harvested at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks intervals and subjected for scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that natural coral was found to be a biodegradable and osteo-conductive biomaterial, which acted as a scaffold for a direct osteoblastic apposition

al-Tanmiyyah al-zira’iyyah al-mustadamah fi al-Sudan bayna al-tumuh wa al-waqi‘

This paper dealt with the subject of sustainable agricultural development in Sudan, whereby it mentioned the importance and status of the agricultural sector in Sudan to the citizens and the whole world. Sudan represents the food basket of the Arab, Islamic and African world and is one of the dependable countries in achieving world food security. The paper also addressed the types of agriculture in Sudan and the arrangement of agricultural crops grown in Sudan and its position on the global map of agricultural products. The data of this research has been collected from the sources and references that dealt with these aspects in addition to the reports available at various authorities, especially the Sudanese Governmental bodies represented in the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Sudan, and materials, reports, studies and researches published in the World Wide Web (Internet). This paper concluded that Sudan has many geographical components that can make it a pioneer in the field of sustainable agricultural development, due to its potentialities to produce various agricultural crops that contribute to the achievement of food security for it and for the world as a whole. With these potentialities it can play an effective role in alleviating poverty and achieving sustainable agricultural development conducive to economic and social development based upon agricultural production. The components of sustainable agricultural development in the Sudan are the diversity of the climate, the diversity of agricultural land, the different soil and the availability of water resources from many sources, such as the Nile River, its tributaries, groundwater and rainwater. This is in addition to the availability of suitable areas for agriculture and the existence of agricultural workers with extensive technical expertise and full knowledge of various agricultural works. The paper also concluded that Sudan has a wide variety of agricultural crops, but it faces many problems that negatively impact crop areas and the quantities produced. These include drought, desertification, poor agricultural finance and the lack of modern scientific methods in agriculture and narrow markets. The paper recommended the need for agricultural finance, the opening of new markets abroad, the expansion of modern methods, the development of new varieties of improved seeds and the fight against drought and desertification. تناولت هذه الورقة موضوع التنمية الزراعية المستدامة في السودان، حيث أوردت أهمية ومكانة القطاع الزراعي في السودان بالنسبة للمواطنين وبالنسبة للعالم أجمع ،فالسودان يمثل سلة غذاء العالم العربي والإسلامي والإفريقي وهو من الدول المعوَل عليها في تحقيق الأمن الغذائي للعالم أجمع ،كما تناولت هذه الورقة أنواع الزراعة في السودان وترتيب المحاصيل الزراعية التي تُزرع في السودان ووضعها في الخارطة العالمية للمنتوجات الزراعية، وقد تم جمع مادة هذه الورقة من المصادر والمراجع التي تناولت هذه الجوانب بالإضافة الى التقارير المتوفرة لدى الجهات المختلفة وخاصه الجهات الحكومية السودانية متمثلة في وزارة الزراعة بجمهورية السودان، والمواد والتقارير والدراسات والبحوث المنشورة في الشبكة العالمية العنكبوتية (الإنترنت) .وخلصت هذه الورقة الى أن السودان يمتلك مقومات جغرافية عديدة يمكن أن تجعله رائداَ في مجال التنمية الزراعية المستدامة ؛ لماله من الإمكانات لإنتاج محاصيل زراعية مختلفة تساهم في تحقيق الأمن الغذائي له وللعالم أجمع وبهذه الإمكانيات يمكن أن يلعب دوراً فاعلاً في تخفيف حدّة الفقر وتحقيق تنمية زراعية مستدامة تؤدى الى تنمية اقتصادية واجتماعية ،أساسها الإنتاج الزراعي. وتتمثل مقومات التنمية الزراعية المستدامة في السودان في تنوع المناخ وتنوع الأرض الزراعية مختلفة التربة وتوفر موارد مائية من مصادر عديدة، كنهر النيل وروافده والمياه الجوفية ومياه الأمطار هذا بجانب توفر المساحات الصالحة للزراعة ووجود عمالة زراعية ذات خبرة فنية واسعة ومعرفة تامة بالأعمال الزراعية المختلفة. وخلصت هذه الورقة أيضاً الى أن للسودان محاصيل زراعية متنوعة وكثيرة ولكنه يواجه الكثير من المشاكل التي تؤثر سلباً على المساحات المزروعة بالمحاصيل والكميات المنتجة منها، ومن هذه المشاكل الجفاف والتصحر وضعف التمويل الزراعي وعدم استخدام الأساليب العلمية الحديثة في الزراعة وضيق الأسواق.  وأوصت هذه الورقة بضرورة توفير التمويل الزراعي، وفتح أسواق جديدة بالخارج والتوسع في الأساليب الحديثة واستنباط أصناف جديدة من البذور المحسنة ومكافحة الجفاف والتصحر

Review of fracture cases in cats and dogs presented to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital UPM

A review of the distribution of fracture cases in cats and dogs presented in the UVH-UPM within period of 10 years (1991 to 2001) are discussed

Comparing The Ability to Treat Artificial Cow Wastewater by Constructed Wetland Model Using Sorghastrum nutans and Brachiaria humidicola

In addition to meat production, the cattle industry generates significant waste, including bedding materials, wastewater, animal manure, and losses related to feed. If not managed correctly, these byproducts can have adverse environmental impacts. Constructed wetlands (CWs) offer a cost-effective and eco-friendly solution for sustainable wastewater treatment. By virtue of their extensive root systems and filtration matrices, CWs effectively reduce pollution by eliminating suspended particles, organic matter, heavy metals, and pathogens from wastewater. This research aims to assess pollutants present in cattle wastewater and evaluate the efficacy of Sorghastrum nutans and Brachiaria humidicola in purifying contaminants within constructed wetlands (CWs). CWs planted with B. humidicola exhibited higher removal rates for nutrient pollutants compared to CWs utilizing S. nutans. After a week of treatment, B. humidicola-based CWs demonstrated removal percentages of 94.07% for total nitrogen and 91.58% for phosphate (PO₄³⁻). Constructed wetlands also prove effective in eliminating biological contaminants like Escherichia coli and Shigella sp. This study highlights that the CW model incorporating B. humidicola outperforms the S. nutans model, achieving 100% removal of E. coli and 97.37% removal of Shigella sp. In conclusion, cow wastewater contains nutrient and biological pollutants, both effectively mitigated by CWs using selected plant species. Notably, B. humidicola surpasses S. nutans in its capacity for pollutant removal