Novel macroporous polymers synthesised via new Pickering medium and high internal phase emulsion templates

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Amputation in emergency situations: indications, techniques and Médecins Sans Frontières France's experience in Haiti

PURPOSE: The decision to amputate is always difficult but becomes even harder in emergency situations, which usually present extra complicating factors. MSF EXPERIENCE: These include human factors (related to both the surgeon and the patient); poor or nonexistent medical facilities, especially in war conditions or resource-poor countries; and cultural and religious considerations. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has developed a quick medical and logistical response that relies on surgical protocols adapted to emergency situations, together with complete "kits" of medical equipment, supplies and inflatable facilities. CONCLUSION: Our response to Haiti's 2010 earthquake relied on these tools but also highlighted the need to develop more detailed protocols that will help our teams on the ground

Highly permeable macroporous polymers synthesized from pickering medium and high internal phase emulsion templates

Open porous poly-Plckerlng-M/HIPEs with permeabilities of up to 2.6 D were prepared by polymerisation of PickeringM/HIPEs to which small amounts of surfactant were added. The permeability of these poly-Pickering-M/HIPEs is more than 5 times that of conventional polyHI PEs. This approach allows the synthesis of a novel class of permeable particle reinforced macroporous polymers with significant potential for practical exploitation. (Figure Presented) © 2010 WILEY-VCH VerlagGmbH S.Co. KCaA, Weinheim

Bacteriological Examination of Chronic Osteomyelitis cases in Ile-Ife, southwestern Nigeria.

The bacteriological examination of chronic osteomyelitis cases in lle-lfe, revealed Proteus mirabilisas the p'redominant isolate encountered (23.1 %). Staphylococci constituted 30.7% of the total bacterial isolates with Staphylococcus aureus accounting for only 1 0.2%. Other Gram-positive cocci cultured include, Staphylococcus spp (20.5%), coagulase negative staphylococci (CONS) (12.8%) and Streptococcus spp.{1.2%). Gram-negative rods constituted 55.1% of the total isolates with Pseudomonas aeruginosa being 8.5%, Eschericia coli 5.1% Citrobacter freundii, Salmonella spp 2.5% each. Antibiotic sensitivity test revealed all isolates to be multi-resistant to traditional antimicrobials, which is of epidemiologcal importance in treating cases of chronic osteomyelitis in this environment The studv suaaests institution of aoaressive theraoeutic interventions to avert oossible seaualae

Do Enforcement Actions by US Federal Banking Regulators Against Banks for Unsound And Unsafe Banking Practices Deter Further and Future Wrongdoing? A Way Forward.

“Wells Fargo fined $1 billion for ‘reckless unsafe or unsound practices.”1 The story behind this headline in the Washington Post on April 20, 2018, set out the problem. Wells Fargo engaged in “unsafe or unsound practices”2 by charging customers for services that Wells Fargo should have absorbed and administering a compulsory insurance scheme that unnecessarily increased borrowers auto loans financial obligation without approval. 3 According to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), “Since at least 2011, the Bank4 (Wells Fargo) has failed to implement and maintain a compliance risk management program commensurate with the Bank’s size, complexity and risk profile.”5 The OCC also found that “a comprehensive plan to address compliance risk management deficiencies, fill critical staffing positions,” 6 enforce “a reliable risk assessment and testing program and report compliance concerns adequately to the board was” 7 not implemented.”

An Approach to Planning for Physician Manpower Requirements in Developing Countries Using Dynamic Programming

Physician manpower requirements of most developing countries can often be met by developing local training facilities, sending indigenes to train abroad, and/or by recruiting expatriate physicians. Foreign training and having expatriates often involve expenditures of scarce foreign exchange in competition with other development projects. This paper develops a manpower planning model which coordinates physician manpower requirements of a developing country with its capacity to train such physicians along with national objectives to contain costs. The paper presents computational results from a dynamic programming model using the best data available from Nigeria

Performance of the Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male questionnaire for the clinical detection of androgen deficiency in black sub-Saharan African men with Type-2 diabetes mellitus

Background: The Androgen Deficiency in Aging Male (ADAM) questionnaire is increasingly popular for evaluation of androgen deficiency (AD) in sub-Saharan African men with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). However, its reliability in this population is unknown.Methods: Total testosterone < 8 nmol/L was used as the gold standard for diagnosis of AD in this cross-sectional survey of 200 type 2 DM males aged 30–69 years. Participants also completed the Saint Louis University ADAM questionnaire whereby AD was diagnosed by a ‘yes’ answer to question 1 (reduced libido) or 7 (erectile dysfunction) or any other three questions. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and overall accuracy of the ADAM tool were computed.Results: The mean age of the participants was 58.0 ± 8.8 years. A total of 142 subjects (71.0%) had AD based on the ADAM questionnaire. However, AD was biochemically confirmed in 59 subjects (29.5%). The ADAM questionnaire rendered a sensitivity of 88.1%, specificity of 44.7%, PPV of 50.0%, NPV of 85.7% and accuracy of 61.4%.Conclusion: Despite an impressive sensitivity, the low specificity and overall accuracy of the ADAM questionnaire makes it unreliable for the detection of AD in sub-Saharan African men with type 2 DM.Keywords: ADAM, Africa, androgen, Nigeria, testosterone, type 2 diabete

Environmental Consequences of Solar Energy Development and Other Sources of Energy

In recent years, scientists are increasingly raising the question of the huge impact of solar energy on the ecology of our world. This study attempts to unveil the relationship between the development of solar energy and the threat of growth of environmental problems. Thus, the stream of solar energy simply has to be taken under the control of people and used as much as possible, but with the preservation of the unique earth's climate. At the moment, it is no secret that carbon resources are being depleted very rapidly, and if the search for alternative sources of energy in the near future will not succeed, then the prospects for our civilization are absolutely small. So, among the possible successors that are able to pick up the baton of traditional energy, the most attractive among alternative energy sources is solar energy, which is considered environmentally friendly. Keywords: Solar energy, energy, ecology, ecological problems, climate, environment

Assistive technology, self-esteem and home factors as predictors of social adjustment of students with visual impairment in Lagos State, Nigeria

It has been observed that students with visual impairment often have wrong adjustment which has been affecting their wholesome personality and in particular, social adjustment. Previous studies have not adequately addressed their social adjustment. This study, therefore examined assistive technology, self-esteem and home factors as predictors of social adjustment among students with visual impairment in Lagos state, Nigeria.The study adopted survey research design of ex-post facto type. Purposive sampling technique was used to select one hundred (100) students with visual impairment. The selected students were drawn from two mainstream secondary schools and two rehabilitation centers in Lagos state. Nigeria. A structured questionnaire consisting of standardized scale such as Assistive Technology Usage scale, self-esteem scale, home factors and social adjustment scale were used to gather data in this study. Data collected were analysed using frequency, percentage and multiple regression statistical tools, and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed that assistive technology usage, self-esteem and home factors (family background, parent's socio-economic status and parent educational background) had significant joint influence on social adjustment of students with visual impairment in Lagos state, Nigeria (F(5.94)= 10.992; p<0.05). Also, the result indicated that assistive technology usage and self-esteem had significant independent contribution to social adjustment of students with visual impairment (β=0.580; t=5.895; p<0.05. p=-0.556; t = 6.193; p<0.05) while family background, parent's socio-economic status and parent educational backgroundhad no significant independent contribution to social adjustmentamong students with visual impairment in Lagos state, Nigeria. Assistive technology usage, self-esteem and home factors positively and jointly predicted social adjustment of students with visual impairment. Therefore parents, social workers, rehabilitation officers and government workers working with students with visual impairment should take cognisance of the impact of assistive technology usage, self-esteem and home factors in order to enhance the social adjustment of students with visual impairment.Keywords: Assistive Technology, self-esteem, home, social adjustment, visual impairmen