Recent Articles

Objectives: A major global public health problem, maternal mortality remains high, especially in the sub-Saharan countries, despite the efforts of the various health systems. Thus, this work was intended to describe the epidemiological profile of deceased patients, to identify the causes of maternal mortality, and to report dysfunctions in relation to management facilities. Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study, conducted from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2014 at Loandjili General Hospital, including cases of maternal deaths occurring in the Obstetrics Gynecology Department. Maternal mortality has been defined in accordance with the World Health Organization, as “the death of a woman occurring during pregnancy or within 42 days after delivery, regardless of the cause or aggravated by the pregnancy or the care she has motivated, but neither accidental nor fortuitous “. The review of each file allowed us to analyse the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic variables, and to deduce dysfunctions related to the commodities (human, material and financial) of management. Results: Eighty-three maternal deaths were recorded out of 8,115 live births, representing a maternal mortality ratio of 1022 / 100,000 live births. Patients who died had a median age of 28.8 years [23.5; 34], secondary school (54%), pauciparous (2.9 ± 1.4 years), unemployed (75%), and referred (64%) in poor condition (76%). Caesarean section was performed in 29% of cases. The causes of death were haemorrhage (46%), complications of arterial hypertension (25%) and abortion (17%). In 60% of the cases, the deceased patients would have benefited from a surgical intervention, but only 37% of them were operated on. The deaths occurred during pregnancy (48%), childbirth (16%) and in the postpartum (36%). The unavailability of blood products and inputs was reported in 60% and 23% of cases, respectively. The third delay was noted in 90% of cases. Conclusion: The maternal mortality in our maternity…

Objective: Apply the idea of tactile models as a tool for embryology teaching for the visually impaired, facilitating learning by encouraging student, sharpening his curiosity and facilitating the teaching-learning process. Method: It was proposed to make tactile models based on the schemes and photos used by normovisual students found in the base books of the study of Embryology, using cheap and easy-to-handle materials. Results: The models were used by the visually impaired student during classes following the discipline schedule and were also used as objects of assessment. Conclusion: The applicability of the tactile models met expectations, since the student can obtain full knowledge of the subject in an inclusive manner and can have the same type of learning as the normovisual students.

The extraction of feature shows a significant part of iris recognition system. The robustness of recognition accuracy mostly depends on efficient extraction of feature. In the development of an effective recognition system, it is required that the best discriminating feature available in an iris pattern to be properly extracted. This paper applied some selected feature extraction techniques: 1D Log-Gabor Filter (1D LGF), 2-D Gabor-Filter (2D GF), Discrete Cosine Tansform (DCT) and Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) for extraction of iris features and fusion technique. The CASIA iris image dataset was used to evaluate with evaluation parameters: False Acceptance Rate (FAR), False Rejection Rate (FRR), Error Rate (RA) and Recognition Accuracy (RA). The combined 1D Log-Gabor and 2D Gabor filter approach outperformed other techniques with 92.22% of recognition accuracy, FRR of 0.0186, FAR of 0.1052 and ER of 2.87%.

The final goal of continuous assessment (CA) is to improve the quality of teaching and learning. This study examined the linkage between theoretical assumptions and the real practices of continuous assessment for quality teaching and learning in higher education institutions of Ethiopia, Dire Dawa University in focus. The study employed survey research design. The 73 educators and 289 learners were participated in the study. The study used 5-points Likert scale type data collection instrument. The data were analyzed via SPSS version 20. The data analysis technique employed was a one-sample t-test. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to test the reliability of instruments and thus, the questionnaires had acceptable alpha coefficients. This study revealed that the instructors and students have acknowledged the opportunities of CA to improve the quality of teaching and learning in HEIs. Finally, if CA is to fit for purpose, the practice of continuous assessment for marking students’ learning performance and for facilitating their further learning should be balanced based on theoretical assumptions. Besides, the need to design competency-based assessment rubric was recommended.

Path / route optimization for promptly moving equipment and personnel from base to disaster location has remained a nagging challenges for effective emergency response particularly within the context of developing countries. Bad road networks, poor and outdated navigation systems, faulty transportation vehicles, and traffic congestion remain among the top challenges militating against effective emergency response, and this has resulted in mounting statistics of losses for lives and properties within such jurisdictions. The pressing question has been: how can emergency response itinerary be planned and scheduled most optimally and reliably in the face of these challenges? This research paper compares four of the more popular path / route optimization algorithms (the Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm, Dijkstra’s Algorithm, Bellman Ford’s Algorithm, and Suurballe’s Algorithm), in order to determine the trade-offs and advantages that they present with respect to each other, and propose actionable recommendations for implementation. The findings of this research would prove useful for emergency response planning, particularly within the context of developing countries where these challenges are commonplace.

Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) is a contributing member that report, and study the ever-evolving nature and techniques of cybercrime. The APWG tracks the number of unique phishing emails and web sites, a primary measure of phishing across the globe. A single phishing site may be advertised as thousands of customized features, all leading to basically the same attack destination. This work aims to design a machine learning model using a hybrid of two classification algorithms which include Random Forests and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Also perform feature selection on the obtained phishing dataset to select a subset of highly predictive features and evaluate the model against other classification algorithms and existing solutions with the following metrics: False Positive Rate (FPR), Accuracy, Area Under the Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (AUCROC) and Weighted Averages. It is expected that upon evaluation of this model much improved efficiency would be recorded as against other existing models.

Healthcare-related infections (HAI) represent a great risk to their victims and are an increasing cost to the clinical and therapeutic setting. The fast increase in microbial resistance to antibiotics in the hospital environment decreases drug effectiveness, increases length of stay, and increases the cost of treatment. Besides that, it may result in premature death as a direct consequence of unsafe health practices, according to the World Health Organization. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate microbial resistance and biofilm formation in isolates of clinical interest. The methodology used was based on the analysis and identification of clinical isolates of Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium, Proteus mirabilis and Providencia stuartii, performed by the Vitek® 2 Compact automated system (bioMérieux) and confirmed by obtaining mass spectrum in MALDI-TOF apparatus. Autoflex III Mass Spectrometer which were compared with MALDI Biotyper version 3.1 database. Microbial resistance was evaluated by Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and biofilm formation of these isolates by violet crystal method, Congo Red Agar and optical microscopy. As results, it was observed that all isolates tested were compatible with identification by MALDI-TOF. In addition, of all isolates tested, 83.3% had higher resistance to the antibiotic Ampicillin (AMP) and 58.3% showed resistance to Ciprofloxacin (CIP), ranging from Resistant Multidrug (MDR) to Extensively Drug Resistant (XDR), by various other antibiotics. All microorganisms presented biofilm formation ranging from moderate to strong, in which the strong ones represented 66.6% of isolates. It was observed that the identification of pertinent characteristics to microorganism might provide an effective therapy focused in reducing the infectious diseases related to HAI.

Introduction: Spondias dulcis Parkinson belongs to the Anacardiaceae R. Br. family, and is popularly known as Caja-manga. In folk medicine its leaves are used in teas and studies prove the presence of large amount of polyphenols, presenting pharmacological potential as antioxidant and laxative. Because of this, studies aiming to identify diagnostic characters are necessary in order to contribute to the pharmacobotanical control of the species. Objective: This study aimed to identify the anatomical characters of the leaf blade of Spondias dulcis Parkinson. Methods: Transverse and paradermic sections were obtained, freehand, and subjected to a 50% sodium hypochlorite solution for discoloration process. After washing in distilled water, the cross sections were stained with safrablau and the paradermic sections with methylene blue and mounted on semipermanent slides. The analyzes were performed on images obtained by digital camera coupled to light microscope. Results: The leaf blade, in frontal view, features in adaxial and abaxial faces straight-walled epidermal cells. It is classified as hypoestomatic, with anomocytic stomata. On the abaxial face are observed bases of in shape rosette trichomes. In cross section, the central rib features concave-convex contour and uniseriate epidermis, covered by a slightly thick cuticle. Below the epidermis is observed angular collenchyma. In the central region there are four collateral vascular bundles. Sclerenchyma is observed near the phloem. It is observed secretory cavities and the presence of druses type crystals. The mesophyll is dorsiventral, also featuring druses type crystals. Conclusion: The correct characterization provides important anatomical information useful for pharmacobotanical standardization, as there is variability in diagnostic characters.

Objective: To analyze the importance of the quality of the growth medium as to the development of Drosophila melanogaster grown in the laboratory, in order to assess changes in physical fitness and in the survival and fertility rates of the studied populations, both of the White and wild strains, according to the yeast. provided as a food resource. Method: To do this, different yeasts were used as food resources (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Dekkera bruxelensis and Meyerozyma caribbica) in the standard medium and in order to evaluate the variables, the RING test and analysis of survival and fertility rates were performed. Results: Through the data, the growth medium with Saccharomyces cerevisiae was that with all analyzed rates were within the expected value and that the individuals were able to complete their life cycle, while the other resources did not obtain the expected values. Conclusion: The efficiency of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for maintenance medium is confirmed, in addition to this fact, with the intriguing result of the other two yeasts, it is necessary to add different evaluation methods so that the results become increasingly robust.

The study was conducted in Diga and Wayu Tuka Districts to determine the constraints and opportunities of beekeeping. Questionnaire surveys was administered to 146 beekeepers (97.1% males). Majority of the respondents started beekeeping after 2010 (28.03%) by catching colonies as honey bee colony source (54.8%). The major dearth period of the area was late march to early may. The trend of beekeeping in the study area was shifting from traditional to modern beekeeping and the trend of honeybee colony and its yield was decreasing due to honeybee health problem of the area (pests, predators, pathogenic disease, high cost of bee equipment and agrochemical application). In the study area the major pests and predators considered as challenges were ants, beetles, wax moth, varroa destructor and some predators like honey badgers, honeybee eater birds, dead head hawks moth, lizards, wasps and birds respectively. For the reason of time restraint in this study area, farther study on the driving force of challenge and opportunity of beekeeping is suggested by monitoring throughout the year.