1358 research outputs found
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Prevalence of diabetic retinopathy at Parirenyatwa hospital
No full textBACKGROUND: There is a global epidemic of diabetes mellitus. Diabetes mellitus causes a myriad of microvascular and macrovascular complications.
Diabetic retinopathy is one of the main microvascular complications. It is preventable. However the extent of diabetic retinopathy in Zimbabwe is unknown.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study carried out on consenting participants, = 18years old at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals Diabetic Clinic. Retinopathy was assessed taking retinal photographs using an iExaminer ® which is a device comprising of a Welch Allyn Pan-optic, an indirect ophthalmoscope attached to an iPhone 4 using an adapter. Retinopathy was classified as: No Retinopathy, Non-proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy and Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy.
RESULTS: 150 study participants were recruited with a mean age of 52.6 ± 16.4 years. The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was observed to be 38% (n = 57) with 30.7% (n = 46) having non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy and 7.3% (n = 11) with proliferative retinopathy. Significant risk factors for diabetic retinopathy were hypertension OR 2.8 (95% CI 1.23 – 6.42), p = 0.015; age O.R 1.02 (95% CI 1.00 -1.04), p = 0.048; Diet OR 4.71 (95% CI 1.80 – 12.34), p = 0.002 and Exercise OR 11.33 (95% CI 2.62 – 49.05), p =
0.001.
CONCLUSION: The prevalence of diabetic retinopathy was 38%. Diabetic retinopathy is therefore common and largely unrecognised. Regular and appropriate easy to use screening methods are highly recommended for early detection of diabetic retinopathy so as to reduce progressive visual impairment
Development toxicity effects of atorvastatin and rosuvastatin in mice
No full textBackground: Statins reduce the risk, morbidity and mortality associated with cardiovascular events, and generally considered safe to use but their safety in pregnancy is not known. Statins are considered potentially teratogenic and are contraindicated in pregnancy on the basis of lack of evidence.
Objectives: The objectives of the study were to determine and compare the developmental toxicity effects including teratogenic and offspring weight effect of rosuvastatin and atorvastatin in time mated mice.
Methods: Fifty six Balb c mice were divided into seven experimental groups of eight mice
each. Atorvastatin and rosuvastatin were administered at doses of 10, 40, 100mg/kg/day via oral gavage route once every day for 7 days prior to the mating and continued during the mating and pregnancy period up to delivery. Maternal weight changes and miscarriages were monitored during the pregnancy period. The mice were allowed a vaginal delivery and the offspring were weighed and assessed for gross morphological defects.
Results: There was no dose related changes in litter size or suppressed maternal weight gain in the study groups. No significant differences when the control group was compared to the individual atorvastatin groups, rosuvastatin 10 and 100mg /kg (p > 0.05). The rosuvastatin 40 mg/kg had significantly lower birth weight compared with control (p =0.022) in post hoc analysis. No gross morphological defects were observed in all the offspring.
Conclusions: No developmental toxicity including teratogenic effects were observed on
atorvastatin and rosuvastatin at 10, 40 and 100mg/kg in a mice model
Posterior fossa tumours in children at Parirenyatwa hospital
No full textBackground: It is important to know the epidemiology of posterior fossa tumors in children.Groups at risk can then be identified and followed up with the aim of reducing late presentation and improving outcome. However larger, long term studies are needed to accurately achieve this.
Objectives: The aim was to describe the effect of demographics, social background and HIV on the occurrence of posterior fossa tumors.
Design: Prospective Cross sectional study of children treated for posterior fossa tumors at the Neurosurgical unit of Parirenyatwa referral hospital.
Setting: Neurosurgery unit, Parirenyatwa teaching and referral hospital.
Materials and methods: A total of 32 children admitted with imaging demonstrating a posterior fossa tumor were included after the parents gave consent for their children to participate in the study. No patients were excluded from the study. All patients were also tested for HIV using the antibody tests. Data was collected by administering a questionnaire.
Results: Most cases came from Manicaland province with mean age of the patients being 6.7(SD) years and age ranging from 2 – 12 years. Median time to presentation from symptom onset was 3.5[2 - 6] months. Most patients were of poor socio economic status. A total of 7(21.7%) were HIV positive.
Conclusion: Posterior fossa tumors at Parirenyatwa hospital occur more commonly in low income families from Manicaland. There was a higher HIV rate in the study patients compared to the pediatric population. The sample size was however too small to demonstrate a statistically significant correlation between HIV and posterior fossae tumor occurrence.
Keywords: posterior fossa tumor, epidemiology, socio-demographics, pediatric brain tu-
mors, HI
The Gutman Index and the Edge-Wiener Index of Graphs with given Vertex-Connectivity
No full textThe Gutman index and the edge-Wiener index have been extensively investigated particularly in the last decade. An important stream of re- search on graph indices is to bound indices in terms of the order and other parameters of given graph. In this paper we present asymptotically sharp upper bounds on the Gutman index and the edge-Wiener index for graphs of given order and vertex-connectivity κ, where κ is a constant. Our results substantially generalize and extend known results in the area.The work of T. Vetr´ık has been supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa; Grant numbers: 91499, 90793
An assessment of the effectiveness of automation as an information technology intervention in curbing customs administrative challenges: a case of ZIMRA
No full textThe dissertation sought to assess the effectiveness of automation in curbing customs administrative challenges in the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA). The research objectives were to identify the customs administrative challenges faced by ZIMRA, identify areas where automation has succeeded as an IT intervention in curbing customs administrative challenges in ZIMRA, ascertain areas where automation has failed as an IT intervention in curbing customs administrative challenges in ZIMRA and to find out what challenges impede the effectiveness of automated systems. The scope of the study was to focus on ASYCUDA which is the automated systems that is used by ZIMRA in customs administration. Literature review was carried out on the topic under study which revealed the strides that ASYCUDA has made in curbing customs administrative challenges. There was however a gap in the literature on the limitations of ASYCUDA as an automated system.
A qualitative research was undertaken and a case study of the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority was used. Primary data was obtained using interviews and secondary data in the form of reports, customs journals, periodicals and publications was used. A total of seventeen respondents were interviewed, ten being managers from the Customs division whilst the other seven comprised of clearing agents. The respondents were selected using purposive sampling. The respondents from ZIMRA were selected based on their work experience, expertise and knowledge in the area under study whilst clearing agents were selected based on the size of their companies with regard to their clientele base. Data were analysed through data reduction, coding, categorization and identification of common themes.
The study revealed that ZIMRA faced ten challenges and that ASYCUDA has been effective in curbing eight of these challenges. It was therefore concluded that ASYCUDA has been effective in curbing customs administrative challenges in ZIMRA. The study also identified challenges that impede the effectiveness of ASYCUDA in curbing customs administrative challenges. Recommendations were therefore made in line with these findings as to how these challenges can be addressed in order to effectively utilise ASYCUDA
An assessment of the critical success factors for technological capability building and sustainable development in the mining sector: A case study of the platinum mining industry in Zimbabwe
No full textThere is an ever increasing demand to improve capabilities for the mining sector,
especially the platinum sector which is faced with declining metal prices threating the
viability of operations. To this effect, this study assessed the technological capability
development and sustainable development factors affecting the platinum mining sector in
Zimbabwe. The study adopted a positivism approach based on quantitative survey in
analysing the current levels of technological capabilities development and sustainable
development in the platinum mining sector. The study further investigated institutional
mechanisms in place to support technological capabilities accumulation and sustainable
development. Furthermore, the study sought to establish the critical success factors
affecting technological development and sustainable development affecting the platinum
mining sector in Zimbabwe.
The study focussed on the three mining operations along the Zimbabwe’s Great Dyke. A
pilot tested structured questionnaire was used to solicit responses from junior, middle and
senior management of the operations who were selected using stratified random sampling.
The study found and concluded that the integration of regulatory framework, management
capabilities and capital budgets are critical factors for technological capability
development. The unfavourable regulatory framework had a negative impact on
technological capability development whilst the other predictors had a positive impact.
All explanatory sustainable development factors were found to have no implication on
sustainable development except for environmental factors.
Policy recommendations and managerial recommendations were made and possible areas for further research were suggested
An echocardiography audit to determine and characterise rheumatic heart disease lesions seen in 2012
No full textIntroduction: Rheumatic heart disease is still a common problem in Zimbabwe. It has a significant mortality rate due to heart failure, stroke or endocarditis. Timely surgical interventions can reduce mortality. An echocardiography audit was performed to determine the proportion of patients referred for echocardiography who had a diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease, the pattern of valvular involvement and the presence of surgical indications on echocardiography.
Objective: To determine the number of echocardiograms done in 2012 and the proportion with a diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease. To determine which valve lesions were present and whether there were any echocardiographic indications for surgical intervention.
Method: A record review of all echocardiograms performed by the investigator during the period January to December 2012 was performed. A data collection form was used to extract the data and the findings were tabulated and analysed.
Results: Three hundred and eight (308) echocardiograms were performed by the investigator during the year of review. 236 of these were abnormal and rheumatic heart disease was diagnosed in 16% of them. The commonest valve lesion was mitral regurgitation and half of the patients had surgical indications. The common complications were pulmonary hypertension and left atrial enlargement.
Conclusion: This audit shows that rheumatic heart disease is still quite common in patients referred for echocardiography. Lesions are severe and the majority of patients are in need of surgical intervention
Bilharzioma of the fallopian tube: A case report
No full textSchistosomiasis, also known as bilharzia is an infection caused by trematode flatworms of any species of the genus Schistosoma. At least 261 million people in 74 countries are infected, and of these, 90% are in Sub- Saharan Africa.' In Zimbabwe, the prevalence is 38,2% for S. haematobium and 8,3% for S. mansonu A “bilharzioma” is a localised mass of fibrous and inflammatory tissue, which contains numerous eggs frequently involving the serosa and mesentery.1'4 Schistosomiasis caused by Schistosoma haematobium generally is asymptomatic, and if symptomatic, presents with terminal haematuria and rarely with other symptoms.5 Even in endemic areas, very rarely, will Schistosomiasis result in formation of a “bilharzioma”.3 The most commonly reported site is the intravesical part of the ureter resulting in stricture formation, but rarely bilharziomas are found in other sites including the female genital tract. Here we report a case of a “Bilharzioma” masquerading as a malignant tumour with seedlings in the fallopian tube
Dimensioning of hybrid solar-battery-grid micro-energy power systems to alleviate domestic power outages in urban Zimbabwe: A reliability-cost approach
No full textInternational Renewable Energy Symposium (IRES 2015) Conference ProceedingPower outages are rampant in most of Southern African countries due to inadequate electricity generation capacity by the utilities in these countries. This situation results in direct and indirect costs to both the consumers of electricity- those that are lucky to be connected to the electricity grid- and to the utilities themselves. In a region endowed with abundant solar resource, hybrid solar-battery-grid micro-power systems are an attractive option to alleviate the power outage problems, resulting in improved electricity supply reliability at reasonable cost of energy. In this study, an approach to the dimensioning of these hybrid power systems, for domestic consumers in Zimbabwe is presented. For a given hourly load profile, and for a desired level of electricity supply reliability, a combination of solar photovoltaic (PV) array and storage battery can be specified in a fairly general way (i.e. independent of size of daily load) by use of dimensionless component size parameters, A/Ao and Bcap/Lday, respectively, and defined in the study. A “home-made” Excel program is utilized for performing the necessary simulation of the systems. A plot of the dimensionless battery size parameter, Bcap/Lday, versus the PV array size parameter, A/Ao, maps the locus of points of system-component combinations resulting in a desired level of electricity supply reliability. Least levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is then used as the objective function to select among systems delivering the same level of reliability. Properly dimensioned hybrid solar-battery-grid micro-energy systems are found to be much cheaper than the commonly used approach to alleviating power outages by use of an auxiliary petroleum fuel generator.Namibia Energy Institute (NEI