No abstract

IntroductionMobile phone penetration has increased exponentially over the last decade as has its application in nearly all spheres of life including health and medical education. This study aimed at assessing the use of mobile learning technology and its challenges among final year undergraduate students in the College of Health sciences, University of Nairobi.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted among final year undergraduate students at the University of Nairobi, College of Health Sciences. Self-administered, anonymous questionnaires were issued to all final year students in their lecture rooms after obtaining informed consent. Data on demographics, mobile device ownership and mobile learning technology use and its challenges was collected. Data entry and analysis was done using SPSS®. Chi-square and t-test were used for bivariate analysis.ResultsWe had 292 respondents; 62% were medical students, 16% were nursing students, 13% were pharmacy students and 9% were dental surgery students. The majority were female (59%) and the average age was 24 years. Eighty eight percent (88%) of the respondents owned a smart device and nearly all of them used it for learning. 64% of the respondents used medical mobile applications. The main challenges were lack of a smart device, lack of technical know-how in accessing or using apps, sub-optimal internet access, cost of acquiring apps and limited device memory.ConclusionMobile learning is increasingly popular among medical students and should be leveraged in promoting access and quality of medical education.

The MICs of erythromycins A, B, C, and D and some of their derivatives were determined against 21 gram-positive and 15 gram-negative microorganisms. Antibacterial activity was confined to gram-positive and very few gram-negative bacteria. Erythromycin B was somewhat less active than erythromycin A, and erythromycin C and D showed about half that activity or even less. Most other derivatives had negligible activity. Determination of potency by diffusion and turbidimetric assays were in line with MICs. The examination of the results of these assays, however, revealed that there are differences between the data of different laboratories, depending on the microorganisms and conditions used.

BackgroundHealth care systems in sub-Saharan Africa, and globally, grapple with the problem of closing the gap between evidence-based health interventions and actual practice in health service settings. It is essential for health care systems, especially in low-resource settings, to increase capacity to implement evidence-based practices, by training professionals in implementation science. With support from the Medical Education Partnership Initiative, the University of Nairobi has developed a training program to build local capacity for implementation science.MethodsThis paper describes how the University of Nairobi leveraged resources from the Medical Education Partnership to develop an institutional program that provides training and mentoring in implementation science, builds relationships between researchers and implementers, and identifies local research priorities for implementation science.ResultsThe curriculum content includes core material in implementation science theory, methods, and experiences. The program adopts a team mentoring and supervision approach, in which fellows are matched with mentors at the University of Nairobi and partnering institutions: University of Washington, Seattle, and University of Maryland, Baltimore. A survey of program participants showed a high degree satisfaction with most aspects of the program, including the content, duration, and attachment sites. A key strength of the fellowship program is the partnership approach, which leverages innovative use of information technology to offer diverse perspectives, and a team model for mentorship and supervision.ConclusionsAs health care systems and training institutions seek new approaches to increase capacity in implementation science, the University of Nairobi Implementation Science Fellowship program can be a model for health educators and administrators who wish to develop their program and curricula.

When erythromycin A is heated in diethylamine-acetic acid, an erythromycin hemiketal is obtained, which can be further transformed into a new enol ether and spiroketal. The new enol ether is also obtained in equilibrium with the normal one on heating erythromycin A or B in pyridine-acetic acid. The novel compounds, which will be called pseudoerythromycin derivatives, are characterized by a translactonization between the Cll-hydroxyl and the lactone group. Their structure was proved by mass and 'H and I3C NMR spectrometry, by acetylation experiments, and by degradation with lead tetraacetate.In endeavoring to obtain a larger amount of the novel erythromycin A hemiketal, which we recently isolated from mother liquors of industrial production of erythromycin A,' the latter compound was treated with different com-