How a designer uses LEGO to build prosthetics for children injured by landmines.

Dario, 11, is from Bogota in Colombia. Born with a congenital disease that left him without a right forearm, he is one of thousands of limbless children in Colombia, where landmines laid in the war between the government and Farc guerrillas have blown away the limbs of thousands of Colombians, many of them children. Carlos Arturo Torres is the designer, and he wanted to help his compatriots hence he made the IKO Creative Prosthetic System; a bionic arm that's LEGO-compatible. "My ambition is for every kid in the world to learn about robotics and forget about disability," says the 33-year-old. "When you introduce the IKO, the word 'disability' suddenly takes a different colour." The 3D printed prosthetic, which is currently in testing, has a module that lets children attach the bionic hand and LEGO parts with a simple “push and lock” movement. At night, the battery-powered device goes on a charger.more

Asthma and innovative diagnostic technology in Dehli..

Mohan Lal an asthma patient whose, regular visits to Delhi’s hospitals were a nightmare of waiting in endless queues in sweltering corridors that swarm with mosquitoes ,until a spotless and air-conditioned clinic boasting innovative diagnostic technology and sharply-dressed doctors opened in Mr Lal’s neighborhood. Mr Lal, who needs regular treatment for his asthma, the sparkling free clinic and 100 others developed by the Delhi government of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in mostly low-income neighborhoods are a revelation. The crowning glory of Mr Lal’s neighborhood clinic is a newly invented device that conducts 50 common medical tests from a single blood sample, including sugar levels and cholesterol. In a city where diabetes, dengue, hepatitis, typhoid and other illnesses are common, the small, rectangular device provides swift diagnosis — thereby allowing for early treatment. Results of most of the tests are known within two minutes and are uploaded onto an IT cloud for access by patients and their doctors on their smart phones and the clinic’s tablets. The device was developed by biomedical engineer Kanav Kahol, who developed the device that he hopes will soon be installed in all of the other new clinics.It was originally aimed at easing India’s overburdened public health system, whose basic medical services are provided free of charge. Mr Kahol is surprised other countries have also expressed interest in the machine, which costs about $1,000 to buy.continue

National egg production scheme.

National Egg Production (NEGPRO) scheme is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria designed to create jobs for Nigerians, remove hunger and alleviate poverty. To achieve its goal, NEGPRO will provide eligible Nigerians the opportunity to participate in profitable poultry businesses where continuous production of table egg takes place all year round. Eggs produced from NEGPRO will service the following:1) The National School Feeding Program.2)Structured open market. 3) Egg powder processors across the nation. The NEGPRO scheme, accredited layer farmers produce eggs with input supplied by entrepreneurs/stakeholder in the state. The entrepreneur/stakeholder will, in turn, off-take the eggs that are produced. In general, the scheme workflow involves the following:1) Accredited farmers set up structure and cage for layer birds. 2)Entrepreneurs/Stakeholders in feeds and day old chicks (DOC) approved for the NEGPRO scheme take up the provision of basic inputs to participating farmers. 3)Following the approval of individual farmers and verification and certification of their layer farm pen/structures for stocking by NEGPRO officials of the state, NEGPRO farmers become eligible to collect DOCs, feeds and some stipend to run the farm from Entrepreneur/Stakeholder as a loan and with the input, the farmers commence poultry farming. 4)Farmers return on weekly basis such that eggs produced from their individual farms are taken up by the approved entrepreneur/stakeholders.5) Entrepreneurs shall balance the account of individual farmers and share profit accordingly. How to participate;1) Prospective entrepreneurs must be based in a state where he/she is to cover and have verifiable business and reputation to support clusters of farmers. 2) Be willing to provide credit facility to cover cost of day old chicks, feed, vaccines and medications to farmers in his/her cluster. Application form

Purdue's Veterinary Medicine treats wallaby's dislocated hip.

Using a device called a Tightrope™, a small animal surgery team at Purdue's College of Veterinary Medicine recently treated the dislocated hip of a female wallaby from Lafayette's Columbian Park Zoo. Wallabies are small or mid-sized marsupials, or pouched, mammals that belong to the kangaroo family and are found primarily in Australia and on nearby islands, according to National Geographic. They are usually smaller than kangaroos. Mark Rochat, clinical professor and chief of small animal surgery in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the college, said the key to surgery on the wallaby was using the Tightrope™ to "create a new round ligament." "We basically treated it like a dog with a hip dislocation," Rochat said. "The hip is a ball-and-socket joint and the round ligament is one of the major anatomic structures that holds the ball in the socket. The Tightrope™ is incredibly strong and its job is to take the place of the torn round ligament and hold everything in place, until scar tissue can build up and other structures damaged by the dislocation can heal." There are some distinctions, of course, between a dog and a wallaby, Rochat said. "The anatomy of the wallaby hip is different from the dog, which makes sense given their very different way of locomotion," he said. "It was a very interesting surgery." "The wallaby seems to be doing fine, and radiographs made about a month after surgery showed the Tightrope™ in place and doing its job," Rochat said. Credit;.purdueexponent

Eradicating poverty with agriculture.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says agriculture is capable of eradicating poverty. When he visited the Adamawa state government house in Yola, the former president said the sector could bring industrialisation to the state. “Your emphasis on agriculture gave me pleasure and if agriculture is taken serious in this state, it will eradicate poverty,” he said. He promised to encourage investors interested in agricbusiness to visit Adamawa. “If you can provide a conducive atmosphere, people will want to come and invest in agribusiness.“We will encourage those who are interested to invest in agribusiness to come to Adamawa and invest. “Agriculture will not only be useful as a security too but as part of the industrialisation of the state, and as such will make the economy of this state more viable.” He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for showing understanding about the situation in the north-east. “To us, the issue of the north-east is special even when Mr President and I are discussing, it always form the centre of our discussion,” he said. “I must commend the unique leadership vision of the governor especially as he did not only focus on Adamawa but extent his vision to the entire north-east geopolitical region.” Jibrilla Bindow, governor of the state, had sought the assistance of the former president in addressing the challenges in Adamawa. He said the state had faced the challenge of insecurity in the past, which had ravaged the socioeconomic fortunes of the state. He commended Buhari for giving special focus on security, which had made the state to be peaceful now. Bindow said his administration had completed 47 road projects in the face of all the challenges. He said the team work adopted by his administration had yielded the positive result, adding that his administration would emulate the work supervision strategy of Obasanjo. continue

VICAMPRO charts new course with conference on the Business of Agriculture in Nigeria.

The VICAMPRO group one of Nigeria’s key stakeholders in the agricultural sector is charting a new course towards diversifying Nigeria’s economy, economic growth and capacity building through its forthcoming conference and workshop. The “Business of Agriculture” workshop aims to demystify agriculture in the eyes of the intending entrepreneur. The workshop would bring together current players in the industry to share their experience and provide insight into the opportunities and pitfall of agricultural entrepreneurship. Speakers at the conference would aim to cover the major aspects for the industry including but not limited to government policy and plans for agriculture, agricultural project financing, land matter, business model and market opportunities, people, technology mechanization and irrigation. The “The business of agriculture” workshop aims to solve the above identified gaps and opportunities. It is a workshop that would bring industry players under a conducive atmosphere to share experience and mentor intending entrepreneurs on how to build a successful agricultural business. Other objectives include;1) Knowledge 2) Networking 3) Mentor ship continue.

Lassa fever kills doctor, 2 others in Anambra.

Dr Emmanuel Okafor, the Director of Public Health in the Anambra Ministry of Health, on Thursday confirmed the death of a medical doctor and two others due to new cases of Lassa fever in the state. The director confirmed the report at one-day workshop on Lassa fever organised by the ministry to sensitise health professionals in the state on the disease in Awka. However, he said that the outbreak was not yet in an epidemic proportion in the state. Okafor said that the workshop was aimed at training the health professionals who would go to the grassroots to educate the people on the prevention of the disease. "In Anambra we don’t know the number of cases of the disease but we have three confirmed deaths," he said. He urged health workers to exercise high standard of professionalism in handling Lassa fever cases. Okafor said the state government had put in place proactive measures to handle the scourge. Dr Jane Ezeonu, a resource person at the workshop, first broke the news of the death of the doctor and the two other persons. Ezeonu said that the medical doctor died three days ago at the Nnamdi Azikiwe General Hospital (NAUTH), Nnewi. She, however, said that the late medical doctor was referred to NAUTH from Asaba, Delta state. Ezeonu stressed the need for adequate prevention mechanism to be taken on the issue. The doctor warned people against drinking raw garri (cassava flour), advising residents to ensure protection of their food and related items from rats. "People don’t acquire immunity after suffering from Lassa fever. General hygiene is the key for prevention," Ezeonu said. Also speaking at the occasion, Dr Okwuchukwu Chukwuka, Permanent Secretary, in the ministry, said there was no epidemic of the disease in the state. Chukwuka, who represented the Commissioner for Health, Dr Josephat Akabuike, said the workshop was part of the proactive measures adopted by the state government. "It is a training workshop for health professionals in the 21 local government areas of the state who would sensitise and disseminate information about Lassa fever to the grassroots. NAN.