Search results for: secondary level

Authors: Zemmouri Hassiba, Lounici Hakim, Mameri Nabil

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Dried crushed seeds of Moringa oleifera contain an effective soluble protein; a natural cationic polyelectrolyte which causes coagulation. The present study aims to investigate the performance of Moringa oleifera seed extract as natural coagulant in clarification of secondary wastewater treatment highly charged in colloidal. A series of Jar tests was undertaken using raw wastewater providing from secondary decanter of Reghaia municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP) located in East of Algiers, Algeria. Coagulation flocculation performance of Moringa oleifera was evaluated through supernatant residual turbidity. Various influence parameters namely Moringa oleifera dosage and pH have been considered. Tests on Reghaia wastewater, having 129 NTU of initial turbidity, showed a removal of 69.45% of residual turbidity with only 1.5 mg/l of Moringa oleifera. This sufficient removal capability encourages the use of this bioflocculant for treatment of turbid waters. Based on this result, the coagulant seed extract of Moringa oleifera is better suited to clarify municipal wastewater by removing turbidity. Indeed, Moringa oleifera which is a natural resource available locally (South of Algeria) coupled to the non-toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability, may be a very interesting alternative to the conventional coagulants used so far.

Keywords: coagulation flocculation, colloids, moringa oleifera, secondary wastewater

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Authors: Ode Kenneth Ogbu

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This study was designed as a survey to investigate the incidence of use and abuse of drug as a social problem among the Nigeria youths in the secondary schools in urban centres of Benue state. 500 SS 3 and fresh secondary school graduates in remedial science class of Benue State University Makurdi with mean age of 16.8 were randomly sampled for the study. An instrument called drug use and abuse perception questionnaire (DAPQ) with a reliability coefficient of 74 were administered to the students. Only 337 copies of the questionnaire were properly completed and returned which reduced the sample size of 337. The data were subjected to factor analysis. X2 statistic and frequency distribution using split half method. The result of the analysis showed that: the DAPQ yield seven baseline factors responsible for drug use and abuse; there was appreciable evidence that the study subjects used drugs (42.1%); alcohol topped the list of the drugs consumed; most students use their pocket money to buy drugs; drugs were purchased from unconventional, hidden places and 13 out of the 20 items of DAPQ were perceived as significant factors in drug use and abuse. The paper recommends proper intervention of government, parents and NGO’S among students to reduce cases of drug abuse.

Keywords: drug abuse, psychology, psychiatry, students

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Authors: Nantida Otakum

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The purpose of the study is to study the level of public consciousness of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University undergraduate students. This study also compares differences in the level of public consciousness among undergraduate students who are different in sex and year of study. The research methodology employed a questionnaire as a quantitative method. The respondents were undergraduate students at Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. Totally, 400 usable questionnaires were received. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in data analysis. The results showed that the level of public consciousness of undergraduate students was at a good level in all aspects. The aspect of social participation was at the highest level, while the aspect of shared vision was at the lowest level. The results also indicated that undergraduate students with differences in sex and year of study were not significantly different in public consciousness level.

Keywords: participation, public consciousness, Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University, undergraduate students

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Authors: Rabah Laouar, Yahia Boudra, Adel Satouh, Adrian Boyce

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The ultramafic rocks of the Collo region crop out as « stratified » masses that cross-cut older metamorphic formation of the basement. These rocks are mainly peridotites and serpentinites. The peridotites are composed of olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene and spinel (chromite). The chemical composition of these lherzolites show a magnesian character with high MgO contents (34.4 to 37.5%), high Cr (0.14 to 0.27%), Ni (0.14 to 0.26%) and Co (34 to 133 ppm) and low CaO and Al₂O₃ (0.02 to 2.2 and 0.5 to 2.8 % respectively). They represent a residue (restite) of a mantle magmas partial melting. The chromite which represents about 2 to 3% of the rock is a ubiquitous mineral and shows two different generations: primary idiomorphic millimetric crystals and secondary very fine, xenomorphic and interstitial aggregates. The primary chromites are alumino-ferro-magnesian crystals. They show high Al₂O₃ (25.77% to 27.36%) and MgO (10.70% to 13.36%). Cr# (100*Cr/ (Al+Cr)) varies between 45 and 48, and Mg# (100*Mg/Mg+Fe₂+) varies between 49 and 59. On the other hand, the secondary interstitial grains are iron-rich chromites; they show low Al₂O₃ (4.67% to 9.54%) and MgO (4.60% to 4.65%). Cr# is relatively high (77 to 88) whereas Mg# show relatively low values, varying between 22 and 25. Oxygen isotopic composition of both types of chromites is consistent with their derivation from a mantle source (ð¹⁸O vary between +3.9 and +5.2‰), though a contribution of ¹⁶O-rich component to the secondary chromites is not ruled out.

Keywords: peridotites, serpentinites, chromite, partial melting, collo, Algeria

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Authors: Zasha Romero

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This poster will detail a family oriented event which introduced individuals with visual impairments and individuals with secondary disabilities to social interaction and helped promote life-long fitness and recreational skills. Purpose: The poster will detail a workshop conducted for individuals with visual impairments, individuals with secondary disabilities and their families. Methods: Families from all over the South Texas were invited through schools and different non-profit organizations and came together for a day full recreational games in an effort to promote life-long fitness, recreational opportunities as well as social interactions. Some of the activities that participants and their families participated in were tennis, dance, swimming, baseball, etc. all activities were developed to engage the learner with visual impairments as well as secondary disabilities. Implications: This workshop was done in collaboration with different non-profit institutions to create awareness and provide opportunities for physical fitness, social interaction, and life-long fitness skills associated with the activities presented. The workshop provided collaboration amongst different entities and novel ideas to create opportunities for a typically underserved population.

Keywords: engagement, awareness, underserved population, inclusion, collaboration

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Authors: Wiwin Tyas Istikowati, Futoshi Ishiguri, Haruna Aisho, Budi Sutiya, Imam Wahyudi, Kazuya Iizuka, Shinso Yokota

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The objective of this study was to investigate the anatomical characteristics of three native fast-growing species, terap (Artocarpus elasticus Reinw. ex Blume), medang (Neolitsea latifolia (Blume) S. Moore), and balik angin (Alphitonia excelsa (Fenzel) Reissek ex Benth) growing in the secondary forest in South Kalimantan, Indonesia for evaluating the possibility of tree breeding for wood quality. Cell lengths were investigated for 5 trees in each species at several different height positions (1.0, 3.0, 5.0, 7.0, 9.0, and 11.0 m above the ground). The mean values of fiber and vessel element lengths in terap, medang, and balik angin were 1.52 and 0.44, 1.16 and 0.53, and 1.02 and 0.49 mm, respectively. Fiber length in terap and balik angin gradually increased from pith to bark, whereas it increased up to 2 cm and then became nearly constant to the bark in medang. Vessel element length was almost constant from pith to bark in terap and balik angin, while slightly increased from pith to bark in medang. Fiber length in terap has a fluctuation pattern from ground level to top of the tree. It decreased up to 3 m above the ground, increased up to 5 m, and then decreased to the top of the tree. On the other hand, vessel element length slightly increased up to 5 m above the ground, and then decreased to the top of the tree. Both fiber and vessel element lengths in medang were almost constant from ground level to top of the tree, whereas decreased from ground level to top of the tree in balik angin. Significant difference at 1% level among trees was found in both fiber and vessel element length in both radial and longitudinal directions for terap and medang. Based on obtained results, it is concluded that the wood quality in fiber and vessel element lengths of terap and medang can be improved by tree breeding programs.

Keywords: anatomical properties, fiber length, vessel elements length, fast-growing species

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Authors: Joy Johnbest Egbo

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The study was designed to investigate the relative effectiveness of inquiry role approach and expository instructional methods in fostering students’ retention in chemistry. Two research questions were answered and three null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. A quasi-experimental (the non-equivalent pretest, posttest control group) design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised all senior secondary school class two (SS II) students who were offering Chemistry in single sex schools in Enugu Education Zone. The instrument for data collection was a self-developed Chemistry Retention Test (CRT). Relevant data were collected from a sample of one hundred and forty–one (141) students drawn from two secondary schools (1 male and 1 female schools) using simple random sampling technique. A reliability co-efficient of 0.82 was obtained for the instrument using Kuder Richardson formular20 (K-R20). Mean and Standard deviation scores were used to answer the research questions while two–way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings showed that the students taught with Inquiry role approach retained the chemistry concept significantly higher than their counterparts taught with expository method. Female students retained slightly higher than their male counterparts. There is significant interaction between instructional packages and gender on Chemistry students’ retention. It was recommended, among others, that teachers should be encouraged to employ the use of Inquiry-role approach more in the teaching of chemistry and other subjects in general. By so doing, students’ retention of the subject could be increased.

Keywords: inquiry role approach, retention, exposition method, chemistry

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Authors: Kim H. K. Choy, Oliva H. K. Chu, W. Y. Keung, B. Lim, Winnie P. Y. Tang

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Background: The prevalence of workplace obesity is rising worldwide; therefore, the workplace is an ideal venue to implement weight control intervention. This pilot randomized controlled trial aimed to develop, implement, and evaluate a nutritional wellness program for obese health care providers working in a hospital. Methods: This hospital-based nutritional wellness program was an 8-week pilot randomized controlled trial for obese health care providers. The primary outcomes were body weight and body mass index (BMI). The secondary outcomes were serum fasting glucose, fasting cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density (HDL) and low-density (LDL) lipoprotein, body fat percentage, and body mass. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 20) or control (n = 22) group. Participants in both groups received individual nutrition counselling and nutrition pamphlets, whereas only participants in the intervention group were given mobile phone text messages. Results: 42 participants completed the study. In comparison with the control group, the intervention group showed approximately 0.98 kg weight reduction after two months. Participants in intervention group also demonstrated clinically significant improvement in BMI, serum cholesterol level, and HDL level. There was no improvement of body fat percentage and body mass for both intervention and control groups. Conclusion: The nutritional wellness program for obese health care providers was feasible in hospital settings. Health care providers demonstrated short-term weight loss, decrease in serum fasting cholesterol level, and HDL level after completing the program.

Keywords: weight management, weight control, health care providers, hospital

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Authors: Amandeep Kaur, Manmeet Gill

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The climacteric is a wide phenomenon. Women of the entire world go through it at their own level. It’s a topic on which women hesitate to talk openly. It includes breast tenderness, uterine bleeding, arthralgia, hemorrhage, changes in emotional level such as facing depression, emotional breakdown, irritability and others. Other than such emotional breakdown nausea, vomiting, headache, gaining or losing weight is common problem associated with the climacteric disorder. The purpose of the present study is to assess the Climacteric disorders among women such as during menopause whatever a woman or girl faces mentally or physically. This is mainly done in women when they reached the age of 12 to 48 worldwide. For completing the study two objectives have been taken. The first objective of the study is to analyze the symptoms which lead to Climacteric among women such as Vaginal problems, Breast changes, Behavioral problems, Weight gain, Problems in the urinary tract etc. and the second Objective is to identify the variables which affect Climacteric these are Physical variables (lack of energy, joint soreness, stiffness, back pain etc.), Psychological variables (anxiety, poor memory, inability to concentrate) and Vasomotor variables (hormone estrogen fall, etc). The secondary source of method or data is used to deal with the theme of paper. Sometimes the word climacteric is interchanged with the term menopause and all these changes are high during the period of menopause among women.

Keywords: climacteric and their symposiums, disorder, reviews, in middle age

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Authors: H. Gonzalez-Rivera, J. L. Palmeros-Torres

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This paper describes the application of traditional computer vision techniques as a procedure for automatic measurement of the secondary dendrite arm spacing (SDAS) from microscopic images. The algorithm is capable of finding the lineal or curve-shaped secondary column of the main microstructure, measuring its length size in a micro-meter and counting the number of spaces between dendrites. The automatic characterization was compared with a set of 1728 manually characterized images, leading to an accuracy of −0.27 µm for the length size determination and a precision of ± 2.78 counts for dendrite spacing counting, also reducing the characterization time from 7 hours to 2 minutes.

Keywords: dendrite arm spacing, microstructure inspection, pattern recognition, polynomial regression

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Authors: Dinesha Siriwardhane, Indralal De Silva, Sampath Amaratunge

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Objective of this study is to explore the recent trends, patterns and the structural changes in the labour migration from Sri Lanka to Middle East countries and to discuss the possible impacts of those changes on the remittance flow. Study uses secondary data published by Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment and Central Bank. Thematic analysis of the secondary data revealed that the migration for labour has increased rapidly during past decades. Parallel with that the gender and the skill composition of the migration flow has been changing. Similarly, the destinations for male migration have changed over the period. These show positive implications on the international remittance receipts to the country.

Keywords: migration, middle east, Sri Lanka, social sciences

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Authors: Yazidu Saidi Mbalamula

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Free Basic Education (FBE) policy implementation in Secondary Schools has been one of thrilled undertaking both to the government and household in Tanzania. On the one hand, the government has achieved citizenry acceptance to responsibility and accountability, and on the other hand, the household has been relieved from social costs that were unbearable and deprived many Tanzanians access to basic education and secondary education in particular. Specifically, this study presents a descriptive survey conducted in two districts of Kagera region located at the northern part of Tanzania. Three objectives were pursued to identify achievements realized and challenges in the FBE implementation, and also stakeholders’ proposals were explored on how to improve FBE implementation. A sample of 91 respondents, including school managers, teachers, students, and parents, were involved in the study. Both questionnaires and interviews were used whereby the quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. The results show that implementation of free education policy in secondary schools had far positive impact on the improvement of school management, school attendance, reduced school drop-out, reduced parents-school managers conflicts, and increased enrollment rates. Notwithstanding that, the political machinery remains instrumental to instigate policy reforms in education sector. Nevertheless, the alienating interests of politibureau, often top-down and blanketed by superficial government redness, can hardly be feasible to wield such huge programme given staggering stakeholders’ awareness of the actual requirements and unlatching resources to back up policy implementation. The study recommends that further studies on stakeholders’ conceptions on the FBE and equity of financing of basic education in Tanzania.

Keywords: capitation grant, CCM, free basic education, kagera, education policy

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Authors: Christian A. Romero, Tanja Grkovic, John. R. J. French, D. İpek Kurtböke, Ronald J. Quinn

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A high-throughput and automated 1H NMR metabolic fingerprinting dereplication approach was used to accelerate the discovery of unknown bioactive secondary metabolites. The applied dereplication strategy accelerated the discovery of natural products, provided rapid and competent identification and quantification of the known secondary metabolites and avoided time-consuming isolation procedures. The effectiveness of the technique was demonstrated by the isolation and elucidation of arglecins B (1), C (2) and actinofuranosin A (3) from a termite-gut associated Streptomyces sp. (USC 597) grown under solid state fermentation. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by extensive interpretation of 1H, 13C and 2D NMR spectroscopic data. These represent the first report of arglecin analogs isolated from a termite gut-associated Streptomyces species.

Keywords: actinomycetes, actinofuranosin, antibiotics, arglecins, NMR spectroscopy

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Authors: Urvee B. Trivedi, U. D. Dalal

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As wireless communication services grow quickly; the seriousness of spectrum utilization has been on the rise gradually. An emerging technology, cognitive radio has come out to solve today’s spectrum scarcity problem. To support the spectrum reuse functionality, secondary users are required to sense the radio frequency environment, and once the primary users are found to be active, the secondary users are required to vacate the channel within a certain amount of time. Therefore, spectrum sensing is of significant importance. Once sensing is done, different prediction rules apply to classify the traffic pattern of primary user. Primary user follows two types of traffic patterns: periodic and stochastic ON-OFF patterns. A cognitive radio can learn the patterns in different channels over time. Two types of classification methods are discussed in this paper, by considering edge detection and by using autocorrelation function. Edge detection method has a high accuracy but it cannot tolerate sensing errors. Autocorrelation-based classification is applicable in the real environment as it can tolerate some amount of sensing errors.

Keywords: cognitive radio (CR), probability of detection (PD), probability of false alarm (PF), primary user (PU), secondary user (SU), fast Fourier transform (FFT), signal to noise ratio (SNR)

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Authors: Carol Okigbo

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Mathematical problem solving has long been accorded an important place in mathematics curricula at every education level in both advanced and emerging economies. Its classroom approaches have varied, such as teaching for problem-solving, teaching about problem-solving, and teaching mathematics through problem-solving. It requires engaging in tasks for which the solution methods are not eminent, making sense of problems and persevering in solving them by exhibiting processes, strategies, appropriate attitude, and adequate exposure. Teachers play important roles in helping students acquire competency in problem-solving; thus, they are expected to be good problem-solvers and have proper conceptions of problem-solving. Studies show that teachers’ conceptions influence their decisions about what to teach and how to teach. Therefore, how teachers view their roles in teaching problem-solving will depend on their pedagogical conceptions of problem-solving. If teaching problem-solving is a major component of secondary school mathematics instruction, as recommended by researchers and mathematics educators, then it is necessary to establish teachers’ conceptions, what they do, and how they approach problem-solving. This study is designed to determine secondary school teachers’ conceptions regarding mathematical problem solving, its current situation, how teachers’ conceptions relate to their demographics, as well as the interaction patterns in the mathematics classroom. There have been many studies of mathematics problem solving, some of which addressed teachers’ conceptions using single-method approaches, thereby presenting only limited views of this important phenomenon. To address the problem more holistically, this study adopted an integrated mixed methods approach which involved a quantitative survey, qualitative analysis of open-ended responses, and ethnographic observations of teachers in class. Data for the analysis came from a random sample of 327 secondary school mathematics teachers in two Nigerian states - Anambra State and Enugu State who completed a 45-item questionnaire. Ten of the items elicited demographic information, 11 items were open-ended questions, and 25 items were Likert-type questions. Of the 327 teachers who responded to the questionnaires, 37 were randomly selected and observed in their classes. Data analysis using ANOVA, t-tests, chi-square tests, and open coding showed that the teachers had different conceptions about problem-solving, which fall into three main themes: practice on exercises and word application problems, a process of solving mathematical problems, and a way of teaching mathematics. Teachers reported that no period is set aside for problem-solving; typically, teachers solve problems on the board, teach problem-solving strategies, and allow students time to struggle with problems on their own. The result shows a significant difference between male and female teachers’ conception of problems solving, a significant relationship among teachers’ conceptions and academic qualifications, and teachers who have spent ten years or more teaching mathematics were significantly different from the group with seven to nine years of experience in terms of their conceptions of problem-solving.

Keywords: conceptions, education, mathematics, problem solving, teacher

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Authors: Fayiz Saifurahman, Noori Fida Mohammad

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Afghanistan produces the highest rate of wheat, it is the first source of food, and food security in Afghanistan is dependent on the availability of wheat. Although Afghanistan is the main producer of wheat, on the other hand, Afghanistan is the largest importers of flour. The objective of this study is to assess the structure and dynamics of the wheat market in Afghanistan, can compute with foreign markets, and increase the level of production. To complete this, a broad series of secondary data was complied with, group discussions and interviews with farmers, agricultural and market experts. The research findings propose that; the government should adopt different policies to support the local market. The government should distribute the seed, support financially and technically to increase wheat production.

Keywords: Afghanistan, wheat, production , import

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Authors: Suhail Shersad

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Introduction In developing countries, the access to higher education for the lower socioeconomic strata is very poor at less than 0.05%. The challenges faced by prospective students in these circumstances to pursue higher education have been explored through direct interaction with them and their families in urban slums of New Delhi. This study included evaluation of the demographics, social indices, expectations and perceptions of selected communities. Results The results show that the poor life expectancy, low exposure to technology, lack of social infrastructure and poor sanitary conditions have reduced their drive for academic achievements. This is despite a good level of intelligence and critical thinking skills among these students. The perception of the community including parents shows that despite their desire to excel, there are too may roadblocks to achieving a fruitful professional life for the next generation. Discussion The prerequisites of higher education may have to be revisited to be more inclusive of socially handicapped students. The knowledge, skills and attributes required for higher education system should form the baseline for creating a roadmap for higher secondary education suited for local needs. Conventional parameters like marks and grading have to be re-looked so that life skills and vocational training form part of the core curriculum. Essential skills should be incorporated at an earlier age, providing an alternative pathway for such students to join higher education. Conclusion: There is a need to bridge the disconnect that exists between higher education planning, the needs of the concerned cohorts and the existing higher secondary education. The variables that contribute to making such a decision have to be examined further. Keywords: prerequisites of higher education, social mobility, society expectations, access to higher education

Keywords: access to higher education, prerequisites of higher education, society expectations, social mobility

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Authors: Avijit Datta

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We have presented a phase control scheme in population transfer using chirped laser fields. A chirped pulse can do population transfer from one level to another level via adiabatic rapid passage accessible by one photon dipole transition. We propose to use a pair of phase-locked chirped pulses of the same frequency w(t) instead of a singly chirped-pulse frequency w(t). Simultaneous action of phase controlled interference in addition to rapid adiabatic passages due to chirped pulses lead to phase control over this population transfer dynamics. We have demonstrated the proposed phase control scheme over the population distribution from the initial level X(v=0,j=0) to C(v=2,j=1) level of hydrogen molecule using a pair of phase-locked and similarly chirped laser pulses. We have extended this two-level system to three-level 1+1 ladder system of hydrogen molecule from X level to final J(v=2,j=2) level via C intermediate level using two pairs of laser pulses having frequencies w(t) and w'(t) respectively and obtained laudable control over the population distribution among three levels. We also have presented some results of interference effects of w₁(t) and its third harmonics w₃(t).

Keywords: phase control, population transfer, chirped laser pulses, rapid adiabatic passage, laser-molecule interaction

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Authors: Hendeh Majdi, Zahra Arzjani

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This research aimed at the comparison of level of stress between students had parents and those without parents by descriptive-analytical study. To do research number of 128 questionnaires (64 students with parents and 64 students without parents) were distributed among high school in Ray city, Tehran province through classified sampling. The results showed that level of stress in stud tent without parents has been effective and the most important proposal is that necessity study should be considered in decreasing level of stress in students without parent.

Keywords: stress, students with parents, without parents, Ray city

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Authors: Sharvari Sane, Swati Sharma, Sanjay K. Prasad

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Local trains are the lifelines of Mumbai city. Earlier 1500 Volt D.C. supply, is now completely and successfully converted into 25 KV A.C. in central, western and harbour routes. This task is the outcome of the advancement in the area of power electronics. Author has already done the comparative study between D.C. and A.C. supply of traction and predicted the serious problem regarding the harmonics. In this paper, the simulation for 5 level as well as 7 level multilevel inverter has been done which is the substitute for the present cascade type inverter. This paper also showed the reduced level of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) in the traction system.

Keywords: total harmonic distortion (THD), traction sub station (TSS), harmonics, multilevel inverter

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Authors: Alireza Pirkhaefi

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Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is one of the most common diseases of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Given the importance of cognitive disorders in patients with multiple sclerosis, the present study was in order to compare cognitive functions (Working memory, Attention and Centralization, and Visual-spatial perception) in patients with relapsing- remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) and secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Method: Present study was performed as a retrospective study. This research was conducted with Ex-Post Facto method. The samples of research consisted of 60 patients with multiple sclerosis (30 patients relapsing-retrograde and 30 patients secondary progressive), who were selected from Tehran Community of MS Patients Supported as convenience sampling. 30 normal persons were also selected as a comparison group. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) was used to assess cognitive functions. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. Results: The results showed that there were significant differences among cognitive functioning in patients with RRMS, SPMS, and normal individuals. There were not significant differences in working memory between two groups of patients with RRMS and SPMS; while significant differences in these variables were seen between the two groups and normal individuals. Also, results showed significant differences in attention and centralization and visual-spatial perception among three groups. Conclusions: Results showed that there are differences between cognitive functions of RRMS and SPMS patients so that the functions of RRMS patients are better than SPMS patients. These results have a critical role in improvement of cognitive functions; reduce the factors causing disability due to cognitive impairment, and especially overall health of society.

Keywords: multiple sclerosis, cognitive function, secondary-progressive, normal subjects

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Authors: Jamal Shokrzadehmadiyeh, Kambiz Kamkari, Shohreh Shokrzadeh

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According to the research topic, the purpose of the current paper is to research personality characteristics in adolescents under the care of the Tehran Juvenile Detention Centre, and a survey research method has been used. In this regard, through systematic random sampling, 120 people from the research population were selected as a sample, who were referred to Tehran Juvenile Detention Centre after the decision was reached by the court. Data collection was carried out by separate examination using NEO-PI-III personality inventory, and statistical analysis was done using a one-sample t-test. Finally, the results of the research revealed that the level of neuroticism is higher than the average level, the level of conscientiousness is lower than the average level, and the level of extraversion, agreeableness, and openness are at the average level.

Keywords: personality characteristics, adolescents, Juvenile Detention Center, Tehran city

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Authors: Theresia F. Mrema, Innocent Semali

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Food insecurity to pregnant women seriously impedes efforts to reduce maternal mortality in resource poor countries. This study was carried out to assess determinants food insecurity among pregnant women in urban areas. A cross sectional study design was used to collect data for the period of two weeks. A structured questionnaire with both closed and open ended questions was used to interview a total of 225 randomly selected pregnant women who attend the three randomly selected antenatal care clinics in Temeke Municipal council. The food insecurity was measured using a modified version of the USDA’s core food security module which consists of 15questions. Logistic regression analysis was used to obtain strength of association between dependent and independent variables. Among 225 pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) interviewed 55.1% were food insecure. Food insecurity declined with increasing household wealth, it was also significantly low among those with less than three children compared with having more. Low level of food insecurity was associated with having Secondary education (Adjusted OR=0.24; 95%CI, 0.12–0.48), College Education (OR=0.156; 95%CI, 0.05-0.46), paid employment (OR=0.322; 95%CI, 0.11-0.96) and high income (OR=0.031; 95%CI, 0.01–0.07). Also, having head of the household with secondary education (OR=0.51; 95%CI, 0.07-0.32) college education (OR=0.04; 95%CI, 0.01-0.13) and paid employment (OR=0.225; 95%CI, 0.12-0.42). Food insecurity is a significant problem among pregnant women in Temeke Municipal which might significantly affect health of the pregnant woman and foetus due to higher maternal malnutrition which increases risk of miscarriage, maternal and infant mortality, and poor pregnancy outcomes. The study suggests a multi-sectoral approach in order to address this problem.

Keywords: food security, nutrition, pregnant women, urban settings

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Authors: Syali Pradhan, Neetu Jha

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The Marigold flower is used in religious places for offering and decoration purpose every day. The flowers are discarded near trees or in aquatic bodies. This floral waste can be used for extracting dyes or oils. Still the secondary waste remains after processing which need to be addressed. This research aims to provide green and clean power using secondary floral waste available after processing. The carbonization of floral waste produce carbon material with high surface area and enhance active site for more reaction. The Hybrid supercapacitors are more stable, offer improved operating temperature and use less toxic material compared to battery. They provide enhanced energy density compared to supercapacitors. Hence, hybrid supercapacitor designed using waste material would be more practicable for future energy application. Here, we present the utilization of carbonized floral waste as supercapacitor electrode material. This material after carbonization gets graphitized and shows high surface area, optimum porosity along with high conductivity. Hence, this material has been tested as cathode electrode material for high performance zinc storage hybrid supercapacitor. High energy storage along with high stability has been obtained using this cathodic waste material as electrode.

Keywords: marigold, flower waste, energy storage, cathode, supercapacitor

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Authors: Abdu Feroz Maluleke

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Digital literacy skills among first-year university students has been under scrutiny in recent years. This is largely due to the pressure faced by the South African higher education sector as the battle to integrate educational technologies into the teaching curriculum. This study aims to investigate the relationship between the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the digital literacy skills of first-year students at the Tshwane University of Technology in South Africa. A positivism quantitative research methodology will be employed to collect data from 468 first-year students at a higher education institution through a validated questionnaire. Descriptive analyses, T-tests, ANOVA, and Spearman's correlation will be conducted using SPSS. Anticipated findings suggest that various demographic factors, such as previous school, self-efficacy, and age, significantly influence learners' digital literacy competency. Furthermore, the projected findings highlight the importance of rural secondary schools adopting and implementing technological pedagogies in their curriculum. This research aims to make a substantial contribution to the development of ICT adoption guidelines for the secondary school curriculum, which would aid the basic educational sector in South Africa.

Keywords: technology acceptance model, digital literacy skills, secondary schools, south africa

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Authors: Hakim Derradji, M’Hammedi Yousra, Sabrou Abdelmalek, Tabet Nacer

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Introduction: This is a retrospective study carried out at the Central Hospital of Army from 2017 to 2022. Its objective is to demonstrate the best surgical method for the management of obstructive hydrocephalus secondary to a posterior fossa tumor in children, in pre, per, and post-operative. Patients and Methods: During this period, 24 children (over 1 year old) were admitted for treatment of the posterior fossa tumor with obstructive secondary hydrocephalus and the majority of whom benefited from VCS followed by surgery and excision, the rest, received after evacuation from other hospital structures, were managed there beforehand with ventriculoperitoneal diversion or external drainage. We found that the way hydrocephalus is managed has implications for subsequent management, hence the need for this study to determine the effectiveness of different surgical procedures used in the treatment of hydrocephalus in these patients. The evaluation is made on the basis of revision rate, complications, survival, and radiological evaluation. Results: 6 patients (25%) received a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPD), 15 patients (62%) underwent a ventriculocysternostomy (VCS), and 3 patients (12.5%) received temporary ventricular drainage before or during tumor excision. The post-operative results were almost similar. Nevertheless, a high failure rate (25%) was observed. No deaths are recorded. In total, 75% of children who had a DVP were reoperated. The revision by VCS was performed, in addition to the 4 patients benefiting from a DVP, with one patient having received external drainage, and only one revision of a VCS was recorded. In the two patients who received external drainage, restoration of CSF outflow was observed following tumor resection. Conclusion: VCS is indicated in the first intention in the treatment of hydrocephalus secondary to a posterior fossa tumor, in view of the satisfactory results obtained and the high failure rate in DVP, especially with the presence of metastatic cells in the peritoneum, but can be considered as a second-line treatment.

Keywords: posterior fossa tumor, obstructive hydrocephalus, DVP, VCS

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Oyvind Nordvik, Peder O. L. Heggdal, Jonas Brannstrom, Flemming Vassbotn, Anne Kari Aarstad, Hans Jorgen Aarstad

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Background: Hearing Loss (HL) is a condition that may affect people in all stages of life, but the prevalence increases with age, mostly because of age-related HL, generally referred to as presbyacusis. As human speech is related to relatively high frequencies, even a limited hearing loss at high frequencies may cause impaired speech intelligibility. Being diagnosed with, treated for and living with a chronic condition such as HL, must for many be a disabling and stressful condition that put ones coping resources to test. Stress is a natural part of life and most people will experience stressful events or periods. Chronic diseases, such as HL, are risk factor for distress in individuals, causing anxiety and lowered mood. How an individual cope with HL may be closely connected to the level of distress he or she is experiencing and to personality, which can be defined as those characteristics of a person that account for consistent patterns of feelings, thinking, and behavior. Thus, as to distress in life, such as illness or disease, available coping strategies may be more important than the challenge itself. The same line of arguments applies to level of experienced health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between distress, HRQoL, reported hearing loss, personality and coping in patients with HL. Method: 158 adult (aged 18-78 years) patients with HL, referred for hearing aid (HA) fitting at Haukeland University Hospital in western Norway, participated in the study. Both first-time users, as well as patients referred for HA renewals were included. First-time users had been pre-examined by an ENT-specialist. The questionnaires were answered before the actual HA fitting procedure. The pure-tone average (PTA; frequencies 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 kHz) was determined for each ear. The Eysenck personality inventory, neuroticism and lie scales, the Theoretically Originated Measure of the Cognitive Activation Theory of Stress (TOMCATS) measuring active coping, hopelessness and helplessness, as well as distress (General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) - 12 items) and the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire general part were answered. In addition, we used a revised and shortened version of the Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit (APHAB) as a measure of patient-reported hearing loss. Results: Significant correlations were determined between APHAB (weak), HRQoL scores (strong), distress scores (strong) on the one side and personality and choice of coping scores on the other side. As measured by stepwise regression analyses, the distress and HRQoL scores were scored secondary to the obtained personality and coping scores. The APHAB scores were as determined by regression analyses scored secondary to PTA (best ear), level of neuroticism and lie score. Conclusion: We found that reported employed coping style, distress/HRQoL and personality are closely connected to each other in this patient group. Patient-reported HL was associated to hearing level and personality. There is need for further investigations on these questions, and how these associations may influence the clinical context.

Keywords: coping, distress, hearing loss, personality

Procedia PDF Downloads 126

Authors: Shehu Aliyu

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This study investigated the effects of instructional materials on academic achievement among senior secondary school students on the concept of Heat Transfer in physics in Fagge Educational Zone, Kano State Nigeria. The population consisted of SSII students from 10 public schools. Out of this, 87 students were randomly selected from which 24 males and 22 females formed the experimental group and 41 students as control group. A quasi experiential design with pretest and post-test for both the groups was adopted. Two research questions and null hypotheses guided the conduct of the study. The experimental group was exposed to teaching using instructional materials while the control group was taught using the normal lecture mode. Head Transfer Performance Test (HTPT) was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts in the science education field. A Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) was used to determine the reliability co-efficient and was found to be r=0.83. The research questions were answered using descriptive statistics while the hypotheses were tested at p≤ 0.05 level of significance using t-test. The result obtained from the data analysis showed that students in experimental group performed significantly better than those in the control group and that there was no significant difference in the academic performance between male and female students in the experimental group. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among others that the physics teachers should be receiving regular training on the importance of using instructional materials whether ready made or improved in their teaching.

Keywords: heat transfer, physics, instructional materials, academic performance

Procedia PDF Downloads 158

Authors: Leon Pan

Abstract:

The first programming course within post-secondary education has long been recognized as a challenging endeavor for both educators and students alike. Historically, these courses have exhibited high failure rates and a notable number of dropouts. Instructors often lament students' lack of effort in their coursework, and students often express frustration that the teaching methods employed are not effective. Drawing inspiration from the successful principles of Extreme Programming, this study introduces an approach—the Extremes-based teaching model — aimed at enhancing the teaching of introductory programming courses. To empirically determine the effectiveness of the model, a comparison was made between a section taught using the extreme-based model and another utilizing traditional teaching methods. Notably, the extreme-based teaching class required students to work collaboratively on projects while also demanding continuous assessment and performance enhancement within groups. This paper details the application of the extreme-based model within the post-secondary online classroom context and presents the compelling results that emphasize its effectiveness in advancing the teaching and learning experiences. The extreme-based model led to a significant increase of 13.46 points in the weighted total average and a commendable 10% reduction in the failure rate.

Keywords: extreme-based teaching model, innovative pedagogical methods, project-based learning, team-based learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 43

Authors: Hsien T. Hsieh, Chao R. Chen, Li C. Chuang, Chin C. Shen

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Fenton oxidation technology is the general strategy for the treatment of organic compounds-contained wastewater. However, a considerable amount of ferric sludge was produced during the Fenton process as secondary wastes, which were needed to be further removed from the effluent and treated. In this study, heterogeneous catalysts based on ferrite oxide (Cu-Fe-Ce-O) were synthesized and characterized, and their application for Fenton-like oxidation of simulated and actual radioactive organic wastewater was investigated. The results of TOC decomposition efficiency around 54% ~ 99% were obtained when the catalyst loading, H₂O₂ loading, pH, temperature, and reaction time were controlled. In this case, no secondary wastes formed and the given catalysts were able to be separated by magnetic devices and reused again.

Keywords: fenton, oxidation, heterogeneous catalyst, wastewater

Procedia PDF Downloads 340