Search results for: Treatment of the Complex Fluids University of Science

Authors: Setenay Nil Doğan, Ece Oztan

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Research and development (R&D) as a term denotes the innovative studies conducted systematically to increase knowledge and its practices. As R&D intensity of Turkey (0,84%) is quite below the EU average intensity score, it has displayed a continuous increase since the 2000s. Also, the development of human capital in R&D has been one of the basic aims of National Strategy of Science, Technology, and Innovation, and National Innovation System 2023 of Turkey. R&D is considered to one of the fields in which the gender gap is wide. The reflections of the analogy of leaky pipeline, a term used for vertical differentiation in academy can also be observed in those scientific activities related with the private sector. In the private sector, the gender gap becomes wider: the percentage of female researchers in the universities (41%) decreases to 24% in the private sector. Though half of the undergraduates and gradutes are female in Turkey, a widening gender gap is observed in terms of employment in R&D. Given this background, this paper will focus on gendered dynamics of careers in R&D through the interviews conducted with 25 female and 25 male employees, working in a university technopark and some of the large RD centers in Turkey working in several sectors such as electronics, automotive etc. Focusing on some aspects of gender differences in terms of career experiences in R&D and innovation, mobility, participation to the projects, patents and inclusion to other innovatory activities, home-work balance, it aims to explore the relationships between science, technology, innovation and gender.

Keywords: gender, innovation, R&D, science, technology

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Authors: Samira Laidaoui, Mohammed Djermane, Nazihe Terfaya

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The fluid-structure coupling is a natural phenomenon which reflects the effects of two continuums: fluid and structure of different types in the reciprocal action on each other, involving knowledge of elasticity and fluid mechanics. The solution for such problems is based on the relations of continuum mechanics and is mostly solved with numerical methods. It is a computational challenge to solve such problems because of the complex geometries, intricate physics of fluids, and complicated fluid-structure interactions. The way in which the interaction between fluid and solid is described gives the largest opportunity for reducing the computational effort. In this paper, a problem of fluid structure interaction is investigated with two-way coupling method. The formulation Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) was used, by considering a dynamic grid, where the solid is described by a Lagrangian formulation and the fluid by a Eulerian formulation. The simulation was made on the ANSYS software.

Keywords: ALE, coupling, FEM, fluid-structure, interaction, one-way method, two-way method

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Authors: Fru Vitalis Akuma, Jenna Koenen

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The science education community is increasingly calling for learning experiences that mirror the work of scientists. Although inquiry-based science education is aligned with these calls, the implementation of this strategy is a complex and daunting task for many teachers. Thus, policymakers and researchers have noted the need for continued teacher Professional Development (PD) in the enactment of inquiry-based science education, coupled with effective ways of reaching the goals of teacher PD. This is a complex problem for which educational design research is suitable. The purpose at this stage of our design research is to develop a generic PD framework that is valid as the blueprint of a PD program for supporting science teachers in relation to inquiry-based curriculum units. The seven components of the framework are the goal, learning theory, strategy, phases, support, motivation, and an instructional model. Based on a systematic review of the literature on effective (science) teacher PD, coupled with developer screening, we have generated a design principle per component of the PD framework. For example, as per the associated design principle, the goal of the framework is to provide science teachers with experiences in authentic inquiry, coupled with enhancing their competencies linked to the adoption, customization and design; then the classroom implementation and the revision of inquiry-based curriculum units. The seven design principles have allowed us to synthesize the PD framework, which, coupled with the design principles, are the preliminary outcomes of the current research. We are in the process of evaluating the content and construct validity of the framework, based on nine one-on-one interviews with experts in inquiry-based classroom and teacher learning. To this end, we have developed an interview protocol with the input of eight such experts in South Africa and Germany. Using the protocol, the expert appraisal of the PD framework will involve three experts from Germany, South Africa, and Cameroon, respectively. These countries, where we originate and/or work, provide a variety of inquiry-based science education contexts, making the countries suitable in the evaluation of the generic PD framework. Based on the evaluation, we will revise the framework and its seven design principles to arrive at the final outcomes of the current research. While the final content and construct a valid version of the framework will serve as an example of the needed ways through which effective inquiry-based science teacher PD may be achieved, the final design principles will be useful to researchers when transforming the framework for use in any specific educational context. For example, in our further research, we will transform the framework to one that is practical and effective in supporting inquiry-based practical work in resource-constrained physical sciences classrooms in South Africa. Researchers in other educational contexts may similarly consider the final framework and design principles in their work. Thus, our final outcomes will inform practice and research around the support of teachers to increase the incorporation of learning experiences that mirror the work of scientists in a worldwide manner.

Keywords: design principles, educational design research, evaluation, inquiry-based science education, professional development framework

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Authors: Eneken Titov, Ly Hobe

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The collaboration between the universities and companies has been a challenging topic for many years, and although we have many good experiences, those seem to be single examples between one university and company. In Ülemiste Smart City in Estonia, the new initiative was started in 2020 fall, when five Estonian universities cooperated, led by the Ülemiste City developing company Mainor, intending to provide charge-free university courses for the Ülemiste City companies and their employees to encourage university-company wider collaboration. Every Ülemiste City company gets a certain number of free educational credit hours per year to participate in university courses. A functional and simple web platform was developed to mediate university courses for the companies. From January 2021, the education credit platform is open for all Ülemiste City companies and their employees to join, and universities offer more than 9000 hours of courses (appr 150 ECTS). Just two months later, more than 20% of Ülemiste City companies (82 out of 400) have joined the project, and their employees have registered for more than in total 3000 hours courses. The first results already show that the project supports the university marketing and the continuous education mindset in general, whether 1/4 of the courses are paid courses (e.g., when the company is out of free credit).

Keywords: education, educational credit, smart city, university-industry collaboration

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Authors: Adedayo Racheal Agbonna

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The rising level of graduate unemployment in Nigeria has brought about the introduction of entrepreneurship education as a career option for self–reliance and self-employment. Sequel to this, it is important to have an understanding of the determining factors of entrepreneurial intention. Therefore this research empirically investigated the influence of entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial intention of undergraduate students of selected universities in Ogun State, Nigeria. The study is significant to researchers, university policy makers, and the government. Survey research design was adopted in the study. The population consisted of 17,659 final year undergraduate students universities in Ogun State. The study adopted stratified and random sampling technique. The table of sample size determination was used to determine the sample size for this study at 95% confidence level and 5% margin error to arrive at a sample size of 1877 respondents. The elements of population were 400 level students of the selected universities. A structured questionnaire titled 'Entrepreneurship Education and students’ Entrepreneurial intention' was administered. The result of the reliability test had the following values 0.716, 0.907 and 0.949 for infrastructure, perceived university support, and entrepreneurial intention respectively. In the same vein, from the construct validity test, the following values were obtained 0.711, 0.663 and 0.759 for infrastructure, perceived university support and entrepreneurial intention respectively. Findings of this study revealed that each of the entrepreneurship education variables significantly affected intention University infrastructure B= -1.200, R²=0.679, F (₁,₁₈₇₅) = 3958.345, P < 0.05) Perceived University Support B= -1.027, R²=0.502, F(₁,₁₈₇₅) = 1924.612, P < 0.05). The perception of respondents in public university and private university on entrepreneurship education have a statistically significant difference [F(₁,₁₈₇₅) = 134.614, p < 0.05) α F(₁,₁₈₇₅) = 363.439]. The study concluded that entrepreneurship education positively influenced entrepreneurial intention of undergraduate students in Ogun State, Nigeria. Also, university infrastructure and perceived university support have negative and significant effect on entrepreneurial intention. The study recommended that to promote entrepreneurial intention of university undergraduate students, infrastructures and the university support that can arouse entrepreneurial intention of students should be put in place.

Keywords: entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial intention, perceived university support, university infrastructure

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Authors: H. W. Meerveld, R. H. A. Lindelauf

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In contemporary warfare, data science is crucial for the military in achieving information superiority. Yet, to the authors’ knowledge, no extensive literature survey on data science in military decision-making has been conducted so far. In this study, 156 peer-reviewed articles were analysed through an integrative, semi-systematic literature review to gain an overview of the topic. The study examined to what extent literature is focussed on the opportunities or risks of data science in military decision-making, differentiated per level of war (i.e. strategic, operational, and tactical level). A relatively large focus on the risks of data science was observed in social science literature, implying that political and military policymakers are disproportionally influenced by a pessimistic view on the application of data science in the military domain. The perceived risks of data science are, however, hardly addressed in formal science literature. This means that the concerns on the military application of data science are not addressed to the audience that can actually develop and enhance data science models and algorithms. Cross-disciplinary research on both the opportunities and risks of military data science can address the observed research gaps. Considering the levels of war, relatively low attention for the operational level compared to the other two levels was observed, suggesting a research gap with reference to military operational data science. Opportunities for military data science mostly arise at the tactical level. On the contrary, studies examining strategic issues mostly emphasise the risks of military data science. Consequently, domain-specific requirements for military strategic data science applications are hardly expressed. Lacking such applications may ultimately lead to a suboptimal strategic decision in today’s warfare.

Keywords: data science, decision-making, information superiority, literature review, military

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Authors: Barbora Chmelikova

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Current financial markets offer a wide range of financial products to the consumers. However, access to the financial products is not always provided or guaranteed, particularly in less developed countries. For this reason, financial inclusion is an important component in the modern society. This paper investigates financial inclusion and what financial products are held by university students majoring in finance fields. The OECD methodology was used to examine the awareness and use of financial products. The study was conducted via online questionnaire at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic among finance students. The results show that the students use current and savings accounts more than any other financial products.

Keywords: financial inclusion, financial products, personal finance, university students

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Authors: Bin Wang, Jian Kang

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After years of development, the study of soundscape has been refined to the types of urban space and building. Traffic complex takes traffic function as the core, with obvious design features of architectural space combination and traffic streamline. The acoustic environment is strongly characterized by function, space, material, user and other factors. Traffic complex integrates various functions of business, accommodation, entertainment and so on. It has various forms, complex and varied experiences, and its acoustic environment is turned rich and interesting with distribution and coordination of various functions, division and unification of the mass, separation and organization of different space and the cross and the integration of multiple traffic flow. In this study, it made field recordings of each space of various traffic complex, and extracted and analyzed different acoustic elements, including changes in sound pressure, frequency distribution, steady sound source, sound source information and other aspects, to make cluster analysis of each independent traffic complex buildings. It divided complicated traffic complex building space into several typical sound space from acoustic environment perspective, mainly including stable sound space, high-pressure sound space, rhythm sound space and upheaval sound space. This classification can further deepen the study of subjective evaluation and control of the acoustic environment of traffic complex.

Keywords: soundscape, traffic complex, cluster analysis, classification

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Authors: Yaw Akoto

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The education of people with disabilities remains one of the major concern of policymakers, advocacy groups and researchers. In Ghana, as in many other countries, there is a policy commitment for the educational inclusion of people with disabilities, including in the context of higher education. This qualitative research investigates how students with disabilities experience equity and accessibility in a Ghanaian university. The study also investigates factors that influence equity and accessibility in a Ghanaian university. The study draws on the views of students with disabilities, on lecturer insight and organisational and national policy documents. The findings specifies that the quality of students with disabilities lived experiences are affected by the physical environment, infrastructure facilities and lack of academic and non-academic information. The study highlights the need for the university to ensure equity in making the university accessible for all students in order to ensure retention and participation of students with disabilities; failure to make the university accessible for students with disabilities compromises the ability of this group of students to realise their academic potentials.

Keywords: accessibility, educational inclusion, equity, students with disabilities

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Authors: Helena M. Wilhelm, Paulo O. Fernandes, Laís P. Dill, Kethlyn G. Moscon

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The use of vegetable oil (or natural ester) as an insulating fluid in electrical transformers is a trend that aims to contribute to environmental preservation since it is biodegradable and non-toxic. Besides, vegetable oil has high flash and combustion points, being considered a fire safety fluid. However, vegetable oil is usually less stable towards oxidation than mineral oil. Both insulating fluids, mineral and vegetable oils, need to be tested periodically according to specific standards. Oxidation stability can be determined by the induction period measured by conductivity method (Rancimat) by monitoring the effectivity of oil’s antioxidant additives, a methodology already developed for food application and biodiesel but still not standardized for insulating fluids. Besides adequate oxidation stability, fluids must be compatible with transformer's construction materials under normal operating conditions to ensure that damage to the oil and parts of the transformer does not occur. ASTM standard and Brazilian normative differ in parameters evaluated, which reveals the need to regulate tests for each oil type. The aim of this study was to assess oxidation stability and compatibility of vegetable oils to suggest the best way to assure a viable performance of vegetable oil as transformer insulating fluid. The determination of the induction period for several vegetable insulating oils from the local market by using Rancimat was carried out according to BS EN 14112 standard, at different temperatures (110, 120, and 130 °C). Also, the compatibility of vegetable oil was assessed according to ASTM and ABNT NBR standards. The main results showed that the best temperature for use in the Rancimat test is 130 °C, which allows a better observation of conductivity change. The compatibility test results presented differences between vegetable and mineral oil standards that should be taken into account in oil testing since materials compatibility and oxidation stability are essential for equipment reliability.

Keywords: compatibility, Rancimat, natural ester, vegetable oil

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Authors: Amin Abbasi, Fariborz Shekari, Seyed Bahman Mousavi

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Seed aging during storage is a complex biochemical and physiological processes that can lead to reduce seed germination. This phenomenon associated with increasing of total antioxidant activity during aging. To study the effects of hormones on seed aging, aged wheat seeds (control, 90 and 80% viabilities) were treated with GA3, Salicylic Acid, and paclobutrazol and antioxidant system were investigated as molecular biomarkers for seed vigor. The results showed that, seed priming treatment significantly affected germination percentage, normality seedling percentage, H2O2, MDA, CAT, APX, and GPX activates. Maximum germination percentage achieve in GA3 priming in control treatment. Germination percentage and normal seedling percentage increased in other GA3 priming treatment compared with other hormones. Also aging increased MDA, H2O2 content. MDA is considered sensitive marker commonly used for assessing membrane lipid peroxidation and H2O2result in toxicity to cellular membrane system and damages to plant cells. Amount of H2O2 and MDA declined in GA3 treatment. CAT, GPX and APX activities were reduced by increasing the aging time and at different levels of priming. The highest APX activity was observed in Salicylic Acid control treatment and the highest GPX and CAT activity was obtained in GA3 control treatment. The lowest MDA and H2O2 showed in GA3 control treatment, too. Hormone priming increased Antioxidant enzyme activity and decreased amount of reactive oxygen space and malondialdehyde (MDA) under aging treatment. Also, GA3 priming treatments have a significant effect on germination percentage and number of normal seedling. Generally aging seed, increase ROS and lipid peroxidation. Antioxidant enzymes activity of aged seeds increased after hormone priming.

Keywords: hormones priming, wheat, aging seed, antioxidant, lipid peroxidation

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Authors: Dian Guan

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With the wide application of multimedia and the Internet, the development of teaching theories, and the implementation of teaching reforms, many different university English classroom teaching modes have emerged. The university English teaching mode is changing from the traditional teaching mode based on conversation and text to the multimodal English teaching mode containing discussion, pictures, audio, film, etc. Applying university English teaching models is conducive to cultivating lifelong learning skills. In addition, lifelong learning skills can also be called learners' autonomous learning skills. Learners' independent learning ability has a significant impact on English learning. However, many university students, especially art and design students, don't know how to learn individually. When they become university students, their English foundation is a relative deficiency because they always remember the language in a traditional way, which, to a certain extent, neglects the cultivation of English learners' independent ability. As a result, the autonomous learning ability of most university students is not satisfactory. The participants in this study were 60 students and one teacher in their first year at a university in western China. Two observations and interviews were conducted inside and outside the classroom to understand the impact of a multimodal teaching model of university English on students' autonomous learning ability. The results were analyzed, and it was found that the multimodal teaching model of university English significantly affected learners' autonomy. Incorporating classroom presentations and poster exhibitions into multimodal teaching can increase learners' interest in learning and enhance their learning ability outside the classroom. However, further exploration is needed to develop multimodal teaching materials and evaluate multimodal teaching outcomes. Despite the limitations of this study, the study adopts a scientific research method to analyze the impact of the multimodal teaching mode of university English on students' independent learning ability. It puts forward a different outlook for further research on this topic.

Keywords: art university, EFL education, learner autonomy, multimodal pedagogy

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Authors: Leila Goosen, Dalize van Heerden

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The performance outcomes of first year Computer Science and Information Technology students across the world are of great concern, whether they are being taught in a face-to-face environment or via distance education. In the face-to-face environment, it is, however, somewhat easier to teach and support students than it is in a distance education environment. The face-to-face academic can more easily gauge the level of understanding and participation of students and implement interventions to address issues, which may arise. With the inroads that Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies are making, the world of online teaching and learning are rapidly expanding, bringing about technologies, which allows for similar interactions between online academics and their students as available to their face-to-face counter parts. At the University of South Africa (UNISA), the Learning Management System (LMS) is called myUNISA and it is deployed on a SAKAI platform. In this paper, we will take a look at some of the myUNISA technologies implemented in the teaching of a first year programming course, how they are implemented and, in some cases, we will indicate how this affects the performance outcomes of students.

Keywords: computer science, Distance Education Technologies, Learning Management System, face-to-face environment

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Authors: Nkutere Chikezie Kanu, Nnamdi M. Anigbogu, Johnson C. Ezike

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The study was carried out to investigate the performance of Red Sokoto goats fed Municipal Oranic Wastes (MOW) subjected to two methods of in vivo degradation by Torula Yeast and Zymomonas mobilis. Two combination, Torula Yeast + Zymomonas mobilis (main degradation), and Zymomonas mobilis + Torula Yeast (Reciprocal degradation) were used to degrade MOW. Eighteen Red Sokoto goats of both sexes (9 males and 9 females) of ages between 6-8 were used for the study. The goats were randomly assigned into 3 treatments groups A, B and C respectively with 6 goats per treatment. The experiment was laid in a Completely Randomized Design and replicated 3 times. Treatment A groups were fed 30% Undegraded MOW base diet +concentrate mixture, Treatment B groups were fed 30% Main degraded MOW base diet +concentrate mixture, Treatment C groups were fed 30% Reciprocal degraded MOW base diet +concentrate mixture. The result of the daily weight gain was significantly (P<0.05) better than on the other Treatments. There was significant improvement (P<0.05) on the daily feed consumption in Treatment B than on the Treatments A and C. The feed conversion ratio revealed no significant (P>0.05) differences among the treatment groups but much better in the treatment B and C, the cost of feed consumed was much higher (P>0.05) in Treatment B followed by Treatment C, while Treatment A had the lowest. The cost/ kg weight gain that was recorded in Treatment A was better (P<0.05) than the Treatment B, followed by Treatment C, while the cost of production was high (P<0.05) in Treatment B than in other treatments. The gross profit was observed best (P<0.05) on the Treatment B, followed by Treatment C while Treatment A had the lowest. The net profit as noted in this study was much better (P<0.05) in Treatment B, and Treatment C, while the least was observed in Treatment A, where the return on investment was high in Treatments B and C, while Treatment A had the lowest.

Keywords: reciprocal, torula yeast, Zymomonas mobilis, organic waste

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Authors: Michel Wakim, Rodrigo Rivera Tinoco

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Supersonic ejector is an economical device that use high pressure vapor to compress a low pressure vapor without any rotating parts or external power sources. Entrainment ratio is a major characteristic of the ejector performance, so the ejector performance is highly dependent on its geometry. The aim of this paper is to design ejector geometry, based on pre-specified operating conditions, and to study the flow behavior inside the ejector by using computational fluid dynamics ‘CFD’ by using ‘ANSYS FLUENT 15.0’ software. In the first section; 1-D mathematical model is carried out to predict the ejector geometry. The second part describes the flow behavior inside the designed model. CFD is the most reliable tool to reveal the mixing process at different parts of the supersonic turbulent flow and to study the effect of the geometry on the effective ejector area. Finally, the results show the effect of the geometry on the entrainment ratio.

Keywords: computational fluids dynamics, ejector, entrainment ratio, geometry optimization, performance

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Authors: Chang Li Yu

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Resistances commonly happened during sexual offenders treatment program (SOTP), and removing resistances was one of the treatment goals on it. Studies concerning treatment effectiveness relied on pre- and post-treatment evaluations, however, no significant difference on resistance revealed after treatment, and the above consequences generally contributed to the low motivation for change instead. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the resistance across each stage of change among sexual offenders (SO). The present study recruited prisoned SO in Taiwan, excluding those with literacy difficulties; finally, 272 participants were included. Of all participants completed revised version of URICA (University of Rhode Island Change Assessment) and resistance scale specifically for SO. The former included four stages of change: pre-contemplation (PC), contemplation (C), action (A), and maintain (M); the later composed eight types of resistance: system blaming, victims blaming, problems with treatment alliance, social justification, hopelessness, isolation, psychological reactance, and passive reactance. Both of the instruments were with well reliability and validity. Descriptive statistics and ANOVA were performed. All of 272 participants, age under 25 were 18(6.6%), 25-39 were 133(48.9%), 40-54 were 102(37.5%), and age over 55 were 19(7.0%); college level and above were 53(19.5%), high school level were 110(40.4%), and under high school level were 109(40.1%); first offended were 117(43.0%), and recidivist were 23(8.5%). Further deleting data with missing values and invalid questionnaires, SO with stage of change on PC were 43(18.9%), C were 109(47.8%), A were 70(30.7%), and on M were 6(2.6%). One-way ANOVA showed significant differences on every kind of resistances, excepting isolation and passive reactance. Post-hoc analysis showed that SO with different stages had their main resistance. There are two contributions to the present study. First, this study provided a clinical and theoretical measurement of evaluation that was never used in the past. Second, this study used an evidence-based methodology to prove a clinical perspective differed from the past, suggesting that resistances to treatment on SO appear the whole therapeutic process, when SO progress into the next stage of change, clinicians have to deal with their main resistance for working through the therapy.

Keywords: resistance, sexual offenders treatment program (SOTP), motivation for change, prisoned sexual offender

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Authors: Opata Obinna Johnpaul

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Wastewater is one of the day-to–day concerns of humans and the environment, in general, due to its importance to the environment. This is because of the presence of various contaminants that are involved in waste water. Wastewater treatment can be defined as the proportion of wastewater that is treated, in order to reduce pollutants before being discharged to the environment, by the level of treatment. This work discusses wastewater treatment, its contaminants, as well as the technologies, involved.The major focus is to analyze Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc, their effluent treatment facility. Okomu Oil Palm Company is based in Nigeria, which is one of the developing countries of the world. Okomu Oil Palm Company uses aquatic treatment technology for their effluent treatment and applies the physio-chemical level of advanced chemical treatment of wastewater treatment process. This work will discuss the outcome of the laboratory sample taken on the 30th January, 2015 and analyzed between 30th January- 4th February 2015.

Keywords: wastewater treatment, contaminants, physio-chemical process, Okomu oil palm

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Authors: Xiaohong Li, Wenfan Yan

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Background: While it is widely considered that the university library plays a critical role in fulfilling the institution's mission and providing students’ learning experience beyond the classrooms, how the technology-enhanced library reform changed college students’ learning experience hasn’t been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study is to explore how technology-enhanced library reform affects students’ learning experience and career readiness and further identify the factors and effective conditions that enable the quality learning outcome of Chinese college students. Methodologies: This study selected the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method to explore the effects of technology-enhanced university library reform on college students’ learning experience and career readiness. QCA is unique in explaining the complex relationship between multiple factors from a holistic perspective. Compared with the traditional quantitative and qualitative analysis, QCA not only adds some quantitative logic but also inherits the characteristics of qualitative research focusing on the heterogeneity and complexity of samples. Shenyang Normal University (SNU) selected a sample of the typical comprehensive university in China that focuses on students’ learning and application of professional knowledge and trains professionals to different levels of expertise. A total of 22 current university students and 30 graduates who joined the Library Readers Association of SNU from 2011 to 2019 were selected for semi-structured interviews. Based on the data collected from these participating students, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), including univariate necessity analysis and the multi-configuration analysis, was conducted. Findings and Discussion: QCA analysis results indicated that the influence of technology-enhanced university library restructures and reorganization on student learning experience and career readiness is the result of multiple factors. Technology-enhanced library equipment and other hardware restructured to meet the college students learning needs and have played an important role in improving the student learning experience and learning persistence. More importantly, the soft characteristics of technology-enhanced library reform, such as library service innovation space and culture space, have a positive impact on student’s career readiness and development. Technology-enhanced university library reform is not only the change in the building's appearance and facilities but also in library service quality and capability. The study also provides suggestions for policy, practice, and future research.

Keywords: career readiness, college student learning experience, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), technology-enhanced library reform

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Authors: Larbi Hammadi, Abdellatif El Bari Tidjani

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In order to reduce the flow of pollutants in the wastewater of the urban agglomerations of the city of Oran, a preliminary study was carried out at the El-Karma wastewater treatment plant. The primary objective of this study was to estimate the overall physicochemical pollution in the effluents of the El-Karma sewage treatment plant wastewater. It was found that the effluent of El-Karma wastewater treatment plant contains a significant amount of insoluble. Total suspended soli TSS concentrations ranged from 112 to 475 mg/l, with an average of 220.5 mg/l. The chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) values remain within the reference range for domestic wastewater with an average value of COD < 125 and BOD₅ < 25. The COD/BOD₅ ratio of raw water entering the treatment plant is less than 2. This ratio would predict that the raw sewage from the El-Karma treatment plant is polluted by inorganic pollution strong enough.

Keywords: El-Karma wastewater, TSS concentrations, COD and BOD5, COD/BOD5 ratio, treatment

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Authors: S. O. Uwaifo

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The paper examines the pivotal role of the library in university education through the provision of a wide range of information materials (print and non- print) required for the teaching, learning and research activities of the university. However certain impediments to the effectiveness of Nigerian university libraries, such as financial constraints, high foreign exchange, global disparities in accessing the internet, lack of local area networks, erratic electric power supply, absence of ICT literacy, poor maintenance culture, etc., were identified. Also, the necessity of repositioning Nigerian university libraries for effective information provision and delivery was stressed by pointing out their dividends, such as users’ access to Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Online Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), Institutional Repositories, Electronic Document Delivery, Social Media Networks, etc. It therefore becomes necessary for the libraries to be repositioned by way of being adequately automated or digitized for effective service delivery, in this age of globalization. Based on the identified barriers by this paper, some recommendations were proffered.

Keywords: repositioning, Nigerian university libraries, effective information provision and delivery, globalization

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Authors: Saba Latif

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The use of social media among university students is a topic of ongoing debate, with conflicting views on its impact on academic achievement. This study aimed to explore the relationship between social media use and academic achievement among university students and to identify factors that may contribute to positive or negative effects. The study used a mixed-methods design, including a survey of 500 university students and qualitative interviews with a subset of participants. The survey results showed that social media use was prevalent among students, with Facebook and Instagram are the most commonly used platforms. The findings also indicated a positive relationship between social media use and academic achievement, with students who reported higher levels of social media use also reporting higher GPAs. However, the qualitative interviews revealed that excessive use of social media could be a distraction that hinders academic performance, especially when students use it to procrastinate or to stay up late at night. Overall, the findings suggest that social media use can have both positive and negative effects on academic achievement among university students. Responsible and balanced use of social media, such as setting limits on usage and avoiding procrastination, may help students maximize the benefits while minimizing the risks.

Keywords: social media, university, achievement, effective, learning

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Authors: Shaimaa Eltanani, Thangal Yumnamcha, Ahmed S. Ibrahim

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Purpose: Mitochondria dysfunction is central to breaking the barrier integrity of retinal endothelial cells (RECs) in various blinding eye diseases such as diabetic retinopathy and retinopathy of prematurity. Therefore, we aimed to dissect the role of different mitochondrial components, specifically, those of oxidative phosphorylation (OxPhos), in maintaining the barrier function of RECs. Methods: Electric cell-substrate impedance sensing (ECIS) technology was used to assess in real-time the role of different mitochondrial components in the total impedance (Z) of human RECs (HRECs) and its components; the capacitance (C) and the total resistance (R). HRECs were treated with specific mitochondrial inhibitors that target different steps in OxPhos: Rotenone for complex I; Oligomycin for ATP synthase; and FCCP for uncoupling OxPhos. Furthermore, data were modeled to investigate the effects of these inhibitors on the three parameters that govern the total resistance of cells: cell-cell interactions (Rb), cell-matrix interactions (α), and cell membrane permeability (Cm). Results: Rotenone (1 µM) produced the greatest reduction in the Z, followed by FCCP (1 µM), whereas no reduction in the Z was observed after the treatment with Oligomycin (1 µM). Following this further, we deconvoluted the effect of these inhibitors on Rb, α, and Cm. Firstly, rotenone (1 µM) completely abolished the resistance contribution of Rb, as the Rb became zero immediately after the treatment. Secondly, FCCP (1 µM) eliminated the resistance contribution of Rb only after 2.5 hours and increased Cm without considerable effect on α. Lastly, Oligomycin had the lowest impact among these inhibitors on Rb, which became similar to the control group at the end of the experiment without noticeable effects on Cm or α. Conclusion: These results demonstrate differential roles for complex I, complex V, and coupling of OxPhos in maintaining the barrier functionality of HRECs, in which complex I being the most important component in regulating the barrier functionality and the spreading behavior of HRECs. Such differences can be used in investigating gene expression as well as for screening selective agents that improve the functionality of complex I to be used in the therapeutic approach for treating REC-related retinal diseases.

Keywords: human retinal endothelial cells (hrecs), rotenone, oligomycin, fccp, oxidative phosphorylation, oxphos, capacitance, impedance, ecis modeling, rb resistance, α resistance, and barrier integrity

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Authors: Akanimo Emene, Mark D. Ogden, Robert Edyvean

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Adsorption is a low cost, efficient and economically viable wastewater treatment process. Utilization of this treatment process has not been fully applied due to the complex and not fully understood nature of the adsorption system. To optimize its process is to choose a sufficient adsorbent and to study further the experimental parameters that influence the adsorption design system. Chemically modified adsorbent, Luffa cylindrica, was used to adsorb heavy metal ions and an organic pollutant, methylene blue, from aqueous environmental solution at varying experimental conditions. Experimental factors, adsorption time, initial metal ion or organic pollutant concentration, ionic strength, and pH of solution were studied. The experimental data were analyzed with kinetic and isotherm models. The antagonistic effect of the methylene and some heavy metal ions were recorded. An understanding of the use of this treated Luffa cylindrica for the removal of these toxic substances will establish and improve the commercial application of the adsorption process in treatment of contaminated waters.

Keywords: adsorption, heavy metal ions, Luffa cylindrica, wastewater treatment

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Authors: Fatima Huda Hallak

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The current study aimed to evaluate the activity of bacterial insecticide Vertinic against the second star larvae of Trogoderma granarium (Everts) by four treatments: A, B, C, D, at seven concentrations: 0.001, 0.01, 0.1,1,10,100,1000 PPM. The mortality rate of larvae was 100% at concentrations 10 and 100 in treatments A and B after 24 hours and after 48 hours in treatment D at 1 PPM. The efficiency of treatment A was greater as compared to treatment B at all concentrations and all exposure times. The efficiency of treatment D was greater as compared to treatment C; for example, at 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1 PPM, after 120 hours, the Mortality rate of larve was 6.76, 13.33, 43.33, 100% in treatment D, which it was 0.00, 0.00, 23.33, 96.67%, respectively in the treatment C.

Keywords: bacterial insecticide, trogoderma granarium (everts), fourth star larvae, vertimic

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Authors: Shilpee Jain, Sachin Latiyan, Kaushik Suneet

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Unlike traditional robots, medical microbots are not only smaller in size, but they also possess various unique properties, for example, biocompatibility, stability in the biological fluids, navigation opposite to the bloodstream, wireless control over locomotion, etc. The idea behind their usage in the medical field was to build a minimally invasive method for addressing the post-operative complications, including longer recovery time, infection eruption and pain. Herein, the present study demonstrates the fabrication of dual nature magneto-conducting Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) and SU8 derived carbon-based Janus microbots for the efficient intracellular delivery of biomolecules. The low aspect ratio with feature size 2-5 μm microbots were fabricated by using a photolithography technique. These microbots were pyrolyzed at 900°C, which converts SU8 into amorphous carbon. The pyrolyzed microbots have dual properties, i.e., the half part is magneto-conducting and another half is only conducting for sufficing the therapeutic payloads efficiently with the application of external electric/magnetic field stimulations. For the efficient intracellular delivery of the microbots, the size and aspect ratio plays a significant role. However, on a smaller scale, the proper control over movement is difficult to achieve. The dual nature of Janus microbots allowed to control its maneuverability in the complex fluids using external electric as well as the magnetic field. Interestingly, Janus microbots move faster with the application of an external electric field (44 µm/s) as compared to the magnetic field (18 µm/s) application. Furthermore, these Janus microbots exhibit auto-fluorescence behavior that will help to track their pathway during navigation. Typically, the use of MNPs in the microdevices enhances the tendency to agglomerate. However, the incorporation of Fe₃O₄ MNPs in the pyrolyzed carbon reduces the chances of agglomeration of the microbots. The biocompatibility of the medical microbots, which is the essential property of any biosystems, was determined in vitro using HeLa cells. The microbots were found to compatible with HeLa cells. Additionally, the intracellular uptake of microbots was higher in the presence of an external electric field as compared to without electric field stimulation. In summary, the cytocompatible Janus microbots were fabricated successfully. They are stable in the biological fluids, wireless controllable navigation with the help of a few Guess external magnetic fields, their movement can be tracked because of autofluorescence behavior, they are less susceptible to agglomeration and higher cellular uptake could be achieved with the application of the external electric field. Thus, these carriers could offer a versatile platform to suffice the therapeutic payloads under wireless actuation.

Keywords: amorphous carbon, electric/magnetic stimulations, Janus microbots, magnetic nanoparticles, minimally invasive procedures

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Authors: Aye Pa Pa Myo

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Writing in English is accounted as a complex process for English as a foreign language learners. Besides, committing errors in writing can be found as an inevitable part of language learners’ writing. Generally, academic writing is quite difficult for most of the students to manage for getting better scores. Students can commit common errors in their writings when they try to write academic writing. Error analysis deals with identifying and detecting the errors and also explains the reason for the occurrence of these errors. In this paper, the researcher has an attempt to examine the common errors of undergraduate students in their academic writings at Pathein University. The purpose of doing this research is to investigate the errors which students usually commit in academic writing and to find out the better ways for correcting these errors in EFL classrooms. In this research, fifty-third-year non-English specialization students attending Pathein University were selected as participants. This research took one month. It was conducted with a mixed methodology method. Two mini-tests were used as research tools. Data were collected with a quantitative research method. Findings from this research pointed that most of the students noticed their common errors after getting the necessary input, and they became more decreased committing these errors after taking mini-test; hence, all findings will be supportive for further researches related to error analysis in academic writing.

Keywords: academic writing, error analysis, EFL learners, mini-tests, mixed methodology

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Authors: Fasil Wagnew, Kerri Viney, Kefyalew Addis Alene, Matthew Kelly, Darren Gray

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Background: Undernutrition is a risk factor for tuberculosis (TB), including poor treatment outcomes. However, evidence regarding the effect of undernutrition on TB treatment outcomes is not well understood. We aimed to evaluate the effect of undernutrition on sputum culture conversion and treatment outcomes among people with multi-drug resistance (MDR)-TB. Methods: We searched for publications in the Medline, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science databases without restrictions on geography or year of publication. We conducted a random-effect meta-analysis to estimate the effects of undernutrition on sputum culture conversion and treatment outcomes. Two reviewers independently assessed the study eligibility, extracted the necessary information, and assessed the risk of bias. Depending on the nature of the data, odds ratio (OR) and hazard ratio (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to summarize the effect estimates. Potential publication bias was checked using funnel plots and Egger’s tests. Results: Of 2358 records screened, 59 studies comprising a total of 31,254 people with MDR-TB were included. Undernutrition was significantly associated with a lower sputum culture conversion rate (HR 0·7, 95% CI 0·6–0·9, I2=67·1%) and a higher rate of mortality (OR 2·9, 95%CI 2·1–3·8, I2=23·7%) and unfavourable treatment outcomes (OR 1·8, 95%CI 1·5–2·0, I2=72·7%). There was no statistically significant publication bias in the included studies. Three studies were low, forty-two studies were moderate, and fourteen studies were high quality. Interpretations: Undernutrition was significantly associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes, including mortality and lower sputum culture conversion among people with MDR-TB. These findings have implications for supporting targeted nutritional interventions alongside standardised second-line TB drugs.

Keywords: undernutrition, MDR-TB, sputum culture conversion, treatment outcomes, meta-analysis

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Authors: Siobhan Hegarty, Michael Bloomfield, Kim Entholt, Dorothy Williams, Helen Kennerley

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Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CPTSD) confers greater risk of poor outcomes than does Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Despite this, the current treatment guidelines for CPTSD aim to reduce only the ‘core’ symptoms of re-experiencing, hyper-vigilance and avoidance, while not addressing the Disturbances of Self Organisation (DSO) symptoms that distinguish this novel diagnosis from PTSD. The Recovering from Child Abuse Programme (RCAP) is a group protocol, based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Preliminary evidence suggests the program is effective at reducing DSO symptoms. This pilot study is the first to investigate the potential effectiveness of the RCAP for the specific treatment of CPTSD. This study was conducted as a service evaluation in a secondary care, traumatic stress service. Treatment was delivered once a week, in two-hour sessions, to ten existing female CPTSD patients of the service, who had experienced sexual abuse in childhood. The programme was administered by two therapists and two additional facilitators, following the RCAP protocol manual. Symptom severity was measured before the administration of therapy and was tracked across a range of measures (International Trauma Questionnaire; Patient Health Questionnaire; Community Assessment of Psychic Experience; Work and Social Adjustment Scale) at five time points, over the course of treatment. Qualitative appraisal of the programme was gathered via weekly feedback forms and from audio-taped recordings of verbal feedback given during group sessions. Preliminary results suggest the programme causes a slight reduction in CPTSD and depressive symptom severity and preliminary qualitative analysis suggests that the RCAP is both helpful and acceptable to group members. Final results and conclusions will follow completed thematic analysis of results.

Keywords: Child sexual abuse, Cognitive behavioural therapy, Complex post-traumatic stress disorder, Recovering from child abuse programme

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Authors: Sakapas Saengchai

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This paper studied the participation of juvenile with driven of tobacco control in education institute: case study of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University is qualitative research has objective to study participation of juvenile with driven of tobacco control in University, as guidance of development participation of juvenile with driven of tobacco control in education institute the university is also free-cigarette university. There are qualitative researches on collection data of participation observation, in-depth interview of group conversation and agent of student in each faculty and college and exchange opinion of student. Result of study found that participation in tobacco control has 3 parts; 1) Participation in campaign of tobacco control, 2) Academic training and activity of free-cigarette of university and 3) As model of juvenile in tobacco control. For guidelines on youth involvement in driven tobacco control is universities should promote tobacco control activities. Reduce smoking campaign continues include a specific area for smokers has living room as sign clearly, staying in the faculty / college and developing network of model students who are non-smoking. This is a key role in the coordination of university students driving to the free cigarette university. Including the strengthening of community in the area and outside the area as good social and quality of country.

Keywords: participation, juvenile, tobacco control, institute

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Authors: Ni̇sa Yeni̇kalayci, Türkan Aybi̇ke Akarca

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The ability of correlation the number and space relations, one of the basic scientific process skills, is being used in the transformation of a two-dimensional object into a three-dimensional image or in the expression of symmetry axes of the object. With this research, it is aimed to determine the ability of science students to establish number and space relations. The research was carried out with a total of 90 students studying in the first semester of the Science Education program of a state university located in the Turkey’s Black Sea Region in the fall semester of 2017-2018 academic year. An ‘Integrative Perception Test (IPT)’ was designed by the researchers to collect the data. Within the scope of IPT, the courses and workbooks specific to the field of science were scanned and the ones without symmetrical structure from the visual items belonging to the ‘Physics - Chemistry – Biology’ sub-fields were selected and listed. During the application, it was expected that students would imagine and draw images of the missing half of the visual items that were given incomplete in the first place. The data obtained from the test in which there are 30 images or pictures in total (f Physics = 10, f Chemistry = 10, f Biology = 10) were analyzed descriptively based on the drawings created by the students as ‘complete (2 points), incomplete/wrong (1 point), empty (0 point)’. For the teaching of new concepts in small aged groups, images or pictures showing symmetrical structures and similar applications can also be used.

Keywords: integrative perception, number and space relations, science education, scientific process skills

Procedia PDF Downloads 151