Search results for: moderate secondary hypertriglyceridemia

Authors: K. V. F. Fatokun, P. A. Eniayeju

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This study concerns the effects of concept mapping-guided discovery integrated teaching approach on the learning style and achievement of chemistry students. The sample comprised 162 senior secondary school (SS 2) students drawn from two science schools in Nasarawa State which have equivalent mean scores of 9.68 and 9.49 in their pre-test. Five instruments were developed and validated while the sixth was purely adopted by the investigator for the study, Four null hypotheses were tested at α = 0.05 level of significance. Chi square analysis showed that there is a significant shift in students’ learning style from accommodating and diverging to converging and assimilating when exposed to concept mapping- guided discovery approach. Also t-test and ANOVA that those in experimental group achieve and retain content learnt better. Results of the Scheffe’s test for multiple comparisons showed that boys in the experimental group performed better than girls. It is therefore concluded that the concept mapping-guided discovery integrated approach should be used in secondary schools to successfully teach electrochemistry. It is strongly recommended that chemistry teachers should be encouraged to adopt this method for teaching difficult concepts.

Keywords: integrated teaching approach, concept mapping-guided discovery, achievement, retention, learning styles and interest

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Authors: Jaskaran Singh Sidhu

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Aim: The purpose of this study is to find the relationship between wellness among sportsmen and non sportsmen. Methodology: The present study is an experimental study for 80 senior secondary volleyball players of 16-19 years of age from Ludhiana District of Punjab (India), and 80 non-sportsperson were taken from senior secondary school of Ludhiana district. The sample for this study was taken through a random sampling technique. Tools: A five point scale havinf 50 items was used to acess the wellness Statistical Analysis: To find out the relationship among the variables exists or not, a t-test was used to test the significance of the difference between the means. Statistics for each characteristic were calculated; Mean, Standard deviation, Standard error of Mean. Data were analyzed using SPSS (statistical package for the social sciences). Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Substantial deviations were noted at p<0.5 in the totality of wellness. Sportsmen show significant differences exist at p<0.5 in three parameters of wellness i.e., physical wellness, mental wellness, and social wellness. In spiritual and emotional wellness attributes, non-sportsmen shows significant difference at p<0.5. Conclusion: From the data interpretation it reflects that overall wellness can be improved by participation in sports. It further noted in study that participation in sports promote the attributes of wellness i.e., physical wellness, mental wellness, emotional wellness and social wellness.

Keywords: physical, mental, social, emotional, wellness, spiritual

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Authors: Chu Liu

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With the development of society and the changes of the times, the requirements for the cultivation of learners are different. In the 21st century, STEM education has become a boom in the development of education in various countries, aiming to improve the comprehensive ability of learners in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The rise of robot education provides an effective way for STEM education to cultivate computational thinking ability, interdisciplinary ability, problem-solving ability, and teamwork ability. Although robot education has been developed in China for several years, it still lacks a standard curriculum system. This article uses programming software as a platform, through the research and analysis of 'Basic Education Information Technology Curriculum Standards (2012 Edition)', combines with the actual learning situation of learners, tries to conduct teaching project design research, and aims at providing references for the teaching ideas and method of robot education courses. In contemporary society, technological advances increasingly require creativity. Innovative comprehensive talents urgently need a radical and effective education reform to keep up with social changes. So in this context, robot teaching design can be used for students. The tendency of creativity to influence is worth to be verified.

Keywords: STEM education, robot teaching, primary and secondary school students, tendency of creativity

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Authors: Kylie Mueller, Nijole Bernaitis, Shailendra Anoopkumar-Dukie

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Background: Vitamin K antagonists particularly warfarin is the most frequently used oral medication for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) treatment and prophylaxis. Time in therapeutic range (TITR) of the international normalised ratio (INR) is widely accepted as a measure to assess the quality of warfarin therapy. Multiple factors can affect warfarin control and the subsequent adverse outcomes including thromboembolic and bleeding events. Predictor models have been developed to assess potential contributing factors and measure the individual risk of these adverse events. These predictive models have been validated in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients, however, there is a lack of literature on whether these can be successfully applied to other warfarin users including DVT patients. Therefore, the aim of the study was to assess the ability of these risk models (HAS BLED and CHADS2) to predict haemorrhagic and ischaemic incidences in DVT patients treated with warfarin. Methods: A retrospective analysis of DVT patients receiving warfarin management by a private pathology clinic was conducted. Data was collected from November 2007 to September 2014 and included demographics, medical and drug history, INR targets and test results. Patients receiving continuous warfarin therapy with an INR reference range between 2.0 and 3.0 were included in the study with mean TITR calculated using the Rosendaal method. Bleeding and thromboembolic events were recorded and reported as incidences per patient. The haemorrhagic risk model HAS BLED and ischaemic risk model CHADS2 were applied to the data. Patients were then stratified into either the low, moderate, or high-risk categories. The analysis was conducted to determine if a correlation existed between risk assessment tool and patient outcomes. Data was analysed using GraphPad Instat Version 3 with a p value of <0.05 considered to be statistically significant. Patient characteristics were reported as mean and standard deviation for continuous data and categorical data reported as number and percentage. Results: Of the 533 patients included in the study, there were 268 (50.2%) female and 265 (49.8%) male patients with a mean age of 62.5 years (±16.4). The overall mean TITR was 78.3% (±12.7) with an overall haemorrhagic incidence of 0.41 events per patient. For the HAS BLED model, there was a haemorrhagic incidence of 0.08, 0.53, and 0.54 per patient in the low, moderate and high-risk categories respectively showing a statistically significant increase in incidence with increasing risk category. The CHADS2 model showed an increase in ischaemic events according to risk category with no ischaemic events in the low category, and an ischaemic incidence of 0.03 in the moderate category and 0.47 high-risk categories. Conclusion: An increasing haemorrhagic incidence correlated to an increase in the HAS BLED risk score in DVT patients treated with warfarin. Furthermore, a greater incidence of ischaemic events occurred in patients with an increase in CHADS2 category. In an Australian population of DVT patients, the HAS BLED and CHADS2 accurately predicts incidences of haemorrhage and ischaemic events respectively.

Keywords: anticoagulant agent, deep vein thrombosis, risk assessment, warfarin

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Authors: Jarmila Štěpánová, Martin Kudláček, Lukáš Jakubec

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The people with spinal cord injury are one of the least sport active members of our society. Their hypoactivity is determined by primary injury, i.e., the loss of motor function, the injured part of the body is connected with health complications and social handicap. Study performs one part of the standardization process of semi-structured interview PARA-SCI.CZ (Czech version of the Physical Activity Recall Assessment for People with Spinal Cord Injury), which measures the type, frequency, duration, and intensity of physical activity of people with spinal cord injury. The study focused on persons with paraplegia who use a wheelchair as their primary mode of mobility. The aim of this study was to perform a process to determine the criterion validity of PARA-SCI.CZ. The actual physical activity of wheelchair users was monitored during three days by using accelerometers Actigraph GT3X fixed on the non-dominant wrist, and semi-structured interview PARA-SCI.CZ. During the PARA-SCI.CZ interview, participants were asked to recall activities they had done over the past 3 days, starting with the previous day. PARA-SCI.CZ captured frequency, duration, and intensity (low, moderate, and heavy) of two categories of physical activity (leisure time physical activity and activities of a usual day). Accelerometer Actigraph GT3X captured duration and intensity (low and moderate + heavy) of physical activity during three days and nights. The study presented three potential recalculations of measured data. Standardization process of PARA-SCI.CZ is essential to critically approach issues of health and active lifestyle of persons with spinal cord injury in the Czech Republic. Standardized PARA-SCI.CZ can be used in practice by physiotherapists and sports pedagogues from the field of adapted physical activities.

Keywords: physical activity, lifestyle, paraplegia, semi-structure interview, accelerometer

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Authors: Valdir Moura, FranciléIa De Oliveira E. Silva, Erivelto Mercante, Ranieli Dos Anjos De Souza, Jerry Adriani Johann

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Several colonization projects were implemented in the Brazilian Legal Amazon in the 1970s and 1980s. Among all of these colonization projects, the most prominent were those with the Fishbone and Topographic models. Within this scope, the projects of settlements known as Anari and Machadinho were created, which stood out because they are contiguous areas with different models and structure of occupation and colonization. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the dynamics of Land-Use and Land-Cover (LULC) in two different colonization models, implanted in the State of Rondonia in the 1980s. The Fishbone and Topographic models were implanted in the Anari and Machadinho settlements respectively. The understanding of these two forms of occupation will help in future colonization programs of the Brazilian Legal Amazon. These settlements are contiguous areas with different occupancy structures. A 32-year Landsat time series (1984-2016) was used to evaluate the rates and trends in the LULC process in the different colonization models. In the different occupation models analyzed, the results showed a rapid loss of primary and secondary forests (deforestation), mainly due to the dynamics of use, established by the Agriculture/Pasture (A/P) relation and, with heavy dependence due to road construction.

Keywords: land-cover, deforestation, rate fragments, remote sensing, secondary succession

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Authors: Ismail Seçer, Kerime Meryem Dereli̇oğlu

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This study is conducted to determine the effects of group counseling program on secondary school 9th grade students’ assertiveness skills. The study group was formed of 100 students who have received education in Erzurum Kültür Elementary School in 2015-2016 education years. RAE-Rathus Assertiveness Schedule developed by Voltan Acar was applied on this group to gather data. 40 students who got lower grades from the inventory were divided randomly into experimental and control groups. Each group is formed of 20 students. Group counseling program was carried out on the experimental group to improve the students’ assertiveness skills for 8 weeks. Single-way and two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used in the analysis of the data. The data was analyzed by using the SPSS 19.00. The results of the study show that assertiveness skills of the students who participate in the group counseling program increased meaningfully compared to the control group and pre-experiment. Besides, it was determined that the change observed in the experimental group occurred separately from the age and socio-economic level variables, and it was determined with the monitoring test applied after four months that this affect was continued. According to this result, it can be said that the applied group counseling program is an effective means to improve the assertiveness skills of secondary school students.

Keywords: high school, assertiveness, assertiveness inventory, assertiveness education

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Authors: Patricia Portugal Marques de Carvalho Lourenco

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A three-phase methodological multi-lingual path was designed, constructed and carried out using the 2020 Chinese Internet Drama Series We Are All Alone as a case study. Phase one, the backbone of the research, comprised of secondary data analysis, providing the structure on which the next two phases would be built on. Phase one incorporated a Google Scholar and a Baidu Index analysis, Star Network Influence Index and Mydramalist.com top two drama reviews, along with an article written about the drama and scrutiny of Chinese related blogs and websites. Phase two was field research elaborated across Latin Europe, and phase three was social media focused, having into account that perceptions are going to be memory conditioned based on past ideas recall. Overall, research has shown the poor cultural expression of Chinese entertainment in Latin Europe and demonstrated the inexistence of Chinese content in French, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish Business to Consumer retailers; a reflection of their low significance in Latin European markets and the short-life cycle of entertainment products in general, bubble-gum, disposable goods without a mid to long-term effect in consumers lives. The process of conducting comprehensive international research was complex and time-consuming, with data not always available in Mandarin, the researcher’s linguistic deficiency, limited Chinese Cultural Knowledge and cultural equivalence. Despite steps being taken to minimize the international proposed research, theoretical limitations concurrent to Latin Europe and China still occurred. Data accuracy was disputable; sampling, data collection/analysis methods are heterogeneous; ascertaining data requirements and the method of analysis to achieve a construct equivalence was challenging and morose to operationalize. Secondary data was also not often readily available in Mandarin; yet, in spite of the array of limitations, research was done, and results were produced.

Keywords: research methodologies, international research, primary data, secondary data, research limitations, online dramas, china, latin europe

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Authors: Emanuel Koseos

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Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) refers to making decisions that are based on historical data in order to inform practice, develop strategies and implement policies that benefit organizational settings. In educational technology, DDDM facilitates the implementation of differential educational learning approaches such as Educational Data Mining (EDM) and Competency-Based Education (CBE), which commonly target university classrooms. There is a current need for DDDM models applied to middle and secondary schools from a concern for assessing the needs, progress and performance of students and educators with respect to regional standards, policies and evolution of curriculums. To address these concerns, we propose a DDDM reference model developed using educational key process initiatives as inputs to a machine learning framework implemented with statistical software (SAS, R) to provide a best-practices, complex-free and automated approach for educators at their regional level. We assessed the efficiency of the model over a six-year period using data from 45 schools and grades K-12 in the Langley, BC, Canada regional school district. We concluded that the model has wider appeal, such as business learning systems.

Keywords: competency-based learning, data-driven decision making, machine learning, secondary schools

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Authors: M. Shaheed Hartley

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There has been increasing pressure on education researchers and practitioners at higher education institutions to focus on the development of South Africa’s rural and peri-urban communities and improving their quality of life. Many tertiary institutions are obliged to review their outreach interventions in schools. To ensure that the support provided to schools is still relevant, a systemic evaluation of science educator needs is central to this process. These prioritised needs will serve as guide not only for the outreach projects of tertiary institutions, but also to service providers in general so that the process of addressing educators needs become coordinated, organised and delivered in a systemic manner. This paper describes one area of a broader needs assessment exercise to collect data regarding the needs of educators in a district of 45 secondary schools in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. This research focuses on the needs and challenges faced by science educators at these schools as articulated by the relevant stakeholders. The objectives of this investigation are two-fold: (1) to create a data base that will capture the needs and challenges identified by science educators of the selected secondary schools; and (2) to develop a needs profile for each of the participating secondary schools that will serve as a strategic asset to be shared with the various service providers as part of a community of practice whose core business is to support science educators and science education at large. The data was collected by a means of a needs assessment questionnaire (NAQ) which was developed in both actual and preferred versions. An open-ended questionnaire was also administered which allowed teachers to express their views. The categories of the questionnaire were predetermined by participating researchers, educators and education department officials. Group interviews were also held with the science teachers at each of the schools. An analysis of the data revealed important trends in terms of science educator needs and identified schools that can be clustered around priority needs, logistic reasoning and educator profiles. The needs database also provides opportunity for the community of practice to strategise and coordinate their interventions.

Keywords: needs assessment, science and mathematics education, evaluation, teaching and learning, South Africa

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Authors: Maffo Maffo Nicole Liliane, Mounmemi Kpoumie Hubert, Libalah Moses, Ouandji Angele, Zapfack Louis

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Forest degradation causes biodiversity and carbon loss and thus indirectly contributes to climate change. In order to assess the contribution of forests to climate change mitigation, the present study was conducted in the Ngambe-Ndom-Nyanon Communal Forest with the main objective of assessing the floristic diversity and estimating the carbon stock in the different reservoirs of the said forest. Nine plots of 2000 m² each were installed in 3 TOSs of the forest (young secondary forests, gallery forests and fallow lands) with a total area of 18,000 m² or 1,8 ha. All trees with a Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) ≥ 5 cm were inventoried at 1.30 m from the ground in each plot. Species richness, floristic diversity indices, and structural parameters were studied. 1542 trees divided into 162 species, 122 genera and 44 families were identified. The most important families were listed: Myristicaceae (30.22%), Apocynaceae (25.20%), Fabaceae (24.41%), Euphorbiaceae (22.91%) and Phyllanthaceae (20.23%). The richest genera are: Cola, Macaranga, Oncoba (4 species each); the genera Diospyros, Trichilia, Vitex and Zanthoxylum (3 species each). The ecologically important species within the forest studied are: Funtumia africana (26.14%), Coelocaryon preussii (18.46%), Pycnanthus angolensis (15.57%), Tabernaemontana crassa (14.85%) and Olax subscorpioidea (13.04%). Assessment of carbon stocks in the six forest reservoirs studied (living trees and roots, understorey, dead wood, litter and rootlets) shows that they vary according to the land-use types. It is 119.41 t.C.ha-¹ in gallery forest, 115.2 t.C.ha-¹ in young secondary forest and 90.56 t.C.ha-¹ in fallow. The Wilcoxon statistical test shows that the carbon in the young secondary forest is identical to that in the fallow, which is identical to the carbon in the gallery forest. At the individual species level, the largest diameter class [25-35[ sequesters the most carbon (232.94 tC/ha). This work shows that the quantity of carbon sequestered by a biotope is a function of the age of the stand.

Keywords: floristic diversity, carbon stocks, evergreen forests, communal forest, Ngambé-Ndom-Nyanon

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Authors: Laura Masilionyte, Danute Jablonskyte-Rasce, Kestutis Venslauskas, Zita Kriauciuniene

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Alternative farming systems are used to cultivate high-quality food products and sustain the viability and fertility of the soil. Plant nutrition in all ecosystems depends not only on fertilization intensity or soil richness in organic matter but also on soil physical parameters –bulk density, structure, pores with the optimum moisture and air ratio available to plants. The field experiments of alternative (sustainable and organic) farming systems were conducted at Joniskelis Experimental Station of the Lithuanian Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry in 2006–2016. The soil of the experimental site was Endocalcari-Endohypogleyic Cambisol (CMg-n-w-can). In alternative farming systems, farmyard manure, straw and catch crops for green manure were used for fertilization both in the soil with low and moderate humus contents. It had a more significant effect in the 0–20 cm depth layer on soil moisture than on other physical soil properties. In the agricultural systems, where catch crops were grown, soil physical characteristics did not differ significantly before their biomass incorporation, except for the moisture content, which was lower in rainy periods and higher in drier periods than in the soil of farming systems without catch crops. Soil bulk density and porosity in the topsoil layer were more dependent on soil humus content than on agricultural measures used: in the soil with moderate humus content, compared with the soil with low humus content, bulk density was by 1.4% lower, and porosity by 1.8% higher. The research findings allow to make improvements in alternative farming systems by choosing appropriate combinations of organic fertilizers and catch crops that have a sustainable effect on soil and maintain the sustainability of soil productivity parameters. Rational fertilization systems, securing the stability of soil productivity parameters and crop rotation productivity will promote the development of organic agriculture.

Keywords: agro-measures, soil physical parameters, organic farming, sustainable farming

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Authors: Ogundele Lasun Tunde, Ayeku Oluwagbemiga Patrick

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Heavy metals are released into the sediments in aquatic environment from both natural and anthropogenic sources and they are considered as worldwide issue due to their deleterious ecological risks and food chain disruption. In this study, sediments samples were collected at three major sites (Awoye, Abereke and Ayetoro) along Ondo coastal area using VanVeen grab sampler. The concentrations of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn were determined by employing Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The combined concentrations data were subjected to Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) receptor approach for source identification and apportionment. The probable risks that might be posed by heavy metals in the sediment were estimated by potential and integrated ecological risks indices. Among the measured heavy metals, Fe had the average concentrations of 20.38 ± 2.86, 23.56 ± 4.16 and 25.32 ± 4.83 lg/g at Abereke, Awoye and Ayetoro sites, respectively. The PMF resulted in identification of four sources of heavy metals in the sediments. The resolved sources and their percentage contributions were oil exploration (39%), industrial waste/sludge (35%), detrital process (18%) and Mn-sources (8%). Oil exploration activities and industrial wastes are the major sources that contribute heavy metals into the coastal sediments. The major pollutants that posed ecological risks to the local aquatic ecosystem are As, Pb, Cr and Cd (40 B Ei ≤ 80) classifying the sites as moderate risk. The integrate risks values of Awoye, Abereke and Ayetoro are 231.2, 234.0 and 236.4, respectively suggesting that the study areas had a moderate ecological risk. The study showed the suitability of PMF receptor model for source identification of heavy metals in the sediments. Also, the intensive anthropogenic activities and natural sources could largely discharge heavy metals into the study area, which may increase the heavy metal contents of the sediments and further contribute to the associated ecological risk, thus affecting the local aquatic ecosystem.

Keywords: positive matrix factorization, sediments, heavy metals, sources, ecological risks

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Authors: H. Alijani, M. Jabari, S. Matroodi, H. Zolqarnein, A. Sharafi, I. Zamani

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Actinomycetes, Gram-positive bacteria, are interesting as a main producer of secondary metabolites and are important industrially and pharmaceutically. The marine environment is a potential source for new actinomycetes, which can provide novel bioactive compounds and industrially important enzymes. The aims of this study were to isolate and identify novel actinomycetes from Persian Gulf sediments and screen these isolates for the production of secondary metabolites, especially antibiotics, Using phylogenetic (16S rRNA gene sequence), morphological and biochemical analyses. 15 different actinomycete strains from Persian Gulf sediments at a depth of 5-10 m were identified. DNA extraction was done using Cinnapure DNA Kit. PCR amplification of 16S rDNA gene was performed using F27 and R1492 primers. Phylogenetic tree analysis was performed using the MEGA 6 software. Most of the isolated strains belong to the genus namely Streptomyces (14), followed by Nocardiopsis (1). Antibacterial assay of the isolates supernatant was performed using a standard disc diffusion assay with replication (n=3). The results of disk diffusion assay showed that most active strain against Proteus volgaris and Bacillus cereus was AMJ1 (16.46±0.2mm and 13.78±0.2mm, respectively), against Salmonella sp. AMJ7 was the most effective strain (10.13±0.2mm), and AMJ1 and AHA5 showed more inhibitory activity against Escherichia coli (8.04±0.02 mm and 8.2±0.03 ). The AMJ6 strain showed best antibacterial activity against Klebsiella sp. (8.03±0.02mm). Antifungal activity of AMJ2 showed that it was most active strain against complex (16.05±0.02mm) and against Aspergillus flavus strain AMJ1 was most active strain (16.4±0.2mm) and highest antifungal activity against Trichophyton mentagrophytes, Microsporum gyp serum and Candida albicans, were shown by AHA1 (21.03±0.02mm), AHA3 and AHA7 (18±0.03mm), AMJ6 (21.03±0.2mm) respectively. Our results revealed that the marine actinomycetes of Persian Gulf sediments were potent source of novel antibiotics and bioactive compounds and indicated that the antimicrobial metabolites were extracellular. Most of the secondary metabolites and antibiotics are extracellular in nature and extracellular products of actinomycetes show potent antimicrobial activities.

Keywords: antibacterial activity, antifungal activity, marine actinomycetes, Persian Gulf

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Authors: Seyedeh Zahra Seyed Sharifi, M. R. M. Tabatabaei

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Due to increase of population and healthy food demand, management and conservation of water resources have become one of the main concerns of governments, scientists and economists. In recent years, Iran has exposed to water scarcity as a result of which its rivers, lakes and wetlands have dried up or are in the drying process. Therefore, water crisis has become the most important environmental issue in the country. Under these circumstances, increasing public awareness by promoting their culture as well as public collaboration to protect water resources could only be possible by making courses to reflect water importance. This could be approached by school and high-school students to learn optimum use of water resources. This study initially focuses on the current position of water courses in levels of school and high-school educations in Iran and Turkey and then deals with the challenges to be faced for the promotion of the system. The course titles and number of pages related to water in all primary and secondary textbooks of the education system of Iran and Turkey were determined using content analysis method and the results were presented. The results indicate that primary and secondary textbooks in both countries must focus on water shortage and water protection and teach children the optimum use of water in order to promote water protection.

Keywords: educational system, environmental awareness, Iran, Turkey, water crisis

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Authors: Ofra Walter Btel Liran Hazan

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This study’s goal was to clarify whether psychological capital (PsyCap) mediated the relations between social support and subjective well-being among post-secondary students during the Covid-19 pandemic and to assess whether students diagnosed with a learning disability (LD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) differed from others in their reliance on social support and their level of PsyCap and subjective wellbeing. Participants were257 students, 152 diagnosed with LD/ADHD and the rest neurotypical. The study used four questionnaires: demographic and academic information; Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ); Subjective Well-Being Index; social support questionnaire. The results indicated PsyCapmediated relations between social support and subjective wellbeing. Students diagnosed with LD/ADHD differed from neurotypicals in their PsyCap and subjective wellbeing levels but not in their social support. In addition, the relations between PsyCap and social support were stronger among students diagnosed with LD/ADHD. PsyCap was an important resource for all participants and was related to social support and subjective wellbeing, making it especially valuable for LD/ADHD students facing new and threatening situations, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keywords: LD/ADHD post-secondary students, subjective wellbeing, social support, PsyCap, covid-19

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Authors: Amit G. Dhorde

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It is now well established that the global surface air temperatures have increased significantly during the period that followed the industrial revolution. One of the main predictions of climate change is that the occurrences of extreme weather events will increase in future. In many regions of the world, high-temperature extremes have already started occurring with rising frequency. The main objective of the present study is to understand spatial and temporal changes in days with heat and cold wave conditions over southern India. The study area includes the region of India that lies to the south of Tropic of Cancer. To fulfill the objective, daily maximum and minimum temperature data for 80 stations were collected for the period 1969-2006 from National Data Center of India Meteorological Department. After assessing the homogeneity of data, 62 stations were finally selected for the study. Heat and cold waves were classified as slight, moderate and severe based on the criteria given by Indias' meteorological department. For every year, numbers of days experiencing heat and cold wave conditions were computed. This data was analyzed with linear regression to find any existing trend. Further, the time period was divided into four decades to investigate the decadal frequency of the occurrence of heat and cold waves. The results revealed that the average annual temperature over southern India shows an increasing trend, which signifies warming over this area. Further, slight cold waves during winter season have been decreasing at the majority of the stations. The moderate cold waves also show a similar pattern at the majority of the stations. This is an indication of warming winters over the region. Besides this analysis, other extreme indices were also analyzed such as extremely hot days, hot days, very cold nights, cold nights, etc. This analysis revealed that nights are becoming warmer and days are getting warmer over some regions too.

Keywords: heat wave, cold wave, southern India, decadal frequency

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Authors: Tri Murti Tugiman, Awalyya Fasha

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This research aims to analyze the magnitude of the economic losses incurred as a result of a person suffering from a particular disease of the ten highest in the productive age diseases in Hospitals Inche Abdul Moeis Samarinda. This research was a descriptive survey research and a secondary data analysis. For the analysis of economic losses populations used are all in patients who suffer from the 10 highest diseases in the productive age in hospitals IA Moeis Samarinda in 2011. Sampling was performed by using a stratified random sampling with samples of 77 people. Research results indicate that the direct cost community incurred to obtain medical services in hospitals IA Moeis is IDR 74437520. The amount of indirect costs incurred during service in a community hospital is IDR 10562000. The amount lost due to sickness fee is IDR 5377800. The amount of economic lost people to obtain medical services in hospitals IA Moeis is IDR 90377320. The number of days of hospitalization was as much as 171 respondents throughout the day. This study suggests the economic loss could be prevented by changes in the lifestyle of the people who clean and healthy along with the following insurance.

Keywords: hospitalized, economic lost, productive age diseases, secondary data analysis

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Authors: Shereif. H. Mahmoud

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Egypt has limited water resources, and it will be under water stress by the year 2030. Therefore, Egypt should consider natural and non-conventional water resources to overcome such a problem. Rain harvesting is one solution. This Paper presents a geographic information system (GIS) methodology - based on decision support system (DSS) that uses remote sensing data, filed survey, and GIS to identify potential RWH areas. The input into the DSS includes a map of rainfall surplus, slope, potential runoff coefficient (PRC), land cover/use, soil texture. In addition, the outputs are map showing potential sites for RWH. Identifying suitable RWH sites implemented in the ArcGIS model environment using the model builder of ArcGIS 10.1. Based on Analytical hierarchy process (AHP) analysis taking into account five layers, the spatial extents of RWH suitability areas identified using Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE). The suitability model generated a suitability map for RWH with four suitability classes, i.e. Excellent, Moderate, Poor, and unsuitable. The spatial distribution of the suitability map showed that the excellent suitable areas for RWH concentrated in the northern part of Egypt. According to their averages, 3.24% of the total area have excellent and good suitability for RWH, while 45.04 % and 51.48 % of the total area are moderate and unsuitable suitability, respectively. The majority of the areas with excellent suitability have slopes between 2 and 8% and with an intensively cultivated area. The major soil type in the excellent suitable area is loam and the rainfall range from 100 up to 200 mm. Validation of the used technique depends on comparing existing RWH structures locations with the generated suitability map using proximity analysis tool of ArcGIS 10.1. The result shows that most of exiting RWH structures categorized as successful.

Keywords: rainwater harvesting (RWH), geographic information system (GIS), analytical hierarchy process (AHP), multi-criteria evaluation (MCE), decision support system (DSS)

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Authors: Navdeep Kaur

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The primary focus of this study is to answer “What is the role of corporate governance in corporate failures? Does poor corporate governance lead to corporate failures? If so, how?”. In doing so, the study examines the literature from multiple fields, including corporate governance, corporate failures and organizational decision making, and presents a research gap to analyze and explore the relationship between corporate governance practices and corporate failures through a behavioral lens. In approaching this, a qualitative research methodology is adopted to analyze the failure of Enron Corporation (United States). The research considered the case study organizations as the primary unit of analysis and the decision-makers as the secondary unit of analysis. Based on this research approach, the study reports the analytical results drawn from extensive and triangulated secondary data. The study then interprets the results in the context of the theoretical synthesis. The study contributes towards filling a gap in the research and presents a behaviourally plausible decision centered model of the role of corporate governance in corporate failures. The model highlights the critical role of the behavioral aspects of corporate governance decision making in corporate failures and focuses attention on the under-explored aspects of corporate governance decision making. The study also suggests a further understanding of ‘A Behavioral Theory of the Firm’ in relation to corporate failures.

Keywords: behavior, corporate failure, corporate governance, decision making, values

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Authors: Hajar Al Rajaibi, Kawla Al Toubi, Saeed Al Jaadi, Deepali Jaju, Sanjay Jaju

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Background: The available evidence in Oman on lack of physical activity call for immediate intervention. Physical activity counseling by doctors to their patients is influenced by their attitudes and personal physical fitness. To our best knowledge, the physical activity status of Omani medical students has not been addressed before. These future doctors will have a critical role in improving physical activity in patients and thus their overall health. Objective: The aim of the study is to assess the physical activity level, physical fitness level, and attitudes towards physical activity among Sultan Qaboos University senior medical students. Methods: In this cross-sectional study (N=110; males 55), physical activity level was assessed using International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ ) short form and attitudes towards physical activity using a fifty-four-items Kenyon questionnaire. The physical fitness level was assessed by estimating maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) using Chester step test. Results: Female students reported more sitting time more than 7hr/day (85.5%) compared to male students (40%; p < 0.05). The IPAQ revealed moderate level of physical activity in 58% of students. Students showed a high positive attitude towards physical activity for health and fitness and low attitude for physical activity as tension and risk. Both female and male students had a similar level and attitude towards physical activity. Physical fitness level was excellent (VO₂max > 55ml O₂/kg/min) in 11% of students, good (VO₂max>44-54ml O₂/kg/min) in 49% and average to below-average in 40%. Objectively measured physical fitness level, subjectively reported physical activity level or attitudes towards physical activity were not correlated. Conclusion: Omani medical students have a positive attitude towards physical activity but moderate physical activity level. Longer sitting time in females need further evaluation. Efforts are required to understand reasons for present physical activity level and to promote good physical activity among medical students by creating more awareness and facilities.

Keywords: Chester step test, Kenyon scale, medical students, physical activity, physical fitness

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Authors: Hahido Samaras

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In many cases, especially with the pandemic playing a major role in fast-tracking the growth of the digital industry, online learning has become a necessity or even a standard educational model nowadays, reliably overcoming barriers such as location, time and cost and frequently combined with a face-to-face format (e.g., in blended learning). This being the case, it is evident that students in many parts of the world, as well as their parents, will increasingly need to become aware of the pros and cons of online versus traditional courses. This fast-growing mode of learning, accelerated during the years of the pandemic, presents an abundance of exciting options especially matched for a large number of secondary school students in remote places of the world where access to stimulating educational settings and opportunities for a variety of learning alternatives are scarce, adding advantages such as flexibility, affordability, engagement, flow and personalization of the learning experience. However, online learning can also present several challenges, such as a lack of student motivation and social interactions in natural settings, digital literacy, and technical issues, to name a few. Therefore, educational researchers will need to conduct further studies focusing on the benefits and weaknesses of online learning vs. traditional learning, while instructional designers propose ways of enhancing student motivation and engagement in virtual environments. Similarly, teachers will be required to become more and more technology-capable, at the same time developing their knowledge about their students’ particular characteristics and needs so as to match them with the affordances the technology offers. And, of course, schools, education programs, and policymakers will have to invest in powerful tools and advanced courses for online instruction. By developing digital courses that incorporate intentional opportunities for community-building and interaction in the learning environment, as well as taking care to include built-in design principles and strategies that align learning outcomes with learning assignments, activities, and assessment practices, rewarding academic experiences can derive for all students. This paper raises various issues regarding the effectiveness of online learning on students by reviewing a large number of research studies related to the usefulness and impact of online learning following the COVID-19-induced digital education shift. It also discusses what students, teachers, decision-makers, and parents have reported about this mode of learning to date. Best practices are proposed for parties involved in the development of online learning materials, particularly for secondary school students, as there is a need for educators and developers to be increasingly concerned about the impact of virtual learning environments on student learning and wellbeing.

Keywords: blended learning, online learning, secondary schools, virtual environments

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Authors: Marko Živanović, Jovana Bjekić, Maša Vukčević Marković

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Professionals and volunteers involved in refugee protection and support are on a daily basis faced with people who have experienced numerous traumatic experiences and, as such, are subjected to secondary traumatization (ST). The aim of this study was to provide insight into risk factors for ST in helpers working with refugees in Serbia. A total of 175 participants working with refugees fulfilled: Secondary Traumatization Questionnaire, checklist of refugees’ traumatic experiences, Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL) assessing depression and anxiety symptoms, quality of life questionnaire (MANSA), HEXACO personality inventory, and COPE assessing coping mechanisms. In addition, participants provided information on work-related problems. Qualitative analysis of answers to the question about most difficult part of their job has shown that burnout-related issues are clustered around three recurrent topics that can be considered as the most prominent generators of stress, namely: ‘lack of organization and cooperation’, ‘not been able to do enough’, and ‘hard to take it and to process it’. Factor analysis (Maximum likelihood extraction, Promax rotation) have shown that ST comprises of two correlated factors (r = .533, p < .01), namely Psychological deficits and Intrusions. Results have shown that risk factor for ST could be find in three interrelated sources: 1) work-related problems; 2) personality-related risk factors and 3) clients’ traumatic experiences. Among personality related factors, it was shown that risk factor for Intrusions could be find in – high Emotionality (β = .221, p < .05), and Altruism (β = .322, p < .01), while low Extraversion (β = -.365, p < .01) represents risk factor for Psychological deficits. In addition, usage of maladaptive coping mechanisms –mental disengagement (r = .253, p < .01), behavioral disengagement (r = .274, p < .01), focusing on distress and venting of emotions (r = .220, p < .05), denial (r = .164, p < .05), and substance use (r = .232, p < .01) correlate with Psychological deficits while Intrusions corelate with Mental disengagement (r = .251, p < .01) and denial (r = .183, p < .05). Regarding clients’ traumatic experiences it was shown that both quantity of traumatic events in country of origin (for Deficits r = .226, p < .01; for Intrusions r = .174, p < .05) and in transit (for Deficits r = .288, p < .01), as well as certain content-related features of such experiences (especially experiences which are severely dislocated from ‘everyday reality’) are related to ST. In addition, Psychological deficits and Intrusions have shown to be accompanied by symptoms of depression (r = .760, p < .01; r = .552, p < .01) and anxiety (r = .740, p < .01; r = .447, p < .01) and overall lower life quality (r = -.454, p < .01; r = .256, p < .01). Results indicate that psychological vulnerability of persons who are working with traumatized individuals can be found in certain personality traits, and usage of maladaptive coping mechanisms, which disable one to deal with work-related issues, and to cope with quantity and quality of traumatic experiences they were faced with, affecting ones’ psychological well-being. Acknowledgement: This research was funded by IRC Serbia.

Keywords: mental health, refugees, secondary traumatization, traumatic experiences

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Authors: Babar Sultan, Kiran Sultan, Waseem Khan, Ijaz Mansoor Qureshi

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In this paper, a novel idea for the performance enhancement of secondary network is proposed for Underlay Cognitive Radio Networks (CRNs). In Underlay CRNs, primary users (PUs) impose strict interference constraints on the secondary users (SUs). The proposed scheme is based on Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) optimization for relay selection and power allocation to handle the highlighted primary challenge of Underlay CRNs. ABC is a simple, population-based optimization algorithm which attains global optimum solution by combining local search methods (Employed and Onlooker Bees) and global search methods (Scout Bees). The proposed two-phase relay selection and power allocation algorithm aims to maximize the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the destination while operating in an underlying mode. The proposed algorithm has less computational complexity and its performance is verified through simulation results for a different number of potential relays, different interference threshold levels and different transmit power thresholds for the selected relays.

Keywords: artificial bee colony, underlay spectrum sharing, cognitive radio networks, amplify-and-forward

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Authors: Babak Nemat

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Background: Exercise behavior (EB) has a significant impact on infertility, but the magnitude of the effect is not easily determined. The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of social support and self-regulation, as external and internal factors, on changes in exercise behavior among infertile women. Methods: For a cross-sectional study conducted in Sanandaj (Iran) in 2023, we recruited infertile women (n=483) from 35 comprehensive healthcare centers by means of convenience sampling. Standardized face-to-face interviews were conducted using established and reliable instruments for the assessment of EB, social support, and self-regulation. Logistic regression models were applied to assess the association between EB, social support and self-regulation. Results: The majority of the participants (56.7%) had secondary infertility, while 70.8% of them did not perform any exercise. Self-regulation and social support were significantly higher in women with secondary infertility than in those with primary infertility (p < 0.01). Self-regulation was significantly lower in women whose height was below 160 centimeters (cm) (p<0.05). Social support was significantly higher among participants aged ≥ 35 years and weighing ≥ 60 kilograms (kg) (p < 0.01). The odds of EB adoption increased with self-regulation and social support (OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.02-1.09, p <0.01), (OR=1.06, 95% CI=1.02-1.11, p <0.01). Conclusion: Social support and self-regulation almost equally influenced EB in infertile women. Designing support and consultation programs can be considered in encouraging infertile women to exercise in future research.

Keywords: social support, regulation, infertility, women

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Authors: R. Hellmuth

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The orientation of flexibility and adaptability with regard to factory planning is at machine and process level. Factory buildings are not the focus of current research. Factory planning has the task of designing products, plants, processes, organization, areas and the construction of a factory. The adaptability of a factory can be divided into three types: spatial, organizational and technical adaptability. Spatial adaptability indicates the ability to expand and reduce the size of a factory. Here, the area-related breathing capacity plays the essential role. It mainly concerns the factory site, the plant layout and the production layout. The organizational ability to change enables the change and adaptation of organizational structures and processes. This includes structural and process organization as well as logistical processes and principles. New and reconfigurable operating resources, processes and factory buildings are referred to as technical adaptability. These three types of adaptability can be regarded independently of each other as undirected potentials of different characteristics. If there is a need for change, the types of changeability in the change process are combined to form a directed, complementary variable that makes change possible. When planning adaptability, importance must be attached to a balance between the types of adaptability. The vision of the intelligent factory building and the 'Internet of Things' presupposes the comprehensive digitalization of the spatial and technical environment. Through connectivity, the factory building must be empowered to support a company's value creation process by providing media such as light, electricity, heat, refrigeration, etc. In the future, communication with the surrounding factory building will take place on a digital or automated basis. In the area of industry 4.0, the function of the building envelope belongs to secondary or even tertiary processes, but these processes must also be included in the communication cycle. An integrative view of a continuous communication of primary, secondary and tertiary processes is currently not yet available and is being developed with the aid of methods in this research work. A comparison of the digital twin from the point of view of production and the factory building will be developed. Subsequently, a tool will be elaborated to classify digital twins from the perspective of data, degree of visualization, and the trades. Thus a contribution is made to better integrate the secondary and tertiary processes in a factory into the added value.

Keywords: adaptability, digital factory twin, factory planning, industry 4.0

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Authors: Anthony Okechukwu Ifediniru, Austin Ikechukwu Gbasouzor, Isidore Uche Uju

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This article is centered on the design, analysis, construction, and test of a locally made arc welding machine that operates on 250vac with 8 amp output taps ranging from 60vac to 250vac at a fixed frequency, which is of benefit to urban areas; while considering its cost-effectiveness, strength, portability, and mobility. The welding machine uses a power supply to create an electric arc between an electrode and the metal at the welding point. A current selector coil needed for current selection is connected to the primary winding. Electric power is supplied to the primary winding of its transformer and is transferred to the secondary winding by induction. The voltage and current output of the secondary winding are connected to the output terminal, which is used to carry out welding work. The output current of the machine ranges from 110amps for low current welding to 250amps for high current welding. The machine uses a step-down transformer configuration for stepping down the voltage in order to obtain a high current level for effective welding. The welder can adjust the output current within a certain range. This allows the welder to properly set the output current for the type of welding that is being performed. The constructed arc welding machine was tested by connecting the work piece to it. Since there was no shock or spark from the transformer’s laminated core and was successfully used to join metals, it confirmed and validated the design.

Keywords: AC current, arc welding machine, DC current, transformer, welds

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Authors: Ferdi Afian, Inne Yuliawati

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Background: The change in causes of death from infectious diseases to non-communicable diseases also occurs in the aviation community in Indonesia. Non-communicable diseases are influenced by several internal risk factors, such as age, lifestyle changes and the presence of other diseases. These risk factors will increase the incidence of heart diseases resulting in the incapacity of Indonesian aviators which will disrupt flight safety. Method: The study was conducted by collecting secondary data. The retrieval of primary data was obtained from medical records at the Indonesian Aviation Health Center in 2016-2017. The subjects in this study were all cases of incapacity in Indonesian aviators medical conditions. Results: In this study, there were 15 cases of aviators in Indonesia who experienced incapacity of medical conditions related to heart and lung diseases in 2016-2017. Based on the secondary data contained in the flight medical records at the Aviation Health Center Aviation, it was found that several factors related to aviators incapacity causing its inability to carried out flight duties. Conclusion: Incapacity of Indonesian aviators medical conditions are most affected by the high value of Body Mass Index (86%) and less affected by high of Uric Acid in the blood (26%) and Hyperglycemia (26%).

Keywords: incapacity, aviators, flight, Indonesia

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Authors: Oqba Basal, Andras Szabo

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Using mineral fertilization is increasing worldwide, as it is claimed to be majorly responsible for achieving high yields; however, the negative impacts of mineral fertilization on soil and environment are becoming more obvious, with alternative methods being more necessary and applicable, especially with the current climatic changes which have imposed serious abiotic stresses, such as drought. An experiment was made during 2017 growing season in Debrecen, Hungary to investigate the effects of inoculation and N fertilization on the seed yield and protein concentration of the soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) cultivar (Panonia Kincse) under three different irrigation regimes: severe drought stress (SD), moderate drought stress (MD) and control with no drought stress (ND). Three N fertilizer rates were applied: no N fertilizer (0 N), 35 kg ha⁻¹ of N fertilizer (35 N) and 105 kg ha⁻¹ of N fertilizer (105 N). Half of the seeds in each treatment was inoculated with Bradyrhizobium japonicum inoculant, and the other half was not inoculated. The results showed significant differences in the seed yield associated with inoculation, irrigation and the interaction between them, whereas there were no significant differences in the seed yield associated with fertilization alone or in interaction with inoculation or irrigation or both. When seeds were inoculated, yield was increased when (35 N) was applied compared to (0 N) but not significantly; however, the high rate of N fertilizer (105 N) reduced the yield to a level even less than (0 N). When seeds were not inoculated, the highest rate of N increased the yield the most compared to the other two N fertilizer rates whenever the drought was present (moderate or severe). Under severe drought stress, inoculation was positively and significantly correlated with yield; however, adding N fertilizer increased the yield of uninoculated plants compared to the inoculated ones, regardless of the rate of N fertilizer. Protein concentration in the seeds was significantly affected by irrigation and by fertilization, but not by inoculation. Protein concentration increased as the N fertilization rate increased, regardless of the inoculation or irrigation treatments; moreover, increasing the N rate reduced the correlation coefficient of protein concentration with the irrigation. It was concluded that adding N fertilizer is not always recommended, especially when seeds are inoculated before being sown; however, it is very important under severe drought stress to sustain yield. Enhanced protein concentrations could be achieved by applying N fertilization, whether the seeds were pre-inoculated or not.

Keywords: drought stress, N fertilization, protein concentration, soybean

Procedia PDF Downloads 154

Authors: Kazui Sasakii, Seira Mormune-Moriya, Hiroaki Tanahashi, Shigeji Kongaya

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Poly (3.4-ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with poly (4-styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) attracted a great deal of attention because of its unique characteristics of flexibility, optical properties, heat resistance and colloidal dispersion in water. It is well known that when high boiling solvents such as ethylene glycol or dimethyl sulfoxide are added as a secondary dopant to the micellar structure, PEDOT microcrystallizes and becomes highly conductive. In previous study bis(4-hydroxyphenyl) sulfone (BPS) was used as a secondary dopant for PEDOT:PSS and the enhancement of the conductivity was revealed. However, ductility is one of the serious issues which limited the application of PEDOT:PSS/BPS. So far, the composition with polymer binders has been conducted, however, polymer binders decrease the conductivity of the materials. In this study, PEDOT: PSS composites with polyester (PEs) were prepared by a simple aqueous process using PEs emulsion. The structural studies revealed that PEDOT:PSS and PEs were homogeneously distributed in the composites. It was found that the properties of PEDOT:PSS were remarkably enhanced by the incorporation of PEs. According to the tensile test, the ductility of PEDOT:PSS was remarkably improved. Interestingly, the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS/PEs composites was higher than that of neat PEDOT:PSS. For example, the conductivity increased by 8% at PEs content of 25 wt%. Since PEDOT:PSS were homogeneously dispersed on the surface of PEs particles, it was assumed that the conductive pathway was constructed by PEs particles in the nanocomposites. Therefore, a significant increase in conductivity was achieved.

Keywords: polymer composites, conductivity, PEDOT:PSS, polyester

Procedia PDF Downloads 115