Search results for: enzyme activities

Authors: W. Soufi, F. Boukli Hacene, S. Ghalem

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Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to a progressive and permanent deterioration of nerve cells. This disease is progressively accompanied by an intellectual deterioration leading to psychological manifestations and behavioral disorders that lead to a loss of autonomy. It is the most frequent of degenerative dementia. Alzheimer's disease (AD), which affects a growing number of people, has become a major public health problem in a few years. In the context of the study of the mechanisms governing the evolution of AD disease, we have found that natural flavonoids are good acetylcholinesterase inhibitors that reduce the rate of ßA secretion in neurons. This work is to study the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) which is an enzyme involved in Alzheimer's disease, by methods of molecular modeling. These results will probably help in the development of an effective therapeutic tool in the fight against the development of Alzheimer's disease. Our goal of the research is to study the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) by molecular modeling methods.

Keywords: Alzheimer's disease, acetylcholinesterase, flavonoids, molecular modeling

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Authors: Elif Erdem, Nalan Kaya, Gonca Ozan, Durrin Ozlem Dabak, Enver Ozan

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This study was carried out to determine the histological and biochemical changes in the lungs of the rat pups exposed to tobacco smoke during pregnancy period and to investigate the protective effects of alpha lipoic acid, which is administered during pregnancy, on these changes. In our study, 24 six-week old Spraque-Dawley female rats weighing 160 ± 10 g were used (n:7). Rats were randomly divided into four equal groups: group I (control), group II (tobacco smoke), group III (tobacco smoke + alpha lipoic acid) and group IV (alpha lipoic acid). Rats in the group II, group III were exposed to tobacco smoke twice a day for one hour starting from eight weeks before mating and during pregnancy. In addition to tobacco smoke, 20 mg/kg of alpha lipoic acid was administered via oral gavage to the rats in the group III. Only alpha lipoic acid was administered to the rats in the group IV. Once after the delivery, all administrations were stopped. On the 7 and 21th days, the seven pups of all groups were decapitated. A portion of the lung was taken and stained with HE, PAS and Masson. In addition to immunohistochemical staining of surfactant protein A, vascular endothelial growth factor, caspase-3, TUNEL method was also used to determine apoptosis. Biochemical analyzes were performed with some part of the lung tissue specimens. In the histological evaluations performed under light microscopy, inflammatory cell increase, hemorrhagic areas, edema, interalveolar septal thickening, alveolar numbers decrease, degeneration of some bronchi and bronchial epithelium, epithelial cells that were fallen into the lumen and hyaline membrane formation were observed in tobacco smoke group. These findings were ameliorated in tobacco smoke + ALA group. Hyaline membrane formation was not detected in this group. The TUNEL positive cell numbers a significant increase was detected in the tobacco smoke group, whereas a significant decrease was detected in the tobacco smoke + ALA group. In terms of the immunoreactivity of both SP-A and VEGF, a significant decrease was observed in the tobacco smoke group, and a significant increase was observed in the tobacco smoke + ALA group. Regarding the immunoreactivity of caspase-3, there was a significant increase in the group of tobacco smoke and a significant decrease in the group of tobacco smoke + ALA. The malondialdehyde levels were determined to be significantly increased in the tobacco smoke group, and a significant decreased in the tobacco smoke + ALA. Glutathione and superoxide dismutase enzyme activities showed a significant decrease in the group of tobacco smoke and a significant increase in the tobacco smoke + ALA group. In conclusion, we suggest that the exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy leads to morphological, histopathological and functional changes on lung development by causing oxidative damage in lung tissues of neonatal rats and the maternal use of alpha lipoic acid can provide a protective effect on the neonatal lung development against this oxidative stress originating from tobacco smoke.

Keywords: alpha lipoic acid, lung, neonate, tobacco smoke, pregnancy

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Authors: Dagaci Aliyu Manbe, Anthony Abah Ebonyi

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The increase in global temperatures is worsened by frequent natural events and human activities. Climate change has taken a prominent space in the global discourse on crime and criminality. Compared to when the subject centred around the discussion on the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming, today, the narrative revolves around the implications of changes in weather and climatic conditions in relations to violent crimes or conflict that traverse vast social, economic, and political spaces in different countries. Global warming and climate change refer to an increase in average global temperatures in the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans, which occurs due to human activities such as deforestation and the burning of fossil fuel such as gas flaring. The trend is projected to continue, if unchecked. This paper seeks to explore the nexus between climate change and criminality in Nigeria. It further examines the main ecological changes that predispose conflict dynamics of security threats factored by climate change to peaceful co-existence in Nigeria. It concludes with some recommendations on the way forward.

Keywords: conflict, climate change, criminality, global warning, peace

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Authors: Sookbin Im, Myounglyun Heo

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This study aims at analyzing composition and effects of the preliminary intervention to promote resiliency of children whose parents suffer mental illness, and considerations according to the program, and developing the resiliency promotion program for children of psychiatric patients. For participants of preliminary intervention, they were recruited through a community mental health and social welfare center in a city, and there were 10 children (eight girls and two boys) who are from second to five graders in elementary school, and whose parents suffer schizophrenia, depression, or alcoholism, etc. The program was conducted in the seminar room of the community mental illness and social welfare center from October to December 2015 and from July to September 2016. The elements of resiliency were figured out by reviewing the literature. And therapeutic activities to promote resiliency was composed, and total twice, 8 sessions(two hours, once a week) were applied. Each session consisted of playgroup activities, art activities, and role-playing with feedback for achieving goals to promote self-awareness, self-efficacy, positive outlook, ability to solve problems, empathy for others, peer group acceptance, having goals and aspirations, and assertiveness. In addition, auxiliary managers as many as children played a role as mentor and role model, and children's behaviors were collected by participatory observation. As a result of the study, four children quit the program because the schedules of their own school programs were overlapped with it. Therefore, six children completed the program. Children who completed it became active, positive, decreased compulsive actions, and increased self-expressions. The participants reacted the 8-session program is too short and regretted about it. However, recruiting the participants were difficult, and too distracting children caused negative influences in the group activities. Based on the results, the program was developed as follows: The program would consist of total 11 sessions, and the first eight sessions would be made of plays, art activities, role-plays, and presentations for promoting self-understanding, improving positiveness, providing meaning for experiences, emotional control, and interpersonal relations. In order to balance various contents, methods such as structuring environments, storytelling, emotional coaching, and group feedback would be applied, and the ninth to eleventh sessions would be booster sessions consisting of optional activities for children. This program is for children who attend school with active linguistic communications and interactions with peers. Especially, considering that effective development starts at around 10 years old, it would be for children who are third and fourth graders in elementary school. These result showed that this program was useful for improving the key elements of resiliency such as positive thinking or impulse control. It is suggested the necessary of resiliency promoting program model and practical guidance with comprehensive measuring methods(narratives, drawing, self-reported questionnaire, behavioral observation). Also, it is necessary to make a training program for the coaches or leaders to operate this program to spread out for child health.

Keywords: children, mental, parents, resilience

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Authors: Hanen Bouaziz-Ketata, Ghada Ben Salah, Hichem Ben Salah, Kamel Jamoussi, Najiba Zeghal

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The present study investigated the protective role of Hyparrhenia hirta on nitrate-induced liver damage. Experiments were carried out on adult rats divided into 3 groups, a control group and two treated groups. NaNO3 was administered daily by oral gavage at a dose of 400 mg/kg bw in treated groups either alone or coadministered with Hyparrhenia hirta methanolic extract via drinking water at a dose of 200 mg/kg bw for 50 days. Liver toxicity induced by NaNO3 was characterized by higher serum levels of glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride and lower serum total protein than those of controls. Transaminases and lactate deshydrogenase activities in serum were elevated indicating hepatic cells’ damage after treatment with NaNO3. The hyperbilirubinemia and the increased serum gamma glutamyl transferase activities suggested the presence of cholestasis in NaNO3 exposed rats. In parallel, NaNO3 caused oxidant/antioxidant imbalance in the liver as reflected by the increased lipid peroxidation, the decreased total glutathione content and superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities. Nitrate caused also a significant induction of DNA fragmentation as evidenced by the presence of a smear without ladder formation on agarose gel. Hyparrhenia hirta supplementation showed an improvement of all parameters cited above. We conclude that the present work provides ethnopharmacological relevance of Hyparrhenia hirta against the toxic effect of nitrate, suggesting its role as a potential antioxidant.

Keywords: Hyparrhenia hirta, liver, nitrate toxicity, oxidative stress, rat

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Authors: Paola Utreras, Yazmina Olmos, Loreto Sanhueza

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This work shows how the learning of physics is enriched with scientific inquiry practices, achieving learning that results in the use of higher-level cognitive skills. The activities, which were carried out with students of the 3rd semester of the courses of the Faculty of Sciences of the Engineering of the Austral University of Chile, focused on the understanding of the nature of the thermodynamic variables and how they relate to each other. This, through the analysis of atmospheric data obtained in the meteorological station Miraflores, located on the campus. The proposed activities consisted of the elaboration of time series, linear analysis of variables, as well as the analysis of frequencies and periods. From their results, the students reached conclusions associated with the nature of the thermodynamic variables studied and the relationships between them, to finally make public their results in a report using scientific writing standards. It is observed that introducing topics that are close to them, interesting and which affect their daily lives allows a better understanding of the subjects, which is reflected in higher levels of approval and motivation for the subject.

Keywords: basic sciences, inquiry-based learning, scientific inquiry, thermodynamics

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Authors: Aliyu Adamu, Fahrul Huyop, Roswanira Abdul Wahab, Mohd Shahir Shamsir

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Halogenated organic compounds occur in huge amount in biosphere. This is attributable to the diverse use of halogen-based compounds in the synthesis of various industrially important products. Halogenated compound is toxic and may persist in the environment, thereby causing serious health and environmental pollution problems. L-2-haloacid dehalogenases (EC 3.8.1.2) catalyse the specific cleavage of carbon-halogen bond in L-isomers of halogenated compounds, which consequently reverse the effects of environmental halogen-associated pollution. To enhance the efficiency and utility of these enzymes, this study investigates the catalytic amino acid residues and the molecular functional mechanism of DehL, by classical molecular dynamic simulations, MM-PBSA and ab initio fragments molecular orbital (FMO) calculations. The results of the study will serve as the basis for the molecular engineering of the enzyme.

Keywords: DehL, Functional mechanism, Catalytic residues, L-2-haloacid dehalogenase

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Authors: Ernest Nweke, Enkhtuya Bavuudorj

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The harsh realities of the scandalous failure of several notable corporations in the past two decades have inextricably resulted in a surge in corporate governance studies. Nevertheless, little or no attention has been paid to corporate governance studies in Mongolian firms and much less to the comprehension of the correlation among ownership structure, corporate governance mechanisms and trend of innovative activities. Innovation is the bed rock of enterprise success. However, the funding and support for innovative activities in many firms are to a great extent determined by the incentives provided by the firm’s internal and external governance mechanisms. Mongolia is an East Asian country currently undergoing a fast-paced transition from socialist to democratic system and it is a widely held view that private ownership as against public ownership fosters innovation. Hence, following the privatization policy of Mongolian Government which has led to the transfer of the ownership of hitherto state controlled and state directed firms to private individuals and organizations, expectations are high that sufficient motivation would be provided for firm managers to engage in innovative activities. This research focuses on the relationship between ownership structure, corporate governance on one hand and the level of innovation on the hand. The paper is empirical in nature and derives data from both reliable secondary and primary sources. Secondary data for the study was in respect of ownership structure of Mongolian listed firms and innovation trend in Mongolia generally. These were analyzed using tables, charts, bars and percentages. Personal interviews and surveys were held to collect primary data. Primary data was in respect of corporate governance practices in Mongolian firms and were collected using structured questionnaire. Out of a population of three hundred and twenty (320) companies listed on the Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE), a sample size of thirty (30) randomly selected companies was utilized for the study. Five (5) management level employees were surveyed in each selected firm giving a total of one hundred and fifty (150) respondents. Data collected were analyzed and research hypotheses tested using Chi-Square test statistic. Research results showed that corporate governance mechanisms were better and have significantly improved overtime in privately held as opposed to publicly owned firms. Consequently, the levels of innovation in privately held firms were considerably higher. It was concluded that a significant and positive relationship exists between private ownership and good corporate governance on one hand and the level of funding provided for innovative activities in Mongolian firms on the other hand.

Keywords: corporate governance, innovation, ownership structure, stock exchange

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Authors: I. Savitskaya, A. Kistaubayeva, A. Zhubanova, I. Blavachinskaiya, D. Ibrayeva, M. Abdulzhanova, A. Otarbay, A.Isabekova

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This study was conducted for the investigation of number of cellulolytic bacteria and their ability in decomposition. Seven samples surface soil were collected on cellulose Zailiskii Alatau slopes. Cellulolitic activity of new strains of Bacillus, isolated from soil is determined. Isolated cellulose degrading bacteria were screened for determination of the highest cellulose activity by quantitative assay using Congo red, gravimetric assay and colorimetric DNS method trough of the determination of the parameters of sugar reduction. Strains are assigned to: B.subtilis, B.licheniformis, B. cereus and, В. megaterium. Bacillus strains consisting of several different types of cellulases have broad substrate specificity of cellulase complexes formed by them. Cellulolitic bacteria were recorded to have highest cellulase activity and selected for optimization of cellulase enzyme production.

Keywords: cellulose-degrading bacteria, cellulase complex, foothills soil, screening

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Authors: M. Mulumpwa, W. W. L. Jere, M. Lazaro, A. H. N. Mtethiwa

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The study considered Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) processes to select an appropriate stochastic model to forecast the monthly data from the Lake Malawi water levels for the period 1986 through 2015. The appropriate model was chosen based on SARIMA (p, d, q) (P, D, Q)S. The Autocorrelation function (ACF), Partial autocorrelation (PACF), Akaike Information Criteria (AIC), Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC), Box–Ljung statistics, correlogram and distribution of residual errors were estimated. The SARIMA (1, 1, 0) (1, 1, 1)12 was selected to forecast the monthly data of the Lake Malawi water levels from August, 2015 to December, 2021. The plotted time series showed that the Lake Malawi water levels are decreasing since 2010 to date but not as much as was the case in 1995 through 1997. The future forecast of the Lake Malawi water levels until 2021 showed a mean of 474.47 m ranging from 473.93 to 475.02 meters with a confidence interval of 80% and 90% against registered mean of 473.398 m in 1997 and 475.475 m in 1989 which was the lowest and highest water levels in the lake respectively since 1986. The forecast also showed that the water levels of Lake Malawi will drop by 0.57 meters as compared to the mean water levels recorded in the previous years. These results suggest that the Lake Malawi water level may not likely go lower than that recorded in 1997. Therefore, utilisation and management of water-related activities and programs among others on the lake should provide room for such scenarios. The findings suggest a need to manage the Lake Malawi jointly and prudently with other stakeholders starting from the catchment area. This will reduce impacts of anthropogenic activities on the lake’s water quality, water level, aquatic and adjacent terrestrial ecosystems thereby ensuring its resilience to climate change impacts.

Keywords: forecasting, Lake Malawi, water levels, water level fluctuation, climate change, anthropogenic activities

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Authors: Attahir Shehu Mainiyo, Ahmad Ibrahim Karfe

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The Glorious Qur’an, as the central religious text of Islam, addresses various aspects of human life and provides guidance for personal and societal development. It also outlines the moral excellence of individuals and communities, focusing on spiritual, moral, and social dimensions. Da’wah is the act of inviting others to Islam, emphasizing the significance of conveying the message with kindness, patience, and understanding. Qur’anic moral excellence, as evinced in the Qur’an encompasses virtues such as compassion, honesty, humility, patience, and generosity. The Glorious Qur’an, therefore, harps on the importance of embodying these values in daily life, serving as a guide for individuals engaged in Da’wah activities to exemplify moral excellence through their actions and characters. It is in line with this backdrop that this article intends to assess the Da’wah and Qur’anic Moral Excellence. However, to achieve the objectives of the research, the article attempts to answer some basic questions. Emphasizes were laid in the Glorious on the need to invite others to the true path of Islam and the qualities of Da’i necessary for his Da’wah activities. The paper also discussed the impact of Qur’anic moral excellence on the Da’i and those invited to Islam. The paper adopts an analytical methodology and utilizes secondary data for the research.

Keywords: Da'wah, Qur'an, moral, excellence

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Authors: Ahmad Manbohi, Seyyed Hamid Ahmadi

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A low-cost paper-based microfluidic device (PAD) for the multiplex electrochemical determination of glucose, uric acid, and dopamine in biological fluids was developed. Using wax printing, PAD containing a central zone, six channels, and six detection zones was fabricated, and the electrodes were printed on detection zones using pre-made electrodes template. For each analyte, two detection zones were used. The carbon working electrode was coated with chitosan-BSA (and enzymes for glucose and uric acid). To detect glucose and uric acid, enzymatic reactions were employed. These reactions involve enzyme-catalyzed redox reactions of the analytes and produce free electrons for electrochemical measurement. Calibration curves were linear (R^² > 0.980) in the range of 0-80 mM for glucose, 0.09–0.9 mM for dopamine, and 0–50 mM for uric acid, respectively. Blood samples were successfully analyzed by the proposed method.

Keywords: biological fluids, biomarkers, microfluidic paper-based electrochemical biosensors, Multiplex

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Authors: Achmad Buhori, Reza Imam Pratama, Tissa Wiraatmaja, Wanti Megawati

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Data from many countries indicates that there is a marked increase of dental caries. The increases in caries appear to occur in lower socioeconomic groups. It is possible that the benefits of prevention of dental caries are not reaching these groups. However, there is a way to decrease dental caries by adding 5% of bromelain and calcium as an active agent in toothpaste. Bromelain can break glutamine-alanine bond and arginine-alanine bond which is a constituent of amino acid that causes dental plague which is one of the factors of dental caries. Calcium help rebuilds the teeth by strengthening and repairing enamel. Bromelain can be found from the extraction of pineapple (Ananas comosus) cobs (88.86-94.22 % of bromelain recovery during extraction based on the enzyme unit) and calcium can be taken from eggshell (95% of dry eggshell consist of calcium). The aim of this experiment is to make a toothpaste which contains bromelain and calcium as an effective, cheap, and healthy way to decrease dental caries around the world.

Keywords: bromelain, calcium, dental caries, dental plague, toothpaste

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Authors: C. Makwana, S. R. Dave

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Arsenic is toxic to almost all living cells. Its contamination in natural sources affects the growth of microorganisms. The presence of arsenic is associated with various human disorders also. The attempt of this sort of study provides information regarding the performance of our isolated microorganisms in the presence of Arsenic, which have ample scope for bioremediation. Six isolates were selected from the polluted sample of industrial zone Vatva, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India, out of which two were Thermophilic organisms. The thermophilic exopolysaccharide (EPS) producing Bacillus was used for microbial enhance oil recovery (MEOR) and in the bio beneficiation. Inorganic arsenic primarily exists in the form of arsenate or arsenite. This arsenic resistance isolate was capable of transforming As +3 to As+5. This isolate would be useful for arsenic remediation standpoint from aquatic systems. The study revealed that the thermophilic microorganism was growing at 55 degree centigrade showed considerable remediation property. The results on the growth and enzyme catalysis would be discussed in response to Arsenic remediation.

Keywords: aquatic systems, thermophilic, exopolysacchride, arsenic

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Authors: Sahar B. Ahmed, M. Mostafa Said, Mona I. Mohamed

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Streptozotocin (STZ) caused a significant increase in blood glucose and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in serum accompanied by a significant decrease in blood reduced glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities. Also, ALT, AST, albumin and urea were markedly affected by STZ injection. The oral administration of Mango leaves extract (MLE) one hour before STZ injection was significantly improved the blood glucose level, ALT, AST activities, albumin and urea that associated with the regulation of MDA, GSH and SOD levels. The antimicrobial activity of MLE showed a significant inhibitory activity against multidrug resistant gram positive and gram negative bacteria isolated from patients in Egyptian hospitals especially Salmonella typhi and typhimurium. In conclusion, results revealed the antioxidant, hypoglycemic effect and antimicrobial potentials of MLE under investigation. Further studies will be needed to investigate the prolonged period of MLE administration and its possible side effects.

Keywords: aqueous extract of mango leaves, STZ, antioxidant, hypoglycemic effect, antimicrobial potentials.

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Authors: Günther Schuh, Christina König, Toni Drescher

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One of the key factors for the competitiveness and market success of technology-driven companies is the timely provision of information about emerging technologies, changes in existing technologies, as well as relevant related changes in the market's structures and participants. Therefore, many companies conduct technology intelligence (TI) activities to ensure an early identification of appropriate technologies and other (weak) signals. One base activity of TI is technology monitoring, which is defined as the systematic tracking of developments within a specified topic of interest as well as related trends over a long period of time. Due to the very large number of dynamically changing parameters within the technological and the market environment of a company as well as their possible interdependencies, it is necessary to focus technology monitoring on specific indicators or other criteria, which are able to point out technological developments and market changes. In addition to the execution of a literature review on existing approaches, which mainly propose patent-based indicators, it is examined in this paper whether indicator systems from other branches such as risk management or economic research could be transferred to technology monitoring in order to enable an efficient and focused technology monitoring for companies.

Keywords: technology forecasting, technology indicator, technology intelligence, technology management, technology monitoring

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Authors: Connie Edang, Siti Arpah Noordin, Shamila Mohamed Shuhidan

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For the past few decades, there are growing numbers of knowledge based industries in Malaysia. As competitive edge has become so important nowadays, the consideration of research and development (R&D) should be put at the highest priority. Alike other industries, HEIs are also contributors to the nation’s development and wealth. Hence, to become a hub for creating a knowledge-based society, HEIs not only responsible for producing skillful human capital, but also to get involved in R&D. With the importance of R&D in today’s modern economy and the rise of Science and Technology, it gives opportunities for researchers to explore this sector as to place Malaysia as a provider in some key strategic industries, including medical and health sciences field. Academic researchers/medical researchers possess unique tacit and skills based in accordance with their experience and professional expert areas. In completing a collaborative research work, there must be platforms to enable the conversion of their knowledge hence beneficial towards creation of new knowledge. The objectives of this study are to: i) explore the knowledge creation activities of medical researchers in the Malaysian Higher Education Institution (HEI); ii) explore the driving forces for knowledge creation activities among the researchers; and iii) explore the interpretation of medical researchers on the establishment of ‘ba’ in the creation of knowledge. Based on the SECI model was introduced by Nonaka and Takeuchi and the Japanese concept of ‘ba’, a qualitative study whereby semi structured interview was used as to gather the informants’ viewpoints and insights based on their experience capitalizing ‘ba’ to support their knowledge creation activities. A single the study was conducted at one of the HEIs located in Sabah. From this study, both face to face and the ICT-assisted tools are found to be significant to support interaction of their knowledge. ICT seems to ease their interaction with other research collaborator. However, this study revealed that interaction conducted in physical settings is still be best preferred by the medical researchers especially situations of whereby their knowledge is hard to be externalized. Moreover, it revealed that motivational factors play important roles as for driving forces affecting their knowledge creation activities. Other than that, the medical researchers addressed that the mix interaction bring forth value in terms of facilitating knowledge creation. Therefore this study would benefit the institution to highly optimize the utilization of good platform so that knowledge can be transferred and be made used by others in appropriate ways.

Keywords: ‘ba’, knowledge creation dynamics, Malaysia, higher education institution, medical researchers

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Authors: Hualter Barbosa, Bruno Bonifacio

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The process of globalization and new business has transformed the dynamics of software development. To meet the new demands, the software industry has adapted new methodologies that can shorten development cycles to ensure greater competitiveness. Given this scenario, Global Software Development (GSD) has become a strategic element for new products' success. However, the reliability, opportunity, and perceived value can be influenced substantially with the automation of steps in the development process activities. In this sense, the development of new technologies can help developers and managers to improve the quality of development. This paper presents a report on improving one of the release process activities of Sidia's mobile product area using software technology. The objective is to present the improvement of the CLCATCH tool developed based on experimental studies and qualitative analysis on the points of improvement for the release process in Android update projects for Samsung mobile devices. The results show improvement for the new version and approach of the tool, with points that can facilitate new features of the proposed technology.

Keywords: Android updated, empirical studies, GSD, process improvement

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Authors: Joko Nurkamto

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A lesson plan is a part of the planning phase in a learning and teaching system framing the scenario of pedagogical activities in the classroom. It informs a decision on what to teach and how to landscape classroom interaction. Regardless of these benefits, the writer has witnessed the fact that lesson plans are viewed merely as a teaching document. Therefore, this paper will explore teachers’ beliefs and practices in designing lesson plans. It focuses primarily on how both teachers and students negotiate lesson plans in which the students are deemed to be the agents of instructional innovations. Additionally, the paper will talk about how such lesson plans are enacted. To investigate these issues, document analysis, in-depth interviews, participant classroom observation, and focus group discussion will be deployed as data collection methods in this explorative case study. The benefits of the paper are to show different roles of lesson plans and to discover different ways to design and enact such plans from a socio-interactional perspective.

Keywords: instructional innovation, learning and teaching system, lesson plan, pedagogical activities, teachers' beliefs and practices

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Authors: Omid Noroozi, Martin Mulder

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The motivational potential of educational games is undeniable especially for teaching topics and skills that are difficult to deal with in traditional educational situations such as argumentation competence. Willingness to argue has an association with student epistemic beliefs, which can influence whether, and the way in which students engage in argumentative discourse activities and critical discussion. The goal of this study was to explore how undergraduate students engage with argumentative discourse activities which have been designed to intensify debate, and whether epistemic beliefs are significant to the outcomes. A pre-test, post-test design was used with students who were assigned to groups of four. They were asked to argue a controversial topic with the aim of exploring various perspectives, and the 'pros and cons' on the topic of 'Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)'. The results show that the game facilitated argumentative discourse and a willingness to argue and challenged peers, regardless of students’ epistemic beliefs. Furthermore, the game was evaluated positively in terms of students’ motivation and satisfaction with the learning experience.

Keywords: argumentation, attitudinal change, epistemic beliefs, dialogue, digital game objectives and theoretical

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Authors: N. Amruth Raj, Suja S. Nair

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The last six decades have borne witness to a radical change in the private sectors relationship with both the state and civil society. Firms have been increasingly called upon to adopt strategies beyond the financial aspects of their operations and consider the social and environmental impact of their business activities. In this context, many companies have modified their policies and activities and engaged into Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) especially on Rural development in India. At the firm level, CSR is implemented through various practices, which aim to enhance the company’s social and environmental performance and may cover various topics. Examples of CSR practices are abundant in Andhra Pradesh relevant literature. For instance, in India especially at Andhra Pradesh companies like Amara Raaja requires from its suppliers to prohibit child labour, Nagarjuna Cements applies a series of programs for reducing its CO2 emissions, LANCO group of Industries addresses health and safety issues in the workplace whereas GVK works limited has adopted a series of policies for addressing human rights and environmental abuse related to its operations.

Keywords: CSR, limitations, need, objectives, rural development

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Authors: Raymond E. Raguindin

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Objective: This research studied the teaching improvement of daycare workers in imitation, joint attention, and language activities using the play-based early intervention training program in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. Methods: Focus group discussions were developed to explore the attitude, beliefs, and practices of daycare workers. Results: Findings of the study revealed that daycare workers have existing knowledge and experience in teaching children with autism. Their workshops on managing inappropriate behaviors of children with autism resulting in a general positive perception of accepting and teaching children with autism in daycare centers. Play based activities were modelled and participated in by daycare workers. These include demonstration, modelling, prompting and providing social reinforcers as reward. Five lectures and five training days were done to implement the training program. Daycare workers’ levels of skill in teaching imitation, joint attention and language were gathered before and after the participation in the training program. Findings suggest significant differences between pre-test and post test scores. They have shown significant improvement in facilitating imitation, joint attention, and language children with autism after the play-based early intervention training. They were able to initiate and sustain imitation, joint attention, and language activities with adequate knowledge and confidence. Conclusions: 1. Existing attitudes and beliefs greatly influenced the positive delivery mode of instruction. 2. Teacher-directed approach to improve attention, imitation, joint attention, and language of children with autism can be acquired by daycare workers. 3. Teaching skills and experience can be used as reference and basis for identifying future training needs.

Keywords: early intervention, imitation, joint attention, language

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Authors: Sayed Ahmed

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Religious activities that have evolved the sacred into a dynamic cultural phenomenon in the public realm of Sylhet, Bangladesh, and the spatiality of sacred sites and everyday practices in certain built forms have framed these phenomena. Religious rituals in Sylhet gave birth to unique practices of their own and have a vast impact even on contemporary spatial practices, while most Western researchers are not hopeful about the future of religion. However, despite extensive research on urban morphology and religion separately, there is limited literature on the relationship between these two topics to capture religious perceptions and experiences in urban spaces. This research will try to fill the existing gap and explain sacred within the range of Western sociological and philosophical tools implemented in third-world contexts, which was never highlighted before. This perspective of research puts forth the argument that urban morphology influences sacred experiences and how consecrated entities and religious activities shape the city's structure in return. The methodology of the research will map key morphological and religious variables. This mapping might include festival trajectories, street life observations, pedestrian densities, religious activities, public and private interface types with religious commodification, and the identification of blurred boundaries between sacred and profane on smaller to broader urban scales. To relate the derived cartography, illustrative (not representative) interviews about religious signs and symbols will be conducted and compared accordingly. The possible findings might reintroduce the diversity of religious practices in urban places and develop a decent concept of how sacred and urban morphology are mutually reinforcing the city, which has remained a vital nutrient for the survival of its inhabitants. Such infrequent conceptualizations of urban morphology and its relationship to symbolic sacralization are truly ‘outside’ to those that exist in the West.

Keywords: sylhet, religion, urban morphology, symbolic exchange, Baudrillard

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Authors: Thavasimuthu Citarasu, Mariavincent Michaelbabu, Vikram Vakharia

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The rhizome of Java grass, Cyperus rotundus was extracted different organic polar and non-polar solvents and performed the in vitro antiviral and immunostimulant activities against White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and Vibrio harveyi respectively. Based on the initial screening the ethyl acetate extract of C. rotundus was strong activities and further it was purified through silica column chromatography and the fractions were screened again for antiviral and immunostimulant activity. Among the different fractions screened against the WSSV and V. harveyi, the fractions, F-III to FV had strong activities. In order to study the in vivo influence of C. rotundus, the fractions (F-III to FV) were pooled and delivered to the F. indicus through artificial feed for 30 days. After the feeding trail the experimental and control diet fed F. indicus were challenged with virulent WSSV and studied the survival, molecular diagnosis, biochemical, haematological and immunological parameters. Surprisingly, the pooled fractions (F-III to FV) incorporated diets helped to significantly (P < 0.01) suppressed viral multiplication, showed significant (P < 0.01) differences in protein and glucose levels, improved total haemocyte count (THC), coagulase activity, significantly increased (P < =0.001) prophenol oxidase and intracellular superoxide anion production compared to the control shrimps. Based on the results, C. rotundus extracts effectively suppressed WSSV multiplication and improve the immune system in F. indicus against WSSV infection and this knowledge will helps to develop novel drugs from C. rotundus against WSSV.

Keywords: antiviral drugs, cyperus rotundus, fenneropenaeus indicus, WSSV

Procedia PDF Downloads 451

Authors: Yang Liandong

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The rapid development of cities has triggered a series of urban health problems. Residents' daily lives have generally changed to long-term unhealthy work and rest, and the prevalence of chronic diseases in the population is on the rise. Promoting physical activity is an effective way to enhance the population's health and reduce the risk of various chronic diseases. As the most basic unit of the city, the community is the living space where residents use the highest frequency of daily activities and also the best space carrier for people to carry out all kinds of physical activities, and its planning research is of great significance for promoting physical activities. Under special conditions, the old communities in mountainous cities present compact and three-dimensional spatial characteristics, and there are problems such as disordered spatial organization, scattered distribution, and low utilization rates. This paper selects four communities in Daxigou Street, Yuzhong District, Chongqing as the research object, analyzes the current situation of the research cases through literature combing and field investigation and interviews, and puts forward the planning strategies for promoting physical activity in old communities in mountain cities from four aspects: building a convenient and smooth public space system, creating a diversified and shared activity space, creating a beautiful and healing community landscape, and providing convenient and perfect supporting facilities, to provide a certain reference for the healthy development of old communities in mountain cities.

Keywords: physical activity, community planning, old communities in mountain cities, public space optimization, spatial fairness

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Authors: Awadh O. Al-Anazi

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As part of the organizational needs toward successful maintaining activities, a proper management system need to be put in place, ensuring the effectiveness of maintenance activities. The management system shall clearly describes the process of identifying, prioritizing, planning, scheduling, execution, and providing valuable feedback for all maintenance activities. Completion and accuracy of the system with proper implementation shall provide the organization with a strong platform for effective maintenance activities that are resulted in efficient outcomes toward business success. The purpose of this research was to introduce a practical tool for measuring the maintenance efficiency level within Saudi organizations. A comprehensive study was launched across many maintenance professionals throughout Saudi leading organizations. The study covered five main categories: work process, identification, planning and scheduling, execution, and performance monitoring. Each category was evaluated across many dimensions to determine its current effectiveness through a five-level scale from 'process is not there' to 'mature implementation'. Wide participation was received, responses were analyzed, and the study was concluded by highlighting major gaps and improvement opportunities within Saudi organizations. One effective implementation of the efficiency enhancement efforts was deployed in Saudi Kayan (one of Sabic affiliates). Below details describes the project outcomes: SK overall maintenance wrench time was measured at 20% (on average) from the total daily working time. The assessment indicates the appearance of several organizational gaps, such as a high amount of reactive work, poor coordination and teamwork, Unclear roles and responsibilities, as well as underutilization of resources. Multidiscipline team was assigned to design and implement an appropriate work process that is capable to govern the execution process, improve the maintenance workforce efficiency, and maximize wrench time (targeting > 50%). The enhanced work process was introduced through brainstorming and wide benchmarking, incorporated with a proper change management plan and leadership sponsorship. The project was completed in 2018. Achieved Results: SK WT was improved to 50%, which resulted in 1) reducing the Average Notification completion time. 2) reducing maintenance expenses on OT and manpower support (3.6 MSAR Actual Saving from Budget within 6 months).

Keywords: efficiency, enhancement, maintenance, work force, wrench time

Procedia PDF Downloads 142

Authors: C. Akpagu Francis, V. Nnamani Emmanuel

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Drinking and use of polluted water from ponds, rivers, lakes, etc. for other domestic activities especially by the larger population in the rural areas has been a major source of health problems to man. A study was carried out in two different ponds in Oji River, Enugu State of Nigeria to determine the extent of total dissolved solid (TDS), metals (lead, cadmium, iron, zinc, manganese, calcium), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). Samples of water were collected from two different ponds at a distance of 510, and 15 metres from the point of entry into the ponds to fetch water. From the results obtained, TDS (751.6Mg/l), turbidity (24ftu), conductivity (1193µs/cm), cadmium (0.008Mg/l) and lead (0.03mg/t) in pond A (PA) were found to have exceeded the WHO standard. Also in pond B (PB) the results shows that TDS (760.30Mg/l), turbidity (26ftu), conductivity (1195µs/cm), cadmium (0.008mg/l) and lead (0.03Mg/l) were also found to have exceeded the WHO standard which makes the two ponds. Water very unsafe for drinking and use in other domestic activities.

Keywords: physicochemical, groundwater, Oji River, Nigeria

Procedia PDF Downloads 456

Authors: Susilo Susilo

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In the process of foreign language acquisition, L2 exposure has been evidently assumed efficient for learners to help increase their proficiency. However, to get enough L2 exposure in the context of learning English as a foreign language is not as easy as that of the first language learning context. Therefore, beyond the classroom L2 exposure is helpful for EFL learners to achieve the language tasks. Alongside the rapid development of technology and media, English as a foreign language is virtually used in the social media of almost all regions, affecting the faces of Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). This different face of TEFL unavoidably intrigues teachers to treat their students differently in the classroom in order that they can put more effort in maximizing beyond-the-class learning to help improve their in-class achievements. The study aims to investigate: 1) EFL teachers’ teaching skills and beliefs about students’ out-of-class activities in different L2 exposure environments, and 2) the effect on EFL teachers’ teaching skills and beliefs about students’ out-of-class activities of different L2 exposure environments. This is a survey for 80 EFL teachers from Senior High Schools in three regions of two provinces in Indonesia. A questionnaire using a four-point Likert scale was distributed to the respondents to elicit data. The questionnaires were developed by reffering to the constructs of teaching skills (i.e. teaching preparation, teaching action, and teaching evaluation) and beliefs about out-of-class learning (i.e. setting, process and atmosphere), which have been taken from some expert definitions. The internal consistencies for those constructs were examined by using Cronbach Alpha. The data of the study were analyzed by using SPSS program, i.e. descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test. The standard for determining the significance was p < .05. The results revealed that: 1) teaching skills performed by the teachers of English as a foreign language in different exposure environments showed various focus of teaching skills, 2) the teachers showed various ways of beliefs about students’ out-of-class activities in different exposure environments, 3) there was a significant difference in the scores for NNESTs’ teaching skills in urban regions (M=34.5500, SD=4.24838) and those in rural schools (M=24.9500, SD=2.42794) conditions; t (78)=12.408, p = 0.000; and 4) there was a significant difference in the scores for NNESTs’ beliefs about students’ out-of-class activities in urban schools (M=36.9250, SD=6.17434) and those in rural regions (M=29.4250, SD=4.56793) conditions; t (78)=6.176, p = 0.000. These results suggest that different L2 exposure environments really do have effects on teachers’ teaching skills and beliefs about their students’ out-of-class learning.

Keywords: belief about EFL out-of-class learning, L2 exposure environment, teachers of English as a foreign language, teaching skills

Procedia PDF Downloads 339

Authors: Alan Silva, Carla Cipolla

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The increase of life expectancy in the world is a current challenge for governments, demanding solutions towards elderly people. In this context, service design and age-friendly design appear as an approach to create solutions which favor active aging by social inclusion and better life quality. In essence, the age-friendly design aims to include elderly people in the democratic process of creation in order to strengthen the participation and empowerment of them through intellectual, social, civic, recreational, cultural and spiritual activities. All of these activities aim to provide resilience to this segment by granting access to the reserves needed for adaptation and growth in the face of life's challenges. On that approach, the following research brings an overview of the actions related to the integration and social qualification of the elderly people, considering a suburban area of Rio de Janeiro. Based on Design Thinking presented by Brown (2009), this research has a qualitative-exploratory approach demanding certain necessities and actions, which are collected through observation and interviews about the daily life of the elderly community individuals searching for information about personal capacitation and social integration of the studied population. Subsequently, a critical analysis is done on this overview, pointing out the potentialities and limitations of these actions. At the end of the research, a well-being map of solutions classified as physical, mental and social is created, also indicating which current services are relevant and which activities can be transformed into services to that community. In conclusion, the contribution of this research is the construction of a map of solutions that provides resilience to the studied public and favors the concept of active aging in society. From this map of solutions, it is possible to discriminate what are the resources necessary for the solutions to be operationalized and their journeys with the users of the elderly segment.

Keywords: resilience, age-friendly design, service design, active aging

Procedia PDF Downloads 94

Authors: Kornchanok Chidchaisuwan

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This project is a study of learning activities through experience to enhance career skills and technical abilities on the creative strategies for advertising course of undergraduate students. This instructional model consisted of study learning approaches: 1) Simulation-based learning: used to create virtual learning activities plans for work like working at advertising companies. 2) Project-based learning: Actual work based on the processed creating and focus on producing creative works to present on new media channels. The results of learning management found that there were effects on the students in various areas, including 1) The learners have experienced in the step by step of advertising work process. 2) The learner has the skills to work from the actual work (Learning by Doing), allowing the ability to create, present, and produce the campaign accomplished achievements and published on online media at a better level.

Keywords: technical, advertising, presentation, career skills, experience, simulation based learning

Procedia PDF Downloads 90