Search results for: random sampling

Authors: Michelle Micah Augustine

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Soap opera narrative creates a sense of community. Uzalo is a South African local soap opera television series. It is unique because Uzalo tells the story of black people and their everyday struggle centered in KwaMashu township community, which is an excellent example of how moving image culture has contributed in portraying township community that was once marginalized by the apartheid regime in contemporary South Africa. While soap opera importance and promotion of social change and behaviours have been extensively studied throughout history, little research has examined the importance of space and place in its narrative. This study explored the conventional community space and place, the core elements that drive soap opera narrative. By means of qualitative content analysis, the study investigated the construction of public meeting places in Uzalo, using a purposive sampling technique to collect data by choosing episodes. The result indicates that characters convergence in public meeting places in soap opera creates disequilibrium which drives the narrative; reveals that construction of a public meeting place is an important way of creating a minimum of homogeneousness among disparate characters, gives a sense of unified experience drawing on the notion of the particular characteristics or attitude generated from such place. The result shows that the use of camera angles, movements, editing, music and usual tricks (mise-en-scene) applied in the narrative setting function as a guide for viewers comprehension of emotional responses of the story and to connect with the space in which the narrative is set.

Keywords: community, narrative, place, space, soap opera

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Authors: Ameema Mahroof, Muhammad Saeed

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The purpose of this study was to analyze the papers of computer science conducted by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education with reference to Bloom’s taxonomy. The present study has two parts. First, the analysis is done on the papers conducted by Board of Intermediate of Secondary Education on the basis of basic rules of item construction especially Bloom’s (1956). And the item analysis is done to improve the psychometric properties of a test. The sample included the question papers of computer science of higher secondary classes (XI-XII) for the years 2011 and 2012. For item analysis, the data was collected from 60 students through convenient sampling. Findings of the study revealed that in the papers by Board of intermediate and secondary education the maximum focus was on knowledge and understanding level and very less focus was on the application, analysis, and synthesis. Furthermore, the item analysis on the question paper reveals that item difficulty of most of the questions did not show a balanced paper, the items were either very difficult while most of the items were too easy (measuring knowledge and understanding abilities). Likewise, most of the items were not truly discriminating the high and low achievers; four items were even negatively discriminating. The researchers also analyzed the items of the paper through software Conquest. These results show that the papers conducted by Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education were not well constructed. It was recommended that paper setters should be trained in developing the question papers that can measure various cognitive abilities of students so that a good paper in computer science should assess all cognitive abilities of students.

Keywords: Bloom’s taxonomy, question paper, item analysis, cognitive domain, computer science

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Authors: Mirco Tarozzi, Giacomo Pignagnoli, Andrea Benedetti

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The design of planning maintenance of civil structures often requires the evaluation of their level of safety in order to be able to choose which structure, and in which measure, it needs a structural retrofit. This work deals with the evaluation of the stiffness reduction of a scaled steel deck due to the presence of localized damages. The dynamic tests performed on it have shown the variability of its main frequencies linked to the gradual reduction of its rigidity. This deck consists in a steel grillage of four secondary beams and three main beams linked to a concrete slab. This steel deck is 6 m long and 3 m wide and it rests on two abutments made of concrete. By processing the signals of the accelerations due to a random excitation of the deck, the main natural frequencies of this bridge have been extracted. In order to assign more reliable parameters to the numerical model of the deck, some load tests have been performed and the mechanical property of the materials and the supports have been obtained. The two external beams have been cut at one third of their length and the structural strength has been restored by the design of a bolted plate. The gradual loss of the bolts and the plates removal have made the simulation of localized damage possible. In order to define the relationship between frequency variation and loss in stiffness, the identification of its natural frequencies has been performed, before and after the occurrence of the damage, corresponding to each step. The study of the relationship between stiffness losses and frequency shifts has been reported in this paper: the square of the frequency variation due to the presence of the damage is proportional to the ratio between the rigidities. This relationship can be used to quantify the loss in stiffness of a real scale bridge in an efficient way.

Keywords: damage detection, dynamic test, frequency shifts, operational modal analysis, steel bridge

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Authors: Sumra Siddique Abbasi, Cheng Shikun

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Biogas technology has rapidly developed in agriculture sector to upgrade and improve the life of farmers by providing them alternative and cost-effective energy source. Main purpose of this study is to understand the advantages of biogas plants by livestock owners either they are household-based livestock owners or may own farms for livestock. Similarly, a pertinent and major purpose of this research is to examine the factors affecting the decision to adopt biogas technologies at the household level. Based on the result, both public and private sector organization can make decisions related to the installation of biogas projects. Biogas is major energy source which can be used as an alternative and renewable energy source. This energy production technology can contribute in uplifting the lifestyle of farmers and can contribute into sustainable development of rural communities in Pakistan. People with livestock in any community in Pakistan can get benefit from biogas plants and it will contribute in sustainable development program which generates socio economic benefits, heath upgradation, cost effective energy source and positive impact on climate change or environmental issues. This study was conductive using survey method and descriptive analysis. One hundred fifty (150) farmers were the respondents who participated in survey. These farmers were from Layyah district of Punjab and were selected using snowball sampling technique. To generate the results, SPSS tool was used for data analysis.

Keywords: biogas plant, animal dunk, renewable energy, pakistan

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Authors: Saeid Gharechelou, Stuart Green, Fiona Cawkwell

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Hedgerow has an important role for a wide range of ecological habitats, landscape, agriculture management, carbon sequestration, wood production. Hedgerow detection accurately using satellite imagery is a challenging problem in remote sensing techniques, because in the special approach it is very similar to line object like a road, from a spectral viewpoint, a hedge is very similar to a forest. Remote sensors with very high spatial resolution (VHR) recently enable the automatic detection of hedges by the acquisition of images with enough spectral and spatial resolution. Indeed, recently VHR remote sensing data provided the opportunity to detect the hedgerow as line feature but still remain difficulties in monitoring the characterization in landscape scale. In this research is used the TerraSAR-x Spotlight and Staring mode with 3-5 m resolution in wet and dry season in the test site of Fermoy County, Ireland to detect the hedgerow by acquisition time of 2014-2015. Both dual polarization of Spotlight data in HH/VV is using for detection of hedgerow. The varied method of SAR image technique with try and error way by integration of classification algorithm like texture analysis, support vector machine, k-means and random forest are using to detect hedgerow and its characterization. We are applying the Shannon entropy (ShE) and backscattering analysis in single and double bounce in polarimetric analysis for processing the object-oriented classification and finally extracting the hedgerow network. The result still is in progress and need to apply the other method as well to find the best method in study area. Finally, this research is under way to ahead to get the best result and here just present the preliminary work that polarimetric image of TSX potentially can detect the hedgerow.

Keywords: TerraSAR-X, hedgerow detection, high resolution SAR image, dual polarization, polarimetric analysis

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Authors: K. R. Mukuna

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Teachers are faced many challenges in the South African rural schools such as stress, depression, lack of resources, poor working relationships, inflexible curriculum etc. These could affect their wellbeing and effectiveness at the workplace. As a result, the study had a significance in the teacher’s lives, and community due teachers worked under conditions that are unfavourable to perform their jobs effectively. Despite these conditions, they still managed to do their jobs and the community is uplifted. However, this study aimed to explore factors that enable teachers to cope with workplace adversities at a rural school district in the Free State Province. It adopted a qualitative case study as a research design. Semi-structured interviews and colleges had employed as tools to collect data. Ten participants (n=10; 5 males and 5 females) were selected through purposive and convenience sampling. All participants selected from a South African rural school. Sesotho culture was their home language, and most of them had 5 years of teaching experiences. The thematic findings revealed that they developed abilities to cope with and adjust to the social and cultural environment. These included self-efficacy, developing problem-solving skills, awareness of strengths and asserts, self-managing of emotions, and self-confidence. This study concluded that these psychosocial factors contributed to coping with teacher’s diversities, and effectively stabilized their wellbeing in the schools.

Keywords: psychosocial factors, teachers counselling, teacher stress, workplace adversity, rural school, teachers’ wellbeing, teachers’ resilience, teachers’ self-efficacy, social interaction

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Authors: Livhuwani Muthelo, R. N. Malema, T. M. Mothiba

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Long term exposure to excessive noise in the mining industry increases the risk of noise induced hearing loss, with consequences for employee’s health, productivity and the overall quality of life. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that contribute to Noise Induced Hearing Loss amongst employees at the Platinum mine in the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Study method: A qualitative, phenomenological, exploratory, descriptive, contextual design was applied in order to explore and describe the contributory factors. Purposive non-probability sampling was used to select 10 male employees who were diagnosed with NIHL in the year 2014 in four mine shafts, and 10 managers who were involved in a Hearing Conservation Programme. The data were collected using semi-structured one-on-one interviews. A qualitative data analysis of Tesch’s approach was followed. Results: The following themes emerged: Experiences and challenges faced by employees in the work environment, hearing protective device factors and management and leadership factors. Hearing loss was caused by partial application of guidelines, policies, and procedures from the Department of Minerals and Energy. Conclusion: The study results indicate that although there are guidelines, policies, and procedures available, failure in the implementation of one element will affect the development and maintenance of employees hearing mechanism. It is recommended that the mine management should apply the guidelines, policies, and procedures and promptly repair the broken hearing protective devices.

Keywords: employees, factors, noise induced hearing loss, noise exposure

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Authors: Ekin Ozer, Maria Q. Feng, Rupa Purasinghe

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Structural deterioration of bridge systems possesses an ongoing threat to the transportation networks. Besides, landmark bridges’ integrity and safety are more than sole functionality, since they provide a strong presence for the society and nations. Therefore, an innovative and sustainable method to inspect landmark bridges is essential to ensure their resiliency in the long run. In this paper, a recently introduced concept, smartphone-based modal frequency estimation is addressed, and this paper targets to authenticate the fidelity of smartphone-based vibration measurements gathered from three landmark suspension bridges. Firstly, smartphones located at the bridge mid-span are adopted as portable and standalone vibration measurement devices. Then, their embedded accelerometers are utilized to gather vibration response under operational loads, and eventually frequency domain characteristics are deduced. The preliminary analysis results are compared with the reference publications and high-quality monitoring data to validate the usability of smartphones on long-span landmark suspension bridges. If the technical challenges such as high period of vibration, low amplitude excitation, embedded smartphone sensor features, sampling, and citizen engagement are tackled, smartphones can provide a novel and cost-free crowdsourcing tool for maintenance of these landmark structures. This study presents the early phase findings from three signature structures located in the United States.

Keywords: smart and mobile sensing, structural health monitoring, suspension bridges, vibration analysis

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Authors: Shehu A. Salau, Robiu O. Aliu, Nofiu B. Nofiu

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Nigeria is among countries of the world confronted with food insecurity problem. The agricultural production systems that produces food for the teaming population is not endurable. Attention is thus being given to alternative approaches of intensification such as the use of Sustainable Land Management (SLM) technologies. Thus, this study assessed the effect of SLM technologies on food security of farming households in Kwara State, Nigeria. A-three stage sampling technique was used to select a sample of 200 farming households for this study. Descriptive statistics, Shriar index, Likert scale, food security index and logistic regression were employed for the analysis. The result indicated that majority (41%) of the household heads were between the ages of 51 and 70 years with an average of 60.5 years. Food security index revealed that 35% and 65% of the households were food secure and food insecure respectively. The logistic regression showed that SLM technologies, estimated income, household size, gender and age of the household heads were the critical determinants of food security among farming households. The most effective coping strategies adopted by households geared towards lessening the effects of food insecurity are reduced quality of food consumed, employed off-farm jobs to raise household income and diversion of money budgeted for other uses to purchase foods. Governments should encourage the adoption and use of SLM technologies at all levels. Policies and strategies that reduce household size should be enthusiastically pursued to reduce food insecurity.

Keywords: agricultural practices, coping strategies, farming households, food security, SLM technologies, logistic regression

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Authors: Xing Yan Fan, Xing Lin Xu, Man Yuan Chen, Pei Tzu Lee, Yu Ting Wang, Yi Xiao Cao, Rui Yao

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Pyramid sales have been a widespread issue in China. Victims who are defrauded not only lose money but damage interpersonal relationship. A deeper understanding of pyramid-sale models can be beneficial to prevent potential victims from fraud and improve the property security. The goals of this study were to detect psychological characteristics of pyramid-sale sellers, and analyse persuasive skills in pyramid organizations. A qualitative study was conducted in this study. Participants (n=6) recruited by 'snowball' sampling from present pyramid-sale sellers (n=3) and imprisoned pyramid-sale sellers (n=3). All participants accepted semi-structured interview for collecting data. Content analysis was adopted for data coding and analysis. The results indicate that pyramid organizations are used to utilize their appearance packaging and celebrity effect to strengthen the positions in participants’ mind. The status gap between pyramid-sale sellers in same organization, as well as rewards to increase reputation, are used to motivate participants in pyramid. The most significant common characteristics among all participants are that they tend to possess a high sense of belongingness within the firm. Moreover, the expression of pyramid-sale sellers on gambling mentality is expected to growth as constantly losing money. Findings suggest that the psychological characteristics of pyramid-sale sellers in accordance with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, persuasive skills of pyramid organization confront to 'attitude-behaviour change model'. These findings have implication on 'immune education' that providing guidance for victims out of stuck and protecting ordinary people from the jeopardizing of pyramid sales.

Keywords: pyramid sales, characteristics, persuasive skills, qualitative study

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Authors: Gregory Chown, Benjamin Infantolino, Christopher Wise, Rachel Holmes, Samantha O'Donnell, Katelyn Pfeiffer, Victoria Ward

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Background: There is a lack of understanding of how Kinesio Tape® physiologically works. Furthermore, few studies compare Kinesio Tape® to other forms of taping. The research question is: Does Kinesio Tape® cause a difference in muscle facilitation, inhibition, and pain, between Kinesio Tape® and no tape for collegiate athletes with self-reported shoulder pain? Method: This quantitative non-randomized design used a convenience sampling method. There were eleven participants with self-reported shoulder pain who were athletes on the men’s and women’s lacrosse and tennis teams. Participants attended one 30-45 minute session for data collection. Each participant received all three taping conditions and performed four repetitions of 120 degrees of active shoulder flexion for the three separate trials (no tape, Kinesio Tape® inhibition, and Kinesio Tape® facilitation). Surface electromyography (sEMG) electrodes were placed on the anterior deltoid, supraspinatus, and lower trapezius to measure muscle facilitation and inhibition. Each participant completed the visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after each trial to measure pain. Results: No statistical significance was found for pain scores on the VAS between the taping methods of facilitation, inhibition, and no tape (p = .118). No statistical significance was found for the percentage of change in muscle function for each taping method; Anterior deltoid (p = .993), supraspinatus (p = .997) and lower trapezius (p = .922). Conclusion: Based on the results, Kinesio Tape® appears to not have an effect on muscle function or pain when utilizing the facilitation or inhibition taping method when compared to no tape.

Keywords: Kinesio tape, muscle facilitation, muscle inhibition, pain

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Authors: Edison E. Haro, Akindele G. Odeshi, Jerzy A. Szpunar

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Hybrid bio-composites are developed for use in protective armor through positive hybridization offered by reinforcement of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) with Kevlar short fibers and palm wood micro-fillers. The manufacturing process involved a combination of extrusion and compression molding techniques. The mechanical behavior of Kevlar fiber reinforced HDPE with and without palm wood filler additions are compared. The effect of the weight fraction of the added palm wood micro-fillers is also determined. The Young modulus was found to increase as the weight fraction of organic micro-particles increased. However, the flexural strength decreased with increasing weight fraction of added micro-fillers. The interfacial interactions between the components were investigated using scanning electron microscopy. The influence of the size, random alignment and distribution of the natural micro-particles was evaluated. Ballistic impact and dynamic shock loading tests were performed to determine the optimum proportion of Kevlar short fibers and organic micro-fillers needed to improve impact strength of the HDPE. These results indicate a positive hybridization by deposition of organic micro-fillers on the surface of short Kevlar fibers used in reinforcing the thermoplastic matrix leading to enhancement of the mechanical strength and dynamic impact behavior of these materials. Therefore, these hybrid bio-composites can be promising materials for different applications against high velocity impacts.

Keywords: hybrid bio-composites, organic nano-fillers, dynamic shocking loading, ballistic impacts, energy absorption

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Authors: Acumsiri Tantikarnpanit

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This paper aims to examine the relationship between urbanization and income inequality in Thailand during the period 2002–2020. Using a panel of data for 76 provinces collected from Thailand’s National Statistical Office (Labor Force Survey: LFS), as well as geospatial data from the U.S. Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite Day/Night band (VIIRS-DNB) satellite for nineteen selected years. This paper employs two different definitions to identify urban areas: 1) Urban areas defined by Thailand's National Statistical Office (Labor Force Survey: LFS), and 2) Urban areas estimated using nighttime light data from the DMSP and VIIRS-DNB satellite. The second method includes two sub-categories: 2.1) Determining urban areas by calculating nighttime light density with a population density of 300 people per square kilometer, and 2.2) Calculating urban areas based on nighttime light density corresponding to a population density of 1,500 people per square kilometer. The empirical analysis based on Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), fixed effects, and random effects models reveals a consistent U-shaped relationship between income inequality and urbanization. The findings from the econometric analysis demonstrate that urbanization or population density has a significant and negative impact on income inequality. Moreover, the square of urbanization shows a statistically significant positive impact on income inequality. Additionally, there is a negative association between logarithmically transformed income and income inequality. This paper also proposes the inclusion of satellite imagery, geospatial data, and spatial econometric techniques in future studies to conduct quantitative analysis of spatial relationships.

Keywords: income inequality, nighttime light, population density, Thailand, urbanization

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Authors: Cecilia Amponsem-Boateng, Timothy Bonney Oppongx, Weidong Zhang, Jonathan Boakye Yiadom, Lianke Wang, Kwabena Acheampong, Godfrey Opolot

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In Ghana, the management of hypertension in primary health care is a cost-effective way of addressing premature deaths from vascular disorders that include hypertension. There is little or no evidence of large-scale studies on the prevalence, risk, and knowledge/awareness of hypertension in students aged 12–22 years in Ghana. In a cross-sectional study, blood pressure, anthropometric indices, and knowledge/awareness assessment of students at second-cycle schools were recorded from 2018 to 2020 in three regions of Ghana. Multistage cluster sampling was used in selecting regions and the schools. Prevalence of prehypertension and hypertension was categorized by the Joint National Committee 7, where appropriate, chi-square, scatter plots, and correlations were used in showing associations. A total of 3165 students comprising 1776 (56.1%) females and 1389 (43.9%) males participated in this study within three regions of Ghana. The minimum age was 12 years and the maximum age was 22 years. The mean age was 17.21 with standard deviation (SD: 1.59) years. A 95% confidence interval was set for estimations and a P value < 0.05 was set as significant. The prevalence rate of overall hypertension was 19.91% and elevated (prehypertension) was 26.07%. Risk indicators such as weight, BMI, waist circumference, physical activity, and form of the diet were positively correlated with hypertension. Among Ghanaian students currently in second-cycle educational institutions, 19.91% were hypertensive and 26.07% were prehypertensive. This may indicate a probable high prevalence of hypertension in the future adult population if measures are not taken to curb the associated risks.

Keywords: hypertension, second-cycle schools, Ghana, youth

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Authors: Dinakaran Venkatachalam, Paul Chambers, Kavitha Kongara, Preet Singh

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The objective of this study is to formulate different topical preparations containing articaine and to investigate their permeation through goat skin. Initially, articaine and its hydrochloride salt were compared for in vitro permeation using Franz cell model. Goat skin samples were collected after euthanizing male goat kids purchased from the dairy goat farmers. Subcutaneous fat was removed and the skin was mounted on the donor chamber (orifice area 1.00 cm²) and drugs were applied onto the epidermis. Phosphate buffer saline (pH 7.4) was used to maintain sink condition in the receptor chamber (8 ml) of the Franz cell. Samples (0.4 ml) were collected at various intervals over 24 hours after each sampling equal volume of PBS was replaced in the receptor chamber. Articaine in the collected samples were quantified using LC/MS. The results suggested that articaine free base permeates better than its hydrochloride salt through goat skin. This study results support the fact that local anesthetics in its base form are lipophilic and thus penetrates faster through cell membranes than their salts. Later, articaine free base was formulated either using ethanol and octyl salicylate or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as penetration enhancers and was compared for in vitro permeation. The transdermal flux of articaine in the formulation containing DMSO was approximately 3.8 times higher than that of the formulation containing ethanol and octyl salicylate. Further studies to evaluate the local anesthetic efficacy of the topical formulation containing articaine for dermal anesthesia in animals have been planned.

Keywords: articaine, dermal anesthesia, local anesthetic, transdermal

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Authors: Ali Akbar, Seungho Shin, Sukkee Um

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The composition of catalyst layers (CLs) plays an important role in the overall performance and cost of the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Low platinum loading, high utilization, and more durable catalyst still remain as critical challenges for PEMFCs. In this study, a three-dimensional material network model is developed to visualize the nanostructure of carbon supported platinum Pt/C and Pt/VACNT catalysts in pursuance of maximizing the catalyst utilization. The quadruple-phase randomly generated CLs domain is formulated using quasi-random stochastic Monte Carlo-based method. This unique statistical approach of four-phase (i.e., pore, ionomer, carbon, and platinum) model is closely mimic of manufacturing process of CLs. Various CLs compositions are simulated to elucidate the effect of electrons, ions, and mass transport paths on the catalyst utilization factor. Based on simulation results, the effect of key factors such as porosity, ionomer contents and Pt weight percentage in Pt/C catalyst have been investigated at the represented elementary volume (REV) scale. The results show that the relationship between ionomer content and Pt utilization is in good agreement with existing experimental calculations. Furthermore, this model is implemented on the state-of-the-art Pt/VACNT CLs. The simulation results on Pt/VACNT based CLs show exceptionally high catalyst utilization as compared to Pt/C with different composition ratios. More importantly, this study reveals that the maximum catalyst utilization depends on the distance spacing between the carbon nanotubes for Pt/VACNT. The current simulation results are expected to be utilized in the optimization of nano-structural construction and composition of Pt/C and Pt/VACNT CLs.

Keywords: catalyst layer, platinum utilization, proton exchange membrane fuel cell, stochastic modeling

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Authors: Zainab Mutlaq Ibrahim, Mohamed Bader-El-Den, Mihaela Cocea

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Students' textual feedback can hold unique patterns and useful information about learning process, it can hold information about advantages and disadvantages of teaching methods, assessment components, facilities, and other aspects of teaching. The results of analysing such a feedback can form a key point for institutions’ decision makers to advance and update their systems accordingly. This paper proposes a data mining framework for analysing end of unit general textual feedback using part of speech feature (PoS) with four machine learning algorithms: support vector machines, decision tree, random forest, and naive bays. The proposed framework has two tasks: first, to use the above algorithms to build an optimal model that automatically classifies the whole data set into two subsets, one subset is tailored to assessment practices (assessment related), and the other one is the non-assessment related data. Second task to use the same algorithms to build an optimal model for whole data set, and the new data subsets to automatically detect their sentiment. The significance of this paper is to compare the performance of the above four algorithms using part of speech feature to the performance of the same algorithms using n-grams feature. The paper follows Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDDM) framework to construct the classification and sentiment analysis models, which is understanding the assessment domain, cleaning and pre-processing the data set, selecting and running the data mining algorithm, interpreting mined patterns, and consolidating the discovered knowledge. The results of this paper experiments show that both models which used both features performed very well regarding first task. But regarding the second task, models that used part of speech feature has underperformed in comparison with models that used unigrams and bigrams.

Keywords: assessment, part of speech, sentiment analysis, student feedback

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Authors: Manish Subedi, Bijay Bartaula, Ashok R. Pant, Purbesh Adhikari, Sanjib K. Sharma

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Background: The pattern of glomerular disease varies worldwide. In absence of kidney disease/Kidney biopsy registry in Nepal, the exact etiology of different forms of glomerular disease is primarily unknown in our country. Method: We retrospectively analyzed 175 cases of renal biopsies performed from dated September 2014 to August 2016 at B. P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal. Results: The commonest indication for renal biopsy was nephrotic syndrome (34.9%), followed by Systemic lupus erythematosus with suspected renal involvement (22.3%). Majority of patients were in the 30-60 year bracket (57.2%), with the mean age of the patients being 35.37 years. The average number of glomeruli per core was 13, with inadequate sampling in 5.1%. IgA nephropathy (17%) was found to be the most common primary glomerular disease, followed by membranous nephropathy (14.6%) and FSGS (14.6%). The commonest secondary glomerular disease was lupus nephritis. Complications associated with renal biopsy were pain at biopsy site in 18% of cases, hematuria in 6% and perinephric hematoma in 4% cases. Conclusion: The commonest primary and secondary glomerular disease was IgA nephropathy and lupus nephritis respectively. The high prevalence of Systemic lupus erythematosus with lupus nephritis among Nepalese in comparison with other developing countries warrants further evaluation. As an initial attempt towards documentation of glomerular diseases in the national context, this study should serve as a stepping stone towards the eventual establishment of a full-fledged national registry of glomerular diseases in Nepal.

Keywords: glomerular, Nepal, renal biopsy, systemic lupus erythematoses

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Authors: Amina Ramadni, Safia Taleb, André Dératani

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The present study presents, firstly, to characterize the physicochemical quality of brackish groundwater of the Terminal Complex (TC) from the region of Eloued-souf and to investigate the presence of fluoride, and secondly, to study the comparison of adsorbing power of three materials, such as (activated alumina AA, sodium clay SC and hydroxyapatite HAP) against the groundwater in the region of Eloued-souf. To do this, a sampling campaign over 16 wells and consumer taps was undertaken. The results show that the groundwater can be characterized by very high fluoride content and excessive mineralization that require in some cases, specific treatment before supply. The study of adsorption revealed removal efficiencies fluoride by three adsorbents, maximum adsorption is achieved after 45 minutes at 90%, 83.4% and 73.95%, and with an adsorbed fluoride content of 0.22 mg/L, 0.318 mg/L and 0.52 mg/L for AA, HAP and SC, respectively. The acidity of the medium significantly affects the removal fluoride. Results deducted from the adsorption isotherms also showed that the retention follows the Langmuir model. The adsorption tests by adsorbent materials show that the physicochemical characteristics of brackish water are changed after treatment. The adsorption mechanism is an exchange between the OH^- ions and fluoride ions. Three materials are proving to be effective adsorbents for fluoride removal that could be developed into a viable technology to help reduce the salinity of the Saharan hyper-fluorinated waters. Finally, a comparison between the results obtained from the different adsorbents allowed us to conclude that the defluoridation by AA is the process of choice for many waters of the region of Eloued-souf, because it was shown to be a very interesting and promising technique.

Keywords: fluoride removal, hydrochemical characterization of groundwater, natural materials, nanofiltration

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Authors: Khaled Klib, Yousri Azzam, Ibrahim Maarouf

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Tourism is one of the most important and fastest growing economic activities in the world, which has a prominent role in the growth and development of countries and has become increasingly important as business and trade after the World War II. The tourism development is one of the most important aspects of urban development, which aims to plan and develop tourist attractions and improve the urban environment within cities. Tourism development has become a priority for the urban development policy of cities, particularly those which have many tourist potentials. Complementary services, such as infrastructure, roads’ networks, transportation, and communications are needed for these potentials to function properly. In order to achieve these functionalities, also a new planning for the new areas as an expansion is required, or developing and renovating the existing urban areas according to pre-prepared plans to avoid random expansion of the urban structure of the city. This paper aims to determine the tourist attractions of Al-Khomse city, by reviewing the most important tourist attractions such as the Roman city (Leptis Magna), the geographical location on the Mediterranean coast, the temperate climate and diversity of the natural environment. The paper also examines the reality of the infrastructure and tourist services in the city and its suitability to serve the tourism sector. The paper also includes a proposed for tourism development in the city as one of the city's urban expansion trends, which can guide the development strategy in the future. The paper concludes with a vision for the tourism development areas as one of the trends for urban expansion in the future. The paper also concludes tourism development will have an effective role in the growth and development of urban, economic and social, in addition to preserving the natural environment. The paper recommended the need to emphasize the role of tourism development as one of the pillars and trends for the development policy and expansion of Al-Khomse city, preservation of tourist attractions and natural resources and developing infrastructure and tourist services such as accommodation, entertainment, mobility, and accessibility.

Keywords: tourism, tourist attractions, tourism development, urban expansion

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Authors: Yebeen Ji, Jimin Yun, Kwonhoo Kim

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Magnesium alloys were limited for industrial applications due to having a limited slip system and high plastic anisotropy. It has been known that specific textures were formed during processing (rolling, etc.), and These textures cause poor formability. To solve these problems, many researchers have studied controlling texture by adding rare-earth elements. However, the high cost limits their use; therefore, alternatives are needed to replace them. Although Pb addition doesn’t directly improve magnesium properties, it has been known to suppress the diffusion of other alloying elements and reduce grain boundary energy. These characteristics are similar to the additions of rare-earth elements, and a similar texture behavior is expected as well. However, there is insufficient research on this. Therefore, this study investigates the behavior of texture and microstructure development after adding Pb to magnesium. This study compared and analyzed AZ61 alloy and Mg-15wt%Pb alloy to determine the effect of adding solute elements. The alloy was hot rolled and annealed to form a single phase and initial texture. Afterward, the specimen was set to contraction and elongate parallel to the rolling surface and the rolling direction and then subjected to high-temperature plane strain compression under the conditions of 723K and 0.05/s. Microstructural analysis and texture measurements were performed by SEM-EBSD. The peak stress in the true strain-stress curve after compression was higher in AZ61, but the shape of the flow curve was similar for both alloys. For both alloys, continuous dynamic recrystallization was confirmed to occur during the compression process. The basal texture developed parallel to the compressed surface, and the pole density was lower in the Mg-15wt%Pb alloy. It is confirmed that this change in behavior is because the orientation distribution of recrystallized grains has a more random orientation compared to the parent grains when Pb is added.

Keywords: Mg, texture, Pb, DRX

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Authors: Youssef A. Yakoub, Ramy M. Shaaban

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Covid-19 has changed and affected the whole world dramatically in a new way that the entire world, even scientists, have not imagined before. The educational institutions around the world have been fighting since Covid-19 hit the world last December to keep the educational process unchanged for all students. E-learning was a must for almost all US universities during the pandemic. It was specifically more challenging to use eLearning instead of regular classes among students who take practical education. The aim of this study is to examine the perception of STEM students towards using eLearning instead of traditional methods during their practical study. Focus groups of STEM students studying at a western Pennsylavian, mid-size university were interviewed. Semi-structured interviews were designed to get an insight on students’ perception towards the alternative educational methods they used in the past seven months. Using convenient sampling, four students were chosen from different STEM fields: science of physics, technology, electrical engineering, and mathematics. The interview was primarily about the extent to which these students were satisfied, and their educational needs were met through distance education during the pandemic. The interviewed students were generally able to do a satisfactory performance during their virtual classes, but they were not satisfied enough with the learning methods. The main challenges they faced included the inability to have real practical experience, insufficient materials posted by the faculty, and some technical problems associated with their study. However, they reported they were satisfied with the simulation programs they had. They reported these simulations provided them with a good alternative to their traditional practical education. In conclusion, this study highlighted the challenges students face during the pandemic. It also highlighted the various learning tools students see as good alternatives to their traditional education.

Keywords: eLearning, STEM education, COVID-19 crisis, online practical training

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Authors: Isaiah Chacha, Samuel Arimi, Andrew Thaiya

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Background: This study was conducted to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding anthrax in Maragua, Kenya to provide baseline information to design interventions. Methods: A cross sectional survey was conducted among head of households, health and veterinary workers in Maragua Sub-county in August and September 2014. Administered questionnaires were used to collect data from household members and a key informant interview held with health and veterinary workers. Multi stage sampling was used to obtain participants’ knowledge, attitudes and practices. Questions were scored and descriptively analyzed using Excel spreadsheet then exported to GenStat Discovery Edition 4. Results: A total of 293 community members were recruited in this study. The overall level of knowledge was 77.9% of all community members regarding cause, transmission, symptoms and prevention of the disease in both humans and animals. Majority of the participants (96.3%) had heard about anthrax. A total of 99 (33.8%) correspondents had seen a person with anthrax and 75.1% think that anthrax is a very serious disease in the area. Of the interviewed correspondents, 14.3% of them have had their animals (mostly cattle) suffer from anthrax while 15.7% had either suffered from anthrax or have had their family member who suffered from anthrax. Conclusion: The study findings indicate above average knowledge on cause, symptoms, transmission and prevention of anthrax among community members in humans and animals. Practices in this study were still risk among community members. Veterinary and Medical health planners should design anthrax awareness interventions as a team targeting to reach these communities and the public through barazas, radio, CHW and other communication channel on a regular basis.

Keywords: anthrax, attitudes, Kenya, knowledge, Maragua, practices

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Authors: Md Abdullah Al Mamun

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Background: The current situation of Ensuring WHO recommended feeding practices for infant and young children which is becoming a challenge nowadays in many developing countries, especially in areas where household food security is at risk. Because many households of the developing countries often encounter severe food insecurity hence provision of adequate child nutrition is threatened. Aim: The study aimed to assess the child feeding practices of 0-24 months childbearing mothers and explore their household food insecurity in a coastal region of Bangladesh. Methods: This study was conducted in Suborno Char (one of the coastal suburbs in Noakhali District in Bangladesh) from October 2019 to April 2020. A total of 400 mothers were selected with their children of 0-24 months following a cross sectional study sampling procedure of the population. Data were collected through a standard questionnaire and analyzed using statistical tests in SPSS version 20.0.0. Results: The frequency of exclusive breastfeeding, timely initiation of complementary feeding, and giving foods from four food groups to the children were 53.5%, 75.5%, and 22.2%, respectively. Mother's level of education showed a strong association with the child feeding practices of the mothers. Mothers of severely food insecure households showed lower odds in exclusive breastfeeding practice (COR 0.233 at 95% CI 0.083, 0.655; and AOR 0.478 at 95% CI 0.133, 1.713) than mothers of food secured households. Similar results have also been found in case of timely initiation of complementary feeding and minimum dietary diversity of the children.

Keywords: household food insecurity, exclusive breastfeeding, complementary feeding, maternal education, mothers age, household income

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Authors: A. Al-Wandi, A. Al-Ali, R. Dali, Y. Al-Karaghouli

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Background: Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become an alarming health problem across the globe. The risk of developing those diseases begins in childhood and develops gradually under the influence of risk factors including obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, cigarette smoking and decreased physical activity. Therefore, this study aims to determine the level of knowledge, attitudes, and practices of the risk factors of lifestyle induced chronic diseases (non-communicable diseases) among secondary school students in Sharjah city. Methods: Five hundred and ninety-one school children, from grades 10 to 12, formed the study sample, using the multistage stratified cluster sampling method. Four governmental schools were chosen, for each gender. Data was collected through a pretested, close-ended questionnaire consisting of five sections; demographics, physical activity, diet, smoking and sleeping patterns. Frequencies and descriptive statistics were used to analyze data through SPSS 23. Results: The data showed 64.6% of students had low knowledge of risk factors of non-communicable diseases. Concerning physical activity, 58.2 % were physically inactive and females being less active than males. More than 2/3 of students didn’t fulfill the recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables (75.9%). 8% reported to be smokers with cigarettes being the most encountered tobacco product. Conclusion: Our study has demonstrated a low level of knowledge and practices yet, positive attitudes towards risk factors of chronic diseases. We recommend implementation of thorough awareness campaigns through public health education about the risk factors of non-communicable diseases.

Keywords: non-communicable diseases, physical activity, diet, knowledge, attitudes, practices, smoking

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Authors: Rasheed A. Adebayo, Mehluli M. Moyo, Ignatius V. Nsahlai

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Ruminants are known to relish roughage for productivity but the effect of its quality on digesta load in rumen, omasum, abomasum and other distal organs of the digestive tract is yet unknown. Reticulorumen fill is a strong indicator for long-term control of intake in ruminants. As such, the measurement and prediction of digesta load in these compartments may be crucial to productivity in the ruminant industry. The current study aimed at determining the effect of (a) diet quality on digesta load in digestive organs of goats, and (b) period of meal termination on the reticulorumen fill and digesta load in other distal compartments of the digestive tract of goats. Goats were fed with urea-treated hay (UTH), urea-sprayed hay (USH) and non-treated hay (NTH). At the end of eight weeks of a feeding trial period, upon termination of a meal in the morning, afternoon or evening, all goats were slaughtered in random groups of three per day to measure reticulorumen fill and digesta loads in other distal compartments of the digestive tract. Both diet quality and period affected (P < 0.05) the measure of reticulorumen fill. However, reticulorumen fill in the evening was larger (P < 0.05) than afternoon, while afternoon was similar (P > 0.05) to morning. Also, diet quality affected (P < 0.05) the wet omasal digesta load, wet abomasum, dry abomasum and dry caecum digesta loads but did not affect (P > 0.05) both wet and dry digesta loads in other compartments of the digestive tract. Period of measurement did not affect (P > 0.05) the wet omasal digesta load, and both wet and dry digesta loads in other compartments of the digestive tract except wet abomasum digesta load (P < 0.05) and dry caecum digesta load (P < 0.05). Both wet and dry reticulorumen fill were correlated (P < 0.05) with omasum (r = 0.623) and (r = 0.723), respectively. In conclusion, reticulorumen fill of goats decreased by improving the roughage quality; and the period of meal termination and measurement of the fill is a key factor to the quantity of digesta load.

Keywords: digesta, goats, meal termination, reticulo-rumen fill

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Authors: Patricia M. Boechler, Heather M. Gautreau

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In this research study, postsecondary students completed an information learning task in an avatar-based 3D virtual learning environment. Three factors were of interest in relation to learning; 1) the influence of collaborative vs. independent conditions, 2) the influence of the spatial arrangement of the virtual environment (linear, random and clustered), and 3) the relationship of individual differences such as spatial skill, general computer experience and video game experience to learning. Students completed pretest measures of prior computer experience and prior spatial skill. Following the premeasure administration, students were given instruction to move through the virtual environment and study all the material within 10 information stations. In the collaborative condition, students proceeded in randomly assigned pairs, while in the independent condition they proceeded alone. After this learning phase, all students individually completed a multiple choice test to determine information retention. The overall results indicated that students in pairs did not perform any better or worse than independent students. As far as individual differences, only spatial ability predicted the performance of students. General computer experience and video game experience did not. Taking a closer look at the pairs and spatial ability, comparisons were made on pairs high/matched spatial ability, pairs low/matched spatial ability and pairs that were mismatched on spatial ability. The results showed that both high/matched pairs and mismatched pairs outperformed low/matched pairs. That is, if a pair had even one individual with strong spatial ability they would perform better than pairs with only low spatial ability individuals. This suggests that, in virtual environments, the specific individuals that are paired together are important for performance outcomes. The paper also includes a discussion of trends within the data that have implications for virtual environment education.

Keywords: avatar-based, virtual environment, paired learning, individual differences

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Authors: Naila Awan, Shahrukh Inam

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This study was conducted to highlight the role of basic health units in district Swabi, which provides primary health services to the people of district Swabi having four tehsils. Tehsil Swabi was selected purposively for the study. Three villages were purposively selected from district Swabi. A sum of 110 respondents was randomly selected for interview i.e., 27 from Botakaa, 39 from Gulatee, and 44 from Darra Cham, using proportion allocation sampling technique. A pretested and well-designed interview schedule was used to collect as per the objective and Chi square test was applied to find an association between the quality of medicines and health improvement. The output of the test shows that the government was doing its best and providing enough facilities to the individuals at the healthcare units, and they were utilizing them. These resources were easily accessible to the people of the community. Medicines provided by the government were of good quality and quantity. There were also school health sessions and community health sessions (SHS/CHS) to deliver useful information and awareness regarding health problems and diseases were conducted. The staff of the BHU was present at work time and was performing their duties. The respondents seemed satisfied with their behavior and the duty of the staff. However, there were no emergency resources existing at the BHU after the working hours of the medical staff. It is recommended that government should provide appropriate quantity and quality of medicines to the basic health units so that these healthcare units don’t have to face any shortages regarding medicines at the end of the month. In addition, laboratory and blood testing facilities need to be provided in the basic health units, and also the infrastructure should be made suitable, satisfactory, and more functional.

Keywords: community health session, basic health units, outpatient department, tuberculosis

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Authors: Mohd Dahlan Abdul Malek, Muhamad Idris, Adi Fahrudin, Ida Shafinaz Mohamed Kamil, Husmiati Yusuf, Edeymend Reny Japil, Wan Anor Wan Sulaiman, Lailawati Madlan, Alfred Chan, Nurfarhana Adillah Aftar, Mahirah Masdin

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This research intended to develop a valid and reliable instrument of the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) to measure satisfaction with life (SWL) constructs among public and private university students in Sabah, Malaysia, through the exploratory factor analysis (EFA) procedure. The pilot study obtained a sample of 108 students from public and private education institutions in Sabah, Malaysia, through an online survey using a self-administered questionnaire. The researchers performed the EFA procedure on SWL construct using IBM SPSS 25. The Bartletts' Test of Sphericity is highly significant (Sig. = .000). Furthermore, the sampling adequacy by Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO = 0.839) is excellent. Using the extraction method of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) with Varimax Rotation, a component of the SWL construct is extracted with an eigenvalue of 3.101. The variance explained for this component is 62.030%. The construct of SWL has Cronbach's alpha value of .817. The development scale and validation confirmed that the instrument is consistent and stable with both private and public college and university student samples. It adds a remarkable contribution to the measurement of SWLS, mainly in the context of higher education institution students. The EFA outcomes formed a configuration that extracts a component of SWL, which can be measured by the original five items established in this research. This research reveals that the SWL construct is applicable to this study.

Keywords: satisfaction, university students, measurement, scale development

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Authors: B. O. Diyaolu, E. A. Okebanjo

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Children in today’s world need attention and care even with their physique as obesity is also at the increased. Several factors can be responsible for obesity in children and adequate attention is paramount in other not to accommodate it into adolescent period. This study investigated perceived determinants of obesity among primary school pupils in Eti Osa Local Government area of Lagos State. Descriptive survey research design was used and population was all obese pupils in Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State. 92 pupils were selected from randomly picked 12 primary schools while purposive sampling technique was used to pick primary 4-6 pupils. With the aid of body mass index (BMI) and age percentile chart the obese pupils were selected. The instrument for the study was a self-developed and structured questionnaire on perceived determinant of obesity. The questionnaire was divided into three sections. The Cronbach’s Alpha reliability coefficient of 0.74 was obtained. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significant levels. The completed questionnaire was collated coded and analyzed using descriptive statistics of frequency counts and percentage and inferential statistics of chi-square (X²). Findings of this study revealed that physical activities and parental influences were determinant of obesity. Physical activity is essential in reducing the rate of obesity in Eti Osa Local Government Area both at home and within the school environment. Primary schools need to create more playing ground for pupils to exercise themselves. Parents need to cater for their children diet ensuring not just the quantity but the quality as well.

Keywords: feeding pattern, obese pupils, parental influence, physical activities

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