Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Comparative Analysis of Distance and Eonventional Education: Focus on Access to Education at the University of Zambia

Student Record System (SRS) in the University of Zambia remains an untapped source of rich data for understanding the Universityâ€™s contribution to human resource development. Using a recently rediscovered methodology, unobtrusive method, this paper attempted to demonstrate the qualitative use of data for gaining insights into the Universityâ€™s experience. The study attempted to answer the question: â€œto what extent does the distance learning mode contribute to human resource development in comparison to the regular study mode at the University of Zambia? â€ To answer this question we examined an SRS database and traced the six year record, from 2006 to 2011, using a non reactive research approach at the University of Zambia. Emerging from this study is a rapid growing DE student population trend. The level of access to university education shows that there were more students under the DE than the conventional study modes. The findings of this study could serve as a catalyst in the decision making process regarding resource allocation, responsive learner support system designing and relevant policy formulation and implementation in favour of DE students.
UTILIZATION OF LOCAL TREES AND SHRUBS FOR SUSTAINABLE LIVESTOCK PRODUCTION IN THE TALENSI-NABDAM DISTRICT OF THE UPPER EAST REGION OF GHANA

The study was carried out to investigate the indigenous knowledge of livestock farmers in the utilization of local trees and shrubs for feeding and meeting the health needs of livestock in the Talensi-Nabdan District during the periods of December 2005 to January 2006. Eighty (80) households from eight (8) communities were selected for the study. Data was collected through the use of semi-structured questionnaire and observation. In all 31 species of trees and shrubs were used by farmers in feeding and medication of livestock. Acacia albida, Ficus gnaphalocarpa and Mangifera indica were the trees most used for feeding whilst Ceiba pentandra, Cactus spp, Vetex doninana, Boscia sengalensis, Securitaca longepedunculata, Acacia niloticass, Khaya senegalensis and Vitellaria paradoxa were used mostly for treating different ailments in animals. Efforts at conserving these trees and shrubs were encouraging since 66.25% of the respondents established and managed some of these trees and shrubs around their homes for livestock feeding and other multi-purpose use. In conclusion, farmers had adequate knowledge in the use for trees and shrub as feed and medication for livestock. More farmers should be encouraged to cultivate these trees and shrubs to avoid extinction of palatable trees for sustainable use.
The interactions between cormorants and wild fish populations

Predation is the core in ecology, as a function in food webs which regulate both populations and communities. Seabirds are at the top of the food chain and key players in many aquatic food webs. So are humans, and in certain cases conflicts of resources arise. Cormorant predation on fish is probably one of today’s most well-known and wide spread human-wildlife conflict. Different species of cormorants have independently increased in numbers in several areas of the world. For some species, their predation has created a human conflict concerning resource competition (real or perceived competition) with both commercial and recreational fisheries. Though there is extensive research on cormorant diet we are far from reaching a consensus about how cormorant predation affects the environment. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how cormorants interact with wild fish communities and human fisheries. This was achieved by investigating cormorant diet composition, changes in diet over time, and between areas. The thesis also includes the first meta-analysis on cormorant diet, in which previous research investigating the effects of cormorant abundance on fish parameters were analysed. The results shows that cormorants generally have negative effects on fish populations, and control measures to limit predation generally have positive effects. Especially vulnerable to cormorant predation are species within the Percidae and Cyprinidae families. To some degree fish species and sizes in the diet overlap with those in fisheries catches (commercial and recreational). The predation on smaller sized fish however, is for some fish species more important in terms of competition with fisheries, as it results in less recruitment to commercial sizes. The diet analyses support earlier studies on temporal and spatial variation in the diet of cormorants. Essential knowledge for the management of fish, fisheries and cormorants is how cormorants affect fish populations. A misdirected effort in cormorant research is emphasized. Most studies fail to identify effects as they don’t relate diet with cormorant abundance and predation pressure. There is a need for systematically designed research, where cause and effects are studied. Future research should also consider an ecosystem approach, where indirect effects of predation are considered.
The platelet indices in pediatric patients with acute appendicitis

Background: The diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis (AA) remains a problem in pediatric population. It has been suggested that Mean Platelet Volume (MPV) is lower in the patients with AA. The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of platelet indices in pediatric AA cases. Methods: A retrospective case-controlled study was designed: 224 subjects were included in this study. All patients had been operated on in division of pediatric surgery at the Kars Government Hospital with the preliminary diagnosis of AA. 204 and 20 of these patients were pathologically diagnosed as AA (group 1) and normal appendix vermiformis (group 2), respectively. Platelet indices had been studied in the biochemistry laboratory of the hospital, before the surgery. Results: In group 1, platelet count, mean platelet volume, plateletcrit and platelet distribution width were 305 ± 94x10 3 /µL; 7.37 ± 0.90 fL; 0,220 ± 0.057 % and 16.3 ± 0.5%, respectively. In group 2, platelet count, mean platelet volume, plateletcrit and platelet distribution width were 283 ± 85 10 3 /µL; 7.60 ± 1.24 fL; 0.208 ± 0.045 % and 16.4 ± 0.7%, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups studied with regard to platelet indices (P>0.05). Conclusions: Our study showed that platelet indices have no diagnostic value in the diagnosis of AA at pediatric age group.
Evaluation of Heavy Metals Contamination from Environment to Food Matrix by TXRF: The Case of Rice and Rice Husk

This paper is devoted to the chemical analysis of contaminated soils of India and the rice grown in the same area. Total reflection X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy is a well-established technique for elemental chemical analysis of environmental samples, and it can be a useful tool to assess food safety. Metals uptake in rice crop grown in soils from different areas was studied. In this work soil, rice husk and rice samples were analyzed after complete solubilization of samples by microwave acid digestion. Heavy metals concentration detected in rice samples decreases in the following order: Mn > Zn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Cr. The metal content in rice husk was higher than in rice. This study suggests, for the first time, a possible role of heavy metals filter played by rice husk. The knowledge of metals sequestration capability of rice husk may promote some new management practices for rice cultivation to preserve it from pollution.
Intimate partner violence and child abuse: a child‐centred perspective

A substantial body of literature assessing the impact of intimate partner violence on children and associations between intimate partner violence and child abuse now exists. Central to knowledge about these areas of practice and research is a robust, child-centred consideration of some of the more challenging conceptual issues they give rise to. In this paper, we aim to stimulate debate by presenting a critical, child-centred perspective on the intersection between intimate partner violence and child abuse. Initially, we provide the context for the review by presenting a brief overview of the literature. We then consider three central issues from a child-centred perspective. We discuss the language used to describe children forced to live with intimate partner violence, and the importance of hearing children's perspectives on their experiences of such conflict. Finally, we consider similarities and differences between the intimate partner violence and child abuse fields from a child-centred viewpoint. We conclude that increasing conceptual clarity around these issues will enhance research in the field, and ultimately improve interventions designed to protect children forced to live with intimate partner violence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)
Globalisation and Economic Insecurity

Summaries As global processes have deepened in recent decades there has been a concomitant and causally related increase in economic insecurity in many parts of the global economy. One transmission mechanism has been the heightened volatility in the global economy. The reduction in barriers to the inter‐country flow of finance, banking deregulation and the abolition of capital controls, and the development and utilisation of new technologies, can be seen as primary causal drivers of volatility. Growing poverty (in both its absolute and relative senses) has been a second way in which insecurity has been globalised. Here, too, this form of insecurity can be related causally to developments in the global economy. Global competition, particularly in labour‐intensive activities, has led to a bidding down of wage rates for unskilled work. This has not only undermined real living standards, but simultaneously widened the distributional gap, both within and between countries. Similar unequalising developments in the nineteenth‐century bred a culture of insecurity which led to the erection of barriers to sustained international‐isation. Recent protests against the WTO suggest that unless these insecurities ‐ both perceived and real ‐ in the twenty‐first century are reduced, we may yet see a recurrence of opposition to sustained globalisation.
Prevalence and Factors Associated with Alcohol Consumption in Urban Schools in Burkina Faso

Background: In 2005, the World Health Assembly asked member states to develop effective strategies and programs to reduce the negative consequences of harmful use of alcohol. To develop effective policies, we must already understand the phenomenon of alcohol consumption. But in Francophone west Africa, there are very few studies on the prevalence of alcohol, consumption patterns and factors associated with this consumption. The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of alcohol use in schools in Burkina Faso and to identify socio-demographic factors associated with episodes of “heavy drinking”. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2013 in six secondary schools of Bobo-Dioulasso. Three hundred and sixty-two students randomly drawn by stratified cluster sampling were interviewed by using a self-administered questionnaire adapted from the model ESPAD and WHO AUDIT questionnaire. HED (Heavy Episodic Drinking) was defined as consuming at least six local measures of alcoholic beverages around the 30 days prior investigation. The search for factors was performed using logistic regression and estimating standard errors were adjusted for clustering data. Results: The prevalence of experimentation of alcohol was estimated to 45.6% [CI 95% = 40.4 - 50.7]. This prevalence was reduced to 34.8% [CI 95% = 29.9 - 39.7], 24.3% [CI 95% = 19.9 - 28.7] and 18% [CI 95% = 14 - 21.9] if one considered the use of alcohol at least once respectively in the 12 months, 30 days and 7 days before the survey. The prevalence of HED was 16% [CI95% = 12.2 - 19.8]. Independent factors associated with the HED were alcohol use by parents or friends and father’s occupation. Episodes of “heavy drinking” were 8.3 (CI 95% = 4.9 - 14) and 2.8 (CI 95% = 1.3 - 5.8) respectively more frequent among students whose parents and friends were drinking. Neither religion nor sex nor age was not statistically associated with HED. Conclusion: This study confirms the high prevalence of alcohol consumption in schools in Burkina Faso and challenges policy makers to adopt effective policies to fight against the harmful use of alcohol especially in schools.
Replication of Enormous Data Process in Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a computing platform with the back bone of internet to store, access the data and application which is in the cloud, not in the computer. The continuous increase of computational power has produced an overwhelming flow of data. The recent trends in Web technology has made it easy for any user to provide and consume content of any form. Replication in the cloud computing architecture and large scale data processing mechanisms. When replicated data are concurrently updated at different sites or when the system workload and the resources requested by clients change dynamically. In replication location of this infrastructure to the network to reduce the costs associated with the management of hardware and software resources. In this paper, replication of Data Management in the Cloud Computing, data integrity and user privacy through cloud system. Keywords—Cloud Computing, Cloud Data Storage, database management, Replication, MapReduce, Virtual Machine.
A Protocol for Assessing the Use of Lean Construction Practices

The use of Lean Construction (LC) practices has gradually spread in the construction industry. Accordingly, mechanisms are necessary to evaluate their use so as to facilitate identifying strengths and weaknesses in the LC implementation process. This paper presents a protocol for assessing the use of LC practices, which has distinctive characteristics, such as: (a) assigning weighting factors to each practice, according to their degree of importance as attributed by the perceptions of seven experts; (b) establishing explicit conceptual links between each practice and lean principles, (c) selecting practices to be included in the protocol based on a systematic review of the LC literature; and (d) the use of multiple sources of evidence to carry out the assessment, which increases the credibility of the results. The protocol comprises 103 LC practices, distributed over 15 categories. This paper reports the application of the protocol in a residential building project, which allowed identifying its strengths and weaknesses.
Measurement Quality Assessment in Urban Environments Using Correlation Function Distortion Metrics

Multipath decreases the accuracy of the GNSS positioning by distorting the correlation function. Based on this observation it is possible to detect abnormally large multipath error by monitoring the correlation function. Indeed for the tracking of the code delay, several correlator outputs that correspond to specific locations on the correlation function are observable. Based on the available observables that are combined to form a metric, one can design a test detection to quantize the distortion. The potential metric candidates are selected based on noise resilience considerations. Afterwards, using a simplified correlator output model, two methods are compared for the determination of the detection thresholds. The value of the thresholds is related to the expected Probability of False Alarm. An analytic way to assess the performance of the coherent tests in term of sensitivity is given. The efficiency of the test can be widely improved by smoothing the correlator outputs or the test variable itself. The discussed metrics are implemented on a realistic GNSS tracking simulator processing the Land Mobile Satellite Channel model developed by the DLR. The correlation between the multipath error and the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is well known. Performances of test based on metrics and SNR are finally compared
Source number estimation for multi-speaker localisation and tracking

Presented is an approach for source number estimation, applicable when performing multi-source localisation by a mixture-of-distributions model. The approach is derived from information-theoretic considerations and allows for estimating the number of sources both in non-competing and in concurrent talker situations. We also propose instrumental metrics for evaluating the performance of source localisation and tracking algorithms in a multi-source scenario. We implement and evaluate the proposed source number estimation approach in the framework of our previously proposed localisation algorithm based on a mixture-of-Gaussians model. We show that using the source number estimator reduces the number of ‘ghost’ localisations (i.e. spatial locations falsely deemed as containing an active acoustic source) without compromising on the accuracy of the localisation estimates.
3-D evaluation of tropospheric ozone simulations by an ensemble of regional Chemistry Transport Model

A detailed 3-D evaluation of an ensemble of five regional Chemistry Transport Models (RCTM) and one global CTM with focus on free tropospheric ozone over Europe is presented. It is performed over a summer period (June to August 2008) in the context of the GEMS-RAQ project. A data set of about 400 vertical ozone profiles from balloon soundings and commercial aircraft at 11 different locations is used for model evaluation, in addition to satellite measurements with the infrared nadir sounder (IASI) showing largest sensitivity to free tropospheric ozone. In the middle troposphere, the four regional models using the same top and boundary conditions from IFS-MOZART exhibit a systematic negative bias with respect to observed profiles of about-20 %. Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) values are constantly growing with altitude, from 22 % to 32 % to 53 %, respectively for 0-2 km, 2-8 km and 8-10 km height ranges. Lowest correlation is found in the middle troposphere, with minimum coefficients (R) between 0.2 to 0.45 near 8 km, as compared to 0.7 near the surface and similar values around10 km. A sensitivity test made with the CHIMERE mode also shows that using hourly instead of monthly chemical boundary conditions generally improves the model skill (i.e. improve RMSE and correlation). Lower tropospheric 0-6 km partial ozone columns derived from IASI show a clear North-South gradient over Europe, which is qualitatively reproduced by the models. Also the temporal variability showing decreasing ozone concentrations in the lower troposphere (0-6 km columns) during summer is well reproduced by models even if systematic bias remains (the value of the bias being also controlled by the type of used boundary conditions). A multi-day case study of a trough with low tropopause was conducted and showed that both IASI and models were able to resolve strong horizontal gradients of middle and upper tropospheric ozone occurring in the vicinity of an upper tropospheric frontal zone.
In Vitro Evaluation of Laser-Induced Periodic Surface Structures on New Zirconia/Tantalum Biocermet for Hard-Tissue Replacement

This study investigates the biological response of zirconia/tantalum biocermet materials with laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) generated using a femtosecond laser working at 1030 nm wavelength. LIPSS were formed by laser radiation slightly above the applied threshold fluence. LIPSS features were characterized using techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). LIPSS were generated in this study by applying femtosecond pulses with 500 fs pulse duration at a high-repetition rate to smooth-polished zirconia/tantalum biocermet sur- faces, with an original roughness value of 3.8 (cid:1) 0.2 and 3.1 (cid:1) 0.2 nm, respectively. We have demonstrated in vitro that LIPSS are an efficient option to increase osteoblastic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) in ZrO 2 :Ta biocermets. LIPSS created increase cell metabolism statistically (best values in 3-(4,5- dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay) and decrease inflammatory response to the material (IL-6 and TNF-alpha values). Extracellular matrix production (ECM) is produced in more quantity and cells differentiate to osteoblast easily. These differences are seen from the beginning until the endpoint (day 20). (ZrO 2 :Ta) with laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) produced by femtosecond laser pulses. Experiments were carried out using a Yb:KYW chirped-pulse-regenerative amplification laser system (Amplitude Systemes S-pulse HP) that delivered laser pulses with a duration of approximately 500 fs at wavelength of 1030 nm. We investigate the physical and biological response of LIPSS created using a femtosecond laser on an alloy surface. This includes determining the role of incubation and nanostructures, the physical characterization of LIPSS and the biological response of LIPSS. ZrO 2 :Ta surfaces were exposed to multiple incident laser shots in air at a repetition rate of 100 kHz at various pulse energies ranging from 2 to 6 mJ. Periodic surface nanostructures were formed by exposure to laser radiation slightly above the applied threshold fluence and observed using techniques such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Section 2 introduces materials and methods. In Section 3, we describe the LIPPS fabrication procedure and results. Section 4 is devoted to biological results and Section 5 to conclusions.
Vaccines for Human Leishmaniasis: Where Do We Stand and What Is Still Missing?

Responsible for up to 30,000 deaths annually, leishmaniasis is a complex spectrum of diseases endemic in 97 countries around the globe. Disease control relies heavily on the early diagnosis and treatment of the active cases (relevant for anthroponotic disease), although it is widely accepted that a prophylactic vaccine for human leishmaniasis is the way to achieve the successful elimination of human disease (taking in consideration the vast list of non-human reservoirs that enable the perpetuation of parasites all around the globe). The notion that infection leads to strong and long-lasting immunity against leishmaniasis supports vaccination as an achievable goal. However, and in spite of the different candidates tested along the years, till date, we still do not have an approved vaccine for humans. In this chapter, we will explore the last advances made in the field of vaccines against Leishmania without forgetting the historical perspective, essential to the understanding of the road already undergone. We will then discuss the correlates of disease and protection, still neither consensual nor definitive, as well as the issue of pre-clinical to clinical translation. The complete understanding of these issues will be essential for the approval of a successful vaccine for human leishmaniasis.
Experience to understand: designing a methodology for understanding kitchen interactions

The following paper presents a methodology for user engagement into the interaction design process. It focuses on the group of middle-age, middle class mothers, housewives and individuals leading a busy life between work and family and their interaction with home, especially kitchen appliances. The methodology was developed to gain insight and achieve greater understanding of users in question. An ongoing study research with the described methodology is also presented.