Species Composition, Distribution and Feeding Guilds of Fishes from Sungai Pulai Seagrass Beds, Malaysia

A study was undertaken to investigate the fish species composition and their temporal and spatial distribution and feeding guilds in the Sg. Pulai seagrass bed. Fish specimens for the study were collected from April 2002 to June 2003 using the trammel nets of 640m in total length and 1.6 m height. Fishes were sampled from three subtidal Sg. Pulai seagrass beds namely Tanjung (Tg.) Adang Darat Shoal, Tg. Adang Laut Shoal and Merambong Shoal. A total of 2371 fish specimens were caught from the three sites representing 72 species and 37 different families. Six most dominant fish species comprising of Triacanthus biaculeatus, Arius maculatus, Arius tenuispinis, Plotosus lineatus, Anodontostoma chacunda and Hi/sa kelee were selected for the study on feeding guilds. Analysis on the feeding guild showed two different types of food-based component viz animal and plant origins. Bivalves, gastropods, crustaceans, copepods and polychaete worms were amongst the major gut content of the animal-based diets while seagrass fragment made up the sole plant-based section. The animal-based diets were consistently recorded from T. biaculeatus A. maculatus A. tenuispinis and P. linaetus stomach contents. All the four fish species showed a carnivorous type of feeding habit. The gut contents of A. chacunda and H. kelee were comparatively filled up with seagrass fragments, bivalves, gastropods and copepods, indicating the omnivorous type of feeding mode of the two clupeids species. These results suggested two major modes of feeding guilds that exist amongst the seagrass fishes. Throbab analyzed showed the similar results with the RLG values. In terms of spatial distribution, Tg. Adang Laut Shoal was inhabited by 28 families that consisted of 43 fish species and 11 of them were inclusive of species from the other study sites. Tg. Adang Darat Shoal was inhabited by 23 families and 37 different species of fishes. Four species found here exclusive to this seagrass bed and not recorded from the other two study sites. The fish caught within Merambong shoal seagrass bed were almost similar in species to the Tg. Adang Laut and Tg. Adang Darat shoals with the exception of Dasyatis zugei and Gerres filamentous. A total of 21 families and 28 species of seagrass fishes were finally recorded in the Merambong Shoal. The study also revealed that several fish species were exclusively confirmed to one particular habitat either the vegetated or the non-vegetated sites. The results also indicated that families Leiognathidae and Engraulidae were consistently been recorded around the seagrass areas throughout the study period. In addition, the results may also indicates that other fish families were not permanent dwellers of the Sg. Pulai seagrass beds and their presence in the study areas could well be due to occasional feeding and spawning activities

Application of the Real Options in Engineering Design and Decision Making: Focus on Mine Design and Planning at Operational Level

Flexibility and adaptability are essential for long-term corporate success, and real options (RO) is the preferred tool for analysis. This research argues that uncertainty is a source of value as the opportunities that it presents can be leveraged by having a flexible system. As a contribution to knowledge, a relationship between the beta and flexibility index was derived, RO identification framework for mine operational decision-making was proposed and predictive data analytics was utilised to create managerial flexibility

W.E.A.N

This speech was performed by Sunday Ajak, motivational speaker, writer, and poet at the 2022 Black Students\u27 Association Black History Month closing ceremonies

What influences a teacher's decision to leave or remain in teaching? A case of Dr. John Garang Memorial and Juba Day Secondary Schools in Juba County Central Equatoria State, Republic of South Sudan

A Thesis submitted to the School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg South Africa, in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Master of Education. Johannesburg, 2015This study is primarily aimed at finding out the root causes of teacher attrition (teacher dropout) in the conflict affected South Sudan, Central Equatoria State. A case study was conducted in two secondary schools and the national Ministry of Education Science and Technology, in Juba County, Central Equatoria State. Data were collected qualitatively using unstructured interviews and analysis of related documents. It is a common knowledge in the Republic of South Sudan that since the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, the Government of South Sudan and its educational providers have been recruiting and employing teachers at different levels of education: early childhood, primary education and secondary education. However, a severe shortage of qualified teachers exists in schools and the question that keeps on arising is: what is the cause of teachers’ departure from teaching? Perhaps, the movement of teachers out of the teaching profession could be attributed to the fact that, working environments in schools are no longer friendly to teachers: salaries are low, training opportunities are rare and teaching is being viewed as a profession of low income and prestige. Moreover, it is apparent in most South Sudanese urban secondary schools that class sizes are large, teaching workload is huge and unrewarded, cost of living is high, accommodation for teachers is problematic, professional development programs are unheard of, and cases of physical insecurity in remote rural area schools are prevalent (MoEST-EMIS, 2009). It should therefore be acknowledged that although there are teachers committed to teaching as a profession, it is equally feared that they might succumb to these harsh conditions and the education Millennium Development Goals (MDG) would not be achieved in the near future if the current rate of teacher attrition in the Republic of South Sudan continues. This study was therefore conducted in response to the loss of teachers and has two key objectives. The first is to explore the problem of teacher attrition in the conflict affected \South Sudanese secondary schools in Central Equatoria State, and the second is to suggest possible ways for reducing the problem of teacher attrition. The study concludes that teacher attrition and retention are influenced by the interplay of practices, processes and factors that mediate a teacher’s decision towards teaching as a profession. The study recommends that in order for the Government and educational providers to reduce the problem of teacher attrition in secondary schools, they should address the issues of teacher salary, incentives, class size, school material supplies, learning facilities, teacher recruitment, teacher training, teacher accommodation, transport, and encourage effective links between teachers and communities

OPTIMIZATION OF INJECTION MOLDING PARAMETERS IN MOLD SM20 USING THE TAGUCHI-GREY RELATIONAL ANALYSIS (GRA) METHOD FOR REDUCING SHORT-SHOT DEFECTS AND CYCLE TIME

Injection molding has become a favorite technique of manufacturing high quality of specific plastic components. Nevertheless, typical flaws like short-shot flaws and long cycle times may jeopardize the quality of a product and decrease the productivity. This project is aimed at the optimization of three major process parameters; that is, the nozzle temperature, injection pressure, and injection time, which will be the three set at four levels to achieve an improvement in the performance of Mold SM20. The Taguchi experimental design used is an L16 orthogonal array and this makes the experimental design to be successfully reducing the number of trial required. As part of dealing with the two-fold goals of QED reduction and cycle time, Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) would be used in multi-response optimization. Gra means normalization, calculating of grey relational coefficients and the calculation of grey relational grades (GRG). The outcomes show that injection pressure can play an important role in combined response, whereas nozzle temperature and injection time present a less important role. The best combination of parameters (temperature of the nozzle 225o C, injection pressure 55 bar and injection time 2.0 sec) gave the best value of GRG, 0.841278 which indicates better performance of the process, both quality-wise as well as efficiency-wise

Coalbed Methane Development in Indonesia: Design and Economic Analysis of Upstream Petroleum Fiscal Policy

Due to increasing demand for natural gas in Indonesia, the Government now promotes exploration for coalbed methane (CBM). Currently, Indonesia has 453 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of CBM reserves. However, CBM development in the country is still in the exploration phase, with significant under-investment. To attract investors, a tailored Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) regime is required. Based on a combination of Factor Analysis (FA), Discounted Cash Flows (DCF) and Parameter Sensitivity Analysis, the research explores an optimal scenario of a company’s share of revenue that optimised CBM development contracts. We find that a combination of 5 years straight line depreciation (SLD), 5% First Tranche Petroleum (FTP), 78% Contractor Share (CS) and 35% income tax best spreads the risk of CBM development and exploitation between the government and the contractor. This combination is a more suitable PSC regime for developing CBM in an early stage of the industry. Therefore, the Government must cede some taxes during exploration to incentivise CBM development. Three PSCs regimes are thus required to fully develop and exploit CBM, including exploration, transitional and exploitation phase PSCs which better match contractor risks and returns and ensure reasonable certainty of contractor cost recovery

Diagnostic accuracy of the Tzanakis score for acute appendicitis in a resource-limited setting: A tertiary hospital-based survey

Background: The management of acute appendicitis remains challenging with high peri-operative morbidity and mortality due diagnostic delay or high negative appendicetomy rates due to aggressive surgical approaches. CT scan is accurate for pre-operative diagnosis but not available or affordable in all settings. There remains a need for an affordable yet accurate tool for diagnosing acute appendicitis in the resource limited setting. Methods: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of Tzanakis score in the preoperative evaluation of patients with acute appendicitis, we conducted a descriptive cross-sectional study at Mulago Hospital in Kampala, Uganda. Eligible consenting patients diagnosed with acute appendicitis consecutively underwent Tzanakis scoring and appendicectomy. Appencieal samples were sent for histological examination. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive values, and diagnostic accuracy of the Tzanakis scoring system were calculated, relative to histological examination. Results: We enrolled 160 participants of mean age 30.4 years with male:female ratio of 2:1. The Tzanakis score had sensitivity of100% (95% CI 98-100), positive predictive value 97 % (95% CI 95-99), specificity of 64% (95% CI 31-89), negative predictive value of 100%, and overall diagnostic accuracy of 98% with 3% negative appendectomy rate. Conclusions: The Tzanakis score is found to be a sensitive and specific tool that should be considered for preoperative diagnosis of acute appendicitis in resource limited settings. Keywords: appendicitis; appendicectomy; acute abdomen; diagnosis; Tzanakis score; Uganda

Evaluation of Dairy Cattle Productivity in Smallholder Farms in Nyeri County, Kenya

Dairy cattle production contributes approximately 4.5% of the Kenyan National Gross Domestic Product, creates jobs along the value chain and plays a key role in food security. However, average milk yield per cow is still low under smallholder dairy production system despite concerted efforts to improve productivity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the productivity of smallholder dairy farms in 2 sub-counties of Nyeri County. A semi structured questionnaire was administered to collect data on feed resources and feeding systems, breeds and breeding systems, calf management, age at first service (AFS), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), milk yield (MY) and lactation length (LL) in smallholder dairy farms. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The dominant feed resources and feeding system were roughages (mostly Napier grass), concentrates and mineral supplements (87.2%) and stall feeding (74.2%). Majority of the farmers kept Friesians (82.2%) with (94.5%) using artificial insemination. Most of the farmers (83.5%) fed 2-4 litres of colostrum to the calves and the method of feeding was majorly bucket feeding (93.0%). High proportion of farmers (97.7%) fed the colostrum from 0-6 hours after calving and (59.6%) weaned calves at 3 months. The AFS was mainly 18-20 months and above, while the mean AFC, CI, and LL were 28.7±2.84, 15.2±5.11 and 10.0±4.90 months, respectively. The mean milk yield was 10.7±5.85 litres/cow/day. The main challenges to dairy cattle production were feed shortages (30.6%), low farmgate milk prices (28.3%) and high cost of concentrate feeds (17.8%). It was concluded that performance of dairy cattle in the study area was poor attributed mostly to feed shortages and low milk prices. To improve productivity, feed availability and cost together with farmgate price of milk should be addressed

Pengaruh Olah Tanah dan Jenis Pupuk Kandang terhadap Pertumbuhan dan Hasil Cabe Rawit Varietas Bara (Capsicum frutescens L.)

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh olah lahan dan jenis pupuk kandang terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil cabe rawit serta mendapatkan jenis olah tanah dan pupuk kandang yang tepat. Penelitian  mengunakan rancangan petak terbagi pola faktorial. Faktor petak utama adalah olah tanah yang terdiri dari tiga aras yaitu olah lubang, olah jalur dan olah maksimum. Faktor anak petak adalah jenis pupuk kandang yang terdiri dari tiga aras yaitu pupuk kandang sapi, pupuk kandang ayam dan pupuk kandang babi. Hasil penelitian menunjukan pengaruh interaksi antara olah tanah dan jenis pupuk hanya terjadi pada parameter berat buah per petak panen pertama. Olah tanah hanya memberikan pengaruh nyata terhadap suhu tanah 21 HST dan 63 HST dan diameter buah sedangkan jenis pupuk memberikan pengaruh yang nyata terhadap suhu tanah 42 HST, jumlah buah per tanaman, berat buah per tanaman, serta berat buah per petak panen I, panen II dan panen III. Olah jalur memberikan produksi cabe rawit tertinggi yakni 4,22 t/ha sedangkan jenis pupuk yang memberikan produksi tertinggi yakni pupuk kandang sapi yakni 4,30 t/ha. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruh olah lahan dan jenis pupuk kandang terhadap pertumbuhan dan hasil cabe rawit serta mendapatkan jenis olah tanah dan pupuk kandang yang tepat. Penelitian  mengunakan rancangan petak terbagi pola faktorial. Faktor petak utama adalah olah tanah yang terdiri dari tiga aras yaitu olah lubang, olah jalur dan olah maksimum. Faktor anak petak adalah jenis pupuk kandang yang terdiri dari tiga aras yaitu pupuk kandang sapi, pupuk kandang ayam dan pupuk kandang babi. Hasil penelitian menunjukan pengaruh interaksi antara olah tanah dan jenis pupuk hanya terjadi pada parameter berat buah per petak panen pertama. Olah tanah hanya memberikan pengaruh nyata terhadap suhu tanah 21 HST dan 63 HST dan diameter buah sedangkan jenis pupuk memberikan pengaruh yang nyata terhadap suhu tanah 42 HST, jumlah buah per tanaman, berat buah per tanaman, serta berat buah per petak panen I, panen II dan panen III. Olah jalur memberikan produksi cabe rawit tertinggi yakni 4,22 t/ha sedangkan jenis pupuk yang memberikan produksi tertinggi yakni pupuk kandang sapi yakni 4,30 t/ha.&nbsp

Stability Studies of Immobilized Saccharomyces Cerevisiae in Calcium Alginate and Carrageenan Beads

Currently the resources for fossil fuels are depleting together with increase in fuel prices. This has urged the need for cheaper alternative fuels especially biofuels. The production of the most common liquid biofuel which is bioethanol using immobilized yeast cells is an approach taken to increase its demand in the world’s market. There are various methods for the immobilization of yeast cells; however before they can be applied in the industry the stability of the immobilization technology must be investigated. This research aims to study the stabilities of immobilized S. cerevisiae in calcium alginate and carrageenan beads for bioethanol production. The S. cerevisiae was immobilized in calcium alginate and carrageenan beads using entrapment method. Next, screening for the optimal concentration of sodium alginate and semi refined carrageenan matrices were determined by employing fermentation and bioethanol quantification using GC-MS. Concentrations of 2% (w/v) calcium alginate and 2% (w/v) semi refined carrageenan beads were identified to produce the highest bioethanol yield which were 0.286 g/mL and 0.065 g/mL respectively. The two beads were then chosen to be tested in various stability studies with respect to bioethanol production such as storage stability, reusability, pH, thermaland permeability test. It was found out that a concentration of 2% (w/v) calcium alginate beads were more stable as immobilization matrix for S. cerevisiae  as compared to 2% (w/v) semi refined carrageenan