Lessons from experience: ESL student teachers' reflection during practicum through reflective journals

Reflection is a prospective alternative in exploring student teachers’ thinking during practicum. The data gained from student teachers’ reflection are significant in informing teacher education programs on how to equip pre-service teachers to become quality teachers. It is also crucial in addressing issues and conflicts highlighted by student teachers when they interact with the real context. This study is conducted with six semester seven student teachers undergoing their Bachelor in Education with honors Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program. The student teachers were asked to write reflective journal entries throughout the 14 weeks of their teaching practicum experience. The aim of the study is to identify the focus of the student teachers’ reflection and the challenges faced by them during practicum. Data were gathered using the reflective journal entries and semi-structured interviews with all the participants. The data were analyzed according to emerging themes. The findings indicated that the student teachers focus on three main themes in their reflections, which are managing learning, pedagogy and teacher attributes. While the challenges highlighted were difficulty in socializing with members of the institution, lack of professional support and lack of ability to manage a classroom

The influence of user mobility in mobile virus propagation: An enterprise mobile security perspective

In this paper, the authors review the usage of mobile devices in the enterprise and also the major impact from the infected mobile devices.Then the authors highlight the virus threat to enterprise mobile security and how critical the problems are.The authors then discuss the mobile virus infection dynamics which are the Bluetooth infections, mobile emails infections and mobile internet infections which are the threats to the enterprise mobile security. Then the authors discuss on the influences of user mobility issue in spreading mobile viruses before concluded this article

Modified Le Fort I Osteotomy and Genioplasty for Management of Severe Dentofacial Deformity in β-Thalassaemia Major: Case report and review of the literature

β-thalassaemia major is an autosomal recessive form of haemoglobinopathy that is characterised by complete lack of production of the β-chains resulting in multiple complications that include severe anaemia, failure to thrive and skeletal abnormalities. Facial deformities induced by β-thalassaemia major are rare and are very challenging to treat from a surgical point of view. We report a 33-year-old female patient with β-thalassaemia major who presented to the Dental & Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in 2017 with gross dentofacial skeletal deformity contributing to her psychosocial issues. The facial deformity was corrected surgically by excision of the enlarged maxilla, modified Le Fort I osteotomy and advancement genioplasty. This case highlights the pre-operative preparation, surgical management, encountered complications and treatment outcome within 24 months of follow-up.Keywords: Beta-Thalassaemia; Thalassaemia Major; Cooley's Anemia; Le Fort Osteotomy; Genioplasty; Dentofacial Deformities; Case Report; Oman

Digital forensic investigation challenges based on cloud computing characteristics

One of the most popular computing technologies is cloud computing. There are many benefits in adopting cloud computing such as high-performance, flexibility and availability ondemand, more focused on the business objective and low-cost. However, the characteristics of the cloud computing environment have created many difficulties and challenges for digital forensic investigation processes. Therefore, this paper focuses on the digital forensic investigation challenges based on cloud computing characteristics

Analysis of oil palm leaf phyllotaxis towards development of models to determine the fresh fruit bunch (FFB) maturity stages, yield and site-specific harvesting

In order to ensure the optimum quality of palm oil, oil palm fruit needs to be harvested at the optimum maturity to avoid free fatty acid (FFA) accumulation. The high content of FFA not only reduces the quality of palm oil but also increases the refining cost. Optimum maturity based on plantation standard operating procedure (SOP) is determined by identifying the tree with loose fruit on the ground. The matured bunch is further identified based on the colour of the bunch. This paper presents a research work on formulation and validation of mathematical equations to estimate the maturity stages (age in weeks) of fresh fruit bunch (FFB) based on FFB position in oil palm phyllotaxis (spiral leaves arrangement) as an additional feature to confirm the maturity level of oil palm FFB. Regression analysis showed that the proposed method was able to estimate the maturity stages of oil palm FFB with the coefficient of determination R2 = 0.9 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.58 weeks. The FFB yield estimation model and harvesting can be created based on the extracted data using the formula which will help in the planning of harvesting operation. Plantation manager can use this information to generate yield variability map and estimate the appropriate number of workers and machine. Planned harvesting operation can save a significant amount of time in site harvesting operation

Mentoring practise during practicum: The perspectives of Malaysian pre-service English language teachers

This study investigates the issues in mentoring practise based on pre-service English language teachers’ perspectives about their mentoring experience. This study involved 56 pre-service teachers who had completed their practicum. The study used a quantitative data collection method whereby a questionnaire survey was distributed to the research participants. The data from the questionnaire was then analysed by using SPSS to generate descriptive statistics for item analysis. The findings were discussed based on five mentoring factors which are personal attributes, system requirements, pedagogical knowledge, modelling, and feedback. The findings show that modelling and pedagogical knowledge received among the lowest mean scores indicating the moderate satisfactory level of mentoring experience received by the pre-service teachers. The data also shows considerable issues in mentoring quality in terms of pedagogical knowledge. Based on the findings, one of the most crucial issues to be addressed was equipping mentor teachers with the knowledge and skill of mentoring. The mentor teachers need to be given a course and guidance on the key aspects of mentoring. A mentoring manual must be given to the mentors in order to guide them in providing quality and structured mentoring.

Cultivation of oral English competence among Chinese Mainland EFL learners from the perspective of formulaic sequences

This paper aims to review the ideal language input and output unit based on formulaic sequences and the theoretical assumptions underlying input and output hypotheses in view of the relatively low oral English competence among EFL learners in Mainland China. Adopting a theoretical literature review approach, the authors have scrutinized the internal relationship among formulaic language, input and output hypotheses, and oral English competence based on the review. Our review showed that besides comprehensive input material, which has always been the Chinese EFL teachers' sole focus in teaching oracy skills, output opportunities connected with formulaic language should also be highly emphasized to increase students' oral competency. Implications: In light of this, several suggestions are offered to help cultivate Chinese EFL students' oral performance, namely 1) raising awareness of formulaic sequences, 2) broadening the channels of input of formulaic sequences, and 3) creating more opportunities based on formulaic sequences for students to practice speaking EFL classroom. This research reviews the ideal EFL teaching and learning unit from a new perspective by integrating input and output hypotheses with formulaic sequences. The highlight on creating authentic output opportunities based on formulaic language has been ignored in the past oracy skills teaching practice. This provides a solid theoretical foundation and implications for future EFL teaching practice in Mainland China

Pill-burden and its association with treatment burden among patients with advanced stages of chronic kidney disease

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with multimorbidity and high treatment burden. Pill-burden is one component of the overall treatment burden. However, little is known about its magnitude and contribution to the overall treatment burden among patients with advanced stages of CKD. This study aimed to quantify the magnitude of pill-burden in dialysis-dependent vs. non-dialysis-dependent advanced-stage CKD patients and its association with treatment burden. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study for the assessment of pill-burden and treatment burden among non-dialysis and hemodialysis (HD)-dependent CKD patients. Pill-burden was quantified as "number of pills/patient/week" through electronic medical record, while treatment burden was assessed using the "Treatment Burden Questionnaire (TBQ)". Furthermore, oral and parenteral medication burden was also quantified. Data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential analysis, including Mann - Whitney U test and two-way between groups analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Among the 280 patients included in the analysis, the median (IQR) number of prescribed chronic medications was 12 (5.7) oral and 3 (2) parenteral medications. The median (IQR) pill-burden was 112 (55) pills/week. HD patients experienced higher pill-burden than non-dialysis patients [122 (61) vs. 109 (33) pills/week]; however, this difference did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.81). The most commonly prescribed oral medications were vitamin D (90.4%), sevelamer carbonate (65%), cinacalcet (67.5%), and statins (67.1%). Overall, patients who had high pill-burden (≥112 pills/week) had significantly higher perceived treatment burden compared to low pill-burden patients (<112 pills/week) [47(36.2) vs. 38.5(36.7); p = 0.0085]. However, two-way ANOVA showed that dialysis status is the significant contributor to the treatment-burden in the high overall pill-burden group (p < 0.01), the high oral-medication-burden group (p < 0.01), and the high parenteral-medication-burden group (p = 0.004). Conclusions: Patients with advanced CKD experienced a high pill-burden, which increases the treatment burden; however, the dialysis status of the patient is the main factor affecting the overall treatment burden. Future intervention studies should target this population with an aim to reduce polypharmacy, pill-burden, and treatment burden, which may ultimately improve CKD patients' quality of life.The authors would like to acknowledge Qatar University for the funding provided for the study. This manuscript is part of an MSc dissertation submitted to Qatar University and related abstracts were presented and published as part of the 56th European Renal Association - European Dialysis and Transplant Association (ERA-EDTA) Congress, Budapest, Hungary, 13-16 June 2019. The study received funding from Qatar University (grant number: QUCG- CPH-22/23-592 and QUST-CPH-SPR/2017-19). The content of this paper is the sole responsibility of the authors.Scopu

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types

SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity are associated with genetic variants affecting gene expression in a variety of tissues

Variability in SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and COVID-19 disease severity between individuals is partly due to genetic factors. Here, we identify 4 genomic loci with suggestive associations for SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and 19 for COVID-19 disease severity. Four of these 23 loci likely have an ethnicity-specific component. Genome-wide association study (GWAS) signals in 11 loci colocalize with expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 20 genes in 62 tissues/cell types (range: 1:43 tissues/gene), including lung, brain, heart, muscle, and skin as well as the digestive system and immune system. We perform genetic fine mapping to compute 99% credible SNP sets, which identify 10 GWAS loci that have eight or fewer SNPs in the credible set, including three loci with one single likely causal SNP. Our study suggests that the diverse symptoms and disease severity of COVID-19 observed between individuals is associated with variants across the genome, affecting gene expression levels in a wide variety of tissue types