Effect of Cooperative Teaching Strategy and Instructional Materials Utilization on Mathematics Learning Achievement of Senior Secondary School Students in Fika Local Government Area, Yobe State, Nigeria

This study determined the effect of cooperative teaching strategy and instructional material utilization on Mathematics learning achievement of senior secondary school students in Fika LGA, Yobe State, Nigeria. Two (2) objectives were stated and two (2) null hypotheses were tested. Quasi-experimental design was adopted. The population comprised of one hundred and forty (140) students selected from the four senior secondary schools in the study area. Thirty five (35) students were purposively selected from each of the four senior secondary schools. Achievement Test in Mathematics was adapted for the study. Three stages were used in collecting the data%253A pre-treatment, treatment and post-treatment phases. Independent sample t-test was used to analyze the two (2) null hypotheses. The results were considered at Plt%253B 0.05 level. The finding of the study showed that cooperative teaching strategy had significant effect on mathematics learning achievement of senior secondary school students. It is further discovered that instructional material utilization had significant effect on mathematics learning achievement of the students. It is recommended among others that effective use of cooperative teaching strategy and instructional material utilization in teaching mathematics in schools should be used by teachers to enhance student learning achievement in mathematics

Effects of antibiotic resistance, drug target attainment, bacterial pathogenicity and virulence, and antibiotic access and affordability on outcomes in neonatal sepsis: an international microbiology and drug evaluation prospective substudy (BARNARDS)

Background Sepsis is a major contributor to neonatal mortality, particularly in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). WHO advocates ampicillin–gentamicin as first-line therapy for the management of neonatal sepsis. In the BARNARDS observational cohort study of neonatal sepsis and antimicrobial resistance in LMICs, common sepsis pathogens were characterised via whole genome sequencing (WGS) and antimicrobial resistance profiles. In this substudy of BARNARDS, we aimed to assess the use and efficacy of empirical antibiotic therapies commonly used in LMICs for neonatal sepsis. Methods In BARNARDS, consenting mother–neonates aged 0–60 days dyads were enrolled on delivery or neonatal presentation with suspected sepsis at 12 BARNARDS clinical sites in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Rwanda, and South Africa. Stillborn babies were excluded from the study. Blood samples were collected from neonates presenting with clinical signs of sepsis, and WGS and minimum inhibitory concentrations for antibiotic treatment were determined for bacterial isolates from culture-confirmed sepsis. Neonatal outcome data were collected following enrolment until 60 days of life. Antibiotic usage and neonatal outcome data were assessed. Survival analyses were adjusted to take into account potential clinical confounding variables related to the birth and pathogen. Additionally, resistance profiles, pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic probability of target attainment, and frequency of resistance (ie, resistance defined by in-vitro growth of isolates when challenged by antibiotics) were assessed. Questionnaires on health structures and antibiotic costs evaluated accessibility and affordability. Findings Between Nov 12, 2015, and Feb 1, 2018, 36 285 neonates were enrolled into the main BARNARDS study, of whom 9874 had clinically diagnosed sepsis and 5749 had available antibiotic data. The four most commonly prescribed antibiotic combinations given to 4451 neonates (77·42%) of 5749 were ampicillin–gentamicin, ceftazidime–amikacin, piperacillin–tazobactam–amikacin, and amoxicillin clavulanate–amikacin. This dataset assessed 476 prescriptions for 442 neonates treated with one of these antibiotic combinations with WGS data (all BARNARDS countries were represented in this subset except India). Multiple pathogens were isolated, totalling 457 isolates. Reported mortality was lower for neonates treated with ceftazidime–amikacin than for neonates treated with ampicillin–gentamicin (hazard ratio [adjusted for clinical variables considered potential confounders to outcomes] 0·32, 95% CI 0·14–0·72; p=0·0060). Of 390 Gram-negative isolates, 379 (97·2%) were resistant to ampicillin and 274 (70·3%) were resistant to gentamicin. Susceptibility of Gram-negative isolates to at least one antibiotic in a treatment combination was noted in 111 (28·5%) to ampicillin–gentamicin; 286 (73·3%) to amoxicillin clavulanate–amikacin; 301 (77·2%) to ceftazidime–amikacin; and 312 (80·0%) to piperacillin–tazobactam–amikacin. A probability of target attainment of 80% or more was noted in 26 neonates (33·7% [SD 0·59]) of 78 with ampicillin–gentamicin; 15 (68·0% [3·84]) of 27 with amoxicillin clavulanate–amikacin; 93 (92·7% [0·24]) of 109 with ceftazidime–amikacin; and 70 (85·3% [0·47]) of 76 with piperacillin–tazobactam–amikacin. However, antibiotic and country effects could not be distinguished. Frequency of resistance was recorded most frequently with fosfomycin (in 78 isolates [68·4%] of 114), followed by colistin (55 isolates [57·3%] of 96), and gentamicin (62 isolates [53·0%] of 117). Sites in six of the seven countries (excluding South Africa) stated that the cost of antibiotics would influence treatment of neonatal sepsis

Platinum-promoted fibrous silica Y zeolite with enhanced mass transfer as a highly selective catalyst for n-dodecane hydroisomerization

A fibrous silica zeolite Y (HY@KCC-1) catalyst with a high surface area of 568 m2/g and unique core-shell morphology was successfully synthesized via a modified KCC-1 synthesis method. Characterization of the catalysts was achieved with X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning microscope (FESEM), N2 adsorption/desorption, and 2,6-dimethylpyridine adsorbed Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The Pt/HY@KCC-1 has displayed complete n-dodecane conversion coupled with an incredibly enhanced isomer yield of 72% at 350°C, nearly two-fold higher than that of unmodified Pt/HY catalyst. Remarkably, Pt/HY@KCC-1 had an internal effectiveness factor (η) of unity and negligible internal diffusion limitation, thus suggesting its potential application in hydroisomerization of higher hydrocarbons for enhancing fuel properties