Managing English Teaching Outcomes in Universities: An Experiential Learning Case Study of ESL/EFL Interventions

In countries where English is a foreign language, universities are expected to enhance the communication skills of their students after overcoming the deficiencies that they typically carry over from their schooling years, and the challenge for universities is to achieve this through the few mandated courses. This paper describes an auto-enthnographic case study of a series of interventions for improving the English teaching outcomes over a decade by the dean of a private university of Karachi. Each intervention was ref ined over a number of semesters through several execution cycles consisting of design, implementation and evaluation. Interventions were tried and tested until the outcomes could no longer be improved with the given resources. Issues identif ied through the evaluation of a particular intervention led to the design of subsequent interventions. The interventions consisted of changes made to the number of courses, grading criteria, selection of learning methodology, assessment strategy, hiring qualif ications, teacher development, medium of instruction for technical courses, design of environmental culture, quality control across multiple sections, level of student engagement, intensity of instruction doze, lab and instruction credit hours, assistance from senior students, and out of the box designs of course interactions. Experiential learning and analysis of these interventions demonstrated that traditional classroom based interventions centered on a teacher do not work unless they are accompanied by immersion experiences in innovative, collaborative and flexible learning environments. Experiential Learning and Project Based Learning (PBL) techniques which can stimulate and inspire the students were found to be more effective. The study proposes an innovative structure for conducting English courses that would provide an immersion experience to students which would be concentrated in time and space to help overcome many of the identified issues

Thermophilic bioremediation of emerging pollutants using a recombinant thermophilic fungal peroxidase

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Cerebral venous thrombosis At high altitude

Cerebral Venous Thrombosis (CVT) is one of the rarest causes of stroke. It is described as complete or partial occlusion of the sinuses or cortical veins of the brain. A relationship between high altitude (HA) and cerebral venous thrombosis has been long suspected due to various case reports and studies, however, the exact underlying mechanisms and etiologies are highly complex and debatable. In this article review we discuss the incidence etiologies, risk factors, clinical presentations and management of CVT at high altitude. CVT majorly affects young people [2]. It presents with a wide variety of clinical presentations due to the complexity of cerebral venous architecture and a combination of edema, increased intracranial pressure and venous infarct. Numerous etiologies have been suggested for the incidence of CVT; varying from dehydration, increased blood viscosity leading to endothelial injury, immobility, inflammation, genetic expression of certain prothrombotic entities, triggering of the coagulation cascade, platelet dysfunction and underlying coagulation disorders. Individuals with history of coagulation abnormalities should be screened for underlying thrombophilias and cautiously ascend to higher altitudes. CVT should be considered in all neurological clinical presentations at high altitude. High altitude trekkers should be educated on how to keep hydrated and avoid immobility, exposure to extreme cold and seeking immediate help for symptoms like headache and disturbed mental status

Knowledge, Attitude and Health Belief (KAHB) on Cancer and Its Treatment: Qualitative exploration of cancer patients in Penang, Malaysia

KAHB toward cancer and its treatment determines the patients' clinical outcome. This study explored KAHB among cancer patients in Penang, Malaysia. Sixteen cancer patients were interviewed upon saturation. This study recorded the information, transcribed, translated and validated before coded and categorized into themes. The study showed that perceived knowledge of cancer and its treatment was moderate. Their attitude toward cancer and its treatment was positive; however, revealed various health belief which influences their cues to action. Most patients seek traditional treatment besides modern medicine as they felt better. This information can support health caregivers for better patient's management. eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i16.269

A qualitative evaluation of patients understanding, expectations and experiences with HIV/AIDS treatment

Background: Treatment understanding and experiences are vital to determine HIV patients’ adherence and retention to care. Methods: In-depth patient interviews were audio-recorded, with a prior verbal and written consent and subjected to a thematic content analysis framework for data analysis. Results: Though majority of participants believed in Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) as the most effective way of treatment, they were greatly worried about its toxicities. Disease understanding and peer influence were regarded as the main reasons for treatment initiation; whereas, perceived side effects and lack of support system were among the main reasons associated with treatment delay. Almost all the patients experienced toxicities due to ARTs and viewed it negatively impacting their quality of life. Conclusion: It is vital for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) to be retained in care; hence, the provision of optimal care with greater support to overcome treatment challenges must be focused in any HIV program

Regulations in National Laws on Construction in Coastal Areas

The coasts and the sides of the sea, the forehead of the lands and, consequently, are the forefront of the national lands. Our sustained and deep effort in coastal and port management and engineering is a special part of the ethical responsibility of the Ports and Maritime Organization and from this, the fate of the beauty and purity of coasts and ports is deeply tied to the fate of the type and form of exploitation of the coast. Therefore, the present study was carried out with the purpose of collecting and integrating existing national laws in the field of construction in coastal and port areas and determining the weak points and ambiguities of existing regulations. Previous studies have been done in detail and in several publications and regulations, while existing and valid regulations throughout the world are comprehensive in the form of a book or journal. Due to the scatter of domestic publications and the absence of a comprehensive source in this study, these journals have been thoroughly and comprehensively presented as a book or journal. The design of coastal structures is designed to create harmony and uniformity in the design, construction, monitoring, and implementation of coastal structures and related projects, as well as to observe the principles, methods and technologies appropriate to the equipment and adapted to the requirements. The country is being prepared and compiled and, in addition to using the feedbacks received from the journals number 300, the guidelines and technical texts presented with the new standards of the standards and other national regulations have also been harmonized and in cases where national standards and criteria are not available, international standards should be used.  The paper also attempts to make the publication available in such a way that due to the limited access to the standards and regulations and in order to expand the culture of technical knowledge and transfer it to the design and implementation of the projects, the contents of the guidelines and technical regulations necessary to provision is made to users

Tacrolimus-associated posterior reversible Encephalopathy syndrome in allogenic Hematopoietic stem cell transplant

Tacrolimus is an immunosuppressive drug used to lower the risk of transplant rejection in individuals after solid organ or hematopoietic transplantation. Cases of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) as a complication of tacrolimus therapy are infrequently documented. The pathogenesis of this phenomenon is not well understood. Here, we report a case of an 18-year-old female with a history of acute myeloid leukemia that developed PRES after undergoing an allogeneic stem cell transplant and subsequent immunosuppressive therapy with tacrolimus

Subjective Knowledge and The Antecedent-Mediator Relationship of TPB In Female Adolescence: Healthy Eating Intentions Prediction

Purpose: This study aims to examine the predictors of intentions towards healthy eating (HE) behavior by applying the theory of planned behavior. It also aims to verify the way subjective knowledge about healthy eating moderates the attitude-intentions, subjective norms-intentions, and perceived behavioral control-intentions relationships. Methodology: The study employs a survey research design in which data is collected via self-administered structured questionnaires. The sample size was 404 female adolescences of 15-19 years. SPSS version 21, SMART PLS version 3, and AMOS version 20 were used to analyze the reliability, validity, measurement, and structural models. Findings: Family environment, as well as Parental norms and conformity towards those, are stronger to shape positive intentions towards, HE than other societal members’ norms. Perceived behavioral control of HE is not a significant antecedent of HE intentions which might be due to the contingency effect of subjective knowledge. Subjective knowledge about HE moderating the attitude-intentions, subjective norms-intentions, and perceived behavioral control-intentions relationships as proposed. Conclusion: This is the novelty of the present work in that it has presented the moderating role of subjective knowledge about HE on the aforementioned relationships of TPB and cultivated significant results out of it. TPB is extended and delivered that overall model contributed 65% of the variance in determining HE intentions by attitude, subjective norms, and behavioral control

Reduced switch multilevel inverter topologies for renewable energy sources

This article proposes two generalized multilevel inverter configurations that reduce the number of switching devices, isolated DC sources, and total standing voltage on power switches, making them suitable for renewable energy sources. The main topology is a multilevel inverter that handles two isolated DC sources with ten power switches to create 25 voltage levels. Based on the main proposed topology, two generalized multilevel inverters are introduced to provide flexibility in the design and to minimize the number of elements. The optimal topologies for both extensive multilevel inverters are derived from different design objectives such as minimizing the number of elements (gate drivers, DC sources), achieving a large number of levels, and minimizing the total standing voltage. The main advantages of the proposed topologies are a reduced number of elements compared to those required by other existing multilevel inverter topologies. The power loss analysis and standalone PV application of the proposed topologies are discussed. Experimental results are presented for the proposed topology to demonstrate its correct operation. © 2013 IEEE