PREDICTING STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCES USING ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

The aim of this research is to develop and test an artificial neural network model for predicting first year students’ grades in Basics of ICT at the Faculty of Education, University of Kragujevac, Jagodina. A number of factors could influence students’ grades, such as gender, study programme students are enrolled in (Class teachers, Preschool teachers, Boarding school teachers), tests, seminar papers, proficiency testing in one application software and class attendance. For the purpose of this research the model based on the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm with the backpropagation was created and trained on the data of the two generations of students at the Faculty of Education in Jagodina, University of Kragujevac. Assessment of the test data has shown that the model was able to correctly predict 90% of future students’ grades. Implications for the application of the model in practice are discussed as well.Publishe

Fractures of the humerus during arm wrestling

Background/Aim. Humeral shaft fractures may occur as a result of arm wrestling. The aim of this study was to present our treatment of humerus fracture sustained during arm wrestling. Methods. A total of six patients, aged 22 to 48, were treated at our department form January 2008 to January 2010 with open reduction and internal fixation and with hanging arm casts. A review of all the relevant literature on the subject was also presented. Results. In all the cases, the fractures healed and function returned to normal. No patient had any neural or vascular compromise. Conclusion. Closed and operative treatments were equally successful in all reported cases. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 175-095

Biocontrol and plant stimulating potential of novel strain Bacillus sp. PPM3 isolated from marine sediment

In the current study, the biocontrol potential of a novel strain Bacillus sp. PPM3 isolated from marine sediment from the Red Sea in Hurghada, Egypt is recognized. This novel strain was selected out of 32 isolates based on its ability to suppress the growth of four plant pathogenic fungi: Aspergillus flavus, Fusariurn graminearum, Mucor sp. and Alternaria sp. The new marine strain was identified and characterized by phenotypic and molecular approaches. The culture filtrate of Bacillus sp. PPM3 suppressed the growth and spore germination of all tested fungi in vitro with the highest value of inhibition reported for Mucor sp. (97.5%). The antifungal effect of the culture filtrate from the strain PPM3 was due to production of highly stable secondary metabolites resistant to extreme pH, temperature and enzymatic treatments. A PCR analysis confirmed the expression of genes involved in the synthesis of antifungal lipopeptides: iturin, bacillomycin D, mycosubtilin and surfactin. In a greenhouse experiment strain PPM3 effectively reduced disease incidence of F. graminearum in maize plants and displayed additional plant growth stimulating effect. The results show that novel marine strain PPM3 could have a potential in commercial application as biocontrol agent for treatment of various plant diseases caused by soil-borne and postharvest pathogenic fungi