Quality international schools in Kuwait? : history, ideology, and practice

This study investigates the quality of education in three international (bilingual) schools1 in Kuwait. Little is known about the situation of these schools, which are increasing exponentially. These schools not only have a significant role at the local level but also worldwide as they are connected globally through many networks, and by producing graduates who attend universities around the world. This qualitative, interpretive, research presents the perspectives of stakeholders involved in international bilingual schools in Kuwait. The researcher interviewed students, parents, high school teachers, academic counsellors, coordinators (curriculum, accreditation and professional development (PD)), high school principals (HSPs), directors (superintendents), chairpersons, a Ministry of Education (MOE) director, and a Council of International Schools (CIS) director. Listening to the voices of stakeholders at different levels presented a comprehensive view of the quality of education in these schools, because, according to Cheng (2003) quality assurance of education involves many interconnected elements. Some of these elements include the teaching and learning process, internal and external evaluation of these schools, expectations of parents and stakeholders, accountability measures and educational policies set by the state, and curriculum. To investigate these elements in three accredited bilingual schools in Kuwait, the study focuses on four main areas: (i) the rapid growth of such schools in Kuwait; (ii) reasons why Kuwaiti parents choose these schools and whether their expectations are met; (iii) the influence of international accreditation agencies on evaluating and improving this kind of schools in Kuwait; and (iv) the role of the Kuwait MOE in monitoring the academic performance of students and ensuring the quality of education in these schools. In addition to the education quality assurance conceptual framework (Cheng, 2003), cosmopolitanism and neoliberalism theoretical frameworks are used to frame the interpretation of participants’ insights and findings of the analysis

Study the effect of the adding of Ash of Palm Fronds on the Mechanical Properties for High Density Polyethylene (HDPE).

The mechanical properties of (HDPE - ash of palm fronds) composites were studied. The range of added powder of ash of palm fronds has the values (0%, 1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 5%, 7.5% and 10%) of polyethylene weight and the best ratio was (10 %). The mechanical properties of (HDPE / ash of palm fronds) composites were analyzed as a function of the added powder amount. All prepared composites showed improved powder dispersion in the high density polyethylene matrix. More composites displayed lower elongation of break compared to pure HDPE. The results lead to that the strength at breaks will be affected little till the percentage (3%) is (6.8 Mpa), and increased after that with increasing the percentages, also indicate a lowered in young's modules (Young modulus) which at the percentage (3%). The highest value of the proportional limit was when the proportion of the added polymer (2%) is (431.2 N) while the less proportion limit of which (372 N) at the percentage is (4%). Keywords: polymer, Mechanical properties, Ash of palm fronds; Polymer composites; high density polyethylene, Fillers

Design and implementation of PSO/ABC tunned PID controller for Buck converters

In the recent years, Buck converters have been widely involved in a variety of the everyday applications such as smartphones and PCs. Buck converters can provide better and steadier performance when integrating a control system in the design. Therefore, it is interesting to work on this integration and gain the required efficiency in term of the gained voltage. In this paper, PID controller is adopted to control the output voltage of the Buck converter. An optimization is achieved on the performance of the Buck converter using two bio-inspired algorithms namely, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). The voltage controlled Buck converter system is simulated using MATLAB environment to validate the proposed PID controller system. In this study, the voltage regulation process of Buck converter is investigated based on many working disturbances such as the change in the supply voltage, reference voltage, and load resistance in order to verify the robustness of the proposed PID controller. Finally, the feedabck voltage control system of the Buck converter is implemented experimentaly in real-time to validatde the simulated PID controller

Balancing a Segway robot using LQR controller based on genetic and bacteria foraging optimization algorithms

A two-wheeled single seat Segway robot is a special kind of wheeled mobile robot, using it as a human transporter system needs applying a robust control system to overcome its inherent unstable problem. The mathematical model of the system dynamics is derived and then state space formulation for the system is presented to enable design state feedback controller scheme. In this research, an optimal control system based on linear quadratic regulator (LQR) technique is proposed to stabilize the mobile robot. The LQR controller is designed to control the position and yaw rotation of the two-wheeled vehicle. The proposed balancing robot system is validated by simulating the LQR using Matlab software. Two tuning methods, genetic algorithm (GA) and bacteria foraging optimization algorithm (BFOA) are used to obtain optimal values for controller parameters. A comparison between the performance of both controllers GA-LQR and BFO-LQR is achieved based on the standard control criteria which includes rise time, maximum overshoot, settling time and control input of the system. Simulation results suggest that the BFOA-LQR controller can be adopted to balance the Segway robot with minimal overshoot and oscillation frequency

Differential Gene Expression Profiles in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients from Kurdistan, Iraq

Objectives: Inflammatory bowel disease, generally comprising Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), has become a significant global public health concern in the last decade. The present study aimed to determine the alterations of the whole genomic expression profile among patients with inflammatory bowel disease. This study was conducted to provide the expression profile of IBD patients for the first time in this geographic location, as there are very few articles in the literature addressing this specific aspect. Methods: A study conducted in Erbil province, Kurdistan region of Iraq, from July 2021 to July 2022 compared the genome expression profiles of 10 patients with inflammatory bowel diseases to their matched controls. The sequences used in the design of this array were selected from GenBank®, dbEST, and RefSeq, Whole blood RNA extracted and hybridization on GeneChip® human genome U133A 2.0. The Scanner 3000 was used for the scanning high-resolution image and operating software (GCOS) was used for reading the results. Results: Shared upregulated genes between ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) were (RIT2, BCL2L1, MDM2, and FKBP8) while shared downregulated genes were (NFKBIB, DDX24, and RASA3). Conclusions: Upregulated and downregulated gene expression patterns are detected in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease, offering diagnostic potential and opportunities for treatment by targeting the associated pathways. Keywords:  Crohn’s disease, Expression, Erbil, Gene, Ulcerative colitis

Elevation, pitch and travel axis stabilization of 3DOF helicopter with hybrid control system by GA-LQR based PID controller

This research work presents an efficient hybrid control methodology through combining the traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller and linear quadratic regulator (LQR) optimal controlher. The proposed hybrid control approach is adopted to design three degree of freedom (3DOF) stabilizing system for helicopter. The gain parameters of the classic PID controller are determined using the elements of the LQR feedback gain matrix. The dynamic behaviour of the LQR based PID controller, is modeled and the formulated in state space form to enable utlizing state feedback controller technique. The performance of the proposed LQR based LQR controller is improved by using Genetic Algorithm optimization method which are adopted to obtain optimum values for LQR controller gain parameters. The LQR-PID hybrid controller is simulated using Matlab environment and its performance is evaluated based on rise time, settling time, overshoot and steady state error parameters to validate the proposed 3DOF helicopter balancing system. Based on GA tuning approach, the simulation results suggest that the hybrid LQR-PID controller can be effectively adopted to stabilize the 3DOF helicopter system

Barriers to Management Intensive Grazing by Southern Dairy Farmers

Abstract Interest in Management Intensive Grazing (MIG) [a situation where grazing animals are moved to a fresh pasture every few days in order to have access to adequate forage] practices by farmers have increased steadily over the years. Many research publications on grazing advocate the financial and environmental benefits of grazing. Understanding the challenges of MIG can be an important piece of information for a dairy farmer. A survey was conducted to determine how farmers in the southeastern region perceive the barriers to the adoption of MIG. A greater percentage of MIG southeastern farmers were satisfied or very satisfied with their farm profit level compared to other practices. However, the amount of work to start pasture management, and the lack of on-farm technical assistance were barriers for many MIG operations. Keywords: Management Intensive Grazing, Grazing Systems, Southern Dairy Farmers, Dairy Farmer

Industrial Assessment of the Carbonate Rocks of the Pila Spi Formation at Haibat Sultan Mountain, Iraqi Kurdistan Region

The Pila Spi Formation is one of the prominent formations forming continuous ridges in Kurdistan Region. The thickness of the formation ranges from 15 to 110 m, consisting of well-bedded limestone, dolomite, dolomitic limestone, and very rare marl beds. The study area is located about 15 km east of Koya town, next to the abandoned tunnel through a deeply cut valley which has exposed 50 m of the formation. However, the uppermost part of the exposed section may belong to one of the Oligocene formations of Kirkuk Group. The study area was selected within the Pila Spi Formation because the rocks of the same formation and along the same ridge, about 45 km west of the study area showed encouraging results for cement industry. The average CaO is about 51%, whereas the average MgO is 1.8%. Therefore, eight samples were collected at constant thickness from the exposed section. The samples were subjected to X-ray fluorescence (XRF) test to indicate the main oxides in the sampled section. The acquired results from the XRF tests showed that the chemical composition of the exposed rocks within the Pila Spi Formation is suitable for cement industry, also for paper and paint but needs some treatment. Accordingly, another eight samples were collected from the same section to increase the density of sampling, totaling to 16 samples

Exercise as a treatment modality for depression: A narrative review

Depression is a major health burden associated with poor quality of life and impaired functioning. Depression is a leading cause of disability worldwide and is associated with profound economic costs. Depression is usually treated with antidepressant medications and psychological therapy or combination of both. However, there are lot of limitations associated with these therapies and as a result, a number of alternative or adjunctive therapies have been sought for. Exercise is one such option with a lot of substantial supportive research. The objective of the article was to review the beneficial effects of exercise in depression. An electronic search of literature from inception till 06/2017 highlighting the effects of exercise on depression and the possible mechanistic pathways involved was conducted using PubMed/ Medline, Google scholar and Scopus and relevant articles were utilized for this review. The results of this review confirmed the beneficial role of exercise in depression as evidenced by the improvement in the outcomes and the various psychobiological parameters measured. Thus exercise can be considered as a treatment option for the management of depression.Keywords: Depression, Exercise, Physical activity, Mechanistic pathways, BDN

Kinematic Modelling of FES Induced Sit-to-stand Movement in Paraplegia

FES induced movements from indication is promising due to encouraging results being obtained by scholars. The kinematic model usually constitute the initial phase towards achieving the segmental dynamics of any rigid body system. It can be used to ascertain that the model is capable of achieving the desired goal. The dynamic model builds on the kinematic model and is usually mathematically cumbersome depending on the number of degrees-of-freedom. This paper presents a kinematic model applicable for human sit-to-stand movement scenario that will be used to obtain the dynamic model the FES induced movement in a later study. The study shows that the 6 DOF conceptualized sit-to-stand movement can be achieved conveniently using 4 DOF. The 4 DOF has an additional joint compared to similar earlier works which makes more it accurate and flexible. It is more accurate in the sense that it accommodates additional joint i.e. the neck joint whose dynamics could be captured. And more flexible in the sense that if future research uncover more contributions by the segments it can be easily incorporated including that of other segments e.g. the trunk, neck and upper limbs