An Intelligent Tutoring System for Teaching the 7 Characteristics for Living Things

Recently, due to the rapid progress of computer technology, researchers develop an effective computer program to enhance the achievement of the student in learning process, which is Intelligent Tutoring System (ITS). Science is important because it influences most aspects of everyday life, including food, energy, medicine, leisure activities and more. So learning science subject at school is very useful, but the students face some problem in learning it. So we designed an ITS system to help them understand this subject easily and smoothly by analyzing it and explaining it in a systematic way. In this paper, we describe the design of an Intelligent Tutoring System for teaching science for grade seven to help students know the 7 characteristics for living things smoothly. The system provides all topics of living things and generates some questions for each topic and the students should answer these questions correctly to move to the next level. In the result of an evaluation of the ITS, students like the system and they said that it is very useful for them and for their studies

Role of King Abdullah II Fitness Award in Improving the Physical Level of the Tenth Grade from the Point of View of Teachers in the Northern Governorates

The study aimed to identify the role of King Abdullah II fitness award in improving the physical level to the tenth grade from the point of view of teachers in the of Northern region governates. The researcher used the descriptive survey method for its suitability to the objectives of the study, the researcher built a questionnaire that consisted of (20) items and confirmed its validity and reliability, a sample of 183 teachers were chosen from the northern governorates (Irbid, Ajloun, Jerash). The results showed a high degree to the role of King Abdullah fitness award in improving the physical level of the tenth grade in the north northern governorates. And that there were no statistically significant differences at the level of (0.05) for the role of King Abdullah fitness award in improving the physical level to the tenth grade in the Northern Governorates  according to the variables of (gender, scientific expertise, qualification). The study suggested some recommendations like giving importance to the award implementation, encouraging the students towards fitness exercise to improve their physical level, raising awareness among all students and teachers of the importance of the award. Keywords: King Abdullah award, fitness, physical level

Detection of Antibiotic Resistance Loci in Wastewater and Fresh Water Samples

Proper treatment of municipal wastewater is important not only for prevention of eutrophication but also for public health concerns. One consideration for wastewater treatment is the presence of organisms carrying antibiotic resistance genes. If these organisms survive the wastewater treatment process and are released into the streams, they can pose significant risks to public health. In addition, their presence also raises concerns for lateral gene transfer events at the wastewater plant. The spread of antibiotic loci has a major impact in public health and clinical therapy because resistant organisms render conventional treatments of important illnesses difficult. Beta-lactam drugs are known to be the most prescribed antibiotics in United State for bacterial infections. However, their effectiveness is threatened by the spread of beta-lactamases, which produce products that destroy beta-lactam drugs. In this study, wastewater samples were taken at two stages — prior to primary treatment and right before release into the environment — for examination of the presence of 4 common variants of beta-lactamase using polymerase chain reactions. For comparison, freshwater samples from the stream both upstream and downstream of the wastewater efflux site were also collected and analyzed. Various DNA extraction methods were performed and compared for efficiency and quality. When combined with 16S rDNA control results, our data revealed that 3 of the 4 loci assayed were present in the influx wastewater sample but absent in both the efflux and stream water samples. This shows that for the sample we collected, the wastewater treatment process in the city of Charleston has reduced these antibiotic resistance loci to undetectable levels during the treatment process. Our data also showed that these resistant loci did not occur in untreated stream water

Economic Consequences of Accounting Standards: Implications for the Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA)

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:DX208907 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Interface design for a remote guidance system for the blind: Using dual-screen displays

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.The mobility for the visually impaired people is one of the main challenges that researchers are still facing around the world. Although some projects have been conducted to improve the mobility of visually impaired people, further research is still needed. One of these projects is Brunel Remote Guidance System (BRGS). BRGS is aimed to assist visually impaired users in avoiding obstacles and reaching their destinations safely by providing online instructions via a remote sighted guide. This study comes as continuation of the development process of BRGS; the main aim that has been achieved of this research is the optimisation of the interface design for the system guide terminal. This helps the sighted guide to assist the VIUs to avoid obstacles safely and comfortably in the micro-navigation, as well as to keep them on the right track to reach their destination in the macro-navigation. After using the content analysis, the performance factors and their assessments method were identified in each BRGS‘ element, which concluded that there is a lack of research on the guide terminal setup and the assessment method for the sighted guide performance. Furthermore, there are no model to assist the sighted guide performance and two-screen displays used in the literature review and similar projects. A model was designed as a platform to conduct the evaluation on sighted guide performance. Based on this model, the computer-based simulation was established and tested, which made the simulation is ready for next task; the evaluation of the sighted guide performance. The conducted study determined the effects of the two-screen displays on the recognition performance of the 80 participants in the guide terminal. The performance was measured with the context of four different resolution conditions. The study was based on a simulation technique, which is consisted of two key performance elements in order to examine the sighted guide performance; the macro-navigation element and the micro-navigation element. The results show that the two-screen displays have an effect on the performance of the sighted guide. The optimum setup for the two-screen displays for the guide terminal consisted of a big digital map screen display (4CIF [704p x 576p]) and a small video image screen display (CIF [352p x 288p]), which one of the four different resolutions. This interface design has been recommended as a final setup in the guide terminal

Management of Natural Stands of Acacia seyal Del. variety seyal (Brenan) for Production of Gum Talha, South Kordofan, Sudan

The present study was conducted in Umfakarin natural forest reserve, South Kordofan, Sudan. The main objective was to investigate the possibility of managing Acacia seyal Del. variety seyal for the production of gum talha. Three stand densities (strata), namely dense, medium, and slight, were distinguished based on the number of trees per hectare. During the sampling phase, the study adopted the method of identifying the competitors (neighboring trees) from the subject one (trees selected for gum production experiments). From the three stand densities, a total of 482 subject trees, covering variable diameter ranges (d= 9-11.5, 13.5-16, 18-20.5 and above 21 cm) were selected, based on the diameter at 0.25 m height (d0.25). In each stratum, competitor trees were identified within a radius equal to the height of subject tree multiplied by a factor (1.25). The diameter at breast height, height to crown base, height, crown radii, and tree coordinates were measured for each of the subject trees and its competitors. Subject trees were exposed to tapping on first of October, the fifteenth of October, and the first of November, using local tools (Sonki and Makmak). Additionally, untapped trees were used as controlling-variables. The initial gum collection was completed fifteen days after the tapping, while the subsequent (7-9 pickings) were done at an interval of fifteen days. Six stand height functions were tested and the results illustrated that the Michailow stand height function was suitable for predicting the height of Acacia seyal in Umfakarin natural forest. The predictive ability of this height function ranged from 19.3% to 24%. The volume function used in this study was able to predict the volume of standing trees with more than 92 percent accuracy. Competition among trees of Acacia seyal was assessed in terms of competition indices. Eight competition indices were quantified using the CroCom program. The relationship between these indices and tree dimensions (diameter at breast height, height and crown diameter) was tested using logarithmic models. Among these indices, the Hegyi_2 index is considered a suitable index to be applied for estimating the degree of competition in natural stands of A. seyal of dense stratum when using diameter at breast height as a predictor. About 70% of the total variability is explained by this logarithmic model. Gum yielded by each subject tree per season was obtained by summing up the gum samples collected from all pickings. Gum production per unit area was also determined. Regression tree, general linear model (GLM) and logistic regression techniques were used for analyzing the obtained data. The results of the study indicated that the gum yield is independent of stand density. Tapping has influence on gum yield. Trees tapped by sonki on the first of October at medium stand density have the highest gum with an average value of about 56 g/tree/season. Significant difference (p = 0.021) was detected between two groups of dates; the first of October and first of November in medium stand density. The results also revealed that the most important variable influencing gum production was found to be diameter at breast height with 23.95 cm threshold. Between 41-53 percent of subject trees produce gum less than 50 g/season. The results indicated that A. seyal species produces a very low quantity of gum talha (3.6-4.8 kg/ha) and for economic reasons, its tapping is not recommended. The findings of the regression analysis revealed to a model which could be used to estimate the yield of gum talha from A. seyal natural stands in the Umfakarin forest, South Kordofan, Sudan. Conducting experiments on the production of gum talha in permanent plot trials in different climatic regions of the Sudan is highly recommended

Assesment of Vegetation Cover Status in Dry Lands of The Sudan Using Social and Terrestrial Data

The current study was conducted in 2015 in Bara Locality, North Kordofan, Sudan. The study area has experienced recurrent drought spells since 1970s of the past century. The main objective of this study was to assess and map the vegetation cover in the area using social, terrestrial and remotely sensed data. To accomplish the above mentioned objective, the study was based on qualitative and quantitative data. In qualitative data, household survey was conducted in which 100 respondents were randomly interviewed. Quantitative data was collected using terrestrial inventory and satellite imageries. In terrestrial inventory, 22 ground control points (GCPs) were randomly registered using GPS in order to get general overview of the land cover of the study area. In each GCP, tree species by number was inventoried within an area of 1 ha. Remote sensing data, covering the target study area, were acquainted using LANDSAT5 imageries (2014) with spatial resolution of 30×30 m. Results of the household survey revealed that only 13 shrub/tree species mentioned by 45% of the respondents, while only 9 woody species were identified, belonging to 8 families from terrestrial inventory. The results of the household survey, 45% of the respondents, indicated that vegetation cover was very good 20 years ago. The study categorized the present land cover as woody vegetation (19%), Acacia senegal stands (5%), shrubs i.e. Leptadenia pyrotechnica and Acacia nubica (18%), small scale farms and grasses (19%) and sandy soil and dunes (39%). The results of the land cover distribution indicated that vegetation cover decreased by 24% while sand/sand dunes was increased by 21% from 1985 to 2015. The study concluded that the study area is under threat of land degradation that may lead to depletion of vegetation cover and decline land productivity. Pengukuran Status Penutupan Vegetasi di Lahan Kering Sudan Menggunakan Data Sosial dan TerestrialIntisariPenelitian ini dilakukan pada tahun 2015 di Lokalitas Bara, Kordofan Utara, Sudan. Lokasi penelitian telah mengalami masa kekeringan yang berulang sejak dekade 1970-an. Tujuan utama dari penelitian ini adalah untuk menilai dan memetakan tutupan vegetasi di lokasi penelitian dengan menggunakan data sosial, terestrial, dan penginderaan jauh. Untuk mencapai tujuan dimaksud, penelitian ini menggunakan data kualitatif dan kuantitatif. Untuk data kualitatif, survei rumah tangga dengan wawancara terhadap 100 responden yang dipilih secara acak. Data kuantitatif dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan inventarisasi terestrial dan satelit citra. Untuk inventarisasi terestrial, 22 titik kontrol (GCP) didaftar secara acak dengan menggunakan GPS untuk mendapatkan gambaran umum dari tutupan lahan daerah penelitian. Pada setiap GCP, jumlah spesies pohon diinventarisasi dalam area 1 ha. Data penginderaan jauh yang mencakup wilayah studi diambil dengan citra LANDSAT5 (2014) dengan resolusi spasial 30 × 30 m. Hasil survei rumah tangga menunjukkan bahwa hanya 13 jenis semak/pohon yang disebutkan oleh 45% responden, sementara hanya 9 spesies kayu yang terindentifikasi, milik 8 keluarga dari inventarisasi terestrial. Berdasarkan hasil survei rumah tangga, 45% dari responden menyatakan bahwa tutupan vegetasi yang sangat baik 20 tahun yang lalu. Penelitian ini mengelompokkan tutupan lahan saat ini ke dalam vegetasi berkayu (19%), tegakan Acacia senegal (5%), semak yaitu Leptadenia pyrotechnica dan Acacia nubica (18%), pertanian skala kecil dan rerumputan (19%), dan tanah dan bukit pasir (39%). Hasil dari distribusi tutupan lahan menunjukkan bahwa tutupan vegetasi mengalami penurunan sebesar 24%, sedangkan proporsi pasir/bukit pasir meningkat 21% dari 1985 ke 2015. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa daerah penelitian berada di bawah ancaman degradasi lahan yang dapat menyebabkan penipisan vegetasi tutupan dan menurunkan produktivitas lahan