Active force control of 3-RRR planar parallel manipulator

This paper presents a new and novel method to control a 3-RRR (revolute-revolute-revolute) planar parallel manipulator using an active force control (AFC) strategy. A traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller was first designed and developed to demonstrate the basic and stable response of the manipulator in performing trajectory tracking tasks. Later, the AFC section was incorporated into the control scheme in cascade form by adding it in series with the PID controller (PID+AFC), its primary aim of which is to improve the overall system dynamic performance particularly when the manipulator is subjected to different loading conditions. Results clearly illustrate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed AFC-based scheme in rejecting the disturbances compared to the traditional PID controller

A Personal Reflection on the History of Renal Medicine in the Sudan

No Abstrac

Ergonomic Consideration of the Effect of Flour Dust on Peak Expiratory Flow Rate of Bakers in Abeokuta, Ogun State

Flour dusts are one of the most harmful chemicals in the bakery industries which could lead to serious heart and lung diseases. This study investigated the effect of flour dust on Peak Expiratory Flow Rate of male bakers in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria with the relationship to the anthropometrical parameters. A total of One hundred Eighty (180) male participants were investigated, where ninety (90) participants were bakers and ninety (90) individuals as control group. The Peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) and anthropometrical parameters of the participant were measured using mini-Wright peak flow meter (PFM 20, OMRON) and Detecto PD300MDHR (Cardinal Scale manufacturing company, USA) column scale with digital height rod was used to measure body mass [kg] and height (cm) respectively. The PEFR and anthropometrical parameters of the bakers and control groups were analysed using descriptive statistics and T-test with SPSS. The results showed that lower PEFR, 182.67 ± 16.34 L/min existed in bakers compared to 287.67 ± 17.02 L/min in the control study. The result also showed that a significant correlation exist between body mass, height and age (P < 0.01), PEFR, height (P < 0.05) and years of exposure (P < 0.01) of the bakers respectively. Furthermore, the results also showed that workers in the dusting and mixing of flour are at a risk of developing related pulmonary function impairment such as asthma. The study concluded that there is need to develop an effective intervention strategy, treatment seeking behaviour through awareness programs to prevent lung impairment diseases among the bakery workers

Premature discharge of children from hospital admission at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria: A 3-year review

Introduction: Leaving hospital care prematurely could threaten the healthy survival of and expose children to a risk of harmful alternatives. It is also a concern and a challenge to healthcare providers and the health system. A better understanding of its characteristic could help mitigate the impact on children.Objective: To determine the prevalence, types of, and reasons for premature hospital discharge amongst children.Methods: We carried out a threeyear retrospective review of case notes of children who were taken away from hospital admission by their parents/caregivers before they were due for discharge.  Socio-demographic, clinical anddischarge information were collected and data was entered into Microsoft® Excel® for Mac 2011 (Version 14.1.0), cleaned and analysed. Results were presented as percentages, statistical means and standard deviations, tables and charts.Results: There were 56 cases of premature discharge out of 2858 admissions, giving a prevalence of 2.0%. Under-five children constituted 65.4%, with a male: female ratio of 2.3:1. Thirty-one (55.3%) children were absconded with while 25 (44.7%) were taken away by caregivers against medical advice. The commonest diagnoses were protein-energy malnutrition and pneumonia and majority were from poor socio-economic family background. The commonest reasons for discharge AMA were unaffordable costs and perception of improvement of child’s medical condition.Conclusion: Socio-economic factors were significant determinants of utilization of in-patient hospital services for the children studied. There is a need for provision of affordable health care as well as efficient discharge policy to protect children from potential risks associated with premature hospital discharge.Keywords: Children; admission; premature discharge; discharge against medical advice; absconding; elopemen

Effects of differently processed soybean substituted diets on nutrient utilization and the growth perormance of Clarias gariepinus juveniles

Growth and nutrient studies was carried out on Clarias gariepinus Juveniles of mean weight 7.00-8.00g stocked into rectangular plastic aquarium tanks 30cm x 15cm for 120 days fed with differently processed soya bean meal. There were eight  treatments labeled as diet T1-T8, diet T1 (control diet; contains no soybean meal but has fishmeal as the protein source); diet T2 (Conventional diet; purchased  commercially); diet T3 (contains a partial replacement of fishmeal with raw soybean meal at 66.7 replacement) diet T4 (has 100% of raw soybean meal inclusion), diet T5 (66.7% toasted soybean inclusion); diet T6 (100% toasted soybean inclusion); diet T7 (100% raw soybean with methionine and lysine); diet T8 (100% toasted  soybean with methionine and lysine). The diets were formulated at 40% crude  protein containing soya bean meal at different inclusion rates; the toasted soya bean was toasted at 100oC for 10 minutes using an oven and then milled into a fine powder before being mixed with other ingredients. Results showed that the highest average weight gain of 432.55g, specific growth rate (SGR) of 3.38% and food conversion ratio (FCR) of 5.78 of the formulated diets respectively were recorded in fish fed with diet T5 (toasted soyabean meal) P&lt;0.05. The Juveniles fed raw soybean gave the least growth performance (Diet T3) and (Diet T4) P&gt;0.05. this relative lower growth performance of the fish might be attributed to the presence of higher levels of anti-nutritional factors present in soybeans for example trypsin inhibitors and phytic acid which may interfere with the availability of nutrients to the fish; from the result It could be concluded in practice that toasted soybean based diet is optimal for growth of Clarias gariepinus Juvenile. Mortality rates recorded during the dietary trial ranged between 30% in fish fed diet T8 to 100% in the remaining diets. The results were discussed in relation to fish feed production and its implication for fish culture intensification in Nigeria and it is recommended that toasted soya bean should be embraced as the most preferred treatment for the soyabean used in fish feedKeywords: Processed soya bean, fishmeal, growth Juveniles, Clarias gariepinu

Measurement of single event upsets in the ALICE-TPC front-end electronics

The Time Projection Chamber of the ALICE experiment at the CERN Large Hadron Collider features highly integrated on-detector read-out electronics. It is following the general trend of high energy physics experiments by placing the front-end electronics as close to the detector as possible -- only some 10 cm away from its active volume. Being located close to the beams and the interaction region, the electronics is subject to a moderate radiation load, which allowed us to use commercial off-the-shelf components. However, they needed to be selected and qualified carefully for radiation hardness and means had to be taken to protect their functionality against soft errors, i.e. single event upsets. Here we report on the first measurements of LHC induced radiation effects on ALICE front-end electronics and on how they attest to expectations

The moderating roles of national culture and the country institutional profiles on the effect of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation on the performance of banks in Jordan: An empirical investigation

The primary purpose of the study was to extend Jaworski and Kohli\u27s (1993) market orientation (MO) model in the banking industry of Jordan. Specifically, the study (1) added entrepreneurial orientation (EO) as a second mediating variable with market orientation, (2) incorporated national culture and country institutional profile as moderators on the performance effects of MO and EO, and (3) replicated other relationships in the market orientation model of Jaworski and Kohli in the banking industry of Jordan. These moderating variables explained some of the discrepancies in the direct performance effects of MO and EO observed in international contexts. To accomplish these objectives, the study used the following instruments: Jaworski and Kohli\u27s (1993) scales of market orientation, Coven and Slevin\u27s (1989) scales of entrepreneurial orientation, Hofstede\u27s (1980) scale of national culture, and Busenitz, Gomez, and Spencer\u27s (2000) scale of country institutional profiles. The past two decades have witnessed great interest into two critical strategic organizational practices, market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation, which can enhance an organization\u27s capabilities to manage its environment and to perform well. Central to the interest in market orientation and entrepreneurship is their potential influence on organizations\u27 performance. As discrepant evidence has started to accumulate about the direct performance effects of market and entrepreneurial orientations, researchers have begun to explore the roles of various contingency variables on the influence of both market orientation and entrepreneurship on performance. Two such contingency variables that are increasingly encountered by transnational and national organizations are national culture and country institutional profile. In this regard, research suggests that, while pursuing market orientation to enhance performance, marketing managers ought to take into account the effects of national culture and country institutional profiles. Likewise, research suggests that the cross-national variations in the success of entrepreneurial activities may be accounted for by the differences in national culture and country institutional profiles. A national sample of 950 branch managers and senior management members from 475 bank branches listed in The 2003 Banks and Finance Institutions Directory in Jordan, were participated in this study. Responses were received from 507 participants, yielding a response rate of 53%. A host of statistical techniques were employed to test the hypotheses. These techniques include explanatory alpha, rotation factors analysis, and multivariate regression analysis. The findings of the study were as follows: (1) market orientation as well as entrepreneurial orientation are in their initial stages in the banking industry in Jordan; (2) top management, organizational, and structural factors are significant determinants in the degrees of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation; (3) there is a significant relationship between the degree of market orientation and entrepreneurial orientation in performance of banks in Jordan; (4) national cultural plays a limited role in moderating the effect of market orientation on performance of banks in Jordan, while national culture has no moderating role on the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and performance of banks in Jordan; (5) likewise, country institutional profiles have a significant moderating role on the linkage between market orientation and performance of banks in Jordan. However, country constitutional profiles play no moderating role on the effect of entrepreneurial orientation on performance of banks in Jordan. Policy implications of these findings along with contributions to marketing and entrepreneurial literature are discussed. Finally, suggestions for future research are also provided for practitioners and academicians

EFFECT OF ACTION-BASED EXPERIENTIAL APPROACH ON BUSINESS EDUCATION STUDENTS’ ENTREPRENEURIAL SKILLS ACQUISITION FOR BUSINESS OPERATION IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

This study examines the effect of action-based experiential approach on Business education students’ entrepreneurial skills acquisition for business operation in Rivers State, Nigeria. To achieve this, two research questions and two hypotheses were formulated. Quasi-experimental research design was adopted for the study. The population and sample of the study consists of 134 NCE II Business education students during the 2017/2018 academic session. The sample was selected using purposive sampling technique. Two sets of instruments namely: Action-Based Experiential Entrepreneurial Learning Activities Guide (ABEELAG) and the Entrepreneurial Skills Assessment Tool (ESAT) were designed for the study. The instruments were face validated by three lecturers from University of Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State. The reliability of stability for the ESAT was ascertained using test-retest method to test for stability of the instrument. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC) was computed to obtain r – value of 0.84 for the two administrations and converted using the spearman brown prophetic formula to have reliability co-efficient of 0.72. Data collected for the study were analysed using mean scores for the research questions and t-test statistics computed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.1 to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results show that entrepreneurial skills can be highly acquired by Business education students when action-based experiential approach is used for entrepreneurship education than when direct instruction approach is used. The results also show that there is significant difference in the mean score of students in entrepreneurial skills acquisition when taught with ABEA as against DI approach. The result also shows that male and female students do not differ significantly in entrepreneurial skills acquisition when taught with project-based experiential approach. Based on the results and conclusions drawn, it was recommended among other things that a train-the-trainers workshop should be organized by institutions of higher learning for all lecturers handling entrepreneurship in business education to educate them on how to use action-based experiential approach for the practical aspect of entrepreneurship.  Article visualizations