Experimental Investigation on Effect of Head and Bucket Splitter Angle on the Power Output of A Pelton Turbine

This paper investigates through experiment, the effect of head and bucket splitter angle on the power output of a pelton turbine (water turbine), to improve the power generation by the use of efficient Hydro-electric power generation systems. Experiments were conducted on pelton turbine head conditions, high head and low flow with increased pressure delivered more energy on the bucket splitter which then generates a force in driving the wheel compared to the result obtained from low head and high flow operating conditions. The power output was maximum at 23o splitter angle followed by 21o, 15o, 10o and 3o using varied turbine speed (1700, 1400, 1200 and 1000rpm). The force generated by the bucket due to the splitter was increased as the turbine speed was increasing. The force generated by the bucket was increased (0 to 0.38N) due to the energy delivered to the wheel by the head, the turbine output increases from (0 to 7.47kW) which influences the output. This increase in the power output was as a result of their head conditions and the bucket splitter angle

Is there a link between industry involvement in higher education learning and student job creation intention?

This study examines how the constituents of industry involvement in higher education learning (IIHEL) – namely curriculum restructuring, renewed pedagogical approaches and competencies, building linkages between higher education and industry, and career training and mentoring – might impact student job creation intention. The study builds on social cognitive theory (self-efficacy) and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (attitude towards behaviour) to assess the mechanisms through which these relationships exist. The researchers used cross-sectional data from 268 final-year undergraduate students of 12 Nigerian public universities to analyse these relationships. Structural equation modelling analysis (SEM-AMOS) was employed to test the direct relationships, and Hayes’ PROCESS Macro 3.5 was used to test the specific indirect effects. The findings show that all the constituents of IIHEL were associated positively with student job creation intention. However, only self-efficacy mediated the relationships between curriculum restructuring, renewed pedagogical approaches and competencies and student job creation intention. The findings provide practical implications for higher education teachers, managers, practitioners, policymakers and students by demonstrating the importance of IIHEL in boosting student job creation intention

Does PhD Qualification Improve Pedagogical Competence? A Study on Teaching and Training in Higher Education

Purpose: There has been much debate in recent times about the factors that improve the quality of teaching in higher education (HE) institutions. This has been especially fuelled by the increasing importance attached to Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) qualification. To fill the existing gap in the current literature in this regard, this study aims to investigate whether HE teachers (lecturers) who undergo pedagogical training (PT) in addition to obtaining PhD qualification possess higher knowledge and pedagogical competencies (PCs) than those that relied only on having PhD qualification without further teaching qualifications. Design/Methodology/Approach: Drawing upon data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 1174 Nigerian HE teachers in various disciplines from 39 HE institutions, in addition to two focus groups; the study adopts a mixed methods research. The quantitative data were analyzed descriptively while qualitatively data were coded, transcribed verbatim and analyzed thematically. Findings – This article proposes that teachers who undergo PT in addition to obtaining PhD tend to have more PCs and perform better than those that have not undergone any form of PT. Also, it found a statistically significant difference between PCs of HE teachers who have undergone PT in addition to PhD qualification from those without PT. The implication is that teachers who have undergone PT are more effective in facilitating teaching and learning than those who have not completed PT. Research Limitations/Implications: Despite the merits of the mixed research method, a major limitation of this study is the failure to compare students’ achievements or successes based on the two distinct samples. However, the limitations create opportunities for further studies into the subject matter. Originality/Value – This study is timely, given that Nigeria (like many African countries) has a low quality HE system and low graduate outcomes (related to knowledge, employability, and skills). More so, research into pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and practices are rare or non-existent in the literature related to Nigeria and other African countries’ HE system

Exploring the link between student placement learning in business organizations and self-employment preparatory behaviours

This study draws on social cognitive career theory to test a moderated mediation model of self-employment preparatory behaviours in university students undertaking placement learning in a business organization (PLBO). Using data from 337 university students undertaking work placement in 123 business organizations, the study hypotheses were tested using PROCESS Macro 3.5. The results revealed that PLBO significantly influenced student self-employment self-efficacy, self-employment outcome expectations and self-employment preparatory behaviours. Also, self-employment self-efficacy and self-employment outcome expectations mediated the relationship between work placement learning and self-employment preparatory behaviours. However, placement supervisor support interacted with PLBO such that greater support from placement supervisors contributed to stronger self-employment preparatory behaviours. The placement learning supervisor support moderated the indirect effect of PLBO on self-employment preparatory behaviours via self-employment self-efficacy and self-employment outcome expectations at all levels (–1SD, Mean and +1SD)

Pathways for the Valorization of Animal and Human Waste to Biofuels, Sustainable Materials, and Value-Added Chemicals

Human and animal waste, including waste products originating from human or animal digestive systems, such as urine, feces, and animal manure, have constituted a nuisance to the environment. Inappropriate disposal and poor sanitation of human and animal waste often cause negative impacts on human health through contamination of the terrestrial environment, soil, and water bodies. Therefore, it is necessary to convert these wastes into useful resources to mitigate their adverse environmental effect. The present study provides an overview and research progress of different thermochemical and biological conversion pathways for the transformation of human- and animal-derived waste into valuable resources. The physicochemical properties of human and animal waste are meticulously discussed, as well as nutrient recovery strategies. In addition, a bibliometric analysis is provided to identify the trends in research and knowledge gaps. The results reveal that the USA, China, and England are the dominant countries in the research areas related to resource recovery from human or animal waste. In addition, researchers from the University of Illinois, the University of California Davis, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Zhejiang University are front runners in research related to these areas. Future research could be extended to the development of technologies for on-site recovery of resources, exploring integrated resource recovery pathways, and exploring different safe waste processing methods

Systematic review of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on suicidal behaviour amongst health and social care workers across the world

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the mental health of healthcare and social care workers, and its potential effect on suicidal thoughts and behaviour is of particular concern.MethodsThis systematic review identified and appraised the published literature that has reported on the impact of COVID-19 on suicidal thoughts and behaviour and self-harm amongst healthcare and social care workers worldwide up to May 31, 2021.ResultsOut of 37 potentially relevant papers identified, ten met our eligibility criteria. Our review has highlighted that the impact of COVID-19 has varied as a function of setting, working relationships, occupational roles, and psychiatric comorbidities.LimitationsThere have been no completed cohort studies comparing pre- and post-pandemic suicidal thoughts and behaviours. It is possible some papers may have been missed in the search.ConclusionsThe current quality of evidence pertaining to suicidal behaviour in healthcare workers is poor, and evidence is entirely absent for those working in social care. The clinical relevance of this work is to bring attention to what evidence exists, and to encourage, in practice, proactive approaches to interventions for improving healthcare and social care worker mental health

Pathways for the Valorization of Animal and Human Waste to Biofuels, Sustainable Materials and Value-Added Chemicals

Human and animal waste, including waste products originating from human or animal digestive systems such as urine, feces, and animal manure, have constituted a nuisance to the environment. Inappropriate disposal and poor sanitation of human and animal waste often cause negative impacts on human health through contamination of the terrestrial environment, soil, and water bodies. Therefore, it is necessary to convert these wastes into useful resources to mitigate their adverse environmental effect. The present study provides an overview and research progress of different thermochemical and biological conversion pathways for the transformation of human- and animal-derived waste into valuable resources. The physicochemical properties of human and animal waste are meticulously discussed as well as nutrient recovery strategies. In addition, a bibliometric analysis is provided to identify the trends in research and knowledge gaps. The results reveal that the U.S.A, China and England are the dominant countries in the research areas related to resource recovery from human or animal waste. In addition, researchers from the University of Illinois, the University of California Davis, the Chinese Academy of Science and Zhejiang University are front runners in research related to these areas. Future research should be centred on developing technologies for the on-site recovery of resources, exploring integrated resource recovery pathways, and exploring different safe waste processing methods

Crosstalk between glial and glioblastoma cells triggers the "go-or-grow" phenotype of tumor cells

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM), the most malignant primary brain tumor, leads to poor and unpredictable clinical outcomes. Recent studies showed the tumor microenvironment has a critical role in regulating tumor growth by establishing a complex network of interactions with tumor cells. In this context, we investigated how GBM cells modulate resident glial cells, particularly their paracrine activity, and how this modulation can influence back on the malignant phenotype of GBM cells. Methods: Conditioned media (CM) of primary mouse glial cultures unexposed (unprimed) or exposed (primed) to the secretome of GL261 GBM cells were analyzed by proteomic analysis. Additionally, these CM were used in GBM cells to evaluate their impact in glioma cell viability, migration capacity and activation of tumor-related intracellular pathways. Results: The proteomic analysis revealed that the pre-exposure of glial cells to CM from GBM cells led to the upregulation of several proteins related to inflammatory response, cell adhesion and extracellular structure organization within the secretome of primed glial cells. At the functional levels, CM derived from unprimed glial cells favored an increase in GBM cell migration capacity, while CM from primed glial cells promoted cells viability. These effects on GBM cells were accompanied by activation of particular intracellular cancer-related pathways, mainly the MAPK/ERK pathway, which is a known regulator of cell proliferation. Conclusions: Together, our results suggest that glial cells can impact on the pathophysiology of GBM tumors, and that the secretome of GBM cells is able to modulate the secretome of neighboring glial cells, in a way that regulates the "go-or-grow" phenotypic switch of GBM cells.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (IF/00601/2012 to B.M.C.; IF/00111 to A.J.S; SFRH/BD/52287/2013 to A.I.O.; SFRH/BD/81495/2011 to S.I.A.; SFRH/BD/88121/2012 to J.V.C.; projects PTDC/SAU-GMG/113795/2009 to B.M.C.; PTDC/NEU-NMC/0205/2012, PTDC/NEU-SCC/7051/2014, PEst-C/SAU/LA0001/2013–2014 and UID/NEU/04539/2013 to B.M.), Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro (B.M.C.), Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian (B.M.C.) and Inter-University Doctoral Programme in Ageing and Chronic Disease (PhDOC; to A.I.O.). Project co-financed by Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2—O Novo Norte), Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional (QREN), Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER), Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (COMPETE), and by The National Mass Spectrometry Network (RNEM) under the contract REDE/1506/REM/2005info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Permanence, Temporality and the Rhythms of Life : Exploring Significance of the Village Arena in Igbo Culture

The village arena (or ‘square’ or ‘Otobo’ in Nsukka Igbo) is at the physical and socio-cultural centre of Igbo life, in southeast Nigeria. It is a space where intangible Igbo cultural heritage is played out, and also serves as a virtual museum where heritage materials are kept. The arena performs its roles in two very different ways: as a sacred space hosting initiation rites and religious rituals; and as a profane space for meetings and ceremonies. Either way, these uses see the arena transition between permanency and temporality, following routines and rhythms which themselves give the practices meaning and significance, and contribute to their inscription on the landscape. This paper explores the complexities associated with these village arenas with a particular focus on their socio-cultural, political, economic and religious functions through time, as well as the way those complexities are manifest in material cultures that serve to characterize the village arena