Classroom Environment at Secondary Level: Is it learning-friendly?

This study aims to explore whether the secondary classroom environment is learning friendly or not. Mixed method approach is employed for collecting and analyzing data from respective sources. Teachers, students and classroom sessions have been selected randomly from 24 schools. Interview schedule, questionnaire and observation checklist are used as data collection tools. Findings reveal that majority teachers share experiences, discuss familiar issues and tell stories in relation with class lesson. A good number of teachers use the most traditional aids like chalkboard along with few emphasize on charts, posters and real objects. The students friendly aids are to some extent ignored in secondary classrooms. Surprisingly, students are still physically harassed or verbally abused by their friends and teachers. Teachers assess students\u27 learning during class and feedback to students is provided but not extensively. However, majority teachers disallow students to asked questions and not answer properly. Therefore, this study suggests that learning friendly environment should be ensured that can invite students to achieve expected outcomes

Classroom Assessment Practices in Urban Secondary Science Classes in Bangladesh

Aiming to explore classroom assessment practices in Bangladesh, this study confined on some selected secondary science classroom. A total of seven schools are selected purposively from seven divisional cities. The General Science class of Class Eight is selected purposively and observed in five consecutive days. The class teachers and students are also interviewed as respondent. This study shows that assessing student learning achievement and feedback are considered as the major objectives of classroom assessment, however, modifying teaching is totally ignored. Classroom feedback is \u27right\u27 or \u27wrong\u27 oriented follow by task-oriented and self-oriented in nature. Teachers mainly dominate the classroom assessment practices and basically relied on the traditional methods specifically on oral questioning for assessing students\u27 classroom learning. The classroom questions are basically focused very specific or limited responses. Therefore, this study suggests to change the current practices by using several assessment strategies and focus on assessment for students\u27 learning

Design of high gain base station antenna array for mm-wave cellular communication systems

Millimeter wave (mm-Wave) wireless communication systems require high gain antennas to overcome path loss effects and thereby enhance system coverage. This paper presents the design and analysis of an antenna array for high gain performance of future mm-wave 5G communication systems. The proposed antenna is based on planar microstrip technology and fabricated on 0.254 mm thick dielectric substrate (Rogers-5880) having a relative permittivity of 2.2 and loss tangent of 0.0009. The single radiating element used to construct the antenna array is a microstrip patch that has a configuration resembling a two-pronged fork. The single radiator has a realized gain of 7.6 dBi. To achieve the gain required by 5G base stations, a 64-element array antenna design is proposed which has a bore side gain of 21.2 dBi at 37.2 GHz. The 8 × 8, 8 × 16, and 8 × 32 antenna array designs described here were simulated and optimized using CST Microwave Studio, which is a 3D full-wave electromagnetic solver. The overall characteristics of the array in terms of reflection-coefficient and radiation patterns makes the proposed design suitable for mm-Wave 5G and other communication systems.Dr. Mohammad Alibakhshikenari acknowledges support from the CONEX-Plus programme funded by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 801538. In addition, this work was partially supported by Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Gobierno de España (Agencia Estatal de Investigación, Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional -FEDER-, European Union) under the research grant PID2021-127409OB-C31 CONDOR. The authors also sincerely appreciate funding from Researchers Supporting Project number (RSP2023R58), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Setting Reading Fluency Benchmark in Bangla for the Students of Grade III and Grade V

Reading is one of the most significant media of learning. Reading with comprehension mostly depends on reading fluency. It is necessary to measure students fluency through the reading rate of words per minute to know the level of comprehension. There was no benchmark in Bangla reading fluency at the primary level, which is necessary to check students\u27 reading performances regarding the targeted level. This study aims to set a reading fluency benchmark for grade III and grade V in Bangla. This study followed quantitative approaches with a cross-sectional survey design. A total of 1536 students from both grades were selected through a multistage cluster sampling procedure. Two types of texts for each grade were developed and finalized alter piloting to administer. The median method was used for setting the fluency benchmark as many countries already had used it for the same purpose. This study recommended setting the reading fluency benchmark for grade III in Bangla at 46 CWPM and 54 CWPM for grade V. It also recommended that policymakers need to take the necessary teaching-learning interventions to achieve this benchmark

Design of high gain base station antenna array for mm-wave cellular communication systems

Millimeter wave (mm-Wave) wireless communication systems require high gain antennas to overcome path loss effects and thereby enhance system coverage. This paper presents the design and analysis of an antenna array for high gain performance of future mm-wave 5G communication systems. The proposed antenna is based on planar microstrip technology and fabricated on 0.254 mm thick dielectric substrate (Rogers-5880) having a relative permittivity of 2.2 and loss tangent of 0.0009. The single radiating element used to construct the antenna array is a microstrip patch that has a configuration resembling a two-pronged fork. The single radiator has a realized gain of 7.6 dBi. To achieve the gain required by 5G base stations, a 64-element array antenna design is proposed which has a bore side gain of 21.2 dBi at 37.2 GHz. The 8 × 8, 8 × 16, and 8 × 32 antenna array designs described here were simulated and optimized using CST Microwave Studio, which is a 3D full-wave electromagnetic solver. The overall characteristics of the array in terms of reflection-coefficient and radiation patterns makes the proposed design suitable for mm-Wave 5G and other communication systems

Synthesis of new 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazole analogs as potent inhibitors of b-Glucuronidase and in silico study

New benzimidazole analogues (1–18) were synthesized and characterized through differ- ent spectroscopic techniques such as 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HREI-MS. All analogues were screened for b-glucuronidase inhibitory potential. All analogues showed varied degree of inhibitory potentials with IC50 values ranging between 1.10 – 0.10 to 39.60 – 0.70 lM when compared with standard D-saccharic acid-1,4- lactone having IC50 value 48.30 lM. Analogues 17, 11, 9, 6, 1 and 13 having IC50 values 1.10 – 0.10, 1.70 – 0.10, 2.30 – 0.10, 5.30 – 0.20, 6.20 – 0.20 and 8.10 – 0. 20 lM respectively, showed excellent b-glucuronidase inhibitory potential many folds better than the standard. All other analogues also showed good inhibitory potential better as compared to stan- dard. Structure activity relationships (SAR) has been established for all compounds. The results from molecular docking studies supports the established SAR and developed a strong correlation with the results from into vitro assay. The molecular docking results clearly highlighted how sub- stituents like nitro and chloro affect the binding position of the active compounds in the active site. The docking results were also used to properly establish the effect of bulky substituents of least active compounds on reduced b-glucuronidase inhibitory activity. Compounds 1–18 were found non-toxic

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Cattaneo-Christov heat and mass transmission of dissipated Williamson fluid with double stratification

The vast significance and applications in various industrial works such as heat and cooling process, chemical reactors, food storage systems and several medical works motivated the author to conduct this type of study. The aim of this paper is to inspect the two-dimensional incompressible magnetohydrodynamic flow of Williamson fluid through a stretching sheet. The Cattaneo-Christov temperature and concentration flow is considered with the effects of double stratification and viscous dissipation. The leading nonlinear partial differential equations of flow are transformed into ordinary differential equations by means of renowned similarity transformations and the solutions of flow problem are obtained by means of bvp4c method on MATLAB software. The Williamson fluid parameter depending on time relaxation and declines the fluid motion. The motion of fluid slowed down due to Hartman number. The mass and heat flow is noted to be decline due to thermal and solutal relaxation parameters. The rises in stratification coefficient reduce the mass and heat transferal rate