Teachers’ Perception and Practices Towards Continuous Assessment of Mathematics Classes: The Case of Secondary School in Wolaita Zone, Snnpr Region

Now-a-days a paradigm shift in the educational system from teacher-centered to the modern mode of active learning is getting progress. Along with this, the issue of continuous assessment has been addressed to maintain the quality of education. This study is aimed at investigating how high school mathematics teachers have perceived continuous assessment, looking into how it is being practiced and finding out the major problems encountered during its implementation in mathematics teaching. The subjects of this study were mathematics teachers from purposively selected high schools in Wolaita Zone in SNNPR Region. By availability sampling procedure, all private high schools were also included in this study. As tools of data collection, questionnaire, informal interviews and focus group discussion were employed. The data were analyzed using methods of descriptive statistics and Linkert type scale. Linkert type of scale results revealed that the frequency of continuous assessment practice was affected by various factors. Class size, Job commitment, Additional training, and additional incentives had a strong influence on frequency of continuous assessment practice. With regard to the perception, the results revealed that most mathematics teachers viewed continuous assessment as an assessment strategy that is beyond testing though they do not use a variety of assessment techniques in their mathematics teaching. Moreover, the findings indicated that continuous assessment has not been fully practiced in high school mathematics teaching yet as desired. It was then concluded that even though a considerable proportion of mathematics teachers have a clear concept of continuous assessment, they do not use different arrays of it. In addition to this, continuous assessment has not been properly implemented in the selected schools. To overcome this, it was suggested that on the-job training and incentives to mathematics teachers as a means of motivation, reduction of the class size and adequacy of materials should be given prior attention

Ten Years Trend Analysis of Malaria Prevalence and its Correlation with Climatic Variables in Sibu Sire District, East Wollega Zone, Oromia Regional state, Western Ethiopia: A Retrospective Study

Malaria is one of the most devastating diseases in the World and caused by a protozoan parasite of the genus Plasmodium. The disease remains one of the most important causes of human morbidity and mortality with enormous medical, economic and emotional impact in the world, and in most African countries including Ethiopia. The complexity of the disease control process, expensiveness of the control program, resistance of the parasite to anti-malarial drugs and vectors to insecticides are some of the challenges. The aim of the study was to assess the ten years trend analysis of malaria prevalence and its association with climatic variables in the Sibu Sire district, Western Ethiopia. Ten years (2004-2013) malaria clinical and epidemiological data were collected from health facilities and climatic variables data from Ethiopian Meteorological agency. The data were analyzed using SPSS software package 16.0. Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted to see the correlation between plasmodium species and climatic variables. Within the last decade (2004–2013) a total of 30,070 blood films were examined for malaria in Sire health center and of this 6036 (20.07%) microscopically confirmed malaria cases were reported in the health center and P. falciparum becoming a predominant species. The result showed that maximum temperature, mean temperature and average relative humidity showed significant association with malaria (P<0.01).But minimum temperature (P=0.094) and rainfall (P=0.729), were not significant. In addition, regression analysis suggested that minimum temperature, rainfall, and average relative humidity (P<0.001) were statistically significant but the mean temperature (P=0.706) was insignificant. In conclusion the trend of malaria in the study area had a reducing but a fluctuating pattern and some of the metrological variables such as minimum temperature, rainfall, and average relative humidity were statistically significant

Birc2/Iap1 regulates endothelial cell integrity and blood vessel homeostasis.

none4noneM. SANTORO; TEMESGEN SAMUEL; TRACY MITCHEL; JOHN C. REED AND DIDIER Y. STAINIERSantoro, Massimo; Temesgen, Samuel; Tracy, Mitchel; JOHN C. REED AND DIDIER Y., Stainie

Membership dropout rates and associated factors in a community-based health insurance scheme in southern Ethiopia: a mixed method study

BackgroundDropout from community-based health insurance (CBHI) membership is a common problem in low-income countries, even if its implementation leads to substantial improvement in the utilization of essential health services. Few studies have addressed the factors contributing to dropout rates in southern Ethiopia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the rate of CBHI dropout in southern Ethiopia as well as any contributing factors.MethodsThis mixed-method cross-sectional study was conducted among 460 randomly selected CBHI-enrolled households at the Arba Minch Health and Demography Surveillance System site from November 1, 2021, to April 30, 2022. The quantitative data were collected by an open data kit (ODK). using an interviewer-based structured questionnaire and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0. Multivariable logistic regression was applied to identify significant variables. The qualitative data were used to support the quantitative findings and were gathered through in-depth interviews (by the CBHI coordinator and three purposively selected health extension workers) and focus group discussions (in two randomly selected villages). The qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Finally, triangulation was used to present both the quantitative and qualitative findings.ResultsThis study found that 92 (21.5%) people stopped their community-based health insurance membership. The presence of sick adults [AOR = 0.281, 95% CI (0.136–0.581)], trust of participants in the contracted health facilities [AOR = 0.227, 95% CI (0.121–0.436)], and poor knowledge of the participants [AOR = 5.518, 95% CI (1.526–19.950)] were significant predictors.ConclusionThe magnitude of the dropout rate was high in this study when compared with the national target. The absence of a sick adult, the absence of trust among participants, and the poor knowledge status of the participants were significant predictors. We suggest that the health facility managers, the CBHI coordinating office, and the district health office give priority to implementing a wide range of knowledge improvement activities and a transparent system in public health facilities. Studies with longitudinal research designs are called for at a wide range of national levels to address the limitations of this study

Assessment of prevalence and risk factors of diabetes and pre‑diabetes in South Africa

AVAILABILITY OF DATA AND MATERIALS : This study utilized existing survey datasets that are in the public domain and freely available from https://www.dhsprogram.com/data/dataset_admin/ login_main.cfm with the permission from the DHS Program.BACKGROUND : Diabetes prevalence, as well as that of pre-diabetes, is rapidly increasing in South Africa. Individuals with pre-diabetes have a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which is reversible with a change in lifestyle. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to serious health complications. Our objective was to assess the prevalence of diabetes and pre-diabetes, and to investigate the associated risk factors of each in the South African population. METHOD : This study made use of the South African Demographic Health Survey 2016 data. The study participants included 6442 individuals aged 15 years and older. A generalized additive mixed model was employed to account for the complex survey design of the study as well as well spatial autocorrelation in the data. RESULTS : The observed prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes was 67% and 22%, respectively. Among those who had never been tested for diabetes prior to the survey, 10% of females and 6% of males were found to be diabetic, and 67% of both males and females were found to be pre-diabetic. Thus, a large proportion of the South African population remains undiagnosed. The model revealed both common and uncommon factors significantly associated with pre-diabetes and diabetes. This highlights the importance of considering diabetic status as a three-level categorical outcome, rather than binary. In addition, significant interactions between some of the lifestyle factors, demographic factors and anthropometric measures were revealed, which indicates that the effects each these factors have on the likelihood of an individual being pre-diabetic or diabetic is confounded by other factors. CONCLUSION : The risk factors for diabetes and pre-diabetes are many and complicated. Individuals need to be aware of their diabetic status before health complications arise. It is therefore important for all stakeholders in government and the private sector of South Africa to get involved in providing education and creating awareness about diabetes. Regular testing of diabetes, as well as leading a healthy lifestyle, should be encouraged.The South African Medical Research Council through its Division of Research Capacity Development under the Biostatistics Capacity Development partnership with the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) under its framework of Building Academic Partnerships for Economic Development (BAPED).am2023Statistic

Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity among workers at Kanye Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Botswana

Introduction: Metabolic syndrome and obesity are risk factors for developing type II diabetes mellitus and/or cardiovascular disease, especially stroke. There is evidence worldwide of the high prevalence of these pathologies in health care providers. Objectives: To determine the frequency of metabolic syndrome, overweight, obesity and risk of developing metabolic syndrome in workers of Kanye Seventh Day Adventist Hospital, Botswana. Methods: Observational and cross-sectional study. For the detection of metabolic syndrome the criteria of the Adult Treatment Panel III was used, and for obesity the body mass index of 150 workers was applied. Data was grouped and analyzed according to gender, age and type of work. Results: 34% of the hospital workers had metabolic syndrome; the same percentage were at high risk of developing metabolic syndrome;, 28.7% had obesity and 27.3% were overweight. A strong association between obesity and metabolic syndrome with female gender was found. The age group between 35 and 54 years was the most affected. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of obesity and metabolic syndrome among Kanye Adventist Hospital workers. We recommend the incorporation of programs that seek to screen these risk factors as routine medical exams and improve the lifestyle of the health care workers of Botswana. The study findings could be the basis for future research in hospital staff and the general population

PREVALENCE OF THERAPEUTIC INERTIA AND ITS ASSOCIATED FACTORS AMONG PATIENTS ON BRONCHIAL ASTHMA MANAGEMENT IN A REFERRAL TEACHING HOSPITAL IN SOUTHWEST ETHIOPIA, 2023: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY.

Background: Therapeutic inertia may be one of the factors responsible for inadequate asthma control. However, the magnitude of therapeutic inertia in asthmatic patients has not yet been determined. In Ethiopia, a result showed that more than half of people with asthma had uncontrolled asthma. Objectives: to assess the prevalence of therapeutic inertia and its determinant factors among patients on bronchial Asthma management. Methodology: An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted on adult asthmatic patients attending the chronic follow-up department at Jimma University Medical College. A consecutive sampling with an interviewer-administered questionnaire and patient chart review was performed.  Results: Therapeutic inertia was identified in 63 (47.7%) study subjects. The associated factors among patients on bronchial asthma management were poor adherence to medications prescribed by a doctor (p-value= 0.013; AOR 5.9; 95% CI 1.5-23.9), no regular follow-up (p-value=0.010; AOR 9.766; 95% CI 1.727-55.216), mild persistent chronic asthma (p-value <0.001; AOR 0.003; 95% CI 0.001-0.069) and poor provision of verbal explanation about asthma medication (p-value <0.001; AOR 0.113; 95% CI 0.049-0.261).   Conclusion:  The prevalence of therapeutic inertia among the study population was high. In the majority of cases with therapeutic inertia, asthma treatment necessitates treatment de-escalation and a step-up intervention. This is more likely to happen to patients with poor compliance and no regular follow-up. Mild persistent asthma and verbal explanations of medication dosage reduce the risk. Recommendations: The growing incidence of therapeutic inertia in asthma management calls for severity-based treatment plans, standard care, education on quitting smoking, appropriate medication counseling, and frequent follow-up visits. In 21% of patients with severe chronic asthma, uncontrolled cases may necessitate additional treatment alternatives

Cigarette smoking prevalence and associated factors among college students, Amhara, Ethiopia

Introduction:&nbsp;tobacco is the only legal drug that kills many of its users when used exactly as intended by the manufacturers. It is estimated that of the 1.1 billion smokers worldwide, nearly 80% of them live in low and middle-income countries. This trend increases in college and university students with most smokers starting to smoke during adolescent. The aim of this study is to assess cigarette smoking prevalence and associated factors among a select group of college of teachers´ education students. Methods:&nbsp;a cross-sectional study was conducted. Multistage sampling was used to select 605 study participants from across the eight departments of the Injibara College of Teachers´ Education. Each subject was selected by simple random sampling technique after proportional allocation to each class. EpiData version 4.2 was used for data entry and Stata version 14 was used for data cleaning and analysis. Variables with p-value &lt; 0.2 in bi-variable analysis were selected for multi-variable analysis. Adjusted odds ratio (AOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) was reported to show the strength of association. Results:&nbsp;the current prevalence of cigarette smoking is 6.8% amongst the Injibara College of Teachers´ Education students. Males [AOR: 2.84 (95% CI: 1.13, 7.14)], divorced marital status [AOR: 7.27 (95% CI: 1.23, 42.85)], food source in hostel [AOR: 11.62 (95% CI 3.23, 41.71)] and exposure to family/other smokers [AOR: 6.17 (95% CI: 2.17, 16.06)] were statistically significant factors for cigarette smoking. Conclusion:&nbsp;the prevalence of cigarette smoking was relatively low. Male, marital status, source of food, and exposure to family/other smokers were identified associated factors. Policy makers and health regulatory body are strongly encouraged to consider this evidence and the associated factors for smoking in their efforts to develop and implement tobacco control laws

Phage Ligands for Identification of Mesenchymal-Like Breast Cancer Cells and Cancer-Associated Fibroblasts

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is believed to be crucial for primary tumors to escape their original residence and invade and metastasize. To properly define EMT, there is a need for ligands that can identify this phenomenon in tumor tissue and invivo. A phage-display selection screening was performed to select novel binding phage peptides for identification of EMT in breast cancer. Epithelial breast cancer cell line, MCF-7 was transformed to mesenchymal phenotype by TGF-β treatment and was used for selection. Breast fibroblasts were used for subtractive depletion and breast cancer metastatic cell lines MDA-MB-231, T47D-shNMI were used for specificity assay. The binding peptides were identified, and their binding capacities were confirmed by phage capture assay, phage-based ELISA, immunofluorescence microscopy. The phage peptide bearing the 7-amino acid sequence, LGLRGSL, demonstrated selective binding to EMT phenotypic cells (MCF-7/TGF-β and MDA-MB-231) as compared to epithelial subtype, MCF-7, T47D and breast fibroblasts (Hs578T). The selected phage was also able to identify metastatic breast cancer tumor in breast cancer tissue microarray (TMA). These studies suggest that the selected phage peptide LGLRGSL identified by phage-display library, showed significant ability to bind to mesenchymal-like breast cancer cells/ tissues and can serve as a novel probe/ligand for metastatic breast cancer diagnostic and imaging

Building a diverse workforce and thinkforce to reduce health disparities

The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Program was congressionally man-dated in 1985 to build research capacity at institutions that currently and historically recruit, train, and award doctorate degrees in the health professions and health-related sciences, primarily to individuals from underrepresented and minority populations. RCMI grantees share similar infrastructure needs and institutional goals. Of particular importance is the professional development of multidisciplinary teams of academic and community scholars (the “workforce”) and the harnessing of the heterogeneity of thought (the “thinkforce”) to reduce health disparities. The purpose of this report is to summarize the presentations and discussion at the RCMI Investigator Development Core (IDC) Workshop, held in conjunction with the RCMI Program National Conference in Bethesda, Maryland, in December 2019. The RCMI IDC Directors provided information about their professional development activities and Pilot Projects Programs and discussed barriers identified by new and early-stage investigators that limit effective career development, as well as potential solutions to overcome such obstacles. This report also proposes potential alignments of professional development activities, targeted goals and common metrics to track productivity and success