Year 7 students\u27 English reading comprehension and attitudes and behaviours: Collaborative genre-based versus traditional teaching methods in Thailand

A new system-wide educational change has been introduced in Thailand that requires English as a foreign language (EFL) to be taught from primary to university level. This study investigates a genre-based method of teaching English to grade 7 secondary students in Thailand. The study was conducted in three phases. In phase 1, Rasch measures of reading comprehension (based on three kinds of genre texts) and of attitudes and behaviour towards genre-based learning of English were created for use in phase 2. An interval scale of 36 items (18 real and 18 ideal perspectives) was created from an original attitude and behaviour questionnaire of 96 items administered to a sample of 300 grade 7 students. With the some sample, an interval scale of reading comprehension for 18 items was created from an original sample of 60 items. In phase 2 of the study, a controlled experiment in teaching reading involving 90 students from three secondary schools in Ratchburi Thailand was implemented. The students from each school were assigned randomly to an experimental group (45) and a control group (45). The experimental group was taught by using genre-based rhetorical structures (narrative, journalistic, expository) while the control group was taught by a traditional teaching method. A great deal of care was taken to treat the experimental group and the control group the same in every respect except for the teaching method. During phase 3 a discussion group comprising the three heads of English departments and the three trainee teachers in the schools evaluated the results through focused discussions. Results indicated that the experimental group improved in English reading comprehension, and in attitudes and behaviour, significantly more than the control group. The discussion group recommended implementation of a genre-based teaching and learning programme for EFL in teacher training, based on the results. The findings have implications for the training of English teachers, administrators, and teacher educators in Thailand, and for future research in the measurement of educational variables

Teaching English as a foreign language to grade 7 students in Thailand: Genre-Based versus traditional method

This study compared a genre-based method of teaching English to Prathom (grade) 7 secondary students in Thailand and a traditional method. Rasch-generated linear scales were created to measure reading comprehension (based on 18 items with 300 students) and attitude and behaviour to learning EFL (based on 36 items with 296 students). The data for both scales had a good fit to a Rasch measurement model, good separation of measures compared to the errors, good targeting, and the response categories were answered consistently and logically, so that valid inferences could be drawn. Ninety students from three secondary schools in Ratchaburi, Thailand, were assigned randomly to an experimental group.(N=45).taught using genre based rhetorical structures (narrative, journalistic, expository) and a control group (N=45) taught by a Thai traditional method. Pretest and posttest measures were administered and mean differences were tested for significance using ANOVA (SPSS). It was found that: (1) students improved their English reading comprehension under the genre-based learning method significantly more than under the Thai traditional method; (2) Students improved their attitude and behaviour towards learning EFL significantly more under the genre-based learning method than under the Thai traditional method of teachin

Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Grade 7 Students in Thailand: Genre-Based versus Traditional Method

This study compared a genre-based method of teaching English to Prathom (grade) 7 secondary students in Thailand and a traditional method. Rasch-generated linear scales were created to measure reading comprehension (based on 18 items with 300 students) and attitude and behaviour to learning EFL (based on 36 items with 296 students). The data for both scales had a good fit to a Rasch measurement model, good separation of measures compared to the errors, good targeting, and the response categories were answered consistently and logically, so that valid inferences could be drawn. Ninety students from three secondary schools in Ratchaburi, Thailand, were assigned randomly to an experimental group (N=45) taught using genre-based rhetorical structures (narrative, journalistic, expository) and a control group (N=45) taught by a Thai traditional method. Pretest and posttest measures were administered and mean differences were tested for significance using ANOVA (SPSS). It was found that: (1) students improved their English reading comprehension under the genre-based learning method significantly more than under the Thai traditional method; (2) Students improved their attitude and behaviour towards learning EFL significantly more under the genre-based learning method than under the Thai traditional method of teaching

Development of a prototype sensor-integrated urine bag for real-time measuring.

The urine output is a rapid bedside test for kidney function, and reduced output is the common biomarker for an acute kidney injury (AKI). The consensus definition of the symptom is used urine output <0.5 ml/kg/hour for ≥6 hours to define AKI. If a patient is suspected to have this problem, the urine output monitoring needs to be done hourly, and this task consumes a lot of time, and easily affected by human errors. Moreover, available evidences in literatures indicate that more frequent patient monitoring could impact clinical decision making and patient’s outcome. However, it is not possible for nurses to dedicate their precious time manually up to minute manually measurements. To date, there is no reliable device has been used in the clinical routine. From the literatures, only a few automated devices were found with the ability to automatically monitor urine outputs, and could reduce nurse workload and at the same time enhance work performance, but these still have some limitations to measure human urine. In this thesis presents the development and testing for such a device. The research was aimed at building a prototype that could be measured a small amount of urine output, and transit information via wireless to a Cloud database with inexpensive and less complex components. The concept is to provide a real-time measurement and generates data records in Cloud database without requiring any intervention by the nurse. The initial experiment was done measure small amount of liquid using a dropvolume calculation technique. An optical sensor was placed in a medical dropper to record number of counted-drops, the Mean Absolute Percent Error from the test is reported ±3.96% for measuring 35 ml of liquid compared with the ISO standard. The second prototype was developed with multi-sensors, including photo interrupter sensor, infrared proximity sensor, and ultrasonic sensor, to detect the dripping and urine flow. However, the optical sensor still provided the most accuracy of all. The final prototype is based on the combination of optical sensor for detecting drops to calculated urine flow rate and its volume, and weight scales to measurement the weight of collected urine in a commercial urine meter. The prototype also provides an alert in two scenarios; when the urine production is not met the goals, and when the urine container is almost full, the system will automatically generate alarms that warn the nurse. Series of experimentation tests have been conducted under consultant of medical professional to verify the proper operation and accuracy in the measurement. The results are improved from the previous prototype. The mean error found of this version is 1.975% or ≈ ±1.215 ml. when measure 35ml of urine under the average density value of urine (1.020). These tests confirm the potential application of the device by assisting nurse to monitor urine output with the accuracy in the measurement. The use of the Cloud based technology has not been previously reported in the literature as far as can be ascertained. These results illustrated the capability, suitability and limitation of the chosen technology

Classification of elderly pain severity from automated video clip facial action unit analysis: a study from a Thai data repository

Data from 255 Thais with chronic pain were collected at Chiang Mai Medical School Hospital. After the patients self-rated their level of pain, a smartphone camera was used to capture faces for 10 s at a one-meter distance. For those unable to self-rate, a video recording was taken immediately after the move that causes the pain. The trained assistant rated each video clip for the pain assessment in advanced dementia (PAINAD). The pain was classified into three levels: mild, moderate, and severe. OpenFace© was used to convert the video clips into 18 facial action units (FAUs). Five classification models were used, including logistic regression, multilayer perception, naïve Bayes, decision tree, k-nearest neighbors (KNN), and support vector machine (SVM). Out of the models that only used FAU described in the literature (FAU 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 25, 26, 27, and 45), multilayer perception is the most accurate, at 50%. The SVM model using FAU 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 20, 25, and 45, and gender had the best accuracy of 58% among the machine learning selection features. Our open-source experiment for automatically analyzing video clips for FAUs is not robust for classifying pain in the elderly. The consensus method to transform facial recognition algorithm values comparable to the human ratings, and international good practice for reciprocal sharing of data may improve the accuracy and feasibility of the machine learning's facial pain rater

Compressible extruded granules containing microencapsulated oil powders

Gelatine-based dough formulations (47%, 60% or 70% w/w total solids) with embedded microencapsulated fish oil powders were extruded, dried and compressed to obtain tablets with 35% w/w oil. The effects of dough total solids and pre-conditioning temperature (20, 35 or 50 °C) prior to extrusion on the amount of oil leakage from the tablets were examined. Oil leakage from tablets was lowest when made from extrudates of dough with 47% w/w TS and pre-conditioned at 35 °C. Increasing dough total solids increased oil leakage. This suggests that adequate hydration of the matrix, necessary for functionalization of the protein, was essential for subsequent tableting performance. The ability to make directly compressible formulations with embedded microencapsulated oil powders broadens the application of spray-dried fish oil powders into the nutritional supplement markets

Continuous combined microwave and hot air treatment of apples for fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni and B. jarvisi) disinfestation

Apples at 24 ± 2 °C were heated in a pilot scale hot air assisted (40 °C) continuous pentagonal microwave system, to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment on insect mortality (variety Mutsu) and fruit quality (variety Granny Smith). An average temperature of 53.4 ± 1.3 °C at core, bottom and flesh of the apple was recorded at the end of the treatment. One hundred percent mortality of the most tolerant stage of Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni, Froggatt) and Jarvis's fruit fly (Bactrocera jarvisi, Tryon), were observed when the Mortality value (M52, equivalent time of isothermal treatment at 52 °C) at the slowest heating point applicable for each experiment was ≥ 50 min and ≥ 37 min, respectively. Results showed that microwave heat treatment is effective for insect disinfestation without any adverse impact on total soluble solids, flesh or peel firmness of the treated apples. The treated apples recorded a significantly higher pH and lower ion leakage than the untreated apples after 3 or 4 weeks. Therefore, the microwave heat treatment has the potential to be developed as an alternative chemical free quarantine treatment against economically significant insect pests. Industrial relevance Hot air assisted microwave heating of fruits and vegetables, is more cost effective compared to vapour heat treatment and ionising radiation for disinfestation of insects. Microwave treatment is environmentally friendly compared to fumigation and chemical treatments. Hot air assisted microwave disinfestation can be performed at farms or centralised pack houses since the capital cost would be comparatively lower than vapour heat or ionising radiation treatments

A randomised trial of the effect of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplements on the human intestinal microbiota

Objective; Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have anticolorectal cancer (CRC) activity. The intestinal microbiota has been implicated in colorectal carcinogenesis. Dietary omega-3 PUFAs alter the mouse intestinal microbiome compatible with antineoplastic activity. Therefore, we investigated the effect of omega-3 PUFA supplements on the faecal microbiome in middle-aged, healthy volunteers (n=22). Design A randomised, open-label, cross-over trial of 8 weeks’ treatment with 4 g mixed eicosapentaenoic acid/docosahexaenoic acid in two formulations (soft-gel capsules and Smartfish drinks), separated by a 12-week ‘washout’ period. Faecal samples were collected at five time-points for microbiome analysis by 16S ribosomal RNA PCR and Illumina MiSeq sequencing. Red blood cell (RBC) fatty acid analysis was performed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Results; Both omega-3 PUFA formulations induced similar changes in RBC fatty acid content, except that drinks were associated with a larger, and more prolonged, decrease in omega-6 PUFA arachidonic acid than the capsule intervention (p=0.02). There were no significant changes in α or β diversity, or phyla composition, associated with omega-3 PUFA supplementation. However, a reversible increased abundance of several genera, including Bifidobacterium, Roseburia and Lactobacillus was observed with one or both omega-3 PUFA interventions. Microbiome changes did not correlate with RBC omega-3 PUFA incorporation or development of omega-3 PUFA-induced diarrhoea. There were no treatment order effects. Conclusion; Omega-3 PUFA supplementation induces a reversible increase in several short-chain fatty acid-producing bacteria, independently of the method of administration. There is no simple relationship between the intestinal microbiome and systemic omega-3 PUFA exposure. Trial registration number; ISRCTN18662143

Presence of Amorphous Carbon Nanoparticles in Food Caramels

We report the finding of the presence of carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) in different carbohydrate based food caramels, viz. bread, jaggery, sugar caramel, corn flakes and biscuits, where the preparation involves heating of the starting material. The CNPs were amorphous in nature; the particles were spherical having sizes in the range of 4–30 nm, depending upon the source of extraction. The results also indicated that particles formed at higher temperature were smaller than those formed at lower temperature. Excitation tuneable photoluminescence was observed for all the samples with quantum yield (QY) 1.2, 0.55 and 0.63%, for CNPs from bread, jaggery and sugar caramels respectively. The present discovery suggests potential usefulness of CNPs for various biological applications, as the sources of extraction are regular food items, some of which have been consumed by humans for centuries, and thus they can be considered as safe