Towards understanding models for statistical literacy: A literature review.

Despite statistical literacy being relatively new in statistics education research, it needs special attention as attempts are being made to enhance the teaching, learning and assessing of this strand. It is important that teachers are aware of the challenges of teaching this literacy. The growing importance of statistics in today's information world and conceptions and components of statistical literacy are outlined. Frameworks for developing statistical literacy from research literature are considered next. Strengths and weaknesses of the models are considered. Examples of tasks used in statistics education research are provided to explain the levels of thinking. The paper concludes with some implications for teaching and research

A Feminist Analysis of Vivah Ke Geet (Wedding Songs)

This paper provides a collection of analysed wedding songs and is the third in a series of three papers that extrapolate how gender ideals are emphasized through popular folk practices The folksongs at the centre of this paper were being actively performed in IndoFijian wedding ceremonies throughout Fiji and in some cases in weddings in various other nations where IndoFijian diaspora exist therefore practitioners of wedding songs are noted as significant sources in this paper This paper reads these songs using a feminist lens that is informed by the works of several feminist authors but specifically using the theories put forward by Judith Butler The analysis of the songs shows how certain patriarchal ideologies and stereotypical feminine attributes are emphasised upon society and particularly females in a certain cultural and ethnic contex

Export Competitiveness Indicators of the Fijian Sugar Industry

Competitiveness has always been a concern to most countries in recent years. The major problem, which is facing the Fijian sugar industry, is the decline in its share in the world market. This indicates that Fiji's export competitiveness in the world market is declining. The objective of this study is to examine the export competitiveness of the Fijian sugar industry by using selected indicators. The study utilises revealed comparative advantage (RCA), constant market-share (CMS) and shift-share technique to measure the competitiveness of the industry. The study uses secondary data collected from various sources, namely, the FAO, COMTRADE (ITC), UNCTAD, and FIBS and the analysis for this study is restricted to trade data from (1989 to 2003). The data is decomposed into three, five-year periods, i.e. Period I (from 1989-93), Period I1 (1 994-98) and Period I11 (1999-2003). The five-year periods is chosen because these periods coincide with the major policy changes, which are based on five-year development plan and political polices. The results obtained from the RCA computation indicates that Fiji has a comparative advantage in producing sugar. The performance of the industry for period 1989 to 1990 showed a comparative disadvantage, where RCA was less than one. However, it improved from 1991 but it showed a fluctuating trend in the performance. The RCA from 1992 onward was above one indicating comparative advantage. The Export Performance Ratio was 92.66 percent for period 1, 86.47 percent for period I1 and 70.10 percent for period 111. This indicates that Fiji's comparative advantage was declining over the study period. This happened because Fiji had to import sugar in period I1 and period 111 to maintain the requirements for preferential quota in EU market. Result of the Constant Market Share analysis shows that size of market is one of the dominating factors which determine the expansion of export of a country. In the case of Fiji, the opportunities exist for more export of sugar if Fiji has had maintained its market share of period I. However, the statistic revealed that Fiji's sugar production has declined and this subsequently has led to the decline in export. Fiji's sugar market competitiveness effect was negative between period I and 11. This was due to the reduction in Fiji's share in the world export market. If Fiji had maintained its share of period I, it would have an export market potential of 570,145 tonnes for period 111 (1999-2003), but it only exported 364,703 tonnes, resulting in a hypothetical loss of 205,442 tonnes. The fall in sugar production was due to a drop in cane production, which is attributed to non-renewal of agricultural land leases. The situation was further compounded by the adverse effect of climate such as drought and the hurricane. PERPUSTAKAAN SULTAN ,WUL SAMAD UNlVERSlTl PUTRA MA.IAYSIA Result of the shift share analysis indicates that the market opportun~t~eosf FIJI'S sugar are mainly offered by Indonesia, Malaysia, Korea, Canada, Singapore, China, New Zealand, and South Pacific Island States countries. In order to be competitive, the Fijian sugar industry needs to increase its share in the total export of Fiji. The competitiveness of the sugar industry was decreasing mainly due to the inability of the industry to maintain its sugar export share in world market due to the decrease in sugar production. Based on the above findings, and because sugar is a major contributor to the Fijian economy, it is imperative that the government rejuvenate the sugar industry by introducing several development programs and policies. These should include the followings: (i) integration of small farms into plantations, (ii) introduction of improved technology, (iii) making changes to in the payment system by giving emphasis on quality, (iv) provision of security to tenants, and (v) increase downstream activities

Clinical profile and outcome of pediatric bacterial meningitis: a prospective study from tertiary institute in Northern India

Background: Meningitis is one of the fatal infections occurring in infants and older children. In acute bacterial meningitis (ABM), inflammation of the leptomeninges is triggered by bacteria present in the subarachnoid space. ABM is associated with a high rate of acute complications and long-term morbidity. Aim of our study was to determine the incidence, etiological profile and complications of acute bacterial meningitis amongst children belonging to one month to five years of age.Methods: The present study was conducted over a period of one year and diagnosis of meningitis was made on basis of history, examination and laboratory investigations. Clinical features were recorded on case sheet. Lumbar puncture was done, and CSF was sent for biochemical analysis, cell counts, staining, culture and latex agglutination test (LAT).Results: Out of total 1560 admitted cases (1 month to 5years age group), 160 cases were suspected with meningitis while 57 cases were confirmed to have ABM. Most (59.6%) cases belonged to 3 months to 1-year age group and males outnumbered the females by a ratio of 2:1. Group B Streptococcus (45.6%) was most common pathogen in 45.6% cases followed by Streptococcus pneumoniae (21%) and Hemophilus influenzae (10.52%). Seizures (45%) and increased ICP (28%) were main acute complications observed during hospitalization while hemiparesis 9.6%, monoparesis 4.8%, seizures 38%, vision and hearing deficits were the sequelae observed on follow up examination. These complications were predominantly contributed by S. pneumoniae and H. Influenzae.Conclusions: The incidence of ABM is still high and Group B streptococcus is main pathogen even in post neonatal period. The complications of ABM are markedly higher in cases of S. pneumoniae, H. Influenzae meningitis in comparison to Group B streptococcus meningitis. Formulating standard protocols for management of ABM and rational antibiotic use to prevent resistance is the need of hour

Aerosol Infection Model of Tuberculosis in Wistar Rats

We explored suitability of a rat tuberculosis aerosol infection model for investigating the pharmacodynamics of new antimycobacterial agents. Infection of rats via the aerosol route led to a reproducible course of M. tuberculosis infection in the lungs. The pulmonary bacterial load increased logarithmically during the first six weeks, thereafter, the infection stabilized for the next 12 weeks. We observed macroscopically visible granulomas in the lungs with demonstrable acid-fast bacilli and associated histopathology. Rifampicin (RIF) at a dose range of 30 to 270 mg/kg exhibited a sharp dose response while isoniazid (INH) at a dose range of 10 to 90 mg/kg and ethambutol (EMB) at 100 to 1000 mg/kg showed shallow dose responses. Pyrazinamide (PZA) had no dose response between 300 and 1000 mg/kg dose range. In a separate time kill study at fixed drug doses (RIF 90 mg/kg, INH 30 mg/kg, EMB 300 mg/kg, and PZA 300 mg/kg) the bactericidal effect of all the four drugs increased with longer duration of treatment from two weeks to four weeks. The observed infection profile and therapeutic outcomes in this rat model suggest that it can be used as an additional, pharmacologically relevant efficacy model to develop novel antitubercular compounds at the interface of discovery and development

Discovery of FNDR-20123, a histone deacetylase inhibitor for the treatment of Plasmodium falciparum malaria

BACKGROUND: Emergence of anti-malarial drug resistance and perpetual increase in malaria incidence necessitates the development of novel anti-malarials. Histone deacetylases (HDAC) has been shown to be a promising target for malaria, despite this, there are no HDAC inhibitors in clinical trials for malaria treatment. This can be attributed to the poor pharmacokinetics, bioavailability and selectivity of the HDAC inhibitors. METHODS: A collection of HDAC inhibitors were screened for anti-malarial activity, and the best candidate was profiled in parasite-killing kinetics, growth inhibition of sensitive and multi-drug resistant (MDR) strains and against gametocytes. Absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion pharmacokinetics (ADME-PK) parameters of FNDR-20123 were determined, and in vivo efficacy was studied in a mouse model for Plasmodium falciparum infection. RESULTS: A compound library of HDAC inhibitors (180 in number) was screened for anti-malarial activity, of which FNDR-20123 was the most potent candidate. The compound had been shown to inhibit Plasmodium HDAC with IC50 of 31 nM and human HDAC with IC50 of 3 nM. The IC50 obtained for P. falciparum in asexual blood-stage assay was 42 nM. When compared to atovaquone and pyrimethamine, the killing profiles of FNDR-20123 were better than atovaquone and comparable to pyrimethamine. The IC50 values for the growth inhibition of sensitive and MDR strains were similar, indicating that there is no cross-resistance and a low risk of resistance development. The selected compound was also active against gametocytes, indicating a potential for transmission control: IC50 values being 190 nM for male and > 5 microM for female gametocytes. FNDR-20123 is a stable candidate in human/mouse/rat liver microsomes (> 75% remaining post 2-h incubation), exhibits low plasma protein binding (57% in humans) with no human Ether-a-go-go-Related Gene (hERG) liability (> 100 microM), and does not inhibit any of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms tested (IC50 > 25 microM). It also shows negligible cytotoxicity to HepG-2 and THP-1 cell lines. The oral pharmacokinetics in rats at 100 mg/kg body weight shows good exposures (Cmax = 1.1 microM) and half-life (T1/2 = 5.5 h). Furthermore, a 14-day toxicokinetic study at 100 mg/kg daily dose did not show any abnormality in body weight or gross organ pathology. FNDR-20123 is also able to reduce parasitaemia significantly in a mouse model for P. falciparum infection when dosed orally and subcutaneously. CONCLUSION: FNDR-20123 may be a suitable candidate for the treatment of malaria, which can be further developed

Fe–TiO2_2 composite beads driven hybrid process of photocatalysis and photo-Fenton for the degradation of isoproturon

The concept of hybrid process of photo-Fenton and photocatalysis, particularly in the fixed mode, has been presented in this study for the degradation of the pesticide isoproturon with reduction at the time of treatment. For fixed-bed studies, spherical beads were prepared by combining definite proportions of clay, foundry sand, and fly ash, which were utilized as iron sources for titanium dioxide (TiO2) immobilization. The optimization of various parameters was performed by utilizing the Box–Behnken design model under response surface methodology. The process of degradation followed first-order kinetics under an optimized condition for the integrated degradation of isoproturon with a 700 mg${\cdot }$L-1 dose of H2O2, 42 spherical beads, and 190 mL of solution for a duration of 176 min at pH 3.7. Approximately 80.96% degradation of isoproturon was observed after inducing the optimized conditions. The integrated treatment was also carried out in a solar batch reactor under optimized conditions to expand its application to industries for treating bio-recalcitrant compounds. The mineralization of isoproturon was confirmed through the generation of nitrate, nitrite, and ammonical nitrogen with a definite chemical oxygen demand reduction. The recyclability of the catalyst was confirmed by recycling the spherical beads characterized by scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-Ray analysis. For confirming the dual effect, that is, the presence of TiO2 along with Fe on the bead’s surface, various analyses including UV–diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy were carried out. A tentative pathway for isoproturon removal was also predicted based on intermediate analysis through gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy