Effectiveness of Transformative Instructional Model on Acquisition of Selected Vocational skills among the Vulnerable Youth in Nakuru County, Kenya

Educators and community trainers have identified the critical role that practical vocational skills can play in the development of broad-based capabilities among the youth. However, the question is whether instructional methods used for practical skills are sufficient to prepare trainees with potentials that reflect and model content productively. This paper presents findings of a study conducted to determine the effectiveness of structured group learning model (SGLM) in acquisition of vocational skills in handicrafts among the vulnerable youth in Nakuru County. The study used quasi experimental design. The Population of the study was 200 identified vulnerable youths in the County. A sample size of 60 members was purposively selected for the study, 30 youth were used as experimental group and the other 30 as control group. Experimental group was trained using (SGLM) methods and a control group was trained through traditional methods. The research instruments were validated and pilot tested, the reliability analysis yielded an index of 0.89 which was sufficient for the study. Data was collected using a guided questionnaire and observation checklist after the training. Pearson chi square was used to test the association between SGLM and acquisition of vocational skills at a significant level of 0.05. The results revealed that there is an association between SGLM and acquisition of some facets of vocational craft skills but not in skill on developing patterns, specifications, branding and packaging of finished products. The Model could be an alternative training strategy for vulnerable youth as it empowers the youth with necessary skills for productive livelihood

Extract of Perilla frutescens inhibits tumor proliferation of HCC via PI3K/AKT signal pathway

In this study, isoegomaketone(IK) was isolated from Perilla frutescens(L.), a Chinese herbal. The effects of IK were examined by cell viability assay, colony formation assay, xenograft tumor assay and western blotting in HCC cells. Wefound that IK inhibited cell viability, and its administration decreased tumor volume and weight profoundly. The presence of IK(10nmol/l) produced a dramatic decrease of pAkt, while total Akt level was not affected. The data suggested that IK from perilla suppressed HCC tumor growth via blocking PI3K/Akt signaling pathway

Lattice Monte Carlo simulation of thermal conductivity in composite materials

Paper presented to the 10th International Conference on Heat Transfer, Fluid Mechanics and Thermodynamics, Florida, 14-16 July 2014.This paper addresses the numerical simulation of thermal conductivity of composite material. A Lattice Monte Caro method is used in the analysis of two-dimensional two component models with different inclusions, including circular inclusion, elliptical inclusion, square inclusion, random generated circular inclusions. Through simulation on these models, relationships among phase fraction of low conductivity phase (B phase), ratio of thermal conductivities of two phases (B and A) and relative effective thermal conductivities are obtained. Also, thermal conductivity of porous silicon with porosity of 26% is predicted and excellent agreements are achieved when compared with experimental results. Finally, research on thermal conductivity of sintered porous nickel is carried out. Microstructure image which is obtained with scanning electron microscope (SEM) is digitized by image processing method. The results exhibit a good agreement with experimental results in literature.cf201

Child Support Grant access and receipt among 12-week-old infants in an urban township setting in South Africa

BACKGROUND: Cash transfers (CTs) are increasingly used as a strategy to alleviate poverty and improve child health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. The Child Support Grant (CSG) is the largest CT programme in South Africa, and on the continent, targeting poor children from birth until the age of 18 with a monthly sum of R300 (USD30). Evidence on the CSG shows that early receipt of the grant is associated with improved child health outcomes. Since its implementation, one of the major concerns about the grant has been take-up rates, particularly for younger children. This paper reports results on take-up rates for 12-week-old infants residing in an urban township in South Africa. METHODS: This is a descriptive study utilising data from a community-based, cluster-randomised trial which evaluated a programme providing pregnancy and post-natal home visits by community health workers to 3,494 mothers in Umlazi township, South Africa. RESULTS: At the 12-week visit, half (52%) of the mothers who had enrolled in the study had applied for the CSG on behalf of their children, while 85% of the mothers who had not applied were still planning to apply. Only 38% (1,327) of all children had received the CSG. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, many mothers had not applied for the CSG in the first few months after delivery, and only a third of children had accessed the grant. Further research is needed to understand what the current barriers are that prevent mothers from applying for this important form of social protection in the early months after delivery

Design implications for task-specific search utilities for retrieval and re-engineering of code

The importance of information retrieval systems is unquestionable in the modern society and both individuals as well as enterprises recognise the benefits of being able to find information effectively. Current code-focused information retrieval systems such as Google Code Search, Codeplex or Koders produce results based on specific keywords. However, these systems do not take into account developers’ context such as development language, technology framework, goal of the project, project complexity and developer’s domain expertise. They also impose additional cognitive burden on users in switching between different interfaces and clicking through to find the relevant code. Hence, they are not used by software developers. In this paper, we discuss how software engineers interact with information and general-purpose information retrieval systems (e.g. Google, Yahoo!) and investigate to what extent domain-specific search and recommendation utilities can be developed in order to support their work-related activities. In order to investigate this, we conducted a user study and found that software engineers followed many identifiable and repeatable work tasks and behaviours. These behaviours can be used to develop implicit relevance feedback-based systems based on the observed retention actions. Moreover, we discuss the implications for the development of task-specific search and collaborative recommendation utilities embedded with the Google standard search engine and Microsoft IntelliSense for retrieval and re-engineering of code. Based on implicit relevance feedback, we have implemented a prototype of the proposed collaborative recommendation system, which was evaluated in a controlled environment simulating the real-world situation of professional software engineers. The evaluation has achieved promising initial results on the precision and recall performance of the system

Efficient Data Reduction at the Edge of Industrial Internet of Things for PMSM Bearing Fault Diagnosis

An efficient data reduction algorithm is designed and implemented on an industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) node for permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) bearing fault diagnosis in variable speed conditions. Leakage flux and vibration signals are respectively acquired by a magnetic sensor and an accelerometer on the IIoT node in a non-invasive manner. These two signals are processed and mixed on the IIoT and transmitted to a server. The received signal is separated, the cumulative rotation angle is calculated, and the vibration signal is resampled for bearing fault identification. The proposed method can reduce about 95% of the transmission data while maintaining sufficient precision in bearing fault diagnosis in comparison with a traditional method. The proposed method based on edge computing reduces the power consumption, and hence it is suitable to use on a battery-supplied IIoT node for remote PMSM condition monitoring and fault diagnosis

In vivo Antifertility and Safety Profiles of Kenyan Moringa oleifera Lam. (Moringaceae) extracts

Background: Unsustainable high population growth rate coupled with many women dying of complications of unsafe abortion, due to a large number of unwanted pregnancies, has been a challenge in many parts of the world especially in developing countries. This indicates that new and alternative contraceptive methods that are safe, cheap and convenient are needed. Moringa oleifera Lam (Moringaceae) was selected for this study based on previous studies that indicated antifertility effect in rats, of the aqueous extract of the roots and the stem bark. Objective: To establish the antifertility properties of M. oleifera. Methodology: The aerial parts, seeds, root bark and twigs were extracted using methanol, petroleum ether, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate. In vivo antifertility evaluations in Swiss female mice, acute and sub-chronic toxicity and phytochemical studies were carried out on M. oleifera extracts. Results: The ethyl acetate extract of the seeds of M. oleifera demonstrated reversible antifertility effect at 800mg/kg. Physiological tests carried out on mice revealed that the extract arrested the estrus cycle either at the diestrus or the proestrus phase by prolonging them. Acute and chronic toxicity evaluation of the extract at 800mg/kg established the safety at the tested concentration. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) of the extract revealed the presence of terpenoids, steroids and fluorescent compounds, which may be responsible for the antifertility effect that was observed. Conclusion: The findings validate the ethnomedicinal use of M. oleifera seeds through the establishment of its safety, and the antifertility properties that make the extract a potential source of an alternative herbal contraceptive through further studies and development. Key words: Moringa oleifera, antifertility effect, estrus cycle, toxicity, phytochemical profile

Knowledge of HIV status prior to a community HIV counseling and testing intervention in a rural district of south Africa: results of a community based survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The low uptake of facility-based HIV counseling and testing (HCT) in South Africa, particularly amongst men and youth has hindered attempts to increase access to effective treatment and prevention strategies. Many barriers to HIV testing have been described including long waiting times, transport to reach facilities, fear of lack of confidentiality and health systems factors such as stock outs of HIV test kits. The aim of this study was to undertake a community survey to determine rates of HCT in a rural area in order to plan a community intervention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A community-based survey was undertaken in 16 communities in Sisonke district, KwaZulu-Natal between September and November 2008. A total of 5821 individuals participated in the survey of which 66% were females. Gender specific mixed effects logistic regression models were used to describe differences in socio-economic characteristics, and their association with HIV testing histories.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall 1833 (32%) individuals in this rural area knew their HIV status. Prior testing was higher amongst women (39%) than amongst men (17%). Older men (> 24 years) were more likely to report having tested for HIV previously, with the highest likelihood (adjusted OR = 4.02; 95% CI: 2.71-5.99) among men in age group, 35-49 years. For women, age group 25-34 years had the highest likelihood of having been previously tested (adjusted OR = 1.30; 95% CI: 1.05-1.66). Being currently pregnant (adjusted OR 3.31; 95% CI: 2.29 - 4.78) or having a child under five (adjusted OR 7.00; 95% CI: 5.84 - 8.39) were also associated with prior HIV testing amongst women.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, knowledge of HIV status in this rural sub-district is low. The relatively higher uptake of HIV testing among women is encouraging as it shows that PMTCT services are well functioning. However, these data suggest that there is an urgent need for scaling up HIV testing services in rural communities specifically targeting men and youth.</p