iPad’s contributed to enhance inclusion of students with visual impairment in public schools

This study aimed to identify the extent iPad’s contributed to enhance inclusion of students with visual impairment (partially) in public schools. The study used the descriptive and analytical approach. The population consisted of (160) students who received iPad device within the “vision project” implemented at UNRWA schools in Gaza strip. The study used a questionnaire prepared and adapted by the researcher, to measure degree of iPad’s contribution to inclusion in general and at three dimensions: academic, psychological, and behavioral. Results showed the level of iPad’s contribution to enhance inclusion among students with visual impairment was high, with an average of 2.70 and a relative weight 90%. Concerning the three dimensions, results showed the academic attained as average of 2.77 with relative weight 88.6%, however in the second dimension (psychological) the mean was 2.98 with relative weight 99.3%, lastly for the third dimension (behavioral), the mean was 2.67 with relative weight 89.0%. This indicated high level of iPad’s contribution to enhance inclusion of students with visual impairment at public schools specifically at UNRWA schools. The study recommended use iPads for best inclusive practices.

The Role of Chance in Fencing Tournaments: an Agent-Based Approach

It is a widespread belief that success is mainly due to innate qualities, rather than to external forces.This is particularly true in sport competitions, where individual talent is usually considered the main, if not the only, ingredient in order to reach success. In this study, with the help of both real data and agent-based simulations, we explore the limits of this belief by quantifying the relative weight of talent and chance in fencing, a combat sport involving a weapon. Fencing competitions are structured as direct elimination tournaments, where randomness is explicitly present in some rules. Our dataset covers the last decade of international events and consists of both single competition results and annual rankings for male and female fencers under 20 years old (Junior category). Our model is calibrated on the dataset and parametrized by just one free variable 'a' describing the importance of talent - and, consequently, of chance - in competitions (a = 1 indicates the ideal scenario where only talent matters, a = 0 the complete random one). Our agent-based approach is able to reproduce the main stylized facts observed in real data, at the level of both single fencing tournaments and entire careers of a given community of fencers. We find that simulations approximate very well the real data for both Junior Men and Women when talent weights slightly less than chance, i.e. when 'a' is around 0.45. We conclude that the role of chance in fencing is unusually high and it probably represents an extreme case for individual sports. Our results shed light on the importance of external factors in both athletes' results in single tournaments and their entire career, making even more unfair the ``winner-takes-all'' disparities in remuneration which often occur among the winner and the other classified.

Dietary supplementation with inosine-5′-monophosphate improves the functional, energetic, and antioxidant status of liver and muscle growth in pigs

Inosine 5′-monophosphate (5′-IMP) is an essential nucleotide for de novo nucleotide biosynthesis and metabolism of energy, proteins, and antioxidants. Nucleotides are conditionally essential, as they cannot be produced sufficiently rapidly to meet the needs of the body in situations of oxidative stress or rapid muscle growth. A deficient intake of nucleotides can result in decreased ATP and GTP synthesis and impaired metabolism. We demonstrated that supplementation of finishing pig diets with 5′-IMP reduces the relative weight of the liver, and increases oxygen consumption during mitochondrial respiration without changing the ADP/O ratio, indicating an increase in the respiratory efficiency of liver mitochondria. We also observed a reduction in liver lipid peroxidation and an increase in muscle creatine. Moreover, 5′IMP supplementation increases slaughter weight, lean meat yield, sarcomere length, and backfat thickness in finishing barrows, demonstrating influence on protein metabolism. We suggest that 5′-IMP supplementation increase the mitochondrial respiratory capacity when the liver metabolic activity is stimulated, enhances antioxidant defense, and promotes muscle growth in finishing barrows.

An Electrophysiological Model for Assessing Cognitive Load in Tacit Coordination Games

Previously, it was shown that some people are better coordinators than others; however, the relative weight of intuitive (system 1) versus deliberate (system 2) modes of thinking in tacit coordination tasks is still not resolved. To address this question, we have extracted an electrophysiological index, the theta-beta ratio (TBR), from the Electroencephalography (EEG) recorded from participants while they were engaged in a semantic coordination task. Results have shown that individual coordination ability, game difficulty and response time are each positively correlated with cognitive load. These results suggest that better coordinators rely more on complex thought process and on more deliberate thinking while coordinating. The model we have presented may be used for the assessment of the depth of reasoning individuals engage in when facing different tasks requiring different degrees of allocation of resources. The findings as well as future research directions are discussed.

Upward and downward accountability in local government: the decentralisation of agricultural extension services in Tanzania

A key assumption behind decentralisation in developing countries is that it enhances the accountability of local government and results in policies that reflect the preferences of the local community. However, previous research shows that local politicians and administrators in many developing countries to a large extent behave as if they were primarily accountable to central government, not local communities. The literature suggests various explanatory factors but does not provide insight into their relative weight and into how different factors interact. This paper combines comparative case-study research with in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with local government politicians and officials involved in the delivery of agricultural extension services in Tanzania. It shows that limited administrative and political decentralisation and centralistic human resources management restrict downward accountability to the community. Downward accountability is also constrained by the social rules that local politicians and administrators observe. For downward accountability to materialise, formal systems of public administration need to introduce incentives to that effect.

The Degree of Secondary School Managers' Practice of Servant Leadership in Gaza from the Teachers’ Perspective

The study aims to know the degree of secondary school managers' practice of servant leadership in Gaza from their teachers’ perspective. It further aims to examine whether there are any statistically significant differences at (α 0.05≥) between the means of the study sample’s members attributed to variables such as (gender, educational qualification, and years of experience). To achieve the objectives of the study, the study adopted the descriptive survey method, using a questionnaire consisting of (30) items distributed to four domains: (workers service, ethical dealing, motivation & influence, and building an organized, integrated society). Then, the questionnaire was distributed to the sample, which consisted of (262) teachers. The study has shown that the total estimation degree of the sample regarding their managers’ use of servant leadership is great at a mean of (3.94) and a relative weight equal to (78.8%). The study has further revealed that the dimension of (ethical dealing) occupied the first rank with a relative weight of (81.4%), whereas the dimension of “workers service and motivation & influence”, scored the second rank with a relative weight of (78.7%). As for the dimension of building an organized and integrated society, it took the last rank with a relative weight of (75%). It has been further noticed that there are no statistically significant differences at (α 0.05 ≥) between the average degree of the study sample in relation to the variables (gender, educational qualification, and years of experience).

Effect of Adding Cassava Peel and Lactic Acid Bacteria as a Feed Additive to the Weight of Immune Organs of Super Native Chicken

This study aims to evaluate the use of cassava peels added with lactic acid bacteria on the immune organ weight of super native chickens. The material used in this study was 144 Day Old Chick (DOC) super unsex native chicken with an average body weight of 34 ± 3,14 gram. The research design used was a completely randomized design (CRD) with a dose of liquid feed additive in the form of a combination of cassava peel flour and lactic acid bacteria mixed with rations. The treatments in this study included T0: basal ration, T1 (basal ration + 10% feed additive ml/kg), T2 (basal ration + 15% feed additive ml/kg) and T3 (basal ration + 20% feed additive ml/kg). The parameters observed were body weight, the relative weight of lymph, thymus, and bursa Fabricius superficial chicken stock exchange. The result showed that the combination of cassava peel and lactic acid bacteria had no significant effect (P>0.05) on body weight, the relative weight of the lymph organs, thymus, and bursa Fabricius of super native chickens. This research concludes that the combination of cassava peel and lactic acid bacteria as a feed additive can maintain chickens' health by not increasing the relative weight of the super native chicken immune organs to the level of 200 ml/kg.

Aortic Pressure Levels and Waveform Indexes in People Living With Human Immunodeficiency Virus: Impact of Calibration Method on the Differences With Respect to Non-HIV Subjects and Optimal Values

Background: There are scarce and controversial data on whether human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is associated with changes in aortic pressure (aoBP) and waveform-derived indexes. Moreover, it remains unknown whether potential differences in aoBP and waveform indexes between people living with HIV (PLWHIV) and subjects without HIV (HIV-) would be affected by the calibration method of the pressure waveform.Aims: To determine: (i) whether PLWHIV present differences in aoBP and waveform-derived indexes compared to HIV- subjects; (ii) the relative impact of both HIV infection and cardiovascular risk factors (CRFs) on aoBP and waveform-derived indexes; (iii) whether the results of the first and second aims are affected by the calibration method.Methods: Three groups were included: (i) PLWHIV (n = 86), (ii) HIV- subjects (general population; n = 1,000) and (iii) a Reference Group (healthy, non-exposed to CRFs; n = 398). Haemodynamic parameters, brachial pressure (baBP; systolic: baSBP; diastolic: baDBP; mean oscillometric: baMBPosc) and aoBP and waveform-derived indexes were obtained. Brachial mean calculated (baMBPcalc=baDBP+[baSBP-baDBP]/3) pressure was quantified. Three waveform calibration schemes were used: systolic-diastolic, calculated (baMBPcalc/baDBP) and oscillometric mean (baMBPosc/baDBP).Results: Regardless of CRFs and baBP, PLWHIV presented a tendency of having lower aoBP and waveform-derived indexes which clearly reached statistical significance when using the baMBPosc/baDBP or baMBPcalc/baDBP calibration. HIV status exceeded the relative weight of other CRFs as explanatory variables, being the main explanatory variable for variations in central hemodynamics when using the baMBPosc/baDBP, followed by the baMBPcalc/baDBP calibration.Conclusions: The peripheral waveform calibration approach is an important determinant to reveal differences in central hemodynamics in PLWHIV.

Morphological and histological kidney structure in diabetic rats model treated with ethanol extracts of jengkol fruit peel (Archidendron pauciflorum)

In a long term, diabetes mellitus (DM) leads to nephropathy due to glomerular hyperfiltration. One of the plant used as a diabetic drug by the community in Karangwangi Village, Cianjur Regency, West Java is the fruit peel of jengkol. Therefore, this study aims to determine the effect of the ethanolic extract of Jengkol fruit peel (EEJFP) toward the morphological and histological structure on the kidney of the diabetic rat model. The method adopted was the Randomized Design (CRD) with 6 treatments namely NC (Carboxyl Methyl Cellulose (CMC) 0.5%), PC (CMC 0.5%), Pb (Glibenclamide 5 mg/kg BW), P1, P2, and P3 (EEJFP 385; 770; and 1,540 mg/kg BW) with 4 replications for 14 consecutive days. Furthermore, the induction of diabetes with streptozotocin dose of 60 mg/Kg BW was performed intravenously in experimental animals except for the NC group. The parameters observed include relative weight, morphological, and histological structure of kidney which include glomerular diameter, Bowman space distance, and percentage of proximal tubular cell necrosis. The non-parametric and parametric data were tested by Kruskal Wallis and ANOVA test as well as Duncan's follow-up test, respectively. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the morphological structure of the kidney between treatment groups. Furthermore, the relative weights of kidney in the PC, Pb, P1, and P3 groups were larger and significantly different compared to NC and P2 also, the histological structure showed that the glomerular diameter (65.43 ± 0.7 m), Bowman space distance (4.19 ± 1.7 µm), and the percentage of proximal tubular cell necrosis (24.6 ± 5.5%) at P2 were not significantly different from NC. Based on this results, it was concluded that EEJFP has no effect on the kidney’s morphological structure, however, it decreases its relative weight and repair the kidney’s histological damage of the diabetic rat model with the optimum dose of 770 mg/kg BW.