Average Mean Score Research Articles

Functional, Sensory and Cooking Qualities of Acha-Tigernut Noodles

The functional, sensory and cooking characteristics of noodles from blends of Acha-tigernut composite flour were investigated. The flour blends and noodles produced were analyzed for functional properties and cooking characteristics. The tiger nut flour was substituted into acha flour at 5, 10, 15 and 20% to produce Acha-tigernut composite flour which was used with other ingredients (salt and powdered ginger) to produce acha-tigernut based noodles. The functional properties of the flour, sensory and cooking characteristics of the noodles produced were determined. The water absorption capacity and swelling capacity increased from 210.59 to 215.53 (g/g) and 524.43 to 586.57, respectively with increase in tigernut flour. While oil absorption, solubility and bulk density decreases from 209.80 to 192.72 (g/g), 10.17 to 5.19 and 0.79 to 0.61 (g/ml) respectively. The swelling capacity ranged from 524.43 to 586.57 (%) with an increase in tigernut flour. The final viscosity of the samples was found to range from 2833.00to 2201.00 (m2/s). The peak properties decreased from 2680.67 to 1580.33 (RVU). The pasting temperature increases from 82.47to 87.57°C. The addition of tigernut decreased the trough, breakdown and peak time from 1730.67 to 1205.67, 985.67 to 434.67, and 5.84 to 5.71 RVU, respectively. The average mean scores for colour decreased from 6.95 to -6.30(%) While that of taste, flavor, texture and general acceptability increased from 5.55 to 6.60, 5.95 to 6.85 (%), 5.95 to 6.44 (%) and 6.70 to 6.83 (%), respectively, as the percentage of tigernut increased.

Quality Evaluation of Sweet Potato - Acha Flour Blend Biscuits

The study investigates the chemical, physical and sensory properties of sweet potato and acha flour based biscuits. The work was aimed at ameliorating the quality of acha-based biscuit with addition of sweet potato flour. Flour blends were produced by substituting sweet potato into acha flour at 20, 40 and 60%. Proximate, physical and sensory properties of the biscuit were analyzed. The carbohydrate, moisture content, fat content, fibre and ash increased from 67.21 to 75.94, 5.69 to 6.74, 13.81 to14.87, 1.4 to 1.68, and 2.48 to 3.45 respectively with an increase in added sweet potato flour (20-60), while the protein decreased from 8.14 to 3.73. The relative decrease could be due to the low inherent protein of sweet potato. Magnesium, phosphorus and potassium increased from 220.33 to 375.22, 0.438 to 0.632 and 218 to 252.33mg/100g respectively with added sweet potato flour. There was an increase in break strength and spread ratio from 1.35 to 2.95 kg 4.80 to 5.13, respectively, with an increase in the level of sweet potato flour substitution. The reverse was observed for thickness and diameter of the biscuit which decreased from 0.70 to 0.60 and 4.28 to 4.13 cm, respectively. The average mean score of texture, colour, taste, flavour and general acceptability ranges from 6.05 to 7.65, 6.55 to 6.40, 5.55 to 6,25, 6.70 to 5.75 and 6.10 to 6.95, respectively. The sample 40:60 sweet potato-acha flour blend biscuit with average means scores of 6.95 was most preferred and acceptable with the corresponding increment of 3.45, 14.87, 8.14, and 1.68 of ash content, fat content, protein and crude fibre, respectively.

STUDENTS’ ACCEPTANCE OF THE USE OF GOOGLE CLASSROOM AS A PLATFORM IN BLENDED LEARNING

This study aims to identify the students’ acceptance level of the use of Google Classroom as a platform in Blended-learning and to compare the results between three departments of Language and Arts Department in FKIP of Universitas Riau. Data of this survey research were collected through an online survey using Google form and analysed descriptively. The survey was distributed to all students and 205 of them responded the survey coming from three departments: English Language and Arts Department, Indonesian Language and Arts Department, and Japanese Language and Arts Department in FKIP of Universitas Riau. The questionnaires in the survey used Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) proposed by Davis (1986) with four indicators to measure the students’ acceptance: Perceived Usefulness (PU), Perceived Ease of Use (PEU), Behavioral Intention (BI), and Actual System Use (AU). The students’ acceptance levels in terms of Perceived usefulness (62,8%) was in very good category; Perceived Ease of Use (67,2%) was in very good category; Behavioral Intention (69%) was in very good category; and Actual System Use (48,55%) was good category. The result shows that the level of the students’ acceptance of Google Classroom, in general, is Very Good (62%). It means, the students positively accepted Google Classroom as a platform in blended-learning. Behavioral Intention was the indicator with the highest percentage (69%) which explains that students are interested and intend to increase their use of the Google Classroom. Data also shows that out of the three departments, English Language and Arts Department has the highest average mean score (3.67) followed by Indonesian Language and Arts Department (3.57) and Japanese Language and Arts Department (3.54). This study implies that English department students experienced more acceptance in using the Google Classroom compared to the other two departments.

Pronunciation Recognition of –ed Ending Words by the Students of English Education Study Program of the University of Bengkulu

This research concerned with the English Education Study Program students’ recognition in pronouncing –ed ending words and the English Education Study Program students’ recognition of different enrollments. This research was a descriptive quantitative research. In this research, form of –ed ending pronunciation test of written sentences was used. The words used in the test items which consist of 40 questions. The data of this research was analyzed by using qualitative and quantitative method. The results of this research shows that the recognition of the English Education Study Program students in pronouncing –ed ending words was low with 46.6 of the average mean score. It confirmed the previous study on the ability in pronouncing morphophonemic or –ed ending words by Ningrum (2019) which conducted in the same place. Furthermore, comparison of the test result among three enrollments of samples shows that different mean score of first and third semester is 1.6 points. It is similar to the different mean score of the first and fifth semester students is 1.4 points. While, the different mean score of the fifth and third semester students is 3 points. It can be concluded that there are not any significant differences between them.

EXTENT OF HEMODIALYSIS NURSES’ PRESENCE AS PERCEIVED BY PATIENTS

Background: Nursing presence is an essential nurse caring behavior of being with the patient. This is particularly true for those with chronic renal disease and who regularly undergo maintenance hemodialysis treatment in the hospital setting. When nursing presence is perceived by patients in a nurse-patient relationship, it is more likely to result in enhanced satisfaction with the quality of nursing care. Thus, it is important for hemodialysis nurses to be aware of the relevance of nurse-patient interactions in planned care considering that these interactions are integral to the extent to which nursing presence is experienced and perceived by patients.Objective: This study aims to determine the hemodialysis nurses’ extent of nursing presence as perceived by patients undergoing hemodialysis treatment in two hospitals in Iligan City, Philippines.Methods: Utilizing the descriptive research design, the study was conducted in two hospitals in Iligan City, Philippines. A total of 121 hemodialysis patients were purposely selected to determine their perception as to the extent of hemodialysis nurse’s nursing presence utilizing the 25-item Presence of Nursing Scale (PONS) instrument. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.Result: The overall rating by the hemodialysis patients in both hospitals was “always" on the hemodialysis nurses’ extent of nursing presence with an average mean score of 4.47 in all 25 items of the PONS. The highest rated item which reflects that the nurse cares for the patient as a person had an average mean score of 4.63 (always) while the lowest rated item indicating that the nurse is meeting the spiritual needs of the patient had an average mean score of 4.23 (always).Conclusion: The nurse-patient relationship is enhanced by the presence of nurses who are more responsive and interactive with the patients, resulting in patients who are more satisfied with nursing care. Thus, it is suggested that nurses in dealing with patients of varying backgrounds should consider their unique needs when giving information, explanations, health education and nursing care.

User Perception on Electronic Payment Services in Kathmandu Valley

There have been significant efforts in Nepal to increase the outreach of electronic payments services (EPS) in the last couple of years but the usage of these services has not seen significant progress. People are showing reluctance to accept the new form of payments as there are issues on users’ acceptance of this new mode. There is a need to understand users’ perception on EPS and act accordingly to improve the usage. This paper analyses users’ perception on EPS from four aspects - perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived security and perceived trust. Results of the survey show that there are low average mean scores for security and trust when compared to perceived usefulness and ease of use. Respondents have cited accessibility of EPS as one of the major issues behind such a low usage. Most of the responses are found to be independent by gender, age group, income level and other attributes. Further, perceived usefulness and ease of use have higher effect on willingness to adopt EPS in future when compared to perceived security and perceived trust.

APPLYING ITEM RESPONSES THEORY FOR MEASURING STUDENT’S ABILITY IN ACADEMIC SPEAKING

Purpose of the study: Every human being is required to be skilled at communicating, skilled at expressing thoughts, ideas, and feelings. This research aims to explain student’s ability in academic speaking based on the framework of item responses theory. Methodology: This research uses a mix method research approach; qualitative and quantitative approaches are used together to answer the formulated problems. A qualitative approach is used for digging up information about the needs to develop the speaking test. The try out subjects was 25 university student taking Bahasa Indonesia subject; while 125 students were used as the measurement subject. The data were students’ responses to the speaking test which was scored by two people (rater). The reliability of the instrument was estimated by the Generalizability theory. Rasch model analysis was used to estimate the item parameter; while the Maximum Likelihood was used to estimate the students’ ability. Main Findings: The value of 𝜎 ̂(𝑜) s influenced by the similarity to the average mean score observed in academic speaking. The value of 𝜎 ̂(𝑝) and 𝜎 ̂(𝑜) suggests that the distribution of variability in person and item is the same and high. A sufficiently large value of 𝜎 ̂(𝑝i) implies the fact that the value involves all residual sources for a variance. Balance alternatives, weigh consequently and decide rationally. Applications of this study: Based on the design proposed for the Indonesian Language Proficiency assessment, other generalizability design (G-Design) used is a cross design because each student (p) becomes the object of observation of two observers (r) who both assess four aspects of observation/indicator. It is used to determine the reliability (i.e., reproducibility) of measurements under specific conditions in academic speaking. Novelty/Originality of this study: Some rater qualifications that must be met include the process of gathering and using the appropriateness of background information before assessing. Measuring the ability of students in academic speaking by applying G theory and conducting an IRT analysis approach needs.

Expansile cribriform Gleason pattern 4 has histopathologic and molecular features of aggressiveness and greater risk of biochemical failure compared to glomerulation Gleason pattern 4.

Molecular testing of prostate cancer biopsies with Gleason pattern 4 suggests the expansile cribriform pattern is more aggressive than the glomerulation pattern. These two extreme patterns have not been compared at prostatectomy. We hypothesized that at prostatectomy the expansile cribriform pattern would be associated with histopathologic and molecular features of aggressiveness and with greater risk of biochemical recurrence (BCR) than the glomerulation pattern. In a retrospective cohort study, radical prostatectomy reports with expansile cribriform pattern or glomerulation pattern were analyzed for percentage of total pattern 4, extraprostatic extension (EPE), positive lymph nodes, seminal vesicle invasion (SVI), and intraductal carcinoma (IDC). Cases with pattern 5 or with both expansile cribriform and glomerulations patterns present were excluded. The electronic medical record was reviewed for BCR-free survival and for Decipher test results. Of 1020 radical prostatectomies from July 2015 to July 2018, 110 (11%) had either expansile cribriform or glomerulation pattern present. The expansile cribriform group was associated with more histopathologic features of aggressiveness, with higher average total percentage pattern 4 (43.7 vs 27.0, P = .002), a trend of greater extensive EPE (32.7% vs 17.2%, P = .06), a trend toward statistical significance of higher rate of SVI (11.5% vs 3.4%, P = .1), greater positive lymph nodes (9.6% vs 0%, P = .02), and a higher percentage of cases with or suspicious for IDC (23.1% vs 8.6%, P = .04). The risk of BCR was 4.4 (1.3-15.4) fold greater for the expansile cribriform group vs the glomerulations group (P = .02). For the 38 patients who underwent Decipher testing, the expansile cribriform group had a high-risk assay category mean score whereas the glomerulations group had an average risk assay category mean score (0.61 vs 0.47, P = .02). In a comparison of prostatectomy cases with expansile cribriform pattern to those with glomerulation pattern, the expansile cribriform pattern was associated with more histopathologic features of aggressiveness, greater risk of biochemical failure, and higher scores with a molecular classifier (Decipher) test. These findings underscore the importance of reporting the types of pattern 4 and supports the argument that men with expansile cribriform likely require more aggressive management.

Polikliniğe Başvuran Hastaların Sağlık Hizmet Algısına Yaşam Kalitesi Ve Sosyodemografik Özelliklerinin Etkisi

Aim: To determine the effect of quality of life and sociodemographic characteristics of patients admitted to the outpatient clinic of a Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital on Health Service Perceptions. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 367 patients (236 female, 131 male) who met the criteria of participation in the study and applied to the policlinic at a Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Hospital between June 15 and September 15, 2019. Data were collected using a structured form measuring the socio-demographic characteristics and satisfaction levels of the patient and Nottingham Health Profile Scale (NHP) to measure the general perceived quality of life of the patient. Results: A statistically significant correlation was found between age values and total satisfaction mean scores (r = 0.215 p = 0.0001). Total satisfaction average scores of the literate group were found to be significantly higher than the other groups (p = 0.032, p = 0.005).The total satisfaction mean scores of the Hospital Advise (+) group were found to be statistically higher than the Hospital Advise (-) group (p = 0.0001). There was a statistically significant correlation between NHP Pain average scores and total satisfaction mean scores (p = 0.001). Conclusion: Health service perception may be affected by many different factors in patient-hospital communication. Age, education, hospital referral status and presence of pain are important parameters that we defined in our study. In the development of the health service provided, it will be guided to examine and define all factors in detail.

Multidimensional model to assess the readiness of Kuwait to implement evidence-based child maltreatment prevention programs at a national level

ObjectiveTo assess the readiness to implement child maltreatment (CM) prevention programs at a national level. Study designThis is a cross-sectional study. MethodsThis study was completed alongside similar studies undertaken by the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and led by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The study will allow further understanding of possible obstacles that may be encountered while implementing a nationwide prevention program. The 10-dimensional model of readiness had been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with five countries (Brazil, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa) through a five-stage process. Stakeholders and decision makers were invited to participate. Scores for each dimension were compared with those for the rest of the GCC countries. ResultsThe overall score of Kuwait was 39.17 out of 100. This was below the mean average score for the GCC countries (47.83). Out of the 10 dimensions, key informants scored the highest on legislation, mandates and policies (6.61). The lowest score was reported on attitudes towards CM prevention (1.94). Informal social resources (5.72) ranked the highest as compared to the rest of the GCC countries. ConclusionsThe readiness of Kuwait is weak on several dimensions and needs to be strengthened. Despite that, the country is moderately ready to implement large-scale evidence-based CM prevention programs because it is strong in the infrastructure of knowledge, legislation, mandates, and policies and informal social resources.

Inclusive programmes in Malaysia: mainstream school teachersrsquo; acceptance towards special education students

Inclusive Education is a programme where special education students are placed in mainstream classes with normal students. This study attempts to identify the acceptance and readiness of mainstream teachers and students’ performance in Inclusive Education programme. Using quantitative method, the study focused on teachers from 17 schools in three districts in Sabah, Malaysia. Teachers’ acceptance and their readiness and students’ performance are measured through survey. Through the items assessed, the average mean score on the mainstream teachers’ acceptance and their readiness level, and students’ performance has a mean value of more than 3.00 which indicats that the teachers are positive and they are acceptive towards the presence of special students. The t-test on the teachers’ acceptance and readiness level and their gender factor shows no significant relations. Thus, the gender is not affecting teachers’ acceptance level. Furthermore, Correlation results on teachers’ acceptance level shows positive relationships. Therefore, the results of this study show that mainstream teachers are more acceptive and willing to teach special education students. However, gender, age, education qualification and teaching experience of the teachers do not affect the level of teachers’ acceptance. Overall, the results of this study shows that mainstream teachers are positive and ready to teach students who have learning disabilities.

Management Accounting Practices by Some Selected Manufacturing Enterprises Enlisted in Chittagong Stock Exchange, Bangladesh: An Evaluation

Management accounting (MA) helps to formulate strategies in manufacturing enterprises (ME). This paper is the outcome/product of a study on the Management Accounting Practices (MAP) of Nine (9) manufacturing enterprises from 4 sectors listed in the Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE) on the year of 2019. The study aims to evaluate the present scenario of MA practices. The primary data were collected through a structured questionnaire from 139 respondents selected from nine enterprises and found that the highest mean score was 4.71, on Management accounting information is very essential for manager to take decision making and lowest mean score is 4.28, for the practice of management accounting to enhance profitability and the average mean score was 4.4871 in the scale of 5. The study also revealed that about 59% to 98% of enterprises have disclosed the management accounting information both in descriptive & monetary nature. New and innovative techniques of management accounting should be implemented to gain competitive advantages. The study has recommended improving the management accounting practices in this regard.

The Use of Natural Products for the Treatment of Female Sexual Dysfunction: A Systematic Review of Randomized Clinical Trials

Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) affects 40% of the world’s females, most of which are disorders linked to desire or interest/excitement. Whilst all types of therapy that attempt to improve female sexual desire have long been established, the results are contradictory. Objective: To analyze all available evidence to validate the effectiveness of natural therapies in the treatment of FSD. Method: The study was registered at http://www.prospero.org (CRD42019127700). We searched the Institute for Scientific Information Web of Knowledge, MEDLINE, Pubmed, Scopus and Cochrane databases for all articles published in peer- reviewed journals in April 2019 (in any language). The PICOS standard is women with FSD; (intervention) of any type of Natural therapy; (outcome) primary outcome: frequency of changes, severity, and average mean scores on sexual symptoms measured with a validated instrument, secondary outcome: quality of life; (study design) and randomized clinical trial (RCT). Results: The literature search strategy identified 95 articles, 81 of which were excluded at the different search stages. Finally, we systematically reviewed 15 RCTs, 11 of which referred to primary FSD, and four of which analyzed women with drug-induced FSD (DFSD). Most of them analyzed hypoactive sexual desire disorder. Although differences related to placebo were found in most people, the majority of the studies are considered to be of poor quality and low external effectiveness. Conclusion: Although the quality of the evidence is not high, most natural product interventions appear to improve FSD, particularly hypoactive sexual desire disorders including those categorized as primary and drug-induced.

Fuzzy Parameterized Dual Hesitant Fuzzy Soft Sets and Its Application in TOPSIS

The purpose of this work is to present a new theory namely fuzzy parameterized dual hesitant fuzzy soft sets (FPDHFSSs). This theory is an extension of the existing dual hesitant fuzzy soft set whereby the set of parameters have been assigned with respective weightage accordingly. We also introduced the basic operation functions for instance intersection, union, addition and product operations of FPDHFSSs. Then, we proposed the concept of score function of FPDHFSSs of which these scores function were determined based on average mean, geometry mean and fractional score. The said scores function then were divided into the membership and non-membership elements where the distance of FPDHFSSs was introduced. The proposed distance of FPDHFSSs has been applied in TOPSIS which will be able to solve the problem of fuzzy dual hesitant fuzzy soft set environment.

Open reduction and internal fixation for radial head fractures: A prospective observational study

Objective: To evaluate the effect of open reduction and internal fixation on radial head fracture and assess the post-operative function. Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted from June 2016 to July 2017 at Liaquat National Hospital and Medical College, Karachi. Altogether, 28 patients with radial head and neck fractures were enrolled in our study. These patients were admitted to the hospital and their fractures were fixed with open reduction and internal fixation. Baseline information of the patients was collected, and patient-rated elbow evaluation scores were calculated. Results: Out of the 28 patients, 21 were male and 7 were female. Besides, 16 fractures were on the right side and 12 were on the left side and 17 involving the dominant hands. In addition, 8 patients had Mason type II fracture and 20 had Mason type III fracture. The mean age of patients was (31.0 ± 8.0) years, and the mean follow-up is (1.2 ± 0.5) years. The mean average patient-rated elbow evaluation scores were (27.64 ± 1.60) at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions: The majority of the patients who had radial head fractures and treated by open reduction and internal fixation have attained an excellent range of motion postoperatively.

Quantitative and qualitative benefits of translanguaging pedagogic practice among first graders in multilingual classrooms of Lundazi district in Zambia

The aim of the paper is assess the pedagogical benefits of translanguaging using a quasi-experiment where two literacy classes with similar sociolinguistic composition were taught differently. In this case, the control class strictly followed the ‘monolingual’ language policy while the experimental class was taught using translanguaging. The idea was to see whether translanguaging could lead to any measurable literacy development benefits on the learner. Through interviews with the class teacher and classroom observations, the paper also sought to bring out the qualitative benefits which were observed or experienced throughout the experiment. A total of 82 pupils participated in the study with one teacher who taught both classes. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS and a Levene’s test of variance was used to analyse the test results while thematic analysis was used for qualitative data analysis. Post experimental test results showed higher average mean scores for the experimental group (M=15.10) than the control group (M=11.71). The Cohen’s d=0.98 for the post-test showed the large effect size above .8. The performance of learners in the experimental group was significantly different from the control group [t (52.960 = 4.454, p<0.001]. Thus, the difference in literacy performance can be attributed to the translanguaging practices which were used to teach literacy in the experimental class. Additional results showed that as a result of translanguaging, there was increased learner classroom participation, multiliteracy development, cultural preservation and learners’ identity affirmation. The study concludes that when the curriculum is decolonised and the classroom is liberated through recognition of learners’ linguistic repertoires, learning outcomes improve. The paper makes a unique contribution to knowledge by providing objective data from an experiment to show the educational benefits of translanguaging.

Assessment of psychosocial distress among the palliative care patients in Wardha District of Maharashtra

Aim:Palliative Care Outcome Scale (POS) is one of the various tools, available for the evaluation of the effectiveness of palliative services, having 10item multidimensional questionnaire, designed to assess the physical, psychosocial, spiritual, and practical aspects of patients with various sufferings. In this study, we had assessed psychosocial distress among the patients of a palliative care clinic of a rural teaching hospital at Wardha district.Methods:In this cross-sectional study, a total of 118 patients attending the palliative care clinic under the medicine department were enrolled between July 2018 and March 2019. POS has 10 questions in Likert type of scale with a scoring of 0–4, 0 for no effect to 4 for overwhelming effect. Each question provides the information regarding how the patient feels in the past 3 days.Results:In the first assessment for anxiety about illness or treatment, 32% of the participants reply that they occasionally feel the anxiety, whereas the same reply has been given in follow-up assessment by 34% of the participants, with an average mean score of 1.59 and 1.31, respectively. Approximately 48% of the participants feel that their family or friends were occasionally anxious and worried for them in the first assessment of POS compared to follow-up assessment where the feeling has been changed with approximately 46% for not at all anxious or worried followed by 39% occasionally.Conclusion:Participants were satisfied and accepted the palliative care treatment provided by the team with frequent visits, and also, the level of improvement fastens.

Physicians Attitude towards Pressure Injury Prevention and Management

Background: Cancer and its management can cause cachexia, which, along with prolonged immobility could lead to the development of chronic pressure ulcers (PU). These complications result into infection and/or pressure injury. Though pressure injury related tasks, are deemed to be given to staff nurses alone. Little of literature is available on the physician’s attitude towards PU prevention and management. Medical interns in 2015 concluded that 70% of them need more education in pressure injury. Present study is about physicians involved in pressure injury identification and management in a Cancer Center. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in King Fahad Medical City among oncology physicians using self-administered 11 statement survey questionnaire. Physician residents, fellows, assistant consultants’ and consultants’ attitudes were compared. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS. Results: In total 50 physicians completed the survey. The physicians demonstrated a positive attitude with an average mean score of 42.35 ± 4.65 (32, 51). The difference in the attitude scores among sub-groups was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated a positive attitude towards pressure ulcer prevention and management among physicians working in Cancer Center. We have also highlighted the challenges in maintaining this positive attitude and possible strategies for improvement in the future.

Evaluation of skills transfer in short-term phacoemulsification surgery training program by International Council of Ophthalmology -Ophthalmology Surgical Competency Assessment Rubrics (ICO-OSCAR) and assessment of efficacy of ICO-OSCAR for objective evaluation of skills transfer.

Purpose:To evaluate skills transfer in short-term phacoemulsification surgery training program by International Council of Ophthalmology -Ophthalmology Surgical Competency Assessment Rubrics (ICO-OSCAR) and assessment of efficacy of ICO-OSCAR for objective evaluation of skills transfer.Methods:Prospective analysis of total 1300 phacoemulsification surgeries performed by 52 phacoemulsification trainees divided into three groups based on the previous cataract surgical experience. The pretraining and posttraining average mean scores, independent completion rates (ICR), and complication rates among the groups were calculated and statistically analyzed.Results:Mean age of trainees (N = 52) was found to be 30.98 ± 2.44 years. Mean pretraining scores in the three groups were 42.8 ± 0.2, 46.6 ± 0.2, and 50.1 ± 0.1, respectively, and posttraining mean scores of the groups were 88.4 ± 0.2, 92.3 ± 0.2, and 94.3 ± 0.2, respectively, out of 100. Pretraining independent completion rates (%) were 22.1 ± 2.5, 52.1 ± 2.5, and 62 ± 3.7, respectively, and posttraining independent completion rates (%) were 74.8 ± 3, 79.7 ± 3, and 90.6 ± 3.5, respectively. Learning curves of all groups were noted to be steep. Rate of complications was within acceptable range, overall complication rate being 12.30% (160 out of 1300 cases). OSCAR scores correlate significantly (P = 0.0004) with ICR.Conclusion:Steep learning curve for phacoemulsification can be made easy by the use of standardized rubrics, proper techniques, expert guidance, and adequate surgical volume. The previous SICS experience provides smoother learning curve. ICO-OSCAR is indicator of proficiency and provides constructive feedback and objective evaluation immediately after surgery as well as at the end of training. Short-term (1 Month) training program is an effective, efficient, and safe approach to progressively master phacoemulsification skills for trainees with SICS experience.

Impact assessment of krishi bhagya scheme in Karnataka: The policy imperatives

The government of Karnataka launched Krishi Bhagya Scheme (KBS) mainly to improve the livelihood of dry-land farmers. Undeniably, 30 districts in Karnataka implemented KBS along with farm pond, diesel pump set, micro-irrigation units and polyhouse/shade net focussing on agricultural and horticultural farmers. Therefore, Hassan district was selected in order to collect relevant information of KBS and a total of 117 respondents were selected by simple random sampling including, beneficiary (40 agricultural farmers and 21 horticultural farmers) and non- beneficiary (35 agricultural farmers and 21 horticultural farmers) farmers. Logistic regression, ordinary least square and average mean score methods were employed to assess the impact of KBS implementation. The study found that access to KBS is significantly influenced by education level and land size. In addition, education particularly secondary and higher secondary levels significantly affect the income of beneficiaries. The number of visits of extension agency, lack of awareness about the scheme and non-availability of timely subsidy were considered as the major problems faced by beneficiary and non- beneficiary farmers. The performance of KBS scheme can be improved by providing a proper source of information about the scheme and by making land records available online.