Schedule Research Articles

FACTORS AFFECTING PROVISION OF PASTORAL COUNSELLING SERVICES BY PASTORS OF THE AFRICA BROTHERHOOD CHURCH IN MAKUENI COUNTY, KENYA

Pastoral Counseling roles are major components of the wider responsibilities of Pastoral care among Pastors in all Christian affiliations. A Pastoral Counselor uses different therapeutic methods in helping their clients resolve issued and crises in life an in a developmental way help them find healing in their brokenness. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting effective provision f pastoral counseling services by pastors of the African Brotherhood church in Makueni County and was guided by two objectives namely: the study employed descriptive research design to draw a sample of 35 pastors was selected using simple random sampling from population comprised of 176 pastors serving in Makueni County. Mixed methodology was used to obtain quantitative data using questionnaires and qualitative data using interview schedules. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially, while qualitative data was analyzed thematically. The study found out that Many Christians seek counsel from their religious leaders on virtually all issues and crises that confront them in life. However the study found out that a pastor’s level of education, lack of training counselling, community cultural values, and the changing family structure and orientation negatively influenced the pastor’s role of offering counseling services. The study recommends that church leadership should ensure that pastors are trained on emerging counselling issues among their flock to ensure quality counselling service delivery. Article visualizations:

INFLUENCE OF UTILIZATION OF MATHEMATICS INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ON DEVELOPMENT OF MATHEMATICAL COMPETENCIES AMONG GRADE ONE LEARNERS IN NAKURU COUNTY, KENYA

Mathematics is an important aspect in life. Early development of mathematics skills leads to early acquisition of mathematical competencies. For effective acquisition of mathematical competencies in early years, instructional materials are required to enhance development mathematical skills. Studies conducted in Kenya have not adequately focused on the use of instructional materials to develop mathematical competencies. This has hindered learning, making learners assume a passive role in their learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of use of instructional materials on acquisition of mathematics competencies. The study was guided by Bruner’s theory of instruction. Correlation research design was used in this study. The independent variables were: types of mathematics instructional materials in grade one classrooms, utilization of instructional materials during mathematics instruction as well as investigating the influence of instructional materials on acquisition of mathematics skills. The dependent variable was acquisition of mathematical competencies. The study was carried out in Nakuru East Sub County, Nakuru County. The target population was both private and public primary schools in Nakuru East Sub County. Grade one learners and teachers were the participants. Purposive, stratified and random sampling methods were used to select an appropriate sample for the study. Research instruments used were: lesson observation schedule, interview schedule for teachers and a competency checklist. Pilot study to test the instruments was carried out in two private schools and two public primary schools from the study area. Data was qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed. The study established that few grade one teachers in public schools utilized instructional materials during mathematics instructions. It was also established that instructional materials influenced acquisition of mathematics competencies. The study recommends that teachers and other key stakeholders should invest more resources to ensure availability of adequate instructional materials for learners. It also recommends that school management should invest more to ensure adequate and right instructional materials are availed to enable learners and teachers have all the basic requirements required for better teaching and learning. Article visualizations:

Profit Warning Announcements and the Security Prices of Companies Listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kenya

Business plays a significant role in prosperity in society and creates resources that permit social development and welfare. The market price of its securities measures the worth of business. Thus, security prices show how a company, through its commercial operations, actively contribute to progress in an economy. However, this is not the case for NSE N20 share index, which, in 2015, 2016 and January 2017 experienced price declines, prompting this study investigated the effect of Profit Warning Announcements on the Security Prices of companies listed on the NSE, Kenya. The study applied the Signaling Theory, the Efficient Market Hypothesis, and the Market Expectation Theory. It used the Event Study Methodology that employed a mixed Research Design and Longitudinal Research and administered a questionnaire and interview schedules to collect data from ten listed companies. The study used parametric statistical techniques - the ANOVA and to analyze data and test the hypothesis. The study concluded that Profit warning Announcements did not affect the performance of Securities Prices of companies listed on the NSE, Kenya. This study will guide the market activities and provide a better understanding of how Profit warning Announcements affect returns. It will enable the policymakers to assess and evaluate the current status and, provide a platform for making reviews, designs, and formulate policies to regulate and control trading activities on the financial markets, contribute to knowledge and strengthen the foundation for further research. Future research should investigate the effects of Profit warning Announcements on the performance of security prices of specific companies that were affected by the price declines.

Schedule of technical meeting

Schedule of technical meeting

Adolescent Vaccination Coverage in the U.S. from 2017 to 2018

The recommended vaccination schedule for adolescents includes vaccines to protect against human papilloma virus (HPV), meningococcal disease (MenACWY),

A year in the life of a Brazilian professional female road cycling team – Part I: Performance measures

A year in the life of a Brazilian professional female road cycling team – Part I: Performance measures

Enhancing Guideline-Based Prescribing and Personalized Medication Scheduling.

Poor communication of medication administration instructions is a preventable cause of medication nonadherence. The Universal Medication Schedule (UMS) framework improves adherence by providing a simplified set of dose timing rules. However, this framework does not readily generalize to individuals with varying daily routines. We propose a point-of-care solution for enhancing guideline-based electronic prescribing and personalizing dose schedules. We describe a JSON-based approach to encode and execute standard treatment guidelines to support electronic prescribing as well as an algorithm for optimizing medication administration schedules based on a patient's daily routine. We evaluated the structure and accuracy of our JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) formalism focusing on Kenya's hypertension treatment guidelines. Our experiments compare the medication schedules generated by our algorithm with those generated by pharmacists. Our findings show that treatment guidelines can be efficiently represented and executed using the JSON formalism, and that different medication administration schedules can be generated automatically and optimized for patients' daily routines.

Therapeutic effect of injectable mouse nerve growth factor combined with rehabilitation training on cerebral palsy in children

Objective To evaluate the therapeutic effect of mouse nerve growth factor (mNGF) combined with conventional rehabilitation training on children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods According to the inclusion criteria, 60 children with CP(spastic diplegia) who were treated at the Third Affiliated Hospital of Jiamusi University were selected by double-blind method from June to December in 2016.Sixty children with CP were stratified according to age, gender and Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) (the subjects were classified into 2 age groups: 0-2 years old and 2-4 years old), and then they were randomly divided by draw method: the control group received routine rehabilitation; the experimental group received mNGF additionally.The children with CP in the experimental group were treated with 18 μg mNGF every day for 10 days and then discontinued for 5 days, with 20 injections per month for 1 course, a total of 3 courses.After 3 courses of treatment, the changes in Gesell Development Diagnosis Schedules (GDDS), Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Gross Motor (PDMS-GM), Peabody Developmental Motor Scales-Fine Motor (PDMS-FM) and Range of Motion (ROM) of the lower extremity were compared between the 2 groups. Results After 3 months of treatment, the changes of Gesell(gross motor: 57.40±18.13, 44.87±10.95; fine motor: 64.83±18.04, 62.60±17.34; adaptability: 76.07±14.99, 70.57±11.19; language: 74.20±15.07, 71.23±13.38, personal-social interaction: 67.40±14.10, 61.40±12.96), PDMS-GM(94.33±16.03, 81.13±20.15), PDMS-FM scores(91.53±19.73, 91.10±15.84) and ROM[adductors angle: left (69.67±22.2)°, (49.17±21.82)°; right (69.83±21.63)°, (49.67±21.61)°; popliteal angle: left (160.08±30.02)°, (125.50±25.78)°; right (160.17±22.46)°, (126.00±25.31)°; dorsal flexion angle of foot: left (10.17±6.09)°, (4.33±7.28)°; right (9.83±6.23)°, (4.83±7.48)°] in the experimental group and the control group were all significantly higher than those before treatment, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). After 3 months of treatment, the Gesell gross motor(57.40±18.13) and PDSM-GM scores(94.33±16.03) in the experimental group were significantly higher than those (44.87±10.95, 81.13±20.15, respectively) in the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Conclusions Conventional rehabilitation therapy combined with mNGF has more significant effect on the development and motor function of children with CP than routine rehabilitation training. Key words: Cerebral palsy; Rehabilitation training; Nerve growth factor; Repair of nerve injury

INFLUENCE OF WORKING CONDITIONS ON TEACHER ATTRITION IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN UASIN GISHU COUNTY, KENYA

This paper investigates how working conditions in the schools influences teacher attrition. The working condition in schools refers to the school environment / climate that would in one way or other make teachers to have turnover intentions. This study was conducted in Uasin Gishu County that has faced increased rates of teacher attrition in addition to teacher shortages. To answer the research objective, a convergent parallel mixed method approach design was utilised. Data was collected from public secondary schools involving Form 3 and Form 4 students, teachers, principals, county education officials and teachers who had left the profession. The study collected data through use of questionnaire and interview schedule were used to collect data. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics. Research result showed that the following working conditions; indiscipline situation in schools among students, inadequate infrastructure and instructional resources, political interference, ethnicity, poor leadership, heavy workload among others influenced teacher attrition in schools. The study also found out that movement of teachers from schools located in the interior also fuelled attrition rate. The study recommends that Ministry of Education and the Teachers’ Service Commission should review the policy on the election of school prefects and hire professional counsellors for public secondary schools to deal with discipline related issues. Article visualizations:

What's Included in Your Publications Schedule?

What's Included in Your Publications Schedule?

Impact of a systematic education model for palliative care in cancer.

In clinical practice, pharmacists are continually required to improve their knowledge and expertise; however, the postgraduate education system for professional development cannot be confidently stated to be well established. The establishment of a systematic and multifaceted educational curriculum should be useful to improve home care and pharmacists' contribution; therefore, we developed a curriculum in collaboration with the university faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, department of pharmacy in hospital, and the Fukuoka Pharmaceutical Association. Class topics were extracted from the "Kanwa-Iryou-Yakugaku", edited by the Japanese Society for Pharmaceutical Palliative Care and Sciences. The items are necessary to perform palliative care as a pharmacist. A class schedule of 6 days (24 classes in total) was formulated. Questionnaires on comprehension degree before and after each class were provided to the participants. Comprehension was assessed on a scale of 1 to 10, where "I do not understand at all" was 1 and "I understand enough" was 10. The average recovery rates of questionnaires from each class were 92.6 % and 88.9 % before and after class, respectively. The average number of participants who completely answered the questionnaire before and after class was 45.6; therefore, these data were analyzed. Comprehension degree on each topic had significantly increased after attendance of all classes (p < 0.01). The comprehension degree of participants of the medical science of palliative care did greatly improve. Consequently, it is clear that the standard education model constructed was meaningful for the professional development of pharmacists in palliative care medicine.

Improvement of On-Time Immunization of Infants in a Level IV Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Background: Infants cared for in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) are at risk for vaccine delays during their NICU stay resulting in under-immunization at time of hospital discharge or hospital unit transfer. Adherence to the routine immunization schedule as published by the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) minimizes the risk of contracting vaccine preventable illnesses in this vulnerable population. Define: Before the implementation of improvement measures, 56% (419 of 754) of infants cared for in the Mayo Clinic NICU were fully up-to-date for routine immunizations at the time of discharge or unit transfer. The Healthy People 2020 …

INSTITUTIONAL STAFFING CAPACITY AND INTERNAL EFFICIENCY OF TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN BUNGOMA COUNTY, KENYA

This paper investigates how institutional staffing processes influence internal efficiency of public technical training institutions in the county of Bungoma, Kenya. The study was guided by resource dependence theory. The target population involved public TTIs tutors, principals of the TTIs and resource mobilisation officers in the four institutions located in the county of Bungoma; Sangalo Institute of Science and Technology, Kisiwa, Matili and Musakasa Technical Training Institutes. The study adopted mixed method research which was cross-sectional in nature. The data collection instruments involved use of questionnaires, interview schedules and document checklist. Qualitative data was transcribed and presented in verbatim with the use of content analysis method. Quantitative data analysis was done using descriptive (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviation) and inferential (Multiple Linear Regression) statistics. The results in Table 4.5 show that there exist a moderate positive relationship (r=0.473 and p=0.00) between institutional staffing capacity at the four public TTIs in Bungoma county. The relationship appears to be significant at 99% confidence level. The study recommends that there is need for public TTIs to consider collaborating with other institutions within and outside the country for benchmarking of staff exchange programmes that could be important in improving skills and knowledge among the staff. Article visualizations:

A STUDY ON THE POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION STUDENT TEACHERS’ INCLINATION AND RELEVANT RESOURCES FOR ONLINE LEARNING

From the students’ side their inclination, possession of relevant resources and accessibility to the Internet are very important to learn through online. Furthermore, it would be useful if they can find extra time for online activities and fluency in English language. With the development of the information and communication technology, online learning is growing rapidly around the world. The Open University of Sri Lanka is also gradually moving into offering more online courses. The Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) programme is one of the oldest and major programmes offered by the Department of Secondary and Tertiary Education (STE) of the Faculty of Education. Now department is working to introduce online components into the PGDE programme too. This study has four objectives namely to find out the inclination of student teachers in distant areas to follow an online course, The possession of relevant resources by wise inclination and possession of the resources to follow an online course and the available facilities and resources at the centers to conduct an online course. The study was carried out through a survey. For this purpose two remote districts were selected as a purposive sample; Namely Ambalantota study centre and Badulla regional center. The samples of the PGDE student teachers were selected by using the random sampling technique. Seventy five (75) student teachers were selected from each center by random sampling technique. The two data collection instruments used - a questionnaire and a semi structured interview schedule. Data were analyzed by using both qualitative and quantitative analyzing methods. The study revealed that, Majority of the student teachers were somewhat willing to spend around 2 hours per-day on online course. The student teachers’ inclination to use the internet related communication tools were less than 41%. Majority of student teachers were willing to do online learning activities. Majority of students accessed the internet only through the mobile phones. Males’ inclination was higher than the females’ inclination to follow an online course. Majority of the male student teachers have more personal resources than the female student teachers. Availability of the printers was comparatively low among both male and female student teachers. Both centers have the Internet facility but the number of computers was not adequate for the PGDE student numbers in both centers. The study intended to guide the students’ considering their diverse learning needs, and the course designed and developed to be compatible with the mobile phones. The students should be given more opportunity to use available resources at the centers of the university in a more efficient and effective manner. Article visualizations:

INFLUENCE OF SAFETY STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES IMPLEMENTATION ON TRANSPORTATION SAFETY IN PUBLIC BOARDING SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KITUI COUNTY, KENYA

There a current concern caused by rampant tragedies in secondary schools in Kenya which demands for the need to look at the school safety system. The aim of this research was to look into the implementation of safety standards and guidelines on transportation safety in public boarding secondary schools in Kitui County. The objective was to find out the influence of transportation safety implementation. The investigation was led by the securitization and disaster managing theories. The mixed methodology approach was adopted and the design was concurrent triangulation. Targeted population was 16,875 which included; 1,940 teachers and 14,903 students, 16 education officers and 16 senior police officers. The sample was 650 participants which included: 240 teachers, 400 students, 5 education officers and 5 security personnel. Stratified sampling was used to get 5 schools from each of the 8 constituencies; then random sampling was used to get 20 schools. Principals and deputies were purposively sampled. The researcher used random sampling for teachers and leaners and purposive for education and security officers. Likert scale surveys were utilized in the case of teachers and learners. Interview schedules were used for education and security officers and an observation checklist was used too. The data collection tools were tested in 2 boarding institutions which were not included in the last study sample. The specialists examined data collection tools for validity and test retest technique was done for reliability with coefficient of .902. For credibility, simultaneous triangulation was employed. Quantitative data were evaluated in expressive data using tables, frequencies and percentages. Chi-square was employed to find out the degree to which the variables related with one another. Qualitative data were explained through narrative form. The study established that there was need to check the use of safety belts and overloading among other issues. It was recommended that strict measures be put in place to safeguard learners using school vehicles. Further research was recommended in security in tertiary institutions and universities. Article visualizations:

Abstract 3880: In vivo activities of TP-2846: a novel tetracycline antileukemia agent

The pharmacokinetics (PK) of TP-2846 was studied in mice, rats, and monkeys via IP, PO, and IV administration. In a mouse PK study with TP-2846 dosed IP at 10 mg/kg, C max , T 1/2 , and AUC 0-inf values of 5340 ng/mL, 6.81 h, and 5944 ng•h/mL were observed, respectively. In an IV PK study in mice, TP-2846 was dosed at 1, 3, and 6 mg/kg, and the various PK parameters at each respective dose are: C max = 1142, 5881, 8518 ng/mL; T 1/2 = 6.15, 5.15, 6.92 h; AUC 0-inf = 704, 2174, 4205 ng•h/mL. In a rat PK study, TP-2846 was dosed at 5 mg/kg IV and PO. The various PK parameters by each dosing route are: C max = 7180, 4.39 ng/mL; T 1/2 = 9.64, 9.41 h; AUC 0-inf = 9390, 21.0 ng•h/mL. In a PK study in monkeys, TP-2846 was dosed at 1, 2, 4, and 6 mg/kg IV. Key PK parameters at each respective dose are: C max = 734, 1071, 1835, 2715 ng/mL; T 1/2 = 9.97, 12.5, 15.7, 22.4 h; AUC 0-inf = 4128, 8252, 19179, 30871 ng•h/mL. TP-2846 demonstrated good half-lives and exposures across all three species. Low oral bioavailability was observed when TP-2846 was dosed in rats. Dose linearity of plasma exposure was shown when varying levels of TP-2846 was dosed in mice and monkeys. The in vivo efficacy of TP-2846 was evaluated in a number of leukemia mouse xenograft models including MV4-11, MOLT-4, CCRF-CEM, HL-60, KG-1, Kasumi-1, and K-562. TP-2846 demonstrated potent in vivo efficacy in MV4-11 with a Tumor Growth Inhibition (TGI) value of 111.4% ( p = 0.001) when dosed IP at 12.5 mg/kg, QD, 4 days on/6 days off, for two cycles, while cytarabine and tigecycline had a TGI value of 23.5% and -49.2%, respectively, at their reported optimal dosing regimens. TP-2846 was also highly efficacious in HL-60 xenograft models with a TGI value of 109.1% ( p p = 1.000), 34.73% ( p = 0.643), 103.50% ( p = 0.015), and 104.87% ( p = 0.013), respectively, when dosed at 1, 2, 4, and 6 mg/kg, QDx3, for two weeks. To understand the PK parameters that drive the efficacy of TP-2846, studies with varying dosing levels and dosing schedules were conducted in the HL-60 model. Subsequent PK/PD modeling using the resulting data sets suggested that AUC is the primary efficacy driver for TP-2846 in the xenograft model. In summary, TP-2846 displayed favorable PK profiles across multiple species and demonstrated potent, dose-responding, AUC-driven efficacy in several mouse leukemia xenograft models. These data sets, combined with other desirable in vitro , in vivo , and chemical-physical properties, support the continued pre-clinical development of TP-2846 as a new antileukemia agent. Citation Format: Xiao-Yi Xiao, Cuixiang Sun, Jian Zhou, Noriaki Tatsuta, Joseph Newman, Douglas White, Barbara Hibner, Arijit Chakravarty, Jacques Dumas. In vivo activities of TP-2846: a novel tetracycline antileukemia agent [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2019; 2019 Mar 29-Apr 3; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3880.

Pattern of shiftwork and health status among nurses in a university hospital in northeastern Thailand

This study was aimed to explore shiftwork patterns and health status among nurses at a university hospital in northeastern Thailand. A descriptive study was conducted. The study population was 1,221. The data were collected via self-reported questionnaire including personal information and the last month shift schedule. Descriptive statistics were applied using STATA v 10. The response rate was 68.1 % (831/1,221) and completion rate was 59.1% (721/1,221). There were 82.2% (593/721) participants had performed shiftwork. The shiftwork patterns were (a) day shift plus over time, (b) day and evening shift, (c) day and night shift, and (d) rotational shift. All of rotational shift were fast rotation with irregular shift pattern (n=531; 89.5%). Even though there was no pure forward or backward rotations, the researcher divided the participants into three groups (namely, primarily forward, primarily backward, and evenly split between backward and forward). Most shift workers performed primarily backward rotational pattern (n=479; 90.2%). A minority (n=143; 24.1%) did extended shifts: median extended shift was once a month (IQR 1-3). The majority (n=523; 88%) of participants did quick return shifts (88%) (median=11 times/month, IQR7-13) Nearly one-third (28.0%) of participants had underlying diseases such as allergic rhinitis (7.9%), asthma (1.9%), and/or dyslipidemia (1.8%). Based on a BMI > 25 kg/m2, 17.5 % of the participants were obese. Over one-tenth (12.2%) of the participants had a sleep disorder and 14.9% used sleepiness- or drowsiness-inducing medication. Most of the participants had no depression (86.4%) and were at low risk of obstructive sleep apnea (76.0%). Comparing characteristics of shift and non-shift personnel, median age, proportion of married nurses and caffeine needed were lower for shift workers than the non-shift workers. Working experiences were shorter in shift workers than the non-shift workers and there was a statistically significant difference among job position, task, work unit, and salary. Likewise, shift workers had fewer underlying diseases, using sleepiness or drowsiness drug and depression. In conclusion, there was a high proportion of shift workers represented in the study, and most nurses did rotational shift with primarily backward rotation, quick return and extended shifts which are associated with a higher health risk. The health effect from shiftwork on the current study could not be concluded however, nearly one-third revealed some kinds of underlying diseases. The association of effect from shiftwork will be presented elsewhere.

Effects of family-centered nursing model on primiparas with postpartum depression

Objective To explore the clinical effects of family-centered nursing model on primiparas with postpartum depression. Methods Totally 120 primiparas who were examined, delivered and showed postpartum depression in the First People's Hospital of Xiaoshan District from January 2017 to December 2018 were selected using convenient sampling and divided into the observation group (n=60) and the control group (n=60) according to the random number table. Patients in the control group received conventional nursing care, while patients in the observation group received family-centered care on the basis of conventional nursing care. Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Social Disability Screening Schedule (SDSS) were used to compare the depression symptoms and social function between the two groups before and after intervention. The utility of caress, rate of breast feeding and morbidity of neonates in the two groups were calculated. The care ability for infants were compared between the two groups. Results There was no statistically significant difference in HAMD and SDSS scores between the two groups before intervention (P>0.05) ; HAMD and SDSS scores of both groups decreased, and the scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.01) ; the utility of caress and the rate of breast feeding were 96.67% and 95.00% in the observation group, higher than those in the control group, which were 83.33% and 78.33%. The morbidity of neonatals in the observation group was 6.67%, lower than that in the control group, which was 20.00%. The differences were all statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusions The family-centered nursing model can ameliorate depression symptoms in primiparas with postpartum depression and improve their social function and care ability for infants effectively, which is worth promoting in clinical practice. Key words: Primipara; Postpartum depression; Family-centered; Clinical symptom; Functional recovery

Schedule of technical meeting

Schedule of technical meeting

Slots Startup Synchronization with Shared Resources Dependency

Batch process entails a bottle neck in the majority of plants. This means that an optimal synchronization with the rest of the process lines is mandatory in order to increase the productivity. To obtain the best possible schedule, instead of a feasible solution, the problems usually are implemented using mathematical programming, however the batch processes are considered independent one from each other to facilitate the coding and resolution. In this work the authors present a new formulation that allows an optimal schedule of batch processes which length depend on the synchronization of the startup of those processes. This solution is implemented to use as a real time optimization tool with a rolling horizon method. The distribution of shared resources among the devices is also keep into account.