Learning programming is among the top challenges in computer science education. A part of that, program visualization (PV) is used as a tool to overcome the high failure and drop-out rates in an introductory programming course. Nevertheless, there are rising concerns about the effectiveness of the existing PV tools following the mixed results derived from various studies. Student engagement is also considered a vital factor in building a successful PV, while it is also an important part of the learning process in general. Several techniques have been introduced to enhance PV engagement; however, student engagement with PV is still challenging. This paper employed three theories—constructivism, social constructivism and cognitive load to propose a technique for enhancing student engagement with program visualisation. The social worked-examples (SWE) technique transforms the traditional worked-example into a social activity, whereby a greater focus is placed on the collaboration role in constructing students’ knowledge. This study identified three principles that could enhance student engagement through the SWE technique: active learning, social collaboration and low-load activity.
Background: The rhizome of ginger is used in cooking and for medicinal purposes such as anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. The aims of the study were to test the effect of ethanolic extract of ginger on growth, adherence and acidogenicity of mutans streptococci in comparison to chlorhexidine gluconate 0.2% and de-ionized water. Materials and methods: From saliva often volunteers (dental students 20-22 years); mutans streptococci was isolated, purified and diagnosed according to morphological characteristic and biochemical tests. Ginger was powdered and extracted, different concentrations of ginger extract were prepared. Chlorhexidine gluconate 0.2% used as a control positive; while de-ionized water was used as a
... Show MoreLipid disorders and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk are known to be increased in patients with diabetes mellitus. The effects of statins on serum lipid levels are well known; however, previous studies did not compare the effects of statins on serum lipid levels in diabetic patients with non-diabetic patients. To investigate the effects of Atorvastatin on serum lipid profiles in hyperlipidemic patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in comparison with hyperlipidemic patients without diabetes.This study was conducted on 33 type 2 diabetic patients & 34 non-diabetic patients; their age range was 40-80 years, all of them were hyperlipidemic, who had been administered 10, 20, & 40 mg daily of Atorvastatin and completed a 6-month foll
... Show MoreThis paper introduces a non-conventional approach with multi-dimensional random sampling to solve a cocaine abuse model with statistical probability. The mean Latin hypercube finite difference (MLHFD) method is proposed for the first time via hybrid integration of the classical numerical finite difference (FD) formula with Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) technique to create a random distribution for the model parameters which are dependent on time t . The LHS technique gives advantage to MLHFD method to produce fast variation of the parameters’ values via number of multidimensional simulations (100, 1000 and 5000). The generated Latin hypercube sample which is random or non-deterministic in nature is further integrated with the FD method t
... Show MoreObjective: This research aimed to study the relation between maximal bite force (MBF) and maximum mouth opening among 12-year-old school children. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 400 children aged 12 years (194 boys and 206 girls) were examined. The MBF for the right and left side, as well as the anterior region, were evaluated for all children. The MMO was measured using an electronic digital caliper. To analyze the data path analysis method was used. Results: Boys showed a higher MMO of 48.797 ± 6.500 than girls (46.710 ± 5.926 mm). The MMO increased with increasing MBF, with significant differences between females and males. Conclusion: The MMO was higher in boys than in girls. Gender plays a significant ro
... Show MoreOwing to high antibacterial resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it could be considered as the main reason behind the nosocomial infections. P. aeruginosa has a well-known biofilm forming ability. The expression of polysaccharide encoding locus (pelA gene) by P. aeruginosa is essential for this ability. The purpose of the current research was to determine the biofilm formation in P. aeruginosa isolated from clinical samples and to evaluate the role of the selected PelA gene in biofilm formation using PCR method in Iraqi patients. Results revealed that 24 (96%) isolates were found to have the ability to form biofilm that was remarkably related to gentamicin resistance. Moreover, the pelA gene was found in all biofilm-producers. In c
... Show MoreIn this study the isomerization of desulfuerized light Iraqi petroleum naphtha (Al-Dura Refinery) with boiling point range of 37 to 124 °C , 80.5 API specific gravity and 68.2 octane number has been investigated. Two types of catalysts were prepared (Pt/HX and Pt/SrX) by impregnation of 0.8 wt% Pt on l 3X-zeolite. The catalyst activity and selectivity toward isomerization, and catalyst deactivation were investigated.
The isomerization unit consisted of a vertical tubular stainless steel reactor of 2 cm internal diameter, 3 cm external diameter and 68 cm height. The operating pressure was atmospheric for all experimental runs. The liquid flow of lightnaphtha was 0.4 Uh, and the catalyst weight was 50 gm, H/
... Show More<p>Mobility management protocols are very essential in the new research area of Internet of Things (IoT) as the static attributes of nodes are no longer dominant in the current environment. Proxy MIPv6 (PMIPv6) protocol is a network-based mobility management protocol, where the mobility process is relied on the network entities, named, Mobile Access Gateways (MAGs) and Local Mobility Anchor (LMA). PMIPv6 is considered as the most suitable mobility protocol for WSN as it relieves the sensor nodes from participating in the mobility signaling. However, in PMIPv6, a separate signaling is required for each mobile node (MN) registration, which may increase the network signaling overhead and lead to increase the total handoff latency
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