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An alignment of textbooks with their corresponding syllabuses contributes to effective learning. This study examined the alignment of the Ethiopian early grade (grades 1-4) mathematics textbooks (EEGMTB) with their corresponding syllabuses. Four early grade mathematics teachers at Halaba Zone of South Nations and Nationalities Peoples Reginal State (SNNPRS) participated in this study. In addition, curriculum experts at the zone and the ministry of education (MoE) participated. Data were collected through interview and document analysis by using a content analysis protocol developed by reviewing different studies on textbook quality (Bhatti, Jumani, & Bilal, 2015; Fuchs, 2013; Hashmi, Hussain, & Shoaib, 2018; Sunday, 2014; Taye, 2011), and validated. The data were analyzed qualitatively and the percentage was used to summarize the findings. The findings of this study depict that EEGMTBs were not completely aligned with the corresponding syllabuses as expected. Therefore, the study recommends special focus to be given to the alignment of textbooks with the corresponding syllabuses, especially in considering the learning outcomes when developing the textbooks. The study also suggests further research on the adequacy of the contents of early grade textbooks to equip early children with the necessary knowledge and skills expected at the level.

This study scrutinized the relationship between mentor and mentee; how this affects the roles mentors assume, the focus of mentors' feedback, and the factors that affect mentoring practice. The study employed a qualitative case study design. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with mentors and mentees. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, in which themes emerged from the identified data. The results revealed that the mentors exercised hierarchical relationships and took on the role of knowledge providers during mentoring. Mentors focused on tasks and individuals in their feedback. Mentors' lack of training, time, and space were the prevailing factors that dictated their relationship with their mentees and impacted feedback. The findings of this study illuminate the interconnectedness between mentoring relationships, roles of mentors, and the focus of feedback they provide. It highlights the importance of preparing mentors for their roles to enhance student teachers' learning from practicum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kinta Valley karst landscape is characterised by residual limestone hills scattered all over the valley. The aim of this study is to ascertain the link between lineament and cave passage orientations, and to identify the main fracture controlling the karst features. To achieve that, standard cave surveying and direct lineament extraction techniques, from a 2.5m resolution spot image, were employed. Six trends of lineaments were obtained from the remnant limestone hills, and their main orientation appears to be in the NNW-SSE. Similarly, various caves were surveyed and mapped; their passage orientation analyses reveal that NNW-SSE is the prominent direction. The similarity of the lineaments orientation and caves passage trend attests that the karst formation is controlled by the geological structures. Such a similar trend observed in all hills enabled to infer the orientation of the primary structure responsible for the formation of the extant karst features. The multi-fracturing episodes rendered the Kinta Valley to be structurally complex and the karst features unravelled this effect, as evidenced by features such as circular and sinuous cave passage morphology, which developed ensuing fractures oriented in different directions.

Objective: This study was undertaken to determine the dose-response relation between epileptiform activity burden and outcomes in acutely ill patients.Methods: A single center retrospective analysis was made of 1,967 neurologic, medical, and surgical patients who underwent >16 hours of continuous electroencephalography (EEG) between 2011 and 2017. We developed an artificial intelligence algorithm to annotate 11.02 terabytes of EEG and quantify epileptiform activity burden within 72 hours of recording. We evaluated burden (1) in the first 24 hours of recording, (2) in the 12-hours epoch with highest burden (peak burden), and (3) cumulatively through the first 72 hours of monitoring. Machine learning was applied to estimate the effect of epileptiform burden on outcome. Outcome measure was discharge modified Rankin Scale, dichotomized as good (0-4) versus poor (5-6).Results: Peak epileptiform burden was independently associated with poor outcomes (p < 0.0001). Other independent associations included age, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, seizure on presentation, and diagnosis of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Model calibration error was calculated across 3 strata based on the time interval between last EEG measurement (up to 72 hours of monitoring) and discharge: (1) <5 days between last measurement and discharge, 0.0941 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.0706-0.1191); 5 to 10 days between last measurement and discharge, 0.0946 (95% CI = 0.0631-0.1290); >10 days between last measurement and discharge, 0.0998 (95% CI = 0.0698-0.1335). After adjusting for covariates, increase in peak epileptiform activity burden from 0 to 100% increased the probability of poor outcome by 35%.Interpretation: Automated measurement of peak epileptiform activity burden affords a convenient, consistent, and quantifiable target for future multicenter randomized trials investigating whether suppressing epileptiform activity improves outcomes. ANN NEUROL 2021;90:300-311. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paleogeography of the juxtaposed Southeast Asian terranes, derived from the northeastern margins of Gondwana during the Carboniferous to Triassic, resulted in complex basin evolution with massive carbonate deposition on the margins of the Paleo- Tethys. Due to the inherited structural and tectonothermal complexities, discovery of diagnostic microfossils from these carbonates has been problematic. This is particularly the case for the Kinta Limestone, a massive Paleozoic carbonate succession that covers most of the Kinta Valley in the central part of the Western Belt of Peninsular Malaysia. Owing to the complex structural and igneous events, as well as extensive diagenetic alterations, establishing precise age constraints for these carbonates has been challenging. Furthermore, the sedimentation history of these deposits has been masked. Three boreholes, totaling 360 m thickness of core, were drilled at either end of the Kinta Valley on a north-south transect through sections with minimal thermal alteration. The sections are composed chiefly of carbonaceous carbonate mudstone with shale and siltstones beds, in which the carbonates were sampled for microfossils. Five hundred conodont elements were extracted. Nine diagnostic conodont genera and 28 age diagnostic conodont species were identified. The identification of Pseudopolygnathus triangulus triangulus and Declinognathodus noduliferus noduliferus indicated that the successions ranged from Upper Devonian to upper Carboniferous. Further analysis and establishment of stage-level datum that range from the Famennian to Bashkirian (Late Carboniferous) enabled detection of continuous sedimentation and improved age constraints in undated sections of the Kinta Limestone. This higher-resolution conodont biostratigraphy suggests a prevalence of continuous carbonate deposition during the Early Devonian to Late Carboniferous in the Paleo-Tethys. Thus, the identification of diagnostic conodont species for the first time from subsurface data in the area has helped improve the biostratigraphic resolution and establishes depositional continuity of the Kinta Limestone. These data could provide clues to the Paleo-Tethys paleogeographic reconstruction and paleodepositional conditions, and could establish higher temporal resolution correlation than previously attempted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fission tracks are linear trails of intense radiation damage in the crystal structure of a mineral, produced by spontaneous fissioning of uranium-238 ( 238 U) atoms. Detail information on the low-temperature thermal histories of rocks, below∼120 °C for tracks in apatite and below∼350 °C for zircon, can be provided by Fission-track (FT) analysis. The purpose of this article is to present apatite and zircon fission-track data, and U-Pb granite ages that provide information about the cooling histories of a rock which can be crucial in comprehending the exhumation episodes of the study area, in particular, and the region, in general. Granite samples were collected along the same vertical profile at different elevation, 178-944 m.a.s.l. These samples were used to determine Fission-Track and crystallization ages. HeFTy software was employed to interpret the cooling histories of the samples using forward and inverse models. The inverse model was an approach of reproducing the observed data, and it was carried out only for fission-track data from the apatite grains. And it was constructed after generating a number of forward models, where in each of these models the predicted apatite fission-track parameters were compared to the measured values. The apatite fission track (AFT) and zircon fission track (ZFT) data indicated expected age trends, i.e. the older ages at higher elevations and the younger ages at lower elevations. Similarly, the data shows that the apatite and zircon FT ages appear younger than the age of the rock crystallization. The U-Pb age in zircon consistently suggest the age of the granite is Late Triassic.