Prevalence and Factors Associated with Refractive Errors among University Students at Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda

Introduction: WHO estimated that uncorrected refractive errors are the leading cause of visual impairment and second leading cause of blindness globally. University students are prone to developing refractive errors due to their curriculum that requires a lot of near work affecting their performance and quality of life unknowingly. Genetic and environmental factors are thought to play a role in the development of refractive errors. This study addresses the paucity of knowledge about refractive errors among university students in East Africa, providing a foundation for further research. Objectives: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with refractive errors among students in the Faculty of Medicine at Mbarara University of Science and Technology. Methodology: This was a cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study in which 368 undergraduate students selected using random sampling were assessed for refractive errors from March 2021-July 2021. Eligible participants were recruited and their VA assessment done after answering a questionnaire. Students whose VA improved on pin hole had subjective retinoscopy and results were compiled and imported to STATA 14 for analysis. Results: The prevalence of refractive errors was 26.36% with (95% CI) among university students especially myopia. Myopia is most predominant at 60%, followed by 37% Astigmatism and hyperopia of 3% among medical students. Astigmatism consisted of largely myopic astigmatism 72% (26) and 28% (10) compound/mixed astigmatism only. Student positive family history of refractive error was found to have a statistically significant relationship with refractive errors with AOR 1.68 (1.04 - 2.72) (95% CI) and P (0.032). Conclusion: The prevalence of refractive errors among university students, especially myopia, was found to be high and family history was associated with students having refractive errors.

Research on the Deep Integration Mechanism of National Fitness Campaign and College Physical Education Teaching:Taking Guangdong University of Science and Technology as an Example

By using the methods of literature review,questionnaire survey,and expert interview,this paper discusses and analyzes the deep integration mechanism of national fitness campaign and college physical education teaching,in order to promote the development of college physical education teaching reform,expand ideas,explore new fields,and provide novel development directions.The purpose is to enhance the national physical quality,improve the public service system,enhance the health awareness of the citizens,and provide guidelines for promoting the development of sports.

Enhancing the Quality and Adaptability of Vocational Education to Promote High-Quality Development:Taking Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology as an Example

This paper aims to explore effective strategies for overcoming the five core challenges currently faced by vocational education:challenges in defining the educational type,variations in the quality of incoming students and their learning abilities,the need to improve teaching quality and effectiveness,urgent requirements for optimizing the quality of teaching staff,and insufficient depth in the integration of industry and education.By analyzing the root causes of these challenges,this paper proposes a series of targeted strategies and measures.Taking the School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering at Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology as an example,the paper elaborates on how the school has significantly enhanced the adaptability and teaching quality of vocational education through precise positioning of vocational education types,strengthening the construction of teaching staff,optimizing teaching methods and content,and deepening the integration of industry and education.The research results indicate that these initiatives not only effectively address key issues in vocational education but also promote comprehensive improvements in students’overall qualities and employment competitiveness,providing valuable insights and practical references for advancing the high-quality development of vocational education.Furthermore,by introducing the practice of the School of Chemistry and Materials Engineering at Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology in tailoring vocational education development to local conditions,this paper validates the reliability and feasibility of the proposed solutions.

University of Science and Technology Beijing

University of Science and TechnologyBeijing (former Beijing University of Ironand Steel Technology)--one of the nationalleading universities, featuring in metallurgyand materials, is a polytechnic, takingengineering as main course and combiningtogether science, engineering, management

Campus Landscape and Campus Culture of Henan University of Science and Technology

Due to the differences in disciplines and regional cultural spirits,the campus landscape of Chinese universities has varying cultural connotations.Campus landscape is not only a reflection of regional school history and culture,but also a potential factor affecting students'ideology and values.At present,some colleges and universities in China only concern and consider the visual impact effect of campus landscape construction,while others take landscape planning and construction as an accessory of the main building,which seriously affects the soul guiding role of campus culture in campus landscape.The internal and external landscape pattern of Henan University of Science and Technology with landscape road and water system as the framework,as well as core scenic spots with rich cultural connotations,such as“Peony Dinghu map”,“Yueqin Lake”,embody the university history and culture,the characteristics of western Henan architecture and the specific campus culture positioning,providing a stark example for landscape planning and design of other colleges and universities in the future.

New Name for Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology[Medical Sciences]:Current Medical Science

Journal of Huazhong University of Science and Technology[Medical Sciences]is sponsored by Tongji Medical College,Huazhong University of Science and Technology,a prestigious medical school based in the central part of China.Starting in 1979,it is a peer-reviewed journal that focuses on medical sciences.In China,it is one of the five periodicals that are firstly included in Index Medicus（IM）and is now under the coverage of the Science Citation Index-Expanded（SCI-E）.

Exploration and Research on the Construction of First-class Undergraduate Major of Architecture:A Case Study on Xi'an University of Science and Technology

With the decision of the Ministry of Education to fully implement the“Six Excellence and One Top-notch”plan 2.0 and launch the“Double Ten-thousand Plan”for the construction of first-class undergraduate majors,colleges and universities across the country have fully launched the construction of first-class undergraduate majors.The architecture major of Xi’an University of Science and Technology has achieved certain results in deepening the comprehensive reform of the major,strengthening the construction of teaching staff and grass-roots teaching organizations,and enhancing the construction of the professional teaching quality assurance system.The quality of graduate training and external evaluation have achieved good results by integrating into the teaching system of special courses,improving the high-level talent training system,taking the construction of“new engineering”as an opportunity,promoting education and teaching reform,relying on the platform of discipline advantages,and building a multi-level practical teaching system.

Festschrift in Honor of Prof.Gordon McKay——On occasion of his retirement from Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering,the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Professor Gordon McKay has a long,exciting and distinguished professional career as a chemical engineer.From his early days in industry through to his most recent appointment as professor and Acting Head of Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology(HKUST),he has made a substantial contribution to the profession.

Analysis on the Path of Local Universities’Intervention in the Sustainable Development of Poor Rural Areas in the Era of Post-Poverty Alleviation:Taking Sichuan University of Science and Engineering as an Example

China has entered the era of post-poverty alleviation,which effectively links poverty alleviation achievements with rural revitalization strategies.In the era of post-poverty alleviation,in order to effectively promote the sustainable development of poor rural areas,local colleges and universities should actively nurture the self-development skills of the needy.Local colleges and universities should guide the transformation of ideas and concepts,scientifically optimize the allocation of poverty alleviation resources,improve the interest linkage mechanism between colleges and universities,strengthen the investigation and analysis of poverty alleviation projects,improve the convergence of assistance and practice,actively create a good spiritual and cultural environment,uphold the mission of helping cadres,attach importance to the support for the development of characteristic industries,and lastly,promote the convergence of rural revitalization strategies.

Investigation and Aesthetic Assessment of Plant Landscapes in Southwest University of Science and Technology

Through field investigation and comprehensive analysis, this paper classified green space system on campus of Southwest University of Science & Technology into points, lines and surfaces, and used basic theories of ecology, botany, garden aesthetics, and plant landscape assessment to analyze ornamental characteristics, seasonal changes, spatial layers and cultural connotations of its typical plant landscapes, so as to assess campus plant landscape comprehensively in the near future.

Quantifying Rooftop Rainwater Harvest Potential: Case of Mbeya University of Science and Technology in Mbeya Tanzania

The advantages that the rooftop rainwater harvesting system has as a source of water supply have been examined. The observed daily rainfall records of 10 years and the current total roof area of the facilities at Mbeya University of Science and Technology as the catchment area were used. Using a water balance model to determine the suitable water use that will cover 100% of the time, the model indicated that for the current roof area a water supply of 120 lts?per day can be met when a storage tank whose capacity is 13.5 m3 is installed. When values higher that 120 l/day are simulated a tank of higher capacity is required to meet the water demand. The study recommends on the necessity of installing rooftop rainwater harvesting system so as to increase the water supply reliability and reduction of cost. The selection of a suitable storage tank capacity should take into consideration the future development plans so as to reduce the construction cost of new storage tank.

The Perspectives of Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Dental School Graduates

Background: The idea of establishing a Dental school at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) was borne out of a need. There was a shortfall in the supply of dental surgeons, especially in the northern half of the country. Aim/Objective: To seek for feedback from KNUST Dental school graduates over the past six about their overall assessment of the BDS courses taught during their clinical training and challenges faced in the course of their training. Methodology: A cross-sectional retrospective study of all KNUST Dental school graduates from 2012 to 2017. A structured goggle form questionnaire was developed. The Google form link was emailed to the representatives who in turn forwarded the link to their year mates. The questionnaire was filled online and submitted as requested. Results: This represented 63.0% of the entire graduates from KNUST Dental School. The male to female ratio was 1.3:1.0. The age range of our graduate was from 24 yrs (3.8%) to 32 years (1.9%). The average age was 26.3 years. 48.10% of respondents said their training was very good. The major challenges were inadequate clinical space (25.2%) and lack of materials and dental chairs for students’ clinic (27.3%). Conclusion: On the whole, the quality of the training was rated as very good even though some of the courses taught during the clinical training were rated as poor. Inadequate dental chairs, laboratory and clinic materials, supervision of student’s clinic were some of the major challenges expressed by the graduates.

Study on university teachers＇ career development complying with the connotative development in Shanxi province Taking young English teacher from Shaanxi University of Science and Technology for example

With the development of higher education in China, the social responsibility undertaken by higher education is becoming more and more obvious and knowledge innovation in universities, scientific research, teaching and others have played an important role for social and economic development. And the agent and practitioner of all the nature and content of these are teachers in universities and colleges which are the main power of education, teaching and research. Highly qualified team of teachers have an important value for higher education. New mode of higher education has also undergone a significant change from denotative growth gradually to connotative development concerning over personnel training and teaching quality, which bring up more requirements for the quality and ability of university teachers. Thus we will put forward a comprehensive analysis of how to comply with cormotative development and come up with new strategy of teachers＇ pro fessional development.

Investigation of ＂Four-Two-Three＂ System of Individualization Fostering Model -Taking College of Economics and Management of Hebei University of Science and Technology as an Example

＂Four-Two-Three＂ training mode system, based on the social development needs of talent personalized, divides the training process of eight semesters in four years into ＂category training＂, ＂professional training＂ and ＂personalized training＂ and phased build talent training mode of ＂four disciplines platform ＋ two capability group lessons ＋ three development path＂. In this paper, we take College of Economics and Management, Hebei University of Science and Technology as an example, explained principles, fi＇amework and content, and measures of personnel training mode and other issues in details and made a smooth implementation of security mechanism in training mode.

Exploration and Practice of the Reform of Postgraduate Award System-Taking Wuhan University of Science and Technology as an Example

China began to implement the charging policy for postgraduate students in 2014.Various universities at all levels have formulated a scholarship and stipend system for postgraduate students,which is in line with the needs of schools in talent training along with the spirit of relevant documents of the Ministry of Education and the actual situation of the schools.This study investigates and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the postgraduate funding by Wuhan University of Science and Technology.This article then provides advice for the reform of the scholarship and stipend system from improving the precision funding system,to increasing funding,to expanding the scope of postgraduate funding,and standardizing the treatment of deferred postgraduate students in hope that it would provide a basis for the funding system and provide guarantee for postgraduate students to complete their studies successfully.

Research into the Assessment of the Intercultural Sensitivity Among University Students of Science and Technology

Globalization makes people from diverse cultural backgrounds communicate effectively. To be a global citizen has become the goal of our education. Landis and Bhagat （1996） argued that intercultural sensitivity is crucial to enable people to live and work with others from different cultural backgrounds. With higher intercultural sensitivity, one will be more global as his understanding of cultural difference becomes more sophisticated. In this present study, the intercultural sensitivity of different majors from a private institute of technology in the north of Taiwan was investigated, using the ISS （Intercultural Sensitivity Scale） developed by Chen and Starosta （2000）. Based on a survey of 358 participants from Nursing Department and Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, this study focused on five dimensions of the intercultural sensitivity and the participants＇ demographic factors affecting their performance on intercultural sensitivity. The five dimensions included in this study were： （1） interaction engagement, （2） interaction confidence, （3） respect for cultural differences, （4） interaction enjoyment, and （5） interaction attentiveness. Among the five dimensions of intercultural sensitivity, the participants had the highest score on the dimension of ＂respect for the cultural differences＂ and had the lowest score on the dimension of ＂interaction confidence＂. Results generated by stepwise multiple regression indicated ＂decision of studying abroad＂ and ＂experiences of living abroad＂ could effectively predict the participants＇ intercultural sensitivity.

Brain region-specific roles of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in social stress-induced depressive-like behavior

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor is a key factor in stress adaptation and avoidance of a social stress behavioral response.Recent studies have shown that brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in stressed mice is brain region–specific,particularly involving the corticolimbic system,including the ventral tegmental area,nucleus accumbens,prefrontal cortex,amygdala,and hippocampus.Determining how brain-derived neurotrophic factor participates in stress processing in different brain regions will deepen our understanding of social stress psychopathology.In this review,we discuss the expression and regulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in stress-sensitive brain regions closely related to the pathophysiology of depression.We focused on associated molecular pathways and neural circuits,with special attention to the brain-derived neurotrophic factor–tropomyosin receptor kinase B signaling pathway and the ventral tegmental area–nucleus accumbens dopamine circuit.We determined that stress-induced alterations in brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels are likely related to the nature,severity,and duration of stress,especially in the above-mentioned brain regions of the corticolimbic system.Therefore,BDNF might be a biological indicator regulating stress-related processes in various brain regions.

Evolution and customisation of the RegCM model for urban climate studies:Addressing multifaceted challenges and advancing climate science

The Regional Climate Model(RegCM)proves valuable for climate analysis and has been applied to a wide range of climate change aspects and other environmental issues at a regional scale.The model also demonstrated success in diverse areas of urban research,including urban heat island studies,extreme climate events analysis,assessing urban resilience,and evaluating urbanization impacts on climate and air quality.Recently,more studies have been conducted in utilizing RegCM to address climate change in cities,due to its enhanced ability over the years to capture meteorological phenomena at city scales.However,there are many challenges associated with its implementation in meso-scale research,which are attributed to various shortcomings and thus create room for further improvement in the model.This paper presents a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the RegCM over the years and its customisation across various parameters,demonstrating its versatility in urban climate studies and underscoring the model’s pivotal role in addressing multifaceted challenges in urban environments.By addressing these aspects,the paper offers valuable insights and recommendations for researchers seeking to enhance the accuracy and efficacy of urban climate simulations using the RegCM system,thereby contributing to the advancement of urban climate science and sustainability.

Diversity of Macro Invertebrates of the River Rwizi in Western Uganda: A Citizen Science-BioBlitz Approach

This study elucidates the pivotal role of citizen science-BioBlitz methodologies for rapid assessment of the macro-invertebrate taxa within the threatened River Rwizi of South-western Uganda. Utilizing a comprehensive mixed-methods approach, the investigation focused on six distinct river segments to demonstrate the efficacy of participatory citizen science-BioBlitz approaches conducted by experts, students and community volunteers. BioBlitz events included rigorous macro-invertebrate sampling at each of the selected sites along River Rwizi on nine occasions, incorporating collaborative taxonomic identification procedures involving experts, students, and the local community. Analyzing pollution concerns, diversity metrics, and community narratives yielded insights into river health and socio-ecological dynamics. A total of 43 macro-invertebrate families across 17 orders were documented with class Insecta dominating. Participants in BioBlitz events expressed predominantly positive sentiments, emphasizing satisfaction, education, and heightened awareness, besides negative sentiments rooted in historical mistrust. Intriguingly, the study unveiled an unforeseen trend in macro-invertebrate taxa richness, rising from upstream to urban sprawl and diminishing at peri-urban downstream sites. The study underscores the potential of citizen science-BioBlitz methodologies in advancing community science education and unraveling the intricate dynamics of threatened river ecosystems. The insights offered are invaluable for policymakers and conservationists seeking effective strategies to address challenges in the River Rwizi and comparable ecosystems. .

Evolution of Viral Load in Patients Infected with HIV-1 at Point G University Hospital

Introduction: HIV, the human immunodeficiency virus, is the etiological agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The aim of this study was to assess the evolution of the viral load in patients under treatment. Methodology: This was a study carried out from July 2017 to June 2022 at the Point G University Hospital laboratory. The determination of the viral load of patients was carried out by PCR on the ABOTT M2000sp/rt platform. Results: A total of 129 patients infected with HIV-1, aged 19 to 72 years with a mean age of 40.05 years ± 10.71;all on antiretroviral chemotherapy. The female gender predominated among our patients. The most common treatment regimen was 2INTI + 1INNTI with 72.9% followed by 2INTI + 1INI with 13.2%. As for the combinations of molecules, the combination TDF + 3TC + EFV and TDF + 3TC + DTG predominated, respectively 65.1% and 13.2%. 89.9% of our patients had undetectable viremia after 12 months of treatment (p < 0.005) with an average viral load which had evolved from 681315.65 copies/ml ± 1616908.484 to M0 at 5742.36 copies /ml ± 35756.883 at M12 (p Conclusion: Generally speaking, antiretroviral treatment had contributed to controlling viral loads, however the therapeutic combination TDF + 3TC + DTG had made it possible to obtain more patients with undetectable viremia instead.