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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Historical retrospects and evolutionary characteristics of paleogenomic science and technology

Paleogenomics is a discipline in which the extraction and analysis of DNA from ancient biological remains are studied to understand the evolutionary history of past organisms.Research on this topic has revealed the evolutionary history of humans and other species,traced human migrations and genetic changes,and investigated ancient diseases and environmental influences due to its uniqueness.This paper reviews the scientific and technological history of the development of paleogenomics,including the molecular cloning era,the polymerase chain reaction(PCR)technique era,the genomics era,and the bio-data analysis era.This field explores the key technological development processes and effects of significant scientific discoveries,ranging from gene cloning technology and sequencing technology to breakthroughs and applications in big data analysis,addressing challenges such as sample contamination and trace collection analysis in paleogenomics research.

Preface: celebrating the 60th anniversary of the University of Science and Technology of China

The University of Science and Technology of China(USTC)is a prominent institution with an excellent reputation for education and innovation that resonates across the world.The university holds a special place in history.It was established by the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)in1958 to meet China’s science and technology needs and increase the country’s international competitiveness.Throughout its history we have focused on frontier areas of science and technology and educated top leaders in science and technology for China and the world.

Preface:Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of School of Mechanical Science and Engineering,Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) is a key research-based comprehensive university in Wuhan, China,under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Education of China. Renowned as the epitome of the development of higher education in new China, it is a “211” Project,“985” Project,“Double First-Class” university in China.

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.

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.

Advances in therapies using mesenchymal stem cells and their exosomes for treatment of peripheral nerve injury:state of the art and future perspectives

“Peripheral nerve injury”refers to damage or trauma affecting nerves outside the brain and spinal cord.Peripheral nerve injury results in movements or sensation impairments,and represents a serious public health problem.Although severed peripheral nerves have been effectively joined and various therapies have been offered,recovery of sensory or motor functions remains limited,and efficacious therapies for complete repair of a nerve injury remain elusive.The emerging field of mesenchymal stem cells and their exosome-based therapies hold promise for enhancing nerve regeneration and function.Mesenchymal stem cells,as large living cells responsive to the environment,secrete various factors and exosomes.The latter are nano-sized extracellular vesicles containing bioactive molecules such as proteins,microRNA,and messenger RNA derived from parent mesenchymal stem cells.Exosomes have pivotal roles in cell-to-cell communication and nervous tissue function,offering solutions to changes associated with cell-based therapies.Despite ongoing investigations,mesenchymal stem cells and mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosome-based therapies are in the exploratory stage.A comprehensive review of the latest preclinical experiments and clinical trials is essential for deep understanding of therapeutic strategies and for facilitating clinical translation.This review initially explores current investigations of mesenchymal stem cells and mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes in peripheral nerve injury,exploring the underlying mechanisms.Subsequently,it provides an overview of the current status of mesenchymal stem cell and exosomebased therapies in clinical trials,followed by a comparative analysis of therapies utilizing mesenchymal stem cells and exosomes.Finally,the review addresses the limitations and challenges associated with use of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes,offering potential solutions and guiding future directions.

Structural and microwave absorption properties of CoFe_(2)O_(4)/residual carbon composites

Electromagnetic interference,which necessitates the rapid advancement of substances with exceptional capabilities for bsorbing electromagnetic waves,is of urgent concern in contemporary society.In this work,CoFe_(2)O_(4)/residual carbon from coal gasification fine slag(CFO/RC)composites were created using a novel hydrothermal method.Various mechanisms for microwave absorption,including conductive loss,natural resonance,interfacial dipole polarization,and magnetic flux loss,are involved in these composites.Consequently,compared with pure residual carbon materials,this composite offers superior capabilities in microwave absorption.At 7.76GHz,the CFO/RC-2 composite achieves an impressive minimum reflection loss(RL_(min))of-43.99 dB with a thickness of 2.44 mm.Moreover,CFO/RC-3 demonstrates an effective absorption bandwidth(EAB)of up to 4.16 GHz,accompanied by a thickness of 1.18mm.This study revealed the remarkable capability of the composite to diminish electromagnetic waves,providing a new generation method for microwave absorbing materials of superior quality.

Understanding the local structure and thermophysical behavior of Mg-La liquid alloys via machine learning potential

The local structure and thermophysical behavior of Mg-La liquid alloys were in-depth understood using deep potential molecular dynamic(DPMD) simulation driven via machine learning to promote the development of Mg-La alloys. The robustness of the trained deep potential(DP) model was thoroughly evaluated through several aspects, including root-mean-square errors(RMSEs), energy and force data, and structural information comparison results;the results indicate the carefully trained DP model is reliable. The component and temperature dependence of the local structure in the Mg-La liquid alloy was analyzed. The effect of Mg content in the system on the first coordination shell of the atomic pairs is the same as that of temperature. The pre-peak demonstrated in the structure factor indicates the presence of a medium-range ordered structure in the Mg-La liquid alloy, which is particularly pronounced in the 80at% Mg system and disappears at elevated temperatures. The density, self-diffusion coefficient, and shear viscosity for the Mg-La liquid alloy were predicted via DPMD simulation, the evolution patterns with Mg content and temperature were subsequently discussed, and a database was established accordingly. Finally, the mixing enthalpy and elemental activity of the Mg-La liquid alloy at 1200 K were reliably evaluated,which provides new guidance for related studies.