Search

In this work we measure electrical characteristics of different panels following the addition of a simulated failure, namely cracks on the protective layer of photovoltaic cells. The objective is to see its influence on the electrical production of panels on one side, and to see if it is possible to diagnose this failure on the other. The cracks are simulated using broken transparent plates that will be positioned on each solar panel before measuring its real characteristics. The results show that despite the continuity of the operation of the photovoltaic equipment in the presence of cracks, those last clearly influence the electrical power supplied by the panel. Among other things, they give a very particular form to its I-V characteristic which can be used to detect this failure.

Abstract Background The quality of nursing education depends largely on the experience student receive in the clinical environment. The learning environment is complex with factors that may positively or negatively influence students learning. The current study aimed to explore the experiences and perceptions of diploma nursing students toward their clinical learning in Dodoma-Tanzania. Methods A qualitative descriptive study design was employed. The study was conducted in four nursing schools involving 32 nursing students who were purposively selected. Data was collected using focus-group discussions and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Three main themes emerged during the discussions: experience on personal and technical support for clinical learning, the importance of the clinical environment in clinical learning, and insufficient clinical educational planning. The majority of students had negative experiences including poor clinical supervision, lack of equipment, congestion of students, and inability to meet clinical objectives. Few students had positive experiences related to exposure to a real clinical environment and great support from staff nurses. Conclusion Students had mixed experiences, both positive and negative on their clinical learning. The majority of students had negative experiences. This may have a serious impact on the student completing their education, the services they will offer to patients when employed, and nursing professional development.

The estimation of the Curie point depth (CPD) and heat flow (HF) from magnetic data is useful for geothermal and tectonic studies. However, the methodology of estimating these values is still controversial as numerous studies have used different types of transformed magnetic data. Most studies utilize the total magnetic intensity (TMI) or the reduced to the pole (RTP) data, and since shallow magnetic bodies may affect the final CPD values, low-pass (LP) wavelength filtering has also been used to estimate the CPD. In this study, the two-dimensional radially averaged spectral analysis was applied to the land-based magnetic data from the Sinai Peninsula. TMI and RTP data were both analyzed, using different LP filtered wavelengths, and the final CPD and HF values were compared. The cut-off wavelength parameter was selected in terms of the geologic complexity. The results show that the estimated CPD values are well correlated regardless of whether the magnetic data were either TMI or RTP. The RTP data produced a spatial shift in the CPD smaller than the window size being used. Additionally, the centroid method is primarily dependent on the wavenumber, which varied slightly on applying the RTP. There were slight differences in the estimated CPDs when a short LP filter (e.g., 20 km) was applied, whereas increasing the wavelength (e.g., 40 km) caused the CPD values to increase exceeding the plausible depth limits, and the associated spatial trends varied when compared to the other methods. In areas where the basement rocks were shallow or exposed, a LP filter can be applied with short cut-off wavelength. The estimated CPDs were discussed in the context of seismicity data, gravity-based Moho depths, and HF measurements.

Abstract Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common supra ventricular cardiac arrhythmia, which presents with variety of clinical symptoms. Hypertension increases risk of developing Atrial fibrillation by 1.5 fold. Together Atrial fibrillation and hypertension doubles the risk of morbidity and mortality. We aimed to determine the prevalence of AF and describe associated factors among hypertensive patients attending tertiary hospital in Tanzania. Methods A cross-sectional hospital-based study, involving 391 hypertensive patients visiting the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute was conducted between October to December 2017. Categorical variables were analyzed using chi square while student t- test was used to analyze continuous variables. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine factors associated with AF. All analysis was two sided and p- value of 40 mm (OR 9.4,95%CI 2.1–43.2, p-value

This research aimed to measure the degree of the practicing the critical thinking skills (induction, deduction, comparison and contrast, classification, determining the relationship between cause and effect, summarization, and discrimination) by teachers in the first cycle of basic teaching stage and to investigate the impact of sex, and the years of experience on this degree. To achieve that, the researcher used the descriptive approach, and prepared a measure of the critical thinking skills containing (29) paragraphs, as it was ascertained validity and reliability, and distributed to a sample of (53) teachers of the first cycle of basic teaching stage in the official schools in Tartous city. The results showed that the research sample exercise critical thinking skills moderately, and that male teachers engage in critical thinking skills equally exercised by the female teachers, and the results also showed the absence of statistically significant differences in practices of critical thinking skills among teachers due to the variable years of experience. The researcher suggested the establishment of training courses for the development of critical thinking skills among the teachers in basic teaching stage.