Applied Sciences Research Periodicals

A Non-Crystalline Protein Can Block Electron Flow in A Cell

2024-11-18T04:04:57+00:00

This short communication proposes an idea of a protein blocking the flow of electron in a cancer cell to kill it.

Rainfall Variability and Cotton Production in Kouandé in the Atacora Department of Benin (West Africa)

2024-11-22T16:12:03+00:00

Cotton production is of major socio-economic importance in the Commune of Kouandé in Benin. However, this sector is subject to the effects of declining rainfall in recent years. This research aims to analyze rainfall variability and cotton production in the commune of Kouandé. Rainfall data from the period 1982 to 2020 and cotton production statistics from the period 1995 to 2020 are used. The methodological approach used is based on documentary research and field surveys carried out among one hundred and thirty-five (135) cotton producers in the Commune of Kouandé in Beninese territory. Thus, frequency analyses on the variability of rainfall and characteristic parameters of the growing season on the one hand and cotton statistics on the other hand were assessed in terms of risks. For the entire study period, there were 7.7% normal years, 38.5% surplus years and 53.2% deficit years. According to 93.33% of the producers interviewed, there is a downward trend in rainfall levels, especially in the last ten years. 50% of the producers surveyed spoke of poor rainfall distribution. Furthermore, a 1.4% drop in cotton production per hectare of sown land per year was observed , which reflects the decline in soil quality. While an average annual drop of 100 mm of rainfall could cause a drop in yield of approximately 1 kg/ha. Several other factors such as humidity index, field maintenance, chemical input, choice of crop varieties, farm labor, cultivation techniques and producer supervision influence agricultural yields.

Climate Change - A Review of the Mass Balance of Biogenic and Fossil Carbon

2024-12-04T06:47:07+00:00

The purpose of this paper is to address, often, contradictory perspectives, regarding the growing concentration of carbon gases (primarily as CO2 and CH4) in Earth’s atmosphere, and the global warming that results. There are two primary sources of these gases: biogenic carbon sources, and fossil based carbon sources. Some will say that increased world (human) population, improved living standards, and the resulting expansion of modern agriculture, are all primary contributors to the rising carbon gases that are driving climate change. Others will suggest that the increased use of fossil fuels is the most significant generation of carbon gases and climate change. Could it be that both of these sources are contributing equally, or at least, significantly? To answer this dilemma, a “mass balance” study of these two, competing effects is offered in this paper. During this study, it was discovered that all the necessary data needed for this evaluation, can actually be found online, and all in the public domain. The core data include: 1) Current and historical atmospheric composition data, and total mass of Earth’s atmosphere (available from the NASA Earth-Fact-Sheet); 2) The “Keeling Curve”, which is now available from NOAA (United States - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) which presents the rising concentration of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere; 3) International fossil fuel emission data which are available from the Global Carbon Project and from the “Ourworldindata.org” website. After careful evaluation, the available data appear to show that the emissions from burning fossil fuels more than account for all of the rise of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere during the past 60 years. In comparison, the biogenic carbon cycle is a massive global phenomenon, which occurs year after years, having minimal impact on the rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations. What initially appears confusing, is that the annual biogenic data are huge in scale, compared to the much smaller, annual fossil emission data. An independent review of carbon isotopes (12C, 13C, 14C) used as trace elements, indicates a similar conclusion as this mass balance evaluation.

Influence of Deep Cryogenic Treatment on Fatigue Strength of 100Cr6 Bearing Steel

2024-10-23T04:19:35+01:00

The objective of the study was to assess the impact of cryogenic treatment on the augmentation of fatigue strength in 100Cr6 steel bearings. The chilling process of a material to -185°C is known as cryogenic treatment, and it improves the material's mechanical as well as physical characteristics. This study aimed to investigate the impact of cryogenic treatment on the dimensional stability enhancement of 100Cr6 bearing steel utilizing DCT (deep cryogenic treatment) at -185°C. The dimensional stability has improved by 13.77 percent as a result of DTC in comparison to conventional heat treatment (CHT). The microstructural investigation reveals that the improvement in dimensional stability is because of the conversion of residual austenite into martensite, as well as the precipitation and dispersion of carbides resulting from the cryogenic treatment. The results of the DSC (Differential Scanning Calorimetry) research performed on the bearing steel samples indicate that the DCT mostly promotes martensite instability by triggering carbon clustering as well as transition carbide precipitation. The DTC showed a higher enhancement in dimensional stability than standard heat treatment because of the more homogenized distribution of carbide and the remaining austenite removal.

Equivalence of Information and Squered Time

2024-10-26T05:57:07+01:00

The equivalence of information and squered time is presented and a correspending physical-mathematical formula is developed.

Assessing Computer-Assisted Education for Non-hospitalized Children with Learning Disabilities in Child Development Center, Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)

2024-10-15T12:23:27+01:00

Computer-assisted education technologies are commonly being used nowadays by Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC)'s pediatric multi-disciplinary rehabilitation team to promote learning and development of cognitive, sensory and motor skills for children with disabilities. Multi-disciplinary team services are delivered through individually tailored care plans aimed at developing each child's level of function and their quality of life. However, researches have shown that use of this advance technology comes with opportunities and challenges for both clinicians and patients, specifically non-hospitalized children with learning disabilities. With the intent of maximizing positive outcomes of the devices and its applications used, the researchers would like to gain insight on the selection and use of computer-assisted education technologies for non-hospitalized children with learning disabilities in HMC. The study will utilize mixed method sequential explanatory design to depict of the current practice in the use of computer-assisted education technologies by health professionals in their management of non-hospitalized children with learning disabilities. An adopted descriptive survey questionnaire tool and a qualitative phenomenological approach through individual interview will be conducted to gather data in this study. Responses will be analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to reveal what devices and applications are currently used in HMC for educating children with learning disabilities and what factors affect the use of computer-assisted education applications by these health professionals. Results of this study may serve as reference for health professionals, administrators and future researchers in developing strategies, frameworks and tools on technology selection and usage for their current services.

Significance of Magnetic Resonance Images in Detection of Shoulder Injuries

2024-11-17T02:52:31+00:00

Introduction: The shoulder is one of the major weights bearing joint that provides not only mobility and stability during physical activity, but also balance while standing. Sport injuries are injuries caused by sports activities and may lead to severe pain and disability. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is established as the leading modality for noninvasive evaluation of the sports shoulder injuries and injuries caused by other physical activities with its multi-planar capabilities and excellent soft-tissue contrast. The aim of the study: Is to investigate the accuracy of MRI in assessment of shoulders injuries. Materials and methods: This is a prospective study which includes 30 patients with shoulder pain gain during different activities from period of June 2f020 to September 2023.All patients came to department of traumatology at University clinic for Surgery “St. Naum Ohridski “– Skopje, and after physical examination were sent for conventional radiography, which was not conclusive, and after that MRI examination at the department of radiology at the same clinic was performed. In all patients magnetic resonance images (MRI) was performed at 1.5 T MR in SAG T2 weighted images, SAG proton density (PD) weighted images, COR STIR weighted images, COR T1 weighted images, AX PD weighted images. The results from MRI were evaluated and also compared with the results from arthroscopy or surgery performed later on. Results: 30 patients with shoulder trauma were included in this study, from them 20 males and 10 females, age range from 16 to 55. Depending on the cause of the injury 17 patients get shoulder injury while preforming different sport activities, mostly handball. Weight barring was cause of injury for 8 patients and 5 of them felt pain during regular physical activities and working. Depending from the MRI results: in 15 patient Hill Sachs lesion was detected on MRI, 6 patient had Bankart lesion, 3 patients have founding of bone edema and cartilage injuries. 2 patients have impingement syndrome, 4 patients have lesion of some muscle from the rotator cuff, 3 were diagnosed with partial lesion and one with complete lesion (2 supraspinatus tendon pathology and 1 infraspinatus and 1 teres minor complete tendon pathology). With comparison of the results from MRI finding with arthroscopy or surgery findings, which were taken as a gold standard, we get the accuracy of MRI. The accuracy of MRI in detection the Hill Sachs lesion was 93.3%, in Bankart lesion 83.3%, in posttraumatic bone edema 66.67%, 50% for detection the impingement syndrome and 75% for lesion of some muscle from the rotator cuff. This study has shown total accuracy of MRI in finding shoulder trauma lesions at 83.33%. Conclusion: MRI is noninvasive diagnostic tool with high accuracy and it is the primary approach in sport shoulder injuries or injuries gain during different activities. Thus MRI is superior to the diagnostic arthroscopy and we recommend MRI as the primary diagnostic tool for the evaluation of sports shoulder trauma lesions. This study has shown total accuracy of MRI in finding the shoulder injuries at 83.33%, which makes it valuable noninvasive diagnostic tool for primary shoulder injuries.