bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Design Study of a Heavily Loaded Ice Class Propeller Using an Advance Panel Method
Authors: Liu Pengfei , Fakhrul Islam Mohammed , Doucet J. Michael , Prior Andrew , Huang Goujun
Published: January 2021

A design and optimization procedure developed and used for a propeller installed on a twin-semitunnel-hull ship navigating in very shallow and icy water under heavy load conditions is presented. The base propeller for this vessel was first determined using classic design routines under open-water condition with existing model test data. In the optimization process, a panel method code (PROPELLA) was used to vary the pitch values and distributions and take into account the inflow wake distribution, tunnel gap, and cavitation effects. The optimized propeller was able to improve a ship speed of 0.02 knots higher than the desired speed and 0.06 knots higher than the classic B-series propeller. The analysis of the effect of inflow wake, hull tunnel, cavitation, and blade rake angle on propulsive performance is the focus of this paper.
Estudo comparativo dos custos da implantação de rede de abastecimento de água no distrito de Luzimangues/TO
Authors: Sardinha Wislley Cardoso , Silva Junior Flavio Vieira da
Published: January 2021

A água é um dos recursos naturais essenciais à sobrevivência humana, no entanto tem sofrido com problemas como sobrecarga de utilização, em âmbito global e escassez, o que contribui de forma negativa com a disponibilidade do recurso, evidenciando assim, a crise da água.  Neste contexto, surge então a necessidade de se gerenciar de maneira eficaz esse recurso que é tão importante e que apresenta inúmeros componentes de incertezas. Um importante objeto do gerenciamento é o tratamento químico pelo qual a água bruta passa para se tornar potável e adequada para o consumo humano, este processo corresponde ao segundo maior custo nas estações de tratamento de água, atrás apenas de despesas envolvendo recursos humanos, materiais e serviços. Neste trabalho buscou-se mostrar, através de revisão bibliográfica, a íntima relação existente entre saneamento básico, meio ambiente e saúde pública. Concluiu-se que o saneamento básico é um fator fundamental, mas não único, para a melhoria da qualidade de vida da população, devendo ser incorporado a um modelo de desenvolvimento que contemple também as questões econômicas e sociais.
Analysis of the treatment of the police informer in different legal systems
Authors: Marchal González Adrián Nicolás
Published: January 2021

Increasingly, the use of different means of investigation is enabling the authorities to clarify the facts and to arrest the perpetrator of the crime more quickly and effectively, within the different means of investigation available to police authorities, one of which and the most common in all countries is the police informer, being a person of particular importance during the police investigation, as he or she provides confidential and essential information in order to learn important facts about the crime and its perpetrators. The problem with this research tool is that it is not uniform in its treatment, in different countries, the informant is treated differently, and as a result of this, the product or the investigation that is offered to the judges, as a result of these confidences, is different. Likewise, when working with police informants, it is very important to take into account a series of precautions so as not to violate any human rights, as well as not to being manipulated by the informer. As an example of the above, this article studies the treatment of police informants in different countries, considering the legislation of each one, sentences and documents that establish the guidelines for the use of police informants.
Typology of think tanks: A comparative study in Finland and Scotland
Authors: Mykkänen Markus , Freshwater Neil
Published: January 2021

This paper provides a comparative analysis of current Finnish and Scottish think tanks and reviews how think tanks in these countries have evolved, how think tanks seek to influence decision making and engage with their stakeholders. To address the ways of influence this paper looks how Finnish and Scottish think tanks describe themselves and how they use publications in their advocacy. Conducted content analysis indicates that usually registered association based Finnish think tanks are generally more research-focused organisations, who overall deploy more research publications for advocacy than the company based Scottish think tanks. Findings also reveal that the number of think tanks in both countries has greatly increased in the last two decades due to the political challenges with European Union and national politics. The paper provides a new approach to study think tanks in national contexts.
Has the USA Educational System Failed? Why it Has Failed and What can be Done.
Authors: Schatkin Andrew J.
Published: January 2021

This essay examines the reasons for the current education crisis in the USA, it analyzes and considers the matter and subject of the USA educational system, factors of failure and suggests potential solutions as remedies.
Language and Idealism
Authors: Marsonet Michele
Published: January 2021

In the philosophical inquiry adopted by logical empiricists, analysis of scientific language becomes something similar to a metaphysical endeavor which is meant to establish the bounds of sense, and this stance may be easily traced back to Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. On the other hand, the analytic tradition transferred this conception to the analysis of ordinary language, and this move, eventually, was able to restore the confidence of many philosophers in their own work. After all they were doing something important and worthwhile, that is to say, something no one else was doing, since linguists are certainly concerned with language, but from quite a different point of view. At this point we may well ask ourselves: What is wrong with this kind of approach, given the present crisis of the analytic tradition and the growing success of the so-called postanalytic thought? At first sight it looks perfectly legitimate and, moreover, it produced important results, as anybody can verify just reading the masterpieces of contemporary analytic philosophy. To answer the question: What is wrong?, we must first of all take into account language itself and check what it is meant to be within the analytic tradition. This will give our question a clear answer. We have to verify, furthermore, what kind of knowledge philosophy needs to be equipped with if it wants to preserve its autonomy. The logical positivists clearly claimed in their program that there is no synthetic a priori knowledge such as the one envisioned by Immanuel Kant. There is, however, an analytic and a priori knowledge which is supplied by mathematics and logic alone. Within this field, the techniques of contemporary formal logic are exalted because they allow us to build artificial languages which - at least theoretically - eliminate the ambiguities of everyday speech.
Modulating infrared optoelectronic performance of GaInAsSb p-n junction by nanophotonic structure
Authors: Huangfu Xia-Hong , Liu Shuang-Fei , Xiao Jia-Jun , Zhang Bei , Peng Xin-Cun ,   College of Information Engineering, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China,   Engineering Research Center of New Energy Technology and Equipment of Jiangxi Province, East China University of Technology, Nanchang 330013, China
Published: January 2021

GaInAsSb quaternary alloys have attracted much interest in infrared optoelectronic applications due to their versatility in a large range of energy gaps from 0.296 eV to 0.726 eV when lattice matches to GaSb wafer. However, due to the high intrinsic carrier concentration and Auger recombination, GaInAsSb p-n junctions typically are characterized by high dark current density at room temperature and need to be operated at low temperature to obtain high optoelectronic performance. In this work, a front surface wide-bandgap semiconductor nano pillar array (NPA) and a high reflective metal back surface reflector (BSR) are designed to modulate optoelectronic performances of GaInAsSb p-n junction. The optical and optoelectronic characteristics are analyzed by the finite difference time domain simulation and the numerical solution of carrier transport equations, respectively. It shows that the NPA-BSR structure can trigger Mie-type resonance, Wood-Rayleigh anomaly effect and Fabry-Perot resonance, which can be used to trap the light efficiently in an ultrathin GaInAsSb film. Owing to these nanophotonic effects, the average light absorption of ~90% can be obtained in 1.0–2.3 μm infrared waveband for 1μm Ga0.84In0.16As0.14Sb0.86. It also shows that the Auger recombination can be suppressed with thickness decreasing which leads the carrier collection efficiency to increase and the dark current density to decrease. Theoretical results show that the carrier collection efficiency of ~99% and dark current density of ~5×10–6 A/cm2 can be obtained for the 1 μm Ga0.84In0.16As0.14Sb0.86 p-n junction. With these unique optoelectronic properties, the NPA-BSR nanophotonic structure can become a very promising method to realize the high performance ultrathin GaInAsSb infrared optoelectronic devices.
Measuring the impact of COVID-19 on China’s population migration with mobile phone data
Authors: Dai Bi-Tao , Tan Suo-Yi , Chen Sa-Ran , Cai Meng-Si , Qin Shuo , Lu Xin ,   College of Systems Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073, China,   State Key Laboratory on Blind Signal Processing, Chengdu 610041, China
Published: January 2021

Population migration is an essential medium for the spread of epidemic, which can accelerate localized outbreaks of disease into widespread epidemic. Large-scale population movements between different areas increase the risk of cross-infection and bring great challenges to epidemic prevention and control. As COVID-19 can spread rapidly through human-to-human transmission, understanding its migration patterns is essential to modeling its spreading and evaluating the efficiency of mitigation policies applied to COVID-19. Using nationwide mobile phone data to track population flows throughout China at prefecture-level, we use the temporal network analysis to compare topological metrics of population mobility network during two consecutive months between before and after the outbreak, i.e. January 1st to February 29th. To detect the regions which are closely connected with population movements, we propose a Spatial-Louvain algorithm through adapting a gravity attenuation factor. Moreover, our proposed algorithm achieves an improvement of 14% in modularity compared with the Louvain algorithm. Additionally, we divide the period into four stages, i.e. normal time, Chunyun migration, epidemic interventions, and recovery time, to describe the patterns of mobility network’s evolution. Through the above methods, we explore the evolution pattern and spatial mechanism of the population mobility from the perspective of spatiotemporal big data and acquire some meaningful findings. Firstly, we find that after the lockdown of Wuhan and effective epidemic interventions, a substantial reduction in mobility lasted until mid-February. Secondly, based on the economic interaction and geographic location, China has formed an urban agglomeration structure with core cities centering and radiating toward the surroundings. Thirdly, in the extreme cases, the dominant factor of population mobility in remote areas is geographic location rather than economy. Fourthly, the urban agglomeration structure of cities is robust so that when the epidemic weakens or disappears, the city clusters can quickly recover into their original patterns.
Elevated Levels of Lactate Dehydrogenase Predicts Poor Outcomes for Patients with COVID-19: A Review
Authors: Zageer Dheaa Shamikh
Published: January 2021

In glucose (Glc) metabolism, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) functions by changing pyruvate into lactate. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release is induced viacell death, suggesting to disease caused by virus or pulmonary deterioration, such as inflammation of the lung triggered by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). A satisfactory evidence exists by binding elevated lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels to the development of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) complications.
COVID-19-Related Mortality across the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: Based on Countries’ Available Data Up to November, 2020
Authors: Ahmad Amar , Mamdouh Heba , Naseri Heba Al- , Hamiz Aisha Al , Heumann Christian , Ali Raghib
Published: January 2021

Background: The world has endured a high burden of mortality and morbidity due to Covid-19 over the last year. There may be factors that account for differences in mortality rates. The Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries share similar cultural identities, socioeconomic conditions, population structure and display similar health-status composition of their population. There is a demand for data on the differentials of the COVID-19 pandemic across all countries. This statistical analysis primarily compared the crude mortality rates, and estimates the relative risk of COVID-19 death rates across the GCC countries using longitudinal study design.

Methods: This statistical analysis used downloaded data from Our World in Data, which was last updated on November 19, 2020. We computed COVID-19 crude mortality rates for the GCC countries individually. We estimated COVID-19 death rates for the GCC countries and compared them to the reference largest country Saudi Arabia. To adjust for most relevant confounding factors for COVID-19 deaths, a Poisson mixed effect regression model was fitted with COVID-19 new cases and the number test per case as fixed effect predictors of COVID-19 deaths. 

Results: The estimated relative risk of COVID-19 deaths rates for UAE and Qatar was 0.352 (95% CI: 0.220-0.564, p-value <0.001) and 0.467 (95% CI: 0.287-0.762, p-value = 0.002), respectively, showing 64.8% and 53.3% fewer COVID-19 death rates compared to Saudi Arabia, individually. No statistically significant difference was found between Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman as compared with Saudi Arabia.

Conclusion: The UAE has the lowest COVID-19 death rate among any other GCC countries, followed by Qatar. In addition, the number of tests per case were negatively associated with the number of Covid-19 deaths. Besides, the number of new COCID-19 infections relative to the number of patients correlates with the number of patient deaths.
Standards for the Research and Registration of Drinking Mineral and Mountain Spring Waters in Bulgaria
Authors: Ignatov Ignat
Published: January 2021

In Bulgaria is observed a great variety of spring waters. They are mineral and mountain spring waters. According to their temperature they can be cold (up to 37 °С), warm (from 37°C to 60 °C) and hot (over 60 °C). This is temperature standard in Bulgaria, European Union.

The mountain spring waters are cold with temperature up to 25 °С.

In Bulgaria for drinking mineral and mountain spring waters are valid Ordinance No 9 / 2001, Official State Gazette, issue 30, and decree No. 178 / 23.07.2004. There are include:

Physicochemical parameters;

Microbiological data;

Radiological study.

The aim of the publication is to show the results regarding Ordinance No. 9 / 2001, Official State Gazette, issue 30, and decree No 178 / 23.07.2004 with research of Nedyalka Valcheva, Trakia University, Stara Zagora. There are also including author research.

By their chemical composition they fall into three categories – low mineralized (up to 2 g/L), moderately mineralized (2 to 15 g/L) and highly mineralized (15 - 30 g/L). According to their chemical composition the mineral waters are divided into sulphate, sulfide, hydrogen carbonate, chloride and carbonic containing waters.
Design and Optimization of Lactic Acid Purification Process by Reactive Distillation with Isoamyl Alcohol
Authors: Wang Ying , Xu Jumei , Zeng Zuoxiang , Xue Weilan , Mao Zhijie
Published: January 2021

The purpose of this study was to investigate a continuous process for the recovery of lactic acid from fermentation broth. A reactive distillation process to purify lactic acid by esterification with isoamyl alcohol and hydrolysis was designed and simulated by Aspen. Five columns were included in the process: esterification column, purification column, hydrolysis column, dehydration column and recovery column. Effects of process parameters (operating pressure, feed composition, feed position, number of reaction and separation stages, and reboiler duty) of the esterification column on the yield and purity of lactic ester was evaluated. Further evaluation was carried out to reveal the effects of process parameters of the hydrolysis column on the yield and purity of lactic acid. The total annual cost of the whole process was calculated. Simulation studies are carried out using Aspen Plus RADFRAC module. It was shown that under the optimized condition, the concentration of lactic acid can reach up to 82.4 wt%, and the organic acid impurities were less than 3 ppm. Compared with the traditional usage of methanol and butanol, the isoamyl alcohol process can save about 20% of the total annual cost at the same output of lactic acid. Results obtained in this work can be used for scale-up study of an industrial reactive distillation operation as an efficient and economical alternative to recover lactic acid from fermentation broth.
The Zubair-dagum Distribution
Authors: Uwaeme O. R. , Akpan N. P.
Published: January 2021

This article examines the flexibility of the Zubair-G family of distribution using the Dagum distribution. The proposed distribution is called the Zubair-Dagum distribution. The various mathematical properties of this distribution such as the Quantile function, Moments, Moment generating function, Reliability analysis, Entropy and Order statistics were obtained. The parameter estimates of the proposed distribution were also derived and estimated using the maximum likelihood estimation method. The new distribution is right skewed and has various bathtub and monotonically decreasing shapes. Our numerical illustrations using two real-life datasets substantiate the applicability, flexibility and superiority of the proposed distribution over competing distributions.
Data Analytic Solution for Heterogeneous Transportation Management Network System: A Case Study of Kwara State, Nigeria
Authors: Kayode A. Aroyehun , Alabi Abdullateef O. , Ganiyat T. Salaudeen
Published: January 2021

When the transportation system of any States in Nigeria is effective, it positively contributes to effective economy growth and infrastructural facilities; saves stress and generate revenue to the authorities. This is the desire of every ministry of Transportation for State in Nigeria although a number of constraints usually make it not attainable. The transportation system presently operated by the Ministry of Transportation, Kwara was studied and found to be suffering, cumbersome, exploitative and fall short in all standards of a good transportation network system. Therefore this paper seeks to present the results of the research carried out to Big Data Analytic Solution (BDAS) for the management of the transport companies’ network system within Kwara State. The research adopts a transportation frame work design solution, MySQL for data migration and Php framework ‘codeigniter’ for productive server for the full development. The phase testing is carried out and presents the improved version for the improvement in routes schedules, company’s services and driver’s registration and user booking.

The system will serve as open access to heterogeneous communities in Kwara State, Nigeria and make easy booking for passengers, assist communities in management of transportation systems within kwara state, Nigeria.
Comparative Effect of Ginger (Zingiber officinale) Supplement on Hepato-renal Damages Induced by Acetaminophen Toxicity in Wistar Rats
Authors: Abaekwume Chukwunyere Ogechi , Kagbo Hope Delesi
Published: January 2021

Background: Acetaminophen toxicity is one of the widespread causes of both planned and unplanned health related issues in the world today. It is a familiar cause of liver and kidney damage particularly in adolescents and children.

Aims: With the growing focus in the mitigating and therapeutic roles of herbal drugs in toxicity studies, it is perceptible to investigate the comparative, prophylactic and curative effect of the ginger supplement on acetaminophen-induced liver and kidney damage using wistar rats as model. Methodology:

Study Design: Twenty (20) adult male wistar rats weighing185 g-220 g was obtained from animal house of the department of Pharmacology University of Port Harcourt were divided into four groups having five rats each. 

Methodology: Twenty adult wistar rats were divided into four (4) groups of five animals each and treated orally as follows: Group A (normal control) received distilled water (7days), group B received 1000mg/kg acetaminophen (APAP) (2 days). Group C Ginger (GINE+APAP) received ginger supplements 500mg/kg respectively one hour before administration of APAP for 7 days, whereas group D received APAP (2 days) followed by 500mg/kg Ginger for 5 days (APAP+GINE). At the end of the experiment, animals from different groups were anaesthesized, blood samples collected, liver and kidney tissues dissected and subjected to different biochemical, antioxidants, and histopathological test.

Statistical: Analysis was done using One Way Anova and Tukey’s Post-hoc Test. 

Results: APAP caused significant (P<0.05) decrease in creatinine with significant (P<0.01) increase and decrease in liver enzymes and hepatic catalase levels respectively in relation to normal control. Treatment of rats with the ginger supplements attenuated the elevated liver and kidney biochemistry, histopathological alterations by APAP treatment.

Conclusively: The extracts demonstrated therapeutic ability and the herbal drugs may be more effective when use prophylactically than curatively. Further research work is needed to validate the finding.
Mathematical Model of the Transmission Dynamics of Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) and Its Control
Authors: William Atokolo , David Omale , Tenuche Bashir Sezuo , Samuel Olayemi Kehinde , Alih Daniel Musa , Johnson Akpa
Published: January 2021

This work is aimed at formulating a mathematical model for the transmission dynamics and control of corona virus disease in a population. The Disease Free Equilibrium state of the model was determined and shown to be locally asymptotically stable. The Endemic Equilibrium state of the model was also established and proved to be locally asymptotically stable using the trace and determinant method, after which we determined the basic reproduction number ( ) of the model using the next generation method. When ( ), the disease is wiped out of a population, but if ( ), the disease invades such population. Local sensitivity analysis result shows that the rate at which the exposed are quarantined ( ), the rate at which the infected are isolated ( ), the rate at which the quarantined are isolated ( ), and the treatment rate ( ) should be targeted by the control intervention strategies as an increase in the values of these parameters (  and ) will reduce the basic reproduction number  ( ) of the COVID-19 and as such will eliminate the disease from the population with time. Numerical simulation of the model shows that the disease will be eradicated with time when enlightenment control measure for the susceptible individuals to observe social distance, frequent use of hand sanitizers, covering of mouth when coughing or sneezing are properly observed. Moreso, increasing the rates at which the suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 are quarantined and isolated respectively reduce the spread of the global pandemic.
Measuring the Dis-Equilibrium in Acreage Response of Black Gram (Vigna mungo (L.) Hepper) in Tamil Nadu – A Vector Error Correction Model
Authors: Sangeetha R. , Ashok K. R. , Priyanka P. Asha
Published: January 2021

The study has observed an increasing trend in pulses production, driven mainly by yield improvements. The contributions of area expansion and prices to black gram growth have been erratic, suggesting that these cannot be the sustainable sources of black gram growth. Further, farmers’ area allocation decisions to pulses are not price-dependent, but depend on non price factors, mainly rainfall. However, the growth in pulses production in the long-run must come from technological changes. Numerous past studies on black gram cultivation in Tamil Nadu is criticized for using the weaker Nerlovian Partial Adjustment models and for analytical interpretation through Ordinary Least Square (OLS) creating spurious results for time series data. This problem can be avoided if Econometric technique of co-integration is used. It is for the present paper measuring the dis-Equilibrium in acreage response of black gram by using a vector error correction model. Our unit root analysis indicates that underlying data series were not stationary and are all integrated of order one, that is I(1). The Johansen co-integration approach indicates the presence of a co-integrating relationship in the acreage response model. Black gram acreage is significantly influenced by relative price of black gram, and other competing crops such as groundnut whenever resourceallocation is concerned famers preferred to allocate irrigated land to other competing crops which are more remunerative and high yielding than black gram crop. The black gram supply elasticity’s are found to be inelastic both in the short-and long-run. The long-run and short run price elasticity’s were 0.41 and 0.28, respectively.
Performance Evaluation of Single Row-Low Horse Power Tractor Operated Vegetable Transplanter
Authors: Durga Mattaparthi Lakshmi , Rao A. Srinivasa , Kumar A. Ashok
Published: January 2021

Mini tractor (18 hp) operated single row vegetable transplanter was developed for Tomato and Brinjal crop transplanting. A simple rotating magazine type metering system was attached to the transplanter. The performance evaluation was done in was 20× 10 m at 1.0, 1.5 and 2.5 km/h. But at low speed i.e 1.0 km/h the results were in acceptable range. The main parameters of the developed transplanter were planting angle and missing percentage. Planting angle was 3.02 and 2.45º, similarly missing percentage was 9.5 and 8.78 % for Tomato and Brinjal respectively. The field-capacity and transplanting-efficiency were obtained 0.05 ha h-1 and 83.3% respectively. Breakeven area obtained as 0.42 ha and payback period was 44.71 h.
Composting – A Solution to the Industrial Solid Waste Management
Authors: Malarvizhi C. , Doraisamy P. , Maheswari M.
Published: January 2021

Environmental pollution is the major problems associated with rapid industrialization, urbanization and rise in living standards for people. Gelatin industry solid waste contains plant nutrients and organic matter, which could enhance the availability of nutrients, enrich the soil organic matter and ultimately increase the crop growth. Hence, the study was conducted to convert gelatin industry solid waste with nutrient-rich materials such as cow dung, poultry waste and coir pith with microbial cultures for the production of nutrient-rich value-added manure. Composting of GISW along with coir pith, cow dung and poultry waste recorded the desirable C/N ratio of 12.4:1 and highest nutrient contents (1.85, 3.85 and 1.24% of N, P and K, respectively). Also, the composted gelatin industry solid waste (CGISW) was subjected to various maturity tests and phytotoxicity assay.  The indiscriminate disposal and accumulation of solid wastes generated by gelatin manufacturing industries are the cause for concern. Hence an attempt has been made to convert these gelatin industry solid wastes (GISW) into bio-manure by blending with other organic wastes such as poultry waste, coir pith and cow dung with suitable microorganisms.
Current Status of Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci (QTL) for Different Traits and Marker Assisted Breeding in Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) – A Review
Authors: Nunavath Aswini , Hegde Venkatraman , Murthy K. Gopala Krishna , Venkanna V.
Published: January 2021

Chickpea is one of the most important pulse crops having estimated genome size of 738 Mb. The crop is affected by various biotic and abiotic stresses causing significant yield reduction. During the recent past, some biotic stresses like fusarium wilt, ascochyta blight, botrytis grey mould and abiotic stresses like drought, heat and salinity were found to reduce the productivity, thereafter, these demands for development of high yielding early maturing chickpea varieties with resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Due to the advent of molecular techniques and availability of highly polymorphic and co-dominant microsatellite and other molecular markers, development of genetic maps for chickpea has progressed significantly. Molecular markers are now considered better than morphological and physiological characters for being stable, unaffected by environmental influences and easily detectable irrespective of their growth and development stages. The mapping of genes / QTLs for various traits like flowering time, yield and yield related traits, resistance to fusarium wilt, ascochyta blight, BGM, drought, salinity, heat may be useful in developing improved varieties of chickpea besides deeper understanding of genetics underlying the inheritance of the characters. The knowledge on mapped genes / QTLs for various traits of interest could help in integration of genomics-assisted breeding through various approaches like Marker Assisted Back Crossing, introgression of superior alleles from wild species through Advanced Backcross QTL, Marker Assisted Recurrent Selection and Genome Wide Selection for improving chickpea.
A Study on the Effect of Graded Levels of Locust Beans (Parkia biglobosa) Seed Meal on the Performance of “Broiler” in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto Teaching and Research Farm Nigeria
Authors: Kakagida Abubakar Yusuf , Anka Bello Abubakar , Mabu Isa Musa , Mohammed Audu A.
Published: January 2021

The study was carried out to evaluate the effect of feeding locust bean (Parkia Biglobosa) seed meal (LBSM) at graded levels on the performance of broilers. Two hundred and forty broilers were used which were randomly allotted to four treatment groups, each replicated four times in a completely randomized design. The diets contained 0% level of LBSM which served as the control, while other three diets contained 5, 10 and 15% levels of LBSM. The experiment lasted for 28days. Significant differences of (P<0.05) were observed in feed intake (g/b/d) water intake ml/b/d, final body weight (g/b), body weight gain (g/b) averaged daily gain (g/b/d) and feed conversion ratio (FCR). While no significant effect of locust bean seed meal (LBSM) in broilers diets provide effective mechanism for better performance. But live weight was significantly influenced (P<0.05) by LBSM. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine significant difference between treatment groups in term of performance parameters. Where significant difference existed, Duncan’s multiple range test was applied to separate the means. Data analysis was carried out using (SPSS (SPSS, 2013version 20.0).It is concluded that LBSM can be included in the diet of broilers at starter phase from 5-15% inclusion levels while at finisher phase, diets containing 10 and 15% level of inclusion would be used for better performance without any deleterious effect on the growth performance. It could be recommended that, diets containing 10 and 15% LBSM level of inclusion would be used for better performance and economic benefit with better feed conversion ratio.
A Review on Adsorption and Desorption of Different Pesticides in Various Soil
Authors: Lunagariya Dhara D. , Patel K. G. , Singh Susheel , Parekh Vipulkumar B. , Ahlawat T. R.
Published: January 2021

Pesticides are important to the success of agriculture as well as an inevitable factor to maintain good public health. Over the years, the consumption of pesticides has increased manifold, particularly during the past two decades. However, this increase has caused great concern over the presence of residues or leftover pesticides in the environment. The understanding of adsorption and desorption behavior of different pesticides is an important phenomenon to describe the fate of pesticide in soil and other environmental compartment like water and sediment. The soil is considered as ultimate sink of pesticide as these were reached to soil directly or indirectly from the point/non-point sources. Adsorption–desorption processes are necessary in understanding pesticides retention behavior and its potential mobility within the soil. The behavior of pesticides in the soil depends on factors such as the physico-chemical properties of pesticides, the active surface of mineral, organic components and the amount of the pesticide applied. Henceforth, adsorption and desorption of soil applied pesticides needed to deal with greater sincerity. This review primarily ascertains dominant properties of pesticides including surface area, pH, surface functional groups, carbon content and aromatic structure and evaluate the adsorption and desorption of pesticide in agricultural soils. In addition, a vision for future research prospects has been anticipated by considering the pesticide bioavailability as residues in soil, influence of soil organic matter, clay content, pH and soil temperature on pesticide removal, pesticide properties and its behavior in soils.
Study on Physico-chemical Properties and Fertility Status of Tumkur District (Zone-4) of Karnataka
Authors: Naik A. H. Kumar , Madhu B. M. , Chandravamshi Parashuram , Hanumanthappa M.
Published: January 2021

A study was conducted to an assessment of physico-chemical properties of soil of Chikknayakana Hally (CNH), Koratigere (KTG), Madhugiri (MDG) Pavagada (PVG), Sira and Tiptur (TPT) taluks of Tumkur district was carried out in 2018-2019 under natural farming. The main objectives of this study was to carried out the survey, collection of information and analysis of chemical properties of soil. Totally 952 soil samples were collected at a depth of 0-15 cm and the study revealed that pH ranged 3.70-7.50 acidic to neutral, and EC is slightly saline in nature. Available nitrogen content ranged from 46.5-657.1 kg ha-1, phosphorus from 5.4-267.7 kg ha-1and potassium status in soils of different taluks ranged from 17.25 to 667 kg ha-1. Maximum soil samples of the area showed sufficient in manganese, Cu and Fe status, but Zinc and boron were deficient.
Ecological Risk Link to Trace Metals in Waters and Sediments along the Abobo-Doumé Fish Market in Ebrié Lagoon, Côte d’Ivoire
Authors: Tuo Adama Diarrassouba , Traoré Issiaka Ben Chérif , Trokourey Albert
Published: January 2021

In coastal waters, trace metals continues to be among global threats due to several harmful effects on living organisms. The present study was conducted along the Abobo-Doumé Fish Market (ADFM) to assess metal contamination due to the lack of data despite the influences of several socio-economic activities. Waters (both surface and bottom layers) and surface sediments samples were collected using respectively a Niskin bottle and a Van Venn Steel, at five stations in April 2006.Trace metals concentrations were determined using the ICP-MS Instrument after proper treatment of each sample. Then, the obtained concentrations were used to calculate several pollution indexes such as Contamination Index (CI), Contamination factor (CF), Pollution Load Index (PLI), Enrichment factor (EF) and Muller’s Index of Geo-accumulation (Igeo) to evaluate the contamination of the selected trace metals in waters and sediments. For water samples, apart from Iron that was not detected in any sample, trace metals were found in respective ranges (in µg/L) of ND-0.2 (As), 0.2-2.0 (Cd), 2.0-20.0 (Hg), ND-1.0 (Mn) and 1.0-390.0 (Pb). According the World Health Organization guidelines values, waters were safe for As, Cd, Fe, and Mn. For Hg, apart from waters closed to the ADFM that exhibited a value of 20.0 µg/L, higher than the reference value of 6.0 µg/L, waters were safe elsewhere. Waters were found contaminated with Pb, particularly in bottom layers, with levels nine to thirty times higher than the reference value of 10.0 µg/L. For sediments, the respective ranges (in mg/kg dry weight) were observed: 2.10-4-1668.48 (As), 2.10-4-7.50 (Cd), 1.95-4554.90 (Fe), 10-4-2.070 (Mn) and 0.001-253.50 (Pb). Highest concentrations of As, Cd and Pb were observed in sediments from several sampling stations, indicating a contamination status of these sediments as confirmed by the calculated pollution indexes. In conclusion, waters along the Abobo-Doumé Fish Market were contaminated in Pb, while sediments exhibited highest concentrations in As, Cd and Pb. This area of the Ebrié Lagoon need attention to the exceeded concentrations of toxic elements (As, Cd and Pb) observed. The present study has provided useful data for future environmental assessment along the Abobo-Doumé Fish Market.
Application of Navier – Stokes Equation to Solve Fluid Flow Problems
Authors: Peter Ebiendele Ebosole , Bala Adamu
Published: January 2021

The Navier – Stokes equations were used to obtain the velocity profile for two different fluid flow problems, firstly to a laminar flow through a pipe and secondly to flow of incompressible fluid between two boundaries, one boundary is the air and the other boundary moving with a velocity, inclined at an angle . The velocity profiles were obtained and presented in a diagram of showing how the fluid flow through the channels.
Pre-Interventional and Post-Interventional Analysis of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice Regarding Hepatitis B & C among Prison Inmates of Malir Jail, Karachi, Pakistan
Authors: Mirza Agha M. Wali , Farhan Syed Ali , Nawab Junaid , Mukhtar Sahrish , Naqvi Shagufta , Ali Syed Sanower , Baig Iqra , Ahmad Mohid , Hussain Wassay
Published: January 2021

Background: Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C being the most prevalent and preventable infectious disease in Sindh with prison inmates being a major risk group.

Aims: To assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of this deadly debilitating disease.

Study Design: Interventional Study

Place and Duration of Study: It was performed in Malir Jail, Karachi, Pakistan in which 128 prison inmates participated. The research was done in three phases for the duration of 1 month.

Methodology: In first phase a pre-intervention questionnaire was filled which assessed the basic knowledge regarding hepatitis, its spread and prevention. In the second phase an elaborate audiovisual presentation was given with detailed explanation to all the participants about hepatitis B and hepatitis C. In the third phase a post-intervention questionnaire was filled.

Results: On assessment, the results showed that before intervention prisoners lacked basic knowledge about hepatitis and after the intervention their knowledge and awareness improved significantly with a p-value of <0.001.

Conclusion: It is concluded that prison inmates of Malir jail Karachi lacked basic knowledge of hepatitis B and hepatitis C and with substantial repeated interventions this preventable infectious disease could be prevented.
Assessment of Solid Waste Generation and Management in Eziobodo Community, Imo State, Nigeria
Authors: Ifeanyichukwu Nkeleme Emmanuel , Anosike Nwabueze Micheal , Ikenna Achigbu Onyemaeze
Published: January 2021

Solid wastes management is a major problem that has reached alarming proportions requiring drastic measures. The increasing difficulty in managing wastes in Nigeria has become one of the most intractable environmental issues. There is unprecedented increase in the rate of wastes generated by the residents. The cardinal aim of the study is to “ascertain the assessment of solid waste management generated in Eziobodo community, Owerri west, Imo state, Nigeria”. To achieve this aim, 140 copies of questionnaires were administered to the residents of Eziobodo community selected at random sampling. Of these, 112 copies of the questionnaire (80.0%) were returned and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Data from the questionnaires were analyzed by simple frequency and presented by percentage. The study revealed among others that: residential buildings accounts for the highest generation source of solid wastes in the community and the solid wastes were predominantly nylon/nylon bags/ nylon sachets; food waste, plastic can/rubbers  arranged in their order of severity. Consequently, the effect of the solid waste in the community were; wide and easy spread of disease vectors, soil pollution and easy breed of flies, rats and mosquitoes. Hence the study recommends, sorting of solid waste before dumping, provision of adequate skips and dustbins and ensuring regular collection of wastes. Finally, potential for a sustainable approach to management of solid wastes such as recycling, reuse, energy recovery and waste reduction.
Nutritional Considerations, Lifestyle Changes and Smoking Habits in Geriatric Patients in COVID 19 ERA – Survey Report
Authors: Bali Pragya , Singh Harvinder , Ruthwal Yamini , Bali Aditya , Bali Ashish , Pathania Poonam , Jabeen Farhat
Published: January 2021

Aim: The main aim of this study is to investigate whether or not there has been a change in the daily dietary patterns of elderly people between the ages of  60 and 80 during the Coronavirus quarantine.

Materials and Methods: An online survey was conducted with questionnaires related to dietary habits and changes done in COVID 19 in elderly patients. An online form was sent with no physical contacts and questions were asked related to dietary habits in age group 60-80 years. Questions were related to Daily diet, Systematic diseases and mental health.

Results: With regards to lifestyle changes during the COVID-19 lockdown, most of the population declares not to have changed its habits. 48% of population has not changed their lifestyle where as 16% has improved their nutritional intake and 36% have witnessed decline their dietary habits during pandemic and lockdown.

Conclusion: The three pillars which should be controlled in COVID 19 times has been taken under and an insight is provided. COVID 19’s peculiarity is it enhances the chronic respiratory ailment in geriatric group hence diet plays an important role.
Medicinal and Nutraceutical Benefits of Chia Seed (Salvia hispanica)
Authors: Felemban Loai F. , Attar Atef M. Al- , Zeid Isam M. Abu
Published: January 2021

Chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.) are small seeds that develop on an annual herbaceous plant. Recently, there has been tremendous growth in the use of chia seeds because of their associated medicinal as well as high nutritional values. Initially, chia cultivation took place in Mesopotamian cultures, eventually disappearing for some centuries before being rediscovered in the mid-20th Century. In this paper, the main aim has been to provide an overview of chia seed in relation to its perceived medicinal properties. From the majority of scholarly affirmations, it has been established that some of the compounds that chia seeds contain, explain its associated healthful effects include minerals, vitamins, proteins, dietary fiber, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and ω-3 fatty acids. Also, the literature contends that chia seeds are excellent sources of antioxidants and polyphenols, which include quercetin, myricetin, rosmarinic acid, and caffeic acid. Around the world, therefore, more and more scholarly investigations have focused on some of the beneficial effects of chia seeds, including the food, pharmaceutical, and medicinal industries. In this paper, it has been established that chia seeds have their medicinal properties gained in terms of pharmacological activities that include steatohepatitis and acute dyslipidemia improvement, sensory attributes, bioactive peptide and protein source, metabolic profile, and antioxidant and appetite suppressing properties. Important to note is that while most studies concur regarding these medicinal properties, in a few investigations, findings suggest that chia seeds do not pose significant beneficial effects, especially concerning health improvements in human subjects. As such, there is a need for future research to examine some of the parameters that could explain this variation, upon which more valid and informed conclusions and inferences might be made.
An Overview of Pre-ignition of Hydrogen Engine
Authors: Luo Yang , Zhao Chuanhao
Published: January 2021

Hydrogen engine has attracted much attention due to its high combustion efficiency, low hydrogen concentration requirement, low environmental pollution and fuel regeneration. But the key issue pre-ignition has hindered the development of hydrogen engines. In order to have a more in-depth understanding of pre-ignition, this paper reviews the mechanism of pre-ignition, the relationship between the nature of hydrogen and pre-ignition , the key factors affecting pre-ignition and the research status of pre-ignition, analyzes the development trend of hydrogen engine and provides a new perspective for the study of inhibiting pre-ignition.
IGLL5 is correlated with tumor‐infiltrating immune cells in clear cell renal cell carcinoma
Authors: Xia Zhi‐Nan , Wang Xing‐Yuan , Cai Li‐Cheng , Jian Wen‐Gang , Zhang Cheng
Published: January 2021

Renal cell carcinomas (RCCs) account for about 90% of renal tumors, and their major histological subtype is ccRCC (clear cell RCC). Increasing evidence has indicated that the tumor microenvironment plays a significant role in the occurrence and development of ccRCC. In this study, we used ESTIMATE and CIBERSORT computational methods to calculate the proportion of immune and stromal components and the rate of TICs (tumor‐infiltrating immune cells) in 539 ccRCC samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas database. By examining the intersection of the differentially expressed genes obtained by the protein–protein interaction network and Cox regression analysis, we identified only one overlapping gene: IGLL5 (immunoglobulin lambda‐like polypeptide 5). We report that IGLL5 expression is correlated with TICs. Furthermore, our immunoinfiltration analyses revealed that three types of TIC are positively correlated with IGLL5 expression. IGLL5 may have potential as a prognostic biomarker of ccRCC.