American Scientific Research Journal for Engineering, Technology, and Sciences (ASRJETS)

A Green Antisolvent Strategy for Enhancing the Performance of Carbon-based CsPbIBr2 Solar Cells

2021-03-21T08:38:07+00:00

All-inorganic CsPbIBr₂ perovskite materials demonstrated to own a balanceable feature for its acceptable bandgap, good phase stability and excellent thermal stability. Herein, we introduce ethyl acetate (EA) and chlorobenzene (CB) as antisolvent to improve the quality of CsPbIBr₂ thin films. Compared with CB, EA is a good green antisolvent, and high-quality CsPbIBr₂ thin films with enlarged grain sizes, few grain boundaries as well as improved optical properties were obtained by optimizing EA as antisolvent. Based on a carbon-based and hole-free planar heterojunction structure of FTO/TiO₂/CsPbIBr₂/Carbon, an optimal power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 4.35% was achieved, 10% enhancement in PCE. This work contributes to selecting nontoxic solvent engineering for realizing the preparation of high-quality CsPbIBr₂ thin films and the improved performance of all-inorganic CsPbIBr₂ PSCs.

Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus II and Impaired Fasting Glycemia in Patients Diagnosed with Pulmonary Tuberculosis at the Bamenda Regional Hospital - Cameroon

2021-03-21T08:52:56+00:00

The rising prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its association with tuberculosis (TB) and the persistence is a major public health problem worldwide, especially in developing countries,thus emphasizing the importance of investigating this association. This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence of Diabetes mellitus II and impaired fasting glycaemia in patients diagnosed with pulmonary TB at the Bamenda Regional Hospital .An experimental and prospective design, involving 91 patients diagnosed of pulmonary TB and 68 sputum negative patients were used as control. Venous blood was collected from each participant and was analyzed using the CHRONO LAB system chemistry analyzer to screen for impaired fasting glycaemia and Diabetes mellitus. Information to assess the knowledge and perception of both TB and DM of the participants was gotten through questionnaires. This study revealed that the total prevalence of diabetes mellitus was 29.7% while that of IFG was 16.5% amongst TB patients receiving care at the Bamenda Regional hospital compared to the 26.6% DM and 2.9% IFG for the control group. In total, 42(46.2%) of the test population were hyperglycemic (IFG/DM) compared to 16(23.5%) of the control group and this difference was statistically significant (p<0.05) More males (28%) in this study were hyperglycemic than females ( 21%) but the difference was statistically not sgnificant, 26% of alcohol consumers were more hyperglycemic than non alcohol consumers and the difference was statistically significant ( p< 0.05). The age range of 31 – 40 years had the highest prevalence level ( 9%) of DM and 7% of IFG and those below 20 years had the lowest glycemic levels. Findings from this study revealed that TB patients had a higher prevalence of DM and IFG compared to the control population (sputum negative patients).The screening of diabetes in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis is recommended for successful treatment, control and patient care of the two diseases.

Harmonic Distortion Reduction using Seven level H-Bridge VSI Topology based Dynamic Voltage Restorer

2021-03-27T18:07:08+00:00

This paper demos the model, the control and simulation of H-Bridge VSI topology based Dynamic Voltage Restorer (DVR). The structure and the operating principle of the Cascaded H-Bridge Seven level Inverter is realized. The phase shifted SPWM was adapted to reduce the lower order harmonics of the output voltage. The controller was based on the dqo transformation. The performance of the proposed method was ascertained in PSCAD. The simulation results are appraised and discussed. The controller was able to manage the zero-sequence voltage during unbalance fault period. The phase shift SPWM was incorporated with low frequency and subsequently, the switching loss was low. The Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) with the designed DVR was significantly was low in comparison to other traditional models and was within the IEEE Standards 519-2014. The envisioned controller algorithm provides excellent voltage improvements.

Simulation of Convective Drying with Shrinkage using the Finite Window Method: Application and Validation

2021-03-27T18:19:52+00:00

This work presents the simulation of drying with shrinkage by the finished window method. To do this, we recalled the drying balance equations and expressed the shrinkage that a product undergoes during the process of product dehydration by means of the shrinkage rate. Then presented the method of resolution employed with an application to the drying of cocoa beans. The different profiles obtained in terms of temperature, water content and volume shrinkage have been shown to be in perfect agreement with the literature. The comparison of the results of the present study with the experimental data of Koua and al., (2017) presents an average relative error of 2.89% for the water content and 0.99% for the reduced volume. The theoretical results are in perfect agreement with the experiments, which gives us a validation criterion of the method proposed as suitable for the resolution of the drying equations.

Family Arrangements and Quality of Life in Mexican Patients with Dementia

2021-04-02T08:25:57+00:00

Introduction: In the aging population, especially in subjects with dementia, the degree of dependence increases, as well as an increase in the needs of health services and social costs of care. The family is the main support network for a dependent older person. However, it leads to a different family structure.

Objective: To determine the influence of the types of arrangements of the caregiver family on the quality of life of the patient with dementia.

Method: Observational and cross-sectional study. Patients older than 65 years with dementia were included. The family arrangement and the quality of life of the patients, and the caregiver, were identified. The type of family arrangement was classified according to The Savvy Caregiver Trainer's Manual, and quality of life was measured using the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's disease [QOL-AD] scale.

Results: 200 patients with dementia and their main caregivers were included. The patients' median age was 80 [73-84] years, 125 [62.5%] women. The main family arrangement identified was the solitary caregiver [51.5%], followed by the collaborative caregiver [25.5%] and sequential caregiver [19%]. We found a lower score on the QOL-AD scale in patients with global intermediate phase dementia and patients with a solitary caregiver and collaborative caregiver compared to those in the initial phase. We found no difference in the score between the different types of caregivers globally or each phase of dementia.

Conclusion: The type of family arrangement that the patient has does not influence the caregiver's quality of life or dementia. However, physicians can make a family focus on other factors related to a decrease in family burden.

Treatment of Industrial Oil and Soap Wastewater by Using the Application of Electrocoagulation Process

2021-04-02T08:48:36+00:00

Electrocoagulation (EC) treatment of oily and soap industrial wastewater was studied in this paper. Operating parameters such as operating time, medium pH, voltage density, and electrode material and chemical oxygen demand (COD) are being investigated in oil and soap removal efficiencies. The maximum efficiency of COD removal is achieved using aluminum electrodes was 96.92%. The performance of EC using aluminum as the electrode exhibited better COD and oil-grease (O&G) removal than the iron electrode. EC is an extremely promising industrial wastewater treatment technique because it is simple, economic and less sludge production technology, especially for oil and soap wastewater. The optimum conditions to achieve high COD removal efficiency of about 96.92% in 30 min was found to be in using initial pH value range 2–3, and a voltage of 20 volts.

Determining the Optimal Sowing Frequency and Sowing Norm of Cereal Crops

2021-04-02T14:11:47+00:00

Anyone interested in growing crops ¬ knows that all crops need favorable conditions to get a good crop. In particular, the yield of cereal crops depends on many random factors, the complex consideration of which is associated with great difficulties.

Optimal plant distribution and grain crop nutrition conditions can only be achieved during sowing. The main calculation values of sowing of cereal crops are the determination of the optimal sowing frequency and the sowing norm per hectare. Through the nomogram given in the paper it is possible to determine the required number of plants in the open sowing trail depending on the distance between the given rows and the optimal plant frequency. There is also a nomogram defining the sowing norm, through which it is possible to determine the sowing norm of the desired crop by considering the absolute mass of the grain and its ability to emerge.

Effect of Types of Probiotic Bacteria on Physiochemical Properties of Sudanese White Soft Cheese

2021-04-02T14:52:35+00:00

The study was conducted to assess the effect of three different types of probiotic bacteria (Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus casei and Bifidobacterium bifidum) on quality of Sudanese white soft cheese. The objectives of this study were to study the effect of three types of probiotic bacteria on the quality of Sudanese white soft cheese during different storage periods. The samples were subjected to physicochemical parameters, microbial examination. The result of physiochemical parameters showed increase in the yield. The highest yield obtained by cheese containing probiotic bacteria in comparing with control. The moisture content in all cheese samples decreased, while the weight loss, protein, fats and ash content increased during storage period (p≤0.05). The pH values decreased, while the titratable acidity increased and both parameters were affected significantly (p≤0.05) by the types of probiotic bacteria. The soluble nitrogen, formol ripening index, schilovich ripening index and total volatile fatty acids increased significantly during storage period, the highest values observed by samples containing probiotic bacteria comparing with control. The highest calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, magnesium, iron was obtained by sample containing probiotic bacteria comparing with control.

Smart Road Lighting Management System for Reduction of Energy Footprint

2021-04-09T06:22:34+00:00

Energy consumption is a major problem nowadays, especially when it comes in mass scale. Cities and larger inhabited areas have to pay huge amounts of money for electricity bills. Municipality of Aspropyrgos in Greece, is one of them due to its old technology and low energy class. Its annual power consumption only for road lighting, is almost 5 million KWh and the average cost of electricity and maintenance is almost 800 thousand euros. This situation also has great environmental impact since the production of power for street lighting emits 3.3 million kg of CO₂. That quantity demands almost 170 thousand trees, in order to be absorbed. For that reason, two layout scenarios are proposed, in order to provide lower power consumption and better management. The first includes the replacement of light bulbs with corresponding LEDs and the second includes smart management systems. The results of this research, clearly indicate, that there are high potentials in energy saving along with environmental and financial benefits.

Importance of Massularia accuminata (Myrtaceae), Piptadiniastrum africanum (Fabaceae), and Costus afer (Zingiberaceae), Three Plants of the Cameroonian Traditional Medicine Used in the Treatment of Sinusitis by the Village Populations of Bomb-Lissomb and

2021-04-09T06:51:56+00:00

Costus afer, Massularia acuminate and Piptadeniastrum africanum are three plants used in Cameroonian traditional medicine to treat sinusitis. The aim of this study is to justify the interest granted to this three species in the treatment of this disease and to promote their sustainable management. The study was carried out at Bomb-Lissomb and at the goat market. Several types of data were collected: data on the use of these plants in traditional anti-sinus medicine, data on their varied other uses by local residents, data on the availability of these plants as well as data on the interest that these species could generate. Furthermore, the evolution of treatment in patients who received plant extracts was followed after two months to justify their efficiency against sinusitis. The technique used for the removal of organs from the plant's vegetative growth was described. Finally, phytochemical screening of extracts obtained after aqueous maceration of plant organs was performed. Amongst the informants who took part to this study, 17 mentioned barks of Piptadeniastrum africanum and 29 mentioned fruits of Massularia acuminata to treat sinusitis. Treatments administered to patients are made either from monospecific recipes or from a mixture of two or three plants. The average duration of treatment is 29 days when patients are only treated with fruits of Massularia acuminata and 12 days when they are subjected to treatments based on a recipe made from stem barks of Piptadeniastrum africanum and fruits of Massularia acuminate. Treatment seems to be effective from the 2nd time the medication is taken. Harvesting techniques allowing large quantities of organs to be removed from a few individuals affects the regeneration of these individuals. Stems barks and leaves of Massularia acuminata contain almost the same bioactive compounds as fruits.

Dimensionality Reduction Approach using Attributes Extraction and Attributes Selection in Gene Expression Databases

2021-04-10T05:36:06+00:00

The gene expression databases are formed by a high number of attributes. To deal with this amount, data dimensionality reduction is used in order to minimize the volume of data to be treated regarding the number of attributes, and to increase the generalization capability of learning methods by eliminating irrelevant and/or redundant data. This paper proposes an approach to means of dimensionality reduction, which joins attribute extraction and attributes selection. For this, we used the Random Projection method and the filter and wrapper approaches for the attribute selection. The experiments are realized in five gene expression microarray databases. The results of the experiments showed that join of those approaches can provide promising results.

Clustering of Assets: An Alternative to Assist in Financial Decisions

2021-04-11T05:00:55+00:00

The advent of the financial market is one of the most fascinating events of our time. over the years, researchers and investors have been interested in developing tools to assist in making decisions regarding capital allocation. this article proposes clustering as a metric to separate a set of assets, through a grouping method that maximizes the similarity inside groups with the purpose to reduce the risk of the portfolio. For the period analyzed - january 2019 to january 2020 – we have got 8 different assets clusters with a minimum of 1 (1.32% of total assets) and a maximum of 30 assets (42.86% of total assets).

Acrylic Composite Biomaterials for Dental Applications: A Review of Recent Progress

2021-04-19T20:43:44+00:00

Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) is regarded as one of the most widely used and prominent biomaterials for biomedical applications, particularly in dental technology. The unique properties of PMMA regarding its aesthetics, price-affordable availability, easy manipulation, low density, and tailorable mechanical behaviours, make it an eminently suitable biomaterial for such applications. Despite its beneficial properties, PMMA has also some shortcomings in terms of susceptibility to hydrolytic degradation and having insufficient mechanical properties that could prevent this material to be able to handle the various applied forces during its use, which in turn make it vulnerable to fracture. Furthermore, PMMA could serve as a substrate to growth of harmful bacteria and fungi such as Candida glabrata that can cause agents of oral cavity infection and could seriously affect the stamina and person’s health in general. A wide range of approaches have been developed in order to enhance not only the mechanical and thermal behaviours but also water sorption, solubility and the biological activities of PMMA. Incorporating of reinforcement additives into PMMA matrix can improve these properties of PMMA. Several methods and materials have been utilised to reinforce acrylic resin denture base. One of these methods is the reinforcement by using particles whether from natural or synthetic sources including metals and ceramics. Apart from their sources, the particles surface characteristics, quantity and level of dispersion play an essential role in overall behaviour of the composites. Other types of reinforcements are natural and human-made fibers. Each of such has merits and disadvantages; while the synthetic fibers can provide better mechanical properties, natural fibers promote creating better composites in terms of biocompatibility and affordability. Nanotubes are the other spectacular kind of materials being utilised in some studies as a reinforcing phase for PMMA composites. This review will highlight the recent studies that have been conducted for the last decade regarding the development of PMMA-based composite biomaterials for dental applications.

Research: What Underpins the Teaching Action?

2021-04-16T14:43:00+00:00

The purpose of this article is to analyze the main ideas and convergences in research used and debates among authors and experts who have dedicated themselves to teacher education, as well as to understand how they teach and learn before and after the approaches presented here. This article is divided into two parts: in the first, a synthesis of the main discussions about the ideas of teacher education in Brazil, and the world is presented. The second discusses the challenges and possibilities posed as results presented from the analysis of the teachers interviewed. It seems unquestionable that the changes in the structure of Brazilian education required a pedagogical project for the training and professionalization of teachers, in line with the intended changes in education. However, it is fundamental that the intervention raises the levels of consciousness, autonomy, and criticality of individuals, to follow them to a path of transformation, equipped with reflection, about their practices: the human praxis.

Agronomic Biofortification in Caupi Beans with Lithium

2021-04-17T11:26:09+00:00

Biofortification of basic crops is ideal because of the broader consumption of staple foods by the majority of the population. Beans are one of the main constituents of many Brazilian dishes, for urban and rural populations. Li is essential to the mental and behavioral health of human beings. The objective of this work was to study the assimilation of Lithium (Li) by cowpea beans (Vigna unguiculata), with the application of lithium hydroxide (LiOH). The study was carried out in a greenhouse at the Federal University of Tocantins, Campus de Gurupi. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design in a 5 x 3 arrangement, with five doses of Li (0; 10; 20; 30 and 40 mg kg^-1); and three cultivars of Caupi beans (BRS Cauamé, BRS Itaim and BRS Nova Era) with four replicates. The application was performed via foliar, and the doses were divided into two applications of equal proportions, spaced in 15 days. Each experimental plot was represented by a vessel containing 10 kg of soil. Stem diameter, number of pods per plant, pod length, number of grains per pod, insertion of the first pod, plant height, mass of 100 grains, grain yield, lithium content, total nitrogen, crude protein and lipid content. The agronomic biofortification with Li occurred positively with the application of up to 26 kg Li ha^-1 for the three cultivars, with up to 159.38% increase over the treatment without Li application. The results indicate that it is possible to increase the Li doses in Caupi with the use of lithium hydroxide (LiOH) in foliar fertilization.

An Exploratory Study of Gardening Practices and Ornamental Plants in Khartoum State, Sudan

2021-04-17T11:31:21+00:00

In Sudan, as in many parts of the world, ornamental plants are gaining a growing interest. This study aimed to shed light on gardening (horticulture) and ornamental plants in Khartoum State, Sudan by focusing on gardening practices, verifying people's awareness of the environmental role of these plants, and studying species diversity within major ornamental groups namely; cacti and ornamental palms. Data were collected through structured questionnaires with both gardeners and the general public. The results showed that gardening practices as well as interest in ornamental plants have grown rapidly in recent decades and that most of the gardeners belong to young adults (21-40) with a sex ratio of 1: 1. Aesthetic values and combating desertification have been reported as the most important roles of ornamental plants. The remarkable diversity of ornamental plants in cacti and royal palms is attributed to the adaptive ability of their species to grow in the hot and dry environment of the study area, the simplicity of their reproduction and their profitable sales.

Spatial Analysis of the Variables Involved in the Frequency and Severity of Traffic Accidents on Rural Highways in Pernambuco

2021-04-18T19:26:29+00:00

Traffic safety depends on a lot of factors associated with traffic accidents and where it takes place. Analyzing how variables related to traffic accidents influences on its frequency and severity may help on the proposition of significant improvement to the effective reduction of said accidents. The goal of this research is to analyze the impact of contributing factors to traffic accidents of any kind, reducing the number of variables related to the statistic model, adjusting it to the brazilian reallity. The methodology was applied in a case study in a 255km patch of a simple lane countryside highway in the state of Pernambuco. Statistics trials were taken to quantify its possible effects on the frequency and severity of traffic accidents. The analysis showed significant factors that contribute to the frequency and severity of the observed accidents. These factors were the amount of traffic (VDMA), radius of the horizontal curve, greide, age range and day of the week. Even though most of the accidents happened in tangent patches, the most severe accidents take place in turns. It also shows that young people between 18 and 30 years old are 22,7% more likely to get involved in fatal accidents than adults over 50 years old, and that in the weekends the chances of an accident occuring is 67% higher than during a week day. The analysis may be used to provide information on future reviews of parameter selection guidelines, especially regarding turns, based on the main parameters of the highway design to reduce risk of accidents in turns.

Differences in ASR Experiments Between the Short and Long Term Test Methods

2021-04-18T19:38:47+00:00

The main objective of this study is to compare the effect of alkali-silica on concrete from a previous experiment by Stanton in the forties of the last century, which was the basis for researchers to investigate and study the extent of alkali-silica reaction against concrete, by various methods for testing the reaction of alkali-silica. From that point on, scientists have tried to develop testing techniques that can be used quicker to detect the effect of alkali-silica on concrete, and 16 alkali-silica testing methods have been highlighted in this study both in short and long-term terms. These methods have been chosen at random but the chronology and most of their details, how they have been performed, the materials used in this test, etc. have been determined. In the same way, the results of the test methods were explained and the available studies, research, and specifications were followed. Finally, the selected test methods have been compared and the parameters used to compare the test methods were as follows: duration, temperature, specimen size, mix type, used materials, admixtures, water/cement ratio, and expansion limit. The comparison took three forms, the first was a comparison between short-term methods alone and the second was a comparison between long-term methods alone, while the latter was between the two method types using standard concrete practices for civil work structures (EM 1110-2-2000).