Current Journal of Applied Science and Technology

Aims: This paper addresses a system for the students’ record management by the educational institutions using the IoT and Block chain technologies.

Motive for this Research: The growth of the contemporary technologies around the world has made almost all the chores easier and faster. Yet, the government and private organizations are struggling to identify the appropriate candidates for the required positions and to verify their credentials during the recruitment process. The recruiting companies are facing the issue of deceitful activities during the certification and other credential verifications. Moreover, the data are available only in the universities and the verification processes are very often manually completed and they are time demanding. Thus maintaining data integrity and security becomes the major concern for the organizations, which have widely suggested considering AI technology applications in the educational institutions which are ubiquitous nowadays, especially with the current rapid change in the technology landscape. In higher education institutions as a modernization process they have started using the IoT devices for recording the students’ status and performing many activities automatically. The Block chain technology is used for secured peer to peer networks for the private data maintenance. Since it is demanding good Internet infrastructure and the transactions are computationally expensive, there are some hesitations in adapting Block chain technology for the regular activities by the organizations. Despite the security features of the Block chain, there are very few systems and proposals available using IoT and Block chain due to the technical complications while merging these technologies.

Study Design: We have highlighted the various concepts of these two technologies, their applications, advantages, challenges, etc.

Place and Duration of Study: Department of Information Technology, University of Technology and Applied Sciences – Salalah, Oman, from Dec 2019 to February 2021.

Results: A system architecture is proposed and it explains and shows how the Block chain security is being imposed on the IoT based applications especially for the student data management system. The activity diagram of the proposed system helps and assists in understanding the flow of the correspondences among the organizations and the candidates (students) and the way the information is maintained.

Conclusion: The proposed system architecture This system is secure, fast and it can be used by the government and the private institutions not only for the students’ record management and verification, but for many other different purposes within the scope of data management systems.

Background: Chemical peeling is a technique that aims to achieve rejuvenation of the skin by application of chemical peels. The technique dates back to several decades, yet little is known about the indication, side-effects and outcome among a Nigerian population.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to assess the type of chemical peels, their indication, side –effects and outcome among patients at a private dermatology clinic.

Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study, which employed a pro forma to obtain data required to attain the objectives. Data were obtained from all patients who underwent chemical peeling. Chi square and student t test were determined at a statistically significant level of 0.05.

Results: The study had a total of twenty-seven patients, comprising of 7 (25.9%) males, and 20 (74.1%) females, who underwent chemical peeling. Superficial chemical peel was the most dominant peel method (81.5%). Among the superficial peel, mandelic peel, salicylic peel and glycolic peel were commonly. Five of the patients (18.5%) received medium depth, and none (0%) received deep chemical peel. The most frequent indication among the patients in the study was Acne Vulgaris (55.6%), followed by Melasma (14.8%). The comparison of treatment outcome on clinical improvement by age, sex and category of chemical peel revealed no significant differences. Two of the patients reported side-effects (7.4%) namely skin dryness and hyperpigmentation.

Conclusion: Chemical peeling among Nigerian population has few side-effects and is effective. Acne is the most common indication for chemical peel. There is a need for further studies employing analytic study designs and involving a larger population.

Bajra Napier is an important forage crop. Numerous studies have reported a direct relationship between ferrite levels and physiological function of plants. The present study investigates the impact of iron sources and its levels on yield and chlorophyll content of Bajra Napier. The experiment was carried out in a Factorial CRD with 3 factors namely seven sources of Iron (Fe glycinate, Fe citrate, Fe tartrate, Fe glutamate, FeSO₄, Fe-EDDHA, Fe malate) four levels (FeSO₄ - 0, 25, 37.5 and 50 kg ha ^-1 and Fe chelates - 0, 1, 2.5 and 5 kg ha ^-1) and two different soils (Calcareous and Non-calcareous).The results revealed that the iron application increased the chlorophyll concentration and yield, and it was also seen that as the level increased there was an increase in both the characteristics. These results indicated that applying Fe chelates have significantly improved the quality of produce and it was seen that there was an improvement in the iron uptake and the fodder yield showed a greater increase when compared to ferrous sulphate.

Background: To design future breeding programs, biochemical analysis is fundamental.  Chickpea is a major protein source in India and worldwide. More than 3000 chickpea seed accessions are being maintained by Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur which demand biochemical analysis.

Methods: Present study pertains multivariate analysis based on antinutritional content and their protein profile of 20 accessions of Cicer that included cultivated desi and wild.

Results: The spectrum of biochemical characteristics was documented; for lectin ranged 192.19 HU/mg to 12.26 HU/mg and total proteins varied from 2.66-0.59 mg/g. SDS-PAGE appraised various bands in a molecular weight range of 3.5 to 125 kDa acknowledging genetic diversity. On the basis of present study, accession selection for future breeding programs to develop nutritionally elite chickpea cultivar can be executed.

India is one of the world’s largest producers of fruits and vegetables, but one-third of its produce rots because of poor storage technologies and infrastructure, packaging, transport and distribution system. Food is wasted throughout the supply chain, from initial agricultural production to final household consumption. Therefore, value-addition may raise the value of products or something can add that enables to increase the profit margin and demand for consumption. The present study was conducted in Haryana state and two districts Hisar from Southwest and Sonipat from Northeast were selected, purposively. From each district, three blocks were selected randomly because not all the farmer have experience of post-harvest management practices in fuits and vegetables crops. Further, three villages were selected from each block making a total of 18 villages. From each village, ten farmers were selected randomly, making a total sample of 180 farmers. Hence, one hundred eighty farmers were interviewed for the study. The study found that majority of the farmers (62.78 per cent) had partial level (26.11 per cent) had high and 11.11 per cent had no knowledge regarding ‘Room cooling: placing the crops in cold storage’. The results also shows that majority of the farmer (65.56 per cent) had high level 32.78 per cent had partial and 1.66 per cent had no knowledge regarding ‘Cleaning: chemical must be removed from produce before packing. e.g. Insecticides, pesticides etc’. It was found that majority of the farmers (66.11 per cent) had high level, 33.89 per cent had partial level of knowledge regarding ‘Flexible sacks: Made of plastic jute, such as bags (small sacks and nets made of open mesh)’, and none was found to have no knowledge of it. To reach the results aggregates total was calculated for each statement separately and on the basis of calculated scores, mean scores and mean score percentage were obtained which were ranked according to their maximum to minimum mean score percentage for assessing the knowledge level of the farmers.

Objective: To verify the replicability of the questionnaire Assessing the Addition of IN NATURA Vegetable Oil to the Child’s Diet”. Study design: observational cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out in two pediatric outpatient clinics, one of which refers to a health plan operator (SJM), municipality of São João de Meriti (RJ) and the other, at the Polyclinic Piquet Carneiro of the University from the State of Rio de Janeiro (PPC/UERJ), municipality of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), from March 2017 to January 2019.

Sample: Responsible for children feeding, that is, those who buy the food prepare it or serve meals. SJM, n=150 and PPC/UERJ; n=150.

Methodology: Doornik-Hansen test verified the Multivariate normality of the scores distribution of the items according to Likert scale. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin was used as a criterion for identify the adequately of sample for the data adjustment. Conbrach's alpha indicated the internal consistency (coherence) between items on each dimension. The reproducibility by reliability was tested by test-retest by using the weighted Kappa coefficient.

Results: Multivariate normality of the SJM scores: (chi² (22)=602.969 Prob chi²=.0000) and PPC/UERJ: (chi²(22)=411.666 Prob chi²=.0000), adequacy of the samples, KMO: SJM=0.78 to 0.92 and PPC/UERJ=0.76 to 0.92, internal consistency of dimensions (Dimension 1 and 2) by Cronbach's alpha greater than 0.75 for SJM and PPC/UERJ, reproducibility of the questionnaire by weighted Kappa: 0.90 (p value.008), t test for two independent samples, SJM and PPC/UERJ: significant difference for Dimension 1, but not for Dimension 2.

The study was aimed at evaluating the machine performance of a fabricated prototype of a sugarcane juice extractor. The study was conducted in the Department of Agricultural and Bio-resources engineering, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in May 2018. The machine was evaluated using two varieties of cane; Koma (saccharumbarberi) and Kantoma (saccharumofficinarum) in a factorial experiment with five (5) levels of crushing roller speeds (20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 rpm) and three levels of feed rates: one (1) cane stalk, two (2) cane stalks and three (3) cane stalks arranged in 2x5x3 in completely randomized design. Average values of measured parameters obtained from the five crushing speeds were used in plotting graphs in order to establish the relationships that exist between the measured parameters and speed of operation. Data collected for output capacity and extraction efficiency were analyzed using a statistical analysis software (SAS version 9.0). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) were computed at 1 and 5 % levels of significance. The results of performance evaluation showed that the best output capacities of 152.4 and 154.2 kg/hr and the best efficiencies of 72.1 and 63.4% were obtained at the speed of 30 rpm and feed rate of one (1) cane stalk for koma and kantoma varieties respectively. The extraction losses of 17.8 and 21.5% were also recorded at the speed of 60 rpm for the two varieties respectively.

This study evaluated the kinetics of diauxic-like pattern of biogas production from energy crops, Sunflower (SF) and Napier grass (NG) with cow dung (CD). The tests were performed in a batch reactor (R) operation for 60 days in R1 - R4 and 53 days in R5 - R8 under mesophilic conditions (24 - 36^OC). The characteristics of the tested energy crops suggest that they hold prospects for bioenergy production. The cumulative biogas yield/gVS showed that the best performance was R1 with a biogas yield of 15.17 dm³ (0.046 dm³/gVS) followed by R3, 13.90 dm³ (0.041 dm³/gVS) and R2, 11.01dm³ (0.032 dm³/gVS). A significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in biogas yield was found in the reactors charged with SF/CD as against SF only. In the reactors that exhibited biphasic biogas production profile, two (2) kinetic parameters, K1 and K2 were determined by the bi-logistic function model. It was observed that the predicted values in the second phase (K2) of biogas production were considerably higher than the first phase (K1) in R2 - R5 as opposed to R6 - R8, which implies more biogas yield in phase 2 than phase 1. The results indicate that anaerobic digestion of SF and NG had a strong positive influence on biogas yield, BP, PR and λ₁ but not for λ₂. The bi-logistic function model suitably fitted the experimental data with a high correlation coefficient (R²) in the range of 0.986 - 0.997. Based on the kinetic parameters, the bi-logistic function model is well suited for the simulation of diauxic-like biogas production process.

Aim: The shear strength of wood is a very significant parameter required in describing the potential of woods in making wooden structure. This study is aimed at comparing the shear strength of Pentaclethra macrophylla and Erythrophleum suaveolens with respect to their fibre. This is to determine the suitability of including Erythrophleum suaveolens in making traditional motars in order to reduce the demand load on Pentaclethra macrophylla.

Methods: The heartwood samples of Pentaclethra macrophylla and Erythrophleum suaveolens for maceration were fixed in specimen bottles containing formalin-acetic-alcohol (FAA) in the ratio 90:5:5 to prevent fungal growth. The preparations involved cutting small clear samples of the heartwood of the two timber species of fabaceae family. The shear strength parallel to the grain test was conducted using a Hounsfield Tensometer.

Results: Significant differences were recorded across the fibre characteristics of the two plant species. The share strength of the 25 wood samples from the two plants each fluctuate around 100 to 200 N/mm².  On the average, P. macrophylla recorded higher shear strength as compared to

1. suaveolens however no significant difference was recorded between the means when tested for significant differences using independent sample t-test.

Conclusion: Since the shear strength of E. suaveolens is comparable to that of P. macrophylla, it  is therefore recommended its substitute for the manufacturing of wood based products where P. macrophylla has been in continual usage in order to relieve the pressure and demand on P. macrophylla.

Women play a significant role in agricultural development and allied activities. More than 70% of farm work is being performed by women. The present study analyzed the extent of participation of farm women in different farm operations and allied activities, constraints faced by the farm women involving in farm operations and reported the contribution of women in agriculture in Tiruvallur district is extremely significant. Women participation was the maximum in sowing, transplanting (34%) and intercultural operations (49%). Women actively involved in cattle management including Harvesting of fodder, Feeding, Watering, Milking, and Cleaning (85 to 100%). Drudgery for farm women was recorded high in transplanting (29.30%), harvesting (26.66%) and carrying fertilizer (35.66%). Farm women spend more time in transplanting, weeding and harvesting (08 hrs/day) followed by sowing (06 hrs/day), cattle management (04 hrs/day). Hence reduction in drudgery will lead to increase in participation of farm work. The study indicated that there is still a wide gender gap in the involvement in major filed operations which may be addressed properly for overall involvement of farm women and development.

Use of Artificial intelligence (AI) has increased in the healthcare in many sectors. Organizations from health care of different sizes, types and different specialties are now a days more interested in how artificial intelligence has evolved and is helping patient needs and their care, also reducing costs, and increasing efficiency. This study explores the implications of AI on healthcare management, and challenges involved with using AI in healthcare along with the review of several research papers that used AI models in different sectors of healthcare like Dermatology, Radiology, Drug design etc.