The Scientific World Journal最新文献

The primary energy source in Ethiopia is biomass. Over 80% of Ethiopians are rural dwellers who rely on biomass energy for lighting and cooking. In most parts of Ethiopia, injera is traditionally baked using an open fire, a three stone, or a device using woody biomass. These baking stoves have very low efficiency and consume a significant amount of fuel. Moreover, these traditional baking stoves have released large amounts of indoor air pollution, which has led to different types of health-related risks, especially for women and children in the country. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate efficient and fuel-saving injera baking technologies. Rigorously, an injera baking gasifier stove was designed, developed, and characterized in detail through water boiling and control cooking test methods. The indoor air pollution level was evaluated using particulate matter measuring instruments. The result indicated that the developed gasifier stove had a thermal efficiency of 21.8%. Furthermore, an 86% fuel savings performance was demonstrated by the controlled cooking test for the injera baking gasifier stove. The average emission concentrations of particulate matter and carbon monoxide were 608 µg/m³ and 9 ppm, respectively, during indoor air pollution determination. The study showed that injera baking gasifier stoves are a promising cooking technology for societies where baking is mostly dependent on traditional biomass fuel.

The importance of medicinal plants for the treatment of different diseases is high from the aspects of the pharmaceutical industry and traditional healers. The present study involves nine different medicinal plants, namely, Neolamarckia cadamba, Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Pogostemon benghalensis, Equisetum debile, Litsea monopetala, Spilanthes uliginosa, Desmostachya bipinnata, Mallotus philippensis, and Phoenix humilis, collected from Chitwan district of Nepal for biochemical analysis followed by the isolation of active plant fractions from the bioactive plant extract. The methanolic extracts of roots, barks, seeds, seed cover, and the other aerial parts of plants were used for the phytochemical analysis and biological activities. The DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) free radical scavenging assay was adopted to evaluate the antioxidant activity. Antibacterial activity was evaluated using the agar well diffusion method. The antidiabetic activity was studied by the α-amylase enzyme inhibition assay. The highest antioxidant activity was observed in extracts of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis followed by Mallotus philippensis (seed cover), Pogostemon benghalensis, Litsea monopetala, Phoenix humilis, and Neolamarckia cadamba with IC₅₀ values of 27.38 ± 1.35, 32.08 ± 2.81, 32.75 ± 2.13, 33.82 ± 1.07, 40.14 ± 0.93, and 50.44 ± 3.75 µg/mL, respectively. The highest antidiabetic activity was observed in extracts of Phoenix humilis followed by Desmostachya bipinnata and Pogostemon benghalensis with IC₅₀ values of 95.69 ± 6.97, 99.24 ± 12.6, and 106.3 ± 12.89 µg/mL, respectively. The mild α-amylase enzyme inhibition was found in extracts of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis, Spilanthes uliginosa Swartz, Litsea monopetala, and Equisetum debile showing IC₅₀ values of 110.4 ± 7.78, 115.98 ± 10.24, 149.83 ± 8.3, and 196.45 ± 6.04 µg/mL, whereas Mallotus Philippensis (seed cover), Mallotus philippensis (seed), and Desmostachya bipinnata showed weak α-amylase inhibition with IC₅₀ values of 208.87 ± 1.76, 215.41 ± 2.09, and 238.89 ± 9.27 µg/mL, respectively. The extract of Nyctanthes arbor-tristis showed high zones of inhibition against S. aureus (ATCC 25923) and E. coli (ATCC 25922) of ZOI 26 and 22 mm, respectively. The chemical constituents isolated from the active plant Nyctanthes arbor-tristis were subjected to GCMS analysis where the major chemical compounds were 11,14,17-eicosatrienoic acid and methyl ester. These results support the partial scientific validation for the traditional uses of these medicinal plants in the treatment of diabetes and infectious diseases by the people living in different communities of Chitwan, Nepal.

Background: Clinical reasoning and evidence-based medicine (EBM) are important concepts in modern medicine.

Objective: We performed this study to investigate the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) status toward clinical reasoning and EBM among the medical interns and gynecology resident physicians of Iran University of Medical Sciences and related factors.

Methods: A cross-sectional study (Tehran, Iran, first half of 2022) was conducted based on two researcher-made questionnaires consisting of three components for each including clinical reasoning attitude (CR-A), clinical reasoning knowledge (CR-K), clinical reasoning practice (CR-P), EBM attitude (EBM-A), EBM knowledge (EBM-K), and EBM practice (EBM-P). The related factors were age, gender, educational level, score of general practice education, having research experience, and general practice experience.

Results: A total of 60 individuals participated. The mean score was good for CR-A, moderate for CR-K, moderate for CR-P, good for EBM-A, moderate for EBM-K, and moderate for EBM-P. The total score was moderate in both clinical reasoning and EBM. Among the related factors, CR-P was associated with higher educational levels and having experience in general practice (P  < 0.05). Research experience was associated with better CR-K and all KAP components for EBM (P  < 0.05).

Conclusion: The total score and many of the KAP components had moderate status for clinical reasoning and EBM. Planning on the associated factors should be regarded in the future. Such questionnaires are suggested to be validated for use in quasi-experimental studies.

Chocolate products on the market are generally in the form of chocolate bars as snacks made from cocoa powder. Fat and powder are separated first through a pressing process to obtain the cocoa powder. Cocoa powder loses most of its fat content during processing. Therefore, the study aimed to determine the effect of steaming time on the cocoa bean content of fatty acids, free fatty acids, proximate levels, and antioxidant activity of snack bar products made from steamed cocoa beans. Seven steaming time intervals for cocoa beans were studied. The results showed that a longer steaming time affects the fatty acids, saturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and proximate in cocoa beans. Steaming time treatment at 45 minutes increased oleic acid, palmitic acid, and antioxidant activity. In addition, reducing free fatty acids represents a quality improvement that meets international Codex Alimentarius standards, offering a competitive advantage in the market. The food industry can adopt this steaming technique to develop snack bars and new products that are healthier and more sustainable by using steaming as an effective processing method in maintaining and increasing the nutritional value of products.

This study was carried out to determine the mineral content and nutritional properties of five wild fruits Rhus vulgaris, Rosa abyssinica, Rhus natalensis, Euclea racemosa, and Ficus sur. The proximate composition parameters (moisture, ash, crude fiber, crude fat, and crude protein) and antinutritional factors were evaluated using methods of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists and elemental analysis using the atomic absorption spectroscopy technique. Among the five wild edible fruit species, Rhus vulgaris had the highest carbohydrate content (83.3 ± 0.28 g/100 g) and a high total energy (344.5 ± 2.21 kcal/100 g). Euclea racemosa was found to have the maximum ash content (12.8 ± 0.37 g/100 g), protein content (3.22 ± 0.01 g/100 g), and moisture (16.24 ± 0.003 g/100 g), respectively. Rhus natalensis showed the highest fiber content (9.54 ± 0.003 g/100 g). Mineral analysis showed that local wild fruits contained a considerable amount of minerals. The calcium concentration ranged from 99.51 mg/100 g in Euclea racemosa to 160.12 mg/100 g in Ficus sur. Potassium concentration varied from 54.34 mg/100 g in Euclea racemosa to 234 mg/100 g in Rhus vulgaris. Iron ranges from 21.4 mg/100 g in Rosa abyssinica to 41 mg/100 g in Rhus natalensis, and zinc ranges from 2.3 mg/100 g in Rhus vulgaris to 4.2 mg/100 g in Ficus sur. A high saponin content (2.12 mg/100 g) and a low tannin content (0.23 mg/100 g) were obtained in Rosa abyssinica. The phytate content (1.52 mg/100 g) and the oxalate content (0.9 mg/100 g) were high in Rhus natalensis. In conclusion, the present study shows that wild fruits can be used as food supplementation in food in a safe area.

Sheet metal forming is one of the key processes for the automotive sector to be considered. Sheet metal formability is being tested as received, joining them with different welding/joining processes (i.e., tailored blanks) and making them as sandwich forms to reduce the total weight of the body. These sandwich formations of sheets are an advanced method by incorporating PVC/polymer sheets in between metal sheets with a suitable binder. The present work has investigated the formability of AA5052-PVC-AA5052 (Al-PVC-Al) sandwich sheets by considering the sheet rolling direction as a parameter. The mechanical properties of base metal and sandwich sheets were evaluated by conducting the uniaxial tensile tests. For forming behaviour of Al-PVC-Al sandwich sheets, in-plane plane stretching tests were performed on the universal tensile testing machine. From the results, it has been observed that 0-degree and 90-degree rolling direction of AA5052 sheets provided almost similar forming behaviour where the 45-degree rolling direction showed less formability. The limit strains (by which the forming limit curve has been developed and the safe and failure zones are separated) are 0.043, 0.038, and 0.043 of 0°, 45°, and 90°, respectively. Considering 0°-P-90°, 90°-P-90, 0°-P-45°, 0°-P-90°, and 45°-P-45° sandwich sheets with their corresponding limit strains of 0.060, 0.058,0.057, 0.052, and 0.050, a better formability is seen in 0°-P-90° sandwich, followed by 90°-P-90, 0°-P-45°, 0°-P-90°, and 45°-P-45°. The improvement in the formability is calculated as 28.33%, 25.86%, and 24.0% in comparison with the base metal in 0-degree, 90-degree, and 45-degree rolling directions and 0°-P-90°, 90°-P-90, and 45°-P-45° sandwich sheets.