Parasexual analysis in Trichoderma reesei using protoplast fusion

Protoplast fusion techniques were used to induce parasexuality in Trichoderma reesei and the products of fusion and segregation analyzed in order to get genetic data regarding the three cellulase markers, exoglucanase (exo), endoglucanase (endo) and beta-glucosidase ( beta- glu) and their location with respect to other auxotrophic markers. Five mutants derived from T. reesei QM 9414, a hypercellulase producer, were used in this study

Using HPC to Solve PDEs to Improve Weather Forecasting

This project aims to decrease improve weather forecasting through to use of high performance computing(HPC) to solve partial differential equations(PDEs). There are several examples of PDEs associated with weather forecasting, the calculations for which slow the prediction times and pose as an obstacle for aircraft and flight, costing time and money. The use of HPC to solve these PDEs would increase the efficiency of weather forecasting, making for safer air travel, as well as saving time and money. Examples of specific PDEs that affect weather forecasting that we aim to solve with HPC are: the Wave Equation, Heat or Diffusion Equation, Laplace\u27s Equation, Helmholtz Equation, Poisson\u27s Equation, Time-Independent Schrodinger Equation, and the Klein-Gordan Equation. Beginning with the Heat Equation, we will check the performance of HPC, comparing it to the performance of current weather forecasting calculations. We have chosen this PDE as it finds its applications in many scientific fields, including but not limited to weather prediction. Micah D. Schuster, a Computer Science professor at the Wentworth Institute of Technology, solved the heat equation by deriving the numerical scheme and then parallelizing the algorithm using OpenMP. The HPC performance was assessed by varying different parameters including the array size, block size, share, and hardware. Noting the success of this case study, we will be using these parameters to test the HPC of other PDEs and noting how this affects the time of weather prediction. To measure our results, we will include details about the performance metrics, identify any trade-offs for using HPC, HPC performance such as time and space

A Movement Classification of Polymyalgia Rheumatica Patients Using Myoelectric Sensors

Data Availability Statement: Data can be made available upon request to the relevant institution.Gait disorder is common among people with neurological disease and musculoskeletal disorders. The detection of gait disorders plays an integral role in designing appropriate rehabilitation protocols. This study presents a clinical gait analysis of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica to determine impaired gait patterns using machine learning models. A clinical gait assessment was conducted at KATH hospital between August and September 2022, and the 25 recruited participants comprised 18 patients and 7 control subjects. The demographics of the participants follow: age 56 years ± 7, height 175 cm ± 8, and weight 82 kg ± 10. Electromyography data were collected from four strained hip muscles of patients, which were the rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, biceps femoris, and semitendinosus. Four classification models were used—namely, support vector machine (SVM), rotation forest (RF), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), and decision tree (DT)—to distinguish the gait patterns for the two groups. SVM recorded the highest accuracy of 85% among the classifiers, while KNN had 75%, RF had 80%, and DT had the lowest accuracy of 70%. Furthermore, the SVM classifier had the highest sensitivity of 92%, while RF had 86%, DT had 90%, and KNN had the lowest sensitivity of 84%. The classifiers achieved significant results in discriminating between the impaired gait pattern of patients with polymyalgia rheumatica and control subjects. This information could be useful for clinicians designing therapeutic exercises and may be used for developing a decision support system for diagnostic purposes.This research received no external funding

Quick Semi-quantitative Test for Lead in Processed Foods

A simple, quick semi-quantitative test for the determination of lead metal in canned fruits,vegetables other than dehydrated onion, fish, and meat products, has been developed using theoptimised concentration of dithizone reagent under alkaline pH as the test solution, which onreaction with the sample solution gives green to blue to violet to red colour, depending on thelead concentration in the sample.  The quick test results were compared with atomic absorptionspectrophotometric analysis. A total of 80 samples were analysed and it was found that the leadcontent ranged from 0.001 ppm to 10.35 ppm in all the samples

Caractérisation physico-chimique et diversité phytoplanctonique des eaux du lac de Zowla (Lac Boko), Togo

Cette étude a été initiée pour évaluer l’impact de l’eau de mer et des cours d’eau sur les caractéristiques physico-chimiques et sur la diversité phytoplanctonique de l’eau du lac de Zowla. Pour ce faire, cinq sites de prélèvement dans le lac et cinq autres dans les rivières tributaires du lac ont été retenus en Juin 2007 correspondant à la grande saison pluvieuse et en Août 2007 correspondant à la petite saison sèche. Les paramètres physico-chimiques ont été déterminés par les méthodes AFNOR. L’identification des espèces de phytoplancton a été faite au microscope photonique ordinaire. L’étude a révélé une conductivité électrique très élevée d’une valeur maximale de 8370 μS/cm au site le plus proche de la mer en Juin, confirmée par exemple par une teneur en chlorure très élevée (2723 mg /l au même site en Juin). En Août, on note une oxydabilité au KMnO4 élevée (valeur maximale : 10 mgO2/l) aux sites le plus éloigné et le plus proche de la mer. S’agissant de la diversité de la flore algale, les espèces de la classe des diatomophycées sont les plus diversifiées au cours des deux saisons, mais cette suprématie est plus marquée en grande saison pluvieuse qu’en petite saison pluvieuse (80,55% de la composition qualitative de la flore algale en Juin contre 40% en Août). L’Analyse en Composantes principales (ACP) a montré que les cyanophycées sont plus diversifiées en espèces dans les milieux aquatiques turbides riches en éléments minéraux azotés et phosphatés, les euchlorophycées le sont dans les milieux très minéralisés et que les diatomophycées sont cosmopolites. Cette étude montre en outre que les paramètres physico-chimiques du lac de Zowla sont influencés en grande saison des pluies par l’eau de mer et en petite saison sèche par l’eau du fleuve Mono.Mots clés: Pollution, Paramètre physico-chimique, Phytoplancton, La

Unification of Multimedia with Techniques of Art and Vedic Aphorisms for Development of Mathematical Skills: A Study of Indian and UK School Students

Multimedia programs having a number of elements like Texts, spoken words, sound & music, graphics, animations and still pictures provide different stimuli in their presentations. Art is the field of education that provides a platform for rigorous investigation, representation, expression, and reflection of both scholastic content and the art form itself. The integration of art with other subjects of school curriculum can open new pathways of learning for students, particularly for those who are at risk and have special needs. Vedic Mathematics is an approach to resolve the crisis in education especially in the field of mathematics. It is not simply a collection of new computational techniques; rather, it provides an entirely different approach to mathematical computation based on pattern recognition. It has been shown that the system is applicable to up-to-date aspects of mathematics both at an elementary level as well as in more sophisticated fields. The present paper deals with the development of multimedia packages using techniques of art and Vedic aphorisms on some selected common topics of curriculum of UK and Indian elementary mathematics and the effectiveness of multimedia packages for the development of mathematical skills. The study was conducted using quasi experimental design for research in both the countries. The quantitative analysis of data revealed that the multimedia packages developed by using techniques of art and Vedic Aphorisms have significantly improved the mathematical skills of UK elementary school students

Diversity of species assemblages of islands: predictions and their test using tree species composition of shola fragments

Based on all possible combinations of species that can theoretically exist on islands of different sizes, we estimated similarities among islands of equal size in their species compositions. We found that similarity coefficients among islands of equal sizes increases and the coefficients of variation for similarities decreases with increase in the size of islands. Accordingly, it can be predicted that the species compositions of small fragments shall be more diverse compared to large fragments. We tested this prediction using the tree species composition of the shola fragments at BR Hills, Western Ghats. Similarities among sholas were measured as coefficients of correlation between the frequencies of species in them and also as proportions of species shared among sholas. Small sholas were less similar and shared fewer species among themselves, compared to medium and large sholas. Also, small sholas showed higher coefficient of variation for the correlation coefficients and for proportion of species shared than medium or large sholas. In other words, species assemblage diversity among sholas was found to decrease with their size and large islands appeared to converge towards a common assemblage of species. Based on our results, we argue that small fragments add structural and functional heterogeneity to the ecosystem and hence are as important as are the large fragments in conserving biodiversity

Post-discharge follow-up of stroke patients at Groote Schuur Hospital - a prospective study

A survey of 59 stroke patients was undertaken between 3 and 6 months after the event to determine whether a weekly stroke round would improve the rate of referral for rehabilitation. Comparison with a previous survey at Groote Schuur Hospital showed a marked improvement (40% for physiotherapy and 10% for occupational therapy v. 76% and 50% respectively). A comparison of referral rates between younger « 65 years old) and older patients (> 65 years old) revealed a significantly higher rate of referral among the younger patients. Attendance for both groups was low (approx. 7 sessions per 3 months). Social work was an important requirement and 60% of all patients expressed a need for more help. Social needs of older and younger patients differ. Despite the improved referral rate the rehabilitation of stroke patients is unsatisfactory, mainly because of transport difficulties. Methods should be investigated to establish rehabilitation centres in the community to overcome this impasse

Qualité physico-chimique et bactériologique des eaux utilisées dans les écoles de la préfecture de Zio (Togo)

Durant la période de décembre 2013, des enquêtes ont été menées dans les écoles de l’Inspection d’Enseignement Primaire et Préscolaire de Zio-Sud dans la région Maritime pour analyser le degré de couverture en eau potable des écoles. Sur un total de 65 écoles recensées dans cette inspection, seulement 8 écoles disposent d’ouvrages d’approvisionnement en eau potable dont quatre (04) forages, un (01) puits et trois (03) citernes qui sont fonctionnels ; soit un taux de couverture de 12%. Malgré ce faible taux de desserte, les résultats des analyses physico-chimiques et bactériologiques ont montré que les eaux de certains ouvrages sont impropres à la consommation. Les teneurs en ions Fe2+, Na+, K+, NO3- du forage de l’école primaire publique de Tsikplonou Kondji (F2) et du puits de l’EPP   Gbama-hlan (P1) sont supérieures aux normes recommandées par l’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS). Les eaux des citernes issues des précipitations sont par contre très faiblement minéralisées et très pauvres en chlorures. Du point de vue bactériologique, les eaux des citernes, du puits et du cours d’eau présentent une forte charge en germes totaux et constituent un risque sanitaire important pour les apprenants.Mots clés : Ecoles, eau, qualité, physicochimie, bactériologie, Zio