Effect of Chicken Manure, N and P on Yield and Quality of Muskmelon (Cucumis melo var. Reticulatus Naud)

Two experiments were conducted at the National Institute for the Promotion of Horticultural Exports (NPÆ) Research Farm, Wad Medani, Sudan, during the summer of 20m and winter of 2000/2001, to study the effects of chicken manure, nitrogen and phosphorus on muskmelon yield and quality. The treatments were four levels of chicken manure (0, 4.5, 9 and 18t/ha), two levels of nitrogen (0 and 55kg N/ha) and two levels of phosphorus (0 and 55 kg P205/ha) arranged in a randomized complete block design with 3 replications. The results showed that muskmelon growth, yield and quality were significantly affected by chicken manure, N and P application. The most vigorous plant growth, the highest fruit yield and the largest fruits with best netting and highest total soluble solids were obtained by the application of 18 tons of chicken manure with 55kg N and 55kg P205/ha

Novel design of triple-bands EBG

This paper presents a novel design for a triple band electromagnetic band gap (EBG) structures that provides three band gaps, with operating frequency of below 10 GHz, while the ordinary mushroom like EBG structure gives only one band gap. Complexity reduction (reduce the number of unit cells and Vias) was achieved by replacing each four cells of the Mushroom like EBG by the one of double slotted type EBG (DSTEBG) or triple side slotted EBG (TSSEBG). The Mushroom like EBG was further modified by increasing its size and inserting the slots to gain more capacitance and inductance which resulted into triple band stop.The new designs wer compared with bandwidths expressed by other EBGs and -20 dB cut-off frequencies. The size of EBG element and the gap between EBG elements, and slot width were investigated to analyse their effect on the transmission response. The structures were designed from 2.54 mm Rogers RT/Duroid 6010 substrate with relative permittivity of 10.2 and loss tangent of 0.0023. Among the investigated EBGs, the single band mushroom like EBG and the triple band of the TSSEBG demonstrated better bandwidth and lower resonance frequency performance, whereas the DSTEBG showed larger bandwidth for the first and third band. The proposed EBGs could be useful in the antenna design and other microwave circuits

Side lobe reduction in array antenna by using novel design of EBG

A novel design of EBG is used to replace the mushroom like EBG for surrounding the array patch antenna. In order to improve its radiation performances, Electromagnetic band stop for reducing the surface waves effects is presented. The novel design of Triple Side Slotted EBG (TSSEBG) showed an improvement in the antenna efficiency, directivity and gain as compared to the reference antenna without using EBG, due to reduce the surface waves effects which leads to decrease the side lobes. TSSEBG has been introduced by some modifications in conventional mushroom-like EBG structure. Reducing the complexity was achieved by reducing the number of unit cells and vias, in case of used TSSEBG instead of mushroom like EBG. Additionally, the TSSEBG provided triple band gap compared with mushroom like EBG structure which had only one band gap frequency at 6 GHz. The placement of TSSEBG is a flexible structure which provides a good choice in the antenna applications. The simulation results of array patch antenna with and without mushroom like EBG and TSSEBG are arranged in Table 1. This structure has vast applications in satellite communications

Studies of annealing impact on the morphological, opto-dielectric and mechanical behaviors of molybdenum-doped CrN coatings

In the present study, molybdenum doped chromium nitride coatings deposited onto silicon substrates via unbalanced magnetron sputtering, in as-deposited and annealed conditions, at 500–800 °C in steps of 100 °C, were studied to reveal their temperature dependent structural, morphological, optical and mechanical behaviors. An analysis of these features was carried out using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), ultraviolet visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy, nanoindentation and finite element modeling (FEM) techniques. XRD results exhibited a significant improvement in the crystallinity of the Molybdenum (Mo)-doped chromium nitride (CrN) coatings along (111) and (200) diffraction planes, as the annealing temperatures increased. The lattice parameters gradually decreased from 4.20 to 4.12 Å as the temperature increased. The same tendency was also observed for lattice microstrains and residual stresses. Smooth grain-like surfaces were observed by FESEM imaging techniques. At an annealing temperature of 700 °C, the spectral absorptance of Mo:CrN films attained its peak value (86%), whereas the energy band-gaps were reduced from 2.48 to 1.14 eV. The other optical parameters such as complex dielectric constants, Urbach energy values, and steepness parameters of these coatings were also discussed. The hardness and elastic modulus of the as-deposited Mo:CrN films were estimated to be 18.4 and 287 GPa, respectively. At a film thickness of 1.0 μm, the highest stress of 20 GPa was evaluated, via FEM studies, at the interface between the film and the substrate. As the film thickness was enhanced, the stress level decreased. At higher annealing temperatures, both the mechanical hardness (H) and the elastic modulus (E) of Mo-doped CrN coatings dwindled

Antidiabetic Effects of Momordica charantia (Karela) in Male long Evans Rat

The hypoglycemic effect of Momordica charantia (Karela) has been reported from many laboratories. To our knowledge, the underlying biochemical mechanism of action of this important clinical effect has not been reported. During the course of investigation of this aspect of the herbal fruit, it was reported from our laboratory that ethanolic extract of Momordica charantia suppressed gluconeogenesis in normal and streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats by depressing the hepatic gluconeogenic enzymes fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and glucose-6-phosphatase. The herbal extract had also enhanced the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, the rate-limiting enzyme of hexose monophosphate shunt (a pathway for the oxidation of glucose)

The Impact of Clinical Pharmacist Diabetes Education on Medication Adherence in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: An Interventional Study from Khartoum, Sudan

Background: Continuous therapeutic care with good medication adherence is the cornerstone of management of all chronic diseases including diabetes. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of clinical pharmacist intervention on the medication adherence in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial conducted at a diabetes clinic located at Omdurman Military Hospital, Sudan. Individuals with T2DM attending the diabetes clinic within 1 year were selected. The sample size was 364 participants (182 control and 182 interventional group). We used a pre-structured standardized questionnaire and checklist to collect the data. Data were analyzed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) (version 28). Results: Majority, 76.4% (n = 278) were females, and they consisted of 80.8% (n = 147) of the interventional group and 72% of the controls. The mean age of the interventional group was 54.5 (±10) years; 31.9% (n = 58) of the interventional group had diabetes for 6–10 years, compared with 26.4% (n = 48) of the control group. Among the control group, the mean adherence score was 6.8 (±1.7) at baseline and it was 6.7 (±1.6) at the end of the study (p < 0.001), while in the interventional group, the mean adherence score was 6.8 (±1.7) at baseline and it was 7.4 (±1.5) at the end of the study (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Adherence score among the intervention group was increased significantly from baseline to the end of the study when compared to the control group.Scopu

Cut off values of waist circumference & associated cardiovascular risk in egyptians

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Recent guidelines stressed the need to adopt different values of waist circumference (WC) measurements to define abdominal obesity in different ethnic groups. The aim of this study is to identify WC cutoff points in normotensive and hypertensive subjects which are diagnostic of abdominal obesity in a Middle Eastern population and the prevalence of abdominal obesity in a nationwide sample.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data were collected during phase-2 of the Egyptians National Hypertension Project survey. Blood pressure, anthropometric measurements and laboratory studies were performed according to a standardized protocol by trained personnel. To derive the cutoff points for WC, we applied the factor analysis on CV risk factors: diabetes mellitus, decrease in HDL-C and increase in LDL-C, triglycerides and left ventricular mass index by echocardiography.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The sample included 2313 individuals above the age of 25 years. WC values (mean ± SD) were 88 ± 14 cm and 95 ± 14 cm for normotensive (NT) and hypertensive (HT) men respectively, and 89.6 ± 14.7 cm and 95.7 ± 15.9 cm for NT and HT women respectively. Applying factor analysis, the weighted average cutoff points were 93.5 cm for both NT and HT men and 91.5 and 92.5 cm for NT and HT women respectively. Based on these thresholds, the prevalence of abdominal obesity was 48% in men and 51.5% in women.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is the first report of specific abdominal obesity cutoff points in a Middle Eastern country. The cutoff points were different from the Europid standards. There is a high prevalence rate of abdominal obesity among Egyptians which is associated with increased prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors.</p