Effect of Nitrogen Fertilizer Sources, Lead and Cadmium Pollution on Some Properties of Barley (Hordeum vulgare)

The study was conducted in the Department of biology - College of Education for Girls - University of Anbar in order to study the effect of cadmium and lead pollution and nitrogen fertilizer sources on the accumulation of heavy metals in the root, the vegetative part, yield and its components of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) during growing season 2020-2021, Where the experiment was carried out in pots containing 20 kg of soil. The experiment was designed according to a randomized complete block design and in the order of factorial experiments with three replications. The experiment included two factors, the first factor is three concentrations of the elements lead and cadmium (0, 40, 80 mg liter -1), and the second factor is three types of nitrogen fertilizer sources are (ammonium sulfate (NH4)2SO4, ammonium nitrate NH4NO3 and urea CO(NH2)2). The experiment was planted and irrigated with the three nitrogen fertilizer sources on 1/11/2020. After 14 days of planting, heavy metals were added to the soil in the above-mentioned concentrations in the form of two batches. The weight of 1000 grains/g and the concentration of heavy elements (Pb, Cd) in the root, vegetative and grains after harvest were calculated. The results of the study showed: The barley plant had the ability to accumulate heavy elements in the different parts of the plant, and their concentration in the root system was the highest, then the vegetative system, then the grain. However, the accumulated amounts of lead were less than cadmium in the roots, as the highest concentrations of lead and cadmium in the roots were (24.78 and 37.22 mg kg-1) and (61.13 and 92.3 mg kg-1). for the concentrations (40 and 80 mg L-1) respectively.

Depression and Anxiety Disorders in a Sample of Saudi Persons with Brain Tumor

BACKGROUND: Depression and anxiety (DA) are common in persons with brain tumor (PBT) and are associated with neurocognitive deficits. The terms DA and affective disorders are often used interchangeably in this study. Objective: This was a pilot study, conducted with the purpose of better assessing DA symptoms in association with socioeconomic and clinical characteristics in PBT. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a sample of PBT (N = 102), recruited from a neurosurgical department. The tools employed were the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The self-rating instruments proved feasible and reliable in screening for the severity of DA symptoms. The HADS is designed to measure the severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms in non-psychiatric hospital outpatients and does not assess the common somatic symptoms of these two disorders. The BDI-II evaluates the severity of depressive symptoms with items related to physical symptoms. RESULTS: Although our study did not, for the most part, yield results of statistical significance, it, however, demonstrated that anxiety and depressive disorders existed in PBT, showing a relatively higher rate in age groups 30–49 years. CONCLUSION: It was unclear whether these symptoms were invalidated by response bias, participant’s functional status, natural reaction to a fearing situation or just presentation of pseudodepression arose as a result of organic deficits. There is a need for further research to examine these factors.

Thixomolding® at 25 Years

The technical and commercial development of Thixomolding® of magnesium (Mg) alloys is described. Based on the MIT semi-solid casting discovery, Dow Chemical adaption to Mg and Thixomat technical findings, Thixomat commercialized this process world-wide with Japan Steel Works (JSW) and numerous licensees in 13 countries. Some 480 Thixomolding machines have been commissioned by JSW to produce a wide range of parts for application in the communication/electronic, auto, sporting goods and hand-held tool markets. The advantages over conventional casting of Mg have been established in cleanliness, safety, worker comfort, machine portability, longer die life and reduced scrap. The competiveness of Thixomolding Mg has been enhanced by more durable and less expensive machine parts, longer die life, higher raw material yields by using hot nozzles and amenability to using recycled Mg scrap. The portability of this “foundry inside a machine” and availability of pre-owned machines allows quick set-up of Thixomolding operations. Several technical advances in Thixomolding are described. Solids content was optimized. Hot nozzles increased the part yield to >90% of the granule Mg alloy feed. Special steel barrels and liners are available to substitute for expensive Superalloys. In addition to conventional AZ91D and AM60, a wide range of Mg alloys can be Thixomolded. With Dead Sea Magnesium, AM70-TH and AJX810-TH were developed for improved ductility or creep strength. Low porosity and fine grain size of Thixomolding open the door to blister-free thermomechanical processing (TTMP) to boost the tensile and fatigue strength and ductility.

High Density Direct Bond Interconnect (DBI) Technology for Three Dimensional Integrated Circuit Applications

ABSTRACTA novel direct wafer bonding technology capable of forming a very high density of electrical interconnections across the bond interface integral to the bond process is described. Results presented include an 8 um interconnection pitch, die-to-wafer and wafer-to-wafer bonding formats, temperature cycling reliability × 10 greater than the JEDEC requirement, connection yield ∼ 99.999, > 50% part yield on parts with ∼ 450,000 connections, and < 0.1 Ohm connection resistance at 1pA without requiring a voltage surge to induce current.

New Method for Turbine Blade Internal Cleaning

A program was undertaken to develop an improved internal cleaning procedure for high pressure turbine blades. HP turbine blades, such as JT8D and JT9D 1st stage blades, experience a build up of Si-Ca rich dirt/debris during engine service that inhibits the flow of cooling air creating localized “hot spots”. These “hot spots” lead to accelerated internal corrosion that may cause through-wall material failure. Autoclave processes, utilizing heated, pressurized caustic, are ineffective at removing large amounts of internal debris. A new process, called the TURBO-CLEAN℠ process (patent pending), effectively removes large deposits of internal debris in as few as 2 hours. This process involves pumping heated caustic at pressures approaching 400psi through the internal cavities of turbine blades. The increased caustic flow from this process, compared to autoclave processes, improves cleaning effectiveness. This new process does not harm the parent material or damage protective aluminide coatings. The development of this process has led to reduced repair costs for JT8D 1st blades by improving part yield during repair.