COVID-19 time is a great time to assess human sentiment when it comes to resistance that was observed to get vaccine administered in USA. There was large amount of hesitancy bordering on hate to get COVID-19 vaccine and it has blown into a public health challenge. In this paper, we investigate the resistance that was observed during the initial stages on the Vaccine administration in USA from 2021. We will see there was a large demographic group leading into the year indicating that they will resist to get a vaccine, and they remained unchanged for large period of the that year. To every one surprise, the largest group which resisted the vaccine was the age group between 18-24 (27%) and when it comes to race, Blacks resisted the most (20%). Also, we also saw there was more resistance from the east coast with the west coast more inclined to get the vaccine. In this paper, we will show why there was this resistance and try to make sense why the efficacy of the vaccine took such a long time to get the epidemic and population agreeable to vaccine.

Physical activity is crucial for the quality of life of individuals with disabilities. In many parasports, such as wheelchair basketball, the wheelchair is an essential component. However, the repetitive nature of wheelchair propulsion frequently leads to overuse injuries, with the shoulder being the most commonly affected joint. The aim of this study was to assess the intensity of shoulder pain in wheelchair basketball players in Benin at three time points: before a championship, immediately after the championship, and following a subsequent 3-month rest period, using the Wheelchair User’s Shoulder Pain Index (WUSPI). This prospective observational study included 10 elite male wheelchair basketball players (mean age: 32 ± 5 years; mean experience: 13 ± 8 years). The WUSPI was administered at pre-championship (T0), post-championship (T1), and after a 3-month rest period (T2) to assess shoulder pain intensity during activities of daily living (ADLs). The Friedman test and post-hoc Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare scores between time points. The mean performance-corrected WUSPI (PC-WUSPI) score increased significantly from baseline at T0 (13.45 ± 5.77) to T1 (69.88 ± 21.91) (p < 0.001). Following the rest period, the score at T2 (43.92 ± 20.0) was significantly lower than at T1 (p < 0.001). However, the T2 score remained significantly higher than the initial baseline score at T0 (p < 0.001). Intensive competition induces a substantial increase in shoulder pain and functional limitation in elite wheelchair basketball players. While a 3-month rest period allows for significant pain reduction, recovery is incomplete, with pain levels remaining elevated above pre-competition baseline. These findings highlight the high physical demands of the sport and underscore the need for targeted pain management and recovery strategies.

In order to meet the sustainable development goals, global policies are strongly oriented towards the valorization of local materials such as agricultural by-products. Cameroon integrates this important concern into its development strategies, taking into account the environmental protection aspect. It is in this context that our study proposes the development of compressed earth bricks ‘BTC’ stabilized with sissongo straws (Pennissetum purpureum). The main objective of this work is to study the effect of using vegetable straws, in particular the sissongo straws on the mechanical properties of compressed earth blocks and its sensitivity to water, through its total absorption. Tests (particle size analysis, water content, Atterberg limits, specific gravity, modified Proctor) were conducted on Yabassi soils; water content test was conducted on sissongo straws; compression, bending and absorption tests were conducted on compressed earth blocks. For the preparation of the mixtures, 0%, 0.05 %, 0.1 %, 0.2 %, 0.3 %, 0.4% and 0.5% by dry weight of substitution of soil by sissongo straws were used based on previous studies that used the same percentages for rice straws in the manufacture of earth bricks and a compaction pressure of 3.43 MPa (maximum pressure of the hydraulic press). The results showed that the addition of these materials to 0.3 % straws gave a maximum compressive strength of 3.058 MPa and contributed to the improvement in compressive strength of bricks of 1.1 MPa, compared to that of controlled specimen 0% straws (1.95 MPa). Although our ‘BTCs’ in the building are not really experimenting bending, we have subjected the specimens of each formulation to tensile test, the maximum bending stress recorded was that of the specimen containing 0.4 % straws with a stress of 0.367 MPa. The test pieces containing 0 % to 4 % have respective absorption coefficients of 4.5 and 2.06 which are within the recommended range of (2 to 15). Absorption time by capillary action is greater for 0 % straws incorporation (30s) than that containing 0.3 % straws incorporation (14s). Finally, recommendations were made to take full advantage of stabilized compressed earth bricks with Sissongo straw (Pennissetum purpureum) in construction. Emphasis was placed on environmental, economic and social benefits.

Animal populations monitoring within and outside the park is important for identifying mammal communities but also for designing conservation plans. We assessed the diversity and the relative of medium and large mammals in and outside of Moukalaba-Doudou National Park, Gabon, using camera traps. The cumulative time for all functional camera traps was 3060.42 camera-days in the park and 2880.68 in the buffer area. Overall, of 30 medium and large mammal species and 3 rodent species were detected in the park, whereas 25 species and 3 rodent species were detected in the buffer area. Moreover, the forest dwelling species were more abundant in the park than in the buffer area (p = 0.018) and most of savanna dwelling species were more abundant in the buffer area (p < 0.001). In both areas, duiker species were more abundant than other detected species. However, the ratio red/blue duikers revealed a high hunting pressure in the buffer area. We succeed to identify at least 5 groups with more than 7 individuals within the park and 3 in the buffer area. Implementing a habituation process in the buffer area will require prior consultation with the local populations to ensure they refrain from hunting. Gorilla habituation could be used as a stool of protecting biodiversity but also of enhancing the benefits to the communities through community-based ecotourism.

This research focused on assessing the chemical constituents of bauxite from Sangarédi, the dominant mining locality of Compagnie des Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), in an effort to assess the contributions of the constituents in deciding the final quality of exported products. Sampling was performed as a whole (from the deposit and intermediate stockpiled, and stockpiled for sale); then selected samples underwent analysis by x-ray fluorescence (XRF) in the laboratory. The study was completed based on alumina (Al2O3), and reactive silica (SiO2) whose variation can affect the sustainability and ultimately the profitability of a bauxitic ore in the Bayer process, which is the valorisation process of the ore. The study results indicate that alumina is relatively stable, with an average content of 49.66 %, which is very much like the contractual specification of 50.01 ± 1.5 %; approximately 90 % of the samples fall within the acceptable tolerance range, and it shows that the ore has good export quality. However, reactive silica is unstable and too high, with an average content of 2.38 %, which exceeds the contractual specification of 2.01 ± 0.3 %; only 40 % of the samples conform with the standard, while 60 % are above the standard. This non-conformance created over-consumption of caustic soda and reduced alumina yield, which was detrimental to the international competitiveness of Sangarédi bauxite. The proposed corrective actions are strengthening continuous quality control, improving stockpile homogenization, avoiding contaminations during handling and transport, and implementing differentiated deposit management. In sum, this study has shown that controlling the variability of reactive silica is a tactical lever for better compliance with contractual specifications, enhancing the value-added of exported products, and consolidating Guinea’s role as the leading bauxite producer in the world.