Thermal comfort characteristics of some selected building materials in the regional setting of Ile-Ife, Nigeria

In Ile-Ife, it is very common to see quite a lot of local people engaging in mud bricks moulding, concrete block making, mud house construction and the bricklaying profession in general. These have particular bearing on the economy and the political situation of the people involved as in the profession there is set of rules and regulations guiding the rate and procedure for carrying out any such moulding or construction work. Considering the importance of this, the present study investigated the thermal performance of some selected building materials in the ancient city of Ile-Ife in Nigeria. The work demonstrated how a building envelope responds to outdoor conditions through graphic illustrations. This was followed by constructing three physical building models, with model 1 constructed of mud bricks, model 2 constructed of concrete blocks and model 3 constructed of cast concrete. Each of the models was first roofed with galvanised Iron roofing sheets, later with aluminium roofing sheets and finally with asbestos roofing. Readings were taken by inserting TGP-4500 Data loggers into appropriate positions. The results showed that internal temperatures in the mud-brick and cast concrete buildings remained fairly stable despite external diurnal fluctuations. Humidity data collected also showed that fluctuations in external humidity levels do not affect humidity levels within the mud-brick and cast concrete structures significantly. On the other hand, the structure made of concrete blocks responded more to external fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Moreover, humidity levels in the cast concrete building were the least, followed by those in the mud-brick house; while the concrete block structure had the highest level of humidity. It was also discovered that aluminium roofing gave the highest internal temperature, followed by galvanised iron roofing and the least was seen with asbestos roofing. For external diurnal fluctuations, building model 3 with cast concrete gave the most satisfactory performance in terms of thermal comfort; however, building model 1 with mud bricks also gave a satisfactory performance close to that of model 3. The study concludes that building model 1 with mud bricks roofed with Asbestos is the best building model in terms of thermal comfort and affordability. The study also concluded that developing model 1 (mud bricks) in the regional setting of Ile-Ife will go a long way to developing people’s sustainably

Bank filtration for climate resilience: potentiality of a new site along the Ismailia Canal in Egypt

Bank filtration (BF) is a nature-based solution that can provide safe drinking water at a low cost, in being a green technology that benefits from natural ecosystem services and saves energy as well. The objective of the present paper is to evaluate the potentiality of a new site for bank filtration along a surface water source that experiences periods of both high and low flow. This site is located along the Ismailia Canal in the eastern Nile Delta fringe of Egypt. The present evaluation is based on exploratory drilling, installation of monitoring infrastructure and monitoring of both water level and water quality parameters for one year. The site has favourable hydrogeological conditions; the mean hydraulic conductivity of aquifer materials (sand and gravel) is 18.98 m/day. Moreover, there is a hydraulic connection between canal and aquifer; under steady conditions, the canal feeds the aquifer. Using different tracers, such as Cl, EC, Sr and SO4, the average bank filtration share is in excess of 95%. BF has reduced the particulates (turbidity) by 96%, total coliform by 99 % and total organic carbon (TOC) expressed as ultra-violet absorbance at 254 wavelengths (UVA254) by 44%. In addition, BF reduces concentrations of disinfection by-products due to its ability to remove organic matter. The potential degradation of TOC in the canal bed sediments may cause the release of iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) to the bank filtrate water; this process is exaggerated during low-flow periods. Compared to conventional water treatment, BF is a cost-effective green technology, because no chemicals are used and no waste products are generated

Corrosion of Copper in Chloroacetic Acid Solutions

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Determination of Optimum Frequency for Electromagnetic-Assisted Nanofluid Core Flooding

The coupling of electromagnetic (EM) wave to nanoflooding experiments, termed EM-assisted nanoflooding has gained enormous attention in recent years. This brings about the consideration of transmitter efficiency and the propagation pattern of the ensuing EM wave, both of which depend on reservoir electromagnetic properties. However, this has not been considered in previous works, despite its potential to improve the efficiency of the process through energy maximization. Hence, this study considers the effects of reservoir EM properties on the operation of a transmitter. The EM properties of saturated reservoir rock samples were measured. Afterward, a half-wave dipole antenna was modeled in a cylindrical reservoir based on the measured EM properties. The EM propagation pattern of the antenna was simulated in a frequency range of 100 MHz—2.0 GHz using the finite element method. The antenna was found to display dual resonance (at 800 MHz and 1.3 GHz) for sandstone saturated with oil, brine and nanofluid. Application of the EM wave at resonance frequency can help increase the efficiency of EM-assisted nanoflooding

Unification of frequentist inference and machine learning for pterygomaxillary morphometrics

Background: The base of the skull, particularly the pterygomaxillary region, has a sophisticated topography, the morphometry of which interests pathologists, maxillofacial and plastic surgeons. The aim of the study was to conduct pterygomaxillary morphometrics and test relevant hypotheses on sexual and laterality-based dimorphism, and causality relationships.Materials and methods: We handled 60 dry skulls of adult Asian males (36.7%) and females (63.3%). We calculated the prime distance D [prime] for the imaginary line from the maxillary tuberosity to the midpoint of the pterygoid process between the upper and the lower part of the pterygomaxillary fissure, as well as the parasagittal D [x-y inclin.] and coronal inclination of D [x-z inclin.] of the same line. We also took other morphometrics concerning the reference point, the maxillary tuberosity.Results: Significant sexual as well as laterality-based dimorphism and bivariate correlations existed. The univariate models could not detect any significant effect of the predictors. On the contrary, summative multivariate tests in congruence with neural networks, detected a significant effect of laterality on D [x-y inclin.] (p-value = 0.066, partial eta squared = 0.030), and the interaction of laterality and sex on D [x-z inclin.] (p-value = 0.050, partial eta squared = 0.034). K-means clustering generated three clusters highlighting the significant classifier effect of D [prime] and its three-dimensional inclination.Conclusions: Although the predictors in our analytics had weak-to-moderate effect size underlining the existence of unknown explanatory factors, it provided novel results on the spatial inclination of the pterygoid process, and reconciled machine learning with non-Bayesian models, the application of which belongs to the realm of oral-maxillofacial surgery

Use of <i>Euphorbia balsamifera</i> Extract in Precursor Fabrication of Silver Nanoparticles for Efficient Removal of Bromocresol Green and Bromophenol Blue Toxic Dyes

Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are attracting great attention for their use in various applications, along with methods for their green and facile production. In this study, we present a new eco-friendly approach based on the use of Euphorbia balsamifera extract (EBE) in the green synthesis of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs), which are then applied as a reducing and stabilizing agent for the efficient removal of water-based reactive dyes such as bromocresol green (BCG) and bromophenol blue (BPB). The as-prepared Ag-NPs are quasi-spherical in shape, with an average diameter of 20–34 nm. Diverse characterization methods, including X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis, were used to analyze these Ag-NPs. The results reveal that water-soluble biomolecules in the Euphorbia balsamifera extract play an important role in the formation of the Ag-NPs. The removal of toxic dyes was studied under varied operational parameters such as Ag-NP dosage, initial dye concentration, pH, stirring time, and temperature. Under the optimum investigated conditions, nearly 99.12% and 97.25% of the bromocresol green and bromophenol blue dyes, respectively, were removed. Both BCG and BPB adsorption were found to adhere to pseudo-second-order kinetics (r22 = 1 and 0.995) and fit the Langmuir isotherm models well (R12 = 0.998 and 0.994), with maximal monolayer adsorption capacities of 20.40 and 41.03 mg/g, respectively. Their adsorption processes were observed to be intrinsically endothermic. The results confirm the potential of the Euphorbia balsamifera extract as a low-cost, nontoxic, and eco-friendly natural resource for the synthesis of Ag-NPs that may be useful in the remediation of hazardous dye-contaminated water sources

EFFECT OF EXTRACORPOREAL SHOCK WAVE THERAPY ON PAIN POST CALCANEAL SPUR

Objective—To evaluate the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave treatment (ESWT) on pain in calcaneal spur. Methods— A single blind randomized study was performed in which 15 patients underwent a regular treatment Pre and post experimental design. their ages were ranged from 25 to 45 years old. &nbsp;They were examined before and after treatment with shock wave because of pain post calcaneal spur. They were treated by shock wave therapy with 2000 strokes, 10 Hz frequency and 2.5 bar capacity. Two sessions/ week for 6 weeks. Variations in symptoms were evaluated by visual analogue scale (VAS) and Serum cortisone level. Results—A significant decrease of VAS was seen. &nbsp;There is a statistical significant increase in the mean cortisol level after in comparison to before Conclusion—ESWT is safe and improves the symptoms of most patients with a painful heel, and reduce pain