Suitabilty of Palm Kernel Shell As Coarse Aggregate In Lightweight Concrete Production

Palm kernel shell(PKS) is an agricultural waste which is environmental friendly. This research was focused on the assessment of characteristic strength of palm kernel shell concrete, with the view to be used as lightweight aggregate. This research is carried out to help in reducing construction cost in areas where lightweight concrete canbe considered. Various tests were carried out  in order to ascertain its use as lightweight aggregate. The aim was achieved by casting the beam and cubes with total replacement of granite with PKS and also casting an equivalent control to give a basis for comparison and a water cement ratio of 0.65 at a mix ratio of 1:2:4. A total of 24 beams and cubes each were cast  respectively . They were cured for 7, 14, 21 and 28days. Crushing of 3 each for the Palm Kernel Shell Concrete (PKSC) and Normal Weight Concrete (NWC) for each curing day upto the age of 28 days was carried out. The results of crushing values are as follows for 7, 14, 21 and 28 days; 14.47N/mm2, 18.49N/mm2, 20.33N/mm2 , 23.00N/mm2 and 7.40N/mm2, 9.20N/mm2; 11.30N/mm2 , 13.10 N/mm2, for NWC and PKSC respectively. The value for the flexural strength is as follow; 1.87, 0.91, 1.36, 1.81 and 0.34, 0.34, 0.40, 0.34 for NWC and PKSC respectively. The results showed that the compressive and flexural strength improved with age of curing, though the compressive and flexural strength of PKSC is low as compared to that of the NWC. It was concluded that the compressive and flexural strength of NWC is higher than that of PKSC. Therefore PKSC canbe used as lightweight concrete which should be designed with the corresponding design for NWC. It can therefore be concluded that palm kernel shell is a lightweight aggregate and can be used to produce lightweight concrete. Keywords: Palm kernel shell, lightweight aggregate, compressive strength, flexural strengt

Availability and utilization of drug information center, drugs and therapeutic committee and standard treatment guidelines in the management of HIV/AIDS patients at public hospitals in a north-central state, Nigeria

Introduction: Nigerian National Drug Policy has targets with regards to institutionalization of Drug Information Center (DIC), Drugs and Therapeutic Committee (DTC) and Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs). Inadequate availability and utilization of these supporting policies/documents affect quality of healthcare.Objective: This study examined the availability and utilization of DIC, DTC and STGs in the management of HIV/AIDS patients at public hospitals in a North-Central State, Nigeria.Methods: This qualitative multi-center study involved in-depth interviews of eligible 10 prescribers and 7 dispensers who provided healthcare to HIV/AIDS patients in eligible public hospitals with the aid of structured interview guide. The interviews were audio-taped, verbally transcribed, analyzed and developed into ethnographic summary.Results: Among the prescribers, STGs was the most available and utilized supporting policy/document. Less than 50% of the prescribers had DTC and DIC available in their institutions, less than 50% utilized DTC while only one prescriber utilized the available DIC. Only 10% of the prescribers had and utilized all three (STGs, DTC and DIC). Also, STGs was available to and utilized by all the dispensers. However, only 14.3% of the dispensers had DTC and DIC available in his institution and utilized them. Reasons for utilization/non-utilization of DIC, DTC, and STGs were awareness of availability, patient workload and documentation workload.Conclusion: Availability and utilization of STGs are optimal. However, availability and utilization of DIC and DTC in the management of HIV/AIDS patients in Public Hospitals are below optimal. There is need for improved availability and institutional mechanisms to ensure their utilization.Keywords: Availability, Utilization, Drug Information Center, Drugs and Therapeutic Committee Standard Treatment Guidelines, HIV/AIDS Patient

Simulation of reproductive risk and emergence of female reproductive cessation

Using a simple computer model for evolution, we show that in a sexual population subject only to age-increasing reproductive risk, a cessation of female reproduction emerges.Comment: 11 pages including 3 figure

Effect of dietary supplementation with arginine on haematological indices, serum chemistry, carcass yield, gut microflora, and lymphoid organs of growing turkeys

A 8-wk feeding experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with Arg on haematological indices, serum chemistry, carcass yield, gut microflora, and lymphoid organ weights of growing turkeys. A total of one hundred and eighty 56-d-old male grower turkeys were weighed individually and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens, and 10 turkeys per pen in a completely randomized design. Dietary treatments consisted of basal diets supplemented with 0, 0.5, and 1.0 g Arg/kg. Haematological indices and serum chemistry were measured at 84 and 112 d of study. Carcass yield, relative weights of retail cuts, organ weights, and gut microflora were measured at d 112. Except eosinophil, no effect of Arg supplementation was obtained on haematological indices at d 84. At d 112, finisher turkeys fed the diet supplemented with 0.5 g Arg/kg had the greatest red blood cell (quadratic, P<0.001), lymphocyte (linear, P=0.011; quadratic, P<0.001), and basophil counts (quadratic, P<0.001). In grower turkeys at d 84, total serum protein (quadratic, P=0.030), and serum globulin concentrations (quadratic, P=0.043) increased initially as Arg supplementation increased from 0 to 0.5 g/kg, but decreased with the 1.0 g Arg/kg. Uric acid concentration and alanine aminotransferase activity reduced as Arg supplementation increased from 0 to 0.5 g/kg, but increased with the 1.0 g Arg/kg (quadratic, P=0.002). In finisher turkeys at d 112, total serum protein (linear, P=0.004; quadratic, P=0.002), serum globulin (linear, P=0.008; quadratic, P=0.030), serum albumin (linear, P=0.012; quadratic, P=0.040), and triodosterine concentrations (linear, P=0.025; quadratic, P=0.033) increased with increasing Arg supplementation. At d 112, spleen weights increased linearly (P=0.006), while thymus weights increased quadratically (P=0.003) with increasing dietary Arg supplementation. Salmonella counts in the small intestinal content of turkeys at d 112 reduced quadratically as Arg supplementation increased from 0 to 1.0 g/kg (P=0.029). In conclusion, Arg supplementation increased packed cell volume of finisher turkeys, improved serum chemistry of grower, and finisher turkeys as indicated by increased total serum protein, and reduced serum enzymes with appreciable improvement obtained when included at 0.5 g Arg/kg. Arginine supplementation enhanced the relative weights of thymus, spleen, and reduced Salmonella counts in small intestine of turkeys

Burns from e-cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems

With increasing use of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and other electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) globally, the debate surrounding the potential harms or benefits may shift to ensuring that the devices are manufactured, marketed, and sold according to standards that reduce harm and promote health

Community analysis of dental plaque and endotracheal tube biofilms from mechanically ventilated patients

© 2017 Elsevier Inc. Purpose Mechanically ventilated patients are at risk for developing ventilator-associated pneumonia, and it has been reported that dental plaque provides a reservoir of respiratory pathogens that may aspirate to the lungs and endotracheal tube (ETT) biofilms. For the first time, metataxonomics was used to simultaneously characterize the microbiome of dental plaque, ETTs, and non-directed bronchial lavages (NBLs) in mechanically ventilated patients to determine similarities in respective microbial communities and therefore likely associations. Material and methods Bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences from 34 samples of dental plaque, NBLs, and ETTs from 12 adult mechanically ventilated patients were analyzed. Results No significant differences in the microbial communities of these samples were evident. Detected bacteria were primarily oral species (e.g., Fusobacterium nucleatum, Streptococcus salivarius, Prevotella melaninogenica) with respiratory pathogens (Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae) also in high abundance. Conclusion The high similarity between the microbiomes of dental plaque, NBLs, and ETTs suggests that the oral cavity is indeed an important site involved in microbial aspiration to the lower airway and ETT. As such, maintenance of good oral hygiene is likely to be highly important in limiting aspiration of bacteria in this vulnerable patient group

Microbial profiling of dental plaque from mechanically ventilated patients

© 2015 The Authors. Micro-organisms isolated from the oral cavity may translocate to the lower airways during mechanical ventilation (MV) leading to ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Changes within the dental plaque microbiome during MV have been documented previously, primarily using culture-based techniques. The aim of this study was to use community profiling by high throughput sequencing to comprehensively analyse suggested microbial changes within dental plaque during MV. Bacterial 16S rDNA gene sequences were obtained from 38 samples of dental plaque sampled from 13 mechanically ventilated patients and sequenced using the Illumina platform. Sequences were processed using Mothur, applying a 97 % gene similarity cut-off for bacterial species level identifications. A significant ‘microbial shift’ occurred in the microbial community of dental plaque during MV for nine out of 13 patients. Following extubation, or removal of the endotracheal tube that facilitates ventilation, sampling revealed a decrease in the relative abundance of potential respiratory pathogens and a compositional change towards a more predominantly (in terms of abundance) oral microbiota including Prevotella spp., and streptococci. The results highlight the need to better understand microbial shifts in the oral microbiome in the development of strategies to reduce VAP, and may have implications for the development of other forms of pneumonia such as community-acquired infection

Accuracy and Limitations of Fitting and Stereoscopic Methods to Determine the Direction of Coronal Mass Ejections from Heliospheric Imagers Observations

Using data from the Heliospheric Imagers (HIs) onboard STEREO, it is possible to derive the direction of propagation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) in addition to their speed with a variety of methods. For CMEs observed by both STEREO spacecraft, it is possible to derive their direction using simultaneous observations from the twin spacecraft and also, using observations from only one spacecraft with fitting methods. This makes it possible to test and compare different analyses techniques. In this article, we propose a new fitting method based on observations from one spacecraft, which we compare to the commonly used fitting method of Sheeley et al. (1999). We also compare the results from these two fitting methods with those from two stereoscopic methods, focusing on 12 CMEs observed simultaneously by the two STEREO spacecraft in 2008 and 2009. We find evidence that the fitting method of Sheeley et al. (1999) can result in significant errors in the determination of the CME direction when the CME propagates outside of 60deg \pm 20 deg from the Sun-spacecraft line. We expect our new fitting method to be better adapted to the analysis of halo or limb CMEs with respect to the observing spacecraft. We also find some evidence that direct triangulation in the HI fields-of-view should only be applied to CMEs propagating approximatively towards Earth (\pm 20deg from the Sun-Earth line). Last, we address one of the possible sources of errors of fitting methods: the assumption of radial propagation. Using stereoscopic methods, we find that at least seven of the 12 studied CMEs had an heliospheric deflection of less than 20deg as they propagated in the HI fields-of-view, which, we believe, validates this approximation.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, accepted to Solar Physic

Qualitative analysis, total phenolic content, FT-IR and GCMS characterisation of Canna indica: bioreducing agent for nanoparticles synthesis

Within the framework of determining capping and stabilizing bioactive components present in Canna indica towards nanoparticles synthesis, phytochemical screening, total phenolic content, infrared spectroscopy and chromatographic characterisation were carried out on the locally sourced plant. Extracts were prepared from C. indica leaves using ethanol, deionised water (DW) and ethanol/DW in ratio 1:1. Qualitative screening showed the presence of saponins, alkaloids, terpenoids, phenols and coumarins. Highest total phenolic content (TPC) was observed in the aqueous fraction and least in ethanol fraction. Characterisation was carried out using Fourier Transform - Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and Gas Chromatography - Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Absorption bands observed from FT-IR analysis showed presence of aromatic O-H stretch (3300 cm-1) and aromatic C=C stretch (1451 and 1640 cm-1) respectively. GC-MS analysis of ethanolic extract indicated the presence of dl-.alpha.-tocopherol – a phenolic compound

Adsorption of lead ion from aqueous solution unto cellulose nanocrystal from cassava peel

Acid hydrolysis was used for the synthesis of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC) from cassava peel (CP). The process was carried out at 450C for 45 min using 64% concentrated sulphuric acid, Pb2+ was removed from aqueous solution using the synthesized CNC adsorbent. Cassava peel cellulose nanocrystal (CPCNC) was characterised using FT-IR and X-Ray diffraction techniques. The different operational factors were examined to enhance the conditions for optimum adsorption of Pb2+. The equilibrium adsorption figures fitted well into both the Freundlich and Langmuir isotherm models, indicating that adsorption was due to the formation of a monolayer adsorption unto a homogenous surface and showed a good relationship between the Pb2+ and the CPCNC. The separation factor, RL, which is a dimensionless constant ranged between 0.02 and 0.248 and indicated that the adsorption was feasible and favourable. The optimum adsorption capacity was 6.4 mg Pb2+/g CNC at 25oC and pH 6. This study revealed that this novel nanomaterial has an unlimited prospect for effective removal of lead ion from aqueous solution