Possibility of Searching for Fourth Generation Neutrino at Future ep Colliders

We investigate the production of fourth generation neutrino in the context of new $e \nu_4 W$ magnetic dipole moment type interaction in $ep$ collisions at the future lepton-hadron colliders. We have obtained the mass limits of 700 GeV for THERA ($\sqrt S$=1 TeV) and 2.8 TeV for LC$\otimes$ LHC ($\sqrt S$=3.74 TeV).Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, typos adde

Development of Rainfall Intensity-Duration-Frequency (IDF) Curve for Abuja, Nigeria

Urban flooding is a major social and economic problem of any nation. The social implication is attributed to loss of lives and property, unwanted displacement and emotional disturbance attached. While that of economic problem is the cost of mitigation of flood and the aftermath solution. Thus, storm water drainage is part of essential modern city infrastructure. The need for proper analysis and design of drainages and other road water facilities cannot be overemphasized. To achieve this, critical analysis of available rainfall data, which is a key input, is required. A 35 years daily rainfall data were obtained from NIMET, from which the analysis was carried out using frequency method. The output generated are presented in graphical forms and model. Ultimately, an IDF curve generated, depicts Abuja rainfall pattern from which a 3-parameter model equation, I = 37Tr0.2 (t + 0.1)−0.9 was formulated. This is site or location specific. The curve and/or the formulated model can be adopted to determine rainfall intensity of Abuja city if the rainfall duration and return period are predictable

Evaluation of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) for Diagnosis of Theileria annulata in both Cattle and Buffaloes in Upper Egypt

Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) assay was used for detection of Theileria annulata infection in field samples from both cattle and buffaloes. These samples were collected from three governorates in Upper Egypt that include Assiut, EL-Fayoum and EL-wady EL-Gaded governorates. Reverse Line Blot (RLB) assay was used as a reference test for evaluation of LAMP assay efficacy in the diagnosis of bovine theileriosis. The obtained results revealed that according to the results of LAMP assay the infection rates were 65.24% and 43.24% in cattle and buffaloes, respectively. The evaluation study of LAMP test revealed high sensitivity in cattle (78.10%) if compared with buffaloes (47.37%). Specificity was higher in buffaloes (61.11%) if compared with cattle (57.53%). This study concluded that the LAMP assay was sensitive and specific assay in diagnosis of Theileria annulata infection. So, it is recommended to use LAMP assay, especially during molecular epidemiological surveys, which should be applied on a wide range because it will give a clear picture about the epidemiology of the disease, which helps in its prevention and control

Benign prostatic hyperplasia in a 23 year old man with progeroid syndrome

Introduction: Progeroid syndromes are characterized by accelerated aging and early development of diseases typically associated with aging. Premature development of tumors including BPH, maybe observed in these patients, which can lead to significant bladder outlet obstruction.Observation: The index patient was a 23 year old man who presented to us with lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS), features of obstructive nephropathy and was noticed to have been aging rapidly. He had features of premature aging, bilateral cataract and enlarged benign prostate (BPH). He eventually succumbed to obstructive nephropathy and urosepsis.Conclusion: Progeroid syndromes may be associated with premature development of obstructive BPH

Antibiotic susceptibility profile of uropathogens isolated from pregnant women in selected hospitals in Ilorin

Background: Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common infections among pregnant women and if untreated could lead to serious complications.Objective: This work was carried out to determine the prevalence rate of Enterobacteriaceae uropathogens and their antibiotics susceptibility profile among pregnant women attending two ante-natal clinics in Ilorin, Nigeria.Materials and Methods: A total of 111 pregnant women between the ages of 18-50 attending ante-natal clinic at University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and Civil Service Hospital, Ilorin participated in the study. Mid-stream urine samples were collected and cultured on Cysteine-Lactose-Electrolyte Deficient agar. Presence of significant bacteriuria (> 105 cfu/mL) was determined using the plate count method. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was done using Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion technique.Results: Of the 111 urine samples collected, 27.9% of them were found positive on culture. Among the isolated organisms, Klebsiella oxytoca (25.7%) followed by Klebsiella pneumonia (22.9%), were the most prevalent. Isolated bacteria were resistant to at least one antibiotic with the highest resistance seen with amoxicillin (94.3%), streptomycin (77.1%) and nitrofurantoin (54. 3%). Amoxicillin-clavulanic acid (51.4%), ceftriaxone (51.4%), ceftazidime (34.3%), cotrimoxazole (51.4%), imipenem (2.9%), ciprofloxacin (14.3%) and gentamicin (25.7%) have the lowest rate of bacteria resistance. Of the isolates, 82.9% showed Multi-Antibiotic Resistance Index (MARI) ≥ 0.3.Conclusion: High prevalence of bacteriuria in both symptomatic and asymptomatic pregnant women was observed in the study areas. The alarming rate of multi-antibiotic resistance strain is therefore an indicator of a serious clinical problem in the community.Keywords: Bacteriuria, pregnancy, urine culture, antibiotic susceptibilit

Modelling of an industrial naphtha isomerization reactor and development and assessment of a new isomerization process

YesNaphtha isomerization is an important issue in petroleum industries and it has to be a simple and cost effective technology for producing clean fuel with high gasoline octane number. In this work, based on real industrial data, a detailed process model is developed for an existing naphtha isomerization reactor of Baiji North Refinery (BNR) of Iraq which involves estimation of the kinetic parameters of the reactor. The optimal values of the kinetic parameters are estimated via minimizing the sum of squared errors between the predicted and the experimental data of BNR. Finally, a new isomerization process (named as AJAM process) is proposed and using the reactor model developed earlier, the reactor condition is optimized which maximizes the yield and research octane number (RON) of the reactor

Prospects and constraints on utilization of Jatropha curcas seeds in animal feedstuff

Combined physical, chemical and biochemical methods were used to process virgin seed meal of Jatropha curcas L. into treated Jatropha Seed Meal (JSM). Graded levels (0, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25%) JSM treated by the various methods was included in the test diets which were fed ad libitum to 360 albino rats for a month in a single factor design trial. The results revealed that feed intake was numerically highest (p > 0.05) for the rats on the 5 % treated JSM diet, while feed efficiency was highest (p > 0.05) for those on the 10 % treated JSM diets. Weight gain was significantly highest (p< 0.05) for the rats on 10 and 15 % treated JSM diets. Lowest survival rate (17%) was observed on treated JSM diet processed by boiling, roasting followed by fermenting. Biochemical indices measured on treated JSM based diets were comparable with those obtained on the conventional diet (p > 0.05) except for blood cholesterol level (p < 0.05) which was elevated with increasing treated JSM in diets. There were also no significant differences recorded on AST and ALP activities (p > 0.05) between the treatments. Haematological indices investigated including PCV, RBC, Hb were insignificantly influenced by the 5% dietary treated JSM compared with the control diet (p > 0.05) and there was non-significant effect of the dietary treatment on the WBC differential counts of lymphocytes, eosinophils, monocytes and neutrophils. It was established in this study that inclusion of 5% treated JSM in diets had no detrimental effect on albino rats. Further researches are in progress to investigate inclusion of the treated JSM in diets at levels higher than the 5% used in this study.Keywords: JSM, Cockerels, Performance, Biochemical and haematological parameter

Thymoquinone and curcumin modify inducible nitric oxide synthase, caspase 3, and thioredoxin immunohistochemical expression in acetaminophen hepatotoxicity

Background: Acetaminophen (APAP) hepatotoxicity is characterised by an extensive oxidative stress due to depletion of glutathione (GSH), which results in massive lipid peroxidation and subsequent liver injury. The current paradigm suggests that mitochondria are the main source of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which impair mitochondrial function and are responsible for cell signalling resulting in cell death. This study was designed to compare the potential impact of thymoquinone (THQ), and/or curcumin (CURC) on liver injury induced by APAP toxicity in rats. Materials and methods: Serum levels of alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, total bilirubin, and total protein were measured. In addition, liver nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde, reduced glutathione (GSH), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were estimated. Moreover, these biochemical parameters were confirmed by histopathological and immunohistochemical investigations for the expression of thioredoxin, iNOS and caspase 3. Results: Acetaminophen toxicity elevated most of the above-mentioned parameters but decreased GSH, SOD, and total protein levels. Histologically, liver sections demonstrated liver injury characterised by hepatocellular necrosis with nuclear pyknosis, karyorrhexis and karyolysis. Immunohistochemical study revealed increased expression of iNOS and caspase 3 proteins, while the thioredoxin protein expression was decreased. Conclusions: Treatment with the THQ and CURC regulated the biochemical and histopathological alterations induced by APAP toxicity. It was concluded that the combination strategy of THQ and CURC might be considered as a potential antidote in combating liver injury induced by APAP with minimal side effects

Enhancement of light naphtha quality and environment using new synthetic nano-catalyst for oxidative desulfurization: Experiments and process modeling

YesBatch oxidative desulfurization (ODS) process is investigated here for the removal sulfur compound from light naphtha using homemade new nano-catalyst. The catalyst is made of manganese dioxide supported on zeolite nanoparticles which shows an excellent catalytic performance with good impregnation, high activity, good pore size distribution and larger surface area. Different reaction temperature, time and initial sulfur concentration are used to have a deeper insight of the process. The experimental results reveal that the conversion of sulfur compound is increased by increasing the initial sulfur concentration, the reaction temperature and batch time. A mathematical model of the process is developed and validated using the experimental data within gPROMS software with high accuracy. The validated model (errors less than 5% between experimental and predicted results) is then utilized to obtain the optimal operation conditions of the process giving maximum conversion of sulfur (higher than 99%) resulting in an environmentally friendly fuel

Design of an environmentally friendly reactor for naphtha oxidative desulfurization by air employing a new synthetic nano-catalyst based on experiments and modelling

YesDue to the environmental legislations related to sulfur content and proceeding with the challenges to find an appropriate catalyst of such contamination producing clean fuel, a main thrust for improving of more efficient technologies on new oxidative catalyst is viewed a vital issue in fuel quality development. So, in this study, the sulfur compound (ethyl mercaptan) presents in light naphtha feedstock is removed by oxidative desulfurization (ODS) in a batch reactor using a new homemade nano-catalyst and air as oxidant under different reaction conditions (reaction temperatures, reaction time and the initial sulfur concentrations) that has not been studied in such field. The catalyst is zinc oxide supported on zeolite nanoparticles which is locally prepared by Incipient Wetness Impregnation (IWI) method. Mathematical model of the relevant reactions is also developed in this study to match the experimental results via obtaining the optimal kinetic parameters utilizing optimization techniques within gPROMS program. Such optimization is conducted using two approaches (linear and nonlinear regression) and the results showed that the nonlinear approach is more accurate than linear approach. The optimal kinetic parameters are then used to achieve a clean fuel via getting the optimal operation conditions based on the maximum conversion. Where, higher than 99% of the process conversion has obtained at temperature of 327.4 K, reaction time at163.6 min and initial concentration of 335.3 ppm