Moisture Sorption Characteristics of Dehydrated in-shell African Walnut (Tetracarpidium conophorum)

Moisture sorption isotherms are useful thermodynamic tools for determining water interactions within food systems and providing information that can assist in optimizing food processing operations such as drying, mixing, packaging and storage, as well as to maximize retention of quality parameters such as colour, aroma, texture, and nutrient. Moisture sorption isotherm characteristics of African walnut were evaluated at three different temperatures (28, 33 and 38°C) and relative humidity range of 11.20 - 97.00 % using gravimetric method; five mathematical models (GAB, BET, Peleg, Smith and Ferro Fontan) were fitted into the experimental data. Sorption isotherms of the dehydrated walnut gave type II (S-shaped) isotherms according to BET classification. Temperature had significant effect on the equilibrium moisture content (EMC). A nonlinear regression analysis method was used to evaluate the constants of sorption models. The models were evaluated statistically by calculating coefficient of determination (R2), the mean relative percentage error (P) and the reduced chi-square (λ2). The BET model gave the best fit for the obtained data among the tested models with R2 value of 0.9892. Calculated monolayer moisture (Mo) content from BET ranged from 5.018 to 7.922% db for adsorption and 9.842 to 10.143% db for desorption respectively

Effects of Kaolin Particle Size and Annealing Temperature on the Resistivity of Zinc- Kaolin Composite Resistors

The effects of kaolin particle sizes on the resistivity of zinc-kaolin composite resistors have been investigated. The composite resistors have been produced from kaolin particle sizes ranging from 0.063 mm to 0.5 mm. The resistors were produced in a mould to a dimension of 65 mm x 6.5 mm x 3.2 mm with dry zinc and kaolin powders to which a drop or two of sodium silicate have been added as a binder. The resistors were annealed at temperatures ranging from 300\ub0C to 1000\ub0C in steps of 100\ub0C for composites of 0%, 5%, 40% and 60%(vol.) zinc content. Results showed that composite resistivity at all the zinc concentrations considered and at all annealing temperatures increased exponentially with increasing kaolin particle size. The effect of annealing showed that composite resistance is highest for composites annealed at 1000\ub0C and lowest for cermets annealed between 500 oC and 600\ub0C. Composite resistance increased with increasing kaolin particle size due to the large contact area presented by the insulating kaolin particles resulting in reduction of the number of zinc particle-particle contact. The results from this study will help in the development of conducting ceramics which could find use in chemical industries as electrodes in environments not conducive for metallic electrodes

Effects of Temperature on Morphological, Structural and Optical Characteristics of CdTe Films for PV Applications

Cadmium telluride (CdTe) is a direct band gap semiconductor for direct light-to-electricity conversion. The films are promising photovoltaic materials for CdS/CdTe solar cells because of its energy band gap of 1.5 eV and higher absorption co-efficient (>104cm-1). This work presents the characterization of 1 μm CdTe films for photovoltaic applications. The films were deposited on cleaned glass substrates using thermal evaporation. The effect of annealing temperatures (as deposited, 400°C and 500°C) on morphological, structural and optical characteristics of CdTe films was investigated for an hour and characterized with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) and UV-Visible spectrophotometer. The results revealed that the reflectance characteristics of CdTe films depend on the wavelength of electromagnetic spectra. The maximum percentage optical transmittance of CdTe films for as-grown, 400°C and 500oC films were 59%, 60% and 58% respectively at 800 nm wavelength. The absorbance decreases with increasing in wavelength and was found to be 1.65, 1.25 and 0.85 % for the as-grown, 400°C and 500oC films respectively. The absorption coefficient exhibits higher values in the shorter wavelength and decreases as the wavelength and temperatures increases and the band gap becomes wider. The SEM analyses showed that the films were homogenous and free from crystal defects. The results revealed that 1 μm CdTe film may be used as absorber layer in CdS/CdTe thin film solar cells. Keywords: CdTe, Glass substrate, Thermal evaporation, Annealing temperature, Energy band ga

Size effects in ruthenium-based thick-film resistors: rutile vs. pyrochlore-based resistors

The size effect, namely the change of sheet resistance, R, as a function of resistor length, has been investigated in layers whose conductive phase evoves from Pb-rich (Ru-deficient pyrochlores) to Pb2Ru2O6.5 and finally to RuO2 by increasing the firing temperature. It is found that Bi diffusion from the terminations is responsible for lower sheet resistance values in shorter resistors whatever the conductive phase is. On the contrary, Ag diffusion is responsible for lower sheet resistance values in shorte resistors only in the case of ruthenate conductive grains while the reverse is observed in RuO2-based layers. Size effect can be suppressed with Pt/Au-based terminations provided that Bi is contained and with Au-metallorganic-based contact provided that the peak firing temperature is not too high

PRELIMINARY BOTANICAL ASSESSMENT OF PRODUCTION CHALLENGES OF CASHEW (ANACARDIUM OCCIDENTALE L.) IN LAFIA, NASARAWA STATE, NIGERIA

The aim of this study was to investigate the production and challenges of cashew farming in Lafia, Nigeria. The study area was divided into five zones. Fifty semi-structured questionnaires were administered to the farmers. The results showed that only males are engaged in cashew farming and slightly above 95% are married and just about 44% are aged between 21-40 y. Over 95% of farmers disclose that cashew production is seasonal; slightly above 73% disclose that diseases and pests are major challenges in cashew cultivation. Over 64% are of the opinion that these diseases and pests are responsible for yield reduction. Slightly above 52% disclose that yellow cashew is the most tasty and best for consumption. 52% of the farmers agree that 2017 is their best year of harvest because they were more involved in the management. 44% of farmers disclose that they do not apply chemicals and cultural practice in controlling diseases and pests, however majority agree that chemicals are useful in weed control. There was no agreement about the flowering and fruiting periods of cashew as 57% believe that cashew trees flower once, during the dry season and 65% disclosed that flowering occurs between January and March each year

A Simulation Study on Robustness of One Sample Inferential Statistics in Mixture Distribution

Mixture distribution refers to the combination of more than one probability distribution. Meanwhile, non-normality of data set may be inevitable and the cause may be as a result of mixed distributions thereby renders parametric tests ineffective. Montecarlo experiment was performed 5000 times under twelve sample sizes where data were generated from Gaussian and Cauchy distributions using R-statistical packages. At three commonly used alpha levels (0.1, 0.05 and 0.01), the robustness of the test statistics (Rank transformation t-test, Wilcoxon sign test (Distribution and Asymptotic), Signed rank test (Distribution and Asymptotic) and Trimmed t-test) were examined. When the type I error rate of a statistic approximately equal to the true error rate then the statistic is considered robust. At 0.1 and 0.05, Rank transformation t-test, Wilcoxon sign test (distribution) and Trimmed t-test in this order are robust. Meanwhile, at 0.01 Rank transformation andWilcoxon sign test (distribution) were identified to be robust. Also, further counts at all levels of significance revealed that the Rank transformation test is robust and thereby recommended when data comes from a mixed distribution. Hence, this study has been able to identify test statistics that are robust when data comes from a mixed distribution in one sample problem

Diabetes Is Associated with Cerebrovascular but not Alzheimer\u27s Disease Neuropathology

INTRODUCTION: The relationship of diabetes to specific neuropathologic causes of dementia is incompletely understood. METHODS: We used logistic regression to evaluate the association between diabetes and infarcts, Braak neurofibrillary tangle stage, and neuritic plaque score in 2365 autopsied persons. In a subset of \u3e1300 persons with available cognitive data, we examined the association between diabetes and cognition using Poisson regression. RESULTS: Diabetes increased odds of brain infarcts (odds ratio [OR] = 1.57, P \u3c .0001), specifically lacunes (OR = 1.71, P \u3c .0001), but not Alzheimer\u27s disease neuropathology. Diabetes plus infarcts was associated with lower cognitive scores at end of life than infarcts or diabetes alone, and diabetes plus high level of Alzheimer\u27s neuropathologic changes was associated with lower mini-mental state examination scores than the pathology alone. DISCUSSION: This study supports the conclusions that diabetes increases the risk of cerebrovascular but not Alzheimer\u27s disease pathology, and at least some of diabetes\u27 relationship to cognitive impairment may be modified by neuropathology

Diabetes and the Risk of Multi-System Aging Phenotypes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

[[abstract]]Background: Observational studies suggested an association between diabetes and the risk of various geriatric conditions (i.e., cognitive impairment, dementia, depression, mobility impairment, disability, falls, and urinary incontinence). However, the magnitude and impact of diabetes on older adults have not been reviewed. Methodology/Principal Findings: MEDLINE and PSYCINFO databases were searched through November 2007 for published studies, supplemented by manual searches of bibliographies of key articles. Population-based, prospective cohort studies that reported risk of geriatric outcomes in relation to diabetes status at baseline were selected. Two authors independently extracted the data, including study population and follow-up duration, ascertainment of diabetes status at baseline, outcomes of interest and their ascertainment, adjusted covariates, measures of association, and brief results. Fifteen studies examined the association of DM with cognitive dysfunction. DM was associated with a faster decline in cognitive function among older adults. The pooled adjusted risk ratio (RR) for all dementia when persons with DM were compared to those without was 1.47 (95% CI, 1.25 to 1.73). Summary RRs for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia comparing persons with DM to those without were 1.39 (CI, 1.16 to 1.66) and 2.38 (CI, 1.79 to 3.18), respectively. Four of 5 studies found significant association of DM with faster mobility decline and incident disability. Two studies examined the association of diabetes with falls in older women. Both found statistically significant associations. Insulin users had higher RR for recurrent falls. One study for urinary incontinence in older women found statistically significant associations. Two studies for depression did not suggest that DM was an independent predictor of incident depression. Conclusions/Significance: Current evidence supports that DM is associated with increased risk for selected geriatric conditions. Clinicians should increase their awareness and provide appropriate care. Future research is required to elucidate the underlying pathological pathway. 2009 Lu et al

Immunoglobulin, glucocorticoid, or combination therapy for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a propensity-weighted cohort study

Background: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), a hyperinflammatory condition associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, has emerged as a serious illness in children worldwide. Immunoglobulin or glucocorticoids, or both, are currently recommended treatments. Methods: The Best Available Treatment Study evaluated immunomodulatory treatments for MIS-C in an international observational cohort. Analysis of the first 614 patients was previously reported. In this propensity-weighted cohort study, clinical and outcome data from children with suspected or proven MIS-C were collected onto a web-based Research Electronic Data Capture database. After excluding neonates and incomplete or duplicate records, inverse probability weighting was used to compare primary treatments with intravenous immunoglobulin, intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, or glucocorticoids alone, using intravenous immunoglobulin as the reference treatment. Primary outcomes were a composite of inotropic or ventilator support from the second day after treatment initiation, or death, and time to improvement on an ordinal clinical severity scale. Secondary outcomes included treatment escalation, clinical deterioration, fever, and coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution. This study is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN69546370. Findings: We enrolled 2101 children (aged 0 months to 19 years) with clinically diagnosed MIS-C from 39 countries between June 14, 2020, and April 25, 2022, and, following exclusions, 2009 patients were included for analysis (median age 8·0 years [IQR 4·2–11·4], 1191 [59·3%] male and 818 [40·7%] female, and 825 [41·1%] White). 680 (33·8%) patients received primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin, 698 (34·7%) with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, 487 (24·2%) with glucocorticoids alone; 59 (2·9%) patients received other combinations, including biologicals, and 85 (4·2%) patients received no immunomodulators. There were no significant differences between treatments for primary outcomes for the 1586 patients with complete baseline and outcome data that were considered for primary analysis. Adjusted odds ratios for ventilation, inotropic support, or death were 1·09 (95% CI 0·75–1·58; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids and 0·93 (0·58–1·47; corrected p value=1·00) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Adjusted average hazard ratios for time to improvement were 1·04 (95% CI 0·91–1·20; corrected p value=1·00) for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids, and 0·84 (0·70–1·00; corrected p value=0·22) for glucocorticoids alone, versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Treatment escalation was less frequent for intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids (OR 0·15 [95% CI 0·11–0·20]; p<0·0001) and glucocorticoids alone (0·68 [0·50–0·93]; p=0·014) versus intravenous immunoglobulin alone. Persistent fever (from day 2 onward) was less common with intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids compared with either intravenous immunoglobulin alone (OR 0·50 [95% CI 0·38–0·67]; p<0·0001) or glucocorticoids alone (0·63 [0·45–0·88]; p=0·0058). Coronary artery aneurysm occurrence and resolution did not differ significantly between treatment groups. Interpretation: Recovery rates, including occurrence and resolution of coronary artery aneurysms, were similar for primary treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin when compared to glucocorticoids or intravenous immunoglobulin plus glucocorticoids. Initial treatment with glucocorticoids appears to be a safe alternative to immunoglobulin or combined therapy, and might be advantageous in view of the cost and limited availability of intravenous immunoglobulin in many countries. Funding: Imperial College London, the European Union's Horizon 2020, Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Foundation, UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, and National Institutes of Health