Effect of Leading Edge Protuberance on Thrust Production of a Dynamically Pitching Aerofoil

The paper presents a computational analysis of the characteristics of a NACA 634-021 aerofoil modified by incorporating sinusoidal leading-edge protuberances at Re = 14,000. The protuberances are from the tubercles of the humpback whale flipper with leading edge acting as passive-flow control devices that improve performance and manoeuvrability of the flipper. They are characterized by an amplitude and wavelength of 12% and 50% of the aerofoil chord length respectively. Three-dimensional CFD on the modified aerofoil oscillating about a point located on the centreline at quarter-chord has been performed with the frequency and amplitude of oscillation being 4Hz and 10 deg respectively. In addition to the lift and thrust coefficients, near wall flow visualisations and the shedding of vortices during oscillations are presented to illustrate the unsteady flow features on the performance of the oscillating flipper. The results show an improvement in the thrust production when compared to previous studies on similar symmetric aerofoil without the leading edge modifications

Utilizing computational fluid dynamics in the analysis of natural ventilation in buildings

Increasing urbanisation has driven building designers to incorporate natural ventilation in the designs of sustainable buildings. This project utilises Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to investigate the natural ventilation of an academic building, SIT@SP, using an assessment criterion based on daily mean temperature and mean velocity. The areas of interest are the pedestrian level of first and fourth levels of the building. A reference case recommended by the Architectural Institute of Japan was used to validate the simulation model. The validated simulation model was then used for coupled simulations on SIT@SP and neighbouring geometries, under two wind speeds. Both steady and transient simulations were used to identify differences in results. Steady and transient results are agreeable with the transient simulation identifying peak velocities during flow development. Under a lower wind speed, the first level was sufficiently ventilated while the fourth level was not. The first level has excessive wind velocities in the higher wind speed and the fourth level was adequately ventilated. Fourth level flow velocity was consistently lower than those of the first level. This is attributed to either simulation model error or poor building design. SIT@SP is concluded to have a sufficiently ventilated first level and insufficiently ventilated fourth level. Future works for this project extend to modifying the urban geometry, simulation model improvements, evaluation using other assessment metrics and extending the area of interest to the entire building

Microbiological quality of anti-tuberculosis drugs commonly used at dots centres and pharmacies within Kaduna Metropolis, Kaduna, Nigeria

Medicinal drugs of low-quality likely due to microbial contamination can result in increased morbidity and mortality thereby reducing the human population and may also result in emergence of resistant strain organisms in the environment. Studies suggest that there are a lot of counterfeit and substandard anti-tuberculosis drugs in circulation especially in Africa that are used for the treatment and control of tuberculosis whose damage on public health were mostly underestimated. Research on microbiological quality of anti-TB drugs is regrettably inadequate and scarce with most of the researches focused only on determining the active pharmaceutical ingredients of the drugs. This research aimed at assessing the microbiological quality of the anti-TB drugs used at DOTS Centres and Pharmacies within Kaduna metropolis, specifically to determine the total aerobic microbial count, total combined yeast and mould counts, the presence of indicator organisms; Escherichia coli, Salmonella species, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as the susceptibility of the isolates to standard antibiotics. A stratified random sampling was used. A total of fifty-two (52) samples comprising of Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide, Isoniazid, Ethambutol and 4FDC were collected for the study. Methods specified in the United States Pharmacopoeia (USP, 2019) under the test for specified organisms and enumeration test were adopted for this research work. The study conducted established that the anti-TB drugs used at DOTS centres and Pharmacies within Kaduna metropolis, Kaduna, Nigeria do not contain any of the indicator organisms but some of the selected anti-TB drugs are contaminated with other strains of microorganisms with some not meeting the requirement for total aerobic microbial count and total yeast and mould count. The microbial contaminants found include species of; Bacillus, Klebsiella, Enterobacter, Penicillium, Fusarium, Alterneria, Curvularia, Aspergillus, Candida and Sporotricum. Some of the selected isolates obtained from the selected anti-TB drugs were not susceptible to the standard antibiotics used; Augmentin, Chloramphenicol, Ciprofloxacin, Gentamicin, Amoxicillin and Ofloxacin, with highest resistance recorded in Amoxicillin for all the bacterial isolates. However, all the Candida species were susceptible to the antifungal drugs; Ketoconazole, Fluconazole, Clotrimazole and Itraconazole

Compensated Row-Column Ultrasound Imaging System Using Edge-Guided Three Dimensional Random Fields

The row-column method is a simplification technique used to reducethe complexity of a fully addressed 2-D array. Although itgreatly reduces the number of physical connections required aswell as the amount of data to be handled, it still has limitations; itsimaging data output is sparse, it suffers from speckle noise, and itsspatially-dependant point spread function is riddled with edge artifacts.In this work, we propose a row-column ultrasound imagingsystem, termed CRUIS3D, that uses a 3-D edge-guided randomfield approach to compensate for the limitations of the row-columnmethod. Tests on CRUIS3D and previously published row-columnsystems show the effectiveness of our proposed system as a toolfor enhancing 3-D row-column ultrasound imaging

Histomorphological study of lead-induced lungs lesion of mice treated with Moringa oleifera leaves extracts

Background: Moringa oleifera leaves extracts are currently among the most common medicinal plants used to cure some diseases. Many studies have been conducted on the benefits of Moringa oleifera leaves extracts but only few studies focused on its Antifibrotic effects on lung tissue. Aim: To study the Histomorphological changes associated with Moringa oleifera Leave extracts on lead-induced lung lesion of Mice. Materials and Method: Twenty adult mice were divided into four groups, three test groups (A, B and C) and a control group (D). The test groups were administered orally with 5mg/kg lead acetate and 10mg/kg Moringa oleifera leaves extract concurrently; 5mg/kg lead acetate only; 10mg/kg Moringa oleifera leaves extract only; while the control group did not receive any intervention. The intervention period lasted for three weeks. On the twenty-two day of the research, the animals were sacrificed; lung tissues were harvested, processed for histological examination and stained using Hematoxylin and Eosin staining technique. Result: Group A animal administered with lead acetate and Moringa oleifera leaves extract concurrently, shows that the deleterious effects of Lead were ameliorated, with an improve histological features of the lungs when compared with that of the Group B. while an Ill defined alveoli, thinned alveoli wall, sacs emphysema and distortion of the parenchyma cells that constitute the lung tissue are seen in test Group B, administered with lead acetate only. A remarkable, intact lung alveoli, lung parenchyma cells were observed to in test Group C and very much correlated to that of the control group. Conclusion: Moringa oleifera administration reduced the severity of lead’s damaging effects to the lungs, and may likely exhibits anti-fibrotic as well as prophylactic effects by repairing damaged alveoli and in the latter case by preserving and /or regenerating the lung tubules. Key words: Anti-fibrotic; lead-induced; lung; lesion; Moringa oleifer

Empowering deaf and hard hearing females toward premarital counseling and genetic screening: An educational intervention based on empowerment model

Hearing loss affects many people worldwide, and it hinders speech, language, and social development. Consanguineous marriageis the most prevalent social custom that leads to an increased prevalence of congenital anomalies. Premarital Counseling andGenetic Screening (PMSGC) educational program is urgently needed to empower deaf and hard hearing girls. This study aimed toinvestigate the effect of educational intervention based on the empowerment model on deaf and hard hearing females' self-efficacy,knowledge, and attitude toward PMSGC. A Quasi-experimental research design was conducted on 64 deaf and hard hearing femalestudents. The data collection instrument comprised four parts: basic data and personal/family history, PMSGC quiz, Likert attitudescale, and general self-efficacy scale. Data were collected from September to December 2020. The empowerment educational intervention was conducted in four sequential phases; needs assessment, planning, implementation, and evaluation. The intervention addressed the students' knowledge, attitudes and self-efficacy. The results showed that 76.6% of the study participants had consanguineous marriage between their parents, 64.1% had a history of hereditary deafness in first-degree relatives. There were statistically significant differences between the total knowledge, attitude, and self-efficacy before and after intervention (p<0.001). In detail, 76.6% of the participants had good knowledge after the intervention compared to only 12.5% before it. Besides, 81.3% of the study participants had a positive attitude toward PMSGC before the intervention compared to 95.3% after it. Selfefficacy was low (25.0%) or moderate (75%) before the intervention compared to moderate (45.3%) or high (42.2%) after the intervention. Educational intervention based on the empowerment model significantly increased the deaf and hard hearing population's self-efficacy,  knowledge, and attitude toward PMSGC. The use of the empowerment model in health education should be encouraged and taught to the medical and paramedical students. Keywords: Attitude, knowledge, self-efficacy, empowerment model, deaf and hard hearing females, premarital counseling, genetic screening   La perte auditive affecte de nombreuses personnes dans le monde et entrave la parole, le langage et le développement social. Lemariage consanguin est la coutume sociale la plus répandue qui conduit à une prévalence accrue d'anomalies congénitales. Unprogramme éducatif de conseil et de dépistage génétique prénuptial (PMSGC) est nécessaire de toute urgence pour autonomiserles filles sourdes et malentendantes. Cette étude visait à étudier l'effet d'une intervention éducative basée sur le modèle d'autonomisation sur l'auto-efficacité, les connaissances et l'attitude des femmes sourdes et malentendantes à l'égard de PMSGC.Un plan de recherche quasi expérimental a été mené sur 64 étudiantes sourdes et malentendantes. L'instrument de collecte dedonnées comprenait quatre parties: les données de base et les antécédents personnels / familiaux, le questionnaire PMSGC, l'échelled'attitude de Likert et l'échelle d'auto-efficacité générale. Les données ont été collectées de septembre à décembre 2020. L'intervention éducative d'autonomisation s'est déroulée en quatre phases séquentielles; évaluation des besoins, planification, miseen œuvre et évaluation. L'intervention a porté sur les connaissances, les attitudes et l'auto-efficacité des élèves. Les résultats ontmontré que 76,6% des participants à l'étude avaient un mariage consanguin entre leurs parents, 64,1% avaient des antécédents desurdité héréditaire chez des parents au premier degré. Il y avait des différences statistiquement significatives entre les connaissances totales, l'attitude et l'auto-efficacité avant et après l'intervention (p <0,001). Dans le détail, 76,6% des participants avaient de bonnesconnaissances après l'intervention contre seulement 12,5% avant celle-ci. En outre, 81,3% des participants à l'étude avaient uneattitude positive envers PMSGC avant l'intervention, contre 95,3% après. L'auto-efficacité était faible (25,0%) ou modérée (75%)avant l'intervention par rapport à modérée (45,3%) ou élevée (42,2%) après l'intervention. L'intervention éducative basée sur lemodèle d'autonomisation a considérablement augmenté l'auto-efficacité, les connaissances et l'attitude de la population sourde etmalentendante à l'égard de l'EMSP. L'utilisation du modèle d'autonomisation dans l'éducation sanitaire devrait être encouragée etenseignée aux étudiants en médecine et paramédical. Mots-clés: Attitude, connaissances, auto-efficacité, modèle d'autonomisation, femmes sourdes et malentendantes, counseling prénuptial, dépistage génétiqu

Simulation experiments for performance analysis of multiple-bus multiprocessor systems with nonexponential service times

A simulation model (program) is constructed for performance analysis of multiple-bus multiprocessor systems with shared memories. It is assumed that the service time of the common memory is either hypo- or hyperexponentially distributed. Process ing efficiency is used as the performance index. To investigate the effects of different service time distributions on the system perfor mance, comparative results are obtained for a large set of input parameters. The simulation results show that the error in approx imating the memory access time by an exponentially distributed random variable is less than 6% if the coefficient of variation is less than 1, but it increases drastically with this factor if it is greater than 1.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68518/2/10.1177_003754978905200104.pd

A multi-stakeholder strategy to identify conservation priorities in Peninsular Malaysia

Malaysia, with its rapidly growing economy, exemplifies the tensions between conservation and development faced by many tropical nations. Here we present the results of a multi-stakeholder engagement exercise conducted to (1) define conservation priorities in Peninsular Malaysia and (2) explore differences in perceptions among and within stakeholder groups (i.e. government, academia, NGOs and the private sector). Our data collection involved two workshops and two online surveys where participants identified seven general conservation themes and ranked the top five priority issues within each theme. The themes were: (1) policy and management, (2) legislation and enforcement, (3) finance and resource allocation, (4) knowledge, research and development, (5) socio-economic issues, (6) public awareness and participation and (7) rights of nature. In spite of their very different backgrounds and agendas, the four stakeholder groups showed general agreement in their priority preferences except for two issues. Respondents from government and private sector differed the most from each other in their priority choices while academia and NGO showed the highest degree of similarity. This ranked list of 35 conservation priorities is expected to influence the work of policy-makers and others in Peninsular Malaysia and can be used as a model to identify conservation priorities elsewhere

Measurements of differential production cross sections for a Z boson in association with jets in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe