Blends of Nitrile Butadiene Rubber/poly (Vinyl Chloride): the Use of Maleated Anhydride Castor Oil Based Plasticizer

Recently, much attention has been focused on research to replace petroleum-based plasticizers, with biodegradable materials, such as biopolymer which offers competitive mechanical properties. In this study, castor oil was modified with maleic anhydride (MAH) to produce bioplasticizer named maleated anhydride castor oil (MACO), and used in nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR)/poly vinyl chloride (PVC) blend. The effect of MACO on its cure characteristics and mechanical properties of NBR/PVC blend has been determined. The reactions were carried out at different castor oil (CO)/xylene ratios, i.e. 1:0 and 1:1 by weight, and fixed CO/MAH ratio, 1:3 by mole. DOP, CO, and MACO were added into each NBR/PVC blend according to the formula. It was found that the viscosity and safe process level of NBR/PVC blend is similar from all plasticizer, however, MACO (1:0) showed the highest cure rate index (CRI). MACO-based plasticizer gave a higher value of the mechanical properties of the NBR/PVC blend as compared to DOP based plasticizer. MACO (1:1) based plasticizer showed a rather significance performance compared to another type of plasticizers both before and after aging. The value of hardness, elongation at break, tensile strength, and tear strength were 96 Shore A, 155.91 %, 19.15 MPa, and 74.47 MPa, respectively. From this result, NBR/PVC blends based on MACO plasticizer can potentially replace the DOP, and therefore, making the rubber blends eco-friendly

DISTRIBUTIVE INJUSTICE: A PREDICTIVE STUDY OF CORRUPTION AND OFFICE ABUSE AMONG POLICE OFFICERS IN ANAMBRA STATE POLICE COMMAND, NIGERIA

This paper explored the predictive effects of distributive injustice on corruption and office abuse among police officers in Anambra State Police Command. The participants of the study were 294 (two hundred and ninety four) junior cadre police officers (below the rank of Assistant Superintendent of Police) who comprised 241 male-police officers and 53 female-police officers. The ages of the police officers ranged from 26 to 47 years, the mean age was 37.51 years with a standard deviation of 2.20. Data for the study was collected with the aid of organizational justice scale by Niehoff and Moorman (1993) and Unethical Behaviour Tendency Scale by Tang and Weatherford (1997). Predictive design and multiple regression analysis were adopted as the design and statistical tool for the study respectively. The result confirmed that both corruption and office abuse dimensions of unethical behaviour were significantly predicted by distributive injustice among junior cadre police officers.  Article visualizations

New devices in glaucoma

Glaucoma remains a leading cause of blindness globally. Minimally invasive treatment techniques are rapidly expanding the availability of therapeutic options for glaucoma. These include devices aimed at enhancing outflow through the subconjunctival space, Schlemm\u27s canal, and suprachoroidal space, sustained-release drug delivery devices, and extraocular devices aiming to reduce glaucomatous progression through other novel means. In this review, we provide an overview of several novel devices either newly available or in development for the medical and surgical management of glaucoma. Further studies are required to determine the long-term efficacy of these devices and how they will integrate into the current landscape of glaucoma management

Microbiological Assessment of Soil Contaminated with Refined Petroleum: A Case Study of Eluama in Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State, Nigeria

A microbiological assessment of soil polluted by refined petroleum was carried out in Eluama community, Isuikwuato LGA, Abia State, Nigeria between March and October, 2012. The aim of the study is to examine the long-term kinetics of refined petroleum oil contaminated soil in this area from pipeline vandalization in the year 2000 and to assess the extent of biodegradation with respect to length of time of the spill. The microbiological examination of the soil samples were conducted by serial diluting and then inoculating the soil samples on different growth media. Several microbiological and biochemical methods were applied in order to isolate and identify the microorganisms accustomed to the soil sample. An unpolluted farmland served as control. Results showed a decrease in microbial load of soil as distance approaches seepage area. The control has a total heterotrophic bacteria count of 22.3 x 106 CFU/ml which decreases towards the seepage area (4.1 x 106 CFU/ml)

A critical review of the formation of mono- and dicarboxylated metabolic intermediates of alkylphenol polyethoxylates during wastewater treatment and their environmental significance

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2010 Taylor & Francis.Alkylphenoxyacetic acids, the metabolic biodegradation products of alkylphenol ethoxylates, are commonly found in wastewaters and sewage effluents. These persistent hydrophilic derivatives possess intrinsic estrogenic activity, which can mimic natural hormones. Their concentrations increase through the sewage treatment works as a result of biodegradation and biotransformation, and when discharged can disrupt endocrine function in fish. These acidic metabolites represent the dominant alkylphenolic compounds found in wastewater effluent and their presence is cause for concern as, potentially, through further biotransformation and biodegradation, they can act as sources of nonylphenol, which is toxic and estrogenic. The authors aim to assess the mechanisms of formation as well as elimination of alkylphenoxyacetic acids within conventional sewage treatment works with the emphasis on the activated sludge process. In addition, they evaluate the various factors influencing their degradation and formation in laboratory scale and full-scale systems. The environmental implications of these compounds are considered, as is the need for tertiary treatment processes for their removal

Interactions between deformation and fluids in the frontal thrust region of the NanTroSEIZE transect offshore the Kii Peninsula, Japan: Results from IODP Expedition 316 Sites C0006 and C0007

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 316 Sites C0006 and C0007 examined the deformation front of the Nankai accretionary prism offshore the Kii Peninsula, Japan. In the drilling area, the frontal thrust shows unusual behavior as compared to other regions of the Nankai Trough. Drilling results, integrated with observations from seismic reflection profiles, suggest that the frontal thrust has been active since similar to 0.78-0.436 Ma and accommodated similar to 13 to 34% of the estimated plate convergence during that time. The remainder has likely been distributed among out-of-sequence thrusts further landward and/or accommodated through diffuse shortening. Unlike results of previous drilling on the Nankai margin, porosity data provide no indication of undercompaction beneath thrust faults. Furthermore, pore water geochemistry data lack clear indicators of fluid flow from depth. These differences may be related to coarser material with higher permeability or more complex patterns of faulting that could potentially provide more avenues for fluid escape. In turn, fluid pressures may affect deformation. Well-drained, sand-rich material under the frontal thrust could have increased fault strength and helped to maintain a large taper angle near the toe. Recent resumption of normal frontal imbrication is inferred from seismic reflection data. Associated decollement propagation into weaker sediments at depth may help explain evidence for recent slope failures within the frontal thrust region. This evidence consists of seafloor bathymetry, normal faults documented in cores, and low porosities in near surface sediments that suggest removal of overlying material. Overall, results provide insight into the complex interactions between incoming materials, deformation, and fluids in the frontal thrust region

CLUSS: Clustering of protein sequences based on a new similarity measure

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The rapid burgeoning of available protein data makes the use of clustering within families of proteins increasingly important. The challenge is to identify subfamilies of evolutionarily related sequences. This identification reveals phylogenetic relationships, which provide prior knowledge to help researchers understand biological phenomena. A good evolutionary model is essential to achieve a clustering that reflects the biological reality, and an accurate estimate of protein sequence similarity is crucial to the building of such a model. Most existing algorithms estimate this similarity using techniques that are not necessarily biologically plausible, especially for hard-to-align sequences such as proteins with different domain structures, which cause many difficulties for the alignment-dependent algorithms. In this paper, we propose a novel similarity measure based on matching amino acid subsequences. This measure, named SMS for Substitution Matching Similarity, is especially designed for application to non-aligned protein sequences. It allows us to develop a new alignment-free algorithm, named CLUSS, for clustering protein families. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first alignment-free algorithm for clustering protein sequences. Unlike other clustering algorithms, CLUSS is effective on both alignable and non-alignable protein families. In the rest of the paper, we use the term "<it>phylogenetic</it>" in the sense of "<it>relatedness of biological functions</it>".</p> <p>Results</p> <p>To show the effectiveness of CLUSS, we performed an extensive clustering on COG database. To demonstrate its ability to deal with hard-to-align sequences, we tested it on the GH2 family. In addition, we carried out experimental comparisons of CLUSS with a variety of mainstream algorithms. These comparisons were made on hard-to-align and easy-to-align protein sequences. The results of these experiments show the superiority of CLUSS in yielding clusters of proteins with similar functional activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We have developed an effective method and tool for clustering protein sequences to meet the needs of biologists in terms of phylogenetic analysis and prediction of biological functions. Compared to existing clustering methods, CLUSS more accurately highlights the functional characteristics of the clustered families. It provides biologists with a new and plausible instrument for the analysis of protein sequences, especially those that cause problems for the alignment-dependent algorithms.</p