Physico-mechanical properties of polymer concrete containing micro-filler of palm oil fuel ash

Objective of this study is to present a research conducted on ground (fine) and unground (coarse) POFA in polymer concrete (PC) followed by determination on the physico-mechanical properties of PC. Physical properties of micro-fillers and mechanical properties of produced PCs were characterized. Calcium carbonate and silica sand were also used as micro-fillers for comparison purpose. The samples were subjected to compression and flexural. Morphology images of the particles were captured under morphology test to support the findings. Results showed that fine POFA micro-filler has a highly promising potential in becoming PC filler compared to coarse micro-filler. Additionally, its produced PC had comparable strength to PC with calcium carbonate. From the strength development and sustainability stand point, fine POFA has demonstrated its capability to produce quality and sustainable P

Premedication in Surgical Day Care Patients

The purpose of this audit was to find out the efficiencyof our system in providing premedication to surgical daycare patients. This audit was conducted in the Surgical DayCare (SDC) Unit of a University Hospital. All patientsanaesthetised in the SDC unit on day care basis were includedin this audit. Nursing notes and preoperative orders of allpatients to be anaesthetised were checked to see whetherpremedication was given or not and was the timing accordingto the orders written. The result showed that out of 205patients scheduled, twenty (9.7%) patients did not receivepremedication. Only 37.2% of our patients were receivingpremedication according to the orders. The majority of theerrors noted in our audit were system errors related to cancellation,rescheduling and admitting the outpatient in theinpatient ward

A trend analysis and sub-regional distribution in number of people living with HIV and dying with TB in Africa, 1991 to 2006

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The tuberculosis (TB) bacillus and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) have formed a powerful alliance and are together responsible for more than five million deaths per year. TB is leading to increased mortality rates among people living with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The aim of this study was to investigate the geographical and temporal distribution of TB-HIV deaths in Africa in order to identify possible high-risk areas.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Time trends in the 16-year study period from 1990 to 2005 were analyzed by multilevel Poisson growth curve models. Moran global and local indicators of spatial associations were used to test for evidence of global and local spatial clustering respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eastern, Southern, Western, and Middle Africa experienced an upward trend in the number of reported TB-HIV deaths. The spatial distribution of TB cases was non-random and clustered, with a Moran's I = 0.454 (p = .001). Spatial clustering suggested that 13 countries were at increased risk of TB-HIV deaths, and six countries could be grouped as "hot spots".</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Evidence shows that there is no decline in growth in the number of deaths due to TB among HIV positive in most Africa countries. There is presence of 'hot-spots' and very large differences persist between sub-regions. Only by tackling TB and HIV together will progress be made in reversing the burden of both diseases. There is a great need for scale-up of preventive interventions such as the World Health Organization '3I's strategy' (intensified case finding, isoniazid preventive therapy and infection control).</p

A capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer

A Capacitive Micro-machined Ultrasonic Transducer (cMUT) is presented. It is a new type of transducer that can be used to transmit and receive ultrasonic signals in medical scanners and a variety of other applications. The behavior of cMUT is investigated based on a proposed model of an equivalent circuit by which the characteristics are predicted. The simulation is carried out using microwave office simulator. The various elements of equivalent circuit and the signals produced by the cMUT are discussed and the results are shown in the following sections

Investigating corrosion effects and heat transfer enhancement in smaller size radiators using CNT-nanofluids

Nanofluids have been extensively studied in the past to enhance the heat transfer performance and efficiency of systems. However, corrosion effects have been paid very little attention and thus this work presents an experimental study on the effect of carbon nanotubes (CNT) on corrosion of three different metals under study such as aluminium alloy, stainless steel and copper, respectively. The work was further extended to study the heat transfer performance in a car radiator of two different sizes. Both the studies were performed using four different fluids such as water, ethylene glycol, 0.02 % CNT-nanofluid and 0.1 % CNT-nanofluid, respectively. It was observed that among the three metals, the highest rate of corrosion occurs to aluminium, followed by stainless steel and copper, irrespective of the fluid used. The rate of corrosion increased with the increase in temperature (27–90 °C) in all cases. The experimental results showed that the stable CNT-nanofluids prepared in this work showed better heat transfer performance in both engines. Moreover, the smaller radiator using the CNT-nanofluids depicted enhanced heat transfer rates compared to the standard radiator using water and ethylene glycol

Laparoscopic versus open appendectomy in children with complicated appendicitis

Introduction: Acute appendicitis represents one of the most common causes of urgent surgical interventions in pediatric age group. With the advances in minimal invasive surgery laparoscopic appendectomy (LA) has been introduced as a suitable line of treatment. We compare between laparoscopic and conventional open appendectomy in the treatment of complicated appendicitis in children.Patients and methods: During the period from October 2012 to March 2016, 390 children with acute complicated appendicitis diagnosed clinically and with laboratory and available imaging studies were operated. LA performed for 200 cases and open conventional appendectomy for 190 cases. Three ports technique was used in laparoscopic cases. The operating table is shifted in Trendelenburg position and towards the left side. The surgeon stands on the left side of the patient. The appendicular mesoappendix was secured using electro cautery. The base was secured by extracorporeal ties and the appendix was retrieval within the umbilical port. The wounds were closed. Open appendectomy was done through McBurny incision as the traditional approach.Results: A total of 390 children diagnosed with acute complicated appendicitis were operated. The mean age was 12.04 years in group A and 12.2 in group B. There were 260 were boys and 130 were girls. The mean operative time in the laparoscopic group was 56.4 min; while in the conventional group was 63.42 min.Conclusion: LA was a suitable, effective and safe procedure in complicated cases that did not involve the base. It was associated with lower complications rate withall the advances of minimal invasive surgery when compared to the conventional open appendectomy.Keywords: appendectomy, children, complicated, laparoscopi

Enhancing Wireless Sensor Networks Routing Protocols based on Cross Layer Interaction

Wireless sensor networks aim to develop a smart city based on sensing environment. The routing protocols of wireless sensor networks is important to transfer the data in smart cities since sensor nodes have limited power and transmission range. The aim of this research is to enhance wireless sensor networks routing protocols based on proposed cross-layer interaction between physical layer and network layer also a proposed routing table information of wireless sensor nodes is developed to consider the transmission power of neighbor’s nodes to determine the next hop. Cross-layer interaction provides a useful information and effective adaptation for WSN routing protocols. As a result, the proposed routing protocol shows an improvement in network performance when number of intermediate nodes are minimized

Influencia del cloruro sódico y sus combinaciones con Fe(II) o Cu(II) sobre la alteración oxidativa de sistemas modelos de grasa de leche

The effect of the incorporation of different levels of NaCl at 10.7, 21.4, 46 and 66 g kg-1, and the combinations of NaCl (10 or 20 g kg-1) and Fe(II) or Cu(II) (25 or 50gg-1) in model systems of water dispersion in butter fat (WDIBFS) during storage was investigated by measuring peroxide value, p-anisidine index and TOTOX. The results indicated that NaCl at 10.7, 21.4 and 46 g kg-1 levels had a significant retarding effect against fat oxidation during 6 months of storage, while the higher concentration of 66 g kg-1 salt showed a significant prooxidant effect. NaCl significantly (p 0.05) increased the prooxidant effect of Cu(II) in all combinations, whereby the increase was directly proportional to the salt concentration. On the other hand, the addition of NaCl significantly increased the prooxidant effect of Fe(II) ions with no significant differences between the two salt levels (10 and 20 gkg-1). Ferrous ions were more effective as prooxidant than Cu(II) ions in the salt free WDIBFS. However, the addition of salt almost canceled the observed differences of the prooxidant influence of Fe(II) and Cu(II) ions.Se estudia el efecto de la concentración de NaCl (10.7, 21.4, 46 y 66 g kg-1) y combinaciones of NaCl (10 ó 20 g kg-1) y Fe(II) o Cu(II) (25 or 50 gg-1) en sistemas modelo de dispersiones de agua en grasa de leche (WDIBFS) durante el almacenamiento. La evaluación de la oxidación se realiza por medio de los índices de peróxidos, p-anisidina y TOTOX. Los resultados indicaron que los niveles de NaCl de 10.7, 21.4 y 46 g kg-1 retardaron significativamente la oxidación durante los 6 meses de almacenamiento, mientras que la concentración más elevada de 66 g kg-1 mostró un efecto prooxidante. La sal aumentó significativamente (p 0.05) el efecto prooxidante del Cu(II) en todas las combinaciones ensayadas, siendo el efecto directamente proporcional a la concentración de sal. Por otra parte, la adición de NaCl aumentó significativamente el efecto prooxidante del Fe(II) aunque no existieron diferencias significativas entre los dos niveles de sal (10 y 20 gkg-1). Los iones Fe(II) fueron más efectivos como prooxidantes que los iones Cu(II) en los sistemas modelo libres de sal. Sin embargo, la adición de sal eliminó las diferencias observadas entre ambos iones

Performance of sustainable alkali activated mortars containing solid waste ceramic powder

As the cement industry contributed to increasing the global carbon dioxide emissions, researchers looked for other sustainable alternatives. Among them, one of the alternatives is alkali activated mortar containing no cement at all. Alkali-activated mortar is manufactured using industrial and agricultural wastes like ceramics, palm-oil fuel ash (POFA), granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS), fly ash (FA), metakaolin (MK), etc. Compared with Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), alkali-activated is considered as a highly environmental product based mortar. The alkali activated mortar feasibility production using ceramic waste binder was evaluated in this study. The effect of replacing GBFS binder by ceramic powder (by varying percentage) upon its fresh-state properties, like workability, setting time, density and hardened properties such as compressive, tensile and flexural strengths of alkali-activated mortar was concurrently examined. The impact of curing regime on strength development of ceramic-GBFS based alkali activated was evaluated as well. Results revealed that with increased ceramic to GBFS content, the workability and setting time of mortar improved whereas the density decreased. On the other hand, when ceramic was replaced by up to 50 % of GBFS, it showed higher strengths as compared to OPC mortar. It is concluded that alkali activated mortar incorporating 100 percent wastes could be used in the construction industry with the almost negligible amount of environmental problems