Compatibility Study of Polystyrene and Poly Methyl-methacrylate Blends using FTIR and Viscometry Methods

Communication in Physical Sciences 2019, 4(2): 81-86 Authors: N. S. Akpan, U. Idio, S. Usman, A. Idowu, M. Ugbaja, & L. Zango Received 03 December 2019/Accepted 29 December 2019 Polystyrene and poly(methyl - methacrylate) are widely applied polymers but suffer from some property’s failures such as brittleness, especially when used in crude form, In view of this, and other materials requirements that is expected to be met by most polymers. Thisstudy seeks to investigate compatibility of various blends of polystyrene and poly (methyl methacrylate) (in chloroform solvent) using Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy and viscometry methods. Results obtained from Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy indicated that blending did not change the functional groups of the polymers significantly,which pointed towards the existent of little or no interaction. Viscometry measurements revealed that plots of relative viscosity versus concentration, specific viscosity versus concentration and reduced viscosity versus concentration were respectively parallel to each other and assumed S-shaped which also indicated the absence of interaction, hence incompatibility. It is concluded in this work that at the operation temperature of 303 K, there is no compatibility between polystyrene and poly(methylmethacrylate) blends

Intracystic papillary carcinoma of the breast in a 21-year old premenopausal Nigerian woman: a case report

We report the case of a 21-year-old Nigerian woman who presented to us with features of intracystic papillary carcinoma, a rare form of breast cancer usually seen in postmenopausal women in their sixth to eighth decades of life. To the best of our knowledge, there has been only one other case report of this lesion occurring in women in their second decade of life

Assessing Professionalism in Teaching: The Secondary Education Perspective in Cross River State, Nigeria

The study examined whether or not teaching is a full profession. It also determined the relationship between professionalism in teaching and teaching effectiveness at the secondary education level in Cross River State, Nigeria. A sample of 850 educators (844 teachers, 3 staff of Teachers’ Registration Council of Nigeria and 3 heads of inspectors of schools) was selected through stratified random sampling, judgemental and wholistic techniques respectively. A 20-item researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents. Survey design was adopted. Test statistics adopted for data analysis were frequency, weighted mean and standard deviation. A mean score of 2.00 and above formed the significant/acceptance level. It was found that teaching is a profession but not in its fullest sense, and that there is a strong and positive relationship between professionalism in teaching and teaching effectiveness in the study area. It was recommended that licensing should be an essential pre-requisite for entry into teaching; a uniform and lengthy training period should be maintained in all teacher training institutions and be followed by inductive training. There should be strict enforcement of Education Act 31 of 1993; and more awareness be created among teachers that professionalism in teaching is essential in their career and depends partly on them

Nutrient Potentials of Some Indigenous Multi-Purpose Tree Species in Soil Fertility Management of Agroforestry Farms in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

Nutrient potentials of leaf litters of three commonly cultivated multipurpose trees - Dacryodes edulis (G. Don, H. J. Lam)., Chrysophyllum albidum,(G. Don) and Irvingia gabonensis (O’ Rorke) Baill were investigated in Akwa Ibom State. The leaf litters were composted in open soil pits covered with netting materials in the Forestry Department Experimental Farm. The experimental design was the completely randomised design in three replicates. The litters were allowed to decompose and cure by aerobic process for a period of 9 months. The cured manure were analysed for soil nutrients using Association of Official Analytical Chemist (AOAC) methods. The results revealed that I. gabonensis had the highest macro and micro nutrients yield totalling N(19.90mg/kg), P(2450mg/kg), K(2696.25mg/kg), Ca(1744.3mg/kg), Mg(993.13mg/kg), and Zn(94.38mg/kg), Mn (80.50mg/kg), Cu (7.0mg/kg), B(0.25mg/kg) and Fe(1400mg/kg). It was closely followed by C. albidum with total N(14.10g/kg), P(2387.5mg/kg), K(3985.0mg/kg), Ca(1908.13mg/kg), Mg(1105.23mg/kg), Zn(92.75mg/kg), Mn(21.0mg/kg), Cu(56.38mg/kg) B(0.75mg/kg), and Fe (1320mg/kg) and lastly, D. edulis yielded a total N(19.3g/kg), P(1550mg/kg), K(4222.5mg/kg), Ca(1929.3mg/kg), Mg(1270mg/kg), Zn(74.50mg/kg), Mn(69.13mg/kg), Cu(16.38mg/kg), B(0.50mg/kg), and Fe(1133.10mg/kg). In all, I. gabonensis yielded the highest significant (P= 0.05) macro and micro nutrients to the soil, the highest organic carbon, but the least moisture content. This was followed by D. edulis which yielded a significant organic carbon with C. albidum yielding the least significant (P= 0.05) nutrients to the soil. It is concluded that these multi-purpose trees have great potentials for adding substantial amount of nutrients to the soil for planting in agroforestry farms and thus sustains crop production in the state

Evaluation of antiplasmodial effects of the ethanolic leaf extract of Salacia lehmbachii on Plasmodium berghei infected mice

Salacia lehmbachii leaves are used in Nigerian traditional medicine for the treatment of malaria and other diseases. The ethanolic extract was tested for its activities against suppressive, prophylactic and established infections in Plasmodium berghei infected albino mice at dose levels of 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg; while chloroquine (10 mg/kg) was used as positive control. The extract exhibited significant dose-related antiplasmodial activities on parasites with the used-dose levels, showing significant mean survival time. The results, therefore, co-relate with claims by traditional users for the treatment of malaria and other feverish conditions; and could serve as source of potential new antimalarial  agents. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.55610

Prediction of Carcass Weight from Live Body Weight and Morpho-Biometric Traits of Male Nigerian Indigenous Chickens Using Path Coefficient Analysis

Carcass weight has great economic importance in poultry industry and is associated with other traits. This study investigates correlations among morpho-biometric traits (body length (BL), thigh length (TL), breast girth (BL), shank length (SL) and wing length (WL), livebody weight (LBW) and carcass weight (CW) in male chickens and quantifies the direct and indirect influence of LBW and morpho-biometric traits on CW. The aforementioned traits were measured in 187 male Nigerian indigenous chickens at 20 weeks of age. Correlation and regression coefficients among the traits were obtained to determine the intensity and nature of their association while the path analysis was used to investigate effects of LBW and morpho-biometric traits on CW trait. All analyses were done by SAS 9.1.3 software. The correlation coefficients among morpho-biometric traits, LBW and CW ranged from 0.1953 to 0.9930. The highest correlation was between LBW and CW (0.9930). The results showed a positive and highly significant correlation (P 0.05). The LBW had the highest direct influence on CW followed by BG. Individual pre-selection for these traits could favour an increased CW in the future generations of this chicken type since the LBW and the BG are directly related to CW