HCME: An Environment-Friendly I.C. Engine Fuel

The study revealed that Hura crepitans oil is a good candidate for Hura crepitans methyl ester (HCME) production. Two steps (esterification and transesterification) production stages influenced the high yield of HCME. Three possible experimental runs were performed in each step, the best of the three conditions were 1.45 (% v/v) for H2SO4 conc., 5:1 for methanol/oil molar ratio, 40 min for reaction time which gave 1.06 % for FFA in the first step, in the second step, 92.70 %(w/w) of HCME was obtained at 0.55% KOH, 5:1 methanol/oil molar ratio, 60 oC temperature and 30 min reaction time. The produced HCME had fuel properties which satisfied both ASTME D6751 and EN 1424 standards. The fatty acid profile of the HCME revealed the dominant fatty acids were linoleic (64.50%), oleic (17.54%) and palmitic (12.70%). Exhaust emissions from an internal combustion (I.C.) engine revealed that there is 60% decreased in CO, 58% decreased in NOx, 60% decreased in HC, 39% decrease in smoke opacity and 42% decreased in BSFC at B20, respectively. Flue gas temperature increased by 12% at B20, 45% increased in BTE at B50 when compared to pure diesel (AGO). Hence, it can be concluded that B20 (20% HCME + 80% AGO) will provides the best emission reduction at the lowest cost

Synthesis, spectroscopic, and density functional theory studies of the corrosion inhibitive behaviour of n-(1,4-dihydro-1,4-dioxonaphthalene-3-yl)pyrazine-2-carboxamide chelator-ligand

The inhibitory effect of N-(1,4-dihydro-1,4-dioxonaphthalene-3-yl) pyrazine-2-carboxamide (HL chelator) on the corrosion of mild steel (Ms) in 1M HCl remained appraised via weight loss (WL) estimations, atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and computational studies. The adsorption of the appraised ligand remained found to conform to Langmuir adsorption isotherm (LAI). The data acquired for ΔGads denotes chemisorption adsorption mechanism for the inhibitor while acquired AAS analysis results revealed that the concentration of iron in the inhibited corrosive medium is less than the concentration of iron in the uninhibited solution after immersion with Ms at the same contact time and was also observed to reduce with upsurge in concentration of the inhibitor. SEM micrographs acquired revealed that the existence of the studied compound lessened the degree of corrosion in addition to decreased surface roughness signifying establishment of protective inhibitor film at the Ms surface. The energy of highest occupied molecular orbital (EHOMO) as well as energy of lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (ELUMO) remained estimated via density functional theory (DFT) method from which other parameters were determined. The results acquired from computational studies were in conformity with those from experimental studies and both validate the use of HL chelator as an excellent and efficient inhibitor for the corrosion of Ms in 1 M HCl

Energy Audit of an Industry: a Case Study of Fabrication Company

Energy is one of the major inputs for the economic development of any country. In the case of the developing countries, the energy sector assumes a critical importance in view of the ever-increasing energy needs requiring huge investments to meet them. Energy audit will determine energy wastage and losses, and provide techniques and ways to minimize the losses. The payback period of the energy audit programmed for the industry was found to be 14 months. The energy consumption techniques suggested by the energy audit will not only minimize the losses but also reduce monthly electricity bill. The objective of Energy Management is to achieve and maintain optimum energy procurement and utilization, throughout the organization as to minimize energy costs and wastage without affecting production and quality. Energy Audit is the key to a systematic approach for decision-making in the area of energy management. It attempts to balance the total energy inputs with its use, and serves to identify all the energy streams in a facility

Performance Evaluation of the Effect of Waste Paper on Groundnut Shell Briquette

Current energy shortage and environmental issues resulting from the use of fossil fuels have lead to exploitation of renewable energy resources that includes municipal waste and agricultural residues. These residues are available, indigenous and are environmental friendly but some can not be used directly in combustion process due high moisture content and low volumetric energy unless by briquetting. The study was undertaken to assess the combustion characteristic of binderless briquettes produced from waste paper and groundnut shell. Combustion characteristics investigated were ignition time, burning time, calorific values, burning rate, specific fuel consumption, fuel efficiency and water boiling time. The calorific values of the briquettes ranged from 19.51 - 19.92 MJ/kg, while the thermal efficiency ranges between 13.75 – 21.64%, other results shows that the average burning rate between 0.511 and 1.133 kg/hr and the specific fuel consumption ranges between 0.087 and 0.131 J/g. The recorded boiling time values were between 17.5 and 30.0 minutes for cold start and 15.0 and 20.0 minutes for hot start. The results shows that waste paper and groundnut shell up to 25% in composition composite briquettes were found to have good combustion characteristics which qualify them as alternative to firewood for domestic and industrial energy. However, production of briquettes from waste paper and groundnut shell at mixing ratio of 85:15 was found to comparatively better from all experiment conducted

Trial of Essiac to Ascertain Its Effect in Women with Breast Cancer (TEA-BC)

Background: Breast cancer is a major cause of morbidity, mortality, and medical expenditures among women in Canada. Essiac (Resperin™ Canada Limited, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada), a blend of at least four herbs (burdock root [Arctium lappa], Indian rhubarb [Rheum palmatum], sheep sorrel [Rumex acetosella], and the inner bark of slippery elm [Ulmus fulva or U. rubra]), has become one of the more popular herbal remedies for breast-cancer treatment, secondary prevention, improving quality of life, and controlling negative side-effects of conventional breast-cancer treatment. Objectives: Our primary objective was to determine the difference in health-related quality of life (HR-QOL), as assessed by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Breast Cancer Version, between women who are new Essiac users (since breast cancer diagnosis) and those who have never used Essiac. Secondary endpoints included differences in depression, anxiety, fatigue, rate of adverse events, and prevalence of complications or benefits associated with Essiac during standard breast-cancer treatment. Additionally, we described the pattern of use of Essiac in this cohort of women. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study in 510 women, randomly chosen from the Ontario Cancer Tumour Registry, with a diagnosis of primary breast cancer in 2003. Results: With the exception changes in a Physical well-being subscale and a relationship with doctor subscale, Essiac did not have a significant effect on HR-QOL or mood states. Even for Physical well-being and relationship with doctor, Essiac seemed to have a negative effect, with Essiac users doing worse than the non-Essiac users. This might be attributed to the fact that the group of users comprised younger women with more advanced stages of breast cancer, and both of these subgroups of patients have been shown to be at a significantly increased risk for negative mood states and/or a decreased sense of well-being. The women were taking low doses (total daily dose 43.6 ± 30.8 mL) of Essiac that corresponded to the label directions found on most Essiac products. Friends were the most common source of information, and most women were taking Essiac to boost their immune systems or increase their chances of survival. Only 2 women reported minor adverse events, whereas numerous women reported beneficial effects of Essiac. Conclusions: Essiac does not appear to improve HR-QOL or mood states. Future studies are needed to determine whether other clinical outcomes, such as cancer reoccurrence, are affected by Essiac.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/63199/1/acm.2006.12.971.pd

Comparative Study of Microwave-assisted and Conventional Synthesis of 3-[1-(s-phenylimino) Ethyl]-2H-chromen-2-ones and Selected Hydrazone Derivatives

In this study, 3-acetylcoumarin 1, used as the essential precursor was synthesized by the reaction of salicyaldehyde with ethyl acetoacetate in the presence of a catalytic amount of piperidine in solvent-free medium. Schiff bases 2-9 were obtained by the condensation reaction of 3-acetylcoumarin, 1 with various aniline derivatives while reaction of 3-hydrazinoquinoxalin-2-one with four different 6-susbtituted 3-acetylcoumarins afforded the corresponding hydrazones 10-13. Both Schiff bases and hydrazone products were synthesized under microwave irradiation method and conventional synthetic strategy for comparative study. The microwave assisted reaction was remarkably successful and gave both Schiff bases and hydrazones in higher yields at shorter reaction time compared to conventional heating method. The characterization of the synthesized compounds were structurally confirmed by analytical data as well as spectroscopic means which involved 1H-and 13C-nmr, ir, UV-visible and mass spectra

Economic Evaluations of Adult Male Circumcision for Prevention of Heterosexual Acquisition of HIV in Men in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Allele Frequencies of Apolipoprotein E in a South Western Nigerian population on HAART

Objective: Increasing evidence has shown that ApoE polymorphism is associated with the early onset of cardiovascular and neurological diseases in patients on HAART. The frequency of occurrence of the alleles and the genotypes vary by race and population. The study describes the pattern seen among adults in Ibadan, Nigeria. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 124 randomly selected HIV-infected persons on protease inhibitor therapy who receive care at the adult antiretroviral clinic of the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan. DNA was extracted from leucocytes using EDTA blood. ApoE genotypes were determined using the Seeplex ApoE ACE genotyping kit. The epidemiological distribution of apoE is figured with a pie graph. Results: About four-fifth (79%) of the participants were females while about two-thirds (68%) were below 50 years of age.  The most frequently occurring allele was the ε3 allele (82.2%) and the most common ApoE genotype observed was ε3/ε3. This genotype was present in 52 (41.9%) of the participants. At least one allele of Apo ε2, Apo ε3, and Apo ε4 was present in 28(22.5%), 102 (82.2%), and 50 (40.3) of the study participants respectively. Homozygosity for Apo ε2 and Apo ε4 was observed in 4.8% and 8.0% of participants respectively. Conclusions: Allelic frequency seen is similar to that described in other studied populations and the frequency of genotypes observed was also similar to those described among world populations with a higher observation of ApoE4 allele as seen in people of African descent

Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Hydrogeological Profiles within Odeda Local Government, Abeokuta, Southwest Nigeria

Groundwater quality can be affected by human activities such as agriculture and improper sewage disposal facilities currently in use by some homeowners within Odeda local government, Ogun State Nigeria. Sixty groundwatersamples collected from hand-dug wellswere analysed for physicochemical and bacteriological parameters using standard procedures. Results were integrated with multivariate and hydrogeochemical analyses to assess groundwater quality and hydrogeologycal facies within the study area. The range of values for the measured parameters  include: pH (5.91 – 7.4), EC (101- 1142 μScm-1), TDS (50 - 581 mg L-1), NO3-(3 - 18 mg L-1), Cl- (25 – 234 mg L-1 ), BOD (0.1 – 17.9) and E. Coli (ND - 45×10cfu mL-1). The piper trilinear plot shows that the dominant hydrochemical facies in  the study area is the Ca2+– Cl− type. A correlation analysis and a principal component analysis reflect dissolutions from basal rocks and contamination from biological wastes possibly arising from surrounding septic tanks or municipal waste disposal sites. There is need for a continuous monitoring of groundwater by relevant regulatory authorities to safeguard the human health and environment within the study area