Elastic property evaluation of jute-glass fibre hybrid composite using experimental and CLT approach

435-442Elastic properties are the basic quantities that are required during design and optimization of a laminated structure. Though the literature on elastic properties of conventional single fibre composite is well published, the same is scanty in the case of natural and hybrid composites. This work is focused on evaluation of in-plane elastic properties of untreated woven jute and jute-glass fabric hybrid polyester composites, under tension. The specimens have been fabricated by hand-lay-up technique with different relative weight fraction of jute and glass fibre. Theoretically, the laminate elastic properties are predicted by using the classical lamination theory (CLT) and rule of hybrid mixture model, using the resin and fibre properties together with the volume fraction (micromechanics). Experimentally, the elastic properties have been evaluated by tension test in warp and weft direction and in-plane shear test as per ASTM standards. The results indicated that the Young’s modulus in both warp and weft direction improve by the inclusion of glass fibre, where as Poisson’s ratio is decreased. Prediction by CLT and model showed close agreement with experimental values with a maximum deviation of about 20%. The possible causes for this deviation are discussed

Phenotypic and Genotypic Analysis of Multidrug-Resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates from Sudanese Patients

Background. Currently, mutations in rpoB, KatG, and rrs genes and inhA promoter were considered to be involved in conferring resistance to rifampicin, isoniazid, and streptomycin in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). Objective. The aims of this study were to detect the prevalence of first-line tuberculosis (TB) drug resistance among a group of previously treated and newly detected TB patients, to determine the association between prevalence of multidrug resistance (MDR) and demographic information (age and sex), to explain genes correlated with MDR Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and to characterize MTB via 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) analysis. Methods. A hundred MTB isolates from Sudanese pulmonary TB patients were included in the study. The proportional method of drug susceptibility test was carried out on Löwenstein-Jensen media. Multiplex PCR of rpoB and KatG genes and inhA promoter was conducted; then rrs genes were amplified by conventional PCR and were sequenced. The sequences of the PCR product were compared with known rrs gene sequences in the GenBank database by multiple sequence alignment tools. Result. The prevalence of MDR was 14.7% among old cases and 5.3% among newly diagnosed cases. Conclusion. Mutations in rrs could be considered as a diagnostic marker