Properties Evaluation of Natural Weathered Polyester/Nano-Locust Bean Pods Ash (LBPA) Composite

Nano-Locust bean Pod Ash (LBPA) reinforced polyester matrix composite was developed via Sol-gel techniques to investigate the mechanical and physical properties of the composite after weathering. The mechanical and physical test samples were prepared according to ASTM standard. The composite were subjected to weathering tests to study the effect of natural weather and its degradation on the properties of the composites. The moisture absorption of the composite after 24 hours as well as the weight loss of the test samples after degradation was evaluated. Percentage water absorption of the composite increased with increase in percentage reinforcement composition. The percentage weight losses also increase as the percent reinforcement in the composite increases. Weight loss of the test samples after 30 days shows the highest weight loss values. Approximately 54%, 11%, 86%, and 43% drop in values after 90days exposure was recorded for impact, tensile, flexural and hardness test values respectively. The reduction in modulus values recorded for tensile and flexural was approximately 51% and 8%. Keywords: Nanosized LBPA; polyester composite; Natural weathering; Properties  

Evaluation of anti-diarrhoeal activity of L-citrulline in mice

Background: L-citrulline is a naturally occurring physiological non-essential amino acid that plays an important role in the metabolism and regulation of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide is important for physiologic processes of gastrointestinal tract, like motility and absorption. L citrulline is majorly synthesized in the small intestine and considered safe for consumption. However, there is paucity of literature on its anti-diarrhoeal effects. Hence, this study investigated the anti-diarrhoeal activity of L-citrulline in mice.Methods: Anti-diarrhoeal and anti-enteropooling effects of L-citrulline were evaluated by inducing diarrhoea and enteropooling with castor oil. The effect of L-citrulline on normal intestinal motility was also evaluated using charcoal maker. L-citrulline (300 and 600 mg/kg) was administered to test groups, Loperamide (5 mg/kg) was administered to the positive control groups and Normal saline (2ml/kg) was administered to negative control groups. All administrations were via oral route. The results were analyzed using one-way Analysis of variance and Dunnett's post-hoc test.Results: The control groups in all parameters evaluated showed typical diarrhoeal signs. Diarrhoea protections of 93.33% and 55.49% were observed at 300 and 600 mg/kg of L-Citrulline, respectively. L-Citrulline inhibited fluid accumulation by 35.88% and 28.27% at 300 and 600 mg/kg, respectively. The mean percentage distance travelled by the charcoal maker was inhibited by 13.76% and 2.62% at 300 and 600 mg/kg, of L-citrulline, respectively. The observed antidiarrhoeal effects of L-citrulline could be attributed to its ability to inhibit both intestinal motility and fluid accumulation in the mice.Conclusion: This study has shown that L-citrulline possess some anti-diarrhoeal potentials. However, there is need for further anti-diarrhoeal studies using other models and lower graded doses of L-Citrulline to further elucidate L-Citrulline anti-diarrhoeal mechanism of action.Keywords: L-citrulline, anti-diarrhoeal activity, Loperamide, castor oi

Development of an Optimal Coordination Scheme For Dual Relay Setting In Distribution Network Using Smell Agent Optimization Algorithm

This research work is aimed at developing an optimal coordination scheme for dual relay settings in distribution system. The fault current through a relay in forward direction is usually higher than that in the reverse direction for distribution system. Therefore, it is preferable to have a dual setting directional over-current relay. These relays have the capability to operate in both directions (forward and reverse direction) of fault current with two independent relay settings. Additional fault current contribution to the fault location is present due to the integration of distributed generation to the system. The coordination problem is therefore formulated as a nonlinear optimization problem to help mitigate the operating times of the relays using smell agent optimization (SAO) technique. The developed model was applied on IEEE 14-bus network equipped with synchronous distributed generation. The protection setting comprises of two time dial settings (TDS) and a pick up current setting for each relay. The SAO was used to obtain the TDS with the sole purpose of minimizing it while ensuring that the constraints set were satisfied. In the case of TDS with three cases of faults considered. the results obtained showed that the maximum fault current in all the three cases represent 6.79% while the minimum fault current was reduced to 2.70% when compared with the base case. The developed technique thereby achieved a reduction of time dial settings for which the relay operation of 14.50% and 13.69% reduction for the adopted 14 bus IEEE network

Effects of rice husk ash on durability of self-compacting concrete made with cassava peel ash

Self-compacting concrete (SCC) is a highly flowable concrete with improved strength and surface smoothness. The preparation of SCC requires high amount of cement. This utilizes tremendous amount of energy and releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It is critical to reduce CO2 emissions during Portland cement (PC) manufacture by partially replacing cement in the SCC. This study evaluates the durability characteristics of SCC produced using cassava peel ash (CPA) combined with rice husk ash (RHA) at 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 percent cement replacement levels respectively. The effects of water absorption, H2SO4 attack, MgSO4 attack, and high heat on SCC made with CPA and RHA blends were examined. The results show that, as CPA and RHA proportions rise by approximately 5% CPA and 10% CPA+RHA substitution, SCC compressive strength equates to design strength (grade 35). It was also discovered that CPA and RHA both enhance resistance to H2SO4 and MgSO4 degradation, but perform poorly when exposed to elevated temperatures when compared to the control specimen. However, when CPA is utilized with RHA in SCC, the rate of water absorption is reduced to a minimum due to an enhanced pore structure of the CPA-SCC specimen. Generally, a 5% CPA content is considered as the optimum replacement of cement for self-compacting concrete with grade 35

Enhancement of the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of epoxy-based bamboo nanofiber nanocomposites

Epoxy-based nanocomposites were prepared by incorporating 0.3%, 0.5%, 0.7%, 1%, and 2% cellulose nanofibers (CNF) through a hand lay-up technique. The influence of the CNF as a reinforcement material on the morphology, and the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of epoxy-based nanocomposites were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), density, void content, water absorption, tensile, flexural, impact strength, and thermogravimetric analyses. Compatibility between the nano-reinforcement and epoxy matrix was confirmed using SEM, which demonstrated that the CNF was homogeneously dispersed throughout the epoxy matrix. The mechanical properties were enhanced by increasing the CNF loading up to 1%. Moreover, the incorporation of CNF into the composites reduced the water uptake of the substrates in the water absorption test and resulted in a high thermal stability when exposed to a high temperature. Bamboo-CNF could be used as a potential reinforcement material to improve the properties of epoxy-based nanocomposites

Prevalence of hallux valgus in the general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Hallux valgus (HV) is a foot deformity commonly seen in medical practice, often accompanied by significant functional disability and foot pain. Despite frequent mention in a diverse body of literature, a precise estimate of the prevalence of HV is difficult to ascertain. The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate prevalence of HV in the overall population and evaluate the influence of age and gender. METHODS: Electronic databases (Medline, Embase, and CINAHL) and reference lists of included papers were searched to June 2009 for papers on HV prevalence without language restriction. MeSH terms and keywords were used relating to HV or bunions, prevalence and various synonyms. Included studies were surveys reporting original data for prevalence of HV or bunions in healthy populations of any age group. Surveys reporting prevalence data grouped with other foot deformities and in specific disease groups (e.g. rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes) were excluded. Two independent investigators quality rated all included papers on the Epidemiological Appraisal Instrument. Data on raw prevalence, population studied and methodology were extracted. Prevalence proportions and the standard error were calculated, and meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model. RESULTS: A total of 78 papers reporting results of 76 surveys (total 496,957 participants) were included and grouped by study population for meta-analysis. Pooled prevalence estimates for HV were 23% in adults aged 18-65 years (CI: 16.3 to 29.6) and 35.7% in elderly people aged over 65 years (CI: 29.5 to 42.0). Prevalence increased with age and was higher in females [30% (CI: 22 to 38)] compared to males [13% (CI: 9 to 17)]. Potential sources of bias were sampling method, study quality and method of HV diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: Notwithstanding the wide variation in estimates, it is evident that HV is prevalent; more so in females and with increasing age. Methodological quality issues need to be addressed in interpreting reports in the literature and in future research

Management of Partial Penile Amputation Injury: Case Report and Review of Literature

Partial penile injuries though rare are associated with much distress and anxiety. The management of the penile-injured patients can be challenging. Prompt surgical intervention may result in good outcome. We present a young man with near- total penile amputation injury who did well following prompt penile reconstruction attempt. Keywords: Penile injury, Penile trauma, Penile reconstruction, Urethral injur

Mechanical Properties of Millet Husk Ash Bitumen Stabilized Soil Block

This study presents an investigation into the improvement of strength and durability properties of lateritic soil blocks using Millet Husk Ash (MHA) and Bitumen as additives so as to reduce its high cost and find alternative disposal method for agricultural waste. The lateritic soil samples were selected and treated with 0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% of MHA by weight of laterite. The lateritic soil-MHA mixture was later admixed with 0%, 2%, 4%, 6%, 8%, 10%, 12% and 14% cut-back bitumen solution by weight of laterite. Both the natural lateritic soil, lateritic and MHA, and the blend of Soil, MHA and Bitumen were first subjected to physical and chemical analysis using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Scanning Electromagnetic Machine (SEM) to determine their engineering properties followed by the performance test on bricks cast with varying quantities of the additives. A total of one hundred and ninety two (192) cubes were tested for moisture absorption, erodability and compressive strength tests. The result of the test showed that MHA and Bitumen acted as pozzolana in performance test on the soil blocks. Up to 30% MHA – laterite and 20% MHA admixed with 8% laterite were found to give optimum compressive strength of 10.8N/mm2 and 10.9N/mm2 for the bricks produced. The result also showed that about 50% MHA blended with 14% Bitumen solution ensured water tight bricks. Thus the use of MHA as partial replacement of cement will provide an economic use of by-product and consequently produce a cheaper soil block construction without comprising its strength