Ultrasensitive Tapered Optical Fiber Refractive Index Glucose Sensor

Refractive index (RI) sensors are of great interest for label-free optical biosensing. A tapered optical fiber (TOF) RI sensor with micron-sized waist diameters can dramatically enhance sensor sensitivity by reducing the mode volume over a long distance. Here, a simple and fast method is used to fabricate extremely sensitive refractive index sensors based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Two TOFs (l = 5 mm) with waist diameters of 5 µm and 12 µm demonstrated sensitivity enhancement at λ = 1559 nm for glucose sensing (5–45 wt%) at room temperature. The optical power transmission decreased with increasing glucose concentration due to the interaction of the propagating light in the evanescent field with glucose. The coating of the TOF with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as an active layer for glucose sensing generated LSPR through the interaction of the evanescent wave with AuNPs deposited at the tapered waist. The results indicated that the TOF (Ø = 5 µm) exhibited improved sensing performance with a sensitivity of 1265%/RIU compared to the TOF (Ø = 12 µm) at 560%/RIU towards glucose. The AuNPs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and ultraviolent-visible spectroscopy. The AuNPs-decorated TOF (Ø = 12 µm) demonstrated a high sensitivity of 2032%/RIU toward glucose. The AuNPs- decorated TOF sensor showed a sensitivity enhancement of four times over TOF (Ø = 12 µm) with RI ranging from 1.328 to 1.393. The fabricated TOF enabled ultrasensitive glucose detection with good stability and fast response that may lead to next-generation ultrasensitive biosensors for real-world applications, such as disease diagnosis

The Basics Challenges in Marketing the Service (Expatriate Labor, Male and Female and Perfecting Body Language) and its Role in Attracting or Alienating Customers in Religious Tourism Sites (A study Applied in Kind From the Religious Tourism Sites of The

      هدفت الدراسة الى بيان دور التحديات الاساسية في تسويق الخدمة (العمالة الوافدة والذكرية والانثوية واتقان لغة الجسد) في استقطاب او نفور الزبائن لما لها من دور كبير في اثراء السياحة الدينية، واخترت  عينة من مواقع السياحة الدينية لمدينة النجف الاشرف والكوفة المقدسة للمدة  بعد 2003 مجالا للبحث، ودرست الدراسة (48) استمارة استبيان، وتم اختبار فرضيات البحث بواسطة مجموعة من الأساليب الإحصائية ومن خلال الاعتماد على برنامج   SPSS مستخدما الاستبانة أداة رئيسة لجمع البيانات والمعلومات اللازمة من عينة البحث، وتوصل البحث الى عدد من النتائج اهما ان التحديات الاساسية في تسويق الخدمات (العمالة الوافدة والذكرية والأنثوية وإتقان لغة الجسد) لها دور اساسي في استقطاب او نفور الزبائن في مواقع السياح  ة الدينية.  واختتمت الدراسة بعدد من الاستنتاجات اهمها: الموازنة بين تعيين الذكور و الاناث في المواقع السياحية بما يؤدي الى الافادة التي تتناسب  مع طبيعة المواقع و الاستفادة من الاحاسيس و المشاعر المرهفة للمرأة في التعامل مع الزبائن بما يحقق الجو العائلي داخل الموقع السياحي ، وضرورة التصدي لهذه التحديات بشكل دفعة واحده او بشكل منفصل, مما يؤدي الى استقطاب الزبائن الى مواقع السياحة الدينية بشكل واسع.This research aims to forward the role of challenges in marketing the service (expatriate labor, male and female, and perfecting the body language) in attracting or alienating customers because they have a great role in religious tourism and was chosen from the religious tourism sites of Najaf and Kufa for the post 2003 period. (48) questionnaire. The research hypotheses were tested using a set of statistical methods and by relying on the SPSS program using the questionnaire as a main tool for collecting the necessary data and information from the research sample. The research reached a number of conclusions. Services (expatriate workers, male and female, and mastery of the body) language has a key role in attracting or alienating customers in the religious tourism sites.The research concluded with a number of recommendations: the need to address these challenges in one package or separately, which leads to attracting customers to religious tourism sites widely

Postmaturity and fetal macrosomia in Jos, Nigeria

Background: One of the risk factors of post term pregnancy is fetal macrosomia. The excessively large infant presents a recurring and potentially serious obstetric problem.Methods: This was a retrospective study of all consecutive births in the maternity unit, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria, between January 1998 and December 2001. The case records of all mothers of babies born with weight of 4000g and above were retrieved and data collated and analyzed for total deliveries, maternal and fetal characteristics, complications and outcome of pregnancy. Results: Macrosomic infants (4000g and above) were 286 cases representing 2.9% of all deliveries. Ten (3.5%) of the infants with macrosomia were preterm, 90.9% were term, and 5.6% were post-term. The mean age and parity of the mothers with pregnancies at term was 29.2 years, and 3.2 respectively. The post term mothers had a mean age and parity of 32.7 years and 3.8 respectively. Maternal morbidity included increased caesarean delivery, and vaginal trauma (episiotomies, tears and bruises) in both groups. Caesarean section was the mode of delivery in 31.3% of post term and 27.6% term infants, while the indication for caesarean section was cephalopelvic disproportion in 80% and 87.3% for post term and term infants respectively. Fetal complications were birth asphyxia and stillbirth. There were no gross fetal abnormalities recorded in the series. Still birth rate was 8.1% and 12.5% in term and post term infants respectively.Conclusion: Post term pregnancies account for macrosomic babies in our facility, posing an increased risk to the mother and fetus. Early diagnosis, intrapartum fetal monitoring and recourse to operative delivery may improve the fetal outcome of these infants.Keywords: fetal macrosomia, maternal morbidity, fetal complicationsRésumé Introduction: L\'un des facteurs de risque de la postmaturité de la grossesse est la macrosomie foetale. Un enfant qui est excessivement grand provoque un problème obstétrique qui est récurrent et potentiellement grave.Méthodes: Il s\'agit d\'une étude rétrospective de toutes des naissances consécutives dans le service d\'obstétrique, centre hospitalier universitaire de Jos, Jos, Nigéria, entre janvier 1998 et décembre 2001. Les dossiers médicaux de toutes les mères des enfants nés avec 4000g poids et de plus ont été tirés et les données rassemblées et analysées pour accouchement total, des caractéristiques materneles et foetales, complications et le résultat de la grossesse.Résultats: Enfants macrosomiques (4000g et lus) étaient 286 soit 2,9% de tous accouchements. Dix soit 3,5% des enfants avec macrosomie étaient préterme, 90,9% étaient terme. Et 5,6% étaient post terme. L\'âge moyen et la parité des mères avec des grossesses à terme étaient 29,2 ans, et 3,2 respectivement. Des mères post termes avaient un âge moyen et une parité de 32,7 ans et 3,8 respectivement. Morbidité maternelle comprend augmentation d\'accouchement césarien, et traumatisme vaginal. (Épisiotomies, déchirures et des blessures légères) dans les deux groupes. La césarienne était la méthode d\'accouchement en 31.3% des post termes et 27,6% des enfants à terme, tandis que l\'indication pour la césarienne était céphatopelvien dispropotionel en 80% et 87,3% pour des enfants post termes et à terme respectivement. Complications foetales étaient la naissance asphyxie et mort à la naissance. Il n\'y avait aucune abnormalité foetale grave notée dans la série. Taux de mort à terme et enfants nés à post terme respectivement.Conclusion: Grossesses post termes constituent des bébées macrosomique dans notre centre. Ceci provoque une augmentation de risque pour des mères et foetus. Un diagnostique précoce, surveillance d\'intrapatum foetal et recours au accouchement à travers l\'intervention chirurgicale pourrait améliorer le résultat foetal chez ces enfants.Mots clés: Macrosomie fœtale, morbidité maternelle, complications foetalesAnnals of African Medicine Vol. 4(2) 2005: 72–7

FACTORS INFLUENCING SELECTION AND ACQUISITION OF LEGAL INFORMATION RESOURCES IN UNIVERSITY LAW LIBRARIES: A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF JOS LAW LIBRARY, JOS, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA.

The Research was conducted on Factors Influencing Selection and Acquisition of legal information resources in university Law libraries: A case study of University of Jos Law Library, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Four (4) objectives were formulated to guide the study which are to: Determine how often University of Jos Law Library acquire Legal Materials; Find out the criteria used in Selection of Legal Materials in University of Jos Law Library; Find out the methods used in Acquisition of Legal Materials in University of Jos Law Library and ascertain the challenges faced by Law Library in acquiring Legal Materials. Survey research design was used for this study; the population of the study was 150 registered users and 18 staff of the University of Jos Law Library. Therefore, the total population of the study is 168. Simple random sampling was used by the researcher to select 35 respondents out of 168 that was used as a sample for the study. The questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. Data were analyzed using frequency count and percentage tables. The study revealed that The University of Jos Law Library acquired legal materials very frequently. It was further revealed that there are some criteria used for selection and acquisition of legal materials in University of Jos Law Library, which includes, authoritativeness of the publishers or producers, significance of the subject matter based on collection assessment, importance/reputation of the author, among others. These were few among other findings. In accordance with the findings, the researcher made some recommendations for the Library management which was about the need for ensuring that audiovisual materials and special collection/government publications that were not acquired, to be acquired for the use of all users and for the University Law Library to have a written collection development policy

Ultrasensitive Tapered Optical Fiber Refractive Index

Refractive index (RI) sensors are of great interest for label-free optical biosensing. A tapered optical fiber (TOF) RI sensor with micron-sized waist diameters can dramatically enhance sensor sensitivity by reducing the mode volume over a long distance. Here, a simple and fast method is used to fabricate highly sensitive refractive index sensors based on localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR). Two TOFs (l = 5 mm) with waist diameters of 5 µm and 12 µm demonstrated sensitivity enhancement at λ = 1559 nm for glucose sensing (5-45 wt%) at room temperature. The optical power transmission decreased with increasing glucose concentration due to the interaction of the propagating light in the evanescent field with glucose molecules. The coating of the TOF with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) as an active layer for glucose sensing generated LSPR through the interaction of the evanescent wave with AuNPs deposited at the tapered waist. The results indicated that the TOF (Ø = 5 µm) exhibited improved sensing performance with a sensitivity of 1265%/RIU compared to the TOF (Ø = 12 µm) at 560%/RIU towards glucose. The AuNPs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy and ultraviolent-visible spectroscopy. The AuNPs-decorated TOF (Ø = 12 µm) demonstrated a high sensitivity of 2032%/RIU toward glucose. The AuNPs-decorated TOF sensor showed a sensitivity enhancement of nearly 4 times over TOF (Ø = 12 µm) with RI ranging from 1.328 to 1.393. The fabricated TOF enabled ultrasensitive glucose detection with good stability and fast response that may lead to next-generation ultrasensitive biosensors for real-world applications, such as disease diagnosis

Gel time prediction of polyester resin for lamination of polymer composites

Lamination of fibre reinforced plastics (FRP) and catalytic curing of unsaturated polyester (UP) resin were the major focus of this study. The polyester resin was cured at ambient temperature with methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) catalyst, cobalt octoate accelerator and phenol inhibitor. This was used to generate model equations that can predict the gel time of polyester resin when curing additives are added. The gelation was obtained by stirring 20 g of catalysed UP resin weighed into a plastic container until the viscosity suddenly increased. Gel times obtained were subjected to regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) so as to obtain the best predictive model. The ANOVA result showed that the gel time (Ti) in terms of inhibitor concentration, Ti = 2820i – 6 was the best predictive equation of the gel time with a degree of accuracy of 98.89%; where i is the inhibitor concentration. In the model, catalyst and accelerator are at constant concentrations of 1% and 0.5%, respectively. The model was validated by laminating pilot components using hand lay-up technique. Thereafter, a laminating template was developed that would aid in reducing material wastes and lengthy down time during FRP lamination. This will be useful in increasing productivity and profitability in FRP small scale industry.   Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2020, 34(1), 163-174. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v34i1.1

Quantification, Antioxidant and Free Radical Scavenging Potentials of Polyphenols from Crude Extracts of Phyllanthus amarus leaves

This work examined the quantity of Polyphenols (tannins, flavonoids and phenolic acids) and their antioxidant and radical scavenging activities in five solvent extracts of P. amarus leaf using assay methods such as DPPH, ABTS, OH, NO and FRAP. Solvents of varying polarity (hexane, chloroform ethyl acetate, acetone, methanol and aqueous) were used for extraction. Results revealed various extraction yields; the highest was aqueous, methanol and ethyl acetate in this order compared to acetone, chloroform and hexane, indicating that extraction efficiency favors high polar solvents. The solvents extract various phytochemicals with ethyl acetate, aqueous and methanol showed better phytochemical distribution. The result also showed that, acetone extract has more of flavonoids followed by ethyl acetate; the least was found to be hexane and chloroform extract while tannin and phenolic acids were higher in ethyl acetate extract. Investigating the fifty percent inhibitory concentration (IC50) of the tested extracts demonstrated that, the ethyl acetate extract which generally gave the highest percentage inhibition, showed the lowest IC50 for ABTS, NO and OH at p=0.05. The correlation between IC50 values and polyphenol content were analyzed for each extract using Pearson’s correlation analysis. It was found that the ethyl acetate extract showed positive and significant correlation between ON∙, ABTS, FRAP and phenolic acids with coefficient of 0.993, 0.996, and 0.920 respectively and OH radical to flavonoids and tannins with coefficient of 0.875 and 0.866 respectively. DPPH to tannins has a coefficient of 0.854. An evaluation on the correlation analysis revealed that ethyl acetate extract is the best. Conclusively, the richer the polyphenol content, the better the antioxidant potential of plant and ethyl acetate is the best solvent for extraction of polyphenols to address diseases that relate to oxidative stress. &nbsp

Postpartum contraception: determinants of intention and methods of use among an obstetric cohort in a tertiary hospital in Jos, North Central Nigeria

Background: Postpartum contraception reduces the risk of unintended and rapid repeat pregnancies. A comprehensive postpartum family planning (PPFP) service can enable women make adequate and informed choices on a preferred contraceptive method, initiating a method as well as encouraging them to use that method for a period depending on their reproductive intentions.Methods: This study aimed to determine women’s intention regarding uptake of postpartum family planning, the preferred methods and the factors associated with uptake. We conducted a cross-sectional study among women attending antenatal and postnatal clinics at the Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria using structured questionnaires. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and chi square test of comparison.Results: Four hundred and five women participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 28.4+5.3 years. The previous contraceptive usage was 39.8%. A total of 262 (64%) women intend to use a method of postpartum contraception. The most preferred intended postpartum contraceptive was subdermal implant (19.2%) followed by injectables (18.4%) and intrauterine contraceptive device (14.7%). Reasons cited for nonuse of postpartum contraception include spousal refusal, effect on fertility, desire for further child bearing, religious beliefs.Conclusions: Counselling on postpartum contraception during the antenatal and postnatal period can help women make informed choices among the wide range of available contraception

ANALYSIS OF AVAILABILITY AND USERS’ SATISFACTION OF THE INFORMATION RESOURCES AND SERVICES IN LAW LIBRARY BY LAW STUDENTS: A CASE STUDY OF UNIVERSITY OF JOS LAW LIBRARY, PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA.

The Research was conducted on the Availability and Users’ satisfaction of the Information Resources and services in Law Library by Law students: a case study of University of Jos Law Library, Plateau State, Nigeria. Four (4) objectives were formulated to guide the study which are: to determine the extent of use of the information resources in University of Jos Law Library; to determine whether the information resources available in University of Jos Law Library are relevant and up-to-date; and to determine the level of user satisfaction in the utilization of legal materials and user services in University of Jos Law Library. Survey research design was used for this study; the population of the study was 150 registered users of the University of Jos Law Library. Simple random sampling was used by the researcher to select 30 registered Law Library users out of 150 that was used as a sample for the study. The questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. Data were analyzed using frequency count and percentage tables. The study revealed that the extent of use of information resources was to a large extent by patrons in University of Jos Law Library. The study further revealed that some information resources in University of Jos Law Library are relevant while others are not. The relevant information resources available in University of Jos Law Library include books, reference resources, journals, government publications, manuscripts, computer resources. But microfilms, tapes (audio/video), periodicals and magazines were not relevant in University of Jos Law Library. These were few among other findings. In accordance with the findings, the researcher made some recommendations for the Library management which was about the need for ensuring that Legal Materials that are neither available relevant nor up-to-date, should be made available and up-to-date for all users

Quality Estimation of Filtration of Diagnostic X-Ray at Federal Medical Centre and Bishop Murray Hospital Makurdi using Half-Value Layer (HVL)

Quality filtration of diagnostic X-rays in use at Federal Medical Centre and Bishop Murray Hospital Makurdi were checked using half-value layer (HVL) at 80kVp, 70kVp and 60kVp. A simple technique of determining HVL which is based on reducing the intensity of X-ray beam to half its original value using aluminium filters added at 2cm from the table and dose detected using DIAVOLT placed at 98cm from the centre of the X-ray tubes. Results were obtained from the plot of ln Dose (mGy) Versus Aluminium thickness (mm) where the slope gives the attenuation coefficient (m). The attenuation coefficient was then used in calculating HVL using the relationship HVL=In2/m. HVL values calculated were then compared with the minimum acceptable HVL values at the kVp setting as recommended by the international Commission on Radiological units and measurement. Keywords: Half Value Layer, Attenuation Coefficient, X-ray, filters,Makurd