Feasibility study on utilization of palm fibre waste into fired clay brick

Malaysia is the second largest of palm oil producer after Indonesia, which contribute to 50 % of palm oil production. With this demand, the increasing of palm oil plantation over the years has led to the large production of agricultural waste, for example palm fibre waste. This study investigates different percentages of palm fibre (0 %, 1 %, 5 % and 10 %) to be incorporated into fired clay brick. Manufactured bricks were fired at 1 °C/min heating rate up to 1050 °C. The effects of manufacture bricks on the physical and mechanical properties of manufactured brick were also determined. All brick samples were tested due to the physical and mechanical properties which include dry density, firing shrinkage, initial rate of suction (IRS), water absorption, porosity and compressive strength. Findings show that increasing palm fibre waste affected the properties of brick, which decreased their density, besides increased firing shrinkage, IRS, water absorption, porosity and compressive strength. However, all the manufactured brick still followed the requirement

VFA And Ammonia Emission During Separate Collection Of Residential Waste As A Measure Of Odour Potential

The separate collection and transportation of food residues from residential waste, saves landfill capacity, but presents with it the issue of malodour (Qamaruz-Zaman and Milke, 2008)

Biodiversity uncovered

The world is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of exploring the biodiversity of rainforests and of preserving traditional medical knowledge for developing new drugs

Effect of Turmeric (Curcuma longa Zingiberaceae) Extract Cream on Human Skin Sebum Secretion

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of a w/o cream of turmeric (Curcuma longa Zingiberaceae) extract on skin sebum secretion in human volunteers.Methods: Two w/o cream formulations were prepared - one contained 5% extract prepared from the rhizomes of the plant, turmeric, and the second was similar except that it did not contain the extract and served as control. The antioxidant activity of the extract was determined by using the DPPH method. Evaluation of the effect of the creams on skin sebum secretion was conducted with the aid of a sebumeter. Initial sebum measurements on the face of thirteen human volunteers were taken with the sebumeter prior to application of cream, and then fortnightly after twice daily application of cream (on the right and left cheeks for control and extract creams, respectively) over a period of three months.Results: Significant increase (p ˂ 0.05) in the sebum values was observed from the 6th week onwards after control cream application. Maximum increase of 6.2% was observed on the 10th week of the study. On the other hand, following extract cream application, a significant decrease (p ˂ 0.05) in sebum secretion occurred from the 4th week onwards, reaching a maximum of 24.8% at the end of the study period. The antioxidant activity of the extract was 88.5% of the standard.Conclusion: The study demonstrates that the extract obtained from the rhizomes of turmeric plant can be used in skin preparations to regulate excessive sebum secretion in persons suffering from acne and related problems.Keywords: Tumeric, Sebum, Curcuma longa, Sebumeter, Skin, Acn

MODLEACH: A Variant of LEACH for WSNs

Wireless sensor networks are appearing as an emerging need for mankind. Though, Such networks are still in research phase however, they have high potential to be applied in almost every field of life. Lots of research is done and a lot more is awaiting to be standardized. In this work, cluster based routing in wireless sensor networks is studied precisely. Further, we modify one of the most prominent wireless sensor network's routing protocol "LEACH" as modified LEACH (MODLEACH) by introducing \emph{efficient cluster head replacement scheme} and \emph{dual transmitting power levels}. Our modified LEACH, in comparison with LEACH out performs it using metrics of cluster head formation, through put and network life. Afterwards, hard and soft thresholds are implemented on modified LEACH (MODLEACH) that boast the performance even more. Finally a brief performance analysis of LEACH, Modified LEACH (MODLEACH), MODLEACH with hard threshold (MODLEACHHT) and MODLEACH with soft threshold (MODLEACHST) is undertaken considering metrics of throughput, network life and cluster head replacements.Comment: IEEE 8th International Conference on Broadband and Wireless Computing, Communication and Applications (BWCCA'13), Compiegne, Franc

A five‑year survey of cesarean delivery at a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Background: Caesarean section is one of the most commonly performed surgical procedures in obstetrics and certainly one of the oldest operations in surgery; the incidence of caesarean section is steadily rising. The increasing use of CS as a mode of delivery is due to improved safety of the procedure because of increasing use of antibiotics, blood availability, and improved anesthetic techniques. Despite all these, problems of safety and cost still pose some concern, particularly in resource‑poor countries.Objective: To evaluate the incidence, indications, and outcomes of caesarean section in this hospital during the period under review.Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective descriptive analysis of all the caesarean sections carried out at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada from 1st January 2012 to 31st December 2016. The labor ward delivery register and theatre operation register were also reviewed. The nature and indications for the procedure were analyzed. Other parameters reviewed included booking status of the patient, parity, and fetal outcome. Results were presented using simple percentages and ratios.Results: Out of 9,604 deliveries during the study period, 2,053 cases were by caesarean section, giving a caesarean section rate of 21.4%. Most cases 1647 (80.2%) were by emergency caesarean sections and elective caesarean section accounted for 406 (19.8%) cases. The rate of caesarean section was higher among unbooked patients 1304 (63.5%) than booked patients 749 (36.5%). Cephalopelvic disproportion was the most common indication 633 (30.8%) followed by fetal distress 484 (23.6%) and severe pre‑eclampsia/eclampsia 224 (10.9%). Anemia was the most common postpartum morbidity and there were 17 maternal deaths and the maternal case fatality rate was 0.8%, and there were 62 (2.9%) perinatal deaths due to birth asphyxia following emergency caesarean section.Conclusion: The rate of caesarean section has been increasing gradually and is associated with maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. There is need for education of the  populace to reduce late presentation.Keywords: Cesarean section; incidence; indications; outcome

EEG signal classification to detect left and right command using artificial neural network (ANN)

In this study, the right and left commands explored are based on the actual movement oflifting either left or right hand and the imaginary movement of lifting either left or right handFor this initial study, EEG signals recorded based on the actual physical movements will becollected as the raw data, as well as the EEG signals recorded when imaginary movements areperformed. In the scope of this research, the EEG processing focuses on analyzing two different features namely SD and ESD. These features are used as inputs to be classified by the ANN classifier. The performance of this classifier is then evaluated by measuring its accuracy in distinguishing the different interpreted commands. Based on findings from the conducted analysis, we found that PSD is the best feature to be fed as input to the ANN classifier with a high accuracy of 93% compared to when ESD feature is used as the input.Keywords: BCI; EEG; classification; Energy Spectral Density (ESD); Power SpectralDensity (PSD); Artificial Neural Network (ANN)

A hermeneutic inquiry into user-created personas in different Namibian locales

Persona is a tool broadly used in technology design to support communicational interactions between designers and users. Different Persona types and methods have evolved mostly in the Global North, and been partially deployed in the Global South every so often in its original User-Centred Design methodology. We postulate persona conceptualizations are expected to differ across cultures. We demonstrate this with an exploratory-case study on user-created persona co-designed with four Namibian ethnic groups: ovaHerero, Ovambo, ovaHimba and Khoisan. We follow a hermeneutic inquiry approach to discern cultural nuances from diverse human conducts. Findings reveal diverse self-representations whereby for each ethnic group results emerge in unalike fashions, viewpoints, recounts and storylines. This paper ultimately argues User-Created Persona as a potentially valid approach for pursuing cross-cultural depictions of personas that communicate cultural features and user experiences paramount to designing acceptable and gratifying technologies in dissimilar locales

An Investigation on Structural and Electrical Properties of RF-Sputtered Molybdenum Thin Film Deposited on Different Substrates

AbstractMolybdenum (Mo) is the prominent choice as the back contact for various thin film solar cells such as CIGS, CZTS and CdTe. Physical vapour deposition (PVD) technique especially sputtering process has been chosen as the foremost method to deposit Mo thin film on top of desired substrate due to ease of parametric control of growth conditions. In this paper, we reported the effect of various RF power, operating pressure as well as temperature on Mo films on top of Mo sheet and soda lime glass (SLG) deposited using RF magnetron sputtering. Uniform surface morphology was obtained as RF power, operating pressure and deposition temperature were optimised. However, at higher deposition temperature less uniform surface was observed. XRD pattern of Mo films showed two different peak of <200> and <211> in case of Mo sheet and single peak <110> in case of SLG. While peak intensity varies as deposition condition varies in case of Mo films deposited on Mo sheet. Electrical properties of Mo films on both Mo sheet and SLG were improved as RF power and deposition temperature are optimised. On the other hand, electrical properties are affected as operating pressure increased. Lower resistivity of 1.2x10-9Ω.m and 6.65x10-6Ω.m were found in case of Mo films deposited on Mo sheet and SLG. Surface roughness of 0.017 nm-19.32nm were found in case of Mo films deposited on Mo sheet and 0.002 nm-5.04nm were found in case of SLG. Roughness increased as RF power and deposition temperature increased. However, roughness decreased as operating pressure increased