Archives-May 2012

This research work was done to design oral controlled release matrix pellets of water insoluble drug Indomethacin (IM), using blend of Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) and glyceryl palmito stearate (GPS) as matrix polymer, methyl crystalline cellulose (MCC) as spheronizer enhancer, sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) as pore forming agent. Drug loaded pellets were characterized with regard to the drug content, size distribution, and pellets were further characterize by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetrydsc), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X ray diffraction study (XRD). Stability studies were carried out on the optimized formulation for a period of 90 d 40 ± 2 oC and 75 ± 5% relative humidity. It was found that drug content was in the range of 92.11 to 97.45 %. The mean particle size of drug loaded pellets was in the range 1032 to 11176 mm. SEM photographs and calculated sphericity factor confirms that the prepared formulations were spherical in nature. The drug loaded pellets were stable, compatible, as confirmed by DSC and FTIR studies. XRD patterns revealed the crystalline nature of pure IM. The higher amount of IM released was observed from formulation A5 (97.12 %) and Microcid SR?– 75mg capsule (98.43%) as compared to all other formulations and mechanism of drug release followed Fickian diffusion. It can be conclude that formulation A5 is an ideal formulation for once a day administration.

Preparation of ZnO nanorod based natural dye-sensitized solar cell is reported. Seed layers were deposited on glass / ITO substrates using dip coating method with zinc acetate dihydrate as starting material. ZnO nanorods were fabricated on induced seeds by hydrothermal method using hexamethylenetetramine as a precipitant and zinc nitrate as source at 90°C. The crystal structure, orientation and surface morphology were investigated by X-Ray diffractometer and Scanning Electron Microscopy. Optical properties were studied using UV-visible spectroscopy. Prepared ZnO nanorods were employed as wide band gap semiconductor to construct natural dye-sensitized solar cells. Various natural dyes, extracted from natural plants such as leaves and flowers were used as sensitizers for natural dye-sensitized solar cells. The fill factor and solar-light-to-electricity conversion efficiency were obtained.

This paper investigates factors contributing to drug abuse among the youth in Kenya; a case of Bamburi Location. The paper also: establishes the nature and extent of drug abuse and related issues among the youths; establishes the level and sources of knowledge and awareness on drug abuse and related issues among the youth; investigates demographic factors contributing to drug abuse; investigates social-cultural factors contributing to drug abuse; investigates economic factors contributing to drug abuse; analyses the effects of drug abuse; interrogates the challenges faced against the fight of drug abuse; and recommends on how to curb and reduce drug abuse. In this paper, the authors use an explanatory study design where a study was conducted in Bamburi Location to establish factors contributing to drug abuse among youths in Kenya. The explanatory study design was adopted as it offers an explanation as to why youths engage in drug abuse in Kenya. A survey was conducted for the reason that it provides the information from the single selected sample whose findings can be used to offer a generalization for the whole country. The sample size for the study was 120 youth across all the sub locations in Bamburi location. The main findings of the study were: Demographic characteristics except gender do contribute to drug abuse in the area. Economic and social cultural factors also play a great role in influencing drug abuse in the area among the youth. Effects of drug abuse are diverse. They range from individual to societal effects such as poor health, poor personal hygiene, homosexuality, high school drop-out rate, high divorce rate, prostitution and increased crime. The main challenge facing the fight against drug abuse is corruption and lack of concern by the community in general. Suggested measures to fight the menace are to end corruption and focus on preventive education among the school-going youth. Though there are various factors leading to drug abuse, this paper focuses on demographic factors, social-cultural, and economic leading to pervasiveness of the menace in the Bamburi community/Location. Basically there are various demographic factors contributing to drug abuse such as age, occupation, religion, and marital status. Demographic factors also work in close relationship with social-cultural factors such as one’s perceived respect by others, the social environment, peer pressure influence, social learning from parents, one’s culture and cultural believes, customs, norms and values. Economic factors also play a great role in determining one’s behavior especially in cases of deviance. One’s economic status may influence one’s indulgence in such activities. This paper is, however, limited to the investigation of these factors and recommends the way forward in reducing or curbing drug abuse in Bamburi Location.

The cyclic voltammetric measurement and molecular interaction studies using ultrasonic technique of Cu(II),Ni(II), Zn(II) and Pb(II) complexes of 4-Amino-3, 6-Bis [[4-[[4-Chloro-6-[(3-Sulfophenyl) Amino]-1,3,5-Triazin-2-Yl]Amino]-2-Sulfophenyl]Azo]-5-Hydroxy-2,7-Naphthalenedisulfonic acid hexasodium compound using DMSO, have been studied at 303 K. The cyclic voltammetric were carried out using a stationary platinum electrode in DMSO with 0.1M tetrabutylammonium per chlorate (TBAP) as a supporting electrolyte. The measured values of ultrasonic velocity, density, acoustical parameters, adiabatic compressibility and free length are evaluated. From these properties the parameters have been studied the nature and strength of the interactions in these complexes and oxidation, reduction behaviors were discussed.

The tremendous increase in the use of heavy metals over the past few decades has inevitably resulted in an increased flux of metallic substances in aquatic environment. Mine drainage, industrial and domestic effluents, agricultural run-off, acid rain etc. have all contributed to some extent to the metal loads in the water bodies. Metals are of special concern because they are non-degradable and therefore persistent. Some metals may be either beneficial or toxic, depending on concentration. The efficient removal of toxic metals from wastewater is an important matter and it is a widely-studied area. There are many techniques available for the removal of heavy metals such as chemical precipitation, reverse osmosis, electrolysis and ion exchange. Physical treatment can also be used to remove small concentrations of hazardous substances dissolved in water that would never settle out. One of the most commonly used techniques involves the process of adsorption, which is the physical adhesion of chemicals onto the surface of a solid. The effectiveness of the adsorbent is directly related to the amount of surface area available to attract the molecules or particles of contaminant. As the use of activated carbon is expensive, so there has been considerable interest in the use of other sorbent materials. Among the many other low cost absorbents identified chitin has the highest sorption capacity for several metal ions but has some mass transfer problems. In the present investigation an attempt was made to overcome these mass transfer limitations by synthesizing binary blend using chitin and poly vinyl alcohol; and ternary blend using chitin, poly vinyl alcohol and silk fibroin and the both blends were characterized by FTIR, TGA, XRD and SEM. From the characterization results, it was found that chitin/PVA/SF (1:1:1) ternary blend is thermally stable than chitin/PVA (1:1) binary blend. Thus, electroplating industrial wastewater was treated with the prepared ternary blend and results revealed that the ternary blend prepared was excellent in removing the heavy metal ions from electroplating industrial effluent. Hence, the ternary blend of chitin, poly vinyl alcohol and silk fibroin could open way for waste water treatment in industrial level.

Rapid globalization lead us on the way to industrialization. Sugar industry is one of the biggest consumer of water, and can also introduce serious pollutant to the environment. Chemical as well as biological treatment to these waste waters are in practice since long. Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) prepared from wood and nutshell charcoal with specific surface area of 5602.352 cm2/gm and particle size 44 ? m is used as an adsorbent to the combined waste water of Sugar mill at room temperature. The different dosage of PAC is kept in contact for 24 hours, then they will analyzed before and after treatment. The results of COD removal follow the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherm.

In present paper an attempt is made to study the effect of radiative heat transfer term on the propagation of a weak shock in a two dimensional steady supersonic flow of non ideal gas along a curved wall. The flow phenomenon in characteristic plane is investigated and its behavior at the first frozen Mach wave is discussed .The position and condition of breakdown of the solution and condition necessary for no shock formation on the first frozen Mach line is also obtained and discussed. Using perturbation technique governing equation up to second order of approximation are obtained and from there it is concluded that for a set of boundary conditions at the shock waves homogeneous parts are same for first and second order approximation.

Statistics show that the consumption of plastics has been increasing every year. To reduce environment waste plastic they must be recycled. Among the various types of recycling, pyrolysis in general, offers an environmentally attractive method to decompose wide spectrum of wastes, including waste plastics. Pyrolysis of plastic waste results in char, pyro oil and pyro gases. The derived oils may be used directly as fuel or added to petroleum refinery feed stock. The gases are also useful as fuel and solid char may be used as either smokeless and fuel or activated carbon or can be gasified for production of fuel gases. In this paper a detailed literature of pyrolysis of waste plastic materials is reviewed and the effect of process parameters on the yield of pyrolysis products was discussed.

The failures of the bituminous pavements are not only due to increase in traffic but also due to extreme climatic conditions prevailing in the country. The addition of polymers to bitumen can improve the quality of binders and enhance the properties of binders used in the road construction. Bitumen ageing is one of the principal factors causing the deterioration of asphalt pavements due to the prolonged exposure to air and environmental conditions. Short-term ageing occurs when binder is mixed with aggregates in a mixing facility. Long-term ageing occurs after pavement construction and is generally due to environmental exposure and loading. The properties of bitumen mainly depend on the age of bitumen. Therefore there is a need to study the properties of modified bitumen before and after ageing. In this paper the effect of Aging on the physical properties of SBS (Styrene Butadiene Styrene) modified bitumen is discussed.

In this article, the authors attempt to find the economic order quantity under fuzzy environment. The ordering quantity, optimal order quantity, and the total profit are finding by use of Matlab. In this paper, we derive the conclusion by comparison of Crisp and Fuzzy Model.