Archives-December 

A multiband slotted and defected ground microstrip patch antenna which operates at more than one frequency has been designed. It effectively tunes at 3GHz, 5.5GHz and 7.8GHz with satisfactory return loss obtained at these resonant frequencies, which is -10.72dB, -13.38dB and -14.55dB respectively. Size of the antenna is going to be compact. The substrate FR4 epoxy (relative permittivity: 4.4) is used in the design of the antenna. Antenna design is proposed in different type of slots such as T-shaped and rectangular-shaped etc. slots in patch. This design can be used for wide range of Wireless applications. For the simulation HFSS is used.

The study evaluates the performance and risk of monthly income plans of selected mutual funds with an objective to identify the top performing monthly income plan amongst the selected plans. The study has analyzed growth performance on the basis of returns of 6 months, 1 year, 3 years and since inception returns. Growth performance of the funds have been compared with industry average, and its benchmark index i.e., CRISIL MIP Blended Index. The Standard Deviations, Sharpe Ratio and Beta of the selected schemes have been compared to analyze volatility of the schemes and return per unit of risk. The study ends up with identifying top performing monthly income plans for relatively aggressive and conservative risk profile investors.

Peritoneal pseudomyxoma, sometimes called a gelatinous disease of the peritoneum or gelatinous ascites of the peritoneum, is a rare disease. Peritoneal pseudomyxoma is defined by the presence of extracellular mucin in the peritoneal cavity. The objective of our work is to study, through a case of pseudomyxomeperitoneal and a review of the literature, the semiological, diagnostic and therapeutic features of this pathology.

Pharmacovigilance is an important and integral part of clinical research. Pharmacovigilance is defined as the pharmacological science relating to the detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects, particularly long term and short term adverse effects of medicines. Pharmacovigilance will certainly help identifying risks and risk factors in the shortest possible time so that harm can be avoided or minimised. Pharmacovigilance is the science and activities relating to detection, assessment, understanding and prevention of adverse effects or any other possible medicine related problem. Today its importance cannot be sidelined at all, given the number of new medicines being introduced in the market.

The use of a latent heat storage system using Phase Change Materials (PCM) is an effective way of storing thermal energy (solar energy, off-peak electricity, industrial waste heat) and has the advantages of high storage density and the isothermal nature of the storage process. In the present era the utilizations of electricity and other conventional modes are quite in effective to the present demand and in other hand the role of alternative energy resources which compensates the present energy demands of the world will be not enough for the future. Meanwhile by the year 2020 the renewable energy resources are depleting so that it will become in need of very high energy demand due to over population in India comparing to the world resources and their populations. Now it clearly shows that trapping the solar energy and storing the heat by means of suitable PCMs will give other hand support to solve the energy crisis will help to bring out a new milestone in energy storage revolutions. It has been demonstrated that, for the development of a latent heat storage system, choice of the PCM plays an important role in addition to heat transfer mechanism. The information on the latent heat storage materials and systems is enormous and published widely in the literatures. In this paper, an attempt has been made to provide information from the previous works on PCMs and latent heat storage systems. This review may have been planned to be useful to the scientists and researchers to investigate more on PCMs.

The phytochemical screening, proximate composition, mineral elements and quantitative assay of anti-nutrients of the seeds of Cassia hirsute have been evaluated. The brown seeds have pungent smell and are bitter and unpleasant to taste. The phytochemical screening indicated the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins, phenols, sterols, triterpenes, glycosides and carbohydrates; phlobatannins and flavonoids were absent. The proximate composition of the seeds was 8.7% moisture, 7.7% ash, 7.0% fat, 10.5% protein, 13.2% fibre and 52.9% carbohydrate with estimated caloric value of 316.20 kCal/100g sample. The mineral elements determined in the seeds include K, Ca, Na, Fe, Mg and P, heavy metals such as Pb, Cr and Cu were not present. The antinutrient assay revealed that the total tannins, oxalate and phytic acid contents were high but hydrocyanic acid was not detected. The high values of these toxic materials suggest that the seeds are not suitable for consumption as food, but the solvent extract may be suitable as fumigant to dispel insects, rodents and snakes.

The phytoremediation capability of Eleusine indica on Copper and Nickel contaminated soil samples was investigated using standard techniques. Soil sample and seeds of E. inidca were collected from a farmland in Obe, Nkanu West L.G.A of Enugu State. 0%, 1%, 2% and 3% potted treatments of Copper and Nickel contaminated soil were made for three samples (initial sample, sample without plant and sample with plant). The plant samples were subjected to Bioaccumulation factor and Translocation factor examination while the Soil collected from these samples were subjected to soil analysis tests (Metal determination, pH, Soil moisture content, total organic carbon, and cation exchange capacity). The results from the study revealed Eleusine indica as a phytoremediator having BAF>1 for Cu (0% = 1.25, 1% = 1.35, 2% = 1.31 and 3% = 1.36) and Ni (0% = 1.31, 1% = 1.53, 2% = 1.80 and 3% = 2.06) contaminated soil samples. The translocation factor (TF) were also observed to be greater than 1 (TF>1) in all the treatments for both Cu and Ni contaminated soil. Heavy metal contamination of soil reduces its total organic carbon and increases its cation exchange capacity. Eleusine indica is a hyperaccumulator, its root stores more heavy metals and thus suitable for phytoremediation.

Subcapsular hematoma of the liver represents an unusual clinical phenomenon in the pregnancy and postpartum period. Serious complications can be devastating in terms of fetal and maternal mortality. We present a case of a multiparous patient of 44 -year-old at 37 weeks of gestation, admitted for preeclampsia. The woman underwent an emergency Cesarean section (C-section) with the extraction of a live foetus. Few hours after delivery, she complained of intense abdominal and epigastric pain. Diagnostic work-up was suggestive of a subcapsular right lob hepatic hematoma which was successfully managed conservatively in a multidisciplinary team. We will try through this case to highlight the interest of imaging (ultrasound and scanner) for an early diagnosis at the non-ruptured stage, a prerequisite for a good prognosis.

Power remains a germane ingredient of national development. It serves as bedrock of societal growth as it is needed in almost area of economy ranging from education, health, transportation, Information and Communication technology and manufacturing. Educational institution serves as centers of innovation where cutting edge researches are carried out to improve societal wellbeing and at the same time provide affordable solution to various problems facing nature. For this research to be effectively carried out, stable supply of electricity is needed as most equipment needed for the research are powered by electricity. Unfortunately, Nigeria power system has been facing a lot of challenges that sabotages the stability of its supply. This review takes a look at the available resources inherent in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions that can provide a substitute and at the same time complement the existing supply. Biogas been a renewable energy product was identified and estimated to be a veritable means of generating independent power for the academic community. It was evaluated based on reasonable population prediction that a total of 177,000m3 of biogas corresponding to energy generation of 221.25MWh can be generated daily from total waste in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. Challenges facing adoption of biogas policy were highlighted and recommendations were made.

This study was conducted to determine the potentials of Sodom apple (Calotropis procera) extract as a sole coagulant of soymilk during soy cheese production. Four alum concentrations were prepared and used as control treatments: A5 (0.5 % conc.), A10 (1.0 % conc.), A15 (1.5 % conc.) and A20 (2.0 % conc.). Four strengths of Calotropis procera extracts (CPE) (C15, C20, C25 and C30) were obtained from 15 g, 20 g, 25 g and 30 g respectively of the fresh plant. Each of the concentrations of alum and CPE was used as a sole coagulating agent of soy milk and the effects on clotting time, product yield, whey volume and organoleptic properties of the curd were assessed. The average milk clotting time, curd yield, and whey volume were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by the type and concentration of coagulant used to achieve curdling. The average clotting time, curd yield, and whey volume were in the ranges of (6.0 - 31 minutes), (120.2 – 207.8 g/l), and (495.0 – 785.0 ml/l) respectively. Treatments A20 and C30 recorded the shortest clotting times of 6.0 and 9.0 minutes respectively whereas treatment A5 had the longest clotting time (31.0 min). The curd yields were high in treatments A10 (207.8 g/l), C30 (191.2 g/l) and C25 (183.9 g/l) whereas A20 recorded the least curd yield (120.2 g/l). In the alum treatments, positive correlation (r = 0.585) was observed between soy milk clotting time and soy curd yield. On the contrary, there was strong negative correlation (r = - 0.803) between clotting time and curd yield when CPE were used as coagulants. The different concentrations of alum and C. procera added to soy milk had significant (P < 0.05) effects on the organoleptic properties (taste, colour, texture and overall acceptability) of the soy cheese produced. The soy cheese flavour did not vary significantly (P > 0.05) among the treatments. Generally, it was observed that the 25g CPE can be used to substitute for alum in soy curd formulation.