Archives-J 

Terpolymer resins (o-APUF) synthesized by the condensation of o-aminophenol and urea with formaldehyde in the presence of acid catalyst, were proved to be selective chelation ion-exchange copolymers for certain metals. The chelating ion-exchange properties of these terpolymers were studied for Fe(III), Cu(II), Ni(II), Co(II), Zn(II), Cd(II) and Pb(II) ions in the form of their metal nitrate solutions. A batch equilibrium method was employed in the study of the selectivity of metal ion uptake involving the measurements of the distribution of a given metal ion between the terpolymer sample and a solution containing the metal ion. The study was carried out over a wide pH range, shaking time and in media of various ionic strengths of different electrolytes. The ion-exchange capacity of metal ions has also been determined experimentally and compared with other commercial resins. Besides ion-exchange properties, the terpolymer resins were also characterized by viscometric measurements in dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO), UV-visible absorption spectra in non-aqueous medium, infra-red spectra, nuclear magnetic resonance spectra and C13 NMR spectra. The physico-chemical and spectral methods were used to elucidate the structures of o-APUF resins. The morphology of the terpolymers was studied by scanning electron microscopy; showing amorphous nature of the resins therefore can be used as a selective ion-exchanger for certain metal ions.

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is the most common erythrocyte enzymopathy in the world. Its frequency and its involvement in the occurrence of anemia in a group of HIV-positive children was studied. A cross-sectional descriptive and analytical study was conducted from 1st to 30th October 2015 at the Pediatric Department of the Cocody Teaching Hospital including all HIV-positive children undergoing antiretroviral treatment. Hemoglobin (g / dl), G6PD activity, antiretroviral regimen, and grade of anemic toxicity were collected. The severity of anemia was assessed according to the grade classification of hemoglobin in AIDS. Of 171 HIV-positive patients 1, 17.5% had G6PD deficiency (30/171). The mean duration of antiretroviral (ARV) was 52.75 months and their regimen contained Zidovudine in 75.43% of cases. More than ¾ (82%) of our patients had anemia. Grades I and II of anemic toxicity were predominant in 37% in both cases. There was a statistical relationship between G6PD deficiency and grade of anemic toxicity (p = 0.0000). This toxicity was more pronounced when exposed to ZIDOVUDINE (p = 0.0000). This study confirms that the prevalence of G6PD deficiency remains high (17.5%) and thus allows us to advocate for the introduction of the G6PD assay in the initial assessment of HIV. 

Pressure monitoring and control using digital gauge as a tool, is one of the economical sources of obtaining valuable information about periodic production tests. It is actually a test to determine relative quantities of oil, gas and water produced under normal producing conditions. They facilitate well and reserves operations and also comply with legal and regulatory requirements. Every individual, in oil and gas well pressure and temperature monitoring and controlling team, require the knowledge of pressure and temperature(PT) behaviours in the annulus and tubing and at the wellhead, periodically, either during or after an operation. One of the most reliable ways through which these parameters (PT) can be monitored and controlled is through the use of one of the digital gauge known as “Keller (LoggerDCX4.11) Gauge”, which is capable of recording and storing PT data. Every operation carried out with this gauge is meant to achieve a specific goal, either to know the pressure build-up or the pressure drawdown, during and after annulus and tubing pressure bleed-off. When this purpose is achieved, effective well development and production is assured.PT, well development and production are closely related in the sense that, they are mutually dependent. For well development and production to succeed, pressure data, among other parameters must be known. This tool is one of the most advantageous gauges for PT well testing data. Its unique features make it easier to monitor and control oil and gas wells’ PT during development, production and maintenance.

We are very happy to announce that from 13th December 2018, Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mohamed Ahmed Heniegal has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He/She will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Civil Engineering. Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mohamed Ahmed Heniegal is working as Professor (Structural Engineering),Civil Engineering Dept., Faculty of Engineering, Suez, Egypt. The appointment of Prof. Dr. Ashraf Mohamed Ahmed Heniegal as member, Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal.

We are very happy to announce that from 20th January 2011, Prof. Fakhru'l-Razi Ahamad has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on the Chemical and Environmental Engineering. Prof. Fakhru'l-Razi Ahamad is currently working at Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia. The appointment of Prof. Fakhru'l-Razi Ahamad as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links with Iran and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to chiefeditor@elixirjournal.org. Sincerely Editor-in-Chief

The study investigated the profitability of catfish enterprises in Ede South Local government area of Osun State, Nigeria. A total of 59 small scale catfish farmers were purposively sampled in this study. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the socio-economic characteristics, while budgetary analysis was used to determine the profitability, and multiple regression analysis was the inferential statistic used. The result of the survey revealed that 54.24 percent of the fish farmers were male. About 81.3 percent of the fish farmers were married. 59.81% of the farmers fall between the ages of 31-40years. About 62.71 percent of the farmers had tertiary educational qualifications.Most of the fish farmer (39.1%) produced between 5,400 -10,500kg. The mean production of fish farmer was 5,750.85kg.The total variable cost was ?24,623,997. The revenue was ?252,000,000 per annum. The gross margin was ?227,376,003 per annum and the net farm income was ?189,589,795 per annum. The analysis of the benefit cost ratio (BCR) and the rate of returns revealed that catfish enterprise is profitable in the study area. The factors that significantly affect fish output in the study area include: quantity of feed, quantity of labour, quantity of fingerlings, total pond size.

Collaborative filtering is one of the most widely used techniques in the recommender systems. determining the similarity between users is the base of collaborative filtering based recommender systems. obviously, choosing a proper similarity function improves the accuracy of recommendation in recommender systems. In this paper we provided a new similarity measure using features and have compared results with improved similarity measure and pearson traditional similarity measure. the comparison results show that our proposed method not only increases the accuracy of recommender, but also increases the prediction quality. .

In most developing tropical countries the food situation is worsening, predictions of future food needs based on the current rates of population increase and food production emphasize the need to explore the vast number of less familiar plant resources existing in the wild which could be good sources of nutrients. Proximate analysis and mineral composition of five wild seeds (Borassus aethiopum, Bombacopsis glabra, Entada africana, Entadas gigas and Myrianthus arboreus ) were carried out. Proximate analysis showed moisture content ranged between 1.50% to 3.00%, ash 2.00% to 4.69%, fat was between 2.06% to 34.46%, fibre between 0.99% to 4.92%, Protein between 4.40% to 44.86% and carbohydrate between 34.78% to 80.93 %. Mineral analysis revealed that the seeds contained minerals such as Ni, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Zn, and Fe, in abundance that ranges between 4.30 mg/100g Cr in E africana to 98.50a ?0.50 mg/100g Ni in B. aethiopum.

This study explored the impact of resiliency and protective factors in academic achievement among primary school pupils from refugee camps in Dadaab, Kenya. The data was collected from 188 pupils (132 males and 56 females) and 22 teachers selected from standard five to eight classes in 22 refugee primary schools. Both school and participants were selected randomly.A questionnaire was used to measure resiliency and the mean mark (MM) of the first term to measure the academic performance of the participants. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. T-test was used to compare male and female participants in resiliency and academic achievement. The ANOVA was used to compare the relationship between resiliency and academic achievement. The results of the study showed that there was significant differences between male and female pupils resiliency and academic achievement. Similarly, there was significant differences between pupils’ resiliency and educational class levels. Further results revealed that most pupils in refugee schools achieved poorly in academics, while most girls dropped out of school due to cultural barriers. Majority of the pupils were ignorant of protective factors to safeguard perceived risks such as family and society related risks. From the findings, it was recommended that different authorities from UNHCR and related humanitarian assistance organizations or counseling services at the schools ought to improve pupils’ psychological resiliency and provide support to help overcome risks and focus on academics with high level of self-efficacy to achieve.

Common field practice for electrical surveying relies on directly placing an electrical current into the ground (direct current electrical resistivity surveying) and measuring the response (the electrical potential drop) to that current over a set distance. Resistivity analysis was conducted at a site earmarked for a radioactive waste disposal facility known as the Borehole Disposal Concept (BDC) at the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission’s site located at Kwabenya, in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Both resistivity profiling also known as electric trenching and vertical electrical sounding also known as electric drilling were employed in this study. The results from both techniques were processed and discussed. Medium to very low apparent resistivity were measured at certain stations/points on the survey lines which suggest the presence of geological structures/contacts such as faults and fractures at or around these stations. With the aid of the electrical sounding data the site was characterized as a four layer formation with the bedrock lying at depth of 17 m and beyond.