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We are very happy to announce that from 21st March 2019, Dr. Pradip Kumar Das has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He/She will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on Commerce. Dr. Pradip Kumar Das is working as Associate Professor, H.O.D., Department of Commerce, Jagannath Kishore College, Purulia (West Bengal), India. The appointment of Dr. Pradip Kumar Das as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to elixirpublishers@gmail.com.

This paper studies the behavior of both green cement and Geopolymer concrete. Twenty-seven concrete mixes were prepared and tested in the fresh and hardened state. The properties of both Ordinary Portland Cement Concrete (OPCC) and Geopolymer concrete (GC) incorporating quarry limestone waste as a replacement of fine aggregate were studied. It was found that quarry waste fine aggregate increased the slump of fresh cement and Geopolymer concrete up to 50% as a replacement for fine aggregate. Improvements of properties of both cement and Geopolymer concrete were detected when quarry waste fine aggregate was replaced up to 50% of fine aggregate. The overall test results revealed that quarry limestone waste fine aggregate can be consumed efficiently in both cement and Geopolymer concrete up to 50%.

Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) is a gap graded special mix consists of up to 80% by weight of coarse aggregate and 8 - 12% by weight of filler. The high proportion of coarse aggregate provides an interlocking stone-on-stone skeleton that resists permanent deformation. Since SMA contains large amount of filler, this paper presents an evaluation of the effects of filler type and particle size on the permanent deformation properties of SMA mixtures incorporating granite aggregates, 80/100 penetration grade asphalt, and four different fillers (limestone as control, ceramic waste, coal fly ash, and steel slag). The selected fraction of filler (10% by the total weight of aggregate) was blended in three different proportions 100/0, 50/50, and 0/100 passing the 75 and 20 micron. To determine permanent deformation characteristics of bituminous mixtures by repeated cyclic axial load indirect tensile testing using the Universal Testing Machine (UTM) in accordance with procedures outlined in BS-EN 12697-25:2005. The Repeated Load Axial Test (RLAT) and Resilient Modulus test were carried out on twelve different SMA mixtures using Marshall cylindrical samples to evaluate the effects of filler types and filler particle size on the SMA mixture deformation properties. The results and the analysis of the fundamental parameters of permanent deformation and resilient modulus have indicated the improved stiffness and the potential benefits in terms of high temperature rutting (increased stiffness and elastic response) of laboratory blended and proprietary of SMA mixtures incorporating ceramic waste and steel slag fillers with medium size particles (50/50 proportion) compared to the control mix. The coal fly ash mixtures are the least susceptible to permanent deformation.

The following experimental procedures were carried out on the samples using standard analytical methods: fat, fatty acids, phytosterols and phospholipids analyses, quality assurance determination and the calculation of uncertainty interval percentage (UIP) were undertaken. Statistical evaluations were: linear correlation coefficient (rxy), coefficient of determination (rxy2), linear regression coefficient (Rxy), coefficient of alienation (CA) and index of forecasting efficiency (IFE). The results were: crude fat range (g/100 g): 47.6 (cooked seeds) – 49.6 (roasted seeds) followed by calculated fatty acid of 45.5-47.4; SFA range (% total fat): 19.0-23.4; MUFA, 54.8-57.9; DUFA, 20.1-23.5; TUFA, 0.50-1.70; total unsaturated fatty acid (TUFA) was raw seeds (81.0 %) > roasted seeds (79.9 %) > cooked seeds (76.6 %); PUFA range was 21.8-24.1 %; PUFA/SFA was 0.93-1.21; 2n-6.3n-3 range was 13.7-43.6. Among the phospholipids, lecithin was highest among the samples with values of 725-1168 mg/100 g or 36.0-57.2 %. Among the phytosterols, sitosterol was highest in each sample with a range of 81.1-111 mg/100 g. Significant relationship existed among the following parameters at r = 0.01: fatty acids level for raw seeds/roasted seeds (Rs/Rt.s), raw/cooked seeds (Rs/Cs) and Rt.s/Cs; energy contribution by the fatty acids fraction: Rs/Rt.s, Rs/Cs and Rt.s /Cs as well as in phytosterols level.

In this paper, we discuss the applicability of new integral transform called Elzaki transform method to solve few mixing problems of single tank which are comes under the category of applications of first order linear differential equations.

In the literature, some extensions and generalizations of Enestrom-Kakeya theorem are available. In this paper we refine results by defining the zero –free regions of polynomials.

Antioxidant activity of petroleum ether, benzene, ethyl acetate, methanol and ethanol extracts of the root of mangrove herb Suaeda monaica have been tested using various antioxidant model system viz, DPPH, hydroxyl, superoxide, ABTS and reducing power. Methanol extract of Suaeda monaica is found to possess higher DPPH and hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. Ethanol and methanol extracts of Suaeda monaica exhibited highest superoxide and ABTS radical cation scavenging activity. Methanol extract of root of Suaeda monaica showed the highest reducing ability. This study indicates significant free radical scavenging potential of Suaeda monaica root which can be exploited for the treatment of various free radical mediated ailments.

The efficiencies of activated carbons prepared from oil cake of Sesamum Indicum by thermal and sulphuric acid activation wereinvestigated for the removal of Cd(II) ions from aqueous solutions. Various parameters as a function of contact time, initialpH, initial adsorbent dosage and metal ion concentrations were studied. The optimum time required for the maximum removal of Cd(II) was found to be 1 hr for TAGOC and 2 hrs for STGOC. The equilibrium adsorption data were fitted to Langmuir and Freundlich adsorption isotherm models. The equilibrium adsorption isotherms showed that activated carbon has high affinity and sorption capacity for Cd(II) with monolayer sorption capacities of 44.92 mg/g for TAGOC and 35.97 mg/g for STGOC. The kinetic study indicated that the pseudo-second order rate equation better described the adsorption process. The adsorbent efficiency was also tested for the removal of Cd(II), Cu(II), Ni(II) and Zn(II) from synthetic electroplating wastewater. The results indicated that the prepared both activated carbons are efficient (99.9%), alternative low-cost adsorbent for the removal of Cd(II) and other metal ions from waste water.

Gas carburizing is the most widely used surface hardening process for number of automobile and other heavy duty machinery components made up of ferrous material. Itis a complex process and many literatures shows that the defects are due to shape distortion and volume change. This work attempts to minimize the extent of those defects in gas carburized automobile parts through Taguchi’s DOE approach. The optimum combination of parameters which will alleviate the distortion problems are obtained through the response graph method. The results are compared with that obtained from S/N ratio method. The studies are validated through experiments. In addition the present study shows that the introduction of optimal conditions and elimination of straightening operation saves time and money.

Patients are expected to adhere to physician treatment recommendations. Noncompliance to prescription medication is however often problematic in the elderly for different reasons. The consequence of failure to follow medical treatment may lead to increased medical costs, hospitalizations, and even death. The elderly average 12.7 prescriptions per year, consume 30% of prescription medications, spend $15 billion annually, and receive eight or more medications per day. This qualitative study involved a phenomenological design, as the aim was to explore pharmacological noncompliance by those under the treatment of a licensed medical practitioner. The participants included a purposeful sample of 20 elderly African Americans for this study, from the state of Wisconsin in the United States, drawn from the congregation of an inner city Church. The open-ended nature of the questions facilitated participants to provide insights into a personal medical condition and deeper conversations associated with medication compliance. The normative decision-making theory served to underpin the study and aid acquiring a deeper understanding of the motivations that drive, or constrain compliance to medication. The analysis of the data took place after completion of the interviewing process. The interviews conducted were recorded, coded, transcribed, and categorized to facilitate the analysis of the data using an appropriate qualitative data analytical software program. The findings of the study drawn from an analysis of the interviews of patient, aided in gaining a deeper understanding of compliance to physician directives in pharmacologic treatment by participants in this study.