Archives-August 2014

In this paper general process design procedure and simulation strategies for reactive distillation (RD) are presented on results are presented. The experimental results obtained from continuous RD column from our previous work are compared with simulation results predicted by three equilibrium stage models of different depths using Aspen plus software. Three types of equilibrium stage models with different complexity are developed, parameterized and compared in simulations in this work. These models are based on the stage concept and use the assumption of vapor–liquid equilibrium on each stage model. Reaction rates for Pseudohomogenous model calculated by our laboratory batch reactor are used for simulation to yield a steady state solution. Finally the VLE data from the databank of Aspen plus is also used to simulate the RD column separately to observe how the results vary with the experimental data and the Aspen plus databank data. It is observed that there is a very good agreement between the results from the Aspen plus databank and the actual column.

The nutrient and phytochemical constituents of four eggplant cultivars (Solanum. marcrocarpon (round), Solanum aetheopicum, Solanum Marcrocapon (oval), Solanum gilo) were evaluated by standard procedures. The moisture content in the cultivars was high ranging from 88.31±0.023–91.94±0.11% while the protein, ash, energy and fat content were low. There were significant differences (P<0.05) in the moisture, fiber and ash contents among the cultivars. The K+ content of all the cultivars was higher than other elements analyzed ranging from 821.00±13.10 to 764.00±10.00mg/100g. Na+, Ca2+ and Cu2+ were higher in S. gilo while S. aetheopicum had the lowest concentrations in all the elements analyzed except Na+ and Ca2+. The concentrations of alkaloids, tannins and saponins were very high. S. marcrocarpon (round) cultivar had the least values for both alkaloids and tannins while S. Macrocarpon (oval) and S. gilo had the highest concentrations of both phytochemicals. S. marcrocarpon (round) eggplant had the highest concentration of flavonoid (16.88±0.08mg/100g), S. aetheopicum (12.53±0.03mg/100g), S. gilo 12.87±0.06mg/100g and S. marcrocarpon (oval) (16.22±0.06 mg/100g). The results revealed that eggplants have rich mineral content and various important of phytochemicals which may account for their medicinal properties acclaimed. Thus, they could be valuable raw material for health and pharmaceutical industries.

To study surgical site infection and effect of antibiotic pro phylaxis in mesh repair of inguinal hernia. Comparative study. Department of Surgery, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Hospital, Jamshoro/Hyderabad from March 2011 to July 2013. One hundred diagnosed cases of inguinal hernia were studied selected through non-probability purposive sampling according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients were divided into two groups; Group I. mesh repair with antibiotic prophylaxis (n=50) and Group II. Mesh repair without antibiotic prophylaxis (n=50). Antibiotic prophylaxis was given 60 minutes before surgical procedure. Surgical procedure was conducted by a consultant general surgeon or senior registrar. The surgical site infection (SSI) was defined as wound infection that developed within thirty days of surgery. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 21.0. The continuous and categorical variables were analyzed by student`s t-test and chi-square test respectively. The significant p-value was taken at ? 0.05. The mean +/- S.D of study population of both groups was noted as 39+/- 10.4 and 41.5+/- 11.0 years (p=0.09). All the subjects were male with age range of 20-60 years. The frequency of surgical site infection (SSI) in group I (antibiotic prophylaxis) was 6% (n=3) compared to group II (without antibiotic prophylaxis) was 22% (n=11) with highly significant p-value (p=0.001). Statistically significant differences were noted for the complications like; serous discharge, seroma, erythema and stitch abscess. The surgical site infection in mesh repair open inguinal hernia was higher in present study than internationally reported incidence. The antibiotic prophylaxis reduces morbidity in mesh repair open inguinal hernia.

Doubly Fed Induction Generators (DFIGs) are currently extensively used in variable speed wind power plants due to their superior advantages that include reduced converter rating, low cost, reduced losses, easy implementation of power factor correction schemes, variable speed operation and four quadrants active and reactive power control capabilities. On the other hand, DFIG sensitivity to grid disturbances, especially for voltage sags represents the main disadvantage of the equipment. In this paper, a coil is proposed to be integrated within the DFIG converters to improve the overall performance of a DFIG-based wind energy conversion system (WECS). The charging and discharging of the coil are controlled by controlling the duty cycle of the switches of the dc-dc chopper. Simulation results reveal the effectiveness of the proposed topology in improving the overall performance of the WECS system under study.

Anthropogenic activities such as pesticide use, coal-burning, and manufacturing introduce harmful substances that have high resistance to degradation by abiotic and biotic factors, and as such persist in the environment. They build up in the environment when decomposers are unable to break them down. Plants and fish take up these substances which are then transferred along the food chain until they reach the highest tropic level. These substances are collectively known as Persistent bioaccumulative toxic substances (PBTs). They typically accumulate in fatty tissues of humans and other species and are slowly metabolized, often increasing in concentration within the food chain. PBTs have been linked to a range of adverse effects in humans, including nervous system disorders, reproductive and developmental problems, cancer, gene mutation, alteration of sexual characteristics and other hormonal functions.

This paper investigate the relationship between word of mouth dimensions volume, valance and source type with customer based brand equity dimensions brand awareness, brand image, perceived quality and brand loyalty. Study is conducted in Islamabad Pakistan on Five GSM companies working in Pakistan. Structural questioning model was used in methodology. Our study revealed that volume and valance has significant impact on CBBE while source type relation is not significant.

Auxiliary variable is extensively used in survey sampling to improve the precision of estimates. Whenever there is availability of auxiliary information, we want to utilize it in the method of estimation to obtain the most efficient estimator. In this paper using multi-auxiliary information we have proposed estimators based on arithmetic, geometric and harmonic mean. It was also shown that estimator based on harmonic and geometric means are more biased than estimator based on arithmetic mean under certain conditions. However, the MSE of all three estimators are same up to the first order of approximation.

The presence of phosphorus in plant material is abundant while the soil phosphorus availability is limited for plants due to their quick transformation to the insoluble form. There are many soil micro-organisms which could enhance the solubility of insoluble phosphate in soils and make it available for plant growth. This study investigates the coexistence of phosphate solubilizing bacteria in the rhizosphere soil of sorghum bicolor pre-inoculated with mycorrhizal fungi (AMF)Glomus sp. The rhizosphere soil sample was collected and the phosphate solubilizing bacteria was enumerated followed by screening for their efficiency to solubilize the insoluble phosphate using pikovskaya’s medium. Based on the solubilization index five bacterial isolates were chosen for further study. All the five phosphate solubilizing bacteria were subjected to morphological and various biochemical tests and were identified as Acinetobacter sp, Bacillus sp, Pseudomonas fluorescence, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Micrococcus sp. The maximum solubilization index was shown by Bacillus sp (1.75cm) followed by Micrococcus sp (1.75cm) on 6th day of incubation and the total soluble inorganic phosphorus production was estimated caloriemetrically which showed the maximum production by Bacillus sp (186 µg/ml) followed by Micrococcus sp (184µg/ml) on 6th day of incubation. The five PSB isolates were associated with the drop in pH with the production of soluble inorganic phosphorus.

Safety, along with security, plays a vital role in today’s society. The goal of this project is to design an embedded safety and security system for vehicle by integrating and modifying existing modules. This system endures mainly with three modules namely Gas sensing module, Obstacle detection module and Anti Theft Alert system, these are interfaced with atmel AT89S52 microcontroller. Ultrasonic sensors transmit ultrasonic waves from its sensor head and again receives the ultrasonic waves reflected from an obstacle and instructs the microcontroller which alerts the driver with an alarm and controls the vehicle by stopping it. The gas sensor here is mounted inside the vehicle such that it senses the presence of the gases inside the vehicle cabin if there is any increase in the level of the toxic gases it informs to the microcontroller which alerts the persons inside the vehicle with an alarm and also sends a SMS to the authorized user through GSM. When an unauthorized person opens the car door, the car anti theft system becomes active and gives indication by raising an alarm that the car is being under theft.

Parameters design and characteristics optimization of a split-phase single-phase induction motor are proposed in this paper using particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm. The PSO considers the motor efficiency as objective function and five performance related items as constraints. The main advantages of the proposed technique are; its simple structure and its straightforward verification of maximum efficiency of induction motor for a given output power. The PSO algorithm was implemented on a test motor and therefore, a code has been provided under MATLAB software. The results show that the PSO method gives more suitable design optimization against conventional methods.