In situ, noninvasive characterization of superhydrophobic coatings

Light scattering was used to measure the time-dependent loss of air entrapped within a submerged microporous hydrophobic surface subjected to different environmental conditions. The loss of trapped air resulted in a measurable decrease in surface reflectivity and the kinetics of the process was determined in real time and compared to surface properties, such as porosity and morphology. The light-scattering results were compared with measurements of skin-friction drag, static contact angle, and contact-angle hysteresis. The in situ, noninvasive optical technique was shown to correlate well with the more conventional methods for quantifying surface hydrophobicity, such as flow slip and contact angle.     

Bioavailability of particle‐associated nutrients as affected by internal regeneration processes in the Nyanza Gulf region of Lake Victoria

Land‐use changes have been implicated a lot in the eutrophication of many lakes while forgetting the role of internal loading as influenced by the hydrological regimes of a given lake. The phosphorus loading of Nyanza Gulf is influenced both by internal and external loading with the internal loading playing a greater role in its eutrophication. The shear on the Apatite Phosphorus (AP) rich residual rock in the western end of the gulf through strong currents across the Rusinga Channel erodes the rock into non‐apatite inorganic phosphorus (NAIP) which is readily available for primary productivity. The current suspends the phosphorus rich apatite sediment together with the reserved phosphorus within sediments to the water column. The NAIP concentration on the western end of the gulf is exceptionally high, >1500 mg kg^?1, and together with the hydrological forcing; is believed to be the driving force of Nyanza Gulf eutrophication. External loading through rivers and municipal discharges exacerbates the problem. The external loading mainly influences the inner gulf on the eastern shore while the internal loading affects mainly the western end of the gulf. Nyanza Gulf eutrophication can be managed by adopting the following measures: (i) the Mbita Causeway needs to be opened and a bridge erected in its place in order to reduce the strong current through the Rusinga Channel and the residence time within the gulf, by increasing the flushing rates; (ii) the farming communities within the basin need to be sensitized on the controlled use of fertilizers; (iii) the municipal wastes should be treated to tertiary level before discharge into the lake; and (iv) reduce erosion within the basin through re/afforestation.     

Effect of Bimodal Grain Size Distribution on the Strain Hardening Behavior of a Medium-Entropy Alloy

The evolution of strain hardening behavior of the Fe_(50)(CoCrMnNi)_(50) medium-entropy alloy as a function of the fraction of recrystallized microstructure and the grain size was studied using the Hollomon and Ludwigson equations.The specimens under study were partially recrystallized,fully recrystallized with ultrafine-grained microstructure,and fully recrystallized with coarse grains.The yield strength decreases steadily as the fraction of recry stallized micro structure and grain size increases due to the recovery process and the Hall-Petch effect.Interestingly,the bimodal grain distribution was found to have a significant impact on strain hardening during plastic deformation.For instance,the highest ultimate tensile strength was exhibited by a 0.97 μm specimen,which was observed to contain a bimodal grain distribution.Furthermore,using the Ludwigson equation,the effect of the bimodal grain distribution was established from the behavior of K_2 and n1 curves.These curves tend to show very high values in the specimens with a bimodal grain distribution compared to those that show a homogenous grain distribution.Additionally,the bimodal grain distribution contributes to the extensive L(u|")ders strain observed in the 0.97 μm specimen,which induces a significant deviation of the Hollomon equation at lower strains.     

Occurence of Culturable Vibrio cholerae from Lake Victoria,and Rift Valley Lakes Albert and George,Uganda

Vibrio cholerae, a bacterium that causes cholera, poses a human health risk when consumed via untreated or contaminated water. Monthly investigations into the presence of V. cholerae from Lakes Albert, George and Victoria were conducted, with the goal being to examine the relationship between the occurrences of V. cholerae with various water quality parameters at fish landing sites in major water bodies in Uganda. The pH, temperature and electrical conductivity were measured at three fishing sites in each of the three study lakes; namely Gabba in Lake Victoria, Butiaba in Lake Albert and Kayanzi in Lake George. The pH values varied from 7.76 to 9.36 at Butiaba, 8.68 to 9.85 at Kayanzi and 6.6 to 9.88 at Ggaba. The temperature ranged from 17.9 to 32.3 °C at Butiaba, 22.5 to 29 °C at Kayanzi and 18.2 to 30.5 °C at Ggaba. The electrical conductivity ranged from 129.2 to 984 μS cm^?1 at Butiaba, 658 to 1090 μS cm^?1 at Kayanzi and 119 to 218 μS cm^?1 at Ggaba, for Lakes Albert, George and Victoria, respectively. Enrichment techniques were used to detect culturable V. cholerae on TCBS culture media. Seventy‐five (75%) of the samples (n = 90) were positive for V. cholera. The occurrence of V. cholerae was positively associated with water quality parameters over the 10‐month period of study. Vibrio cholerae was more frequently detected during the dry season (warmer) than during the wet season. These study results suggest the investigated study lakes are natural reservoirs for V. cholerae.     

Faith, hope, and love: Nontraditional therapy in recovery from serious head injury, a personal account.

The author, a clinical psychologist, sustained a serious head injury in 1977 when research on the rehabilitation of the head injured was in its early stages and advocacy/support organizations did not exist. Despite the total unavailability of formal rehabilitation and therapy, the author, with the help of his family, was eventually able to return to professional practice and attain a reasonable quality of life. In this account, the author describes his journey toward recovery and the ways in which, 12 years postinjury, he copes with the impairments that remain. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

POTSOL: Model to predict extraterrestrial and clear sky solar radiation

A model was developed to predict potential and clear sky solar radiation for any latitude. The model (POTSOL) uses the fundamental geometric relationships between the earth and sun to predict the theoretical solar radiation outside the earth's atmosphere, clear sky solar radiation received at the earth's surface after accounting for atmospheric interference, and clear sky solar radiation on a panel with any tilt angle between 0° and 90° from the horizontal. The only model input parameters are latitude (PHI), clearness number (CN), and panel tilt angle (PT). The model was verified using weather data obtained from the National Climatic Center, Asheville, North Carolina for Ely, Nevada.