The increasing population growth resulting in the tremendous increase in consumption of fuels, energy, and petrochemical products and coupled with the depletion in conventional crude oil reserves and production make it imperative for Nigeria to explore her bitumen reserves so as to meet her energy and petrochemicals needs. Samples of Agbabu bitumen were subjected to thermal cracking in a tubular steel reactor operated at 10 bar pressure to investigate the effect of temperature on the cracking reaction. The gas produced was analyzed in a Gas Chromatograph while the liquid products were subjected to Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. Heptane was the dominant gas produced in bitumen cracking at all temperatures and the r

Thin films of Nb2O5 have been successfully deposited using the DC reactive magnetron sputtering technique to manufacture NH3 gas sensors. These films have been annealed at a high temperature of 800°C for one hour. The assessment of the Nb2O5 thin films structural, morphological, and electrical characteristics was carried out using several methods such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Hall effect measurements, and sensitivity assessments. The XRD analysis confirms the polycrystalline composition of the Nb2O5 thin films with a hexagonal crystal structure. Furthermore, the sensitivity, response time, and recovery time of the gas sensor were evaluated for the Nb2O5 thin film

Security concerns in the transfer of medical images have drawn a lot of attention to the topic of medical picture encryption as of late. Furthermore, recent events have brought attention to the fact that medical photographs are constantly being produced and circulated online, necessitating safeguards against their inappropriate use. To improve the design of the AES algorithm standard for medical picture encryption, this research presents several new criteria. It was created so that needs for higher levels of safety and higher levels of performance could be met. First, the pixels in the image are diffused to randomly mix them up and disperse them all over the screen. Rather than using rounds, the suggested technique utilizes a cascad

The azo dye brilliant reactive red K-2BP (λmax = 534 nm) is widely used for coloring textiles because of its low-cost and tolerance fastness properties. Wastewaters treatment that contains the dye by conventional ways is usually inadequate due to its resistance to biological and chemical degradation. During this study, the continuous reactor of an advanced oxidation method supported the use of H₂O₂/sunlight, H₂O₂/UV, H₂O₂/TiO₂/sunlight, and H₂O₂/TiO₂/UV for decolorization of brilliant reactive red dye from the effluent. The existence of an optimum pH, H₂O₂ concentration, TiO₂ concentration, and d

Dental clinicians and professionals need an affordable, nontoxic, and effective disinfectant against infectious microorganisms when dealing with the contaminated dental impressions. This study evaluated the efficiency of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) as an antimicrobial disinfectant by spraying technique for the alginate impression materials, compared with sodium hypochlorite, and its effect on dimensional stability and reproduction of details. HOCl with a concentration of 200 ppm for 5 and 10 min was compared with the control group (no treatment) as a negative control and with sodium hypochlorite (% 0.5) as a positive control. Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were selected to assess the antimicrobi