ABSTRACT
The influence of lithium and zinc sulfate additives on the cycle life and efficiency of a 2 V/20 A H lead acid battery was investigated. Charging and discharging processes (cycle) were carried out separately for dilute sulfuric acid electrolyte, sulfuric acid-lithium sulfate electrolyte, and sulfuric acid-zinc sulfate electrolyte solutions for one (1) hour each. The voltage after 30 min of the charging process yielded 2.30 V for dilute H2SO4, 2.74 V for H2SO4 + Li2SO4, and 2.90 V for H2SO4 + ZnSO4 solutions. A load of 6 V, 10.3 W incandescent lamp was applied, and after 30 min of the discharge process for each electrolyte, the voltage was 1.10 V for H2SO4, 1.90 V for H2SO4 + ZnSO4, and 1.30 V for H2SO4 + Li2SO4. A calculated efficiency of 77% for H2SO4, 74% for H2SO4 + ZnSO4, and 85% for H2SO4 + Li2SO4 solution was obtained. The cycle test is evidence that the addition of lithium sulfate salt improved the cycle life and efficiency of the 2 V/20 A H lead acid battery, while zinc sulfate offered no significant improvement. The cycle life of a battery increases with decrease in acid concentration, longer discharge time, and increase in efficiency.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goal to decrease maternal mortality, increased access to obstetric interventions such as Caesarean sections (CS) is of critical importance. As a result of women's limited access to routine and emergency obstetric services in Nigeria, the country is a major contributor to the global burden of maternal mortality. In this analysis, we aim to establish rates of CS and determine socioeconomic or medical risk factors associated with having a CS in Enugu, southeast Nigeria. METHODS: Data for this study originated from the Healthy Beginning Initiative study. Participant characteristics were obtained from 2300 women at baseline via a semi-structured questionnaire. Only women between the ages of 17-45 who had singleton deliveries were retained for this analysis. Post-delivery questionnaires were used to ascertain mode-of-delivery. Crude and adjusted logistic regressions with Caesarean as the main outcome are presented. RESULTS: In this sample, 7.22% women had a CS. Compared to women who lived in an urban setting, those who lived in a rural setting had a significant reduction in the odds of having a CS (aOR: 0.58; 0.38-0.89). Significantly higher odds of having a CS were seen among those with high peripheral malaria parasitemia compared to those with low parasitemia (aOR: 1.54; 1.04-2.28). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that contrary to the increasing trend in use of CS in low-income countries, women in this region of Nigeria had limited access to this intervention. Increasing age and socioeconomic proxies for income and access to care (e.g., having a tertiary-level education, full-time employment, and urban residence) were shown to be key determinants of access to CS. Further research is needed to ascertain the obstetric conditions under which women in this region receive CS, and to further elucidate the role of socioeconomic factors in accessing CS.
