The nature, extent and impact of educator targeted bullying on school teachers in West Malaysia

This study examines the nature, prevalence and impact of educator targeted bullying (ETB) in a sample of 575 Malaysian school teachers. Specifically it was predicted that ethnicity may be related to exposure to ETB; that frequency of exposure would vary by type of ETB; that there would be tenure-related differences in terms of exposure and burnout; and that teaching experience could moderate the exposure burnout relationship. Results suggest that less severe forms of ETB are more prevalent than physical forms; and that educators with increased teaching experience are less exposed to ETB. ETB exhibits a negative impact on burnout; and is strongest for student-related burnout. Increased experience buffers the ETB-student-related burnout relationship while ethnicity is unrelated to exposure to ETB

Improving the Mechanical Properties and Durability of Cold Bitumen Emulsion Mixtures Using Waste Products and Microwave Heating Energy

Scientists have effectively demonstrated that the introduction of a waste product comprising cementitious chemical compositions can enhance the mechanical properties and durability of cold bitumen emulsion mixes (CBEMs). On the other hand, the high air void content of the CBEM mix remains a challenge that is considered unsatisfactory by paving engineers. As a result, this investigation highlights two major changes that were made. The first is the use of waste paper sludge ash (PSA) as a filler in CBEM instead of the conventional mineral filler (CMF). The second change was made to further improve the mixture by reducing the amount of CBEM air voids using microwave (MW) heating energy as a post-treatment method. When compared to typical hot mix asphalt (HMA), the new CBEMs showed great mechanical properties and durability. Moreover, the proposed method, using CBEMs, has lower environmental risks, is safer, and is more cost-effective than existing paving mix technologies. This study presents a method for controlling air voids within pavement specifications without affecting mechanical behaviour or generating additional environmental or economic considerations. When compared to typical mixtures, laboratory test results showed that MW-heating can enhance both the stiffness modulus and the air void content. Furthermore, these results revealed a minor reduction in creep stiffness and water sensitivity. Nevertheless, in terms of mechanical, volumetric, and economic properties, the suggested post-mix treatment was comparable to HMA. The findings point to the need to adopt CBEM post-heating approaches, particularly the MW treatment procedure

Flexural behaviour of RC one-way slabs reinforced using PAN based carbon textile grid

Textile reinforced mortar (TRM) is mainly used for strengthening of existing structural members whereas, on the other hand Textile reinforced concrete (TRC) is a technology implied in construction of new members for enhancing the structural behaviour. Application of TRM on the tension zone of the reinforced concrete (RC) slabs to improve the flexural capacity has been investigated by many researchers in the past. However, the effectiveness of textile fabrics, used as internal reinforcement in the RC slab (TRC technology) needs to be studied. The paper, therefore, presents the experimental research conducted on three one-way RC slabs specimens reinforced using textile grid. An innovative Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon textile grid was used as internal reinforcement in combination with the steel bars. Two textile-reinforced RC slabs having one and two layers of textile grid (SRC + 1T and SRC + 2T respectively) and one reference slab (SRC) was fabricated to investigate the flexural behaviour under a four-point loading system. The internal textile reinforcement layer(s) was confirmed to be effective, particularly in terms of improving the cracking load, ductility, deformability and toughness. The material ductility of SRC + 1T and SRC + 2T slabs were increased by 41% and 44% compared to SRC slab. Also, the deformability ratio was found to be greater than 4, indicating a ductile failure of textile-reinforced slabs. Further, based on the load-deflection relation, moment-curvature curves were derived. Moreover, these curves were also developed using Eurocode two prediction model. The experimental and the predicted moment-curvature curves showed good agreement

Radiolabeling, quality control and kit formulation of a new 99m Tc-labeled antibiotic: 99m Tc-doxycycline hyclate

Since radiolabeled antibiotics specifically bind to the bacterial components they are promising radiopharmaceuticals for the precise diagnosis and detection of infectious lesions. Doxycycline hyclate (DOX) was chosen to investigate as a new radiolabeled antibacterial agent since its bacteriostatic activity against a wide variety of microorganisms. The aim of the present study is to develop simple and easy formulation of DOX with 99m Tc ready to use kit. 99m Tc-DOX was developed and standardized under varying conditions of reducing and antioxidant agent concentration, pH, radioactivity dose and reducing agent type. Labeling studies were performed by changing the selected parameters one by one and optimum labeling conditions were determined. After observing the conditions for maximum labeling efficiency and stability, lyophilized freeze dry kits were prepared accordingly. Radiochemical purity was determined with RTLC and RHPLC which was found more than >95 %. Two different freeze dry kits were formulated with optimum labeling conditions. The improved kits were found stable up to 6 months. © 2013 Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, Hungary.National Council for Scientific Research: Tubitak-110 S 229 09DPT001Acknowledgments This study was supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (Tubitak-110 S 229). The authors would like to acknowledge the support of T.R. Prime Ministry State Planning Organization Foundation Grant Project Number: 09DPT001 for TLC Scanner. Also the authors thank to Ege University Nuclear Medicine Department technicians for their technical assistance for the animal experiments. -

Application of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete in Bridge Engineering: Current Status, Limitations, Challenges, and Future Prospects

Ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) is a form of cementitious composite that has been the most innovative product in concrete technology over the last three decades. Ultra-high-performance concrete has been broadly employed for the design of numerous forms of construction owing to its excellent mechanical characteristics and durability, and studies on its behavior have grown fast in the last decades. While the utilization of ultra-high-performance concrete in bridge engineering (BE) is limited owing to its high costs, little is recognized about the utilization of UHPC in various BE elements. As a result of these issues, a comprehensive review of the current UHPC development trends should be conducted to determine its present state and perspective. This study presents a review of the state-of-the-art UHPC applications in BE. This review also discusses the current status, limitations, challenges, and areas for the further investigation of UHPC in BE. The aim of this research to help various construction stakeholders understand the distinctive characteristics, benefits, and barriers to the broad utilization of ultra-high-performance concrete applications. The understanding of UHPC will aid in increasing its entire market share in both the national and worldwide building sectors