Geotechnical Properties of Malaysian Organic Soils: Case Study in Batu Pahat, Johor

Subsurface exploration is required before any development project in order to gain an understanding of the characteristics of the material that one will encounter. The type of the tests and exploration are normally specified based on the design requirement in accordance to respective code of practice. In general, the physical properties and strength of the material are important in civil engineering applications. However, the chemical contents and organic contents are only specified sometimes when necessary despite the fact that the physical and strength of the material are closely related to its chemical properties and organic contents. In most construction works, the top soil and peat soil which are highly organic will be removed prior to carrying out construction work which resulted in exposing the bottom layer of soil. Hence, the aim of this study is to determine the geotechnical properties of the organic soils at the interface layer of peat soil and inorganic soil which normally exposed after removing top soil and peat soil at the surface. The physical & chemical properties, strength and organic contents of the soils are determined in accordance to the BS1377:1990 and BS ISO 13320:2009. Three locations which are identified to be rich in organic soils namely Parit Nipah, Parit Sidek and Batu Puteh of Batu Pahat, were chosen in this case study. These locations are found to be difference geographically. The soil samples were collected using a peat auger at Parit Nipah and Batu Puteh while undisturbed tube sampler was used at Parit Sidek because the soil is too stiff to be sampled using peat auger. The findings of this study showed that the physical properties of the soil are strongly correlated with its organic content. However, the chemical properties and strength of the soil is found to be site dependent and poorly correlated to its organic content.    &nbsp

The Th1:Th2 Dichotomy of Pregnancy and Preterm Labour

Pregnancy is a unique immunological state in which a balance of immune tolerance and suppression is needed to protect the fetus without compromising the mother. It has long been established that a bias from the T helper 1 cytokine profile towards the T helper 2 profile contributes towards successful pregnancy maintenance. The majority of publications that report on aberrant Th1:Th2 balance focus on early pregnancy loss and preeclampsia. Over the last few decades, there has been an increased awareness of the role of infection and inflammation in preterm labour, and the search for new biomarkers to predict preterm labour continues. In this paper, we explore the evidence for an aberrant Th1:Th2 profile associated with preterm labour. We also consider the potential for its use in screening women at high risk of preterm labour and for prophylactic therapeutic measures for the prevention of preterm labour and associated neonatal adverse outcomes

Changes in the Th1 : Th2 Cytokine Bias in Pregnancy and the Effects of the Anti-Inflammatory Cyclopentenone Prostaglandin 15-Deoxy-Δ12,14-Prostaglandin J2

Pregnancy is a complex immunological state in which a bias towards T helper 2 (Th2) protects the fetus. Evidence suggests that proinflammatory cytokines increase the risk of poor neonatal outcome, independently of the direct effect of preterm labour. The anti-inflammatory prostaglandin 15-deoxy-Δ12,14-Prostaglandin J2 (15dPGJ2) inhibits nuclear factor Kappa B (NF-κB) in amniocytes and myocytes in vitro and is a ligand for the chemoattractant receptor-homologous molecule expressed on Th2 cells (CRTH2) receptor. Here we examine the Th1:Th2 cytokine bias in pregnancy and whether 15dPGJ2 could be used to inhibit the production of the proinflammatory cytokines through inhibition of NF-κB while simultaneously promoting Th2 interleukin 4 (IL-4) synthesis via CRTH2 in T helper cells. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from women at 28 weeks, term pre-labour, term labour as well as non-pregnant female controls were cultured with 15dPGJ2 or vehicle control and stimulated with phorbol myristyl acetate (PMA)/ionomycin. The percentage of CD4+ cells producing interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in response to PMA/ionomycin was significantly reduced in pregnancy. 15dPGJ2 reduced IFN-γ and TNF-α production in stimulated T helper cells, but did not alter IL-4 production in CRTH2+ve cells. 15dPGJ2 also reduced phospho-p65 in stimulated PBMCs. In summary, 15dPGJ2 suppresses the Th1 response of PBMCs during pregnancy and active labour whilst maintaining the Th2 response suggesting a therapeutic benefit in reducing neonatal morbidity in inflammation-induced PTL

Evaluation of Network Expansion Decisions for Resilient Interdependent Critical Infrastructures with Different Topologies

Resilient interdependent critical infrastructures (CIs) can better withstand cascading failures in disruptive events. This study proposes network expansion as a resilience improvement strategy for interdependent CIs and evaluates the influence of topology in interdependent network design for resilience optimization under disruption uncertainty. A resilience score consisting of network complexity and unmet demand metrics is introduced to quantify the resilience of expanded networks. Five synthetic interdependent network instances with random and hub-and-spoke (i.e., cluster) topologies are generated to represent CIs with heterogeneous node functions. Different network expansion opportunities are considered and critical node disruption scenarios are used to evaluate the impact of uncertain disruptions. We apply a two-stage stochastic multi-objective resilience optimization model to determine strategic investment decisions using the expected total cost and expected resilience score as competing objectives. Compromise solutions of expanded network designs are identified from Pareto optimal solutions and they are characterized according to their graph properties. The results show that expanded networks have improved resilience and the extent of improvement is affected by the network topology and type of disruption. Under critical node disruptions, a random network is more resilient than a hub-and-spoke structure due to its better connectivity. Characteristics of highly connected interdependent networks are high average node degree, high clustering coefficient, and low average shortest path length. Resilience improvement is more limited in expanded networks with a hub-and-spoke structure due to the negative impact of hub failures

Pendampingan Perencanaan Rumah Ibadah Di Desa Nangkajajar Kab. Pasuruan Sebagai Upaya Sharing Iptek dan Peningkatan Kenyamanan Warga Dalam Beribadah

Kegiatan pelayanan kepada masyarakat sangat diperlukan demi menunjang sarana dan prasarana masyarakat yang layak dan nyaman.Rumah ibadah merupakan salah satu prasarana yang perlu menjadi perhatian karena sebagai masyarakat yang bhinneka perlu menjamin adanya kenyamanan para pemeluk agama untuk beribadah. Dengan bertambahnya jumlah umat yang beribadah, maka perlu adanya rumah ibadah yang berkapasitas lebih besar agar dapat menampung umat setiap ibadah. Namun di sisi lain, pembangunan tempat ibadah terkendala akibat keterbatasan dana dan pengetahuan mengenai dunia konstruksi mulai dari tahap perencanaan sampai pelaksanaan. Akibat keterbatasan pengetahuan ini dapat berpotensi menimbulkan pembengkakan biaya selama masa konstruksi sedangkandana yang tersedia terbatas sehingga ada kekhawatiran jika dana yang tersedia tidak mencukupi akibat adanya pembengkakan biaya. Menindaklanjuti kebutuhan warga Desa Nangkajajar Kabupaten Pasuruan akan kebutuhan rumah ibadah yang layak maka dilakukan kegiatan pendampingan perencanaan pembangunan gedung gereja yang berdimensi 10 m x 21m dengan konstruksi 2 lantai, yang mana lantai kedua direncanakan berbentuk semi tribun agar dapat menampung lebih banyak umat yang akan beribadah. Adapun struktur bangunan menggunakan struktur beton bertulang.Struktur bawah gedung menggunakan pondasi telapak berdimensi 1.20 m x 1.20 m. Atap direncanakan menggunakan rangka baja.Adapun biaya yang diperlukan sebesar Rp. 811,925,306.54 yang dibiayai secara swadaya oleh Majelis dan jemaa

Predictors of hospital surface contamination with Extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae: patient and organism factors

BACKGROUND: The role of the hospital environment in transmission of ESBL-Klebsiella pneumoniae (ESBL-KP) and ESBL-Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) is poorly defined. Recent data however suggest that in the hospital setting, ESBL-KP is more transmissible than ESBL-EC. We sought therefore to measure the difference in hospital contamination rates between the two species and to identify key risk factors for contamination of the hospital environment with these organisms. METHODS: We systematically sampled 8 surfaces in the rooms and bathrooms of adult patients colonized or infected with ESBL-EC or ESBL-KP throughout their hospital stay. Data were collected on factors potentially affecting contamination rates. Environmental contamination was defined as recovery of an ESBL-producing organism matching the source patient’s isolate. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed at the level of the patient visit using generalized estimating equations to identify independent predictors of environmental contamination. RESULTS: 24 patients (11 with ESBL-KP, 11 ESBL-EC and 2 with both organisms) had 1104 swabs collected during 138 visits. The overall contamination rate was 3.4% (38/1104) and was significantly higher for ESBL-KP than ESBL-EC (5.4% versus 0.4%; p < 0.0001). After multivariate analysis, environmental contamination was found to be negatively associated with carbapenem exposure (OR 0.06 [95% CI 0.01-0.61]; p = 0.017) and positively associated with the presence of an indwelling urinary catheter (OR 6.12 [95% CI 1.23-30.37]; p = 0.027) and ESBL-KP in the source patient (OR 26.23 [95% CI 2.70-254.67]; p = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Contamination of the hospital environment with ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) is inversely associated with carbapenem exposure. Predictors of hospital contamination with ESBL-E include: indwelling urinary catheters and ESBL-KP. Rooms of patients with ESBL-KP have substantially higher contamination rates than those with ESBL-EC. This finding may help explain the apparently higher transmissibility of ESBL-KP in the hospital setting

The feasibility of wind and solar energy application for oil and gas offshore platform

Renewable energy is an energy which is freely available in nature such as winds and solar energy. It plays a critical role in greening the energy sector as these sources of energy produce little or no pollution to environment. This paper will focus on capability of renewable energy (wind and solar) in generating power for offshore application. Data of wind speeds and solar irradiation that are available around SHELL Sabah Water Platform for every 10 minutes, 24 hours a day, for a period of one year are provided by SHELL Sarawak Sdn. Bhd. The suitable wind turbine and photovoltaic panel that are able to give a high output and higher reliability during operation period are selected by using the tabulated data. The highest power output generated using single wind energy application is equal to 492 kW while for solar energy application is equal to 20 kW. Using the calculated data, the feasibility of renewable energy is then determined based on the platform energy demand

Viscoelastic Properties of p-n Alkyl Benzoic Acid Mesogens

Abstract: Dynamic rheological behaviour, such as storage modulus (G&apos;) and loss modulus (G&apos;&apos;) are measured as a function of frequency at different temperatures in nematic region and also studied linear viscoelastic behaviour of p-n alkyl benzoic acid (nBA) mesogens. Different zones are exhibited by the samples, -a plateau zone at low frequencies, a transition zone at high frequencies and a zone entire plateau showing for crossover frequencies and relaxation times. The dependence of the elastic (G′) and loss (G′′) moduli on frequency is strong. The observed crossover points of G′, G′′ in the study of frequency range is indicating that nematic phase of nBA has behaved like both viscoelastic solid and liquid for small deformations (&lt;1% strain). A typical shear thinning behaviour of viscosity has been displayed when the samples are subjected to shearing at a constant temperature. This typical shear thinning has approached slowly moving to Newtonian viscosity at high shear rates showing progressive development of nematic molecular orientation along flow direction on increasing shear rate. Rheological behaviour of the nBA nematic phases is in general consistent like the other reported compounds except the one thermotropic liquid crystals. The higher shear force and lower viscosity ratio is observed in these compounds in which pentyl benzoic acid has high ratio indicating the high molecular orientation may be due to low chain entanglement

Manpower and Employees’ Attitudes Are Very Important in An Organisation

KFC or also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken is one of the most leading fast food restaurants around the world. KFC that originally from America has thrived around the world including Malaysia and Kuwait. Although it is an advanced company, it still has some sensitive internal issues that will cause problems to the company. If this problem is not carefully and wisely deal with, it will drop the company name and bring a negative impact to everyone that involved in the company. In this research, we examine the issues in an organization and KFC is the subject of our study. KFC has been in a bad mood for the past few years. Many of the customers complaint about the services and the attitudes of the employee in the restaurant. In Jan 2015, a case of brawl between KFC employees and customers was viral in social media and there also a case where KFC employees show pornographic signs to customers. This shows the attitude and the behavior of KFC employees who do not adhere to ethics and are not prudent will affect the good name of a company. Employees issues in KFC is the best topic to be discuss in this study. There lot of problem that face by KFC in term of employees such as lack of manpower in their branches. If compare from our observation, there a huge difference between the number of workers in KFC and its competitor, Mc Donald. Therefore, we can see that Mc Donald is more efficient than KFC although KFC has lower cost for their human resource

Physical-vapor-deposited metal oxide thin films for pH sensing applications: Last decade of research progress

In the last several decades, metal oxide thin films have attracted significant attention for the development of various existing and emerging technological applications, including pH sensors. The mandate for consistent and precise pH sensing techniques has been increasing across various fields, including environmental monitoring, biotechnology, food and agricultural industries, and medical diagnostics. Metal oxide thin films grown using physical vapor deposition (PVD) with precise control over film thickness, composition, and morphology are beneficial for pH sensing applications such as enhancing pH sensitivity and stability, quicker response, repeatability, and compatibility with miniaturization. Various PVD techniques, including sputtering, evaporation, and ion beam deposition, used to fabricate thin films for tailoring materials’ properties for the advanced design and development of high-performing pH sensors, have been explored worldwide by many research groups. In addition, various thin film materials have also been investigated, including metal oxides, nitrides, and nanostructured films, to make very robust pH sensing electrodes with higher pH sensing performance. The development of novel materials and structures has enabled higher sensitivity, improved selectivity, and enhanced durability in harsh pH environments. The last decade has witnessed significant advancements in PVD thin films for pH sensing applications. The combination of precise film deposition techniques, novel materials, and surface functionalization strategies has led to improved pH sensing performance, making PVD thin films a promising choice for future pH sensing technologies