Risk assessment of marine accidents in Tanjung Pelepas Port limit due to reclamation of Tanjung Piai Maritime Industrial Park

This study is centered on the problem related to the reclamation work for the construction of Tanjung Piai Maritime Industrial Park in the Tanjung Pelepas port limit. The main aim is to identify the potential risk and probability of marine accident during the reclamation phases. The existing condition of the waterway had been used as the baseline to compare with future condition. For the purpose of analysis, Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) method and Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) technique had been deployed, coupled with the AIS data and marine accidents report provided by Johor Port Authority (JPA) and Malaysian Marine Department (MARDEP). The result of the analysis indicates that navigational risk mainly originated from human error. Thus, navigational safety would improve significantly if the vessels follow the mitigation measures recommended in this study

New composites based on low-density polyethylene and rice husk: elemental and thermal characteristics

We developed new composites by combining the solid waste from Low-Density Polyethylene in the form of plastic bag (PB) and biomass from rice husk (RH),in the form of (RH)x(PB)1-x (x = (1, 0.9, 0.7, 0.5)), as alternative fuels for electrical energy sources, and for providing the best solution to reduce environmental pollution. Elemental compositions were obtained by using proximate analysis, ultimate analysis, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and the thermal characteristics were obtained from thermogravimetric analysis. The compositions of carbon and hydrogen from the ultimate analysis show significant increases of 20-30% with increasing PB in the composite. The activation energy for RH is 101.22 kJ/mol; for x = 0.9 and 0.7, this increases by 4 and 6 magnitude, respectively, and for x = 0.5, shows remarkable increase to 165.30 kJ/mol. The range of temperature of about 480-660°C is required for combustion of the composites (RH)x(PB)1-x (x = (1, 0.9, 0.7, 0.5)) to perform the complete combustion process and produce high energy. In addition, the calorific value was determined by using bomb calorimetry, and shows value for RH of 13.44 MJ/kg, which increases about 30-40% with increasing PB content, indicating that PB has a strong effect of increasing the energy realized to generate electricity

Improvement of shipberth capacity for a container port

This paper presents a proposal of optimization of ship berth capacity for container port. Many aspects need to be taken into account in the process of optimization, which are waiting time, productivity of port, number of berth in port, and various sizes of container ships. The efficiency of a port depends on the speed of cargo handling. In this study, mathematical model had been derived to determine the required quay or wharf for a new port. The mathematical model can also be used to determine the required number of cranes in an existing port to maintain a good average waiting time. In order to determine the required number of quay, six elements had been considered in the equation of the mathematical model. The elements are arrival rate, overall length of ships, berthing time, number of operating cranes, average waiting time, and crane rates. Every single element is a dependent mode and inter-related to one another. The mathematical model was modelled using MATLAB, with twenty sample data, by simulation method. The findings were then compared to those of other researchers who had attempted to solve the problem using queuing theory and simple mathematical analysis. The results showed that the simulation is 85 percent more effective in determining the efficiency of a port based on the provided parameters. The main objectives were achieved, signifying that the sharing of cranes with adjacent berth is mainly used to maintain cargo handling rates at port

Implikasi perubahan ejaan kata pinjaman Arab dalam sistem tulisan Jawi terhadap pelajar

Perbezaan ejaan kata pinjaman Arab dalam sistem tulisan Arab dan sistem tulisan Jawi mencetuskan kekeliruan kepada pelajar. Hal ini terjadi, kerana kedua-dua sistem tulisan ini berkongsi aksara yang sama tetapi menggunakan sistem tulisan yang berbeza. Tujuan kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk meningkatkan kesedaran tentang kepentingan menulis perkataan Arab dengan tepat khususnya yang melibatkan kata pinjaman dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran bahasa Arab di Malaysia. Ia juga dilaksanakan untuk menilai tahap pencapaian pelajar pada menulis perkataan Arab yang dimelayukan serta mengenal pasti bentuk-bentuk kesalahan yang dilakukan. Kajian berbentuk lapangan ini melibatkan 100 pelajar yang terdiri daripada tingkatan dua dan tiga sebagai sampel kajian dengan menggunakan instrumen bahan ujian. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan tahap pencapaian pelajar pada menulis kata pinjaman Arab adalah sangat lemah. Sebahagian daripada mereka gagal menulis perkataan tersebut dengan tepat disebabkan pengaruh tulisan Jawi yang sangat kuat. Pelbagai bentuk kesalahan dilakukan sama ada penambahan, pengguguran atau penggantian huruf

Bond durability of steel plate to concrete prism using structural adhesives after exposure to 7 years in laboratory environment

Structural integrity and durability has long been an area of study that is critical in order to ensure structures such as buildings, bridges etc. are safe enough to stand erected for many years. The technique of bonding steel plates to the surface of concrete using epoxy adhesives system has been used on a number of structures throughout the world to enhance load transferring capability. Deterioration in strength of concrete structures due to corrosion of steel can cause premature failure in existing structures or buildings. The objective of this study is to investigate the bond performance of steel to concrete using structural epoxy system. The sample at hand was prepared and left exposed for 7 years under normal ambient laboratory environments. This study focused on the outcome of bond performances of the bonded steel plate to concrete prism under pull out load. The sample (SPECS-7) that used in this study is approximately 7 years old with the steel plates surfaces was corroded and being compared with sample (SPECS-1) tested in 2008. The maximum load and maximum extension recorded at failure by sample SPECS-7 is 76.85kN and 3.04 mm at 181.8s which shows a decrease by 7 kN or 8% and 5.70 mm to 3.04 mm or 46% compared with sample SPECS-1 respectively. The extension comparison with SPEC-1 shows a reduction from 5.70 mm to 3.04 mm which is about 46 % less. There was significant amount of corrosion developed over the years which does not show to have affected the overall performance of the bonded system. Nevertheless, there was on average a small increase in bond strength with time although the controlled sample failed at a marginally lower load

Fabrication of low-cost, cementless femoral stem 316L stainless steel using investment casting technique

Total hip arthroplasty is a flourishing orthopedic surgery, generating billions of dollars of revenue. The cost associated with the fabrication of implants has been increasing year by year, and this phenomenon has burdened the patient with extra charges. Consequently, this study will focus on designing an accurate implant via implementing the reverse engineering of three-dimentional morphological study based on a particular population. By using finite element analysis, this study will assist to predict the outcome and could become a useful tool for preclinical testing of newly designed implants. A prototype is then fabricated using 316L stainless steel by applying investment casting techniques that reduce manufacturing cost without jeopardizing implant quality. The finite element analysis showed that the maximum von Mises stress was 66.88MPa approximately with a safety factor of 2.39 against endosteal fracture, and micromotion was 4.3um, which promotes osseointegration. This method offers a fabrication process of comentless femoral stems with lower cost, subsequently helping patients, particularly those from nondeveloped countries

Evaluation of warehousing productivity performance indicators by the FAHP method

A warehouse is an important component in logistics operation as it is a huge contributor to speed up and cost the supply chain management.To monitor the performance of the warehouse operation, management will analyse the measurement of warehousing productivity. The basis of measuring productivity performance in the warehouse is based on how much it cost to perform an operation by utilising the warehouse resources. The purpose of this paper is to rank the most important warehouse productivity indicator for improving the warehouse operation efficiency. By indicating the main warehouse resources and its sub-criteria, a hierarchy structure of ratio-based warehousing productivity performance indicators is constructed. It presents an empirical methodology of the fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) method, an integration between the fuzzy logic method with an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method. The results indicate that Warehouse Management System scores the highest weight value which followed by Storage Space Utilisation and Throughput accordingly. This contributes to grab more attention on the utilization of technologies into the warehouse operation. This article also identifies several additional research opportunities on warehouse performance evaluation assessment

Is Opium a Real Risk Factor for Esophageal Cancer or Just a Methodological Artifact? Hospital and Neighborhood Controls in Case-Control Studies

Background: Control selection is a major challenge in epidemiologic case-control studies. The aim of our study was to evaluate using hospital versus neighborhood control groups in studying risk factors of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Methodology/Principal Findings: We compared the results of two different case-control studies of ESCC conducted in the same region by a single research group. Case definition and enrollment were the same in the two studies, but control selection differed. In the first study, we selected two age- and sex-matched controls from inpatient subjects in hospitals, while for the second we selected two age- and sex-matched controls from each subject's neighborhood of residence. We used the test of heterogeneity to compare the results of the two studies. We found no significant differences in exposure data for tobacco-related variables such as cigarette smoking, chewing Nass (a tobacco product) and hookah (water pipe) usage, but the frequency of opium usage was significantly different between hospital and neighborhood controls. Consequently, the inference drawn for the association between ESCC and tobacco use did not differ between the studies, but it did for opium use. In the study using neighborhood controls, opium use was associated with a significantly increased risk of ESCC (adjusted OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.17–2.68), while in the study using hospital controls, this was not the case (OR 1.09, 95% CI 0.63–1.87). Comparing the prevalence of opium consumption in the two control groups and a cohort enrolled from the same geographic area suggested that the neighborhood controls were more representative of the study base population for this exposure. Conclusions/Significance: Hospital and neighborhood controls did not lead us to the same conclusion for a major hypothesized risk factor for ESCC in this population. Our results show that control group selection is critical in drawing appropriate conclusions in observational studies

The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background Understanding the magnitude of cancer burden attributable to potentially modifiable risk factors is crucial for development of effective prevention and mitigation strategies. We analysed results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 to inform cancer control planning efforts globally. Methods The GBD 2019 comparative risk assessment framework was used to estimate cancer burden attributable to behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risk factors. A total of 82 risk-outcome pairs were included on the basis of the World Cancer Research Fund criteria. Estimated cancer deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 2019 and change in these measures between 2010 and 2019 are presented. Findings Globally, in 2019, the risk factors included in this analysis accounted for 4.45 million (95% uncertainty interval 4.01-4.94) deaths and 105 million (95.0-116) DALYs for both sexes combined, representing 44.4% (41.3-48.4) of all cancer deaths and 42.0% (39.1-45.6) of all DALYs. There were 2.88 million (2.60-3.18) risk-attributable cancer deaths in males (50.6% [47.8-54.1] of all male cancer deaths) and 1.58 million (1.36-1.84) risk-attributable cancer deaths in females (36.3% [32.5-41.3] of all female cancer deaths). The leading risk factors at the most detailed level globally for risk-attributable cancer deaths and DALYs in 2019 for both sexes combined were smoking, followed by alcohol use and high BMI. Risk-attributable cancer burden varied by world region and Socio-demographic Index (SDI), with smoking, unsafe sex, and alcohol use being the three leading risk factors for risk-attributable cancer DALYs in low SDI locations in 2019, whereas DALYs in high SDI locations mirrored the top three global risk factor rankings. From 2010 to 2019, global risk-attributable cancer deaths increased by 20.4% (12.6-28.4) and DALYs by 16.8% (8.8-25.0), with the greatest percentage increase in metabolic risks (34.7% [27.9-42.8] and 33.3% [25.8-42.0]). Interpretation The leading risk factors contributing to global cancer burden in 2019 were behavioural, whereas metabolic risk factors saw the largest increases between 2010 and 2019. Reducing exposure to these modifiable risk factors would decrease cancer mortality and DALY rates worldwide, and policies should be tailored appropriately to local cancer risk factor burden. Copyright (C) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.Peer reviewe