ERGONOMICS ASSESSMENT OF WORKSTATION DESIGN IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the ability to interpret the various aspects of ergonomics contributions and influences in the manufacturing industry. The application of knowledge and understanding of the ergonomics theories and techniques in the manufacturing industry also will be demonstrated in this study. Besides that, this report will be able us to appreciate the ergonomic role in manufacturing industry and everyday context by showing the ergonomics contribution towards employees’ health and safety in the workplace and tangible or intangible profitability of the company. Adequate posture, work height, normal and maximum working areas are determined for the intended user population. The procedure for determining the workstation dimensions and layout has been explained. The importance of building a mock-up of the designed workstation and its evaluation with representative subjects is emphasized. A case problem (Final Inspection workstation) is discussed to illustrate the workstation design procedure

Photo-fenton treatment of sago wastewater: RSM optimization and toxicity evaluation

Due to the fact that organic matter in sago wastewater is not effectively removed by current traditional methods, this study was designed to systematically investigate the performance of photo-Fenton treatment. Despite being ratified for its high efficiency in improving wastewater quality, there remains a paucity of evidence on its performance on sago wastewater. Thus, the objective of this study was to optimize the conditions of the photo-Fenton process by employing the response surface methodology (RSM) using the chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal as the target parameter. Fenton’s reagent (Fe2+ and H2O2 concentration) and pH were used as the independent variables to be optimized. Under optimum conditions, 90.0% of COD removal efficiency was obtained when the wastewater sample was treated at pH 2.66 in the presence of 4.01 g/L of H2O2and 5.07 g/L Fe2+ion. Despite the high COD removal, the total organic carbon (TOC) removal under the same optimized condition was lower, only 48.0% indicating incomplete mineralization of stable intermediates present in the solution. Toxicity evaluation revealed that the mortality of Artemia salina was less than 50%, which means that the treated sago wastewater can be considered as non-toxic. The regression value (R2> 0.99) of the models indicates a high degree of correlation between the parameters evaluated. The results obtained indicate the feasibility of photo-Fenton treatment to the sago wastewater as an appealing alternative approach

The health and toxic adverse effects of Fusarium fungal mycotoxin, fumonisins, on human population.

Problem statements: Fumonisin was a mycotoxin produced mainly by fungi belonging to the genus Fusarium in various foods and feeds. They occurred worldwide and were found predominantly in corn and in corn-based animal feeds and also can be found in other crops. Contamination of food and feed with fumonisins has been implicated in and associated with a number of diseases in both livestock as well as human beings. Approach: A review was done on the effect of fumonisins on animal and human and detoxification method for the prevention. ScienceDirect, Scopus, PubMed, Google and Yahoo were used in the preparation of this review. Results: This review clarified that the major forms of fumonisins found in food were the B series, fumonisin B1, B2 and B3. Fumonisin B1 (FB1) was the most common and the most thoroughly studied. FB1 caused toxicities in animals including Equine Leukoencephalomalacia (ELEM), Porcine Pulmonary Edema (PPE) in pigs and nephrotoxic, hepatotoxic and hepatocarcinogenic in rats. Furthermore, FB1 had been implicated to be associated with high rates of human esophageal cancer. In addition to their natural occurrence in corn-based animal feeds and in home-grown corn used for food, fumonisins were frequently found in commercial corn-based foods. Methods for prevention and detoxification for fumonisins included prevention of plants contamination at the field level and harvest and post-harvest control of fumonisins. Furthermore, the diseases occurred in livestock will pose the additional economic losses in livestock farmers. Conclusion: Due to economic losses engendered by fumonisin, several strategies for detoxifying and preventing contaminated foods and feeds had been described in the literature including physical and biological process. However these methods still in demonstrated. Awareness of fumonisin-related animal diseases, contamination of fumonisin in foods and feeds and adherence to guidance recommendation in prevention methods were important for reducing fumonisin-induced diseases in agriculturally important species

Power sharing analysis of a new modified multi-input interleaved boost converter based on H-Bridge cells

In this paper, a new modified multi-input boost converter is proposed using H-bridge cells as building blocks and uncoupled inductors in parallel using interleaved technique as ripple reduction method. The objectives of this paper are to design a high ripple reduction and a high-performance multi-input boost converter. Different operating modes and the switch realization of the new converter are obtained. The modes of operation based on the status of the four switches. The proposed multi-input boost converter is composed of two inputs source that accommodated with some extra semiconductors, inductances and diodes to form the interleaving technique as proposed method. The proposed concept has been investigated through simulation using the MATLAB/Simulink environment. The simulation results confirm the validity of the proposed method, which can be seen as a promising new topology that ensure multi-input converter suitable for renewable energy application

Study of X-phase formation on Cu-Al-Ni shape memory alloys with Ti addition

Cu-based shape memory alloys are used in various applications due to their attractive shape memory effect, easier process and cheaper cost. Cu-Al-Ni SMAs are one of the well-known Cu-based shape memory alloys because of their capability in demonstrating shape memory effect, damping behaviour, and thermoelastic martensitic transformation. In this paper, the effect of Ti addition on the phase transformation temperatures and microstructures of Cu-Al-Ni SMA was investigated. The Cu-Al-Ni alloy specimens were casted with the addition of titanium (Ti) using an induction furnace. Transformation temperature of the alloy was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The evolution of the phases and microstructures was investigated by using the field emission scanning electron microscopy corresponding with energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. It was found that the addition of Ti in the Cu-Al-Ni SMAs has increased the transformation temperatures. The results revealed that the addition of Ti led to the formation of a new phase into the microstructure known as X-phase. From the XRD result, it was indicated that the X-phase was AlNi2Ti and Cu3Ti compounds. It was also found that the alloy with 0.7wt% Ti has produced the most effective outcome of the transformation temperature (Ms: 233.16°C, Mf: 225.67°C, As: 229.85°C, Af: 239.25°C) due to the presence of X-phase in the microstructure. Further study will be carried out to investigate the application of this material and focus on the application of the material in damping application

The Role of CEO experience and CEO multiple directorships in Palestinian firm performance: the moderating effect of political connection

There is little doubt that political environment issues have tremendously affected application of corporate governance. Palestine experienced instability in the political situation due to Israeli occupation and for the pluralism of its party structure (Fatah is the ruling party and Hamas the opposition party). Hence, political connection serves as unique kind of external resources which can enhance the firm's performance, through political mechanisms, companies attempt to create for itself an environment that is better for its interest. The CEO characteristics play major role in the Palestinian firms and have been seen among the most important factors to enhance the firm’s performance. Many companies excelled as a result of their CEOs attributes. However, previous studies document mix and inconclusive results on CEO characteristics and firm performance. This paper provides conceptual arguments that allow for better understanding of the role of political connection on the relationship between CEO experience and firm performance. For companies, this study proposes that they should put more efforts on enhancing the role and the quality of the CEOs. Besides providing suggestions for future research, this study provides several recommendations to the Palestinian Capital Market Authority and PSE to improve its rule and regulation with respect to CG mechanisms

A conceptual framework for the role of corporate social responsibility in Palestinian firm performance

Objective: This research study has shed light on the perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which identified in four dimensions of CSR including community, environmental, ethical, and consumer protection responsibilities.Methodology: This paper provides conceptual arguments that allow for better understanding of the role of CSR in the Palestinian society.Findings: The literature on CSR has increased substantially over the past decade, but existing research document mixed and inconclusive results on the role of CSR and firm performance.Implication: Although the link between CSR and firm performance have been studied, a significant research gap remains when considering the relationship between CSR and firm performance in the Palestinian context. This is because the CSR research has been neglected in the context of Palestine. For companies, this study proposes that they should put more efforts on enhancing the role of the CSR. Moreover, this study suggests for the management to re-think and re-strategize their CSR policies to improve their performance

A Conceptual Framework for the Role of Corporate Social Responsibility in Palestinian Firm Performance

Objective: This research study has shed light on the perceptions of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which identified in four dimensions of CSR including community, environmental, ethical, and consumer protection responsibilities. Methodology: This paper provides conceptual arguments that allow for better understanding of the role of CSR in the Palestinian society. Findings: The literature on CSR has increased substantially over the past decade, but existing research document mixed and inconclusive results on the role of CSR and firm performance. Implication: Although the link between CSR and firm performance have been studied, a significant research gap remains when considering the relationship between CSR and firm performance in the Palestinian context. This is because the CSR research has been neglected in the context of Palestine. For companies, this study proposes that they should put more efforts on enhancing the role of the CSR. Moreover, this study suggests for the management to re-think and re-strategize their CSR policies to improve their performance

Cellobiohydrolase B of Aspergillus niger over-expressed in Pichia pastoris stimulates hydrolysis of oil palm empty fruit bunches

Background. Aspergillus niger, along with many other lignocellulolytic fungi, has been widely used as a commercial workhorse for cellulase production. A fungal cellulase system generally includes three major classes of enzymes i.e.,β-glucosidases, endoglucanases and cellobiohydrolases. Cellobiohydrolases (CBH) are vital to the degradation of crystalline cellulose present in lignocellulosic biomass. However, A. niger naturally secretes low levels of CBH. Hence, recombinant production of A. niger CBH is desirable to increase CBH production yield and also to allow biochemical characterisation of the recombinant CBH from A. niger. Methods. In this study, the gene encoding a cellobiohydrolase B (cbhB) from A. niger ATCC 10574 was cloned and expressed in the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris X-33. The recombinant CBHB was purified and characterised to study its biochemical and kinetic characteristics. To evaluate the potential of CBHB in assisting biomass conversion, CBHB was supplemented into a commercial cellulase preparation (Cellic ® CTec2) and was used to hydrolyse oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB), one of the most abundant lignocellulosic waste from the palm oil industry. To attain maximum saccharification, enzyme loadings were optimised by response surface methodology and the optimum point was validated experimentally. Hydrolysed OPEFB samples were analysed using attenuated total reflectance FTIR spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) to screen for any compositional changes upon enzymatic treatment. Results. Recombinant CBHB was over-expressed as a hyperglycosylated protein attached to N-glycans. CBHB was enzymatically active towards soluble substrates such as 4-methylumbelliferylβ-D-cellobioside (MUC), p-nitrophenyl-cellobioside (pNPC) and p-nitrophenyl-cellobiotrioside (pNPG3) but was not active towards crystalline substrates like Avicel ® and Sigmacell cellulose. Characterisation of purified CBHB using MUC as the model substrate revealed that optimum catalysis occurred at 50 °C and pH 4 but the enzyme was stable between pH 3 to 10 and 30 to 80 °C. Although CBHB on its own was unable to digest crystalline substrates, supplementation of CBHB (0.37%) with Cellic ® CTec2 (30%) increased saccharification of OPEFB by 27%. Compositional analyses of the treated OPEFB samples revealed that CBHB supplementation reduced peak intensities of both crystalline cellulose Iα and Iβ in the treated OPEFB samples. Discussion. Since CBHB alone was inactive against crystalline cellulose these data suggested that it might work synergistically with other components of Cellic R CTec2. CBHB supplements were desirable as they further increased hydrolysis of OPEFB when the performance of Cellic® CTec2 was theoretically capped at an enzyme loading of 34% in this study. Hence, A. niger CBHB was identified as a potential supplementary enzyme for the enzymatic hydrolysis of OPEFB

Responses of Sunda clouded leopard population density to anthropogenic disturbance and refining estimates of their conservation status in Sabah

Extensive areas of tropical forests have been, and continue to be, disturbed as a result of selective timber extraction. Although such anthropogenic disturbance typically results in the loss of biodiversity, many species persist, and their conservation in production landscapes could be enhanced by a greater understanding of how biodiversity responds to forest management practices. We conducted intensive camera-trap surveys of eight protected forest areas in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, and developed estimates of Sunda clouded leopard Neofelis diardi population density from spatially explicit capture–recapture analyses of detection data to investigate how the species’ abundance varies across the landscape and in response to anthropogenic disturbance. Estimates of population density from six forest areas were 1.39–3.10 individuals per 100 km2. Our study provides the first evidence that the population density of the Sunda clouded leopard is negatively affected by hunting pressure and forest fragmentation, and that among selectively logged forests, time since logging is positively associated with abundance. We argue that these negative anthropogenic impacts could be mitigated with improved logging practices, such as reducing the access of poachers by effective gating and destruction of road access points, and by the deployment of anti-poaching patrols. By calculating a weighted mean population density estimate from estimates developed here and from the literature, and by extrapolating this value to an estimate of current available habitat, we estimate there are 754 (95% posterior interval 325–1,337) Sunda clouded leopards in Sabah