Flexural behaviour of plain concrete prism strengthened by textile fine grained mortar

This paper presents a flexural strength study of concrete incorporated with textile fine grained mortar (TFGM) as a strengthening laminate. TFGM is a combination of fine grained mortar (FGM) with alkali resistant glass fabric (AR glass). Fine grained sand with 600 m maximum size was used in FGM and fly ash (FA) or rice husk ash (RHA) has been used as a partial substitute for ordinary Portland cement (OPC). The potential of TFGM as strengthening laminate was tested under monolithic load with three point flexure loading. The TFGM were laid in layers of two, four, six, and eight. Results shown a promising flexure enhancement of up to three times of unstrengthened concrete when eight layers of both RHA and FA were laid. Load bearing capacity and ductility of the samples increased about 200% and 61%, respectively, compared to control samples as well. The outcome shows a highly potential use of agro-waste as cement replacement to produce load bearing structural component

Mechanical properties of concrete containing palm oil fuel ash and modified expanded polystyrene beads as replacement materials using finite element method

Nowadays, so much waste material was dumped and produced by the industrial sector. In this research, the Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) and Modified Expanded Polystyrene beads (EPS) were used as replacement material. The purpose of this research was to focus on replacement of the modified expanded polystyrene beads (EPS) as a fine aggregate and the palm oil fuel ash (POFA) as a cement in term of mechanical properties of concrete. For Modified EPS will replace with aggregate from 10.0 % and 20.0 % While, for POFA will replace with cement from 10.0 %, 20.0 % and 30.0 %. The data of the material replacement for POFA and Modified EPS will be taken from previous study. Furthermore, the concrete cubes will be analyzed using software called ABAQUS. ABAQUS software is used because this software can measure the concrete cubes in such detail. This test will be performed on a cube that has reached the age of 28 days by following the previous experimental results. In addition, the software can also validate the work for the stress and strain of the graph by analyzing the concrete cubes. Information on Modified EPS and POFA can be filled in this software. Furthermore, it can also analyze mechanical properties of concrete that containing. Modified EPS and POFA. Indirectly, this will help compare the strength of concrete cube that containing of Modified EPS and POFA

A simulation model of reinforced concrete beam containing expanded polystyrene beads (EPS) and palm oil fueled ash (POFA) using finite element method

In this study, Expanded Polystyrene bead (EPS) and Palm Oil Fuelled Ash (POFA) will be used to replace several percents of cement and aggregate in reinforced concrete beam construction. EPS can produce lightweight concrete, and the use of POFA can produce high strength concrete and can also reduce waste disposal. The reinforced concrete beams were analysed using computer software called ABAQUS. The main reason Abaqus software is used as analytics software for this project is that the software is designed specifically for analyzing advanced structural and heat transfer. It is designed for both linear and nonlinear pressure analyses for both tiny and huge structures. This software can also be used to analyze the proposed reinforced concrete beam failure pattern of EPS and POFA. The percentage of EPS and POFA were 40% to 60% in concrete as replacement material. The information obtained from Abaqus is then used to verify the experimental results. The data also contains the appropriate percentage of EPS and POFA in the reinforced concrete beam where performance in terms of bending, pressure, and failure pattern is at maximum. The result shows decrease performance of RC beam containing 40-60% EPS and POFA

Phenol removal by newly isolated Acinetobacter baumannii strain Serdang 1 in a packed-bed column reactor

A newly isolated Acinetobacter baumannii strain Serdang 1 was explored for its potential in phenol remediation in batch and continuous system. An immobilization cell system has been successfully developed to remove phenol in a batch system as high as 2,000 mg/L in 12 d at a rate of 6.04 mg/L/h. Repeated use of immobilized cells as many as five cycles was shown without any loss of activity. The continuous system in a packed-bed reactor achieved 65–77% phenol removal at the rate of 38.4 mg/L/h for 200 mg/L influent, which was almost three fold higher than the batch system. Low influent flow rate at 1.5 mL/min and bed height-to-diameter ratio of 15.2 reached steady state faster than the higher flow rate, and the percentage of phenol removal was also higher

Sound absorption for concrete containing polyethylene terephthalate waste

Plastic solid waste generation increases every year with the current consumption habit prevalent in society nowadays. The improper disposal of plastic has been a major concern to the environment as it is not easily degradable. The issue of environmental pollution caused by polyethene terephthalates (PET) has been extensively discussed and the best solution proposed is recycling. Fibre Concrete (FC) was a composite material resulting from the addition of fibres to ordinary concrete. The objective of this research was to determine the acoustic absorption coefficient of concrete containing 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0% of PET fibre compared to normal concrete. In this study, straight and irregular recycled PET fibres were used. The fibres were simply cut from PET plastic bottles. The length and width of recycling PET fibre were fixed at 25 mm and 5 mm respectively. The chosen percentages were 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0% of fiber. A water-cement ratio of 0.45 was acceptable for all ranges. The tests that were conduct include the slump test, compression test, and impedance tube test. The specimens were tested on day 7 and day 28 after the concrete is mixed. The end of this research results for the compressive strength of normal concrete after 28 days of curing was 48.2 MPa while concrete with 0.5% PET, 1.0 % PET, 1.5% PET and 2.0% PET recorded a compressive strength of 50.9 MPa, 49.8 MPa, 47.9 MPa and 46.6 MPa respectively. The result of the impedance test received at age 28 days was 0.13 for normal concrete and 0.16, 0.14, 0.16 MPa, and 0.14 for 0.5% PET, 1.0 % PET, 1.5% PET and 2.0% PET respectively. In conclusion, the aspect ratio of the fibres to the concrete must be correlated to avoid reducing durability. In conclusion, the addition of 0.5% PET recycled fibre into concrete showed the best value in terms of strength and 0.16 for the sound absorption coefficient

Smart and Green Street Lighting System based on arduino and RF wireless module

Street lights consume a huge amount of electric energy due to their conventional control systems that automatically turn ON and OFF either using timers or light dependent resistor (LDR). In addition, such systems use a high power pulps, which is not a good option for energy saving, thus it causes a huge waste of energy in the whole world. Green and Smart Street Lighting System, is necessity to overcome such issues, especially with the emergence of Smart City. Therefore, this project aims to design a smart and green street lighting system (SGStreet-LS) for saving energy and utilizing renewable energy sources efficiently. The proposed system composes powerful ideas and concept to smoothly and efficiently control the operation of street lightings based on the sunlight availability and the motion detection by exploiting Arduino-based controllers with RF wireless communication support. It also utilizes low power LEDs that supplied from solar panels to replace the conventional high power lights. Also a part of this project is to study the relationship of energy and environment based on the emission of CO 2 level in the experiment, and validate the compatibility of real implementation of SGStreet-LS. In order to switching lights ON, there are to conditions to be satisfied: LDR sensor detects lower level of lights intensity (darkness situations), and PIR motion sensor detects the presence of an object in the street (vehicle/human). Otherwise, the street's lights will be switched OFF. As a result, by implementing SGStreet-LS, the electricity consumption for the street's lights can be reduced in addition to lowering CO 2 level by using renewable energy sources. The lights turn on before pedestrians and vehicles come and turn off or reduce brightness when there is no one

Consumers' perception of automatic emergency braking (AEB): Theoretical model and construct development

Due to remarkable developments, various automated driving systems, known as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), have been implemented, and the entire range of human driver activity in modern vehicles is undergoing changes. However, whether or not the consumers will accept and satisfy the emerging technologies, especially Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB), remains a big question. Therefore, it is vital to understand how vehicle consumers or potential consumers decide to use or not to use, and what they expect or perceive of AEB. This work intends to review the published works on AEB to understand the current market of the technology. In order to investigate the user's perception, a developed theoretical model is planned to be adopted. The review was conducted by searching from Google Scholar and the ScienceDirect database through Universiti Malaysia Pahang online databases. The knowledge and understanding of the current AEB market and theoretical model will help researchers plan the next steps to explore consumer or potential consumer perception

Feasibility of supported self-management with a pictorial action plan to improve asthma control

Supported self-management reduces asthma-related morbidity and mortality. This paper is on a feasibility study, and observing the change in clinical and cost outcomes of pictorial action plan use is part of assessing feasibility as it will help us decide on outcome measures for a fully powered RCT. We conducted a pre–post feasibility study among adults with physician-diagnosed asthma on inhaled corticosteroids at a public primary-care clinic in Malaysia. We adapted an existing pictorial asthma action plan. The primary outcome was asthma control, assessed at 1, 3 and 6 months. Secondary outcomes included reliever use, controller medication adherence, asthma exacerbations, emergency visits, hospitalisations, days lost from work/daily activities and action plan use. We estimated potential cost savings on asthma-related care following plan use. About 84% (n = 59/70) completed the 6-months follow-up. The proportion achieving good asthma control increased from 18 (30.4%) at baseline to 38 (64.4%) at 6-month follow-up. The proportion of at least one acute exacerbation (3 months: % difference −19.7; 95% CI −34.7 to −3.1; 6 months: % difference −20.3; 95% CI −5.8 to −3.2), one or more emergency visit (1 month: % difference −28.6; 95% CI −41.2 to −15.5; 3 months: % difference −18.0; 95% CI −32.2 to −3.0; 6 months: % difference −20.3; 95% CI −34.9 to −4.6), and one or more asthma admission (1 month: % difference −14.3; 95% CI −25.2 to −5.3; 6 months: % difference −11.9; 95% CI −23.2 to −1.8) improved over time. Estimated savings for the 59 patients at 6-months follow-up and for each patient over the 6 months were RM 15,866.22 (USD3755.36) and RM268.92 (USD63.65), respectively. Supported self-management with a pictorial asthma action plan was associated with an improvement in asthma control and potential cost savings in Malaysian primary-care patients. Trial registration number: ISRCTN87128530; prospectively registered: September 5, 2019, http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN87128530

Prevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Hypertension Among Rural Communities in Kudat Sabah, East Malaysia

Approximately a third of Malaysian adult has been diagnosed with hypertension. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and key risk factors of hypertension in a community living in a rural area of Kudat, Sabah. Methods: The study included participants of at least 18 years old, able to communicate in the local dialect, no mental disability, not pregnant or lactating and no known cause of secondary hypertension. Sociodemographic data were recorded in addition to assessment of depression, anxiety, stress, and dietary salt of the participants using standard DASS-21 questionnaire (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales standard questionnaire) questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analyses were used to assess the association of hypertension and health-related variables predicted to be a risk factor. Results: Out of 111 participants, 30% were diagnosed with hypertension of which 60.6% were not aware of their health condition. Among the variables analyzed, higher age (at least 40 years old) and excess BMI (≥23.0) highly contributed to the predisposition of hypertension (p0.05). Conclusion: The community in Kudat, as a representation of the rural population in Sabah, has a high prevalence of hypertension, implying that lifestyle changes and regular health checks are effective interventions to minimise the risk of hypertension

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London