Fitness professionals’ knowledge and perceptions on hydration and fluid intake: a preliminary study

This descriptive study examined the extent of hydration knowledge and fluid intake pattern in people who work within fitness industry. Fourty fitness professionals were asked to complete a questionnaire about their perspectives on hydration, thirst and fluid intake pattern. Water was the most preferred drink before (75.0%), during (72.5%) and after exercise (60.0%) as well as generally during the day (75.0%). Most participants rated plain tap water and plain bottled mineral water as excellent sources of water for human body, whereas colas or lemonade and chocolate drinks were rated as a poor source of water. To conclude, the fitness professionals generally demonstrated substantial knowledge about the timing and benefits of fluid replacement, hydration status monitoring and the health consequences of water consumption, but lack understanding on the type of beverages that adequately hydrate the body.Keywords: thirst; fluid balance; fluid intake; personal trainers; knowledge

N-[(2,4-Dimethyl­phen­yl)carbamothio­yl]-2-methyl­benzamide

The title compound, C17H18N2OS, adopts a trans–cis geometry of the thio­urea group which is stabilized by intra­molecular hydrogen bonds between the O atom of the carbonyl group and the H atom of the thio­amide group. A C—H⋯S intramolecular hydrogen bond is also present. In the crystal structure, mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular N—H⋯S hydrogen bonds to form centrosymmetric dimers

A CASE STUDY OF OCCUPANT ENVIRONMENTAL COMFORT AT AUTOMOTIVE ASSEMBLYWORKSTATION

The environmental factors assessment in the building has become a popular research area over the past decade. However, how the service life of a building affects the results of the environmental assessment of a building has not been emphasized previously. The aim of this study is to analyze how structural solutions and building design affect the results of the environmental assessment. Furthermore, how the environmental factors affects the productivity is analyzed. The environmental assessments in building were calculated for this study by Environment Factors Equipment. The current situation and the future of the environmental assessment of buildings are discussed. In addition, topics for further research are suggested which is the environmental impact of an occupant should be studied. The research concludes that comfort and productivity in the workplace is related more to design factors

Does environmental knowledge moderate the relationship between household determinants' intention to practice solid waste segregation-at-source? a conceptual paper

Previous research has reported that environmental knowledge plays an important role in enhancing general pro-environmental behaviour, as environmental knowledge appears to be the key indicator for increasing awareness of several pollution promulgations and other natural environmental issues. However, the significant role of environmental knowledge in the intention of households to practise solid waste segregation-at-source is not well understood. This research will, therefore, investigate the influence of environmental knowledge on the intention of households to engage in solid waste segregation-at-source. Further analysis will also be carried out explore the moderating effect of environmental knowledge in the relationship between the households’ attitude and subjective norm (i.e. descriptive norm and injunctive norm) with the intention to practise solid waste segregation-at-source. The findings of this current research are expected to provide an essential opportunity to investigate knowledge gaps, to contribute to the enrichment of existing literature, as well as to provide important insights for local households and Malaysian government agencies to strengthen the sense of responsibility for environmental cleanliness

Nutritive and anti-nutritive evaluation of Kleinovia hospita, Leucaena leucocephala abd Gliricidia sepium with respect to their effects on in vitro rumen fermentation and gas production

The nutritive and tannin content of tree forages (Kleinhovia hospita, Leucaena leucocephala, and Gliricidia sepium and their effects on in vitro rumen fermentation, digestibility and gas production were examined. Rumen fluid was obtained from three fistulated Boer goats with an average weight range of 31-32 kg fed forages. The fluid was incubated with 0.2 g of each forage at 39 °C for 48 h to determine the in vitro gas production, DM digestibility, metabolizable energy and volatile fatty acid. The proximate composition and the polyphenol composition of the forage were also evaluated. The experimental design was a completely randomized design and the treatments were K. hospita, L. leucocephala and G. sepium. The chemical composition, percentage of total polyphenol, non-tannin polyphenol, condensed tannin and hydrolysable tannin differed (P<0.05) among the forages. The K. hospita had higher (P<0.05) net gas production and in vitro dry matter digestibility compared with other forages. Similarly, K. hospita had higher (P<0.05) concentration of total volatile fatty acid and propionic acid followed by L. leucocephala and G. sepium. The molar proportion of acetic and butyric acid did not differ among the forages. The outcome of this study present K. hospita as a good potential forage to be used in ruminant diet as a result of better nutrient composition, moderate anti-nutritive value and best ivDMD in comparison with L. leucocephala and G. sepium

Torrefaction of palm biomass briquettes at different temperature

The climate change has driven towards transformation from the high energy dependence on fossil fuel to inexhaustible renewable energy such as solar, wind, mini hydro and biomass. In Malaysia, abundant of palm biomass residues are produced during the processing of fresh fruit bunch. Therefore it is inevitable to harness these bioenergy sources in order to prevent waste accumulation at adjacent to palm mills. In order to utilize such bioenergy sources and to cope with the fast growing demand of energy, combination technique of densification and torrefaction is one of the potential ways to be practised. In the present study, the physical and combustion properties of torrefied empty fruit bunch (EFB) briquettes were investigated experimentally with constant nitrogen flow rate of 1 l/min, for various torrefaction temperatures (225 °C-300 °C). Before torrefaction process, EFB briquettes were initially produced under controlled condition with compaction pressure of 7 MPa and briquetting temperature of 150 °C. In general, the torrefied EFB briquettes were successfully produced in the present study. The results show that an increase in torrefaction temperature from 225°C to 300℃ causes a significant increase in gross calorific value (from around 17400 kJ/kg to 25000 kJ/kg), fixed carbon content (from 16.2% to 46.2%) and ash content (from 2.4% to 17.2%). On the other hand, relaxed density and volatile matter decrease, from 1017 kg/m3 to 590 kg/m3 and from 73.1% to 29.7%, respectively. As a conclusion, the gross calorific value and fixed carbon content are improved due to torrefaction. In addition, it was found that gross calorific value and moisture content of the torrefied EFB briquettes fulfil the requirement for commercial briquette production as stated by DIN51731 (gross calorific value>17500 kJ/kg and moisture content <10%)

2-Methyl-N-[(3-methyl-2-pyrid­yl)carbamothio­yl]benzamide

In the title compound, C15H15N3OS, the thio­urea group is stabilized by an intra­molecular hydrogen bond between the carbonyl O atom and the thio­amide group. A C—H⋯N intramolecular hydrogen bond is also present. Mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular N—H⋯O and C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds

3D numerical modelling of shallow tunnel in weathered granite incorporating multi-stage excavation and pre-support

Generally tunnelling in urban ground condition is not always favourable due to the tunnels’ susceptibility to major displacement especially when excavated in the soft soil and/or weak weathered rock formation. Apart from conventional support systems, pre-support measure like forepoling umbrella arch is frequently used to reinforce the ground. Modern computational tools allows the inclusion of multi-stage excavations and pre-support which was not possible in two dimensional (2D) plane strain. This paper demonstrates the three dimensional (3D) finite element analysis of Pahang-Selangor raw water transfer tunnel, as a reference case, where multi-stage excavation and pre-support are incorporated as intrinsic part of the model. The New Austrian Tunnelling Method (NATM)-3 segments which encountered Grade III weathered granite, having shallow overburden cover, was selected for numerical analysis using RS3 software. Comparison between simulated and observed data has shown good agreement during verification

Three-phase series resonant DC-DC boost converter with double LLC resonant tanks and variable frequency control

This paper proposes a three-phase inverter combined with two LLC resonant tanks series resonant DC-DC boost converter with variable frequency control. The three-phase inverter side of the proposed circuit is connected to identical two-level LLC tanks to ensure balanced resonant currents. The proposed converter requires less switching devices and transformers as compared to the conventional interleaved LLC resonant converter, which competitively offers higher efficiency and reduced size and cost. Furthermore, the proposed converter works above the resonant frequency to achieve zero voltage switching (ZVS) for the entire operating frequency range {(42.5kHz < }{f}{s}{ < 50kHz)} for all switches. Variable frequency controller is considered in order to obtain better stability for diverse loads. Therefore, the proposed converter will have the ability to respond to the load changes by varying the switching frequency to the value that fulfils the requirement. In order to verify the improvement of the proposed converter, the converter performance is compared to conventional interleaved LLC resonant converter. The theoretical outcomes are confirmed through simulation studies using MATLAB/SIMULINK and validated experimentally using a laboratory prototype. Selected results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter

PEOPLE-RELATED TQM PRACTICES, INTRINSIC MOTIVATION AND QUALITY PERFORMANCE: EMPIRICAL STUDY IN SRI LANKAN APPAREL INDUSTRY

Total Quality Management (TQM) has been implemented in diverse industries globally, anticipating performance improvements. Among the plethora of research supporting the success of TQM, there are controversial reports claiming failures of TQM. Employee work attitudes arising as the immediate outcomes of TQM have been reported and have been conceptualised as mediators. The search for factors influencing failures of TQM has not been conclusive and there are certain contexts in which the phenomenon has not been tested. Furthermore, there is a paucity of studies relating to employee work attitudes and their mediating effect in TQM domain. This paper aims to determine the relationships between people-related TQM, intrinsic motivation and quality performance and the mediating effect of intrinsic motivation in the Sri Lankan apparel industry. Analysis of the data obtained from a sample of 566 machine operator employees using Structural Equation Modelling revealed that people-related TQM practices did not influence intrinsic motivation or quality performance. Intrinsic motivation did not exert any mediating effect in the study context. Among the PTQM practices, team work, training and employee involvement were significant drivers of intrinsic motivation and quality performance while top management commitment and employee empowerment were not.  Article visualizations