A study of overloading problems on truck trailer operations at United Seino Transportation (M) Sdn Bhd / Khairul Anuar Abu Osman

Overloading activity on Malaysian roads is a common phenomenon done by the irresponsible overland freight transport operator. UST is one of the irresponsinble road freight transport operator that practice illegal overloading activity. The objective of this study is to identify the problems caused by overloading and also to make recommendations and provide solutions to the overloading problems. This can be achieved by conducting a survey on various relevant places, attending seminars, participating in trucking activities, interviews and also distributing questionaires to the drivers. Findings show that overloading activities is not the best solutions to increase the company revenue in a long run. In addition, the overloading activity increase the total cost of operation through the increase in tyre and fuel cost as well as wear and tear to the truck trailer itself. Overloading also can compromise the safety aspects of the vehicles, drivers and also pose danger to public

Automatic mapping of concrete strength in structural element

Collapses of structure under construction can be prevented if quality control is practiced at sites. The strength uniformity of reinforced concrete structure element cast on site depends on the level of compaction of the fresh concrete. The whole element should be checked and mapped so that localized defect can be detected and removal of formwork can be stopped if applicable. A portable and quick way to check and map the uniformity and the strength of concrete has been developed utilizing the use of pressure wave and signal processing techniques. An echo is introduced to the sample by dropping a small steel ball from a certain height from the concrete surface. The impact generates stress wave, which propagate through the concrete. The accelerometer receives the wave and changes the display from time to frequency domain. The highest observed frequency is determined as the depth frequency. The velocity is calculated as CP = 2fD. Hundreds of specimens were tested. The relationship between the strength and the velocity is correlated. From correlation equation, the strength of concrete can be estimated within 10% error (Hamid et al, 2004). The mapping process is done automatically in computer-generated program. Signal-processing techniques were used to compute the data; Fourier Transform to translate a time-series signal into frequency domain, concrete strength calculation, interpolation technique and a Graphic User Interface (GUI) to complete the mapping algorithms

Granger-causality of selective Dow Jones islamic and sustainability regional equity indices

Most of the earlier studies on index effects and co-movement of stock markets focused mainly on conventional equity markets. In contrast to previous studies, this research investigated the co-movement of Dow Jones Islamic Market sustainability and its peers Dow Jones Islamic and sustainability regional Europe and US equity markets. The standard time series techniques are applied. The results revealed: (i) Dow Jones Islamic Market Sustainability index is co-integrated with its peers regionals, implying there are potentials for less gain in abnormal profits in the long run, (ii) U.S. regional (Sustainability and Islamic equity) market has more influence on Dow Jones Islamic Market Sustainability than its peers in Europe due to market capitalization factor rather than characteristics’ index (iii) the study tends to suggest that portfolio diversification (risk and return) on ethical index is still largely dependent on well-balanced sectoral allocation to minimize exposure to systematic risks. Our empirical analysis however, has unveiled evidence of a negative risk-return relationship in the selected Dow Jones Islamic and Sustainability equity markets

Addressing Security and Architecture Through Proposing Innovative Conceptual Idea On Landed Housing Windows

Metal grill for housing windows that is fixed to the wall is commonly used in most of the residential houses in Malaysia. Due to high numbers of burglary cases reported across the country in a year, the feature seems desperately needed. However, the window grill creates a dispute, especially on the emergency exit, building façade, and opportunity to view surrounding outside. Through survey and input from the respondents, the purpose of the research is to propose an innovative idea on housing window that able to address both security and architecture aspects. Understanding behavior of typical housing residents, residents’ perception on window grill, and modus operandi of a burglar are important to ensure the innovation able to minimize the burglary ideation, without compromising the feature’s purpose as a housing window. Inspired by French windows of a traditional Malay kampong house, the design is improvised to correlate with the current context. In this research, the housing typology that is focused on is landed house, which may include bungalow, terrace, semi-detached, and townhouse

Addressing Security and Architecture Through Proposing Innovative Conceptual Idea On Landed Housing Windows

Metal grill for housing windows that is fixed to the wall is commonly used in most of the residential houses in Malaysia. Due to high numbers of burglary cases reported across the country in a year, the feature seems desperately needed. However, the window grill creates a dispute, especially on the emergency exit, building façade, and opportunity to view surrounding outside. Through survey and input from the respondents, the purpose of the research is to propose an innovative idea on housing window that able to address both security and architecture aspects. Understanding behavior of typical housing residents, residents’ perception on window grill, and modus operandi of a burglar are important to ensure the innovation able to minimize the burglary ideation, without compromising the feature’s purpose as a housing window. Inspired by French windows of a traditional Malay kampong house, the design is improvised to correlate with the current context. In this research, the housing typology that is focused on is landed house, which may include bungalow, terrace, semi-detached, and townhouse

Performance and Emissions of 1.3L and 1.6L Engines Fueled with Gasoline and CNG at Several Vehicle Speeds

The main objective of this work was to investigate a comparison between engine performance and exhaust emissions for 1.3L and 1.6L 4-cylinder engines fueled with gasoline or compressed natural gas (CNG). The test engines were fitted with the same CNG conversion kit, which operated with either gasoline or CNG. The engine performance and exhaust emissions were measured over vehicle speeds at 30 km/h, 50 km/h, 70 km/h, 90 km/h, and 100 km/h, with half throttle valve position. The results showed that brake powers decreased at an average of 25.18% and 33.94% when using CNG fuel. There is also a reduction in brake specific energy consumptions at an average of 17.25% for 1.3L engines. However, there is an increment of brake specific energy consumption at a lower speed for 1.6L engine fueled with CNG. The 1.3L engine produces higher exhaust gas temperatures at an average of 5.14% when running on CNG. The exhaust emissions of the 1.6L engine fueled with CNG showed higher HC, CO, O2, NOx and lower CO2 compared to the 1.3L engine fueled with the same fuel

Volatile chemical component differences between fully and partially dried merbau (Intsia sp.) wood using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in Malaysia

Wood is one of the most common material found in homes and industrial fires, particularly in Malaysia. The abundance of different types of wood used to build structures, frames, furniture and others are important to take note as wood is a conducive material that can be used to initiate and propagate a fire, particularly in forensic fire cases. This study was conducted to provide the volatile chemical fingerprint of burnt Merbau (Intsia sp.) wood using gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS). The wood samples were prepared under two conditions; fully dried and partially dried. Six study replications of each condition were burnt outdoors and underwent an extraction process using activated carbon tablets. The tablets were incubated in an oven for 16 hours at 80ºC. Next, the tablets were desorbed in two different types of solvent; pentane and ethanol. The pentane- and ethanol-desorbed volatile products were then introduced into the GC-MS. Volatile organic compounds obtained across both conditions were in the range of volatile acids, aromatics and its derivatives, D-glucopyranose, phenolic derivatives and cycloalkane. The compounds emitted by fully and partially dried Merbau wood samples were similar, differing only in the absence of malonic acid and succinic acid in partially dried Merbau wood samples. Both solvents desorbed different types of volatile compounds. The burning behaviour of partially dried Merbau wood were different to those documented from fully dried Merbau wood and is attributed to the composition of wood rather than the dry or wet conditions

The Application of the Constitutional Convention in Malaysia

In Malaysia, there is no one institution that can outdo the supremacy of the Federal Constitution. Even the three government bodies that refer to the power separation doctrine which is the legislative, judiciary and executive bodies even the Yang di-Pertuan Agong are under this Federal Constitution. The constitution can be divided into two, written and non-written constitution. The written constitution is the form of constitution that is gathered and arranged in one document. The non-written counterpart encompasses all of the constitutional principles not compiled in one document such as the law endorsed by the Parliament and the verdicts of the court such as in the United Kingdom. Other than the constitution, there are certain practices that are thought to be part of the principles of the constitution. This is known as the Constitutional Convention or the customary practice of the Constitution. Constitutional convention is a non-legislative practice and it is similar to the political ethics and not enforced in court. Although it seems trivial, it is important for this practice to be complied with, otherwise it is difficult for the constitution to work successfully as the constitutional convention cannot be brought to court and forced to be obeyed. Thus, the discussion of this article rests on the constitutional convention in terms of the social contract, the appointment of the Prime Minister, the appointment of the country’s main positions and collective responsibility. (Abstract by authors

Effects of leptin on sperm count and morphology in Sprague‐Dawley rats and their reversibility following a 6‐week recovery period

Altered epididymal sperm count and morphology following leptin treatment has been reported recently. This study examined the effects of 42 days of leptin treatment on sperm count and morphology and their reversibility during a subsequent 56‐day recovery period. Twelve‐week‐old male Sprague‐Dawley rats were randomised into four leptin and four saline‐treated control groups (n = 6). Intraperitoneal injections of leptin were given daily (60 μg Kg−1 body weight) for 42 days. Controls received 0.1 ml of 0.9% saline. Leptin‐treated animals and their respective age‐matched controls were euthanised on either day 1, 21, 42 or 56 of recovery for collection of epididymal spermatozoa. Sperm concentration was determined using a Makler counting chamber. Spermatozoa were analysed for 8‐hydroxy‐2‐deoxyguanosine and DNA fragmentation (Comet assay). Data were analysed using anova. Sperm concentration

The effect of smartphone's radiation frequency and exposure duration on NADPH oxidase 5 (NOX5) level in sperm parameters

Health hazard through smart phone radiation has been associated with male infertility. The suspected prime mediator is the NOX5 enzyme. When activated, the additional pathway for free radical production will damage sperm’s DNA. However, conclusive evidence is still lacking. Thus, this study was conducted to comprehend the detrimental effect of the radiation towards sperm parameters by using rat as a model. Parameters measured include sperm concentration, viability, DNA damage status and NOX5 level on sperm. This study consisted of two phases. The first phase was conducted to determine the optimal radiation frequency emitted from the smart phone. The radiation frequencies that were evaluated were 0 MHz (control), 4200 MHz without multiple connection mode (minimum frequency) and 9700 MHZ with multiple connection modes (maximum frequency). Each exposure setting represented one group. Each group consists of eight rats, which received exposure for 6 h/day for two consecutive weeks. All parameters measured showed significant differences. Optimum frequency for significant changes to sperm parameters were identified as the minimum frequency. Second part of the research involved the determination of optimum exposure duration. The optimal frequency obtained was used in combination with exposure duration of 0 h (control), 2, 4 and 6 h. Each group had 8 rats and exposure was conducted for 2 weeks. The results showed a significant difference for all parameters following 4 h of exposure. Following this, evaluation of DNA damage status through NOX5 activity was done by using the optimum setting where 0 MHz/0 h as a control and 4200 MHz/4 h per day for up to 2 weeks. The results showed significant differences of NOX5 fluorescent intensity between the two groups. In conclusion, although smart phone emitted low radiation, it can decrease sperm concentration, viability and increase DNA damage through ROS production. NOX5 pathway has been proven to be the likely pathway of ROS induced RF-EMW