Laboratory Investigation of Skid Resistance for Steel Slag Utilization as Chip Seal

Slag as waste material of steel-making process has similar characteristics with aggregate that has been widely used in pavement construction. The use of slag as chip seal aggregate to provide skid resistance needs to be analyzed. In this laboratory study, the chip seal samples are made using steel slag and natural aggregate. The bonding materials used are asphalt and epoxy resin. Skid resistance tests for all chip seal samples and also hot rolled sheet pavement without chip seal application are performed using the Portable British Pendulum Tester. The results show the variations of chip seal aggregate weight are inconsistent. The natural aggregate used as chip seal material could produce high skid resistance value of 10.3% higher than that using steel slag. Also the skid resistance of chip seal with the ALD 3 mm are not significantly different with that of ALD 6 mm. Similar results occur on the skid resistance of chip seals using epoxy resin and asphalt

Book Review: Climate Change and Forest Governance: Lessons From Indonesia

Climate change and forest governance have always been discussed between scholars, governments and all stakeholders who engage in the issues. Discussions have been arisen from time to time on how devastating the impacts of environment loss caused by the acts of people. These impacts have brought people and countries to see the problems more seriously and attentively

Evaluation of different methods to assess model projections of the future evolution of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

Climate models predict a gradual weakening of the North Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (MOC) during the twenty-first century due to increasing levels of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. Using an ensemble of 16 different coupled climate models performed for the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the evolution of the MOC during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is analyzed by combining model simulations for the IPCC scenarios Twentieth-Century Climate in Coupled Models (20C3M) and Special Report on Emission Scenarios, A1B (SRESA1B). Earlier findings are confirmed that even for the same forcing scenario the model response is spread over a large range. However, no model predicts abrupt changes or a total collapse of the MOC. To reduce the uncertainty of the projections, different weighting procedures are applied to obtain “best estimates” of the future MOC evolution, considering the skill of each model to represent present day hydrographic fields of temperature, salinity, and pycnocline depth as well as observation-based mass transport estimates. Using different methods of weighting the various models together, all produce estimates that the MOC will weaken by 25%–30% from present day values by the year 2100; however, absolute values of the MOC and the degree of reduction differ among the weighting methods

Analysis of the benefits of livestock to oil palm in an integrated system : evidence from selected districts in Johor, Malaysia.

Symbiotic relationships have been known to exist in Livestock-oil palm integration; this survey demonstrates with statistical figures based on current evidence on only the benefits of livestock on oil palm in an integrated system. Data were collected from 255 respondents under smallholder scheme in districts of Johor for the 2011 production season; basic descriptive statistics and farm budget tools were used for analysis. Results indicate that farmers maintain an average farm size of 2.52 ha to obtain an average Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) yield of 18.45 t/ha/yr, representing 2.6 t/ha/yr or 14.1% increase in yield due to livestock integration, an average labour cost of RM5.12/manhour was estimated and Total Variable Cost (TVC) constitute 88% of cost of production as against 12% for Total Fixed Cost (TFC). The research also estimated a reduction in cost of weeding worth RM534.68/ha/yr; from RM568.17/ha/yr down to RM33.49/ha/yr; commensurate to 94% saved cost from weeding operations, 15% reduction in cost of labour and 8.6% reduction in total cost of production due to the influence of livestock grazing. Furthermore, analyses show that FFB accounts for the majority (81%) of the revenue in the integration system, while the livestock constitute (15%), Palm Oil Fronds (POF) (3%) and animal dung (0.03%). Although the revenue from the by-products is meager, but an indicator that revenue diversification is feasible to achieve increase in revenue and finally, a net income of RM7431.479/ha/yr was estimated. The production constraints identified in the smallholder livestock-oil palm integration were grouped into technical, economical, ecological and environmental constraints and suggestions were proffered on the management of the constraints with the view to minimize their militating effects for a more efficient and productive system to enhance better the income of the farmers

Sensitivity of equatorial Pacific and Indian Ocean watermasses to the position of the Indonesian Throughflow

The sensitivity of the thermal structure of the equatorial Pacific and Indian Ocean pycnoclines to a model's representation of the Indonesian Straits connecting the two basins is investigated. Two integrations are performed using the global HOPE ocean model. The initial conditions and surface forcing for both cases are identical; the only difference between the runs is that one has an opening for the Indonesian Straits which spans the equator on the Pacific side, and the other has an opening which lies fully north of the equator. The resulting sensitivity throughout much of the upper ocean is greater than 0.5°C for both the equatorial Indian and Pacific. A realistic simulation of net Indonesian Throughflow (ITF) transport (measured in Sverdrups) is not sufficient for an adequate simulation of equatorial watermasses. The ITF must also contain a realistic admixture of northern and southern Pacific source water

Sistem Pakar Diagnosa Penyakit pada Kucing dengan Metode Teorema Bayes Berbasis Android

Kucing  sebagai  hewan  periharaan  yang  digemarin  oleh  masyarakat  Indonesia  namun  tidak  diimbangi  dengan tersedianya dokter hewan yang mencukupin. Banyak para pencinta kucing yang kesulitan untuk merawat ketika sakit dan tidak sedikit pula kucing kesayangan mati tanpa diketahuin dengan jelas sebabnya. Maka solusi dengan sistem  Pakar  yang  mengadaptasi  kecerdasan  buatan  di  bidang  kedokteran  hewan  yaitu  untuk  mendiagnosa penyakit  pada  kucing.  Diharapkan  dapat  menjadi  salah  satu  alternatif  bantuan  bagi  pemilik  kucing  dalam memperoleh informasi penyakit pada kucing. Dan sekaligus dapat pula mengetahui pemecahan masalah atau solusi yang  tepat  untuk  menangani  penyakit  tersebut.  Dengan  menggunakan  metode Teorema  Bayes dengan menggunakan  probabilitas  bersyarat  sebagai  dasarnya.  Metode  Bayes  juga  merupakan  suatu  metode  untuk menghasilkan estimasi parameter dengan menggabungkan informasi dari sampel dan informasi lain yang telah tersedia sebelumnya. Dengan menggunakan berbasis android sebagai platform. Karena keunggulannya dibanding platform yang lain serta kemudahan akses aplikasi di Android Market, Berdasarkan Pada pengujian 15 sampel data gejala penyakit menunjukkan bahwa program aplikasi menghasilkan nilai akurasi sebesar 90 %