Influence of Addition of Rice Husk Ash on Porcelain Composition

Rice husk ash (RHA) has long been known to possess high silica content. The abundance of rice husk as agricultural waste makes it the most promising to be used as a supplementary cementations and ceramic material. In this study RHA was used as an additive material on porcelain body. The rice husk was subjected to the chemical pretreatment with 2M HCL, 250C before calcinations to increase silica content of the husk ash. The pressed pellets were sintered at the temperature of 12000C and soaked for 2 hours. It was found that progressive addition of RHA in a porcelain body resulted in early vitrification of the mixture. The compressive strength was the highest at 40wt% addition of RHA. Porosity was the least at 40wt%. It can therefore be concluded that 40wt% addition of RHA into the porcelain body is the best composition.Keywords: RHA, Porcelain, Compressive Strength, Bulk Density, Porosit

Influence of Mould Pressure and Substitution of Quartz by Palm Oil Fuel Ash on the Hardness of Porcelain Body

This paper presents use of treated palm oil fuel ash (POFA) as a substitute material for quartz in fabricating an improved porcelain tile. Untreated POFA was dried in an oven at 100ºC for 24 h. The untreated POFA was then grounded in a ball mill to reduce the particle size to improve reactivity. It was then sieved using a set of sieves (50 μm) to remove the particles coarser than 50 μm. The untreated POFA was heated at a temperature of 600 ºC for 1.5 h. The mixed powder was pressed into pellets at pressure of 31MPa, 61 MPa, 91 MPa and 121 MPa. All the pellets were sintered at a temperature of 1100 ºC for 2 h soaking time. It was found that the bulk density and Vickers hardness of porcelain increases with increase in substitution of quartz by POFA. The highest bulk density and Vickers hardness of the porcelain was achieved on 15 wt% substitution of quartz by POFA at a Mould pressure of 91 MPa.Keywords: Bulk Density, POFA, Porcelain, Porosity, Volume Shrinkage, Quart

Recent development in the production of third generation biodiesel from microalgae

© 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Increasing global energy demand at a rate faster than the population growth has led the researcher to look for alternative fuel. Amongst the options, biodiesel is an environmentally sustainable substitute of diesel fuel being renewable, biodegradable and have similar properties of fossil diesel. Among the biodiesel sources, microalgae is a potential third generation biodiesel feedstock which can be produced throughout the year and its oil yield is higher than any other crops. This paper reviews recent development in microalgae biodiesel in terms of its oil extraction technics, challenges of oil extraction, production of biodiesel from microalgae oil and its fuel properties. Finally, the paper discusses the performance and combustion analysis of diesel engine fuelled with microalgae biodiesel. This paper provides a clear understanding of the potential use of microalgae biodiesel as an alternative source to fossil diesel for diesel engines

Regression model for the study of sole and cumulative effect of temperature and solar radiation on wheat yield

The effect of variability in temperature, solar radiation and photothermal quotient were studied under varying planting windows in three wheat genotypes to cope environmental vulnerability. Regression models are regarded as valuable tools for the evaluation of temperature, solar radiation and photothermal quotient effects on wheat yield to bring its resilience to climatic vulnerability. The objective of this study was to evaluate sole and cumulative impact of temperature and solar radiation on spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield using regression modeling approach. The data collected at maturity for grain number, grain weight and grain yield were regressed against mean temperature, solar radiation and photothermal quotient (PTQ) (temperature plus solar radiation) from emergence to anthesis and maturity, using STATISTICA9 software. Scatter-plot regression model was developed at 95% confidence interval with crop data and climate variables. Results indicate direct relationship of yield with solar radiation, cumulative effect of temperature and solar radiation, whereas yield had an inverse relationship with temperature alone. Direct relationship between PTQ and yield parameters confirmed PTQ as crop-yield determinant, thus, its management needs to be done by choosing a more appropriate sowing time and best suited genotypes as an adapted management strategy for farmers under increased climatic vulnerability.Key words: Photothermal quotient, planting windows, solar radiation, temperature, wheat

The Effects of Carbon Emissions and Agency Costs on Firm Performance

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HBME-1 expression in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid lesions

Thyroid carcinomas are classically diagnosed based on specific morphological criteria. In some cases, a definitive diagnosis may be difficult when morphological features are equivocal. This study evaluated the utility of Hector Battifora Mesothelial-1 (HBME-1) as an immunohistochemical marker to differentiate malignant from benign thyroid lesions and to compare its expression in different types of thyroid lesions. The sensitivity and specificity of HBME-1 as a specific marker for thyroid carcinoma were also studied. A total of 54 malignant and 54 benign thyroid cases diagnosed were collected in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre for a period of seven years. All cases were stained with HBME-1 and evaluated by three independent observers. The cases were scored based on the proportion of staining and graded as 0 (less than 10%), 1+ (10-25%), 2+ (26-50%) or 3+ (more than 50%). In addition, the score of malignant cases was correlated with their pathological tumour stage. HBME-1 showed significantly higher expression in malignant compared to benign lesions (P<0.001) with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) showed the highest expression among the carcinoma cases (87.1%). Benign lesions were mostly negative (96%), except for two follicular adenoma cases having focal positivity. HBME-1 had a sensitivity of 57% and specificity of 96% in thyroid carcinoma. There was no correlation between HBME-1 expression and TNM primary tumour stage (pT). HBME-1 might be a useful marker in distinguishing malignant from benign thyroid lesions, especially in PTC cases

Waste coffee Oil: A promising source for biodiesel production

The oil from waste coffee possesses the potential as a feedstock for biodiesel production. In this study, waste coffee grounds were collected from Turkey. Then the oil was extracted from waste coffee grounds using N-hexane. The two-step acid-base catalyst transesterification process was used to produce biodiesel as the acid value of the crude oil was found higher (15.4 mgKOH/g).This was followed by an investigation of some physical and chemical properties. It was found that the properties of waste coffee biodiesel fell within the limit of ASTM standards. So the studied physicochemical properties of the waste coffee biodiesel suggest that this fuel can be used as a fuel in diesel engines

A casemix: congestive heart failure readmission rate and its associated factors in a tertiary teaching hospital in Kuala Lumpur

Cardiovascular mortality is within the top five causes of death from non-communicable disease based on World Health Organization profile. Around 20% of heart failure patients are readmitted within 30 days worldwide. Readmission within 30 days for congestive heart failure often related to non-compliant to fluid restriction, natural progression of the disease or pre-mature discharge. The study aims to evaluate the 30 days readmission rate of congestive heart failure in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) from the year 2016-2017 using casemix data and to determine the associated factors related to it. Based on the data coding, cost of readmission incurred was calculated. The 30-days readmission rate of heart failure to UKMMC in the year 2016-2017 was 53.5% & 43.5%, higher than the developed countries standard but similar to that of local teaching hospitals. After adjustment, age and level of severity are the only significant associated factors for the 30-days readmission rate. Shorter average length of stay (ALOS) & lower extra-tariff were achieved for readmission of heart failure. Total of RM80,329.73 was saved in the year 2017 from prompt treatment and comprehensive care plan of treating 19.3% level 3 severity patients at level 1 ALOS and tariff-cost. The 30-days readmission rate for heart failure in UKMMC was comparable to local teaching hospitals. The reduction of 30-days readmission rate in 2017 saved much cost, shows good clinical governance and advanced treatment strategy. Casemix can be used to guide budget allocation for the cardiology department of UKMMC

Sensitivity evaluation of SYBR green I, SYBR safe and calcein dyes for detection of human papillomavirus 16 by loop-mediated isothermal amplification

Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) is a gene amplification technique whereby the amplification products are commonly visualized as turbidity by naked eye in the presence of magnesium pyrophosphate precipitation. An appropriate intercalating dye is important as it could increase the sensitivity and reduce the false positive and false negative results for the detection. The study aimed to compare the performance of three different intercalating dyes; SYBR Green I, SYBR Safe and calcein-based dyes in HPV-16 LAMP assay by naked-eye visualization, gel electrophoresis and real-time monitoring. The LAMP assay was carried out using a Loopamp DNA amplification kit in 25 μl volumes. The reaction mixture was incubated at 6