Control mechanisms of slope, highland & hilly area in managing landslides occurrence: a comparative legal study between Hong Kong and Malaysia / Nurarnida Sabrina Mohd Sabri … [et al.]

Modernization has caused rapid development in our country. This can be seen where nowadays thousands of buildings are built almost everywhere. Buildings are built on earth surface that covers slope, highland and hilly area. This is where environmental law comes into picture to restrain or stop any development that brings danger to the society and nature. Therefore, it is a reminder that to be a modern country it is not necessary we violate nature. The purpose of this study is to propose comprehensive and efficient laws on enforcement and implementation for managing landslides occurrences' in Malaysia. Apart from that, a comparison has been made between laws in our country with Hong Kong on matter regarding the enforcement and implementation in managing landslides. In conclusion, this research also will examine the existing laws and guidelines (if any) in Malaysia as well as in Hong Kong

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Optimization study on preparation of amine functionalized sea mango (cerbera odollam) activated carbon for Carbon Dioxide (CO2) adsorption

Activated carbon derived from sea mango (cerbera odollam), SMAC, was developed from phosphoric acid (H3PO4) activation. Box-Behnken Design (BBD) was employed to optimize the surface area of the SMAC. The tested factors were acid concentration (40 to 60%), carbonization temperature (400 to 600°C) and activation time (1 to 3 h). The optimized parameters were 53.75% H3PO4 concentration, 519.8°C of carbonization temperature and 2.3 h of activation time, which resulted in 857.93 m2/g of BET surface area. The performance of CO2 adsorption was investigated for modified and virgin SMAC. The impregnations of SMACs were done with different amines (AMP, PZ and MEA) to improve its natural adsorption ability and promote nitrogen functional group onto carbon surface with impregnation mass ratio of 2:5 (amine: activated carbon). The effects of adsorption parameters such as activated carbon properties, type of amine used, gas flow rate and adsorbent dosage on breakthrough curves and adsorption bed capacity were evaluated. Reduction in BET surface area indicates that the amine-based chemicals were successfully attached on carbon surface and thus blocked most of the pores on the SMAC particles. The modified surface of SMAC with AMP amine showed the best performance in CO2 adsorption and regeneration with adsorption bed capacity of 23.05 mgCO2/g sorbent. Successful CO2 adsorption via modified surface of SMAC suggested that it is viable to use sea mango as alternative precursor for activated carbon preparation and in application such as CO2 capture