The association of shift work and coronary heart disease risk factors among male factory workers in Kota Bharu, Kelantan

Shift work is one of the work hour systems in which a relay of employees extends the period of production beyond the conventional 8-hour working day. It has been found to be associated with various health problems and there is concern that shift workers are at higher risk to develop risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD). The study was undertaken to examine relationships between shift work and CHD risk factors, namely hypertension, dyslipidaemia (either hypercholesterolaemia, hyper-low density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia, hypo-high density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia or hypertriglyceridaemia), high body mass index (BMI), hyperglycemia and physical inactivity among male factory workers in a factory in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. METHODS: This study was a contrived cross-sectional study of 76 shift and 72 day workers from one ofthe factories in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Data was collected through a questionnaire on psychosocial and life-style factors, anthropometric and blood pressure measurement, fasting blood sugar and fasting lipid proJiles analyses. RESULTS: The prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolaemia, hypertriglyceridaemia and high body mass index (BMO were significantly higher among shift workers compared to day workers. There was no difference in the prevalence of hyperg[ycemia, hypo-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia, hyper-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterolaemia and physical inactivity. When the shiji workers were compared with the day workers, the aajusted odds ratio (OR) for hypertension, high BMI andphysical inactivity were 9.1 (95% CI 1.4-56.8), 2.9 (95% CI 1.3-6.1) and 7.7 (95% CI 2.1-27.5) respectively. There was neither association of shift work with dyslipidaemia, nor with hyperglycemia. CONCLUSIONS: There were positive association between shiji work and hypertension, high BMI andphysical inactivity which denotes a higher risk of CHD risk factors among shift workers compared to day workers

Correlation Between Cutting Force and Residual Stress in Dry End-Milling of Inconel HX

Residual stress in the end-milled subsurface can significantly affect the fatigue performance of end-milled material. In the end-milling process, the generation of residual stress is extremely complex, which is closely related to the spindle speed, feed per tooth and cutting force. Thus, it is crucial to elucidate the influence of spindle speed and feed per tooth on cutting force and residual stress, also the correlation between cutting force and residual stress in terms of spindle speed and feed per tooth. According to this, dry end-milling of Inconel HX was performed by climb-milling using Kennametal KYS40 solid ceramic end-mill. From this experimental test, cutting force and residual stress showed a U-shaped relationship with the increase of spindle speed, while cutting force and residual stress showed a linear relationship with the increase of feed per tooth. Furthermore, for low cutting force and residual stress, the focus should be on choosing the optimum combination of spindle speed (21,400 to 24,100 rpm) and feed per tooth (0.014 to 0.016 mm/tooth)

Correlation Between Cutting Force and Residual Stress in Dry End-Milling of Inconel HX

Residual stress in the end-milled subsurface can significantly affect the fatigue performance of end-milled material. In the end-milling process, the generation of residual stress is extremely complex, which is closely related to the spindle speed, feed per tooth and cutting force. Thus, it is crucial to elucidate the influence of spindle speed and feed per tooth on cutting force and residual stress, also the correlation between cutting force and residual stress in terms of spindle speed and feed per tooth. According to this, dry end-milling of Inconel HX was performed by climb-milling using Kennametal KYS40 solid ceramic end-mill. From this experimental test, cutting force and residual stress showed a U-shaped relationship with the increase of spindle speed, while cutting force and residual stress showed a linear relationship with the increase of feed per tooth. Furthermore, for low cutting force and residual stress, the focus should be on choosing the optimum combination of spindle speed (21,400 to 24,100 rpm) and feed per tooth (0.014 to 0.016 mm/tooth)

Determining the Number of Parallel RC Branches in Polarization / Depolarization Current Modeling for XLPE Cable Insulation

An important element in the electric power distribution system is the underground cable. However continuous applications of high voltages unto the cable, may lead to insulation degradations and subsequent cable failure. Since any disruption to the electricity supply may lead to economic losses as well as lowering customer satisfaction, the maintenance of cables is very important to an electrical utility company. Thus, a reliable diagnostic technique that is able to accurately assess the condition of cable insulation operating is critical, in order for cable replacement exercise to be done. One such diagnostic technique to assess the level of degradation within the cable insulation is the Polarization / Depolarization Current (PDC) analysis. This research work attempts to investigate PDC behaviour for medium voltage (MV) cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) insulated cables, via baseline PDC measurements and utilizing the measured data to simulate for PDC analysis. Once PDC simulations have been achieved, the values of conductivity of XLPE cable insulations can be approximated. Cable conductivity serves as an indicator to the level of degradation within XLPE cable insulation. It was found that for new and unused XLPE cables, the polarization and depolarization currents have almost overlapping trendlines, as the cable insulation’s conduction current is negligible. Using a linear dielectric circuit equivalence model as the XLPE cable insulation and its corresponding governing equations, it is possible to optimize the number of parallel RC branches to simulate PDC analysis, with a very high degree of accuracy. The PDC simulation model has been validated against the baseline PDC measurements

Controlled drug delivery of diltiazem hydrochloride as transdermal patches: a novel approach on formulation evaluation in vitro and in vivo parameters

A significant effort was done to formulate transdermal patches (Paranjothi 1998) of Diltiazem Hydrochloride (DH), a benzothiazepine calcium channel blocker, mainly meant for the treatment of hypertension, chronic stable angina pectoris; by using hydroxy ethyl cellulose, ethyl cellulose and Eudragit RLPO. Six batches of transdermal patches were prepared by solvent casting technique in which the best formulation was found out. The polymers HEC, EC and Eudragit RLPO were incorporated with Diltiazem Hydrochloride in various proportions, out of which the best formulation on the ratio [HEC: EC: EUDRAGIT RLPO-1:1:2] with the drug was determined. The prepared transdermal patches were spherical, uniform in shape and white in color. The obtained transdermal films were evaluated for physico-chemical characteristics, in vitro release profile and in vivo evaluation in albino mice. Higuchis plot studies revealed that the predominant mechanism of drug release was diffusion

Fatty acid composition and physicochemical properties of Malaysian castor bean Ricinus communis L. seed oil

The crude oil of Malaysian castor bean Ricinus communis L. seed was extracted by Soxhlet method using hexane. The physicochemical characteristics of castor bean oil were evaluated. The results showed that Malaysian castor seeds contain a relatively high percentage of total lipids content; 43.3% (per dry weight), high iodine value (84.5 mg/g) and saponification value (182.96 mg/g). The seed oil moisture content, acid value and free fatty acid percentage (% FFA) were 0.2%, 4.88 mg/g and 3.4%, respectively. The unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) content were 97.5% of the total fatty acids composition. Ricinoleic acid comprises over 84% while other fatty acids present were linoleic (7.3%), oleic (5.5%), palmitic (1.3%), stearic (1.2%) and linolenic (0.5%), respectively. Five types of castor bean seed oil triacylglycerols were identified as triricinolein, RRR (84.1%), diricinoleoylstearoylglycerol, RRS (8.2%), diricinoleoyloleoyl-glycerol, RRO (5.6%), diricinoleoyllinoleoylglycerol, RRL (1.2%) and diricinoleoylpalmitoyl-glycerol, RRP (0.9%), respectively

Sustainable Innovation and Creativity for Value Creation: A Study of Hospitality Enterprises in Jos Metropolis, Nigeria

Hospitality enterprises in Nigeria are currently experiencing serious stagnation. Their rate of value creation has been on the decline as a result of inadequate sustainable innovation, creative skills, emerging technology, and inadequate adoption of the automation system. This study aims to investigate the impacts of sustainable innovation on creativity for the creation of value in hospitality enterprises in Jos Metropolis. 108 individuals were selected as the sample size through the formula by Morgan and Krejcie. Furthermore, a quantitative approach was applied as the primary method of data collection. The formulated hypotheses were tested using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression method. Based on this study’s findings, a significant association was proven between sustainable innovation and customers’ satisfaction, creativity skills, and competitiveness. However, there was no significant association between the utilisation of technology and the creation of value in hospitality enterprises. Lastly, it is recommended that owner-managers in hospitality enterprises improve their sustainable innovation for value creation and service delivery. They should focus on customers’ needs and satisfaction, the utilisation of technology, in the long run, improvement in the return on investment, increase in profit margins and revenue, and large market share for sustainable growth of the hospitality enterprises in Jos Metropolis. Keywords: Sustainable innovation, Creativity, Value creation, Hospitality enterprises, Jos, Metropolis DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/11-26-04 Publication date:September 30th 201

Effect of laser surface modification (LSM) on laser energy absorption for laser brazing

Since the development of the laser in the 1960s a rapid development of research interests in science and technology took place. Since then, the need of laser application in industrials such as automotive, aerospace and electronics is increasing because of several advantages like automation worthiness, noncontact processing and product quality improvement. In this present study, the effect of Laser Surface Modification (LSM) on pure copper plate towards the laser energy absorption during indirect laser brazing process was studied. The laser brazing experiment was conducted inside a chamber under controlled vacuum pressure with 400Pa and irradiated with constant 140 Watt laser power. The defocusing features for laser brazing was used in order to find better focal position. Accordingly, the focal length for this laser brazing experiment was set to the focus point at 124 mm from the focal plane. Meanwhile, during LSM process, laser parameters such as laser scanning speed and focus length have been kept constant throughout the surface modification process. Yet, the laser power and laser frequency have been varied from 9 Watt to 27 Watt and 10 kHz to 80 kHz respectively. Apparently, surface roughness due to surface removal and oxide layer formation were presented during LSM process. These two surface integrities were found to be the factors of increasing laser energy absorption. It was discovered that an increase in surface roughness and oxide layer formation can absorb more laser energy which then results an increase in brazing temperature during laser brazing. This is because, increasing surface roughness will scatter the laser energy over a larger surface area, multiply the reflections in the surface irregularities while the oxide layer will enhance the interference phenomena of laser energy occurring inside the oxide layer. Both mechanisms increase laser energy absorptivity during laser brazing which results a high brazing temperature

Spatial water quality assessment of Langat River Basin (Malaysia) using environmetric techniques

This study investigates the spatial water quality pattern of seven stations located along the main Langat River. Environmetric methods, namely, the hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis (HACA), the discriminant analysis (DA), the principal component analysis (PCA), and the factor analysis (FA), were used to study the spatial variations of the most significant water quality variables and to determine the origin of pollution sources. Twenty-three water quality parameters were initially selected and analyzed. Three spatial clusters were formed based on HACA. These clusters are designated as downstream of Langat river, middle stream of Langat river, and upstream of Langat River regions. Forward and backward stepwise DA managed to discriminate six and seven water quality variables, respectively, from the original 23 variables. PCA and FA (varimax functionality) were used to investigate the origin of each water quality variable due to land use activities based on the three clustered regions. Seven principal components (PCs) were obtained with 81% total variation for the high-pollution source (HPS) region, while six PCs with 71% and 79% total variances were obtained for the moderate-pollution source (MPS) and low-pollution source (LPS) regions, respectively. The pollution sources for the HPS and MPS are of anthropogenic sources (industrial, municipal waste, and agricultural runoff). For the LPS region, the domestic and agricultural runoffs are the main sources of pollution. From this study, we can conclude that the application of environmetric methods can reveal meaningful information on the spatial variability of a large and complex river water quality data