Adopted Community Strategies to Offset Utility Crises in a Middle Income Locality of Dhaka, Bangladesh

Because of the spontaneous growth of Dhaka city, the utility crisis is increasing day by day. Therefore problems in utilities are considered centrally with respect to the economy and environment of Dhaka. But the local aspects are totally different from the central viewpoint. In this paper, two most prominent utility crises in Dhaka (i.e. the supply of gas and water) have been explored with their impacts and people’s coping mechanism with these problems has been documented.  The local people have been found adopting various alternative measures, even compromising their daily life cycle to make an adjustment with these problems. Keywords: Dhaka, utility service, gas, water, coping, daily routine

Lower Erythrocyte GST activity in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) patients compared to normal controls

Glutathione S-transferases (GST) are antioxidant enzymes that play an important role in the cellular detoxification and excretion of environmental pollutants including heavy metals. GST mu (GSTM1) and G theta (GSTT1) are known to be highly polymorphic and homozygous deletions of these genes result in the lack of enzyme activity and when combined with decreased levels of antioxidants, they have been associated with the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This preliminary study was performed to investigate the role of GSTM1 and GSTT1 polymorphisms as risk factors of ASD associated with GST activity and phenotype expression. Fifty one ASD patients and 45 controls were recruited for GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotyping while 6 ASD patients and 8 controls were assessed for GST activity. The results showed no significant differences in frequencies of GSTM1 null, GSTT1 null and combination both genotype between ASD patients and controls. However the mean erythrocyte GST activity in ASD is significantly decreased compared with controls (p = 0.043). The mean erythrocyte GST activity is lower in the severely autistic group compare to the mild to moderately autistic group, although it was not statistically significant. Further investigations are needed with a bigger sample size, analyzing multiple GST genes and GST activity determination to find out the gene susceptibility of ASD and factors that contribute to the phenotype expression of ASD

OPTIMALISASI BIAYA & WAKTU PEKERJAAN PADA SALURAN PELIMPAH (SPILLWAY) DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN METODE LEAST COST ANALYSIS

Setiap proyek memiliki resiko keterlambatan dari waktu rencana, hal tersebut dapat dilihat dari masalah-masalah yang terjadi. Agar tidak terjadi kegagalan dalam suatu proyek maka diperlukan pengelolaan manajemen proyek yang sistematis sehingga dihasilkan waktu dan biaya proyek yang optimal. Untuk mengoptimalisasikan waktu dan biaya proyek dapat dilakukan dengan mempercepat waktu, antara lain dengan analisis crashing. Penelitian ini menggunakan data dari proyek Pembangunan Bendungan Tapin Kalimantan Selatan. Alternatif percepatan yang digunakan yaitu penambahan tenaga kerja dan penambahan jam kerja (lembur), dari 1 jam lembur hingga 3 jam lembur. Perhitungan dimulai dengan mencari lintasan kritis menggunakan Microsoft Project 2019, dan diagram CPM. Kemudian dilakukan crashing untuk mendapatkan cost slope kegiatan yang berada pada lintasan kritis, selanjutnya dilakukan analisis untuk mendapatkan biaya dan waktu yang optimum. Dari hasil analisis diperoleh waktu dan biaya optimum pada penambahan jumlah tenaga kerja yaitu 922 hari dengan biaya total Rp. 123.787.319.959,04. Sehingga, persentase percepatan waktu penyelesaian proyek adalah 15,49% dan persentase pengurangan biaya adalah 0,78%

Mechanical and Durability Characteristics of Roller Compacted Geopolymer Concrete Using Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement

Every year a large quantity of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) is generated in the USA. Utilization of RAP can solve the storage problem, prevent environmental pollution and reduce construction costs. This study focuses on the strength and durability characteristics of RAP mixtures by introducing the concept of roller-compacted fly ash-based geopolymer concrete (RCGPC). Several selected RCGPC mixtures were investigated to evaluate the effect of mixture variables, including sodium hydroxide (NaOH) molarity, sodium silicate (Na2SiO3) to sodium hydroxide (NaOH) ratio on the strength, modulus and durability characteristics of the mixtures. The effects of different curing temperature and curing duration on compressive strength were also studied. It was found that the mixtures with Na2SiO3/NaOH ratio of 1 yielded about 12 % higher compressive strength than the ratio of 0. Further, the mixtures using 10M NaOH and alkali ratio of 1 produced about 25% higher compressive strength than 8M NaOH which produced about 17 MPa. Similar results were obtained for elastic modulus and split tensile strength of the mixtures. Freeze-thaw durability tests also revealed acceptable results for the RCGPC mixtures. Formation of new geopolymeric compounds and chemical bonds in the newly formed novel RCGPC mixtures were also discovered using XRD analysis. The comparison of mechanical and durability testing further showed that RCGPC performed better than the roller-compacted cement concrete (RCC) using RAP. Based on the results and analysis the developed RCGPC using RAP could be used as a cost-effective solution for the construction of pavement structures

Screening for HLA-B*1502 Polymorphism in Febrile Seizure Predicted Lead to Epilepsy

Mutation in neuronal sodium channel -1-subunit gene (SCN1A) and neuronal sodium channel -1-subunit gene (SCN1B) has been linked with forms of generalized epilepsy with febrile seizure plus (GEFS+) and epileptic infantile syndrome like severe myoclonic epilepsy of infancy (SMEI) (Mulley et al., 2005; Scheffer et al., 2007). Since this idiopathic epilepsy typically begins with prolonged febrile seizures (FS) in the first year of life, therefore febrile seizure patient with mutation in SCN1A has a high risk to develop epilepsy on their later life (Dube et al., 2009). Carbamazepine (CBZ) has been known as the most common anti-epileptic drug which can cause Steven-Johnson Syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) in patients with HLA-B*1502 polymorphism. Since the Javanese population have 16,67% of these allele, studying the presence of these allele in patients predicted epilepsy is important. Furthermore, this study was intended to develop a PCR-based diagnostic protocol to screen HLA-B*1502 polymorphism in epileptic patients to prevent SJS/TEN by carbamazepine. Focusing on epileptic predicted patients, HLA-B*1502 genotyping by sequence specific primer (SSP)-PCR was performed on 31 repeated FS patients with mutation in SCN1A and SCN1A/SCN1B gene. The result show that the HLA-B*1502 polymorphism was detected in 14 (45,2%) individuals including 8 cases related to mutation SCN1A gene and 6 to SCN1A/SCN1B gene. It illustrates that HLA-B*1502 allele is frequent in these patients. It can thus be suggested that detection of this allele should be done before epilepsy treatment. Later, patients with this allele should avoid CBZ to prevent SJS/TEN during drug administration

Optimization of hot press forging parameters in direct recycling of aluminium chip (AA 6061)

This study introduces a new approach of direct recycling using the hot press forging process that eliminates the two intermediate processes of cold-compact and pre-heating. This method leads to low energy consumption without intervening the metallurgical processes. In this study, the optimum of machined chips from high speed milling is recycled by hot press forging. The mechanical properties and surface integrity of the different chips were investigated. The performance of recycled aluminium AA 6061 chips in the mechanical and physical properties were compared with the original aluminium billet. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to develop mathematical model of the effects on pre-compaction cycle, holding time and suitable pressure significant to the process. It is hoped that, utilization of primary metal could be fully utilized by direct recycling technique (hot press forging) introduced in this study and at the same time developing a sustainable manufacturing process technology for future needs

Advertising Effectiveness and Influence of Consumer Buying Decision of LED Television

The main aim of the present study was to identify the influence of advertising effectiveness on the consumer buying decisions of different brands of ‘LED’ television. The study was descriptive. Five television showrooms in Dinajpur district, Bangladesh (Sony, Singer, Samsung, LG, and Walton) were purposively selected for collecting primary data for this study. The respondents were selected using a convenience sampling method that came to the television showroom for purchasing ‘LED’ television. The primary data for this study were collected through a structured questionnaire. The study result shows that advertisement has a positive effect on consumer buying decisions of ‘LED’ television, Sony brand (p =.000 <0.05) and 43.9% of variation in consumer buying decision has been contributed by advertisement effectiveness. For Singer brand p =.010 <0.05), Samsung brand p =.003 <0.05), LG brand p =.341>0.05) and the null hypothesis is accepted for LG band and Walton brand p =.000 <0.05) and 42.3% of variation in consumer buying decision has been contributed by advertisement effectiveness

Id, Ego and Superego in McCarthy's Novel The Road

With his psychoanalytic theory, Sigmund Freud asserts that human behavior mostly occurs in the subconscious part of the brain. This theory leaves many questions for those interested in studying human behavior, as it leaves many questions for them. One of the most important of these questions is can a person really control his behavior? Freud's theory of the unconscious divides it into three drives: the id, the ego, and the superego. Ed is the most aggressive behavior in humans. The super ego is the part responsible for the moral aspect that pushes a person to do well. As for the ego, it is that part of the dengue that strives to find a middle ground between the id and the superego. Thus, the current study aims to identify the cause of corruption of human soul through analyzing the British novelist Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. It will illustrate the human struggle for survival under a circumstance in which the law collapses and the ethics that are the basis of human interaction for the permanence of life disappear. It also sheds light on how to solve this problem. It should be noted that the study is formatted in APA (8) writing style in discussing the study and documenting the primary and secondary resources

PERBANDINGAN PENGARUH PENAMBAHAN COCA-COLA DAN GULA PASIR TERHADAP SETTING TIME DAN KUAT TEKAN BETON

Pembangunan infrastruktur di Kalimantan Timur terus mengalami peningkatan. Hal ini tidak lepas darikebutuhan masyarakat terhadap fasilitas infrastruktur yang semakin maju, seperti pembangunan gedungbertingkat, bendungan dan fasilitas lainnya. Namun, karena Kalimantan cenderung mengalami iklim tropisyang dikenal dengan cuaca yang hangat dan lembab, terlebih di Kota Samarinda yang rawan mengalaibanjir, maka hal ini dapat berpengaruh pada pendsitribusian material bahan bangunan antar daerah. Salahsatu material paling dibuthkan dalam pembangunan infrastruktur adalah beton. Hampir semua elemenkonstruksi dari berbagai struktur dapat dibuat menggunakan beton. Beton memiliki kuat tekan yang tinggisehingga itu menjadi salah satu keunggulan yang dimiliki beton.Penelitian ini menggunakan Coca-Cola sebagai substitusi sebagian air dengan variasi 2.5%, 5%, 10% dan15% dari berat semen, serta gula pasir sebagai bahan tambah dengan variasi 0.27%, 0.54%, 1.08%, dan1.62% dari berat semen. Benda uji terdiri dari 54 silinder dengan diameter 15 cm dan tinggi 30 cm.Pengujian yang dilakukan menggunakan metode eksperimen dengan kuat tekan pada umur beton 28 dan60 hari. Perencanaan adukan beton menggunakan metode SK SNI 2834-2000 dan mutu beton yangdirencanakan sebesar 20 Mpa.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan waktu pengikatan terlama diperoleh campuran dengan persentase Coca-Colasebanyak 15% dengan waktu ikat awal 1662 menit dan waktu ikat akhir 2511 menit. Kuat tekan betonnormal yang didapat sebesar 21,17 MPa, sedangkan hasil pengujian kuat tekan maksimum diperolehcampuran Coca-Cola 2.5% sebesar 22,56 MPa pada 28 hari dan 34,95 Mpa pada 60 hari. Berdasarkan hasilpengujian, penambahan Coca-Cola dan gula pasir terbukti dapat menunda waktu pengerasan beton dandapat meningkatkan kuat tekan beton sampai variasi tertentu (dalam penelitian ini Coca-Cola maksimal 5%dan gula pasir maksimal 0.54% dari berat semen), apabila melebihi variasi tersebut maka beton justrumenjadi rapuh dan tidak dapat digunakan