Noise emitted by drop hammer piling machine and workers‘ noise exposure

Hammer driven piling machine is the typical piling equipment in Malaysia, according to previous research on piling activities more than a decade ago more than an average of 90 dBA was recorded during the occurrences of piling activities at a common construction site that disturbs the neighbourhood. However, the direct effect of piling activities are the operator and signal man. Up to date there is no detail data about the noise exposure level experienced by these workers from these activities in order to facilitate the noise management in construction site. In this paper the propagation of sound level data on the recent hammer driven piling machines and noise exposure to operators and signal man were acquired and evaluated. Sound data were obtained by using sound level meter type 2 while noise exposure of workers by using noise dosimeter. Data were taken from six sites with piling machine age bellow 10 years, 7ton Hammer, 300mm Spun Pile and Laterite type of soil. It was obtained that piling hammering noise level was found exceeds the permissible maximum noise level of 90 dBA as highlighted by FMR 1989 up to distance more than 4m from piling machine. With this result it directly affected the signalmens and this is confirmed by the reading of noise exposure of them exceeding the 90 dBA and more than 100% dose. From the analysis, clearly that the piling machine workers especially the signal man underestimate the impact of high impact pulsing sound level generated even at the softest soil condition. It is proposed that signal man must wear proper hearing protection device with Noise reduction rating (NRR) of 20-30 dBA

Estimation of Export Supply Function for Citrus Fruit in Pakistan

There is strong evidence in the literature that export and economic growth have a positive relationship. In Pakistan, with an agrarian economy, earnings from primary agricultural exports are vital for the overall growth process. Fruits are the traditional export commodities, which contribute more than half of total export earnings from primary agricultural commodities. The persistent instability in world market prices for primary commodities has depressed the export earnings from these commodities over time. This poses great challenges to a country like Pakistan. The present study aims at examining changes in the volume of export of citrus fruit from Pakistan caused by such factors as changes in domestic and export prices, national product, foreign exchange rate, etc. The study uses time series data for the period 1975–2004 for citrus exports and related domestic price, export price, GDP, and foreign exchange rate, employing the co-integration and error correction techniques for analysis purposes.

Noise emitted by drop hammer piling machine and workers' noise exposure

Hammer driven piling machine is the typical piling equipment in Malaysia, according to previous research on piling activities more than a decade ago more than an average of 90 dBA was recorded during the occurrences of piling activities at a common construction site that disturbs the neighbourhood. However, the direct effect of piling activities are the operator and signal man. Up to date there is no detail data about the noise exposure level experienced by these workers from these activities in order to facilitate the noise management in construction site. In this paper the propagation of sound level data on the recent hammer driven piling machines and noise exposure to operators and signal man were acquired and evaluated. Sound data were obtained by using sound level meter type 2 while noise exposure of workers by using noise dosimeter. Data were taken from six sites with piling machine age bellow 10 years, 7ton Hammer, 300mm Spun Pile and Laterite type of soil. It was obtained that piling hammering noise level was found exceeds the permissible maximum noise level of 90 dBA as highlighted by FMR 1989 up to distance more than 4m from piling machine. With this result it directly affected the signalmens and this is confirmed by the reading of noise exposure of them exceeding the 90 dBA and more than 100% dose. From the analysis, clearly that the piling machine workers especially the signal man underestimate the impact of high impact pulsing sound level generated even at the softest soil condition. It is proposed that signal man must wear proper hearing protection device with Noise reduction rating (NRR) of 20-30 dBA

Sickness in Small-Scale Industries in South Punjab: Hurdles & Remedies: A Study of Bahawalpur Estate Area, Pakistan

This study was based on in-depth exploratory investigation of Bahawalpur (Pakistan) industrial estate area to find out the internal and external root causes of sickness in small industries and their solutions. Ashraf et al.(2012) noticed reasons of meager performance of small firms as lack of managerial knowledge, high rate of interest on loans, heavy taxation,  poor government policies, owner’s education level and use of outdated technology, that’s why the most of small units have poor success and growth.  Shukla (1993) and Reddy et al. (1988) found the causes of sickness in Small Scale industry which  were generally related to production, finance, environmental,  management and  marketing  factors.  Collection of data was executed through both primary and secondary sources. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods had been used for the study. Data was primarily collected through structured questionnaires as well as interviews of owners/managers of small industrial units at Bahawalpur industrial estate area. SPSS software was used to analyze the data.  In this study we found that 76.9% units were facing energy crisis and almost all the units were also facing high Mark-up problem and Inflation problem. Other obstructions that units were facing comprising the high level of taxation, lack of education, difficulty in accessing credit, lack of market information, lack of management skills etc. which leads to low level of production and unemployment etc. Keywords: Industrial obstructions, Remedies, low productio

Estimation of Export Supply Function for Citrus Fruit in Pakistan

Nature has blessed Pakistan with an ideal climate for growing a wide range of delicious fruits. Thus a very wide range of tropical, sub-tropical and temperate fruits are grown in the country. Over the years, Pakistani experts have developed unique strains of exotic fruit varieties. Pakistan is producing a large variety of fruits on an area of 734.6 thousand hectares with a total production of 5712.4 thousand tons. Out of this 354.4 thousand tons fruit is exported from the country [Pakistan (2004)]. Horticulture is an important sub-sector of agriculture and plays a vital role not only in rejuvenation of rural economy but also in improving human nutrition which is often deficient in ingredients such as vitamins and minerals. Citrus and mango are the main fruit crops which contribute substantially to the national income

Successful pregnancies with thiopurine-allopurinol co-therapy for inflammatory bowel disease

Background: Thiopurines are an effective treatment for moderate to severe inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] and can be used safely in pregnancy. Combining allopurinol with a lower dose of thiopurine can improve clinical efficacy and bypass some adverse reactions associated with thiopurine monotherapy. Data on allopurinol in pregnancy are scarce. We report on a total of 13 cases where thiopurine and allopurinol co-therapy was used successfully to manage IBD during pregnancy without attributable adverse fetal effects. Methods: Patients were retrospectively identified at our two hospitals, one in the UK and one in Australia, using local IBD databases. Data regarding pregnancy and fetal outcomes including in utero fetal ultrasound scans, APGAR scores, fetal birthweights and neonate checks were collected from patient notes. Results: We identified 12 women with a total of 13 pregnancies treated with co-therapy before conception and for the duration of pregnancy. There were no miscarriages or spontaneous pre-term deliveries. There were 14 live births [seven vaginal deliveries; six caesarean sections]. Except for a primagravid twin pregnancy complicated by pre-eclampsia and twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome requiring caesarean section at 25 weeks, there were no low birthweight [< 2.5 kg] babies born and the APGAR scores of all babies were normal. No congenital malformations were identified. Conclusions: Adverse pregnancy outcomes attributable to thiopurine and allopurinol co-therapy were not detected in our case series. Our study provides reassurance for clinicians and patients who wish to continue the thiopurine-allopurinol co-therapy combination before conception and during pregnancy to maintain remission of IBD

Electrochemical Evaluation of Human Hair Derived Carbon Particles

Pollution has become a great challenge for modern world. Hence, recycling trend is growing worldwide. Human hair, a fancy part of human body, creates a bulk of litter on trimming, yet has wide spectrum of applications. A facile thermal approach has been implemented in this research to synthesize carbon particles (CP) from waste human hair. CP surface analyses was made through SEM, ATR-FTIR, TGA & Raman. Efficient adsorptive behavior of synthesized CP against Zn and Pb has been observed with 70% Pb (9.325 mg/10 mg CP) and 90% Zn (37 mg/10 mg CP) adsorption. The augmented adsorptive capacity of CP ultimately finds its application in heavy metal removal from waste water. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) justified outstanding adsorption behavior of CP by speedy electron transfer, better charge storage and swift ionic diffusion; with 53 mC current carrying capacity and 1.98 to 4.37 cm(2) effective surface area. CV data has shown electrochemical irreversibility and double layer capacitance. CP conductivity has been observed from 19.78 mu S to 38.4 mu S, with. values between -17.4 mV and -28.6 mV. (c) 2020 The Electrochemical Society ("ECS"). Published on behalf of ECS by IOP Publishing Limited

Chitin oligosaccharide N,N′-diacetylchitobiose (GlcNAc2) as antimicrobial coating against listeria monocytogenes on ready-to-eat shrimp

N,N′-diacetylchitobiose, also known as GlcNAc2, is a chitin oligosaccharide and is reported to possess antimicrobial activity against pathogenic bacteria. In this study, 1% (w/v) GlcNAc2 solution was applied on ready-to-eat (RTE) shrimp and evaluated as an antimicrobial coating against Listeria monocytogenes during storage at 4 °C for 16 days. Texture properties, colour, TBARS values, moisture content and bacterial counts were monitored and analysed every four days. The results indicated that the GlcNAc2 coating retarded the changes in texture properties, TBARS values and moisture content of the RTE shrimp during storage. The presence of GlcNAc2 showed no significant changes in RTE shrimp colour in contrast to the control. However, the growth of L. monocytogenes inoculated on the GlcNAc2-coated RTE shrimp was slower than that of the control sample with the highest log reduction of 0.5 log CFU/mL being observed. This study showed that the GlcNAc2 used as an antimicrobial coating was able to inhibit the growth of L. monocytogenes, while maintaining the quality of the RTE shrimp during refrigerated storage

Durability of coconut shell powder (CSP) concrete

The rising cost of construction in developing countries like Malaysia has led concrete experts to explore alternative materials such as coconut shells which are renewable and possess high potential to be used as construction material. Coconut shell powder in varying percentages of1%, 3% and 5% was used as filler material in concrete grade 30 and evaluated after a curing period of 7 days and 28days respectively. Compressive strength, water absorption and carbonation tests were conducted to evaluate the strength and durability of CSP concrete in comparison with normal concrete. The test results revealed that 1%, 3% and 5% of CSP concrete achieved a compressive strength of 47.65MPa, 45.6MPa and 40.55% respectively. The rate of water absorption of CSP concrete was recorded as 3.21%, 2.47%, and 2.73% for 1%, 3% and 5% of CSP concrete respectively. Although CSP contained a carbon composition of 47%, the carbonation test showed that CSP no signs of carbon were detected inside the concrete. To conclude, CSP offers great prospects as it demonstrated relatively high durability as a construction material