Waste segregation through recycle and composting activities in urban and suburban areas

The number of wastes generated in Malaysia is increasing every year. Eighty per cent of solid waste in landfills comes from recycled material, and food waste production has risen to around 15 000 tons per day. Recyclable waste and food waste are the highest waste produced in landfills. Recycling and food composting are two solutions that can reduce waste and slow down the rate of garbage received at the landfill. This research aims to determine the knowledge and awareness of waste segregation through recycling and composting. This paper also identifies the constraint of respondents on performing waste segregation. Here, an online questionnaire has been distributed to the community in urban and suburban areas in Selangor and Johor. A total of 125 respondents participated in this study. Analysis from the survey found no significant difference in the knowledge of waste segregation through recycling and composting between urban and suburban areas. It can be denoted that the respondents have a basic understanding of awareness on waste segregation, although only a few have not practised recycling due to several highlighted constraints. Therefore, some recommendation has been emphasized based on this finding, such as installing reverse vending machines (RVM), organizing campaigns, and providing more information on waste segregation. These suggestions have been the top choices to encourage waste segregation in the community. Moreover, further study needs to be extended to the household group in other states and assessing the effectiveness of RVM will elucidate the segregation behaviours among the community

ENHANCING GRAPHITIC CARBON CONTENT OF CARBON-BASED ELECTRODE MATERIALS BY PULSED ELECTROPHORETIC DEPOSITION FOR ELECTROCHEMICAL CAPACITOR

Crystallinity of carbon electrode materials and their deposition techniques are the crucial factors for electrochemical capacitor (EC) performance. The present work investigates deposit yield and graphitic content of activated carbon (AC) and CNT coatings deposited by pulsed electrophoretic deposition (EPD). Pulse voltage with pulse separation times of 30 to 50 s, alternated with the long pulse width (i.e. 2.5 min) was applied. Although the pulse separation time at 30 s reduced the CNT coating yield, its graphitic content increased by 40 % as compared to the CNT coating deposited by continuous voltage EPD, as indicated by the IG/ID ratio of Raman spectra. However, graphitic content increase was not observed in the deposition of AC. Consequently, the CNT deposition gained a higher graphitic-nongraphitic content ratio than the AC. This finding opened up the possibility of the EC performance enhancement by the graphitic CNT control in electrode materials through EPD process

Performance of Kaolin Clay on the concrete pavement

This paper investigates the performance of concrete pavement containing kaolin clay with their engineering properties and to determine the optimum kaolin clay content. The concrete used throughout the study was designed as grade 30 MPa strength with constant water to cement ratio of 0.49. The compressive strength, flexural strength and water absorption test was conducted in this research. The concrete mix designed with kaolin clay as cement replacement comprises at 0%, 5%, 10% and 15% by the total weight of cement. The results indicate that the strength of pavement concrete decreases as the percentage of kaolin clay increases. It also shows that the water absorption increases with the percentage of cement replacement. However, 5% kaolin clay is found to be the optimum level to replace cement in a pavement concrete

Effect of black rice husk ash on asphaltic concrete properties under aging condition

The scarcities of natural resources and increment in waste production rates have promoted efforts to investigate the potential incorporation of various by-products in roads construction. Reusing of waste materials such as black rice husk ash (BRHA) in asphaltic concrete was considered as one of the proper management of the waste, which ensures economic and environmental benefits. Hence, this study investigates the effect of black rice husk ash on asphalt mixtures properties under different aging condition. BRHA was added in the asphalt mix in a proportion of 0%, 2%, 4% and 6% by weight of bitumen. 5% optimum bitumen content with 60/70 penetration grade binder was selected for this study. The asphalt mixtures for each fraction was prepared in three different aging conditions i.e. un-aging (UA), short term aging (STA) and long term aging (LTA). The properties of asphalt mixtures were evaluated by voids, stiffness and dynamic creep tests. The results indicate that asphalt mixtures consisting of BRHA have exhibited better performance in term of voids, stiffness and creep modulus when compared to the conventional asphalt mixtures. The STA and LTA mixtures modified with BRHA produced higher performance than the unmodified mixtures. It can be concluded that the optimum additional percentage of BRHA was in the range of 4% to 6%

Internationalisation of postgraduate education: University of Malaya's experience

The University of Malaya has taken proactive measures to make her mark at the international level. Over the last decade there has been restructuring of the university management, implementation of a quality management system, upgrading and expansion of infrastructure, and enhancement of teaching and research. These improvements, coupled with keen promotion activities held locally as well as internationally have contributed to the increase in the number of international students in UM by 200% from 2000 to 2005. Strong support and directives from the Malaysian government ensure that UM continues to be thrusted forward, in the ministerial effort to transform Malaysian education into a global trademark

General description of configurational coordinate model and kinetic of luminescence

No AbstractKeywords: configuration coordinate; luminescence; Franck-Condo

Prevalence of abnormal glucose tolerance and risk factors in urban and rural malaysia

OBJECTIVE-To determine the prevalence of prediabetes and diabetes among rural and urban Malaysians. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-This cross-sectional survey was conducted among 3,879 Malaysian adults (1,335 men and 2,544 women). All subjects underwent the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT). RESULTS-The overall prevalence of prediabetes was 22.1 (30.2 in men and 69.8 in women). Isolated impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) were found in 3.4 and 16.1 of the study population, respectively, whereas 2.6 of the subjects had both IFG and IGT. Based on an OGTT, the prevalence of newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes was 12.6 (31.0 in men and 69.0 in women). The prediabetic subjects also had an increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease risk factors. CONCLUSIONS-The large proportion of undiagnosed cases of prediabetes and diabetes reflects the lack of public awareness of the disease

Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adult Malaysians: an update

A total of 4428 adults (>18 years old) from 5 different selected regions in Peninsular and East Malaysia participated in this health survey. Using World Health Organization recommendations for body mass index (HMI), the prevalence of overweight and obesity were found to be 33.6 (95 CI= 32.2, 35.0) and 19.5 (95 CI= 18.3, 20.7) respectively. There were more females who were obese (22.5, 95 CI=20.9, 24.0) compared to males (14.1, 95 CI=12.3, 15.9). Highest prevalence of obesity were among the Indians (24.6, 95 CI=20.3, 29.3), followed closely by the Malays (23.2, 95 CI=21.6, 24.8) and lowest prevalence was among the Chinese subjects (8.2, 95 CI=6.2, 10.6). More than 43 of the 531 younger subjects (30 kg/m(2)) who initially claimed to have no diabetes. This study highlights a need for more active, inter-sectoral participation advocating a health-promoting environment in order to combat obesity in this country

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its risk factors in adult Malaysians: Results of a nationwide survey

Aim: To report the national prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its risk factors among adult Malaysians (> 18 years old) based on World Health Organization (WHO), the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel III (ATP III), International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the ` Harmonized' criteria. Methods: A multi-stage stratified sampling method was used to select 4341 subjects from Peninsular and East Malaysia. Subjects underwent physical and clinical examinations. Results: Based on the WHO, ATP III, IDF and Harmonized definitions, the overall crude prevalences of MetS were 32.1, 34.3, 37.1 and 42.5, respectively. Regardless of the criteria used, MetS was higher in urban areas, in females, in the Indian population and increased significantly with age. Risk factors also increased with age; abdominal obesity was most prevalent (57.4), was higher in females (64.2) and was highest in Indians (68.8). Hypertension was higher in males (56.5) and highest among Malaysians (52.2). In contrast, the Chinese had the highest prevalence of hypertriglyceridaemia (47.4). Conclusions: Malaysia has a much higher prevalence of MetS compared with other Asian countries and, unless there is immediate intervention to reduce risk factors, this may pose serious implications on the country's healthcare costs and services. # 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved