Emission and Performance in a Diesel Engine Operating on Diesel-Biodiesel-Butanol Blends Derived from Waste Cooking Oil

Received: 21 August 2023. Revised: 15 September 2023. Accepted: 9 October 2023. Available online: 29 December 2023.In this investigation, the performance and emission profiles of a diesel engine, fueled by biodiesel derived from waste cooking oil (WCO), were evaluated. The biodiesel was incorporated into diesel fuel in various concentrations, and the potential enhancement of these mixtures with butanol was also explored. Experimental trials were conducted at a consistent engine speed of 2250 rpm across five distinct engine loads (4, 5.5, 7, 8.5, and 10 kW) to scrutinize engine performance and quantify exhaust emissions. An air-cooled, single-cylinder diesel engine served as the experimental apparatus. Pure Iraqi diesel (D) was used as a baseline, prior to the assessment of several fuel blends, including D80B20 (20% biodiesel, 80% diesel), D80B10BU10 (10% biodiesel, 10% butanol, 80% diesel), and D70B15BU15 (15% biodiesel, 15% butanol, 70% diesel). The results indicated a decline in engine performance across all fuel types, with the most pronounced deterioration observed at lower loads. The brake specific fuel consumption escalated by 13.37%, 16.98%, and 3.92% for the tested blends, relative to diesel. Concurrently, exhaust gas temperatures decreased by 12.5%, 23.5%, and 2.9%, respectively. Furthermore, CO emissions diminished by 22.00%, 46.0%, and 14.4%, while CO2 emissions rose by 16.67%, 41.36%, and 11.73%, respectively, when compared to diesel. HC concentrations were curtailed by 42.55%, 69.11%, and 10.64%, respectively. NOx emissions exhibited a reduction of 3.8% and 24.9% for D80B10BU10 and D70B15BU15, while a 3.5% increase was observed with D80B20. The findings suggest that ternary mixtures were associated with less favorable outcomes compared to their binary counterparts

Analysis of Road Traffic Crashes Data of Perak State in Malaysia

Road traffic accidents are one of Malaysia's top five major causes of death and is one of the most critical public health concerns in 2023. As a result, this article offers research based on data from different Malaysian government organisations and analysing the changes in the pattern of Road Traffic Crashes (RTC) in Perak, Malaysia. From 2011 to 2018, data was analysed based on road traffic collisions and categories of casualties concerning gender, age, types of roads and vehicles, and road users. The mortality and injury rates per 100,000 people were used to calculate performance for road safety. It was found that with a 0.59% increase in Perak's population and an increase in the number of cars, there are 30,669 total crashes and 491 road deaths in 2020. Furthermore, this study discovered that motorcycles were the most common vehicle involved in road traffic deaths from 2011 to 2018, which should raise concerns since motorbikes have become an essential mode of transportation. In Perak, most road deaths were males between the ages of 16 and 20. Finally, this study discovered that the death and injury rates per 100,000 people in Perak are 19.56 and 75.82, respectively, indicating that the fatality rate is dropping, but the injury rate increased dramatically in 2020 compared to 2019. The Perak state administration must investigate why the situation has worsen after a decade. Somehow or rather, the state must address this issue, and it is advised that further research be conducted to identify mechanisms to enhance the current scenario to lower the number of RTCs, notably deaths, in the state

Assessing Road Accident Black Spots and Countermeasures in the State of Perak, Malaysia

To develop a successful strategy for improving road safety, the initial step involves is to identify the black spots that are more susceptible to high-risk traffic accidents. However, due to the high cost of implementing safety measures in these locations, only a limited number of spots/sites can be thoroughly examined with the available funding. Therefore, it is crucial to prioritize the high-risk sites and their corresponding safety measures in order to make the most efficient use of the available finances. Hence, this paper presents black spots ranking and low-cost countermeasures based on the Perak Federal trunk road traffic crash (RTC) data for three years from 2018 to 2020 recorded by the Royal Malaysian Police (RMP). The weightage point method was used for each black spot  ranking exercise where as, the selection for countermeasures were based on RTC situations which are norms practiced by the Public Works Department (PWD). In total 22 black spots were ranked and it was found that the highest rank of the 2020 black spots in Perak was along route FT005 in Kinta district which had 18 RTCs and with a total weightage points (TWP) of 118.2. In balancing between limited financial allocation and improving road safety, the countermeasures were priorotized for implementation in 2021 based on the black spots ranking results. However, only six black spots were treated in 2021 with the entire cost was RM 1,834,027.19.  Where for route FT005 in Kinta district, the countermeasure was done at Section 684 with a total cost of RM350,000 under the 2022 black spots countermeasure program which is an annual program funded by the Ministry of Works Malaysia. It is recommended that Perak State PWD form a Road Safety Unit to reduce the black spots along the state roads which is the second highest road fatalities recorded in Perak

Teacher beliefs and practices in communicative language competence towards the development of an autonomous learning model

There is great impetus for English courses in institutions of higher learning (II-IL) at present due to its functional importance as a tool for individual and national development, graduate employability and life-long learning. However, it remains a common complaint among employers that Malaysian fresh graduates lack English proficiency and critical thinking skills. Thus, this qualitative study sets out to examine the focus and emphasis on English language proficiency, critical thinking skills and study skills of five (5) English courses offered by Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysta (UTHM) through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and document analysis. The interviews conducted with five teachers and ten students were transcribed using Transana software before being coded for analysis. A grounded theory approach which emphasises on several stages of data collection and constant comparison of data was employed to interpret the data. The main findings revealed that teachers in general \· think that language proficiency, critical thinking and study skills are important for tertiary level English classrooms. However, actual teaching practices were found to differ from the teachers' beliefs towards critical thinking and study skills due to challenges which can be categorised as teacher factors, student factors and institutional factors. Finally, several important criteria were identified from the findings to form an autonomous learning model for English language communicative competence called the SITE Model. The findings of this study especially the current beliefs and teaching practices of teachers as well as the proposed SITE Model may serve as a reference point for researchers, educators and policy makers to develop effective English language curriculums for enhancing communicative competence among learners

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701

Microstructural behavior of aerated concrete containing high volume of GGBFS

Aerated concrete is a lightweight engineering material, which is produced by introducing air bubbles into normal concrete. Their properties depend on their internal structures, and also vary tremendously with age, curing, and also not forgetting the ratio of constituent materials. This paper reports the compressive strength and microstructural changes in two types of aerated concrete mix, exposed to various curing conditions. The two types of mix is one with 100 percent opc (mctr), while the other one with 65 percent slag replacement (m65). The specimens were cured in air, seawater, and natural weather for the period of six months. The compressive strength was tested at 14, 28, 90, and 180 days, while micrograph of the internal structure were taken at the age of 14, and 180 days. The micrograph was taken using scanning electron microscope (sem). The results show that mix mctr exhibits much less strength compared with m65, for all curing conditions. However in both mixes, the specimen exposed to seawater shows the lowest strength. Scanning electron micrograph of both mixes also presents various structure formations in relation with curing condition, age, and also the effect of slag. The outcome of this study may establish a better understanding on the relationship between microstructure and compressive strength of aerated concrete containing high volume of ggbfs