Effect of nano black rice husk ash on the chemical and physical properties of porous concrete pavement

Black rice husk is a waste from this agriculture industry. It has been found that majority inorganic element in rice husk is silica. In this study, the effect of Nano from black rice husk ash (BRHA) on the chemical and physical properties of concrete pavement was investigated. The BRHA produced from uncontrolled burning at rice factory was taken. It was then been ground using laboratory mill with steel balls and steel rods. Four different grinding grades of BRHA were examined. A rice husk ash dosage of 10% by weight of binder was used throughout the experiments. The chemical and physical properties of the Nano BRHA mixtures were evaluated using fineness test, X-ray Fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In addition, the compressive strength test was used to evaluate the performance of porous concrete pavement. Generally, the results show that the optimum grinding time was 63 hours. The result also indicated that the use of Nano black rice husk ash ground for 63hours produced concrete with good strengt

Thermal-induced defects and optimization of casting process

A casting process in the general industry is prone to produce varied defective parts, which happens majorly due to the factor of thermal and flow. These factors can cause major quality problems and drop in product performance during operational condition if left untreated.Thus, this paper presents these type of problems encountered in casting by applying analytical technique to forecast the behaviors of inclusions in molten material in a mold, determining the effect of parameter and process change during pouring, and analyze the pattern and provide the best decision in regards to the process of manufacturing. The use of computer-aided tool, also known as Manufacturing Analysis (in this case, an analysis of solidification and fluidity of molten material) technologies, is developed and utilized to enable a study on reduction of thermal–based defects in manufacturing on a casting product. Assessment is made based on temperature distribution, filling and solidification time, and the presence of porosity in a sample product, while optimization is performed on the same product but with different process parameters such as gate size, location, melt temperature and such. The results are varied with improvement in one area, but might worsen in another area. Thus, the final outcome is discussed and measured for its feasibility and possibility for multiple improvement process to be integrated together

Self-perceived anxiety symptoms and its associated factors among type 2 diabetic patients in rural communities of Malaysia / Azlina Wati Nikmat, Mohd Ariff Fadzil and Sakinah Idris

Little is known about anxiety symptoms among diabetic patients, especially among those who are living in rural areas in Malaysia. Thus, the aim of this paper is to investigate the prevalence of anxiety among diabetic patients and factors associated with anxiety in rural communities in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 464 diabetes mellitus patients in rural health districts and outpatient clinics in Malaysia was conducted. Each participant was interviewed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Results: Respondents consisted of 193 (41.6%) males and 271 (58.4%) females. The mean age of participants was 59.65 ± 10.16 years and the mean duration of diabetes mellitus was 6.9 ± 6.3 years. Results indicate that 15% of the participants have anxiety symptoms. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with history of ischemic heart disease and depression and those who were underweight have higher anxiety scores with adjusted OR 5.06 (95% CI 1.79 to 14.27), 27.71 (95% CI 14.23 to 53.98) and 14.6 (95% CI 2.49 to 84.82), respectively. Conclusions: This study suggests that although the prevalence of anxiety among diabetics is low, primary care physician should be trained to identify high risk patients and to manage their condition in order to improve the clinical outcome

Dust Explosibility and Severity of Bayan and Tanito Coal

The assessment of the explosibility and severity characteristics of Bayan coal and Tanito coal was investigated over various concentrations in a 20 L Siwek spherical explosion chamber. The coals tested in this study were also compared with other organic dusts such as palm-based soap noodle, tea powder, black rice, and rice flour, which were tested using the same explosion chamber and procedures. The severity and explosibility of the coals increase as their concentration increases. The Pmax of Bayan coal (10.15 bar) is higher than that of Tanito coal (7.35 bar). The Kst of Bayan coal (48.04 bar m s−1) is also higher than that of Tanito coal (16.83 bar m s−1). Among all the dusts studied using the same chamber and procedures, palm-based soap noodle has the highest Pmax at 16 bar, while tea powder has the lowest Pmax at 6.35 bar. The results show that the explosibility and severity of the coals increase as the concentrations increase, and the moisture content, coal ranking, and different types of organic dust have a significant influence on the severity characteristics of dust explosions

Recycle glass waste as a host for solidification of oil sludge

The production of oil sludge per year is more than 1 billion tonne that mainly generated from the production, refinery, storage, and transportation of petroleum. Disposal of oil sludge had been a great issue since the waste consists of highly concentrated of Natural Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM). Therefore, to overcome this problem, this study aims to investigate used and recycle borosilicate glass as a host for solidification of oil sludge. The oil sludge and glass host were mixed into different compositions, melted at high temperature (1,100 °C -1,200 °C) for 1 h in alumina crucible and rapidly cooling in the room temperature, by reducing the radioactivity levels of NORM. This study found out that, the optimum waste loading was obtained at a range of 20-25 wt% of oil sludge and 75-80 wt% of the glass host at 1,200 °C. All the glass waste was produced as an amorphous phase material with small amount of crystalline phase such as SiO2, Ba4-Al2-O7, AlPO4, Al2O3 and Fe3Zn10, which observed to be appeared during the cooling process. The major elements of the glass waste were found to be distributed uniformly based on energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) mapping. Furthermore, the dissolution rate of indicator element increased due to the increase of pH solution, while the normalized releases of B, Si, and Na during product consistency tests were low and below the standard glass limit, which shows high durability of the glass due to lower release of glass elements. Therefore, this study emphasized the suitability of recycle borosilicate glass as a host for immobilization of oil sludge prior for disposal, while deploying high temperature technology

Academic Career In Malaysian Higher Education: The Identities Of Malaysian Professors

This paper describes the identities of Malaysia professors contextualized within the agenda of Malaysia higher education to become the hub higher education in the Asian Pacific region by 2020. in response to the challenges of global higher education, the Malaysian higher education has introduced a systematic strategic plan to develop a culture of academic excellence. However, little has been written about the changes in the academic career in response to this agenda. Future , there are claims that the academic's responsibilities are becoming more diversified and complex as the landscape of higher education changes is emphasis to massification, internationalization and accountability. Draw from this context, this paper aims to explore the roles of academics, particularly the professors and critical analysis of the Malaysian Higher Education policy documents, this paper describes a profile of Malaysian Professors. It also puts forth an argument that the identities of Malaysian professors are characterized by the local and global imperatives as they are shaped by not only the specific agenda of the country but also the global trend. Thus, this paper serves as awareness and guidance for young academics pursuing for professorship to strategize their career pathway in higher education sector

HKICEPS-3678 Exploring the Motivation for and Barriers to Academic Leadership among Malaysian Polytechnic Lecturers of FELDA Settlement Background

This paper reports findings of a study on motivation for and barriers to effective academic leadership among Malaysian polytechnic lecturers on FELDA settlement background. In general, this study is to examine the academic leadership potential among Malaysian polytehcnic lecturers notably in the field of teaching and learning, research and innovation, academic writing, consultation as well as community services. Specifically, this study aims at exploring the motivation for and barriers to effective academic leadership among Malaysia polytechnic lecturers of FELDA settlement background. To achieve the objectives of this study, in-depth focused group interviews were conducted among 45 respondents. The respondents were selected based on the analysis done during the quantitative stage. The study found that motivation for effective academic leadership can be grouped under three main themes; (i) the organizational and managerial issues, (ii) organizational culture and environment, (iii) personal experience and quality issues. Furthermore, the study has identified personal and family issues as the main barriers to effective academic leadership among Malaysian polytechnic lecturers. The findings are useful to the Department of Polytechnic Education, Ministry of Education, Malaysia. These findings show the need to equip its lecturers, particularly in academic leadership, so that the polytechnic lecturers are competent enough to actualize the transformation agenda of the Malaysia Higher Education. Further implications on FELDA in transforming its human capital are also discussed in the final section of this paper. Keywords: Academic Leadership, Malaysian Polytechnics, Motivation, Berriers, FELD

Examining highland youth farmers’ adaptation ability towards climate change impacts

This paper examines the highland youth farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change impacts. This research applied a cross sectional survey involving 184 highland youth farmers from Cameron Highland, Lojing, Moyog and Kundasang. Respondents had a high adaptation level in relation to cognitive (M=3.79). Furthermore, the study concluded a high adaptation level in relation to practice among the respondents (M= 3.89). Interestingly, the respondents used creative initiatives in adapting towards climate change. The study stresses on the need for highland youth farmers to be proactive in strengthening their adaptation ability

Patient pathways for cardiovascular diseases in Malaysia and the Philippines: a systematic review

Background: Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of premature mortality in the world and are a growing public health concern in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including those in South East Asia. Their management requires coordinated responses by a range of healthcare providers, which should preferably be based on knowledge of the national context. We systematically review evidence on the pathways followed by patients with CVD in Malaysia and the Philippines to understand patient journeys, along with the barriers at each stage. Methods: We searched seven bibliographic databases and grey literature sources to identify material focused on the pathways followed by patients with CVD in Malaysia and the Philippines, and performed a narrative synthesis. Results: The search yielded 25 articles, 3 focused on the Philippines and 22 on Malaysia. Most articles were quantitative analyses that focused on hypertensive patients. Three examined secondary prevention post myocardial infarction, and one each examined acute myocardial infarction, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation. Reported barriers reflected capability (knowledge of behaviours to achieve control or the capacity to conduct these behaviours), intention (attitudes or motivations toward the behaviours to achieve control), and aspects of the health care system (availability, accessibility, affordability and acceptability of services). Conclusions: There are large gaps in our understanding of patient pathways in Malaysia and the Philippines that limit the development of evidence-based strategies to effectively address the CVD burden in South East Asian countries and in LMICs more broadly. Addressing these evidence gaps will require longitudinal mixed-methods studies following patients from initial diagnosis to long-term management.</ns3:p

Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries

The global burden of diet-attributable type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not well established. This risk assessment model estimated T2D incidence among adults attributable to direct and body weight-mediated effects of 11 dietary factors in 184 countries in 1990 and 2018. In 2018, suboptimal intake of these dietary factors was estimated to be attributable to 14.1 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 13.8–14.4 million) incident T2D cases, representing 70.3% (68.8–71.8%) of new cases globally. Largest T2D burdens were attributable to insufficient whole-grain intake (26.1% (25.0–27.1%)), excess refined rice and wheat intake (24.6% (22.3–27.2%)) and excess processed meat intake (20.3% (18.3–23.5%)). Across regions, highest proportional burdens were in central and eastern Europe and central Asia (85.6% (83.4–87.7%)) and Latin America and the Caribbean (81.8% (80.1–83.4%)); and lowest proportional burdens were in South Asia (55.4% (52.1–60.7%)). Proportions of diet-attributable T2D were generally larger in men than in women and were inversely correlated with age. Diet-attributable T2D was generally larger among urban versus rural residents and higher versus lower educated individuals, except in high-income countries, central and eastern Europe and central Asia, where burdens were larger in rural residents and in lower educated individuals. Compared with 1990, global diet-attributable T2D increased by 2.6 absolute percentage points (8.6 million more cases) in 2018, with variation in these trends by world region and dietary factor. These findings inform nutritional priorities and clinical and public health planning to improve dietary quality and reduce T2D globally.publishedVersio