Modeling is a very useful method for the performance prediction of concrete. Most of the models available in literature are related to the compressive strength because it is a major mechanical property used in concrete design. Many attempts were taken to develop suitable mathematical models for the prediction of compressive strength of different concretes, but not for self-consolidating high-strength concrete (SCHSC) containing palm oil fuel ash (POFA). The present study has used artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict the compressive strength of SCHSC incorporating POFA. The ANN model has been developed and validated in this research using the mix proportioning and experimental strength data of 20 different SCHSC mixes. Seventy percent (70%) of the data were used to carry out the training of the ANN model. The remaining 30% of the data were used for testing the model. The training of the ANN model was stopped when the root mean square error (RMSE) and the percentage of good patterns was 0.001 and ≈100%, respectively. The predicted compressive strength values obtained from the trained ANN model were much closer to the experimental values of compressive strength. The coefficient of determination (R²) for the relationship between the predicted and experimental compressive strengths was 0.9486, which shows the higher degree of accuracy of the network pattern. Furthermore, the predicted compressive strength was found very close to the experimental compressive strength during the testing process of the ANN model. The absolute and percentage relative errors in the testing process were significantly low with a mean value of 1.74 MPa and 3.13%, respectively, which indicated that the compressive strength of SCHSC including POFA can be efficiently predicted by the ANN.
An assessment of water quality and sediment nutrients has been carried out in Tumpat mangrove swamp forest located at Kelantan Delta in Malaysia. This mangrove delta is considered as very important to reduce the destruction of any natural disaster. Tumpat mangrove delta is possessed with several islands. Among them five islands situated at different locations started from inland edge to seaward were selected for present study. Different anthropogenic activities such as dumping of industrial and domestic effluent may contribute to degrade the water quality and sediments nutrient status. A total of 90 (water and sediment) samples 45 from each category were collected from 5 randomly selected islands. The aims of this study were to assess the water quality and sedimentary nutrients status and establish their relationship to find out the nutrient’s dynamic of Tumpat Mangrove Forest. The samples were tested in the laboratory to determine the water parameters and nutrient status. The results revealed that the mean concentration of DO, electric conductivity, pH was 4.67 ± 0.13 mg/L, 20.49 ± 4.71 μS/cm and 8.32 ± 0.06 and ranged from 4.47-4.87 mg/L, 14.21-28.67 μs/cm and 8.24-8.42 at Palau Bedal (PB), Palau Layang-layang (PL), Palau Kambing (PK), Palau Mas (PS) and Palau Tujuh (PT) islands, respectively. The mean concentration of BOD, COD and oil and grease (OG) were 1.09 ± 0.13 mg/L, 70.93 ± 25.21 mg/L and 91.77 ± 68.16 mg/L and the values were ranged from 0.9-1.25 mg/L, 44.33-120 mg/L and 18.67-205.71 mg/L at PB, PL, PK, PS and PT islands, respectively. Mean percentage of sediment nutrients such as N, P, K and Ca were 0.41 ± 0.04%, 4.66 ± 2.09 mg/L, 50.61 ± 10.58 mg/L and 83.15 ± 11.78 mg/L and ranged from 0.36-0.49%, 2.14-8.33 mg/L, 34.25-69.4 mg/L and 66.71-104.18 mg/L at PB, PL, PK, PS and PT islands, respectively. The highest N value was found in PT Island nearest to the coastal area. Deposition of litter from human settlement and fish chip factory might be the reason for higher N value. The trend of the P concentration for the study area was decreased from seaward to inland edge. Correlation analysis indicated the positive relationship between K: OG (r= 0.678) and Mg: OG (r= 0.721) but Ca: temperature (r=- 0.705) was negatively correlated. It is presumed that different concentrations of physico-chemical properties might be influenced for sedimentary nutrients dynamic at study area. Moreover, the sediment of the study area was not dynamic because most of the nutrient (P, K, and Mg) were influenced by the concentration of OG values.
Introduction: Entrepreneurship CMIE 1022 module was introduced in February 2012 and was made compulsory to all first year undergraduate students in all faculties of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). The main objective of CMIE 1022 is to expose the students to entrepreneurship with implementation of online teaching and business game simulation.
Method: Module evaluation form was distributed among medical and nursing students at the end of the module.
Result: One hundred seventy-seven students responded to the survey with 50.3% of the respondents agreed that their soft skill have improved, 37.8% for increased awareness of entrepreneurship, 25.6% has increased their interest in entrepreneurship and 22.22% agreed to apply in their own courses. More than three quarter of the students agreed that the lecturers and teaching assistants teaching methodology were acceptable. However, only 18.4% agreed that this course should be taken by all students of UKM.
Conclusion: This study showed despite increase in soft skills and interests including high performance of the academics, most students disagreed on the introduction of CMIE 1022 course to all UKM students. It is suggested that the course curriculum to be reviewed in order to achieve the objectives.
Mastering the art of conducting a research along with the competitive era of publishing papers showed the importance of undergraduate research. The purpose of this research was to study the impact of undergraduate research “Special Study Module (SSM)” on Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) medical students and alumni.
Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study whereby 64 fifth year UKM medical students of academic-session 2014/2015 and 49 alumni of year 2010 were participated on their SSM research activities. The questionnaire administered online which enquired on participants’ level of interest, confidence and SSM research experiences. Frequency and percentage distribution were used for descriptive analysis.
Result: Out of 119 participants,113 responded giving a response rate of 95%. More than 90% respondents in both group felt that SSM experience was enriching and 80%–90% felt SSM experience was pleasant. In both groups 47%–50% respondents believed, SSM experience contributed their high level of interest on research. The most influencing factors on their level of interest were supervisor guidance as reported by73%–80% respondents. It was said that SSM supervisor was academically stimulating, impressive as role model and supportive. The most confidence skill was the ability to function within a group and least confidence skill was manuscript writing.
Conclusion: Undergraduate SSM research showed positive impact on participants’ research activities. More in-depth analysis should be considered especially on manuscript writing as the students were least confident in this skill.
The art of talking to patients and their relatives does not come naturally to most of us and the ability to put oneself in the patients’ predicament is difficult particularly for the young doctors. To identify the communication abilities of the young doctors, a cross sectional study was carried out on 32 house officers who graduated from UKM in 2004 during their house jobs at different hospitals in Malaysia. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect the data. Fifty nine percent respondents claimed that they had communicated very well with patients while 69% with support staff and 88% with peers. On the other hand 38% and 41% of the respondents claimed they communicated very well with their superiors and families of patients. Only 22% of the graduates’ skills of communication in breaking bad news were very well, while 50% and 81% were very well in counselling patients and taking consent for procedures. Curriculum planners need to emphasize the importance ofdeveloping good communication skills in all aspects for the future doctors.
Lumbar disk herniation (LDH) is a common condition affecting millions worldwide. The management of LDH has evolved over the years, with the development of newer surgical techniques that aim to provide better outcomes with minimal invasiveness. One promising emerging technique is biportal endoscopic spinal surgery (BESS), which utilizes specialized endoscopic equipment to treat LDH through two small incisions. This review aims to assess the effectiveness of BESS as a management option for LDH by analyzing the available literature on surgical outcomes and potential complications associated with the technique. Our review shows that BESS is associated with favorable postoperative results as judged by clinical scoring systems, such as visual analog scale, Oswestry disability index, and MacNab criteria. BESS has several advantages over traditional open surgery, including minimized blood loss, a shorter duration of hospitalization, and an expedited healing process. However, the technique has limitations, such as a steep learning curve and practical challenges for surgeons. Our review offers recommendations for the optimal use of BESS in clinical practice, and provides a foundation for future research and development in this field, aiming to improve patient outcomes and quality of life.
Hemodialysis (HD) is a treatment for ensuring the survival of end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patients, and nutrition care is integral to their management. We sent questionnaires to evaluate the total dialysis service capacity and nutrition services across all dialysis facilities (DF) in Bangladesh, with responses from 149 out of 166 active DFs. Survey results revealed that 49.7% of DFs operated two shifts, and 42.3% operated three shifts daily, with 74.5% holding between one and ten dialysis machines. Sixty-three percent of DFs served between one and 25 patients per week, and 77% of patients received twice-weekly dialysis. The average cost for first-time dialysis was 2800 BDT per session (range: 2500-3000 BDT), but it was lower if reused dialyzers were used (2100 BDT, range: 1700-2800 BDT). Nutritionists were available in only 21% of the DFs. Parameters related to nutritional health screening (serum albumin, BMI, MIS-malnutrition inflammation assessment, and dietary intakes) were carried out in 37.6%, 23.5%, 2%, and 2% of the DFs, respectively, only if recommended by physicians. Nutrition education, if recommended, was provided in 68.5% of DFs, but only in 17.6% of them were these delivered by nutritionists. The recommendation for using renal-specific oral nutrition supplements (ONS) is not a familiar practice in Bangladeshi DFs and, therefore, was scarcely recommended. Dialysis capacity across Bangladesh is inadequate to meet current or projected needs and nutrition education and support across the DFs to benefit improving patients' quality of life is also inadequate.