Forensic Study on Federal Road Pavement Failures at Rengit and Semerah, Batu Pahat

Forensic investigations in engineering term may be conducted to identify the causes of failure to facilitate the design of proper repairs, or to improve the performance or lifespan of a component, assembly, or structure. This paper presents the combination of geotechnical investigation and geophysical survey method as a forensic tool to predict the causes of pavement failure occurred along the coastal area of federal road FT005. The number and type of field testing are varying on each selected study area at Rengit and Semerah, Batu Pahat as this location constructed on soft soil area. Non-destructive testing (NDT) method using electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) were chosen to be applied at the worst severity of the road failure. Three number of resistivity lines of 100m and 200m were laid out using ABEM Terrameter LS2 with gradient method of electrode arrays covering up to 40-meters depth. Then, further testing of destructive testing (DT) method using borehole drilling conducted near the ERT lines to obtain soil profile with SPT N-value measurement. The disturbed and undisturbed samples were obtained to carried out laboratory test for soil classification. After that, inspection of road pavement layers were implemented at five number of trial pit tests which excavated up to subgrade layer to determine the thickness of the materials used in road construction. Three number of mackintosh probe test were also conducted on top of the subgrade layer after the trenching to obtain the strength of the subgrade layer. The results presented showed that severe longitudinal cracking were the predominant premature failures on the roads studied due to settlement effect of soft soil. The analysis obtained from RES2DINV program stated that the subsurface profiling was dominantly in saturated condition which the resistivity value was less than 100 ohm.m. From the SPT N-value it is observed that, the very soft soil layer is up to 8 m followed by the soft to stiff clays soil. Another cause of failure was resulted from the differential settlement due to the effect of different design of road construction with varies material used. The reliability and efficiency of the instruments used were also discussed in this study.

Assessing Nitrogen Availability in Biobased Fertilizers: Effect of Vegetation on Mineralization Patterns

Biobased nitrogen (N) fertilizers derived from animal manure can substitute synthetic mineral N fertilizer and contribute to more sustainable agriculture. Practitioners need to obtain a reliable estimation of the biobased fertilizers’ N value. This study compared the estimates for pig slurry (PS) and liquid fraction of digestate (LFD) using laboratory incubation and plant-growing experiments. A no-N treatment was used as control and calcium ammonium nitrate (CAN) as synthetic mineral fertilizer. After 100 days of incubation, the addition of PS and LFD resulted in a net N mineralization rate of 10.6 ± 0.3% and 20.6 ± 0.4% of the total applied N, respectively. The addition of CAN showed no significant net mineralization or immobilization (net N release 96 ± 6%). In the pot experiment under vegetation, all fertilized treatments caused N immobilization with a negative net N mineralization rate of −51 ± 11%, −9 ± 4%, and −27 ± 10% of the total applied N in CAN, PS, and LFD treatments, respectively. Compared to the pot experiment, the laboratory incubation without vegetation may have overestimated the N value of biobased fertilizers. Vegetation resulted in a lower estimation of available N from fertilizers, probably due to intensified competition with soil microbes or increased N loss via denitrification.

Design and Optimization of Surface Plasmon Resonance Spectroscopy for Optical Constant Characterization and Potential Sensing Application: Theoretical and Experimental Approaches

The best surface plasmon resonance (SPR) signal can be generated based on several factors that include the excitation wavelength, the type of metal used, and the thickness of the metal layer. In this study, the aforementioned factors have been investigated to obtain the best SPR signal. The excitation wavelength of 633 nm and gold metal with thickness of 50 nm were required to generate the SPR signal before the SPR was used for optical constant characterization by fitting of experimental results to the theoretical data. The employed strategy has good agreement with the theoretical value where the real part refractive index, n value, of the gold thin film was 0.1245 while the value for the imaginary part, k, was 3.6812 with 47.7 nm thickness. Besides that, the optical characterization of nanocrystalline cellulose (NCC)-based thin film has also been demonstrated. The n and k values found for this thin film were 1.4240 and 0.2520, respectively, with optimal thickness of 9.5 nm. Interestingly when the NCC-based thin film was exposed to copper ion solution with n value of 1.3333 and k value of 0.0060 to 0.0070 with various concentrations (0.01–10 ppm), a clear change of the refractive index value was observed. This result suggests that the NCC-based thin film has high potential for copper ion sensing using SPR with a sensitivity of 8.0052°/RIU.

Formulation and Evaluation of Lamivudine Nanosuspension

The present research aimed to develop & Evaluation of Lamivudine Nanosuspension. Lamivudine is a potent in vitro inhibitor of human immune deficiency virus belongs to the category of anti-retroviral drugs. The formulated Nanosuspension was subjected to various evaluation parameters like particle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, drug content, viscosity, saturation solubility studies, In vitro release, treatment of kinetic data, and stability studies. The polydispersity ranged from 0.218 PDI to 0.331 PDI and zeta potential ranged from -1.60 mV to -4.79 mV are the important evaluation parameters are responsible for the stability of nanosuspensions. The Polydispersity index presents the quantity of particle size distribution ranges from 452.4 nm to 532.2 nm. In this result, LNSF4 shows spectacular drug content range of 86±1.8% to 97±2.5% it is the maximum drug content. The Brook field viscometer to determine the viscosity of Lamivudine Nano suspension of different formulations was found to be 44.4±2.1 cps to 87.7±1.4 cps. The general Nanosuspension formulations LNSF4 shows 98.64 % better controlled released in comparison with abundant formulation. In all the cases the best-fit model encounter uoto be peppas with ‘n’ value between 0.768 to 0.917. The ‘n’ value of formulation LNSF4 was 0.876 and suggesting so the drug was released by Zero-order kinetics. Acceleration stability studies intermediate storage condition has been changed from 30°C ± 2°C and 60% RH ± 5% Relative Humidity. After a 90 days study it revolves that there’s no change in Drug content, In vitro drug release, and particle size. Keywords: Lamivudine, Nanosuspension, Saturation solubility, Scanning Electron Microscopy, Stability study.

ADSORBSI ZAT WARNA ALAMI BUAH MANGROVE JENIS RHIZOPHORA STYLOSA DAN KULIT KAYU TINGI KE DALAM KAIN DENGAN PENGUNCI TUNJUNG DAN TAWAS

<p>The textile industry in Indonesia is growing rapidly, this is confirmed by data from the Badan Pusat Statistik (BPS) which shows that the production of the clothing industry has experienced a significant growth of 15.29 percent in 2019. The use of textile dyes will cause waste problems in the environment. So we need natural dyes as a safer and environmentally friendly alternative. The purpose of this study was to obtain data analysis and to determine the adsorption equilibrium value of the natural dye solution of mangrove <em>Rhizophora stylosa</em> and tingi bark with variations in the amount of dyeing in primisima cloth by comparing it with the Langmuir and Freundlich equations and knowing the role of tunjung and alum in the process of fixing dyes into cloth. This study used a solid-liquid extraction method and then tested by spectrophotometry to obtain initial concentration data. Next, pour the dye that has been tested for its tannin content into a measuring cup and insert the cloth as a medium for mass transfer of tannins from liquid to solid. Samples were taken for each dyeing and tested for tannin content by spectrophotometry and the Ca value was obtained. Isotherm pattern testing. The adsorption test for the absorption process of tannins in natural dyes by cloth was carried out by calculating using the Langmuir and Freundlich equation. Furthermore, the cloth that has been dyed is fixed by tunjung and alum.The most suitable determination of the adsorption capacity of the cloth against natural dyes <em>Rhizopora stylosa</em> and tingi bark is by using the Freundlich adsorption equation compared to the Langmuir equation. This is evidenced by the error value of the Freundlich equation is smaller than the Langmuir equation by showing the value of R² which is close to number 1. The constant value of the Langmuir equation tingi bark for three times of dyeing obtained the b value is 0.2338 mg/gr and the k value is 0.00517 L/gr. For five of dyeing, the b value is 0.10817 mg/gr and the k value is 0.00421 L/gr. For the seven times of dyeing, the b value is 0.0670 mg/gr and the k value is 0.003899 L/gr. Whereas in the Freundlich equation for tingi bark for three times of dyeing, the n value is 0.4312 mg/g and the k value is 0.36374 x 10³ L/gr. For five of dyeing, the n value is 0.30114 mg/g and the k value is 0.99586 x 10⁵ L/g. For seven of dyeing, the n value is 0.2424 mg/g and the k value is 0.9354 x 10⁷ L/g. The constant value of the Langmuir <em>Rhizopora stylosa</em> equation for three times of dyeing, the b value is 0.15635 mg / gr and the k value is 0.005224 L/gr. For five of dyeing, the b value is 0.08141 mg/gr and the k value is 0.004415 L/gr. For the seven of dyeing, the b value is 0.04909 mg/gr and the k value is 0.00408 L/gr. Whereas in the Freundlich equation for <em>Rhizopora stylosa</em> for three times of dyeing, the n value is 0.3862 mg/g and the k value is 0.1090 x 10⁴ L/g. For five of dyeing, the n value is 0.2733 mg/g and the k value is 0.4355 x 10⁶ L/g. For seven of dyeing, the n value is 0.2126 mg/g and the k value is 0.1545 x 10⁹ L/g. It can be concluded that the more dyeing, the less the absorbency of the cloth on tannins. The color change of fixation the cloth in the dyeing of <em>Rhizopora stylosa</em> extract with tunjung is from brown to grayish brown, while with alum from brown to dark brown. The color change of fixation the cloth in the dyeing of tingi bark extract with alum is from brown to black, while with alum from brown to dark brown.</p>@font-face {font-family:"Cambria Math"; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536869121 1107305727 33554432 0 415 0;}@font-face {font-family:Garamond; panose-1:2 2 4 4 3 3 1 1 8 3; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 2 0 0 159 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:.5pt; text-align:justify; text-justify:inter-ideograph; text-indent:-.5pt; line-height:103%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Garamond",serif; mso-fareast-font-family:Garamond; mso-bidi-font-family:Garamond; color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}.MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-size:11.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:DengXian; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi; mso-ansi-language:EN-US; mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}.MsoPapDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; margin-bottom:8.0pt; line-height:107%;}div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;}

Influence of Amorphous Boron Grain Size, High Isostatic Pressure, Annealing Temperature, and Filling Density of Unreacted Material on Structure, Critical Parameters, N-Value, and Engineering Critical Current Density in Mgb2 Wires

Our results show that a lower density of unreacted Mg + B material during an Mg solid-state synthesis reaction leads to a significant reduction in the quantity of the superconducting phase and lowers the homogeneity of the superconducting material. It also significantly reduces the irreversible magnetic field (Birr), critical temperature (Tc), upper magnetic field (Bc2), engineered critical current density (Jec), and n-value, despite high isostatic pressure (HIP) treatment and the use of nanoboron in the sample. Our measurements show that samples with large boron grains with an 8% higher density of unreacted Mg + B material allow better critical parameters to be achieved. Studies have shown that the density of unreacted material has little effect on Birr, Tc, Bc2, Jec, and the n-value for an Mg liquid-state synthesis reaction. The results show that the critical parameters during an Mg liquid-state synthesis reaction depend mainly on grain size. Nanoboron grains allow for the highest Birr, Tc, Bc2, Jec, and n-values. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images taken from the longitudinal sections of the wires show that the samples annealed under low isostatic pressure have a highly heterogeneous structure. High isostatic pressure heat treatment greatly improves the homogeneity of MgB2.

Comparison of Adsorption Models for Determining Potassium Behavior in of Some Selected Soil Series

Potassium (K) availability to plants varies with the adsorption characteristics of soil, to evaluate the adsorption capacity, five soil series of different characteristics were used. K adsorption isotherms were performed by equilibrating 2.5 g soil samples with 10 levels of K (30-300 mg kg-1) as KCl in 0.01 CaCl2 solutions and shaken for 24 h at 25oC. The amount of K adsorbed ranged from 33.2 to 94.9% of added K. Freundlich model explained K adsorption behavior better than the other two equations. Higher coefficient of regression values 0.99, 0.97 and 0.96 were recorded in Sultanpur (Silt loam), Naivela (Fine sandy loam) and Bhutesar (Clay loam), respectively. The highest 1/n value 1.54 kg mg-1 and kf value 31.47 mg kg-1 of Freundlich isotherm were observed in Sultanpur (silt loam) due to high pH, high OM and high clay contents, lowest values of constants were observed in Wajan (loamy sand) with 1/n value 0.44 kg mg-1 and kf value 0.28 mg kg-1 might be due to high EC, high CaCO3 and sand contents. The K adsorption of soil varied with physico – chemical characteristics of soil, especially clay content, alkaline pH and organic matter content.