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The effect of various process parameters on the stability of TiO2 nanofluid, which can mostly be defined as zeta potential and particle size, was studied using response surface methodology (RSM) by the design of experiments and was predicted through a trained artificial neural network (ANN). The process parameters studied were weight percentage of surfactant (sodium lauryl sulfate) (0.01–0.2 wt%) and the value of pH (10–12). Central composite design and the RSM were employed to develop a mathematical model as well as to define the optimum condition. A three-layered feed-forward ANN model was designed and used for the prediction of the stability parameters. From the analysis of variance, the significant factors that affected the experimental design responses were also identified. The predicted stability parameters using the RSM and ANNs were compared using figures and tables. It is shown that the trained ANN outperformed the RSM in terms of accuracy and prediction of obtained results.

Water crisis is becoming one of the biggest challenges in some countries due to over population and drought. Therefore, government and non-government organisations in well-developed countries are encouraging industries to install water recycling package to reduce water usage and consume greywater instead. However the home scale is not yet available in the market. This research focuses on design a home scale greywater treatment system for toilet flushing within 3,000 to 5,000 USD as a collaboration with DD Techniche Sdn Bhd. Greywater is the waste water produced from laundry, kitchen and bathroom except the toilet waste and contains suspended solids, microorganisms, oil, nitrates and phosphorus which needs to be treated using suitable types of treatment for safe reuse. The treatments include physical, chemical and biological water treatment in which in this study the proposed system is a combination of all three. The design is evaluated using experimental methods to meet the standard of toilet flushing quality. The greywater system consists of the mechanical parts to control the flow of greywater and store the treated water including pumps, sand filtration tank, wire mesh chassis and collection tank. The final design has dimension of 6 m3 and optimised price within the budget.

A conventional design of rainwater harvesting system collects and directs the rainwater through water piping from roof of building to the water storage. The filtration system which locates before the water tank storage and first flush bypass system is the main focus of the research. A filtration system consists of a control volume of filter compartment, filter screen (stainless steel mesh) and water piping that direct the water flow. The filtration efficiency of an existing filter “3P Volume Filter VF1” by industrial company is enhanced. A full scale filter design prototype with filter screen of 1000 μm stainless steel metal mesh is tested to compare with the original filter system design. Three types of water inlet setups are tested. Among the proposed water inlet setups, the 90° inlet setup with extension provides the best filtration rate per unit time, following by the 45° inlet setup. The 45° and 90° inlet setup has similar filtration efficiency at low to medium flow rate while 45° inlet setup has better efficiency at high flow rate. The filtration efficiency with the 90° inlet setup with extension is observed to maintain at highest value at medium to high flow rate. The overall filtration performance achieved by the 90° inlet setup with extension at low to high flow rate is between 34.1 to 35.7%.

This research aimed to investigate the control measures used by public transport commuters and their health (physical and psychological) effects due to exposure to air pollution during their daily commute and during haze days. From June to October 2016, 800 public transport commuters in urban cities in the heart of Selangor, Malaysia were interviewed. Of these, 25.4% reported sometimes/often wearing surgical masks during their daily commute, while 92.1% reported such use during haze days. The total control measure score against air pollutants during the daily commute was low; on a control measure scale of 0–18, the median rating during the daily commute was 8 (interquartile range (IQR) 6–10). During haze days, control measures improved slightly (median 14, IQR 12–16). Evidence of adverse health effects was present. During the daily commute under normal conditions, the three highest adverse health experiences were fatigue and weakness (35.5%), coughing (23.6%), and dizziness (18.2%). During haze days, the three highest adverse health experiences were headache (85%), coughing (84.8%), and breathing difficulties (84.5%). On a possible total adverse health (physical and psychological) experience scale of 0–22, the median rating during the daily commute was 1 (IQR 0–3). The median rating during haze days was intensified (median 11, IQR 9–13). Public transportation commuters should be encouraged to enhance various control measures against particulate air pollutants during their daily commute, particularly during haze days, to minimize the adverse health risks associated with air pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Recently, the cognitive basis of the etiology of addiction has attracted special attention. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between primary maladaptive schemas and meta-cognitive beliefs with addiction potential. Materials and Methods: The cross-correlation study, a multistage cluster sampling method was used and selected 300 peoples (180 girls and 120 boys) among high school students in Kermanshah city (2012-2013). Wells meta-cognitive beliefs questionnaire, Young primary Schema Questionnaire and addiction Potential Scale (APS) were measuring instruments. Results were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient and regression analysis with SPSS 19 software. Results: The results showed that there is a significant relationship between cognitive self-awareness, negative beliefs about the uncontrollability of thoughts, beliefs about the need to control thoughts and cognitive trust subscales with addiction potential subscale (P=0.001). However, there is no significant relationship between positive beliefs about worry subscale and addiction potential. Also, there was a significant relationship between primary maladaptive schemas and addiction potential (P=0.001). Conclusion: According to the positive relationship between meta-cognitive beliefs and primary maladaptive schemas on increased addiction potential, counselors and psychologists can consider this item. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]