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Abstract: Municipal solid wastes (MSW) disposal and treatment essentially pose problems in many countries due to their voluminous characteristic. The customary means of MSW management is via landfill disposal but its dependency is gradually being limited by developed countries due to environmental concerns. Even though not apparent as it seems, Malaysia is gradually experiencing scarcity of available land for development. As such, the local government is currently looking into the possibility of employing high-end and large-scale incineration processes to address this issue. MSW as a combustion source for thermochemical conversion application, represents a two-pronged approach in solving its disposal dilemma as well as providing a source of energy fuel. This paper highlights the current issues and future directions as well as energy recovery initiatives associated with incineration of MSW in Malaysia. In Malaysia, energy recovery initiatives are focused on application of waste-to-energy (WTE) as well as refuse-derived fuel (RDF) technologies. Aspects regarding MSW landfill gas capture and energy generation are also discussed since they may directly influence (or potentially compete against) the widespread adoption of RDF technologies. A relatively successful RDF pilot plant in Malaysia is highlighted as a case study. It is deemed that application of large-scale incineration technologies in Malaysia is inevitable as opening of new landfill areas will ultimately cease in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The painDETECT questionnaire (PDQ) is a useful tool for screening of patients with neuropathic pain. This study aimed to translate the PDQ into the Malay language (PDQ-M) and to achieve cross-cultural adaptation of the questionnaire for use in Malaysia. Methods: The translation and cultural adaptation process of the English version of PDQ was performed based on international guidelines. Subsequently, 97 patients with neuropathic and nociceptive pain based on clinician's diagnoses were recruited to complete three-type numeric rating scale (NRS) of pain followed by PDQ-M. Results: On the basis of cognitive debriefing, several changes of the translated PDQ-M were made. A total of 53 patients with neuropathic pain and 44 with nociceptive pain (54.6% females, 45.4% males, mean age 52.4 years ± 14.2) were recruited into this study. The most common class of analgesia prescribed for patients with neuropathic pain was anti-convulsant, whereas co-analgesic therapy, which includes NSAID and COX-2 inhibitor, was the most prescribed for patients with nociceptive pain. Combination analgesia was used in 32.1% of those with neuropathic pain, and 11.4% of patients with nociceptive pain. The median time taken for respondents to complete the questionnaire was 420 seconds. In regression analysis, active smoking (beta 0.586, p<0.001) and female gender (beta -0.422, p=0.008) were associated with higher PDQ-M scores only among those with neuropathic pain. Conclusions: The Malay version of the painDETECT questionnaire was translated and cross-culturally adapted for ease of understanding among the local population via careful face-to-face interview. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the kinetics of adsorption of Pb(II) from aqueous solution onto palm shell-based activated carbon (PSAC) were investigated by employing ion selective electrode (ISE) for real-time Pb(II) and pH monitoring. Usage of ISE was very appropriate for real-time adsorption kinetics data collection as it facilitated recording of adsorption data at very specific and short time intervals as well as provided consistent kinetics data. Parameters studied were initial Pb(II) concentration and agitation speed. It was found that increases in initial Pb(II) concentration and agitation speed resulted in higher initial rate of adsorption. Pseudo first-order, pseudo second-order, Elovich, intraparticle diffusion and liquid film diffusion models were used to fit the adsorption kinetics data. It was suggested that chemisorption was the rate-controlling step for adsorption of Pb(II) onto PSAC since the adsorption kinetics data fitted both the pseudo second-order and Elovich models well.