Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 39 in total

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  1. Khairunnuur Fairuz Azman, Rahimah Zakaria, Che Badariah Abdul Aziz, Zahiruddin Othman
    MyJurnal
    Recent evidence has exhibited dietary influence on the manifestation of depressive-like behaviour induced by stressor tasks. The present study examined the effects of Tualang honey supplement administered with the goal of preventing or attenuating the occurrence of depressive-like behaviour in male rats subjected to noise stress. Forty-eight adult male rats were randomly divided into the following groups: i) nonstressed with placebo, ii) nonstressed with honey, iii) stressed with placebo, and iv) stressed with honey. Tualang honey (200 mg/kg body weight) was administered for 28 days. Stressed rats were subjected to loud noise 100 dB(A) 4 hours daily for 14 days. Forced swimming test was performed to evaluate depressive-like behaviour. Stressed control rats displayed significant increase in depressive-like behaviour, serum adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), corticosterone, and brain oxidative stress markers levels, with significant decrease in antioxidant enzymes activities and total antioxidant status. Honey supplementation successfully counteracted the stress effects whereby the honey treated rats exhibited significant decrease in depressive-like behaviour and levels of ACTH, corticosterone, and oxidative stress markers, with significant increase in antioxidant enzymes activities and total antioxidant status. In conclusion, Tualang honey mediated antidepressant-like effects in stressed rats, possibly acting via restoration of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis through its antioxidant properties.
  2. Ahmad Fuad Ab Ghani, Mohamad Kamarul Anwar Sahar, Muhammad Ridzuan Husyairi Azmi, Nurul Izzati Medon, Muhammad Syazwan Samsuri, Muhammad Syurabil Abdani
    MyJurnal
    There are several types of grating, such as platform, bridge decks and filters. In design process, there
    are several important terms that have to be prioritised; engineering design, strength to weight ratio, cost,
    maintainability, reparability etcetera. Advanced materials, such as composite materials offer great
    strength to weight ratio and high mechanical properties for grating fabrication. Furthermore the
    reparability and maintenance problems could be solved as it is anti corrosion and the long service life
    attribute of composite makes it a great design material for replacement of conventional steel or
    aluminium. Bio composites, such as bamboo and coir fiber yield advantage in terms of less cost and
    abundance availability compared to commercial unidirectional composite materials, such as glass fiber
    reinforced polymer (GFRP) and carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) which is considerably
    expensive yet possess higher mechanical properties. This papers presents a conceptual design of
    grating design utilizing bamboo composite as material. Pugh method has been chosen as design criteria
    selection matrix in finalizing the design of industrial grating for scaffolding (Pugh, 1991).
  3. Nagendran Jayavel Pandiyan, Amitha Hedge
    MyJurnal
    The purpose of this study is to compare the clinical success between preventive resin restoration, and
    pit and fissure sealant in terms of retention and caries prevention on first permanent molar. Data were
    collected from the patients’ case records in Pediatric Dentistry clinic. Records of children who had done
    their sealants and preventive resin in their first permanent molar were reviewed. 61 patients had
    preventive resin restoration and 56 pit and fissure sealant done in permanent first molar 2 years ago
    were included and called for clinical review. Participants were between 6-10 years. Visual and tactile
    assessment was done to detect the integrity of preventive resin restoration and pit and fissure sealants
    under 4 categories whether the sealant or PRR is total lost, partial lost, completely present, carious.
    Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. At the end of 2 years, sealants showed 64.3 % total
    retention, 21.4% partial retention and 10.7% complete loss when compared to PRR which showed
    62.2% total retention, 14% partial retention and 4.9% complete loss. Preventive resin restoration have
    more tendency to have caries, while teeth with pit and fissure sealants does not (18% vs. 3.6%). As a
    conclusion, pit and fissure sealants have marginally higher retention compared to preventive resin
    restoration on permanent molars. Pit and fissure sealant is better in terms of caries prevention compared
    to preventive resin restoration.
  4. Ishamri Ismail, Nur Husna Mohd Fauzi, Mastura Zahidi Baki, Ho, Lee Hoon
    MyJurnal
    This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of different drying methods (sun drying, cabinet
    drying and convection oven) and hydrocolloids (carrageenan and alginate) on physicochemical
    properties of semi-dried catfish jerky. The concentration of hydrocolloids used was 1% and 2%.
    Samples without the addition of hydrocolloid served as the control group. The water activity of semidried catfish jerky decreased with the addition of hydrocolloids. For colour properties, lightness (L*)
    value of semi-dried catfish jerky increased with the increased concentration of hydrocolloids. The
    addition of 2% alginate (2%A) and 2% carrageenan (2%C) showed higher lightness (L*) than the
    controlled group for all drying methods, except for sun drying with carrageenan. Both carrageenan and
    alginate added into semi-dried catfish jerky increased the processing yields. The addition of 2%
    carrageenan (2%C) and 1% alginate (1%A) improved the product yields for all drying methods. This
    paper argues that the application of cabinet dryer gives better shelf stability due to the lower range of
    water activity than other drying methods while preserving colour quality and product yields.
  5. Sadiq Mukhtar, Rosniza Aznie, C.R., Mansur Abdul Mohammed
    MyJurnal
    This paper is aimed to evaluate the concentration of some heavy metals in order to assess the temporal
    variation, Contamination Factor (CF) and Pollution Load Index (PLI) in the soil along the airport road of
    Kano State. Soil samples were collected during 2009 and 2015 using the composite sampling
    techniques. 10 samples were collected in each period and then analysed using the standard laboratory
    procedures. The findings revealed that the mean values of Mn (52±7.2), Fe (281±19.4) and Cd (3.0±0.3)
    were found to be higher in 2009 soil samples. The mean value of Cu (100±16.3), Zn (161±47.7), Cr
    (20.8±1.5), Ni (53.9±9.7) and pH (9.0±0.56) were found to be higher in 2015 soil samples. The CF value
    shows that the collected soils of the sampling area have low contamination level and moderately
    contaminated with Cd. The soils samples also have been classified as low pollution level according to
    the PLI. The finding has concluded that there is gradual accumulation of Cu, Zn, Cr and Ni with reduction
    in Mn, Fe and Cd. The collected soils have low contamination level with selected heavy metal except
    Cd that moderately contaminates the soil of the area according to contamination factor. The PLI values
    of the heavy metals during 2009 and 2015 are 0.0006 and 0.02 respectively, indicating the increases in
    pollution load from 2009 to 2015 in the study area. Proper soil management such as the increase of pH
    and organic matter as well as the avoidance of using contaminated water for irrigation were
    recommended in the sampling area.
  6. Abdul Rahman Hassan, Nurul Hannan Mohd Safari, Sabariah Rozali, Hafizan Juahir, Mohd Khairul Amri Kamarudin
    MyJurnal
    Nanofiltration membranes technology commonly used for wastewater treatment especially
    wastewater containing charged and/or uncharged species. Commonly, textile wastewater
    possesses high chemical oxygen demand (COD) and non-biodegradable compounds such as
    pigments and dyes which lead to environmental hazard and serious health problem. Therefore, the
    objective of this study was to investigate the effects of hydrophilic surfactant on the preparation and
    performance of Active Nanofiltration (ANF) membrane. The polymeric ANF membranes were
    prepared via dry/wet phase inversion technique by immersion precipitation process. The
    Cetyletrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as cationic surfactant was added in casting solution at
    concentrations from 0 to 2.5 wt%. The synthesized membrane performance was evaluated in terms
    of pure water permeation (PWP) and dye rejection. The experimental data showed that the
    membrane demonstrated good increment of PWP ranging from 0.27 to 10.28 L/m2
    h at applied
    pressure from 100 to 500kPa, respectively. Meanwhile, the ANF membranes achieved high
    removal of Methyl Blue and Reactive Black 5 dye up to 99.5% and 91.6%, respectively.
  7. Hussin, K., Hassan, M.R., Hamzah, M.L., Fadzli, A., Nik Mohamad, N.A., Nik Him, N.A.S.
    MyJurnal
    The importance of rapid ambulance response to emergency medical crises is undeniable. An early
    access to advanced care is crucial to saving a life. Modern computerised call centre and the hospitalbased ambulance services are believed to enhance the quality of service delivery. However, whether
    it will further reduce the ambulance response time is still debatable. A cross-sectional study was
    conducted in June 2012 until July 2012 at three selected tertiary hospitals in Malaysia. The
    ambulance response time was expressed in a median and interquartile range (IQR) and MannWhitney U test was used to determine the associations between types of ambulance and
    computerised call centre system versus voice only. Wilcoxon Rank Sign Test was used to assess
    the significance of means difference. A hospital-based ambulance had the median time of 0.19
    minutes while community-based ambulance had the median time of 0.20 minutes (The Z score -
    0.916, p-value - 0.360). The hospital with computer call centre had the median time of 0.19 minutes
    while hospital without computer call centre had the median of 0.20 minutes (The Z score - 0.816, P
    value - 0.414).The response time of hospital-based ambulance equipped with computerised call
    centre system was comparable in three selected tertiary hospitals in Malaysia.
  8. Mohamad Razali Abdullah, Intan Afzan Aziz, Rabiu Muazu Musa, Ahmad Bisyri Husin Musawi Maliki, Norlaila Azura Kosni, Nuruaslizawati Ayob, et al.
    MyJurnal
    The purpose of this study is to determine spatial pattern recognition of school performance based on
    children’s anthropometric and motor skills component. This study involved 94 primary schools with a
    total 2237 male students aged 7.30±0.28 years in Pahang, Malaysia. The parameters of anthropometric
    (weight and height) and motor component included lower muscular power (standing broad jump),
    flexibility (sit and reach), coordination (hand wall toss) and speed (20 meter run) were selected. Cluster
    Analysis (CA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA) under Multivariate Method and technique of Kriging
    Interpolation in Geographic Interpolation Software (GIS) were used. CA revealed two clusters of school
    performance. There are a total 34 high performance schools (HPS) and 60 low performance schools
    (LPS). Then, the assigned groups were treated as independent variable (IV) while anthropometric and
    motor parameters were treated as dependent variable (DV) in DA. Standard mode of DA obtained
    95.74% correctness of classification matrix with three discriminated variables (height, standing broad
    jump and 20 meter run) out of six variables. Meanwhile, forward and backward stepwise mode of DA
    discriminated only one (standing broad jump) out of six variables with 96.81% of classification
    correctness. The map output of Kriging interpolation has shown graphically the pattern of discriminated
    variables that greatly influence school performance. It exposed the ability of children motor skills
    development in particular region is higher than another region.
  9. Mohamed, S.B., Mohamad, W.N.F.W., Yew, B.S., Ibrahim, Z., Musanih, M.R., Zitoune, R., et al.
    MyJurnal
    The use of hybrid composite has increased due to their special mechanical and physical properties.
    However, machining of composite materials is extremely difficult due to non-homogeneous,
    anisotropic and highly abrasive characteristics. The performance of machined surface quality of
    CFRP/Al2024 was described using two level full factorial methodology. Trimming test was performed
    under dry conditions using 6mm diameter of burr tools end mills. The factors investigated were spindle
    speed(N), feed rate(fr) and depth of cut(dc), furthermore Ra CFRP and Ra Al2024 were the response
    variables. This work aims to minimize the machined surface quality of CFRP/Al2024 between 1µm to
    2µm. The finding of this empirical study has shown that, the best estimated value of fr should be 500
    mm/min to 530 mm/min, N is between and 2313.870 rpm to 2336.042 rpm. For both response spindle
    speed is the most significant effect followed by Feed rate and Depth of Cut.
  10. Juahir, H., Fazillah, A., Kamarudin, M.K.A., Toriman, E., Mohamad, N., Fairuz, A., et al.
    MyJurnal
    Family support has a strong impact on individuals and there is no exception in substance abuse
    recovery process. Family support manages to play a positive role in substance abuse problems. The
    present study deals with the developing model of family support substance abuser with the
    combination method of Geographic Information System (GIS) and statistical models. The data used
    for this study was collected from seven districts in Terengganu with a constant number of
    respondents. 35 respondents for each district were involved in this study. It was then processed using
    factor analysis (FA) to develop index of family support. By using the developed indices, GIS tool was
    used to plot the distribution map of family support indices according to each form of family support.
    The result indicated that the highest index for all form of family support abuser was located in Besut
    district. High level of family support is essential as an effort for rehabilitation process of substance
    abusers.
  11. Rabiatul Adawiyah Umar, Nurul 'Adani Sanusi, Mohd Nizam Zahary, Mohd Adzim Khalili Rohin, Salwani Ismail
    MyJurnal
    Piper betel is a member of the family Piperaceae, commonly known as Sirih (Malaysia and
    Indonesia), Paan (India and Bangladesh), Betel (English) and Phlu (Thailand). It is widely found and
    grown in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, other Southeast Asian and East African
    countries. Piper betel is widely used throughout the world even in modern days due to its known
    medicinal properties. Betel plant contains various biologically active compounds, which are
    responsible for its numerous pharmacological actions. The therapeutic profile reveals Piper betel to
    have a high potential for treating many diseases and conditions such as chronic renal disease,
    atherosclerosis, and diabetes mellitus. Further studies of betel plant are recommended to focus on
    the variety of metabolic activities in human, thus, improving its usage medically that will be beneficial
    to humanity.
  12. Mohamad Afendee Mohamed, Mohd Khalid Awang, Mohd Isa Awang, Abd Rasid Mamat
    MyJurnal
    Food additives may come from natural and chemical sources. In some countries, this ingredient is coded
    into e-numbering system. E-Number identifies the additive substance, and it can be used to determine
    its possible sources hence the halal status and its value for health. However the use of scientific name
    or the coded number is confusing to consumers. This article presents an android-based mobile
    application that provides a database access to the detailed information about the additives. Information
    retrieval is done based on rule-based technique. The application also offers customer profiling services
    whereby upon user registration and sharing current health conditions, the consumer will be provided
    with extra information on the possible consequences of consuming the food. The system prototype
    system was analysed for the usability in terms of user satisfactions using System Usability Scale (SUS).
    The user satisfaction is rated from good to excellent according to SUS score in the range of 70%-80%.
    The application is expected to increase consumers’ awareness of choosing the right food that is halal
    and healthy.
  13. Mohd Khairul Amri Kamarudin, Noorjima Abd Wahab, Khalid Abdul Rahim
    MyJurnal
    Awareness of haze pollution and management increased in Southeast Asia since 1990. However, the
    focus on environmental management is decreasing especially in Malaysia due to the abundant
    resources and increased development pressure. The total health damage cost because of haze in the
    country became significantly high due to the long duration of haze events year by year. This paper
    discusses the health damage caused by bronchitis due to the haze events in Malaysia. The analysis
    shows positive coefficient of independent variables which indicates the positive relationship between
    dependent variable and independent variables. Multiple linear regression analysis shows that 45.3%
    variation in damage cost of bronchitis could be explained by FAI, GDPPC, and CO2.
  14. Mohd Khairul Amri Kamarudin, Mohd Ekhwan Toriman, Hafizan Juahir, Azman Azid, Muhammad Barzani Gasim, Roslan Umar, et al.
    MyJurnal
    The hydrology hydraulic model is established to assess environmental information on hydrology which
    can be used to investigate causes of various environmental problems at the river and natural lake
    catchment. This study reports on sediment concentrations at a river using a gravimetric method to
    investigate the hydrology system at a lake catchment. The measurement was carried out at the
    upstream, midstream, and downstream stations on the river in normal, rainy and post-rainy seasons.
    The stations are located along the Chini River, which are connected to a catchment lake (located at
    latitude 3°26’36.41”E-3°27’03.26”E and longitude 102°54’31.94”N-102°53’35.49”N). From the
    measurements, it is estimated that on average 787.621 tonne/km2 of sediment is transferred into the
    natural lake via Chini River annually. The correlation of statistical analysis between the sediment load
    and discharge study was very significant (R2 = 0.980). There is a linear relation between the area of
    the catchment and sediment load of the connecting river as supported by other studies in Malaysia.
    The outcome of the study suggests that the high sedimentation is due to land use activity, existence of
    the dam at the downstream of Chini River that traps the sediment, reverse flow from the Pahang River
    into Chini River and riverbank erosion factors. From this study, the sediment control steps are
    suggested such as creating conservation partially at the lake catchment, modifying the dam system,
    riverbank erosion control, and application of “Monkey Cheek” system. These sediment control steps
    may help to clean up the high suspended sediment at the whole lake system area, hence solving and
    mitigating the environmental problems in the natural lake catchment.
  15. Hadiza Abdullahi Abubakar, Mohd Razif Shahril, Sharifah Wajihah Wafa
    MyJurnal
    International students usually experience a change in body weight and eating behaviour after
    migrating to a host country. The aim of this study is to determine the factors associated with body
    weight changes among Nigerian postgraduate students at Unversiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA),
    Malaysia. A prospective study was conducted for six months to determine the association between
    body weight changes and socio-demographic, eating behavior, physical activity, dietary intake and
    quality of life. A total of 82 students (76 male and six females) completed a set of self-administered
    questionnaires, and their weight and height were measured. Descriptive statistic and paired t-test were
    carried out to analyze the data (IBM SPSS Version 20.0). Multiple linear regression analysis was
    conducted to determine the factors. Body weight significantly increased by 2.3 ± 0.5 kg after 6 months.
    Being an art student (β=1.67, p=0.006), being a female (β=-2.68, p=0.009), consuming breakfast once
    a week (β=5.10, P=
  16. Jumadil Saputra, Suhal Kusairi, Nur Azura Sanusi, Yusuf Abdullah
    MyJurnal
    This paper aims to analyze the distinction of premium setting rates by taking into account the risk
    taken by conventional and Family Takaful. This study employed the Net Single and Annual Level
    Premium formula, and the data were analyzed using a numerical simulation. We found that the
    conventional and Takaful insurance systems utilize similar methods in the calculation of insurance
    premium when considering pure risk faced by the participant or insured. However, both systems have
    their own unique characteristics. The conventional and Family Takaful utilize historical data, such as
    mortality rate, expected return rate, expected costs and expected amount of claims. The conventional
    insurance is calculated to mitigate or minimize the risk of the insurance company against an amount of
    claim faced in the future as long as the insurance is enforced until the contract ends. On the other
    hand, the Family Takaful is intended to share fair value among participants in determining
    benevolence through Tabarru premium. Every participant must pay for Tabarru premium to support
    one another so that there is sufficient amount to cover unexpected claims among them and to uphold
    mutual fund as evidence for the sense of mutual co-operation and brotherhood among participants.
  17. Ahmad Fuad Ab Ghani, Azrin Ahmad, Nor Salim Muhammad, Reduan Mat Dan, Rustamreen Jenal
    MyJurnal
    This study describes the review on maintenance related issues during design and construction stage
    within construction industry. The paper highlights the causes and errors made during design and
    construction stage and their impact during the operation/production/occupancy stage as well as the
    maintenance costs associated with it. The study identifies the mistakes in the working processes within
    design and construction stage leading to the errors that affect the durability, performance, reliability,
    maintainability, availability and safety of the systems. The paper presents a comprehensive review of
    the published literatures, journals, technical papers in the related areas in the construction field. The
    review highlights the new approaches and decision framework which link the designers and
    construction personnel that could reduce the errors and defects in construction which then lead to
    maintenance issues and asset management. The factors of accessibility, materials, design and
    documentation standardization have been discussed thoroughly for better understanding in improving
    maintenance and physical asset management in project commissioning.
  18. Azizah Endut, Fathurrahman Lananan, Ahmad Jusoh, Wan Norsani Wan Nik, Nora'aini Ali
    MyJurnal
    The current and escalating extent of soil degradation, water scarcity and environmental concern
    plaguing agricultural productivity, demands re-assessing the direction of food production. Aquaponics
    is a concept relatively new to modern food production methods and can contribute to food security.
    This study was conducted to establish sustainable aquaculture systems that maximize benefits and
    minimize the accumulation of detrimental compounds and other types of negative impacts on both
    natural and social environments. This study carried out at an average inflow rate of 1.28 m/day to
    evaluate the operation of the aquaponics recirculation system (ARS) on nutrients removal and growth
    and yield of African catfish as well as water spinach. A special design of ARS was used to provide
    nitrification of fishery wastewater, where the combination of sands and gravels in hydroponics trough,
    providing both surfaces for biofuel development and cultivation area for plants. Removal efficiencies
    of 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), total suspended solids (TSS), total ammonia nitrogen
    (TAN), nitrite-nitrogen (NO2-N), nitrate-nitrogen (NO3-N), and orthophosphate (PO4
    3-
    ) were 82%, 89%,
    93%, 94%, 81%, and 80%, respectively. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) and specific growth rate
    (SGR) of African catfish were 1.08 and 3.34% day-1
    , respectively. The average water spinach
    production was 3.56 kg per m2
    . This study showed that ARS is a method of producing crop along with
    a healthy protein source and among the best alternatives for achieving economic and environmental
    sustainability.
  19. Yusof Nurhayati, Ali Abdul Manaf, Abu Bakar Che Abdullah, Tang, John Yew Huat, Hassan Osman
    MyJurnal
    The aim of this study was to determine the effect of chitosan and chitosan oligosaccharides (COS),
    prepared by enzymatic hydrolysis with cellulase from Trichoderma reesei, Celluclast® on the growth of
    Bifidobacterium sp. The growth of the two bacteria strains were determined every 12 h for 48 h under
    anaerobic incubation at 37 °C in four MRS media containing lactose, COS, chitosan and inulin. The
    bacteria cell growth in substrate-added medium increased significantly after 48 h of incubation, except
    for the chitosan medium. COS was found to have a similar growth effect on B. bifidum ATCC 11863
    and B. breve ATCC 15700 when compared with inulin and lactose. The pH of medium containing
    COS, inulin and lactose fermented with B. bifidum ATCC 11863 and B. breve ATCC 15700 decreased
    rapidly after 12 h. B. bifidum ATCC 11863 showed the highest specific growth rate at 12 h. The results
    revealed that COS support the growth of probiotic bacteria, thus indicating that COS has the potential
    as new prebiotic source in the functional food industry.
  20. Zarina Mohamad, Fadhilah Ahmad, Ahmad Nazari Mohd Rose, Fatma Susilawati Mohamad, Mustafa Mat Deris
    MyJurnal
    In this work, a new model for federation data grid system called Sub-Grid-Federation was designed to
    improve access latency by accessing data from the nearest possible sites. The strategy in optimising
    data access was based on the process of searching into the area identified as ‘Network Core Area’
    (NCA). The performance of access latency in Sub-Grid-Federation was tested based on the
    mathematical proving and simulated using OptorSim simulator. Four case studies were carried out and
    tested in Optimal Downloading Replication Strategy (ODRS) and the Sub-Grid-Federation. The results
    show that Sub-Grid-Federation is 20% better in terms of access latency and 21% better in terms of
    reducing remotes sites access compared to ODRS. The results indicate that the Sub-Grid-Federation
    is a better alternative for the implementation of collaboration and data sharing in data grid system.
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