Hand weeding continues to be one of the most laborious aspects of nursery
maintenance. Oxygenated monoterpene, an important group of secondary metabolite found in
essential oils, has a potential herbicidal activity that could be exploited as natural herbicide
whereas organic mulch could delay weed emergence. Thus, this study aimed to examine the
phytotoxicity of geraniol, an oxygenated monoterpene compound, in combination with
lemongrass leaf mulch against three common weeds, Eleusine indica (grass), Cyperus distans
(sedge), and Tridax procumbens (broadleaf). Greenhouse experiments were carried out by
treating 4.0 t/ha lemongrass leaf mulch with 7.5% (v/v) geraniol compound. The pretreated
mulch acted synergistically and inhibited the emergence and shoot growth of T. procumbens
completely. However, the pretreated mulch exhibited a moderate inhibitory effect on C. distans
emergence and growth. Geraniol-treated lemongrass leaf mulch acted synergistically and
inhibited the emergence of E. indica by 72%, but it acted antagonistically and caused a 45%
reduction of shoot biomass. The present findings suggest that geraniol-treated lemongrass leaf
mulch has potent herbicidal activity but its phytotoxic effect is species-dependent.
Bapa tunggal merupakan satu golongan yang kurang dititikberatkan oleh masyarakat termasuk agensi-agensi dan NGO yang memfokuskan kepada kebajikan masyarakat berbanding dengan ibu tunggal. Hal ini kerana kebanyakan masyarakat merasakan bahawa golongan ini memiliki kekuatan fizikal dan mental yang tinggi memandangkan bapa tunggal adalah kaum lelaki. Namun, tidak dinafikan bahawa golongan bapa tunggal ini juga mengalami tekanan serius kerana kehilangan satu semangat atau sokongan tanpa pasangan hidupnya. Mereka terpaksa menyandang pelbagai tugas dalam rumah tangga dan membesarkan anak-anak. Kajian terdahulu lebih memfokuskan kepada ibu tunggal yang mendapat sokongan sosial daripada pelbagai agensi. Maka tekanan dan sokongan sosial penting dalam permasalahan bapa tunggal terutama dalam pengurusan rumah tangga dan pekerjaan harian. Objektif utama kajian ini ialah meneroka tekanan dan sokongan sosial dalam kalangan bapa tunggal. Kajian ini dijalankan dengan menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif berpandukan kajian kes. Teknik pengumpulan data kajian adalah melalui temu bual berstruktur. Tujuh orang informan telah dipilih bagi kajian ini dengan menggunakan teknik persampelan bertujuan (purposive sampling). Lokasi kajian yang dipilih ialah daerah Kuala Selangor, Selangor. Data temu bual berstruktur dianalisis secara tematik dan hasil kajian mendapati terdapat tiga faktor utama yang mempengaruhi tekanan terhadap bapa tunggal iaitu emosi, pengurusan rumah tangga dan pekerjaan yang ditemukan menerusi transkrip informan kajian. Manakala sokongan sosial yang diperlukan oleh golongan bapa tunggal ialah kewangan, sokongan moral dan tempat bersembang. Implikasi kajian ini diharapkan dapat mencadangkan program advokasi yang sesuai kepada pekerja sosial dalam mengendalikan kes bapa tunggal dalam komuniti dan institusi.
Penggunaan media sosial tanpa budaya civik dan nilai etika dalam kalangan pelajar telah menjerumuskan ramai pelajar IPTA dalam kancah buli siber. Buli secara maya boleh dilakukan dalam muatnaik perkataan kejam, gambar dan video mangsa bagi menguggut, menghasut, fitnah, membalas dendam sehingga pemangsa merasakan dirinya hebat dan berkuasa. Durasi pantas semua maklumat boleh disebarluaskan dalam kadar pantas dengan jangkauan seluas dunia. Antara faktor buli siber berlaku dalam awal dewasa ialah cemburu, menanggih perhatian kawan media sosial, kapasiti ‘jaguh” atau gengster dalam media sosial. Kajian terdahulu lebih mefokuskan kepada fenomena buli dalam kalangan remaja, pelajar sekolah dan pengguna media massa. Manakala, amat kurang kajian berkaitan isu buli siber dalam kalangan mahawiswa. Objektif utama kajian ini ialah meneroka impak buli siber dalam kalangan pelajar UKM. Pendekatan kajian kes digunakan sebagai rekabentuk metodologi kajian ini. Pembinaan garis panduan soalan semi-struktur digunakan untuk temu bual responden. Seramai 6 orang responden telah dipilih bagi kajian ini dengan menggunakan teknik persampelan bertujuan (purposive sampling). Lokasi kajian yang dipilih ialah Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. Data temubual berstruktur dianalisis secara tematik. Hasil kajian mendapati terdapat lima kesan utama iaitu masalah emosi, kemurungan, keinginan untuk membunuh diri, kesedihan yang berlebihan, ketakutan dan perasaan marah tidak terkawal yang ditemukan transkrip responden kajian. Implikasi kajian ini diharapkan dapat mencadangkan program intervensi dan advokasi yang sesuai kepada pekerja sosial dalam mengendalikan kes buli siber di Bahagian Kaunseling Siswa, UKM.
Kajian ini bertujuan mengenal pasti hubungan antara kebimbangan dan kemurungan dengan kualiti hidup warga emas demensia di institusi jagaan warga emas. Kajian ini turut mencadangkan terapi kelompok reminiscence dalam menurunkan kebimbangan dan kemurungan dalam kalangan penghuni di institusi. Reka bentuk kajian yang digunakan ialah kajian keratan rentas dan telah dijalankan di Rumah Sri Kenangan Cheras. Seramai 58 warga emas demensia tahap ringan dan sederhana dipilih melalui proses penyaringan oleh pakar psikologi klinikal. Kajian kuantitatif ini telah menggunakan instrumen Quality of Life-AD (QoL-AD), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)) dan Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) untuk mengkaji hubungan antara kebimbangan dan kemurungan dengan kualiti hidup warga emas demensia. Hasil kajian menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang tidak signifikan antara kualiti hidup dengan tahap kebimbangan. Manakala hubungan antara kualiti hidup dan tahap kemurungan warga emas demensia di RSK Cheras adalah signifikan. Pengaplikasian terapi kelompok reminiscence sebagai salah satu intervensi yang berkesan dalam membantu meningkatkan kualiti hidup dan menurunkan kebimbangan dan kemurungan dalam kalangan warga emas di institusi penjagaan telah dibincangkan.
The main purpose of this research is to understand the experiences and psychological wellbeing of nurses working in palliative ward. There were two research questions driving this research throughout the process of data collection and data analysis. Four nurses from the palliative ward participated in this research to provide details on their psychological wellbeing. Semi-structured interview questions together with observation and simple survey questions were used to gather the data. Thematic analysis was used to identify the meaningful themes for each research question. Six main themes were identified: autonomy, environmental mastery, positive relation, personal growth, self-acceptance and purpose in life. The findings are highly relevant with the theory and literature. The findings indicate that the participants have good psychological wellbeing due to their huge experiences in palliative ward.
Millions of Muslims from all over the world perform Umrah and Hajj every year. There were 250,000 pilgrims from Malaysia in 2017, and the number is expected to grow by 20 percent in 2018. This projected increase will create a huge demand for Umrah and Hajj travel agencies’ services in Malaysia. At present, there are 328 Umrah and Hajj travel agencies registered under Malaysia’s Ministry of Tourism and Culture (MOTAC). However, the supposedly bright outlook maybe marred by undesirable consequences. Along with the increase in the number of Umrah and Hajj travel agencies, there also tends to be an increase in fraud Umrah packages offered by fake agents in Malaysia. Such incidents will cause sadness and anger in the victims and other involved parties. Umrah package fraud involving fake agents in Malaysia has attracted the attention of many including the public, the government, the private sector, even the media. Nevertheless, studies on correlation between Muslim travellers’ perception of the quality of service by Umrah travel agencies and their decision to purchase the Umrah package are scarce in Malaysia. Hence, this study investigated Muslim travellers’ perception of Umrah and Hajj travel agencies’ service quality and its influence on their decision to purchase the Umrah package, in an attempt to discover why some Muslim travellers fell into fake agents’ trap in Malaysia. A total of 319 Muslim respondents completed the questionnaire on service quality perception, specifically service quality elements and loyalty. The data obtained was examined using SPSS version 25 for descriptive and regression analysis. Umrah and Hajj travel agencies as well as relevant government agencies could use the findings of the study to assist with formulating plans and policies to improve the quality of service by Umrah and Hajj industry players and awareness among Muslim travellers on the importance of being able to identify bogus agencies. The limitations, implications andsuggestions for future research are also discussed.
Plastics packaging is non-biodegradable and risks to human health and environmental pollution. In contrast, gelatin-based film lack of desired mechanical, thermal and water vapour barrier properties. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the mechanical and physical properties of bio-nanocomposite films based on chicken skin gelatin with different concentration of chitosan nanoparticles (CSNPs). Gelatin/CSNPs film solutions with different CSNPs concentration (0-8%, w/w) were stirred at 45oC for 30 min and oven-dried at 45oC. Film characterization determination includes tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EAB), Young’s modulus (YM), water solubility, water vapour permeability (WVP), film morphology and melting temperature (Tm). Results of the study indicated that incorporation of CSNPs significantly influenced film properties. The addition of CSNPs increased the TS and YM value, which lead to stronger films than the pure chicken skin gelatin films. However the addition of CSNPs decreased the EAB value. Furthermore, WVP and water solubility significantly decreased (p < 0.05) by the addition of 6% CSNPs. Morphology images showed that increased CSNPs reduced the film’s amorphous character, especially in high level, in which higher CSNPs (8%) resulted in the aggregation of particles in the composites. The nano-reinforcement films showed higher thermal stability as compared to pure chicken skin gelatin films. In conclusion, the film with 6% CSNPs showed the best formulation, as it demonstrated high in TS, YM and Tm value, while low in EAB, water solubility and WVP value compared to other films. The results presented in this study showed the feasibility of using bio-nanocomposite technology to improve the properties of biopolymer films based on chicken skin gelatin.
2nd-order ODEs can be found in many applications, e.g., motion of pendulum, vibrating springs, etc. We first convert the 2nd-order nonlinear ODEs to a system of 1st-order ODEs which is easier to deal with. Then, Adams-Bashforth (AB) methods are used to solve the resulting system of 1st-order ODE. AB methods are chosen since they are the explicit schemes and more efficient in terms of shorter computational time. However, the step size is more restrictive since these methods are conditionally stable. We find two test cases (one test problem and one manufactured solution) to be used to validate the AB methods. The exact solution for both test cases are available for the error and convergence analysis later on. The implementation of 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-order AB methods are done using Octave. The error was computed to retrieve the order of convergence numerically and the CPU time was recorded to analyze their efficiency.
Yellow gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus) is a species native to Southeast Asia and is famous as ornamental species. However, hobbyists and farmers encounter problems where its body colour easily becomes faded in captivity. Since colour enhancer pellets are expensive, an experiment was performed to determine whether tank colour can influence the body colour intensity and growth of T. trichopterus. Four different tank colours (white, yellow, blue and green) with five replicates were tested where fish were kept under natural lighting (outdoor) conditions for two months. The results demonstrated that fish reared in green coloured tank showed an increment in its colour intensity while fish reared in white tanks increased its body weight. It can be concluded that tank colour does affect the body colour intensity and weight of T. trichopterus. This study will help farmers and hobbyists to solve colour fading problem using a cheaper way.
Vermicomposting is a process that involves biological, chemical and physical transformations of solid organic materials such as agricultural residues of plant and animal through the use of microorganisms and earthworms. There are three main classes of earthworms, and only those from one class are usually used for vermicomposting. However, mostly foreign earthworms are used in the setup. Foreign earthworms are more expensive and harder to obtain than local earthworms. This makes the local farmers reluctant to try since they are expensive. The difference in vermicompost using two species of epigeic earthworms, a local earthworm and a foreign earthworm (Eisenia fetida), and normal compost without any earthworms was measured in this study. Both species of earthworms were placed in identical vermibeds consisting of partially composted goat manure and partially composted spent coconut flakes (SCF) with the ratio of 5:1 respectively in terms of weight. The vermibed moisture content was maintained at 60 – 70% throughout the whole process. The end products showed a difference from one another. The E. fetida showed a better result compared to the local earthworms in terms of the nutrient content presence and the adaptability of the earthworms during the whole process. However, the end product from the local earthworms was still better compared to the normal compost without any earthworms.
Mangrove located near urban area is exposed to various industrial discharge including heavy metals. Mangrove soil is capable of accumulating and storing these heavy metals. Heavy metals are toxic and non-biodegradable, so their accumulations affect water quality, while bioaccumulation and bio-assimilation of heavy metals in mangrove organisms negatively impact the food chain. Bacteria-derived biosurfactants are compounds capable of removing heavy metals from soil and sediment. Furthermore, environmentally friendly properties, such as biodegradability and low toxicity, exhibited by biosurfactants make them a suitable replacement for chemical surfactants for remediation efforts. This study was conducted to investigate the lead- (Pb) and zinc- (Zn) removing capability of rhamnolipid (RL), a type of biosurfactant produced by marine bacterium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa UMTKB-5. Rhamnolipid solutions of three different concentrations (25 mg/L, 50 mg/L and 75 mg/L) were added to mangrove soil and incubated for 7 days. The removal of Pb from soils was up to 18.3% using 25 mg/L RL solution, while 50 mg/L RL solution removed 48.3%, and 75 mg/L RL solution removed 75.9% Pb over time. Meanwhile, zinc removal of 25 mg/L RL solution was up to 24.9%, while 50 mg/L removed 16.5%, and 75 mg/L RL removed 30.5% of Zn. The results showed that RL from P. aeruginosa UMTKB-5 could be a potential biomaterial to be used to remediate heavy metals in sediment.
utan Lipur Jeram Linang in Kelantan was carried out within 0.1 ha plot. All vascular plants (except lianas and epiphytes) were enumerated and identified. A total of 255 taxa representing 121 species belonging to 87 genera in 47 families were identified. Among these were 24 species endemic to Peninsular Malaysia and 47 species with medicinal values. Plants were categorized according to growth forms as follows: 67% trees, 17% shrubs, 7% palms, 6% herbs, and 3% ferns. Based on Important value index (IVI), Elateriospermum tapos, Goniothalamus umbrosus, and Monocarpia marginalis were the most dominant species whilst Rubiaceae, Arecaceae and Fabaceae were the three most diverse families. Species diversity was high based on the Shannon-Weiner index with the value of 4.38. In this study, two species from Dipterocarpaceae, which were Dipterocarpus grandiflorus and Shorea collina, were listed as Endangered (E) and Critically Endangered (CE) species respectively according to IUCN Red List. Information gained from this study showed that the forest harbored high plant diversity and endemism, so proper management is needed to protect and conserve this forest for sustainability and development.
Clean, safe and readily available water is very crucial in everyday life, especially for health, hygiene, and the productivity of the community. Unfortunately, increase in contaminants in water supplies from human activities and industrialization is very worrying. Conventional wastewater treatment includes the usage of alum that will affect health with prolonged consumption. This research was carried out to focus on the development of wastewater treatment system using adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds. Adsorbent was successfully synthesized from the seeds of Moringa oleifera. Characterization of the sample was made using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), while the effectiveness of water treatment was analyzed using Turbidity Meter. Then, all samples were tested against kaolin wastewater. XRD results showed that all the adsorbent samples were amorphous in nature. FTIR results indicated that there were hydroxyl group and carboxylic group in the sample representing numerous oxygen-riddled functional groups on the surface. From SEM results, it was clearly shown that the pore structure and size of Moringa oleifera affected the capability of adsorption where the smaller the size, the more effective the sample. Turbidity test showed that the sample that worked best for wastewater treatment was adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds in size of 125µm that was heated for 4 hours with 93.76% turbidity removal. Therefore, this study proved that the adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds is very suitable for high turbidity wastewater treatment. Further studies investigating the combination of conventional activated carbon with adsorbent from Moringa oleifera seeds should be conducted before these samples are made available for further use so that we can compare which sample works best for wastewater treatment.
Methyl orange is one of the anionic dyes and is a major pollutant from textile industry that enters both aquatic and atmospheric systems. In this research, methyl orange was degraded using TiO2 powder and immobilized TiO2 on glass. Titanium tetra-isopropoxide (TTIP) was used for preparation of TiO2 powder using soft chemistry method, and it was immobilized on glass via paste-gel coating method. The prepared photocatalysts were characterized by XRD and SEM. Highly crystalline anatase TiO2 powder photocatalyst was obtained. Meanwhile, immobilized TiO2 was less crystalline and agglomerated onto the glass surface. TiO2 powder had higher degradation rate (71%) compared to immobilized TiO2 (52%) due to its chemical stability and larger amount of photocatalyst contacted with methyl orange during the degradation process.
Expert system is a system that emulates experts to aid in decision making. This system can be applied in various categories such as diagnosis, prediction, interpretation, and others. Expert System to Diagnose Dengue Fever is a web-based system which is integrated with prolog language in order to provide rules for dengue fever detection. The aims of this research are to study dengue fever symptoms and other illnesses related to the fever, to design an inference engine, and to build an expert system. The challenges faced while developing this expert system were the complexity of prolog codes and their integration with the web development. In this system, rules were developed by prolog language which define dengue fever and accuracy based on input from the user. This system is expected to aid users in self-detecting early symptoms of dengue fever before seeing the doctors.
This study was done to determine the effect of pasteurization on the stability of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and its enzyme in raw and pasteurized cow’s and goat’s milk. The total viable count for plate count of the bacterial growth concentration was higher in both pasteurized cow’s and goat’s milk at 2.48 log CFU/ml. This is followed by raw cow’s milk (1.59 log CFU/ml) and raw goat’s milk (0.65 log CFU/ml). Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) was found to be similar in both raw cow’s and goat’s milk (p>0.05), and pasteurized milk of both animals also contained the same amount of LAB (p>0.05). LAB was still detected in pasteurized milk (p
This study was conducted to determine the morphology, prevalence and mean intensity of monogeneans on gill filaments of striped catfish Pangasianodon hypophthalmus (Pangasiidae).P. hypophthalmus are important economic fish in Southeast Asia region and predominantly produced in Asian countries such as Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, China and Cambodia through aquaculture. Thirty fish were sampled from an earthen pond located in Kuala Besut, Terengganu, in the period from January to February, 2018. The monogenean parasites were removed from the gill filaments and counted. For the morphological study, the extracted monogeneanswere mounted on a slide by using drop of ammonium picrate-glycerin (APG) and then were observed under the Compound Advanced Research Microscope. The drawing was done with the aid of lucida camera attached to compound microscope. The monogenean parasite was identified as Thaparocleidussp based on the characteristics of the morphology and morphometrics of the parasite, which did not differ significantly from the previous descriptions of the same species discovered in other geographic locations. The prevalence and mean intensity levels were 100% and 106.07 parasites per fish, respectively. The monogenean parasites discovered throughout this examination were recorded and the data obtained was summarized.
The number of small and medium-sized accommodations (SMSAs) has increased in Malaysia in tandem with the growth of the tourism industry worldwide. The states involved in this study were Terengganu, Kelantan and Pahang. The SMSAs in these states are rated using Orchid rating, namely 1-Orchid, 2-Orchid and 3-Orchid, generated by the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia (MOTAC). This study applied the Resource-based View (RBV) theory to investigate four factors (marketing management, human resourcesmanagement, innovation capability management and information technology) assumed to be competitive capabilities that may influence accommodation’s performance. The objective of the study is to examine whether the four factors influence the performance of Orchid-rated accommodations located in the East Coast of West Malaysia. The results revealed that the four factors do not have any relationship with the accommodation’s performance. The analysis also singled out one argument of the director of SMSA that competitive capabilities are not important to their business. This argument coincides with the results of the analysis that the four factors are not significant with regards to the accommodations’ performance.
DNA Barcoding, primarily focusing on cytochrome coxidase subunit I (COI) gene has been appraised as an effective tool for species identification. Nonetheless, species identification based on molecular approach is essential for discrimination of look-alike species. In this study, we focused on the marine fishes Family Nemipteridae, one of the commercially important group distributed within the surrounding seas of Malaysia. Some of the samples were collected during the National Demersal Trawl Survey in the Exclusive Economic Zone of East Coast Peninsular Malaysia by the Department of Fishery Malaysia. A 652bp region of COI was sequenced for 74 individuals from nine putative species. Additional 34 COIsequences from GenBank were also included in this study making the total number of samples analysed to 108 individuals. The averageKimura 2-parameter (K2P) nucleotide divergence was 0.34% among individuals within species and 6.97% within genera. All putative species formed monophyletic clades in both Neighbour-joining (NJ) and Maximum-likelihood (ML) trees. However, there was a potential misidentification in specimen identified as Nemipterus tambuloides,as the specimen did not group with their own taxa. It was genetically grouped in Nemipterus thosaporni clade. This study supports the effectiveness of COIgene in species discrimination of Family Nemipteridae.
This study was carried out in Marang, Terengganu. The objective of this study is to analyse the socio-economicprofileof fishermen and their monthly income. The Slovin’s formula was used to calculate thenumber ofrespondentsin Marang and the data was collected through a survey involving 50 respondents consisting of Malay fishermen. The results of the study showedthat the dominant types of fishing gear used were hooks and lines, gillnets and purse seines. The socio-economic profile showedthat a majority of the fishermen (35%) were aged between 40-49years, 36% of the fishermen had between 10-19 yearsof experience, and 55% of the fishermen hadbetween 2-5 children. The average monthly income of the fishermen was MYR1853.49 for those using hooks and lines, MYR2105.09 for gillnets and MYR2595.39 for purse seines. It appears that the use of purse seinesgenerated the highest income for the fishermen. Generally, the income was not fixed as it depended on the amount of catch for each fisherman’s trip, which was also affected by the season.