This study presents the sensitivity of graphene nanoribbon (GNR) when exposed to ammonia gas at room temperature. Alumina were used as a substrate and coated with GNR as sensing film for ammonia gas detection. Four different concentration of GNR in the category of maximum, high, low, and minimum were prepared. Each category of GNR will be dispersed on alumina substrate with area of 1cm2 and 4cm2. 30nm of gold contacts are sputtered on both ends of the sensing film. The ammonia gas can be detected by measuring the changes in resistance. The GNR as ammonia sensor shows good responses at room temperature. In repeatability test, maximum GNR shows least variation when exposed to ammonia with the value of 1.01% (4cm2) and 2.12% (1cm2). In a sensitivity test, 0.25% to 1.00% of ammonia gas was used and tested on maximum GNR. Maximum GNR on 4cm2 substrate shows higher sensitivity as compared to 1cm2. Reaction time of GNR on ammonia gas decreased as the concentration of ammonia increased. Larger surface area of sensing element required lesser reaction time.
In nowadays world, aesthetic dentistry has becoming a trend with the improvement of dental technology and materials. Composite resin becomes the material of choice as it offers good aesthetics, longevity and allow for minimally intervention approach. There are various ways of composite restorative techniques recommended to make out the best restorative outcome. Direct restorative technique promise acceptable cost, appointment time and color matching but it is a challenge for the clinician especially for extensive cavities. Indirect technique is good for extended cavity and providing less operator error, however, it requires multiple appointments, higher cost and laboratory involvement. Computer-aided design/ computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology might reduce the number of appointments, however, it will cause more financial burden to the patient and the clinician. Therefore, semi-direct technique was introduced, it combines the benefits of direct and indirect technique and this technique can be done without the use of any advanced technology and give out a good treatment outcome.
Wastewater treatment is a key challenge in the textile industry. The current treatment methods for textile wastewater are insufficient or ineffective for complex dyes generated from the textile industry. This study evaluated the performances of two novel inorganic coagulants with high cationic charges, namely, titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and zirconium tetrachloride (ZrCl4). They were utilised to treat textile industry wastewater. Both coagulation processes were performed under the same experimental operational conditions. Turbidity, suspended solids (SS), colour, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and ammonia were measured to assess the efficiencies of the coagulants. Results indicated that ZrCl4 and TiCl4 exhibited high potentials for textile wastewater treatment. ZrCl4 presented high removal efficiency in COD and SS, whereas TiCl4 showed excellent removal in ammonia.
As Malaysian economies grow, Malaysian per capita income is likely to increase. From economics point of view, it is expected that better-off consumers will move to better quality of food attributes such as freshness, food safety, quality and healthfulness in their food intake. This study aimed to investigate the demand for eggs attributes by Malaysian consumers. The study considers the conjoint analysis technique as a method for acquiring insights into preferences for eggs product. The technique was applied to establish the trade-offs that Malaysian consumers make between size, colour, size of packaging, functional attribute and price in the purchasing of eggs for 202 respondents. Least squares regression was utilized to estimate the relative importance of attributes for eggs. The results revealed that the ideal characteristic of egg was one with large size (grade A), omega eggs, brown, and ten per packs. We also found that consumers were also willing to pay more for their preferred attributes. The results found in the study provide valuable inputs to producers or marketers to improve their marketing efforts as well as market positioning, in line with the demanded eggs attributes.
It is crucial to determine several protein-related parameters at the initial stages of proteomic analysis of any biological samples. In this study, crude protein content, total soluble protein, total phenolic content and the SDS-PAGE profile of fifteen varieties of seaweed from Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia were analysed. The crude protein, total soluble protein and total phenolic content of all seaweed samples were in the range of 3.99 to 13.18 % of dry weight, 0.52 to 1.45 mg/mL in acetone dried powder samples and 8.59 to 48.98 mg PGE/g dry weight, respectively. In general, the differences (crude protein, total soluble protein and total phenolic content) among all fifteen varieties of seaweeds were significant (p< 0.05). There was also a strong positive correlation between crude protein and total soluble protein concentration (Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient (r)=0.923; p=0.01) in these fifteen varieties of seaweed. A distinctive protein pattern was observed in the SDS-PAGE gels between three different seaweed classes of green, red and brown colours. All of these results are important in sample preparations (extractions) before furthering proteomic analysis in order to identify and characterize seaweed proteomes.
The present study was focused to investigate the effect of selected spices (turmeric, torch ginger, lemongrass and curry leaves) on the formation of heterocyclic amines (HCAs, IQx, MeIQ, MeIQx, DiMeIQx, IQ, harman, norharman, and AαC) in deep fried lamb meat. Meat samples were marinated with optimized levels of turmeric (4 %), 10 % each of torch ginger, lemon grass, curry leaves at medium (70 °C) and well done (80 °C) doneness temperatures. The concentration of HCAs in deep fried meat samples were analysed using LC-MS/MS technique. The results revealed that torch ginger (10 %) has reduced 74.8 % of Me1Qx (1.39 to 0.35 ng/g) at medium doneness, followed by the 64.7 % reduction, using curry leaves and turmeric at medium degree of doneness. Torch ginger has reduced 86.6 % of AαC (2.59 to 0.40 ng/g) at well done doneness. The most prevalence level of HCAs was found in deep fried meat i.e. DiMeIQ (3.69 ng/g) at well done doneness. The sensory evaluation, using a 7 point hedonic test design for colour and texture in deep fried meat samples were resulted in a preferred color of golden brown and slightly tough texture. The use of local spices in marinating of deep fried lamb meat samples will certainly inhibit/reduce the level of these toxic and harmful HCAs.
Proper dosimetry settings are crucial in radiotherapy to ensure accurate radiation dose delivery. This work evaluated scanning parameters as affecting factors in reading the dose-response of EBT2 and EBT3 radiochromic films (RCFs) irradiated with clinical photon and electron beams. The RCFs were digitised using Epson® Expression® 10000XL flatbed scanner and image analyses of net optical density (netOD) were conducted using five scanning parameters i.e. film type, resolution, image bit depth, colour to grayscale transformation and image inversion. The results showed that increasing spatial resolution and deepening colour depth did not improve film sensitivity, while grayscale scanning caused sensitivity reduction below than that detected in the Red-channel. It is also evident that invert and colour negative film type selection negated netOD values, hence unsuitable for scanning RCFs. In conclusion, choosing appropriate scanning parameters are important to maintain preciseness and reproducibility in films dosimetry.
The primary objectives of this study were to process corncob into corncob powder (CCP)
and to apply CCP in the formulation of instant cereal beverage (ICB) in order to produce
high fibre ICB, and to investigate the physicochemical and sensory properties of the
corncob-based instant cereal beverage. Corncobs were sourced and washed thoroughly
before drying and grinding into CCP. CCP was then imparted into ICB formulation in
three different ratios (10, 20 and 30% w/w) to partially substitute corn flour in the
formulation. All four ICB samples including the commercial counterpart were analysed
for their physicochemical and sensory properties. The incorporation of CCP has affected
the viscosity, colour and sensory attributes significantly of the produced ICB. Higher
contents of CCP in the formulation was found to be responsible for less viscous and
browner effect compared to the commercial ICB samples. Formulation of ICB
incorporated with 30% w/w CCP had the highest mean scores (6.00, p
Incorporation of Green Banana Flour (BF) into Chinese steamed bread (CSB) may be a
strategy to fortify the traditional CSB due to its health benefits. However, BF-incorporated
foods in general, have poorer sensory properties affecting consumer acceptability. The aim
of this study was to examine the adjustment of water content from the original formulation
and addition of coffee flavour on physical properties and consumer acceptability of BFincorporated
CSB. Wheat flour as control was substituted with 15% BF varied by addition
of 30% water and coffee flavour. Physical analysis (colour, volume, spread ratio and
texture) of CSB and hedonic test for appearance, aroma, flavour, overall acceptability and
preference ranking of CSB were conducted. Results showed no significant differences
(p>0.05) in specific volume, springiness, and adhesiveness among samples. A significant
increase (p
Formulation 2 (1 g w/w) was the most favourable and was chosen for further analyses to
compare its composition with that of a control (0 g w/w). Total phenolic content (TPC) of
the fresh noodles remained higher than that of the control even after cooking. However,
after cooking, the carbohydrate and protein contents showed significant increases. The
results showed that the lemuni-supplemented noodles have a longer shelf life compared to
the control. The colour parameters L* and a* also showed significant differences as the
lightness decreased, and the redness increased after the substitution. The L*, a* and b*
values decreased significantly after the noodles of both formulations were cooked. The
tensile strength, adhesiveness, and hardness of the lemuni noodles were significantly
higher than those of the control. Thus, the Vitex negundo Linn. leaf has the potential to
increase the health benefits of food products.
Pork and bovine collagen incorporated into meat products showed promising
functional properties as food ingredients but has the halal issue. This study
investigated the effect of incorporating fish collagen hydrolysate (FCH) as a fat replacer
in buffalo patties in terms of proximate values, texture and colour properties. There
were five different formulations including a control (10% fat, 0% FCH), A (7.5% fat, 2.5%
FCH), B (5% fat, 5% FCH), C (2.5% fat, 7.5% FCH), and D (0% fat, 10% FCH). There were
no significant differences (p>0.05) between all formulations in terms of cooking yield,
shrinkage, water-holding capacity, and pH value. The sensory test showed no
significant difference (p>0.05) between all formulations in terms of colour,
appearance, juiciness, aroma, and overall acceptability, while sample D with 10% FCH
had significantly lower (p
Curcuma alismatifolia, is an Asian crop from Zingiberaceae family, popularly used as ornamental plant in floriculture industry of Thailand and Cambodia. Different varieties with a wide range of colors can be found in species. Until now, few breeding programs have been done on this species and most commercially important cultivars are hybrids that are propagated vegetatively. In spite of other flowering plants, there is still lack of transcriptomic-based data on the functions of genes related to flower color in C. alismatifolia. The raw data presented in this article provides information on new original transcriptome data of two cultivars of C. alismatifolia by Illumina Hiseq. 4000 RNA-Seq technology which is the first ever report about this plant. The data is accessible via European Nucleotide Archive (ENA) under project number PRJEB18956.
Discolouration of microhybrid composite resin is a common problem faced by both dental practitioners and patients. The accumulation of plaque, penetration of colourant particles from foods and beverages, dietary habits and the smoothness of restorations have been known to influence the quality of the aesthetic restoration. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of polishing systems on surface roughness that led to discolouration of the microhybrid composite resin. Methods: Forty five samples of microhybrid composite resin (Filtex Z100) restorations were polished with two different polishing systems; one-step polishing (OP) system on the distal surface and multiple-step polishing (MP) system on the mesial surface. All samples were then immersed in two common beverages: black coffee and cocoa, for 20 minutes daily throughout 28 days of the experimental period. Results: Data on visual colour measurement and spectrometer colour spectrum was subjected to one-way ANOVA test at a significance level of 0.05. Both solutions were found to cause a significant colour change (p=0.0195) on the microhybrid composite resin. Black coffee solution obtained the highest score (71.6) of visual colour change and the lowest reflectance value (62.818) on the distal surface. Surface roughness evaluation using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) had presented that both polishing systems used produced low level of surface roughness. Conclusion: Although MP system produced a smoother surface compared to OP system, a prolonged exposure to colourant particle found to cause an unacceptable discolouration of microhybrid composite resin.
Industrial pollution issue and dark colour of carbon black, clay based non black filler are getting more importance for reinforcing elastomer. EPDM-Kaolin composites with various maleated EPDM concentration have been prepared by mixing on a two roll mill. The rheometry data showed the optimum cure time increases with increasing compatibilizer concentration without decreasing torque value indicating that acidic functional groups comes from compatibilizer could retard cure rate and increase the optimum cure time rather than change in the ultimate cure state. As the filler
concentration increases, the edge to edge and face to edge interaction between filler and EPDM increases and the free volume between EPDM molecules is reduced, the storage modulus increases. Moreover, the dynamic mechanical analysis also showed the increase in glass transition temperature with increase in filler concentration due to the inter-tubular diffusion of EPDM inside the clay. It was also observed that with increasing filler concentration, the resistivity and dielectric strength decreases and moreover with increasing compatibilizer concentration the resistivity decreases due to better dispersion of filler helps to build conduction path. The morphological study also revealed that homogeneity of filler dispersion increases with increase in compatibilizer concentration.
Anochetus maryatiae, a new species of Formicidae from the subfamily Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini from Ulu Gombak is described and illustrated. This ant genus was last studied in Malaysia by Brown in 1978. Observations were made on morphometric characters which included parameter measurements of total length, head length, head width, mandible length, scape length, antenna length, maximum eye length, oculomandibular distance, funicular length segment 1 to 4, pronotum width, propodeum height, petiole length, petiole height, dorsal petiole width, cephalix index and mandibular index. It was followed by a brief diagnosis, description of morphological structure, microsculpture, pilosity and discussion. Although it has resemblance with Anochetus tua, it could be easily distinguished from other species in having reticulate pronotum. This is the only species from Malaysia with such microsculpture on the pronotum. In addition to that, A. maryatie varies with A. tua in having smaller total length, less than 7.5 mm and lighter colour.
In response to our review paper [L. C. Lee et al., Analyst, 2018, 143, 3526-3539], we present a study that compares empirical differences between PLS1-DA and PLS2-DA algorithms in modelling a colossal ATR-FTIR spectral dataset. Over the past two decades, partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) has gained wide acceptance and huge popularity in the field of applied research, partly due to its dimensionality reduction capability and ability to handle multicollinear and correlated variables. To solve a K-class problem (K > 2) using PLS-DA and high-dimensional data like infrared spectra, one can construct either K one-versus-all PLS1-DA models or only one PLS2-DA model. The aim of this work is to explore empirical differences between the two PLS-DA algorithms in modeling a colossal ATR-FTIR spectral dataset. The practical task is to build a prediction model using the imbalanced, high dimensional, colossal and multi-class ATR-FTIR spectra of blue gel pen inks. Four different sub-datasets were prepared from the principal dataset by considering the raw and asymmetric least squares (AsLS) preprocessed forms: (a) Raw-global region; (b) Raw-local region; (c) AsLS-global region; and (d) AsLS-local region. A series of 50 models which includes the first 50 PLS components incrementally was constructed repeatedly using the four sub-datasets. Each model was evaluated using six different variants of v-fold cross validation, autoprediction and external testing methods. As a result, each PLS-DA algorithm was represented by a number of figures of merit. The differences between PLS1-DA and PLS2-DA algorithms were assessed using hypothesis tests with respect to model accuracy, stability and fitting. On the other hand, confusion matrices of the two PLS-DA algorithms were inspected carefully for assessment of model parsimony. Overall, both the algorithms presented satisfactory model accuracy and stability. Nonetheless, PLS1-DA models showed significantly higher accuracy rates than PLS2-DA models, whereas PLS2-DA models seem to be much more stable compared to PLS1-DA models. Eventually, PLS2-DA also proved to be less prone to overfitting and is more parsimonious than PLS1-DA. In conclusion, the relatively high accuracy of the PLS1-DA algorithm is achieved at the cost of rather low parsimony and stability, and with an increased risk of overfitting.
An optical fiber chemical sensor for the determination of free glutamate in food samples was fabricated based on the
immobilization of 0.1 M copper(II) nitrate trihydrate onto sol-gel glass powder which was then mixed with methyl cellulose
to form a pellet. A distinctive colour change from light blue to dark blue was observed in the presence of glutamate in
less than 1 min. The colour change was measured by reflectance spectrophotometer at 691 nm. A linear relationship
between the reflectance intensity and glutamate concentration was observed in the range of 12.5 to 500 mM with a limit
of detection of 10.6 mM. This method is also reproducible with a relative standard deviation of less than 5%, no effect on
pH of the glutamate solution and a good recovery of above 80%. The sensor was used for the determination of glutamate
in common food items such as soups and flavor enhancers. The results obtained from the fabricated sensor were found
to be comparable with HPLC method.
Colorants contained in palm oil mill effluent (POME) are recalcitrant and carcinogenic in nature. The commonly applied ponding treatment methods have been reported inefficient for remediating the concentration of the colorants before discharge. The need for sustainable and efficient treatment technique is crucial in order to preserve the environment. In this view, this study reported the first attempt to decolorize POME using a proliferate Klebsiella Pneumonia ABZ11 at varied inoculum sizes of 5-25% (v/v), initial color concentration (650-2,600 ADMI) and treatment time of 5-40 h. The treatment conditions were optimized using Response Surface Methodology. At optimal conditions of 20% (v/v) inoculum size, initial-color concentration of 2,600 ADMI, initial pH of 7 and 35 h treatment retention time, over 80.40% color removal was achieved with insignificant disparity compared with the model predicted value of 81.538%. Also, the Monod model excellently described the decolorization kinetic process with 0.9214 coefficient of correlation (R2), and the calculated maximum growth μ max ) and half-saturation constant (K s ) were 7.023 d-1 and 340.569 ADMI d-1, respectively. This study revealed that the Klebsiella Pneumonia ABZ11 was highly prolific and such feature may favor a synergistic biodegradation process.
Six daughter complexes based on two-dimensional (2-D) luminescent Cu4I4-Cu3Pz3(Pz = pyrazolate) coordination networks, which exhibit an uncommon Cu4I4L3L' (L = pyridine; L' = acetonitrile, pyridine, pyrazine, 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, triphenylphosphine, none) local configuration, were prepared through a postsynthetic modification method starting from a parent complex (L' = NH3). This work has successfully implemented the single-site substitution of Cu4I4-based coordination frameworks, which have rarely been reported for isolated Cu4I4-type compounds, by taking advantage of the solvent-assisted ligand substitution strategy recently developed in metal-organic framework (MOF) chemistry. Such a procedure not only resulted in the variation of local geometry in the Cu4I4units but also led to interlayer network displacement and entanglement. Particularly, an interesting topological transformation (from 2-D to 2-D → 3-D interpenetration) occurred when linear bidentate linkers (e.g., pyrazine and 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane) are inserted between the 2-D layers. Moreover, the variation in the L' sites can effectively tune the emission colors, ranging from green to orange (λemmax540-605 nm at room temperature). The photoluminescence origins are tentatively assigned to be a mixture of3MLCT and3XLCT, different from that of the well-studied isolated Cu4I4-type complexes.
A Xi-shaped meta structure, has been introduced in this paper. A modified split-ring resonator (MSRR) and a capacitive loaded strip (CLS) were used to achieve the left-handed property of the metamaterial. The structure was printed using silver metallic nanoparticle ink, using a very low-cost photo paper as a substrate material. Resonators were inkjet-printed using silver nanoparticle metallic ink on paper to make this metamaterial flexible. It is also free from any kind of chemical waste, which makes it eco-friendly. A double negative region from 8.72 GHz to 10.91 GHz (bandwidth of 2.19 GHz) in the X-band microwave spectra was been found. Figure of merit was also obtained to measure any loss in the double negative region. The simulated result was verified by the performance of the fabricated prototype. The total dimensions of the proposed structure were 0.29 λ × 0.29 λ × 0.007 λ. It is a promising unit cell because of its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, and easy fabrication process.