Solvent-extracted Moringa oleifera seed oil was transesterified using immobilized lipase (Lipozyme IM 60) (Novozymes Bagsvaerd Denmark) at 1% (w/w) concentration, shaken at 60oC and 200 rpm for up to 24h. After transesterification, the oil was fractionated with acetone at -18oC and without acetone at 10oC to obtain two fractions, stearin and olein fractions. Incubation of the transesterified oil at 10oC for 24 h resulted in the formation of fat crystals, which settled at the bottom of the flask in sample transesterified for 24 h, while the control (0 h) sample became rather viscous with fat crystals in suspension. Transesterification resulted in a change in the triacylglycerol (TAG) profile of the oil, which in turn affected its solid fat content (SFC) and thermal behavior. The SFC value at 0oC after 24 h of reaction was 10.35% and significantly (P
Agriculture is one of the latest industries that uses robotic technologies. Cultivation of crops
with high yield and quality can be enhanced when technological sustenance is involved. Pests are
nuisance and cannot be completely eliminated, but with effective control and management. damages
caused by pests could be minimized below economic threshold. Automation in agriculture is stable and
accurate and is mainly incorporated in mechanized farming system. However its numerous application in
different agricultural practices is not well noticed. Hence this paper attempts to provide profound
awareness on robotic technology in agriculture. Robots could have a specific or multiple functions and,
most commonly, they are made up of five basic components; sensors, effectors, actuators, controller and
arms. Use of automation in weeding, weed mapping, micro spraying, seeding, irrigation and harvesting
are progressions which promote sustainable agriculture and food security. In future, solar robots with
battery inverter may be invented.
Changes in molecular structure configuration during strain induced crystallisation of an amorphous Poly(Lactic Acid) (PLA 4032D) polymer was monitored in-situ by simultaneously recording the wide angle x-ray scattering (WAXS) and small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) patterns together with polymer deformation images and force data. The amorphous chain orientation from the beginning of deformation until the onset of crystallisation was studied from the WAXS patterns. The true mechanical behaviour described by the true stress-true strain curve related to an amorphous chain orientation exhibited a linear behaviour. Approaching critical amorphous orientation, the true stress-true strain curve deviated from linear into non-linear behaviour. After the onset of crystallization, when the deformed polymer became a semicrystalline state, the true mechanical behaviour exhibited true strain hardening which greatly affected by the formation of the morphology. The gradual true strain hardening was associated with the formation of micro-fibrillar structure containing thin crystallite morphology whilst sharp increased in true strain hardening was associated with the formation of stacked lamellar morphology in the form of macro-lattice structure. The study was accomplished by the application of high brilliance synchrotron radiation at beamline ID2 of ESRF, Grenoble in France and the usage of the high contrast resolution of WAXS and SAXS charge-couple device (CCD) camera as well as 40 milliseconds temporal resolution of data acquisition system.
We attempted to investigate possible hepatoprotective effect of Eurycoma longifolia jack (ELJ) using carbon tetrachloride-induced (CC14) acute hepatotoxicity model in rats. Hepatotoxicity was induced by oral administration of 4.0mg/kg of CCI4 in corn oil (1:1) once to one experimental group of 5 rats and, in three other similar groups, challenged doses (300, 750 and 1500 mg/kg respectively) of ELJ were given one day before and one hour after 4.0 mg/kg CC14 and then once daily for three consecutive days. Three other groups of 5 rats each serving as controls were administered with distilled water, corn oil and ELJ (750mg/kg) only respectively. Rats were sacrificed on day three (corn oil & CC14 treated groups) and on day 4 (Distilled water, ELJ alone and CC14 with graded doses of ELJ treated groups) and samples of blood and liver tissue were taken for biochemical (serum) and histopathological examinations to assess hepatoprotection of ELJ against CC14-induced hepatotoxicity. In the low (300mg/kg) and medium (750 mg/kg) dose ELJ treated groups, CCI4 induced moderate inflammation, fatty acid change and necrosis of hepatocytes while in the high (1500mg/kg) dose ELJ, CC14 induced severe inflammation, fatty acid change and necrosis of hepatocytes. Biochemical measurements of ALT and ALP shows a moderate and insignificant reduction of serum levels in the low dose ELJ group but a more significant reduction in the medium and high dose ELJ groups when compared with the CC14 only group. The increase in serum total bilirubin caused by CC14 was non-significantly reduced by all the doses of ELJ. Animals treated with CC14 alone and in groups treated with both CC14 and graded doses of ELJ had a reduction in body weight, food and water intake but in ELJ (750mg/kg) only treated group, no such reduction in body weight, food and water intake was observed. This observation suggest that ELJ administered alone did not cause any toxic effect to the liver but in combination with CCI4, appeared to synergize the CC14-induced hepatotoxicity which increases as the dose of ELJ is increased. The anorexic, hypodypsic and reduced body weight evident in the CC14 alone and in ELJ plus CC14 treated groups but not in animals treated with ELJ alone, suggests that ELJ alone does not induce anorexia, hypodypsia or loss of weight. In conclusion, the results of our study suggest that ELJ is not hepatotoxic when given alone and appeared to have some degree of protective effects in rats against CC14-induced hepatotoxicity.
Exposure to traffic air pollutant have shown a significant health effect on respiratory systems and decreased in lung function among traffic policemen. The main objective of this study was to determine the relationships between personal exposure levels to PM2.5 and respiratory health among traffic policemen working at Traffic Police Station in Kuala Lumpur and general duty policemen attached to Police Headquarters, Bukit Aman. A cross sectional comparative study was conducted among 50 traffic policemen from Traffic Police Station Kuala Lumpur and 50 general duty policemen from Police Headquarters Bukit Aman as comparative group. A purposive sampling method was used to select the respondents based on inclusive criteria such as age between 25 to 60 years, no history of respiratory disease and working not less than 3 years as traffic policemen. Questionnaire based on ATS (1978) was used to collect information on socio-demographic and respiratory symptoms. Spirometer (Spirolab II Model) was used to perform lung function tests. Personal Air Sampling Pump (Aircheck 52) was used to measure personal exposure level to PM2.5. The mean exposure level of PM2.5 among the traffic policemen was 22.33 ± 8.54μg/m³ compared to only 5.60 ± 4.29μg/m³ for comparative group. There was a significant difference in all lung function parameters between the exposed group and comparative group.From the finding, it shows that there was significant relationship between working duration (years) and lung function parameters among both exposed and comparative group. The result from this research shows that traffic policemen were determined as having lower lung function parameters due to their nature of work and the environment. Also, there was a significant association between exposure to fine particle (PM2.5) and lung function among the exposed group. Finding from this study indicated that exposure to elevated concentration level to traffic related air pollutant was the risk factors in the development of respiratory diseases as shown by the higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms and the reduction in lung function among traffic policemen.
Substance misuse, in particular heroin addiction contributes to health and social problems. Although effective medical treatment was available, earlier efforts confined the treatment of heroin addicts to in-house rehabilitation which required them to be estranged from the community and their families for 2 years. The in-house rehabilitative programme, implemented for at least three decades has produced low abstinence rates. On the other hand, being ‘away’ meant that many heroin addicts faced employment problems and family relationship difficulties upon completing the in-house rehabilitation. However, recently, the concerted efforts by various government and non-government organisations, and the acknowledgement that heroin addiction is a medical illness has resulted in a revamp to approaching treatment of heroin addiction. At present, methadone substitution programmes have been offered as part of treatment programme for heroin addicts in Malaysia. This new programme has been shown to be effective in treating heroin addiction and would need support and cooperation from all groups involved.
A study was conducted to evaluate the extent of sleep problems among children aged between 6 to 15 years old who were followed up at Penang Hospital Paediatric Clinic for various neurological disorders and compared to those with other paediatric illnesses and their healthy siblings. A parental questionnaire was used to assess sleep problems in 48 children with neurological disorders and compared to 46 of their healthy siblings, 59 children with non-neurological paediatric illnesses and 67 of their healthy siblings. Sleep problems were clustered into five subscales: bedtime difficulties, parental involvement at time of sleep, sleep fragmentation, parasomnias and daytime drowsiness. Children with neurological disorders had significantly more sleep problems than did their siblings, those with non-neurological paediatric illnesses and their healthy siblings (p < 0.001). This was particularly so in areas of bedtime difficulties (p>0.001), the amount of parental involvement (p
Substance abuse is one of the leading and most complicated health and social problems faced by our country. Unfortunately, after three decades of managing these problems, outcomes are unpromising and poor.(Copied from the article).
The effect of loud noise to the army personnel is often identified when hearing loss had already developed. Acoustic trauma during shooting training can also lead to acute changes in the ear which is shown on otoscopic examination. This study was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of hearing protective device (earplug) on the prevalence of external ear changes amongst military personnel during shooting. This is a prospective cross sectional study that was conducted among 76 military personnel, who were divided into two groups: those with and without earplugs during shooting. Each participant underwent 3 otoscopic examinations: (a) pre-shooting, (b) immediate post-shooting (within 48 hours) and (c) 2 weeks after shooting. A total of 78 army personnel who were scheduled to undergo shooting training were otoscopically examined. Eighty three percent of them did not wear earplugs before. The percentage of inflammation of external auditory canal and tympanic membrane dullness increased tremendously among subjects from non–earplug group less than 48 hours post-shooting. Assessment after 2 weeks showed improvement in around 30% of the subjects. Loud noise has become an occupational hazard not only to the inner ear but it also predisposes the external and middle ear structures to some form of injury. Although improvement is seen after some period, a protective device such as an earplug should be recommended and the usage should be reinforced among the army personnel involved in shooting.
CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) has attracted a great attention for electronic devices miniaturization due to its
very high dielectric constant properties at a wide range of frequency and nearly constant over broad temperature range. The origins of the giant dielectric constant have been speculated from electrical heterogeneous of interior elements of the CCTO ceramics. Four origins were suggested contributed to the electrical heterogeneous. In this study heat treatment were done with the electrode contact in Argon gas environment and the electrical properties over very wide frequency of CCTO ceramics were investigated. Cylindrical CCTO pellets samples were prepared by solid state reaction method and single phase of XRD pattern was obtained after sintering processes. Electrical impedance responds were measured at frequency from 100 Hz to 1 GHz for the samples for untreated and heat treated at 200ºC, 250ºC, 300ºC, 350ºC and 400ºC of CCTO. Improvement to the dielectric constant can be seen for 350ºC and 400ºC samples and dielectric loss were improved for 200ºC and 300ºC samples for overall frequency. The variations were discussed based on oxygen deficiency content and resistivity of the elements inside of CCTO structure.
Indonesian government secures the access of the poor towards health services through subsidised schemes. This study is aimed to describe the pattern of health expenditure by households and to describe the pattern of health service utilisation across household’s socioeconomic level in the city of Padang after seven years of the introduction of subsidised schemes. A household survey was conducted involving 918 households, with multistage random sampling method. The proportion of out-of-pocket (OOP) health spending as a share of household’s capacity to pay was regressive across consumption quintiles. The proportion of households with catastrophic health expenditure was 1.6% while 1.1% faced impoverished health expenses. Among those who need health care, the utilisation among the rich was higher than the poor. Health insurance schemes in Padang provides financial protection, however with regards to household’s capacity to pay, the poor has the higher burden of health payment. The gap on health service utilisation between the poor and the better-offs was still apparent for outpatient services and it has been narrowed for inpatient care. This study suggests that the subsidised schemes for the poor are highly needed and the possibility of the leakage of subsidies to the rich should be considered by the government.
Austempering is one of the trendiest heat treatment processes to promote the strength and toughness of ductile iron. However, such practice is complex because it involves using aqueous solutions as quenchant (salt bath solution). This study was conducted to analyse the heat treatment of the combination processes of annealing-austenitising and evaluate the correlation between microstructure constituent and hardness of the ductile iron. Ductile iron samples in form of double cylinder was produced by conventional CO2 sand casting method. The new heat treatment process was started by annealed at 873 K for 1.8 ks before being oil quenched. Subsequently, the samples were austenitised at austenitising temperatures 1123 K, 1173 K and 1223 K for 3.6 ks respectively before being immediately oil quenched to room temperature. A series of microstructure analysis tests, including optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) was applied. Vickers microhardness tester was used to measure the hardness for each microstructure constituent. The results showed that ductile iron matrix transforms to martensitic during heat treatment of annealing-austenitising combination processes, which in turn contributes to increasing microhardness of martensite and the bulk hardness of ductile iron.
Computer vision is applied in many software and devices. The detection and
reconstruction of the human skeletal structure is one of area of interest, where the
camera will identify the human parts and construct the joints of the person standing in
front. Three-dimensional pose estimation is solved using various learning approaches,
such as Support Vector Machines and Gaussian processes. However, difficulties in
cluttered scenarios are encountered, and require additional input data, such as
silhouettes, or controlled camera settings. The paper focused on estimating the threedimensional
pose of a person without requiring background information, which is
robust to camera variations. Each of the joint has three-dimensional space position and
matrix orientation with respect to the sensor. Matlab Simulink was utilized to provide
communication tools with depth camera using Kinect device for skeletal detection.
Results on the skeletal detection using Kinect sensor is analysed in measuring the
abilities to detect skeletal structure accurately, and it is shown that the system is able
to detect human skeletal performing non-complex basic motions in daily life.
To investigate the pattern and major causes of tooth extraction among patients
attending IIUM Kulliyyah of Dentistry Polyclinic. (Copied from article).
In dentistry, determining position and orientation parameters for each tooth mostly based on orthodontic
qualitative perception. There is no quantitative method to obtain those parameters in three dimensional
(3D) images, especially in some complicated cases. This study proposed a quantitative approach for
locating centroid of tooth position and also its frame axes orientation. Based on Cone Beam Computed
Tomography (CBCT) x-ray images, a 3D model of teeth was obtained to visualise dental features. A
few dental features were used to calibrate the location of centroid and identify tooth reference axes, or
frames. Two definitions of centroid and frame axes were proposed for single root and for multiple roots
of teeth. Based on these two definitions, the positions and orientations of each tooth were determined
and evaluated. Teeth positions and orientations were obtai
The large clinical spectrum of Haemoglobin E (HbE)/β-thalassaemia leads to identification of modifiers that cause the complexity1. IGSF4, a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily 4 is known as a thalassaemia-related gene that plays an important role in globin synthesis. Methylation of IGSF4 was reported to interrupt the process of globin synthesis through its interaction with other genes in the regulation network of globin expression2. Specific cells isolation is needed in order to study the methylation profile as the interaction between various haematopoietic cells including nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) in whole blood could impact the methylation results3. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the pattern of DNA methylation at the promoter region of IGSF4 gene that may involve in the alteration of globin synthesis in HbE/β-thalassaemia patients.
For the past few years, government-funded universities in Malaysia faced an uphill
battle to strategize their management budget due to significant budget cut by the
Malaysian Government. One portion of the budget will be spent towards achieving the
key performance indicators (KPIs) set by the universities to achieve their annual
targets. Unfortunately, some universities set up their specific strategies to achieve the
KPIs without ample consideration to the limited available resources where less
attention is channeled to the cost of achieving the KPIs. Setting priorities and making
decisions on allocation and reallocation of resources based on the direction of the
strategies must be executed with transparency and accountability and will be of great
importance. In this paper we illustrate how integer programming was applied to
allocate budget based on the KPIs set for one of the government-funded Malaysian
universities’ (U-XYZ’s) research and publication agenda. Two models were developed
and successfully solved. The first model was to determine the total budget needed if
all the KPIs were to be achieved while the second model was to distribute the allocated
budget set by U-XYZ, for all the activities planned for the agenda. The result showed
that in order to achieve the target, U-XYZ has to increase its budget allocation by
RM2.164 million. Otherwise, U-XYZ can only expect to obtain 1.578 out of 1.593 points
that is required to be achieved.
Prolonged drought conditions have adverse environmental and socio-economic impacts due to unmet water demands. Defining drought is difficult because of its onset and ending time. Therefore, characterisation of drought is essential for drought management operations. Thus, drought indices come in handy and are a practical approach to assimilate large amounts of data into quantitative information which can then be applied for drought forecasting, declaring drought levels, contingency planning and impact assessments. This study analyses drought events using indices, namely SPI and Deciles Index, computed with DrinC software program but are not popular in Malaysia. It is observed that both indices are identical and suitable for drought occurrences.
Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SVPWM) method is widely used as a modulation technique
to drive a three-phase inverter. It is an advanced computational intensive method used in pulse width modulation (PWM) algorithm for the three-phase voltage source inverter. Compared with the other PWM techniques, SVPWM is easier to implement, thus, it is the most preferred technique among others. Mathematical model for SVPWM was developed using MATLAB/ Simulink software. In this paper, the interface between MATLAB Simulink with the three-phase inverter by using Arduino Uno microcontroller is proposed. Arduino Uno generates the SVPWM signals for Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) and is described in this paper. This work consists of software and hardware implementations. Simulation was done via Matlab/Simulink software to verify the effectiveness of the system and to measure the percentage of Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). The results show that SVPWM technique is able to drive the three-phase inverter with the Arduino UNO.
The main intention of this research is to examine the content validity of Marine
Engineer Personality Inventory or PERJURA for student candidates of Diploma in
Marine Engineering course at Malaysian Polytechnics by using Content Validity Ratio
(CVR). The assessment was conducted through the evaluation among 14 subject
matter experts (SME) selected via judgment sampling. Seven professional university
experts involved with the expertise in psychology, psychometric, educational
measurement and linguistics. The field experts specializing in particular fields of study
consisted of seven practitioners who worked in the polytechnics field and maritime
industry. The instrument involved 288 items with six main constructs. The results of
the research show that the instrument has a good content validity and proved that
PERJURA has great potential to be promoted as a good measurement instrument of
personality screening for Marine Engineering student selection process. It is
recommended to apply more sophisticated statistical analysis, such as the Item
Response Theory (IRT) model for elaborating on quality items.