Most of the plants in the ginger family Zingeberaceae are well-known for their medicinal properties. However, the genus Hornstedtia found in Sabah is less reported. This research aims to investigate the phytochemical constituent and vitamin C content of a fruit, locally known as the Tolidus fruit in Sabah. The dried fruit sample was extracted using three solvents which were water, ethanol and methanol. The phytochemical constituents were determined using standard Colour Test for the presence of alkaloid, flavonoid, saponin and tannin. Then, the content of Vitamin C was determined using the standard Colorimetric Titration and ascorbic acid as standard. The phytochemical evaluation revealed that all three targeted constituents were present in all extracts except for the alkaloid. The vitamin C content was determined in both dried and fresh sample of fruits, where 52.84 mg was quantified in the fresh fruit aqueous extract and 23.93 mg in the dried fruit aqueous extract respectively. These results are comparable to the content of vitamin C in orange and lime fruits. The phytochemical evaluation and vitamin C content of Tolidus suggested the potential of this underutilised fruit to be the natural and affordable source of vitamin C. Additionally, may protect the body against harmful free radicals. However, further analysis is needed to determine other constructive natural contents and evaluate the efficacy of this fruit as a natural source of antioxidant
A retrospective study was carried out at one selected dairy farm located in Keningau, Sabah in order to evaluate the effect of age at first calving (AFC) on the productive performance of the
primiparous Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows. The retrospective data was collected from 123 Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows. AFC was classified into 7 groups such as:
≤22; 23-24; 25-26; 27-28 months old; 29-30; 31-32 and >32 months old, respectively. The productive performance parameters that were evaluated consisted of the first-lactation milk
yield, lactation length, average daily milk yield and dry period. Cows with AFC of 23-24 and 25-26 months of age showed the highest first-lactation milk yield, 7210.14± 384.84 litres and
7053.80± 342.98 litres, respectively. Cows with AFC of 23-24 months old have also showed the longest lactation length of 410.25± 19.51 days. However, cows with AFC of 23-24 months
of age produced the least average daily milk yield, that was about 17.62± 0.60 litres/day and cows that were calved at 29-30 months of age and >32 months of age produced the highest
average daily milk yield, that was about 24.10± 0.94 litres/day and 24.16± 0.79 litres/day, respectively. The study showed that AFC had a significant effect on the first-lactation milk
yield, lactation length and average daily milk yield of the Sahiwal x Friesian crossbred dairy cows (p0.05). Overall, cows with the AFC of 23-24 months old have showed the best productive performance
This study is focused on formulating a natural-based fabric softener using baking
soda and vinegar with the addition of insect repellent finish of citronella oil and
vanillin. The effectiveness of the fabric softener was evaluated by conducting a fabric
stiffness test on both untreated and treated fabric samples with the softener
formulated in this study. The assessment for the efficacy of insect repellence was
carried out using 3 human participants of the same gender and build but different
blood type, positioned at a mosquito infested area. Three tests; negative, positive, and
normal tests were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the formulated mosquito
repellent finishes in the fabric softener. The results show that the formulated fabric
softener is good mosquito repellent and it is good at giving a soft effect on the treated
fabric.
The Silver Reed Model LK150 knitting machine is a home knitting machine which is
extremely lightweight and compact, making it preferable by most home knitters.
There are various knitwears with interesting patterns can be made using this model. In
the field of garments manufacturing by using flatbed knitting machines, it is
important to understand the physical properties of fabric so that their impact on
dimensional changes can be predicted to produce the most suitable end use. The
samples were produced by using a blended bamboo/cotton yarn, with a composition
of 30% cotton and 70% bamboo. The main objectives of this study are to to evaluate
the physical properties of single jersey fabric knitted on home knitting machine by
using different stitch dials and to relate the physical properties with different stitch
lengths. Then, all tests were conducted to compare the physical properties of samples
between three different stitch dials and the effects of before and after washing. The
physical properties measured in this research were stitch length, stitch density, weight,
thickness, absorbency and shrinkage. The result indicated that the longer the stitch
length, the higher the percentage of the water impact penetration. Meanwhile, there
was a slight reduction on the density, thickness and fabric weight. In addition, the
result after three times washing showed that the samples only had slight changes in
density, thickness, weight and stitch length, but has significant changes on the water
impact penetration.
It is vital for educators to understand and match the learning needs of every student for learning to take place effectively. A detailed reference of the students’ entry characteristics, family background, and previous academic performance is useful in determining the materials and activities to be used with the students. The respondents of this study involved 103 students who enrolled in the pre-higher education programme. The characteristics to identify at-risk students are used as guidelines to redefine the definition of pre-higher education students. Therefore, the study aims to examine the characteristics of pre-higher education students based on their academic performance and socio-economic status. A quantitative method is used to gather more information about the basic entry characteristics, previous academic achievement, family background and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results of the students. The findings of the study help the researcher to define the terminology of the prehigher education programme. Having to confirm to the conceptual definition of the pre-higher education students helps the policy makers and institutions to develop a suitable learning programme to cater to their learning needs.
This study explores how laboratory activity with the argumentative approach could promote
students' conceptual understanding in the Hess' law energy cycle through laboratory work.
Laboratory work with an argument-based inquiry instructional strategy was set up to 15 preuniversity
students from one of the Form 6 Centre at the West Coast Division of Sabah,
Malaysia. The laboratory work consists of a guided inquiry-based instruction with an
argumentative approach in the topic of thermochemistry. The students' understanding of the
energy processes was analyzed with a qualitative method using a semi-structured interview
and triangulated with conversation analysis. The data collected from students' conversation
during the activity was then triangulated with reflective writing at the end of the laboratory
lesson. The study shows the students' prior knowledge and argumentation discourse
significantly influences the development of conceptual understanding. This study emphasizes
argument-based inquiry (ABIIS) in laboratory work to enhance their conceptual knowledge in
the laboratory.
Electromyography (EMG) is a random biological signal that depends on the electrode
placement and the physiology of the individual. Currently, EMG control is practically limited
by this individualistic nature and requires per session training. This study investigates the
EMG signals based on six locations on the lower forearm during contraction. Gesture
classification was performed en-bloc across 20 subjects without retraining with the objective
of determining the most classifiable gestures based on the similarity of their resultant EMG
signals. Principle component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) were the
principal tools for analysis. The results showed that many gesture pairs could be accurately
classified per channel with accuracies of over 85%. However, classification rates dropped to
unreliable levels when up to nine gestures were classified over the single channels. The
classification results show universal classification based on a common EMG database is
possible without retraining for limited gestures.
Existing research recognizes the critical role of vocabulary in the acquisition of a second (L2)
or foreign language. In the context of L2 writing, it has been established that as vocabulary
size increases, so does the ability to write more effective texts. The purpose of this study
was to investigate the relationship between vocabulary size and ESL students’ written
performance. The participants were 69 Malaysian university students whose writing skills
were assessed as part of their English course requirement. Vocabulary size was measured
using Laufer and Nation (1990) Vocabulary Level Test (VLT). Performance on the VLT
was correlated with writing scores as a measure of written performance. Findings indicated
that a majority of participants achieved a mastery level of the 2000-word test but had
difficulty in the 3000-word and 5000-word level. Participants’ vocabulary size was also
found to be strongly associated with their written performance. These results elucidate the
importance of vocabulary knowledge in L2 writing. The pedagogical implication of the
current work calls for the integration of vocabulary in writing classrooms.
In this era of technological advancement, there is a tremendous growth in the usage of mobile applications, mainly among accounting students in higher institutions as a medium for learning tools in education. Accounting students at tertiary level basically are subjected to learn different types of accounting standards. Accounting standards have continued to evolve to strike the balance between providing meaningful information to the users and balancing up cost of preparing such information. However, there is a growing concern that financial reporting has become overly complex. The complexity caused by financial reporting standards may derive from many factors, such as their length, the difficulty in understanding them, and the cost of applying their requirements. In the educational stream, students find that it is hard to understand lengthy wordings in the standards. Therefore, this interactive application is designed to help users especially students on classification issues under MFRS140 Investment Property. Hence,the purpose of the study is to prove the practicality and usefulness of mobile apps to understand accounting standards which is known as MFRS140: Quick Chart Mobile App particularly among final semester accounting students. In this study, the results revealed that this application provides useful and precise guidelines for students as to avoid lengthy wordings to increase the level of their understanding. By using the application, users will have a better knowledge in identifying whether the land and buildings fall under MFRS140 or other MFRSs. Furthermore, the application contributes to the effort of making users learn standards of accounting in a different perspective rather than a classroom-oriented perspective.
Words have a habit of appearing in recurrent patterns. These recurring patterns may take the
form of phrasal verbs, collocations, and other multi-word expressions (MWEs). Since these
patterns constantly re-occur in both speech and writing, it would seem prudent to teach
vocabulary to ESL learners in the manner in which words actually present themselves: in
typical chunks. A common example of such a chunk would be “to deal with the problem”, in
which “deal with” and “problem” are collocates. This paper contains three sections. The first
examines what phrasal verbs and collocates are in the first place, and why they are particularly
important for learners. The second part is a review of recent studies that support the teaching
of MWEs and chunking pedagogy. This paper concludes by discussing the potential of
incorporating chunking pedagogy in one’s own ESL vocabulary teaching.
In general, most of the consumers in Malaysia would throw away their cooking oil just after one or two times of usage. Waste of the cooking oil is one of the root causes of water pollution as well as the cause of clogged the sink and drainage system in the residential areas. These situations occur due to bad habits of people to simply throw away used cooking oil that would affect and harm the environment. As the world moves forward to a sustainable city and greener environment, the society need to tackle this bad habit from becoming worse. This paper proposes a conceptual idea on how to educate, promote, create awareness as well as encourage the public to be more responsible in managing and disposing used cooking oil. The objective of this study is also aligned and inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals SDG 1: No Poverty and SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production.
In today’s society, there is a great demand for appreciating nutritional standards in which characterized by rising costs and often decreasing availability of raw material together with concern about environmental pollution. Consequently, there is a considerable emphasis on their recovery, recycling and upgrading wastes. The food industry produces large volumes of wastes, both solids and liquids, resulting from the production, preparation and consumption of food. Due to legislation and environmental reasons, the food and beverage industry is highly enforced to find an alternative use for the residual matter. The latest trends impacting the food industry include moves to reduce the huge amount of food waste, as consumers simultaneously adapt their habits in times of continuing austerity. In the last decades, consumers demands in the field of food production has changed considerably. Consumers believe that food contribute directly to their health. Therefore, the idea of using underutilized and waste food products was triggered, where the main ingredient is made of plants waste which is corn silk. It is an invention to transform plant waste to corn silk flour – Zea Mays Flour ( ZMF) that benefit the society through its help of increasing food for the world. Furthermore, it can help to enhance global efforts towards food security, nutrition, dietary needs, as well as foster health and income generation. Recycling products using underutilized and waste food products also could help to sustain the environment. There is one fact that must be beared in inventors’ mind that scientific research alone does not guarantee for a product to be successful in the market. The product invented should fit the taste and needs for the consumers as the market success rate is influenced by the degree of familiarity and acceptance toward the product being sold. Many of the today’s food and beverage products are not intended merely to satisfy hunger and provide humans with necessary nutrients, as they aim to prevent nutrition related diseases and increase physical and mental well-being of consumers. Therefore, it is necessary for product development to explore which need that consumers are concerned about, so that the product could achieve success and market acceptance. The idea using food product using underutilized/waste product, corn silk become Zea Mays Flour ( ZMF), is hoped will support the idea of sustainability, specifically ins steadily gaining more attention from many food producers worldwide, to save the environment while at the same time boost the business through reduction of costs and considerable amount of waste.