The purpose of this study is to compare the tensile strength between additional polystyrene into coconut meat husk reinforced fiber composite. Composite were produced by using hand layup technique. It is seen that with the additional of polystyrene into the coconut meat husk reinforced polyester composites showed the increment tensile strength value compared to the non-added polystyrene which indicates that effective stress transfer between the fiber, matrix and polystyrene.
Nowadays Silicone Rubber (SiR) is recommended in high voltage cable accessories fabrication as it offers excellent electrical and mechanical properties. Electrical tree is one of the phenomenon which contributes to the main factor of SiR insulation breakdown. Recently, a new approach has been applied in order to enhance the insulation strength properties by introducing nano filler in undoped material. Thus, this paper presents the influence of nano-alumina and halloysite nanoclay on electrical tree growth in SiR at 0, 1 vol%, 2 vol% and 3 vol% concentration. The electrical tree growth was investigated at 8kVrms after tree inception voltage (TIV) within 30 minutes under room temperature. The results show reductions of electrical tree growth speed and accumulate damage (%) up to 2 vol% nano-alumina and up to 3 vol% halloysite nanoclay. Nevertheless the presence of 3 vol% nano-alumina in SiR leads to the faster electrical tree growth rate and the worst accumulate damage within 1 minute of electrical tree growth process.
Being the most abundant element on earth, aluminium has become one of the major restricting factors that affect the growth and development of plants. The first target of aluminium toxicity is the root apex which would in turn affect the overall growth of the plants. In this study, the effect of various concentrations of aluminium (Al) on the growth of Lobelia chinensis was determined. Nodal explants of L. chinensis were cultured on MS medium containing various concentrations of aluminium chloride (AlCl3) (0, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, 7.5, 10.0 and 20 µM) with 1250.0 μM ion phosphate and pH was adjusted to 4.6. It was observed that both the growth of shoot and root decreased with the increasing concentrations of Al.
The preparation technique during synthesizing process and heat treatment plays an important role in the properties of the ceramic materials. In this paper, ceramic perovskite-type oxide based on Ba (Ce,Zr)O3 was prepared by sol-gel method and sintered via two-step sintering (TSS) technique. In the TSS, the sintered pellet was undergoing twice heat treatment. The first temperature profile was set at T1= 1400°C and the second temperature were varied at T2 = 1150°C, 1200°C, 1300°C and 1350°C, respectively. XRD results showed that all samples TSS1 to TSS5 exhibit single-phase of cerate-zirconate ceramics except for the pellet sintered at 1300°C (TSS4). The crystalline peaks for single-phase sintered pellets were matched to the standard compound Ba(Ce,Zr)O3 . On the other hand, the presence of secondary phases of CeO2 , Ba2ZrO4 and BaCO3 along with the main phase of Ba(Ce,Zr)O3 were detected in TSS4. SEM analysis revealed that the samples formed clear and compact grains with submicron sizes whereby the size of grain decreased from 336.4 to 192 nm as the second sintering temperature increased. This paper attempts to show that the implementation of different sintering profile in TSS method was found to give significant effect on the phase and morphology of solid solution of Ba(Ce,Zr)O3 .
Natural fiber reinforced composites are recognized as better materials for structural components due to their inherent properties. However, milling these materials presents a number of problems, such as surface delamination, which appeared during the machining process, associated with the characteristics of the material and the cutting parameters. Therefore, in this study, machining parameters and the influence of the banana fibers under delamination were investigated. Result showed that machining parameters has a significance effect on the delamination of banana fiber reinforced polyester composites.
In the oil and gas industry, pipeline is the major transportation medium to deliver the products. According to [1] containment of pipeline loss to indicate that corrosion has been found to be the most predominant cause for failures of buried metal pipes. MIC has been identified as one of the major causes of underground pipeline corrosion failure and Sulphate Reducing Bacteria (SRB) are the main reason causing MIC, by accelerating corrosion rate. The objectives of this study is to study the SRB growth, Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ATCC 7757 due to pH and determine the optimum value controlling the bacteria growth on the internal pipe of carbon steel grade API X70. The result shows that the optimum SRB growth is at range pH 5-5 to 6.5 and the exposure time of 7 to 14 days. At pH 6.5 the maximum corrosion rate is 1.056 mm/year. Corrosion phenomena on carbon steel in the study proven had influence by pH and time. From this result pitting corrosion strongly attack at carbon steel pipe. In the future project, it is recommended to study the effect of different pipe location for example the pipeline under seawater.
Diverting waste material from landfill sites has a big implication for the creation of new markets and has environmental benefits through offsetting the need for the extraction of raw materials. Besides, the major attention especially in construction industry is the problem to make natural resources sustainable for three to four decades in future. However, in this study finely glass powder with pozzolanic properties is found to be a partial replacement for cement and can acts as filler in the microstructure of a mortar block. Thus, a study was conducted to see the effects of various proportions of windscreen glass waste powder (WGWP) in determining the degree of water absorption on mortar incorporated with WGWP and to determine the optimum replacement to the ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with WGWP. Several compositions of WGWP (0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% by cement weight) of mortar cube sample were prepared and cured at 7, 28 and 60 days to undergo a water absorption test. From this research, it shows that the use of WGWP was found to be the best features pozzolanic enough to use as a partial replacement for cement and it can reduced the pores of mortar by blocking the large voids in the hydrated cement paste through pozzolanic reaction. In the term of water absorption, the lowest reading was achieved in 15% and it can be said that 15% replacement is the optimum replacement of OPC.
Assistive technology is initiated to aid those visually impaired to fulfil their tasks independently, rapidly, and easily. As such, tactile map is an assistive technology that has been widely used for navigation to enable those visually impaired to visualize the geographical information about a particular place. Nevertheless, its usability and availability in Malaysia are scant. This paper aims to investigate the usability issues of tactile map, identify the requirements and proposed a conceptual prototype named TacTalk. Qualitative research method in the form of face to face interviews were carried out with the visually impaired residing at Saint Nicholas’ Home for the Blind in Penang. Results from the findings identified four emerging usability issues: poor design of tactile map due to limited space, misinterpretation of information, complexity of symbols used and difficulty in memorizing directions. The proposed solution, ‘TacTalk’, refers to a ‘talking tactile map’ incorporated with audio support. TacTalk is comprised of two components, which are: a tactile map with built-in buttons, and a mobile application that plays the audio files. There is a connection between the buttons on the map and the TacTalk mobile application via Bluetooth. An audio instruction is played when the button is pressed by the user. The results of this work hope to overcome the fear of the visually impaired to travel alone. Hopefully, it can inspire and empower them to explore the use of assistive technology in future.
The proposed development of Sibu Central hinges on the fact that it attracts high number of visitors from all over Sarawak. The development of Sibu Central would definitely improve the surrounding areas in future as Sibu Central will be one of the landmarks for Sibu. This development therefore will automatically generate more road traffic which will affect the performance of the existing road. The performance of the existing road was evaluated by two signalized intersections surrounding the proposed development of Sibu Central. It was carried out in order to determine the current traffic volume data, upon the completion of Sibu Central and 5 years after the development was completed. The road performance of Intersection 1 and Intersection 2 was analysed by using Sidra software. It was found that the existing road was still within the satisfactory performance, as the Level of Service (LOS) was in the range of LOS A until LOS D. This was due to the current traffic volume that was still under the capacity of the existing road which also influenced the satisfactory result for Volume by Capacity (V/C) ratio, average delay and queue length of all directions in Intersection 1 and Intersection 2. This result will not be adequate as the capacity of the road still remains unchanged due to the fact that the traffic volume keeps on increasing every year. The deterioration of the existing road in Intersection 1 and Intersection 2 was established in this study based on the performance of LOS, V/C ratio, average delay and queue length.
Learning through game scene is considered a game-based learning approach. Teaching and learning process using game scene is deemed interesting and effective due to the nature for this approach which seems alive with asserted activities. Students experience their own game via narration through the virtual world they undertook. This investigation is targeted towards conceptual change and explanation for basic programming theorem through navigated game scene by evaluating motivation and student experience. 55 respondents consisted of semester three students from computer software application certification a program from a community college is selected for the undertaken study. Motivation and experience surveys are reference based on intrinsic motivation inventory instrument (IMI). Findings were tabulated based on t-test statistics and descriptive to get the frequency, mean, standard deviation and percentage. Initial results reflected student acknowledgement on utilizing game scenes in terms of elaborating basic game programming key points in providing elevated learning experience.
This paper presents the comparison of extraction methods between maceration extraction (ME) and ultrasonic assisted extarction (UAE) to the bioactive compounds yield (gallic acid, protocatechuic acid, epigallocatechin and rutin) of Labisia pumila. A grinded dried plant material with size ranging 246.58μm to 257.72μm was performed throughout this work. The gallic acid, protoctechuic acid, epigallocatechin and rutin qualification and quantification were performed using an ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled photodiode array (UPLC-PDA). Exact match between the residence time from the plant extract and external standard was found indicating a presence of these four targeted bioactive compounds. It was found that UAE method has the highest extraction yield; gallic acid (0.0293 mg GA/g DW), protocatechuic acid (0.0081 mg PCA/g DW), epigallocatechin (0.0057 mg EGC/g DW) and rutin (0.0038 mg Rutin/g DW) compared to ME. The findings in this work may serve as a useful guide to obtain a highest extraction yield of these four targeted bioactive compounds from L. pumila.
Protease is an enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of peptide bond in polypeptide chain and hold a wide range of applications in industry. The aim of this study is to clone and to express several genes encoding proteases from alkalitolerant bacteria Bacillus lehensis strain G1. A total of 13 genes encoding proteases have been selected using bioinformatics approach. These genes were then amplified using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Subsequently, the PCR product was cloned into cloning vector pGEM®T easy and transformed into competent cell E. coli DH5α. The transformants were further verified by sequencing. The positive cloned were subcloned into the expression vector and were then expressed in Luria Bertani medium in the present of IPTG using E. coli BL21. The expressions of recombinant proteases were optimized for several hours at different temperatures, 16-37°C. Furthermore, structural prediction was performed using Modeller v9.18 for BleG1_1940. Each generated model was verified for overall completeness and bias, using PROCHECK, ERRAT, and Verify 3D. The overall quality of the model was relatively good with percentage of Ramachandran plot is 96.3%, PROCHECK is 86.2% and ERRAT score is 95%,.
The architectural physical appearances of shopping malls posed serious challenges to the development of shopping malls and attracting customers especially in developing countries. This study aimed at assessing the influences of the architectural features that attract customers’ to shop in the Malaysian shopping malls. Four architectural features namely: location of the mall, facilities and services installed, aesthetics and design and also quality of structures in the malls are the main constructs attracting customers to shop in the Malaysian shopping industry. Survey instruments were administered to the customers of major shopping malls in Penang Island of Malaysia. A Warp PLS-SEM software algorithm was used for the analysis of collected data. The results indicated that locations, facilities and services in malls contribute significantly to the attraction of customers’ to shop in a mall. The results also show positive substantial relationships between customers’ attraction and the architectural features and among the independent variables. The study recommended the developments of shopping malls close to residential houses where customers could easily walk a short distances for shopping. The facilities and services installed in shopping malls attract customers; the developers of shopping mall should consider the design and installation of modern facilities like conveyors, elevators, lifts etc. while designing and constructions of shopping malls.
System Analysis and Design (SAD) is one of the core courses offered in Bachelor’s degree programme in Information Technology. However, it is observed that students are not grasping the details of the lessons, and this is affecting their employability and the productivity value in the software development chain. This experience is linked to the presently-used teaching method. In this regard, blended learning model, which improves students’ learning experience and reduces underachievement in computer science, is suggested. This study therefore aims to identify the effects of the identified success factors on academic success of SAD. To achieve these objectives, a quantitative research method was employed, involving administration of survey instruments distributed to 151 students, who took SAD as a course in UUM, using simple random sampling, and data collected were analysed with correlation and regression techniques. The study found that students’ attitude, students’ technology usage level, students’ access to technology, students’ courseware, curriculum, learning system interface quality, lecture quality, and e-learning system comprehensiveness positively influence students’ academic success in SAD.
The use of advanced high strength steels as a metal in sheet metal forming in automotive industry currently has been increased where Advanced High Strength Steel (AHSS) especially Dual Phase (DP590) Steels have gained a great attention due to a combination of high strength and good formability. However, one of the major constraints in forming AHSS is the occurrence of high spring back caused by elastic relaxation after loading, which causes illness-fitting in part assembly and geometric deviation of the intended design. Spring back is the main problem of defect that occurs at sheet metal after the bending process which creates problems for the parts during the assembly. This paper presents an investigation the effect of spring back on bending test of Dual Phase Steel (DP590). Punch travel and thickness are among factors affecting the spring back behavior. Various parameter value; punch radius (5mm), die radius (5mm), die gap (70mm), thickness of specimen 1mm and 2mm, punch travel/stroke (25%, 50%, 75%, 100%) from 20 mm depth, punch speed (2mm/min) and Orientation of sheet cutting, which is in rolling (00°),diagonal (45°) and transverse (90°). From the analysis of V-bending test punch travel, thickness and orientation of sheet cutting are significant factor that affecting the spring back phenomena. The result form this experiment could be useful for design engineers and manufacturing engineers to make improvement of predict the spring back behavior and also to understanding the material properties of AHSS in order to eliminate spring back and achieve good final product.
In this research, study on mutual coupling of aperture coupled cylindrical DRA and its influence on return loss, radiation pattern including the directivity, gain and bandwidth was computed and illustrated. The DRA was excited by a micro strip line with aperture coupled slots where the slot locations were calculated using the characteristic of standing wave ratio over a short ended micro strips. Small dielectric resonator antenna was designed using high permittivity dielectric material with permittivity the substrate of 3.38. The diameter of the dielectric resonator is 12mm with the height of 4.2mm. The element spacing that been investigated for the effect of mutual coupling was at 0.5λ, 0.75λ and 1λ with maximum of four DRA been used. The final result shows the effect of mutual coupling is decreased with three DRA element with the gain measured at 5.948GHz frequency is about 8.619dB with high directivity measured at 11.4dBi. This shows that the proposed DRA with three 1λ spacing DRA elements exhibits an enhancement of the gain and directivity in comparison with a single pellet DRA. Hence, by increasing the level of isolation between the two identical DRAs to 1λ it actually helps electromagnetic interaction to attract and further increase the directivity and effective area.
A temperature-stable, low-power ring oscillator design for implementation in an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) is presented. In this work, the design uses a new arrangement of chain delay elements consisting of a current-starved inverter and a CMOS capacitor. This power consumption improvement ring oscillator design was built in the environment of 130nm CMOS process technology using Mentor Graphics environment with voltage supply 1V. The simulation results show a maximum power consumption of 1.036 nW and it shows that the presented design is applicable in low power advanced sensing systems application including biomedical, chemical, and other sensors.
As a way to enhance performance in sports, apart from in-field or in court training, athletes are recommended to adopt resistance training into their training routine. As an exercise that needs the performer to split their legs, lunge is suggested to be included as an exercise in a training session. Various researches had been conducted on lunge and several findings showed different methods or protocols of lunge affect the kinematics, kinetics muscle activation and fascicle behaviour response during the exercise. Although not much study conducted on the chronic adaptations, the existing studies suggested that performers should well plan the training protocols as this will cause different training adaptations.
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a common neurodevelopmental condition encountered by pediatricians. The condition may present itself in many different kinds of classification. In many cases, the cause of CP may not be apparent. Cerebral Palsy is always showing many deficits such as mental retardation, speech and language and oral motor problems. This project inspired from Elisya, a nine-year-old kid that has CP since born and she have the communication problems since she cannot speak to express her opinions and desires. The main focus on this project is to help to improve the communication issues among CP children. In order to assist the people with CP, the assistive tool is required to help them to communicate or interact with people around them. Assistive technology includes equipment, devices and software solutions that increase functional capabilities of people with disabilities and improve the quality of their lives. There are several Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices for people with Cerebral Palsy that are not able to speak. One of the ways to make this happen is to implement the AAC technology with mobile technology by developing a mobile application named as Make Me Speak and React Native technology in order to build the cross platform for this application since the application should be run on IOS and Android platform so it’s easier for other people to bring it anywhere and use it at any time. It also involves CP centres and school to do experimental studies for this project. There are several studies shows that AAC technology can help in enhancing the speech and language development and in this project, the suggested mobile application should be friendly to our language and culture of our nation, Malaysia and the project is in line with the social innovation in the Eleventh Malaysia Plan (RMK-11).
Manufacturing systems, in pursuit of cost, time and flexibility optimisation are becoming more and more complex, exhibiting a dynamic and nonlinear behaviour. Unpredictability is a distinct characteristic of such behaviour and effects production planning significantly. Complexity continues to be a challenge in manufacturing systems, resulting in ever-inflating costs, operational issues and increased lead times to product realisation. This challenge must be met with appropriate decision-making by manufacturing companies to secure competitive advantage without compromising sustainability. Assessing complexity realises the reduction and management of complexity sources which contribute to lowering associated engineering costs and time, improves productivity and increases profitability. Therefore, this study was undertaken to investigate the priority level and current achievement of manufacturing performance in Malaysia’s manufacturing industry and the complexity drivers on manufacturing productivity performance. The results showed that Malaysia’s manufacturing industry prioritised product quality and they managed achieved a good on-time delivery performance. However, for other manufacturing performance, there was a difference where the current achievement of manufacturing performances in Malaysia’s manufacturing industry is slightly lower than the priority given to them. The strong correlation of significant value for priority status was observed between efficient production levelling (finished goods) and finish product management while the strong correlation of significant value for current achievement was minimised the number of workstation and factory transportation system. This indicates that complexity drivers have an impact towards manufacturing performance. Consequently, it is necessary to identify complexity drivers to achieve well manufacturing performance.