Clay soil has always been associated with low shear strength and high compression behavior due to the high content of organic matter. The limited amounts of clay available onsite and acid mine drainage (AMD) problems have necessitated the continuous search for the treatment technology potentials. Mining soils, obtained from Selinsing Gold Mine in Raub, Pahang were evaluated to determine their suitability for use as mining soil and steel slag mixtures as compacted retention pond liners for AMD treatment. The studied samples were subjected to classification, compaction, permeability and strength tests. The results indicated that the index properties of the samples met the minimum requirements for use as liners. The compaction test showed that the maximum dry density (MDD) and optimum moisture content (OMC) decreased and increased, respectively, for all studied samples. At OMC, hydraulic conductivities of the compacted soil-steel slag were in the order of ≤ 10-9 m/s. The results from unconfined compression strength (UCS) tests gave values of 204 kN/m2 and 61° for soil cohesion and soil internal friction angle, respectively. Furthermore, the influence of steel slag treatment on strength properties has generally shown an improvement of up to 15% steel slag which gives the acceptable results of stress-strain in respect of its usability as liner material.
The distribution of dissolved iron (dFe) and particulate iron in the estuarine system was studied where in-situ water sampling stations were selected at Bagan Pasir, Perak. The concentration of dFe was 1.17±0.28 mg/L on average at the estuary, while in freshwater samples its concentration was 0.08±0.00 mg/L. This study found that the concentration of particulate Fe in freshwater system was higher than that in the estuary system. The Fe concentration was 0.95±0.03 mg/kg and 0.80±0.18 mg/kg at the freshwater and estuary systems, respectively. We have applied a distribution coefficient (KD) in order to quantify the partitioning of Fe between the particulate (>0.45 µm) and dissolved (
Determining the response of basin water resources to rainfall and temperature fluctuations is a crucial source of information for basins water resources planning and management. The study used a descriptive, Mann-Kendall trend test (M-K) and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). The mean, standard deviations and variations were spatially interpolated using the geostatistical technique. The trend results showed an increase in both rainfall and temperature series. However, the only statistically significant trends were in June and September for rainfall series and in February, May, and April for the temperature series. Rainfall exhibited high temporal variability whereas temperature showed high spatial variability. The intra-annual variability was higher than the inter-annual variability, suggesting that the local climate is largely controlled by natural force. The result of the multiple linear regression (R2=0.431), indicates that the hydrology and water resources of the basin are impacted largely by factors not considered in this study such as land use changes, infiltration, and rate of evaporation among others. However, among the factor considered, rainfall (Beta = 0.505; P = 001) has the highest impacts on the river discharge behavior and should be given preference while addressing water resources predicaments in the catchment.
Rough neutrosophic multisets are an improved model of generalization pf neutrosophic multisets represented within the Pawlak’s boundary set of information: lower and upper approximation. The concepts of rough neutrosophic multisets can be easily extended to a relation, mainly since a relation is also a set, i.e. a subset of a Cartesian product. This paper establishes an axiomatic definition of rough neutrosophic multisets relation of Cartesian product over a universal set. Some of the operations and properties of rough neutrosophic multisets, such as max, min, the composition of two rough neutrosophic multisets relation and inverse rough neutrosophic multisets relation, are studied with a proven condition. An algorithm of rough neutrosophic multisets relation is also presented as a step followed to obtain the rough neutrosophic multisets relation. Successful analysis using rough neutrosophic multisets relation theory is represented by the illustrative example of expert opinion about automobile popularity. In conclusion, with a specified condition in uncertainty information, rough neutrosophic multiset relations are generalized in terms of the relation properties of a rough fuzzy relation, rough intuitionistic fuzzy relation, and rough neutrosophic relation over universal. Subsequently, their properties could also be examined.
In this paper, we present the absolute stability of the existing 2-point implicit block multistep step methods of step number k = 3 and k = 5 and solving special second order ordinary differential equations (ODEs). The methods are then trigonometrically fitted so that they are suitable for solving highly oscillatory problems arising from the special second order ODEs. Their explicit counterparts are also trigonometrically fitted so that in the implementation the methods can act as a predictor-corrector pairs. The numerical results based on the integration over a large interval are given to show the performance of the proposed methods. From the numerical results we can conclude that the new trigonometrically-fitted methods are superior in terms of accuracy and execution time, compared to the existing methods in the scientific literature when used for solving problems which are oscillatory in nature.
Parboiling process has been widely implemented in brown rice processing, but its effect on in vitro physiological antioxidant capacity of brown rice was not known. In this study, an in vitro method simulating the human physiological conditions was used to investigate the effect of parboiling on antioxidant capacity of brown rice in three Bario rice varieties. In this method, bacterial inocula were prepared from rat cecal contents. Results showed that parboiling process gave significant impacts on in vitro physiological antioxidant capacity of brown rice. The process improved total phenolic content at small intestine (Adan Halus), DPPH scavenging activity at both small and large intestines (Adan Halus and Bario Merah) and ferrous ion-chelating activity at large intestine (Bario Hitam). However, changes in antioxidant capacity were variety dependent, possibly due to different bran pigmentation. These suggested that parboiling process could improve physiological antioxidant capacity with in vitro simulation at small and large intestines by selecting a suitable rice variety and parboiled brown rice could offer good antioxidant properties to maintain physiological health.
This study aims to characterise the scattered dose distribution from a ceiling-mounted X-ray unit in a multi-bay resuscitation room. The finding of this study is essential for optimisation and safety of staff and patients. Simulation of phantom imaging was carried out using MCNP5 code. The calculated data were initially compared against the measurements carried out using a survey meter. Three measurement positions, denoted by T2, T3, and T4 were considered for the dose calculation. The data suggested that T2 received the highest scattered dose. This value (maximum value of less than 6 µGy) is lower than the annual dose limit for the public and radiation workers as well as natural background radiation dose. Meanwhile, T3 consistently received a higher scattered dose (maximum difference of 25.62%) than T4. The angles of the X-ray tube resulted in scattered doses less than 6 µGy for both 90° and 100° scattering angles. In conclusion, the scattered dose for a single exposure imaging inside the room is safe. Yet, consideration of the placement of a portable lead shielding between X-ray tube and treatment couch is strongly recommended. This is due to a high number of imaging procedures commonly performed daily in a busy hospital. Hence, the cumulative dose to the paramedic staff and patients may exceed the safe level.
Jackfruit straws are normally disposed as waste by food industries and vendors which may lead to serious environmental issue. In order to reduce the wastage and negative effects to the environment, jackfruit straw waste generated by jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) shows potential as bio-based film incorporated with starch. This work describes the effect of different starch and plasticizer contents on mechanical and thermal properties of jackfruit straw powder (JSP)/starch films. Film-forming solutions were prepared and cast by mixing JSP with tapioca starch at different ratios and for the plasticized films, ca. 15 - 40% of plasticizers including sorbitol and glycerol were incorporated into the JSP/starch films respectively. The tensile strength and modulus of JSP/starch films pronouncedly increased with increasing starch content, accompanied with a slight decreasing in the elongation at break. The result demonstrated that starch interacted with JSP, resulting in the formation of a new network to improve the properties of JSP films. FTIR spectrum analyses demonstrated the presence of hydrogen bonding in the JSP/starch film. The tensile strength of the plasticized JSP/starch films decreased with increasing sorbitol and glycerol content from 15% to 40%. However, the plasticizing effect of sorbitol became more significant than glycerol, particularly on the tensile properties and thermal stability. Thermal analysis by thermogravimetric showed an increment in the decomposition temperature with the addition of plasticizers into JSP/starch films. The results suggest that films containing JSP and starch have the potential for the development of edible food packaging materials.
The current study investigates the phytochemical composition of Malaysian stingless bee honey (Kelulut honey-KH), which consists of total phenolic (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC), and antioxidant activity. The honey was collected from five different regions in Malaysia i.e. south, central, eastern, northern and east coast regions. TPC and TFC were quantified by using Folin-Ciocalteu and the aluminum chloride colorimetric techniques, respectively. The antioxidant activity was investigated using two methods: 1) 1,1-diphenyl- 2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging assay; 2) ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP). The findings indicated that there were significant differences in phytochemical compositions and antioxidant activities of KH between different regions. This implies that geographical location, as well as cultivation and treatment processes, have significant effects on the KH quality.
In the present research, microalgae protein hydrolysate of Nannochloropsis gaditana (MPH) was extracted via enzymatic hydrolysis using alcalase enzyme. Hydrolysis conditions like (pH, temperature, enzyme concentration and substrate concentration) were optimized by Response Surface Methodology (RSM) using Central Composite Design (CCD). Four range of independent variables namely; pH (7-9), temperature (45-55°C), substrate concentration (2-6 g/L) and enzyme concentration (0.2-0.4 g/L) were used to study the influence of these parameters on the degree of hydrolysis. The CCD consisted of twenty-four experimental points and six replicates of central points with the optimum conditions obtained from this experiment were at pH 8.14, a temperature 51.4°C, a substrate concentration 5.48 g/L and an enzyme concentration 0.26 g/L with maximum degree hydrolysis of 55.76%. All experiments were fixed at 24 hours reaction time. The degree of hydrolysis of MPH was analysed using O-phthaldehyde (OPA) method to quantify the cleavage of peptide bond. The optimized sample was evaluated for its antioxidant activity using 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay with 52.19% and 2, 2'- azino-bis (ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) assay with 14.13%. The bioactive peptides contained in Nannochloropsis gaditana have the ability to scavenge free radicals and act as good antioxidants.
Pomelo pomace (PP) from Malaysia Tambun White (PO52) variety, dried at different temperature under vacuum condition were evaluated. PP was obtained after extraction process and contained high moisture content (MC). Dried PP can be used as an alternative to livestock feed, hence, dried concentrated form was preferable. Nevertheless, drying process significantly affects the physico-chemical properties of a dried product. Therefore, the present study was carried out to discover the effects of drying temperature on the physico-chemical properties (MC, pH, vitamin C, browning index (BI) and total color change) of PP. The PP was dried at different drying temperature (50, 60, 70, 80 and 90°C) using a vacuum drying (VD) oven for 24 hr. The freeze drying (FD) process was used as a control. The result showed the MC gradually decreased with increasing drying temperature, of which similar trend was also observed for the water activity and total soluble solids (TSS). In contrast, pH showed increment in value with elevated drying temperature. Interestingly, at 90°C, vitamin C of VD (30.38 mg / 100 g DW) was higher than FD pomelo pomace (21.10 mg / 100 g DW). BI significantly increased as temperature increased. However, no significant changes were observed for total color change after VD. In conclusion, VD at 90°C showed the most recommended temperature because the composition of quality properties at this temperature was not significantly varied with control. These fundamentals information of pomelo pomace could be the guideline for postharvest technologist and food processing manufacturers for various applications.
Hepatitis C infection is a major public health problem that can be dealt with urgent and timely attention. Recently, WHO Global Hepatitis Report showed that 71 million people, equivalent to approximately 1% of the world population, are infected with hepatitis C. The disease incidence, mortality rate and risk factors vary across geographical regions. The virus is transmitted primarily through drug injection and exposure to infected blood products in healthcare and community settings. The common causes of death related to virus infections are decompensated liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Hepatitis C infection is mainly prevented by identifying and controlling any possible risk factors for virus transmission because treatment is costly and limited in availability. In this review, articles discussing the natural history, epidemiology and risk factors for hepatitis C infection are reviewed.
Unintentional injuries cause huge economic and social burden for the country. To further prevent unintentional injury by different age groups, it is crucial to identify the recent pattern of paediatric mortality. For a start, this study included a retrospective record review of 334 paediatric trauma patients (0-18 years) who were hospitalized due to unintentional injuries. The patient’s medical records from the period 2007 to 2010 were obtained from the National Trauma Database (NTrD). The patients were categorized into
In recent years, digital cameras have become one of the tools used by the new generation due to their unique advantages in capturing and processing data and usage in many applications, such as crop growth, forest monitoring and archaeological investigation. The quality of images captured by digital cameras originate from accurate measurements which are allied to the digital internal camera parameters. Instability of geometric cameras require consideration to achieve good accuracy in measurement. Therefore, camera calibration becomes an important task to ensure the stability of all internal camera parameters. This research is aimed to assess the internal camera parameters of non-metric cameras. The quantitative method was adapted by this research, which required an experimental implementation achieve quality in data acquisition. Several camera parameters needed to be emphasised in regard to camera calibration, which consisted of focal length, offset main point, radial lens distortion, and distortion of tangent lenses. The offset main point represents the image centre coordinates while the distortion of tangent lenses ensures image quality during image acquisition. The study found that Nikon SLR D60 camera provided a higher accuracy as compared to DJI 4 pro and iPad mini 4 cameras. In conclusion, all non-metric cameras can be used for mapping but it will provide various accuracy levels.
Tripoli coastal aquifer, Libya, which is located in a densely urbanised area, is the primary source of water supply in Tripoli city. In the last few decades and due to population growth, more than 100 wells have been drilled in Tripoli aquifer for the purpose of increasing pumping to meet demand on groundwater. The urbanisation at the Tripoli upper aquifer system has reduced the recharge rates and affected the groundwater storage. In this study, changes in groundwater dynamics in Tripoli’s unconfined aquifers were simulated using MODFLOW-2005 code. The model was calibrated and validated using measured and simulated values. Statistical tests such as coefficient of determination, R2 mean error, mean absolute error, and the root mean square error were computed and found to be 0.97, 0.31, 1.70 and 2.32 respectively. The simulation will assist in the assessment of the long term saline water intrusion. Calibrated transient groundwater flow models for the years 2020 – 2100 indicated that this case is likely to occur along pumping profiles with high pumping rates. Simulation results show that the groundwater levels will decline and exceed 12 m in the Southern area while in the Northern area near the coastal line, depletion is continuous and more than 70 wells will face saline water intrusion by the year 2100. Doubling the pumping rate from the wells will accelerate the drop in the groundwater levels and about 98% of the wells will be subjected to high salinity level by 2100. The salinity levels in these wells will make the groundwater unfit for human consumption.
Degradation of coastal water quality is one of the major concern in the Malacca Strait since this area is one of the most important fishing ground in Malaysia. Despite being great in the fishery industry, Malacca and Negeri Sembilan somehow recorded the lowest marine fishes landing, which raises a question about dynamics of this area. It is therefore, a preliminary study of the physical properties and nutrient concentrations carried out from 27 March to 4 April 2016 at the coastal water off the southern west coast of Peninsular Malaysia, specifically at Pulau Besar, Malacca and Tanjung Tuan, Negeri Sembilan. Data for temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen (DO) was acquired by using Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) probe. Meanwhile, nutrient concentrations determination in this study was done by using a Westco Smartchem 200 Discrete Analyser, according to the procedure adopted from United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). In general, results of this study indicated the coastal stations were characterised with cooler, less saline, and high DO waters than stations away from coast. Large sea surface heating and weak winds were determined as the causative factors affecting dynamics of water column at the study area. At nearshore area, temperature, salinity, and DO variability were modulated by degree of freshwater intrusion. High nutrient concentrations at the stations closer to the coast was believed to be associated with river outflow, which acted as the main source of nutrients supply in this area. Comparison to previous study had shown that nutrient concentrations in this research were low, which could contribute to an insight on declining marine fish catches in these two states. With regard to Malaysian Marine Water Quality Criteria and Standard (MWQCS), mean nutrient concentrations at the study area were in Class 1, which are suitable for marine parks and marine protected areas conservation. Regardless of limited scope, the outcome of this study is believed to be a good baseline reference for future studies seeking to understand coastal dynamics.
Sound is a form of wave vibrations that contributes significantly in our daily life. Plants may interact with sound around us but we cannot certainly sure their reaction because of their immobility. Thus, this study intends to find the significant effect between different types of acoustic patterns on the growth of plants. Mung bean or its scientific name, Vigna radiata was chosen as seed material in this experiment due to their short growth cycle. The plants were grown in six environmental chambers with proper ventilations. The chambers were placed on open field with ambient conditions. Mung beans were exposed to five different types of acoustic patterns (soprano, classical, nature, rock, Quranic recitation) with sound pressure level of 60 dB ± 10 dB and one chamber was kept without any acoustic exposure. The length of stem, number of leaves and length of roots were recorded on the 15th day of mung beans’ growth. Experimental results indicate that different types of acoustic patterns promoted the growth of different part of mung beans. Soprano had significant effect on the length of stem while Quranic recitation promoted the production of leaves. However, there is no significant evidence that acoustic exposure stimulates the length of roots.
The presence of imaging technologies in Malaysia needs to be supported by homegrown research to optimize and tailor their usage for local benefits. Research done elsewhere may not be applicable to local situations. This study investigates the contribution of researches by Malaysian academicians and service providers to the field of medical imaging, as evident in the Malaysian Citation index (MyCite) database. Bibliometric and thematic analyses were performed on publications featured in the database from 2006 to 2016. The bibliometric analysis provided information on the affiliation of the authors, their professional backgrounds, types of studies, and the journals involved while the thematic analysis identified the themes and sub-themes of identified articles. The study found that Malaysians contributed 54.1% of the publications, followed by non-Malaysians (41.8%) and collaboration authors (4.1%). Researchers were mostly from university-based and hospital university-based institutions. The thematic analysis presented that 42.9% of articles were classified under clinical themes. The results also suggested that the current trends of research in medical imaging are focused on topics involving clinical and modality, and only a few patient-centered researches. This is an indication that more researches that are relevant to local practices and needs are required as this will strengthen the medical imaging practice in the country.
Aggression is one of the most common Paediatric Psychiatric emergency problems presented in healthcare services with major public health impacts. The aim of this review is to determine the psychosocial predictors of adolescent aggression. Systematic review on observational study designs were conducted. Recent five years English published journal articles (2014-2018) were searched in three databases (Science Direct, PubMed and EBSCO) from April 2018 until May 2018. The final 15 articles (seven prospective cohort, eight cross-sectional studies) were included in the systematic review. Psychological predictors were mainly on the personality traits and emotional problems experienced by the adolescents including callous-unemotional traits, hostility, anger, and low empathy. Self-control was found to be protective against adolescent aggression. Social predictors that contribute to the aggression among adolescents according to the highest reported number of articles were peer influence, followed by school climate, substance use, neighbourhood influence, family, and parent factors. In conclusion, psychosocial predictors of adolescent aggression include both Psychological Factors; mainly personality traits and emotional problems, and Social Factors; mainly peer influence and substance use. This warrants for more holistic approach in dealing with aggressive adolescents that can be applied in more targeted and focused intervention strategy deliveries.
The global Tuberculosis epidemic (TB) poses a significant public health threat. While the consequences of TB treatment interruption are indisputable, the knowledge about the timing and prognostic factors of TB treatment interruption is fundamental. Despite a considerable amount of evaluation, the timing and prognostic factors of TB treatment interruption have been inconsistently identified from one study to another. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the evidence obtained from published literature on the timing and prognostic factors of TB treatment interruption at different points of the treatment course. In this review, three databases namely Pubmed, Scopus, and Science Direct were used to identify articles published from January 2003 to February 2018. This was based on the inclusion criteria and keywords including ‘default’, ‘survival time’, ‘tuberculosis’, and ‘treatment interruption’. The nine selected studies were prospective and retrospective cohort studies conducted in developing countries. The diversity of the study’s participants and TB treatment interruption definition were allowed, thus delineating a heterogeneous finding. This review suggests that the interruption predominantly occurred during the maintenance phase of treatment course. Despite the finding, a considerable gap in understanding the prognostic factors at different time points of TB treatment interruption was elicited. The heterogeneity across the studies may limit the inferences and warrant further evaluation. In essence, the time-related information should be integrated into framing impactful public health strategy, while a vigorous attempt on the evaluation of the cognitive, behavioural and psychosocial aspects may be beneficial.