A ribbed slab structure has the advantage in the reduction of concrete volume in between the ribs resulting in a lower structural self-weight. In order to overcome the drawbacks in the construction process, the application of steel fibre self-compacting concrete (SCFRC) is seen as an alternative material to be used in the slab. This preliminary investigation was carried out to investigate the flexural behaviour of steel fibre selfcompacting concrete (SCFRC) asthe main material in ribbed slab omitting the conventionalreinforcements. Two samples ofribbed slab were prepared for this preliminary study; 2-ribbed and 3-ribbed in 1 m width to identify the effect of the geometry to the slab’s flexural behaviour. The dimension of both samples is 2.5 m x 1 m with 150 mm thickness. The compressive strength of the mix is 48.6 MPa based on the cubes tested at 28 days. Load was applied to failure by using the four point bending test set-up with simple support condition. The result of the experiment recorded ultimate load carrying capacity at 30.68 kN for the 2-ribbed slab and 25.52 kN for 3-ribbed slab. From the results, the ultimate load of the 2-ribbed sample exceeds 3-ribbed by approximately 20%. This proved that even with lower concrete volume, the sample can still withstand an almost similar ultimate load. Cracks was also observed and recorded with the maximum crack width of 2 mm. It can be concluded that the steel fibres do have the potential to withstand flexural loadings. Steel fibre reduces macro-crack forming into micro-cracks and improves concrete ductility, as well as improvement in deflection. This shows that steel fibre reinforced self-compacting concrete is practical as it offers good concrete properties as well as it can be mixed, placed easier without compaction.
An investigation on the properties of Tenun Pahang fabric performances using alternative yarns was conducted. The studies were made in order to evaluate whether the Tenun Pahang fabric could be produced economically and at the same time maintain the fabric quality. Traditional Tenun Pahang fabric uses silk for both warp and weft. For this project, two alternative yarns were used which were bamboo and modal, which were a little lower in cost compared to silk. These yarns were woven with two variations, one with the yarns as weft only while maintaining the silk warp and the other with both warp and weft using the alternative yarns. Four (4) physical testing and three (3) mechanical testing conducted on the fabric samples. The fabric samples were evaluated including weight, thickness, thread density, crease recovery angle, stiffness and drapability. The results show that modal/silk and bamboo silk fabrics are comparable in terms of stiffness and drapability, hence they have the potential to replace 100% silk Tenun Pahang.
Poly(lactic acid) (PLA)-based nanocomposites filled with graphene nanoplatelets (xGnP) that contains epoxidized palm oil (EPO) as plasticizer were prepared by melt blending method. PLA was first plasticized by EPO to improve its flexibility and thereby overcome its problem of brittleness. Then, xGnP was incoporated into plasticized PLA to enhance its mechanical properties. Plasticized and nanofilled PLA nanocomposites (PLA/EPO/xGnP) showed improvement in the elongation at break by 3322% and 61% compared to pristine PLA and PLA/EPO, respectively. The use of EPO and xGnP increases the mobility of the polymeric chains, thereby improving the flexibility and plastic deformation of PLA. The nanocomposites also resulted in an increase of up to 26.5% in the tensile strength compared with PLA/EPO blend. XRD pattern showed the presence of peak around 26.5° in PLA/EPO/xGnP nanocomposites which corresponds to characteristic peak of graphene nanoplatelets. Plasticized PLA reinforced with xGnP showed that increasing the xGnP content triggers a substantial increase in thermal stability. Crystallinity of the nanocomposites as well as cold crystallization and melting temperature did not show any significant changes upon addition of xGnP. However, there was a significant decrease of glass transition temperature up to 0.3wt% of xGnP incorporation. The TEM micrograph of PLA/EPO/xGnP shows that the xGnP was uniformly dispersed in the PLA matrix and no obvious aggregation was observed.
This paper outlines the application of chemometrics and pattern recognition tools to classify palm oil using Fourier Transform Mid Infrared spectroscopy (FT-MIR). FT-MIR spectroscopy is used as an effective analytical tool in order to categorise the oil into the category of unused palm oil and used palm oil for frying. The samples used in this study consist of 28 types of pure palm oil, and 28 types of frying palm oils. FT-MIR spectral was obtained in absorbance mode at the spectral range from 650 cm -1 to 4000 cm -1 using FT-MIR-ATR sample handling. The aim of this work is to develop fast method in discriminating the palm oils by implementing Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA), Learning Vector Quantisation (LVQ) and Support Vector Machine (SVM). Raw FT-MIR spectra were subjected to Savitzky-Golay smoothing and standardized before developing the classification models. The classification model was validated through finding the value of percentage correctly classified by test set for every model in order to show which classifier provided the best classification. In order to improve the performance of the classification model, variable selection method known as t-statistic method was applied. The significant variable in developing classification model was selected through this method. The result revealed that PLSDA classifier of the standardized data with application of t-statistic showed the best performance with highest percentage correctly classified among the classifiers.
It is foreseen that the properties of Polymer Concrete (PC) can be further
enhanced if the PC is bonded to or sandwiched between Glass Fibre Reinforced
Plastic (GFRP) laminates, later termed as PC-GFRP system. In the present
investigation, the performance of PC-GFRP was assessed in terms of its bending
strength and bonding strength between PC and GFRP. Panels of PC size 500
mm × 500 mm × 20 mm were prepared. The panels then were cut into specimens
of appropriate geometry and dimensions required for the tests. Four (4) different
resin contents and different percentages of aggregate of different particle size
distributions were employed in preparing the PC-GFRP specimens. A batch of
PC specimens was layered with a Glass Fibre Reinforced Plastic (GFRP)
laminate on one side (SSL) and the other batch PC specimens were sandwiched
with two GFRP laminates (DSL). The PC-GFRP specimens were tested their
bending strength under three-point load test and bonding strength between
PC as a core material and glued GFRP laminate(s). The results showed that an
increase in the resin content increases the bending strength of the PC regardless
of the aggregate grading. The results also revealed that the PC specimens with
well-graded aggregate recorded the highest bending strength, with coarser
grading resulted in further increase. The bending strength of the PC-GFRP
A series of Schiff base ligand, SALMPD, and its mono- and trinuclear Zn(II) metal complexes were synthesised from m-phenylenediamine and salicylaldehyde in alcoholic solution. The synthesis of ligand and mononuclear complex were synthesised using conventional condensation method, while the trinuclear complex was done using microwave-assisted synthesis method. The structure of each compound was elucidated by elemental analysis, infrared and ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The infrared spectrum of SALMPD shows a strong azomethine (C=N) band at 1621.62c m⁻¹, indicates the formation of the ligand. Upon complexation of the mononuclear complex, the C=N infrared band shifted and the disappearing of the phenolic hydrogen signal in ¹H NMR suggesting the chelation between Zinc(II) metal ion and ligand took place when azomethine and phenolic hydrogen deprotonated. The trinuclear complex, Zn3(SALMPD) obtained was consist of two moieties of mononuclear Zn₃(SALMPD), which act as ligands that chelating to the third Zn(II) metal ion through oxygen atom due to the shifting of M-O infrared band from 575.12-540.53cm⁻¹, which serves as a coordination site for the metal ion.
The Pandanus species (Pandanaceae family) was investigated, in order to set up a library of their chromatographic profiles. From a literature review, the most common Pandanus plant that was greatly examined was P. amaryllifolius (the fragrant screw pine), followed by P. sanderi. Here, the chromatographic data from an extract of a relatively unfamiliar Pandanus is also presented. The leaves of P. monotheca were extracted by using methanol. Later, the extract was filtered, prior to a Reversed-Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC) experiments. The automated system was set to run by gradient elution (acetonitrile:water). The flow rate was maintained at 1 ml/min, otherwise stated in a number of attempts. The ultra-violet absorbance of the Pandanus’ constituents was measured via Multiple Wavelength Detector. From the chromatogram, the major peaks for Pandanus’ compounds were eluted (λ = 220, 260 and 360 nm) and the retention times were recorded. The lower absorbance readings of other minor peaks could be due to various minor secondary metabolites, such as the furolignan. The different elution time depends on the polarity of the composition. In short, Pandanus’ phytochemicals could be obtained via alcoholic extraction. The utilisation of modern chromatographic applications enables the scientists to discover and subsequently, purify single component of the complex natural mixtures. This finding can be beneficial to the research areas in botanical study, pharmacognostical assessment and biotechnology industry. It is aimed that more
Pandanus species could be learnt for the future.
The Internet has been an integral part of the Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) community in recent years. New internet users have been
growing steadily over the years. This has lead to the depletion of new Internet
Protocol (IP) addresses worldwide. To overcome this predicament, the new
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) had been introduced. The existing Internet
Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is expected to be eventually replaced by this IPv6.
The changeover from IPv4 to IPv6 is expected to be implemented progressively.
During this transition period, these two protocols are expected to coexist for
a number of years. IPv4-to-IPv6 transition tools have been designed to facilitate
a smooth transition from IPv4 to IPv6. The two most basic IPv4-to-IPv6
transition tools available are the hybrid stack mechanism and tunneling.
Tunneling is the encapsulation of IPv6 traffic within IPv4 packets so they can
be sent over an IPv4 infrastructure. This project was initiated to set up an
experimental IPv6 testbed, in order to study the performance as well as
transition and migration issues of IPv6 networks under controlled conditions.
This paper looks at how tunneling can be performed over existing internetwork
infrastructure at Fakulti Kejuruteraan Elektrik (FKE), UiTM.
A polystyrene (PS)-anchored Pd(II) metal complex was synthesized on cross-linked polymer by heating a mixture of chlorometylated polystyrene with phenyldithiocarbazate and carbon disulfide in the presence of potassium hydroxide (KOH) in dimethylformamide (DMF). The reaction mixture was heated at 80 °C to form the corresponding phenyldithiocarbazate-functionalized polymer. Then, it was treated with bis(benzonitrile)palladium(II) chloride. The properties of dark colored polymer, impregnated with the metal complex was then characterized by various spectroscopic technique such as Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy Dispersive X-ray (SEM/EDX), CHNS elemental analysis, BET surface area, X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric (TGA) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Optical Emission (ICP-OES) spectroscopy.
Bi2Se3 is one of the promising materials in thermoelectric devices and is environmentally friendly due to its efficiency to perform in room temperature. Structural and electronic properties of Bi2Se3 were investigated based on the first-principles calculation of density functional theory (DFT) using CASTEP computer code. The calculation is conducted within the exchange-correlation of local density approximation (LDA) and generalised gradient approximation within the revision of Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (GGA-PBE) functional. A comparative study is carried out between the electronic properties of LDA and GGA-PBE. Lattice parameter and band gap are consistent with the other reports. Calculation from LDA is more accurate and has a better agreement than GGA-PBE in describing the lattice parameter of Bi2Se3. Band gap and density of states of LDA show higher electrical conductivity than GGA-PBE. Both LDA and GGA-PBE have same degree of thermal conductivity due to the occurrence of indirect band gap at same range of wave vector.
Regression models are developed in various field of applications to help researchers to predict certain variables based on other predictor variables. The dependent variables in the regression model are estimated by a number of independent variables. Model utility test is a hypothesis testing procedure in regression to verify if there is a useful relationship between the dependent variable and the independent variable. The hypothesis testing procedure that involves p-value is commonly used in model utility test. A new technique that involves coefficient of determination R2 in model utility test is developed in this paper. The effectiveness of the model utility test in testing the significance of regression model is evaluated using simple linear regression model with the significance level α = 0.01, 0.025 and 0.05. The study in this paper shows that a regression model that is declared to be a significant model by using model utility test, however it fails to guarantee a strong linear relationship between the independent variable and dependent variable. Based on the evaluation presented in this paper, it is shown that the p-value approach in model utility test is not a good technique in evaluating the significance of a regression model. The results of this study could serve as a reference for other researchers applying regression analysis in their studies.
Leachate (liquid pollutant), which is highly contaminated with organic matter and toxic substances is a major
problem that arised from landfill. Biological methods have proven to be effective to remove organic matters that are
abundant in leachate. This study is intended to compare the used of free mycelia and immobilized mycelia of the
white-rot fungi, Ganoderma australe for the removal of landfill leachate organics. The organics fraction of landfill
leachate was measured by biological oxygen demand (BOD5), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). The experiment
revealed that free mycelia of G. australe showed capability in removing leachate BOD5 but not COD. However, the
use of immobilized G. australe displayed the best result in the removal of BOD5 and COD leachate after 4 weeks of
treatment in flasks with 93.09% and 17.84% percentage removal of BOD5 and COD, respectively. Therefore, G.
australe can be considered potentially useful in the treatment of landfill leachate as they can help in removing BOD
and COD due to their biodegradative abilities.
Tinospora crispa Miers (Menispermaceae) is a climbing vine with stems rich in warts. The plant is called Akar Seruntum or Patawali in Malaysia and is widely used for treating skin complaints, malaria, bacterial abscess, high blood pressure and diabetes. In the present study, the stems of T. crispa were collected from the locality and succesively extracted with petroleum ether, followed by chloroform and ethanol. The insecticidal active extract (ethanol extract) was subjected to column chromatography of silica gel eluted with a gradient mobile phase containing hexane, chloroform and ethanol. Among the chemical constituents isolated are n-tetracosyl trans-ferulate and n-octacosyl alcohol, along with three known aporphine alkaloids; N-formylnornuciferine, N-acetylnornuciferine and lysicamine. All compounds were identified by comparing their spectroscopic data (UV, IR, 1H NMR, MS) with data from corresponding values in the literature. Isolation of n-tetracosyl trans-ferulate and noctacosyl alcohol is reported the first time for T. crispa.
A good quality of rainfall data is highly necessary in hydrological and meteorological analyses. Lack
of quality in rainfall data will influence the process of analyses and subsequently, produce misleading
results. Thus, this study is aimed to propose modified missing rainfall data treatment methods that
produced more accurate estimation results. In this study, the old normal ratio method and the
modified normal ratio based on trimmed mean are combined with geographical coordinate method.
The performances of these modified methods were tested on various levels of the missing data of 36
years complete daily rainfall records from eighteen meteorology stations in Peninsular Malaysia. The
results indicated that both modified methods improved the estimation of missing rainfall values at the
target station based on the least error measurements. Modified normal ratio based on trimmed mean
with geographical coordinate method is found to be the most appropriate method for station Batu
Kurau and Sg. Bernam while modified old normal ratio with geographical coordinate is the most
accurate in estimating the missing data at station Genting Klang.
A conventional plate girder involves the use of transverse intermediate
stiffeners, especially in a slender web to avoid catastrophic failure associated
with shear buckling of the web. In this study, a profiled web was used to
replace the transversely stiffened web. The process involves introducing coldformed
ribs into a flat steel sheet to form alternative stiffeners. This study
therefore seeks to establish comparative performance of conventionally
stiffened plate girders and profiled web girders of a specially formed rib
arrangement with single and also double webs. Nine numbers of specimens
were tested to failure under a three-point-bending system. Failure of all the
profiled web girders, with either a single or double webs, is characterized by
a shorter yield plateau and a steeper descending branch, a failure mode that
is commonly referred to as ‘brittle’. The results of the tests on girders with
profiled steel sheets, PSS(s) have shown that profiling is extremely effective in
increasing the shear buckling load because it moves the sheet material out of
the plane of the web, thereby increasing the rigidity 1.08 to 2.0 times higher
than the equivalent conventional flat web plate girders. The experimental
results also showed that post-buckling capacities are reduced by 30 % to
50 % of their ultimate shear capacities.
Storytelling is considered as an interactive social arts that uses word and
gestures to reveal the elements and images of a story while engaging the
listener's imagination. Multimedia based digital storytelling learning
approach provides interesting, interactive, engaging and multisensory
learning experience to children. Children explore new experience and
scenarios as new stories are being told. This study concentrates on
determining the best combination of elements for designing effective digital
storytelling applications specifically for the usage of dyslexic children.
Dyslexic children are known to have a common learning difficulty that can
cause problems with reading, writing, spelling and comprehension. These
applications are design with the objective to help in improving dyslexic
children ability in readings and comprehensions. Four elements were
derived from extensive literature studies. The elements are multimedia
components, multi-sensory instructional approach, emotional design and
games design. The relationship among all the elements were determine
and described in details as it will be used to contribute to the design and
development of the application in further works. The strength of this study
is it models the combinations of technology, psychology and instructional
approach as a support components for developing an effective digital story
telling learning application for dyslexic children.
Disasters are defined as extraordinary events which occur abruptly, bringing great damage or harm, loss, and destruction to people and the environment. Nurses may have a more conflict and difficulties in disaster decision making where the victim condition need to be treated in disaster place. Nurses play a key role in hospital as a leaders and managers in the disaster operation and command center but limited data shows that the nurses experience in disaster management. The aim of this study is to evaluate the perception of knowledge and skills on the preparedness in disaster management among nurses in community clinics. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in 27 government clinics in one of the states in Malaysia with a convenient sampling, 260 participants are selected. The questionnaire consisted of three sections; socio-demographic characteristics, the perception of knowledge and skill towards preparedness for disaster management rated on a Likert scale. In the effort to collect the intended data, a self-report questionnaire adapted and modified from Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool (DPET) was implemented (Alrazeeni, 2015). This study revealed that Nurses in these community clinics were moderate in terms of the perception of knowledge (Mean= 3.65, SD= 0.61) and the perceived skills (Mean= 3.68, SD= 0.56) on the preparedness in Disaster Management. Nevertheless, they were interested in disaster preparedness management training (n=227, 87.3%) and were confident as first responders of disaster (Mean= 3.88, SD= 0.61). However, they were not much involved in disaster preparedness plan (Mean= 3.23, SD= 0.90) and claimed that there was a lack of leadership figure in disaster situation (Mean= 3.06, SD= 0.92). In conclusion, nurses in community clinics need to gain knowledge and skills by involving themselves in disaster planning and drills as the preparation for disaster management for them to be the first responders in helping and managing people in this situation.
Anion clay hydrotalcite MgA1C0 3 with a Mg/A1 molar ratio of 3:1 was synthesized by co-precipitation at room temperature and pressure. The physicochemical properties were evaluated using Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA). The efficacy of anion clay hydrotalcite in the removal ofCcf- from aqueous solutions was investigated with respect to contact time, initial concentration, pH, adsorbent dosage and temperature. The Cd2- removal increased with the increased in contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH and initial concentration. Adsorption decreases with increasing initial concentration and temperature, for which the latter is indicative of an exothermic process. The equilibrium adsorption capacity of MgA1C0 3 was evaluated using linear Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms with respect to the separation factor, RL.
Surface topography and morphological behaviours are the important aspects in the application of surface bearing as it deals with the contact area of objects upon motion. Improved surface bearing will be set as an indicator for tribology behaviour to reduce the possibility of wear rate and reduce the friction of objects, respectively. Thus, in this study, the fundamental of micro bearing concept was imparted as the Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), which is a low density filler, will float onto the surface of the composite system to become a solid lubricant upon curing. UHMWPE filler, which is commonly known for its dominant properties of high tendency to resist wear and has low coefficient of friction were fabricated alongside epoxy resin in the composite system to achieve the desired strength and durability to perform over time. However, there are limitations of UHMWPE during processing upon the dispersion of the fillers with the matrix particles due to epoxy resin that has relatively high in viscosity. Therefore, acetone has been selected as a diluent with ratio of 1:1/4, 1:1/3, 1:1/2, 1:1 to dilute the high viscosity epoxy resin. The surface profile measurement were examined using Alicona Infinite Focus and Polarised Optical Microscope. Based on the results observed, EpUPE3 (epoxy and UHMWPE with acetone ratio of 1:1/2) showed better surface distribution and morphology with relatively low value of surface roughness (Ra) which is 1.41 μm and low pseuodocolour value of surface height which is around 6.76-6.77 cm compared to other formulation ratio. In near future, these surface topography and morphological analysis are important to relate with tribological, physical and mechanical properties of the micro bearing layers for bearing applications, specifically.
Text localisation determines the location of the text in an image. This process
is performed prior to text recognition. Localising text on shop signage is
a challenging task since the images of the shop signage consist of complex
background, and the text occurs in various font types, sizes, and colours.
Two popular texture features that have been applied to localise text in
scene images are a histogram of oriented gradient (HOG) and speeded up
robust features (SURF). A comparative study is conducted in this paper
to determine which is better with support vector machine (SVM) classifier.
The performance of SVM is influenced by its kernel function and another
comparative study is conducted to identify the best kernel function. The
experiments have been conducted using primary data collected by the
authors. Results indicate that HOG with quadratic kernel function localises
text for shop signage better than SURF.