The genera Parandrocephalus Heller, 1916 and Hexamitodera Heller, 1896 are reviewed and redescribed. Based on the combination of chromatic sexual dimorphism, velvety pubescence on the whole dorsal body and distinctly developed carina on the elytra, Parandrocephalus blairi Bentanachs & Vives, 2009 is transferred to Hexamitodera. A new subgenus, Sulcognatha Perger, is instituted to accommodate mandible, head and metasternal modifications in Hexamitodera blairi comb. n. that are lacking in the type species of Hexamitodera, Hexamitodera semivelutina. As indicated by fundamental structural differences in the mandibles of Parandrocephalus and Hexamitodera (Sulcognatha) blairi comb. n., the exaggerated secondary sexual traits and open procoxal cavities in both taxa are presumably the result of convergent evolution. Contrary to Bentanachs & Vives (2009), the presence of the two Parandrocephalus species in Sundaland and the endemism of Hexamitodera on Sulawesi agree well with the zoogeographical separation of both areas by the Wallace line.
Foreground detection has been used extensively in many applications such as people counting, traffic monitoring and face recognition. However, most of the existing detectors can only work under limited conditions. This happens because of the inability of the detector to distinguish foreground and background pixels, especially in complex situations. Our aim is to improve the robustness of foreground detection under sudden and gradual illumination change, colour similarity issue, moving background and shadow noise. Since it is hard to achieve robustness using a single model, we have combined several methods into an integrated system. The masked grey world algorithm is introduced to handle sudden illumination change. Colour co-occurrence modelling is then fused with the probabilistic edge-based background modelling. Colour co-occurrence modelling is good in filtering moving background and robust to gradual illumination change, while an edge-based modelling is used for solving a colour similarity problem. Finally, an extended conditional random field approach is used to filter out shadow and afterimage noise. Simulation results show that our algorithm performs better compared to the existing methods, which makes it suitable for higher-level applications.
A search for narrow resonances in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=13 TeV is presented. The invariant mass distribution of the two leading jets is measured with the CMS detector using a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 2.4 fb^{-1}. The highest observed dijet mass is 6.1 TeV. The distribution is smooth and no evidence for resonant particles is observed. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set on the production cross section for narrow resonances with masses above 1.5 TeV. When interpreted in the context of specific models, the limits exclude string resonances with masses below 7.0 TeV, scalar diquarks below 6.0 TeV, axigluons and colorons below 5.1 TeV, excited quarks below 5.0 TeV, color-octet scalars below 3.1 TeV, and W^{'} bosons below 2.6 TeV. These results significantly extend previously published limits.
This study aimed to determine the effects of 2-5 wash cycles and the addition of tetrasodium pyrophosphate (TSPP) (0 %, 0.05 Surimi% and 0.1 % w/w)-with or without the addition of 0.4 % calcium chloride (CaCl2)-on the physical properties such as texture, colour, expressible moisture and microstructure of Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) surimi gel. The highest breaking force (484.85 g) was obtained with the addition 0.1 % TSPP alone on the fifth wash. However, a combination of 0.1 and 0.4 % CaCl2 in surimi gels at wash cycle 5 resulted in the highest degree of whiteness (86.8 %), as well as total expressible moisture (2.785 %) and deformation (17.11 mm). The highest surimi gel strength (6,923 g.mm) was obtained after three wash cycles with the addition of 0.1 % TSPP +0.4 % CaCl2. The physical properties of Cobia fish surimi gels were affected by the number of wash cycles and treatments with TSPP and CaCl2.
In this paper, a simple analysis yet a straight forward method of determining the Planck’s constant by
evaluating the stopping potential of five different colors of light emitting diodes (LEDs) is presented.
The study aimed to identify the Planck’s constant based on the relationship between the potential
difference of LEDs to their respective frequencies under room temperature with low illumination of
ambient light by applying a simple theoretical analysis. The experiment was performed by connecting
the circuit in series connection and the voltage reading of LEDs were recorded and then presented in a
graph of frequency, f versus stopping voltage, Vo. To determine the Planck’s constant, the best fit line
was analyzed and the centroid was also identified in order to find the minimum and maximum errors
due the gradient of the graph. From the analysis, results showed that the Planck constant value was
(5.997 ± 1.520) × 10–34 J.s with approximately 10% of deviation from the actual value. This
demonstrates that a simple analysis can be utilized to determine the Planck’s constant for the purpose
of the laboratory teaching and learning at the undergraduate level and can be served as a starting point
for the students to understand the concept of quantization of energy in Modern Physics more
effectively. This is to further suggest that the Planck’s constant can be identified via a low-cost and
unsophisticated experimental setup.
Betta nuluhon, new species, is described from a hill stream habitat in western Sabah. This species is allied to both B. chini and B. balunga, and differs from rest of its congeners in the B. akarensis group in having the following combination of characters: yellow iris when live; mature males with greenish-blue iridescence on opercle when live; mature fish with distinct transverse bars on caudal fin; slender body (body depth 22.1-25.2 % SL); belly area with faint reticulate pattern (scales posteriorly rimmed with black); absence of tiny black spots on anal fin; lateral scales 29-31 (mode 30); predorsal scales 20-21 (mode 20). Notes on a fresh series of B. chini are also provided.
Two new Codonoboea species, C. kenaboiensis Syahida-Emiza, Y.Y.Sam & Siti-Munirah and C. ruthiae Syahida-Emiza, Y.Y. Sam & Siti-Munirah were discovered from the Kenaboi State Park, Peninsular Malaysia. Descriptions, illustrations, colour plates and provisional conservation status are provided.
The red-bellied form of Calliophis intestinalis (Laurenti, 1768) sensu lato was originally reported from Pahang, west Malaysia. To determine the taxonomic status of this form, we examined the type specimens of Elaps sumatranus Lidth De Jeude, 1890, Calliophis intestinalis everetti (Boulenger, 1896), and Callophis furcatus var. nigrotaeniatus Peters, 1863. The results indicated that the red-bellied form of C. intestinalis should be named as Calliophis nigrotaeniatus comb. nov., whose valid species status was based on morphological and molecular analyses. We designate a lectotype and redescribe the species, which is genetically close to Calliophis bilineatus (Peters, 1881) from the Philippines, and is clearly distinguishable from other congeners by possessing a pair of gray or dark blue lateral stripes and by being bright red on the ventrum. Elaps sumatranus and C. i. everetti are relegated to subjective junior synonyms of C. nigrotaeniatus.
Collisions arising from lane departures have contributed to traffic accidents causing millions of injuries and tens of thousands of casualties per year worldwide. Many related studies had shown that single vehicle lane departure crashes accounted largely in road traffic deaths that results from drifting out of the roadway. Hence, automotive safety has becoming a concern for the road users as most of the road casualties occurred due to driver's fallacious judgement of vehicle path. This paper proposes a vision-based lane departure warning framework for lane departure detection under daytime and night-time driving environments. The traffic flow and conditions of the road surface for both urban roads and highways in the city of Malacca are analysed in terms of lane detection rate and false positive rate. The proposed vision-based lane departure warning framework includes lane detection followed by a computation of a lateral offset ratio. The lane detection is composed of two stages: pre-processing and detection. In the pre-processing, a colour space conversion, region of interest extraction, and lane marking segmentation are carried out. In the subsequent detection stage, Hough transform is used to detect lanes. Lastly, the lateral offset ratio is computed to yield a lane departure warning based on the detected X-coordinates of the bottom end-points of each lane boundary in the image plane. For lane detection and lane departure detection performance evaluation, real-life datasets for both urban roads and highways in daytime and night-time driving environments, traffic flows, and road surface conditions are considered. The experimental results show that the proposed framework yields satisfactory results. On average, detection rates of 94.71% for lane detection rate and 81.18% for lane departure detection rate were achieved using the proposed frameworks. In addition, benchmark lane marking segmentation methods and Caltech lanes dataset were also considered for comparison evaluation in lane detection. Challenges to lane detection and lane departure detection such as worn lane markings, low illumination, arrow signs, and occluded lane markings are highlighted as the contributors to the false positive rates.
The aim of the present work was to produce a new soy milk-based cake. Soy milk was added at different percentages (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%) during cake making to replace milk. Nutritional composition, batter characteristics, physical, and sensory properties, as well as the stability of cake during storage, were investigated. Sensory results indicated that cake with 50% soy milk had the most favourable acceptance scores with the highest score in the aroma, colour, and taste attributes. The addition of soy milk up to 50% produced a cake with higher protein content and lower carbohydrate content, along with lower density and higher specific volume compared to control. Cake with 50% soy milk addition had lower microbial counts as compared to control. Therefore, soy milk has the potential to act as a milk replacer in cake production.
This report describes Thismia belumensis Siti-Munirah & Suhaimi-Miloko, a novel species of achlorophyllous herb discovered in the Royal Belum State Park, Peninsular Malaysia. This new species is unlike any previously described species of Thismia. In particular, T. belumensis possesses a unique annulus, which has been expanded and modified into a cucullate (hood-like) structure. This structure covers the apical floral tube and has an opening on one side facing a thickened part of the annulus, and the off-centre floral aperture confers a zygomorphic symmetry to the flower, indicating T. belumensis is more similar to Thismia labiata J.J.Sm. This morphological detail makes this new species distinct from all other described species of Thismia. In this report, we provide descriptions, illustrations, colour plates, and the provisional conservation status of Thismia belumensis.
The recent interest to nanotechnology aims not only at device miniaturisation, but also at understanding the effects of quantised structure in materials of reduced dimensions, which exhibit different properties from their bulk counterparts. In particular, quantised metal nanowires made of silver, gold or copper have attracted much attention owing to their unique intrinsic and extrinsic length-dependent mechanical properties. Here we review the current state of art and developments in these nanowires from synthesis to mechanical properties, which make them leading contenders for next-generation nanoelectromechanical systems. We also present theories of interatomic interaction in metallic nanowires, as well as challenges in their synthesis and simulation.
The effect of selected high pressure processing (HPP) parameters on the sensory attributes and
shelf life of jackfruit bulb packed using vacuum skin (VS) and vacuum nylon (VN) packaging
was studied. The samples were stored at chilled temperature (4°C) for shelf life study. HPP
significantly (p < 0.05) increased the shelf life of VS- and VP-packed jackfruit bulbs to 60 d
during chilled storage. In terms of colour stability during storage, both VS- and VP-packed
HP-treated jackfruit bulbs exhibited no significant differences (p > 0.05) in L*, a*, and b*
values. Also, the VS- and VP-packed HP-treated samples exhibited no significant differences
(p > 0.05) in terms of texture. However, the sensory evaluation carried out among 48 panellists
showed that there were significant differences (p < 0.05) between the untreated and HP-treated jackfruit bulbs. The aforementioned results had proven that HPP treatment of 500 MPa for
5 min could successfully extend the shelf life and retain the physicochemical properties of
jackfruit bulbs, regardless of the types of packaging used.
Changes in physicochemical properties of moisture, ash, and fat contents, and color, due to freeze and oven post-drying treatments on flavedo, albedo, and lamella pomelo fruit peels were investigated. Physicochemical properties influence consumer acceptability and only a few studies are known. Pomelo peels were subjected to freeze drying and conventional drying at 60°C. Fresh pomelo peel was used as a control. Post-drying treatment changes in moisture, ash, and fat contents were observed, compared to controls. Minimal color changes were observed for freeze drying, compared with oven drying for flavedo, albedo, and lamella. Useful information for evaluation of drying treatments that can be used on pomelo peels is provided.
Filem-filem alternatif bukan hanya sekadar cerita, tetapi terdapat mesej dan idea yang tersirat yang wujud sebagai wadah media menyampaikan sesuatu ideologi. Idea yang dilontarkan melalui filem alternatif lebih bersifat kritikal dalam memaparkan realiti hubungan etnik di Malaysia. Kajian ini memfokuskan kepada resepsi audiens remaja terhadap filem alternatif Malaysia yang mana tumpuan adalah kepada pendekatan neo-realisme yang wujud dalam penafsiran mesej di antara informan dengan teks filem alternatif Nasi Lemak 2.0 (NL 2.0). Kajian ini juga melihat adakah wujud pendekatan neorealisem dalam penafsiran mesej di antara informan dengan teks filem? Kajian ini menggunakan dua kaedah analisis iaitu analisis tekstual dan analisis tematik dalam mencari pendekatan neo-realisem yang wujud dalam filem NL 2.0 ini. Kajian ini terdiri daripada 56 orang pelajar iaitu 28 orang pelajar lelaki dan 28 pelajar perempuan dari pelbagai etnik. Neo-realisme adalah gambaran awal tentang sesuatu perkara sebenar (terutamanya aspek kehidupan) dan tidak bersifat khayalan (Bazin Andre diterjemah oleh Gray Hugh, 1972). Pendekatan neo-realisme yang dipaparkan oleh Namewee dalam filem ini sangat jelas melalui representasi kepelbagaian kebudayaan etnik di Malaysia. Pendekatan neo-realisme ini membawa kepada cerminan realiti kehidupan masyarakat kepelbagaian etnik di Malaysia pada masa kini yang mana informan mengaitkan naskah filem alternatif ini dengan kehidupan seharian. Selain itu juga, kajian ini melihat pendekatan neo-realisme membentuk sosiobudaya kepelbagaian etnik dalam naskah filem dan realiti sebenar informan. Penghasilan filem ini cuba memaparkan masyarakat Malaysia yang pelbagai etnik secara semulajadi dan jelaslah menunjukkan bahawa filem alternatif sebagai wadah penyampaian ideologi yang membentuk penyatuan dalam kalangan masyarakat Malaysia
Kajian ini dilaksanakan adalah untuk mengenal pasti pengurusan panitia, kualiti pengajaran dan komitmen guru terhadap pencapaian Bahasa Melayu di Negeri Sabah. Pengurusan panitia dilihat dalam aspek prinsip pengurusan panitia, sifat kendiri dan kemahiran pengurusan. Manakala kualiti pengajaran pula dilihat dari sudut dimensi persediaan pengajaran, penyampaian pengajaran dan aspek tingkah laku. Seterusnya pemboleh ubah komitmen kerja dilihat dari aspek kesediaan untuk kekal dalam organisasi dan kesediaan untuk memenuhi matlamat organisasi. Dalam kajian ini, penyelidik telah menggunakan Teori Pengurusan Saintifik Taylor, Teori Vroom dan Teori Side Bet. Pengkaji telah menggumpul sebanyak 335 soal selidik yang telah dijawab dalam kalangan responden guru yang mengajar Bahasa Melayu dan mewakili seluruh sekolah menengah bantuan penuh kerajaan di Negeri Sabah dengan mengunakan persampelan berkelompok, persampelan kluster dan persampelan rawak mudah. Manakala data pula dianalisis menggunakan program SPSS for Windows Versi 25.0 Ujian regrasi berganda menunjukkan bahawa terdapat pengaruh yang signifikan antara pengurusan panitia dan pencapaian Bahasa Melayu R2 =.485 dan pengaruh Kualiti pengajaran terhadap pencapaian Bahasa Melayu R2 =.646. Manakala pengaruh komitmen kerja terhadap pencapaian Bahasa Melayu menunjukkan nilai pengaruh R2 =.586. Seterusnya dalam analisis regrasi hierarki didapati bahawa konstruk tingkah laku pengajaran guru di bilik darjah memberi sumbangan yang paling besar iaitu sebanyak 41.0% terhadap pencapaian Bahasa Melayu. Pengkaji turut mencadangkan agar pihak berwajib bersama-sama mengembleng tenaga untuk memastikan pencapaian pelajar dalam mata pelajaran Bahasa Melayu sentiasa cemerlang sejajar dengan taraf Bahasa Melayu sebagai Bahasa Kebangsaan.
Keusahawanan sering dianggap sebagai subjek yang lebih cenderung kepada pelajar dalam bidang perniagaan tetapi tidak untuk pelajar yang mempunyai pelbagai kemahiran yang terlibat dalam bidang teknikal. Namun, ini adalah satu tanggapan yang tidak seharusnya wujud kerana Malaysia seharusnya perlu mengenal pasti kesedaran keusahawanan dalam bidang teknikal. Pada masa kini, kesedaran keusahawanan dalam bidang teknikal tertentu adalah kurang lantaran program keusahawanan lazimnya lebih tertumpu kepada pelajar InstitusiPengajian Tinggi (IPT). Misalnya, Pembangunan Keusahawanan Bumiputera adalah lebih tertumpu kepada golongan siswazah IPT, belia dan wanita. Dasar Pembangunan Keusahawanan IPT juga diperkenalkan agar modal insan dengan daya pemikiran, atribut dan nilai keusahawanan dalam kalangan IPT tempatan dapat dilahirkan. Tujuan kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk mengenal pasti tahap kesedaran keusahawanan dalam kalangan pelajar Institut Latihan Perindustrian (ILP) di Terengganu berhubung dengan faktor keusahawanan dari aspek individu usahawan yang berbeza serta struktur dan persekitaran perniagaan. Seterusnya, mengkaji hubungan antara kesedaran keusahawanan dengan pembolehubah tidak bersandar lain yang berkait dengan kajian seperti ciri keusahawanan dan cabaran keusahawanan. Kaedah kuantitatif telah digunakan dan borang soal selidik diedarkan kepada 280 orang pelajar. Hasil analisis regresi berganda menunjukkan bahawa cabaran keusahawanan merangkumi sikap dan minat, kemahiran keusahawanan serta pendidikan dan pengetahuan keusahawanan merupakan elemen paling signifikan yang mempengaruhi kesedaran keusahawanan dalam kalangan pelajar berkemahiran diILP untuk menjadi seorang usahawan. Oleh itu, adalah sangat penting bagi kerajaan Malaysiauntuk memberi perhatian terhadap cabaran yang dihadapi oleh para pelajar ini dan mengambil tindakan terhadap segala kemungkinan yang boleh mempengaruhi atau memberi kesan kepada minat pelajar terhadap keusahawanan pada masa akan datang.
Gangguan fungsi ereksi adalah salah satu kesan sampingan metadon yang paling lazim. Gangguan ini menjejaskan lebih daripada separuh populasi pesakit metadon dari segi fungsi seksual mereka. Masalah ini dikaitkan dengan penurunan kualiti hidup yang ketara. Gangguan fungsi ereksi boleh menyebabkan masalah yang lebih besar jika tidak dirawat kerana pesakit mungkin memilih untuk menggunakan rawatan sendiri yang berbahaya seperti menyalahgunakan methamphetamine. Penggunaan dadah untuk mengatasi kesan sampingan metadon boleh menyebabkan gangguan penggunaan dadah ganda yang dapat mengganggu rawatan ketagihan dadah. Untuk mengatasi masalah ini, pengamal dan pesakit memainkan peranan yang penting dalam pengurusan gangguan fungsi ereksi. Kesedaran pesakit mengenai gangguan fungsi ereksi dan impaknya serta intervensi aktif oleh doktor untuk mengesan gangguan fungsi ereksi, adalah penting untuk meningkatkan tingkat pengesanan dan pengurusan gangguan fungsi ereksi. Saringan gangguan fungsi ereksi yang kerap dan faktor risikonya akan membantu mengenalpasti pesakit yang menderita gangguan fungsi ereksi. Pelbagai pilihan rawatan seperti rawatan bupropion, trazodone dan banyak lagi tersedia untuk merawat gangguan fungsi ereksi yang akan diterokai lebih lanjut dalam kajian ini.
Ovitrap autosidal berperanan penting dalam pemantauan dan kawalan vektor denggi, Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Beberapa jenis ovitrap ini telah digunakan di Malaysia termasuklah Mosquito Larvae Trapping Device (MLTD) yang diperkenalkan oleh Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menilai kepadatan larva Aedes dan pembolehubah meteorologi setempat di sebuah penempatan pelajar di Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. MLTD (n=30) dengan umpan larutan baja NPK (5:5:5) organik telah digunakan. Pengumpulan larva dan penyelenggaraan ovitrap telah dilakukan setiap minggu selama lapan minggu. Pemeliharaan larva dan penentuan spesies telah dijalankan di makmal. Daripada sejumlah 2,152 larva Aedes, 85% merupakan Ae. albopictus manakala selebihnya Ae. aegypti. Ae. albopictus lebih banyak dikumpulkan di luar berbanding di dalam bangunan (purata larva per ovitrap, 9.28 lawan 6.08). Sebaliknya, Ae. aegypti lebih banyak dikumpulkan di dalam berbanding di luar bangunan (1.72 lawan 0.86). Ovitrap indeks yang paling tinggi adalah semasa minggu kelima (90%) dan keenam (93%). Minggu pertama menunjukkan ovitrap indeks yang paling rendah (30%). Analisis mendapati korelasi positif antara kepadatan larva Aedes dan suhu maksimum (r=0.830, p=0.011), manakala kelembapan relatif minimum menunjukkan korelasi negatif (r=-0.778, p=0.023). Pemantauan rutin bagi peringkat pramatang vektor denggi boleh memberikan maklumat mengenai kepadatan dan naik turun populasi nyamuk setempat. Apabila digandingkan dengan faktor meteorologi sejajar, maklumat ini dapat memberi panduan bagi perlaksanaan kawalan vektor sebagai sebahagian strategi pencegahan denggi.