Sebanyak 6 jenis sampel nuget ikan komersial yang dipasarkan di Malaysia telah ditentukan komposisi proksimat (kandungan air, protein, lemak, abu dan karbohidrat), warna, kehilangan memasak, keupayaan memegang air, aktiviti air dan pH. Hasil analisis menunjukkan terdapat perbezaan bererti (p<0.05) bagi komposisi proksimat dan ciri-ciri warna, kehilangan memasak dan keupayaan memegang air. Kandungan air, protein, lemak, abu dan karbohidrat masing-masing berada dalam julat 58.97-64.58%, 9.30-11.60%, 0.14-5.23%, 1.95-2.84% dan 22.81-23.69%. Nilai L*, a* dan b* bagi warna, masing-masing adalah antara 49.72-56.80, 16.64-19.57 dan 38.40-59.58. Walau bagaimanapun tiada perbezaan yang bererti (p>0.05)untuk nilai aktiviti air dan pH antara sampel nuget ikan.
Kappaphycus alvarezii kaya dengan karagenan yang banyak digunakan dalam industri makanan sebagai agen pemekat
dan penstabil. Penggunaan gelatin ikan dan ayam dalam produk makanan dapat menggantikan gelatin lembu yang
mempunyai banyak isu terutamanya berkaitan halal dan penyakit lembu gila (BSE). Penyelidikan ini adalah untuk
menentukan kesan penambahan Kappaphycus alvarezii, gelatin ikan dan gelatin kaki ayam terhadap ciri-ciri kualiti
sosej ayam. Dua formulasi optimum T1 (10% Kappaphycus alvarezii, 3.81% gelatin ikan, 7.63% gelatin kaki ayam)
dan T2 (2.57% Kappaphycus alvarezii, 5% gelatin ikan, 7.63% gelatin kaki ayam) telah diperoleh daripada Kaedah
Respon Permukaan (RSM) dalam kajian awalan. Kualiti sosej ayam dikaji berdasarkan analisis proksimat dan ujian
jangka hayat (pH, nilai TBA dan warna). Ujian jangka hayat dijalankan selama 3 minggu pada suhu penyimpanan 4
± 1°C Penambahan Kappaphycus alvarezii, gelatin ikan dan gelatin kaki ayam meningkatkan (p<0.05) kandungan
protein dan abu tetapi menurunkan (p<0.05) kandungan lemak. Nilai pH bagi sampel T1 dan T2 lebih tinggi berbanding
dengan C semasa tempoh penyimpanan. Nilai TBA bagi sampel T1 dan T2 adalah rendah dibandingkan dengan C
semasa tempoh penyimpanan. Penambahan Kappaphycus alvarezii, gelatin ikan dan gelatin kaki ayam mengubah
warna bagi sampel T1 dan T2 sepanjang tempoh penyimpanan. Penambahan Kappaphycus alvarezii, gelatin ikan dan
gelatin kaki ayam mengubah warna sosej ayam sepanjang tempoh penyimpanan. Kajian ini menunjukkan penambahan
campuran Kappaphycus alvarezii, gelatin ikan dan gelatin kaki ayam pada tahap optimum menghasilkan sosej ayam
yang lebih berkualiti.
Drought is one of the commonly occurring environmental stresses, limiting crop production in many countries. Selection
of cultivar is the most effective and economical means for alleviating the adverse effects of drought stress on crops. The
present study aimed to investigate the growth, some physiological processes, yield and quality of some newly-developed
wheat cultivars (AARI-2011, AAS-2011, Faisalabad-2008, Millat-2011 and Punjab-2011) under field drought stress
conditions. The cultivars were sown in a field under normal irrigation and drought-induced conditions. Maximum net
photosynthetic rate was recorded in cv. AAS-2011 at growth stage of 67 days after wheat emergence under normal irrigation
and cv. Faisalabad-2008 at 67 days after wheat emergence under drought condition. Leaf stomatal conductance and
transpiration rate were maximum in cv. Faisalabad-2008 under drought conditions. The adverse effects of drought stress
were observed more on cv. Millat-2011 than Faisalabad-2008, with respect to net photosynthetic rate and transpiration.
Drought exerted a significant adverse effect on leaf stomatal conductance at 74 days after wheat emergence which was
recorded as 230 mmol m-2 s-1. Among the cultivars, AAS-2011 recorded maximum yield traits and grain yield under normal
irrigation condition and Faisalabad-2008 under drought condition. Cultivar Millat-2011 was the most susceptible to
drought and Faisalabad-2008 the most resistant to drought. Faisalabad-2008 maintained the quality at the most under
drought stress conditions. It is concluded that Fasialabad-2008 should be grown under field drought conditions to achieve
maximal yield and quality of wheat.
This study was aimed to investigate the effect of ZnO-decorated GO nanocomposite material loaded with different weight
percent of ZnO toward polysulfone (PSF) mixed-matrix membrane (MMM) performance enhancement. ZnO-decorated
GO nanocomposite material was loaded with 1, 5, 10 and 20 wt. % ZnO was blended with PSF polymer and fabricated
through phase inversion process. The performance of the fabricated MMMs were evaluated by measuring membrane
permeability, bovine serum albumin rejection (BSA) and flux recovery ratio (FRR). Experiment results demonstrated
that the PSF/ZnO-GO MMM performances were greatly improved where 10 wt. % ZnO loaded into ZnO-decorated GO
nanomaterial exhibited the highest permeability (5.35 L/m2
·h·bar) and BSA retention at all pH state among all fabricated
mixed-matrix membranes. Additionally, FRR was also dramatically improved attributed to the smoother membrane surface.
This work has shown that a well distribution of ZnO with the help of GO nanosheet as a dispersing agent blended with
PSF polymer to form PSF/ZnO-GO MMM was a promising approach in creating better ultrafiltration (UF) membrane with
a better hydrophilicity, permeability, and cleaning efficiency for the used in food industry in future.
Biodiesel (fatty acid methyl esters) was synthesized from direct transesterification of vegetable oils, where the corresponding triglycerides react with methanol in the presence of a suitable catalyst. The alkali catalysts are the most common catalyst used in biodiesel industry because the process proves faster and the reaction conditions are moderate compared to the acid catalyst. In the present study, biodiesel production using heterogeneous alkaline-catalysed transesterification process (KOH supported on SBA 15) was proposed. The influence of reaction temperature x1 (50 - 90°C), ratio of methanol to oil, x2 (6:1 – 14:1 mol/mol), amount of catalyst, x3 (1 – 5wt.%), and reaction time, x4(2 - 6h) to the reaction was studied. These four conditions were studied using design of experiment (DOE), based on four-variable central composite design (CCD) with α = 2. The process variables were optimised using the Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in obtaining the maximum yield of biodiesel. This method was also applied to determine the significance and interaction of the variables affecting the biodiesel production. The biodiesel produced in the experiment was analysed by gas chromatography, which considered five major fatty acid methyl esters. The optimal conditions of response were found to be 70°C for reaction temperature, 11.6 wt/wt of ratio methanol to oil, 3.91wt.% of weight of catalyst and 5 h for reaction time with 93% of biodiesel yield for predicted value and 87.3% from experimental.
In this paper, we examined a model of cell invasion focusing on the wavefront of the neural crest (NC) cells in the case of Hirschsprung’s disease (HSCR). Hirschsprung’s disease (HSCR) is a congenital defect of intestinal ganglion cells and causes patients to have disorders in peristalsis. This simulation model was performed using the fractional differential equations (FDEs) based upon two basic cell functions. Here, we simulated the mathematical model in a one-dimensional setting, based on the fractional trapezoidal numerical scheme and the results showed an interesting outcome for the mobility of the cellular processes under crowded environments.
We have designed new derivatives of naphtha [2 ,1-b:6 ,5-13V difuran as DPNDF-CN1 and DPNDF-CN2. The molecular structures of DPNDF, its derivatives DPNDF-CN1 and DPNDF-CN2 have been optimized at the ground (So) and first excited (S1) states using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT), respectively. Then the highest occupied molecular orbitals (HOMOs), the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (Lumos), photoluminescence properties, electron affinities (EELS), reorganization energies (.1.$) and ionization potentials (iPs) have been investigated. The balanced A(h) and A(e) showed that DPNDF, DPNDF-CN1 and DPNDF-CN2 would be better charge transport materials for both hole and electron. The effect of attached acceptors on the geometrical parameters, electronic, optical and charge transfer properties have also been investigated.
Glutamatergic dysfunction has been suggested as a possible substrate of the pathophysiology of many neurodegenerative diseases, specifically since glutamatergic transmission is severely altered by the early degeneration of cortico-cortical connections and hippocampal projections in Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and Huntington’s disease in humans. Of the multiple genes, vesicular glutamate transporters, glutamate receptors and excitatory amino acid transporters have a significant role in glutamatergic transmissions. The regional differences of glutamatergic neurons and glutamate receptor neurons suggest many glutamatergic projections in the avian brain. Glutamatergic target areas are expected to show high activity of glutamate transporters that remove the released glutamate from the synaptic clefts. The distribution of the glutamate-related genes indicates that many glutamatergic transmissions exist in the avian brain. This review provide insights of glutamatergic circuits in birds particularly in the pallial organization of glutamatergic neurons and connection with the striatum and hippocampal-septal pathway and comparison with those of mammalian brain which are responsible for Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and Huntington’s disease in humans.
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High quality indium oxide and iron doped indium oxide nanocrystalline films were prepared by the sol-gel method followed by a spin coating technique. The samples were characterized by an X-ray diffractometer, an atomic force microscopy and a UV-vis spectroscopy. All samples had good crystallinity with a preferred orientation in the (222) direction. The crystallite size increased from 12.1 nm for the pure sample to 16.1 nm for the sample with x=0.35 and then decreased to 12.1 nm for the sample with x=0.45. All samples contained nanometer grain sizes with a smooth surface. All films showed a high transmission of over 91% in the wavelength range of 200-800 nm.
The objective of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy of erythromycin, oxytetracycline and calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] against Enterococcus faecalis biofilm in dentine. E. faecalis ATCC 29212 (American type culture collection) was inoculated into standard tooth sections and incubated in aerobic atmosphere at 37°C for 21 days. The infected tooth sections were then exposed to the test agents for 5 and 10 min. The colony forming units (CFU) after the exposure periods at three different depths <100 μm, 100-350 μm and 350-500 μm were enumerated. After 5 min of exposure, both antibiotics had significantly lower CFU count than Ca(OH)2 solution at three dentinal depths. Comparing with the oxytetracycline, the CFU count of the erythromycin was significantly (p<0.05) lower at the depth of 100-500 μm. Similarly, after 10 min of exposure, erythromycin had significantly lower CFU count (p<0.05) at three dentinal depths. Oxytetracycline showed significantly lower CFU count than Ca(OH)2 at 100 μm depth. Comparing with the two exposure times, the erythromycin and Ca(OH)2 groups showed significant lower CFU counts after 10 min of exposure in the antimicrobial agents to 5 min. In conclusion, both antibiotics show better antimicrobial activity than Ca(OH)2 in removing the E. faecalis biofilm in dentine.
In this work, the structural properties of radio frequency sputtering-grown zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films on sapphire (Al203), gallium arsenide (GaAs) and n-type silicon (Si) substrates were characterized. Scanning electron microscopy was employed to study the surface morphology of the samples. X-ray diffraction (xRD) measurements were also performed to obtain the structural information of the samples. The xRD results showed that the ZnO layers grown on different substrates have similar lattice constant (c) values, which were used to calculate the strain percentages of the ZnO thin films. The surface morphologies of the ZnO thin films indicated the formation of a granular surface when ZnO is deposited on n-type Si(100) and Si( 111 ) substrates. Meanwhile, a leaf-like surface is obtained when ZnO is deposited on GaAs and Al203 substrates. The results showed that the ZnO thin film grown on n-type Si(100) has the best quality among all the samples.
Porous asphalt (PA) is predominantly made up of coarse aggregates. The coarse aggregate is instrumental in providing the strength and stability of the mix. The aggregate properties including shape is expected to greatly influence the performance of PA. In this study, five different proportions of geometrically cubical shaped (GCS) aggregate and normal shape aggregate combinations were introduced and designated as mix M0, M25, M50, M75 and M100. Further laboratory tests were carried out to determine the properties of PA including air voids, coefficient of permeability, abrasion loss, indirect tensile strength, resilient modulus and resistance to permanent deformation. The results obtained showed that mix M100 which consists of 100% GCS aggregate performed the best in all tests. Statistical analyses of one-way ANOVA and Duncan’s Post Hoc test results showed that the introduction of GCS aggregate has a significant effect on air voids, coefficient of permeability, abrasion loss and resistance to permanent deformation of the mixes. However, the results showed that GCS aggregate do not gave significant effect on indirect tensile strength and resilient modulus of the PA mixes tested.
Fishes from five streams in Gunung Machinchang and six streams in Gunung Raya areas of Pulau Langkawi were surveyed with the aim to investigate their diversity and distribution. Fish samples were collected from 23rd to 29th November 2007. Samplings took place along the 50 m reach of each of the site using an electrofisher and scoop nets. A total of 619 individuals of fish comprising 27 species and 14 families were recorded. Sixty-six percent from the taxa listed were of the cyprinids and Puntius binotatus was the most abundant species. Carassius auratus auratus was recorded for the first time in Pulau Langkawi. Streams of the Gunung Machinchang area were dominated by secondary freshwater fish species, but in the Gunung Raya area the streams were dominated by primary freshwater fish species. The highest diversity of fish was recorded for Sg. Kubang Badak with Simpson Index Ds = 0.838 and the lowest was for Sg. Perangin with Ds = 0.450. The highest evenness index of fish species was detected for Sg. Temurun with Es = 0.684 and the lowest was for Sg. Perangin with Es = 0.299. Species overlapping between streams of the two areas was 9.6%.
Nutritive value and persistence of different alfalfa cultivars, but very little information is available in the literature on
mineral concentrations, especially on microelements. This study was carried out to determine crude protein and mineral
contents in alfalfa cultivars from two different locations, Ankara and Konya provinces, in Central Anatolia during 2005
and 2007. The experiment was conducted using a randomized complete block design with three replications. Significant
differences in many investigated traits were found between cultivars, years, locations and location x year, location x
cultivar, year x cultivar, and location x year x cultivar interactions. A crude protein ratio and micro and macro element
contents (K, P, Mg, Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn, B, Mo, Cu, Cr, Se and Al) were analyzed in alfalfa on a dry weight basis. The results
showed that the protein content ranged 17.23 to 20.71%. The macro element contents ranged 2.06 to 3.95 g kg–1 for
K, 13.65 to 23.25 g kg–1 for P, 1.31 to 2.53 g kg–1 for Mg, 6.71 to 22.81 g kg–1 for Ca, and 44.3 to 92.7 mg kg–1 for Fe,
whereas the microelement contents ranged 15.4 to 54.3 mg kg–1 for Mn, 24.6 to 121.9 mg kg–1 for Zn, 46.4 to 85.4 mg
kg–1 for B, 0.50 to 6.13 mg kg–1 for Mo, 3.13 to 4.17 mg kg–1 for Cu, 0.93 to 2.40 mg kg–1 for Cr, 0.77 to 1.03 mg kg–1
for Se and 31.2 to 57.8 mg kg–1 for Al. Significant differences at the p<0.01 or p<0.05 level in many investigated traits
were found between cultivars, years, locations and location × year, location × cultivar, year × cultivar, and location
× year × cultivar interactions. In conclusion, due to the fact that the location × year × cultivar interaction was found
statistically significant, we suggest that appropriate cultivars are selected for each region.
Knowledge of natural diet in Portunus pelagicus is essential to understand its nutritional requirements, its interactions with other organisms and its potential for culture. The natural diet of P. pelagicus was studied in Strait of Tebrau, Johor, Malaysia via gut content analysis and molecular analysis. A total of 30 identifiable fatty acids were detected in foregut content of P. pelagicus. Fatty acid 18:3ω3 act as a mangrove detritus marker was found to be the most abundant in foregut content of both sexes of P. pelagicus and has higher value in female. PUFA was the main fatty acid found in foregut content of P. pelagicus and major contributed by fatty acid 18:3ω3, 20:5ω3 and 22:6ω3. Marine animal’s marker was found to be the dominant in foregut content of P. pelagicus and that indicated that marine animals were the main food source of P. pelagicus. In conclusion, this study showed that P. pelagicus is a primarily omnivores crab with preference of marine animal and with addition and/or incidental fed plant items.
Hollow epoxy particles (HEP) serving as reinforcing fillers were prepared using the water-based emulsion method in this study. HEP was incorporated into the polyester matrix at various loading, ranging from 0 wt% to 9 wt%, to toughen the brittle polyester thermoset. The polyester composites were prepared using the casting technique. The fracture toughness and impact strength of the polyester composites increased with increasing the HEP loading up to 5 wt%, after which
there was a drop. The improvement in fracture toughness and impact strength is attributed to the good polymer-filler interaction. This finding was further supported by the scanning electron micrograph, in which it was shown that the polyester resin was interlocked into the pore regions of the HEP filler. The reduction in fracture toughness and impact strength of the polyester composite were believed to be attributed to the filler agglomeration. This filler-filler interaction would create stress concentration areas and eventually weakened the interfacial adhesion between the polymer matrix and the filler particles. Hence, lower fracture toughness and impact strength of the highly HEP-filled polyester composites (above 5 wt%) were detected.
The continued progression of neurodegeneration may result in dementia. The present study compared the neuroprotective
activities between soybean and tempeh extracts in rats. The extracts were administered orally at 10, 20 and 40 mg/kg for
15 days. Radial arm maze and elevated plus maze served as exteroceptive behavioural models for memory measuring.
Brain cholinergic activities (acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase) and neuroinflammatory related cytokines interleukin
1β and interleukin-10 were also tested. Soybean and tempeh extracts significantly improved memory, but overall 40 mg/
kg tempeh showed better improvement (p<0.05). The tempeh extracts at 20 and 40 mg/kg exhibited a significant (p<0.05)
increase and decrease in the level of acetylcholine and acetylcholinesterase activities, respectively. Tempeh extract (40
mg/kg) resulted in greater reduction (p<0.05) of inflammation than soybean extract. Altogether, tempeh extract may be
beneficial in the management and prevention of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Pembangunan bahan komposit aloi titanium (Ti6Al4V)/wolastonit (WA) semakin mendapat permintaan yang tinggi
terutamanya dalam aplikasi implan tulang. Ti6Al4V adalah sejenis aloi logam yang terkenal dengan sifat mekanik yang
tinggi dan bioserasi manakala seramik WA merupakan bahan biokaca yang bersifat bioaktif dan sesuai untuk dijadikan
bahan implan. Proses pengacuan suntikan serbuk (PIM) adalah proses teknologi serbuk yang boleh menghasilkan jasad
yang kecil dan berbentuk kompleks pada kos yang rendah. Ketumpatan jasad anum yang rendah boleh menyebabkan
kecacatan seperti retakan berlaku semasa proses penyahikatan dan pensinteran dijalankan. Oleh itu, jasad anum yang
optimum terhadap ketumpatan adalah penting bagi menghasilkan komposit yang mempunyai sifat mekanik dan fizikal
yang baik. Kajian ini memberi tumpuan terhadap kesan parameter proses pengacuanan terhadap jasad anum komposit
Ti6Al4V/WA. Nilai pembebanan serbuk ialah 67.0 % isi padu. Serbuk Ti6Al4V dan WA dengan nisbah peratus berat
masing-masing adalah 90:10 dicampurkan bersama 60 % bt. stearin sawit (SS) dan 40% bt. polietilena (PE) untuk
membentuk bahan suapan. Parameter optimum yang diperoleh bagi proses pengacuanan suntikan ditentukan melalui
kaedah Taguchi berdasarkan ketumpatan jasad anum ialah: suhu penyuntikan pada 130°C, suhu acuan pada 50°C,
tekanan penyuntikan pada 13 bar dan masa penyuntikan pada 10 s. Nilai purata ketumpatan tertinggi adalah 3.095 g/
cm3
. Analisis ANOVA menunjukkan suhu acuan memberikan pengaruh paling tinggi iaitu 57.63% bagi mendapatkan jasad
anum yang mempunyai ketumpatan yang tinggi. Uji kaji pengesahan menunjukkan jasad anum yang terhasil berada
dalam julat prestasi optimum yang dijangkakan. Penghasilan jasad anum yang bebas daripada kecacatan adalah penting
bagi menentukan sifat mekanik dan fizikal yang baik pada jasad sinter.
Termites are one of the social insects living in large colonies that can cause economic loss. The objective of this study was to estimate foraging territory of infested subterranean termites on building structure. A mark-recapture study was conducted on eight Coptotermes gestroi colonies located at selected infested building structures in Penang, Malaysia. From the foraging study, the population of C. gestroi was estimated to be within the range of 106,592±6,968 to 4,185,000±2,127,328. Additionally, the foraging territory was from 13 to 300 m2 of the infested building structures. Meanwhile the maximum foraging distance was from 4 to 30 m of the infested structures. The results indicated that each of the building structures was infested by a single colony. This study also showed that the triple mark recapture technique used to estimate the population size of the termite colony was capable of providing rough estimates of foraging population of C. gestroi.
The importance of terrestrial insects as food items for freshwater fish was studied by examining stomach contents of Devario regina (Fowler 1934) and its population parameters at canopied areas of selected tributaries of Kerian River, in the northern state of Peninsular Malaysia. Ninety six percent (121 out of 126) of the fish stomachs examined contained food materials in the stomachs and the values of percentage of occurrence (%F), percentage numerical (%N) and percentage points (%P) indicated that collected fish ate similar food items in all rivers. Among the food categories, scavenging terrestrial ants (Formicidae) were the most dominant food item, hence the main diet for this species. The Index of Relative Importance (IRI) scores of food items indicated that ants were higher than other food items. This surface water feeder experienced a positive allometric growth (W = aLb) with a b (rate of growth) value of 3.256. Its asymptotic length, growth constant and growth performance index represented this species with a short life-span (L∞ = 10.90 cm, K = 1.20 year-1, φ’ = 2.15, tmax = 3 year, respectively) and had higher natural mortality (M = 2.40 year-1) than fishing mortality (F = 0.35 year-1) while the fish stock was underexploited (E = 0.13). The finding of this study indicated the importance of terrestrial ants as a food source that support excellent growth of D. regina and the need to conserve riparian trees along river banks to provide allocthonous materials and habitats for the ants.