This study examined the effect of honey in gellan gum (GG) hydrogel containing virgin
coconut oil (VCO). Their mechanical, physical, thermal properties and in-vivo healing potential
on dermal wounds were investigated. The compression performance results show that
the inclusion of honey into gellan gum incorporated VCO (GGVCOH) hydrogel improved
the compressive stress of the materials by 3-fold and workable to be applied on the different
contours of human body. Swelling ratio of GVCO hydrogels increased upon addition of
honey, and water transmission rates (WVTRs) values of all hydrogels were in the range of
112-132 g m−2 d
−1
, in which comparable to WVTRs values of commercial wound dressings.
Thermal behavior shows the inclusion of honey in GVCO hydrogels improved the thermal
stability particularly at high concentration. In-vivo healing on dermal wounds exhibits that
the inclusion of honey accelerated the wound closure and shows complete neo-epidermal
of the wounds. The GVCOH hydrogel has shown promising results to treats acute wound
treatments.
A paradigm shift in supramolecular chemistry has drawn our attention to produce coordination
polymers for anion separation. In this approach, we have successfully synthesized a
one dimensional coordination polymer from combination of U-shaped diamide ligand, namely
N,N -2,6-bis(4-pyridylmethyl)pyridine dicarboxamide (L1) and Zn(NO3)2 in methanol. This
product is obtained as single crystal with formula molecule given by elemental analysis as
{[Zn(L1)2(H2O)2](NO3)2.4H2O}n. In this account, we also describe supramolecular interactions
between this coordination polymer with two selected anions, nitrate and chromate
using combination of experimental and theoretical studies. Observation via FTIR spectra
indicates the presence of two distinctive peaks for Cr-O (931 cm−1
) and N-O (1384 cm−1
)
confirming encapsulation of chromate and nitrate anions in the receptor. X-ray crystallography
reveals the interaction between NH amide with the anions as expected. As resulted
by Gaussian, coordination polymer with nitrate anion is found more stable compared to
chromate with interaction energy 342.2729 kJ/mol.
Herein, we report the synthesis of a thiosemicarbazide derivatives, namely 4-(2-
fluorophenyl) thiosemicarbazide from the reaction between 2-fluorophenyl isothiocyanate and
hydrazine hydrate. The isolated solid compound was elucidated from micro-elemental analysis
and IR spectroscopy. The structure of the molecule in the ground state was calculated
using density functional theory (DFT) method and basic set of 6-311G (d,p) was used to
calculate the energy gap (4Egap), hardness (η), softness (σ) and the global electronegativity
(χ). Its electrostatic potential mapping and frontier orbital energy analysis were also
discussed. The interaction of the molecule with selected proteins are investigated using
SwissTargetPrediction database.
Supercapacitors attract great interest among researchers as energy storage devices due to
their high power capability and long cycle life. In this research, the electrochemical performance
of electrical double layer capacitor (EDLC) based solid bio-polymer electrolyte
(SBE) was studied. SBE consists of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and ammonium nitrate
(NH4NO3) was prepared by solution casting technique. The electrical impedance spectroscopy
was used to verify the conductivity of SBE. The average conductivity was achieved
at ∼ 10−3 S/cm. This research aims to prepare SBE and apply in the fabrication of EDLC.
Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed the smooth and homogeneous surface of SBE
film without any phase separation, while irregular shape and sizes of particles was found
on the surface of electrode. Elemental identification results yielded that all corresponding
elements presence in the SBE and electrode. The EDLC performance was characterized
using galvanostatic charge-discharge at different constant currents. Charge-discharge studies
showed that long discharge time (90 minutes) within 11 cycle was observed at 2µA. The
highest specific capacitance of 1.8 F/g was discovered at 4µA. This study showed that EDLC
based SBE has a promising potential to be applied in low current applications.
The present work discusses the structural studies of dual blended solid biopolymer electrolytes
(SBEs) based carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/chitosan (CS) doped with various
ammonium bromide (AB) composition using solution casting technique. X-ray Diffraction
(XRD) result reveal that all samples are completely amorphous except for sample Ab-30.
FTIR analysis shows interaction has occurred between CMC/CS and NH4Br. Analysis of
transport properties has shown that the dependency of ionic conductivity was on the ionic
mobility, µ and diffusion coefficient, D of mobile ion.
Information on feeding behaviour of tropical horseshoe crabs, Tachypleus gigas (M¨uller, 1785) is still scanty compared to Limulus polyphemus (Linnaeus, 1758). Foods condition such as decayed, sheltered and etc., would substantially influence the edibility of food by the T. gigas. However, horseshoe crabs might have specific behaviour to manipulate the foraged food. The aim of this paper was to investigate the feeding mechanism of T. gigas toward different feed conditions. Experiments were conducted inside a glass tank. A total of 30 males and females respectively were introduced to five different natural potential feeds, namely, gastropods (Turritella sp.), crustacean (Squilla sp.), fish (Lates calcarifer ), bivalve (Meretrix meretrix ) and polychaete (Nereis sp.). We have manipulated the condition of introduced feed based on the several potential foods conditions in nature such as sheltered (protected with shell, hard outer skin or host tube), unsheltered and decayed before introduced the feeds to the crabs. In present study, female crabs took shorter response period towards surrounding feed compared to males. Overall, they prefer to consume freshly dead feeds and would totally reject the sheltered feeds, such as, shell, hard outer skin and tube host. Male crabs have particular feeding behaviours to manipulate the edibility of the decayed feeds. Detailed experiments on the feeding mechanism of T. gigas could provide more information on their foraging activity in the wild.
A boxplot is an exploratory data analysis (EDA) tool for a compact visual display of a distributional summary of a univariate data set. It is designed to capture all typical observations and displays the location, spread, skewness and the tail of the data. The precision of some of this functionality is considered to be more reliable for symmetric data type and thus less appropriate for skewed data such as the extreme data. Many observations from extreme data were mistakenly marked as outliers by the Tukey’s standard boxplot. A new boxplot implementation is presented which adopts a fence definition using the extent of skewness and enhances the plot with additional features such as a quantile region for the parameters of generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution in fitting an extreme data set. The advantage of the new superimposed region was illustrated in term of batch comparison of extreme samples and an EDA tool to determine search region or direction as contained in the optimisation routines of a maximum likelihood parameter estimation of GEV model. A simulated and real-life data were used to justify the advantages of the boxplot enhancement.
The adverse effects of prolonged and rampant usage of chemical insecticides in controlling the population of vector arthropod have caused the development of resistance among vector populations as well as non-target organism. Application of plant extracts could be alternative sources for mosquito control. The present study assessed larvicidal activities of methanol extracts of leaf and stem of Jacaranda mimosifolia Don (Family: Bignoniaceae), Melaleuca cajuputi Powell (Family: Myrtaceae), Tabebuia chrysantha (Jacq.) Nicholson (Family: Bignoniaceae), Tabebuia pallida (Lindl.) Miers (Family: Bignoniaceae) and Tabebuia rosea Toll (Family: Bignoniaceae) against dengue vectors, Aedes (Diptera: Culicidae) sp. Among plants tested, M. cajuputi exhibited the most effective with the highest mortality against Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus. Leaf extracts showed significantly higher larvicidal effects in relative to stem extracts. The findings also revealed that Ae. aegypti is the most susceptible compared to Ae. albopictus. LC50 values of M. cajuputi leaf extracts were 183.35mg/L and 191.82mg/L against Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus respectively. These studies suggest leaf extracts of M. cajuputi have moderate potential as larvicidal against vector larvae of Aedes mosquitoes.
Series of catastrophic floods that we have witnessed over the last decade in Malaysia have necessitated the adoption of reliable early warning system. Ultimate concern during any event of natural or manmade disaster would be information dissemination to lessen the disaster impact on lives and property. The Bertam Valley incident in the wee hours of 23rd October 2013 has been considered as the game changer of how we view the role of vulnerable communities in facing dam-related disasters. Empowerment of local communities has been considered as vital in disaster management, as they are often the first responders to disaster. Local Community-Based Early Warning System (CBEWS) is a smart mechanism operated by the communities. This study revolves around the actual implementation of such system in Cameron Highlands in the effort of increasing human resilience towards damrelated disasters. While establishing the system, the Bertam Valley community has received support from different individuals and organisations. It is paramount that the community develops and maintains close coordination and strong links with these stakeholders. The performance of early warning systems can be evaluated via key parameters such as timeliness, accuracy, reliability, user friendliness, flexibility, and costs & benefits.
Oxidative stress (OXS) has been associated with many diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, cancer, diabetes and osteoporosis as it can alter cellular components in the body. Oxidative stress can be neutralised by anti-oxidative compounds found in many natural products such as berries, turmeric and figs. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties of figs. Fig, or its scientific name Ficus carica (F. carica), is one of the fruits mentioned in the Quran and is known among the Malays as ‘buah tin’. Electronic databases used were Scopus, Ovid, Proquest and Science Direct. The inclusion criteria were studies that utilised the fresh, dried, juice, extract of F. carica, written in English, published within 2007 to 2017, studies carried out in tissue culture and animal studies. Anti-oxidative effect, lipid peroxidation inhibition and anti-inflammatory were the key outcomes in this review. A total of 19 studies met all the criteria. The results showed that treatment with F. carica increased anti-oxidative enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and decreased lipid peroxidation activity. F. carica also reported to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in acute and chronic inflammation. In conclusion, F. carica exhibited anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties.
Nowadays, the numbers of wild horseshoe crab harvested for study are increasing. However, general information on Tachyplues gigas satiation level, gut transit time, defecation pattern and acclimation period in captivity during holding period are still scanty. The aims of this study are to identify T. gigas food intake, gut transit time and defecation pattern during the rearing period by introducing the crabs with gastropod (Turritella sp.), crustacean (Squilla sp.) and bivalve (Meretrix meretrix ) in several feed ratios; 0.2%, 0.6%, 1.0%, 1.4%, 1.8% and 2.2% expressed of crabs’ body weight. The defecation of T. gigas was monitored for every three hours after being fed to measure their gut transit time and defecation pattern. Male crabs did not significantly eat until two weeks in captivity, while the females started to eat in the early first week after being harvested from the wild. The satiation levels of the females (gastropod: 1.8%±0.04; crustacean: 1.7%±0.08; bivalve: 1.8%±0.06) were significantly higher than the males’ (gastropod: 1.7%±0.08; crustacean: 1.4%±0.02; bivalve: 1.6%±0.05) for all feed types. Gut transit time of the males were significantly longer than the females’. Male crabs took shorter time (1±0 hr) to achieve their satiation than female crabs (2±0 hrs). This study provides useful information for T. gigas rearing activity and for designing a better rearing system.
Radiation pre-vulcanised natural rubber latex (RVNRL) prepared by using gamma irradiation technique has many advantages over the conventionally prepared sulphur pre-vulcanised natural rubber latex (SPVL). Despite the fact that many potential latex dipped products can be made from RVNRL, little effort was made to fully commercialise the products because of the inferior strength of RVNRL products compared to SPVL products. An attempt was made to improve the tensile strength of RVNRL by combining both radiation and peroxide vulcanisation in order to ensure that the products will not tear or fail, and has sufficient stretch. Hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA) plays the main role as sensitizer during radiation vulcanisation and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHPO) as the co-sensitizer in peroxide vulcanisation. Pre-vulcanised natural rubber latex dipped films via hybrid radiation and peroxidation vulcanisations obtained showed tensile strength of 26.7 MPa, an increment of more than 15% compared to controlled film (22.5 MPa). Besides, the crosslink percentage of the rubber films also showed around 5% increment from 90.7% to 95.6%.
Giving zakat is the third of the five pillars of Islam and it is obligatory. The issues arose when the gantang
for zakat payment in Malaysia is converted to kilogramme, a metric unit for weight as usually used for
foods and there was no available standard for gantang used for zakat payment in Malaysia. However,
this unit is inaccurate since gantang (sa’) is not a measure of weight (mizan) but it is a measure of
volume (mikyal). Thus, the objective of this research is to study the volume of the sa’ and to calibrate it
in the correct metric unit for standardisation purpose. A qualitative method was used by calibrating the
gantang replica at Volume Laboratory, National Metrology Institute of Malaysia and the interviews with
State Islamic Council, State Zakat Centre and State Mufti Department. From the calibration, the capacity
of the gantang (sa’) was obtained, and subsequently, the respective capacities for cupak and agricultural
nisab were calculated. The finding of the research found that the volume of gantang was important in the
determination of nisab, a minimum amount of crop for a certain cropping season. Hopefully this research
would be a guideline for all states in Malaysia to be more systematic and efficient for the zakat agriculture
determination.