Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 26 in total

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  1. Mohamad-Matrol AA, Chang SW, Abu A
    PeerJ, 2018;6:e5579.
    PMID: 30186704 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5579
    Background: The amount of plant data such as taxonomical classification, morphological characteristics, ecological attributes and geological distribution in textual and image forms has increased rapidly due to emerging research and technologies. Therefore, it is crucial for experts as well as the public to discern meaningful relationships from this vast amount of data using appropriate methods. The data are often presented in lengthy texts and tables, which make gaining new insights difficult. The study proposes a visual-based representation to display data to users in a meaningful way. This method emphasises the relationships between different data sets.

    Method: This study involves four main steps which translate text-based results from Extensible Markup Language (XML) serialisation format into graphs. The four steps include: (1) conversion of ontological dataset as graph model data; (2) query from graph model data; (3) transformation of text-based results in XML serialisation format into a graphical form; and (4) display of results to the user via a graphical user interface (GUI). Ontological data for plants and samples of trees and shrubs were used as the dataset to demonstrate how plant-based data could be integrated into the proposed data visualisation.

    Results: A visualisation system named plant visualisation system was developed. This system provides a GUI that enables users to perform the query process, as well as a graphical viewer to display the results of the query in the form of a network graph. The efficiency of the developed visualisation system was measured by performing two types of user evaluations: a usability heuristics evaluation, and a query and visualisation evaluation.

    Discussion: The relationships between the data were visualised, enabling the users to easily infer the knowledge and correlations between data. The results from the user evaluation show that the proposed visualisation system is suitable for both expert and novice users, with or without computer skills. This technique demonstrates the practicability of using a computer assisted-tool by providing cognitive analysis for understanding relationships between data. Therefore, the results benefit not only botanists, but also novice users, especially those that are interested to know more about plants.

  2. Yap HJ, Taha Z, Dawal SZ, Chang SW
    PLoS One, 2014;9(10):e109692.
    PMID: 25360663 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0109692
    Traditional robotic work cell design and programming are considered inefficient and outdated in current industrial and market demands. In this research, virtual reality (VR) technology is used to improve human-robot interface, whereby complicated commands or programming knowledge is not required. The proposed solution, known as VR-based Programming of a Robotic Work Cell (VR-Rocell), consists of two sub-programmes, which are VR-Robotic Work Cell Layout (VR-RoWL) and VR-based Robot Teaching System (VR-RoT). VR-RoWL is developed to assign the layout design for an industrial robotic work cell, whereby VR-RoT is developed to overcome safety issues and lack of trained personnel in robot programming. Simple and user-friendly interfaces are designed for inexperienced users to generate robot commands without damaging the robot or interrupting the production line. The user is able to attempt numerous times to attain an optimum solution. A case study is conducted in the Robotics Laboratory to assemble an electronics casing and it is found that the output models are compatible with commercial software without loss of information. Furthermore, the generated KUKA commands are workable when loaded into a commercial simulator. The operation of the actual robotic work cell shows that the errors may be due to the dynamics of the KUKA robot rather than the accuracy of the generated programme. Therefore, it is concluded that the virtual reality based solution approach can be implemented in an industrial robotic work cell.
  3. Chang SW, Abdul-Kareem S, Merican AF, Zain RB
    BMC Bioinformatics, 2013;14:170.
    PMID: 23725313 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-14-170
    Machine learning techniques are becoming useful as an alternative approach to conventional medical diagnosis or prognosis as they are good for handling noisy and incomplete data, and significant results can be attained despite a small sample size. Traditionally, clinicians make prognostic decisions based on clinicopathologic markers. However, it is not easy for the most skilful clinician to come out with an accurate prognosis by using these markers alone. Thus, there is a need to use genomic markers to improve the accuracy of prognosis. The main aim of this research is to apply a hybrid of feature selection and machine learning methods in oral cancer prognosis based on the parameters of the correlation of clinicopathologic and genomic markers.
  4. Mohd Faizal AS, Thevarajah TM, Khor SM, Chang SW
    Comput Methods Programs Biomed, 2021 Aug;207:106190.
    PMID: 34077865 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2021.106190
    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide and is a global health issue. Traditionally, statistical models are used commonly in the risk prediction and assessment of CVD. However, the adoption of artificial intelligent (AI) approach is rapidly taking hold in the current era of technology to evaluate patient risks and predict the outcome of CVD. In this review, we outline various conventional risk scores and prediction models and do a comparison with the AI approach. The strengths and limitations of both conventional and AI approaches are discussed. Besides that, biomarker discovery related to CVD are also elucidated as the biomarkers can be used in the risk stratification as well as early detection of the disease. Moreover, problems and challenges involved in current CVD studies are explored. Lastly, future prospects of CVD risk prediction and assessment in the multi-modality of big data integrative approaches are proposed.
  5. Ahmad Loti NN, Mohd Noor MR, Chang SW
    J Sci Food Agric, 2021 Jul;101(9):3582-3594.
    PMID: 33275806 DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.10987
    BACKGROUND: Chili is one of the most important and high-value vegetable crops worldwide. However, pest and disease infections are among the main limiting factors in chili cultivation. These diseases cannot be eradicated but can be handled and monitored to mitigate the damage. Hence, the use of an automated identification system based on images will promote quick identification of chili disease. The features extracted from the images are of utmost importance to develop such an accurate identification system.

    RESULTS: In this research, chili pest and disease features extracted using the traditional approach were compared with features extracted using a deep-learning-based approach. A total of 974 chili leaf images were collected, which consisted of five types of diseases, two types of pest infestations, and a healthy type. Six traditional feature-based approaches and six deep-learning feature-based approaches were used to extract significant pests and disease features from the chili leaf images. The extracted features were fed into three machine learning classifiers, namely a support vector machine (SVM), a random forest (RF), and an artificial neural network (ANN) for the identification task. The results showed that deep learning feature-based approaches performed better than the traditional feature-based approaches. The best accuracy of 92.10% was obtained with the SVM classifier.

    CONCLUSION: A deep-learning feature-based approach could capture the details and characteristics between different types of chili pests and diseases even though they possessed similar visual patterns and symptoms. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

  6. Tan MS, Chang SW, Cheah PL, Yap HJ
    PeerJ, 2018;6:e5285.
    PMID: 30065881 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5285
    Although most of the cervical cancer cases are reported to be closely related to the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection, there is a need to study genes that stand up differentially in the final actualization of cervical cancers following HPV infection. In this study, we proposed an integrative machine learning approach to analyse multiple gene expression profiles in cervical cancer in order to identify a set of genetic markers that are associated with and may eventually aid in the diagnosis or prognosis of cervical cancers. The proposed integrative analysis is composed of three steps: namely, (i) gene expression analysis of individual dataset; (ii) meta-analysis of multiple datasets; and (iii) feature selection and machine learning analysis. As a result, 21 gene expressions were identified through the integrative machine learning analysis which including seven supervised and one unsupervised methods. A functional analysis with GSEA (Gene Set Enrichment Analysis) was performed on the selected 21-gene expression set and showed significant enrichment in a nine-potential gene expression signature, namely PEG3, SPON1, BTD and RPLP2 (upregulated genes) and PRDX3, COPB2, LSM3, SLC5A3 and AS1B (downregulated genes).
  7. Chang SW, Kareem SA, Kallarakkal TG, Merican AF, Abraham MT, Zain RB
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2011;12(10):2659-64.
    PMID: 22320970
    The incidence of oral cancer is high for those of Indian ethnic origin in Malaysia. Various clinical and pathological data are usually used in oral cancer prognosis. However, due to time, cost and tissue limitations, the number of prognosis variables need to be reduced. In this research, we demonstrated the use of feature selection methods to select a subset of variables that is highly predictive of oral cancer prognosis. The objective is to reduce the number of input variables, thus to identify the key clinicopathologic (input) variables of oral cancer prognosis based on the data collected in the Malaysian scenario. Two feature selection methods, genetic algorithm (wrapper approach) and Pearson's correlation coefficient (filter approach) were implemented and compared with single-input models and a full-input model. The results showed that the reduced models with feature selection method are able to produce more accurate prognosis results than the full-input model and single-input model, with the Pearson's correlation coefficient achieving the most promising results.
  8. Muazu Musa R, P P Abdul Majeed A, Taha Z, Chang SW, Ab Nasir AF, Abdullah MR
    PLoS One, 2019;14(1):e0209638.
    PMID: 30605456 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0209638
    k-nearest neighbour (k-NN) has been shown to be an effective learning algorithm for classification and prediction. However, the application of k-NN for prediction and classification in specific sport is still in its infancy. The present study classified and predicted high and low potential archers from a set of physical fitness variables trained on a variation of k-NN algorithms and logistic regression. 50 youth archers with the mean age and standard deviation of (17.0 ± 0.56) years drawn from various archery programmes completed a one end archery shooting score test. Standard fitness measurements of the handgrip, vertical jump, standing broad jump, static balance, upper muscle strength and the core muscle strength were conducted. Multiple linear regression was utilised to ascertain the significant variables that affect the shooting score. It was demonstrated from the analysis that core muscle strength and vertical jump were statistically significant. Hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis (HACA) was used to cluster the archers based on the significant variables identified. k-NN model variations, i.e., fine, medium, coarse, cosine, cubic and weighted functions as well as logistic regression, were trained based on the significant performance variables. The HACA clustered the archers into high potential archers (HPA) and low potential archers (LPA). The weighted k-NN outperformed all the tested models at itdemonstrated reasonably good classification on the evaluated indicators with an accuracy of 82.5 ± 4.75% for the prediction of the HPA and the LPA. Moreover, the performance of the classifiers was further investigated against fresh data, which also indicates the efficacy of the weighted k-NN model. These findings could be valuable to coaches and sports managers to recognise high potential archers from a combination of the selected few physical fitness performance indicators identified which would subsequently save cost, time and energy for a talent identification programme.
  9. Tan HY, Goh ZY, Loh KH, Then AY, Omar H, Chang SW
    PeerJ, 2021;9:e11825.
    PMID: 34434645 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11825
    Background: Despite the high commercial fisheries value and ecological importance as prey item for higher marine predators, very limited taxonomic work has been done on cephalopods in Malaysia. Due to the soft-bodied nature of cephalopods, the identification of cephalopod species based on the beak hard parts can be more reliable and useful than conventional body morphology. Since the traditional method for species classification was time-consuming, this study aimed to develop an automated identification model that can identify cephalopod species based on beak images.

    Methods: A total of 174 samples of seven cephalopod species were collected from the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. Both upper and lower beaks were extracted from the samples and the left lateral views of upper and lower beak images were acquired. Three types of traditional morphometric features were extracted namely grey histogram of oriented gradient (HOG), colour HOG, and morphological shape descriptor (MSD). In addition, deep features were extracted by using three pre-trained convolutional neural networks (CNN) models which are VGG19, InceptionV3, and Resnet50. Eight machine learning approaches were used in the classification step and compared for model performance.

    Results: The results showed that the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) model achieved the best testing accuracy of 91.14%, using the deep features extracted from the VGG19 model from lower beak images. The results indicated that the deep features were more accurate than the traditional features in highlighting morphometric differences from the beak images of cephalopod species. In addition, the use of lower beaks of cephalopod species provided better results compared to the upper beaks, suggesting that the lower beaks possess more significant morphological differences between the studied cephalopod species. Future works should include more cephalopod species and sample size to enhance the identification accuracy and comprehensiveness of the developed model.

  10. Low JSY, Thevarajah TM, Chang SW, Goh BT, Khor SM
    Crit Rev Biotechnol, 2020 Dec;40(8):1191-1209.
    PMID: 32811205 DOI: 10.1080/07388551.2020.1808582
    Cardiovascular disease is a major global health issue. In particular, acute myocardial infarction (AMI) requires urgent attention and early diagnosis. The use of point-of-care diagnostics has resulted in the improved management of cardiovascular disease, but a major drawback is that the performance of POC devices does not rival that of central laboratory tests. Recently, many studies and advances have been made in the field of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), including the development of POC biosensors that utilize this detection method. Here, we present a review of the strengths and limitations of these emerging SERS-based biosensors for AMI diagnosis. The ability of SERS to multiplex sensing against existing POC detection methods are compared and discussed. Furthermore, SERS calibration-free methods that have recently been explored to minimize the inconvenience and eliminate the limitations caused by the limited linear range and interassay differences found in the calibration curves are outlined. In addition, the incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) in SERS techniques to promote multivariate analysis and enhance diagnostic accuracy are discussed. The future prospects for SERS-based POC devices that include wearable POC SERS devices toward predictive, personalized medicine following the Fourth Industrial Revolution are proposed.
  11. Tan MS, Tan JW, Chang SW, Yap HJ, Abdul Kareem S, Zain RB
    PeerJ, 2016;4:e2482.
    PMID: 27688975 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2482
    The potential of genetic programming (GP) on various fields has been attained in recent years. In bio-medical field, many researches in GP are focused on the recognition of cancerous cells and also on gene expression profiling data. In this research, the aim is to study the performance of GP on the survival prediction of a small sample size of oral cancer prognosis dataset, which is the first study in the field of oral cancer prognosis.
  12. Tan MS, Cheah PL, Chin AV, Looi LM, Chang SW
    Comput Biol Med, 2021 12;139:104947.
    PMID: 34678481 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2021.104947
    Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects cognition and is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly. As the number of elderly individuals increases globally, the incidence and prevalence of AD are expected to increase. At present, AD is diagnosed clinically, according to accepted criteria. The essential elements in the diagnosis of AD include a patients history, a physical examination and neuropsychological testing, in addition to appropriate investigations such as neuroimaging. The omics-based approach is an emerging field of study that may not only aid in the diagnosis of AD but also facilitate the exploration of factors that influence the development of the disease. Omics techniques, including genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics, may reveal the pathways that lead to neuronal death and identify biomolecular markers associated with AD. This will further facilitate an understanding of AD neuropathology. In this review, omics-based approaches that were implemented in studies on AD were assessed from a bioinformatics perspective. Current state-of-the-art statistical and machine learning approaches used in the single omics analysis of AD were compared based on correlations of variants, differential expression, functional analysis and network analysis. This was followed by a review of the approaches used in the integration and analysis of multi-omics of AD. The strengths and limitations of multi-omics analysis methods were explored and the issues and challenges associated with omics studies of AD were highlighted. Lastly, future studies in this area of research were justified.
  13. Murat M, Chang SW, Abu A, Yap HJ, Yong KT
    PeerJ, 2017;5:e3792.
    PMID: 28924506 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3792
    Plants play a crucial role in foodstuff, medicine, industry, and environmental protection. The skill of recognising plants is very important in some applications, including conservation of endangered species and rehabilitation of lands after mining activities. However, it is a difficult task to identify plant species because it requires specialized knowledge. Developing an automated classification system for plant species is necessary and valuable since it can help specialists as well as the public in identifying plant species easily. Shape descriptors were applied on the myDAUN dataset that contains 45 tropical shrub species collected from the University of Malaya (UM), Malaysia. Based on literature review, this is the first study in the development of tropical shrub species image dataset and classification using a hybrid of leaf shape and machine learning approach. Four types of shape descriptors were used in this study namely morphological shape descriptors (MSD), Histogram of Oriented Gradients (HOG), Hu invariant moments (Hu) and Zernike moments (ZM). Single descriptor, as well as the combination of hybrid descriptors were tested and compared. The tropical shrub species are classified using six different classifiers, which are artificial neural network (ANN), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), k-nearest neighbour (k-NN), linear discriminant analysis (LDA) and directed acyclic graph multiclass least squares twin support vector machine (DAG MLSTSVM). In addition, three types of feature selection methods were tested in the myDAUN dataset, Relief, Correlation-based feature selection (CFS) and Pearson's coefficient correlation (PCC). The well-known Flavia dataset and Swedish Leaf dataset were used as the validation dataset on the proposed methods. The results showed that the hybrid of all descriptors of ANN outperformed the other classifiers with an average classification accuracy of 98.23% for the myDAUN dataset, 95.25% for the Flavia dataset and 99.89% for the Swedish Leaf dataset. In addition, the Relief feature selection method achieved the highest classification accuracy of 98.13% after 80 (or 60%) of the original features were reduced, from 133 to 53 descriptors in the myDAUN dataset with the reduction in computational time. Subsequently, the hybridisation of four descriptors gave the best results compared to others. It is proven that the combination MSD and HOG were good enough for tropical shrubs species classification. Hu and ZM descriptors also improved the accuracy in tropical shrubs species classification in terms of invariant to translation, rotation and scale. ANN outperformed the others for tropical shrub species classification in this study. Feature selection methods can be used in the classification of tropical shrub species, as the comparable results could be obtained with the reduced descriptors and reduced in computational time and cost.
  14. Mohd Faizal AS, Hon WY, Thevarajah TM, Khor SM, Chang SW
    Med Biol Eng Comput, 2023 Oct;61(10):2527-2541.
    PMID: 37199891 DOI: 10.1007/s11517-023-02841-y
    Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) or heart attack is a significant global health threat and one of the leading causes of death. The evolution of machine learning has greatly revamped the risk stratification and death prediction of AMI. In this study, an integrated feature selection and machine learning approach was used to identify potential biomarkers for early detection and treatment of AMI. First, feature selection was conducted and evaluated before all classification tasks with machine learning. Full classification models (using all 62 features) and reduced classification models (using various feature selection methods ranging from 5 to 30 features) were built and evaluated using six machine learning classification algorithms. The results showed that the reduced models performed generally better (mean AUPRC via random forest (RF) algorithm for recursive feature elimination (RFE) method ranges from 0.8048 to 0.8260, while for random forest importance (RFI) method, it ranges from 0.8301 to 0.8505) than the full models (mean AUPRC via RF: 0.8044). The most notable finding of this study was the identification of a five-feature model that included cardiac troponin I, HDL cholesterol, HbA1c, anion gap, and albumin, which had achieved comparable results (mean AUPRC via RF: 0.8462) as to the models that containing more features. These five features were proven by the previous studies as significant risk factors for AMI or cardiovascular disease and could be used as potential biomarkers to predict the prognosis of AMI patients. From the medical point of view, fewer features for diagnosis or prognosis could reduce the cost and time of a patient as lesser clinical and pathological tests are needed.
  15. Chiew SF, Looi LM, Cheah PL, Teoh KH, Chang SW, Abdul Sani SF
    Malays J Pathol, 2023 Dec;45(3):363-374.
    PMID: 38155378
    Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is increasingly explored in cancer progression. Considering that triple negative (TN) breast cancer has the poorest survival among molecular subtypes, we investigated 49 TN, 45 luminal and 25 HER2-enriched female breast carcinomas for EMT expression (using E-cadherin and vimentin immunohistochemistry) against lymphovascular and/or lymph node invasion. E-cadherin and vimentin expressions were semi-quantitated for positive- cancer cells (0=0-<1%, 1=1-10%, 2 =11-50%, 3=>50%) and staining intensity (0=negative, 1=weak, 2=moderate, 3=strong), with final score (low=0-4 and high=6-9) derived by multiplying percentage and intensity scores for each marker. Low E-cadherin and/or high vimentin scores defined EMT positivity. Low E-cadherin co-existing with high vimentin defined "complete" (EMT-CV), while low E-cadherin (EMT-C) or high vimentin (EMT-V) occurring independently defined "partial" subsets. 38 (31.9%) cancers expressed EMT, while 59.2 % TN, 13.3% luminal and 12% HER2-enriched cancers expressed EMT (p<0.05). Among the cancers with lymphovascular and/or lymph node invasion, EMT positivity by molecular types were 66.7% TN, 7.4% luminal and 11.8% HER2-enriched (p<0.05). Although EMT-V, associated with stem-cell properties was the dominant TN EMT profile, EMT-CV, a profile linked to vascular metastases, was encountered only in TN. EMT appears important in TN cancer and different EMT profiles may be associated with its aggressive nature.
  16. Cheah PL, Li J, Looi LM, Koh CC, Lau TP, Chang SW, et al.
    Malays J Pathol, 2019 Aug;41(2):91-100.
    PMID: 31427545
    Since 2014, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has recommended that colorectal carcinoma (CRC) be universally tested for high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) which is present in 15% of such cancers. Fidelity of resultant microsatellites during DNA replication is contingent upon an intact mismatch repair (MMR) system and lack of fidelity can result in tumourigenesis. Prior to commencing routine screening for MSI-H, we assessed two commonly used methods, immunohistochemical (IHC) determination of loss of MMR gene products viz MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 against PCR amplification and subsequent fragment analysis of microsatellite markers, BAT25, BAT26, D2S123, D5S346 and D17S250 (Bethesda markers) in 73 unselected primary CRC. 15.1% (11/73) were categorized as MSI-H while deficient MMR (dMMR) was detected in 16.4% (12/73). Of the dMMR, 66.7% (8/12) were classified MSI-H, while 33.3% (4/12) were microsatellite stable/low microsatellite instability (MSS/MSI-L). Of the proficient MMR (pMMR), 95.1% (58/61) were MSS/MSI-L and 4.9% (3/61) were MSI-H. The κ value of 0.639 (standard error =0.125; p = 0.000) indicated substantial agreement between detection of loss of DNA mismatch repair using immunohistochemistry and the detection of downstream microsatellite instability using PCR. After consideration of advantages and shortcomings of both methods, it is our opinion that the choice of preferred technique for MSI analysis would depend on the type of laboratory carrying out the testing.
  17. Muthukumaravel K, Priyadharshini M, Kanagavalli V, Vasanthi N, Ahmed MS, Musthafa MS, et al.
    Environ Monit Assess, 2022 Oct 21;195(1):10.
    PMID: 36269455 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-10554-2
    Phenol, an aromatic chemical commonly found in domestic and industrial effluents, upon its introduction into aquatic ecosystems adversely affects the indigenous biota, the invertebrates and the vertebrates. With the increased demand for agrochemicals, a large amount of phenol is released directly into the environment as a byproduct. Phenol and its derivatives tend to persist in the environment for longer periods which in turn poses a threat to both humans and the aquatic ecosystem. In our current study, the response of Labeo rohita to sublethal concentrations of phenol was observed and the results did show a regular decrease in biochemical constituents of the targeted organs. Exposure of Labeo rohita to sublethal concentration of phenol (22.32 mg/L) for an epoch of 7, 21 and 28 days shows a decline in lipid, protein, carbohydrate content and phosphatase activity in target organs such as the gills, muscle, intestine, liver and kidney of the fish. The present study also aims to investigate the toxic effects of phenol with special reference to the haematological parameters of Labeo rohita. At the end of the exposure period, the blood of the fish was collected by cutting the caudal peduncle with a surgical scalpel. And it was observed that the red blood corpuscle count (RBC), white blood corpuscle (WBC), haemoglobin count (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration (MCHC) values showed a decline after exposure to phenol for 7 days, while white blood corpuscle (WBC) shows an increased count. At 21 days and 28 days, all the haematological parameters showed a significant decrease.
  18. Pandion K, Arunachalam KD, Dowlath MJH, Chinnapan S, Chang SW, Chang W, et al.
    Environ Monit Assess, 2022 Nov 19;195(1):126.
    PMID: 36401680 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-10568-w
    The current study focused on the monitoring of pollution loads in the Kalpakkam coastal zone of India in terms of physico-chemical characteristics of sediment. The investigation took place at 12 sampling points around the Kalpakkam coastal zone for one year beginning from 2019. The seasonal change of nutrients in the sediment, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, total organic carbon, and particles size distribution, was calculated. Throughout the study period, the pH (7.55 to 8.99), EC (0.99 to 4.98 dS/m), nitrogen (21.74 to 58.12 kg/ha), phosphorus (7.5 to 12.9 kg/ha), potassium (218 to 399 kg/ha), total organic carbon (0.11 to 0.88%), and particle size cumulative percent of sediments (from 9.01 to 9.39%) was observed. A number of multivariate statistical techniques were used to examine the changes in sediment quality. The population means were substantially different according to the three-way ANOVA test at the 0.05 level. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis showed a substantial association with all indicators throughout all seasons, implying contamination from both natural and anthropogenic causes. The ecosystem of the Kalpakkam coastal zone has been affected by nutrient contamination.
  19. Ravindran B, Karmegam N, Awasthi MK, Chang SW, Selvi PK, Balachandar R, et al.
    Bioresour Technol, 2022 Feb;346:126442.
    PMID: 34848334 DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2021.126442
    The present study proposes a system for co-composting food waste and poultry manure amended with rice husk biochar at different doses (0, 3, 5, 10%, w/w), saw dust, and salts. The effect of rice husk biochar on the characteristics of final compost was evaluated through stabilization indices such as electrical conductivity, bulk density, total porosity, gaseous emissions and nitrogen conservation. Results indicated that when compared to control, the biochar amendment extended the thermophilic stage of the composting, accelerated the biodegradation and mineralization of substrate mixture and helped in the maturation of the end product. Carbon dioxide, methane and ammonia emissions were reduced and the nitrogen conservation was achieved at a greater level in the 10% (w/w) biochar amended treatments. This study implies that the biochar and salts addition for co-composting food waste and poultry manure is beneficial to enhance the property of the compost.
  20. Thamizharasan A, Rajaguru VRR, Gajalakshmi S, Lim JW, Greff B, Rajagopal R, et al.
    Environ Res, 2024 Feb 15;243:117752.
    PMID: 38008202 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117752
    Plant leaf litter has a major role in the structure and function of soil ecosystems as it is associated with nutrient release and cycling. The present study is aimed to understand how well the decomposing leaf litter kept soil organic carbon and nitrogen levels stable during an incubation experiment that was carried out in a lab setting under controlled conditions and the results were compared to those from a natural plantation. In natural site soil samples, Anacardium. occidentale showed a higher value of organic carbon at surface (1.14%) and subsurface (0.93%) and Azadirachta. indica exhibited a higher value of total nitrogen at surface (0.28%) and subsurface sample (0.14%). In the incubation experiment, Acacia auriculiformis had the highest organic carbon content initially (5.26%), whereas A. occidentale had the highest nitrogen level on 30th day (0.67%). The overall carbon-nitrogen ratio showed a varied tendency, which may be due to dynamic changes in the complex decomposition cycle. The higher rate of mass loss and decay was observed in A. indica leaf litter, the range of the decay constant is 1.26-2.22. The morphological and chemical changes of soil sample and the vermicast were substantained using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transmission infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR).
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