BiOX™: a new material for industry

BiOX™ is a new type of bismuth oxide nanoparticle with distinctive bright orange colour. Its chemical The symbol is Bi2O3 and its molecular weight is 466. The material particle size is 37nm with its corresponding specific surface area of8.9m2g-1. The oxides are of tetragonal ß-Bi2O3 which through controlled synthesis procedure produce materials resemble into rosette morphology. The preparation method opted was rather simple and distinguished by monophase composition of the product, ecological safety and simple operation, therefore promise low operating cost

Animal welfare dilemma: are we chikened-out?

The concern on animal welfare has risen since decades ago. It has generated public interest and become a hot debate ever since the British MP Richard Martin, who was also an Irish politician and animal rights activist bravely called out through Parliament offering protection from cruelty to cattle, horses and sheep as its central concern in 1822. Earning himself the nickname Humanity Dick, he also emphasised on human morality and humane behaviour

Production of bacterial inoculant as biofertilizer and bioenhancer.

In Malaysia there are limited sources of bacterial inoculants as plant blofertlh2ers and bioenhancers. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) such as Azospirilium and Bacillus spp. can be safely used as inoculants to enhance plant growth, fix N2 and decrease enhance on Inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers. Several experiments were conducted to produce the inoculant namely the Isolation of bacteria, the carrier and its shelf life, and the efficacy on economic crops. higher acetylene-reduction assay (ARA) activities (129 umole plant-1 hour-1) and increased nutrient uptake

The role of metabolic enzymes in the development of resistance in cocoa mirid, Helopeltis Theivora Waterhouse.

Topical bioassays were conducted to evaluate the toxicity of deltamethrin, cypermethrin, y-HCH and chlopyrifos against 3 populations of H. theivora namely the cocoa populations (Serdang. Selangor) and Sungai Tekam, Pahang) and tea population (Banting. Selangor). The synergistic effects of piperonyl butoxide (PBO), maleic acid diethyl ether (MADE) and s.s.s-tributyl phosphorotrittlioate (DEF) were also tested using similar technique. Based on the LDso values, the toxicity ofthe insecticide tested for the Serdang and Sungai Tekam populations were chlopyrifos > y-HCH > cypermethrin > delWnethrin; forthe Banting population was y-HCH > cypermethrin > chlorpyrifos > deltamethrin. The most toxic insecticide was chlopyrifos with LD50 value of 3.028 x 10-2mg/l for the Sungai Tekam population. The synergism of PBO on cypermethrin was higher compared to other insecticides tested

Malaysian parlimentary election.

Results of the 2008 general election caught many analysts and the people at large by surprise. It was totally unexpected that the National Front (NF) would be denied its two-third majority that the ruling coalition has been securing since the first general election held in 1964 after the formation of Malaysia in 1963. Since then, the NF was able to regain its supremacy by winning a two-third majority in the federal parliament until 2008. That therefore makes the 2008 general election the country’s 11th general election held. However, in between these general elections, the ruling NF coalition merely lost one or two states, as it did in the Malay heartland of Kelantan (1990, 1995, 1999, 2004) and Terengganu (1999) as well as the former crown colony of Sabah (1984, 1985, 1990 and 1994). Therefore, when the coalition failed to secure a two-third majority in the 2008 general election and at the same time lost four additional states to a loose electoral pact of the Malay-led PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat [Peoples’ Justice Party]), the Islamic based PAS (Pan Islamic Party) and the Chinese dominated DAP (Democratic Action Party), shock waves were felt by all parties across the nation

HB MELAYU™ an instrument to measure social character traits.

Synthesis is the only quarterly R&D&C bulletin of Universiti Putra Malaysia published in March, June, September and December. It focusses on award-winning innovations and high impact publications. It covers research happenings that emerge from the various faculties and institutes across the university and provides a brief summary of some of the important research findings by UPM. It features special topics that are of national interest in various fields and disciplines. Scientists must be made aware of the impact of their work and its possible applications to the society and public. It is hoped that this bulletin will provide the opportunity to interact, particularly through feedback or direct mail, with the scientists from either the private sector or other government research institutions

RETROTEXT-E 2.0 maximising teachers’ professional development.

RETROTEXT-E is a recent invention which attempts to benefit teachers as much as possible, perhaps to make their lives better. It is a tool for teachers to add more variety to their otherwise predictable life in schools. Most teachers teach and spend the rest of their day working on marking exercise books or doing administrative work. On-going evaluation of the materials that they use for teaching has probably never been a consideration. RETROTEXT-E is aimed to change all that. At present there are two ways in which books, especially for English Language Teaching (ELT) are evaluated, the first way is to evaluate them impressionistically, while the second is by using an instrument, commonly known as a textbook evaluation checklist. While ELT textbooks can be evaluated efficiently through impression by experienced teachers, this may not be the case for novice teachers. Besides that, if more than one teacher is involved, impressionistic evaluation may not be feasible. Most teachers would then resort to the checklist. Although there are numerous checklists developed throughout the world, most of them have been tested for neither reliability nor validity. Another important point to be made is that checklists have been known to have very little capability of helping teachers evaluate important aspects of textbooks, especially with regard to the evaluation of vocabulary and structures, hence the need for some form of assistance from computers

Career success: don't take it for granted!

Career is one of the sites to see the differential dynamics of employees in any organization. It is simply about interaction of an individual, job and organization, even though it is commonly understood as a sequence of jobs in a life-span of an individual. The outcome of a career is career success, and it is indeed created; hence, we don't take it for granted

UPM – making of a research university.

Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) has made significant progress since it started as a School of Agriculture in 1931. Over the passed decades, it has greatly transformed itself into one of the largest established premier institutions embracing research as an integral part of its mission, with agro-bio as our niche. Having set a blueprint for e-university to attain a world-class status, our vision is clear. Our course is set. Sharing Malaysia's destiny in line with UPM's 10-year strategic plan, spanning from 2001 to 2010, and now setting ourselves to becoming a top research university is a worthy endeavor and an exciting prospect