Freshwater Fishes of Sungai Chantek, Pasir Akar, Besut, Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia

Twenty two species from 12 families of primary freshwater fishes were recorded from Sg. Chantek, Pasik Akar, Besut, Terengganu. Cyprinidae was the most dominant family (27%) with six species followed by Balitoridae with four species (18%). Fish composition was dominated by Poropuntius smedleyi with 140 individuals collected. More fish were collected in the downstream section (LS) (85 individuals) compare to middle (MS) and upper stream (US) sections. Fish species richness for each section range from 12 (US) to 18 (LS) and the differences was between US-LS and MS-LS sections but not with US-MS. LS has more fish species compared to US and MS. It is hypothesized that the presence of different substrate types and microhabitats at LS promotes species richness. Despite of its small size stream, the ichthyofauna found at Sungai Chantek are important and should be kept intact. This study has successfully documented fish diversity at Sg. Chantek. It is suggested that continuous monitoring to be undertaken to ensure species diversity is preserved

Ichthyofauna in Rice Agroecosystem at Seberang Perai Tengah, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia with notes on the introduced species

Twenty six species of fishes from 14 families were recorded from various habitats including river, concrete canals, earth ditches and storm drains in the rice field, following three different stages of paddy planting for two seasons of rice cultivation at Seberang Perai Tengah, Penang. Cyprinidae was the most dominant family recorded, that contributed the highest number of species in this study, followed by Osphronemidae, Clariidae and Bagridae. The most abundant families with high number of individuals collected were from Cyprinidae, Aplocheilidae and Anabantidae. There were seven introduced species recorded and two of them are considered as an invasive species namely Clarias gariepinus and Oreochromis niloticus. The emergence numbers of invasive species can threaten the native species population in the rice field and lead to the local extinction

A newly identified population of Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853), a non-native invasive species, in Lake Kenyir, Malaysia: Implications for management

Gambusia affinis (Baird and Girard, 1853), a notorious non-native invasive fish species, has negatively impacted aquatic ecosystems around the world. This species was recently identified in Lake Kenyir, one of the largest impoundments in SouTheast Asia, using DNA barcoding. The coxI sequence of Gambusia caught in Lake Kenyir was compared with the sequences of topotypic voucher specimens of G. affinis and two other candidate Poeciliidae. The species was found to cluster with G. affinis but not with monophyletic clades of either G. holbrooki or P. reticulata thus confirming species identity. The fish is yet to be widely established in the lake with the current distribution limited to areas of anthropogenic disturbance

Self regulated learning in flipped classrooms: A systematic literature review

The flipped classroom is considered an instructional strategy and a type of blended learning instruction that focused on active learning and student engagement. Over the years, flipped classroom studies have focused more on the advantages and challenges of flipped instruction and its effectiveness, but little is known about the state of self-regulation in flipped classrooms. This study investigates the self-regulation strategies as well as the supports proposed for self-regulated learning in flipped classrooms. Findings show that relatively few studies have focused on self-regulated learning in flipped classrooms compared to the overall research and publication productivity in flipped classrooms. Also, the existing solutions and supports have only focused on either self-regulation or online help-seeking, but have not focused on other specific types of self-regulation strategies. Our study proposed some future research recommendations in flipped classrooms

PENGAMATAN GPS UNTUK MONITORING DEFORMASI BENDUNGAN JATIBARANG MENGGUNAKAN SOFTWARE GAMIT 10.5

ABSTRAK PENGAMATAN GPS UNTUK MONITORING DEFORMASI BENDUNGAN JATIBARANG MENGGUNAKAN SOFTWARE GAMIT 10.5 Ali Amirrudin Ahmad 1), Bambang Darmo Yuwono, ST., MT.2), M. Awaluddin, ST., MT.3) 1) Mahasiswa Teknik Geodesi Universitas Diponegoro 2) Dosen Pembimbing I Teknik Geodesi Universitas Diponegoro 3) Dosen Pembimbing II Teknik Geodesi Universitas Diponegoro [email protected] Penelitian ini adalah tentang pengamatan GPS untuk monitoring deformasi bendungan Jatibarang menggunakan software GAMIT 10.5. Batasan masalah dari penelitian ini adalah bendungan Jatibarang yang berlokasi di kecamatan Gunung Pati, Kota Semarang, Jawa Tengah. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah menggunakan GPS dual frequency pada enam titik pantau yang terletak di bendung utama. Pengolahan data pengamatan menggunakan Scientific Software GAMIT 10.5. Penelitian dilakukan selama tiga periode: Maret, April dan Mei 2014. Tujuan dari penilitian antara lain mengetahui kondisi deformasi yang terjadi di Bendungan Jatibarang, mengetahui cara monitoring deformasi bendungan secara teliti menggunakan alat ukur GPS dual frequency dan mengetahui ketelitian pengolahan data GPS yang menggunakan Scientific Software GAMIT 10.5 pada monitoring deformasi. Tinjaun pustaka yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini antara lian bendungan, deformasi, GPS, metode monitoring deformasi bendungan, prinsip monitoring deformasi bendungan dengan GPS, TEQC (Translation, Editing and Quality Check) dan GAMIT/GLOBK. Pelaksanaan yang dilakukan meliputi pengumpulan data dengan pengamatan survei GPS dan pengolahan data dengan metode post-processing. Setelah melalui pengolahan GAMIT dan GLOBK maka didapatkan nilai perubahan koordinat dengan rata-rata nilai perubahan koordinat pada sumbu X = 0,879 mm, sumbu Y = 0,614 mm dan sumbu Z = 1,114 mm Sehingga kesimpulan akhir dari penelitian ini adalah bendungan Jatibarang mengalami perubahan koordinat secara numeris. Namun saat diuji statistik dengan selang kepercayaan 95%, dinyatakan bahwa keenam titik monitoring bendungan tidak mengalami pergeseran koordinat secara signifikan. Jadi bendungan Jatibarang tidak mengalami deformasi. Kata kunci: bendungan, deformasi, GPS, GAMI

Anti-money laundering and its effectiveness / Huang Ching Choo ... [et al.]

Anti-money laundering (AML) broadly encompasses procedures, processes, laws, or regulations designed to curtail the practice of generating funds through illicit or criminal activities. Since 2001, Malaysian law enforcement agencies have stepped up their capacities and efforts to curb money laundering. However, implementation costs incurred on AML activities could be burdensome to the regulating, enforcement, and reporting agencies. Although these efforts are generally benefi cial, assessing their effectiveness before increasing the level of AML regulation is necessary. This paper reviews literature on various approaches used to estimate money laundering and assess the effectiveness of AML. Although different measures and models are used to estimate money laundering, no model to quantify money laundering is globally acceptable. The absence of an accurate measurement of costs incurred and the difficulty in linking benefits to AML efforts pose challenges in assessing the effectiveness of AML policy. Nevertheless, the use of both crime data and perceived data on cost and effectiveness serves as a step forward in the determination of the effectiveness of AML in Malaysia

Contribution of rice fields to bird diversity in Peninsular Malaysia

There is a lack of documentation on rice fields as an important habitat that harbour different bird diversity compared to natural habitats in Peninsular Malaysia. This study investigated the contribution of rice fields to bird diversity in Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 83 rice fields and 53 natural habitats throughout Peninsular Malaysia were included in this study. Birds were observed and counted using point-count and mist-netting methods. A total of 10,707 bird-sightings, with rice fields, recorded 129 species from 15 orders and 50 families from October 2013 to December 2014; whilst natural forests recorded a total of 438 species from 14 order and 59 families from February 1992 to January 2015. Diversity t-test showed a significant difference in the species richness between the two different habitats (t=11.009, p<0.05). The high values of Δ+and ʌ+ in many areas of rice fields were significantly influenced by the presence of waterbirds, albeit low species richness. This temporary wetland habitat harbours land birds and waterbirds in one place. The data presented here suggest that waterbirds and migratory birds in rice fields contribute significantly to the total bird species found in Peninsular Malaysia

Uneven species occurrence and richness of lowland snakes (Serpentes, Squamata) in Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, with new locality records

This study documents information on the composition, diversity, richness, and temporal occurrence of snakes at Sekayu’s lowland forest (SLF), Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia for the first time. The snakes recorded within the SLF were sampled opportunistically from 2013 to 2019, employing the Visual Encounter Survey method (VES) and L-shape pitfall traps with drift fences. Forty-six snake species from 37 genera belonging to the nine families were recorded, of which 11 were new records to Terengganu. Individual-based rarefaction and extrapolation curves were not reaching asymptote, indicating that additional species can be recorded at the study area. Non-parametric species richness estimators estimated and produced a range between 51 and 57 species. ACE was the best estimator based on the quantitative evaluation. All species showed some variations of occurrence patterns across months. Fourteen species were only encountered once across the sampling years, and interestingly 11 of them were only detected during the rainy season (late October to January). In general, the number of species richness, abundance, and rare species were high during this season. Species richness of snakes is high at SLF but sampling effort should be intensified, especially during these rainy months, to obtain a robust estimated snake species richness in SLF. Terengganu harbor considerably high species richness of snakes with a total of 71 species to date (excluding marine snakes), but snake diversity is still underestimated as only a few localities were surveyed in the past years, primarily at the northern part. Future surveys should be commenced at the central and southern parts of Terengganu to complement the current investigation

A Study of Process Anomalies Leading to Plant Trips and The Effectiveness of a Software Tool in Trip Prevention

In the hydrocarbon process industry, financial losses resulting from plant trips can be significant. In this study, reliability loss events or trips in 2018 at a sizeable hydrocarbon process plant are analysed to determine if they were preventable. Of particular interest is those loss events that exhibited early signs of process anomalies—such as temperature, pressure, and flow—at least twelve hours before the event. Using the concept of ‘reliability incident pyramid’ where plant process anomalies outnumber production slowdown and trip events, a software tool is deployed to help process engineers detect the anomalies. The idea is that troubleshooting these anomalies before they escalate to plant trips would reduce the number of trips and prevent production losses. Post-deployment plant process data for 2019 are analysed to determine if process engineers could pick up on the anomalies indicated by the software and intervene to prevent potential plant trips. Results indicate that in conjunction with vigilance by the process engineers, such software can reduce the number of reliability loss events in a hydrocarbon process plant

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis in a land-crab with advanced terrestrial adaptations: Molecular cloning and functional characterization of two fatty acyl elongases

Depending on the presence and activities of the front-end fatty acyl desaturases and elongation of very long-chain fatty acid (Elovl) enzymes, animals have different capacities for long-chain (≥C20) polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) biosynthesis. Successful land colonisation in brachyuran crabs requires a shift towards terrestrial food chain with limited LC-PUFA availability. We cloned and functionally characterised two elovl genes from the purple land crab Gecarcoidea lalandii. The two Elovl contained all the necessary motifs of a typical polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) Elovl and phylogenetically clustered in the Elovl1 and Elovl6 clades, respectively. The G. lalandii Elovl1 elongated saturated fatty acids, with low activities towards C20 and C22 PUFA substrates. Moreover, the G. lalandii Elovl6 was particularly active in the elongation of C18 PUFA, although it also recognised monounsaturated fatty acids as substrates for elongation. Collectively, the herein characterised G. lalandii elovl paralogues fulfil all the elongation steps involved in the LC-PUFA biosynthetic pathways. Tissue distribution of the G. lalandii elovl genes, along with the FA composition analyses, suggest the hepatopancreas and gill as key metabolic sites for fatty acid elongation. However, current data suggest that G. lalandii is unable to rely solely on biosynthesis to fulfil LC-PUFA requirements, since front-end desaturase appears to be absent in this species and other decapods.We are grateful to the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia for Fundamental Research Grant Scheme with Project Code: FRGS/1/2018/STG05/USM/01/4. Moreover, this study was partly funded through the project IMPROMEGA of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, Spanish Government (RTI2018-095119-B-100, MCIU/AEI/FEDER/UE). We also thank Universiti Sains Malaysia for the appointment of Óscar Monroig as Adjunct Academic Fellow USM. 9/1/v Jld. XIII)