Establishment of sugar palm (Arenga pinnata) shoot from zygotic embryo in MS medium sumpplemented with different concentrations of benzylaminopurine

Arenga pinnata is one of the potential crops which provide a great number of products such as ethanol, starch and fiber. This plant usually propagated by seed but its seed growth is unpredictable and may take more than one year to germinate. The study was conducted with aim to obtain plantlets through initiation of half matured fruits of sugar palm. Zygotic embryo obtained from fresh half matured fruits were directly excised and cultured into MS free-hormone medium and MS medium treatments supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurene (BAP) at concentrations 0.1, 0.5, and 3.0 mg/L. Zygotic embryo cultured on MS0 served as control treatment. The results of the study indicated that MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L BAP shows no regeneration of explant, shoot and radicle after four weeks culture. However, although after 8 weeks culture 59.5% explant was regenerated with increased radicle size, but the shoot emergence was only observed after 24 weeks culture. Meanwhile, regeneration of zygotic embryos in MS medium hormone-free resulted in highest percentage of plantlets produced (90%) with production of one shoot, longest radicle (4.5 cm) and longest plantlet length (6.0cm) as compared with other treatments. In vitro seedling was successfully developed after 32 weeks culture

Virtual reality applications in manufacturing system

Virtual reality (VR) is a high-end human computer interface that strives to immerse the designers and users completely in a virtual interactive environment for a simulation of real world. In order to meet the requirements of market competition, VR technologies can not only reduce effectively the time and cost, but also optimize complex products in the design process. Virtual reality is a rapidly developing computer interface that strives to immerse the user completely within an experimental simulation, thereby enhancing the overall impact and providing a much more intuitive link between the computer and the human participants. Virtual reality has been applied successfully to hundreds of scenarios in diverse areas including prototyping, manufacturing, scientific visualisation, engineering, and education. This paper discusses the applications of virtual reality in the manufacturing industry

In vitro antibacterial activity of vernonia amygdalina leaves extracts against pathogen of pineapple heart rot disease

Heart rot disease is one of the major diseases in pineapple cultivation in Malaysia. Josapine and N36 are among varieties that vulnerable to the heart rot disease. The infection can reduce up to 50% yield. In vitro antibacterial activity of four Vernonia amygdalina leaves extract (hexane, chloroform, methanol and aqueous) was carried out and evaluated against pathogen of pineapple heart rot disease. The antibacterial activity was evaluated using well diffusion method where three concentrations for each extract were prepared. The results revealed V. amygdalina chloroform and aqueous leaves extracts at 10000 ppm shows greater inhibition zone than positive control. V. amygdalina hexane leaves extracts, however, did not shows any inhibition zone at any concentrations. Meanwhile, the V. amygdalina methanol leaves extract shows antibacterial activity against the pathogen of pineapple heart rot disease but not as good as positive control. Phytochemical screening was also carried out to determine the presence of alkaloid, flavanoid, glycoside, phenol, saponin, steroid, and tannins as these compounds may attribute to the result. The screening revealed that both V. amygdalina chloroform and aqueous leaves extracts contain alkaloid, saponin, and tannin. Result shows the potentials of V. amygdalina as an antibacterial agent in combating pineapple heart rot disease

Effect of filler loading and coupling agent on tensile and impact properties of polypropylene with oil palm ash composites

The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of filler loading and using coupling agent on tensile and impact properties of thermoplastic polypropylene composite with oil palm ash (OPA) powder. This research is intended to discover the dependant various effect of loading percentage weight of filler OPA and coupling agent maleated anhydrate polypropilene (MAPP) on tensile and impact properties of thermoplastic composite. This materials is weighed as OPA loading percentage 0%, 1%, 3%, 5% and 7% while the loading percentage of coupling agent MAPP 0%, 3%, 6%, 10% and 12% affect the mechanical properties of thermoplastic composite. Mixture process has been carried out using double-screwed extruder machine at constant speed and temperature, while board manufacturing of PP/OPA composite are made used hot press and cold press machine. Loading OPA and MAPP effect on polypropylene composite were tested through mechanical testing, specifically for tensile and impact properties. All testing methods are predicated from ASTM's standard (American Society for Testing and Material). Results showed lower OPA content and highest MAPP in ratio giving the highest tensile and impact strength of the composite

The effects of lime solution on the properties of SiO2 nanoparticles binary blended concrete

In this study, the effects of SiO2 nanoparticles on both mechanical properties (compressive, split tensile and flexural strength) and physical properties (water permeability, workability and setting time) of binary blended concrete have been investigated. SiO2 nano-particles have been used as a partial cement replacement by 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 wt.%. Curing of the specimens has been carried out in water and lime solution for 7, 28 and 90 days after casting. For the specimens cured in water, the optimal replacement level of cement by SiO2 nanoparticles for producing concrete with improved strength, was set at 1.0 wt.%. However, by curing the specimens in lime solution, Portland cement could be advantageously replaced by 2.0 wt.% of SiO2 nanoparticles. It was concluded that the SiO2 nanoparticles can improve the filler effect and its ultra high pozzolanic activity causes more C–S–H gel formation when cured in lime solution. Although curing in the lime solution can reduce the strength of control concrete, Curing the specimens containing SiO2 nanoparticles in lime solution causes faster setting time together with higher strength and residence to water absorption

Experimental investigation of the size effects of SiO2 nano-particles on the mechanical properties of binary blended concrete

In the current study, the size effects of SiO2 nano-particles on compressive, flexural and tensile strength of binary blended concrete were investigated. SiO2 nano-particles with two different sizes of 15 and 80 nm have been used as a partial cement replacement by 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 wt.%. It was concluded that concrete specimens containing SiO2 particles with average diameter of 15 nm were harder than those containing 80 nm of SiO2 particles at the initial days of curing. But this condition was altered at 90 days of curing. Also from the viewpoint of free energy, it can be concluded that the C–S–H gel formation around the particles with average diameter of 15 nm was more at the primary days of curing. This can be as a result of more nucleation sites that causes acceleration in early age strength. On the other hand, the growth probability of C–S–H gel around the 80 nm particles was more at 90 days of moist curing. This is due to the fact that the nucleus of strengthening gel could simply reach to the critical volume of nucleation that causes increase in the strength

Numerical Numerical of hybrid method for third grade flow due to variable accelerated plate in a rotating frame

The aim of this article is to obtain numerical solution for incompressible unsteady flow for third grade fluid induced by variable accelerated plate. Numerical solution is obtained by using Hybrid method which combine between finite difference method (FDM) and asymptotic interpolation method. The influence of difference values of material constant parameters on the velocity flow fluid are discussed and shown graphically

Contribution of rice husk ash to the properties of mortar and concrete: a review

In the last decade, the use of supplementary cementing materials has become an integral part of high strength and high performance concrete mix design. These can be natural materials, by-products or industrial wastes, or the ones requiring less energy and time to produce. Some of the commonly used supplementary cementing materials are fly ash, Silica Fume (SF), Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) and Rice Husk Ash (RHA) etc. RHA is a by-product material obtained from the combustion of rice husk which consists of non-crystalline silicon dioxide with high specific surface area and high pozzolanic reactivity. It is used as pozzolanic material in mortar and concrete, and has demonstrated significant influence in improving the mechanical and durability properties of mortar and concrete. This paper presents an overview of the work carried out on the use of RHA as partial replacement of cement in mortar and concrete. Reported properties in this study are the mechanical, durability and fresh properties of mortar/concrete

Particle size effect on the permeability properties of nano-SiO2 blended Portland cement concrete.

In this study, nano-SiO2 has been used as a high reactive pozzolan to develop the microstructure of the interfacial transition zone between the cement paste and the aggregate. Mechanical tests of blended cement-based concretes exposed that in addition of the pozzolanic reactivity of nano-SiO2 (chemical aspect), its particle grading (physical aspect) also revealed considerable influences on the blending effectiveness. It was concluded that the relative permeability reduction (relative to the control concrete made with plain cement) is higher for coarser nano-SiO2 after 90 days of moisture curing. However, finer nano-SiO2 particles showed better effects in early ages. These phenomena can be due to the free spacing between mixture particles that was associated with the global permeability of the blended cement-based concretes. This article presents the results of the effects of particle size ranges involved in nano-SiO2 blended Portland cement on the water permeability of concrete. It is revealed that the favorable results for coarser nano-SiO2 reflect enhanced particle packing formation accompanied by a reduction in porosity and particularly in particle spacing after 90 days

Optimization of exposure parameters in full field digital mammography using figure of merit

Mammography is used as a screening tool for early detection of breast cancer. However, the radiation dose used should be as low as possible to minimize any effects on asymptomatic woman while maintaining the diagnostic value of the image as mammography is done annually. This study was done to determine the optimum exposure parameter in exposure control mode (AEC) for two combinations of anode/filter which were molybdenum/molybdenum (Mo/Mo) and molybdenum/rhodium (Mo/Rh) using the Lorad Selenia digital mammography system at the Women’s Breast Clinic, National Cancer Society (NCS). A CIRS012A mammography research of phantom 4 cm thickness with 50% glandularity was exposed in the cranio-caudal projection. TLD 100H was used to measure the entrance surface air kerma (ESAK). The AGD values were then calculated from the ESAK values, incorporating three correction factors (g, c and s) according to Euref protocol. Image quality was evaluated using signal to noise ratio (SNR). Figure of Merit (FOM) which is the ratio of the square of SNR to the AGD shows that 30 kVp is the optimum exposure parameter for a 4 cm thickness phantom with the use of Mo/Rh and Mo/Mo anode/filter combination. Non-parametric Spearman correlation test showed a negative linear relationship between AGD and SNR with increasing tube voltage for both anode/filters