Mobile game for the elderly: Bundled Bingo Game

The aim of this project is to develop a customized Bingo game based on the user interface guidelines that suit the elderly users. This project targeted to improve the cognitive ability of the elderly with the specifically designed gaming features. In this research, qualitative data will be used to analyze the confidence and acceptance level of the elderly on the mobile digital games, as well as to understand how the elderly interacts with current technologies (mobile devices) and the benefit they can gain from the mobile games. User testing, survey, and result analysis have been done with a group of elderly members from D’Happy club in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. The results of this project contribute to the development of an elderly friendly mobile game to motivate the elderly’s engagement in mobile gaming, with the will that it could help to delay and decrease the risk of the elderly in developing the Alzheimer’s disease

Challenges in Managing Marine Bio-invasions via Shipping in Singapore

The economic, social and environmental impacts arising from the transfer and establishment of non indigenous marine species (NIMS) mediated through ship hull biofouling and ballast water discharges in the coastal marine environment require a regional approach to manage bio-invasions. As the coordinating body for maritime shipping affairs and protection of the marine environment, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has been working with member states to adopt and ratify global conventions aimed at preventing invasive species transfer through shipping. As a major shipping hub and port-of-call in Southeast Asia, Singapore faces multiple challenges in managing marine bio-invasions including managing the transit of high risk vessels to environmentally sensitive areas beyond national borders. In this article, global frameworks for managing bio-invasions and its challenges for marine invasive pest management are discussed

Terrestrial green algae diversity in oil palm plantation and secondary forest using 18S-rDNA PCR-DGGE approach

The demand for vegetables oils especially palm oil has increased drastically. However, rapid development in oil palm industry leads to many issues, especially regarding sustainable development of palm oil cultivation. Soil algae play an important role in the maintenance of soil fertility as well as recycling of soil organic matter. Their taxonomic knowledge in tropical soils is still scarce, especially in oil palm plantation. Hence, this study was performed to access the heterogeneity of soil algae community structure in response to oil palm plantation activities and compare with nearby secondary forest by using 18S-rDNA PCR-DGGE. Sampling was carried out in 3-years old oil palm plantation at Sungai Asap, Sarawak and nearby disturbed and undisturbed secondary forest. Significant differences in soil chemical properties and soil texture of oil palm plantation were evident: soil organic C, total N and CEC were significantly decreased. Oil palm plantation showed highest richness and diversity of the green algae, followed by disturbed secondary forest and undisturbed secondary forest. Three main clusters were obtained through UPGMA dendrogram generated with dice coefficient, one cluster from each sampling sites, except for some oil palm plantation sampling points were in the same clusteras with the disturbed secondary forest. Collectively, these results revealed that disturbance by both human or agricultural activity altered soil algae richness and diversity

Modelling failure pressure of pipeline composite repair design using finite element analysis incorporating putty’s contribution

A composite repair system which consists of Fibre Reinforced Polymer (FRP) and putty as infill material has been proven effective in repairing pipeline system as it can structurally reinforce the damaged steel pipes and potentially prevent external corrosion. However, previous studies including the design codes are neglecting the contribution of putty as they assume putty is only functioned to fill the corroded section. A recent study has pointed out that putty is not only limited to transfer the load, but it can serve as a load bearing component. Thus, the purpose of this research is to model the contribution of putty in terms of load bearing capacity through finite element analysis (FEA) and mathematical modelling. Two finite elements models were utilized to study the performance of two different material properties of putties used to repair externally corroded pipeline followed by regression analysis. It was found that by incorporating the strength contribution of putty, there are potential to increase the burst pressure by about 5%. The finding of this research is significant as it can serve as a stepping stone towards design optimization of pipeline rehabilitation

Potential use of coconut husk-based magnetic sorbent for defoaming application

Absorption process is the most common method that is being applied to sweeten sour gas in the oil and gas industry. However, this process does have several consequences which will trigger the foam formation of foam that will reduce the mass transfer efficiency and absorption capacity as well as amine solutions carryover to the downstream processes. The removal of undesired contaminants in activated methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) was conducted by utilizing magnetic activated carbon (MAC). In this work, MAC was synthesized from coconut husk through chemical activation and co-precipitation methods. The performance of this material as an adsorbent was evaluated based on the foaming behaviour of activated MDEA solvent after being contacted with MAC at different duration and varying amounts. Nitrogen gas was introduced into the solvent through a gas diffuser to create foam. Based on the results, the foam volume generated by activated MDEA solvent was identified to decrease with the increase in both MAC contact time and amount. The highest removal efficiency by MAC was identified to be at 1 h contact time between MAC and activated MDEA solvent where the foam breaking time was reduced to 10–30 min. Meanwhile, the addition of 50 % MAC into the solvent was able to further decrease the foam breaking time to 5–10 min. The characteristics of the prepared MAC were evaluated through various instrumental analyses. This study shows that the MAC synthesized from coconut husk has a good potential as an adsorbent in removing the contaminants in activated MDEA solvent to reduce foam formation

Potential use of coconut husk-based magnetic sorbent for defoaming application

Absorption process is the most common method that is being applied to sweeten sour gas in the oil and gas industry. However, this process does have several consequences which will trigger the foam formation of foam that will reduce the mass transfer efficiency and absorption capacity as well as amine solutions carryover to the downstream processes. The removal of undesired contaminants in activated methyldiethanolamine (MDEA) was conducted by utilizing magnetic activated carbon (MAC). In this work, MAC was synthesized from coconut husk through chemical activation and co-precipitation methods. The performance of this material as an adsorbent was evaluated based on the foaming behaviour of activated MDEA solvent after being contacted with MAC at different duration and varying amounts. Nitrogen gas was introduced into the solvent through a gas diffuser to create foam. Based on the results, the foam volume generated by activated MDEA solvent was identified to decrease with the increase in both MAC contact time and amount. The highest removal efficiency by MAC was identified to be at 1 h contact time between MAC and activated MDEA solvent where the foam breaking time was reduced to 10–30 min. Meanwhile, the addition of 50 % MAC into the solvent was able to further decrease the foam breaking time to 5–10 min. The characteristics of the prepared MAC were evaluated through various instrumental analyses. This study shows that the MAC synthesized from coconut husk has a good potential as an adsorbent in removing the contaminants in activated MDEA solvent to reduce foam formation

Shear Strengthening of Reinforced Concrete Beams Using GFRP

Background: Glass fibre-reinforced polymer (GFRP) is often used as external strengthening material due to its unique benefits. However, the effectiveness of the strengthening configuration, which uses GFRP in different orientations, still has a lot of uncertainties. Objective: This research work aims to study the shear strengthening of reinforced concrete beams using GFRP. Methods: The mechanical properties of the GFRP were investigated, including tensile and flexural tests. Two layers of GFRP were bonded together using epoxy and a hardener of 2:1. The GFRP was then cut according to size for tensile and flexural tests. Five samples were prepared for tensile and flexural tests, respectively. In terms of beam strengthening, a total of four beams were considered for four-point bending tests, whereby two were used as control beams and the remaining two were for strengthening purposes. A 45º strengthening configuration was adopted for the shear strengthening. Results: Results showed that GFRP possessed the highest tensile stress, which was achieved in the range of 208.85 MPa – 319.22 MPa, while the highest flexural stress was achieved in the range of 506.16 MPa – 592.49 MPa. The results showed that shear strengthening at 45º with GFRP achieved an ultimate load of 136.38 kN, which was higher than the control beam's load of 133 kN. This indicates that GFRP managed to regain the beam capacity, which is 2.5% higher than the control beam. Conclusion: This proves that GFRP can be used as an alternative strengthening material other than carbon fibre-reinforced polymer (CFRP)

Effective strengthening of RC beams using bamboo-fibre-reinforced polymer: A finite-element analysis

This paper presents a finite-element model of the structural behaviour of reinforced concrete (RC) beams with and without openings externally strengthened with bamboo-fibre-reinforced composite (BFRC) plates. The simulation was performed using ABAQUS Unified FEA 2021HF8 software. The stress–strain relationship of the RC was modelled using a model code for concrete structures, whereas the concrete-damaged plasticity model was used to simulate concrete damage. The predicted crack pattern of the beams was comparable to that from experimental observations. The ultimate load-bearing capacity of RC beams in flexure was predicted with an error of up to 1.50%, while the ultimate load-bearing capacity of RC beams with openings in shear was predicted with an error ranging from 1.89 to 13.43%. The most successful arrangement for strengthening a beam with openings in the shear zone was to place BFRC plates perpendicular to the crack on both sides of the beam’s surface, which increased the beam’s original load-bearing capacity by 110.06% compared to that of the control beam (CB). The most effective method for strengthening RC beams in flexure is to attach a BFRC plate to the entire bottom soffit of the RC beam. This maximises the ultimate load-bearing capacity at the expense of the beam’s ductility

An inter-site study of biofouling recruitment on static immersion panels in major ports of South East Asia and India

Limited knowledge of native marine biodiversity hinders effective biodiversity management to safeguard South and Southeast Asia’s marine coastal environment against the threat of invasive species transfer through shipping. In particular, sessile marine biofouling organisms in South East Asian ports are poorly known. Through the support of the ASEAN-India Cooperation Project on the Extent of Transfer of Alien Invasive Organisms in South/South East Asia Region by Shipping, a coordinated effort to examine diversity of biofouling organisms in major port areas in Southeast Asia and India was made using polyvinylchloride (PVC) panels as recruitment surfaces in a static immersion study for a period of 12 months. Not surprisingly, the study revealed that fouling patterns differed between ports possibly as a result of dissimilar hydrographic conditions. However, there were also underlying similarities that reflected a regional uniformity in the composition of fouling communities. At the same time, the alien Caribbean bivalve Mytilopsis sallei was detected in Manila Bay (Philippines), Songkhla Port (Thailand) and Singapore. This is a first simultaneous biofouling survey involving scientists and government stakeholders from India and ASEAN nations of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Vietnam

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data