PeerDB-Peering into Personal Databases

In this talk, we will present the design and evaluation of PeerDB, a peer-to-peer (P2P) distributed data sharing system. PeerDB distinguishes itself from existing P2P systems in several ways. First, it is a full-fledge data management system that supports fine-grain content-based searching. Second, it facilitates sharing of data without shared schema. Third, it combines the power of mobile agents into P2P systems to perform operations at peers' sites. Fourth, PeerDB network is self-configurable, i.e., a node can dynamically optimize the set of peers that it can communicate directly with based on some optimization criterion.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

Two phase formation in pharmaceutical and fine chemicals

Master'sMASTER OF ENGINEERIN

Cloning and characterization of MADS-box gene in oil palm

Oil palm has emerged as one of the most important source of oils and fats. The mechanism of floral organs development in this plant is still at its infancy. We describe here the cloning and characterization of a MADS-box gene in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) named EMADS1. It belongs to the AGAMOUS-like2 family of MADS-box gene which plays critical role in flower development as defined by the ABCDE model. EMADS1 was ubiquitously expressed in the immature male and female flower buds and its expression pattern was similar to EgAGL2 and EgMADS8 of oil palm. The EMADS1 transcript also accumulated in embryos of developing seeds. These results suggested that EMADS1 is likely to function at the initial stages of flowering in determination of the inflorescence and the identity of the flower whorls and also embryo development in seeds

Development of titanium dioxide nanoparticles/nanosolution for photocatalytic activity

Biological and chemical contaminants by man-made activities have been serious global issue. Exposure of these contaminants beyond the limits may result in serious environmental and health problem. Therefore, it is important to develop an effective solution that can be easily utilized by mankind. One of the effective ways to overcome this problem is by using titanium dioxide (TiO2). TiO2 is a well-known photocatalyst that widely used for environmental clean-up due to its ability to decompose organic pollutant and kill bacteria. Although it is proven TiO2 has an advantage to solve this concern, its usefulness unfortunately is limited only under UV light irradiation. Therefore, the aim of this work was to investigate the potential of TiO2 that can be activated under visible light by the incorporation of metal ions (Fe, Ag, Zr and Ag-Zr). In this study, sol-gel method was employed for the synthesis of metal ions incorporated TiO2. XRD analysis revealed that all samples content biphasic anatase-brookite TiO2 of size 3 nm to 5 nm. It was found that the incorporation of these metal ions did not change the morphology of TiO2 but the crystallinity and optical properties were affected. The crystallinity of anatase in the biphasic TiO2 was found to be decreased and favored brookite formation. PL analysis showed metal ions incorporation suppressed the recombination of electron-hole pairs while the band gap energy of TiO2 (3.2 eV) was decreased by the incorporation of Fe (2.46 eV) and Ag (2.86 eV). Among this incorporation, Ag-Zr incorporated TiO2 showed highest performance for methyl orange degradation (93%) under fluorescent xxv light irradiation for 10 h. This follows by Zr-TiO2 (82%), Fe-TiO2 (75%) and Ag�TiO2 (43%). Meanwhile, the highest antibacterial performance was exhibited by Ag�TiO2. TEM images showed that E.coli bacterium was killed within 12 h after treated with Ag-TiO2. The results obtained from the fieldwork study established that Ag-Zr incorporation have excellent performances for VOC removal and antibacterial test. The VOC content after treated with Ag-Zr-TiO2 fulfilled the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2010 which is lower than 3 ppm. In addition, the percentage of microbes also found to be decrease around 45 % within 5 days of monitoring