The Growing Biorefinery of Agricultural Wastes: A Short Review

Living in the fast-developing world, wastes and residues from the various industrial sectors are increasing day by day in myriad quantity which strongly affected our health ecosystems and eventually the human community. Realizing this fact, there is demand for each agro-industrial sector for safe utilization of agro-materials through wastes recycling.  These residues constituent various valuable by-products can be exploited into biogas, bioenergy, biofuel, biocomposite and biomaterials which are applied into textiles industries, food safety and packaging, medical tool and many more. The demands of the present generation can be meet and fulfill without compromising the future generation sources. Hence, there is in-depth attention and studies of agro-industrial biorefinery as well as their recycling methods. This article presents a review on the classification of these residues, several refinery products of agro-industrial wastes and their challenges needed to overcome in the future. &nbsp

Electrodeposition of carboxylated multiwall carbon nanotubes on graphite reinforcement carbon for voltammetry detection of cadmium

Determination of cadmium ion at trace and sub-trace levels is still challenging due to high cost and limited capability of analytical instrumentation. A simple, low cost, non-toxic graphite reinforcement carbon (GRC) electrode modified with carboxylated multiwall carbon nanotubes (c-MWCNT) was prepared by electrodeposition process and used for the determination of cadmium ions at sub-part per billion (sub-ppb) levels. The study involved investigation of electrochemical performance of GRC with different hardness and size. The carboxylated-functionalized MWCNT was characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrophotometer (FTIR) and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (FESEM-EDX). FESEM was also used to investigate the surface morphology of the c-MWCNT/GRC electrode. The newly developed electrode was successfully used for the detection of cadmium ion in 0.04 M Briton Robinson Buffer (BRB) by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). Some important operational parameters including pH of the buffer, initial potential, scan rate and accumulation time were optimised. Optimum conditions for the DPASV technique was obtained as follows: initial potential Ei = -1600 mV vs. Ag/AgCl (satd.); scan rate ? = 2 mV per sec.; pH = 5.0; deposition time of 10 sec. Based on the DPASV of cadmium ion peak height at -0.78 V vs. Ag/AgCl (Sat’d), the c-MWCNT was found to enhance the anodic peak current of cadmium ion by a factor of 7 fold compared to that peak produced using a bare GRC electrode. Linear calibration curves were obtained from 1 ppb to 5 ppb with detection limit of 0.004 ppb and limit quantification of 0.012 ppb (R2=0.966) respectively. The results suggest that the newly developed c-MWCNT/GRC has a potential to be a simple, efficient, low cost and disposable electrode system for the determination of cadmium ions at a very low concentration level

Can education institution implement STEM? From Malaysian teachers' view

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) has been implemented in schools beginning 2017. The main objective of the paper is to find out the views of science teachers regarding the implementation of STEM in schools. This study utilized a qualitative approach in which interviews were carried out among five secondary school teachers who teach science subjects (science, biology, chemistry or physics). The results showed that teachers’ understanding in implementing STEM is insufficient. This was due to lack of information from the authorities. There are some barriers highlighted in this study which are motivation, syllabus, time constraints, lack of training, inadequate facilities, students’ involvement and school community response. This study suggests the urgent need for authorities to disseminate understanding and provide sufficient training to the teachers as well as to overcome the barriers as they are going to implement STEM in schools

Direct-to-consumer advertising in Malaysia : skirting the regulations?

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of medicinal products is characterized by any statement or pictorial design targeted to general public that is meant to promote the use or supply of medical products or services ("A.MA Position Statement ", 2007). Generally, various forms of marketing techniques are used in DTCA including advertising in television, newspapers, pamphlets, radio and internet

Association of exposure to PM2.5 and PM10 with DNA damage in exfoliated buccal mucosa cells among primary school children living nearby palm oil activity at Semenyih, Selangor

Introduction: Exposure of PM2.5 and PM10 released from combustion of biomass activity caused respiratory health among children. Objective: This study aims to determine the association between exposure of PM2.5 and PM10 with DNA damage in primary school children living nearby palm oil combustion activity at Semenyih. Methods: A cross sectional comparative study were conducted among Malay primary school children in school A located 2.7km from palm oil activity (N=82) and school B located about 40km away from the palm oil area (N=85). A standardized questionnaire were distributed to respondent’s parents. Concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were measured by using Dust Trak DRX Aerosol Monitor Model 8534 and Escort LC Personal Sampling Pump. Measurement of indoor and outdoor air pollutants were conducted in schools and home. Buccal cells were collected, which then followed by micronucleus assay. Results: Concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 at home of studied group were significantly higher compared to comparative group with p value (p=0.007) and (p=0.018) respectively. PM10 and PM2.5 of studied schools were significantly higher compared to comparative schools with p value (p=0.014) and (p=0.04) respectively. MN frequencies of studied group were significantly higher compared to comparative group (p=0.001). Significant difference of respiratory symptoms were found between two groups which are cough, phlegm, wheezing and chest tightness (p=0.001). There were significant correlation between PM10 with MN frequency of studied group and comparative group with r= 0.562; p=0.001. Conclusion: This study indicated that the exposure of PM10 and PM2.5 would increase the risk of having respiratory health symptoms and might induce the micronuclei formation among children who lived near palm oil activity area

A study on the usage of check-out bags in stores: the law and policy in Malaysia and the United States / Nur Atiqah Mohd Marzlan, Nur Farhana Md Kher and Suzairin Othman

This paper studies the usage of check out bags in stores: the law and policy in Malaysia and the United States. To extract and gain relevant information regarding this issue, semi-structured interviews were conducted with two officers that are directly involve with the policy in Malaysia to supplement the library based information. Factors like economic issue, environment and the mind-set of Malaysian were seen as sufficient enough issues to slow down the process of making the policy and implementing it as law in Malaysia. Our study also signifies that although it is too soon for Malaysia to totally ban the usage of plastic bags, worldwide statistics have proven the fact that it can be done and there are big reductions on waste made from plastic bags. Finally, our findings indicate that even though there is a large reduction in number of waste after the implementation of this policy in Selangor and Penang, the end result on whether this policy will be made to all states in Malaysia or implementing it as law will rest on the government of Malaysia to decide

Principles and Techniques in Handling Brachytherapy - A Short Review

Brachytherapy is a type of radiation that involves precisely placing radioactive sources directly into or close to the tumour. This treatment is recommended for people suffering from many forms of cancer. It is an ideal tool for delivering extremely high dosages to the tumour while limiting the risk of normal tissue consequences. Physicians from a variety of disciplines may be involved in either referring to or placing brachytherapy. Brachytherapy is required for many patients as either a main treatment or as part of their oncologic care. Brachytherapy can be used to treat a wide range of tumour locations, including gynaecological, urologic, rectal, cutaneous, and breast malignancies. In most brachytherapy treatments, a radiation oncologist, called a radiation oncologist, relies on imaging techniques such as CT scans and ultrasound during the planning and delivery of brachytherapy to accurately identify encapsulated materials. Let it be placed. By using implants, it is possible to deliver a higher radiation dose to a limited area than conventional external beam radiotherapy. This may be more effective at destroying cancer cells while causing minimal damage to surrounding normal tissue is placed in patients are sedated for all these procedures

The Investigation of General Properties of Carbon Fiber (CF) Composites - Preliminary Study

The most commonly used materials in the production of high-performance CFs are cellulose, polyacrylonitrile, and pitch. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based fibers dominate the market (representing nearly 90% of total CF production), with some companies producing more than 10,000 tons per year. However, the current technique's high cost (the combined cost of the precursors and stabilization accounts for 70% of total CF synthesis cost) limits the technology's applicability. Carbon fiber manufacturing is characterized by a high energy demand due to long processing times and energy intensive thermal processes. PAN-based CFs are difficult to commercialize due to the time-consuming pre-oxidation step, which significantly raises the manufacturing cost. As a result, advanced processing technologies aimed at reducing CF production costs should be developed. They were consisting of a thin but strong crystalline filament of     carbon. This experimental study was to learn the mechanical properties of carbon fiber using Universal Testing Machine (UTM). There was a section where we made a phone case out of Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) carbon fiber and compared it to  other materials for phone cases. The phone cases of carbon fiber composites as the one examples of consumer product was made from the woven carbon fiber then was hardened by hard epoxy mixed with resin epoxy. Then, the phone cases were tested with UTM machine to compare the tensile strength and high modulus.   Other than that, there were few samples with different composition of PAN  powder mixed with different composition of sodium thiocyanate. The results of the testing shows that the carbon fiber had the high tensile strength than the other materials of phone cases which were silicone and thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU). The microstructure of carbon fiber has a significant impact on its mechanical properties

Rasch analysis and differential item functioning of STEM teachers instructional preparedness instrument for urban and rural teachers

STEM Teachers’ Instructional Preparedness instrument (STEMTIP) was developed in this study with of 40 items and consists of 5 main constructs. Using multistage cluster sampling, 252 teachers in Malaysia was selected as sample of the study. Rasch Model analyses the psychometric properties of the STEMTIP instrument. The results indicate that 40 items of the STEMTIP are well fitted to a latent unidimensional structure, as required by the Rasch Model. There are two items (ELA1 and EVA8) that show a psychometric properties of Differential Item Functioning in STEMTIP concerning school location. Finally, psychometric implications derived from the results of the present study are discussed and suggestions are provided for future investigations

N-(4-Chloro­butano­yl)-N′-phenyl­thio­urea

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C11H13ClN2OS, contains two independent mol­ecules. Both mol­ecules maintain a trans–cis configuration with respect to the position of the carbonyl group and the benzene ring against the thione group across the C—N bonds. The mol­ecules are stabilized by intra­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked by inter­molecular N—H⋯S, N—H⋯O and C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds into chains along the c axis. C—H⋯π inter­actions further stabilize the crystal structure