Biochar as soil amendment: impact on chemical properties and corn nutrient uptake in a Podzol

A study was conducted to investigate the impact of biochar amendment on chemical properties and corn nutrient uptake in a sandy Podzol soil. Four rates of biochar (0, 5, 10, and 15 g kg−1) and two rates of inorganic fertilizer (0 and local recommendation rate for corn) were randomly applied to a completely randomized design with four replicates. Corn was grown for 45 d in a glasshouse using sandy Podzol. The increase in pH of the soil was concomitant with a decrease of exchangeable Al. The fertilized soil significantly increased total N, with a concomitant decrease in soil pH due to a N nitrification. Positive changes did occur in the soil due to biochar application, leading to a significant increase in dry matter yield and corn height. Corn N and K uptakes were significantly increased by the addition of biochar, but the same was not true for Ca and Mg. However, it was found that the concentrations of N, Ca, and Mg in the corn tissue were still lower than their critical level. Our results demonstrate that application of biochar alone is not able to supply enough nutrients for the healthy growth of corn

Effects of Strobilanthes crispus tea aqueous extracts on glucose and lipid profile in normal and streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemic rats.

Strobilanthes crispus (Acanthaceae) has been used traditionally as antidiabetic, diuretic, antilytic, and laxative and has been proven scientifically to possess high antioxidant activity, anti-AIDS, and anticancer properties. It is commonly consumed in the form of herbal tea. The ethnopharmacological value of this plant, such as the development of nutraceutical S. crispus herbal tea (fermented and unfermented) and assessment of their antihyperglycemic properties were investigated. The antidiabetic properties of S. crispus fermented and unfermented tea was carried out in normal and streptozotocin-induced hyperglycaemic rats for 21 days. Glucose and lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol) were determined at day 0 (baseline), day 7, and day 21. The results showed that the hot water extract of both fermented and unfermented S. crispus tea reduced blood glucose in hyperglycaemic rats. S. crispus unfermented tea also reduced glucose level in normal rat. Both fermented and unfermented S. crispus tea also showed to improve lipid profile. Antioxidant and polyphenol content that present in the extracts might contribute to the antihyperglycemic and antilipidemic properties. Further study is needed to be carried out in pre-clinical and clinical environment to prove its efficacy in human

ESL students’ online and offline reading strategies: scrolling, clicking, flipping and reading / Izyani Mohamad Zaki, Fauziah Hassan and Abu Bakar Mohamed Razali

In this borderless world, computers and the Internet have become important tools of communication and learning and they have also become an important part of our lives. The opportunity to seek information through the computer has made reading an important language skill. Despite the importance of reading and technology, little research to date has been carried out to compare the reading strategies employed by readers when reading online compared to offline. Such studies are important because awareness of the similarities and differences on the strategies employed between these two modes of learning will enable teachers to help develop students’ reading ability. Hence, this study investigates if there is a difference between online and offline strategies used by second language readers. The participants in this study were ESL undergraduates at a university in Malaysia. The instrument employed was the Survey of Reading Strategies (SORS) (Sheorey and Mokhtari, 2001) and Online Survey of Register Strategies (OSORS) by Anderson (2003). These questionnaires tap three different types of information: global reading strategies, problem solving strategies, and support strategies. The results of the study are discussed in terms of their pedagogical implications in the L2 classroom

'The plural mania game' enhancing year 4 pupils knowledge in forming plural nouns

The title of the research is ‘The Plural Mania Game’: Enhancing Year 4 Pupils’ Knowledge in Forming Plural Nouns.The focus of the research was to enhance the knowledge of plural noun forms among Year 4 pupils by using The Plural Mania Game.This intervention helped by introducing the pupils with all regular forms of plural nouns.The intervention was focusing on the teaching and learning through game.The researcher innovated a ‘bingo’ game into a new game called ‘The Plural Mania Game’ to help the pupils of Year 4 improve their knowledge in forming plural nouns.There were 6 pupils involved with this intervention from Year 4 of Sekolah Kebangsaan A who got the lowest marks from the diagnostic test.The data for this study was collected by using the observation, the result of Pre-Test and Post-Test and interview sessions. Based on the findings of data, it was noted that the participants improved their knowledge in forming plural nouns.The result showed that by using The Plural Mania Game helped the pupils in enhancing their knowledge in forming plural nouns. The researcher would like to suggest for the intervention to be implemented in various language skills in the future

KAJIAN LITERATUR TENTANG FUNGSI MANAJEMEN BAGI KURIKULUM PENDIDIKAN ANAK USIA DINI

Early childhood education management is an effort to organize the process of early childhood education (PAUD) in order to achieve the goal of helping children grow and develop. The purpose of PAUD or early childhood education is to provide the best education for children so that it helps their growth and development. One of the things that is important in management is the function of management itself. This research is a literature research with procedures: (1) selecting a topic, (2) exploring information from the selected topic, (3) determining the research focus from the results of information exploration, (4) reading sources relevant to the research focus, (5) making and (6) processing research notes, and (7) compiling reports in the form of research articles. Research data was obtained by utilizing secondary data sources such as books, scientific articles, and websites. Data collection used documentation techniques by utilizing the researcher as a literature research with procedures: (1) selecting a topic, (2) exploring information from the selected topic, (3) determining the research focus from the results of information exploration, (4) reading sources relevant to the research focus, (5) making and (6) processing research notes, and (7) compiling reports in the form of research articles. Research data was obtained by utilizing secondary data sources such as books, scientific articles, and websites. Data collection used documentation techniques by utilizing the researcher as a ning, 2) Organizing early childhood education, 3) Early childhood education learning patterns, 4) Early childhood education evaluation system. So the management function has an important role in the development of the PAUD curriculum. Management functions such as planning, organizing, controlling, and evaluating are needed to develop, implement, and evaluate the PAUD curriculum effectively and efficiently. Planning functions to determine the direction and objectives of the PAUD curriculum, organizing functions to manage resources and determine the roles and responsibilities of each party involved, control functions to ensure that the PAUD curriculum is implemented properly according to plan, and evaluation functions to evaluate the effectiveness of the PAUD curriculum and make repairs if necessary

Effect of trile superphosphate (TSP) and KH2PO4 at different application rates on biomass and arsenic uptake by Pteris vittata L.

Pteris vittata L. has been demonstrated to absorb heavy metals, especially arsenic (As) from the soil. The interaction of As (V) and phosphate in the ferns that hyperaccumulate As is essential. Therefore, a glasshouse study was conducted to investigate the effect and interactions of phosphate in different forms at varying rates on biomass and uptake of As by Pteris vittata L. grown in naturally organic As-rich soil. P. Vittata was grown in soil subjected to 9 treatments including control (0 P treatment) and four different rates of P in solid form of Triple Superphosphate (TSP) and liquid form of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH2PO4) at 12.5, 25, 50 and 75 kg P ha-1. Results showed a significant (P≤0.0001) increase in frond biomass compared to non-amended soil, whereas the biomass of roots showed no significant (P>0.05) difference in all treatments. The concentration of As in the fronds ranged from 29 to 157 mg kg-1 with the highest uptake of As being 0.71% in TSP, while in KH2PO4, it was 0.331%, almost half the rate in TSP. The application of P has been shown to increase the phyto-availability of arsenic in soil, resulting in a positive response on P. vittata As uptake, that is, TSP performed better compared to KH2PO4 in terms of As uptake and plant growth. It is postulated that the increase in As uptake was accompanied or more likely a synergism by the addition of phosphate

Optimisation frequency design of Eddy current testing in titanium and nickel metal with difference thickness

This paper is to find the optimisation frequency for designed non-destructive testing (NDT) metal instrument. The testing technique is Eddy Current Technique (ECT), where Titanium (Ti) and Nickel (Ni) metals in 100mm X 100mm and with different type of thickness (1.5mm, 3mm and 5mm) dimension were chosen as the metal testing. Three different kind of thickness in each metal were tested to identified the optimal frequency for the instrument with identical artificial defect that constructed on the metal testing. The input frequencies were ranged between 250kHz - 3.5MHz and a dual-sensors were designed and established to gather the output. The output signals of the voltage of testing from the sensor circuit then compared to analyse the optimal of range frequency for the testing instrument. The result of this research showed that the nondestructive metal testing instrument of dual- sensor by using eddy current method can be used to find different defect for Titanium (Ti) and Nickel (Ni) metal. The optimal frequencies for Titanium was 2.83MHz and Nickel was 2.85MHz. The categorisation of thickness on metal for the eddy current testing instrument is suitable at 2.83MHz for Titanium and 2.85MHz which are also known as optimal frequency