The role of rumen fungi in fiber digestion

Since the anaerobic rumen fungi were discovered in the rumen of a sheep over two decades ago, they have been reported in a wide range of herbivores fed on high fibre diets. The extensive colonisation and degradation of fibrous plant tissues by the fungi suggest that they have a role in fibre digestion. All rumen fungi studied so far are fibrolytic. They produce a range of hydrolytic enzymes, which include the cellulases, hemicellulases, pectinases and phenolic acid esterases, to enable them to invade and degrade the lignocellulosic plant tissues. Although rumen fungi may not seem to be essential to general rumen function since they may be absent in animals fed on low fibre diets, they, nevertheless, could contribute to the digestion of high-fibre poor-quality forages

Ionosphere: A Month Campaign over Sipitang and Parit Raja Stations, Malaysia

Ionospheric scintillations, which cause significant effects on satellite signals for communication and navigation, often takes place in equatorial region such as Malaysia. However, this disturbance are not fully understand due to few studies performed. This research reports the study and monitoring activity on Total Electron Content (TEC) and ionospheric scintillation in Malaysia using GPS measurements. Approach: One dual-frequency GPS receiver was positioned at the main station in Parit Raja, West Malaysia (1.86° N, 103.8° E) and Sipitang, East Malaysia (5.10° N, 115.56° E) respectively. Dual-frequency GPS data collected during the one-month ionospheric experimental campaign was used for TEC and scintillation computation and analysis. The TEC with 15 sec interval were computed from combined L1 and L2 code-pseudorange and carrier phase measurements. Whereas, the scintillation parameter S4 index was computed as a standard deviation of the received signal power normalized to average signal power every 60 sec on L1. A corrected S4 (without noise effects) was also computed and used in the analysis. Results: It was found that the daily maxima vTEC for Parit Raja (PR) ranged from 38-100 TECU, which is generally higher than those of Sipitang, which ranged from 30-42 TECU. However, a general consistency for both stations can be seen during the 1 month campaign period. Conclusions/Recommendations: In conclusion, these results show good agreement in the existence of the equatorial anomaly observed during moderate solar flux conditions and undisturbed geomagnetic condition. This will contributes to the knowledge of equatorial ionosphere and help in space weather condition. However, to better understand and characterize the ionosphere over Malaysia, more campaigns should be encouraged

Micorbial colonization and digestion of feed materials in cattle and buffaloes II. rice straw and palm press fibre

Degradation of rice straw was observed to be higher (p<0.01) in the buffaloes than in cattle. At 48 h, the dry matter (DM) loss of straw for buffaloes was 53.6 ± 0.8% and that for cattle was 48.7 ± 2.6%. Palm press fibre (PPF) was poorly degraded in the rumen of both animal species. A loss of about 21% DM was observed in both cattle and buffaloes after 48 h of incubation in the rumen. The pattern of bacterial and fungal colonization of straw and PPF seemed to be similar in both cattle and buffaloes. Microbial colonization was restricted by plant structures like the silica crystals in both straw and PPF. The predominant bacteria colonizing both straw and PPF fragments were the rods. Eroded zones and digestion pits were pronounced in straw fragments after 1 h of incubation. The PPF fragments appeared undergraded even after 6 h of incubation. Fungal colonization of straw was rapid and extensive in both cattle and buffaloes. The sporangia observed in straw were mainly spherical or oval in shape, but fusiform sporangia with acuminate tip were predominantly seen in PPF fragments

Global positioning system (GPS) positioning errors modeling using Global Ionospheric Scintillation Model (GISM)

As technology advancement progresses throughout the years in this modern age, every technology has its part to play in that the world is moving towards a brighter future. GPS (Global Positioning System) has diverse application in current globalized world, its application has pervasive benefits not only to navigation and positioning, it is pivotal in industries like logistics, shipping, financial services and agriculture. Since the decision to shut down the Selectivity Availability (SA) by former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, ionospheric effect is now the primary concern of error contributing factors in GPS. Ionospheric scintillation induces rapid fluctuations in the phase and the amplitude of received GNSS signals. These rapid fluctuations or scintillation potentially introduce cycle slips, degrade range measurements, and if severe enough lead to loss of lock in phase and code. Global Ionospheric Scintillation Model (GISM) was used to compute amplitude scintillation parameter for each GPS satellite visible from Melaka, Malaysia (Latitude 2° 14' N, Longitude 102° 16' E) as its location has strong equatorial scintillation behavior. The output data from GISM was then used to calculate the positioning error. There are two schemes that were used. First, the positioning error was calculated for all the visible satellites. Secondly, the positioning error was calculated for those satellite that have amplitude scintillation index, S4 <;0.7. Comparison of results from the both schemes was then made

Global Positioning System (GPS) Positioning Errors During Ionospheric Scintillation Event

As technology advancement progresses throughout the years in this modern age, every technology has its part to play in that the world is moving towards a brighter future. GPS (Global Positioning System) has diverse application in current globalized world, its application has pervasive benefits not only to navigation and positioning, it is pivotal in industries like logistics, shipping, financial services and agriculture. Since the decision to shut down the Selectivity Availability (SA) by former U.S. President, Bill Clinton, ionospheric effect is now the primary concern of error contributing factors in GPS. Ionospheric scintillation induces rapid fluctuations in the phase and the amplitude of received Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals. These rapid fluctuations or scintillation potentially introduce cycle slips, degrade range measurements, and if severe enough lead to loss of lock in phase and code. Global Ionospheric Scintillation Model (GISM) was used to compute amplitude scintillation parameter for each GPS satellite visible from Melaka, Malaysia (Latitude 20 14’ N, Longitude 1020 16’ E) as its location has strong equatorial scintillation behavior. The output data from GISM was then used to calculate the positioning error where it is depends on the Dilution of Precision (DOP) and User Equivalent Range Error (UERE). There are two schemes that were used. First, the positioning error was calculated for all the visible satellites with better DOP but worse UERE due to scintillation event. Secondly, the positioning error was calculated for those satellites that have amplitude scintillation index, S4 < 0.7 which leads to worse DOP with better UERE. Comparison of results from the both schemes was then made

Machiavellianism and spiritual intelligence as predictors of waste-prevention behaviours among Malaysian university students

Understanding the psychological factors related to waste-prevention behaviours of university students could enable local governments and policy makers to craft effective policies to reduce waste. This study utilised a questionnaire-based survey to assess the associations between spiritual intelligence and Machiavellianism as factors that influence waste-prevention behaviours. A total of 210 participants from Universiti Putra Malaysia completed the questionnaires, including the demographic questions, spiritual intelligence inventory, Mach IV, and the waste-prevention behaviours. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results showed that individuals with higher spiritual intelligence and lower Machiavellianism were more likely to report a positive attitude towards waste-prevention behaviours, and that an inverse association existed between spiritual intelligence and Machiavellianism. Overall, these variables explained 12.0% of the variance in waste-prevention behaviours. Therefore, these findings reinforce the importance of personality traits and cognitive abilities in waste-prevention behaviours

XRD, AFM and UV-Vis optical studies of PbSe thin films produced by chemical bath deposition method.

PbSe thin �films have been deposited on microscope glass substrates by chemical bath deposition technique. The chemical bath consisted of lead nitrate, sodium selenate and triethanolamine solutions. The influence of bath temperature on the properties of PbSe �lms was investigated. The X-ray diff�raction, atomic force microscope and UV/Vis Spectrophotometer were used to obtain the structural characterization, surface morphological and absorbance data, respectively. Based on the X-ray diff�raction results, the thin �films obtained were found to be polycrystalline in nature with cubic structure. The intensity of the (111) peak showed a signifi�cant increased as the bath temperature was increased from 40 to 80C. The �films deposited at 80C indicated that the crystallinity was improved and more PbSe peaks were observed. On the other hand, the grain size, fi�lm thickness and surface roughness were increased while band gap energy decreased as could be observed in atomic force microscope and UV-Vis optical studies, respectively

Some effects of earthquakes at North Sumatra to the total electron content in the Ionosphere

Total Electron Content (TEC) is an important ionospheric and space weather param- eter used for characterizing the state and dynamics of plasma in the ionosphere. As a result, this study was carried out to examine the possible relationship between the variations of the TEC in the ionosphere and the earthquakes and to identify the ef- fects of earthquakes to the TEC in the ionosphere. The analysis of ionospheric TEC variations were made using the Global Positioning System (GPS) station installed at Wireless and Radio Science Centre (WARAS), Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hus- sein Onn (KUiTTHO), Johor (Latitude 1 ̊52 ́ N, longitude 103 ̊48 ́ E). Five cases of strong earthquakes at Indonesia in 2005 with M > 6.0 were selected as case studies. The TEC variations analysis of the GPS TEC collected by the GPS receiver in the year of 2005 were made to identify any TEC variations associated with earthquakes. Pronounced TEC variations around the time of earthquakes were analyzed with re- spect to the TEC variations during non-earthquake period. From the analysis, it was found that there appears to be rapid changes in TEC within 0 to 6 days before the earthquakes. Besides that, the TEC variations for all the cases show that the TEC gradually recovered to normal within 1 to 3 days after earthquakes. As a conclusion, strong earthquakes are reported to have caused disturbances in the ionosphere that can be measured with GPS as short-period changes in the TEC. The ionospheric TEC variations with average ∆ TEC = 10 TECU can be considered as a possible earthquake precursory

Transcriptome of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) roots treated with Ganoderma boninense

Basal stem rot (BSR) is the most devastating disease of oil palm. In this study, we examined the transcriptional responses of oil palm roots treated with a causal agent of BSR, Ganoderma boninense using a cDNA microarray approach. A total of 61 from 3,748 transcripts examined were found to be significantly up- or down-regulated in oil palm roots infected with G. boninense at 3 and 6 weeks post inoculation compared to those from uninfected roots. The differentially expressed genes identified in the artificially infected oil palm roots included genes encoding isoflavone reductase, Em protein H2, SPX domain-containing protein 1, pathogenesis-related protein 1, vicilin-like antimicrobial peptide. The gene expression of isoflavone reductase, which is involved in the production of phytoalexin and three related genes in the phenylpropanoid biosynthetic pathway was also profiled in the treated oil palms using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR. This information has contributed to our understanding of the defense mechanisms of oil palm in response to G. boninense, the future development of molecular markers for marker assisted breeding and screening of oil palms that are tolerant to G. boninense

Kata pinjaman Arab dalam bahasa Melayu analisis kajian dari sudut perubahan morfologi

Kajian ini menganalisis proses perubahan morfologi yang berlaku apabila kata pinjaman Arab terserap masuk ke dalam bahasa Melayu. Kata pinjaman adalah kata-kata yang dipinjam dari bahasa asing yang diserapkan ke dalam bahasa sasaran. Dengan menggunakan penjanaan data berkomputer DBP-UKM berjumlah 5 juta patah perkataan melalui konkordans dalam perisian WordSmith Tools 5.0, yang dianalisis berdasarkan Rumus Binaan Struktur Frasa. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa perubahan morfologi yang berlaku adalah perubahan kelas kata bahasa sumber iaitu yang meresap masuk ke dalam bahasa sasaran. Perubahan kelas kata yang berlaku adalah kelas kata bahasa sumber yang pada asalnya Kata Nama (KN) berubah menjadi Kata Kerja (KK), atau Kata Nama (KN) berubah menjadi Kata Adjektif (KAdj), atau Kata Nama (KN) berubah menjadi Kata Adverba (KAdv) dalam bahasa sasaran mengikut binaan struktur ayat. Contohnya kata pinjaman Arab wujud, kuat, asyik, yang mana pada asalnya adalah KN berubah menjadi KK atau KAdj atau KAdv. Bahasa Melayu didapati banyak meminjam kata Arab yang terdiri daripada kelas kata Kata Nama kerana ianya menepati sistem tatabahasa bahasa Melayu itu sendiri. Justeru itu, peminjaman bahasa merupakan satu proses bahasa yang penting dalam perkembangan sesuatu bahasa