Pollinating fig wasp and seed productions of Ficus deltoidea var. angustifolia at selected oil palm plantations in Peninsular Malaysia

The relationship between Ficus deltoidea (family Moraceae) and pollinator fig wasp (family Agaonidae) are extremely specific in which each partner depends on the other for their reproductive success. There are about seven described varieties of Ficus deltoidea can be found in peninsular Malaysia. Ficus deltoidea is a dioecious species that are primarily epiphytes. They are unharmful for their host tree where one of the host tree is oil palm tree. In this study, epiphytic Ficus deltoidea var. angustifolia from oil palm plantations in Banting, Dengkil, Changkat Lobak and Batu Pahat, Malayaia were studied to determine the flower variation and reproductive output (fig wasp and seeds) by the figs of different individual plants and locations. A total of ten matured figs from each male and female tree from all locations were collected and later dissected to count the number of flowers, galls, female and male fig wasp for male tree while the number of seed and female flowers were counted from female tree. Data were analysed by using one-way ANOVA. Overall results showed that different individual plants were significantly varied in their floral numbers and reproductive output (pollinators and seeds) (P < 0.05) for both and male figs except for seed productions at Changkat Lobak (P = 0.067). Whilst there were significant different (P < 0.01) in the production of pollinators and seeds by the figs among locations. The reproductive output (pollinators and seeds) were greatly influenced by number of flowers and number of fig wasp visitations per fig

End-mill carbide tool wear in machining metallic biomaterial

Machining of metallic biomaterials causes a slew of issues, including cutting tool wear and poor surface quality owing to inefficient tool design, which leads to excessive heat output. The objective of the research is to evaluate the wear of developed of uncoated carbide endmill tool with rake angle varied from positive to negative value in dry machining Stellite 21. The fabricated endmill is tested at Fanuc Robodill α-T14iFb with cutting conditions parameters are kept constant; including cutting speed (Vc): 60 m/min, feed rate (f): 153 mm/rev, and depth of cut (ap): 0.2 mm, throughout the cutting trials. The accuracy of fabricated endmill, wear mechanism, cutting force, and surface roughness were measured using Dino-Lite Microscope, Scanning Electron Microscope, Neo-Momac Dynamometer and Mitutoyo Surface Profiler, respectively. The result shows that by using a positive rake angle, the phenomenon of tool wear is reduced, and directly reducing the surface roughness and cutting force. Based on energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) element analysis, presence of oxygen in the cutting process which indicates the occurrence of oxidation wear on cutting tool. Extended observation of wear mechanism show high content of chromium on the flank face is revealed that indicated the diffusion wear on tools has occurred. In conclusion, the enhancement of tool geometry of endmill cutting tool is a key step toward sustainable manufacturing of high-end applications in biomedical industries

A kinetic study of a membrane anaerobic reactor (MAR) for treatment of sewage sludge

The application of kinetic models (Monod, Contois and Chen & Hashimoto) and overall microbial kinetic on the membrane anaerobic reactor (MAR) for treatment of sewage sludge was investigated. The system consists of a cross-flow ultrafiltration membrane and six steady states were attained over a range of mixed liquor suspended solids of 12,760-21,800 mg/l. The results of all six steady states were successfully fitted above 98% for three known kinetics. The growth yield coefficient, Y, was found to be 0.74 gVSS/gCOD while the specific microorganism decay rate was 0.20 d-1. The k values were in the range of 0.350-0.519 gCOD/gVSS.d and μmax values were between 0.259 and 0.384 d-1. The COD removal efficiency was 96.5-99% with HRT of 7.8 days. The methane gas yield was between 0.19 l/g COD/d to 0.54 l/g COD/d when the organic loading rate increased from 0.1 kg COD/m3/d to 10 kg COD/m3/d. The system efficiency was greatly influenced by SRT and OLRs. Membrane flux rate deterioration was observed from 62.1 l/m2/h to 6.9 l/m2/h due to membrane fouling

Diversity and composition of beetles (Order: Coleoptera) in three different ages of oil palms in Lekir Oil Palm Plantation, Perak, Malaysia

The diversity and composition of beetles from oil palm plantation in Ladang Lekir, Perak, Malaysia were collected each month using Malaise trap, yellow pan and window traps from three different sites on the basis of their oil palm aged i.e. five (Plot 1), seven (Plot 2) and 12 (Plot 3) years old from November 2015 to October 2016. From 3862 individuals, 110 species and 83 morphospecies from 40 families and 59 subfamilies were successfully collected. From all samples recorded, the five years old oil palm showed the highest Shannon Diversity Index (H' = 3.42), Peilou Equality Index (E' = 0.23) and Margalef Richness Index (R’= 17.33) with species accumulation curve near to asymptote. The most abundant species recorded from the three sites was Elaeidobius kamerunicus with 940 individuals (relative abundance, RA = 24%). Plot 1 had the highest beetle species with 132 individuals (68.4%), while Plot 2 was the lowest with 85 individuals (44%). The t-test analysis showed that there was no significant difference in term of the diversity index (H’) between Plot 3 and Plot 2 (p-value=0.092), while there were significant differences between these two plots (Plot 2 and Plot 3) with Plot 1 (p-value= 0.47 and 0.046). This study would provide basic information for future research in sustainable oil palm plantations management in Malaysia

The effects of SRT, OLR and feed temperature on the performance of membrane bioreactor treating high strength municipal wastewater.

The effects, of sludge retention time (SRT), feed temperature (Tf) and organic loading rate (OLR) on submerged membrane bioreactor (SMBR) performance were studied using hollow fibers (nominal pore size 0.4 µm) immersed in an aeration tank. A synthetic wastewater representative of high strength municipal wastewater was used in the study. Ten experimental runs were carried out using full factorial design with three factors and three levels (low, medium and high). These levels were 25, 30 and 35 days for SRT, 20, 30 and 40°C for Tf and 1.73, 4.03 and 6.82 kg COD/m³ d for OLR. Variation of OLR, SRT and Tf affected the biomass development significantly. The higher OLR trials resulted in higher MLVSS/MLSS ratio and also higher increasing rate of MLSS (d(MLSS)/ (dt)). For the low level OLR trials MLVSS/MLSS ratio varied between 75.3 and 82.3% and d(MLSS)/(dt) from 87.5 to 297.3 mg/l.d, whereas, for the high OLR trials they varied between 80.4 and 83.7% and 1355.4-2120.1 mg/l.d respectively. For the higher OLR, a higher aeration rate was applied to fulfill the DO demand. Therefore, for the low level OLR trials, the aeration rate and the DO were varied from 6 to 12 m³/m² membrane area per hour and from 3.7 to 5.7 mg/l, respectively, whilst for the high OLR trials they varied from 6 to 18 m³/m² membrane area/h and from 0.9 to 4.4 mg/l respectively. The permeate COD and NH3-N under different operating conditions varied from 0 to 32 mg/l, and from 0.004 to 0.856 mg/l, respectively. The interaction effects of SRT and Tf on COD removal efficiency was found to be insignificant. Increasing OLR did not affect COD removal. The optimum removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen for the low and high strength wastewater was obtained at operating conditions of high SRT and low Tf. The pH increased significantly in the aeration tank and the increase was well correlated with the feed pH (r² = 0.8336 for low OLR and 0.9106 for high OLR)

Effect of oil palm planting materials, rainfall, number of male inflorescence and spikelet on the population abundance of oil palm pollinator, Elaeidobius Kamerunicus faust (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Elaeidobius kamerunicus is the main insect pollinator of oil palm and was first introduced to Malaysia in the year of 1980s. This introduction had increased the oil palm yield production. However, the yield production has obviously declined lately. There are several factors that contributing to the declined and most said is because of the E. kamerunicus population itself. As such, a study to determine the population abundance of E. kamerunicus on different oil palm planting materials was done at Ladang FELDA in Jengka, Pahang, Malaysia from May 2016 to April 2017. A total of nine spikelets, three each from top, middle and bottom section of male inflorescence which were systematically selected prior to data collection, were cut off early in the morning and brought back to Centre for Insect Systematics, UKM for E. kamerunicus counts. The mean population abundance of E. kamerunicus per ha for both oil palm clones and D×P were 20463 ± 3528 and 11079 ± 2135 weevils per ha, respectively. Based on previous studies in Malaysia and elsewhere, the E. kamerunicus populations in this plantation are adequate to pollinate the female inflorescence. Oil palm clones has higher number of spikelet due to uniformity of the plantlets and the number of male inflorescence showed positively correlated with the population abundance of E. kamerunicus per ha, suggesting that these factors were favorable for E. kamerunicus activities. However, further study is needed to determine the relationship between E. kamerunicus population on different oil palm planting materials and the fruit set

The Immediate And Post Flood Mid-Term of Flood Victims-Psychospiritual Module

The exploration of the psychological aspect of flood victims and the needs for development of a psychological module for such victims is vital especially after a major flood incident. However, there are no consensus on the availability of interventions that could be applied at an instant to address the traumatic experiences immediately or a short while after a flood incident. The purpose of this study is to develop a Flood Victims-PsychoSpiritual Module (Modul PsikoSpiritual-Mangsa Banjir; MPS-MB) that will be applied to flood victims in Sabah and Sarawak as well as Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 14 flood victims in Gua Musang, Kelantan and Kuching, Sarawak have been recruited in this investigation. Participants were selected from recorded victims registered under the flood victim relocation center. The study has adopted the exploratory sequential design which includes Phase 1: Qualitative study, the Interim Phase: Module development process, and Phase 2: Validation of the module by an expert of disaster psychology. There are five strategies which serve as the core of the development of the MPS-MB which are 1) understanding trauma, 2) the psycho-social strategies in combatting trauma, 3) the hope strategy, 4) the spiritual/religious strategy, and 5) the counseling and therapy strategy. The content validity of the MPS-MB were conducted by an expert in psychology. The MPS-MB is able to generate an in-depth understanding of the authentic psycho-spiritual experiences of flood victims. The module would empower the society, especially flood victims to take precaution in managing and minimizing the psychological impacts of flood incident

Effects of storage conditions of Moringa oleifera seeds on its performance in coagulation

Moringa oleifera is a plant whose seeds have coagulation properties for treating water and wastewater. In this study the coagulation efficiency of Moringa oleifera kept in different storage conditions were studied. The Moringa oleifera seeds were stored at different conditions and durations; open container and closed container at room temperature (28 °C) and refrigerator (3 °C) for durations of 1, 3 and 5 months. Comparison between turbidity removal efficiency of Moringa oleifera kept in refrigerator and room temperature revealed that there was no significant difference between them. The Moringa oleifera kept in refrigerator and room temperature for one month showed higher turbidity removal efficiency, compared to those kept for 3 and 5 months, at both containers. The coagulation efficiency of Moringa oleifera was found to be dependent on initial turbidity of water samples. Highest turbidity removals were obtained for water with very high initial turbidity. In summary coagulation efficiency of Moringa oleifera was found independent of storage temperature and container, however coagulation efficiency of Moringa oleifera decreased as storage duration increased. In addition, Moringa oleifera can be used as a potential coagulant especially for very high turbidity water

Effects of storage duration and temperature of Moringa oleifera stock solution on its performance in coagulation

This study presents the effects of storage duration and temperature of Moringa oleifera stock solution on its coagulation efficiency. Moringa oleifera stock solutions, which were kept at room temperature (28°C), were able to remove turbidity from medium, high and very high turbidity water samples and no coagulation activity was observed for low turbidity water and surface water tested. The highest turbidity removals were observed for stock solutions, which were kept for one day. For Moringa oleifera stock solutions, which were stored longer up to 3 days, the turbidity removal efficiencies decreased to 73.6%, 86.8% and 92.3 % for medium, high and very high turbidity water samples respectively. In the case of medium and high turbidity water samples, Moringa oleifera stock solutions, which were kept for more than 3 days did not perform any coagulation process, while for very high turbidity water sample, it was found to coagulate slightly about 14.9 % and 3.9 % for those which were stored for 5 and 7 days, respectively. For those Moringa oleifera stock solutions, which were stored at 3°C up to 5 days, no significant differences were found between their turbidity removal efficiency on medium, high and very high turbidity, while those that were stored for more than 5 day did not perform coagulation. For surface water and low turbidity water samples significant differences were observed between turbidity removal efficiency of Moringa oleifera stored for different durations. Highest turbidity removal for surface water and low turbidity water were obtained using Moringa oleifera which were kept for 3 days or less and it decreased when using Moringa oleifera stock solution, which were stored longer