Landscape Furniture Present in the Ancient Malay Garden According to Old Manuscripts and their Effects on the Formation of Malay Garden Design Concept Model in Malaysia

AbstractIn peeling the dilemma of the Malay contemporary community nowadays, a study has been conducted to find out and discover the landscape furniture used by the Malay people in ancient times. The objectives of this research are to measure the image and culture of the Malays in Malaysia, which is applied in the design of the existing Malay Garden and also to identify the landscape furniture found in the existing Malay Garden. The method used in this research is, by referring to the old manuscripts and research papers done by researchers in the past about garden in the world of the Malay Archipelago. The main manuscripts in this research are as Sulalatus al-Salatin (Malay Annals), Bustan al-Salatin (The Garden of Kings), Hikayat Hang Tuah, Hikayat Merong Mahawangsa, Hikayat Inderaputera and Hikayat Abdullah. These methods consist of understanding and prove that culture, values on belief, the world of thought had been the base of Malay cosmology. Findings from this research can be concluded that the Malays in the past has had architecture skills and also have knowledge about every function of furniture and elements that been created by them. The knowledge possessed by the Malay people had inherited from generation to another generation. Therefore, to support a Malay garden design model, researchers have focused on the furniture's that have been used either in the gardens in the past, especially the palace garden, the home of the Malays and the vicinity at that time. Malay people are a special race, and there are many interesting elements through their creativity that may be highlighted to become a model for the design concept of a Malay Garden that are relevant in the present environment

Facile fabrication of superhydrophobic and superoleophilic green ceramic hollow fiber membrane derived from waste sugarcane bagasse ash for oil/water separation

Green ceramic hollow fiber membranes with superhydrophobic and superoleophilic surfaces (ss-CHFM/WSBA) were successfully fabricated via facile sol–gel process using tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and methyltriethoxysilane (MTES) as precursors. In this work, silica solution was prepared using the modified Sto¨ber method. This process was followed by dipping the pristine membranes into the sol–gel solution at various grafting times (0–90 min), grafting cycles (0–4 cycles), and calcination temperatures (400–600⁰ͦC). The wettability, surface morphology, and chemical composition of the pristine and ss-CHFM/WSBA membranes were investigated. The results showed that increasing the grafting time has increased the wettability of ss-CHFM/WSBA with high contact angle of up to 163.9⁰. Similarly, increasing grafting cycle has enhanced the hydrophobicity of ss-CHFM/WSBA due to the formation of hierarchical structure of grafting cycle which were more than one. The optimum calcination temperature for ss-CHFM/WSBA was identified. It was found that increasing the calcination temperature has degraded the sol template on the surface of ss-CHFM/WSBA, hence decreasing the wettability. The preliminary performance tests showed that ss-CHFM/WSBA grafted at 60 min, 3 cycles, and calcined at 400 ⁰C showed excellent oil/water separation efficiency of 99.9% and oil flux of 137.2 L/m2 h

The Development of the Malay Garden Concept

This study discusses the development of the Malay garden concept using the old Malay manuscripts and site observation to the Malay villages along Peninsular Malaysia. The inherited landscape design concept can offer as a guideline to conserve the integrity and the authenticity of the traditional Malay garden design and the strength of these characters will extensively use in developing the concept of landscape design in Malaysia due to the increasing awareness of design and the quality of life. Keywords: Malay Garden, Malay Landscape, Cultural Landscape, Quality of Life eISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia

Perakaunan dan pelaporan kewangan Islam bagi Institusi Baitulmal, Zakat dan Wakaf Di Malaysia Fasa 4 (Zon 3)

Di Malaysia, pentadbiran institusi Baitulmal, Zakat dan Wakaf (selepas ini dinyatakan sebagai institusi BZW) dilaksanakan oleh Majlis Agama Islam Negeri (MAIN), selaras dengan peruntukan undang-undang Perlembagaan Malaysia. Secara amnya institusi BZW ditadbir menggunakan dasar sektor awam, namun institusi ini mempunyai perbezaan atau keunikan dalam pentadbirannya berbanding dengan agensi sektor awam yang lain, iaitu institusi ini berlandaskan Islam. Mutakhir ini peranan dan perkembangan institusi BZW dalam membangunkan ekonomi dan harta umat Islam semakin ketara dan meningkat. Aktiviti berkaitan zakat semakin meluas dan pembangunan hartanah baitulmal dan wakaf lebih dinamik. Selaras dengan perkembangan ini, suatu piawaian perakaunan dan pelaporan kewangan khusus bagi institusi BZW yang berlandaskan Islam perlu diwujudkan bagi membantu institusi BZW dalam melaksanakan tanggungjawabnya. Ini bagi membolehkan setiap kegiatan dan perkhidmatan yang dilakukan oleh institusi tersebut dapat dilaporkan dengan telus sepertimana tuntutan Syariah. Amalan perakaunan yang seragam dan mematuhi keperluan Syariah diharapkan dapat membantu semua pemegang taruh mendapat maklumatmaklumat yang diperlukan berkaitan dengan aktiviti institusi BZW. Amalan dan kaedah perakaunan semasa yang sedikit berbeza di antara institusi BZW di negeri yang berbeza memberi kesan kepada ketelusan maklumat dan akauntabiliti institusi berkenaan. Kajian Fasa 1, 2 dan 3 mendapati ketiadaan piawaian khusus bagi perakaunan dan pelaporan BZW sebagai punca ketidakseragaman amalan dan kaedah perakaunan semasa. Sehubungan dengan itu, pembangunan piawaian adalah dituntut bagi memastikan agar perbezaan pelaporan dan perakaunan tidak terlalu ketara. Dalam konteks BZW, harus diingat bahawa memang terdapat perbezaan yang berpunca dari beberapa sebab seperti kelainan transaksi, perbezaan keputusan majlis fatwa negeri dan juga amalan tradisi yang telah diwarisi sejak sekian lama. Perbezaan ini perlu diraikan kerana kemungkinan terdapat kekangan tertentu yang tidak boleh atau agak sukar untuk dilaksanakan secara serta merta. Menyedari perkara ini, terdapat keperluan untuk menyeimbangi antara keperluan penyeragaman dan meraikan perbezaan. Oleh itu, usaha untuk membangunkan garis panduan yang boleh dijadikan rujukan buat institusi BZW menjadi satu keperluan

Morphological study of synthesized RGO/ Pt nanocomposites via facile chemical reduction method

Reduced graphene oxide nanosheet (RGO)/Pt nanocomposite have been successfully prepared through a facile chemical reduction method. The reduction of Pt precursor was carried out using sodium borohydride as the efficient chemical reductant. The morphology of RGO/Pt nanocomposite was investigated using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). HRTEM analysis showed that platinum nanoparticles were homogenously distributed onto the surface of RGO. The electrochemical study proved that Pt nanoparticles were successfully incorporated onto RGO. Therefore, it can be concluded that the proposed method could provide well-dispersed of Pt nanoparticles onto RGO to form RGO/ Pt nanocomposite

A review on the potential of photocatalysis in combatting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater

Photocatalytic technology offers powerful virus disinfection in wastewater via oxidative capability with minimum harmful by-products generation. This review paper aims to provide state-of-the-art photocatalytic technology in battling transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater. Prior to that, the advantages and limitations of the existing conventional and advanced oxidation processes for virus disinfection in water systems were thoroughly examined. A wide spectrum of virus degradation by various photocatalysts was then considered to understand the potential mechanism for deactivating this deadly virus. The challenges and future perspectives were comprehensively discussed at the end of this review describing the limitations of current photocatalytic technology and suggesting a realistic outlook on advanced photocatalytic technology as a potential solution in dealing with similar upcoming pandemics. The major finding of this review including discovery of a vision on the possible photocatalytic approaches that have been proven to be outstanding against other viruses and subsequently combatting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. This review intends to deliver insightful information and discussion on the potential of photocatalysis in battling COVID-19 transmission through wastewater

Fabrication of nanocomposite membrane via combined electrospinning and casting technique for direct methanol fuel cell

Emergence of nanotechnology has resulted in the introduction of the electrospinning process in fabricating and characterising the polymer electrolyte membrane from the sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) (SPEEK) nanocomposite membrane comprised of electrospun Cloisite15A® (e-spun CL) for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). Poly (ether ether ketone) polymer is sulfonated up to 63% by sulfuric acid. SPEEK63/e-spun CL nanofibers were fabricated via electrospinning in which SPEEK63 was used as carrier polymer while the SPEEK63/e-spun CL nanocomposite membrane was obtained by the casting method. Characterizations on physical, morphological and thermal properties of SPEEK63/e-spun CL were conducted and compared to the SPEEK membrane fabricated by casting simple mixing 2.5wt.% Cloisite15A® and 5.0wt.% triaminopyrimidine solution (SPEEK63/2.5CL/5.0TAP). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed well electrospun Cloisite15A® with an average diameter nanofiber around 187.4 nm. Moreover, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) revealed that Cloisite15A® particles at a nanometer range were uniformly distributed and 66% smaller than those in SPEEK63/2.5CL/5.0TAP. Furthermore, x-ray diffraction proved that the dispersion state of Cloisite15A® fell into an intercalated phase. A very small amount of Cloisite15A® (0.05wt.%) in SPEEK63/e-spun CL successfully enhanced the proton conductivity up to 50%, whereas, unfortunately the methanol permeability value was 27 times higher than SPEEK63/2.5CL/5.0TAP. Proton conductivity and methanol permeability of SPEEK63/e-spun CL were 24.49 x 10-3 Scm-1 and 3.74 x 10-7 cms-1, respectively. Even though this study contributed to 95% selectivity lower than SPEEK63/2.5CL/5.0TAP, electrospinning showed a promising technique to further reduce original sized Cloisite15A® particles from mixed size (μm and nm) to nanometer sized. In addition, by fine tuning, the dispersion of Cloisite15A® enhances the SPEEK63/e-spun CL performance in DMFC

Optimal power dispatch of hybrid PV/diesel systems using heuristic bio-inspired algorithms

Generally due to the strategic equatorial region, Malaysia is advancing into solar energy as a replacement of alternative source for an electrical energy production to meet the escalation load demand. Thus, the integrated hybrid system like PVGenset set system are developed to generate power to meet load demand where it can be fitted into its local geography and others according to specification. However, this does not guarantee the hybrid system to generate power optimally as weather conditions (solar insolation, temperature and others) changes periodically and influence the power generation and the power dispatch to the load. Therefore, the hybrid system does not operate at the optimal state and without a proper dispatching controller it may lead to over stress one or the other hybrid system component causes frequent wear and tear with higher maintenance cost to the system. In order to curb this situation, the hybrid system requires a specific approach along with a controller to search and to dispatch the hybrid PV-Genset system generated power at the best potential optimal state. A Bio-Heuristic approach can be applied to determine the optimal power generation while a dispatch controller dispatches the electric hybrid power system to the load demand. The aim of this research is to implement the selected bio-heuristic approach such as Particle Swarm Optimisation (PSO) while Fuzzy Logic is used as a dispatch controller for a small scale hybrid PV-Genset system. The simulation of the hybrid PV-Gertset system modelling is simulated using two types of tropical weather conditions (sunny and rainy). From this research, simulation results are obtained and series of analysis is conducted using MATLAB/SlMULINK. Through the analysis, results have shown the contribution of each hybrid system component operates at the optimum level while power is dispatch to the load based on the hybrid system capability

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe