Dehydration of traditional dried instant noodle (mee siput) using controlled temperature & humidity dryer

Drying process is an essential step to produce instant noodles. Yet, the industries especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), is seeking for an efficient method to dry the noodles. This paper discusses the performance of an invented drying system which employed heating and humidifying process. The drying system was tested using 30 kilogram of the raw noodle known as “Mee Siput”. Temperature controlled system were used in the study to control the temperature of the drying process and prevent the dried noodles from damage by maintaining the temperature of lower than 80oC. The analysis shows that the system was drastically decreased the humidity from 80% to 40% just after 200 minutes of the drying process. The complete dehydration time of noodle has also decreased to only 4 hours from 16 hours when using traditional drying system without sacrificed the good quality of the dried noodle. In overall, the invented system believed to increase the production capacity of the noodle, reduce cost of production which would highly beneficial for Small Medium Industries (SMEs) in Malaysia

Effects of fractionation technique on triacylglycerols, melting and crystallisation and the polymorphic behavior of bambangan kernel fat as cocoa butter improver

Cocoa butter improver (CBI) is typically composed of high melting symmetrical triacylglycerols (TAGs) that aid in the hardness of chocolate products in tropical/subtropical regions. High-melting symmetrical TAG (1,3-di-stearoyl-2-oleoyl-glycerol, SOS) rich fats were produced by two-stage acetone fractionation. Different chromatographic and thermal techniques were used to determine TAGs, thermal properties, and polymorphic behavior of each bambangan kernel fat (BKF) fraction. The first (S-1) and second (S-2) stearins composed of 55.83% and 64.70% symmetrical SOS were the valuable CBIs produced from the fractionated BKF. The stearin fractions also melted and crystallised rapidly at high temperatures with one maximum peak starting at 20.30–21.74 °C and ending at 38.72–42.45 °C (melting), and another starting at 17.05–18.46 °C and ended at 5.63–8.20 °C (crystallisation). In comparison with pure BKF and commercial cocoa butter (CB), the stearins showed sharper melting curves and higher melting properties. The stearins also exhibited β-polymorphic form which was similar to that of CB. Results suggested that the stearins were suitable to be applied as CBI to improve the melting properties and the availability of confectionery products in tropical/subtropical countries

Risk factors for Nipah virus infection among pteropid bats, Peninsular Malaysia

We conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal studies to determine the distribution of and risk factors for seropositivity to Nipah virus (NiV) among Pteropus vampyrus and P. hypomelanus bats in Peninsular Malaysia. Neutralizing antibodies against NiV were detected at most locations surveyed. We observed a consistently higher NiV risk (odds ratio 3.9) and seroprevalence (32.8%) for P. vampyrus than P. hypomelanus (11.1%) bats. A 3-year longitudinal study of P. hypomelanus bats indicated nonseasonal temporal variation in seroprevalence, evidence for viral circulation within the study period, and an overall NiV seroprevalence of 9.8%. The seroprevalence fluctuated over the study duration between 1% and 20% and generally decreased during 2004–2006. Adult bats, particularly pregnant, with dependent pup and lactating bats, had a higher prevalence of NiV antibodies than juveniles. Antibodies in juveniles 6 months–2 years of age suggested viral circulation within the study period

Vertically aligned carbon nanotubes synthesized from waste chicken fat

For the first time, vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (VACNTs) have been successfully synthesized using waste chicken fat as the starting material. Chicken fat oil, which was obtained through a rendering process, was directly mixed with 5.33 wt ferrocene as a catalyst to form the synthesis stock. A mixture of single- and multi-walled VACNTs was synthesized at a fixed temperature of 750 °C in a thermal chemical vapour deposition furnace. Field emission scanning electron microscopy, micro-Raman spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analyses showed that the produced VACNTs were of excellent quality, comparable to those obtained using conventional carbon sources, with a purity of 88.2 and tube diameters ranging from 18 to 78 nm. Based on our study, waste chicken fat is a promising carbon source for the synthesis of high-quality and high-purity VACNTs. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Investigation of Carbon Nanotube Ink with PDMS Printing Plate on Fine Solid Lines Printed by Micro-flexographic Printing Method

Micro-flexographic printing which is combination of flexography and micro-contact printing is a unique printing technique that create graphic, electronic and biomedical printed image on variable substrates. Therefore, an investigation for its potential usage in global area of printing hence a research for suitable ink and printing plate related to this process is vital. This paper will focus on investigating the printability of Carbon Nanotube (CNT) ink with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) printing plate. There are two types of CNTs ink which are solvent base and water base. A printing trial has been carried out in comparison with CNTs inks and PDMS printing plate with fine solid lines image on it to check the suitability of the printing plate development for micro-flexographic printing technique. The result shows that CNT water base ink is suitable with PDMS printing plate in printing fine solid lines image

Characterization of Nipah Virus from Naturally Infected Pteropus vampyrus Bats, Malaysia

We isolated and characterized Nipah virus (NiV) from Pteropus vampyrus bats, the putative reservoir for the 1998 outbreak in Malaysia, and provide evidence of viral recrudescence. This isolate is monophyletic with previous NiVs in combined analysis, and the nucleocapsid gene phylogeny suggests that similar strains of NiV are co-circulating in sympatric reservoir species