Tanah Rizab Melayu di Ambang Kepupusan?

Pelbagai dakwaan telah dibuat mengenai kepupusan Tanah Rizab Melayu di negara ini. Sebelum merdeka, penyusutan keluasannya adalah disebabkan oleh pengambilan tanah oleh kerajaan kolonial British untuk perlombongan, pembukaan kampung-kampung baru semasa ancaman komunis serta aktiviti penggadaian dan penjualan tanah oleh orang Melayu kepada bukan Melayu. Selepas merdeka, kepupusannya dikaitkan pula dengan aktiviti pengambilan tanah oleh kerajaan melalui Akta Pengambilan Tanah 1960. Kajian ini merupakan kajian analisis kandungan yang melibatkan bahan- bahan yang diperoleh daripada sumber teks sekunder dan dapatan kajian terdahulu. Penekanan diberikan kepada menganalisis statistik keluasan Tanah Rizab Melayu di negara ini. Hasil analisis mendapati dakwaan mengenai trend penyusutan Tanah Rizab Melayu adalah kurang tepat dan mengelirukan. Manakala analisis mengenai keluasannya pula, kajian mendapati bahawa peratus keluasan sebenar Tanah Rizab Melayu pada tahun 2009 adalah 30.13 peratus dan bukannya 11.83 peratus sebagaimana yang didakwa. Peratus keluasan tersebut terus meningkat pada tahun 2013 kepada 31.85 peratus. Analisis juga mendapati terdapat kekeliruan maklumat mengenai keluasan sebenar Tanah Rizab Melayu di negara ini

Multi-temporal modis for detection and published literatures for validation of algal blooms in Sabah and Sarawak, Malaysia

The coastal region of Sabah, Malaysia is mostly affected by harmful algal blooms (HABs) that often cause massive fish kills, and sometimes human casualties. Lack of a well-agreed, transparent and reproducible method, aperiodic nature and limited (technical) ability to monitor HAB at large regional scale, have all led to reinforced methodological improvement for bloom prediction, scientific management of coastal water resources, and regulatory attention. MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), one of the well validated ocean colour sensors, enables acquiring high spectral resolution images, with short revisit time, freely accessible, and bay-wide coverage. Yet, the relative efficiency of MODIS-derived Chl-a (Chlorophyll-a), ABI (Algal Bloom Index), and nFLH (normalized Fluorescence Line Height) have not been compared in coastal regions of Malaysia. Fifteen MODIS Level 2 images acquired between 2005 and 2013 were considered as time series data that matched HAB events mentioned in previous studies. As historical real time in-situ data collection is often difficult (inaccessible), and thus unavailable; this project had to validate results obtained from literature, assuming that in-situ, would indicate HAB location at least during MODIS acquisition dates. Variations of HAB affected areas with temporal and spatial scales derived from bloom indices are shown in colour maps. Reliability of bloom information was measured by subjectively comparing HAB results provided by indices, and previously published in-situ results. ABI outperformed Chl-a and nFLH indices based on comparisons in both normal and HAB conditions occurring in the coastal waters of Sabah and Sarawak. The configuration and reliability retrieved from MODIS-ABI allowed their application in different likely tropical region as automated HAB monitoring systems and coastal water management programmes

Genetic Diversity Based on LipL32, 16S rRNA and ColA Expression in Leptospira spp. Isolated From Rodent Hosts in Samarahan and Gedong Districts in Sarawak

Leptospirosis is a major zoonotic disease in the world that is caused by Leptospira spp., that may cause acute febrile illness in mammals with varied pathogenicity and clinical disease. Among factors that have been associated with pathogenicity of Leptopsira are LipL32 and ColA gene. LipL32 has been identified to play an important role in TLR-dependent pathway and inducing erythrocytes. ColA (LA0872), a gene coding for bacterial collagenase, a common invasive enzyme which facilitates the leptospires to quickly invade and spread into internal organs. Gene or protein that had been expressed by leptospires during infection or within specific host may provide glimpses into leptospiral pathogenic strategies. The study was conducted in Samarahan Division, Sarawak involving two locations; Kota Samarahan and Gedong. Traps were set at the study sites and 31 rodents were caught with 96.7% of them are from Rattus rattus species. The kidneys and blood samples were cultured into Ellinghausen-McCullough-Johnson-Harris (EMJH) media added with 5-fluorouracil. DNA and protein isolates from positive cultures were extracted and analysed. From the 31 kidney samples of rodents caught, 28 kidney tissue samples (90.3%) showed presence of leptospire-like organism in cultures. PCR analyses utilizing 16S gene primers confirmed the presence of leptospires, in 90.3% of rodents caught in the study area. Almost half of the leptospires detected were saprophytic (45.2%) and pathogenic Leptospira spp. (38.7%). The highest number of species detected was pathogenic Leptospira, Leptospira kmetyi strain SS-S7 with 38.7%, from the whole isolates sequenced when compared to GenBank, followed by, intermediate Leptospira, Leptospira wolfii strain SS-S17 detected (12.9%), and saprophytic Leptospira, Leptospira biflexa strain Patoc_DB58 (19.4%), Leptospira wolbachii serovar Codice strain and Leptospira idonii strain Eri-1 16S ribosomal RNA (6.5% respectively) and Leptospira terpestrae serovar Hualin strain LT 11-33 (16.1%). There were no related DNA sequences retrieved from LipL32 primers after multiple passages of cultures. The DNA sequence degree of homology was varied from 80% to 99% which were clustered into 3 clusters (A1, A2 and A3). Most of the isolates were delineated into cluster A2 with 15 isolates (48.4%) which is close to NR.043043.1 sequence retrieved from NCBI database, followed by A1 cluster with 11 isolates (35.5%) (KY411405.1), and A3 cluster with 4 isolates (12.9%) (KY411411.1). All samples that shown presence of collagenase was belong to cluster A2. Interestingly, ColA protein was not detected in all intermediate and saphrophytic isolates and only detected in eight of the samples (25.8%) which only infected with pathogenic strain, Leptospira kmetyi. The findings indicated that a high proportion of rodents in the study area were infected with Leptospira spp. and about a third of them were harboured with pathogenic strain, Leptospira kmetyi. It is found that ColA gene was expressed only in pathogenic leptospires, and might indicate its importance in the pathogenesis of pathogenic Leptospira spp. in rodent hosts

Immuniregulatory response following fluranthene instillation in embryonated chicken eggs

The immunotoxic effect the air pollutant, floranthene in chicken has never been documented. This study was undertaken to determine the possible immunotoxicity of fluoranthene in embryonated chicken eggs. Fifty 9-day-ole embryonated chicken eggs were used in this study where 40 were each inoculated with fluoranthene at the dose of 15 mg/kg via the allantoic route. The remaining 10 eggs were inoculated with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and acted as controls. All eggs were incubated at 37°C and candled every day for evidence of embryonic survival. Dead embryos (before 21 days old) were necropsied while the allantoic fluid and yolk collected for the determination of ND-HI titers. Chicks that hatched were sacrificed and blood was collected for ND-HI titer determination and lymphoid organs were procured for histopathology. Postmoetem findins fo fluoranthene inoculated embryos were stunted growth, generalized or localized harmorrahages especially at legs and head. Histopathologically, fluoranthene induced lymphoid hyperplasia in the thymus, spleen and bursa. Such change has led to an increase in antibody production compated to the controls. This study has provided evidence that fluoranthene may cross the egg barrier (in ovo) in avian species

Development of Photovoltaic Inverter for AC Load

This project presents the development of Photovoltaic (PV) push-pull inverter for alternating current (AC) application. There are two main systems in this project which is the PV system and the inverter system. The photovoltaic system consists of the PV panel which is used to seep sunshine to recharge the battery and the solar charger controller circuit that prevent battery from surpluses voltage is connected between solar PV and battery. While the push-pull inverter play a pivotal role in switching from direct current (DC) voltage to AC voltage for the inverter system. Then the AC voltage rose to 230 V by using transformer. The push-pull inverter switching is controlled by a multi-vibrator driver circuit. This project used two light emitting diode (LED) light bulb as an AC load and Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFETs) as the power switches. This project had been analysed through software and hardware prototype for comparison purposed. The efficiency of ideal system that obtains from software simulation is 94.9% while for the hardware prototype is nearly to 95%. While the total harmonic distortion (THD) for both voltage and current is 48.32% from software simulation and 47.9% from hardware prototype analysis. The results have been found in good agreement with the analysis presented in this paper

Potential Dermal Exposure Assessment of Farmers to Herbicide Imazapic in an Agriculture Area

For decades, the percentage of pesticide usage has steadily increased in order to meet the demands of food production. The aim of this study is to estimate the risk posed towards farmers through exposure to surface water containing imazapic herbicide using dermal exposure assessment (DEA). For this purpose, hazard index (HI) value was calculated to estimate the risk posed towards the farmers. Although calculated HI showed a minimum level of risk, there are concerns toward the danger of long-term exposure to the farmers of an agricultural system that could affect their quality of life.Keywords: Dermal exposure assessment; farmers; imazapic; hazard indexeISSN 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. https://doi.org/10.21834/ajqol.v3i11.127

Techniques on dispersion of nanoparticles in polymer matrices: a review

Dispersibility of nanoparticles is the key problem in nanotechnology industries, and thus warrants attention on the techniques of dispersion. This review paper presents dispersibility of treated nanoparticles in polymer resin. Dispersibility of nanoparticles in polymer media is crucial in order to enhance the mechanical and thermal properties of nanocomposite. This paper concentrates on several preparations on how to incorporate nanoparticles in polymer to overcome the problem described in this review. A few techniques are discussed in this paper such as by using ultra sonication or even directly mixing nanoparticles into polymer matrix

Investigation of Alkaline Surface Treatment Effected on Flax Fibre Woven Fabric with Biodegradable Polymer Based on Mechanical Properties

Biodegradable polymers such as polylactic acid (PLA) are used nowadays due to their degradability, durability and environmentally friendly properties. Alkaline surface treatment of natural fibres is used to increase the flexural properties of composites. This research investigated the flexural properties of dry compressed PLA, wet mix PLA, untreated flax/PLA and treated flax/PLA composites. The flax fibre was first treated with NaOH. The wet mix PLA was prepared via solvent casting with chloroform and dried at room temperature overnight followed by post-drying in an oven. The flax/PLA composites were fabricated using a hot press for 6 minutes. The wet mix PLA showed higher flexural strength compared to the dry compressed PLA. The treated flax fibre composite showed higher flexural strength compared to the untreated flax fibre. The flexural strength and elongation at break of the treated flax fibre composite was increased by 4.79% and 27.76%, respectively, while the flexural modulus decreased by 0.79% compared with the untreated flax composite. The treated flax composite also showed an improvement in impact properties, increasing its impact strength by about 3% and 10% at energy levels of 10 J, 15 J, and 17.5 J compared with the untreated flax fibre. Therefore, the investigation of the surface treatment of flax in a PLA matrix based on its mechanical properties revealed better properties compared to untreated flax/PLA composite