Gelatin (binder) characterization of jackfruit seed starch for biodegradable plastic fabrication / Nur Hanisah Mohamad

The main objective of this research is to fabricate biodegradable plastic from jackfruit seed starch and gelatin blend. Gelatin is used as a binder while glycerol is used as a plasticizer. Mechanical and degradability properties of the jackfruit seed starch and gelatin (1 : 0.1, 1 : 0.2, 1 : 0.3 and 1 : 1) blend were investigated. It was found that the tensile strength and elongation at break increasing with the increasing in gelatin content. The sample with ratio 1 : 1 has the highest tensile strength and elongation at break which is 851.015 MPa and 5.502%. FTIR spectroscopy showed that the composition with the highest amount of gelatin (l : 1) has higher biodegradability rate compared to the lowest amount of gelatin (1 : 0.1

Green Tech Enterprise / Mohd Izzanur Rashidi...[et.al]

Green Tech Enterprise is a company that involve in the agriculture business where there are a lot of technologies that already exists and are about to be invented and explore as there are a lot of new things that had been done as the advancement of technology has begun to encourage our country to be more open in term of critical thinking and the acceptance and awareness of new technology. From what we know, the agriculture sector has begun the new revolution in term of managements, systems and technology which the current scenario involves the adolescence to participate in the agriculture field. Based on the current scenario that had been . our company focused on the development of new knowledge and technologies that lead towards an improvement in term of the tools and equipment that had been created based on the problems that had been voiced out by the farmers and people ill the agriculture sector. Based from the product that we had created, the Agro-stake is one of the products that is invented to ease the fanner in term of setting-up the stake and other additional extension feature that the customer desire The objectives of our company is to produce new creation of extension innovation tools and equipment based on the agriculture needs and at the same we wanted to provide a better services for our customer in term of consultancy and service which is to make sure the customer is satisfy with the product created by Green Tech Enterprise. The tools and equipment that had been invented by our company is made for more effective and efficient used in field and any places needed in order to ease the workload of people who love farming activities with affordable price and at the same time encourage the young people to involve in modem farming lifestyle to create a better future in the Agriculture sector of Malaysia and also to terminate the way and perception of people on the agriculture which say that agriculture is Dirty, Dangerous and Difficult. From what we are implementing in the business, our location is a strategic location in Malacca which is at Alor Gajah. From what we can say, Malacca is our target location for our target market as there are huge possibilities that Malacca can be one of the Agricultural District in Malaysia that practices modern farming lifestyle in their daily life. From here, we feel that the chances on the viability of the business are high as the products that we produced are focused on agriculture extension product with affordable prices. As the competitors are still lack of new inventions, we will be able to increase our market share ill a short period of time as our company's member are. still young and fresh graduates that are able to generate more idea based on the current technology that are available nowadays. That is why this business is established in order to increase the number of people that involve in the production of agriculture crop yield. So that there will be more innovation technology that can be discover in the future

Isolation Of Marine Sponge-associated Fungi From Bidong And Karah Islands

Sponges are sessile, benthic organisms that are known to host diverse microorganisms including Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya. Prokaryotic microbial communities associated with sponges have been well studied by both cultivation-dependent and cultivation-independent approaches, whereas eukaryotic microbial are the last frontier of microbial diversity yet to be fully characterized. This study was aimed to isolate sponge-associated fungi from Bidong and Karah Islands using various selective media to maximize the number of fungal isolates and directly screened their functional properties based on the ability to produce cellulase and halogenase. Nine different types of sponge samples were collected from Bidong and Karah Islands using SCUBA equipment. The sponge specimens were cut into small pieces and ground until they became slurry. One millilitre of the slurry was plated onto eight selective isolation media including, potato dextrose agar, 3% malt extract agar, malt extract enriched with potassium bromide, malt extract enriched with sodium chloride, malt extract enriched with potassium fluoride, Reasoner’s 2A agar, Azo-carboxymethyl-cellulose agar and Azo-xylan agar. All media were supplemented with Streptomycin and Gentamycin to prevent the growth of bacteria. The isolates were incubated at 30oC for two weeks. A total of 463 potential actinomycetes were isolated. The highest number of isolates were obtained from Sponge B which was collected from Bidong Island. Azo-carboxymethyl-cellulose agar showed the highest percentage of fungal isolates recovery (15%) while malt extract enriched with potassium fluoride showed the lowest percentage for fungal recovery (9%). The dominance of bacteria contamination can inhibit the colonization of fungi. Therefore the use of various selective media could help to decrease the number of unwanted bacteria and important for the pre-screening of cellulase and halogenase-producing fungi. These findings also proved the potential of marine sponges in Bidong and Karah Islands possessed as an important source of fungi on producing cellulase and halogenase

Adsorption Behavior of Heavy Metal Ions by Hybrid Inulin-TEOS for Water Treatment

The present work reports the adsorption behavior involved in the adsorption of heavy metal ions using a hybrid inulin-tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) adsorbent produced through the sol-gel process. An aqueous multi-element solution was used in order to examine the inulin-TEOS adsorbent efficiency in removing Cd2+, Co2+, and Ni2+ ions. The effects of the contact duration, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, and solution pH on the adsorption of the targeted metal ions in batch systems were evaluated. The optimal conditions for the removal of all targeted heavy metals were as follows: 30 mg of an adsorbent dosage at pH 4 and 5 minutes of contact time with an initial concentration of 0.5 mg/L. A one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) with a replication test showed that all parameters had significant differences at a p-value of 0.05. At the optimum condition, 92.59%, 90.27%, and 86.472% of Cd2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ were removed, respectively. Findings from kinetic studies suggest that the pseudo-second order model can successfully describe the overall adsorption process. Additionally, the adsorption process can be adequately explained using an intra-particle diffusion model with diffusion rate constants following the sequence of Kint,1 > Kint,2 for Co2+ and Ni2+ and Kint,1 > Kint,2 > Kint,3 for Cd2+ in each step. The results suggest that Ni2+ fits with the Langmuir isotherm, while Cd2+ and Co2+ better fit the Freundlich one. Finally, the adsorbent can be reused and is able to retain a good percentage of removal, with percentage difference decreases of 1.99%, 3.29%, and 4.12% for Cd2+, Ni2+, and Co2+, respectively, after the fifth cycle. The hybrid inulin-TEOS bio-sorbent has good adsorption capacity and durability, which could offer a low-cost practical cleaner production process for removing targeted analytes from wastewater. Doi: 10.28991/CEJ-2022-08-09-03 Full Text: PD

A review on the biological, physical and chemical mitigation of harmful algal bloom

The harmful algal bloom (HABs) refers to the rapid growth of toxic or high- biomass-producing microalgae. The impact of this phenomenon can cause significant economic loss affecting many industries and causing harm to wildlife and human health. As technology develops, greater research has been conducted to monitor and reduce HABs occurrence’s impact, including mitigating agents. This review presents the advantages and disadvantages of currently used and recently developed biological, chemical, and physical approaches to tackle issues related to HABs. The present review also emphasizes the interaction between the mitigating agents and the algal cells, thus identifying the gap of knowledge that needs to be addressed. Understanding the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches and the interaction between the mitigating agents and algal cells will enable researchers to develop a better sustainable system for managing HAB

Adsorption behavior of heavy metal ions by Hybrid Inulin-TEOS for water treatment

The present work reports the adsorption behavior involved in the adsorption of heavy metal ions using a hybrid inulin-tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) adsorbent produced through the sol-gel process. An aqueous multi-element solution was used in order to examine the inulin-TEOS adsorbent efficiency in removing Cd2+, Co2+, and Ni2+ ions. The effects of the contact duration, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration, and solution pH on the adsorption of the targeted metal ions in batch systems were evaluated. The optimal conditions for the removal of all targeted heavy metals were as follows: 30 mg of an adsorbent dosage at pH 4 and 5 minutes of contact time with an initial concentration of 0.5 mg/L. A one-way analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA) with a replication test showed that all parameters had significant differences at a p-value of 0.05. At the optimum condition, 92.59%, 90.27%, and 86.472% of Cd2+, Ni2+, and Co2+ were removed, respectively. Findings from kinetic studies suggest that the pseudo-second order model can successfully describe the overall adsorption process. Additionally, the adsorption process can be adequately explained using an intra-particle diffusion model with diffusion rate constants following the sequence of Kint,1 > Kint,2 for Co2+ and Ni2+ and Kint,1 > Kint,2 > Kint,3 for Cd2+ in each step. The results suggest that Ni2+ fits with the Langmuir isotherm, while Cd2+ and Co2+ better fit the Freundlich one. Finally, the adsorbent can be reused and is able to retain a good percentage of removal, with percentage difference decreases of 1.99%, 3.29%, and 4.12% for Cd2+, Ni2+, and Co2+, respectively, after the fifth cycle. The hybrid inulin-TEOS bio-sorbent has good adsorption capacity and durability, which could offer a low-cost practical cleaner production process for removing targeted analytes from wastewater

Insects

Cosmodela aurulenta (Coleoptera: Carabidae), or commonly known as the golden-spotted tiger beetle, is a species commonly found in open areas or in lowlands near riverbanks. The species is 14 to 16 mm in length, the body is dark greenish with three distinctive spots on each sides of the elytra. There is also the presence of pale coloured hairs on the abdomen and legs. The species are known to be opportunistic predators of smaller invertebrates, with characteristic large mandibles and enlarged compound eyes. The species is also observed to show brief flights

Selective isolation of rare actinomycetes from mangrove sediment of Tanjung Lumpur, Kuantan

Actinomycetes are renowned as a rich source of bioactive molecules. However, the commercially potent secondary metabolites from well-known actinomycetes are difficult to discover due to the practice of screening that is leading to rediscovery of known bioactive compounds, thereby, emphasizing the need to isolate undiscovered actinomycetes. Mangroves are highly productive ecosystem though less attention has been given into the diversity of actinomycetes present in mangrove sediment particularly in Malaysia. This study is aimed to isolate actinomycetes from sediment samples which were collected from mangrove in Tanjung Lumpur using several pretreatments and various selective media. Sediments from five different sites at Tanjung Lumpur mangrove were collected and pre-treated using several procedures including (i) wet heat in sterilized sea water (55oC, 15 min); (ii) dry heat (120oC, 60 min); and (iii) phenol (1.5%, 30oC, 30 min). The pretreated sediment samples were diluted and plated onto eight selective isolation media including, yeast-extract-malt-extract agar, oat-meal agar, inorganic salt starch agar, starch-yeast-extract agar, marine agar, actinomycetes isolation agar, Gause modified medium and starch-casein agar. All media were supplemented with 50 mg/l cycloheximide to inhibit fungal growth followed by incubation at 28-30oC for two weeks. A total of 172 potential actinomycetes were isolated. The highest numbers of isolates were obtained from sediment samples collected from Location 5. The sediment treated with sterilized sea water was the most effective method for the isolation of actinomycetes as it yielded maximum of 105 CFU of actinomycetes. Starch-casein agar was the most suitable medium as it showed the highest percentage for the recovery of actinomycetes (31 %). The dominance of other bacteria and fungal contamination can inhibit the colonization of actinomycetes. Therefore the use of various pretreatments and selective media helped to decrease the number of unwanted bacterial and fungal colonies. These findings proved the potential of mangrove sediment of Tanjung Lumpur possessed as an important source of rare actinomycetes. Keywords: actinomycetes, Tanjung Lumpur, mangrove sediment, pretreatments, selective medi

Selective isolation of Actinomycetes from mangrove sediment of Tanjung Lumpur, Kuantan, Malaysia

Aims: Mangroves of Tanjung Lumpur, Kuantan, Pahang is considered as a relatively underexplored resource of actinomycetes. Based on the above perspective, a study was conducted on mangrove sediments of Tanjung Lumpur, Kuantan to isolate potential actinomycetes using several pretreatments and various selective media. Methodology and results: Sediments from five different sites at Tanjung Lumpur mangrove were collected and selectively pre-treated. The pretreated sediments were diluted and plated onto eight different selective media. A total of 172 potential actinomycetes were isolated from all the media. Antimicrobial activities of 61 selected strains were checked against 8 test microorganisms using cross streak method. Pretreatment of wet heat with seawater was the most effective method for the isolation of actinomycetes as it yielded a maximum of 105 actinomycete isolates and IM7 was the most suitable medium for actinomycete isolation with highest percentage of recovery (31 %). Forty three isolates (70.5 %) showed antimicrobial activities against one or more test microorganisms. Isolates IIUM B21 and IIUM B31 showed antimicrobial activity against all test microorganisms. Seven isolates showed antifungal activity as they inhibited only C. albicans. Ten isolates were randomly selected for identification based on partial sequences of 16S rRNA gene. Six isolates were found belong to the genus Streptomyces, two isolates belong to the genus Micromonospora and two isolates were identified as Rhodococcus spp. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: These findings revealed the potential of mangrove sediment of Tanjung Lumpur as an important source of actinomycetes with biosynthetic capabilities which might be beneficial to pharmaceutical industries