Biomass and carbon storage of three virgin jungle reserves in Peninsular Malaysia.

A study on biomass and carbon storage was carried out in three virgin jungle reserves (VJRs) in Peninsular Malaysia which represent different geographical zones, namely, northern, eastern and southern zones. The VJRs are located in Mata Ayer, Perus, Bukit Bank, Terengganu and Gunung Pulai, Johor. A single plot of 2 ha (100 m × 200 m) was established in each VJR using purposive sampling design. The plot was further divided into contiguous 50 subplots of 20×20 m2. All trees with ≥5 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) were tagged with numbered aluminium labels, measured and identified. Results indicated that the total biomass for Mata Ayer VJR was 442.86 t/h, Bukit Bauk VJR was 606.32 t/ha and Gunung Pulai VJR estimated at 352.66 t/ha. Carbon storage of Mata Ayer VJR, Bukit Bauk VJR and Gunung Pulai VJR were 221.43 t/ha, 303.16 t/ha dan 176.33 t/ha, respectively

Chemical profiling of erimin-5 pills using GC-MS for active ingredient detection and TLC for dye detection

The abuse of the drug is a never-ending concern for law enforcement authorities all around the world. In Malaysia, Erimin-5 tablets are still being widely abused as can be seen based on the cases reported frequently in the news. These drugs are known to contain nimetazepam or other substituted benzodiazepines. A benzodiazepine is a psychoactive substance that is made up of a benzene ring and a diazepine ring fused together that gives sedative and tranquillizing effects. Many benzodiazepines listed in Schedule IV of the International Convention on Psychotropic Substances 1971 have been classified as controlled substances with a low to moderate potential for misuse and addiction in most countries. It is unknown what types of benzodiazepines are currently used in the formulation of Erimin-5 tablets simply because the clandestine drug chemist can substitute the active ingredients based on their availability as well as use the ingredients which are not controlled by the Dangerous Drug Act. In this study, 50 samples were examined using GC-MS for qualitative study for the presence of active ingredients in Erimin-5 samples. The 50 samples were found to have used different active ingredients where the most common one is etizolam, followed by flualprazolam, nimetazepam, clozapine, 7-aminonimetazepam and alprazolam. For further dye characterisation, 15 samples with sufficient bulk samples were selected for dye profiling using TLC. The dye profiles indicate that most of the samples were of yellow colour, which appeared to be almost similar to the original tablet. Depending on the chemist in the clandestine drug laboratory, different combinations of dyes can be used in producing the tablets. The dyes identified in the examined tablets were tartrazine, sunset yellow and ponceau 4R. In conclusion, forensic profiling was successfully carried out, at least for sample-to-sample comparison. The trend of the most popular benzodiazepines currently used as active compounds is also successfully identified, and certainly, such profiling work shall be conducted from time to time to provide forensic intelligence as well as information for decision-makers

Community participation in governance for sustainable management of medicinal plants market in urban area

Community participation (CP) in governance is important for better management of medicinal plant’s market in the urban area. The basic concept of sustainability is described as meeting the needs of present generation without compromising the needs of future generations, with concern to economics, social and natural environment. Communities have the right to voice out their needs toward medicinal plants. This paper describes community participation in governance through their attitude and how governance response. Generally, there is a two-way interaction between authority and community to ensure the medicinal plant’s market fulfil both parties’ needs. As for the communities, they voice out their needs through attitude by giving response, reaction and action. While the authority take in account to the attitude to design a suitable policy in planning, implementation, enforcement and reviews for better management that achieve both needs by the time and for the future

Utilitarian tumbuhan ubatan di Tamu Pantai Barat Sabah

Utilitarian atau kepenggunaan tumbuhan bagi memenuhi keperluan hidup merupakan nic ekologi manusia. Ia merupakan proses kebergantungan manusia terhadap sumber bagi kelangsungan hidup. Tujuan kertas kerja ini adalah untuk menghuraikan utilitarian tumbuhan ubatan oleh masyarakat di Pantai Barat sabah dalam memahami kebergantungan masyarakat di kawasan kajian terhadap sumber tumbuhan untuk kelangsungan kesihatan. Sebanyak 77 spesies daripada 43 famili telah direkodkan melalui kajian lapangan di 15 buah tamu (pasar tempatan) di Pantai Barat Sabah. Manakala 119 kegunaan tumbuhan ubatan telah didokumentasikan berdasarkan kepada maklumat daripada 107 orang responden. Kedah penyediaan tumbuhan sebagai ubat dan akses terhadap sumber tersebut juga dihuraikan bagi memahami cara pengurusan sumber tumbuhan tersebut

Unraveling the Impact of Job Stress, Work-Life Balance and Work Environment on Job Satisfaction: A Study on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Investigation Officers

The study examines the challenges faced by Investigation Officers (IOs) at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, with an increasing number of cases impacting their job satisfaction. Despite this, there have been limited studies looking into how job stress, work-life balance, and work environment impact IOs' job satisfaction. Thus, a study takes place to investigate the impact of job stress, work-life balance, and work environment on their satisfaction. Questionnaires were distributed to 164 respondents from MACC Headquarters in Putrajaya and MACC’s states’ offices and analyzed using SPSS V23.  Multiple regression analyses were conducted and results showed a positive relationship between work-life balance and job satisfaction, and negative relationships between job stress and job satisfaction, as well as work environment and job satisfaction. The study recommends the MACC's management team consider improvements in career paths, fair compensation, and rewards to enhance job satisfaction among IOs. It also suggests promoting better communication between IOs and the agency to address their needs and maintain a healthy work-life balance

Keibubapaan Digital dan Mediasi Ibu Bapa Terhadap Penggunaan Internet Remaja di Malaysia

Internet dan penggunaan peranti digital adalah satu keperluan dalam kehidupan seharian di persekitaran digital. Kini penggunaan teknologi digunakan untuk pelbagai tujuan seperti hiburan, pengetahuan dan tujuan interaksi. Bagaimanapun, internet pada asasnya diperkenalkan dengan anggapan bahawa pengguna adalah golongan dewasa. Namun pada era ini, kanak-kanak dan remaja tidak ketinggalan dengan arus teknologi ini. Akibatnya mereka berkemungkinan terdedah kepada risiko seperti isi kandungan yang tidak sesuai dengan usia dan masalah ketagihan internet. Oleh itu, ibu bapa pada era digital perlu ambil perhatian dalam usaha untuk memantau penggunaan internet anak-anak mereka. Sehubungan itu, artikel ini membincangkan secara konsep tentang strategi ibu bapa dalam memantau penggunaan internet remaja. Tujuannya adalah kerana remaja sedang mengalami proses peralihan daripada kanak-kanak menuju kematangan dan sentiasa inginkan autonomi dan mencari identiti mereka. Internet menjadi platform untuk memenuhi keperluan masa lapang dan emosi mereka. Sehubungan itu, artikel ini turut mengupas tentang keibubapaan pada era digital, penggunaan internet oleh remaja serta kesan internet terhadap remaja. Berdasarkan kupasan itu, artikel ini mengetengahkan mediasi ibu bapa sebagai strategi pemantauan terhadap penggunaan internet remaja. Terdapat tiga dimensi mediasi yang dibincangkan iaitu mediasi aktif, mediasi sekatan dan mediasi penggunaan bersama. Dalam konteks artikel ini, mediasi ibu bapa merujuk kepada pendekatan komunikasi interpersonal di antara ibu bapa dan anak-anak berhubung dengan perihal penggunaan internet. Pelaksanaan pemantauan ibu bapa ini menjadi asas untuk remaja mengakses internet bagi tujuan kebaikan. Seterusnya memupuk keprihatinan ibu bapa terhadap keselamatan dalam talian disamping menyokong penggunaan internet secara positif dan meminimumkan kesan negatif dalam kalangan remaja

Toxicity effect of Nigella sativa on the liver function of rats.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the toxic effect of Nigella sativa powder on the liver function which was evaluated by measuring liver enzymes and through histopathological examination of liver tissue. Methods: Twenty four male Sprague Dawley rats were allotted randomly to four groups including: control (taking normal diet); low dose (supplemented with 0.01 g/kg/day Nigella sativa); normal dose (supplemented with 0.1 g/kg/day Nigella sativa) and high dose (supplemented with 1 g/kg/day Nigella sativa). All of supplements administered in powder form mixed with rats' pellet for 28 days. To assess liver toxicity, liver enzymes measurement and histological study were done at the end of supplementation. Results: The finding revealed that there was no significant change in serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) between treatment groups. Histopathological study showed very minimal and mild changes in fatty degeneration in normal and high doses of Nigella sativa treated group. Inflammation and necrosis were absent. Conclusion: The study showed that supplementation of Nigella sativa up to the dose of 1 g/kg supplemented for a period of 28 days resulted no changes in liver enzymes level and did not cause any toxicity effect on the liver function

Parametric modelling of a TRMS using dynamic spread factor particle swarm optimisation

System identification in vibrating environments has been a matter of concern for researchers in many disciplines of science and engineering. In this paper, a sound approach for a Twin Rotor Multi-input Multi-Output System (TRMS) parametric modeling is proposed based on dynamic spread factor particle swarm optimization. Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is demonstrated as an efficient global search method for nonlinear complex systems without any a priory knowledge of the system structure. The proposed method formulates a modified inertia weight algorithm by using a dynamic spread factor (SF). The inertia weight plays an important role in terms of balancing both the global and local search. Thus, the usage of dynamic SF is proved experimentally to satisfy main issues of using basic PSO that are trapped in local optima and preservation of diversity. Results in both time and frequency domains portray a very good parametric model that mimic well the behavior of a TRMS. Validation tests clearly show the effectiveness of the algorithm considered in this work

Particle swarm modelling of a flexible beam structure

This paper presents a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm with dynamic spread factor inertia weight and its application to dynamic modeling of a flexible beam structure. In this study, system identification scheme based on PSO is formulated to obtain a dynamic model of the beam in parametric form. A PSO algorithm with dynamic spread factor inertia weight is proposed and its performance is assessed in comparison to a standard PSO in modelling the flexible beam structure

Alternative supplement for enhancement of reproductive health and metabolic profile among perimenopausal women: a novel role of Nigella sativa

Objective(s): The aim of this open label crossover study was to investigate the effects of Nigella sativa on reproductive health and metabolic profile of perimenopausal women in Rawang, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: Sixty nine perimenopausal women aged 45 to 65 were allocated into the experimental group treated orally with 1600mg/day of encapsulated pure powdered N. sativa compared to control groups treated with placebo for 12 weeks. At the end of study, participants underwent washout period for fourteen days before being crossed over and continued for another cycle of treatment. Participants were abstained from taking any other drugs, herbal preparations or food supplements throughout the study. Body weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, biochemical parameters and hormonal levels were measured at baseline and at the end of experiment for both cycles. Face to face interview was carried out at baseline and every week to check for compliance, minimize dropouts and to record reproductive health and quality of life indicators using Greene climacteric and SF-36 instruments. Results: The treatment groups in both cycles showed significant improvement with reference to low density lipoprotein cholesterol and blood glucose (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between groups in total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein and triglyceride concentration. Treatment with N. sativa induced a significant reduction of prevalence and severity of menopausal symptomsas well as significant improvement in some components of quality of life (P<0.05). Conclusion: These results suggested that treatment with N. sativa exert a therapeutic and protective effect by modifying weight gain, improving lipid profile and blood glucose as well as hormonal level which is believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome during menopause