Enrichment of anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) bacteria for short start-up of the anammox process: a review

The application of the anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) reaction in a biological nitrogen removal system to treat wastewater has become of great interest since its discovery. The anammox reaction is performed by anammox bacteria that belong to the Planctomycete phylum. The reaction occurs in the presence of ammonium using nitrite as the substrate under anaerobic conditions. However, the bacteria have an extremely slow growth rate and stringent metabolic conditions that cause difficulty in culturing and applying the system for wastewater treatment. Anammox enrichment has a long start-up period for the anammox process that hinders researchers using laboratory and full-scale systems for the first time. Many attempts have been made to culture anammox to establish a successful anammox culture with a shorter start-up period for the anammox reaction and high nitrogen removal activity. This paper reviews previous studies on anammox enrichment with emphasis on (i) inoculum selection, (ii) enrichment techniques and (iii) factors influencing anammox enrichment. This review will assist researchers in planning and designing an appropriate anammox enrichment. The findings should widen the application of anammox in biological nitrogen removal systems for nitrogenous wastewater

Sediment traps from synthetic construction site stormwater runoff by grassed filter strip

Sediment trapping of the synthetic construction site stormwater runoff (SCSSR) by grassed filter strip (GFS) was studied in a laboratory flume with simulated GFS of different slopes and bed surface areas. The polynomial regression model of average rainfall density depended rainfall duration has been approved by Malaysian Storm Water Management Manual. Still the relationship between either storm-water runoff flow rate or sediment trapping efficiency and rainfall duration needs to be verified. This study proposes the use of the empirical equations to determine the SCSSR flow rate and to estimate the efficiency of the GFS models to trap sediment based on the rainfall duration. All the parameters in equations have physical meanings, and experimental data validation showed that the equations are suf-ficiently accurate. The stormwater runoff flow rate and efficiency of the GFS models were verified for the SCSSR originally coming from a construction site of Kuala Lumpur city. New approaches to investigate the hydrological behaviour of construction site are presented and have significant implications for the ability of stormwater flow to carry sediment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS): Malaysia’s contribution for nuclear knowledge preservation

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an organization under the United Nations (UN), which serves to disseminate accurate information about the nuclear matters.In accordance with its role, an International Nuclear Information System (INIS) was established in 1970 to provide opportunities for member countries under the auspices of the IAEA to share information, expertise and knowledge, particularly in the nuclear field. Malaysia became a member since 1978, and the first country's input was posted in 1980. INIS activities are supervised by liaison officers (LO) to monitor and oversee matters relating to INIS management. INIS has developed 49 subject matters (subject heading) and LO needs to prepare, review and compile the records before sending to INIS database at IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria. Material received will be processed before distributing to all IAEA member states through INIS website or CD to countries that subscribe to it.This paper focused on how Malaysia contributes to development of INIS and to promote Malaysian about the existence of this database that not only focused on nuclear science but also related technologies

The detrimental effects of lead on human and animal health

Lead, a chemical element in the carbon group with symbol Pb (from Latin: Plumbum, meaning “the liquid silver”) and has an atomic number 82 in the periodic table. It was the first element that was characterized by its kind of toxicity. In animal systems, lead (Pb) has been incriminated in a wide spectrum of toxic effects and it is considered one of the persistent ubiquitous heavy metals. Being exposed to this metal could lead to the change of testicular functions in human beings as well as in the wildlife. The lead poising is a real threat to the public health, especially in the developing countries. Accordingly, great efforts on the part of the occupational and public health have been taken to curb the dangers of this metal. Hematopoietic, renal, reproductive, and central nervous system are among the parts of the human body and systems that are vulnerable toward the dangers following exposure to high level of Pb. In this review, we discussed the massive harmful impact that leads acetate toxicity has on the animals and the worrying fact that this harmful toxicant can be found quite easily in the environment and abundance. Highlighting its (Pb) effects on various organs in the biological systems, its economic, as well as scientific importance, with the view to educate the public/professionals who work in this area. In this study, we focus on the current studies and research related to lead toxicity in animals and also to a certain extent toward human as well

Motorcycle image tracking and edge detections based on Simulink software

A visual driver support system was developed to reduce accidents involving motorcyclist. The system used Matlab software as a platform to detect motorcycle image. The detection system was designed to detect still images and moving objects images for different resolutions. A motorcycle was defined as the target object in this case. The results showed that the visual driver support system is able to detect image of motorcycle in still and in moving condition. The percentage of correct detection of motorcycle image is 83.3% and 50% for low and high image resolutions respectively

Student teachers perception towards teaching practicum programme

One of the requirements to qualify as a teacher is to undergo a teaching practicum during which one gains teaching experience. This practicum is considered as the most significant way in helping student teachers to become effective classroom teachers. This study investigates UniSZA student teachers perception towards teaching practicum and the challenges encountered by them. 45 Diploma in Teaching of English (TESL) Semester 5 students at the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics (FLL), Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) were chosen as respondents. The research employed qualitative methodology with questionnaire administered to examine the respondent’s answer for every question asked. The findings indicated that the student teachers have different perception and expectation regarding teaching practicum but most of them looked forward to it. The result of this study also highlighted two prominent challenges encountered by the student teachers that were to adapt with the school environment and the classroom management. Findings of this study would provide a deeper understanding on the Teaching Practicum organized by the Faculty of Languages and Communication

Sensory Substitution for Visual Impairments: A Technological Review

This work shows the study of the people who are deprived of a sensory modality that affects brain organization and cognition. By studying, the blind or visual impaired helps learn about how sensory experience in each sense is required for specific brain systems to develop, and how the technologies help in plasticity change in their absence. The sensory-motor deprivation model serves to assess the roles of critical developmental periods, compensatory cross-modal plasticity, and sensory-independent (a-modal) processes in the human brain. Sensory substitution enables a new era for blind people. Therefore, this research will commit a complete review on the sensory substitution for visual impairments