Feasibility study on utilization of palm fibre waste into fired clay brick

Malaysia is the second largest of palm oil producer after Indonesia, which contribute to 50 % of palm oil production. With this demand, the increasing of palm oil plantation over the years has led to the large production of agricultural waste, for example palm fibre waste. This study investigates different percentages of palm fibre (0 %, 1 %, 5 % and 10 %) to be incorporated into fired clay brick. Manufactured bricks were fired at 1 °C/min heating rate up to 1050 °C. The effects of manufacture bricks on the physical and mechanical properties of manufactured brick were also determined. All brick samples were tested due to the physical and mechanical properties which include dry density, firing shrinkage, initial rate of suction (IRS), water absorption, porosity and compressive strength. Findings show that increasing palm fibre waste affected the properties of brick, which decreased their density, besides increased firing shrinkage, IRS, water absorption, porosity and compressive strength. However, all the manufactured brick still followed the requirement

Future Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) development

Ecotourism is an alternative form of tourism and is usually confused with natural and cultural tourism.CBET is fast becoming a popular biodiversity conservation tool that develops and benefits the local community. Based on the context of conservation theory and practice, Community-Based Ecotourism (CBET) is a form of community-based natural resource management. However, a sustainable CBET development through Community Capacity Building (CCB)programs is not something that it easily achievable. Local community’s capacity varies from one culture to another. It takes a high level of community participation, in order for it to come to a level where the community members themselves are motivated to participate and contribute to the development of the program. This fully qualitative research involved 15 respondents from the community of Kg. Selai, Bekok in Johor, Malaysia. The result show there are five factors that sustained the ecotourism development based for Orang Asli Community in Kg. Selai, namely, existing CBET development, past CBET development, local community participation in planning stage of tourism, local participation in implementation stage of tourism and participation in nature conservation

The Adoption and Use of Moodle in Online Learning: A Systematic Review

The rapid evolution of ICT has enabled several institutions to adopt Moodle as their preferred e-learning platform. Moodle is increasingly being used for interactive, personalised, and collaborative learning and improving online assessments. Despite Moodles increasing popularity, there are limited reviews on the empirical evidence of its efficacy among students. The study aimed to provide an overview of the scientific literature on the studies that investigated the behavioural intention and actual usage of Moodle. This review shows that Moodle is mainly used in universities and effectively improves student performance, attitude, and satisfaction. Most studies that applied a theoretical ground applied the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Meanwhile, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, facilitating condition, perceived usefulness of professors, perceived ease of use, and subjective norms are essential drivers for online learning systems acceptance or actual usage. These findings serve as evidence and reference for educational institutions in developing online learning policies and strategies. Further studies need to incorporate behavioural and motivational theories when designing Moodle courses

(1+1)-Dirac particle with position-dependent mass in complexified Lorentz scalar interactions: effectively PT-symmetric

The effect of the built-in supersymmetric quantum mechanical language on the spectrum of the (1+1)-Dirac equation, with position-dependent mass (PDM) and complexified Lorentz scalar interactions, is re-emphasized. The signature of the "quasi-parity" on the Dirac particles' spectra is also studied. A Dirac particle with PDM and complexified scalar interactions of the form S(z)=S(x-ib) (an inversely linear plus linear, leading to a PT-symmetric oscillator model), and S(x)=S_{r}(x)+iS_{i}(x) (a PT-symmetric Scarf II model) are considered. Moreover, a first-order intertwining differential operator and an $\eta$-weak-pseudo-Hermiticity generator are presented and a complexified PT-symmetric periodic-type model is used as an illustrative example.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, revise

Effects of tides on the hydrology and geometry of a freshwater channel

The situation of Sungai Sengkuang becomes worse because it is under tidal influence. Flood was reduced after removing the temporary culvert. Analysis is carried out for the existing system to investigate whether it is still able to accommodate the volume of water comprises the discharge from upstream and high tide from downstream. The computer program such as HEC-HMS 2.2.2 will be used to carry out the Hydrologic Model Calibration. By using HEC-RAS, Hydraulic Model Calibration will be carried out for the channel. The discharge with different ARI will be used as the upstream boundary condition during the flow analysis. Frequency analysis for the tide level which is collected from JUPEM. The tide level with different ARI is used as the downstream boundary condition. From the Energy Grade Line of the channel, which energy is dominant, the energy from downstream or the energy from upstream.Keywords: tidal influence; dominant energy; flow analysis; hydraulic and hydrology model analysi

Does allicin combined with vitamin B-complex have superior potentials than alpha-tocopherol alone in ameliorating lead acetate-induced Purkinje cell alterations in rats? An immunohistochemical and ultrastructural study

Background: The current article aims to explore the protective potentials of α-tocopherol alone and the combination of allicin and vitamin B-complex against lead-acetate neurotoxicity on the cerebellar cortex. Materials and methods: Forty rats were divided into four groups (n = 10). Group 1 was the control group; Group 2 received 10 mg/kg body weight (BW) of lead acetate; Group 3 was exposed to 10 mg/kg BW of lead acetate plus a combination of allicin (100 mg/kg BW) and vitamin B-complex (40 mg/kg BW); Group 4 was administered lead acetate (10 mg/kg BW) and α-tocopherol (100 mg/kg BW). The animals received the treatment for 60 days by oral gavage. All the groups were studied ultrastructurally and immunohistochemically with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Results: The affected groups revealed shrunken and degenerated Purkinje cells with irregular nuclei. The cytoplasm comprised several lysosomes, unhealthy mitochondria, and dilated Golgi saccules. The myelinated nerve fibres demonstrated breaking of the myelin sheaths, apparent vacuoles, and broad axonal spaces. Immunohistochemically, there was a tremendous surge in GFAP-positive astrocytes in the lead acetate-treated group. These histological and ultrastructural variations were ameliorated by the administration of a-tocopherol and the combination of allicin and vitamin B complex. Moreover, an apparent decrease in the number of GFAP-positive astrocytes was obvious in the protected groups. Conclusions: Although both a-tocopherol and the combination of allicin and vitamin B-complex can be used as possible adjuvant therapies to ameliorate nervous system ailments attributable to lead acetate, α-tocopherol showed more protective potential

Effect of lactic fermentation on the antioxidant capacity of Malaysian herbal teas

This study evaluated and compared the antioxidant capacity between freshly prepared and lactic fermented Malaysian herbal teas. Herbal teas are rich in antioxidants. Fermentation has been known to be the oldest and cost effective method with the ability to preserve or improve food nutritional qualities. Information on the antioxidant capacity of lactic fermented food or beverage is still lacking. Hence, the objective of this study is to determine the changes in the antioxidant properties of Malaysian herbal teas after being subjected to lactic fermentation. Commercially available local herbal teas were used for this study. Herbal teas such as “Allspice”, “Scaphium”, “Gora” and “Cinnamon” were purchased from the local store in Malaysia and were subjected to 24-hour lactic fermentation. Lactic fermented herbal teas were analyzed for their total phenolic, total flavonoid and antioxidant properties via DPPH, FRAP, and β-carotene linoleate bleaching assay. All lactic fermented herbal teas exhibited higher phenolic contents, flavonoid contents and antioxidant properties compared to the freshly-prepared herbal teas with majority showing significant changes (p < 0.05) in FRAP and β-carotene bleaching assay. Lactic fermented herbal teas also showed an increase in antioxidant capacity in DPPH assay, however non-significant changes were observed