Antibacterial activity of ripe and rotten fruit Phaleria Macrocarpa (Mahkota dewa) extraction / Nur Hidayahtul Ain Ibrahim

Many studies previously shown that Phaleria macrocarpa contain numerous antimicrobial properties from different parts of the plant. This research studied the antibacterial activity of ripe and rotten fruit extraction from Phaleria macrocarpa on Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The ability of fruit extract was determined to indicate the effectiveness to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Ripe and rotten fruit of P.macrocarpa was obtained and dried for 24 hours in the drying oven. Each of the fruit was grinded into fine powder. Each sample was mix with HCL and methanol for extraction and continued tested on E.coli and S.aureus. Study showed that rotten extract on E.coli have different significant value. The same result also shown by the E.coli from ripe extract. However, both rotten and ripe fruit extract towards Gram negative bacteria which is S.aureus shown no different significant value since the significant value is greater than 0.05, as the comparison on both ripe and rotten extract toward E.coli and S.aureus, rotten extract show the most effective extract. In short, Phaleria macrocarpa on both ripe and rotten fruit extract inhibit Gram negative bacteria better than Gram positive bacteria

Studies on the impact of work from home during covid-19 pandemic: a systematic literature review

When the pandemic outbreak happened back in the year 2020, the Government and the policymakers took preventive steps and directive measures to sustain social movement and infection among the citizens. Common action that has been taken globally was the implementation of lockdown. Consequently, non-essential businesses or organizations had to resolve to transition from central office to work-from-home for as long as the lockdown period ended. This has brought a greater change in the world of work and boosted the experimentation of work-from-home arrangements worldwide. Despite it being a practice that some may have experienced before, it is still relatively uncommon and unusual to be done on such a large scale for some countries. Therefore, many are interested to see the outcome of work-from-home, the impact it had on employers, employees, and companies. However, the ample amount of works of literature made it hard to distinguish the direction and trend of this research. This paper aims to identify and highlight the major findings on the impacts of work-from-home by reviewing 55 published papers in the year between 2020 to 2021 and analyze them through a thematic analysis. The results show 60 percent of these studies are covered by the field of social sciences which both involve developed and developing countries. Nevertheless, the impact of work from-home was found common as the problem used to arise even before the pandemic happened. This gives an opportunity in future studies to finally resolve some of these problems if work-from-home soon becomes the ‘new norm’ in the world of work

The Influence of Drying Temperatures and Methods on the Drying Characteristics of ‘IkanBakar’ Paste

Drying is one of the popular preservation methods in food products. This work was done to investigate the influence of the drying temperatures and methods on the drying characteristics of ‘ikanbakar’ paste. The ‘ikanbakar’ paste was dried by using oven drying and vacuum drying methods at temperatures of 50°C, 60°C and 70°C. The drying rate was estimated from the moisture content and drying time data. The drying curve showed the falling rate period as the drying rate decreased with increasing time. For colour analysis of the paste, the L* values from the oven drying method were lower than those from the vacuum drying method, ranging from 7.4210 to 7.2752. This showed that the colour of paste from oven drying was darker than vacuum drying. The mathematical models used to describe the drying curve of ‘ikanbakar’ paste were Lewis, Page, Two-term, and Midilliet. al. model. The performance of these models was evaluated by comparing their root mean square error (RSME) and chi-square (X²) values, and it was found that the most suitable model was the Two-term model. There were insignificant differences between the effective moisture diffusivity (Deff) values for the ‘ikanbakar’ paste in both drying methods

Convergence Study for Rock Unconfined Compression Test Using Discrete Element Method

Mesh convergence is a vital issue that needs to be addressed in a numerical model. This study investigated the effects of mesh element number on the Discrete Element Method (DEM) to granite rock response under compression loading. This study used the 3D finite-element code LS-DYNA to model the Unconfined Compression Test (UCT) numerical simulation. Models with five different mesh types were conducted for convergence mesh, namely normal mesh, fine mesh, super fine mesh, coarse mesh, and super coarse mesh. The mesh convergence of rock media has been conducted using DEM and steel plates simulated using the Finite Element Method (FEM). The DEM-FEM numerical analysis is compared with the results obtained from the experimental test. The best mesh was obtained as the simulation could reproduce the stress-strain curve trends, the failure behaviour and compression strength observed in the experimental test. The normal mesh was selected as the best mesh type in this study based on the comparisons that have been made. This study shows that the DEM-FEM numerical simulation can represent granite rock and can be used for further study based on mesh convergence

Effect of mentorship program on mentees' psychosocial development

The study investigates the role of mentorship in enhancing mentees' psychosocial development. It utilized self-administered questionnaires completed by undergraduate military students at a public higher learning institution in Malaysia. The outcomes of SmartPLS path model analysis revealed two important findings: firstly, communication insignificantly correlated with psychosocial development. Secondly, support significantly correlated with psychosocial development. The results confirm that communication does not act as an important determinant of mentees’ psychosocial development. However, support does act as an important psychosocial development in the studied organization. This paper also provides discussion, implications and conclusion

Causes of Accidents Involving Scaffolding at Construction Sites

According to the fatal accident cases reported by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH), accidents related to the used of scaffolding was one of the significant types of the fatal accident at the construction sites. Scaffolding was usually used when it was involved with working at height activity. This paper presents the analysis of the significant causes of accidents involving scaffolding at construction sites based on the perceptions of safety personnel. It was involved in distributing the questionnaire surveys to safety personnel who were working at the construction sites in Johor. The data were analyzed by using the Average Mean Index and Relative Importance Index (RII). From the study, the main causes of scaffolding accidents were ignoring safety rules, improper inspections, and improper foundation/stability. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be taken as a reference to construction employers in understanding the factors that contribute to scaffolding-related accidents

Temperature stability and physical properties of Bi2O3-B2O3-ZnO-RHA glass system

Rice husk ash (RHA) is a product from the burning of the rice husk and it become a significant material for glass preparation due to high amount of amorphous silica that can be produced. From the recent studies, the highest amount of silica is observed at 550°C at 6 hours which is 99.36% by XRF detection. Nevertheless, the amount of silica decreasing proportionally if the temperature profile is higher than 550°C and the time taken is more than 6 hours. Quaternary glasses are prepared using melt-quenching method using the highest amount of silica from RHA combined with Bismuth Oxide (Bi2O3), Boron Oxide (B2O3), and Zinc Oxide (ZnO). The ratio of quaternary glass that used are 30%SiO2: 20%B2O3: xZnO : (50-x)%Bi2O3 (% mole) ; where x= 10,20,30,40. The physical properties and glass transition temperature (Tg) profiles are determined using standard measurement instrument. Moreover, the density measured will enhance the verification of Oxygen Packing Density for prepared quaternary glasses

From rice husk to transparent radiation protection material / Iskandar Shahrim Mustafa... [et al.]

High amount of silica (SiO2) content, 99.36% was successfully prepared from Rice Husk Ash (RHA) through the burning of rice husk. Eventually, quaternary glasses were fabricated using melt quenching technique based on chemical compound composition xBi2O3 - (1-x)ZnO - 0.2B2O3 - 0.3(SiO2)RHA. The final thickness of glass samples prepared was within ~3.41mm. As the mole percentages of Bi2O3 increased, the glass density and molar volume was also increased from 4.45 gcm-1 to 6.60 gcm-1. The increment is due to larger atomic number of Bi3+ compared to the Si2+, B3+ and Zn in the glass samples. However, the oxygen packing density decreased as mole percentages of Bi2O3 were increased from 240.44 g-atom/l to 161.24 g-atom/l. The decreasing in oxygen packing density was due to the high non-bridging oxygen in the glass samples. The radiation attenuation parameterization was measured using 241Am as source of gamma ray interactions at energy 59.54 keV. The mass attenuation coefficient increased from 0.53cm2g-1 to 5.12cm2g-1 relatively towards the increment of Bi2O3 mole percentages. The phenomenon is due to the escalating in photoelectric absorption effect and declining in the Compton scattering caused by high atomic number of Bi3+ in the glass samples. Using Lorentz-Lorentz formulation, the refractive index obtained for glass samples prepared was within favourable range from 1.97 to 1.73

Causes of Accidents Involving Scaffolding at Construction Sites

Fatal accidents related to the use of scaffolds are one of the most common types of fatal accidents at construction sites in Malaysia, as reported by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health (DOSH). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the main causes of accidents involving scaffolding at construction sites, based on the perceptions of safety personnel. This study involved collecting data by distributing questionnaires to safety personnel working at construction sites in Johor. Data were analyzed using the Average Min Index and Relative Importance Index (RII). From these studies, the main causes of scaffolding accidents are ignoring safety rules, improper inspections, and improper foundation/stability. The findings of this study provide knowledge and awareness of the causes or factors of scaffolding accidents at construction sites and serve as a reference to construction employers in understanding the factors contributing to scaffolding accidents