Quantification of BRIS Soil Bacteria at Tembila, Besut Terengganu

A study was made to determine total number of bacteria living in the rhizosphere of three common plants at BRIS soil namely Acacia mangium, Melaleuca cajuputi Powell and Eleusine indica that grow on field. Soil samples were collected from each plant's rhizosphere at three different locations of UniSZA Apiary, AGROPOLIS Research Farm and FBIM Teaching Farm at UniSZA, Besut Campus on May and November 2015. Enumeration of total bacteria by standard plate counts found that Acacia's rhizosphere at AGROPOLIS Research Farm showed the highest CFU g-1 in November 2015 for aerobic (6.14 x 106) and anaerobic (3.97 x 106) bacteria. Acacia's rhizosphere from UniSZA Apiary showed the highest CFU g-1 value in November 2015 for nitrogen fixing bacteria (aerobic; 1.87 x 106, anaerobic; 1.5 x 106) and phosphate solubilization bacteria (aerobic; 1.4 x 106, anaerobic; 1.41 x 106). The rainy season on November gave a higher bacterial CFU g-1 number (20-44 %) compared to the dry season on May for all different plants and locations. The finding showed that although BRIS soil is the problematic and unfertile soil, it has a large number of bacterial colony that might be beneficial to be exploited for enhancing plant growth and soil fertility

QSMSOR Iterative Method for the Solution of 2D Homogeneous Helmholtz Equations

In this paper, we consider the numerical solutions of homogeneous Helmholtz equations of the second order. The Quarter-Sweep Modified Successive Over-Relaxation (QSMSOR) iterative method is applied to solve linear systems generated form discretization of the second order homogeneous Helmholtz equations using quarter sweep finite difference (FD) scheme. The formulation and implementation of the method are also discussed. In addition, numerical results by solving several test problems are included and compared with the conventional iterative methods

Design High Gain PHEMT LNA for Wireless Application at 5.8 GHz

This research present a design of a higher gain (68.94dB) for PHEMT LNA using an inductive drain feedback technique for wireless application at 5.8GHz. The amplifier it is implemented using PHEMT FHX76LP transistor devices. The designed circuit is simulated with Ansoft Designer SV. The LNA was designed using inductive drain feedback, inductive generation to the source, and the T-network as a matching technique was used at the input and output terminal. The low noise amplifier (LNA) provides a noise figure 0.64 dB and gain (S21) of 68.94 dB. The output reflection (S22), input reflection (s11) and return loss (s12) are -17.37 dB, -15.77 dB and -88.39 dB respectively. The measurement shows the stability were at 4.54 and 3-dB bandwidth of 1.72 GHz. The input sensitivity is -92 dBm exceeded the standards required by IEEE 802.16

Emotional intelligence, social competencies and cultural adjustment of expatriates in Malaysia: the mediating role of self-motivation

Emotional intelligence and social competencies are a few constructs that predict the cultural adjustment of expatriates. There is a dearth of studies that explored the impact of emotional intelligence and social competencies on the cultural adjustment of expatriates in Malaysia. Hence, this study focusses on the relationship between emotional intelligence and social competencies on cultural adjustment of expatriates. Additionally, the mediation role of self-motivation was examined. This quantitative study used a cross-sectional survey to collect primary data. Random sampling was used to collect data from a sample of 301 expatriates. Questionnaires were sent either by hand or electronically. This study used PLS SEM to estimate the model. The results pointed out that emotional intelligence and social competencies are essential predictors of cultural adjustment. The results also revealed the mediating role of self-motivation. The findings added to the current body of knowledge and presented new insights into the contribution of emotional intelligence and social competencies towards cultural adjustment of expatriates. Based on the findings, organizations and HR managers involved in managing expatriates for global assignment can implement policies and processes to select and prepare the right expatriates for global assignments

Carbonized rice husk and cocopeat as alternative media bed for aquaponic system

The study evaluates the suitability of carbonized rice husk and cocopeat substrates as alternative media bed in aquaponics unit for cultivation of red Nile tilapia and Gynura procumbens. Area occupied by the aquaponics unit is about 4.5 m2 and it was operated under equatorial climate conditions. Various substrates namely lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA), cocopeat, carbonized rice husk and a mixture of cocopeat-rice husk at ratio 1:1 were prepared using polybags for growing of the longevity spinach. The resultant effects from fish cultivation and plants growth on the water qualities and nitrification efficiency of the aquaponics unit were reported. The aquaponics unit were operated for twelve weeks and the values of pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen level were measured to be within the range of 6.4-6.9, 27.7-29oC, and 5.5-7 mg·L-1, respectively. Survival rate for fish was 98% with specific growth rate (SGR) and food conversion ratio (FCR) of 6.9% per day and 1.13, respectively. Nutrient deficiency was not evident and plants showed healthy growth with harvest yield ranging between 3.6 and 3.9 kg·m-2. Results attained signified the suitability of utilizing carbonized rice husk and cocopeat as alternatives media bed compared to commercial media bed such as LECA

Melastoma malabathricum (L.) Smith Ethnomedicinal Uses, Chemical Constituents, and Pharmacological Properties: A Review

Melastoma malabathricum L. (Melastomataceae) is one of the 22 species found in the Southeast Asian region, including Malaysia. Considered as native to tropical and temperate Asia and the Pacific Islands, this commonly found small shrub has gained herbal status in the Malay folklore belief as well as the Indian, Chinese, and Indonesian folk medicines. Ethnopharmacologically, the leaves, shoots, barks, seeds, and roots of M. malabathricum have been used to treat diarrhoea, dysentery, hemorrhoids, cuts and wounds, toothache, and stomachache. Scientific findings also revealed the wide pharmacological actions of various parts of M. malabthricum, such as antinociceptive, anti-inflammatory, wound healing, antidiarrheal, cytotoxic, and antioxidant activities. Various types of phytochemical constituents have also been isolated and identifed from different parts of M. malabathricum. Thus, the aim of the present review is to present comprehensive information on ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemical constituents, and pharmacological activities of M. malabathricum

Novel hydroxyapatite-based bio-ceramic hollow fiber membrane derived from waste cow bone for textile wastewater treatment

Industrial textile wastewater is toxic due to the presence of recalcitrant color pigments and poisonous heavy metals. In this study, the hydroxyapatite (HAp)-based bio-ceramic hollow fiber membranes (h-bio-CHFM) were developed via the combined phase inversion and sintering technique. It was found that the properties of the developed h-bio-CHFMs were greatly affected by the HAp content of the ceramic suspension, and sintering temperature. The h-bio-CHFM with the sintering temperature of 1200 degrees C exhibited the long rod-shaped HAp particles and the smallest pore size (0.013 mu m). High removals of color (99.9%), COD (80.1%), turbidity (99.4%) and conductivity (30.1%) were achieved using the h-bio-CHFM sintered at 1200 degrees C with stable high flux of 88.3 L/m(2)h. Remarkably, the h-bio-CHFM sintered in the temperature range of 1000-1200 degrees C also demonstrated excellent adsorption ability towards heavy metals with 100% removals. The results of this study show the potential of the h-bio-CHFM for the efficient industrial textile wastewater treatment applications

Response to foot and mouth disease (FMD) vaccination among local Malaysian cattle of various vaccination backgrounds from endemic and non-endemic FMD areas

A longitudinal study assessed the response to foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) vaccination on sequential sera of local Malaysian Kedah-Kelantan cattle in two states of Peninsular Malaysia; Perlis, a foot and mouth (FMD) disease non-endemic state, and Kelantan, an endemic state for FMD. These cattle were from various vaccination backgrounds and some with unknown vaccination status. For the cattle in both states, the antibody against FMDV type O effectively increased to a strong protective level in the first week following vaccination, regardless of the vaccination background of the animals. In the endemic state, where vaccination was performed more routinely than the non-endemic state, the response had better magnitude and duration. In the non-endemic state, the antibody response level was good but appeared to last for a shorter period of time before it significantly declined. For naïve cattle with no evidence of infection or vaccination, the response was rapid and reached a strong level immediately by the first week. However, the level was not sustained and significantly declined thereafter. All the cattle stayed healthy and clinically FMD- free throughout the study, even when there was a transient evidence of natural field infection detected among the cattle. A marked difference was observed in the patterns of antibody response between cattle in the FMD endemic and non-endemic areas. However, the level of antibodies generally rose to a strong protective level within the stipulated 7-14 days post-vaccination. The vaccine used was effective in eliciting immune response when naturally challenged by the local field FMD virus

Development of an indoor air quality checklist for risk assessment of indoor air pollutants by semiquantitative score in nonindustrial workplaces

Background: To meet the current diversified health needs in workplaces, especially in nonindustrial workplaces in developing countries, an indoor air quality (IAQ) component of a participatory occupational safety and health survey should be included. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate and suggest a multidisciplinary, integrated IAQ checklist for evaluating the health risk of building occupants. This IAQ checklist proposed to support employers, workers, and assessors in understanding a wide range of important elements in the indoor air environment to promote awareness in nonindustrial workplaces. Methods: The general structure of and specific items in the IAQ checklist were discussed in a focus group meeting with IAQ assessors based upon the result of a literature review, previous industrial code of practice, and previous interviews with company employers and workers. Results: For practicality and validity, several sessions were held to elicit the opinions of company members, and, as a result, modifications were made. The newly developed IAQ checklist was finally formulated, consisting of seven core areas, nine technical areas, and 71 essential items. Each item was linked to a suitable section in the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality published by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health. Conclusion: Combined usage of an IAQ checklist with the information from the Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality would provide easily comprehensible information and practical support. Intervention and evaluation studies using this newly developed IAQ checklist will clarify the effectiveness of a new approach in evaluating the risk of indoor air pollutants in the workplace

Evolving Spatio-temporal Data Machines Based on the NeuCube Neuromorphic Framework: Design Methodology and Selected Applications

The paper describes a new type of evolving connectionist systems (ECOS) called evolving spatio-temporal data machines based on neuromorphic, brain-like information processing principles (eSTDM). These are multi-modular computer systems designed to deal with large and fast spatio/spectro temporal data using spiking neural networks (SNN) as major processing modules. ECOS and eSTDM in particular can learn incrementally from data streams, can include ‘on the fly’ new input variables, new output class labels or regression outputs, can continuously adapt their structure and functionality, can be visualised and interpreted for new knowledge discovery and for a better understanding of the data and the processes that generated it. eSTDM can be used for early event prediction due to the ability of the SNN to spike early, before whole input vectors (they were trained on) are presented. A framework for building eSTDM called NeuCube along with a design methodology for building eSTDM using this are presented. The implementation of this framework in MATLAB, Java, and PyNN (Python) is presented. The latter facilitates the use of neuromorphic hardware platforms to run the eSTDM. Selected examples are given of eSTDM for pattern recognition and early event prediction on EEG data, fMRI data, multisensory seismic data, ecological data, climate data, audio-visual data. Future directions are discussed, including extension of the NeuCube framework for building neurogenetic eSTDM and also new applications of eSTDM