The Importance of Islamic Art in Mosque Interior

AbstractMosques, as symbol of Islamic architecture must play an important role in reflecting the superiority of Allah the Almighty. There are many ways in making it successful and one of them is through the high quality of aesthetic value. Aesthetic value in Islamic art and architecture is normally portrayed by the highest degree of motifs and ornamentation. Contemporary mosque designers normally focused on the majestic looks of the exterior part of the mosques and leave the manipulation of the interior space to the users. There are scholars who said that mosques should act as community development centre, some decided on the uniqueness of traditional Malaysian architecture and some believed that mosques must have domes and minarets as symbols of Islamic architecture. This paper realized on the aesthetics and beauty of mosque interior that fulfils the psychological needs of human beings: that is to be inside a beautiful ambience. Ornamentation should be taken as part of mosque components and not as mere decorations done after-thought or filling in the gap. The main objective of the paper is why is it important to focus the ornamentation towards mosque interior so that ornamenting the mosque will not be done uncontrollably and unnecessarily

Effect of postharvest storage of whole fruit on physico-chemical and microbial changes of fresh-cut cantaloupe (Cucumis melo L. reticulatus cv. Glamour)

Cantaloupes continue to ripen after harvesting which is caused by ethylene production due to climacteric behaviour during postharvest storage. In this study, the cantaloupe fruits harvested at commercial maturity were evaluated for quality attributes during three weeks of storage at 10°C and a relative humidity (RH) of 90±5%. In addition, fresh-cut samples were stored for a further 19 days at 2°C and 87% RH. The fresh-cut samples were prepared on a weekly basis by dipping into deionised water (control) at 2°C for 1 minute. The effect of postharvest storage of cantaloupe on the physico-chemical properties and microbial activity was observed prior to fresh-cut processing. It was found that firmness, luminosity (L*), and titratable acidity (TA) decreased, while total soluble solids (TSS), pH, TSS:TA ratio, microbial activity (total plate count (TPC) and yeast and mould (YM)) of the fresh-cut increased over the postharvest storage period of the fruit. Meanwhile, the orange colour and the intensity (hue angle, hab, and chromaticity) of the flesh did not differ significantly during storage. The cantaloupe stored for three weeks at a low temperature indicated a successful potential for fresh-cut processing due to good maintenance of the product quality

On-line power quality monitoring system using compactRIO device: a review on system development

Power quality is an important issue in the power system. If power quality problem occurred, the effects such as manufacturing interruptions, loss of production, loss of revenue, lost of opportunities, product damage, and wasted energy and decreased equipment life will significantly be affected. One of the ways to detect the power quality problem is by on-line monitoring. This monitoring can be done by accessed to the point address in networking and those who involved in this site can go through for a quick assessment. This paper comprises of modelling the system, which is developed in LabVIEW environment and integrated using a powerful CompactRIO system. Detail of the modules and integration process are presented, together with the initial result obtained from data monitoring

Growth response of sweet corn ( Zea mays ) to Glomus mosseae inoculation over different plant ages.

A glasshouse study was conducted to investigate the growth response of sweet corn ( Zea mays ) to mycorrhizal fungi inoculation over different plant ages (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 weeks) and to determine the interaction between the host and mycorrhizal fungus on mycorrhizal development, using soil substrate as inoculum for Glomus mosseae . Inoculation had no significant effect on growth parameters in plants harvested at early ages in terms of plant height, total root length, root and shoot dry weights. The significant effect of mycorrhizal inoculation was observed on plants of eight weeks old. Percentage of mycorrhizal colonization and number of spores increased significantly at plants of 2 weeks old (24.1 and 39.2%), respectively while; the highest AMF spores level was recorded at plants of four weeks old. Inoculation with G. mosseae enhanced growth of sweet corn by increasing concentration of N, P and K (24.2, 8.4 and 18.2%), respectively. We concluded that the mycorrhizal inoculation need a time (not less than one month in sweet corn) until showed the beneficial effects on host plant to be desired

Comparison of Gravity Anomalies from Recent Global Geopotential Models with Terrestrial Gravity and Airborne Gravity over Johor Region

Gravity anomalies can yield an indirect but extremely useful picture of lateral changes in rock composition and structural patterns especially for rapid development area such as Johor region. The gravity anomalies can be derived from Global Geopotential Model (GGM) which is one of special product from the satellite technology that able to determine high accuracy of the earth's gravity field. In this study, the gravity anomalies derived from recent GGM published by International Global Geopotential Model were compared with five other GGMs model that compromised either terrestrial or airborne or both to derive the gravity anomalies.  In order to identify the best gravity model over the Johor region, two types of GGM class model has been selected for the comparisons which known as satellite only and combined class model.  The result shows that the gravity anomalies de-rived from satellite only class model with up 300 spherical harmonic coefficients is the best fit model and can be used as a reference for the Johor region. The RSME for the recent GGM via satellite only were +/- 5.865 and +/- 3.347 mGal for terrestrial and airborne gravity anomalies respectively compared to other GGM

PGPM-induced defense-related enzymes in aerobic rice against rice leaf blast caused by Pyricularia aryzae

Rice blast caused by Pyricularia oryzae is the most devastative disease especially under aerobic cultivation systems. The bio-efficacy of plant growth-promoting microorganisms: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (UPMP1), Corynebacterium agropyri (UPMP7), Enterobacter gergoviae (UPMP9) and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (UPMS3), Trichoderma harzianum (UPMT1) and Trichoderma virens (UPMT2) in induction of defense-related enzymes against Pyricularia oryzae was evaluated in rice cultivated under aerobic conditions. Under dual culture plate testing, all PGPMs indicated antagonism against P. oryzae with percentage inhibition radial growth (PIRG) which ranged from 51.69–81.97 %. The bio-efficacy of the respective PGPM in induction of defense-related enzymes in rice seedlings was evaluated based on individual inoculation before challenged inoculation with P. oryzae under greenhouse conditions. Inoculation of all PGPMs significantly reduced rice leaf blast severity at day eight after P. oryzae inoculation. The reduction in rice leaf blast disease severity was associated to the increase of peroxidase (PO), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) activities in rice seedlings when pre-inoculated with PGPMs. The highest leaf blast disease reduction (59.17 %) occurred with rice seedlings pre-inoculated with C. agropyri (UPMP9), followed by P. aeruginosa (UPMP1) (40.65 %), T. harzianum (UPMT1) (42.23 %), T. virens (UPMT2) (20.85 %), E. gergoviae (UPMP9) (17.84 %) and B. amyloliquefaciens (UPMS3). The high efficiency of PGPM in leaf blast disease suppression was associated with significant increase in total microbial activity (FDA hydrolysis) in rhizosphera soil (4.80–7.86 μg/g/0.5 h) compared to the control (2.25 μg/g/0.5 h). Thus, the application of PGPM is a potential alternative approach in rice leaf blast disease management of aerobic rice

Development of microbial-fortified rice straw compost to improve plant growth, productivity, soil health, and rice blast disease management of aerobic rice

In aerobic rice cultivation systems, compost mulching and incorporation are important to rehabilitate the soil. Microbial-fortified compost is increasingly accepted as a safe approach in agro-waste management to recycling of crop residuals in agriculture soil and also to promote growth and suppress disease. This study aims to examine the stability and viability of the selected plant growth-promoting microorganisms (PGPM) in rice straw compost (RSC) over incubation period and its bio-efficacy in promoting rice (Oryza sativa) plant growth, productivity, soil health, and controlling of Pyricularia oryzae in aerobic cultivation conditions. Six selected PGPM: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (UPMP1), Corynebacterium agropyri (UPMP7), Enterobacter gergoviae (UPMP9), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (UPMS3), Trichoderma harzianum (UPMT1), and Trichoderma virens (UPMT2) were used as a consortium of microbial inoculants to develop the microbial-fortified rice straw compost (MRSC). The MRSC was incorporated into mineral soil used for aerobic rice cultivation and its bio-efficacy was evaluated at harvest. The viability of Trichoderma spp. found stabilized at 6.78–6.00 log cfu/g and declined for all the bacterial isolates. At harvest, soil amended with MRSC significantly increased in plant height, leaf area index, 1000 grain weight, and productivity. The MRSC amended plots had significant low in rice blast disease severity with area under disease progress curve (AUDCP) of 748.22 unit/square, as compared to control (1782.67 unit/square). The physicochemical and microbiological properties of soil amended with MRSC were improved at harvest. The application of MRSC has potential to improve plant growth, productivity, rice blast disease management, and soil health of rice under aerobic cultivation systems

Bio-efficacy of microbial-fortified rice straw compost on rice blast disease severity, growth and yield of aerobic rice

The bio-efficacy of microbial-fortified rice straw compost was evaluated for plant growth promotion, resistance induction and yield increment with Pyricularia oryzae challenged inoculation at 14, 56 and 80 days after sowing (DAS) on rice variety M4 under greenhouse conditions. Soil treatments included control (laterite soil alone), rice straw compost and rice straw compost fortified with four plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria: Pseudomonas aeruginosa (UPMP1), Corynebacterium agropyri (UPMP7), Enterobacter gergoviae (UPMP9), Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (UPMS3) and two plant growth-promoting fungi: Trichoderma harzianum (UPMT1) and Trichoderma virens (UPMT2). Soil amended with microbial-fortified rice straw compost significantly increased plant growth and productivity. Rice yield was highly correlated to productive tiller number (r = 0.96), leaf area index (LAI) (r = 0.96) and plant height (r = 0.97) for P. oryzae inoculation at 14 DAS. However, 1000 grain weight (r = 0.96), area under disease progress curve (AUDPC) (r = −0.62) and infected panicle (r = −0.59) were highly correlated to rice yield with P. oryzae inoculation at 80 DAS. Low productivity was expected with P. oryzae infection at the later growth stage. This was due to increase in panicle blast that caused deterioration of grain quality and resulting in severe yield loss (30.99 %) as compared to early infection at 14 DAS in soil amended with microbial-fortified rice straw compost. Disease development and yield loss data with different P. oryzae inoculation timings is important for disease management in rice under aerobic cultivation system

Characterisation of plant growth-promoting bacteria from Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila) under natural tropical forest

Medicinal plants play a major role in many cultures, not only as medicines, but also as trade commodities to fulfil the demands of distant markets. A study was conducted to characterise growth-promoting bacteria from two varieties of Kacip Fatimah (Labisia pumila) found at two different locations, Sungai Tekala, Semenyih, Selangor for Labisia pumila var. lanceolate and Bukit Slim Permanent Forest Reserve, Perak for Labisia pumila var. alata. Soil and plant samples were taken for the physico-chemical analyses and characterisation of the indigenous plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB). Both Labisia varieties were found to thrive in areas with quite similar soil chemical and physical properties in natural forest environments except for altitude, where Labisia pumila var. alata was found in higher elevation compared to Labisia pumila var. lanceolata. The soil in both places was found to be slightly acidic and low in nutrient content. Total bacterial population found on var. alata was higher than in var. lanceolata and the highest population was found in the root endosphere (8.68 × 107 cfu g-1 soil). Morphologically-isolated bacteria were circular in shape, with flat/raised elevation, entire margin, moist texture and smooth and glistening surface but varied in colour and size. Most of the bacterial strains showed several plant-growth promoting traits like plant-growth hormones (indole acetic acid (IAA)), N2 fixation and P solubilisation activities and beneficial enzymes. Two of the bacterial isolates showing most of the beneficial properties were identified as Exiguobacterium sp. and Stenotrophomonas sp. These PGPB have the potential to enhance the growth of Kacip Fatimah

Make or buy strategy and origin of sourcing materials and their relationship with firm performance

The paper presents a study relating to the strategic decision of ‘make’ or ‘buy’ to organizational performance, and whether it is related to the origin of the resources used on manufacturing firms in Malaysia.Convenience sampling was done and 314 companies responded.The findings indicate that there was no significant difference between the performance of companies that ‘make’ or ‘buy’. But when these two groups were further scrutinised based on the origin of their resources used, sourcing from developed and developing countries do have effects on company performance.The make or buy decisions have become strategic in nature and the sourcing from different destinations have significant relation with performance.Now that globalisation is common, choosing where your resources come from (to ‘buy’ or to ‘make’) can also be a strategic factor.The findings may add another dimension for consideration in the strategy formulation process