Indoor Air Quality and Sick Building Syndrome Study at Two Selected Libraries in Johor Bahru, Malaysia

This study was carried out to investigate the association between sick building syndrome (SBS) and indoor air pollutants in two libraries. 101 workers in both libraries responded to the questionnaire, which was based on Malaysian Industry Code of Practice on Indoor Air Quality 2010 (MCPIAQ) for the measurement of SBS occurrences. Measurements of indoor air quality were also performed according to the MCPIAQ methods. Higher prevalence of SBS recorded in Perpustakaan Sultanah Zanariah (PSZ), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, compared to Perpustakaan Sultan Ismail (PSI) (X2 = 38.81, p = 0.000), Johor Bahru City. Significantly higher levels of indoor air pollutants were detected in PSZ compare to PSI for CO, CO2, temperature, bacteria, fungi and Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC), while PSI indicated higher level of relative humidity (RH). The levels of CO2, temperature, humidity, TVOC and bacteria counts were the possible major factors contributing to SBS complaints among the workers of both libraries

Genetic variation of 12 rice cultivars grown in Brunei Darussalam and assessment of their tolerance to saline environment

Genetic variations of 12 different rice cultivars in Brunei Darussalam were studied using 15 different SSR markers and their salinity tolerance mechanism was also assessed. Eight SSR markers, RM 151, 187, 206, 226, 276, 310, 320 and 334, showed polymorphic alleles while the other seven were monomorphic. A total of 158 alleles were amplified for all these rice cultivars using 15 SSR markers, with an average of 10.53. The allele frequencies per locus or marker range from 0 in RM 307 to five alleles in RM 226. PIC values varied from 0.00 to 0.7521. Similarity distance varied from 0.00 to 1.00. Dendrogram showed three distinct clusters, where both Kuaci and Sp1 significantly diverted from the other ten rice cultivars. Bandul berminyak was the most tolerant to salinity. Quantum yield for B. berminyak were unaffected and it showed the least reduction in growth parameters studied when expose to salinity stress. From both salinity tolerance and genetic variation investigations for these 12 cultivars, it may probably be better to intercross between Arat (moderately tolerant) and Sp1 (susceptible) as both are from different clusters, showed low genetic similarity with 0.33 and different salinity tolerance level. Key words: Genetic variability, rice cultivars, SSR markers, salinity.Abbreviation: RFLP, Restriction fragment length polymorphism; RAPD, random amplified polymorphic DNA; AFLP, amplified fragment length polymorphism; ISSR, inter-simple sequence repeat; SSR, single sequence repeats; PIC, polymorphism information content; RM, rice marker

Solid state synthesis, characterization and antimicrobial studies of co(ii) and ni(ii) metal complexes with Schiff base derived from L-valine and vanillin

Two polynuclear metal complexes with general formula [Ni4L4(H2O)12].2H2O and [Co3L3(H2O)9].5H2O have been synthesized via solid state synthesis with Schiff base derived from vanillin and L-valine. The compounds were characterized by elemental analysis, ESI-Mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and conductivity measurements. Data from experimental results showed that the ligand binds to two metal centers in a tridentate (N O O) manner through the imine nitrogen, phenolic and carboxylic oxygen respectively. Antimicrobial activities of the ligand and its corresponding metal complexes were investigated and found active  against some selected bacterial and fungal species. Keywords: solid–state reaction, polynuclear metal complexes, mass spectrometry, thermal decomposition, antimicrobial activity

Effect of Mercury Concentration and Operating Parameters on Mercury Removal Using Portable Mercury Removal Rig for Petrochemical Wastewater

Mercury is a type of heavy metal that naturally occurs in the earth’s crust, which can be found in soil, rocks and sea. Mercury is released to the environment through natural processes such as rock erosion, soil decomposition or volcanic eruptions and also released through human activities, petrochemical industrial processes and chlor-alkali industries. Mercury is widely used in the thermometer, thermostat, barometer, bulbs, dental amalgams and switches. Other than that, mercury is one of the hazardous chemical elements that exist on the earth that can attack the human central nervous system, kidney, lungs and other body systems. Portable Mercury Removal Rig (PMRR) was used in mercury removal process under room temperature with different operating pressure; 5, 10 and 23 psig, different inlet concentration; 2, 4, 6 and 8 ppm, different pH and by using different absorbent; extruded activated carbon (EAC), granular activated carbon (GAC) and ion exchange (IE) resins. Extruded Activated Carbon (EAC) was the best absorbent with pH sample range from 2 to 4 in using the PMRR. It was also found that 5 psig was the best operating pressure and concentration from 2 to 4 ppm was the most suitable concentration to be used. This study shows that EAC can be used as an efficient absorbent in removing mercury in wastewater as it give about 99.8 % of mercury removal

Eco-hydromorphic Classification for Understanding Stream Macroinvertebrate Biodiversity in Brunei Darussalam, Northern Borneo

This is the final version. Available from Academia Sinica via the DOI in this record.Linking ecology with river geomorphology and hydrology (geomorphic and hydraulic template) plays an important role in the study of macroinvertebrate biodiversity. This understanding and knowledge is crucial in implementing sensible conservation management for ecosystem health monitoring. However, most macroinvertebrate research has been conducted in temperate ecosystems. This study examines the eco-hydrogeomorphology and macroinvertebrate biodiversity of two remote tropical streams in northern Borneo (Bukit Pagon catchment, Brunei Darussalam’s highest mountain - 1850 m) using temperate classification models, more specifically, biotopes. Fast flowing biotopes were defined as bedrock runs and cobble riffles whilst the slow flowing biotopes were deposition pools. Macroinvertebrate size structure associated with biotopes, which can influence overall ecological processes, was also investigated. Forty-three macroinvertebrate taxa were recorded during the study; biodiversity was similar between the study streams. There were differences among biotopes with the lowest diversity occurring in fast flowing biotopes (p = 0.05*). Community structure also varied among the biotopes. Cluster analysis of macroinvertebrate abundance revealed an 0.8 dissimilarity between the fast and slow biotopes. Several taxa were found in multiple biotopes, which is likely linked to the occurrence of moss and leaf litter. Macroinvertebrate size structure distribution between the fast and slow biotopes was statistically different. Our findings suggest biotopes may be an appropriate scale to investigate macroinvertebrate biodiversity in tropical streams. Specifically, we found that biotopes had different macroinvertebrate communities and richness. Further research is required to understand the importance of habitat parameters that are not directly related to flow velocities such as moss. These habitats are important as places of refuge, allowing colonisation that would otherwise be inhospitable during flood periods.University of Brunei DarussalamThe International Consortium of Universities for the Study of Biodiversity and the Environment (iCUBE

Experimental study on flame propagation in a straight pipe

Flame propagation in a closed pipe with diameter 0.1 m and 5.1 m long, as well as length to diameter ratio (L/D) of 51, was studied experimentally. Hydrogen/air, acetylene/air and methane/air with stoichiometric concentration were used to observe the trend of flame propagation throughout the pipe. Experimental work was carried out at operating condition: pressure 1 atm and temperature 273 K. Results showed that all fuels are having a consistent trend of flame propagation in one-half of the total pipe length in which the acceleration is due to the piston-like effect. Beyond the point, fuel reactivity and tulip phenomenon were considered to lead the flame being quenched and decrease the overpressures drastically. The maximum overpressure for all fuels are approximately 1.5, 7, 8.5 barg for methane, hydrogen, and acetylene indicating that acetylene explosion is more severe

FPGA-enabled binarised convolutional neural networks toward real-time embedded object recognition system

In this presentation, we report the results of applying a binarised Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) and a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) for image-based object recognition. While the demand rises for robots with robust object recognition implemented with Neural Networks, a trade-off between data processing rate and power consumption persists. Some applications utilise GPGPU (General Purpose computing on Graphics Processing Units), which results in high power consumption thus undesirable for embedded systems, while the others communicate with cloud computers to minimise computational resources at the clients’ side, i.e. robots, raising another concern that the robots are unable to perform object recognition without the servers and network connections. To overcome these difficulties, we propose an embedded object recognition system implemented with a binarised CNN and an FPGA. FPGAs consist of a matrix of reconfigurable logic gates allowing parallel computing which befits most image processing algorithms such as the CNN. We train the binarised CNN on one of our datasets that contain images of several kinds of food and beverages. The results of the experiments show that the binarised CNN with an FPGA maintains high accuracy as well as real-time computation, suggesting that the proposed system is suitable for robots to perform their tasks in a real-world environment without needing to communicate with a server

Synthesis and analysis of Cu(II) and Co(II) complexes of Schiff base derived from glycine and isatin

No Abstract

Food Behavior in Emergency Time: Wild Plant Use for Human Nutrition during the Conflict in Syria

Wild food plants (WFPs) have been an important source of human nutrition since ancient times, and it particularly revives when conventional food is not available due to emergency situations, such as natural disasters and conflicts. The war in Syria has entered 10 years since it started in 2011, and it has caused the largest war-related crises since World War II. Nearly 60% of the Syrian population (12.4 million people) are food-insecure. WFPs are already culturally important in the region, and may be supplementing local diets during this conflict. Our study aimed to uncover the conflict’s effect on the use of WFPs and to know what species are consumed by local people during the current crisis. The fieldwork was carried out between March 2020 and March 2021 in the Tartus governorate located in the coastal region of Syria. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 50 participants (26 women and 24 men) distributed in 26 villages along the study area. We recorded the vernacular names, uses, plant parts used, modes of preparation and consumption, change in WFP use before and during the conflict, and informants’ perceptions towards WFPs. We documented 75 wild food plant species used for food and drink. Almost two-thirds (64%) of informants reported an increase in their reliance on wild plants as a food source during the conflict. The species of Origanum syriacum, Rhus coriaria, Eryngium creticum, and Cichorium intybus were among the most quoted species by informants. Sleeq (steamed leafy vegetables), Zaatar (breakfast/dinner food), and Louf (soup) were the most popular wild plant-based dishes

Training needs assessment in Malaysia: Exercise held at Kuala Lampur and Kota Bharu from 13th October 1989

Training / Irrigation / Evaluation / Malaysia