Status of population, occupation and seasonal habitat displacement of alien bird species in West Java Tropical Forest, Indonesia

“Invasive Species” is defined as an alien species that is non-native (non-indigenous, foreign or exotic) to a particular ecosystem. Commonly, they are intentionally or unintentionally introduced into an ecosystem. It is suspected that the discovery of a population of Finch-billed Myna in the forest of West Java resulted from the indirect influence of the bird trade. This bird is one of the endemic birds in Indonesia. Commonly, the Finch-billed Myna is a resident bird in Sulawesi islands. However, we found them in Tangkuban Parahu Mount, West Java. The population of Finch-billed Myna in Tangkuban Parahu Mount is 17-24 individual of three group colonies. The occupation areas are Abria, Awi leuga and Manggu. The vegetation density is higher than Myna’s former habitat (0,055 ind/m2) and Myna’s recent habitat (0,028 ind/m2).Keyword: Alien species; Finch-billed Myna; population; habitat; resource

Fuzzy inference system of Tsukamoto method in decision making on determination of insurance premium amount for due damages of flood natural disaster

Floods often cause loss of buildings damage for people in the Citarum river basin. Community chooses insurance for recovery and protection against buildings damage. Insurance companies need to determine the amount of premium which is feasible and affordable by the community. This paper analyzes the fuzzy inference system (FIS) of Tsukamoto method in determining the amount of insurance premium. For the determination of the premium, the variables used include income, expenses and residence zones. The amount of premium is determined using the FIS of the Tsukamoto method. From the analysis, the average amount of premium is IDR 11,041.00 per month for community in Bojongsoang zone and IDR 11,321.00 per month for community in Baleendah zone. The amount of this premium is quite feasible and affordable by community in the two zones.Keywords: Citarum River; buildings damage; protection; income; expenses; zon

Quality assessment of ozone-treated citrus fruit juices

The aim of the present work was to analyse the impact of ozone treatment on the physicochemical parameters and antioxidant capacity of citrus fruit juices (orange, lemon and lime) with different juice components (total soluble solids). Each sample was ozonated at different ozone treatment time, between 0 to 30 min with fixed ozone concentration of 600 mg/h. The synergistic effects of ozone treatment and the different types of juice were found to significantly affect the pH, total colour difference (TCD), pectin methylesterase (PME) activity, ascorbic acid (AA) and total phenolic content (TPC) of treated juices, while total soluble solids, turbidity and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay were found to be unchanged. It was observed that PME activity decreased with treatment time and this is related to the decrease of juice turbidity (R2 = 0.86) and TCD (R2 = 0.78). Ascorbic acid showed an abrupt decrease in all the juices especially in orange juice with percentage loss of 85%. TPC also showed decreasing trend for all juices with maximum loss of 84.4% in lemon juice after 30 min of ozonation time. The present work also found that lemon juice could retain most of its antioxidant activities (DPPH 98.9%, TPC 96%, AA 86.7%) after 10 min of ozone treatment time in comparison to orange and lime juices

Potential of sea level rise impact on South China Sea: a preliminary study in Terengganu, Malaysia

The effect of the sea level rise was involved the existence of sea water intrusion and coastal erosion phenomenon in the coastal of Terengganu. This study aim to determine fluctuation of high and low tides of the South China Sea in their relation to water quality value of Marang and Paka Rivers as well as from wells monitoring along the Terengganu Coast. Sampling was carried out twice during high and low tides, first in November 2012 and was repeated in November 2015. For the river quality study, it involves six parameters and involves nine parameters for well survey. Two-way t-test was used under statistical analysis to differentiate between two samplings. The result of the study can be assured that sea level rise resulting in decreased concentration of salinity, EC and TDS from upstream to downstream as a result of qualitatively rise of sea level at Terengganu beach as an impact of global warming events.Keywords: Marang and Paka Rivers; water quality parameter; well water quality; sea level rise; South China Se

Fabrication of Polymer Optical Fiber Splitter Using Lapping Technique

This work involves in designing and developing a POF-based directional coupler/splitter using lapping technique and geometrical blocks. Two fiber strands were first tapered at the middle and they were attached to the geometrical blocks and lapped together. Design parameters that are used to develop this coupler/splitter are core diameter, Dc, etching length, Le, bending radius, Rc, coupling length, Lc and pressure, Fc. All the parameters were taken into account during characterization and analysis of the designed coupler in order to find the most optimum prototype coupler/splitter. Characterizations are done by experimental set-up to test the efficiency, splitting ratio, coupling ratio, excess loss and insertion loss for all the couplers/splitters. Through the characterization process and analysis, the optimized coupler with high splitting ratio and low excess loss were identified. Throughout the experimental process, some of the fibers were improved and renewed in order to realize the design and development of the coupler using this technique. The device can also be utilized as an optical tap and the applications of the device are not only limited in in-house network but also in automotive applications. By using a platform, several splitting ratio can be obtained by integrating different core-cladding thickness and bending radius in order to get the desired splitting ratio and excess loss

Climate changes impacts towards sedimentation rate at Terengganu River, Terengganu, Malaysia

The climate changes caused by rainfall and stream flow are not the major contribution the changing of water level. This study was carried out at Terengganu River Basin in wet and dry season to assess the sedimentation problem and  its relationship with   hydrological characteristic. Three parameters analyzed based on in-situ and ex-situ analysis according to the correlation matrix and linear regression methods. The TSS (mg/L), Turbidity (NTU) and SSC  (mg/L)  were higher  during  dry  season  compared  wet  season  caused  by  El  Nino  phenomenon (January 2016). There are higher positive correlation between SSC and TSS, R²= 0.924 (wet season) and R² = 0.841 (dry season), the correlation between the observation (Q) and the TSS is no significant R² = 0.057 (wet season) and R² = 0.001 (dry season). The main contributors of sedimentation problems in Terengganu River caused by the climate changes phenomenon.Keywords: sedimentation; Terengganu River basin; hydrological characteristic; El Nino; communitie

Ultrasensitive electrochemical detection of metal ions using dicarboethoxycalixarene-based sensor

In this paper, we have reported an electrochemical detection of metal ions based on Calixarene-based sensor. In the sensing strategy, 3-aminopropylsilane (APTMS) was initially self-assembled on indium tin oxide (ITO) followed by functionalization of dicarboethoxy-calix [4]arene (EtC4). The morphology and properties of electrodes were characterized by contact angle, atomic force microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical response characteristics of the modified electrodes (EtC4/APTMS/ITO) towards analyte ions; Zn(II), Cu(II), and Fe(II) ions were investigated by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) under optimized conditions. It was found that the response of modified electrode towards the analytes was improved significantly as compared to the ITO electrode and resulted in limit of detections (LOD) of 9.88 pg/L, 8.33 μg/L and 1.15 μg/L, respectively. In addition, the detection limit of simultaneous detection quantification of Cu2 +, Zn2 + and Fe2 + ions could be achieved with the concentration 6.19 ng/L, 3.02 mg/L and 2.79 mg/L, respectively. It is worth to show that dicarboethoxy-calix [4]arene modified electrode is a promising candidate as electrochemical sensors for simultaneous and ultrasensitive heavy metal ions determination

Mechanical properties of longitudinal basalt/woven-glass-fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester-resin hybrid composites

This work represents a study to investigate the mechanical properties of longitudinal basalt/woven-glass-fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester-resin hybrid composites. The hybridization of basalt and glass fiber enhanced the mechanical properties of hybrid composites. The unsaturated polyester resin (UP), basalt (B) and glass fibers (GF) were fabricated using the hand lay-up method in six formulations (UP, GF, B7.5/G22.5, B15/G15, B22.5/G7.5 and B) to produce the composites, respectively. This study showed that the addition of basalt to glass-fiber-reinforced unsaturated polyester resin increased its density, tensile and flexural properties. The tensile strength of the B22.5/G7.5 hybrid composites increased by 213.92 MPa compared to neat UP, which was 8.14 MPa. Scanning electron microscopy analysis was used to observe the fracture mode and fiber pullout of the hybrid composites

An overview of burst, buckling, durability and corrosion analysis of lightweight FRP composite pipes and their applicability

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The main aim of this review article was to address the performance of filament wound fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composite pipes and their critical properties, such as burst, buckling, durability and corrosion. The importance of process parameters concerning merits and demerits of the manufacturing methods was discussed for the better-quality performance. Burst analysis revealed that the winding angle of ±55° was observed to be optimum with minimum failure mechanisms, such as matrix cracking, whitening, leakage and fracture. The reduction of buckling effect was reported in case of lower hoop stress value in the hoop to axial stress ratio against axial, compression and torsion. A significant improvement in energy absorption was observed in the hybrid composite pipes with the effect of thermal treatment. However, the varying winding angle in FRP pipe fabrication was reported as an influencing factor affecting all the aforementioned properties. Almost 90% of the reviewed studies was done using E-glass/epoxy materials for the composite pipe production. By overcoming associated limitations, such as replacing synthetic materials, designing new material combinations and cost-benefit analysis, the production cost of the lightweight FRP composite pipes can be decreased for the real-time applications.Peer reviewe