Morphologies of Nanostuctured ZnO prepared by matrix-assisted method and its effects on photocatalytic activity

Zinc oxide nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized by matrix-assisted method using activated carbon as a matrix and zinc nitrate and zinc acetate as ZnO precursors. Different weight percentages (10-40 wt %) of Zn precursor were loaded onto activated carbon and calcined in air at 500 and 600 ºC, producing highly crystallined ZnO particles with a wurtzite structure. Nanospherical ZnO and a mixture of nanosphere and nanorod ZnO were produced from zinc nitrate and zinc acetate, respectively. The efficiency study of the synthesized ZnO in the photodegradation of rhodamine 6G indicated that ZnO produced from zinc acetate is more effective than that from zinc nitrate, possibly due to the differences in the morphology of the synthesized ZnO

Sustaining traditional food: consumers' perceptions on physical characteristics of keropok lekor or fish snack

Keropok Lekor or frankfurter-like snack has long existed in Malaysia and has been sold in commercial retail shops as well as on the streets. The aims of this study were to analyze consumer's perception and attitude towards keropok lekor and to determine consumer's behavior on the product. Survey questionnaire was employed as a data collection tool. A total of 212 respondents from a university participated in this study. Results showed that more than 70% of the respondents chose to eat keropok lekor because of the taste. Half of the respondents chose black pepper as an innovative supplementary flavor of keropok lekor. This study also explores and analyses preliminary consumer behavior about keropok lekor such as satisfaction level, factors that drive consumption, product's image from consumer perspectives and etc

Characterization of Mixed xWO3(1-x)Y2O3 Nanoparticle Thick Film for Gas Sensing Application

Microstructural, topology, inner morphology, and gas-sensitivity of mixed xWO3(1-x)Y2O3 nanoparticles (x = 1, 0.95, 0.9, 0.85, 0.8) thick-film semiconductor gas sensors were studied. The surface topography and inner morphological properties of the mixed powder and sensing film were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Also, gas sensitivity properties of the printed films were evaluated in the presence of methane (CH4) and butane (C4H10) at up to 500 °C operating temperature of the sensor. The results show that the doping agent can modify some structural properties and gas sensitivity of the mixed powder

Simulation and analysis for harvesting Dioscorea hispida tubers

This study discussed an analysis and simulation of fixture stand structure that will use for data collection of force required for harvesting the tubers of Dioscorea hispida. The tubers were surrounded by roots which were well gripped to the soil which made harvesting process difficult. Therefore, a new tool fixture equipped with digital force gauge device to gripped stem dioscorea hispida is required. Imada digital force measurement gauges are state-of-the-art, instruments capable of the highly accurate measurements required in quality testing to determine the strength or functionality of a part or product. The information from the experiments is used to model and simulate the tool in Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment. The solid modelling software Solidworks was used for the design, modelling and simulation of the equipment and the finite element analysis to determine the stress affected on various fixture designs

The local community awareness on Langkawi UNESCO Global Geopark Status: Case of Kampung Padang Puteh, Langkawi, Malaysia

Kampung Padang Puteh is a village that is located in southwest of Langkawi Island, Malaysia, which has been affected by tourism development since its location is exactly midway between two beach areas of Pantai Tengah and Pantai Cenang, resulting in an ever-expanding number of homestays, motels, hotels, restaurants, and food stalls. The local community is one of the important stakeholders that might be the most affected by this development and it needs to be considered in geopark development. Thus, there is a need to assess the stakeholder's current awareness that contributes to their identification with Langkawi UNESCO Global Geopark. To address this, this study aims to investigate the local community knowledge of geopark; and find out their perception about various stakeholders' roles in assisting well-being through tourism development. Data were collected through a face-to-face questionnaire with 49 household representatives by simple random sampling. The findings indicate that the local community of Kampung Padang Puteh has a moderate level of knowledge of the geopark. More than half of respondents could describe the characteristics of a geopark. However, only 18.4% of them are able to state the geopark concept correctly. They are not sure about the benefits of geopark status to their livelihood. Generally, they perceive that geopark status gives less significant impacts than duty free status on their well-being. In fact, tourists are the most important stakeholders in assisting their well-being through tourism development based on the local's perception. Thus, a good engagement between local community and authorities needs to be enhanced to lead to an increase in their sense of belonging to the area. The locals are perceived as passive in the process, and that their voices should be incorporated so that the geopark better answers to their needs and vision of empowering their role as inhabitants of geopark

Ergogenic, anti-diabetic and antioxidant attributes of selected Malaysian herbs: characterisation of flavonoids and correlation of functional activities

In the present work, aqueous ethanolic (60% ethanol) extracts from selected Malaysian herbs including Murraya koenigii L. Spreng, Lawsonia inermis L., Cosmos caudatus Kunth, Piper betle L., and P. sarmentosum Roxb. were evaluated for their ergogenic, anti-diabetic and antioxidant potentials. Results showed that the analysed herbs had ergogenic property and were able to activate 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in a concentration dependant manner. The highest AMPK activation was exhibited by M. koenigii extract which showed no significant (p > 0.05) difference with green tea (positive control). For anti-diabetic potential, the highest α-glucosidase inhibition was exhibited by M. koenigii extract with IC50 of 43.35 ± 7.5 μg/mL, which was higher than acarbose (positive control). The determinations of free radical scavenging activity and total phenolics content (TPC) indicated that the analysed herbs had good antioxidant activity. However, C. caudatus extract showed superior antioxidant activity with IC50 against free radical and TPC of 21.12 ± 3.20 μg/mL and 221.61 ± 7.49 mg GAE/g, respectively. RP-HPLC analysis established the presence of flavonoids in the herbs wherein L. inermis contained the highest flavonoid (catechin, epicatechin, naringin and rutin) content (668.87 mg/kg of extract). Correlations between the analyses were conducted, and revealed incoherent trends. Overall, M. koenigii was noted to be the most potent herb for enhancement of AMPK activity and α-glucosidase inhibition but exhibited moderate antioxidant activity. These results revealed that the selected herbs could be potential sources of natural ergogenic and anti-diabetic/antioxidant agents due to their rich profile of phenolics. Further analysis in vivo should be carried out to further elucidate the mechanism of actions of these herbs as ergogenic aids and anti-diabetic/antioxidant agents

Effect of nano-sized Co3O4 addition on the transport properties of YBa2Cu3O7−δ

The effect of nano-sized Co3O4 (10 - 30 nm) addition on YBa2Cu3O7−δ(Co3O4)x with x = 0 to 0.12 wt.% has been investigated by powder X-ray diffraction method, dc electrical resistance measurements and scanning electron microscopy. The Co3O4 particle size was larger than the coherence length but smaller than the penetration depth of the YBa2Cu3O7−δ superconductor. The onset transition temperature (T c onset) showed no significant changes for low Co3O4 addition (x ≤ 0.02 wt. %) and then decreased monotonically with the increase in Co3O4 content indicating a pair-breaking like mechanism in T c suppression for x = 0.03 to 0.12 wt. %. A sudden broadening of the superconducting-transition-width for x ≥ 0.11 wt. % was also observed. The transport properties were measured and related to the microstructure. Scanning electron micrographs showed homogeneous distribution of Co3O4 throughout the samples and the distance between particles was smaller than 1 μm but larger than the typical Abrikosov vortex lattice constant

Enhancing the decolorization of methylene blue using a low-cost super-absorbent aided by response surface methodology

The presence of organic dyes from industrial wastewater can cause pollution and exacerbate environmental problems; therefore, in the present work, activated carbon was synthesized from locally available oil palm trunk (OPT) biomass as a low-cost adsorbent to remove synthetic dye from aqueous media. The physical properties of the synthesized oil palm trunk activated carbon (OPTAC) were analyzed by SEM, FTIR-ATR, and XRD. The concurrent effects of the process variables (adsorbent dosage (g), methylene blue (MB) concentration (mg/L), and contact time (h)) on the MB removal percentage from aqueous solution were studied using a three-factor three-level Box–Behnken design (BBD) of response surface methodology (RSM), followed by the optimization of MB adsorption using OPTAC as the adsorbent. Based on the results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the three parameters considered, adsorbent dosage (X1) is the most crucial parameter, with an F-value of 1857.43, followed by MB concentration (X2) and contact time (X3) with the F-values of 95.60 and 29.48, respectively. Furthermore, the highest MB removal efficiency of 97.9% was achieved at the optimum X1, X2, and X3 of 1.5 g, 200 mg/L, and 2 h, respectivel

Intelligent Image Capturing Alarm System Using Raspberry Pi

Home surveillance system assumes an essential part in this present day living style to help recognizing illegal activities. In this proposed paper, an intelligent image capturing alarm system to protect locker was developed. Raspberry Pi 2 is used as the main controller (server). At the point when any conceivable intrusion is identified, a webcam installed to Raspberry Pi 2 will capture the picture of the intruder. In the meantime, the spotlight or light of the house which represented by an LED will be turned "ON" alongside an alarm sound from a buzzer which is fixed as an output. Taking everything into account, this improvement offers reasonable and easy to use surveillance alarm system

Structural crack detection system using internet of things (IoT) for structural health monitoring (SHM): a review

Monitoring the state of civil engineering infrastructure is critical for a country’s economic development since structures with long service life and timely maintenance have lower reconstruction costs. Crack occurrence is the most important element that influences the performance and lifespan of civil infrastructures like bridges and pipelines. As a result, several fracture detection and characterization approaches have been explored and developed in the domains of Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) throughout the last few decades. The major goal of implementing the Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm is to enable the Internet-based connectivity extension of various typical SHM devices. As a result, connected devices can communicate and process data, opening new possibilities in the design of acquisition systems in various disciplines of research and engineering. The researchers have extended the application of the IoT paradigm to the SHM crack detection because of the advances, ensuring that the tests done in this framework can produce good results with promising future improvements. Thus, this paper reviews structural crack detection based IoT for SHM as reported by previous research in the literature. The strengths and limitations of current systems are discussed. This paper is aimed to serve as a reference for crack detection and characterisation researchers as well as others who are interested in SHM in general. In addition, several case studies on real structures, as well as laboratory experiments for monitoring structural crack health of civil engineering structures, are also presented