Isolation and identification of polystyrene degrading bacteria from zophobas morio’s gut

Polystyrene (PS) and expanded polystyrene (EPS) are commodity plastics widely used in many industries. The increase of PS in the environment causes ecological threats. It has been observed that the beetle larvae feed on plastic packages, and this has drawn the researcher’s attention towards the complex system within the larvae’s gut where relationships between fungi, bacteria, and the insect host have been established. The objective of this study is to isolate and identify PS-degrading microbe from super worms. The study used polystyrene as a sole carbon source to isolate the positive PS-degrading bacteria. Five bacterial colonies which showed positive growth on the modified PS-agar plate were isolated. All five colonies of the PS-degrading bacterial isolates were identified using partial 16 S rRNA gene sequencing. The results showed a close relationship between Bacillus aryabhattai and Bacillus megaterium strains. An examination via biochemical studies for distinction was implemented further. Based on the morphological characterization and taxonomic method, the isolates were identified as Bacillus megaterium. The isolates' viability was tested using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC), and positive results were obtained with red-colored insoluble triphenylformazan (TPF) formed within 5 to 7 days. The isolation and identification of these bacteria from Zophobas morio’s gut may provide a promising source of a plastic degrading enzyme that can be further studied and manipulated in developing enzymatic biodegradation in plastic waste management

Collaborative and Cooperative Learning in Malaysian Mathematics Education

Collaborative and cooperative learning studies are well recognized in Malaysian mathematics education research. Cooperative learning is used to serve various ability students taking into consideration of their level of understanding, learning styles, sociological backgrounds that develop students' academic achievement and skills, and breeze the social harmony among students of different ethnic backgrounds. Besides academic achievement, process skills and values are required to extend the social harmony among students in today's multiethnic schools. Therefore, teachers are expected to find the pedagogy that enables students to learn academic knowledge and professional skills to face the challenges in their everyday lives. The Malaysian scholars, based on the findings of their cooperative learning studies, emphasized the use of cooperative learning as an effective pedagogy with the aim to improve students' mathematics achievement and communication skills. This paper describes the role of collaborative and cooperative learning to the development of students' mathematics achievement along with their communication skills and with significant integration of values in Malaysian mathematics education

Collaborative and Cooperative Learning in Malaysian Mathematics Education

Collaborative and cooperative learning studies are well recognized in Malaysian mathematics education research. Cooperative learning is used to serve various ability students taking into consideration of their level of understanding, learning styles, sociological backgrounds that develop students' academic achievement and skills, and breeze the social harmony among students of different ethnic backgrounds. Besides academic achievement, process skills and values are required to extend the social harmony among students in today's multiethnic schools. Therefore, teachers are expected to find the pedagogy that enables students to learn academic knowledge and professional skills to face the challenges in their everyday lives. The Malaysian scholars, based on the findings of their cooperative learning studies, emphasized the use of cooperative learning as an effective pedagogy with the aim to improve students' mathematics achievement and communication skills. This paper describes the role of collaborative and cooperative learning to the development of students' mathematics achievement along with their communication skills and with significant integration of values in Malaysian mathematics education

Evaluation of the use of farmyard manure on a guinea grass (Panicum maximum) - Stylo (Stylosanthes guianensis) mixed pasture

The effects of different levels of farmyard manure (FYM) and inorganic phosphorus (P) and potassium(K) fertilizer application on the physiology, forage yield and quality of Stylo (Stylosanthes guianensis cv.Pauciflora) - guinea grass (Panicum maximum cv. Green panic) pasture grown on an acid soil in Malaysiawere evaluated in this study. The treatments were six rates of FYM application (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 t FYM/ha and a combined application of 50 kg P with 50 kg K/ha) as triple-superphosphate and muriate of potash,respectively. Four consecutive cuttings were taken at 6-week intervals. Dry matter (DM) yield of guineaincreased linearly with increasing levels of FYM with rates of increase from 239 to 457 kg/ha per tonne increaseof the FYM applied. On the other hand, the DM yield of Stylo was found to decline with the increasing ratesof FYM. Crude protein (CP) concentration of guinea increased linearly from 9.27% to 11.93% from 0 to 50t FYM applications, while the CP concentration of Stylo increased from 17% to 20%. The photosyntheticrate, leaf area index and stomatal conductance of guinea significantly increased with the increasing rates ofthe FYM applied. On the contrary, acid detergent fibre and neutral detergent fibre concentrations of guineadeclined with the increasing rates of the FYM used. Meanwhile, the use of inorganic P and K fertilizers gavea higher yield and higher quality of both the species compared to the control at the first cut but they were notsignificantly different from the control at the fourth cut

Wajah moral masyarakat Melayu pascamoden: Antara realiti, harapan dan gagasan pendidikan moral tinggi

Dewasa ini dunia telah dilakari oleh pelbagai trend dan paradigma kehidupan bentuk baru. Pascamodenisme yang ditandai arus gelombang peringkat ketiga telah memberi impak yang bukan sedikit dalam kehidupan moral masyarakat khususnya masyarakat Melayu. Nilai-nilai yang dibawah oleh ideologi pascamodenisme menerusi pelbagai medium telah memberi dampak moral-sosial yang amat menakutkan. Hal ini tidak terkecuali meresapi ke dalam jiwa dan jatidiri masyarakat Melayu samada di Bandar mahu pun di luar Bandar. Statistik kebejatan social membuktikan hal ini. Sebut apa jua bentuk perlakuan tidak bermoral – pembunuhan, sumbang muhrim, pelacuran, gangsterisme, alkoholisme, perjudian, vandalisme dan sebagainya – setiap satu daripada amat ramai melibatkan masyarakat Melayu. Justeru itu, generalisasi dapat dibuat bahawa wajah moral masyarakat Melayu berada pada tahap yang amat kronik dan kritikal. Justeru itu, kertas kerja konseptual ini akan dibahagikan kepada tiga bahagian. Pada bahagian pertama kami akan menghuraikan secara konsep-konsep asas kertas kerja ini selain memaparkan hujah ‘rupa bentuk wajah’ moral masyarakat Melayu dulu dan kini. Kami juga akan memberikan justifikasi sebab-sebab munculnya wajah moral masyarakat Melayu masa kini pada bahagian kedua kertas kerja ini, kami akan mengagaskan usaha-usaha yang telah dan sedang dibuat bagi ‘mencantikkan’ wajah moral masyarakat Melayu. Dalam hal ini, kami turut melontarkan idea dan kritikan pendekatan-pendekatan yang dibuat selain mengagaskan suatu pendekatan yang lebih bersepadu. Pada bahagian akhir kertas kerja ini, kami menampilkan suatu pendekatan pendidikan moral tinggi yang mampu mengembalikan semula wajah moral yang indah dan bersih itu

Wajah moral masyarakat Melayu pasca moden: Antara realiti, harapan dan gagasan pendidikan moral tinggi

Dewasa ini dunia telah dilakari oleh pelbagai trend dan paradigma kehidupan bentuk baru. Pascamodenisme yang ditandai arus gelombang peringkat ketiga telah memberi impak yang bukan sedikit dalam kehidupan moral masyarakat khususnya masyarakat Melayu. Nilai-nilai yang dibawah oleh ideologi pascamodenisme menerusi pelbagai medium telah memberi dampak moral-sosial yang amat menakutkan. Hal ini tidak terkecuali meresapi ke dalam jiwa dan jatidiri masyarakat Melayu samada di Bandar mahu pun di luar Bandar. Statistik kebejatan sosial membuktikan hal ini. Sebut apa jua bentuk perlakuan tidak bermoral – pembunuhan, sumbang muhrim, pelacuran, gangsterisme, alkoholisme, perjudian, vandalisme dan sebagainya – setiap satu daripada amat ramai melibatkan masyarakat Melayu. Justeru itu, generalisasi dapat dibuat bahawa wajah moral masyarakat Melayu berada pada tahap yang amat kronik dan kritikal. Justeru itu, kertas kerja konseptual ini akan dibahagikan kepada tiga bahagian. Pada bahagian pertama kami akan menghuraikan secara konsep-konsep asas kertas kerja ini selain memaparkan hujah ‘rupa bentuk wajah’ moral masyarakat Melayu dulu dan kini. Kami juga akan memberikan justifikasi sebab-sebab munculnya wajah moral masyarakat Melayu masa kini Pada bahagian kedua kertas kerja ini, kami akan mengagaskan usaha-usaha yang telah dan sedang dibuat bagi ‘mencantikkan’ wajah moral masyarakat Melayu. Dalam hal ini, kami turut melontarkan idea dan kritikan pendekatan-pendekatan yang dibuat selain mengagaskan suatu pendekatan yang lebih bersepadu. Pada bahagian akhir kertas kerja ini, kami menampilkan suatu pendekatan pendidikan moral tinggi yang mampu mengembalikan semula wajah moral yang indah dan bersih itu

Preparation and characterisation of inexpensive porous kaolin hollow fibre as ceramic membrane supports for gas separation application

Low-cost, porous ceramic kaolin-based hollow fibre membrane support (HFMS) for gas separation application was developed via phase inversion technique. The ceramic suspensions with various ratios of kaolin to polyethersulfone (PESf) binder (5:1 to 9:1) were extruded and then sintered at 1200 to 1500 °C. The HFMSs were characterised by several analyses to investigate the effects of kaolin/PESf ratio and sintering temperature on the sample properties. The results showed that the kaolin/PES ratio and sintering temperature affected the considerable structure and physical properties of the kaolin membrane. It is observed that with increasing sintering temperature, the porosity and gas permeation of the HFMS decreased, while the bending strength and density of the HFMS increased. As a result, a porous HFMS with sufficient mechanical strength and high gas permeation characteristics is achievable if the appropriate kaolin/PESf ratio and sintering temperature are chosen

Islamic bank stability - initial evidence / Mohd Afandi Abu Bakar, AP Dr. Mohd Fauzi Mohd Harun and AP Dr. Abdul Malek A Tambi

Stability of the banking sector is one of the most important features that support and contribute to continuous economic expansion and development. It will facilitate and smooth the flow of funds across the economic units more efficiently and effectively. This study examines the stability of Islamic banks. The study employs an unbalanced panel data analysis on the annual growths of 67 Islamic banks from various countries for the period spanning from 1998 to 2009. The finding provides some evidence on the stability of Islamic bank operations. The growth of Islamic bank financing is independent of the growth of business cycle indicators, thus, free from any speculative activities. Hence, the behaviour of the Islamic bank was not that enthusiastic to the movement in economic environment ffuctuaticns. Although the contingency reserve and provision for loan losses are able to control the financing activities from behaving pro-cyclically, the finding also shows that Islamic banks need to observe its management of contingency reserves and provision for loan losses. The amount is still not large enough to manage the earning assets that have a direct influence on the financing volume. This is evidence from the insignificant relationship of financing growth of Islamic bank to the real GDP growth, money supply M2 growth and the CPI growth. Therefore, the policy on contingency reserves and provision for loan losses needs some serious consideration from the Islamic bank management so that it will also be able to confirm the capability of Islamic bank to work as the transmitter mechanism of monetary policy

Hydrophobic ceramic membrane for membrane distillation: A mini review on preparation, characterization, and applications

Membrane distillation (MD) is one of the emerging separation technologies with extremely high separation factor, especially in desalination application. MD utilizes the hydrophobic membrane which only allows the passage of vapor through the membrane pores. Recent years have witnessed great progress in the development of hydrophobic ceramic membranes for MD applications due to their superior properties over the polymeric counterparts. However, ceramic membranes are hydrophilic in nature; hence, membrane surface modification process is required to acquire hydrophobic properties for MD applications. Direct grafting using silane agents is the most widely used ceramic membrane hydrophobization method. Hence, this mini review provides a complete summary of the research progress on the preparation and characterization of the hydrophobic ceramic membranes through silane agent grafting, as well as their applications in MD. Finally, future research directions have also been addressed

Compliance to national guidelines on the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Malaysia: a single experience

Introduction: Malaysia has a high rate of smoking prevalence and the figure is increasing. Although there has been many local and regional studies on the prevalence and symptomatology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients, data is lacking on the degree of compliance to national management guidelines in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Methods: 86 patients who attended the respiratory outpatient clinic of the Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia were enrolled into a prospective, observational study. Results: 88 percent of the patients were male and the majority was ethnically Chinese (65 percent). The majority of patients were in the moderate to very severe categories, with a mean FEV1 of 0.97 +/− 0.56 L/sec and predicted mean FEV1 percentage of 43.1 +/− 21.3 percent. 58 percent of the patients were on long-acting beta-agonist, 65 percent were on inhaled steroids, and only 16 percent were on scheduled pulmonary rehabilitation. Conclusion: The low uptake rate for long-acting beta-agonist and pulmonary rehabilitation could be attributed to several factors. Financial cost, the need for strict compliance to a structured rehabilitation regime, lack of significant social support and clear up-to-date guidelines are possible reasons