Exploring Artificial Intelligence using Automated Writing Evaluation for Writing Skills

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of AI software which is Automated Writing Evaluation (AWE) in detecting grammatical errors in improving writing skills among Malaysian public university students and examine their perceptions of AI software in improving writing skills. The findings of this study show the positive perceptions of students towards the implementation of AWE. The study provided implications for the effective use of AI software (AWE) in ESL writing classrooms. Finally, future researchers are expected to conduct research on a similar topic to enhance the impact and significance of this study. Keywords: Technology application, Artificial Intelligence, writing skills, automated writing evaluation eISSN: 2398-4287© 2022. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DO

Rancang Bangun Mesin Pengolah Sampah Organik Menjadi Bahan Pupuk Kompos dan Pencacah Pakan Ternak Berdaya Listrik Berkapasitas 25 kg/jam

Sampah merupakan problem kompleks dimana – mana, banyak dampak buruk dari penumpukan sampah yang tak terorganisir atau tidak terkelola. Akibatnya terjadi pencemaran lingkungan (tanah, air dan udara) yang dapat merusak ekosistem yang ada. Hampisr semua sampah dapat di kelola atau daur ulang (manfaatkan) yang aslinya dapat dimanfaatkan kembali sebagai suatu produk yang bernilai. Sejauh ini pengolahan sampah organik masih terdapat kekurangan yang dapat di manfaatkan atau di gunakan kembali sebagai produk yang berguna. Proses perancangan ulang mesin pengolah sampah organik menjadi bahan pupuk kompos ini menggunakan metode reverse engineering yang mana melalui beberapa tahapan mulai dari perhitungan, perancangan dibantu oleh software CAD (Computer Aided Design) untuk pembuatan gambar, fabrikasi dan assembly bagian-bagian mesin dan trial untuk untuk mengetahui hasil produksi dari mesin sampah organik menjadi bahan pupuk kompos dan mencacah pakan ternak. Berdasarkan hasil perancangan dan perencanaan yang telah dilakukan  dihasilkan mesin yang dapat memproses 2 pekerjaan secara sekaligus yaitu mengolah sampah organik menjadi bahan pupuk kompos dan mencacah pakan ternak, dengan ukuran utama mesin 703 mm x 600 mm x 756 mm.  Selanjutnya dilakukan uji coba, dan dihasilkan pemrosesan dengan waktu pengolahan selama 60 detik/100 gram, sehingga mesin memiliki kapasitas untuk memproses sebanyak ≤ 25 kg/jam. Dari hasil uji coba tersebut, perancangan dan pembuatan mesin pengolah sampah organik menjadi bahan pupuk kompos dan pencacah pakan ternak  ini bisa dikatakan sukses. Sehingga mesin ini sangat efektif untuk pemrosesan olah sampah dan penyiapan pakan ternak

Substrate specificity of lipases from four species of Aspergillus towards hydrolysis of homoacid triacylglycerols and vegetable oils in non-aqueous system

Among the four species of Aspergillus, Aspergillus oryzea lipase demonstrates high preference towards medium chain triacylglycerols (C10) and discriminates against triunsaturated triacylglycerol (TAG) e.g. triolein. The great discriminating power of its lipase against triolein was shown in comparison with its ability to catalyse the hydrolysis of medium chain (C10) TAG e.g. tricaprin and less shown when hydrolysing saturated long chain TAG i.e. tripalmitin. The discriminating power of these lipases are in this order: triolein > tripalmitin > trilaurin > tricaprin. Similar phenomenon was noted when mycelium-bound lipases of Aspergillus sp. were used to catalyse the hydrolysis of coconut oil, palm olein, olive oil and flaxseed oil. In most cases, relative percentage of monounsaturated fatty acid (C18:1) in non-hydrolysed fractions of oils increased after 12 days of hydrolysis. Hydrolysis of flaxseed and olive oil showed that Aspergillus murarum, Aspergillus oryzea and Aspergillus flavus lipases have high preference towards polyunsaturated fatty acids i.e. linoleic acid (C18:2) in olive oil and linolenic acid (C18:3) in flaxseed oil and no preference for monounsaturated and saturated long chain fatty acids

Erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity for assessment of health status of the Timorensis deer (Cervustimorensis)

Erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity analysis was carried out on 40 Timorensis deer (Cervus timorensis) of which 30 were born in Taman Pertanian Universiti (TPU), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and the remaining 10 born in Lenggong, Perak and relocated at TPU in July 2009. The haematological and serum biochemical analyses and serological disease screening on melioidosis, brucellosis, Johne’s disease and caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) were done to evaluate the health status of these deer. Comparisons of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity were made between different TPU-born and Lenggong-born deer, age groups and sexes of these deer by using a manual DTNB direct method. The analyses and screening showed that the deer were clinically healthy and disease-free. There were no significant (p>0.05) difference in glutathione peroxidase activity different TPU-born and Lenggong-born deer or age groups and sexes of these deer. Evaluation of erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase activity plays an important role in disease correlations and can be used inassessment of health status of the Timorensis deer

Preliminary nitrite, nitrate and colour analysis of Malaysian edible bird’s nest

AbstractThe high nitrite content in edible bird’s nests is a major concern to the local swiftlet industry. It lowers the price of the edible bird’s nests and it brings severe health hazards to consumers and farmers. This research investigated the nitrite and nitrate contents of eight types of local edible bird’s nests by using ion chromatography system and evaluating its colour using the CIE system in L∗a∗b∗ parameters. The nitrite content obtained ranged from 5.7μg/g for the house nests to 843.8μg/g for the cave nests. The nitrate content for the house and cave nests was 98.2μg/g and 36,999.4μg/g, respectively. The cave nests with darker and redder colour had higher nitrite and nitrate contents than the brighter and more yellow house nests. This likely suggests that the nitrite and nitrate contents have correlations with edible bird’s nests colour. Correlations studies suggested that the nitrite content had high correlations with colour parameters, L∗a∗b∗ of edible bird’s nests at significant level of P<0.10. These findings suggest that edible bird’s nests’ colour may be a useful indicator for measuring nitrite and nitrate contaminations

Extremely low prevalence of erythromycin-resistant Streptococcus pyogenes isolates and their molecular characteristics by M protein gene and multilocus sequence typing methods

Background: Group A streptococci (GAS) are notorious bacteria causing a wide variety of clinical manifestations ranging from mild, acute streptococcal pharyngitis to chronic non-suppurative diseases and immunological sequelae. They are further complicated by the global rise on the emergence of macrolide resistance among these bacteria in which several M protein gene (emm) and sequence types are associated with invasive diseases. Objectives: The current study aimed at determining the erythromycin resistance patterns and molecular characteristics of GAS clinical strains by emm and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) methods. Methods: Thirty-five GAS clinical isolates were subjected to antibiotic susceptibility testing by disk diffusion method. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of erythromycin against GAS by E-test was determined. Clinical and laboratory standards institute (CLSI) guideline was used for the interpretation of results. Detection of ermA, ermB, and mefA genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed and emm typing was done by amplification and sequencing of emm genes per standard protocol. Allele and sequence type (ST) of GAS were obtained using the S. pyogenes MLST database. Results: All the isolates were sensitive to erythromycin, penicillin, clindamycin, chloramphenicol, and vancomycin (100%). Resistance to tetracycline was 54.3%. The mefA gene was found in one erythromycin susceptible isolate. No other erythromycin resistance genes were detected in the isolates. Twenty different emm types were found and the most frequent emm types/subtypes detected were emm1, emm18.21, emm28.5, emm97.4, and emm102.2 (each 8.6%). However, no new emm type was detected. A total of 15 sequence types (STs), eight clonal clusters (CCs), and eight singletons were identified among 21 representative isolates. Three isolates exhibited CC1 (ST28/emm1). Conclusions: High susceptibility of GAS isolates against erythromycin could be due to low antibiotic selective pressure in Malaysian clinical settings. High diversity of emm and ST types revealed the heterogenic nature of the strains circulating in Malaysian hospitals. Continuous epidemiological monitoring by molecular typing methods is warranted to improve the management strategies of GAS infections in future

FAKTOR-FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI PENDAPATAN PETANI PADI DI DESA MANDALA KECAMATAN RUBARU KABUPATEN SUMENEP

Kondisi petani merupakan masalah utama dalam fungsi sektor pertanian di dalam pembangunan nasional dan kemampuan sektor tersebut untuk bersaing pada abad yang akan datang. Petani tanaman pangan di Indonesia khususnya di Jawa merupakan petani yang berlahan sempit dan berada pada tingkat kemiskinan. Ironisnya lahan pertanian yang dikonversikan menjadi lahan tapak industri ini bukan lahan yang bersifat marjinal atau tidak subur, tetapi justru lahan yang beririgasi teknis. Tujuan penelitian yang hendak dicapai yaitu: (1) Mengetahui faktor faktor apa saja yang mempengaruhi pendapatan petani padi di desa mandala kecamatan rubaru kabupaten sumenep (2) Mengetahui faktor – yang paling dominan mempengaruhi pendapatan petani padi. Berdasarkan hasil dari penelitian ini bahwa: (1) Faktor luas lahan, faktor pengalaman,faktor biaya produksi, faktor harga jual dan faktor produksi secara simultan (bersama-sama) memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan terhadap pendapatan petani padi di Desa Mandala Kecamatan Rubaru Kabupaten Sumenep; (2) Faktor yang paling dominan mempengaruhi pendapatan petani padi didesa mandala kecamatan rubaru kabupaten sumenep adalah faktor produksi. &nbsp

Evacuation egress in high rise building: Review of the current design evacuation solution

In the aftermath of the September 11th attack, design of tall buildings particularly in the aspect of safety systems and structural robustness, arguably the most crucial issues that is deliberated till to date. Concerning the safety systems specifically on evacuation egress, many novels and innovative evacuation solutions for high rise buildings that have been researched and put forward, for instances Platform Rescue Systems (PRS), Controlled Descent Devices (CDD) and Escape Chutes. Still, the practicability of the existing proposed egress systems to be implemented in the real-life situation and its compliance with the tall building design legislation remain unknown. For developing countries such as Malaysia and United Arab Emirates, tall buildings play a role as an iconic landmark. While countries like China and Hong Kong, tall building is needed due to the scarcity of land and high populations. As more than one hundred tall structure exists in the world, and will be increasing by 2020; therefore, it is urgently needed that existing engineering practices in designing tall building to be reviewed with respect to evacuation egress. The main objective of this paper is to create awareness among developers, consultants and contractors that proper evacuation egress in tall building design and development is a must. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the existing engineering practices on tall building evacuation planning systems and design. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the currently proposed systems and its consideration amongst structural and safety engineers are also reported

Evacuation egress in high rise building: Review of the current design evacuation solution

In the aftermath of the September 11th attack, design of tall buildings particularly in the aspect of safety systems and structural robustness, arguably the most crucial issues that is deliberated till to date. Concerning the safety systems specifically on evacuation egress, many novels and innovative evacuation solutions for high rise buildings that have been researched and put forward, for instances Platform Rescue Systems (PRS), Controlled Descent Devices (CDD) and Escape Chutes. Still, the practicability of the existing proposed egress systems to be implemented in the real-life situation and its compliance with the tall building design legislation remain unknown. For developing countries such as Malaysia and United Arab Emirates, tall buildings play a role as an iconic landmark. While countries like China and Hong Kong, tall building is needed due to the scarcity of land and high populations. As more than one hundred tall structure exists in the world, and will be increasing by 2020; therefore, it is urgently needed that existing engineering practices in designing tall building to be reviewed with respect to evacuation egress. The main objective of this paper is to create awareness among developers, consultants and contractors that proper evacuation egress in tall building design and development is a must. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the existing engineering practices on tall building evacuation planning systems and design. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the currently proposed systems and its consideration amongst structural and safety engineers are also reported