Levee as a Flood Mitigation Option in Malaysia, Its' Susceptibility to Failure and Design Approach

Flooding is a major concern globally affecting many countries around the world, including Malaysia. As Earth undergo global climate change, intensified flood events are also expected to increase. One of the available structural flood mitigation measures is the implementation of levees. Effective and economical in preventing floods, levees can also be integrated into urban landscaping works and consequently improve the aesthetic appeal of the river frontage. However, levees also pose a critical risk as it can be catastrophic if any stretch of the levee structure fails. This paper summarizes the type of levee failures that can occur and discusses the basic design checks required thus providing levee designers an overview of the risks that needs to be addressed to ensure adequate levee design

Cockles shell as heterogeneous catalyst for biodiesel production from jatropha seed oil / Norulakmal Nor Hadi... [et al.]

Cockles shell currently found to be a potential alternative and biomass-driven source for calcium oxide (CaO). It fits to be the best candidate as the alternative material as they are made up of at least 95% of calcium carbonate (CaCO3). In this research, biodiesel production by transesterification of crude Jatropha curcas oil (CJCO) has been studied using a cockle shell as a heterogenous catalyst. The calcium oxides; heterogeneous catalyst were produced from the calcination process of cockles shell at various temperature range from 600 to 800C. Different catalyst dosage have been used during the transesterification process. The amounts of catalyst added were varied from 0.5 wt% until 2.0 wt%. It was found that 94% of conversion was achieved when 1.5 wt % of 700 °C calcination temperature catalyst was added into the transesterification process. The component of fatty acids profiles contain within the biodiesel from CJCO were obtained using gas chromatography (GC) and found to be significant with the standard fatty acid methyl ester (FAME). The physical properties analysis results indicated that the value of flash point, relative density and kinematic viscosity were within the range of American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standard for biodiesel

Sejarah pelaksanaan hak pewarisan pusaka di zaman Jahiliyyah dan zaman pasca Islam: Kajian perbandingan

This article discusses about the difference between the inheritance rights of heirs during the period of Jahiliah and after Islam.The study aims to comprehensively understand and to systematically and objectively strengthen the development of information about the historical perspective of the implementation of inheritance rights of heirs during the period of Jahiliah (before Islam) and post-Islamic era. The study employs qualitative method by exploring the old-time phenomena that happened during the period of Jahiliah and after Islam in the implementation of inheritance rights. The research outcome shows that implementation of inheritance rights during the post-Islamic era brings more justice than during the period of Jahiliah which are more discriminative in nature especially from the espect of marriage relationship. The situations happened during these two eras indicate the wide gap between them where the determination of inheritance rights during the post-Islamic era is more just and complete where as during the period of Jahiliah such determination was based on limited human thinking and desire which has led to injustise especially towards women and children

Plant nervous system

The Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula: Droseraceae) has one of the most rapid movements in the plant kingdom. It can catch insects with its toothed modified leaves that snap shut when triggered by prey, touching the tiny hairs on the inner leaf surface

OSTEOMETRIC ESTIMATION OF SEX FROM MASTOID TRIANGLE IN MALAYSIAN POPULATION

Objective: Determination of sex is one of the most important parameters for conducting biological profile of unknown skeletal remains in anatomical anthropology and forensic medicine. Mastoid bone is useful for the identification of sex, as it is the most protected bone and is resistant to damage, due to its anatomical position at the base of the skull. The aim of this study was to develop new equation for the estimation of sex from mastoid triangle in the Malaysian population. Methods: About 10 parameters were studied on 388 computed tomography scans of crania in 231 males and 157 females. The parameters comprised three sides of mastoid triangle, its perimeter and area on both sides. T-test was used to compare between the right and left sides and between males and females. Stepwise discriminant function was used to reveal the best discriminatory parameter and its classification accuracy. Results: Comparison of means by T-test revealed no difference between the right and left sides in both sexes. T-test showed a significant difference between males and females for all parameters. Perimeter of mastoid triangle was found to be the best parameter by stepwise discriminant analysis. The equation based on perimeter of mastoid triangle was developed with 84.4% classification accuracy. Conclusion: The developed equation could be used to assess sexual dimorphism of fragmented Malaysian crania with intact mastoid region. The achieved cross-validated classification was relatively high compared to that in other previous studies

Development of an intelligent and remote IoT-based monitoring system for power quality application

Power quality is an extremely critical when it comes to electricity consumer in all aspect of practices. A small variation in the voltage results in the shutdown of sensitive equipment and a brief shut down leads to additional production or operational cost. In order to solve the power quality issue, it is important to understand the characteristic of the power quality disturbance signal. A decent and efficient monitoring devise is essential to capture and analyze the disturbance signal. This project proposed a development of a remote intelligent IoT-based power quality monitoring device that able to monitor, capture, characterize, and diagnose the power quality event occured in the smart grid system or any electric distribution system based on Space Vector Machine Platform. It is expected that the proposed project will assist engineers to understand the power quality root caused effectively and able to react fast to mitigate the issue

Acute toxicity and metabolomics analysis of hypocholesterolemic effect of Mentha piperita aqueous extract in Wistar rats

The oral acute toxicity of the aqueous peppermint extract (APE) was assessed and the bio and/or chemo markers for hypocholesterolemic activity of APE were identified through metabolomics approach. No mortality resulted from the present oral acute toxicity study in which the histological changes observed in the selected organs and the biochemical deviation of blood compared to the normal range level were minimal. This study also explored the effect of 290 mg-1 kg body weight of APE against 5% cholesterol-enriched diet within 14 days treatment. Whereby after the treatment, there were reductions exhibited in plasma total cholesterol (44.32%), LDL-cholesterol (69.19%) and total triglycerides (55.77%). 1H NMR-metabolomics approach was, employed for better sensitivity and accuracy in evaluating the potential plasma biomarkers of hyper-and hypo-cholesterolemic properties. β-Hydroxybutarate and α-D-glucose have been identified as the possible hypercholesterolemic markers, whereas taurine, betaine, alanine, glycine and L-leucine were suggested to be the hypocholesterolemic markers of APE

Performance comparison of PEMFC hydrogen reformer with different controllers

The renewable energy technology has become very popular due to major constraint in the existing electrical system such as high electricity demand, increased in fuel prices and concern of environmental pollution. The aims of this project are to develop a complete Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) model with hydrogen reformer by using MATLAB/ Simulink with three different controllers and comparison between the three controllers will be discussed. This project presents the development of methods to solve the problem of PEMFC output voltage by using different controllers which are Proportional Integral (PI), Proportional Integral Derivatives (PID) and Proportional Integral Fuzzy (PI-Fuzzy) controllers. The Ziegler Nicholas tuning method is used to tune PI and PID gains in a Simulink model. It helps the system to achieve a balance between performance and robustness for both controllers. The Mamdani type was used to develop the fuzzy controller in Simulink model. The transient performances that will be discussed are rise time, settling time, maximum overshoot, and percentage of overshoot. The results show that the proposed PI-Fuzzy is better than the conventionally used PI and PID controllers

A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF SEXUAL DIMORPHISM OF SCAPULA BY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN THE MALAYSIAN POPULATION

Objective: Sex estimation is one of the crucial steps for human identification, which is evident in cases of commingled, eroded, and/or missing remains. When pelvis or skull are unavailable, scapula has been used as an alternative bone for determining sex. Besides, the scapula was shown to be population-specific in several studies. Limited dry bone collections in Malaysia have led to various recommendations of virtual anthropology studies of bone in human identification. The aims of this study were to investigate the sexual dimorphism of the scapula using three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography (CT) imaging and to generate population-specific equations for sex determination in the Malaysian population.Methods: A total of 66 CT thorax images of 33 males and 33 females were taken. Morphological breadth (MB) and morphological length (ML) on bilateral scapulae were measured on 3D CT reconstructed images. Independent t-test and discriminant function analysis (DFA) were performed for analysis.Results: Results revealed that both parameters showed sexual dimorphism of scapula but displayed no difference between the right and left scapulae. DFA showed that MB and ML had high accuracy for sex estimation. The equations were highly accurate when both parameters were used in combination, followed by MB only and ML only, in that sequence.Conclusion: In brief, scapula measurements may be useful for forensic assessment of sex in the Malaysian population

Conceptualización de la concientización sobre educación verde en la escuela primaria para promover la sostenibilidad

This research aims to make environmental awareness and action an intrinsic part of life at school. This should include the students, teachers, non-teaching staff, and parents, as well as the Local Authority, the media, and local business. Green education endeavors to extend learning beyond the classroom and develop responsible attitudes and commitment. Schools consume enormous quantities of paper and energy, produce tons of waste and carbon emissions, and rarely purchase environmentally friendly products. Schools use cleaners and pesticides with neurological and reproductive toxins, which are dangerous. Poor indoor air quality and nutrition at school are linked to soaring asthma and childhood obesity rates. Research now shows that greener, sustainable school environments can save money and resources, expand learning, and improve health. And ultimately, sustainable schools teach children to become good environmental citizens and will empower them to make a difference in the environment.Esta investigación tiene como objetivo hacer de la conciencia y la acción ambiental una parte intrínseca de la vida en la escuela. Esto debe incluir a los estudiantes, maestros, personal no docente y padres, así como a la Autoridad Local, los medios de comunicación y los negocios locales. La educación verde se esfuerza por extender el aprendizaje más allá del aula y desarrollar actitudes y compromisos responsables. Las escuelas consumen enormes cantidades de papel y energía, producen toneladas de residuos y emisiones de carbono, y rara vez compran productos ecológicos. Las escuelas usan limpiadores y pesticidas con toxinas neurológicas y reproductivas, que son peligrosas. La mala calidad del aire interior y la nutrición en la escuela están vinculadas a las elevadas tasas de asma y obesidad infantil. La investigación ahora muestra que los entornos escolares más verdes y sostenibles pueden ahorrar dinero y recursos, ampliar el aprendizaje y mejorar la salud. Y, en última instancia, las escuelas sostenibles enseñan a los niños a convertirse en buenos ciudadanos del medio ambiente y los capacitarán para hacer una diferencia en el medio ambiente