Assessment on different animal preservation techniques based on systematic decision tree for the development of natural history gallery in Pulau Tinggi Malaysia

Natural history collection is significant to examine the environmental impacts from human activities. The contribution of the natural history collection has been discussed and praised in recent years. Yet in the scientific literature, there are lack of public records and publication regarding the management of natural history specimens especially in the aspect of preservation techniques. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the perception of subject matter experts (SMEs) on various preservation techniques, analyse the time taken and the cost of each technique, develop the systematic decision tree (SDT) model that analysed by practitioners and come out with a development plan of Natural History Gallery in Pulau Tinggi. Interview sessions with five SMEs were done and questionnaire was distributed to 13 practitioners by using semi-structured and structured questionnaire to collect qualitative and quantitative data. Five types of preservation techniques namely taxidermy, resin, pinning, preservation in alcohol and diaphonization were conducted and analysed using SDT. The outcomes from the analysis showed that there are three types of SDT model which are difficulty level, time taken and cost spent. The SDT model of difficulty level shows that pinning technique was found to be the easiest method while taxidermy is the most difficult technique. Practitioners agreed on taxidermy being the easy method, but they think preservation in alcohol is easier. As for the SDT model in term of time taken, diaphonization takes the longest time to complete the process while pinning takes the shortest time in preservation. Practitioners concur for diaphonization but they think preservation in alcohol takes the shortest time. While SDT for costing aspect shows that pinning requires the lowest expense while diaphonization needs the highest cost and practitioners do agree with the statement. All data acquired from this study is important and will be used as a guide for the development and improvement of natural history gallery in Malaysia

Agonistic behavior of captive saltwater crocodile, crocodylus porosus in Kota Tinggi, Johor

Agonistic behavior in Crocodylus porosus is well known in the wild, but the available data regarding this behavior among the captive individuals especially in a farm setting is rather limited. Studying the aggressive behavior of C. porosus in captivity is important because the data obtained may contribute for conservation and the safety for handlers and visitors. Thus, this study focuses on C. porosus in captivity to describe systematically the agonistic behaviour of C. porosus in relation to feeding time, daytime or night and density per pool. This study was carried out for 35 days in two different ponds. The data was analysed using Pearson’s chi-square analysis to see the relationship between categorical factors. The study shows that C. porosus was more aggressive during daylight, feeding time and non-feeding time in breeding enclosure (Pond C, stock density =0.0369 crocodiles/m2) as compared to non-breeding pond (Pond B, stock density =0.3317 crocodiles/m2) where it is only aggressive during the nighttime. Pond C shows the higher domination in the value of aggression in feeding and non-feeding time where it is related to its function as breeding ground. Chi-square analysis shows that there is no significant difference between ponds (p=0.47, χ2= 2.541, df= 3), thus, there is no relationship between categorical factors. The aggressive behaviour of C. porosus is important for the farm management to evaluate the risk in future for the translocation process and conservation of C. porosus generally

Forecasting natural rubber price in Malaysia using Arima

This paper contains introduction, materials and methods, results and discussions, conclusions and references. Based on the title mentioned, high volatility of the price of natural rubber nowadays will give the significant risk to the producers, traders, consumers, and others parties involved in the production of natural rubber. To help them in making decisions, forecasting is needed to predict the price of natural rubber. The main objective of the research is to forecast the upcoming price of natural rubber by using the reliable statistical method. The data are gathered from Malaysia Rubber Board which the data are from January 2000 until December 2015. In this research, average monthly price of Standard Malaysia Rubber 20 (SMR20) will be forecast by using Box-Jenkins approach. Time series plot is used to determine the pattern of the data. The data have trend pattern which indicates the data is non-stationary data and the data need to be transformed. By using the Box-Jenkins method, the best fit model for the time series data is ARIMA (1, 1, 0) which this model satisfy all the criteria needed. Hence, ARIMA (1, 1, 0) is the best fitted model and the model will be used to forecast the average monthly price of Standard Malaysia Rubber 20 (SMR20) for twelve months ahead

Feeding Regime and Management of Captive Saltwater Crocodile, Crocodylus Porosus in Kota Tinggi, Johor

Crocodylus porosus is the largest species of crocodile and can be found in estuarine and riverine area in Malaysia. Crocodile in captivity can be found in Malaysia for various purposes such as tourism, conservation and leather industry. However, the management practice in established crocodile farm varies across park for example in terms of feeding regime. Thus, this study focusses on the feeding regime of C. porosus in captivity and evaluation of management of crocodile of Teluk Sengat Crocodile Farm. This study was carried out for 35 days in two different ponds of Teluk Sengat Crocodile Farm, Kota Tinggi, Johor. The results show majority of the food given to crocodile were chicken (64%), followed by fish (28%) and prawn (8%). Prawn was only given to juvenile crocodile every day, while fish and whole chicken were given to adult crocodile once a week. The feeding frequency are adequate for the juvenile crocodile however, the feeding quantity for adult pond are worrying. Future research should be conducted on other captive population of C. porosus in other areas in Malaysia as well to better understand the overall management practices in Malaysia

Data on first record of brown morph banded langur (presbytis femoralis), leucistic dusky leaf monkey ( trachypithecus obscurus ) in Malaysia and review of morph diversity in langur (colobinae)

Morphism refer to polymorphic species, in which multiple colour variants coexist within a population. Morphism in pri- mates is common and langurs also exhibit certain character- istics of morphism, such as conspicuous natal coats. Banded langurs ( Presbytis femoralis ) and dusky leaf monkey ( Trachyp- ithecus obscurus ) exhibits the same characteristics of conspic- uous natal coats, but these coats are only limited to infants and changed when they reached adulthood. This article re- ports the first discovery of rare brown morph of two adult male banded langurs and one leucistic adult female dusky leaf monkey in Malaysia. We also conducted a systematic literature search to review the diversity of morphism in leaf monkey globally

Analysing tertiary students’ reading proficiency of CEFR aligned texts via online discussion forum in a learning management system

Learning has taken a new dimension for students in higher institutions because they are now required to read large amounts of online materials constantly for academic purposes. Despite the use of technology, students are unable to take advantage of its full potential to read effectively online. This study investigated ESL learners’ use of Online Discussion Forums (ODFs) in a Learning Management System (LMS) to aid reading of texts aligned within Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This study employed a mixed method approach of collecting data within the context of a 14-week semester. Data collection consists of pre and post-tests as well as ODF threads from 55 ESL students enrolled in various courses at the university. Descriptive and content analyses were performed using SPSS and NVivo programs, respectively. Content analysis was confirmed using Cohen Kappa analysis that gave an almost perfect score, suggesting that the findings were reliable. Data analysis on online discussion threads confirms that students can achieve higher level conversations and discuss ideas to achieve comprehension. Post-test scores reveal ODF's interactive heuristic approach to learning has enhanced learners' ability to comprehend online materials. This becomes significant for instructors and program developers to integrate materials selection as well as relevant ODF topics to maximize learning potential

Analysing tertiary students’ reading proficiency of CEFR aligned texts via online discussion forum in a learning management system

Learning has taken a new dimension for students in higher institutions because they are now required to read large amounts of online materials constantly for academic purposes. Despite the use of technology, students are unable to take advantage of its full potential to read effectively online. This study investigated ESL learners’ use of Online Discussion Forums (ODFs) in a Learning Management System (LMS) to aid reading of texts aligned within Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This study employed a mixed method approach of collecting data within the context of a 14-week semester. Data collection consists of pre and post-tests as well as ODF threads from 55 ESL students enrolled in various courses at the university. Descriptive and content analyses were performed using SPSS and NVivo programs, respectively. Content analysis was confirmed using Cohen Kappa analysis that gave an almost perfect score, suggesting that the findings were reliable. Data analysis on online discussion threads confirms that students can achieve higher level conversations and discuss ideas to achieve comprehension. Post-test scores reveal ODF's interactive heuristic approach to learning has enhanced learners' ability to comprehend online materials. This becomes significant for instructors and program developers to integrate materials selection as well as relevant ODF topics to maximize learning potential

Data on First Record of Brown Morph Banded Langur (Presbytis femoralis), Leucistic Dusky Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus) in Malaysia and Review of Morph Diversity in Langur (Colobinae)

Morphism refer to polymorphic species, in which multiple colour variants coexist within a population. Morphism in primates is common and langurs also exhibit certain characteristics of morphism, such as conspicuous natal coats. Banded langurs (Presbytis femoralis) and dusky leaf monkey (Trachypithecus obscurus) exhibits the same characteristics of conspicuous natal coats, but these coats are only limited to infants and changed when they reached adulthood. This article reports the first discovery of rare brown morph of two adult male banded langurs and one leucistic adult female dusky leaf monkey in Malaysia

A systematic literature review of cyber security education models’ implementations

Young people should have definite competences to be able to manage their own security on the Internet as well as evaluate the sources and develop a responsible Internet conversation. Cases of Malaysian youth being the victims and perpetrators of cybersecurity threats such as cyberbullying and pornography are increasing. Without the support of a cybersecurity education model from the secondary school, students who pursue formal academic qualifications in Malaysia may receive inconsistent knowledge and skills. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evidence related to the implementation of the current Cyber Security Education Models in the context of Secondary School Education. The paper opted for a systematic literature review (SLR) procedures by Kitchenham and Charters to investigate the effectiveness of current Cyber Security Education Models. The study includes a set of 6 papers from among 152 retrieved papers published in SCOPUS-indexed journals. Results shows that 8 commonly used and established Frameworks; NIST Cyber Physical Systems Framework, Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (C2M2), Cyber Science Curriculum, Cyber Safety Education (CSE), Cyber-Routine Activities Theory (Cyber-RAT), Cyber Awareness Program, Attention, Relevance, Confidence, And Satisfaction (ARCS) motivational model and ADDIE model. The findings and recommendations from this baseline study are fundamental to develop a module for education at the secondary school level. This requires the students to understand the security threats associated throughout their years in school. Early exposure and education will help ensure healthy cyber habits and prepare them to the readiness on facing the cyber threats in the future

Physicochemical and Morphological Characterisation of the Native and Alkaline Pre-treated Fibre Pressed Oil Palm Frond for Fermentable Sugars Production

Lignocellulosic biomass (LCB) is the most abundant renewable biomass that gives high potential source for the production of value added products. LCB is mainly composed of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin. During pretreatment process, cellulosic biomass structure will be altered and delignification occur which make cellulose more accessible to the subsequent process of converting it into simple sugars. In this study, fibre pressed oil palm frond (FPOPF) was introduced as a raw material in order to maximise the utilisation of oil palm waste. This study was conducted to analyse and compare the physical, chemical and morphological characteristics of FPOPF before (native) and after alkaline pretreatment (pre-treated). The FPOPF was subjected to an alkaline pretreatment at 4.42 % w/v of sodium hydroxide solution which operated at 100 °C for an hour (Sukri and Rahman, 2014). From the study, it was found that characterisation of native FPOPF produced 40.7 % glucan, 26.1 % xylan, 4.5 % extractives, 26.2 % lignin and 1.8 % ash. Pre-treated FPOPF gave 61.4 % glucan, 20.4 % xylan, 0.3 % extractives, 13.3 % lignin and 1.3 % ash. The FPOPF samples were characterised using X-ray Diffraction spectrometry (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) to evaluate the properties and structural changes of FPOPF between native and pre-treated FPOPF. This information is useful in order to understand the properties and structural changes for native and pre-treated FPOPF