Table of contents

12th Seminar on Science and Technology, 2018

List of MESSAGE FROM VICE, MESSAGE FROM DEAN, MESSAGE FROM CHAIRMAN, KEYNOTE SPEAKER 1, KEYNOTE SPEAKER 2, ORGANIZING COMMITTEE are avilable in the pdf.

All papers published in this volume of Journal of Physics: Conference Series have been peer reviewed through processes administered by the proceedings Editors. Reviews were conducted by expert referees to the professional and scientific standards expected of a proceedings journal published by IOP Publishing.

Dyes are widely used in industries such as textiles, leather, paper, and plastics to colour the final products. People use natural sources such as stem, bark, leaves, roots and flowers to get different colours for dyeing purposes. In addition, natural colorants such as anthocyanins are known for their possible health benefits as dietary antioxidants. The objectives of this study are to extract the blue dye from the butterfly pea flower using maceration method and to determine the optimum condition by response surface methodology. The flowers were dried, grinded and went through the maceration method for the extraction process. Response surface models were developed correlating the extraction yield with three parameters namely residence time, temperature and solid to liquid ratio. The result from this experiment was optimized using response surface methodology to obtain the optimum condition at temperature 54 °C, extraction time 74 minutes and solid-to-liquid ratio of 1:37 to give extraction yield of 45.51 %.

The focus of this study was to compare the yield and characteristics of chitosan produced from different sequences of treatment for deproteination, demineralization and deacetylation. In Process 1, deproteination occurred in the first step followed by demineralization and deacetylation. While Process 2 was started with demineralization step and followed by deproteination and deacetylation. The results show that the percentage yield of chitosan was slightly higher when Process 2 was adopted with 22.22 %. However, the process produced chitosan with lower degree of deacetylation and solubility with high ash content, which were 76.47 %, 37.79 % and 2.67 %, respectively. While, when Process 1 was carried out, the degree of deacetylation of chitosan, solubility and ash content were improved to 91.26 %, 100 % and 0.38 %, respectively, with lower yield of 19.01 %. Therefore, this study suggests the extraction process should be performed by carrying out deproteination step before demineralization and deacetylation (Process 1) to produce a good quality of chitosan.

Plant phenolic content frequently varies in response to the changes in the environment and genetic factors. However, studies on the response of phenolic contents when cultivating under different soil media is still scarce. The present study investigates the phenolic constituents' production and growth quality of Hibiscus sabdariffa var. UKMR-2 in response to different soil media formulation ratio of topsoil, organic matter and sand. The cultivation using two different media; Soil Media 1 (SM1) with 2:1:1 v/v and Soil Media 2 (SM2) with 2:1:2 v/v. The UKMR-2 calyx extract was analysed for total phenolic (TPC), total anthocyanin (TAC), antioxidant activity (in IC₅₀) and evaluated based on HPLC-PDA. The result showed the mean value for SM1 and SM2 treatment, respectively: TPC was 2.54±0.34 and 2.47±0.34 mg GAE / g DW; TAC was 8.06±1.11 and 7.86±1.99 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents / g DW; IC50 value was 0.146±0.018 and 0.210±0.063 mg/mL. The HPLC-PDA showed the presence of delphinidin-3-O-sambubioside and cyanidin-3-O-sambubioside. The cultivation using SM1 tends to increase plant growth, calyx yields, phenolic constituents' production and antioxidant activity. However, the different soil media ratio has no significant influence on the growth and phenolic constituent production (p > 0.05). In general, SM1 (2:1:1 v/v) soil media ratio may produce better growth, higher percentage yield and phenolic constituents' for UKMR-2 cultivation.

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are widely reported to have key role related to plant growth and metabolite production. However, studies on the impact of PGRs especially jasmonic acid (JA) on phenolic constituents in Roselle has not been reported yet in any previous studies. The present study investigates the effect on plant growth and phenolic constituents' production in response to JA application with different concentrations of H. sabdariffa var. UKMR-2. JA solution was applied at 65 days after transplanting (DAT) according to their treatment designated; 0.5 mM (JA1), 1 mM (JA2) and Control (untreated). The growth performance was recorded and the assessments of phenolic constituents in the calyx water extract followed Folin-Ciocalteu assay, pH differential method and DPPH assay. The results showed that application of JA has significant influences on phenolic constituent production and antioxidant activity (p < 0.05). Between JA concentrations, increasing the JA concentration from 0.5 to 1 mM resulted in a decreasing value of total phenolics and total anthocyanins content. However, plant growth parameters showed that there is no significant effect with JA treatments (p > 0.05). Therefore, the result suggested that exposure to JA decreased the UKMR-2 plant growth and calyx yields, phenolic constituents' content and antioxidant activity compared to Control with the sequence: Control > JA1 > JA2.

Utilization of agro-based fibre for paper making has been the subject of interest in order to expand the usage of renewable resources as well as reduced the dependence on wood pulp. As one of the major countries in palm oil production, some of the waste from the oil palm plantation like the oil palm fronds, empty fruit bunches, and its leaf is a potential source of non-wood industry which can be used as raw material in the paper industry manufacture. This study was done to examine the potential of palm leaves to be used as a raw material of non-wood resources in the papermaking industry. In this study, sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pulping and process was employed to investigate the effectiveness of lignin removal for good fibre production. The concentration of the pulping agent was fixed at 7% at treatment of 1-7 hours to investigate the best condition for defibrillation of the cellulose fibre. Based on this study, it was found that the soda pulping produces fibre that can be molded into paper sheet without any binding agent. The morphology of the fibre observed under Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) shows that, soda pulping fiber consist of individual micro fibrils that are well separated. Both tensile strength and tear index gives highest value at 1.93 kg/cm² and 37 Nm²/kg respectively at 7 hours treatment time. his reflects that lignin removal effectively occurred in soda pulping. Tensile strength found to increases with treatment time and both tensile strength and tear index of the paper falls within the value comparable to commerical non-wood paper. The paper produced has rough surface and has the potential to be develop for craft paper.

Owing to its unique electrical and optical properties, 4,7-di(2-thienyl)-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole (DTBT) moiety has became one of the most important building block for the synthesis of high-performance conjugated polymers. DTBT is commonly synthesized by Stille or Suzuki coupling reactions which are costly and time-consuming. In this work, DTBT moiety was prepared via an operationally simple method namely direct arylation. This coupling was performed under mild condition, giving the product in good yield.

Biodiesel was utilized as an alternative source of renewable energy to counter the shortcomings of fossil fuels. In this study, the physical and chemical properties of olive cooking oils and palm cooking oil were analysed as biodiesel feedstock based on density, specific gravity, acid value, free fatty acid content (FFA), saponification value and peroxide value. The analysis results were compared according to ASTM and EN standards. Olive cooking oil A, olive cooking oil B and palm cooking oil have densities of 895 kg/m³, 897 kg/m³ and 904 kg/m³, respectively. The specific gravities of olive cooking oil A, olive cooking oil B and palm cooking oil were 0.88, 0.88 and 0.89 respectively. Olive cooking oil A, olive cooking oil B and palm cooking oil have acid value of 0.45 mg KOH/g ± 0.02 mg KOH/g with 0.23 % ± 0.01 % FFA, 0.41 mg KOH/g ± 0.02 mg KOH/g with 0.21 % ± 0.01 % FFA and 1.08 mg KOH/g ± 0.07 mg KOH/g with 0.54 % ± 0.04 % FFA, respectively. Palm cooking oil has high acid value exceeded the standard limit; thus, it requires FFA reduction before transesterification. The saponification values of olive cooking oil A, olive cooking oil B and palm cooking oil were 187.93 mg KOH/g ± 1.40 mg KOH/g, 188.40 mg KOH/g ± 0.81 mg KOH/g and 198.22 mg KOH/g ± 0.81 mg KOH/g respectively. The peroxide values obtained for olive cooking oil A, olive cooking oil B and palm cooking oil were 8.00 meq/kg ± 2.00 meq/kg, 8.00 meq/kg ± 2.00 meq/kg and 6.00 meq/kg ± 2.00 meq/kg, respectively. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis was done and the functional groups present in all oil samples were analysed.

Fish provides a rich source of protein, fatty acids and minerals. Being the world's first hybridised grouper (TGGG) as a result of cross-breeding the giant grouper and tiger grouper, TGGG has proven to be more disease-resistant as compared to both of its parent species. It is important to determine the nutrients compositions of all parts of the fish as a means of widening its scope of usage. The objective of this study is to determine the chemical compositions from the fillet, fins, bones and viscera of TGGG. The results showed that the fins and fillet contained high levels of protein (fins: 68.12%; fillet: 78.63%) and low Na/K ratios (fins: 0.4; fillet: 0.1). Essential amino acids (EAA) in the fillet were comparable to FAO/WHO requirements. The lipid from viscera contained SFA as the major component, whereas other fish parts were rich in unsaturated FA. Both the fillet and fins had the same PUFA/SFA ratio (0.43) and was higher than bones (0.31) and viscera (0.25). Glycine and proline were the most abundant AA, while calcium was the major mineral in the bones. In summary, each part of the fish could be potential new sources of specific nutrient components.

The effect of chitosan-based coating containing ascorbic acid (AA) for shelf-life extension of chilled (4 °C) tilapia fish fillet was evaluated over a 15-day duration of storage. A 3 X 3 Factorial Design comprising three concentrations of ascorbic acid (0, 2.5 and 5% w/v) and three concentrations of chitosan (1, 1.5 and 2% w/v) were used. The fish fillets were analyzed for aerobic plate count, lipid peroxidation, aw and pH changes throughout the duration of storage. The shelf-life of coated fillets (1.5 and 2%) was lengthened up to 15 days as compared to uncoated one (less than 6 days). The lipid oxidation of fillet with chitosan and AA (2C-5AA) was reported to be four times lower than that of the uncoated sample. The pH and a_wof fish fillet coated with chitosan were lower than that of uncoated sample. The addition of ascorbic acid in chitosan coating further improved the oxidation inhibition by giving a lowered pH and aw changes for the duration of the storage. In conclusion, 2% chitosan coating added with 5% AA was the most effective coating to enhance the shelf life of chilled tilapia fish fillet.

This study was aimed to identify the sex of humphead wrasse, Cheilinus undulatus kept in captivity based on body sizes and morphological characteristics. There were 65 tails of C. undulatus broodstocks reared in the captivity throughout six months of research period and fed daily with enrich prey fish (Sardinella sp.). Growth parameters and morphological characteristics such as presence of eyeline, hump on head and genital papillae, of the C. undulatus were carried out. These findings revealed in captivity, female of C. undulatus (n=13) attained an average body weight of 2.78 kg and total length 47.10 cm meanwhile male of C. undulatus attained larger body weight (14.62 kg) and total length exceeding size of female (89.30 cm). C. undulatus performed an isometric growth pattern (b = 2.9487) with condition factor of above 0.2. Morphologically, female was identified with the noticeable alleviation of the hump on its head and the visibility of eyeline behind its eyes which was not seen in male. This study concluded sex of C. undulatus in captivity is differentiated through body size and morphological features and take longer time in sex transition, thus balanced sex ratio for good broodstock management can be controlled to develop appropriate breeding protocol.

This study investigates macrofouling development on PVC panels deployed in Karambunai, Sabah. The experimental setup includes two sets of connected PVC pipes, framed in a triangular shape, attached to concrete blocks deployed on the seafloor and kept afloat vertically underwater. The first set (upper) of frame positioned 2 m below the surface whereas the second set (bottom) attached 8 m below it. A total of 36 PVC plates measuring 20 cm x 27 cm were tied on each three sides of the two sets of frames. To investigate monthly macrofouling development, three panels were taken from each side of the two frames. This experiment lasted 180 days, starting from end of April to October 2017. As a result, a total of ten different species were identified growing on the front side and the back side of the plates at 2 m and 8 m. The total biomass of macrofouling assemblages at 2 m and 8 m had a significant (P<0.05) positive correlation (0.89), suggesting that there was no significant difference of total biomass between two different depths. For macrofouling community, diversity indices showed similar values for both sides of the plates at 2 m and 8 m, indicating that depth and plate orientation had no influence on the distribution pattern of macrofouling growth.

Free radical is a byproducts of biochemical processes that happen in human body. In order to overcome this free radicals damage, antioxidant functions as a molecule that would interact safely to free radicals and terminate the current reaction before further damage is happening. Two choices of antioxidants are available which are natural and synthetic but natural are more preferable because synthetic might cause toxicity and higher cost. The common natural source of antioxidants are medicinal plants and herbs. Due to this, two medicinal plants, Alpinia galangal and Kaempferia galanga, from Zingiberaceae family is chosen to study the phytochemical constituents and antioxidant and antibacterial activities of different crude extracts; hexane, ethyl acetate and methanol, from dried rhizomes. These two species of Zingberaceae were collected specifically in Beaufort, Sabah. The crude extracts were obtained by maceration process by using low polarity to high polarity solvent. Phytochemical studies were done. Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities were determined by using DPPH assay and Agar Disc-Diffusion assay, respectively. Results for phytochemical screening for both plants shows that methanol extracts has the following phytochemical properties; saponins, phenols, flavonoids, tannins, steroid and terpenoid. All of the crude extract tested showed that absorbance increase in accordance with the increasing of sample concentration. Both of the plant shows the antioxidant activity as follow order of crude extract: methanol > ethyl acetate > hexane. Four bacteria strain has been tested for antibacterial activity for both plants which are S. aureus, B, Cereus, S. thyphimurium and V. Cholerae. For both plant, the non-polar extracts (hexane) exhibits greater antibacterial activity than that of polar extracts (ethyl acetate). However, there was no antibacterial activity observed in methanol extract for both plant. Overall, A. galanga and K. galanga could serve as potential sources of antibacterial and antioxidant agents

This study aims to utilize cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) DNA sequences in the classification of 22 butterfly and 8 moth species that were morphologically identified by Entopia Penang Butterfly Farm. COI of the mitochondrial gene has been chosen for evolutionary study of butterflies and moths because COI mitochondrial gene is maternally inherited with little or no recombination. This research revealed that 20 out of 22 butterflies were correctly classified while two butterflies and three moths were misidentified after the sequences were analyzed using Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST). Morphologically identified Cepora nadina (Sample ID: NCN1) was identified as Cepora iudith while Prioneris thestylis (NPT2) was identified as Prioneris philonome. Three moths; Dysphania malayanus (RDMA1), Nyctemera coleta (RNC1) and Nyctemera coleta (RNC2) were discovered as Bracca matutinata, Nyctemera regularis and Nyctemera baulus respectively. The outcome of this study further classified four butterfly species into subspecies, including Cepora nadina with subspecies andersoni, Prioneris philonome with subspecies themana, Pareronia valeria with subspecies lutescens and Elymnias nesaea classified into subspecies Elymnias nesaea lioneli. Analysis of nine butterfly species and three moth species demonstrates the value in attaching subspecies names to DNA barcode records and further helps to correct misidentified species. Overall, the relationship between butterfly and moth proves that butterfly and moth are distantly related.

The first record of harmful algae bloom (HAB) in Sabah was in 1976 where 202 victims were reported to be suffering from Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) and 7 deaths. The causative organism was Pyrodinium bahamense, a dinoflagellate which produces saxitoxin. Since then, Department of Fisheries Sabah has been doing monitoring to safeguard seafood safety, especially shellfish harvested for food consumption. Cochlodinium polykrikoides bloom for the first time in Sabah in year 2005 where Kota Kinabalu and Tuaran experienced fish kill. Since then, other HAB species such as Gymnodinium catenatum, Gonyaulax polygramma and Noctiluca scintillans were identified in waters of Sabah. Sabah is the only state in Malaysia in which the monitoring program is done consistently throughout the year since 1976. Samples were collected once or twice a month, according to high and low risks areas which have been identified, most of which are in the west coast. The collection frequency may be increased depending on the situation such as whether there is an outbreak of red tide or PSP in the area. Due to this effort, PSP cases involving the public have declined during the last 40 years without duly affecting the income of fishermen and the fisheries industry. After successfully implementing toxin monitoring between 1984 to 2013, it recurred back in 2013 when 3 deaths were reported. The purpose of this paper is to review all HABs incidences that occured in Sabah over the last few years from January 2000 – December 2017.

Overexploitation of sea cucumbers especially Holothurians is not a new issue, as this species has been highly demanded and traded at high price in Asian dried seafood market. As the wild seed supply has shown a substantial decline, hatchery production is urgently needed to supply the aquaculture industry. However, many are still struggling with the larviculture of Holothuria scabra. In this study, suitable diet (Nannochloropsis sp., Chaetoceros calcitrans and combined diet) and stocking density (1, 1.5 and 2 larvae ml⁻¹) for H. scabra larvae are tested in a factorial experiment. The experiment was carried out in plastic containers randomly arranged in a water bath at temperature 29-30°C. Result shows that, there was a strong interaction between diets and stocking density on the growth of the larvae (p=0.000). Single species of Nannochloropsis sp. at 1.5 larvae ml⁻¹ demonstrated the highest growth (109.69± 8.21). On the other hand, single species of C. calcitrans also at 1.5 larvae ml⁻¹ enhanced the metamorphosis of auricularia into doliolaria stage. However, the survival rate was not significantly affected by the diets and stocking density (p= 0.974) although single species of Nannochloropsis sp. at 2 larvae ml⁻¹ has the highest survival (1.2±1.05). For a stocking density of 1.5 larvae ml⁻¹, it is recommended to feed the larvae with Nannochloropsis sp. and C. calcitrans for higher growth and faster metamorphosis, respectively.

Anguilla bicolor or commonly known as a shortfin eel is a subspecies of eel in the genus of Anguilla and widely distributed in South East Asia. Present study reveals the first report of the early gonad development of cultured A. bicolor in captivity via histological analysis. The total length and body weight of A. bicolor were 511 to 614 mm and 209 to 420 g respectively. The result showed all specimens were female with no sign of male or intersexual stage. Through histological analysis, identified female were classified in 1) immature (n=3) by the presence of oogonia (O) and primary germ cell (PG) and also 2) developing stages (n=11) by the presence of previtellogemic-stages oocyte (PVO), oogonia (O) and cortical alveolar oocyte (CAO). Meanwhile, the fin difference index (FDI) and eye index (EI %) ranged from 0.55 to 3.89 % and 1.64 to 4.56% respectively. This study concludes smaller size (511 to 614 mm) of cultured A. bicolor is immature, while gonad maturation was already in developing stage for larger size (565-614 mm), hence these range of A. bicolor are still unable to be used as broodstock.

The immune response of Tiger grouper (E. fuscoguttatus) broodstocks and its passive transfer of maternal antibodies to eggs and larvae were evaluated following vaccination with an inactivated V.harveyi. Tiger grouper broodstock (mean BW 8.66 ± 0.09 kg, n=19) were vaccinated intraperitoneally (IP) and followed by a booster two weeks post vaccination, while Controlled Non-vaccinated (CG) broodstock were IP injected with PBS. The serum antibody level against V.harveyi was monitored for two weeks on post-vaccination and monthly up to 5 months post-vaccination. This study showed that the Vaccinated Group (VG) broodstock induced significantly (P<0.05) higher in specific IgM antibody level against V.harveyi as compared to the CG, which in turn induced a marked increased (P<0.05) in specific IgM in eggs and larvae produced from VG broodstock at 14 weeks post vaccination. The findings from this study suggested that inactivated V.harveyi vaccines were able to stimulate the immune response in broodstock and passively transferred the maternal antibody to their eggs and larvae.

Banana is a popular world major fruit which contribute around 15% of global fruit generation. It is a standout amongst the utmost generally established tropical fruits, developed more than 130 nations, along the tropics and subtropics of Capricorn. The greater part of the consumable bananas are grown from Musa acuminata or Musa balbisiana), Pacific tropical bananas (Musa sapientum) as well as cooking bananas, also called plantains (Musa paradisiacal). Fruit banana isn't just exceptionally nutritious nourishment yet in addition valuable as fragrance, beauty care products and antioxidants for cancer prevention. The paper will feature the convenience of banana peel as a rule and discuss the use of banana peel for surgical training. banana peel is using for practising suturing skills to supplant the costly silicon surgical skin pad. The texture of banana peel is like human skin and more sensible practice. Students were permitted to practice different types of suturing method such as simple interrupted suture, vertical and horizontal mattress suture by using the different species of banana. In conclusion, banana peel is a suitable cheap, eco-friendly and given more reasonable alternative practice for suturing among medical students.

Dengue fever is an arthropod-borne viral disease caused by the Dengue virus (genus Falvivirus, family Flaviviridae). It has rapidly spread all over the world affecting approximately 400 million people annually. Human dengue infection is caused by four types of closely related viruses (also called serotypes) namely DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4, all of which can be all found in Sabah, Malaysia. Each serotype can then be divided into unique groups based on its genotypes. In Malaysia, dengue has been reported as the most prevalent disease of the country with a ratio of 328.3 cases per 100,000 populations. Exacerbating this further, it was also recently reported in 2017 of the emergence of a newly identified Asian lineage dengue virus i.e. type 3 genotype II (D3GII) in Malaysia. We have aimed, through this study, to examine the serotypes and the genotypes of dengue virus circulating in Sabah. This study was conducted for a period of 8 months i.e. from January to August 2017. A total of 52 NS1 (50.9% were males and 49.1% were females) positive dengue patient serum samples were genotyped. Viral RNA was extracted from serum using QIAamp viral RNA mini kit and DNA sequencing was done on Applied Biosystems 3730xl DNA analyzer. The results showed that serotype DENV-3 was the most predominant dengue circulating virus in Sabah with 23 cases detected. These were further grouped under three genotypes namely D3GI (1 case), D3GII (14 cases) and D3GIII (8 cases). Serotype DENV-1 was the second most common circulating virus in Sabah with 17 cases and grouped under two genotypes, D1Gia (15 cases) and D1Gic (2 cases), respectively. On the other hand, only one genotype (D4GII) was detected for DENV-4 (9 cases), and two genotypes (D2 Cosmopolitan Clade I and D2 Cosmopolitan Clade Ib) for DENV-2, each with one case per genotype, respectively. Understanding of genotype diversity will be useful in designing strategies for dengue management in epidemiological surveillance and vaccine design.

In this study, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from traditional fermented foods namely coco bean, fermented cabbage, salted vegetable, tempeh, tempoyak, tapai ubi and tapai nasi were screened for production of bacteriocin. Characterisation and in vitro evaluation of them were carried out to assess their potential use in food industry. Towards these objectives, the inhibitory spectra of the isolates against Listeria monocytogenes ATCC13932, resistance to phenol, amylolytic and proteolytic activities, ability to produce acid and coagulate milk, antibiotic susceptibility and tolerance in the presence of various concentration of NaCl and at different temperatures were evaluated. Two out of 15 LAB strains were able to inhibit the growth of food-borne pathogen, L. monocytogenes ATCC 13932 and produce bacteriocin-like inhibitory substances. The strains were identified as Pediococcus acidilactici TN1 (from tapai nasi) and Lactobacillus farciminis TY1 (from tempoyak). Biochemical and physiological tests demonstrated that, both strains were able to grow at wide range of NaCl concentrations (0.5 - 5.0 %, w/v) and temperatures (28 - 70 °C), and capable to degrade protein. They lowered the pH level and coagulate milk after 24 h of incubation. Both strains showed intrinsic mechanisms of antibiotic resistance towards streptomycin, norfloxacin, erythromycin, amikacin and nalidixic acid. They also were able to grow in 0.3% (w/v) of bile salts and tolerate up to 0.5% (w/v) phenol. The findings from this study revealed the presence of LAB strains in fermented foods of Northern Borneo which have an antimicrobial activity towards the food-borne pathogen. Even though this study had generated extensive information to validate Pediococcus acidilactici TN1 and Lactobacillus farciminis TY1 as potential probiotic strains for application in the food industry, the study is by no means comprehensive nor complete. More laboratory, particularly in vivo studies, are needed before this product could be accepted by the food industry and most importantly to explore its novel health promoting functions as well as its colonization behaviour in the gut.

Kinase and phosphatase are two types of protein which copiously involved in the signal transduction cascade. Misleading of these signaling processes will cause cancer development and other related diseases in human. Therefore, over expression of these signaling proteins might be decreased by the presence of potential inhibitor. In the present study, an attempt was made to verify the potential of Solanum erianthum collected from Sabah, Malaysia against proteins in signal transduction involved in cancer pathway. Leaves of S. erianthum were extracted using methanol. Extracts were tested against protein phosphatase type 1 (PP1), MAPK kinase (MKK1) and MAPK kinase phosphatase (MSG5); which using PAY704-1 and PAY700-4, MKK1P386 and MKK1P386-MSG5 yeast strains, respectively. The results revealed that methanolic extracts of S. erianthum exhibited toxic activities against all assays. Bioassay-guided fractionation of S. erianthum showed positive activities from CHCl3 fraction (CE) against PP1 protein. Chromatographic separation later confirmed column fractions F1 and F2 of S. erianthum as PP1 inhibitor. In-vitro cell growth inhibition assay of this plant sample showed moderate activities against HeLa, CaOV3 and MCF7 cell lines.

Tea Tree oil (TTO) contains beneficial properties such as antibacterial, antimicrobial, antiviral and anti-fungal. Whereas, the medium chain fatty acids in Virgin Coconut oil (VCO) able to protect hair follicles from heat, restoring hair's moisture and other damage. This paper describes the physical properties of seven hair shampoo formulations containing differing amount of TTO and VCO. The essential oils (TTO) applied in these formulations were extracted from fresh tea trees using steam distillation method and the VCO was produced from fermentation of fresh mature kernel coconut. Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was conducted to determine the essential oil components of TTO and fatty acid composition of VCO. The shampoo formulations were subjected to evaluation of several parameters namely organoleptic, pH, viscosity, total solid content, foam stability, and dirt dispersion. The results show that the TTO was composed of terpene hydrocarbons with terpinene-4-ol as the major component; meanwhile lauric acid is major component of VCO. All the shampoo formulations were acid-balanced with pH range between 6.23 – 6.43; total solid contents were between 29.92 – 35.61%; stable foaming with the same foam volume for 4 minutes and no dirt was observed. Rheological test showed formulation with 6% TTO (0% VCO) has pseudo-plastic behavior and relatively lower total solid content which are desirable attributes in hair shampoo. Overall, TTO- and VCO-containing shampoo formulations showed ideal physicochemical properties for hair cleansing and treatments.

This study aims to use DNA sequence and perform classification of eight Tantadan honey bees species from Sabah that were morphologically identified through Pictorial Identification Guide and Composite Algorithm. The species involved were Tetragonula fuscobalteata, Tetragonula laeviceps, Tetragonula drescheri, Lepidotrigona cf. ventralis, Lepidotrigona terminata, Heterotrigona itama and Tetragonula melanocephala. Normally, coI gene is used as it has elevated evolutionary rates higher than nuclear genes and is more specific in discriminating between closely related taxa. However, in this study, the nuclear gene was used as only this region could be amplified from this species. DNA barcoding is a method used for identifying unknown species and taxonomic classification at the molecular level using DNA fragments found in the genome of a species that is unique for the purpose of identification. However, morphological identification is also crucial as it provides the means of observing the differences between species based on the naked eyes. The methods used were DNA extraction, amplification of 28S nuclear DNA by PCR method, DNA sequencing and bioinformatics analysis of DNA to complete the identification process of these species based on their genetic material. Homology search of the 28S partial gene sequences revealed only three out of eight species were in agreement with taxonomic classification but five out of eight were not. Those five species are as follows; Tetragonula laeviceps identified as Tetragonula carbonaria, Tetragonula drescheri identified as Lepidotrigona terminata, Lepidotrigona cf. ventralis identified as Tetragonula carbonaria, Heterotrigona itama identified as Heterotrigona bakeri and Tetragonula melanocephala identified as Tetragonula carbonaria. The study revealed that 28S fragment of nuclear DNA is a suitable candidate to identify Tantadan honey bees species but it was not distinct enough for specific species identification, thus the result obtained here can be used for further study with primers targeting amplification of coI gene. In a nutshell, this study successfully demonstrated the use of DNA barcode using 28S rDNA in differentiating closely related species.

The search for new antibiotics is a continuous effort since its discovery. Nevertheless, the speed of discovering novels antibiotics cannot match the speed of bacteria acquiring antibiotics resistant. Hence, the search efforts have broadened to include all compounds with antimicrobial activities. The toxin-antitoxin (TA) gene products are the potential antimicrobial compounds worth analyzing. The TA system consists of a set gene found either in the chromosome or plasmid, or both. At the moment, the toxin, a peptide from this system is known to kill some hosts that either encountered stress or have lost the plasmid carrying the TA genes. In a previous study, it was found that an Antarctic bacterium, Cryobacterium sp. SO1 chromosome harbored a putative antimicrobial peptide-coding gene similar to a class II TA, pemK gene. However, it is not clear whether this antimicrobial peptide has cross-species antimicrobial activity. Therefore, this work aims to determine whether this PemK protein has antimicrobial properties or not. The pemK_cryobacSo1 gene was ligated to an arabinose-inducible promoter of the Topo pBAD plasmid and used to transform the Escherichia coli TOP10. The cloning of pemK inhibited the growth of the host E. coli TOP10 as the cells failed to grow. This indicated that PemK probably has a cross-species activity inhibited the growth of E. coli apart from its original host Cryobacterium sp. SO1.

This study investigated the effects of comprehensive core body resistance exercise on lower extremity motor function in stroke survivors. This resistance exercise was developed to aid stroke patients with various severity to perform this exercise, aimed to improve their core strength, stability, and control. Thirty-four stroke patients aged 47.7±13.16 years old were selected from the Rehabilitation Department, Queen Elizabeth I Hospital in Sabah, Malaysia. All patients underwent supervised training either assistive, active or active resistance exercise, biweekly for 12 weeks. Motor function was evaluated using Fugl-Meyer Assessment Lower Extremity (FMA-LE). The data were collected at baseline and at four weeks training interval. Repeated measures ANOVA and paired t test were employed to analyse the effects of the resistance exercise on lower extremity motor function. The twelve-week resistance exercise showed statistically significant effects on lower extremity motor function, lower extremity, coordination/speed, passive joint motion, and joint pain. However, sensation was found insignificant. Paired t test showed statistically significant improvement in lower extremity motor function, lower extremity, coordination/speed, passive joint motion, joint pain, and sensation. This study suggested that the obtained results indicate that the core body resistance exercise was applicable without any induced negative effect such as spasticity or joint pain.

In recent years, there is growing interest in the nutritional implications of resistant starch in foods due to its functional properties and health benefits. This has resulted to the development of various modification techniques to induce the formation of resistant starch. This study aimed to elucidate the effect of different modifications on digestibility and thermal properties of sago starch. Sago starch was treated with hydrothermal treatment [heat moisture treatment (HMT) and annealing (ANN)] as well as combined modification of acid methanol treatment (AMT) and hydrothermal treatment (HMT and ANN), respectively. Combined modification (AMT-HMT and AMT-ANN) had more pronounced effect in increasing the resistant starch (RS) content and lowering the glycemic index (GI) of sago starch, especially in gelatinized form. Strong negative correlation was obtained between RS and GI in both raw and gelatinised starch. Combination of acid methanol treatment with annealing caused the highest increment in gelatinization temperatures of sago starch.

This paper presents the preliminary assessment on the applicability of palm oil fuel ash (POFA) as one of the materials used to produce interlocking compressed earth brick (ICEB). Ultrafine size POFA was used to replace the main ingredient for ICEB production which is the clay soil. The percentages of replacement were limited to 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, and 60% by weight of the total clay soil material. The main purpose of conducting the experiment is to identify the most desirable mix through compressive strength test. Result showed that, at the curing age of 28 days, the compressive strength of mixture that substituted with 30%–60% of ultrafine POFA achieved higher strength than the control mixture. Meanwhile, the highest compressive strength was obtained by batch series CP50 (50% clay soil + 50% ultrafine POFA). The experimental studies specified that ultrafine POFA has significant possibilities for application in manufacturing ICEB.

Overwhelming amount of heavy metals discharged due to industrialization is a serious global concern. Thus, an investigation was done on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) from Asian swamp eel, Monopterus albus, as an alternative biosensor to detect various metal ions. AChE from the brain of M. albus was purified through ammonium sulphate precipitation and procainamide affinity chromatography. Enzyme recovery was obtained at 38.73% with the specific activity of 1847 U μg⁻¹. The Michaelis constant (Km) value and maximal velocity (Vmax) were determined at 8.910 mM and 29.44 μmol min⁻¹ mg⁻¹, respectively for acetylthiocholine iodide (ATC). Based on effective coefficient ratio, AChE from M. albus brain showed higher affinity to ATC compared to butyrylthiocholine iodide (BTC) and propionylthiocholine iodide (PTC) at the value of 3.304, 1.515, 2.965 Vmax.Km⁻¹ respectively. Optimum activity of AChE was obtained at 40°C and incubated in 0.1M Tris HCl buffer pH 9.0. Inhibition study performed on 10 heavy metals resulted in this descending order of inhibition mercury<chromium<zinc<copper<arsenic<silver<cobalt<cadmium<lead<nickel, with mercury and chromium showing more than 50% inhibition at 10 ppm. Data from this study can be further utilized to develop a cheaper, easier, and faster heavy metal detection method as compared to conventional methods available.

Heavy metals pollution has now become a serious environmental problem worldwide especially in Malaysia River. As a precaution, continuous environmental monitoring is needed to minimize heavy metal to the ecosystem. Inhibitive enzyme assay based on enzyme including cholinesterase has been introduced as a rapid, cheap and reliable method to assess the level of contamination in the river. In this study, the Asian swamp eel, Monopterus albus, was selected and determined of the sensitivity level towards heavy metals. The liver of M. albus was extracted and purified using ion exchange chromatography of which DEAE sepharose as the matrix of the column. Based on the Ellman assay, cholinesterase was obtained at 4.86 purification fold with the percentage recovery of 30.32 %. The enzyme works optimally at pH 9 (0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer) and 25 °C, while BTC; 369×10³ U.mg⁻¹ was selected as the preferable substrate which shows highest catalytic efficiencies compared to ATC and BTC at 1457 × 10³, 1220 × 10³ and 488 × 10³ Vmax.Km⁻¹, respectively, Cholinesterase was tested with eight metal ions at the concentration of 5 ppm and the ascending order of inhibition is as followed; arsenic = chromium ⩽ plumbum ⩽ copper ⩽ argentum = nickel < mercury. From this study, the ability of cholinesterase partially purified from the liver tissue of M. albus has the potential to be an assay for heavy metals.

Anaerobic digestion is a process by which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. The process involves hydrolysis, acidogenesis, acedogenesis and methanogenesis stages. Anaerobic digestion of food waste has been widely investigated for biogas recovery but limited study was performed on phosphorus recovery. Substrate to inoculum ratio is a very crucial parameter in anaerobic digestion in an attempt to recover phosphorus as it highly influences the production of organic acids during acidogenesis. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate phosphorus recovery at different ratio of substrate to inoculum, where substrates was fixed to ratio 1.0 while inoculum ratio varied to 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5 throughout the digestion process. The main substrate used in the anaerobic digestion was food waste which was segregated into different composition namely carbohydrates rich-food waste, fiber rich-food waste and protein rich-food waste. The phosphorus recovery was performed using anaerobic batch digester at mesophilic (35±1°C) condition and pH= 6.0 for 15 days. Semi treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) was used as the inoculum to boost up the anaerobic digestion. The results indicate that substrate to inoculum ratio (1.0 : 2.0) was the optimum ratio to recover phosphorus, where protein rich-food waste shows the phosphorus recovery was about 40.8%, followed by carbohydrate rich-food waste and fibre rich-food waste with 32.8% and 26.2%, respectively. This study is very important in resources recovery from wastes as it provides information on a new strategies for phosphorus recovery from food waste.

Greenspaces are central to the success of cities. However, what is normally found while walking in local parks or greenspaces are empty cans, bottles, food wrappers and other litters that ruin the aesthetic beauty of the site. Increase in the number of visitors visiting parks in Malaysia has resulted in a growing littering problem. Some parks even received numerous complaints regarding litter. In order to understand the problem of littering in parks, a study was conducted with the objective of identifying factors influencing peoples' littering behaviour in Pantai Temasya Bintulu, Sarawak, Malaysia. A total of 178 set of questionnaires were distributed to visitors at Pantai Temasya Bintulu, Sarawak, which is a popular recreational park in Bintulu. Data collected was encoded into the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) and analysed accordingly. The study found more male (61.8%) than female (38.2%) respondents have done littering in the past. While more Chinese (73.1%) respondents admitted to littering than any other races. With regards to marital status, singles (64.2%) and those without children (64.4%) top the list for littering. Respondents of the age group of 17 to 25-year-old (70.6%) recorded a high percentage for littering as compared to other age groups. Respondents with only a primary school (66.7%) education have a higher tendency to litter. Besides, jobless adults and students also dominated the chart for littering for the occupation profile. Parallel with that, the income group which those without any source of income (65.3%) was the highest to admit to littering. The study identified attitude to be the highest factor influencing littering among visitors with nearly 65% respondents agreeing to it. Meanwhile, beverage containers such as aluminium cans, glass and plastic bottles were found to be the type of litter most frequently found in Pantai Temasya Bintulu. Studies on public perception towards littering are essential for administrative and strategic planning of litter control. In the case of Pantai Temasya Bintulu, early education and awareness campaigns are seen to be the best approach to instil good attitudes among the visitors.

The concept of ecosystem services was introduced into global policy to consolidate both conservation and development to interconnect the discourse between biodiversity and sustainable development for the benefit of human well-being; this encourages conservation and land use planners to achieve both ecological and social goals. Mapping the potential supply of ecosystem services is necessary for continuous monitoring of such services to ensure the sustainable management of natural resources to support decision-making. Therefore, this study presents a multifaceted methodological framework for mapping ecosystem services potential supply surrounding a protected area. We integrate a non-monetary 'Matrix Model' assessment with an expert-driven approach to assess the potential supply from a holistic perspective. Experts and stakeholders dealt with Likert scales to weigh multiple land cover supply of ecosystem services. Our study shows that using an integrated approach to map ecosystem services not only minimizes uncertainties but is also important for the evaluation of ecosystem services. The integration process can also be an interactive approach between scientists and stakeholders to improve mutual understanding regarding resource management. The selected services and land cover data can be an effective medium to visually exhibit forest function and the services of a protected area; these can work as scheming tools that can contribute to an effective policy measurement for the sustainable conservation of protected areas.

Decades of forest management has shown that Community-Based Forest Management (CBFM) is the key viability. In such management, the local community is involved in the planning, site-preparation, monitoring, decision-making, and benefit-sharing. Although this seems to be a practical and respectful method for forest management, some problematic issues still arise. One of the much debated subjects include the contribution of CBFM to household income and land encroachment. Hence, this study aims to provide an in-depth discussion of this matter where part of the study's goals is to determine whether CBFM contributes to household income. In addition, the current case study also seeks to evaluate the household perception on land encroachment in Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve. A mixed methodology based on the triangulation method was employed in this research, including household surveys, face-to-face interviews, and observations of the forest and farm land. The respondents were a random selection of 174 households. Overall, the findings demonstrated that households in Mangkuwagu Forest Reserve have benefited from CBFM through labour wage and the sale of non-wood forest products. It was also discovered that perceptions on land encroachment differ according to the household's interest and need of the land. Based on the thorough analysis of the data, the local community generally has generally gained considerable benefits from CBFM. Nonetheless, other land issues on land should be acknowledged in future studies to optimise CBFM.

The Crocker Range Park and Kinabalu Park are Sabah's largest terrestrial parks physically separated by approximately 10 km. Both parks are involved in a set up plan of ecological linkages to connect and further strengthen the biodiversity conservation efforts in the State of Sabah. The part of ecological linkages project is known as Kinabalu Eco-Linc (Kinabalu Ecological Linkage). This study is designed to monitor the land use change of the area between year 1991 - 2018 using Landsat imagery. Maximum likelihood classifier was used to create the land cover change map of both protected areas. Seven land cover type were identified in the area which comprises of primary forest, secondary forest, shrubland/grassland, barren land, agriculture, plantation, and river. The result illustrated a drastic declined of primary forest and increased secondary forest and agricultural over the period of 28-years assessed. The spatial changes that occur throughout the period within state park and KEL area is drives by natural and anthropogenic activities. To support the increase in local population and their demand, the natural environment underwent changes for their welfare improvement. It is concluded that, monitoring protected area using remote sensing technique provide useful spatiotemporal data to locate key areas that are vulnerable to threat and can be utilized for better management of both protected areas and human use resources in adjacent area.

Alternatives for petroleum-based products are much needed now due to the depletion of resources and the negative impact of its usage. Amongst the many renewable alternatives of cellulose-based products, nitrocellulose is the oldest and longest thriving derivatives in the world, obtaining a long line of utilization such as biodegradable plastics and film, wood coatings, nail lacquer, automotive paints, and leather finishes. The inexhaustible selection of raw materials for nitrocellulose production are easily obtainable from the copious lignocellulose materials, primarily from cotton and wood pulp. In this study, the Acacia mangium, which is a timber species that heavily populates the plantation of Sabah, in pulp form are used to produce nitrocellulose. The objectives of this research was to determine the physical and chemical attributes of the nitrocellulose from two different sizes of A. mangium particles (75 and 150 μm), such as its degree of substitution, nitrogen content, rate of efficiency and weight percentage gained. The production method of nitrocellulose includes the nitration process of the A. mangium pulp with nitric and sulphuric acid, followed by repeated stabilizing procedures using hot water, and finally the extraction process. Among the different sizes, the 75 μm sample showed a lower degree of substitution and nitrogen content compared to the other, but however showed higher rate of efficiency and weight percentage gained. This is due to the higher surface area per volume for the 75 μm samples but which contradicts in DS value due its higher affinity towards absorbing other materials more than the nitrate itself. This was further proven by the infrared and EDX spectra, where the 75 μm sized sample was absorbing more elements but at a lower concentration than the other. This goes to show that samples with a higher surface area per volume does not guarantee a better substitution of nitrate in nitrocellulose production due to the non-specific preference of cellulose absorption.

This paper reports the effect of additional of rice husk fibre (RHF) with various sizes ranging from 63μm, 125μm and 250μm on the structural and optical properties of glasses. A series of glass with composition of 69.50TeO₂ – 20ZnO – 10Na₂O – 0.50Er₂O₃ – (x)0.2%RHF (x = 63μm, 125μm, 250μm) are synthesized by using melt-quenching technique. XRD pattern shows the nonexistence of sharp peak reflect the amorphous nature of glass without RHF content. However, an addition of RHF in glass matrix shows the appearance of sharp peaks signifies the contribution of cristobalite due to the incorporation of rice husk. SEM image of glass containing 125μm RHF illustrates the glass surface morphology. The respective EDX spectra of glass containing 125μm RHF verify the elemental traces of carbon, oxygen, sodium, zinc, tellurium, aluminium, silicon, copper, calcium and erbium. The variation in absorption coefficient of glass with additional of different sizes of RHF are observed due to the lowering value of α.

The effect of bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) on the structural and optical properties of tellurite glass doped with Cu/Ti NPs are reported. A series of glass with composition of (70–x–y) TeO2–20ZnO–9Na₂O–1Er₂O₃–(x)CuO–(y)TiO2 (where x = 0.0, 0.1 and 0.04 mol%, y = 0.0, 0.1 and 0.04 mol%) are synthesized by using melt-quenching method. The structure and optical properties of tellurite glass containing Cu/Ti NPs are identified by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray (SEM-EDX) technique and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). XRD spectra show the nature of glass and the grain size. The SEM images shows the surface morphology and EDX spectra show the traces of C, O, Te, Na, Zn, Au, Er, Ti and Cu elements. FTIR spectra show the chemical bonding of constituent atom in glass matrix primarily the Zn²+ vibration, Cu (II)–O bonding, Te–O bending in term of TeO₃ and TeO₄ units, Cu–H stretching and O–H vibration of water group.

Malaysia is aiming to increase its renewable energy generation capacity from 2% to 20% by 2030. Solar photovoltaic (PV) system will play a huge role in getting this target achieve as it is considered a maturing technology in Malaysia and the nation is blessed with ample amount of solar irradiation throughout the year. However, in Malaysia, this technology faces various implementation challenges such as the PV performance degradation due to dust deposition on the PV panels. Generally, coal-fired power plants have an abundant area of coal ash pond that is suitable for installing floating PV systems. However, this area is prone to dust deposition resulting from pulverized coal particles and fly ashes. This paper aims to evaluate the effects of dust deposition on PV panels' performance, specifically for PV systems that will be installed near coal-fired power plants in Malaysia. In this study, PV panels were exposed to four different types of dust deposit conditions, which are coal particles, fly ashes, normal environmental dust as well as control PV panel that was clean on daily basis. The tests were carried out outdoor under natural sunlight. Performance of the PV panels were measured based on the power generated by the panels. The average power drop based on the types of dust deposition on PV panels are; natural dust (2.72%), fly ash (13.16 %) and coal ash (15.82 %).

A new type of water-based polyurethane dispersion (NWPUD) was synthesised from isophorone diisocyanate, polyethylene glycol (Mw = 400 g/mol and 1000 g/mol), dimethylol propionic acid, and 1,4-butanediol using the prepolymer mixing process and without the incorporation of any volatile organic solvent. The hard-/soft-segment molar ratio of NWPUD formulations was varied with higher values (i.e. 5 to 11) allowing excess diisocyanate to reduce the prepolymer viscosity. The formulation using polyethylene glycol 400 g/mol with a hard-/soft-segment molar ratio of 5 failed by solidifying upon dispersion in water. Using polyethylene glycol 1000 g/mol and varying hard segment content, successful NWPUD formulations were obtained, all with pH between 6 and 7. FT-IR spectroscopy was used for the identification of chemical structures and functional groups. The colloidal properties of NWPUD formulations such as particle size, zeta potential, and dispersion stability were investigated to demonstrate feasibility for application in industrial coatings. The size distribution of NWPUD formulations varied from heterogeneous to homogeneous when the hard-/soft-segment molar ratio was increased. It was found that formulations with hard-/soft-segment molar ratio between 7 and 11 exhibited the most desirable dispersion stability within the zeta potential range of -50 to -55 mV.

Roof constitutes as one of the largest surfaces in a building that receives high amount of heat through radiation, conduction and convection. The amount of heat received by a roof depends greatly on climate condition and roof design configurations. In a hot climate, roof is designed as a barrier to the hot sun, while in cold climate, roof is an amplifier that magnifies the amount of heat gains into building envelope. As Malaysia is in tropical climate, roofs in Malaysia must be able to curb heat from the sun. Latest insertion of Malaysia Standard MS1525 requirement to the Universal Building By Law (UBBL) mandate for authority approval on the achievable thermal transmittance (U-value) not greater than 0.4W/m²K for light weight roof and 0.6W/m²K for heavy weight roof. The lower the U-value, the better the roof as a barrier to the external heat. Based on a survey study done in Malaysia, only 43.18% of building practitioners are aware on the requirement, and the current implementation of the regulation involves submission of U-value numerical calculation for total roof assembly during Building Plan (BP) submission. The result of this study suggests a need for an empirical method to measure roof performance. Computer Controlled Solar Simulator (CCSS) is suggested as a platform to ensure effective implementation of MS1525 and certify that housing design in Malaysia complies with the thermal comfort requirement.

The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward situation tend to be very intense since the patients who are placed in the wards are usually critical condition patients. These patients need an intensive care by the nurses and physician since their condition are not very stable. Therefore, the nurses and physicians need to monitor them very frequent. So, the idea of this monitoring system is mainly to ease the nurses work by reducing monitoring frequency. This monitoring system also purposely built to make them alert about their patient thus, can minimize the risk of patients who are monitored. This monitoring system is using the microcontroller (Arduino Uno) which is connected to the laptop via Bluetooth to transfer the data of heart rate and body temperature of the respondent. This data was sense through Heart-Rate Grove sensor and LM35 temperature sensor. The data were processed and displayed on the laptop for every minute continuously. Different colour of LED was used as an indicator to notify the condition of the respondent's pulse or body temperature either it was in high or low condition as a warning. For young adult with fever respondent, it shows the result of 81 bpm of heart rate and 37.63°C of body temperature with 3.83% and 0.65% of the Mean Absolute Percent Error (MAPE) respectively. This monitoring system has successfully built and able to display the data of the heart rate and body temperature of the respondent for every minute and able to facilitate autonomous monitoring tasks in the future.

The application of optical based instrument in particulate matter monitoring has gained interest among researchers in recent years due to their high degree automation in providing real time reading of particulate matter concentrations. Such instrument usually comes in compact form making it compatible for in-situ monitoring especially for dense monitoring network. Theoretically, optical based instrument is unable to measure the mass concentration of particulate matter which is the key parameter in air quality monitoring. Instead, the mass concentration is calculated based on particle size distribution under assumptions that all particles is spherical using a known density. This being said, the accuracy of the reported mass concentration by optical instrument can be easily deteriorated if one of these assumptions is violated. Therefore, there is a need for a thorough evaluation on the particle to mass conversion factor in order to improve the accuracy of the reported mass concentrations by an optical instrument. In this study, the reported mass concentration from an optical based instrument as a function of particle distribution through random air sampling was investigated. The obtained data was then used to develop a parametric model for calculation of particulate mass concentration based on particle count distribution. The model developed was evaluated at several site and reported a good accuracy with high correlation (R² > 0.97) in estimation of mass concentration.

This paper presents a review of recent fabrication progress of perovskite-type material suited for the future optoelectronics applications. Wide varieties of optoelectronic devices include solar cell, liquid displays, transparent FETs, etc are becoming the mainstream for the future electronics global industry. In June 2015, the major breakthrough of perovskite structure in solar energy harvesting with PCE of 20.1% has achieved. Since then, numerous research has been conducted progressively to further enhance the performance of the perovskite structure as new alternative materials for optoelectronics applications. The perovskite-type oxide is having typical ABO3 crystallized structure. It is one of an important class of materials that have many exceptional physical properties such as superconductivity, colossal magnetoresistance, ferromagnetic, piezoelectric, high-transition-temperature superconductivity, ferroelectricity, piezoelectricity, and photoelectrochemical sensitivity. In this paper, we reviewed development progress one of the major classes of perovskite-type materials namely Stannate-based. Calculated data from simulation results such as DFT and first principle were excluded and only fabricated devices are covered in this paper.

Tuning optical and structural properties of composite glass due to the effect of rice husk fibre are examined. A series of glass with composition of 69.5TeO₂-20ZnO-10Na₂O-0.5Er₂O₃-(x)0.2RHF where x is rice husk fibre in weight percentage with three distinctive sizes of 63 μm, 125 μm and 250 μm are prepared following melt-quenching technique and characterized systematically. UV-Vis spectra displayed nine absorption bands centered at 380, 410, 445, 489, 520, 545, 650, 799 and 975 nm corresponding to the transitions of Er³+ originate from ground state to excited states. The direct and indirect band gap is found to lies in range of 3.296 to 3.410 eV and 2.958 to 3.174 eV, respectively. Urbach energy lies in the range of 0.145 to 0.181 eV. SEM images illustrates the fractures surface due to porosity of glass samples and elemental traces verify the appearance of C, O, Na, Zn, Te, Au, Al, Si, Er and Ca elements.

Zinc Oxide (ZnO) thin films have been deposited onto an ITO glass by RF sputtering method in a controlled condition followed by a layer of Poly(triarylamine) as an electron acceptor to form a hybrid-heterojunction thin film. In this work, Poly(triarylamine) is deposited by using spin coating method at different spin rate ranging from 1000 RPM to 5000 RPM. The correlation between the structural and optical properties of this hybrid heterojunction were investigated. The crystallographic structure of ZnO and PTAA is analysed by obtaining its Full width half maximum and grain size value by using X-ray diffractometer. UV-Vis result strongly reveal that all the thin films exhibits high transparency (>80%) in visible region with wide band gap of 3.38 eV for ZnO and 3.1 eV for PTAA at 5000 RPM sintering. Surface morphology of the hybrid film is observed using an advance material microscope (HIROX) with 3 different lenses of low range, mid-range and high range. It is shown that, as the RPM speed is increasing the distribution of PTAA on the ZnO layer is smoother and uniform. The correlation value obtained for grain size and band gap is 0.9344 and 0.9136. Thus, concluded that grain size and bandgap of device is highly correlated.

Recent development in various host glasses has a beneficial feature for its application in optical devices. This present work is done by incorporating TiO₂ metallic nanoparticles (NPs) in glass matrix due to their surface roughness and plasmonic properties as well as to overcome the limitation of rare earth ions in stimulating emission. A series of tellurite glass is prepared with composition of (70-x-y)TeO₂-2ÜZnO-9Na₂O-1Er₂O₃-(x)TiO₂, where x= 0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 mol% via melt-quenching method. In addition, glass batch without erbium content is prepared in order to identify the presence of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak of metallic nanoparticles. Glass samples are characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Ultraviolet-Visible spectroscopy (UV-Vis) and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD pattern confirms the amorphous structure of glass. UV-VIS spectra of glass with erbium content shows the appearance of seven absorbance peaks represent the transitions of erbium ion from ground state to excited state. Glass sample without erbium content shows the appearance of plasmon peak in range of 554 nm to 555 nm due to contribution of titanium nanoparticles. TEM image confirmed the presence of titanium NPs with Gaussian distribution having mean aspect ratio of 1.5.

In space, semiconductor devices are vulnerable to various effect of high energy level of radiation causing single event upsets (SEU), damaging or altering the lattice structure. In this work, p-CuGaO₂was selected due to its relatively wide bandgap and a visibility transmittance up to 80% as a potential semiconductor material capable of withstanding harsh radiation environment. p-CuGaO₂thin films were deposited by RF powered sputtering on indium tin Oxide (ITO) substrates at 250°C deposition temperature and annealed at 300 °C. Structural morphology and optical properties of CuGaO₂ thin film were investigated before and after irradiation. The samples were irradiated using Cobalt-60, gamma-ray with a dose ranging from 10 kGy-200 kGy. The structural properties reveal that the CuGaO₂ films shows a diffraction peak at 20=38.051° (012) before irradiation. The optical properties of deposited CuGaO2 thin film, exhibits approximately 75% optical transmittance in the invisible region at pre-irradiation and post-irradiation results shows a decrease of optical transmittance of 55%. At a dose of 200 kGy, the band gap of CuGaO₂ is 3.62 eV which indicates that it is still within the acceptable range of a semiconductor properties. Early results of CuGaO2 shows good mitigation towards irradiation thus indicating that CuGaO₂ thin film is capable of withstanding harsh radiation environment while retaining its semiconductor properties.

In this study, we propose Alternating Group Explicit (AGE) iterative method to solve the problem of linear fuzzy Fredholm integral equations of the second kind (FFIE-2) based on Trapezoidal quadrature rule. First, we generate a system of linear equations by using approximation equations. Next, we use AGE iterative method to solve the generated linear system of FFIE-2. Then, we illustrate the applicability of AGE iterative method on some numerical examples. Finally, we do the comparison to test the efficiency of AGE with Jacobi and Gauss-Seidel (GS) iterative method based on three parameters: number of iterations, execution time and Hausdorff distance. From our findings, we found that AGE is a better iterative method compared with Jacobi and GS to solve FFIE-2.

The primary goal of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of the 4-point Explicit Group (4-point EG) iterative method for solving one-dimensional unsteady advection-diffusion problems via similarity transform. By using this transformation approach, the proposed problem can be reduced into the corresponding two-point boundary volume problem. By imposing the second-order central finite difference discretization scheme, then the corresponding approximation equation can be derived to construct a system of linear equations. Having a large linear system, the 4-point EG iterative method has been used to solve the generated system of linear equations. The formulation of the 4-point EG method is also derived. Some numerical experiments are conducted that to verify the 4-point EG method is more effective than the Gauss-Seidel (GS) method.

The non-linear diffusion equation is known to be a significant application in solving image processing issues. The equations provided the image filtering techniques that blurring the image without degrade the edge information which is also one of crucial study in computer vision. Nonetheless, an intense amount of computations is needed in filtering the image as the sizes that keep getting bigger. Along these lines, this paper constructs an analysis to speed up the required computation in solving the developed linear system with the faster iterative method, i.e. two-point Explicit Group Successive Over-Relaxation or known as 2-EGSOR. For the performances comparison, the standard Gauss-Seidel (GS), Successive Over-Relaxation (SOR) and 2-EGSOR iterative method will be set to produce almost the similar quality image of Jacobi iterative method measured by using percentage error of the overall pixels difference. Subsequently, it is discovered the 2-EGSOR offers faster approach to blur the image compared the others iterative methods with the least iterations and computational time.

The main objective for this study is to examine the efficiency of block iterative method namely Four-Point Explicit Group Successive Over Relaxation (4EGSOR) iterative method. The nonlinear Burger's equation is then solved through the application of nonlocal arithmetic mean discretization (AMD) scheme to form a linear system. Next, to scrutinize the efficiency of 4EGSOR with Gauss-Seidel (GS) and Successive Over Relaxation (SOR) iterative methods, the numerical experiments for four proposed problems are being considered. By referring to the numerical results obtained, we concluded that 4EGSOR is more superior than GS and SOR iterative methods in aspects of number of iterations and execution time.

In this paper, a piecewise collocation discretization scheme based on the piecewise constant approximation with the concept of quarter-sweep Jacobi (QSJ) iteration is discussed in solving the linear Fredholm integral equations of second kind. By considering the piecewise approximation equations, the generated linear system has been constructed with its large scale coefficient matrix. The purpose of this quarter-sweep iteration concept is to reduce the computational complexity of the linear system. For the purpose of comparison, the formulation and implementation of full-sweep Jacobi (FSJ), half-sweep Jacobi (HSJ) and QSJ iterative methods are also included. The results of these three proposed methods showed that the QSJ method is better than others Jacobi iteration family.

The goal of this paper deals with 4-Point Explicit Group (4-EG) iterative method as solver to solve the linear system which is generated by using Caputo's finite difference approximation equation. Actually, this approximation equation was been generated from the discretization process of the fractional two-point boundary value problems via finite difference scheme and Caputo's fractional operator. The formulation and implementation for 4-EG method have been also included. To investigate the efficiency of 4-EG method, this paper considered three examples numerical experiment. Based on numerical results, the finding showed that the 4-EG method is more efficient as compared with GS method in good agreement.

Solving unconstrained optimization problems using Newton method requires calculating Newton's direction, which involves inverse Hessian matrices. Once the order of Hessian matrices is large, it may be impossible to store the inverse of the Hessian matrices using the direct method. To overcome this problem, we used a point iterative method as an inner iteration in finding Newton direction. Therefore in this paper, we proposed a combination between Newton method and successive overrelaxation (SOR) point iterative method for solving large scale unconstrained optimization problems in which the Hessian of the Newton direction is arrowhead matrices. To calculate and validate the performance of the proposed method, we used a combination of Newton method with Gauss-Seidel point iteration and Jacobi point iteration scheme as a reference method. The proposed method provides results that are more efficient compared to the reference methods in terms of execution time and a number of iteration.

The aim of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of Successive Over-Relaxation (SOR) iterative method for solving one-dimensional time-fractional parabolic equations. The Grünwald fractional derivative operator and implicit finite difference scheme have been used to discretize the proposed linear time-fractional equations to construct system of Grünwald implicit approximation equation. The basic formulation and application of the SOR iterative method are also presented. To investigate the effectiveness of the proposed iterative method, numerical experiments and comparison are made based on the iteration numbers, time execution, and maximum absolute error. Based on numerical results, the accuracy of Grünwald implicit solution obtained by proposed iterative method is in excellent agreement, and it can be concluded that the proposed iterative method requires less number of iterations and execution time as compared to the Gauss-Seidel (GS) iterative method.

Today, our online reputation can be developed through subjective opinions communication by netizen on social media. Online reputation especially for business entities can affect in many aspects such as sales and customer loyalty. Due to high amount of social data (e.g. comments), the manual approach in monitoring subjective opinions towards our brands, products or name is no longer relevant. Therefore, entities either organizations or individuals should monitor their online reputation using social media analytics tools such as sentiment analysis to mitigate reputation attack. However, Online Reputation Monitoring (ORMo) is yet a common practice where most practitioners are large corporations. Outsourcing is a good option but entities must allocate some costs which a burden for most small and medium entities. Thus, implementing social media analytics in-house ORMo by entities is a reasonable option. However, the guideline to implement in-house ORMo is still not well explored including what are the needed features in an ORMo tool. Therefore, this research attempts to explore on how to implement an in-house ORMo at affordable cost but reliable. In achieving the objective, this research involved four stages of investigations which are needs assessment of ORMo tool features, prototype development, simulation and expert survey for validation. This research found that in-house ORMo can be implemented at minimal cost using existing resources and the accuracy can be improved by updating the collection of words with its sentiment polarity. The results of this research can be the basis for an in-house ORMo tool implementation and for reviewing the existing ORMo tool.

In an age of thriving science and technology, the use of advanced technologies in the museum exhibition of museums in Malaysia is still limited, especially in the context of Augmented Reality (AR). Most of the exhibitions in Malaysia's national museum are still using the passive and conventional information display methods. Hence, this study is intending to promote the usage of AR technology in the national museum exhibition by investigating the feasibility of AR mobile application usage in a local museum. A qualitative approach was used in this study including the interview with domain experts and template analysis. From the template analysis in this study, it shows positive feedback from the respondents. Positive results were shown where AR is considered as an innovative way to preserve and conserve history, enable to the capability to enhance the visitor experience, attract more potential visitors and elevate visitors learning level.

Gamification is a growing trend that has the potential to improve user's motivation and performance in e-learning. However, it is still heavily debated as there is an ongoing discussion within the gamification community whether individual gamification elements may actually weaken or improve intrinsic motivation and performance. To date, research on individual gamification elements is still yet underexplored making it difficult to understand whether individual gamification elements may prove beneficial or harmful to user's intrinsic motivation and performance. Therefore, this concept paper is intended to explore the effects of three commonly employed game elements namely points, leaderboard, and badges on intrinsic motivations and performances in a flow experience perspective. It is to hope that through this study, a clear understanding of individual gamification elements can be achieved and more in-depth work can be done in the future.

Flat Electroencephalography (fEEG) is a method for mapping high dimensional signal, namely Electroencephalography (EEG) into a low dimensional space. The image of fEEG which is in grayscale form is obtained from digital fEEG by using fuzzy approach. The main aim of this paper is to reduce the spread of the vague boundary and improve the visibility of the clusters of epileptic foci in terms of contrast enhancement via Image Size Dependent Normalization (ISDN) and fuzzy technique. Contrast performance comparison between both methods are carried out for an epileptic patient at varied time, t. It shows that fuzzy method gives better contrast compared to ISDN.

In today's world of technology, gamification has become increasingly popular in education. Previous studies have reported that gamified learning enables 21^st century students to motivate and engage in academic fields. However, there is a paucity of information on empirical studies on effectiveness of gamified learning in various fields of medicine. This lack of empirical evidence is evident in the varying recommendations for the implementation of gamification in medical education. This research aimed to investigate the effectiveness of gamified learning among undergraduate medical students. This was an quasi-experimental study comparing digital online gamified learning with conventional electronic learning (e-learning) at undergraduate level in medicine. Modified Kirkpatrick evaluation was used to appraise the outcome of educational intervention. The change in pre and post-test score was used to measure cognitive gain. There were twenty-one knowledge and skill assessment questions (twenty multiple choice questions and one objective structured clinical examination question respectively) to assess the knowledge and skill acquisition. The findings from this study revealed that gamified learning is more effective than conventional e-learning in improving ECG diagnostic accuracy while gamified learning is as effective as conventional e-learning for improving ECG interpretation skill.

Video is the most challenging and has lots of issues than other type of multimedia data and video authentication is one of the popular issues regarding the video. Technologies of communication nowadays can simplify sharing of multimedia data such as text, images and videos through online or offline and a wide spread of video content its significant to assure the integrity and originality of video information. Recently, a lot of cases have been stated regarding an illegal activity in the video. Such as, video editing or video tampering attacks to ruin the authenticity of the video. With only minor alterations could change the meaning of the video. Video authentication detection is a popular issue and of high importance in various fields such as in forensic investigations, court of law and video surveillance. A lot of techniques are proposed by previous study to assure the originality of video in their own way. In this study, it focuses to detect tampering attacks and alterations in video using shot boundary detection techniques. Shot boundary detection is a very challenging task and it's commonly used for structured video because these techniques can detect the changes made with normal shot change rate. Meanwhile, this research will emerge to produce new model for video structure detection using shot boundary detection with the histograms feature that is significant to design of powerful tools to detect an originality of video and to locate the tampering attacks in video.

The inaccurate prediction of tumour is because of the 2D images do not present the complete natural tumour representation as in 3D visualization. In order to construct the 3D model, the contour of 2D MRI images must be merged together. In this work, the edge detection of brain tumour on 2D images is done using the Geodesic Active Contour (GAC) model based on Additive Operator Splitting (AOS), then 3D model is visualized using Image Manifold (IM) and Volume Estimation (VE) methods. The comparison of performance for both methods is calculated. In conclusion, the execution time for VE method is higher than IM method since more images are used in VE method to calculate the volume of the tumour accurately. In terms of iteration number, Volume Estimation has a higher number of iterations, but for error and root mean square error, both methods have roughly the same value.

Analysing data can be quite a challenge sometimes due to the nature of the data and the vast options of methods and techniques that can be used on the data. In this study, for example, a six years Cleft Lip and Palate dataset were gathered on these patients' conditions in the quest to identify the contributing factors for a successful pre-graft orthodontic treatment. The challenges faced was in the small number of datasets and imbalance sample class. Therefore, this study had taken a step back and tried to approach the dataset with a combination of unsupervised and supervised learning methods to tackle the challenges by incorporating clustering - for testing records creation and; resampling - for balancing sample class. We also observed if the auto-created testing records are replaceable with the manually selected testing records by looking at the performances of the classification models. Based on the feature that was selected, k-Means and PAM were implemented as the clustering algorithm using the Euclidean formula as the distance measure. Resampling was done using SMOTE and Random Forest as the classification model. When the comparison was done on the models, the ones that were fed by resampled training records showed an increase in the AUC values and decrease in the OOB error. Comparable results were also achieved between the training records produced by PAM and by manual selection as both models, based on the AUC values, was classified as excellent classification models.

Gamification is the use of game elements in a non-gaming environments. The aims of implementing game elements in gamifying educational environment is to make the learners engaged and motivated in the learning process. But, some of the research result giving bad impacts in implementing gamification in education. The objective of this research is to study the impact of implementing game elements in education. The aim of this research is to study which game elements is most commonly used in gamifying educational environment. The study is done by reviewing previous research on impacts of implementing game element in education from 2008 until 2018 to see whether the elements giving positive or negative impacts on education. The results shows the most common game elements used in gamification is rewards, feedback, challenge, quest/mission/goal, level/stage, point/score, avatars/players, task, character, time-limit, narrative/dialogue, leaderboards, progress bars, and badges. Majority of the research on gamification in education reports positive impacts by introducing gamification in education. In conclusion, by implementing game elements in the gamifying educational environment is a good method to create a good adjustment in learners' behavior and assertiveness in the learning process, it can develop engagement and motivation of the learners'.

Flooding is one of the major natural disasters in Sabah, Malaysia. Several recent cases of catastrophic flooding were recorded mainly in Kg. Kolopis area, Sabah. Heavy monsoon rainfall has triggered floods and caused significant damage in Kg. Kolopis area. The 2014 floods have affected 5,000 peoples. The objectives of this paper are (i) to determine the Flood Hazard Level (FHL) and (ii) to identify the factors contributing to the flood occurrences. In this study, eight (8) parameters were considered in relation to the causative factors to flooding, which are: rainfall, slope gradient, elevation, drainage density, land use, soil textures, slope curvatures and flow accumulation Flood Hazard Analysis (FHAn) map were produced based on the data collected from the field survey, laboratory analysis, high resolution digital radar images (IFSAR) acquisition, and secondary data in three (3) different period (2002, 2008 and 2014). FHL was defined using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Model integrated with GIS software. The developed model will be a precious resource for consulting, planning agencies and local governments in managing risk, land-use zoning and remediation efforts to mitigate risks. Moreover, the technique applied in this study can easily be extended to other areas, where other factors may be considered, depending on the availability of data.

Soil erosion is one of the leading causes of soil degradation and is often associated with agricultural intensification, deforestation and human activities that did not take care of environmental sustainability. Assessing the soil erosion is essential, and therefore, detail assessment on the prediction of soil erosion and its impacts has been carried out spatially using the application of the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) at the Minitod area, Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia. The parameters of the RUSLE model were determined using the Geographical Information System (GIS). There are six factors parameter maps were considered in RUSLE; rainfall erosivity factor (R), soil erodibility (K), slope length and steepness (LS), cover management(C) and conservation practice (P). These factors were calculated to determine their effects on annual soil erosion in the study area. About 36.65% of the study area was classified as very low, 16% as low, 15.71% as moderate, 21.59% as high and 10.09% as very high. Soil erosion hazard has been identified using the model and found to be significant in areas with a slope above 25°. All findings showed that integration of GIS could be used for spatial analysis on a regional scale. Production of the value maps can be applied to development planning areas, especially for housing and agriculture developments.

Flooding is one of the main natural disasters in Sabah, Malaysia. Several current cases of disastrous flooding were recorded particularly in Penampang area, Sabah (e.g. July 1999; October 2010; April 2013; October & December 2014). Substantial downpour has triggered floods and caused extreme loss in Penampang area. The 2014 floods have affected 40,000 people from 70 villages. The objectives of this research are (i) To determine the factors contributing to the flood occurrences; (ii) To analyst the Flood Susceptibility Level (FSL); and (iii) and to produce the flood hazard map for the study area. In this study, eight (8) parameters were considered in relation to the causative factors to flooding, which are: rainfall, slope gradient, elevation, drainage density, land use, soil textures, slope curvatures and flow accumulation. Flood Susceptibility Analysis (FSAn) map was produced based on the data collected from the field survey, laboratory analysis, high resolution digital radar images (IFSAR) acquisition, and secondary data in year 2014. FSL was defined using Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) technique integrated with GIS software. Based on the FSAn, approximately 3.17% of total study area classified as Very High Hazard (VHH), 4.55% as High Hazard (HH), 15.52% as Moderate Hazard (MH), 15.72% as Low Hazard (LH) dan 61.04% as Very Low Hazard (VLH) respectively. Based on the risk rate, requirements for the development procedure has been recommended in this paper. The map produced will be a very useful source for consulting, planning agencies and local governments in managing risk, land-use zoning and redressal efforts to mitigate risks. Besides, the method used in this study can easily be applied to other areas, where other factors may be considered, depending on the convenience of data.

This study focused on the Flood Susceptibility Analysis (FSA) and Landslide Susceptibility Analysis (LSA)of the Kota Kinabalu area, Sabah by using Multi Criteria Evaluation Model (MCE) for FSA and Deterministic Model for LSA. The study area had been affected by flood and landslide throughout the years. The aims of this study are to determine the flood susceptibility level and landslide susceptibility level of the study area and to identify the contributing factors that leads to the geohazards. Thus, a few mitigation measures can be recommended. The contributing factors that leads to the geohazards had been identified through desk studies and fieldwork. The data were obtained and digitized using ArcGIS software and the thematic maps were produced. The factors that contributing to the geohazards such as slope gradient, elevation, topographic curvature, flow accumulation and drainage distance were retrieved from the topographic database, whereas the land use, rainfall, soil types and soil properties were obtained from various agencies. Several areas are considered as susceptible, such as areas of Taman Kingfisher, Kg. Bantayan, Menggatal area, and Kg. Tebobon. To avoid or minimize the flood disasters, the Flood Susceptibility Level Map and the Landslide Susceptibility Map can be used in future development planning and a few structural controls can be implemented such as the land use planning of the area and hazard zoning. This study can be used as a resource for consulting, planning agencies and local governments in managing risk, land-use zoning and remediation efforts to mitigate risks.

The study area is in the southwestern part of the Sandakan city center bounded by latitude 05° 48' until 05° 52' N and longitude 117° 58' until 118° 03' E and covers the area of 100km². The study area comprises the Sandakan Formation which is overlain by the Quaternary Alluvium. The landuse changes is done through the Geographical Information System (GIS) method by using the ILWIS (Integrated Land and Water Information System) software. There are four main stages involved in the GIS method to produce the thematic maps. Landuse map of the year 1980 and 2010 have been used to study the changes at the study area. The results show the percentage of urban area coverage have increased, while the village area have the highest percentage of land diminution. So, with the model of the evolution of landuse, it calls for landuse planning in the study area is more sustainable in the future.

The matrix of four slopes of Pinousuk Gravel from Mesilou, Kundasang, Sabah namely S1, S2, S3 and S4 were collected for physical and engineering analysis. The slope stability analysis is conducted by using Fellenius slicing method. Pinousuk gravels which originated from the glacial deposits of Mount Kinabalu during Pleistocene age consist of mixture of various sizes and types of rocks such as ultrabasic rocks and granodiorite. Engineering properties of slope's matrixes show high to very high plasticity with the appearance of smectite and illite as clay minerals. Based on direct shear test, value of cohesion (c), friction angles (°) and shear strength (τ) of the slopes can be obtained. The results show the value of shear strength range from 7.5 kPa (S3) to 13 kPa (S2), while friction angles range from 11° (S3) to 22° (S2) and the cohesion values range from 2.1 kN (S2) to 3.1 kN (S1). Slope is considered stable if the value of factor of safety (FoS) is ≥ 1 and indicates unstable if it is less. Slope S1, S2 and S4 are considered as stable slopes with FoS value ranges from 1.09 to 1.45. S2 is the most stable slope due to its highest friction angle and shear strength of the matrixes among bigger size of ultrabasic fragments which increase the interlocking between particles. While S3 which is dominated by smaller ultrabasic fragments is considered as unstable with FoS value of 0.97 due to the lowest shear strength and friction angle which encourage the collision between particles for slope failure to occur.

Planktonic foraminifera assemblages were studied for biostratigraphy and paleoclimatic interpretation of the Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene of Temburong Formation, Klias Peninsula, Sabah. The Temburong Formation is composed of mainly flysh-type argillaceous deposit intercalations of slightly calcareous pelagic shale. Recently we discovered abundance of moderate to well-preserved planktonic foraminifera at the measured section and its planktonic assemblages are useful for biostratigraphy and paleoclimatic studies of Temburong Formation. A total of nine samples of shale were collected from three outcrops and processed based on standard micropaleontology method. Twenty-eight species of planktonic foraminifera were identified and grouped into three zones, namely: P21-P22 Globorotalia opima opima-Globigerina angulisuturalis zone, N4 Globigerinoides primordius-Globigerinoides quadrilobatus zone, and N5-N6 Catapsydrax dissimilis-Globigerinoides altiapetura zone. For paleoclimate studies, the relative abundance of planktonic foraminifera was obtained and grouped into climatic indices namely cool, cool-temperate, warm, warm-temperate and none climatic diagnostic. The result shows the changes of planktonic foraminifera assemblages and the paleoclimatic indices through Oligocene-Miocene boundary. The cool climate indices were identified at the lower part of the study section of Upper Oligocene sediment and gradually shifted to warm climatic indices at Lower Miocene section.

Lack of treated water system in Sabah has increase human dependency to groundwater sources. The presence of contaminants such as nitrate in groundwater can pose severe health implications to human, such as methemoglobinemia and cancerous diseases. The objectives of this paper were to quantify the nitrate concentration in groundwater, to calculate potential human health risk exposure of nitrate in groundwater and to compare the potential human health risk exposure of nitrate between rural and agriculture areas. Six tube wells were selected at Inanam and Kota Belud district and involved one-hundred eighty respondents aged from 7 to 12 years old. The groundwater samples were analyzed using Cadmium Reduction method of HACH DR2800 Spectrophotometer and human health risk exposure were assessed using Chronic Daily Intake (CDI) and Hazard Index (HI) after set of information of respondents were obtained by questionnaires. Result obtained were showing mean ± S.D of nitrate levels in groundwater well and filtered water of agriculture (0.79 ± 0.33 mg/L; 0.33 ± 0.29 mg/L) and rural (0.50 ± 0.12mg/L; 0.53 ± 0.10 mg/L) areas were within the acceptable value limit set by National Drinking Water Quality Standard of Malaysia (10 mg/L). The statistical analysis of Kruskal-Wallis and one-way ANOVA test implied there were no significant differences of nitrate levels between two areas (p>0.05). Moreover, the mean ± S.D of CDI for agriculture and rural areas were 0.0064 ± 0.0056 mg/kg/day 0.0140 ± 0.0096 mg/kg/day respectively and HI were less than 1. The insignificant differences of potential human health risk were noted in terms of gender and age of respondents between two areas. This specified that the human health risk of respondents involved in this study was in acceptable range and not exposed to severe health risks.

The study area located in the main road of Beluran - Sandakan, Sabah, Malaysia which mostly consists of melange. Melange material consists of mixed rocks with different sizes and originated from old rock formation. These materials commonly embedded in shale matrix and highly sheared. A total of twelve soil samples were collected along the main road in order to analyse the physico-chemical properties and mineral identification. The result of analysis shows the moisture content was in the range from 7.0% to 23.38% with the plasticity indexes were in the range from 6.32% to 34.18%. The plotted in plasticity chart shows that the soil can be classified as intermediate plasticity to high plasticity. The texture of soil best classified as clayey sand, silt with sandy clay, sand with silty clay and clay soil. The mineral content of the soil mainly contains of quartz, kaolinite and illite. Other minerals also were observed such as maghemite, hematite, chlorite and calcite. The various minerals composition shows many types of parent rocks. Whereas the high clay minerals will affect the stability of soil slope due to high moisture-adsorption minerals and high plasticity index.

Network topology can be used to simplify the complexity of the data sets. We are exploring its function in performing survival analysis to identify the most important factor that contributed to the survival time from diagnosis to death. This technique has the potential to illustrate easily some types of complex interactions in data set. Then, based on those interactions, the most important factor in survival analysis will be identified. In this paper, the interpretation of that network topology will be delivered by using centrality measures. A case study of the survival time for cervical cancer patients will be presented and discussed. Based on network topology, the most important factors that influence the survival of cervical cancer patients will be identified.

Most companies wish to achieve financial stable condition and good financial performance. The companies with unstable financial condition will face bankruptcy. Financial ratios analysis is very important for evaluation on the financial performance of the companies. The Z score model has been introduced to evaluate the financial performance of the companies based on the financial ratios analysis. The objective of this paper is to evaluate the financial performance of the companies in Malaysia with Z score model. Besides that, the significant financial ratios that will be affecting the Z score are identified in this study with regression model. The data of this study consists of the financial ratio of some financial variables for 18 financial sector companies that listed in Malaysian stock market. The results of this study show that the financial condition of the companies is identified whether the companies are in safe zone, grey zone or financially distressed based on the Z score. The companies with Z score below 1.81 indicate the companies are financially distressed whereas the Z score above 2.99 indicates the companies are in safe zone. The companies with Z score between 1.81 and 2.99 indicate the companies are in grey zone and need to be observed. This study is significant because it will predict the solvency of the companies and further promote economic growth in Malaysia.

Transportation is a major factor in influencing our daily lives to become more efficient and productive. The taxi had become the favourite of people in choosing public transportation because it personally brings us to the exact location of our destination. Taxi has monopolized public transport from door to door for a long time ago until a company providing the same service known as the Grab entered the market recently. This study had been conducted to compare the services provided by taxi and Grab from the perception of their customers. This study can help service providers see which aspects they need to make improvements in the interests of both parties. The survey had been conducted at Kuala Lumpur because of the probability of taxi and Grab users are higher at a busier state as in the capital city. Descriptive statistics is mainly used in making simple summaries with the help of graphical representation. Mann Whitney U test had been used to compare the two service providers at each aspect which are accessibility, comfort of rides, safety and value for money. As a result, Grab has significantly higher user ratings than taxi for all aspects of services considered in the study.

The world crude oil price has experienced the most volatile period in the beginning of 2007. The increasing trend has led to a significant impact on many economic sectors around the world. Moreover, individual also affected by the increasing in fuel price and deregulation of fuel subsidy around the world. As consequences, their income became insufficient to cover their monthly expenditure. Therefore, this paper gives an overview of the impacts of the fuel price on the economic sectors and individual. Several economic sectors found to be significantly affected namely transportation, manufacturing, agricultural, production and construction. This study also found that the household income significantly affected by the fuel price fluctuation. Hence, this paper reviews several prediction models to predict fuel price and household income. The regression and simulation models are found to be efficient in predicting the fuel price and household income. The review indicates that these models could be used to help individual, especially Malaysian in managing their income in the spike in fuel price. This study could be beneficial to all Malaysian which helps in managing their income and expenditure for better quality of life among Malaysian.

Medicinal cupping is a traditional therapy which used by applying a cup on acu-points or cupping points and the pressure inside the cup is reduced so that the skin and superficial muscle layer is drawn into and held in the cup. Since all diseases and pains have their specific area to be cupped, most cupping practitioners usually recognize the cupping points based upon the disease and the patient's complaints. Hence, they will randomly choose the points upon request due to the money constraint. However, there is no mathematical approach on guaranteeing the handy method is optimized. Thus, in this paper, a graph model is proposed on finding the optimal number of cupping points for asthma disease via graph colouring approach. This mathematical model will further benefit to the biomathematics and medical fields, especially to the industrial cupping practitioners.

A supercomputer can have thousands of processor-memory pairs which often referred as processing pins. Each of these pins is connected to each other through networks and passes message using a standard message passing mechanism such as Message Passing Interface. In this research, we consider the routing problem in rectangular mesh network. Each terminal pin in the network needs to be connected with its destination pin for it to function properly. Thus, maximizing the number of connection for each pair of pins and keeping the total energy throughout the network minimum becomes our main objective. In order to achieve this objective, each net need to be routed as shortest as possible. Therefore, developing a shortest path based routing algorithm is in need. In this research, Dijkstra's algorithm is used to establish the shortest connection for each net. While this method guarantees to provide the shortest connection for each single net (if exists), however each routed net will become the obstacles and block later connections. This will add complexities to route later nets and make its routing longer than optimal or sometimes impossible to complete. Therefore, the routing sequence need to be rip-up and all nets need to be re-routed. This paper presents a complete routing algorithm which can further refine the solution by using Dijkstra's based greedy method. The outcomes from this research is expected to benefit engineers from electric & electronic industry.

Let G be a finite non-abelian group. For integer k ≥ 2, we let A₁,...,A_k be non-empty subsets of G. If A₁,..., A_k are pairwise disjoint and if the subset product A_i1 ... A_ik = {a_i1 ...a_ik |a_ij ∈ A_ij, j = 1,..., k} coincides with G, where the A_ij are all distinct and {A_i1,..., A_ik} = {A₁,..., A_k} then (A₁,..., A_k) is called a (k, |A₁|,..., |A_k|)-complete decomposition of G. For integer n ≥ 3, let D_2n be the dihedral group of order n. Let A, B be the subset of D_2n. In this paper, we show some constructions, namely (2, |A|, |B|)-complete decomposition of D_2n where $|B|\in \{2,4,\ldots 2\lfloor \frac{n}{3}\rfloor,n-1,n\}$ and |A| = 2n − |B|.

This paper focuses on the application of Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) approach to solve multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) problems. MCDM is a process which involves a decision maker or a group of decision makers to evaluate and to choose the best alternatives based on the criteria decided by the decision maker(s). A real-life empirical example about supplier selection is used to implement the FAHP method. The objectives of the study are: (1) to implement FAHP approach with different linguistic scales to solve MCDM problems; and (2) to compare the relative weights of each alternative with respect to the criterion that was computed using different linguistic scales. There are three sets of scales denoted as S1, S2 and S3 used in this paper. Four criteria which are delivery, price, service and payment terms and three alternatives which are Supplier A, Supplier B and Supplier C has been considered in this study. The first objective is achieved since FAHP can be used to solve the MCDM problems. Meanwhile, for second objective, the Coefficient of Variations (CV) has been used to do the comparison. The findings revealed that scale S2 is the most preferable linguistic scale for this case study.

Collision detection is a collision between two or more object. Collision computing by detecting the intersection between the two objects. There are two types of collision detection in research, such as rigid bodies and deformable. Besides, the main issue of collision detection normally involves efficiency, speed, and effectiveness. Therefore, it is vital to research on collision detection. This research introduced the Hybrid Bounding Volume (HBV) framework for the deformable object. This framework proposes BVH with a Top-Down method. The Hybrid BV structures involving of BV to form the BVH. In conclusion, the proposed method is expected to create the fast and effective collision response between deformable object thus it would improve CD of the deformable object in the virtual environment.

Collision detection includes the detection of a collision between the object in the virtual environment especially to stop the moving object through each other. However, the collision detection refers to the detection of the intersection between two or more objects. There are two basic types of collision detection namely rigid bodies that refer to the hard object and constant distance between vertices, and the deformable object that refers to soft bodies like cloth may collide with themselves. Usually, the main problem of collision detection for rigid bodies that often studies involves the fast, effective and efficiency of the collision response. In this paper, the hierarchical representative bounding volume introduced to develop the new framework of collision detection and analyse which technique performance is fast and effective for collision detection for rigid bodies in the virtual environment. The bounding volume (BV) technique such as Axis-Aligned Bounding Box (AABB), Oriented Bounding Box (OBB), Sphere and Discrete Oriented Polytopes (k-DOPs) will be applied to construct the hierarchical representative bounding volume.

Car plate number nowadays is an essential component to be recognized because of the useful of its widely application especially in this technological era. Therefore, a method of detection, extraction and recognition of car plate image are important in order to be applied in various applications. Presently, the existing methods have several problems that lead to this study which are high time consuming for training purposes and requirement of complex steps in preparing the whole car plate recognition process. Therefore, the following objectives are set up that are to implement recognition method using Mathematical Morphology and Template Matching on car image which contain plate number. Next, is to evaluate the accuracy of the method. In implementing this study, 25 images data of car with its plate number are collected and used. Mathematical Morphology is used to detect the edge of each character on the car plate while the Template Matching as a tool to match up the detected and template character in order to recognize the registered car plate number. The accuracy of the method is evaluated using percentage recognition rate. Results show that the performance of the method successfully extracted the car plate number area by 92% of the original image. Then for the other of 23 extracted images, it was 86.95% that successfully recognized the number plate. All of these results create its own novelties which are the ability to reduce processing time and having high detection and recognition rate. In conclusion, the proposed method can be one of the alternatives in car plate recognition process in the meanwhile it can be used widely in digital data transfer such as Automatic Enforcement System (AES), automatic saved car park number in smart parking system and high technological verification application of home security system.