bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Brine Shrimp Cytotoxic Activity of Morinda elliptica Leaves and Root Crude Extracts
Authors: Wakawa Henry Yusufu , Badrudin Ahmad Fasihuddin , Bin Assim Zaini , Isaac John Umaru
Published: March 2019

This survey was conducted to test for in vivo Brine Shrimp Lethality Assay (BSLA) of Morinda elliptica leaves and root extract after successive maceration in four solvents (n-hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) ethyl acetate and methanol) and cytotoxicity was evaluated in terms of LC50 (lethality concentration). 10 nauplii were placed in different concentrations (in three replicates each) of the plant extracts, after 24 hours the surviving brine shrimp larvae were counted and LC50 was assessed. The result of the survey showed a concentration dependent increment in mortality rate of the brine shrimp nauplii and n-hexane and methanol fractions of the leaves and root extracts were more potent against the brine shrimp with LC50 values of 35.483 ppm and 39.259 ppm (μg/ml) respectively, whereas ethyl acetate of both the extracts exhibited lower potent activity with LC50 values 62.250 ppm and 102.250 ppm (μg/ml) in roots and leaves respectively. These findings indicated that bioactive ingredients are present in the plants that could account for its pharmacological effects.
Small Mammals from Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary, Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo
Authors: ALI ANWARALI KHAN FAISAL , FARAH DIYANA AHMAD TAHIR NURUL , PARVIN HABEEBUR RAHMAN SULTANA , WILLIAM DEE JULIUS , MORNI MUHD AMSYARI , SHYAMRI ROSLI QHAIRIL , CHAYA TAWIE TINGGA ROBERTA , ABD RAHMAN MOHD RIDWAN , AZHAR ISHAM
Published: March 2019

Small mammal survey was conducted at Samunsam Wildlife Sanctuary (WS) from 20th until 25th October 2014. This survey aimed to assess the diversity of small mammals particularly from the order Chiroptera, Insectivora, Rodentia and Scadentia. These orders were targeted primarily to gain better understanding on the ecology and distribution of these understudied taxa in Borneo. Our survey recorded a total of 30 species of small mammals from six trapping nights. Order Chiroptera was recorded with the highest number of species (seven families; 22 species), followed by order Rodentia (two families; six species) and order Scandentia (two species). None was recorded from the order Insectivora. The most abundant species were Rhinolophus trifoliatus (n=6) for Chiroptera, Maxomys whiteheadi (n=7) for Rodentia and Tupaia tana (n=5) for Scandentia. Data presented here is the first comprehensive information on Samunsam’s small mammals. This data can be used to gain better insights on the population trends at regional and local scale, as well as in improving the management plans of Samunsam WS. Although species diversity in Samunsam WS is comparable to other sites in western Sarawak, result presented here need to be treated with caution as this is the first comprehensive study that only cover area close to park headquarters.  Keywords: Chiroptera, diversity, Insectivora, inventory, Rodentia, Scandentia
Effect of Sago Palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) Maturity on Sucker Food Reserve and Survivability during Nursery Stage
Authors: STANLEY HOWELL PETER , BULAN PETRUS , PSYQUAY ABDULLAH NUR ASHIKIN , BUSRI NORAINI , JIWAN MAKE
Published: March 2019

Sago palm (Metroxylon sagu Rottb.) which accumulates starch in its trunk can be propagated through suckers which are normally nursed for at least six months before planting them to the field. Using suckers had been long practiced by local sago farmers as it is the most reliable source of planting materials for sago cultivation. However, effective and efficient sago suckers selection and extraction methodology had yet to been documented. The objective of the study was to determine the effect of sago palm maturity that influences the sucker food reserve availability and survivability during nursery stage. Sucker survivability was recorded from the observation and monitoring on nursed suckers using polyethylene nursery bag for six months. Chemical analysis on the sucker’s rhizome for sugar and starch content were determined using Anthrone and Somogyi-Nelson method, respectively. The result showed that sucker derived from mature mother palm have higher survival rate of 82.5 % than those from young mother palm with only 45% during nursery stage. Chemical analysis on the rhizome for sucker from mature mother palm showed higher percentage of starch and sugar with 29.21% and 4.38%, respectively as compared to suckers from young mother palm with only 9.37% starch and 3.92% sugar. The result showed that sago suckers derived from mature mother palm have higher food reserve stored in their rhizome for roots and leaves development which was critical for their survivability. This outcome strongly suggested that only sago suckers from mature mother palm are suitable to be selected as planting material than those from young mother palm. 

Keywords: Food reserve, nursery stage, palm maturity, sucker survivability
Freshwater Crabs of Upper Baleh River, Sarawak
Authors: Grinang Jongkar , Yong Min Pui , Shabrani Adi , Muli Anita , Chien C. Lee
Published: March 2019

Freshwater crabs are among the most threatened species, primarily due to their high levels of endemicity, poor dispersal ability, low fecundity and the relatively fragmented nature of freshwater ecosystems. Consequently, regional diversity of freshwater crabs can serve as surrogates for assessing the quality of aquatic habitats in the upper reaches of Baleh River in Sarawak. The six days of sampling during a scientific expedition in the area resulted in the collection of five species of freshwater crabs, including two notable discoveries. The freshwater crabs belong to the families Gecarcinucidae (Arachnothelphusa sp., Bakousa kenepai) and Potamidae (Ibanum aethes, Isolapotamon nimboni, one new genus). The formal description of the new genus and two new species will be made later in appropriate taxonomic journals. The new crab species tends to a specialist in habitat use, being found only from an unusual habitat - a sandy spring within undisturbed forests, near the Elite Honour Camp. These findings indicate that the undisturbed forest patches near the timber camp are important to support population of crabs.Keywords: Decapod crustacean, Gecarcinucidae, Potamidae, semi-terrestrial
Characterization of Roasted Coffee Aroma by Optimizing Roaster Parameters
Authors: Ridwan Firman , Novison Roni
Published: March 2019

This study was aimed to improve the quality of aroma of roasted coffee by using Taguchi's design as experimental technique. The roaster parameters evaluated were temperature, incubation time, moisture content and cylinder rotational speed. An orthogonal array L9, signal to noise ratio and ANOVA were employed to investigate the influence of the roaster parameters. The results showed that the optimal roasted coffee aroma was produced at a temperature of 170◦C, incubation time of 14 minutes, moisture content of 6% (v/w) and cylinder rotational speed of 50 rpm. The most to less significant roasting parameters as observed in this study were as follows: temperature, incubation time, moisture content and cylinder rotational speed. Furthermore, the results showed that the Taguchi design was better than the full experimental design in solving experiments with a minimum number.

Keywords: ANOVA, Coffee roaster, Roasted coffee aroma, Signal to noise ratio, Taguchi technique
Rainwater Interception Pattern of a Regenerated Secondary Tropical Forest and Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) Canopies in Bintulu, Sarawak
Authors: Roslan Mohd Salahuddin , Gerusu Geoffery James , Mustafa Kamal Abu Hena
Published: March 2019

Regenerated secondary tropical forest that resulted from logging activity and transforming of forest into oil palm (Elaeis guineesis Jacq.) estate are expected to influence the magnitude of rainfall water fraction under these plant canopies. In depth information and knowledge regarding interception pattern of rainwater are still very much lacking, especially under these canopies in tropical region. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the amount of rainwater passing the regenerated secondary tropical forest and oil palm canopies, which currently cover 14.7% of the total land area in Malaysia. Three sampling sites were established, which consisted of a regenerated secondary tropical forest (RSTF), productive oil palm plantation (POP) and non-productive oil palm area (NPOP). The computed throughfall (Tfd) for RSTF, POP and NPOP were 77.2%, 91.1% and 87.4%, respectively. The stemflow (Sfd) was worked out as 0.5% (RSTF), 0.7% (POP) and 0.4% (NPOP) of gross rainfall during the study period. The findings revealed that 22.3%, 8.2% and 12.2% were intercepted by RSTF, POP and NPOP canopies, respectively and evaporated back to the atmosphere. The measured Tfd, Sfd and evaporation (Ei) were different among the three study sites even within the local environment and thus, suggesting the findings to be influenced by 1) canopy structures and trunk morphology; 2) installation of sampling material; 3) species and age of tree or trunk; and 4) local meteorological condition. The study recommends extra caution should be considered during the installation of sampling material, especially for Sfd measurement to avoid leakage and improve the accuracy of Ei values. This is important because the portion of rainwater intercepted by these canopies is a significant component, which is vital for managing forest resources, oil palm estate, as well as catchment area for sustainable clean water resources.Keywords: Interception loss, oil palm, rainfall, regenerated secondary tropical forest, Sarawak
SOME NEW ESTIMATES OF SHADOW ECONOMY FOR 80 COUNTRIES USING POOLED MEAN GROUP ESTIMATOR
Authors: Tan Yan-Ling , Habibullah Muzafar Shah , Kaliappan Shivee Ranjanee , Radam Alias
Published: March 2019

The purpose of this study is to estimates the size of the shadow economy for 80 countries from nine regions spanning the period 1975-2012 based on Tanzi-type currency demand approach (CDA). This study contributes to the literature in three distinct ways. First, we augment CDA regression with a macroeconomic uncertainty index (MUI). Second, the construction of the uncertainty index is based on the dynamic factor model (DFM). Third, the pooled mean group (PMG) estimator allows in capturing the heterogeneity across countries in the short-run dynamics but imposing restrictions in the long-run parameters. The results confirm the existence of the longrun equilibrium relationship among the variables examined. All coefficients show expected signs along with statistical significance. More importantly, the macroeconomic uncertainty index variable show positive relationship, suggesting that public tend to hold more currency in an uncertain macroeconomic environment. In addition, we observe that developing regions (ranging from 19.9% to 37.3%) exhibit relatively large size of the shadow economy. On the contrary, developed regions have a considerable smaller estimate (ranging from 13.7% to 19.0%) of the size of shadow economy. On average, the world estimate of the shadow economy as a percentage of GDP is about 23.1%. Keywords: Shadow Economy; Currency Demand; Macroeconomic Uncertainty; Pooled Mean Group.
EFFECTS OF COGNITIVE APPRAISAL PATTERN ON PROBABILITY WEIGHING FUNCTION AND RISK BEHAVIOR BETWEEN GENDERS
Authors: Ch’ng Kean-Siang
Published: March 2019

The paper sets out to explore the effect of manipulating the appraisal dimensions, controllability and certainty, which was induced by emotions fear and anger, on probability weighting of a risky prospect between genders. By targeting the risk perception dimensions; subjects’ perception on the controllability and certainty of a situation were investigated. The experimental subjects were then asked to make choices in a lottery game. The results showed that high controllability and certainty dimensions could mitigate over-reaction to probability of losing among women. However, we found no effect of the two dimensions on men. Past studies have shown women were emotionally more sensitive and tend to overweigh probability of losing higher than men. This misperception of probability has large consequences on income discrepancy, risk tolerance and investment decisions between genders. This paper showed manipulating the controllability and certainty dimensions when faced with a risky choice could mitigate the misperception of risk. Keywords: Risks; Appraisal Dimensions; Probability weighing; Lottery; Experiment.
EXCHANGE RATE VOLATILITY AND EXPORTS OF MALAYSIAN MANUFACTURED GOODS TO CHINA: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS
Authors: Wong Hock-Tsen , Lee Hock-Ann
Published: March 2019

The impact of exchange rate volatility on international trade is an important issue in international economics. This study investigates the impact of exchange rate volatility on disaggregated bilateral exports of Malaysian manufactured goods to China. Exchange rate volatility is estimated by the threshold generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (TGARCH) model, more specifically the TGARCH(1,1) model. The Johansen cointegration method and the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) estimator are used in the estimation. There is some evidence of exchange rate volatility to have significant impact on real exports. Moreover, the impact of exchange rate volatility on real export can be negative or positive. The exports competitiveness of Malaysia should be improved. Exports shall be further diversified with more focused on intra-regional trade in Association of Southeast Asian Nations Economic Community (AEC).Keywords: Exchange Rate Volatility; Exports; Manufactured Goods; Malaysia; China.
DETERMINANTS OF CORPORATE BOND YIELD: THE CASE OF MALAYSIAN BOND MARKET
Authors: Che-Yahya Norliza , Abdul-Rahim Ruzita , Mohd-Rashid Rasidah
Published: March 2019

Default risk has been recognized as one of the key determinants of bond yield. Past studies argue that default risk can be reflected by issue characteristics, issuer characteristics and interest rate behaviors on riskless security. As default risk is believed to be higher in developing markets due to the issue of illiquidity, capital inadequacy and a developing lending system, more empirical works must be focused on these markets. The present study examines the association between selected determinants and corporate bond yield in Malaysian market. Instead of focusing on the aggregate market level as has widely been carried out in previous studies, the present study concentrates on the individual issue level. The results of cross-sectional multiple regression analyses based on 61 observations in 2012 indicate that bond maturity, coupon payment, trading frequency, issuer’s rating, debt to equity ratio and return on equity ratio are the significant determinants of bond yield.Keywords: Corporate Bond Yield; Malaysian Bond Market.
ESTIMATION OF WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT SERVICE IMPROVEMENT IN MALAYSIA
Authors: Munusami Chandramalar , Othman Jamal , Mohamad Ismail Shaharuddin , Siwar Chamhuri
Published: March 2019

As populations increase by leaps and bounds, it places more pressure on the environment and threatening sources of fresh water supplies, it was recognized that the problem of wastewater needed proper management in Malaysia. This study is undertaken to assist the relevant governmental bodies and service providers to identify an improved wastewater management strategy from the consumer perspectives. This paper applies a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze willingness to pay for wastewater treatment services improvement, based on a cross-sectional dataset of 600 randomly selected urban households in Shah Alam, Bangi, Kajang and Banting areas. The study applies focus group discussions, variables such as environmental awareness (green product), household attitude (water consumption), perceptions (sewerage and wastewater treatment services) and service improvements (willingness to pay) were identified. The main results indicate that environmental awareness, household attitude and perceptions on sewerage services have a positive influence on the service improvements. Households attitude on sewerage and wastewater treatment services are the main determinants of willingness to pay and strongly interact (87 percent) with sewerage service improvement. In conclusion, the methodology applied to measure the household attitudes provides valuable information to policy makers regarding main factors that improve wastewater treatment service efficiency.Keywords: Wastewater; Structural Equation Model; Willingness-To-Pay.
STRATEGIC ROLE OF WOMEN IN CHRYSANTHEMUM-BASED ENGINEERING DESIGN ON DISASTER AFFECTED AREAS
Authors: Muafi Muafi , Roostika Ratna , Wijayani Ari , Poerwanto Mofit Eko
Published: March 2019

Strategic role of women makes a positive contribution in chrysanthemum-based engineering design on disaster affected areas. The Merapi eruption in 2010 in Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), Indonesia, especially in the village of Hargobinangun, brought tremendous impact in the field of environmental damage, social economy, and agriculture. Post-Merapi eruption, chrysanthemum flower cultivation in the Hargobinangun village became stagnant. Some farmers have started to despair and lost determination. But thanks to the encouragement and the strategic role of women as husbands’ companions, farmers began to rise up to build sustainable and competitive green areas. This is a primary research and the data obtained was from questionnaires and interviews with some respondents. This research also used a secondary data obtained from publications of related institutions. The statistical technique used is Partial Least Square. This research concludes that the strategic role of women (as strategic partners, fighters, administrative experts, agents of change) was able to provide a significant contribution to labor productivity, family welfare, and green environmental performance.Keywords: Strategic Role of Women; Affected Areas; Chrysanthemum.
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE MECHANISMS AND ACCRETIVE SHARE BUYBACK TO MEET OR BEAT EARNINGS PER SHARE FORECAST
Authors: Chandren Sitraselvi , Ahmad Zamri , Ali Ruhani
Published: March 2019

This study examines the Malaysian accretive share buybacks firms from year 2001 to 2008 to determine the relationship between the corporate governance mechanisms and accretive share buybacks, the earnings management device to meet or beat earnings per share (EPS) forecast. The regression results of this study reports the significant effect on the relationship between corporate governance and accretive share buyback. Basically, there is positive effect on the relationship between the board independence, CEO duality and board size with the accretive share buyback to meet or beat EPS forecast (MBEF). Multiple directorships and managerial ownership documents a negative relationship with accretive share buyback to MBEF. However, this study identified insignificant relationship between board meetings and accretive share buyback. Using the accretive share buyback as an earnings management proxy is a new contribution to determine the roles of corporate governance on accretive share buyback to MBEF rather a common study on accruals manipulations and corporate governance mechanisms.

Keywords: Accretive Share Buyback; Corporate Governance; Earnings Management; Earnings per Share.
CLIMATE CHANGE EFFECTS ON AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE IN MALAYSIA: AN ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS
Authors: Hamdan Rosita , Othman Azmah , Kari Fatimah
Published: March 2019

This study identifies the effects of climate variability as an environmental pressure on aquaculture production in Malaysia. Using Malmquist index approach, the analyses were applied to brackish-water ponds and cage aquaculture sectors in six states in Malaysia from 1993 to 2013. The Dynamic Malmquist Data Envelopment Analysis results had reflected that environmental technical change is the main factor behind the improvement of environmental performance index in pond production while the relative eco-efficiency is the major influencing factor in environmental performance index in cage aquaculture. Moreover, Pahang is the most efficient states in environmental aspects and technical support of brackish-water aquaculture ponds and cage activities, while Selangor is the least efficient state in aquaculture activities and under high climate change risks.Keywords: Aquaculture Production; Climate Change; Environmental Performance Index; Relative Eco-Efficiency; Environmental Technical Change.
TESTING ASSUMPTIONS OF THE “SLIPPERY SLOPE FRAMEWORK” USING CROSS-COUNTRY DATA: EVIDENCE FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Authors: Mas’ud Abdulsalam , Abd Manaf Nor Aziah , Saad Natrah
Published: March 2019

The emergence of “Slippery Slope Framework” has attracted many researchers who examined the effect of trust in authorities and power of authorities on tax compliance using both the real taxpayer and student subjects. However, these researchers have neglected the use of cross-country data to examine these effects. In line with prior empirical evidences that confirm the effect of trust and power of authorities on tax compliance, this study hypothesizes that both trust and power have association with tax compliance across countries. It further hypothesizes that trust has more association with tax compliance than power. This study is based on 49 Sub-Saharan African countries as the population, out of which 37 countries were selected using multi-stage random sampling. The empirical results from these countries reveal that there is an association between both trust in authorities and power of authorities and tax compliance across the 37 Sub-Saharan African countries, but the association between power of authorities and tax compliance is stronger than that of trust in authorities and tax compliance. Further, the result does not find any causing effect of both trust and power on tax compliance in the countries that constituted the study sample.Keywords: Authorities; Compliance; Power; Tax; Trust.
ANALYSING THE MACROORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE OF THE REVIEW ARTICLE GENRE IN APPLIED LINGUISTICS
Authors: AZAR Ali Sorayyaei , HASHIM Azirah
Published: March 2019

The aim of this research is (1) to analyse the macro-organisational structure and (2) to investigate and describe the analytical sections of the data. The data, drawn from a randomly selected corpus of 32 review articles, was analysed following Swales’ (1990) genre analysis to describe and investigate the schematic structure of the review article genre. The findings revealed that the CARS model was often observed in this genre. Moreover, although both review articles and research articles have been considered sub-genres of the research genre, there is a significant variation among them in terms of the schematic structure, rhetorical strategies, and functions. The schematic structure and functions of the review article genre were further investigated by consulting the specialist informants. The macroorganisational structure of this genre proposed hence provide the instructive guidance for EFL graduates and junior researchers how to review the developments critically during their research writing. Keywords: academic review genres, review article genre, macro-organisational structure, analytical sections of review article genre
WRITTEN CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK IN WRITING INSTRUCTION: A QUALITATIVE SYNTHESIS OF RECENT RESEARCH
Authors: SIA Pei Fen Dawn , CHEUNG Yin Ling
Published: March 2019

Giving written feedback to students is an important part of writing instruction. However, few studies have been conducted to investigate current trends of written corrective feedback in the secondary and university contexts. To identify and evaluate the current state of empirical evidence, we conducted a qualitative synthesis of published research that examined written corrective feedback in both English-as-the-first-language and English-as-the second/foreign-language settings. Four claims emerged in our analyses of 68 empirical studies published in journals from 2006-2016. Each claim is supported by empirical evidence. The claims are: (1) Individual differences play a part in the effectiveness of written corrective feedback; (2) Students’ and teachers’ perceptions affect the effectiveness of written corrective feedback; (3) Giving corrective feedback through technology is beneficial to students; and (4) Written corrective feedback is more effective when it is used concurrently with collaborative tasks. This meta-synthesis study sheds light on the written corrective practice of English Language teachers across different pedagogical settings and the factors that may affect student engagement in teacher written feedback. Keywords: written corrective feedback, secondary school, university
Application of electrokinetic in controlling heavy metals migration in sand: A feasibility study
Authors: Liew Cindy , Lim Leonard L. P.
Published: March 2019

Uncontrolled migration of heavy metals from human activities in the subsurface can lead to the degradation of environmental quality and potential use of soil and groundwater. This paper studies the feasibility of using electrokinetics in controlling the migration of heavy metals in sand. Copper and iron (initial concentration of 100 mgL-1) are the target heavy metals in this study as they are the most commonly found heavy metals from human activities such as mining and land filling. The performance of electrokinetic in controlling the migration of these heavy metals is tested in a sand tank at combination of water velocity and electrical gradient of 1.3 cm h-1, 0.5 V cm-1 and 0.88 cm h-1, 1 V cm-1, respectively. The formation of gas at electrodes, scouring on carbon anode and corrosion of crocodile clips during experiment (0.88 cm h-1, 1 V cm-1) showed the occurrence of electrokinetics. Further studies need to be conducted to optimize the operating conditions for effective application of electrokinetic in controlling heavy metals migration in sand.
Field Study of Riparian Zone along Sarawak River at Bintawa, Kuching
Authors: Mah Darrien Y.S. , Pui Allan P.P.
Published: March 2019

Natural riparian zones are increasingly valued in recent years as they provide a variety of beneficial functions to the environment and possess substantial economic value. In this regard, it is necessary to call for simultaneous protection of the environment and promotion of economic growth. In this writing, a field methodology is presented for the purpose of riparian wetland conservation; it is used to investigate the riparian health through studying vegetation cover, human activities and groundwater table. Healthy riparian zones can be achieved through the balancing of riverbank human activities with maintaining the functionality of wetlands, which can be done by assessing the groundwater level a nd the amount of lush vegetation. A functioning riparian zone is found with a mean of 12% human activities in the range of 0 to 17.86%, within an area along the water edge measuring 100 m x 100 m. It is only natural that the higher the percentage of the wetland vegetation that is flourishing, the more the riparian zone is functioning well.
Improving the strength performance of high volume periwinkle shell ash blended cement concrete with sodium nitrate as accelerator
Authors: Umoh Akaninyene A. , Ujene Anthony O.
Published: March 2019

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of accelerator (NaNO3) on the strength properties of High volume Periwinkle shell ash blended cement concrete. A mix ratio and water-binder ratio of 1:2:4 (cement: sand: gravel) and 0.60, respectively was used as the reference. The cement was then replaced with 30% Periwinkle Shell Ash (PSA) by weight of cement. Sodium nitrate in the dosages of 1, 2, and 3% by weight of cement was added to the blended mixture of cement and PSA. The strength properties investigated were compressive and splitting tensile strength tested at 7, 14 and 28 days hydration. The results indicated that the compressive strength and the splitting tensile strength generally increases with curing age, and that sodium nitrate of up to 2% dosage greatly improved the strength performance of high volume PSA blended cement concrete over that of the reference. The study concluded that the inclusion of 2% sodium nitrate by weight of cement in the mixture could be considered the optimum dosage for the improvement of both compressive and splitting tensile strength of concrete incorporating up to 30% PSA content.
INVESTIGATION OF GROUND TEMPERATURE FOR HEAT SINK APPLICATION IN KUCHING, SARAWAK, MALAYSIA
Authors: S. Muhammad Imran , A. Baharun , S. Ibrahim Halipah , Wan Z.B. Wan A.
Published: March 2019

Ground Air Heat Exchanger (GAHE) may be a solution to improve thermal comfort in buildings located in Sarawak but no ground survey specifically to examine the potential of GAHE has been done. Ground temperature prediction with computer program did not provide an accurate result for this region. In this study, a few sites with different soil profile in Kuching, Sarawak were selected to determine the soil temperature up to 4 meters depth. For peat soil area with high water table, the ground mean temperature is about 28 °C after 1m depth. For sandy clay type soil which is subjected to tidal activity, the daily soil temperature fluctuates greatly with the highest maximum temperature exceeding 32°C for all depth. This behavior is not really desirable if the ground were to be used as a steady heat sink source. Red podzolic soil gave an almost flat profile between 26°C to 27°C after the depth of 1m which is more desirable as a ground heat sink source. Therefore earth tube application in the state of Sarawak should consider the type of soil profile and optimum depth of to take advantage of the cool ground to provide building cooling.
MODELLING OF MSMA COMPONENTS: POROUS PAVEMENT WITH DETENTION SYSTEM UNDERNEATH FOR LOW TRAFFIC ROADS
Authors: Mah Darrien Yau Seng , Koh Boon Yee , Putuhena Frederik Josep , Rosli Nor Azalina
Published: March 2019

This study has been made in order to pursue practices in Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), where stormwater management becomes a mainstream in Malaysia. The main focus of this study is to develop a stormwater conveyance model incorporating porous pavement and on-site detention system at Heights Drive (Stutong), Kuching City, and to investigate its effectiveness. Conventional pavements are impervious and create contaminated runoff. In contrast, combination of porous pavement with storage as WSUD approach allows stormwater to percolate to an underlying detention system where stormwater is both infiltrated to underlying clay soil and discharged with a lower rate to drain beside the road. Nine roads with total surface area of 12,660 m2 are selected and a total of 6 scenarios are modelled and simulated using EPA’s SWMM 5.0. It is found that the peak discharge at outfall from the study area is decreased by 23%, in which 2% of the stormwater is infiltrated to the ground for groundwater recharge.
EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF PAINT TO RESIDENTIAL BUILDING
Authors: Sharkawi Nurshafina , Baharun Azhaili
Published: March 2019

In recent years, Malaysia has experienced climate change that leads to the higher consumption of energy dueto the increasing outdoor temperature that affects indoor discomfort conditions. Paints were found to be the insulationmaterial that is increasingly important because of their benefits in terms of thermal comfort and energy savings. Therefore,the aim of this study is to determine the effect of different types of paint to the residential building. Two types of paints wereapplied on indoor walls of identical room and their performance was compared. The equipment used to measure theperformance includes data logger and thermocouple for temperature performance and lux meter for illuminationperformance. The experiments consider the impacts of paints on interior surface temperature, wall orientation, indoor airtemperature and the illuminance level. The result shows that the air temperature of the room was brought down considerablyat about 1.9°C by implementing the reflecting paint on the indoor walls. The most significant effect is on the surfacetemperature with the highest temperature reduction of about 2.8°C which occurs at west wall after the application ofreflective paint that makes it as the best location to use reflective paint. For illumination, the results show that reflective paintgives significant effect compare to energy saving paint with the highest illuminance level of 392 lux. With the application ofreflective paint, the indoor temperature is improved and thus minimized the energy usage. Reflective paint has also presentedthe ability to reduce the indoor temperature, the effective wall orientation when applying it and improves the illuminancelevel of indoor building.
COMPARISON OF THE BEHAVIOR OF FIBER AND MESH REINFORCED SOILS
Authors: Fung Y. C. , Kaniraj Shenbaga. R.
Published: March 2019

Soft soil does not have good soil properties and is not suitable for constructing pavement structures as shear strength is required to resist the shear stress developed by traffic loading. To increase shear strength in this study, lime is used as the soil stabilizing agent and fiber and mesh are used as the soil reinforcement materials. The proper amount of lime added to soil will increase the shear strength as the lime-treated soil will decrease moisture susceptibility and migration. Shear strength of the lime-treated soil can be further improved by adding reinforcement materials such as fiber and mesh. The reinforcement materials will interlock with groups of particles and provide tensile strength to the soil matrix. The type of soil used in this study is high plasticity elastic silt with sand which is classified using the Unified Soil Classification System (USCS). Quicklime (calcium oxide) is used in this study at the minimum amount required for stabilizing the soil, which is 9%. The amount of fiber and mesh added to the soil sample is 0.5% of the dry weight of the soil used. Cylindrical samples were prepared with a moisture content of 22% (OMC) for untreated soil and 21% (OMC) for lime-treated soil samples. The lime-treated soil samples were cured for 7, 14, 28, 56, 90 and 120 days. Unconfined compression tests were conducted to determine unconfined compressive strength (UCS) and stress-strain characteristics. The unconfined compressive strength of the lime-treated samples increased as curing period increased but the failure strain decreased. The UCS and failure strain for reinforced lime-treated soil samples are higher than the unreinforced lime-treated soil samples.
STUDY OF WATER AND BED LEVEL VARIATION IN THE GANGES-PADMA RIVER, BANGLADESH
Authors: Uddin Md. Jahir , Chakma Prokashon , Al Faruq S.M. Abdullah
Published: March 2019

This study investigated the water and bed levels together with thalweg profile variations in graphical and numerical analysis using MS Excel for the Ganges-Padma River between 1996 and 2014 at three different selected stations. It was found that there was no consistency in cross section profiles over the years. The cross section profiles varied rapidly at Mawa and Harding Bridge stations, whereas the changes at Baruria Transit were more consistent comparatively. The mean bed levels at Harding Bridge and Mawa stations gradually rose while at Baruria Transit station, it showed a dynamic behavior. Recently in most cases, the water and bed levels lowered or rose simultaneously, but in the years 1996 to 2009 they showed dissimilar patterns. The maximum water level variation was found at Harding Bridge station at 0.75m (rise). The shifting of thalweg points also varied significantly. The most frequent movement of thalweg vertically was found at Baruria Transit station and horizontally at Mawa station.
Finite Element Simulation of Damage In RC Beams
Authors: Hanif M. U. , Ibrahim Z. , Ghaedi K. , Javanmardi A. , Rehman S. K.
Published: March 2019

A concrete damage model has been incorporated in finite element code ABAQUS as concrete damaged plasticity model to examine the sensitivity of the damage, as ABAQUS has the model that is capable of stiffness degradation in cracking which is the basis of fracture mechanics. Nonlinear constitutive relationships for concrete and steel have been incorporated in the model. The static and dynamic response of the structure at 10 different damage levels is studied and the sensitivity of the damage model towards the presence of non-linearity has been discussed. The concrete damaged plasticity model is capable of predicting formation of cracks in concrete beams against any kind of loads, as the results match with the experimental results. It can be concluded that the concrete damaged plasticity is a versatile tool for modeling RC structures and careful choice of solution procedures for dynamic analysis can lead to accurate modeling of concrete using a few routine laboratory test results of the materials.
Forecasting Trip Generation For High Density Residential Zones of Akure, Nigeria: Comparability of Artificial Neural Network And Regression Models
Authors: Etu J.E. , Oyedepo O. J.
Published: March 2019

Evidence from literature has shown the absence of the use of Artificial Neural Network techniques in formulating trip generation forecasts in Nigeria, rather the practice has consisted more on use of regression techniques. Therefore, in this study, the accuracy of Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) and Multiple Linear Regression model (MLR) in formulating home-based trips generation forecasts was assessed. Datasets for the study were acquired from a household travel survey in the high density zones of Akure, Nigeria and were analysed using SPSS 22 statistical software. Results of data analysis showed that the RBFNN model with higher Coefficient of Determination (R2) value of 0.913 and lower Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) of 0.421 performed better than the MLR with lower R2 value of 0.552 and higher MAPE of 0.810 in predicting the number of home-based trips generated in the study area. The study demonstrated the higher accuracy of the RBFNN in producing trip generation forecasts in the study area and is consequently recommended for researchers in executing such forecasts.
Finite Element Analysis of A Strengthened Beam Deliberating Elastically Isotropic And Orthotropic Cfrp Material
Authors: Ghaedi K. , Ibrahim Z. , Javanmardi A. , Jameel M. , Hanif U. , Rehman S. K. , Gordan M.
Published: March 2019

Using appropriate material properties for analyzing different models in academic and commercially availablefinite element software is one of the main concerns for design engineers and researchers. This paper demonstrates theimportance of using appropriate material properties for the models to be considered by engineers during finite elementmodelling. Two reinforced concrete (RC) beams strengthened with Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) strips areinvestigated, considering the CFRP elements as elastically isotropic and orthotropic materials. To show the significance ofthe selective material properties, all properties of the models are chosen to be exactly the same for the two beams except forthe CFRP strip. To validate the study, an RC beam is tested experimentally and the numerical results are compared to theexperimental test. The results show that CFRP with isotropic or orthotropic properties has no significant influence on beamresponses such as stresses, displacements and damage response under applied loadings.
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT): an ethical or political problem
Authors: Leonard Nwoye , Udoudom Mfonobong David , Bassey Samuel Akpan
Published: March 2019

It is a known fact that Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and other related talks on Nuclear arms disarmament haves failed to achieved a nuclear arms agreement among nations that will lead to nuclear free World. It is almost impossible to achieve this single task for more than 71 years. Every scholar in the globe has an opinion towards nuclear arms limitation talks. It is tricky to say whether or not SALT is an Ethical or Political problem? This paper tries to answer this question.
Media Aesthetics, Simulation, and the “New Media”
Authors: Schröter Jens
Published: March 2019

The notion of "media aesthetics" is analyzed and related to the history of computer simulation, especially the computational simulation of media. With a critical appendix on Parisi and Hansen.
Developing Process of Regular Labor Contraction
Authors: Maeda Kazuo
Published: March 2019

Aims: To clarify the developing mechanism of uterine contraction curve in the birth process. Methods: Uterine contraction curve, which was constant in old and new studies and recording methods, and it is similar to the electric oscillation, thus, their developing mechanisms were compared. Results: The labor contraction will be a physiological oscillation, similar to electric oscillation, namely it is a physiological oscillation developed by positive feed-back loop. Conclusion: The novel analysis of regular uterine contraction will be applied to the analysis of labor developing mechanism and for the treatment of preterm labor.
Forensic Examination of Inks Extracted from Printed Documents using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy
Authors: Ameh Paul Ocheje , Ozovehe Musa Suud
Published: March 2019

Yellow, cyan, magenta and black inks were extracted from documents printed using two common brands of printing cartridge in Nigerian market and analyzed to identify/compare the functional groups present using Fourier Transform Infra-red Spectroscopy (FTIR). The FTIR spectra obtained were found to show highly characteristic absorption bands depending on the composition of the printer inks. Also, the results indicated the presence of triarylmethane dyes, epoxy resins, alkyd resin and esters in all the inks as they are peaks assigned to the vibration of aliphatic ester, asymmetrical and symmetrical stretching. The pure ink and its extract from the same band were also found to exhibit similar FTIR spectra while inks extract from different brands exhibits marked difference in absorption bands. This research can provide valuable information if an admitted sample is provided for comparing with the suspect printed document.
Corrosion Inhibition Potential of Ethanol Extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum Leaves for Zinc in Acidic Medium
Authors: Kolo Alhaji Modu , Idris Sunusi , Bamishaiye Oloyede Martins
Published: March 2019

The inhibitive and adsorption properties of ethanol extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum leaves were studied using weight loss, potentiodynamic polarization, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Fourier transformed infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) methods of monitoring corrosion. The results obtained, indicated that ethanol extracts of Bryophyllum pinnatum leaves is a good adsorption inhibitor for the corrosion of zinc in sulphuric acid solutions. The adsorption of the inhibitor on zinc surface was found to be spontaneous and supported the Langmuir adsorption model. From the calculated values of free energy of adsorption, the activation energy and the variation of inhibition efficiency with temperature, a physical adsorption mechanism has been proposed for the adsorption of ethanol extract of Bryophyllum pinnatum leaves on zinc surface. Results from potentiodynamic polarization study indicated that Bryophyllum pinnatum is a mixed-type corrosion inhibitor. Analysis of spectra obtained from Fourier transformed infra-red spectrophotometer (FTIR) revealed that some functional groups presence in the spectra of the inhibitors were missing in the spectra of the corrosion products which also indicated that there is an interaction between zinc and the inhibitor.
Automated Student Attendance System using Fingerprint Recognition
Authors: Rahman Sifatnur , Rahman Mahabur , Rahman Md Mijanur
Published: March 2019

The project work aims at designing a student attendance system which could effectively manage attendance of students of the department of Computer Science and Engineering at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University. In this project work, attendance is marked after student’s biometric identification. For student identification, a fingerprint recognition based identification system is used. Fingerprint features are considered to be the best and fastest method for biometric identification. These features are more secure to use and unique for every person that don’t change in one's lifetime. Fingerprint recognition is a mature field today, but still identifying individual from a set of enrolled fingerprints is a time taking process. It was very necessary to improve the fingerprint identification system for implementation on large databases, e.g. of an institute or a country. In this project, the minutiae algorithm is used to develop the identification system which is faster in implementation than any other available today in the market. The proposed automated attendance system based on fingerprint recognition was tested on a class of student fingerprint databases and achieved significant results for taking an attendance of the students of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering. The proposed system has been implemented using C# programming paradigm platform.
The Role of In-Flight Service Quality on Value for Money in Business Class: A Logit Model on the Airline Industry
Authors: Atalık Özlem , Bakır Mahmut , Akan Şahap
Published: March 2019

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of in-flight service quality on value for money for business passengers in airlines. In this study, in-flight service quality included four dimensions—seat comfort, staff service, food and beverages, and in-flight entertainment—while value for money was used as a dichotomous variable. In the study, 1096 business passenger reviews were employed through secondary data. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationships between the variables and finally the success of classification was tested by the ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristics) curve. As a result, the findings indicate that the proposed logit model sufficiently explains the relationship between in-flight service quality and value for money in business passengers. Moreover, the study provides a deep understanding of how passengers perceive in-flight service quality in business class. The study also reveals that seat comfort has the highest impact on value for money.
Entrepreneurship Education in a Multidisciplinary Environment: Evidence from an Entrepreneurship Programme Held in Turin
Authors: Fiore Eleonora , Sansone Giuliano , Paolucci Emilio
Published: March 2019

Entrepreneurship education can increase student’s entrepreneurial skills and intention; and entrepreneurship activities stimulate economic growth. Therefore, the number of entrepreneurship courses is increasing, but they are often offered to students from a specific field of study and/or to only one educational level, even though multidisciplinarity is important for entrepreneurship. This study has carried out an exploratory single case study on an entrepreneurial programme in a multidisciplinary environment, that is, the Contamination Lab of Turin (CLabTo). Moreover, pre- and post-surveys have also been conducted in order to perform some qualitative analyses. The results show the importance of creating teams with different competencies, cognitive and decision-making skills. Moreover, we explain how design-thinking is useful in entrepreneurship education and that a challenge-based entrepreneurship course leads to cooperation with external actors in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. It is also explained what the obstacles and opportunities of these programmes are and how to improve them. Moreover, on the basis of pre- and post-surveys, our qualitative analyses show that the students’ overall perception of their abilities to work in a multidisciplinary team, their entrepreneurial skills and entrepreneurial intentions increased slightly. In short, this work is aimed at increasing the importance of entrepreneurship education in a multidisciplinary environment and the use of practical-oriented teaching models.