Research| SDG9

INDUSTRY, INNOVATION & INFRA-STRUCTURE : Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation

Total number of research : 122 Publications

Krishnan E.R.K., Wahab S.N.(2019)

This qualitative case study explores the factors that influence the adoption of smart warehouse in Malaysia. Purposive sampling is used to carry out this research by conducting interview discussion with several respondents. Lack of warehouses in Malaysia is that adopt smart warehouse and still on manual operation. In this study, a discussion report would be done relating to the TOE framework (technological, organizational and environmental) influences in adopting smart warehousing. The types of technologies being implemented in the warehouses in Malaysia are being evaluated and further discussed on the similarity of thoughts. The findings of this research show that most respondents agree that implementing smart warehouse approaches would bring relative advantage. Warehouses in Malaysia in terms of technology implementation are still at very surface and backwards. Top management and cost are two factors that would influence organization readiness towards smart warehousing, whereas external pressure, government support and geographical location would influence the adoption of smart warehousing. This research can be used as a reference for future researches on encouraging warehouses in Malaysia to adopt smart warehouse approaches. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

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Islam S., Hashim A.H.A., Hasan M.K.(2019)

Mobility management is characterized into two sections are mainly location management as well as handoff management. The previous one focuses on location updates though the later one oversees consistent Internet availability while the Mobile Router (MR) diverges its point of attachment during movement to the new network. Subsequently, recurrent movement of the Mobile Routers (MR) becomes one of the noteworthy characteristics in mobile networks. Since, as per the standard Network Mobility Basic Support Protocol (NEMO BSP), the MR uses single interface to connect to the new access network. MR needs altering its point of attachment to the network once it moves to the new access networks. This leads to decrease network performance, scalability issues as well as extra signaling overhead that results in higher handoff delay, packet loss, mobility anchor load and total handoff cost (signaling cost, packet delivery cost and energy consumption cost respectively). Consequently, this paper proposed a resource efficient Mobility Management- scheme to analyze handoff performance in PNEMO (MM-PNEMO). From that point onward, signifies a comparative study among the MM-PNEMO, NEMO BSP, and PNEMO. © 2019 IEEE.

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Debnath S.K., Omar R., Latip N.B.A., Shelyna S., Nadira E., Melor C.K.N.C.K., Chakraborty T.K., Natarajan E.(2019)

Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) has attracted attention in recent years in conducting missions for longer time with higher levels of autonomy. For the enhanced autonomous characteristic of UAV, path planning is one of the crucial issues. Current researches on the graph search algorithms under combinatorial method are mainly reviewed in this paper by keeping focus on the comprehensive surveys of its properties for path planning. The outcome is a pen picture of their assumptions and drawbacks. © 2019 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

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Abbasi M.R., Shamiri A., Hussain M.A.(2019)

This is a detailed review on olefin polymerization models, and the most recent process control approaches used to control these nonlinear systems are presented. Great focus has been given to the various approaches of fluidized-bed reactor (FBR) modeling. Currently, there has yet to be a single model that blends these modeling aspects together into one single formulation. In this article, the classification of models works by looking at their assumption in considering the phases inside the system. Researchers have been unraveling vast information to narrate in detail the relations between various variables that can be found in FBRs. Although it is not difficult to understand about the basics of modeling polymer properties, a gap exists for future researchers to justify in detail the phenomena and reduce the gap between model predictions and the actual data. The various controlling approaches to control these FBRs have also been reviewed and categorized depending on the method they used to control significant parameters of this nonlinear system. The progress that can be expected in this field leads to the creation of more efficient reactors and minimizing waste. © 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

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Yuan P.W.S., Mun N.K., Rajendran S.D.(2019)

The increasing of electronic waste (E-waste) is not a new issue in the world and it has been causing trouble throughout the world. This study is conducted to determine and analyze various factors that affect the barriers of E-waste management among the household in Cheras, Malaysia. This study has identified the four independent variables that will affect the implementation of e-waste management among household in Cheras namely lack of awareness, lack of knowledge, lack of cooperation and lack of facilities. Normality test, reliability test and multiple regression analysis with ANOVA test are used to analyse the data in this study. The result shows that all mentions independent variables have a positive relationship with the barriers of implementing e-waste management among households in Cheras. Among these four variables, lack of facilities has the strongest relationship toward the barriers of implementing e-waste management among household in Cheras as it has the lowest significant value which was 0.000. The study recommends of legalize the policies, rules and regulations in order for household to increase their practice on e-waste management and also implement the teaching of e-waste management to increase the knowledge to the young generations. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

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How T.C., Yi H.K., Rajendran S.D.(2019)

Online retailing sector is a huge potential market with boundless prospect, so now, reducing service failures and increasing customers' repurchase intention has become the first mission for every online retailer in order to increase their competitive advantages and market shares and to become the industry leader. The goals of this study is to identify the types of service failures that the online shoppers experiencing and which service failure is most critical toward repurchase intention of online shoppers. SPSS statistics analysis method has been used to analyze the data collected from the respondents. According to the result, it confirms that there are five types of service failures have significant relationship to the repurchase intention of online shippers. This study may likely to be a reference for related online retailer to examine their operation performance and customer loyalty in order to provide better services and boost up business in online retailing industry. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

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Ooi J., Ng D.K.S., Chemmangattuvalappil N.G.(2019)

This Article presents a Computer Aided Molecular Design (CAMD) framework that considers both the solute extraction and the solvent recovery steps simultaneously during the solvent design. The choice of a solvent has a significant role not only on the effectiveness of the process, but also on the safety, health, and environmental impact. In addition, the energy required for solvent regeneration is dependent on both the chosen solvent and its recovery techniques. Therefore, we have incorporated physicochemical property targets, safety, health, and environmental (SHE) aspects and utilities cost needed to recover the solvent during the design stage. Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) weighting approach is applied to assign consistent weights to the multiple objective functions. Through this approach, the designed solvents with favorable functionalities can be recovered through an economically efficient and environment friendly process. The developed methodology is used to design a solvent to be used in palm oil industry for residual oil extraction from palm pressed fiber. © 2019 American Chemical Society.

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Waidhuba M.K., Tiang S.S., Manzoor S., Hong M.V.(2019)

The three core means to increasing system capacity, considering the heterogeneity of the Next Generation Mobile Network (NGMN) are:-bandwidth, spectrum efficiency, and cell densification. For the latter one, small cells are envisioned to provide higher throughput by distributing vast numbers of them under macro cell coverage, creating a way to offload traffic and reduce transmitter-receiver distance. However, it immediately poses a problem of routing traffic from small cells to backbone network (backhauling). Here, advances in Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna systems could bridge the gap in wireless backhaul, which is considered the most viable option for dense-urban small cell deployments. In this paper, we propose a 5GNR-compatible Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) architecture, where backhaul for millimeter wave small cells is provided by Massive MIMO enabled macro cell using FDD duplex in sub-6GHz band. Such an uncommon design would have the following advantages: (1) Non-mmWave backhaul links need not to be Line-Of-Sight, (2) Inter-cell interference between mmWave small cells is negligible, (3) The required Channel State Information(CSI) feedback rate for backhaul links is much smaller, if compared to the prospected 5G NR Base Station (gNB) to User Equipment (UE) fast fading links due to high level mobility; making MMIMO FDD deployment feasible in overcoming the issue of CSI feedback overhead, which is the major contribution of the proposed architecture. © 2019 IEEE.

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Kolandaisamy R., Noor R.M., Z’aba M.R., Ahmedy I., Kolandaisamy I.(2019)

Vehicular ad hoc networks (VANETs) are a group of nodes that remain dynamically and randomly situated. VANETs are considered as one of the most prominent technologies for improving the efficiency and safety of modern transportation systems. However, the VANET is also subjected to attacks that will weaken the performance of vehicular communication. To enable communication inside the VANET system, a routing protocol helps to determine directions among nodes. VANET network nodes move very quickly from one place to another, and in that time DDoS attacks will occur in the VANET network. Therefore, it is important to implement DDoS attack detection-based communication level on the entire VANET system. The source node will send data or information to the destination using intermediate nodes, whenever a DDoS attack happens in the node. In this paper, an approach is proposed for detection of a DDoS attack in a VANET network by using the adapted stream region scheme. Once the attack occurs in the VANET network, all the data will be damaged or hacked by another attacker. To minimize the DDoS attack and optimize the assigned problem, the author is using packet marking based on adapted stream region (PMBASR) techniques on the network. The PMBASR techniques are used to trace back to the source node, then the node of origin used in RSU server for data request, and at the same time the data will receive a response in the network. Nevertheless, an analytical approach will use PMBASR to detect the DDoS attack and further improve the network performance. Finally, the Ns2 simulation result proves it to be a better result-oriented approach. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

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Zanil M.F., Chan K.O., Hussain M.A.(2019)

A modified artificial bee optimization is proposed in this study. The algorithm is based on the colony behavior of certain bee species to achieve optimal solution in the bounded environment. The proposed algorithm is designed by improving the exploration knowledge of onlooker bee from meta-heuristic concept in search space. The multiple searches is proposed in the exploration phase to evaluate the multi objective functions. The performance of the proposed algorithm is tested on the typical benchmark equations and complex case of the polymerization of propylene in fluidized bed reactor. The proposed technique is able to provide an optimal solutions and it shows a good performance in term of convergence, accuracy and computational load. © BEIESP.

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Baskaran, Qawiy A.K.M., Taha M.(2019)

Ficin was assessed for its capacity to distinguish chosen substantial metals utilizing a Bradford-protease-casein measure framework. The premise of the protein measure utilizing casein as a substrate depends upon the powerlessness of the Bradford reagent to recolor polypeptide with not exactly an atomic load of two kilodalton. Casein is recolored by the Bradford reagent giving a dim blue shading. Its debasement item is be that as it may, isn't recolored by the reagent and the arrangement stays dark colored in shading. Within the sight of substantial metals that hinder protease action, casein would stay undigested and the shading after brooding would stay blue. These advancement considers incorporate ideal chemical, substrate, pH, temperature and hatching time. The ideal convergence of compound, substrate, temperature and hatching time for protease is comparable at 0.2mg/ml protease, 2mg/ml casein, 30oC and 25 minutes of brooding for protease test after a time of substantial metals hatching. Ficin is ideal from pH 6 to 7. For ficin 3 overwhelming metals demonstrate some restraint of proteolytic action utilizing an institutionalized substantial metals fixation at 1mg/L. The restraint appeared by the substantial metals on ficin action are 92.4% for mercury, 98% for silver and 91.9% for copper. The IC50 estimations of mercury, silver and copper for ficinis 0.0852, 0.09918 and 0.043mg/L individually. The breaking points of discovery (LOD), for mercury, silver and copper were 0.002 mg l-1, 0.0002 mg l-1 and 0.006 mg l-1 individually. The breaking points of quantitation (LOQ) for mercury, silver and copper were 0.044 mg l-1, 0.0188 mg l-1 and 0.025 mg l-1 individually. The upside of the protease bioassay contrasted with other bioassay lies on its speed, economy, effortlessness, dependability in extreme conditions, for example, pH and temperature and in addition moderately impedance free from cleansers, solvents and pesticides. © 2019, Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication. All rights reserved.

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Chan Y.T., Tan M.C., Chin N.L.(2019)

Ultrasound treatment is widely used in food industries in order to improve the food quality. In present study, the Box-Behnken design was used to determine the optimum experimental conditions of sugar replacement with ultrasound treated pectin in both the cake batter and final cake product. The variables involved in Box-Behnken design included sonication time (5–25 min), amplitude (20–60%), and sugar replacement level with ultrasound treated pectin (10–30%) to determine the effects on batter density and consistency index, and cake density, volume, hardness and chewiness. Predicted values of parameters using model equations were in good agreement with the experimental values with R2 ≥ 0.8. The high quality of aerated cake product was obtained at optimized conditions of 10% sugar replacement with ultrasound treated pectin at 20% amplitude for 25 min. The results shown that 10% of sugar replacement with ultrasound treated pectin in batter system gave higher batter consistency index and thus produced bigger cake volume together with lower hardness and chewiness. Pectin treated with longer sonication time and higher ultrasound amplitude results in lower batter density and thus enhances the cake volume with less dense crumb structure. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

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Frederick H., Winda A., Solihin M.I.(2019)

Petrol and diesel engine have a significantly different way to convert chemical energy into mechanical energy. In this work, the intelligent system approach is used to automatically identify the type of engine based on the sound of the engine. The combination of signal processing and machine learning technique for automatic petrol and diesel engine sound identification is presented in this work. After a signal preprocessing step of the engine sound, a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT)-based frequency characteristic modelling technique is applied as the feature extraction method. The resulting features extracted from the sound signal, in the form of frequency in the FFT matrix, are used as the inputs for the machine learning, the Support Vector Machine (SVM), step of the proposed approach. The experiment of FFT with SVM-based diesel and petrol engine sound identification has been carried out. The results show that the proposed approach produces a good accuracy in the relatively short training time. Experimental results show the training and testing accuracy of 100 % and 100 % respectively. They confirm the effectiveness of the proposed intelligent automatic diesel and petrol engine sound identification based on Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Support Vector Machines (SVMs). © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

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William L., Winda A., Satrio D., Sofyan T., Solihin M.I.(2019)

There are so many security devices such as code pin, dual control procedures, and ID card. However, those devices have the potential to be lost, stolen or duplicated by someone. Due to that reason, the authentication for driver by using their face is one of the potential solutions. In this proposed system, the real time person's face is detected using a camera. The detected face is then processed inthe system which will recognize. The recognized face is then used as input to the Arduino, which connected to the automotive relay to active the engine's starter vehicle. Viola-Jones method is applied as a method to detect and crop face area of the face image. The Canny edge method is applied as a method for segmenting the detected face. The Canny edge method will detect a wide range of edges from facealso reducing noise image. Fast Fourier Transform is applied as a feature extraction technique to extract the segmented face image. The extracted image is then used as input to the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) in order to recognize the face of the authorize person. Experimental results show the training and testing accuracy of 100 % and 100 %, respectively. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

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Rivandi P., Winda A., Satrio D., Solihin M.I.(2019)

Automated vehicle security system plays an important rule in nowadays advance automotive technology. One of the methods which can be applied for a security system is based on biometric identification system. Fingerprint recognition is one of the biometric systems that can be applied to the security system. In this work, fingerprint recognition system to start the motorcycle engine is developed. The fingerprint of the owner and other authorized persons will be stored into the database, then while the time of starting the engine of the vehicle, the fingerprint will be validated with the database. The minutiae extraction method is applied to find the difference of fingerprint each other after turn the image into grayscale and thinning. After the extraction, the next step is finding the ridge edge and bifurcation. The result of the image will be used as input to the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) to recognize authorized person only. The experiment of fingerprint recognition system shows that automatic start-stop engine using fingerprint recognition system based minutiae extraction and Artificial Neural Network (ANN) has accuracy 100 % and 100 %, respectively. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

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Huai Shin K., Nashwaan I., Logis J., Wei Keat T., Kwan Kit W., Crystale Siew Ying L., Yong Hui T.(2019)

Laccases are enzymes that belong to multi-copper blue oxidases. Laccases show promising application in various industries especially in bioremediation. In this study, laccase from wild edible mushroom, Termitomyces heimii was studied. The fruiting bodies of these mushrooms were homogenised with sodium phosphate buffer, pH 6.0 and centrifuged to obtain the supernatant. The crude extract obtained then underwent ammonium sulphate precipitation at 80% saturation and dialysed against the same phosphate buffer. The dialysed fractions were tested for laccase enzyme activity using ABTS as substrate. Sample was further purified with anion-exchange DEAE-cellulose and gel filtration G-100 Sephadex. T. heimii formed two peaks after DEAE-cellulose. Only D1 fraction of T. heimii was further purified. The specific activity of T. heimii Laccase D1 fraction was 0.13 U/mg. D1 fraction had a final yield of 0.071% and purification fold of 0.72. The optimum pH for maximum activity of laccase from T. heimii was pH 2.5 when ABTS substrate was used, and the optimum temperature was 60ºC, with stability up to 55°C. The crude enzyme, as well as the partially purified laccase of T. heimii was able to decolourise dyes: Congo Red at 60% efficiency, Trypan Blue 17.5% and 39% and Coomassie Brilliant blue G-250 at 40% efficiency. Addition of ABTS mediators resulted in increased decolourisation efficiency of dyes. The SDS-PAGE showed that D1 fraction of T. heimii had molecular mass of approximately 85kDa. Native-PAGE of T. heimii was carried out and was stained with ABTS substrates. The band obtained was excised and sent for MALDI-TOF analysis. The proteins were matched to Ludwig database, where it showed 58% identity to glucanase from Volvariella volvacea, however do not show any identity level to any registered laccases or oxidases from basidiomycetes. Further studies need to be carried out to characterise laccase from Termitomyces. © 2019 Malaysian Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. All rights reserved.

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Sharon H., Elamvazuthi I., Lu C.K., Parasuraman S., Natarajan E.(2019)

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is a persistent provocative ailment that effects and decimates the joints of wrist, finger, and feet. If left untreated, one can lose their ability to lead a normal life. RA is the most typical fiery joint inflammation, influencing around 1-2% of the total populace. Throughout the years, soft computing played an important part in helping ailment analysis in doctor's decision process. The main aim of this study is to investigate the possibility of applying machine learning techniques to the analysis of RA characteristics. As a preliminary work, a credible database has been identified to be used for this research. The database has outputs of array temperature values from thermal imaging for the joints of hand. Furthermore, this database which consists of 8 attributes and 32 instances, are used to determine the performance in terms of accuracy for the classification of different algorithms. In this preliminary work, ensemble algorithms such as bagging, AdaBoost and random subspace with base classifier such as random forest and SVM were trained and tested using the assessment criteria such as accuracy, precision, sensitivity and AUC using Weka tool. From the preliminary finding of this paper, it can be concluded that with base classifier SVM, bagging has better classification accuracy over the others and with base classifier random forest Adaboost slightly outperformed other models for rheumatoid arthritis dataset. © 2019 IEEE.

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Tan Z.Q., Leow H.Y., Lee D.C.W., Karisnan K., Song A.A.L., Mai C.W., Yap W.S., Lim S.H.E., Lai K.S.(2019)

Microorganisms are the great sources of Natural Products (NPs); these are imperative to their survival apart from conferring competitiveness amongst each other within their environmental niches. Primary and secondary metabolites are the two major classes of NPs that help in cell development, where antimicrobial activity is closely linked with secondary metabolites. To capitalize on the effects of secondary metabolites, co-culture methods have been often used to develop an artificial microbial community that promotes the action of these metabolites. Different analytical techniques will subsequently be employed based on the metabolite specificity and sensitivity to further enhance the metabolite induction. Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) and Gas Chromatography (GC)-MS are commonly used for metabolite separation while Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and Mass Spectrometry (MS) have been used as tools to elucidate the structure of compounds. This review intends to discuss current systems in use for co-culture in addition to its advantages, with discourse into the investigation of specific techniques in use for the detailed study of secondary metabolites. Further advancements and focus on co-culture technologies are required to fully realize the massive potential in synthetic biological systems. © 2019 Tan et al.

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Abu Bakar A.H., Abdullah L.C., Mohd Zahri N.A., Alkhatib M.(2019)

In this research, the adsorption potential of quaternized palm kernel shell (QPKS) to remove F- from aqueous solution was investigated using fixed-bed adsorption column. Raw palm kernel shell waste was reacted with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride (CHMAC) in order to modify the surface charge. The effects of inlet F- concentrations (2-12 mg/l) and QPKS bed height (2-10 cm) with optimum pH (pH = 3) on the breakthrough characteristics of the adsorption system were determined. In the fixed-bed column, breakthrough time increases with increasing bed height due to increasing amount of active site on adsorbents to adsorb the fluoride ion. Decreasing trend of breakthrough values was obtained with increasing initial fluoride concentration due to greater driving force for the transfer process to overcome the mass transfer resistance in the column. The adsorptions were fitted to three well-established fixed-bed adsorption models, namely, Thomas, Yoon-Nelson, and Adams-Bohart models. The results fitted well to the Thomas and Yoon-Nelson models with correlation coefficient, R2 ≥ 0.96. © 2019 Ayu Haslija Abu Bakar et al.

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Lee J.C., Shafigh P., Bahri S.(2019)

This paper deals with a comparatively study of the engineering properties of the Oil-palm-boiler clinker (OPBC) OPBC and lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA) concretes. A grade 70 normal-weight concrete was designed as control mix. Normal weight coarse aggregate was substituted with OPBC and LECA up to 100% by volume, respectively. Their properties — workability, density, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength, flexural strength, modulus of elasticity, and water absorption — were studied. Results showed that at the same mix proportion, all mixes exhibited acceptable workability, except for concrete containing LECA up to 75% onwards, which required the reduction of superplastisizer dozen to 16%. Mixes with 75% onwards LECA content exhibited acceptable workability. The oven dry density of concrete containing 100% OPBC and 50% LECA onwards, respectively, in this study can be considered as lightweight concrete. The use of saturated OPBC and LECA in concrete improves the mechanical properties of concrete under air drying condition. The ceiling strength of LECA concrete is at the early age of 7 days, whereas it happens to normal weight concrete and OPBC concrete at a later age. The water absorption of all mixes is below 3%, which can be considered as good concrete. © 2019, University of Malaya. All rights reserved.

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Yu L.-J., Rengasamy K., Lim K.-Y., Tan L.-S., Tarawneh M., Zulkoffli Z.B., Se Yong E.N.(2019)

Water quality plays an important role in ensuring the healthy growth of aquatic living. Fish in ponds release nitrogen, phosphorus, ammonia, nitrates and organic waste. The presence of these chemicals in water leads to an increment in the pH level of the pond water, which could affect the growth of the fish. Therefore, it is vital to have an effective filter system for pond water to remove the unwanted waste. At current literature, the filtering effectiveness of activated carbon and zeolite in fresh water pond systems are remained inexplicit. In this work, a lab-scale filtering system was set up to study the ammonia removal efficiency of activated carbon and zeolite. The efficiency of these two types of filtering media was first studied separately and then combined as a hybrid filter with a weight ratio of 1:1. The effectiveness of the single filter media and hybrid media filter were evaluated based on the measurement of the concentration of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and the pH level. It was found that the hybrid filter - a combination of activated carbon and zeolite - tended to have higher efficiency in maintaining good water quality compared to the single media system; the ammonia level was reduced from 4mg/L to 1mg/L in 2.5 days. The greater the amount of the hybrid filter media presents in the system, the better the conversion rate of ammonia to nitrate. A combination of activated carbon and zeolite (150g each) was found to be able to maintain suitable water quality (1mg/L ammonia, 0mg/L nitrite, <50mg/L nitrate, 6.8-8.0pH) for fish. © 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

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Thi S., Lee K.M.(2019)

In this work, a novel solvent, deep eutectic solvent (DES) was applied to examine its effectiveness in pretreating OPEFB. Three types of DESs, i.e. choline chloride-lactic acid (ChCl-LA), choline chloride-urea (ChCl-U) and choline chloride-glycerol (ChCl-G) were investigated. The pretreatment performance was based on cellulose digestibility, structural and morphology changes. At molar ratio of 1:2, ChCl-LA attained the highest reducing sugars yield of 20.7%, followed by ChCl-G (20.0%) and ChCl-U (16.9%). FT-IR and SEM results further confirmed the outstanding ability of ChCl-LA due of its ability in cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin disruption, exposing its cellulose fraction to enzymatic hydrolysis. ChCl-LA is also more favorable compare to acid and alkaline solvents as it could prevent sugars loss, use of expensive corrosion resistant equipment and ease products separation. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

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Prince Jeya Lal L., Ramesh S., Parasuraman S., Natarajan E., Elamvazuthi I.(2019)

Nanosilica particles were utilized as secondary reinforcement to enhance the strength of the epoxy resin matrix. Thin glass fibre reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite laminates of 3 - 0.25 mm were developed with E-Glass mats of 610 GSM and LY556 epoxy resin. Nanosilica fillers were mixed with epoxy resin in the order of 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 wt% through mechanical stirring followed by an ultrasonication method. Thereafter, the damage was induced on toughened laminates through low-velocity drop weight impact tests and the induced damage was assessed through an image analysis tool. The residual compression strength of the impacted laminates was assessed through compression after impact (CAI) experiments. Laminates with nanosilica as secondary reinforcement exhibited enhanced compression strength, stiffness, and damage suppression. Results of Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy revealed that physical toughening mechanisms enhanced the strength of the nanoparticle-reinforced composite. Failure analysis of the damaged area through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) evidenced the presence of key toughening mechanisms like damage containment through micro-cracks, enhanced fiber-matrix bonding, and load transfer. © 2019 by the authors.

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Al-Shorgani N.K.N., Al-Tabib A.I., Kadier A., Zanil M.F., Lee K.M., Kalil M.S.(2019)

Continuous fermentation of dilute acid-pretreated de-oiled rice bran (DRB) to butanol by the Clostridium acetobutylicum YM1 strain was investigated. Pretreatment of DRB with dilute sulfuric acid (1%) resulted in the production of 42.12 g/L total sugars, including 25.57 g/L glucose, 15.1 g/L xylose and 1.46 g/L cellobiose. Pretreated-DRB (SADRB) was used as a fermentation medium at various dilution rates, and a dilution rate of 0.02 h −1 was optimal for solvent production, in which 11.18 g/L of total solvent was produced (acetone 4.37 g/L, butanol 5.89 g/L and ethanol 0.92 g/L). Detoxification of SADRB with activated charcoal resulted in the high removal of fermentation inhibitory compounds. Fermentation of detoxified-SADRB in continuous fermentation with a dilution rate of 0.02 h −1 achieved higher concentrations of solvent (12.42 g/L) and butanol (6.87 g/L), respectively, with a solvent productivity of 0.248 g/L.h. This study showed that the solvent concentration and productivity in continuous fermentation from SADRB was higher than that obtained from batch culture fermentation. This study also provides an economic assessment for butanol production in continuous fermentation process from DRB to validate the commercial viability of this process. © 2019, The Author(s).

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Ee C.T., Hii C.L., Ong S.P., Law C.L., Julkifle A., Tan K.W., Tan C.H.(2019)

Kedondong (Spondias dulcis) contains polyphenols, vitamin C and carotenoids which are beneficial to human health. Fresh kedondong has short shelf life and drying is an option to preserve the fruit in dried form to avoid spoilage. In this research, kedondong slices were dried at three temperatures (60 °C, 70 °C and 80 °C) using convective air and RH was fixed at 30 %. High drying temperature facilitated faster drying rate but resulted in poor product quality when compared to freeze dried samples. Drying rates were observed only occurred within falling rates period. Effective diffusivities were estimated in the order of magnitude 10-7 - 10-9 m2/s based on Fick's second law. Quality assessment showed that samples dried at 60 °C had the lowest hardness and the highest total polyphenols content was observed from samples dried at 80 °C. In addition, kedondong flavour note was found favourable from samples dried at 70 °C and 80 °C based on penalty analyses. © 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

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Qayyum A., Ahamed Khan M.K.A., Mazher M., Suresh M., Jamal D.N., Duc Chung J.T.(2019)

This paper presents a health monitoring method by estimating vital signs using an RGB camera. The rPPG signal is used to estimate the physical parameters with the help of a non-invasive smartphone camera. The vital signs of human are very important especially in health monitoring applications. In this paper, the deep learning-based algorithm has been used to estimate the vital signs using rPPG signal based on RGB frames camera video. The convolutional neural network (CNN) has been used to estimate the vital sign such as heart rate and breathing rate, their ratio, and Sp02. The features were extracted from the last convolutional layer (C5) of the pre-trained VGG16 model. The average of the blood intensity variation extracted as a feature matrix from the last convolutional layer represents the rPPG signal which further used to estimate the vital signs. The results show that proposed technique produced better performance as compared to existing standard and conventional vital signs estimation techniques. © 2019 IEEE.

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Tay W.H., Lau K.K., Lai L.S., Shariff A.M., Wang T.(2019)

The continuously increasing of sour natural gas reservoirs worldwide necessitate a highly efficient CO2 removal technology for offshore application. Therefore, the intensification technology for absorption attaches research interest to address this issue. This review covers the intensification factor, operating feasibility and perspective for each potential technology. Microchannel reactor offers the highest ideal intensification factor but suffers from offshore operation difficulties. Even-though high frequency ultrasonic reactor and rotating packed bed demonstrate high flexibility for long-term operation, yet both technologies require high energy consumption. Combination of hollow fibre membrane contactor and rotating packed bed is suggested to optimize the overall absorption process. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

[Full Article]

Lehl H.K., Ong S.-A., Ho L.-N., Wong Y.-S., Naemah F., Oon Y.-L., Oon Y.-S., Thung W.-E.(2019)

Acid Red 27 (AR27) is widely used in paper processing, textiles, foods, cosmetics, beverages and medicines. Effluents containing AR27 are discharged daily into the environment which can adversely affect human and animals as AR27 is classified as an endocrine disruptor. This study describes the application of an aerobic and anaerobic baffled constructed wetland (ABCW) reactor in the removal of AR27 from a solution of synthetic wastewater with 50 mg/L AR27 concentration. The ABCW reactor planted with Phragmites australis was set with intermittent aeration and 1 d hydraulic retention time. This system’s performance was evaluated in terms of COD, NH4+, colour and mineralization of intermediates with and without aeration at different concentrations. Based on the performance and analysis of GCMS, FTIR, HPLC a degradation pathway for AR27 was proposed. The system achieved COD removal of 88%, NH4 + removal of 98%, complete decolourization and mineralization. FTIR analysis showed that provision of intermittent aeration contributed to the removal sulphonic groups and aromatic amines. The performance of the ABCW is attributed to the long pathway travelled by the wastewater which increased contact time of pollutants with microbes and rhizomes; and the synergistic effect of the combination of rhizomes, microbes and supplementary aeration. © 2019 Desalination Publications. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Yen Tey W., Moon Lee K., Che Sidik N.A., Asako Y.(2019)

Ultrasonic wave is one of the most popular pre-treatment methods of lipid extraction in microalgae, due to its low energy supply requirement, eco-friendliness and excellent cell disruption capability. Although quite some number of experimental works were reported, the numerical modelling of the ultrasonic wave in understanding the working principle of ultrasonic irradiation is limited so far, as to the knowledge of authors. The modelling is required for a more robust pre-treatment optimisation. Therefore, in current work, the numerical model of ultrasonic wave and its cavitation has been developed using the Delfim-Soares explicit time marching method (DSETM), which is proposed in recent years to solve structural vibration problem. The two dimensional wave equation in ultrasonic scale has been solved with the frequency of 20 kHz, 40 kHz and 60 Hz. Moreover, Rayleigh-Plesset equation is solved using the same method too to predict the growth of the radius of bubble due to different initial radius. It is found that higher wave frequency will not improve the speed of cavitation, but instead it can decrease the wavelength to increase the possibility of cavitation process occurrance in enhancing the pre-treatment efficiency. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

[Full Article]

Ridzuan A., Jagan T.(2019)

Monorack arm in the motorcycle is invented for the support of external topbox. However, load-bearing of the typical monorack arm made of common engineering metals is restricted to only 3 kilograms by the manufacturer in which exceeding this load may result in failure. Therefore, alternative materials such as carbon fibre composite receives the spotlight for this project. With that being said, the project objectives were to propose several conceptual designs of monorack arm which were used to analyze with finite element methods. Next, fabrication of carbon fibre composite sample was required to perform experimental analysis. Accordingly, several conceptual designs of monorack arm in regard to design considerations under static stress application were established. Besides, 2 types of samples were fabricated for experimental analysis namely plain weave woven fabric carbon fibre and twill weave woven fabric carbon fibre. Samples of carbon fibre composites were fabricated to possess a higher fibre volume fraction than the matrix to add fibre strength in the composite. Final conceptual designs of monorack made were computed for structural analysis using ANSYS Workbench. During the simulation of conceptual models, conceptual design 2 of epoxy carbon woven (230 GPa) wet was found to show better structural results in comparison to other designs using the same material. Lastly, tensile test was performed on the fabricated test specimens of plain weave carbon fibre and twill weave carbon fibre according to ASTM standards whereby favorable results were shown to plain weave woven fabric carbon fibre. © Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Publisher's Office.

[Full Article]

Anh P.Q., Duc Chung T., Tuan T., Khan M.K.A.A.(2019)

Mobile robot development has been receiving attentions from researchers worldwide in recent years, especially in developing autonomous mobile robots. However, there are still needs for developing semi-auto robots, mainly for allowing human-assisted control mechanism while operating the robots. This is greatly helpful in performing site surveying tasks and where environment setup is variable or unknown. In this research, an obstacle avoidance mobile-controlled robot is developed using an Arduino Uno R3 microprocessor operated by controlling of a mobile Android-based device via Bluetooth. Apart from performing well basic functions like moving forward and backward, turning left and right, the robot is able to detect preceding obstacle, stop movement, and then identify suitable clear way for avoiding the obstacle. © 2019 IEEE.

[Full Article]

Aldair A.A., Rashid M.T., Halihal A.F., Mokayef M.(2019)

Aerodynamic torque of wind turbine is adjusted by controlling the pitch angle of the blades of the turbine when the wind speed is higher than rated wind speed. So that, in the recent research in this field, the pitch angle controller becomes dominated controller type for extracting the electrical power from the wind energy. Three types of the pitch angle control systems are designed to construct the speed controller: conventional PI controller, Neurofuzzy controller and modified PI-Neurofuzzy controller. The results are shown that the modified PI-Neurofuzzy controller is more efficient than the others because the rotation speed of generator is kept almost constant. It means that the generated output power has remained constant at maximum power limited even the wind speed rises up the rated wind speed. © 2019 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Natarajan E., Ang C.T., Lim W.H., Kosalishkwaran G., Ang C.K., Parasuraman S.(2019)

Multi-modal robots exhibit poor performance in locomotion modes due to its additional weight when compared to a single modal robot. Furthermore, the kinematics of a multimodal robot is more complex due to the increased number of actuators hence more prone to errors and malfunctions. The aim of this study was to use topology optimization to reduce the weight of components in a multi-modal robot, optimizing its ability to withstand stresses and loads. An algorithm for the robot's locomotion mode had been implemented using 8-bit microcontrollers. The prototype of this robot had been tested on different types of mock-up terrains. The topology of components of prototype was optimized and 3D printing was used to fabricate them due to their complex and irregular shapes. Utilization of topology optimization reduced the weight of component up to 54.40% while retaining the capability of the component to withstand the stresses and loads, proving the potential of this technique in robot development. The walking algorithm was implemented with trigonometry instead of inverse kinematics due to the limit of 8-bit microcontrollers. Complementary and exponential filters were implemented to improve the performance of flying locomotion, thus featuring auto-levelling in aerial mode. The robot was able to harness the advantage in both flying and walking over speed and energy efficiency after testing in mock-up terrains, making the robot more versatile in many situations. © 2019 IEEE.

[Full Article]

Mohammed A.A.M., Suaifan G.A.R.Y., Shehadeh M.B., Okechukwu P.N.(2019)

In the quest for discovering potent antimicrobial agents with lower toxicity, we envisioned the design and synthesis of nalidixic acid-D-(+)-glucosamine conjugates. The novel compounds were synthesized and evaluated for their in vitro antimicrobial activity against Gram positive bacteria, Gram negative bacteria and fungi. Cytotoxicity using MTT assay over L6 skeletal myoblast cell line, ATCC CRL-1458 was carried out. In vitro antimicrobial assay revealed that 1-ethyl-7-methyl-4-oxo-N-(1,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranose-2-yl)-[1,8]-naphthyridine-3-carboxamide (5) and 1-ethyl-7-methyl-4-oxo-N-(2-deoxy-D-glucopyranose-2-yl)-[1,8]-naphthyridine-3-carboxamide(6) possess growth inhibitory activity against resistant Escherichia coli NCTC, 11954 (MIC 0.1589 mM) and Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus ATCC, 33591 (MIC 0.1589 mM). Compound (5) was more active against Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19115 (MIC 0.1113 mM) in comparison with the reference nalidixic acid (MIC 1.0765 mM). Interestingly, compound (6) had potential antifungal activity against Candida albicans ATCC 10231 (MIC <0.0099 mM). Remarkably, the tested compounds had low cytotoxic effect. This study indicated that glucosamine moiety inclusion into the chemical structure of the marketed nalidixic acid enhances antimicrobial activity and safety. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Full Article]

Alamolhoda F., Shamiri A., Hussain M.A., Zarghami R., Sotudeh-Gharebagh R., Mostoufi N.(2019)

Polymerization of propylene was performed in a pilot fluidized bed reactor, resembling an industrial unit. In order to detect agglomeration in this reaction process, wall vibration signatures of the bed, which contains useful information about its hydrodynamics, were measured by an accelerometer. This approach is non-intrusive and can be easily applied in industry. Different methods employed to analyze the measured vibration signatures. Average cycle frequency of the signatures showed that agglomerates were formed and settled down in the reactor during the process. Plot of the power spectral density function of vibration signals showed that the peak corresponding to the dominant frequency generated by bubbles is located around 2,000 Hz. Energy of the signal among the three hydrodynamic structures in the bed (i. e., micro, meso and macro-scales) showed a decrease in share of macro-scale and a slight increase in share of micro and meso-scales due to the formation of agglomerates. The principal component analysis was performed to characterize the hydrodynamic changes occurred in bed due to formation of agglomerates during the polymerization reaction. Using the S-statistic test, changes in the hydrodynamics of the bed due to formation of agglomerates were detected about 20 minutes before defluidization. © 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.

[Full Article]

Zulkoffli Z., Shariff T.A.(2019)

In the past couple of decades, progressive research has been done in the medical imaging field to accurately detect brain tumors. This is vital for early treatment and saves time. This report presents a method of automatic detection of brain tumor in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images. The proposed algorithm consists of three stages: Image acquisition, pre-processing and post-processing. In image acquisition, a database of brain tumor MRI images is developed with the help of publicly available online sources. The pre-processing stage involves converting the image to grayscale and applying noise filters to enhance the image. In the post-processing stage, k-means clustering algorithm is used to separate the image into four clusters of varying intensity levels. The cluster with the tumor is found and then the tumor is extracted by using morphological and region properties operations. Features like energy, contrast, kurtosis, correlation and homogeneity are found along with the area and perimeter of the tumor and the accuracy of the extraction. These extracted features can be used in the future to more accurately classify brain tumors with the help of neural networks. The proposed method has given good results and accuracy. © 2019 IEEE.

[Full Article]

Hao L.Z., Mohammed E.M.A.(2019)

Raw petroleum is a perplexing blend of hydrocarbons which comprises of aromatics, paraffin, naphthenic, saps and asphaltenes. At the point when the temperature of raw petroleum is decreased, the overwhelming parts, similar to paraffin, will accelerate and store on the pipe inner divider as a wax-oil gel. The gel store comprises of wax gems that trap some measure of oil. As the temperature gets cooler, more wax will precipitate and the thickness of the wax gel will increase, causing gradual solidification of the crude and eventually the oil stop moving inside the offshore pipeline. The presence of paraffin wax in heavy crude oil has caused variety of problems and fouling in wellbore, production tubing and refineries. It has change the flow behaviour of the heavy crude oil.In this study, nature of heavy components in heavy crude oil will be studied to understand well about the paraffin wax precipitation and depositional. Two type of heavy crude oil samples were used in this study and determination of Wax Appearance Temperature (WAT) by using three different method i.e. ASTM Standard Visual Method, Say-bolt Viscometer Methods and Differential Scanning Calorimeter. Comparison will be made among these three methods to test the experiment accuracy and its WAT sensitivity. Next, wax inhibitor i.e. Toluene and Cyclohexane will be added to the heavy crude oil specimen to test the possibility in WAT reduction. An overall understanding on the nature of paraffin wax, wax depositional mechanism and remediation techniques will be achieved. © BEIESP.

[Full Article]

Ang C.K., Al-Talib A.A., Tai S.M., Lim W.H.(2019)

Kinetic energy is considered as one of the renewable energies. Substantial amounts of researches were conducted to investigate the feasibility of converting the kinetic energy into electricity. Nevertheless, most of these previous works emphasized on the selection of suitable materials and the design of power generator which tends to be complicated. In this paper, a simple and yet low cost mechanism has been proposed to enhance the performance and efficiency of energy conversion from kinetic energy to electricity energy by placing a mechanical footstep power generator on the hind foot region. A total of 45 individuals were invited to participate in the experiments and the experiment results are then compared with the theoretical results.. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

[Full Article]

Ying G.L., Elamvazuthi I., Khan M.K.A.A., Parasuraman S.(2019)

This research paper presents the study on design of arm exoskeleton for stroke rehabilitation purpose. The mechanical design of the exoskeleton focuses on few aspects of the arm exoskeleton which are length and the design of the exoskeleton and motor specification. Besides, the experiment of obtaining surface electromyography (sEMG) signal for repetition training for physiotherapy patient purpose is carried out to observe the difference in amplitude and muscle signal of different subjects (four males and four females) due to the amount of training and the angle of the training. The signals are filtered and the average of the root mean square of the data is compared. © 2018 IEEE.

[Full Article]

Chu C.C., Tan C.P., Nyam K.L.(2019)

Both pumpkin and kenaf seed oil with carnauba wax (CW) and beeswax (BW) are used to develop nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) loaded with Uvinul T150 and Uvinul A Plus Granular for a UV protection formulation. The study aims to optimize the concentration and the type of seed oil in order to develop a stable NLC formulation with high entrapment efficiency, drug loading, antioxidant activities, and UV absorbing properties. The physical properties of the NLCs are analyzed based on the mean particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), long-term storage stability, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). They are also compared for their entrapment efficiency, drug loading, in vitro antioxidant activities, and in vitro UV absorbing properties. The optimized NLC consists of 10% lipid phase and 1% Uvinul T150 and Uvinul A Plus Granular, respectively. It has mean particle size of 238.20 ± 3.61 nm and remains physically stable on storage at both 25 ± 2 and 40 ± 2 °C. Spherical amorphous NLC structure with encapsulated UV filters is observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Besides, it shows high entrapment efficiency (≥95%) for both Uvinul T150 and Uvinul A Plus Granular in addition to its antioxidant activities as indicated by both DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. In addition, the formulation had high UV absorbing properties, showing its potential to be utilized in the formation of sunscreen prototype. Practical Application: The preliminary study on pumpkin and kenaf seed oil shows bioactive potential with high antioxidant activities. The finding of kenaf seed oil-NLC can be applied in the cosmetic industry to produce a wide variety of environmental-friendly products with improved stability and beneficial properties. Also, the application of technology by forming NLCs can be used to develop lotions, creams, etc., with multifunctional properties. Besides, NLCs as carriers for UV filters is proven in the present study to exhibit high entrapment efficiency and drug loading properties. This is beneficial in developing advanced cosmetic prototypes that possess broad spectrum effectiveness with fewer side effects. Nanostructure lipid carriers (NLCs) are applied to encapsulate UV filters with pumpkin and kenaf seed oils. Kenaf seed oil-NLC (F7) is selected as the best formulation for UV filters encapsulation. With spherical amorphous NLC structure, it shows high entrapment efficiency for the UV filters and antioxidant activities. Results indicate that F7 with high UV absorbing properties remains physically stable upon 12 weeks of storage period. © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

[Full Article]

Abdullah Al-Sanabani D.G., Solihin M.I., Pui L.P., Astuti W., Ang C.K., Hong L.W.(2019)

Quality determines the shelf-life and selling prices of fresh mango, and therefore quality observation and control of fresh mango are of utmost significance in the processing and management of its supply chain. Mango fruit (mangifera indica) quality methods are mostly destructive in nature. Different mechanical, electromagnetic and non-destructive methods are increasingly important nowadays because of the ease of operation, speed, and reliability of the process. This project aims to develop a non-destructive assessment of mango quality using handheld micro NIR (near-infrared) spectroscopic device. NIR spectra data and Brix levels, which indicate the sugar content of the plant, i.e. indicating the sweetness of the mango, were collected from three different types of Mango (Chokanan, Rainbow, and Kai Te), resulting 80 samples (i.e. 60 samples for training and 20 samples for testing) in this project. NIR spectra can be converted mathematically to obtain quantitative information of chemical and physical nature by multivariate calibration. The spectra data is pre-processed using Gaussian smoothing and extended multiplicative signal correction (EMSC) for the elimination of uncontrollable path length or scattering effects. These samples were then used to develop a predictive model using both Support Vector Machine (SVM) regression and Partial Least Squares regression (PLS) methods. The coefficient of determination (R2) obtained from SVM for training/calibration and testing dataset are 0.96 and 0.95 respectively. Meanwhile, the coefficient of determination (R2) obtained from PLS for calibration/training and testing dataset are 0.89 and 0.86 respectively. The results obtained from this project indicate that the handheld NIR has potential use for non-destructive assessment of mango fruits quality. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Althaf M.S.M., Mohammed E.M.A.(2019)

Napthenate solid deposits in oil wells tend to contribute towards vital flow assurance issues and production decline due to formation damage, increase in the weight of the crude by almost 12% and restriction in the production tubing and around the wellbore. This paper showcases an operational excellence approach in diagnosis of oil producing wells, which might have the potential to form naphthenate deposits along with other inorganic scale, corrosion product and organics. In this work, deposits, crude and formation water samples from an oil field located offshore Peninsular Malaysia was used as a case study to quantify the presence of naphthenates. Various analytical tests such as modified SARA analysis, cationic and anionic analysis of formation water, Total Acid Number (TAN) analysis, pH of the crude sample and also X-Ray diffraction (XRD) on the samples were conducted in the laboratory to understand and affirm the occurrence of the naphthenates. Based on the analytical results, it was concluded that naphthenate deposit was the main issue in the well. Also, there were possibilities of wax and other inorganic deposition to take as identified by the test results. Hence a single step micro emulsion formulation was designed that can enhance the productivity of the well by injecting the formulation into the designated zones to dissolve naphthenate embedded with inorganic material, simultaneously dissolve/disperse organic deposit, break the naphthenate induced tough emulsions and change the wettability characteristics of the formation rock towards water wetting to ease the flow of oil into the wellbore. The formulation of the speciality micro-emulsion is vastly based on the characteristics of the formation fluid, nature of the sample, reservoir and operating conditions. The application of this study is a preliminary attempt to establish guidelines for early detection of problems related to naphthenate and possible chemical remedial, thereby, stimulating preventive measures and attenuation plan which can be formulated and replicated in wells with naphthenate problems in various parts of the world. © BEIESP.

[Full Article]

Mahmoudi E., Ang W.L., Ng C.Y., Ng L.Y., Mohammad A.W., Benamor A.(2019)

Graphene oxide (GO) has gained popularity in scientific research and industry due to its superior properties, which can be controlled by the synthesis method and graphite feedstock. Despite the availability of different graphite sources, most of the reported studies used natural graphite flake (NGF) as a source of oxidation for GO synthesis. The effect of various alternative graphite feedstocks on the GO properties has not been investigated systematically. This study investigated the influence of graphite feedstock (natural and synthetic) on the characteristics and properties of GO via modified Hummer's method. Natural graphite flake (NGF), natural graphite powder (NGP), and synthetic graphite powder (SGP) were used as graphite feedstock in the study. Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis revealed that the GO produced using NGP (NGP-GO) has higher oxygen to carbon ratio in comparison to GO made from NGF (NGF-GO) and GO made from SGP (SGP-GO) (35.4, 32.7, and 32.2%, respectively), indicating higher oxidation degree for NGP-GO. Zeta potential analysis for NGP-GO, NGF-GO and SGP-GO were −47.8, −42.6 and −39.4 mV, respectively. Morphological analysis revealed that the structures of GO varied according to graphite feedstock, in which (NGP-GO) and (NGF-GO) were highly exfoliated (single-layered structure) while (SGP-GO) showed a multi-layered structure. Further testing was conducted by decorating silver (Ag) nanoparticles on the GO. The results showed that Ag could be uniformly decorated (no agglomeration) on the surface of GO-NGP, due to the presence of more functional groups. Subsequently, the antimicrobial property of Ag-NGP was the highest with an inhibition diameter of 14.7 ± 1.2 mm (30% higher than the other samples). In conclusion, the properties of GO can be tuned by selecting the suitable graphite feedstock and this might pave the way to new developments in the GO-based applications. © 2019 Elsevier Inc.

[Full Article]

Bhandari M., Ern R.L.W., Chiranjib Majumder M., Ho D.(2019)

Purpose: To determine the effects of ChromaGen blue filter lens in reading speed, accuracy and contrast sensitivity. Methods: A cross-over, randomised study was carried out on 40 individuals (11 males and 29 females) aged 21 to 30 years. The rate of reading and reading accuracy was calculated with and without ChromaGen blue filter lens in all subjects. Wilkins Rate of Reading Test was used to measure the rate of reading and reading accuracy. Contrast sensitivity was also evaluated by using with and without the ChromaGen blue filter lens. Results: The mean rate of reading with and without ChromaGen blue filter lens was 160.58±16.03 words per minute and 150.52±15.66 words per minute respectively, with significant difference of p<0.001. The mean of reading accuracy (words correctly read per minute) in subjects, with ChromaGen blue filter was 149.30±0.79 words and without using filter lens was 148.53±1.11 words and found to be significant (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the contrast sensitivity between subjects with and without the ChromaGen blue filter lens (p=0.083). No significant correlation was noted between the reading speed with age, spherical equivalent, contrast sensitivity, and reading accuracy. Conclusion: This study concludes that there was an increase of 6.68% in the rate of reading and improvement of 0.52% in accuracy among subjects with ChromaGen blue filter lens. © 2019, Malaysian Medical Association. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Natarajan E., Venkataramanan A.R., Sasikumar R., Parasuraman S., Kosalishkwaran G.(2019)

It is important to test all the functional modules of the space systems before it is being launched. The very stringent tests need to be conducted particularly for manned missions. The vibration is one of the most significant phenomena involved in testing of space systems. As the system faces periodic as well as random vibrations containing both high and low frequency components, testing its responses under the same type of vibration will help in making more realistic observations. Stewart-Gough type platform is the predominantly used platform to test space systems. The existing platforms are operated at low frequency and are capable of producing low frequency response only. In this paper, a single compliant leg is introduced in Stewart-Gough type platform. The respective model is developed and analyzed to investigate the effect of leg compliance on the dynamics of platform. It is to understand whether the compliant arrangement in the leg itself will generate required high frequency component along with the low frequency (generated by leg actuator) component or an additional high frequency actuation is required. The result shows that the top platform can generate an extra high frequency response at resonance conditions in addition to the low frequency response corresponding to the input which regarded a significant contribution to the system. © 2019 IEEE.

[Full Article]

Santoso N., Lin N.K.(2019)

Roselle anthocyanin has some potentials in the development of natural food colorants and as a source of antioxidant. Nevertheless, during processing or storage, some factors affects its stability and leads to the degradation. The purpose of this work is to analyze the effect of total solids content on the physico-chemical properties of freeze-dried roselle extract (FDRE) and compare the thermal stability with roselle extract under controlled temperature (80°C and 126°C) and period (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 min). Physico-chemical properties were done from the form of roselle extract, roselle pre-mix solution, and FDRE while thermal stability was done on roselle extract and FDRE following the first order of degradation kinetics. FDRE with 17%, 23%, and 28% total solids content (TSC) were prepared. Results proved that freeze-drying improved the physico-chemical properties and thermal stability of FDRE. Encapsulation efficiency represented that TSC of 28% was the best formulation among others and it affected the half-life of FDRE. At 80°C, TSC of 28% (277.26 min) had the half life 4 times longer than TSC 17% (67.96 min) while at 126°C, the half life of 28% TSC (154.03 min) was 2 times longer than 17% TSC (70.73 min). © 2019, Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Sim Y.Y., Jess Ong W.T., Nyam K.L.(2019)

This work aimed to assess the effect of different extraction solvents (water, methanol, ethanol, and acetone) on the pulsed ultrasonic assisted extraction of Hibiscus cannabinus L. (kenaf) leaves extract (KLE), including extraction yield, antioxidation evaluation, antimicrobial analysis, tyrosinase inhibitory, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and ultra high performances liquid chromatography (UPLC) study. Results showed that the ethanol extracted KLE exhibited the highest content of total phenolic content (98.17 mg/g KLE). The ethanol extracted KLE also presented a good performances on 2,2-diphenyl-1- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging capacity assay, 2,2′- azino- bis (3- ethylbenzo thiazoline- 6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) radical scavenging assay, ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay, and antimicrobial activity. Good correlation was obtained between the antioxidant activities analysis and total phenolic contents. Additionally, the ethanol extracted KLE showed the strong tyrosinase inhibitory (70.42%), although it was lower than the water extracted KLE (77.50%). Three phenolic compounds (caffeic acid, catechin hydrate, and tannic acid) were identified in the ethanol extracted KLE by UPLC. These findings clearly indicate that ethanol was the most effective solvent for extraction of phenolic and flavonoid compounds from kenaf leaves. The results suggest that the kenaf leaves can be a promising source of natural antioxidant, antimicrobial, and antityrosinase constituent for application in the food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

[Full Article]

Defiana, Lin N.K.(2019)

Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) has been broadly utilized in nourishment industry, particularly its petal part. Notwithstanding, the roselle seeds are considered as waste despite the fact that it was conceivably recognizable as cancer prevention agent sources. The point of this investigation was to decide the best parameter (term and dissolvable) for removing Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) seeds by a beat ultrasonic-helped extraction. The cell reinforcement exercises of ultrasonic-helped Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) seeds were assessed by a 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical rummaging limit test, 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic corrosive) (ABTS) radical searching limit examine, ferric diminishing cancer prevention agent control (FRAP) measure, and β-carotene fading hindrance test. Add up to phenolic content (TPC) and aggregate flavonoid content (TFC) assessments were done to decide the phenolic and flavonoid substance in Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) seeds separate. The outcome displayed that the best extraction parameter utilized 80% ethanol for 10 minutes. © 2019, Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Wong Y.H., Goh K.M., Nyam K.L., Nehdi I.A., Sbihi H.M., Tan C.P.(2019)

The effects of selected antioxidants on the changes of the quality properties and 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) esters and glycidyl ester (GE) contents in refined, bleached, and deodorized (RBD) palm olein during the deep-fat frying (at 180 °C) of potato chips were studied. The frying duration was 100 min in five antioxidant systems for three consecutive days. The antioxidants used were butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), oleoresin rosemary and sage extract. Both the frying oil and the oil extracted from the fried potato chips were analyzed for the 3-MCPD esters and GE content, acylglycerol composition, free fatty acid (FFA) content, p-anisidine value (p-AV), and specific extinction coefficient K232 and K268. Generally, TBHQ and oleoresin rosemary showed significantly lower levels of 3-MCPD esters and GE. The order of effectiveness of the selected antioxidants in the frying oil and fried potato chips was BHT < BHA < sage extract < oleoresin rosemary < TBHQ. Antioxidants reduce the 3-MCPD esters and GE levels by inhibiting the formation of radical intermediates. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

[Full Article]

Chan E.W.C., Ong A.C.L., Lim K.L., Chong W.Y., Chia P.X., Foo J.P.Y.(2019)

In this study, the antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase properties of fresh, commercial dried (CD) and superheated steam-dried (SS-D) Labiatae herbs were analysed and evaluated. Superheated steam drying (SSD) was performed at 150°C and 200°C for 5, 10 and 20 min. Fresh and CD rosemary had the highest phenolic contents and the strongest primary antioxidant activities of free radical scavenging and ferric reducing power. Fresh spearmint, CD peppermint and CD oregano displayed the strongest secondary antioxidant activity of ferrous ion chelating ability. Based on total phenolic content and free radical scavenging, three broad categories of SS-D herbs were recognized i.e. herbs that showed declines for all the drying regimes (thyme and peppermint); those that showed declines or remained unchanged (marjoram and oregano); and those that showed all three traits of increment, declines or unchanged (rosemary, sage and spearmint). Tyrosinase inhibition was strongest in fresh sage, fresh rosemary, CD thyme and CD rosemary. Reported for the first time, SS-D rosemary, SS-D thyme and SS-D marjoram showed enhanced anti-tyrosinase properties for all the drying regimes. SS-D marjoram was the most exciting as tyrosinase inhibition was not detected in fresh samples. This study on the antioxidant and anti-tyrosinase properties of selected Labiatae herbs has provided some useful insights on the effects of SSD. The drying technique can be used for the production of tyrosinase inhibitors, which are increasingly used in medicines for treating pigmentation disorders, in cosmetics for skin whitening, and in food products for inhibiting browning. © 2019, North University of Baia Mare.

[Full Article]

Soon C.Y., Rahman N.A., Tee Y.B., Talib R.A., Tan C.H., Abdan K., Chan E.W.C.(2019)

Nano adsorbent possess notable adsorption capabilities but is difficult to recover in wastewater treatment processes. To overcome this limitation, the entrapment of nanocellulose (NCC) and chitosan (Cts) within poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) via electrospinning is proposed. The Pickering emulsion stabilized with Tween 80 formed a homogeneous NCC-Cts-PHA mixture prior to electrospinning. The resulting electrospun biocomposites were characterized with SEM, FT-IR, XrD and TGA. The electrospun biocomposites were with high porosity, rendering exposure of NCC and Cts to dye adsorption. The incorporation of nanocellulose and chitosan significantly increased the crystallinity of the electrospun biocomposites from 57.6% to 70.5%. The adsorption of Congo red dye by electrospun biocomposites fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm model and pseudo-second order kinetics, indicating a chemisorption nature. PHA2NCC (30.9%) has 3-fold higher dye removal percentage than that of PHA2Cts (10.5%). The results showed that Pickering emulsion is electrospinnable and recorded highest dye removal percentage in PHA3NCC1Cts (75.8%). © 2019 The Authors.

[Full Article]

Zulkefli M.F.M., Musirin I., Jelani S., Mansor M.H., Honnoon N.M.S.(2019)

Distribution generation (DG) is a widely used term to describe additional supply to a power system network. Normally, DG is installed in distribution network because of its small capacity of power. Number of DGs connected to distribution system has been increasing rapidly as the world heading to increase their dependency on renewable energy sources. In order to handle this high penetration of DGs into distribution network, it is crucial to place the DGs at optimal location with optimal size of output. This paper presents the implementation of Embedded Adaptive Mutation Evolutionary Programming technique to find optimal location and sizing of DGs in distribution network with the objective of minimizing real power loss. 69-Bus distribution system is used as the test system for this implementation. From the presented case studies, it is found that the proposed embedded optimization technique successfully determined the optimal location and size of DG units to be installed in the distribution network so that the real power loss is reduced. © 2019 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Chew S.-C., Tan C.-H., Pui L.-P., Chong P.-N., Gunasekaran B., Lin N.K.(2019)

There is a growing demand for functional foods in the market with the increasing of world’s population. The main targets for this trend in consumption are foods containing plant extracts with antioxidant properties, polyunsaturated fatty acids, probiotics, vitamins and minerals. Although many of these components are unstable under normal conditions or have a residual taste, their application is limited. It is therefore necessary to use techniques which can protect the stability of these functional components, enable their application in various food matrices and enable them to be better absorbed in our gastrointestinal tract. Various sectors of the food industry have a demand for the enrichment of foods with functional compounds. This review aims at highlighting the importance and application of various encapsulating techniques of probiotics, unsaturated oils, flavours, and fruit juice. The methods and wall materials used in different encapsulation techniques would discuss in this review. Encapsulation technology is an emerging technology that can guarantee the stability of these functional ingredients and allow their application in variety of food matrices. © 2019, Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Thung W.-E., Ong S.-A., Ho L.-N., Wong Y.-S., Ridwan F., Oon Y.-L., Oon Y.-S., Lehl H.K.(2019)

The effectiveness of electron and proton transport to anode and cathode is the key criteria in microbial fuel cell technology in order to improve the electricity generation. An innovative linked anode was designed to enhance the mass transfer of protons and electrons in the scaled-up up-flow membrane-less microbial fuel cell. The common cube anode was used to compare with the linked anode. The performance of voltage output for the cube anode and the linked anode was examined by various hydraulic retention times and the electrode spacing distances. The maximum power density of the linked anode was almost identical at all electrode spacing distances. Meanwhile, this result demonstrated that the configuration of linked anode has better directional fluid flow, mass transfer of protons and electrons, and voltage output (stationary phase) than those of the cube anode at all hydraulic retention times. The finding could suggest that the different configuration of bioanode in an up-flow membrane-less microbial fuel cell is an important factor to be considered for future real application. © 2019, Islamic Azad University (IAU).

[Full Article]

Suresh S., Venkatesan K., Natarajan E., Rajesh S., Lim W.H.(2019)

6061-T6 aluminium alloy is a tempered grade aluminium material that is extensively used, particularly in space and automotive applications. The conventional and swept friction stir spot welding (FSSW) joints are prepared by varying tool rotational speed at four different levels. The mechanical properties, microstructure and mode of failure in both types of FSSW are evaluated and reported. The high plastic deformation and fine grains influenced the increase in hardness of the weld joints based on the Hall-Petch equation. The highest lap shear strength of 5.31 kN is observed in swept FSSW sample prepared at 1400 rpm. Interestingly, 1600 rpm decreased the lap shear strength due to insufficient friction between base metal and tool in the higher tool rotational speed. The minimum microhardness is noticed in heat-affected zone (HAZ) of both cases. Conventional FSSW samples showed shear fracture, nugget pullout fracture and circumferential fracture under lap shear loading, whereas swept FSSW showed only the circumferential fracture. © 2019 by American Scientific Publishers All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Lim Z.H., Al Salim H.S., Hasiholan B., Ridzuan N.(2019)

Paraffin deposition in the crude oil production pipeline has been an alarming problem to the flow assurance community. This phenomenon causes a tremendous amount of material loss in the production and substantial resources are expended to resolve these flow assurance problems - which included the chemical treatment. This study examined an agricultural non-ionic silane-based surfactant and its blends (with silica nanoparticles) as a flow improver using Malaysian light crude oil (42.4°API). In particular, this study performed the following experimental measurements: wax appearance temperature, pour point, viscosity, and FTIR spectroscopic analysis. The result showed that the surfactant-nanoparticles blend affected the viscosity (significant reduction by approximately 67 %) within certain temperature range and were able to depress both pour point (to 4°C) and wax appearance temperature (15.6°C). It was also revealed that the most potent blend consisted 400 ppm of silane-based surfactant and 200 ppm of SiO 2 nanoparticles. The study also evaluated the underlying mechanisms for the variation of viscosity through FTIR spectroscopic analysis. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

[Full Article]

Mohammed A.A., Ambak K., Mosa A.M., Syamsunur D.(2019)

This paper reviews expert systems applications in engineering transportation. The Expert System (ES) offers advantages over human experts such as accessibility, consistency, time constraints, stability, and efficiency. ES methodologies could be classified to rule-based systems, knowledge-based systems, neural systems, fuzzy ESs, and modelling in transportation. The necessity to develop an expert system that can help to control damage is reviewed in this article. It was demonstrated that the development directions for ES methodologies and implementations in transportation engineering such as flexible pavement, rigid pavement, mix design concrete traffic calming, pavement evaluation and rehabilitation, pavement maintenance, traffic light control, traffic accidents, highway geometric design is necessary. The aim of this article is to summarise the latest outcomes of researches related to the process of engineering transportation applications, developing and investigating an expert system. Moreover, this paper may widen our horizon on this subject. It is concluded that the expert system enables the performance engineers to analyse, determine and customise information to help relevant parties during decision-making processes. It is also inferred that the prospect of combining evolving methodologies advances would enable the development of more sophisticated models that hold the greatest promise for the future. © School of Engineering, Taylor’s University.

[Full Article]

Mohamed M.Y., Solihin M.I., Astuti W., Ang C.K., Zailah W.(2019)

The aim of this study is to build a classifier model based on spectra data collected using handheld spectrometer that can classify between different types of food powders (flour and starch). A total of 70 samples were prepared from three different types of flour (whole wheat, organic wheat, and rice flour) and two different types of starch (corn and tapioca starch). Handpalm size handheld spectrometer is used to record the spectrum of each sample, the spectrometer has wavelength range of 900nm to 1700nm. The spectra data is pre-processed using gaussian smoothing to filter the data from noise and unrelated information. Multivariable data analysis method as principle component analysis (PCA) is used to eliminate irrelevant data and reduce the number of variables to three principle components for easier analysis and visualization. Support vector machine (SVM) is used to build a classification model. The training/calibration of the model was done by using 80% of the dataset while the remaining 20% was for testing the model. The results show that with proper pre-processing and PCA, classification of 100% accuracy can be achieved. This study indicates the potential future application of this approach for rapid detection in food powders fraud and adulteration. © 2019 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Hasiholan B., Al-Saiedy D.A.D.A.A.(2019)

During the last few years enhanced oil recovery (EOR) methods including water alternative gas (WAG) have been sufficient in recovering a portion of the unrecovered oil specifically when it is combined with other strategy such as voidage replacement. In this paper oil productivity enhancement is observed by implementing voidage replacement with WAG process. Secondary plan and WAG are simulated and evaluated by ECLIPSE-100 software. WAG achieved a recovery factor of 63% during 30 years of simulation prediction process with primary and secondary plans. Surface facility was designed to run under WAG & voidage replacement ratio (VRR) principles. VRR values of 1.5-1.2 & 2.0-1.4 were maintained in WAG-1 and WAG-360 scenarios respectively for the last five years of production life when it was at high VRR value before. That VRR drop essentially due to the WAG process and as it was correlated with the reservoir-X average pressure that was maintained at (3100-3300) psi in reservoir-X performance. © BEIESP.

[Full Article]

Chai Lee J., Shafigh P., Kim Lee S.(2019)

Construction industry demands for high amount of raw material to produce concrete. The constant reduction of natural resources results in negative impact to the environment and lack of raw material. Promotion of utilization of agricultural wastes in production of concrete can minimize the environmental impact towards the sustainable development. In this study, the oil-palm-boiler clinker (OPBC) which is an agricultural waste from palm oil industry was used to substitute the crush granite in conventional concrete from 0 to 50% by volume in increments of 12.5%. Tests conducted in this study were compressive strength in different curing regimes, flexural strength and water absorption. The test results showed that concretes containing 37.5 to 50% OPBC can be categorized as semi-lightweight aggregate concrete with high strength. This aggregate has considerable potential for performing internal curing in concrete. Using OPBC in concrete reduced the flexural strength; however, the reduction was not significant. Although water absorption showed that concretes containing OPBC have slightly higher water absorption, however, all these concrete could be considered as good quality concrete. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

[Full Article]

Alrifaey M., Hong T.S., Supeni E.E., As’arry A., Ang C.K.(2019)

The oil and gas industry is looking for ways to accurately identify and prioritize the failure modes (FMs) of the equipment. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) is the most important tool used in the maintenance approach for the prevention of malfunctioning of the equipment. Current developments in the FMEA technique are mainly focused on addressing the drawbacks of the conventional risk priority number calculations, but the group effects and interrelationships of FMs on other measurements are neglected. In the present study, a hybrid distribution risk assessment framework was proposed to fill these gaps based on the combination of modified linguistic FMEA (LFMEA), Analytic Network Process (ANP), and Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) techniques. The hybrid framework of FMEA was conducted in a hazardous environment at a power generation unit in an oil and gas plant located in Yemen. The results show that mechanical and gas leakage FM in electrical generators posed a greater risk, which critically affects other FMs within the plant. It was observed that the suggested framework produced a precise ranking of FMs, with a clear relationship among FMs. Also, the comparisons of the proposed framework with previous studies demonstrated the multidisciplinary applications of the present framework. © 2019 by the authors.

[Full Article]

Chan B.T., Ahmad Bakir A., Al Abed A., Dokos S., Leong C.N., Ooi E.H., Lim R., Lim E.(2019)

Flow energetics have been proposed as early indicators of progressive left ventricular (LV) functional impairment in patients with myocardial infarction (MI), but its correlation with individual MI parameters has not been fully explored. Using electro–fluid-structure interaction LV models, this study investigated the correlation between four MI parameters: infarct size, infarct multiplicity, regional enhancement of contractility at the viable myocardium area (RECVM), and LV mechanical dyssynchrony (LVMD) with intraventricular vortex and flow energetics. In LV with small infarcts, our results showed that infarct appearance amplified the energy dissipation index (DI), where substantial viscous energy loss was observed in areas with high flow velocity and near the infarct-vortex interface. The LV with small multiple infarcts and RECVM showed remarkable DI increment during systole and diastole. In correlation analysis, the systolic kinetic energy fluctuation index (E′) was positively related to ejection fraction (EF) (R2 = 0.982) but negatively correlated with diastolic E′ (R2 = 0.970). Diastolic E′ was inversely correlated with vortex kinetic energy (R2 = 0.960) and vortex depth (R2 = 0.876). We showed an excessive systolic DI could differentiate infarcted LV with normal EF from healthy LV. Strong flow acceleration, LVMD, and vortex-infarct interactions were predominant factors that induced excessive DI in infarcted LVs. Instead of causing undesired flow turbulence, high systolic E′ suggested the existence of energetic flow acceleration, while high diastolic E′ implied an inefficient diastolic filling. Thus, systolic E′ is not a suitable early indicator for progressive LV dysfunction in MI patients, while diastolic E′ may be a useful index to indicate diastolic impairment in these patients. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[Full Article]

Tan L.S., Ahmad A.L., Shukor S.R.A., Yeap S.P.(2019)

The application of different nanofiltration membranes for the separation of pesticides, i.e., atrazine and dimethoate, from aqueous solutions is described. The nanoflitration membranes DK, NF270, NF200, and NF90 were tested for the pesticide retention performance in a stirred dead-end filtration system. NF90 demonstrated the best pesticide retention with over 95 % for atrazine and approximately 80 % for dimethoate. All membranes consistently showed better retention of atrazine than of dimethoate. Dissolving the pesticides in river or tap water amplified the overall pesticide retention performance, indicating that filtration in water treatment plants could render superior pesticide retention. However, a lower flux was obtained for the filtration of tap and river water. © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

[Full Article]

Yeap S.P., Tia S.Y.(2019)

Magnetic nanoparticles that are employed for most water remediation applications have to be surface modified in order to enhance the colloidal stability. However, these stabilized magnetic nanoparticles exhibited poorer magnetic separability as compared to the non-stabilized counterparts. The present work demonstrated a magnetic sedimentation technique (coupled with pre-flocculation) as a strategy to induce rapid separation of these stabilized nanoparticles. The stabilized nanoparticles used as model system here were negatively charged; while poly(diallyldimethylamonium chloride) (PDDA) and poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS) were used as flocculant to induce bridging flocculation and depletion flocculation, respectively. Steady state time of the magnetic sedimentation was found to successfully decrease from ∼600 s to ∼200 s, when the stabilized nanoparticles were pre-flocculated by 1000 ppm PDDA or PSS. Meanwhile, the initial sedimentation rate was improved from 4.24 × 10−3/s to ≥0.01/s. Nevertheless, particles that were flocculated by PDDA were harder to be recovered than the one flocculated by PSS. Also, it was found that increase the flocculant concentration and molecular weight not necessary enhance the separation efficiency. Here, 10000 ppm of high molecular weight flocculant was found to render in a slower magnetic sedimentation. Such phenomenon might attribute to the increase in solution viscosity and/or occurrence of depletion re-stabilization. © 2018 Institution of Chemical Engineers

[Full Article]

Desa A.L., Hairom N.H.H., Ng L.Y., Ng C.Y., Ahmad M.K., Mohammad A.W.(2019)

In the present study, the degradation of industrial textile wastewater (SDWW) was investigated using a membrane photocatalytic reactor (MPR) in the presence of zinc oxide capped with polyethylene glycol (ZnO-PEG) nanoparticles and polypiperazine-amide (PPA) tight ultrafiltration membrane (UF-PPA). The optimum operating conditions of MPR were obtained under initial pH 11, 0.10 g/L of ZnO-PEG nanoparticles, and 75% dilution of SDWW. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) analyses confirmed that ZnO-PEG nanoparticles and the UF-PPA membrane have great potential as an alternative treatment to meet the stringent discharge limits. The mechanisms of membrane fouling for the optimum operational condition were investigated using model fitting according to the Wiesner and Aptel equations. It was revealed that cake formation occurred rapidly at both stages of the fouling mechanism. Hence, it is believed that this integrated approach has a great potential to be implemented in the industrial textile wastewater treatment sector to ensure the environmental cleanliness for future generations. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

[Full Article]

Abas N.A.S., Musirin I., Jelani S., Mansor M.H., Honnoon N.M.S., Othman M.M.(2019)

This paper presents the optimal multiple distributed generations (MDGs) installation for improving the voltage profile and minimizing power losses of distribution system using the integrated monte-carlo evolutionary programming (EP). EP was used as the optimization technique while monte carlo simulation is used to find the random number of locations of MDGs. This involved the testing of the proposed technique on IEEE 69-bus distribution test system. It is found that the proposed approach successfully solved the MDGs installation problem by reducing the power losses and improving the minimum voltage of the distribution system. © 2019 Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Vincent W., Winda A., Solihin M.I.(2019)

The sound of V6 or V8 engines has its own cultural appeal that cannot be replaced by the modern four-cylinder naturally aspirated or turbocharged engines. The identification of the type of engine by the sound is not an easy task, even for the professionals. An intelligent system that can identify V6 to V8 engines from various cars will give an insight of the features in the engine sounds that characterized the two different engines. In this work, an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) approach is applied for identifying cylinder of the engine based on the engine sound identification is proposed. The recorded sound of the engine is then processed in order to get some features which later be used in the proposed system. The Fast Fourir Transform (FFT) is adopted as a feature and later used as input to the Artificial Neural Network (ANN) based identifier. The Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed intelligent automatic six cylinder and eight cylinder engine based on Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and Artificial Neural Network (ANN), since it resulting the training and testing accuracy of 100 % and 100 %, respectively. © 2019 The Authors, published by EDP Sciences.

[Full Article]

Yeap S.P., Chon K.C.(2019)

Effective application of nanoparticles for in situ groundwater remediation strongly depends on their transportability across a sandy media. Retainment of the nanoparticles within the media is undesired as it will limit their reachability to the treatment zone. Henceforth, the interfacial interactions between the nanoparticles and the sand need to be fully understood. Present work aims to elucidate the retention of iron oxide nanoparticles by quartz sand in solution that are relevant to the typical environmental condition using batch mode mixing study. Results showed that the presence of humic acid and Ca 2+ notably alters the nanoparticle-sand interaction in different manners. Bare nanoparticles (BNPs) was found to favourably retained by the sand under acidic medium (94%); while the counterpart that was functionalized with poly(sodium 4-styrenesulfonate), i.e. PSS-NPs, exhibited better rejection from the sand. The addition of humic acid further shield the attraction between PSS-NPs and sand, resulted in 0% retention. Interestingly, in the presence of 1–10 mM Ca 2+ ions, the amount of PSS-NPs that was retained by the sand increased to 55%. Such observation may ascribe to the role of Ca 2+ in bridging the PSS-NPs and the sand and in screening the repulsion force between both entities. Nevertheless, the retention percentage was successfully reduced to 11.8% when humic acid coexists. Outcome of this work provides an overview on the fate of the bare and surface functionalized nanoparticles upon released into the environmental system. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

[Full Article]

Wong J., Bai F., Saha T.K., Tan R.H.G.(2019)

With the development of the photovoltaic (PV) technology, more large-scale solar PV plants are integrated to the power grid to relieve the traditional coal-based power plants and reduce the carbon emission. Compared with fixed-tilt (FT) arrays, single-axis tracking (SAT) arrays can produce more power yield. In terms of maintenance fee, SAT arrays are also cheaper than that of dual-axis tracking (DAT) arrays. Thus, SAT systems are becoming a cost-effective option for large-scale PV plant constructions. However, in an Australian PV plant, the power generation of SAT arrays exhibits an unusual phenomenon - 'a valley of power generation' during the midday time. This paper aims to provide an insight about this phenomenon through comprehensive theoretical analysis. Three impact factors, i.e., temperature, tilt angle and incidence angle of direct irradiance to the panel are investigated which determine the power generation characteristics of SAT arrays. The findings of this study can provide valuable insights for PV owners/utilities to better understand the SAT operational behaviors and manage the demand response. © 2019 IEEE.

[Full Article]

Poh G.K.X., Chew I.M.L., Tan J.(2019)

Production of synthetic gloves may cause adverse environmental impacts, including global warming, carbon footprint, acidification, photochemical ozone formation, eutrophication, human toxicity, and water footprint. Thus, life cycle assessment is applied as an environmental management tool to evaluate its environmental impacts. Life cycle optimization is implemented to minimize energy consumption and emission of greenhouse gases by proposing five alternative process improvement scenarios. Using electricity generated from biodiesel shows the least environmental impacts as compared to the other alternatives for the production of synthetic gloves. Future economic analysis is needed to evaluate the cost feasibility of these alternatives. © 2019 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

[Full Article]

Yu L.-J., Ahmad S.H., Kong I., Tarawneh M.A., Abd Razak S.B.B., Natarajan E., Ang C.K.(2019)

The dispersion of magnetic nanoparticles in matrix is crucial to ensure optimum performance of the composite. The difficulty level of achieving good dispersion is further increase when a multi-phases of matrix is present. A pre-coating technique of magnetic nanoparticles with polypropylene using ball-mill prior to melt-blending process was employed to prepare a multi-phases thermoplastic natural rubber composite. The effect of filler loading (2 wt%-10 wt%) on morphology, structure, magnetic properties, thermal stability and dynamic mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. It was found that the NiZn ferrite nanoparticles act as nucleating agent to form beta isostatic polypropylene thermoplastic composites. The composites' magnetic properties are directly dependent on the filler concentration. The dispersion of magnetic fillers in polymer matrix plays role in affecting the magnetic properties and thermal stability. The preference of filler to locate at amorphous phase has distorted the chain orientation of natural rubber and polypropylene. Hence, the polymorphism and crystallinity of the matrix varied as the filler loading increased, affecting the dynamic mechanical properties. It was found that 8 wt% NiZn nanocomposite exhibits highest E’ and tanδ, indicating the dynamic mechanical properties of NiZn nanocomposite are affected by β-phase degree. © 2019 The Authors

[Full Article]

Lo F.F., Kow K.-W., Chua H.-S., Yeap S.-P., Kiew P.-L., Chan C.-H., Yusoff R.(2019)

An adsorption study on Cu2+ ions removal using magnetically aligned nanocomposite was carried out. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of aligning nano-magnetite particles in porous matrix on the adsorption of Cu2+ ions. In this research, nanocomposite was prepared by embedding silica gel with co-precipitated nano-magnetite particles, Fe3O4. Several different nanocomposites namely the magnetically aligned gel, and non-align gel were synthesized and compared in terms of their Cu(II) ions removal efficiency from aqueous solution. The findings showed that the magnetically aligned gel resulted in the highest adsorption capacity at 23 g/g and removal efficiency of 34.4%. With such exploratory approach, the results in this research are indicating the effectiveness of nano-magnetite particles alignment method in a gel matrix in enhancing the Cu(II) ions removal performance. © 2019 Author(s).

[Full Article]

Kosalishkwaran G., Parasuraman S., Singh D.K.J., Natarajan E., Elamvazuthi I., George J.(2019)

Degenerative disc disease (DDD) is a common condition in elderly population that can be painful and can significantly affect individual’s quality of life. Diagnosis of DDD allows prompt corrective actions but it is challenging due to the absence of any symptoms at early stages. In studying disc degeneration, measurement of the range of motion (RoM) and loads acting on the spine are crucial factors. However, direct measurement of RoM involves increased instrumentation and risk. In this paper, an innovative method is proposed for calculating RoM, emphasizing repeatability and reliability by considering the posterior thickness of the spine. This is achieved by offsetting the position of markers in relation to the actual vertebral loci. Three geometrically identical finite element models of L3-L4 are developed from a CT scan with different types of elements, and thereafter, mesh element-related metrics are provided for the assessment of the quality of models. The model with the best mesh quality is used for further analysis, where RoM are within ranges as reported in literature and in vivo experiment results. Various kinds of stresses acting on individual components including facet joints are analysed for normal and abnormal loading conditions. The results showed that the stresses in abnormal load conditions for all components including cortical (76.67 MPa), cancellous (69.18 MPa), annulus (6.30 MPa) and nucleus (0.343 MPa) are significantly greater as compared to normal loads (49.96 MPa, 44.2 MPa, 4.28 MPa and 0.23 MPa respectively). However, stress levels for both conditions are within safe limits (167–215 MPa for cortical, 46 MPa for the annulus and 3 MPa for facets). The results obtained could be used as a baseline motion and stresses of healthy subjects based on their respective lifestyles, which could benefit clinicians to suggest corrective actions for those affected by DDD. © 2019, International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering.

[Full Article]

Tarawneh M.A., Saraireh S.A., Chen R.S., Ahmad S.H., Al-Tarawni M.A.M., Al-Tweissi M., Yu L.J.(2020)

Conventional polymer blending has a shortcoming in conductivity characteristic. This research addresses the preparation of conductive thermoplastic natural rubber (TPNR) blends with graphene nanoplates (GNPs)/polyaniline (PANI) through melt blending using an internal mixer. The effect of PANI content (10, 20, 30, and 40 wt %) on the mechanical and thermal properties, thermal and electrical conductivities, and morphology observation of the TPNR/GNPs/PANI nanocomposites was investigated. The results showed that the tensile and impact properties as well as thermal conductivity of nanocomposite had improved with the incorporation of 3 wt % of GNPs and 20 wt % of PANI as compared to neat TPNR and reduced with further increase of the PANI content. It was observed that the GNPs and PANI acted as a critical component to improve the thermal stability and electrical conductivity of the TPNR/GNPs/PANI nanocomposites. The most improved conductivity of 5.22 E-5 S/cm was observed at 3 wt % GNPs and 40 wt % PANI. Variable-pressure scanning electron microscopy micrograph revealed the good interaction and distribution of GNPs and PANI within TPNR matrix at PANI loadings lower than 30 wt %. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020, 137, 48873. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Full Article]

Chong W.C., Mohammad A.W., Mahmoudi E., Chung Y.T., Kamarudin K.F., Takriff M.S.(2019)

Microalgae cultivation has gained tremendous attention in recent years due to its great potential in green biofuel production and wastewater treatment application. Membrane technology is a great solution in separating the microalgae biomass while producing high quality of permeate for recycling. The main objective of this study was to investigate the filtration performance of Ag/GO-PVDF (silver/graphene oxide-polyvinylidene fluoride) membrane in an algal-membrane photoreactor (A-MPR) by benchmarking with a commercial PVDF (com-PVDF) membrane. In this study, Chlorella vulgaris microalgae was cultivated in synthetic wastewater in an A-MPR for ammoniacal-nitrogen and phosphorus recovery and the wastewater was further filtered using Ag/GO-PVDF and com-PVDF membranes to obtain high quality water. Spectrophotometer was used to analyze the chemical oxidation demand (COD), ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N) and phosphate (PO43−). The concentration of proteins and carbohydrates was measured using Bradford method and phenol-sulfuric acid method, respectively. The COD of the synthetic wastewater was reduced from (180.5 ± 5.6) ppm to (82 ± 2.6) ppm due to nutrient uptake by microalgae. Then, the Ag/GO-PVDF membrane was used to further purify the microalgae cultivated wastewater, resulting in a low COD permeate of (31 ± 4.6) ppm. The high removal rate of proteins (100%) and carbohydrates (86.6%) as the major foulant in microalgae filtration, with low membrane fouling propensity of Ag/GO-PVDF membrane is advantageous for the sustainable development of the microalgae production. Hence, the integrated A-MPR system is highly recommended as a promising approach for microalgae cultivation and wastewater polishing treatment. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

[Full Article]

Solihin M.I., Shameem Y., Htut T., Ang C.K., Bt Hidayab M.(2019)

Non-invasive blood glucose measurement would ease everyday life of diabetic patients and may cut the cost involved in their treatments. This project aims at developing a non-invasive blood glucose measurement using NIR (near infrared) spectroscopic device. NIR spectra data and blood glucose levels were collected from 45 participants, resulting 90 samples (75 samples for calibration and 15 samples for testing) in this project. These samples were then used to develop a predictive model using Interval Partial Least Square (IPLS) regression method. The results obtained from this project indicate that the handheld micro NIR has potential use for rapid non-invasive blood glucose monitoring. The coefficient of determination (R2) obtained for calibration/training and testing dataset are respectively 0.9 and 0.91. © BEIESP.

[Full Article]

Jassam T.M., Kien-Woh K., ng yang-zhi J., Lau B., Yaseer M.M.M.(2019)

Nanotechnology has attracted a lot of interest in the modification of building materials involving nanoparticles. Among the nanoparticles available, the incorporation of nano-silica draws intense attention due to the similarity of its chemical composition with cement and its pozzolanic properties. In this work, the potential capability to utilise CO2 in improving cement composites properties through carbonation acceleration mechanism was explored. In this study, various type of nano silica was used as a CO2 carrier and incorporated into cement mortar design with different amount of carbonated silica loading, ranging from 0.55 wt% to 2.42 wt% and cured in water and ambient air condition. The aim of this study is to examine the effects on the compressive strength of nano-silica impregnated with CO2 and incorporated into cement mortar. From the results, it was found that at 1.89% silica loading, the hydrophilic silica mortar (HSAM) samples can achieve the highest compressive strength of 34.1 MPa at 7 days and 40.7 MPa at 28 days, with a percentage gain of +38.06% and +17.29% respectively as compared to blank samples. However, the incorporation of silica for more than 1.89 wt% resulted in a negative effect on the compressive strength gain of HSAM samples. By the incorporation of 2.42 wt%, the samples showed a significant drop in compressive strength of −21.46% at 7 days and −17.29% at 28 days. The results proved that nano-silica coupled with CO2 can accelerate curing of cement mortar by means of carbonation. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

[Full Article]

Lee X.Y., Chu C.C., Hasan Z.A.B.A., Chua S.K., Nyam K.L.(2019)

This study was aimed to produce a stable kenaf seed oil-nanostructured lipid carrier (KSO-NLC) sunscreen, which can help in the photoprotective effect. The nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) formulation was optimized and selected based on the results of mean particle size, polydispersity index (PDI), and storage stability of formulas at both chilled (4 ± 2 °C) and room (25 ± 2 °C) temperatures. Uvinul A plus B was added to KSO-NLC with the optimized formula (80% w/w aqueous phase, 20% w/w lipid phase, and 7% w/w of surfactants with a ratio of 70:15:15 of Tween 20: poloxamer 188: lecithin). The mean particle size distribution (224.73 ± 1.56 nm) and PDI (0.41 ± 0.01) of KSO-NLC were determined and were found to be stable against storage without creaming or phase separation. The 2,2-Diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical-scavenging and 2,2′-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) radical-scavenging activities of KSO-NLC were 5.43 ± 1.00 mg Trolox equiv. g −1 of NLC and 6.70 ± 0.31 mg Trolox equiv. g −1 of NLC, respectively. The Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of KSO-NLC, 41.38 ± 6.03 with a UVA/UVB ratio 0.64 ± 0.01, suggested a good photoprotective effect. The sustained release of Univul A plus B from KSO-NLC accompanied by its entrapment efficiency up to 64.09 ± 0.98% and drug loading (DL) of 32.05 ± 0.49% (maximum 50% DL capacity) proved that the degradation of the ultraviolet (UV) filter could be reduced. Therefore, the KSO-NLC sunscreen was a feasible solution for the photoprotective approach by using unconventional plant seed oil with a significant enhancement (P < 0.05) in many aspects compared to the formula without KSO incorporation. © 2019 AOCS

[Full Article]

Chien O.S., Musa S.A., Abdallah E.M.(2019)

Chemical enhanced oil recovery (EOR), has drawn increasing interest and identified as an effective enhanced oil recovery method. Despite the collapse of oil prices since 2014, operators still see ASP flooding as opportunities for increasing recovery factors from known oil accumulations. The simulation has been carried out on a 3-dimensional homogeneous synthetic model using Schlumberger’s Eclipse software. Waterflooding act as primary case has a recovery of 47%. Simulation involved compised of ASP Formulation Development. Key results showed that Single chemical flooding gives recovery range of 50-60%. Concentration for cost effective surfactant-polymer (SP), alkaline-polymer (AP) and alkaline-surfactant (AS) coupled has been determined gives presentable recovery range from 58% to 72% at reduced cost. Concentration of ASP flooding optimized to 20 lb/stb alkaline, 5 lb/stb surfactant and 1 lb/stb polymer, gives optimized recovery of 81% from 47% waterflooding. © BEIESP.

[Full Article]

Althaf M.S.M., Mohammed E.M.A.(2019)

Matrix acidizing is one of the oldest well stimulation methods that has been used for the past few decades to resolve the formation damage issue. However, stimulation in carbonate reservoir rocks is considered difficult due to the high degree of challenge faced during the stimulation process. An efficient matrix acidizing system for carbonate reservoir. This paper mainly focuses on designing as operational excellence approach in diagnosis of the type of formation damage, selection and formulation of suitable stimulation fluid and designing a complete acidizing system for carbonate reservoirs. In this work, crude and deposit samples from two different wells of a carbonate oil field named Bukit Tua field located in the East Java region of Indonesia was used as case studies to quantify and analyse the type of formation damage. Various analytical tests such as dissolution test, modified SARA analysis, pH of the crude sample, on the samples were conducted in the laboratory to understand and affirm the occurrence of formation damage. Based on the analytical results and studies, it was concluded that the deposition of organic and inorganic scales in and around the wellbore caused the majority problem in carbonate wells. Hence, a micro emulsion formulation and a heat generating formulation were designed in order to simultaneously dissolve and disperse the deposits and also make the heavy viscous crudes to flow. The customized stimulation fluid had a controlled reaction kinetics, low density and the ability to simultaneously treat multiple formation damage issues in carbonate wells that gives them an edge over the conventional acidizing systems. Following the most crucial stage of proper stimulation fluid selection, an efficient treatment plan has been designed in order to scale up for field applications. © BEIESP.

[Full Article]

Wong J., Bai F., Khairudin M.H.B., Tan R.H.G.(2019)

With the rising global awareness of the negative impacts of power plants based on fossil fuels, nations are shifting their attention to renewable energy. This is in line with the recent advancements in photovoltaic (PV) technology to encourage the construction of more large-scale solar PV plants. Different types of PV tracking technologies are normally used in these plants. However, there is a lack of comprehensive studies to determine which of these PV tracking technologies is the most economically viable. This paper aims to address this issue by assessing actual recorded data from a solar PV plant in Australia as well as simulated data from a PV system design software. The operational performance and economics of the PV systems are studied by calculating and comparing the capacity factors and levelized costs of energy (LCOE). This study can provide insights on the economic feasibility of different PV tracking technologies to allow PV owners and investors to be well-informed in expecting the return on their investments. © 2019 IEEE.

[Full Article]

Razali N.S., Roslan N., Mansor M.H., Musirin I., Shaaya S.A., Jelani S.(2019)

This paper presents the application of compensating capacitors for optimal power flow in transmission system. The compensating capacitors are placed at suitable locations in the transmission system and the size of reactive power to be injected by the capacitors to the system is obtained using artificial immune system (AIS) optimization technique. AIS will find the best value of reactive power of the compensating capacitors so that the total system loss is minimum. It is found that applying the AIS optimization technique is prospective approach for finding optimal reactive power output of the installed compensating capacitors in controlling reactive power of transmission system. © 2019, World Academy of Research in Science and Engineering. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Yong Kang L., Ayu Haslija A.B.(2019)

Napier grass which has several types of them has been studied by researchers for few applications such as biofuel, sugar and pulp production. This research focused on specific type of Napier grass which is the Dwarf Napier due to high cellulose content to produce pulp. Delignification of Dwarf Napier grass was carried out by soda anthraquinone pulping under varying conditions selected according to experimental design software with three factors. The influence of these three factors including concentration of sodium hydroxide (15%, 17.5% and 20%), concentration of anthraquinone (0.05% and 0.1%) and duration of cooking time (30, 60 and 90 min) on pulp yield was studied. 18 runs of experiment were conducted and the result obtained was used to analyse the optimized condition for pulp extraction by using RSM. Results indicated that the optimized response obtained while Napier grass stem is treated with 17.5% sodium hydroxide and 0.05% AQ with 66 mins of cooking time meanwhile the predicted yield is 34.87 %. However, the actual pulp yield obtained (36.38%) is higher than the predicted yield. The pulp which extracted with optimized condition is then bleached with hydroxide peroxide. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was used to characterize the raw grass fiber and pulp obtained. Napier grass is successfully demonstrated to be an effective alternative source for producing paper pulp. In the this study Dwarf Napier grass fibres were successfully pulped applying soda AQ process although the obtained pulp is not as high as the studied done before due to the limitations. FTIR analysis also confirmed the removal of lignin as well as most of the hemicellulose during the pulping process. Therefore, the abundance and fast growth of Napier grass are an added advantage as an alternative non-wood source for papermaking. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

[Full Article]

Wong S.T., Tan M.C., Geow C.H.(2019)

In this study, ethanol was used as a polar solvent to extract hazelnut oil, with ultrasound aid in the first 15 min of extraction. A Box–Behnken design was used for optimization in term of ultrasound amplitude (30%, 60%, and 90%), extraction temperature (28, 38, and 48°C), and extraction time (30, 60, and 90 min). All three factors showed positive effects on the oil extraction. The results showed that the oil yield and quality of extracted oil were significantly affected by the application of ultrasound. Ultrasound treatment had increased the oil yield from 38.93% up to 79.88%. The optimum conditions were identified at 90% of ultrasound amplitude, 29°C of extraction temperature, and 51 min of extraction time. Under these conditions, the predicted maximum oil yield was 55.39% with the minimum FFA value, iodine value and peroxide value of 1.75%, 14.52 g/100 g, and 10.50 meq g O2/kg, respectively. Practical applications: Plant oil has become the first choice for edible oil due to large percentage of unsaturated fatty acid, which has been reported that it could help to reduce the bad cholesterol in human body. Hexane is the solvent that commonly used in solvent extraction stage but it is highly volatile and might cause safety issue for extraction plant. Therefore, this study aims to use ethanol to replace hexane. This research introduces the optimized ultrasound-assisted ethanol solvent extraction process to the manufacturer. Ultrasound could enhance the oil yield which can produce low-cost hazelnut oil to the consumer. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[Full Article]

Nagarajan P., Murugesan P.K., Natarajan E.(2019)

Dry Electrical Discharge Machining(EDM) is considered as a green manufacturing process in which the liquid dielectric medium is replaced by a high velocity gas, which results improved process stability. A special tool design is adopted to find the optimum control parameters during machining of LM13 Aluminum alloy under dry EDM mode. The drilled and slotted cylindrical copper rod is used as a tool. Discharge current (I), voltage (V), pressure (P) and pulse on time (TON) are considered as varying input process parameters and duty factor and tool rotational speed are chosen at the fixed level. TaguchiL27 orthogonal array is used to design the experiment and the experiments are conducted accordingly. The experimental results are analyzed using Grey Relational Analysis to find the optimal combination of the process parameters. Also, ANOVA test is conducted to ensure the conformity of the simulation results. Pulse on time is found as the most significant parameter which is followed by voltage. Furthermore, the parameters with the highest relational grade (4 A, 200 μs, 60 V and 1.5 kPa) are used in experiment to validate the simulation results. The simulation and experimental results have a good agreement with less than 0.5 % error. © 2019, Kauno Technologijos Universitetas. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Rashidbenam Z., Jasman M.H., Hafez P., Tan G.H., Goh E.H., Fam X.I., Ho C.C.K., Zainuddin Z.M., Rajan R., Nor F.M., Shuhaili M.A., Kosai N.R., Imran F.H., Ng M.H.(2019)

BACKGROUND:: Urinary tract is subjected to a variety of disorders such as urethral stricture, which often develops as a result of scarring process. Urethral stricture can be treated by urethral dilation and urethrotomy; but in cases of long urethral strictures, substitution urethroplasty with genital skin and buccal mucosa grafts is the only option. However a number of complications such as infection as a result of hair growth in neo-urethra, and stone formation restrict the application of those grafts. Therefore, tissue engineering techniques recently emerged as an alternative approach, aiming to overcome those restrictions. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive coverage on the strategies employed and the translational status of urethral tissue engineering over the past years and to propose a combinatory strategy for the future of urethral tissue engineering. METHODs:: Data collection was based on the key articles published in English language in years between 2006 and 2018 using the searching terms of urethral stricture and tissue engineering on PubMed database. RESULTS:: Differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into urothelial and smooth muscle cells to be used for urologic application does not offer any advantage over autologous urothelial and smooth muscle cells. Among studied scaffolds, synthetic scaffolds with proper porosity and mechanical strength is the best option to be used for urethral tissue engineering. CONCLUSION:: Hypoxia-preconditioned mesenchymal stem cells in combination with autologous cells seeded on a pre-vascularized synthetic and biodegradable scaffold can be said to be the best combinatory strategy in engineering of human urethra. © 2019, The Korean Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Society.

[Full Article]

Mukhtar A., Ng K.C., Yusoff M.Z., Tey W.Y., Tan L.K.(2019)

Underground shelter serves as a specialized building structure that can provide either heating or cooling to occupants during different climates depending on the requirements. In this study, the CFD model of the 3D underground shelter was simulated at different seasons of the year in Malaysia. Initially, the soil temperature distributions at various depths were numerically investigated using the Kasuda Model; this model showed that at a depth of more than 10 m, the soil temperature remains constant. The soil thermal properties were considered in our numerical model simulated using ANSYS Fluent. The CFD model was firstly validated with the published experimental data, before it was used to simulate the passive heating and cooling operations within the underground shelter. The results indicated that the temperature of the underground shelter ranged between 27.80° and 32.10° from day to night. This assessment was evaluated in the coldest and warmest months of the year. Finally, the simulated room temperatures were compared against the standard Malaysian comfort temperature. It was found that natural ventilation alone could not assure a good thermal comfort level within the underground shelter. © 2019 PENERBIT AKADEMIA BARU.

[Full Article]

Rohani R., Kalkhoran H.M., Chung Y.T.(2019)

Biohydrogen is a potential alternative for fossil fuels and it can be produced from POME fermentation. Membrane technology has been a prominent separation approach for H 2 purification. However, membranes yield weakness in tradeoff between permeability and selectivity. The main objective of this project is to develop mixed matrix membrane with different polymeric bases of Polysulfone (PSF) and Polyimide (PI) with graphene oxide (GO) incorporation as inorganic filler for H 2 /CO 2 separation. Gas permeability and selectivity results indicated that PI/GO membrane with 1 wt% of GO has the highest H 2 and CO 2 permeability at 501 GPU and 595 GPU at 1 bar, respectively, H 2 /CO 2 selectivity of 1.01 at 5 bar and highest H 2 purity of 83 %. FESEM analysis indicated changes in the pore size and top layer of membranes due to the presence of GO. Zeta potential analysis proved that PI/GO 1wt% membranes is highly negative-charged (-56 mV). Contact angle results showed a decrease in contact angle value with the addition of GO. It can be concluded that PI/GO 1 wt% membranes demonstrated better results in the aspects of permselectivity and physicochemical properties compared to PSF membranes. © 2019, Penerbit UTM Press. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Leong L.-Y., Hew T.-S., Ooi K.-B., Tan G.W.-H.(2019)

With the widespread of the Internet and Web 2.0 applications, the way products are being sold has been transformed from the traditional individual purchases to group buying. Popularly known as online group buying or OGB, this new way of selling products has enormous potential for online businesses. Even though various studies have been conducted to examine consumers’ intention to repurchase, revisit or continuance intention however such intentions may not necessarily lead to actual spending. The aim of the study is to identify the factors that drive consumers’ actual spending in OGB. Unlike previous studies which used linear regression models, through the use of the artificial neural network, we successfully identified the linear and nonlinear effects of trust, price consciousness, ease of use, usefulness, gender and Internet time spent on consumers’ actual spending in OGB. The research model predicts with an accuracy of 87.14%. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.

[Full Article]

Siram K., Divakar S., Raghavan C.V., Marslin G., Rahman H., Franklin G.(2019)

The physico-chemical properties of lipids influencing the solubilisation of imatinib mesylate (IM) in lipid matrix were evaluated and a statistical model to predict the same has been derived in the present study. After experimental quantification of IM solubility in various lipids, Hansen Hildebrand's total solubility parameters were calculated in order to study the role of various forces connected to lipid-drug interaction. To develop a relationship between the various descriptors of the lipids and experimental solubility of IM in lipids (% w/w), quantitative structure-solubility relationship (QSSR) was used. To generate equations that can predict the solubility of IM in lipids (%w/w), multiple linear regression was used. Amongst the various lipids tested, glyceryl monostearate and behenic acid solubilised the highest (6.19 ± 0.22%) and lowest (0.01 ± 0.01%) amounts of IM respectively. Our results suggested that alkyl chain length, polarity of the lipids, index of cohesive interaction in solids, estimated number of hydrogen bonds that would be accepted by the solute from water molecules in an aqueous solution, estimated number of hydrogen bonds that would be donated by the solute to water molecules in an aqueous solution and solvent accessible surface area collectively play a significant role in solubilising IM in the lipids. The equation developed could predict the solubility of IM in lipids with good accuracy (R 2 pred = 0.912). © 2018 Elsevier B.V.

[Full Article]

Kaviarasan V., Venkatesan R., Natarajan E.(2019)

The high-temperature polymers like Acetal homopolymer (Delrin) currently have a wide variety of use. They are quite often utilized in traditional components to reduce weight, cost or meet a specific application requirement, and so on. Some of preferred uses of such polymers include aircraft interiors, wire insulation, wire couplings and fixtures, and so on, particularly at high-temperature applications. The machining process like drilling may affect the near net shape of the final product. This experimental study is done through modeling and optimization for identifying the suitable tool and optimum parameters for drilling of Delrin polymer under dry conditions to achieve high surface finish. The three levels of parameters such as spindle speed (N), feed rate (f), and tool point angle (Y) are taken as control parameters of the response variable. Two different commercially available tool materials namely high-speed steel drill tool and solid carbide tool are accounted in experiments. L27 orthogonal array is initially taken for the experimentation in CNC turning center with horizontal drilling setup. Artificial neural network is employed to sample, train, and test the input parameters in order to lessen the experimental error and measurement error of response variables. Response surface models are developed and optimal parameters toward the surface quality of the hole are determined through the desirability function approach. It is found that the surface generated under dry mode with speed of 1026 r/min, feed of 0.1 mm/min, point angle of 118 recorded the surface roughness of 0.699 mm, which is considered to be the best for drilling Delrin material. © The Author(s) 2019

[Full Article]

Ahmed H., Hasiholan B.(2019)

Infill new injection wells are utilized to increase the recovery of producing well as it reduces the spacing that existed between the old production wells that yields higher capital costs. Therefore, the decision, then must be made to convert old producers to the injectors. This work deals with the subject of converting existing producing wells for injection purposes. This evaluation was done by investigation the strategy of converting the producers to water injectors by design, simulation model and the optimum oil productivity and profitability was evaluated. In this project each phase of the petroleum recovery (primary and secondary) was modelled and changed through several scenarios in expression of conversion of production to injection wells as well as utilizing different injection patterns by using simulation program. Eclipse-100 and Petrel was used as the simulation software and the optimum oil productivity and cost effect of conversion wells, profit gain and optimum profitability were evaluated. Findings showed that, primary plans’ RF after modification raced up 42%. Whereas, secondary recovery plan was developed to approximately 56%. This recovery increment is basically due to the additional oil that was swept microscopically by water and its effect in the injection of the converted wells. In addition, an economic analysis supported the results of the project with a net revenue value of $ 2,325,002,016 over the net income of the base case. In summary, conversion producer wells into injection wells is the best option to get the optimum oil productivity and profitability. © BEIESP.

[Full Article]

Chen L., Wang Z., Zhang B., Ge M., Ng H., Niu Y., Liu L.(2019)

Carbon and nitrogen sources in culture medium of Antrodia cinnamomea were optimized to eliminate the interference of exterior macromolecules on exopolysaccharide (EPS) yield by submerged fermentation. The results suggested that culture medium containing 50 g/L of glucose and 20 g/L of yeast extract as the optimal carbon and nitrogen sources could produce 1.03 g/L of exopolysaccharides. After purification, two heteropolysaccharides (AC-EPS1 and AC-EPS2) were obtained and characterized to provide the basic structure information. As the main component of the produced EPS, AC-EPS2 (accounting for 89.63%) was mainly composed of galactose (87.42%) with Mw (molecular weight) and R.M.S. (root-mean-square) radius of 1.18 × 105 g/mol and 25.3 nm, respectively. Furthermore, the spherical and flexible chain morphologies of EPS were observed in different solvents by TEM. The structural and morphological information of purified EPS were significant for further study on their structure-activity relationship and related applications. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

[Full Article]

Rashid Z., Mon C.S., Kolandaisamy R.(2019)

This paper proposes an idea of development of an android App, PickUp to improve the airport arrival for new international students of Malaysia private higher learning institute. It intends to reduce the waiting time for international students at the airport when they arrive in Malaysia, thereby to stimulate sharing of updated information between the driver who is responsible for the pickup and the new students. It would inform the students about the estimated arrival time of the drivers and they can track the driver on google maps using this proposed idea of a mobile app. This proposed idea of mobile app would specifically to be used by students and drivers of private higher learning institute in Malaysia. Any changes in the scheduled arrival time for driver would be updated in the app and the students would be notified. Continuous alerts would be sent in case of delays or changes. Divers’ locations and routes are shown on real time maps using Google maps. The application will be structured and tested where the users will be assured that the application gives the real time service which will be extremely useful for them. © 2019 Association for Computing Machinery.

[Full Article]

Rohani R., Chung Y.T., Mohamad I.N.(2019)

Fermentation of palm oil mill effluent (POME) produces biohydrogen in a mixture at a specific set condition. This research was conducted to purify the produced mixed biohydrogen via absorption and membrane techniques. Three different solvents, methyl ethanolamine (MEA), ammonia (NH3) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) solutions, were used in absorption technique. The highest H2 purity was found using 1M MEA solution with 5.0 ml/s feed mixed gas flow rate at 60 minutes absorption time. Meanwhile, the purified biohydrogen using a polysulfone membrane had the highest H2 purity at 2~3 bar operating pressure. Upon testing with proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), the highest current and power produced at 100% H2 were 1.66 A and 8.1 W, while the lowest were produced at 50/50 vol% H2/CO2 (0.32 A and 0.49 W). These results proved that both purification techniques have significant potential for H2 purification efficiency. © 2019 Korean Institute of Chemical Engineers. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Chew S.-C., Tan C.P., Lin N.K.(2019)

In accelerated stockpiling at 65 o C for 24 days, an oxidative stability test was performed on crudes and re-fined kenaf seed oil. The outcomes revealed which refined oil underwent higher oxidation than the crude oil, as indicated by the peroxide value (40.55 meq/kg), p-Anisidine value (18.78) and total oxidation value (99.87) in re-fined oils at day 24. A free fatty acid value in the refined oil did not differ significantly and remained less than 1% during accelerated storage. After accelerated storage, the phenolic substance and anti-oxidant movement of re-fined oil was altogether lesser than crude oil. During accelerated storage, refined oil decreased by 67% tocopherol substance and 12.1 % phytosterol substance. After storage, there was no huge contrast in a content of tocopherol and phytosterol for crude and re-fined oils. The rate of tocopherol and phytosterol degradation in re-fined oil during storage was lesser than in unrefined petroleum (crude oil). Unsaturated fatty acids decreased slightly during storage, together with a slight increase in saturated fats in kenaf seed oil. The refining process reduced the oxidative steadiness of kenaf seed oil, but the refined oil could able to maintain good quality in the estimation of Free Fatty Acid (FFA) and a composition of fatty acid, and to protect tocopherols and phytosterols. © 2019, Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Yau Xin Y., Lokesh B.V.S.(2019)

Acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) is widely used globally to treat pain, rheumatic fever and inflammation since more than a century. It is also a prototypical molecule categorized as a platelet aggregation inhibitor, that could be widely used to reduce the risk of arterial and venous thrombosis in long term therapy. Various ASA formulations are available in the market and estimation of their quantity and efficacy is of utmost importance since it is largely being produced by many pharmaceutical companies all over the world. Literature is supported with many analytical methods using UV-visible spectrophotometer, liquid chromatography, liquid chromatography integrated with mass spectrometer (LC-MS), UHPLCMS/MS, Gas chromatography, electrochemical and titrimetric methods. In this study, an Attenuated Total Reflectance Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) method was developed for the estimation of ASA in tablets and validated as per ICH guidelines. The calibration curve was constructed on peak height location at a specific wavenumber of 1750 cm-1 (Strong C=O stretching vibration of ASA) in the concentration range from 1-100 (%w/w) with a correlation coefficient of 1.000. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.94 (%w/w) and 0.31 (%w/w), respectively. The method was found to be precise over a range of 10- 100%, with intra-day and inter-day precision values were estimated as 0.94 and 8.26 respectively. The percentage of mean recovery was estimated at 103.04 ±2.58 with margin of error (± 2.50%) at 95% confidence interval. This new method was used for the quantification of ASA in tablets and percentage of labeled amount was found within the range of 103.04 ±2.58. No significant interference was observed by excipients in the tablet formulation during the spectral analysis. © 2019 Indian Drug Manufacturers' Association. All rights reserved.

[Full Article]

Wong Y.H., Goh K.M., Abas F., Maulidiani M., Nyam K.L., Nehdi I.A., Sbihi H.M., Gewik M.M., Tan C.P.(2019)

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was studied as an alternative technique for the estimation of the 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) ester level in palm olein. The samples were the frying oils of potato chips with the addition of a synthetic or natural antioxidant. The same samples were evaluated by both the conventional method (GC-MS) and FTIR. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to group the frying oils according to the level of the 3-MCPD esters. The results obtained by FTIR were consistent with the findings using an indirect determination method by GC-MS. Chemometric analysis was applied to correlate the content of 3-MCPD esters with the FTIR spectrum data. A partial least squares (PLS) model was able to predict the concentrations of 3-MCPD esters at the 95% confidence level with R2 values higher than 0.90. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

[Full Article]

Azman N.S., Ramli M.Z., Razman R., Zawawi M.H., Ismail I.N., Isa M.R.(2019)

The purpose of this paper is to identify and determine the factors affecting the quality management of construction projects by using Industrialised Building System (IBS) and analyze the factors using Relative Importance Index (RII) method. In Malaysia, the used of the Industrialised Building System (IBS) in the construction industry has been rise as it gives many benefits to the project. However, without a decent quality management of the IBS product, it might give a bad perspective from the customers who are the contractors or consultants. From the previous literatures, hundred and nine (109) factors affecting the quality management of construction project that using Industrialised Building System (IBS) were identified and. In this study, the method used for data collection is by distribution of questionnaire. Most significance factors affecting the quality in construction were identified which is proper production equipment and technology with highest value of RII = 0.684. This study has important contribution to help project players of construction industry to ensure and maintain the good quality in construction while using Industrialised Building System (IBS) in future construction. © 2019 Author(s).

[Full Article]

Solihin M.I., Akmeliawati R.(2019)

A robust feedback controller is designed to maximize complex stability radius via single objective constrained optimization using Cuckoo Search Optimization (CSO) in this paper. A set robust feedback controller gains is optimized based on plant’s linear model having structured parametric uncertainty, i.e. two mass benchmark system. A wedge region is assigned as the optimization constraint to specify the desired closed-loop poles location which is directly related to desired time-domain response. The simulation results show that the robustness performance is achieved in the presence of parameter variations of the plant. In addition, the feedback controller optimized by CSO performs slightly better than that optimized by differential evolution algorithm previously designed. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2019.

[Full Article]

Sham R., Wahab S.N., Anuar M.M., Hong T.W., Tan Y.J.(2019)

Transportation service provided as social responsibility in many country including Malaysia should always be safe and perceived as safe by everyone. However, many studies had found that the increasing level of crime had cause the level of fear increase as well. Thus this had effected the ridership drop on almost all public transport usage especially taxi. Therefore it is the main intention of this paper to look at the different factors affecting the level of safety indication among taxi users in urban area. The paper provide an overview of the factors explaining on how different level of travel satisfaction through a quantitative research method where a personal administered survey was conducted among the taxi users who is living and commuting to the city center using taxi service. One of the significant findings shows that certain element such as driver attitude, age and technology indicate a significant roles as travel safety indicator. As this study only focus in urban area in Klang Valley, therefore the finding cannot be generalize to other area. Among the implication of the findings is that, future planner should take into consideration all factors that could possibly create a low signal of safety level among taxi users. This paper highlight the fear reduction model through a Malaysian empirical evidence which hold a high level of novelty where the application is suitable in Malaysian context urban travelers especially when reducing level of fear among taxi users is concern. © ExcelingTech Pub, UK.

[Full Article]

Muhieldeen M.W.(2019)

In developed countries, a significant increase in energy consumption was seen in these several years due to the growing demand of HVAC system to achieve thermal comfort in the building environment. High energy consumption of HVAC system has been a major issue for buildings around us. ISO 7730 and ASHRAE Standard 55 stated that greater air flow is able to offset the increase of air temperature by lowering the chilled water temperature. Appropriate air speed and air temperature should be determined without affecting the thermal comfort of building occupants. The aim of the study is to investigate possible energy saving and cost savings in building with higher air temperature and greater air flow using CFD simulation without affecting the thermal comfort of building occupants. Different case studies were carried out to determine the ideal air speed and air temperature in different room models. PMV and PPD index were used as thermal satisfaction indicators to determine the thermal comfort of occupants in different indoor conditions. Experimental and numerical results were analyzed and ideal conditions were proposed based on the results. Potential energy savings up to 47.27% and annual saving of RM 4116.36 were obtained through the studies. © 2019 Penerbit Akademia Baru.

[Full Article]

Hashim M.M., Taha M.S., Aman A.H.M., Hashim A.H.A., Rahim M.S.M., Islam S.(2019)

The awareness to secure medical data has significantly increased. Steganographic has binged an important topic especially in this area since it has the capability to avoid medical data breach. This paper proposes a new steganography scheme based on Bit Invert System (BIS) using three control random parameters. The random selection process is performed based on Henon Map Function (HMF). In order to increase the security level, affine cipher and Huffman method is used for encryption as well as to minimize the encrypt data prior to the embedding for high payload ability. This integration is effective due to two main reasons: first, checking, and mapping to determine 0- and 1-bits during embedding, and second, segmenting the secret data to track and map every bit in stego image. The results showed that the presented scheme can assure confidentiality and security of the medical data while maintaining the image quality. © 2019 IEEE.

[Full Article]

Renugopal L., Kow K.W., Kiew P.L., Yeap S.P., Chua H.S., Chan C.H., Yusoff R.(2019)

In this study, the effect of aligning nano-particles in the porous silica gel structure on the selectivity of adsorption was studied. Nano-magnetite particles were embedded into silica gel in order to produce nano-composite. By doing so, the agglomeration of nano-particles could be reduced and subsequently provided higher effective active sites for adsorption to take place. When the nano-particles in the gel matrix are aligned, it is expected to enhance the adsorption. Adsorption of Cu2+ and Cd2+ were conducted in both single ion system and binary mixture of the two to determine the adsorption performance using aligned and non-aligned gel composites. Improved selectivity of Cu2+ was observed in both single and binary system when aligned gel nano-composite was used compared to the non-aligned gel nano-composite. For copper and cadmium in single system, the removal percentage was enhanced from 23.6% to 36% and 15% to 16% respectively when the aligned gel was used instead of non-aligned nano-composite. Similarly for binary system, copper and cadmium removal percentage was enhanced from 15.7% to 21.3% and 6.3% to 10.2% respectively, when the aligned gel was used. This proved that when the nano-particles in the gel matrix are aligned, improvement in the performance of the gel nano-composite as adsorbent can be achieved. As for selective adsorption, it was noted that the removal percentage of copper was higher compared to cadmium in all cases performed. It was found that the magnetic field of the aligned gel increased the selectivity towards cadmium ions. Thus, the magnetic alignment of the aligned gel played a significant role where the selectivity of ions to be adsorbed could be controlled. © 2019 Author(s).

[Full Article]

Sum J.Y., Ahmad A.L., Ooi B.S.(2019)

An amine-rich thin film composite (TFC) membrane was prepared and used to selective separate of heavy metals (cadmium, copper and chromium). The rejection rate of metals in single metal system has an ascending order of Cd 2+ < Cu 2+ < Cr 3+ (for the range of pH investigated), indicates that the separation is governed by the hydrated radius, valence charge and the diffusion coefficient of the metal cations as well as its affinity towards the polymer layer. Highest rejection rate is obtained at pH 5, with the value of 99.8, 98.6 and 98.6% for chromium, copper and cadmium respectively. Cadmium (<0.01 mg/cm 2 ) was found to be the least that adsorbed onto the membrane surface, followed by copper (0.205 mg/cm 2 ) and chromium (0.325 mg/cm 2 ). The adsorption behaviour of metals onto the membrane surface was explained using hard–soft acid base (HSAB) principle. In adsorptive filtration of metal mixture at pH 4, flaky-shaped crystal layer which mainly made up of copper (67%) was formed on top of membrane surface. The formation of metal crystal was due to adsorption of metal cations onto membrane surface through polymer-metal ion complexation, followed by reduction of cations that aggregated to form microparticles. The used membrane was restored to its initial condition, while the metal crystal can be potentially recovered by flushing the membrane with nitric acid solution at pH 3 for 30 min. © 2019 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry

[Full Article]

Chin W.J., Lim M., Yong J.C.E., Al-Talib A.A.M., Chaw K.H.(2019)

Achieving effective service time in restaurants hinges on implementing and integrating innovation in design and technology. A combination of restaurant layout configuration and conveyor belt system integration is proposed to enhance the turnaround service time performance. Emphasis on the layout reconfiguration with optimized dining capacity and conveyor system for semi-Automated function are applied to existing restaurants by heuristic method. Then operation is simulated by agent-based approach in Anylogic simulator. Results yielded an improved in the total turnaround service time by 2.75% to 5%, which correspond to an approximate 78% reduction on a food-To-Table service time. The enhanced performance shows the effectiveness of reconfigured layout to service more customers without compromising delivery time. While conveyor belt mechanism provides the greatest food delivery time and manpower reduction, with a considerable payback period of 6 months. The findings and modelling will aid the implementation of semi-Automated restaurant as a stepping stone to one fully automated. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.

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Loo K.P., Sivalingam K.(2019)

In recent years, agricultural wastes and biomass have been extensively investigated as low cost adsorbents in heavy metal removal owing to the facts that they are relatively cheap and exhibit high adsorption capacities. Even though promising results are reported in literature, information on the simultaneous removal of co-existing pollutants is still very scarce and limited. Since industrial effluents contain various pollutants, there is a need to develop biosorbents and system that are able to remove more than one pollutant at one time. In this research, chicken eggshell was investigated for its ability to remove copper and fluoride simultaneously from aqueous solution. The optimization study showed that the highest removal percentage for copper and fluoride could be achieved at the process conditions as such: adsorbent dosage of 2.5 g, temperature of 40°C, pH 6 and stirring speed of 350 rpm. Simulatenous removal of both copper and fluoride ions from mixed solution was possible, however, with a reduction of approximately 26 – 35 % in fluoride removal but insignificant drop in copper removal percentage compared to single pollutant solution. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis revealed deposition of flake-like copper and fluoride crystals on the surface of the chicken eggshell powder thus evidenced its adsorption ability of copper and fluoride ions from aqueous solution. © BEIESP.

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Rajamanikam A., Solihin M.I.(2019)

Solid waste dumping has become an issue and a threat towards health and it is continuing to deteriorate with time. It is known that solid waste (SW) accumulation will rise drastically over time and epidemiological effects will soon rise from unplanned or unscheduled solid waste dumping. With Solid Waste Management (SWM) at its optimum performance, this problem can be mitigated. There are several reasons for a system to fail but one is focussed to engineer a solution towards waste treatment. Solid waste segregation takes longer to process compared to treating it on a weekly schedule. By utilising machine vision and machine learning technologies, solid waste bin classification can be done norm as a pathway towards efficient waste segregation. In this paper Gabor wavelet transformation (GWT) is used for classifying solid waste images by convoluting an image with Gabor wavelet kernels with different scales and orientation. The features are extracted from the image training database to model a supervised Artificial Neural Network (ANN) with the actual bin level grades. The computational speed or efficiency of the GWT is increased by using Genetic algorithm (GA) where a total of 48 out 80 features are used sufficiently, whereby less wavelets are used in the process thus increasing the performance to a maximum of 47.52%. The mean squared error before and after optimisation gave a difference of 91.9% in improvement with GA. The proposed method proved that with GWT and GA, SW is gradable with random waste images and it has proven to be optimum from analysis. © BEIESP.

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Balaguru S., Natarajan E., Ramesh S., Muthuvijayan B.(2019)

This paper discusses the stress and deformation developed in chassis during the different load cases and identifying the failure modes by the modal analysis. It starts from the benchmark study of different scooter frame in the aspect of material selection, mechanical properties and the sections used in it (usually circle section is preferred because of its easiness of manufacturing, even load distribution for different load cases and some other geometrical reasons). Then Structural and modal analysis of frame were carried out under the various load considerations. It involves 3D modeling in Pro-E, meshing in HyperMesh and analysis by ANSYS. Hence the following works are completed. Viz (i) Validation of the Frame design i.e. stress and deformation calculation using FEA and suggest the design recommendations, (ii) Bench mark study of the frame structure, load characteristics, metallurgical and mechanical properties of the scooter frame members and (iii) Identification of critical stress areas and suggest for design improvement from the Modal analysis by identifying the different mode shapes and Natural frequency of the frame. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Selection and/or Peer-review under responsibility of International Conference on Advances in Materials, Manufacturing and Applied Sciences.

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Kara J., Suwanhom P., Wattanapiromsakul C., Nualnoi T., Puripattanavong J., Khongkow P., Lee V.S., Gaurav A., Lomlim L.(2019)

Sixteen novel coumarin-based compounds are reported as potent acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors. The most active compound in this series, 5a (IC50 0.04 ± 0.01 µM), noncompetitively inhibited AChE with a higher potency than tacrine and galantamine. Compounds 5d, 5j, and 5 m showed a moderate antilipid peroxidation activity. The compounds showed cytotoxicity in the same range as the standard drugs in HEK-293 cells. Molecular docking demonstrated that 5a acted as a dual binding site inhibitor. The coumarin moiety occupied the peripheral anionic site and showed π-π interaction with Trp278. The tertiary amino group displayed significant cation-π interaction with Phe329. The aromatic group showed π-π interaction with Trp83 at the catalytic anionic site. The long chain of methylene lay along the gorge interacting with Phe330 via hydrophobic interaction. Molecular docking was applied to postulate the selectivity toward AChE of 5a in comparison with donepezil and tacrine. Structural insights into the selectivity of the coumarin derivatives toward huAChE were explored by molecular docking and 3D QSAR and molecular dynamics simulation for 20 ns. ADMET analysis suggested that the 2-(2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl)acetamides showed a good pharmacokinetic profile and no hepatotoxicity. These coumarin derivatives showed high potential for further development as anti-Alzheimer agents. © 2019 Deutsche Pharmazeutische Gesellschaft

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Hew J.-J., Leong L.-Y., Tan G.W.-H., Ooi K.-B., Lee V.-H.(2019)

Drivers of social commerce usage has been the focus of scholars in recent years, but mobile social media users' resistance behavior towards mobile social commerce has been in the darkness and therefore worth torched lights on. With the data collected from mobile social media users who have no experience in mobile social commerce, Artificial Neural Network analysis was engaged to capture both linear and nonlinear relationships in a research model that consists of innovation barriers and privacy concern. Surprisingly, all resistances positively correlated with usage intention, except for image barrier, which appeared to be the most influencing resistance. Several explanations were offered for such outcomes. The possible coexistence of resistance behavior and usage intention resembles the fitting justification. Mobile social media users intend to embrace mobile social commerce; however, their intentions have been held up by their perceptions on innovation barriers and privacy concern. Based upon these outcomes, this study has reaffirmed the coexistence of resistances and usage intention, as well as the “privacy paradox” phenomenon. These discoveries are believed to have contributed to the existing literature. Practitioners are then advised to act accordingly to these findings, and several methods on catalyzing mobile social media users' adoption decision were suggested. © 2017 Elsevier Inc.

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Jovenn C., Subaramaniam K., Jalil A.(2019)

It is found that students tend to be shy when they first enrolled in their university, causing them to have limited friends upon commencement of classes. This is because they are unfamiliar with the new environment or language, making them feel somewhat cultural shocked. This causes them to have a greater chance in getting lost and refuse to enquire help. The feeling of shyness prevents them from breaking the ice with people among them. This then forms another barrier for them to socialize. It is also found that people feel insecure using online forums because malicious users exist on those forums. To avoid being conned, they sometimes choose not to believe what they see in forums. Also, it can be difficult to search online for solutions to a student's problem. Searching for specific information on search engines may be easy. However, the information provided may not be what the student needs as the search engine only provides posts created by others on different sites, but not tailored to the location and situation of the student. It is also found that some forums do not properly categorize posts, making it hard for searching. Therefore, it is ideal to propose the development of a forum mobile application for students to resolve all the problems found. The methodology adopted in this project is Rapid Application Development. The prototype mobile application is built in Android OS using Android Studio with Java Programming. © 2019 IEEE.

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Wei A.N.T., Janakiraman A.K., Liew K.B., Starlin M., Habibur Rahman S.A.K.M.E.(2019)

The present work was to study the effect of biodegradable and synthetic polymers on sustained release (SR) matrix tablets of Nateglinide based on in vitro performance. The SR tablets were formulated with various concentrations of chitosan and/or Eudragit® RLPO or HPMC K100M by direct compression. The tablets were tested for drug-polymer interaction, weight variation, thickness, hardness, friability, drug content, in vitro drug release and stability. The NG06 SR matrix tablets were able to sustain the release of the drug over 12 hours (CDR=98% ± 1.47) and showed optimum post-compression properties. The in vitro release data of NG06 also showed a good linear relationship with the Korsmeyer-Peppas model (r2=0.9975) while n=0.750 indicated non-Fickian transport. Formulation NG06, which included 12.5 mg chitosan and 12.5 mg Eudragit® RLPO, showed optimum characteristics to achieve the objectives of this study. © IPEC-Americas.

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Lim W., Lee Y.(2019)

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships of the weak ties network and entrepreneurial opportunity recognition of small technology firms in Malaysia. The study seeks to explore the gaps between the practice of networking among new start-up firms and industry. This paper employs quantitative research design involving self-reporting questionnaires. Founders and co-founders of technology companies (n=255) are surveyed as respondents and data collected are analysed using Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) technique to examine the reliability, goodness-of-fit, predictive strength, and strength of relationship of independent and mediating variables with the dependent variable. Findings show that weak ties affect the entrepreneur's ability to recognise opportunity. Entrepreneurs who possesses wider social contacts benefits from a wide array of information which plays a key role to opportunity previously not recognised either due to lack of information or resources to exploit. To identify opportunities, a weak tie network is best suited to spark the imagination of entrepreneurs in novel ideas. In practice, the use of networking programs in entrepreneurial and incubation initiatives needs to focus on networking heterogenous groups. The clear delineation of the opportunity construct within the entrepreneurship studies enables progress to be made in building a clearer opportunity recognition framework. Empirical results also support the presence of entrepreneurial alertness as the mediator in the model. © 2019 IEEE.

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Ngo J.Q., Lee S.T., Jawad Z.A., Ahmad A.L., Lee R.J., Yeap S.P., Sum J.Y.(2019)

Global warming has been identified as a serious environmental issue. The most promising way to stop the greenhouse gas effect is to develop a high-performance membrane for CO2 separation. In this study, research was conducted to determine the effects of different polymer concentrations (2 wt%, 4 wt%, and 6 wt%) and casting thicknesses (150 µm, 250 µm, and 300 µm) on the membrane performance. The obtained results showed cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) membrane with polymer concentration of 4 wt% and casting thickness of 250 μm had a CO2/N2 selectivity of 1.398 ± 0.03. Thus, the mixed matrix membrane (MMM) was developed with 4 wt% of CAB polymer and 0.1 wt% functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Hence, this study confirmed that MMMs result in a better performance than polymeric membranes where the CO2 permeance, N2 permeance and CO2/N2 selectivity of the MMM were 365.741 ± 0.667 GPU, 73.410 ± 0.741 GPU, and 4.980 ± 0.050, respectively. © 2019, © 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

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Abnisa F., Sharuddin S.D.A., bin Zanil M.F., Daud W.M.A.W., Mahlia T.M.I.(2019)

The conversion of plastic waste into fuel by pyrolysis has been recognized as a potential strategy for commercialization. The amount of plastic waste is basically different for each country which normally refers to non-recycled plastics data; consequently, the production target will also be different. This study attempted to build a model to predict fuel production from different non-recycled plastics data. The predictive model was developed via Levenberg-Marquardt approach in feed-forward neural networks model. The optimal number of hidden neurons was selected based on the lowest total of the mean square error. The proposed model was evaluated using the statistical analysis and graphical presentation for its accuracy and reliability. The results showed that the model was capable to predict product yields from pyrolysis of non-recycled plastics with high accuracy and the output values were strongly correlated with the values in literature. © 2019 by the authors.

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Loh X.-M., Lee V.-H., Tan G.W.-H., Hew J.-J., Ooi K.-B.(2019)

Wearable payment, which is the use of wearable technology to make payment, is anticipated to be the future of proximity mobile payment. However, the acceptance and use of wearable payment in Malaysia leave much to be desired. Additionally, this area of research is currently under-addressed. Thus, this study looks into the elements that influence the intention to adopt wearable payment in Malaysia. The results are robustly insightful in revealing the intention to adopt wearable payment in Malaysia. Hence, there are numerous implications to wearable technology companies, wearable payment system designers, merchants and other stakeholders. Overall, this research is anticipated to serve as one of the pioneering research for future studies related to this area. © 2019, © 2019 International Association for Computer Information Systems.

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Sathasivam L., Elamvazuthi I., Khan M.K.A.A., Parasuraman S.(2019)

Three-Phase Separators are used to separate well crudes into three portions; water, oil, and gas. A suitable control system should be in place to ensure the optimum function of the Three-Phase Separator. The current PID tuning technique does not provide an optimum system response of the separator. Overshoot response, offset, steady-state error and system instability are some of the problems faced. Besides, the current method used is purely based on trial and error which is time consuming. There is room for improvement of the current PID tuning technique. An artificial intelligence (AI) PID tuning technique called Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is introduced to improve the system response of the Three-Phase Separator. The PSO algorithm mimics the behaviour of bird flocking and fish schooling striving for its global best position. In our case, the global best position is replaced with the optimized PID tuning parameters for the separator. The PSO algorithm has been used in several other applications such as the Brushless DC motor and in the Control Ball Beam system. It has proven to be an effective tuning technique. Tuning of the Three-Phase Separator via PSO could prove to be an effective solution for Oil Gas industries. © 2018 IEEE.

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Chin D.W.K., Lim S., Pang Y.L., Lim C.H., Lee K.M.(2019)

Ethylene glycol in the presence of sodium hydroxide was utilised as pretreatment for effective delignification and reduced the recalcitrance of lignocellulosic biomass which ramified the exposure of cellulose. Two-staged acid hydrolysis was also investigated which demonstrated its synergistic efficiency by minimising the deficiency of single stage acid hydrolysis. The operating parameters including acid concentration, temperature, residence time and cellulose loading for two-staged acid hydrolysis were studied by using ethylene glycol delignified degraded oil palm empty fruit bunch (DEFB) to recover the sugar based substrates for potential biofuels and other bio-chemicals production. In this study, stage I 45 wt% acid at 65 °C for 30 min coupled with high cellulose loading 21.25 w/v% and 12 wt% acid at 100 °C for 120 min was able to release a total of 89.8% optimum sugar yield with minimal formation of degradation products including 0.058 g/L furfural, 0.0251 g/L hydroxymethylfurfural and 0.200 g/L phenolic compounds. © 2019 Elsevier Ltd

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Subaramaniam K., Lee C.Y., Ong C.T.(2019)

UCSI Campus Navigator' was initiated due to real life situation of students who have problems navigating routes. The campus navigator application is an android mobile application used for navigating routes inside Block C of UCSI University. This is to provide a navigator application for students to navigate the direction and allow the students to check the classroom names based on the map of floor plan. The app will also suggest the right route to the user to ease the students to find the classroom. Data collection was done through questionnaires and observation of UCSI students. The 'UCSI Campus Navigator Application' was successfully developed and tested by the students. The user requirements were successfully embedded into the mobile navigator application and hence met the aims of this research. © 2019 IEEE.

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Tat C.C., Parasuraman S., Khan M.K.A.A., Elamvazuthi I.(2019)

Walking aids are extensively used by elderly individuals to improve their stability and ambulatory ability. Knowledge of biomechanical and functional requirements for the effective use of walker is still limited as per the current data available. In this paper, an instrumented walker is discussed theoretically and a new system is developed using the measurement of subject's resultant arm upper extremity loads. The bilateral upper extremity kinematics and kinetics data were acquired through Visual 3D motion analysis system. The internal joint force and moment for the wrist, elbow and shoulder were determined using inverse dynamics models. These data were observed from seven healthy subjects, right handed young adults and elderly. By utilizing these experimental data, a walker support system was developed and verified the design using the same subjects through repeated experimentation. Significant changes of resultant forces were observed for walker support system implementation. Elbow joint moment was observed and found to be reduced with the implementation of support system. © 2018 IEEE.

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Chung T.D., Ahamed Khan M.K.(2019)

This paper presents a real-time watershed-based algorithm for detecting multiple potholes on asphalt road surface. The algorithm uses (i) inverted binary in combination with Otsu thresholding techniques to find the optimal threshold value of the image in an inverted color space; then (ii) morphological technique with open, then close kernels to filter small noises and bold pothole edges on the image; and (iii) distance transform for finding markers on the pre-watershed-phase image before applying the watershed algorithm. As a result, the algorithm achieves real-time processing speed of approximately 33.1 frame-per-second (fps). Based on the tested images, it is evident that the algorithm can be used for detecting effectively potholes with different sizes and structures on three types of road surfaces namely smooth, aged, and degraded ones. © 2019 IEEE.

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