Malaysian Journal of Science

Physicochemical, Microbiological Characteristics of Meatballs from a Mixture of IPB D1 Chicken and Local Indonesian Rabbit Meats

2023-06-01T09:41:46+08:00

IPB D1 chicken meat originates from a novel hybrid domestic chicken lineage, possessing nutritional attributes comparable to those found in rabbits. IPB D1 chicken and rabbit meat are rich in protein and minerals and can be used as the main ingredients for nutrient-rich food products, such as meatballs. This study aims to analyze the physicochemical, microbiological, and organoleptic characteristics of meatballs made with 100% chicken meat from IPB D1, 100% rabbit meat, and a combination of 50% chicken meat from IPB D1 and 50% rabbit meat. The meatballs were tested for their physical characteristics, such as pH, water activity, cooking loss, and texture profile, alongside chemical, microbiological, and sensory test characteristics to identify which formulation produced a meatball with optimal results. The study employed a completely randomized design. Results showed that meatballs with a composition of 50% IPB D1 chicken meat and 50% rabbit meat exhibited superior physical, chemical, microbiological, and sensory test outcomes. Results obtained from this study are promising for development into functional and diverse food products, as they have potential for commercial advancement.

Wing Morphology and Echolocation of Rhinopoma hardwickii (Lesser Mouse-tailed Bat, Gray, 1831)

2023-10-24T08:47:36+08:00

Rhinopoma hardwickii is currently classified as a member of the Yinpterochiroptera suborder, which includes frugivorous and some insectivorous bats. This species is the smallest in the Rhinopomatidae family and easily identified by its long tail. The wing morphology and echolocation calls of this species were studies to see if there were any changes in wing morphology between sexes, echolocation calls across different environments such as natural (roost and field) and controlled (captive), as well as different geographical areas. In this study, a total of 41 individuals (27 male and 14 female) of R. hardwickii were captured and their wing morphology was measured. The results show that there were no statistically significant variations in their morphometric characteristics or in wing morphology between the sexes. This species has with high wing loading and a high aspect ratio, as well as pointed wing tips. The echolocation calls consisted up to five harmonics of FM and CF- FM sweeps. Peak frequencies, start frequency, end frequency, and IPI of three separate environment parameters (roost, capitative, and field recording) differed significantly (p > 0.001).Moreover, we compared the frequency at maximum energy with four different geographical regions such as Kerala, Gujrat, and Israel to current study, and found that the frequencies of bat calls do not vary with geographical region (H=0.667, df=3, p=0.881). Therefore, the current study provides accurate identification of R. hardwickii on the basis of echolocation call in a different environment. The echolocation call and wing morphology data clearly show that this species is a fast flyer with limited manoeuvrability that feeds on forest canopy or over water bodies.

Photocatalytic Degradation of Ethylene Bis-Dithiocarbamate Fungicide from Wastewater Using Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles under Natural Solar Irradiation

2023-11-29T08:58:53+08:00

This study developed a suitable method for the degradation of ethylene bis-dithiocarbamate pesticide mancozeb in wastewater and agricultural runoff using nanoceria as photocatalysts. The nanoceria or cerium oxide nanoparticles were synthesized using a simple coprecipitation method with cerium nitrate hexahydrate (Ce (NO₃)_3.6H₂O) and Potassium carbonate (K₂CO₃) as a precursor and precipitating agent respectively. The synthesized powder particle was further ascertained through characterization using Scanning Electron Microscopy SEM for surface morphology, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy FTIR for the determination of the functional groups, Powder X-ray diffraction PXRD for crystal structure, phase and crystallite size and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy EDAX for elemental composition of the synthesized nanoceria. It was revealed that the nanoparticle was successfully synthesized with a crystallite size of 27 nm. Photocatalytic degradation of mancozeb pesticide using the synthesized NPs was determined in batches with optimization of certain parameters including; the initial concentration of pesticide, quantity of the photocatalyst, irradiation time, calcination temperature and UV index. Nanoceria was found to degrade more than 62% of the initial concentration of mancozeb in 2 hours. Nanoceria usually acts as an active sorbent in the destruction of pesticides in wastewater and as such, its application on the degradation of mancozeb is crucial and significant. This method can be suitable for agricultural runoff and synthetic chemical pesticides effluent with proper optimisation.

A Spatial Tropical Island Database of Northern Borneo, Malaysia using Google Earth

2023-09-22T14:23:13+08:00

The state of Sabah in Northern Borneo, Malaysia is surrounded by numerous small tropical islands. However, the recent surge in tourist activities has significantly impacted the biological diversity and natural resources of these islands. This study aims to develop a systematic database for the region prioritize and preserved the conservation and integrity of these tropical islands. The database was compiled using topographic maps and Google Earth data. Variables such as island size, distance, distribution, and isolation from the Sabah coastline were analysed through maps and scatter plots generated in a GIS environment. The significance of the islands was evaluated across various aspects based on the compiled data. The database identifies a total of 510 islands along Sabah’s coastline with 82 located on the west coast and the remaining 428 on the east coast. Approximately 80% of these islands are small with an area of less than 1 km². Only five islands exceed 100 km², while smaller islands are predominantly located closer to the coast. The finding indicate that the significance of the islands varies based on factors such as tourist attractions, flora and fauna, marine ecosystems, and national security. The methodology adopted in this study is robust and offers potential for examining island distribution in other regions.

Mapping Earthquake Vulnerable Areas Based on Microtremor Measurements Near Kebumen City

2023-10-28T09:50:40+08:00

Kebumen, a district in Central Java, is regarded as a risky location because of the possibility of earthquakes. The risk level of earthquake hazard was assessed using a microtremor experiment in 10 subdistricts surrounding Kebumen, Java Tengah, using the characteristic soil dynamic parameters. A total of 82 points were collected using a single station seismometer, which has three components. An HVSR analysis was performed on the data. This vulnerability map also considers social, infrastructure, and economic vulnerabilities. According to the results of the microtremor analysis, the dominating frequency range is between 0.62 and 5.26 Hz. The amplification values ranged from 1,16 to 10,61. The thickness of the sediment layer ranged from 0.56 to 83.46 m. The seismic map was merged with maps of social vulnerability, infrastructure, and economics. The risk of earthquakes in the Kebumen area can be classified into three categories. The Pejagoan and Klirong sub-districts had the lowest earthquake risk. The second category area has a medium earthquake risk and predominates the experimental area, whereas the third category area has a high earthquake risk and predominates the Sruweng subdistrict.

A Spatial Epidemiological Investigation of COVID-19 in the MENA Region: Modeling Incidence and Impact Factors

2023-11-04T12:53:53+08:00

The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the global economy and society. World Health Organization (WHO) reported that as of early July 2023, the virus has infected more than 690 million individuals and has resulted in more than 6.9 million deaths worldwide. This study aims to investigate spatial epidemiological factors of COVID-19 in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. By employing various spatial modeling techniques, this study establishes that multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) is the best-fitted model, with the lowest residual sum of squares (11.22) and the lowest Akaike’s Information Criteria (AIC) value (58.41), explaining 84.3% of the variance (R²=0.843). Our study finds that population density, total vaccination doses, unemployment, and GDP per capita are critical factors associated with COVID-19 in the MENA region. These valuable insights provide policymakers and public healthcare experts with the information needed to develop targeted interventions that can mitigate risk factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Spatial Analysis of Tropical Cyclone Yaas using Satellite Data

2023-10-01T22:44:23+08:00

Tropical cyclones are the major natural disasters in India. They cause high death toll and property destruction, that lead to a negative socioeconomic impact. For early warning alerts, real-time monitoring, impact and damage pre-assessment, and relief operations, remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) are helpful. Tropical cyclone warning bulletins detail the cyclone intensity, direction and position of occurrence of cyclonic event, velocity of the winds across the coastal areas, expected landfall site. During the period of May 23^rd to May 28^th, 2021, an attempt was made to examine Yaas cyclone over Bay of Bengal Sea (BOBS). Rainfall (RF), Convective available potential energy (CAPE), cloud top temperature (CTT), total precipitable water (TPW), lifted index (LI), convective inhibition (CIN), sea level pressure (SLP), divergence and sea surface temperature (SST) are used to analyze cyclonic activity. Cold dry air from high latitudes meet with warm moist air in low latitudes leading to instability. This instability is responsible for the conducive feature in convection occurrence. The weather research forecasting (WRF) model forecast results matched well with MERRA2 reanalysis results. The model performed well in prior occurrence of convection activity.

Preliminary Study of Tsunami Impact on Soil Salinity for Agriculture Based on Geophysical Data, a Case Study of Aceh Besar, Indonesia

2023-03-24T13:18:04+08:00

The Tsunami, (natural phenomenon) that occurred in Aceh Province in 2004, not only caused severe damage to the infrastructure and human casualties but also altered the conditions of the soil. The change in soil condition led to economic loss (productivity and activity) in certain areas that were affected by the Tsunami. Studies show that the land inundated with Tsunami flood and sedimentation caused the land to become unproductive since the salinity level increased. The geophysical method was used to delineate the level of soil salinity in areas affected by Tsunami. A total of four measurement lines ranging in length from 160 to 210 meters were constructed specifically in Aceh Besar region. In the Blang Krueng District, three measuring lines (K1, K2, and K3) were positioned slightly away from the shoreline and one measurement line was conducted in the Blang Bintang (B1) region to validate the difference between the conductivity values of land polluted with tsunami sediment and seawater intrusion. Results show that the areas affected by Tsunami sedimentation had a greater conductivity value than unaffected areas classified by the conductivity value of 0.06 – 2 S/m and 0 – 0.05 S/m for Blang Krueng and Blang Bintang areas respectively.

Crafting a Specific Deep Network for Real-Time Identification of Ayurvedic Plants

2023-09-22T16:32:30+08:00

Plants play vital role for existence of living being specially humans as they rely for food, medicine and for many other needs. Plant-based medicine is an age-old science practiced in many countries. Use of plant-based medicine is considered safer compared to chemical-based medicine for humans because it comprises of natural ingredients. Planet earth is blessed with plenty plant species having medicinal values. However, current generation have lack of knowledge of these medicinal plants. Hence there is a requirement for automated identification of medicinal plants to use them as medicine. In the present work, automated classifying system for identification of medicinal leaves is designed using deep learning approach. Further for real-time usage of the developed classifying system, Android based cell phone application is developed. Medicinal values of the identified leaves are also displayed on the cell phone screen. The dataset required for training the deep network is acquired in the Southern part of Karnataka, India. The system identifies eight types of medicinal leaves with an average accuracy of 99%. Such an automated system will help people associated with ayurvedic medicine, botanists and also common people for using herbs as medicine.

Biofilm Technology in the Production of Macrobrachium rosenbergii: an Appraisal of Feasibility - a Short Review

2023-12-20T10:20:11+08:00

This review examines biofilm formation, composition, and its impact on prawn culture. It investigates the factors that influence the development of biofilms and their interactions with the giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii within the context of nutrient-rich biofilms. This review also explores the concept of biofilm production and its application in giant freshwater prawn cultivation, including the incorporation of probiotics. This study investigates the effects of biofilms on vital water quality parameters, including pH, ammonia level, and dissolved oxygen. It also examines the effects on the health and growth of crustaceans. Aquaculture's rapid growth has impacted the environment in several countries. The M. rosenbergii prawn holds significant importance as an aquaculture species in Malaysia, demonstrating the ability to enhance the income of farmers experiencing economic difficulties. However, large amounts of water are used, high-nutrient effluents are released, large areas are occupied, natural habitats are changed, and exotic species escape from their habitats. Several studies have demonstrated the application of biofilm technology in enhancing the production, safety, and economic sustainability of M. rosenbergii farmers. Biofilms are microbial consortiums embedded in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that adhere to submerged surfaces. This microbial cell consortium reduces ammonium and phosphate concentrations in aquaculture systems, providing a food source for the cultured species. Many studies have focused on the alternative microbial species with promising results. Therefore, the benefits of biofilm technology in the production of M. rosenbergii are reviewed to facilitate future research, development, and applications in aquaculture.