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Volume 3, Issue No 2, August 2016 <<Previous Volume II Next Volume>>
Issues in Volume 3 Cover Page and Table of Contents Full Articles
Effect of Growth Regulators and Explant Orientation on Shoot Tip Culture of Borneo Endemic Orchid, Dimorphorchis lowii
Juddy E. Jainol; Jualang Azlan Gansau. 2016. Transactions on Science and Technology, 3(2), 306 - 312 Abstract Multiple shoots were induced from the shoot tip explants derived from the in vitro grown seedlings of an endangered and horticultural important epiphyte orchid, Dimorphorchis lowii. Shoot tip explants were cultured vertically and/or horizontally on solidified Knudson C media (KC) added with various concentrations of Kinetin (Kn) and 6-Benzylaminopurine (BAP) for shoots multiplication. Shoots were initiated after 4 weeks of culture, and the highest number of healthy shoots (5.05 shoots per explant) was observed in 2.0 mg/l Kinetin (Kn), when the explant placed horizontally. Regenerated shoots were root-induced in KC medium with various concentrations and combinations of Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), Indole acetic acid (IAA) and Indole butyric acid (IBA). Shoots cultured on medium with 1.0 mg/l IAA and 0.5 mg/l IBA was the most appropriate combination for rooting. Rooted plantlets were transferred in a medium mixture containing coco peat and sphagnum moss (2:1). After 2 months, 78% of plants survived when transferred to the glasshouse. This is the first report for in vitro propagation of D. lowii through shoot tip culture. The protocol developed can be utilized for both large-scale plant production and germplasm conservation of this species. View article
Additions to the Fern Flora of the Trus Madi Range, Sabah, Malaysia
Mohd. Aminur Faiz Suis; Florina Anthony; Maryani-Andi-Mustapeng Andi; Monica Suleiman. 2016. Transactions on Science and Technology, 3(2), 313 - 318 Abstract This paper reports the addition of seven species of ferns to the flora of the Trus Madi Range. Leptochilus cf. decurrens Bl. is reported as new to Sabah. These new records are among the 72 species of ferns collected during an ecological study at the northwestern part of Mount Trus Madi in the Tambunan District. With these additions, the number of ferns recorded in the Trus Madi Range stands at 179 species in 76 genera and 23 families. View article
Biofilm of Antibiotics Resistant Salmonella Typhimurium and Salmonella Enteritidis Against Detergents
Elexson Nillian; Yaya Rukayadi; Son Radu. 2016. Transactions on Science and Technology, 3(2), 319 - 327 Abstract Salmonella is able to produce biofilm which is more resistant toward disinfectants and antibodics than its planktonic form. Salmonella typhimurium from beef and Salmonela Enteritidis from raw vegetables isolates were tested for their susceptibility using 18 different antibiotics. Salmonella typhimurium isolate was resistant toward Streptomycin, Sulfamethoxazole, Penicillin, Erythromycin, Tetracyclin, Ampicillin, Rifampicin and Clarithromycin while Salmonella enteritidis was resistant toward Amikacin, Streptomycin, Penicillin, Cipfoflaxin, Erythromycin, Ampicilin, Tetracyclin, Rifampicin, Cepthalothin, Amikacin, Chloramphenicol and Clarithromycin. Both of Salmonella isolates showed MAR index > 0.2, indicating that these isolates might be originated from high risk sources. Out of the five detergents, Detergent 3 (D3) (Linear alkyl Sulfonic acid was found to be the most effective. The Minimum Inhibition Concentrations (MICs) and Minimal Bactericidal Concentration (MBCs) was ranged from 6250 – 25,000 µg/ml and 25,000 to > 50000 µg/ml, respectively. Biofilm-producing ability of antibiotics -resistant Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella enteritidis were inhibited at 12,500 – 25,000 µg/ml and eradicated at > 50000 µg/ml. Therefore, Detergents showed potential antimicrobial activity against Salmonella. View article
Vibration Analysis of Electronic Baby Hammock
Ying Hao Ko; Lu Ean Ooi; Yoon Ket Lee; Choon Wei Ko; Kok Rong Leong; Chun Boon Lim; Isaac Kong Liang Ung. 2016. Transactions on Science and Technology, 3(2), 328 - 335 Abstract Babies love being rocked to sleep in the baby hammock. The natural link between rocking and sleep is related to the frequency and amplitude. A clinical study has shown the optimum best rock to put a baby to sleep has an amplitude of 60mm and frequency of 0.55Hz. However, there is no depth study concerning on this topic. This paper covers the vibration analysis in terms of frequency and amplitude on the commercial electronic baby hammock. Vibration analysis of the weight from 3kg to 16kg is conducted. For each measurement, four conditions are considered: manual rocking, auto rocking with low, medium and high speed. From vibration analysis, the results indicated the auto rocking and manual rocking produce the dominant frequency from 1.1Hz to 1.4 Hz which is beyond 0.55Hz. These frequencies are not recommended since it might affect the babies’ brain development and growth. In the other hand, the results show that the corresponding amplitude of the respective dominant frequency is below 60mm. None of the measurements meet the optimum level of frequency and amplitude. Hence, further actions and improvements on the evaluation of safety (in terms of vibration) on electronic baby hammock are needed. View article
Monte Carlo Investigation of Inhomogeneity Phantom Effects in 6 MV Photon Beam
Sitti Yani; I Gde Eka Dirgayussa; Mohamad Fahdillah Rhani; Freddy Haryanto; Idam Arif. 2016. Transactions on Science and Technology, 3(2), 336 - 344 Abstract The objective of this study is to investigate the inhomogeneity effect in inhomogeneous phantom using dosimetric parameters which are the percentage depth dose (PDD) and lateral profile. The accelerator treatment head used in this study was Varian Trilogy Clinac iX 6 MV photon beam. BEAMnrc Monte Carlo (MC) code system was used to design this linear accelerator (linac) based on manufacturer's details information. The resulting phase space scoring plane after multi-leaf collimator (MLC) component form BEAMnrc was used as an input for the DOSXYZnrc code, which gives the dose distributions of the inhomogeneous phantom. The inhomogeneous phantom consists of solid water (Sun Nuclear) and styrofoam material with varied thickness of 1, 2 and 3 cm. The PDD and lateral profile resulted from MC simulation and measurement data from Tan Tock Seng Hospital Singapore was compared for field size 5×5 and 10×10 cm2. The results show that the PDD and lateral profile trends are similar. However, there is a discrepancy of approximately 4% between measured and predicted values which can be associated with the field angle and the degree of inhomogeniety. View article Invited
Preliminary Analysis of 0206 Earthquake in Southern Taiwan
Kuei-hsiang Cheng. 2016. Transactions on Science and Technology, 3(2), 345 - 352 Abstract The incident of Southern Taiwan earthquake on February, 6th 2016 has been divided into two events. The first event occurred in the foothill subduction zone, which is categorized as the interface event; the second event happened in the alluvium located at the front of deformation area of the subduction zone, which is categorized as the intraplate event. Due to the source effect derived from southeast to northwest and the soft alluvium site effect in Tainan area, there were 14 residential buildings collapsing and 117 people killed during the earthquake. Among them, Yonkang District suffered the most damages (3-apartment buildings collapsing killed most of the victims of this earthquake). Besides, the earthquake also cost Taiwan the loss of 13 billion NT Dollars. In Yonkang District, there was a residential building complex which contained 3-apartment buildings collapsed because of faulty design in the beginning and improper construction process with bad quality. By the time when the earthquake struck, the site effect brought stronger shake to this fragile residential building, causing it to sway east and west. The building fundamental pillars were sheared off and then from the 7th to 16th floors had fallen down to the basement. This paper discusses the cause and effect of this earthquake; in addition, it also talks about the strategies, regulations, laws, and systems in order to bring up concrete suggestions to disaster prevention units and governments. View article Review of Instrumentation
Earthquake Early Warning and Instrumentation
Yen-Chun Reid Chen. 2016. Transactions on Science and Technology, 3(2), 353 - 360 Abstract Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) was booming in late 1990s after a severe ML7.3 earthquake hit Taiwan, killed more than 2,500 people and cost a loss of 12 billion US Dollars to the society. San Lien Technology Corp have devoted into seismic instrumentation for over 20 years and from 2006, corporation was begun with Yih-min Wu, a former seismologist at Central Weather Bureau (CWB) Taiwan and currently a professor at National Taiwan University (NTU), to develop the first and only low cost network accelerometer embedded with P-wave displacement technology for EEW. The information of P waves was discovered after five years of research from more than 800 earthquake records worldwide. It was found that whenever the faster P-wave moves vertically over 0.5 cm, the upcoming slower S waves would carry destructive energy. The network accelerometer, P-alert, is a palm-size and metal-made tri-axial sensor. It provides P-wave EEW, peak ground acceleration (PGA) and also short time average and long time average ratio (STA/LTA) algorithms. In addition, its Modbus industrial protocol easily makes integration of applications accessible. Thus, P-alert is ideal for mass deployment of a regional earthquake monitoring; moreover, it plays a critical role in a local on-site EEW system which is able to issue warnings or convey signals to attached devices for emergency stops. View article Extended Paper
Quantitative Assessment of Seagrass as Bioethanol Feedstock
Rahmath Abdulla; Zainul Ariffin. 2016. Transactions on Science and Technology, 3(2), 361 - 366 Abstract The depletion of fossil fuels and the increase of fuel demand lead to the search of more sustainable alternatives. Nowadays, bioethanol is gaining popularity as renewable fuel to replace existing fossil gasoline. Currently, bioethanol is produced from land based crops but in the future, marine biomass such as seagrass and seaweeds are promising alternatives since these do not take up land area for cultivation. In this paper, seagrass, Thalassia hemprichii was tested for its potential as bioethanol feedstock via fermentation by yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Thalassia hemprichii is highly abundant as it can be easily cultivated in warm seawater in Malaysia for example in Sabah. Thalassia hemprichii contains high carbohydrate content, hemicellulose and cellulose which will be hydrolyzed to glucose and other reducing sugars, which in turn is converted to ethanol by yeast. It has been shown that the extracted leaves from Thalassia sp. through hot water treatment gives higher concentration of sugar (1.68g/ml) as compared to acid hydrolysis using dilute sulfuric acid (1.38g/ml). Besides that, among the five different inoculum concentrations, it was found that 10% (v/v) concentration of inoculum gives the highest bioethanol production for both types of treatments. Ethanol produced with hot water treatment (2.29g/ml) was higher as compared to sulfuric acid hydrolysis(1.74g/ml). The results from this study showed that Thalassia hemprichii has potential to be used as substrate for bioethanol production. View article |