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Volume 6, Issue No 1, March 2019 <<Previous Volume II Next Volume>>
Issues in Volume 6 Cover Page and Table of Contents Full Articles
Water Quality and Growth Performance of Giant Freshwater Prawn,
Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Green Bean, Phaseolus vulgaris in Aquaponics System at Different Flow Rates
Nur Fadhilah; Abentin Estim; Siti Nor Fatihah. 2019. Transactions on Science and Technology, 6(1), 1 - 8 Abstract This study was assessed to determine the effect of flow rate on growth performance of Macrobrachium rosenbergii and Phaseolus vulgaris, and the water quality (concentration of nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and ammonia) in aquaponics system. The flow rates were 0.6 L/min, 1.6 L/min, 2.6 L/min and 3.6 L/min. In water inlet, the total mean concentration of nitrite at 0.6 L/min was slightly higher than other treatments. As for the water outlet, the total mean concentration of nitrite at 3.6 L/min was lower than others. Besides, the growth performances of plant which was flower and fruit present were slightly different. The best growth performance in Phaseolus vulgaris was at flow rate 0.6 L/min. The result analyzed by One-way Anova showed that there were no significant differences between water quality and growth performance of shrimp and plants at different flow rates in aquaponics system. Due to that, the design of aquaponics system at different flow rate was able to treat the prawn waste water and the plant can grow well. The excess feed and waste from M. rosenbergii gave dissolved inorganic nutrients which will be absorbed by the plant for supporting the growth. View article
Application of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch as Adsorbent: A Review
Janice May Lynn Thoe; Noumie Surugau; Harry Lye Hin Chong. 2019. Transactions on Science and Technology, 6(1), 9 - 26 Abstract The abundance of oil palm wastes specifically oil palm empty fruit bunch (EFB) has possessed disposal issues that need to be tackled. Consequently, the utilisation of EFB as adsorbent for adsorbing pollutants from wastewater is a way forward. The unmodified EFB can be applied naturally but showed low adsorption capacity. The adsorption performance of EFB can be significantly improved upon modifications. This review covers the modification methods adopted to transform EFB into value-added adsorbent. Physical modifications discussed are heat pyrolysis, microwave irradiation and hydrothermal carbonisation. The output of heat pyrolysis followed by activation through oxidising gaseous and chemicals produced EFB activated carbon with high BET surface area and microporous which promotes high adsorption capacity. Besides, chemical modifications utilising acid, alkali, polymer grafting, organic and inorganic solvents provide high specificity on designing EFB adsorbent in the removal of targeted pollutants. Generally, this review serves as a guidance for researchers to move forward in searching for a simple, economic and environmental friendly technique to produce EFB based adsorbent with excellent properties and adsorption performance. View article
Using Graphic Calculators in Teaching and Learning Functions and Graphs Topic
Tiew Mee Chien. 2019. Transactions on Science and Technology, 6(1), 27 - 35 Abstract The objective of this study is to investigate foundation students' performance and their perceptions toward the adoption of the TI-84 Plus Graphic Calculator as a tool in improving their understanding in learning Functions and Graphs topic. The sample selected is students from University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS). Two groups of foundation in science students involved in this study. One group which consists of 40 students served as experimental group and was taught the functions and graphs topic with the graphic calculators and another group consists of 38 students was taught with traditional method without graphic calculator and served as control group. Before the study started, a pre-test was given to both groups. At the end of the study, post-test with same items as pre-test was given to the students and experimental group is allowed to use graphic calculator. The statistical results indicated a significant difference in the mean scores for both groups. Specifically, the results suggested that students were able to perform well significantly in the test with graphic calculator. A questionnaire was distributed to the experimental groups and collected data were then analyzed by using SPSS 23.0. From the analysis results, experimental group students showed favorable response towards the use of graphic calculators as a tool in learning mathematics since it helps them to gain better understanding about the functions and graphs topic compared to traditional approach. View article
Comparison of Antioxidant Activity and Phytochemical Content of Borneo Wild Berry, Rubus fraxinifolius (Rogimot)
Nor Amirah Shamsudin; Azlinah Matawali; Jualang Azlan Gansau. 2019. Transactions on Science and Technology, 6(1), 36 - 41 Abstract Rubus fraxinifolius, locally known as Rogimot, is an underutilized edible fruit and grown wildly around Mount Kinabalu, Sabah. Antioxidant activities and phytochemicals content in three different parts (i.e., fruit, stem and leaves) of this plant were analyzed by using 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2-2'-Azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline)-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS), as well as ferric reducing/antioxidant power assay (FRAP). Samples were freeze-dried and extracted using 5 different solvents namely dH2O, absolute ethanol, 80% (v/v) ethanol, absolute methanol and 80% (v/v) methanol. The result of antioxidant tests showed that 80% (v/v) methanol crude extract display higher antioxidant value compared to the other solvents extract. Phytochemical analysis from these extracts showed that the TPC and TFC were higher in the leaves at 56.32 ± 0.05 (mg GAE/g) and 31.36 ± 1.05 (mg CE/g), respectively. Meanwhile, TAC and TCC were found higher in the fruit flesh at 22.27±1.28x10-14 (mg C-3-GE/g) and 10.02 ± 0.22 (mg BC/g), respectively. The same trend was found for antioxidant assay, where leaves show highest values as compare to the other plant parts. These finding suggested that the leaves of R. fraxinifolius has a potential to be used as a natural antioxidative for human health. View article
Evaluating the Efficacy of Oil-Based Entomopathogenic Fungi conidial Formulations on Dog Ticks
Darrell Nadeng Dominic; Jasmine Siah; Brenda Chan; Peter Morin Nissom. 2019. Transactions on Science and Technology, 6(1), 42 - 47 Abstract Rhipicephalus sanguineus and Haemaphysalis longicornis are common dog ticks in Malaysia and they act as vectors to pathogens which spreads onto animal hosts and, in some cases, humans. Common control strategies employ synthetic chemical products which are not sustainable as it contributes to the rise of insecticide resistance. The use of entomopathogenic fungi as a mycological based insecticide has been widely researched as a potential alternative strategy against pest insects. Entomopathogenic fungi such as Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana have been reported to kill a range of pest-insects including ticks in the lab. In this research, we evaluated the efficacy of sunflower oil-formulated spray, and its efficiency to induce mortality in different stages of dog ticks. Our findings reports 20% sunflower oil formulations containing x108 M.anisopliae spores/ml induces death within an average of 2.67±1.49 days in engorged female adult ticks and 3.00±0.63 days in tick larvae, while B.bassiana spores at the same concentration induces death within an average of 3.21±1.13 days in engorged female adult ticks and1.67±0.52 days in tick larvae. Our findings reported tick larvae to be more susceptible to B.bassiana spores formulated with 20% sunflower oil as compared to the engorged female adult ticks. The results in the present study will be potentially beneficial for future applications in the field. View article
A Pristine Water Quality of Repeatedly Logged Forest River in Kawag Forest Area, Ulu Segama Malua Forest Reserve, Sabah
Feona Isidore; Fera Cleophas; Pak Yan Moh; Kawi Bidin. 2019. Transactions on Science and Technology, 6(1), 48 - 53 Abstract Water chemistry of Kawag Forest Area was studied based on the major ion chemistry and in-situ water quality parameters. The sampling stations were selected in two streams of Kawag Forest Area. The water quality were analysed for major cations (Ca, Mg, Na), dissolved metals, suspended solid and in-situ physico-chemical parameters: temperature, pressure, conductivity, dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity, and pH in the rivers of Kawag Forest Area. Major cations and dissolved metals were analysed using ICP-OES while the in-situ parameters were tested using YSI multi parameters. The results show the concentrations trend of major cations in the order of Ca>Na>Mg>K. The rivers are classified between Class I and Class IIA based on the National Water Quality Standards for Malaysia (NWQSM). Despite of the forest background that it had been repeatedly logged, the water quality in Kawag Forest Area is unexpectedly in pristine condition, and much better than most of the undisturbed tropical forest elsewhere. View article |