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Kemahiran Komunikasi Penutur Asing: Aplikasi Pendekatan Telefon Pintar dan Internet (Foreign Language Communication Skills: Smartphone and Internet Approach Applications)
No full textEfforts to uphold and diversify Malay culture and language (BM) are often linked to teaching the language to international students as well as foreign speakers who visits to this country. Various strategies have been targeted by instructors in their respective teaching to ensure that language teaching is made more effective and achieves the targeted goals. This study takes into account the use of smartphones in the teaching and learning of BM for foreign students as one of the strategies to enhance students' communication skills. This study also examines the effectiveness of this technique on the students' written communication skills through this learning process. This study was conducted on international students at University Tenaga Nasional. The data were obtained through questionnaire and interview session to meet with the purpose of the objective of this study. The result shows that students are quicker to understand and master BM through the use of smartphones either through the functionality of the smartphone itself or with the use of internet which provides the availability of YouTube, Google Image, and various websites. Additionally, researchers found that reinforcement activities conducted in teaching classes also contributed to the improvement of communication skills of these foreign students. The study also found that this method can be used and applied at any level of teaching or at different target groups. © 2019, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Press. All rights reserved
An application of TPB constructs on energy-saving behavioural intention among university office building occupants: a pilot study in Malaysian tropical climate
No full textBuildings account for a vast amount of energy consumption in Malaysia. Occupant behaviour patterns are a major factor affecting the energy performance of buildings. Identifying energy waste due to occupant behaviour will allow stakeholders to develop effective strategies to curtail energy consumption in buildings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of theory of planned behaviour constructs on energy-saving behavioural intention among university building occupants. Data from a survey questionnaire was collected from 292 occupants (students and staff) at one case study building at a public university in Malaysia. Data analysed using the structural equation model showed that attitude and perception significantly influence occupants’ energy-saving behaviour. Our results indicate that respondents showed moderate behaviour on three sub-constructs: duration of equipment use, frequency of equipment use, and energy saving practice. The current pilot study provides a basis for an improved theoretical framework that considers other variables to be applied in a larger scale study. The implications for behaviour models in terms of policy recommendations and suggestions for occupant engagement campaigns are discussed. © 2019, Springer Nature B.V
Preference learning for eco-friendly hotels recommendation: A multi-criteria collaborative filtering approach
No full textThe crucial role of customers’ positive experience and their subsequent word-of-mouth have been highlighted by both scholars and practitioners for all industry sectors. In response to an increasing concern of environmental sustainability and sensitivity of consumers for deteriorating environment, eco-friendly (green) products and services gained tremendous attention. TripAdvisor is increasingly known as one of the most popular e-tourism platforms. Understanding and predicting the traveler’ preferences by advanced big data analytics technology is an important task that the recommendation engine of this platform does. In this paper, we aim to develop a new soft computing method with the aid of machine learning techniques in order to find the best matching eco-friendly hotels based on the several quality factors in TripAdvisor. We develop the method using dimensionality reduction and prediction machine learning techniques to improve the scalability of prediction from the large number of users’ ratings. The proposed soft computing method is evaluated on a large dataset discovered from the TripAdvisor platform. The results show that the combination of dimensionality reduction and prediction machine learning techniques is robust in processing the large number of the ratings provided by users on the features of eco-friendly hotels and predicting travelers’ choice preferences of eco-friendly hotels in TripAdvisor. © 2019 Elsevier Lt
Clinical replicability of rehabilitation interventions in randomized controlled trials reported in main journals is inadequate
No full textObjective: The objective of this study was to study if randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in rehabilitation (a field where complex interventions prevail) published in main journals include all the details needed to replicate the intervention in clinical practice (clinical replicability). Study Design and Setting: Forty-seven rehabilitation clinicians of 5 professions from 7 teams (Belgium, Italy, Malaysia, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, the USA) reviewed 76 RCTs published by main rehabilitation journals exploring 14 domains chosen through consensus and piloting. Results: The response rate was 99%. Inter-rater agreement was moderate/good. All clinicians considered unanimously 12 (16%) RCTs clinically replicable and none not replicable. At least one “absent” information was found by all participants in 60 RCTs (79%), and by a minimum of 85% in the remaining 16 (21%). Information considered to be less well described (8–19% “perfect” information) included two providers (skills, experience) and two delivery (cautions, relationships) items. The best described (50–79% “perfect”) were the classic methodological items included in CONSORT (descending order: participants, materials, procedures, setting, and intervention). Conclusion: Clinical replicability must be considered in RCTs reporting, particularly for complex interventions. Classical methodological checklists such as CONSORT are not enough, and also Template for Intervention Description and Clinical replication do not cover all the requirements. This study supports the need for field-specific checklists. © 2019 Elsevier Inc
Coordinated Dispersion and Aggregation of Gold Nanorod in Aptamer-Mediated Gestational Hypertension Analysis
Get PDFGestational hypertension is one of the complicated disorders during pregnancy; it causes the significant risks, such as placental abruption, neonatal deaths, and maternal deaths. Hypertension is also responsible for the metabolic and cardiovascular issues to the mother after the years of pregnancy. Identifying and treating gestational hypertension during pregnancy by a suitable biomarker is mandatory for the healthy mother and foetus development. Cortisol has been found as a steroid hormone that is secreted by the adrenal gland and plays a pivotal role in gestational hypertension. A normal circulating level of cortisol is involved in the regulation of blood pressure, and it is necessary to monitor the changes in the level of cortisol during pregnancy. In this work, aptamer-based colorimetric assay is demonstrated as a model with gold nanorod to quantify the level of cortisol using the coordinated aggregation (at 500 mM of NaCl) and dispersion (with 10 mu M of aptamer), evidenced by the scanning electron microscopy observation and UV-visible spectroscopy analysis. This colorimetric assay is an easier visual detection and reached the limit of detection of cortisol at 0.25 mg/mL. This method is reliable to identify the condition of gestational hypertension during the pregnancy period
Mechanical properties and durability of calcium carbide kiln dust mortar
No full textThis paper reports an investigational study on the effect of calcium carbide kiln dust (CCKD) in cement mortar and its resistance towards hydrochloric acid attack. Mortar with various CCKD replacement levels from 5 to 40 percent by binder weight were tested. The setting time, consistency, density, compressive strength and the durability tests were evaluated to measure the effect of CCKD in mortar. The durability was assessed in terms of loss of density and strength when the specimen were cured in 5% hydrochloric acid (HCL) solution. The results indicate that CCKD replacement levels from 5 to 20 percent performed on par with control mix in terms of compressive strength, the loss in density and strength were around 30% under acid curing. However, 30% and above CCKD replacement percentage showed low density and compressive strength in both conditions. It is concluded that CCKD can be used as an effective replacement for cement up to 20 percent without affecting the performance. © IAEME Publication
Exploring the Issues of Open Government Data Implementation in Malaysian Public Sectors
No full textThe paper presents a preliminary study of current progress and the issues of OGD implementation in Malaysia. With this objective, the authors attempt to identify initial factors that influence OGD implementation in the public sectors and discern how far the OGD initiative in Malaysia has grown since its inception. The authors make the highlight of the OGD implementation phase rather than adoption phase due to the research aim is to look at the OGD activities beyond adoption. Adoption phase is where the organization is in the state of deciding whether to adopt an innovation or not, while the implementation phase is the extent where the innovation is taking into actual use. Taking from the perspective of the central agency who is leading the OGD initiative, by using interview, observation, and desk research as the research approaches, the issues pertaining to OGD implementation is consolidated into the technology-organization-environment framework. The findings have indicated that data granularity, culture, policy, resources, skills, incentives, use and participation, and external pressure are the current issues transpired in the OGD implementation. These findings are contributing to the conceptual framework of authors' future works in determining the factors influencing OGD post-adoption in the public sectors. © 2019 Insight Society
Prevalence, intensity and associated risk factors of soil transmitted helminth infections: A comparison between Negritos (indigenous) in inland jungle and those in resettlement at town peripheries
No full textBackground Formerly known as the Malaysian hunter gatherers, the Negrito Orang Asli (OA) were heavily dependent on the forest for sustenance and early studies indicated high prevalence of intestinal parasitism. Initiation of a redevelopment program in the 1970s aimed to demarginalize the OA was expected to reduce soil transmitted helminth (STH) infections. Gradually, the OA were relocated to new resettlement areas at the peripheries. The aim of this study was to compare STH infections between Negritos who are still living in the inland jungle with those living in resettlements. Methodology/Principal findings A total of 416 Negrito participants were grouped into two categories of communities based on location; Inland Jungle Villages (IJV); and Resettlement Plan Scheme (RPS). Iodine wet mount, formalin-ether sedimentation, modified Trichrome and modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining and Kato-Katz methods were performed on stool samples. A questionnaire was used to collect information regarding demographic, socioeconomic, environmental and hygiene behaviors. Prevalence of STH was significantly higher in IJV (91.3%) versus RPS (83.1%) (P = 0.02). However, the percentage of individuals with severe intensity of Trichuris trichiura infections was significantly higher in the RPS (17.2%) compared to IJV (6.5%) (P = 0.01). Severe Ascaris lumbricoides infection was observed at 20.0% amongst RPS Negritos and 15.0% amongst IJV (P = 0.41). Whilst for hookworm infection, both prevalence and individuals with moderate to severe infections were higher in the IJV (26.2%, 41.0%) versus RPS (18.7%, 24.0%) (P values = 0.08, 0.09), accordingly. The prevalence other intestinal parasitic infections (e.g. Entamoeba sp., Blastocystis and flukes) was also higher in IJV versus RPS. Apart from poor hygienic behaviors as significant risk factors in both communities, low socio-economic status was highly associated with STH infections in RPS (P<0.001) but not significantly associated in IJV. Conclusions The findings showed that ex situ development plan by RPS has not profoundly contributed to the STH reduction among the OA. Conversely, burden rate of T. trichiura infections increased due to their extreme poverty and poor hygienic behaviors. Here, we are suggesting biannual mass albendazole intervention (triple dose regimens in RPS, but a single dose in IJV) and community empowerment to both communities. For a long-term and better uptake, these strategies must be done together with the community input and participation, respecting their traditional customs and accompanied by recruitment of more OA people in the health-care taskforce. © 2019 Muslim et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Separation of Enzymes from their Aqueous System by using Novel Concept of Unidirectional Freezing
No full textIn our present work, the separation and extraction of three different enzymes (alpha-amylase, cellulase and pectinase) from aqueous system has been studied by applying novel concept of unidirectional freezing. To separate the enzymes from their aqueous system, directional freezing was applied horizontally through synthetic enzyme contaminated water samples, called radial freezing. After complete freezing, the samples were collected from various sections of the frozen mass and concentration of enzymes was determined. It was found that more than ∼85% mass of enzymes, migrated along with freezing front and concentrated in the centre in case of radial freezing. To examine the effect of unidirectional freezing over extracted enzymes, the working activity of separated enzymes was checked by performing desizing test for alpha-amylase and biopolishing test for cellulase. The noteworthy results of desizing and biopolishing test has promoted the significance of unidirectional freezing technique (UFT). Copyright © 2019 Zoological Society of Pakistan
Novel diethanolamine based deep eutectic mixtures for carbon dioxide (CO2) capture: synthesis and characterisation
No full textIn this work, diethanolamine was successfully used as a hydrogen bond donor to prepare three different deep eutectic solvents (DESs) using three quaternary ammonium salts at different molar ratios. Important physical properties of the prepared DESs including melting point, glass transition, crystallisation temperature, density, refractive index and viscosity were measured in temperature ranging from (298.15 to 358.15 K). Moreover, in order to explore the changes in chemical structures of the DESs, FTIR analysis was performed. The developed DESs have melting points lower than 293.15 K, and of significantly low density (close to water) and comparable viscosity. The effect of temperature and molar ratio on physical properties were also discussed. Empirical models were used to correlate the density, refractive index and viscosity data of the DESs as a function of temperature and molar ratio. A quantitative analysis, also called as ANOVA analysis, was conducted to investigate the significance of the experimental physical properties data. The new DESs prepared in this work have a potential to be used in numerous applications including CO 2 capture. © 2018, © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group