1,722,738 research outputs found
Muhammad Zubair Khan's Quick Files
No full textThe Quick Files feature was discontinued and it’s files were migrated into this Project on March 11, 2022. The file URL’s will still resolve properly, and the Quick Files logs are available in the Project’s Recent Activity
Muhammad Zubair Khan's Quick Files
No full textThe Quick Files feature was discontinued and it’s files were migrated into this Project on March 11, 2022. The file URL’s will still resolve properly, and the Quick Files logs are available in the Project’s Recent Activity
Muhammad Zubair Khan's Quick Files
No full textThe Quick Files feature was discontinued and it’s files were migrated into this Project on March 11, 2022. The file URL’s will still resolve properly, and the Quick Files logs are available in the Project’s Recent Activity
Design of Soft Rigid Devices for Assistive Robotics and Industrial Applications
Full text linkSoft robots are getting more and more popular in rehabilitation and industrial scenarios. They
often come into play where the rigid robots fail to perform certain functions. The advantage of
using soft robots lies in the fact that they can easily conform to the obstacles and depict delicacy
in gripping, manipulating, and controlling deformable and fragile objects without causing them
any harm. In rehabilitation scenarios, devices developed on the concept of soft robots are pretty
helpful in changing the lives of those who suffer body impairments due to stroke or any other
accident. These devices provide support in carrying out daily life activities without the need
and support of another person. Also, these devices are beneficial in the training phase where
the patient is going through the rehabilitation phase and has to do multiple exercises of the
upper limb, wrist, or hand. Similarly, the grippers developed on the basic principle of soft
robots are very common in the industries or at least getting common. Their advantages are a lot
as compared to the rigid robotics manipulators. Soft grippers tend to adapt to the shape of the
object without causing any damage to it, providing a stable grasp. It can also help reduce the
complexity in the design and development, for example, underactuated. Underactuated grippers
use the minimum number of actuators to provide the same function that requires more actuators
with a rigid gripper. Also, the soft structure allows to design specific trajectories to complete
a certain grasping and manipulation task. This thesis presents devices for rehabilitation and
assistive application to help people with upper limb impairment, especially wrist and hand
functions. These devices have been designed to provide the people, with limited capabilities of
hand and wrist functions, to live their lives with ease without being dependent on any other
family member. Similarly, I present different soft grippers and a soft environment that provides
different advantages and can do various grasp and manipulation tasks. I have presented results
for each device, rehabilitation and assistive devices are used by a patient suffering from stroke
and having limited movement of wrist and hand function. At the same time, the grippers
are supported with a set of experiments that provide deep insight into the advantages of each
gripper in industrial applications
Growth and morpho-physiological attributes of drought-tolerance in quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) under biochar-amended soil
Full text linkChenopodium quinoa Willd. is a highly nutritious pseudocereal with the potential to address global food insecurity challenges due to current climate change scenarios. However, the water deficit significantly impacted quinoa’s growth despite its inherent tolerance to drought. This research explores quinoa’s morpho-physiological responses to water stress and investigates soil amendments, particularly biochar, as a potential agronomic strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of water scarcity. The current literature highlights that biochar, a carbon-rich material derived from pyrolyzed organic matter, can enhance soil physio-chemical properties, improve plant water status, and promote growth under water limitations. Similar to the reproductive phase, the vegetative growing cycle of quinoa is notably susceptible to the detrimental effects of drought. Agronomic strategies must be implemented to mitigate the negative effects of water stress during the vegetative growing cycle. Applying organic amendments, particularly biochar, becomes increasingly important in this context. A series of experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of organic amendments on the vegetative development of quinoa under water stress. These experiments were initiated by analyzing responses of two biochar types (derived from woodchips and vineyard pruning) and vermicompost (from cattle manure) on the Danish variety Titicaca, which is particularly susceptible to water stress during its early growth stages and widely cultivated around the globe particularly in Europe. The amendments were applied alone and in combination at a 2% (w/w) rate. The results revealed that among the organic amendments tested, woodchip biochar, alone and mixed with vermicompost, significantly improved quinoa’s growth, specifically biomass, by 22% compared to stressed control and water use efficiency. In contrast, vineyard pruning biochar negatively affected plant growth. Successively, the same variety, Titicaca, was further analysed under different woodchip biochar rates (best performing organic amendment) (0%, 2%, and 4%) and two watering regimes (100% and 50% evapotranspiration restitution). The 2% biochar rate enhanced vegetative growth, biomass by 23%, and panicle development by 66% compared to 4%, which negatively affected these parameters, highlighting the importance of choosing the right dose based on soil type. Subsequently, considering the 2% woody biochar rate, five quinoa varieties of different origins were compared and subjected to a water stress period starting from the 12
leaf stage. The results showed that biochar application consistently improved plant growth, particularly plant biomass, leaf nutrients, and enhanced C:N ratio, improving nitrogen bioavailability and translocation. Additionally, biochar addition in the soil positively affected root morphology, including elongation by 23% and development particularly fresh and dry biomass by 122% and 127%, respectively, and physiological attributes, i.e., chlorophyll content, plant water status and gas exchange than non-amended soil, although varietal differences were observed. The Pakistani variety UAFQ7 exhibited superior drought tolerance, while the Danish Titicaca was more sensitive to water stress. Moreover, the Italian variety Quipu significantly increased its yield-contributing traits and even doubled under biochar-amended soil than non-treated ones. Under water stress conditions, varieties positively influenced their stomatal morphology, stomatal regulation, and transpiration rates under biochar-amended soils by enhancing stomatal aperture dimensions and stomatal density, particularly for UAFQ7 by doubling the stomatal density than non-treated soil. Collectively, this research underscores the potential of biochar as a sustainable soil amendment to mitigate drought stress in quinoa by enhancing root development, physiological attributes, and overall plant performance. The findings highlight the need to select appropriate biochar types and rates and quinoa varieties to optimize growth under water-limited conditions, offering a promising agronomic strategy for improving quinoa cultivation in drought-prone regions
Xsibox (Extended Side Table With Storage) / Muhammad Zubair Othman
Full text linkThe purpose of the study is to design a user-friendly side table that can reduce space
usage in small house. This study also aims to evaluate the user's perception on the
satisfaction of the side table design, material and function provided. The
questionnaire analysed after had been distributed to 128 correspondents and target
for those who had income either work in government or private sector. Based on the
study made, it can conclude that XSiBox fulfil the opinion of the respondent. Mostly
of the respondent accepted the idea of function of the XSiBox which have
multipurpose features to minimize space. The respondent also agreed to the idea of
the user-friendly applied on the side table. The respondent gave positive perception
on the satisfaction of the side table design, material and function provided
Arachidicoccus ginsenosidivorans sp. nov., with ginsenosideconverting activity isolated from ginseng cultivating soil
No full textSiddiqi, Muhammad Zubair, Aslam, Zubair, Im, Wan-Taek (2017): Arachidicoccus ginsenosidivorans sp. nov., with ginsenosideconverting activity isolated from ginseng cultivating soil. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 67 (4): 1005-1010, DOI: 10.1099/ijsem.0.001720, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.00172
Enhancing Vegetative Growth of Quinoa and Soil Properties under Water Shortage through Targeted Organic Amendments
Full text linkThe scarcity of water resources is considered a major threat and challenge for agriculture.
Water limitations could strongly affect the growth and development of many crops including quinoa, a
nutrition-rich, climate-resilient crop that is gaining attention globally. Organic amendment application has been reported as a suitable option to mitigate the detrimental impacts of water shortage on soil and plant growth. In this context, two experiments were conducted on Chenopodium quinoa “Titicaca”; in the first experiment, we investigated the effect of different organic amendments, namely woodchips biochar (Bw), vineyard pruning biochar (Bv), and vermicompost (V), applied (alone and mixed) at 2% soil dry weight, on soil properties and the plant biomass of quinoa subjected to a water stress period during vegetative development. Among organic amendments tested, Bw and Bw+V increased plant biomass on average by 15%, while Bv and Bv+V reduced the plant biomass by 62% compared to nonamended
soil (C). A significant reduction in soil pH was observed with Bw (7.61), while BV increased
pH (8.04) compared to C (7.76). The Bw and Bv also reduced soil bulk density (BD) (1.19 g/m3 and 1.13 g/m3, respectively) compared to C (1.28 g/m3). As Bw performed better in the first experiment, the second experiment assessed only Bw at different doses, i.e., 0%, 2%, and 4% under water shortage by restoring only 50% evapotranspiration losses, when soil water content reached the 50% of available water content. Considering the Bw rates, the plants treated with Bw2% showed 34% and 19% more biomass and 36% and 66% more panicles than Bw0% and Bw4%, respectively. The Bw2% decreased the soil pH (7.79 versus 7.85) and electrical conductivity (286 versus 307 μS/cm) compared to Bw0%, which was not different from Bw4%. No differences were observed in BD between Bw0% and Bw2% (on average 1.28 g/m3), while BD decreased in Bw4% (1.06 g/m3). The findings of both experiments
highlighted that the appropriate type and dose of biochar could improve soil properties and help quinoa plants to grow better under water-limited conditions
Insecticide resistance of Aedes mosquito larvae to temephos / Muhammad Zubair Jamaludin
Full text linkIn areas of South East Asia, Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) and Aedes a/bopictus Skuse have been implicated in the transmission of dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever (Smith, 1956). As in other South East Asia countries, Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus are widely distributed throughout Malaysia and have been incriminated as vectors of dengue (Lo, 1984). Insecticide resistance originates in the genetic variability of an insect population. Mutations give rise to some individuals with an enhanced ability to survive exposure to chemicals that would kill fully susceptible individuals. In Malaysia, temephos (Abate®) is recommended as a larvicide by Ministry of Health and widely used since 1973 (Chen, 2005). World Health Organization (WHO) standard procedures were used namely, larval bioassay to determine the susceptibility of lethal concentration (LC) and Resistance Ratio (RR). Aedes larvae collected from both the stated localities had mortality indicating resistance. When the early third instar larvae were selected for bioassay test, the LC50 of Bangsar strain was the highest, with value of 0.015mg/L while Kolej jati strain showed 0.012mg/L. These values were divided by the LC50 of the lab Strain which is 0.003mg/L. In this study, the calculated value for the resistance ratio for Kolej Jati and Bangsar were 4 and 5 respectively. This showed that Aedes Mosquito larvae from both localities have developed resistance to temephos. Emphasis need to be given more to the variability of control measures rather than depending on one method
A review on the outbreak of termite (Coptotermes curvignathus) in rubber plantation / Muhammad Zubair Rosslan
Full text linkTermites have become one of the major pests that attack rubber and affected their economic life. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the termite infestation that causes damage in rubber plantation in Malaysia and also to evaluate the related factor that affect the termite infestation. Effect of termite infestation can be described based on the situation occurs at the rubber plantation. In order to prevent the termite outbreak, both good agricultural practices and integrated pest management should be applied. The termite starts to damage the rubber trees at any age and also cause damage in housing, forestry and also agriculture. Termite usually caused death of rubber trees in plantations. Termite often hollow out or ‘pipe’ the heartwood of the trunk once it attack rubber and most cases this may not fatal the tree but it does greatly reduce the value of the timber. Common indicator of severe C. curvignathus infestation recorded was extensive mud plastering around the bases of the tree trunks. There are many factors that contribute to the outbreak of termite such as food availability, fungal decay, history of wood damage, moisture content and temperature
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