Web-based learning environment based on students’ needs

Traditional learning needs to be improved since it does not involve active learning among students. Therefore, in the twenty-first century, the development of internet technology in the learning environment has become the main needs of each student. One of the learning environments to meet the needs of the teaching and learning process is a web-based learning environment. This study aims to identify the characteristics of a webbased learning environment that supports students’ learning needs. The study involved 542 students from fifteen faculties in a public higher education institution in Malaysia. A quantitative method was used to collect the data via a questionnaire survey by randomly. The findings indicate that the characteristics of a web-based learning environment that support students’ needs in the process of learning are online discussion forum, lecture notes, assignments, portfolio, and chat. In conclusion, the students overwhelmingly agreed that online discussion forum is the highest requirement because the tool can provide a space for students and teachers to share knowledge and experiences related to teaching and learning

An acceleration simulation method for power law priority traffic

A method for accelerated simulation for simulated self-similar processes is proposed. This technique simplifies the simulation model and improves the efficiency by using excess packets instead of packet-by-packet source traffic for a FIFO and non-FIFO buffer scheduler. In this research is focusing on developing an equivalent model of the conventional packet buffer that can produce an output analysis (which in this case will be the steady state probability) much faster. This acceleration simulation method is a further development of the Traffic Aggregation technique, which had previously been applied to FIFO buffers only and applies the Generalized Ballot Theorem to calculate the waiting time for the low priority traffic (combined with prior work on traffic aggregation). This hybrid method is shown to provide a significant reduction in the process time, while maintaining queuing behavior in the buffer that is highly accurate when compared to results from a conventional simulatio

Effectiveness of Osmoprotectants in Improving Aroma Quality and Yield of Pare Wangi Upland Rice Variety Grown on Two Different Soil Types in East Nusa Tenggara

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of exogenous osmoprotectant application in increasing the stability of aroma quality and grain yield of Pare Wangi on different soil types. A two factors greenhouse experiment was designed according to Split Plot design with three replications. The first factor was soil types of specific and target location. The second factor was application of exogenous osmoprotectants, i.e. without osmoprotectant, 10 mM proline, 20 mM proline, 10 mM sorbitol, 20 mM sorbitol, 10 mM sucrose and 20 mM sucrose. Observed data included soil physical and chemical properties, rice vegetative and reproductive growth and physiological characters, and rice aroma quality. Collected data were subjected to analysis of variance, followed by an Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) post hoc and a simple correlation tests. Results indicated that grain yield per pot was higher on soil from target location than on soil from specific location, but concentration of proline and 2AP, and the aroma scores were in the opposite direction. Besides more effective in increasing grain yield, the osmoprotectants proline and sucrose, each at 10 mM, were also better in maintaining rice aroma quality compared tosorbitol osmoprotectants, and aroma score showed a significantly positive correlation with 2AP concentration

Permeability and tensile strength of concrete with Arabic gum biopolymer

The use of materials of vegetal origin is increasingly being promoted in many industries due to their cost effectiveness and the rising sensitivity to environmental protection and sustainability. Arabic Gum Biopolymer (AGB) is a wild plant byproduct that is abundantly found in Sudan and is also produced in other African countries. It has long been used in various industries. However, its utilization is very limited in the construction sector although there appears to be a significant potential for use of AGB in the building industry. As an example, there is evidence that AGB may be an effective additive to concrete mixes that would improve fresh and hardened concrete properties. The aim of the present work is to provide further experimental evidence on the improvement that can be achieved in the physical and mechanical properties of hardened concrete when AGB is added to the mixture. The experimental results show a significant reduction in permeability for an optimum percentage of AGB and an increase in flexural and tensile strength and in the elastic modulus

Permeability and tensile strength of concrete with Arabic gum biopolymer

The use of materials of vegetal origin is increasingly being promoted in many industries due to their cost effectiveness and the rising sensitivity to environmental protection and sustainability. Arabic Gum Biopolymer (AGB) is a wild plant byproduct that is abundantly found in Sudan and is also produced in other African countries. It has long been used in various industries. However, its utilization is very limited in the construction sector although there appears to be a significant potential for use of AGB in the building industry. As an example, there is evidence that AGB may be an effective additive to concrete mixes that would improve fresh and hardened concrete properties. The aim of the present work is to provide further experimental evidence on the improvement that can be achieved in the physical and mechanical properties of hardened concrete when AGB is added to the mixture. The experimental results show a significant reduction in permeability for an optimum percentage of AGB and an increase in flexural and tensile strength and in the elastic modulus

Analysis of a Metal Matrix Composites Automotive Component

This study presents an implementation of concurrent engineering (CE) and an analytical network process to form a new rating method as part of the manufacturing process and material analysis in the product development environment. The proposed procedure is referred to as a concurrent network (CN). It is planned for CN to carry out simultaneous analysis of all aspects of product elements by using CE strategy. Furthermore, CN enables interdependence and interrelationship analysis between product elements by implementing ANP. In this study, CN is utilized for the manufacturing process and material analysis of a metal matrix composites (MMCs) automotive component which is the brake disc. The results show that by using CN, all the product parameters can be analyzed comprehensively and the importance weights of the product parameters with regard to the MMCs brake disc performance are obtained. It is concluded that in the manufacturing process cluster the primary process parameter has the highest score, while in the material cluster the ranking is dominated by mechanical properties. This means that these sub-conceptual parameters are the most important ones to consider in order to achieve the required performance of the product

Effect of cutting speed on bio-corrosion of AISI 316L stainless steel

Stainless steel of AISI 316L type (SS316L) has been widely used as metallic biomedical implants material because of it offers good characteristics, including high mechanical properties and biocompatibility, and relatively low cost. However, its machinability an issue, with relation between cutting parameters and surface roughness is of interest to be considered. Related to this, its corrosion behavior related to cutting parameters also needs to be taken into consideration due to its application in implants. This study investigates the biocorrosion behavior of AISI 316L stainless steel which was machined by face milling at different cutting speeds. The cutting speeds were 100, 300 and 500 m/min while feed rate and depth of cut was kept constant. Initial assessment was done on the surface roughness of the face milled samples, with initial hypothesis that the surface roughness should be constant for all cutting speeds, with Ra to be within 0.8 - 1.2 μm. Biocorrosion test was then performed on the samples by Potentiodynamic Polarization Test under a simulated body fluid (SBF) electrolyte. It was found that although similar surface roughness is expected, the cutting speed affected the surface roughness in which the surface roughness tended to be inversely proportional to the cutting speed. Samples machined at the highest cutting speed was observed to have smooth surface with less defects, such as pits and grooves, compared to samples machined at lower cutting speeds. Related to this, the corrosion behavior of the AISI 316L stainless steel was also affected by the cutting speed during its face milling where the corrosion rate is inversely proportional to the cutting speed

Factors associated with glycaemic control among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus has become one of the most serious global health problems recently. The Malaysian National Diabetes Registry has reported that 76.2% of the population have poor glycaemic control (HbA1c ≥6.5%). Thus, the objective of this study is to determine the association between sociodemographic and medical profiles with glycaemic control among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in five health clinics in the Tampin district. Materials and Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in five health clinics in the Tampin district, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia. Three hundred and twenty four type 2 diabetes mellitus patients participated in this study. A face-to face interview was conducted with each respondent using validated questionnaire. Descriptive analyses, such as the chi square test, were performed using the Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 22 software. Results: The response rate was 90%. The percentage of poor glycaemic control was 66.4%. They were associated with age (χ²=10.405, p 0.006), marital status (χ ²=5.718, p 0.017), and education status (χ²=7.312, p 0.026). In addition, types of medication intake (χ²=18.058, p=<0.001), family history (χ²=7.234, p 0.007), and co-morbidities (χ²=5.718, p 0.017) are also associated with the percentage. Conclusion: The majority of the respondents of this study had poor glycaemic control. The factors that contribute to the poor glycaemic control are among respondents who are: of older age (≥65 years); single/widowed/separated/divorced; of non-formal education; on insulin alone / combination of oral agent and insulin; no family history; and do not experience co-morbidities. For the future wellbeing of all type 2 diabetes mellitus patients, a good glycaemic control is important. Therefore, plans with appropriate significance on early preventive measures to diabetic treatment need to be strengthened in order to boost quality of life among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Antibiotic resistance and molecular typing among cockle (Anadara granosa) strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based analysis

Genomic DNA of Vibrio parahaemolyticus were characterized by antibiotic resistance, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR) and random amplified polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR) analysis. These isolates originated from 3 distantly locations of Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Melaka (East coastal areas), Malaysia. A total of 44 (n = 44) of tentatively V. parahaemolyticus were also examined for the presence of toxR, tdh and trh gene. Of 44 isolates, 37 were positive towards toxR gene; while, none were positive to tdh and trh gene. Antibiotic resistance analysis showed the V. parahaemolyticus isolates were highly resistant to bacitracin (92 %, 34/37) and penicillin (89 %, 33/37) followed by resistance towards ampicillin (68 %, 25/37), cefuroxime (38 %, 14/37), amikacin (6 %, 2/37) and ceftazidime (14 %, 5/37). None of the V. parahaemolyticus isolates were resistant towards chloramphenicol, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, enrofloxacin, norfloxacin, streptomycin and vancomycin. Antibiogram patterns exhibited, 9 patterns and phenotypically less heterogenous when compared to PCR-based techniques using ERIC- and RAPD-PCR. The results of the ERIC- and RAPD-PCR were analyzed using GelCompare software. ERIC-PCR with primers ERIC1R and ERIC2 discriminated the V. parahaemolyticus isolates into 6 clusters and 21 single isolates at a similarity level of 80 %. While, RAPD-PCR with primer Gen8 discriminated the V. parahaemolyticus isolates into 11 clusters and 10 single isolates and Gen9 into 8 clusters and 16 single isolates at the same similarity level examined. Results in the presence study demonstrated combination of phenotypically and genotypically methods show a wide heterogeneity among cockle isolates of V. parahaemolyticus