Enterprise Factors Contributing to The Success of Malaysian Biotechnology SMEs: A Grounded Theory Approach

While numerous empirical studies have been conducted in Western countries on biotechnology enterprises, little empirical research has been done in Malaysia especially in respect to the factors that contribute to the success of biotechnology small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In view of this, a study was undertaken recently in Malaysia to address this gap in the existing body of biotechnology knowledge. Using a grounded theory approach, this qualitative study managed to develop a conceptual framework that sheds useful information on the enterprise factors that significantly impact the success of Malaysian biotechnology SMEs. Specifically, this study found that organizational structure, innovation activities, linkages with academic research institutions, linkages with other private enterprises, personal linkages with academic researchers, access to financial capital, the procuring of government assistances, vertical integration, enterprise image, GMP compliance and halal certification, strongly influence enterprise success

P300-based EEG signal interpretation system for robot navigation control

In recent years, Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) research has provoked an enormous interest among researchers from different fields. The most popular approach is a non-invasive method, using Electroencephalogram (EEG) analysis which acquires signals from the brain. The aim of this project is to develop a brain signal interpretation system that can convert one thought into multiple movements for mobile robot navigation. A signal interpretation system is designed and developed to receive the EEG signal via User Datagram Protocol (UDP) transmission, converts the signal to several robot commands that are pre-programmed according to the robot’s programming software and send the commands to the robot through the operating computer. Using signals from four electrodes to evaluate the signal interpretation system, a success rate of 75-80% is received, while a total response time of only 61 seconds needed by the system from the start of the stimuli until the robot has finished all commands sent by the system, as compared to the conventional method of one-thought-one-movement which can take around 30 seconds per command. With this system, user can expect faster execution of the robot commands, less thinking therefore less exhausting, making BCI a pleasant experience for all users regardless of their health conditions

Performance of Ultra High Frequency Gen2 Passive Tags Radio Frequency Identification in chemical laboratory environment

This research analyzes the performance of Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Gen2 Passive Tags Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology as sensing device in chemical laboratory environment. The purpose of this paper is to verify the effectiveness of using RFID for tracking chemical bottles during inventory process in a laboratory. In most laboratories, the chemical tracking process is still being done manually which is very time consuming. The advantages of RFID operaton will help to enhance the effectiveness of chemical inventory management and reduce the process time. An experiment in a laboratory was done to verify the performance of detection rate according to the specifications stated in the manual data sheet. Pre-programmed RFID passive tags were affixed onto chemical bottles and then scanned using RFID reader to detect all output data in a controlled environment. The result showed that certain conditions such as material of the container, tag-reader orientation and the size of chemical bottles play important role to get detected for this type of RFID. From the result, the paper suggested some guidelines to be taken care of during scanning process to get higher percentage of reading rates

RFID-enabled web-based interface for a chemical storage management system

The management of a chemical inventory is necessary for safety purposes as well as for fulfilling regulatory compliance. In most academic laboratories, the management of chemicals is still being done manually, which is time-consuming. As a result, data are not updated and expired chemicals are unintentionally used. This research proposes that UHF Class 1 Gen 2 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology be used in the development of a chemical inventory information system to ease chemical tracking as well as to shorten the inventory process time. An information system integrating RFID data and a web-based rule identification interface was developed. WAMP 2.2.17, PHP 5.3.5 and MySQL 5.5.8 were downloaded and a programming language was written to check the expiration date of the chemicals as well as to produce alert notification status. Wireless technology through GSM modem helped in producing alert messages using the Short Message System (SMS) of the nearly expired chemicals to the handphone of the person in charge in real time

RFID-enabled web-based interface for chemical storage management system

The management of a chemical inventory is necessary for safety purposes as well as for fulfilling regulatory compliance. In most academic laboratories, the management of chemicals is still being done manually, which is time-consuming. As a result, data are not updated and expired chemicals are unintentionally used. This research proposes that UHF Class 1 Gen 2 Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology be used in the development of a chemical inventory information system to ease chemical tracking as well as to shorten the inventory process time. An information system integrating RFID data and a web-based rule identification interface was developed. WAMP 2.2.17, PHP 5.3.5 and MySQL 5.5.8 were downloaded and a programming language was written to check the expiration date of the chemicals as well as to produce alert notification status. Wireless technology through GSM modem helped in producing alert messages using the Short Message System (SMS) of the nearly expired chemicals to the handphone of the person in charge in real time

Analysis of pesticide residues in tea using accelerated solvent extraction with in-cell cleanup and gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry

A fast, simple and easily automated method was developed for the simultaneous determination of pesticide residues in tea using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) with in-cell clean up and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS). This method integrates extraction and clean up processes into a single step, by adding a clean-up sorbent along with the sample into the extraction cell. The efficiency of this method was characterized in terms of its recovery (with values ranging from 90 to 98%), repeatability along with intermediate precision (showing relative standard deviations less than 15%), and sensitivity (providing detection limits between 0.001 and 0.007mgg1). The concentration range of the pesticide residues found in the sample is from 0.008 to 0.161mgg1. The relative expanded uncertainty achieved for this method ranged from 24% to 34%. The results indicate that the proposed method is easy and reliable for the determination of pesticide residues in tea, and it is suitable for use in routine analysis

Consumer Behavior Towards Safer Car Purchasing Decisions

In Malaysia, the car safety level has been elevated through regulations and a consumer-based approach, i.e. the New Car Assessment Program in Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP). Nevertheless, the availability of information on consumers\u27 car purchasing decisions towards safety is still limited in Malaysia. Thus, this study was aimed at evaluating consumers\u27 purchasing decisions of their present cars and investigating their awareness of ASEAN NCAP. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed among consumers visiting different car showrooms and dealer shops. The findings suggest that safety was considered as one of the top three factors by the respondents when purchasing their present cars. Awareness of ASEAN NCAP has increased as compared to a previous study. This information is essential for policy makers, manufacturers and other stakeholders to assist in setting priorities with regard to the promotion of car safety in the country

Effect of loading nickel zinc ferrite thick film to performance of microstrip patch antenna

The present work investigated the fabrication of nickel zinc ferrite thick (NZF) film layer as substrate inclusion to enhance the performance of microstrip patch antenna (MPA). In this paper, NZF nanopowder was mixed with organic vehicle which consists of linseed oil, m-xylene and α-terpineol. Then the mix was stirred at 150rpm for 3 hours at 40°C in order to obtain homogenous paste, followed by printing it onto FR4 substrate using the screen printing technique to form the YIG thick film layer before dried and later fired at 200°C. A patch antenna using silver paste was printed onto the NZF layer and was compared with another patch antenna which was been printed without the ferrite thick film layer. The results shown that the antenna with NZF thick film layer has return loss of -29.34dB, resonant frequency 5.64GHz, -10dB bandwidth of 0.48, which is significantly improved the performance of MPA compared to the antenna without the layer by 67.27%, 7.14%, and 84.61% respectively

The effect of acid leaching towards particle size of rice husk silica

Rice Husk (RH) is the outer layer of paddy grain and considered as agricultural waste in rice producing countries including Malaysia. Several research works have been done to turn these waste into something valuable as well as helping in the environmental pollution problem when these husks are burnt in the field. RH contains about 20% silica which is an oxide of silicon with a chemical formula of SiO2 besides other elements such as K2O, CaO, MgO and others. Silica is a basic raw material that can be used in many industries including electronics application. This project is done to study the effect of acid-leach towards silica derived from rice husk. Two samples are being prepared, one was washed using tap water. The other sample was washed with hidrocloric acid (HCl). For the first sample, RH was washed thoroughly with tap water several times and followed by distilled water to remove mud, soil, impurities and other contaminants present in the raw material. Then it was dried initially at room temperature for 12 hours followed by electrical oven at temperature 100oC to remove water content. For the second sample, RH was washed with 3M HCl acid through reflux technique in the fume cupboard for 2 hours. The RH was washed again to remove the acid and dried at room temperature for 12 hours. Both samples were then transferred into crucible and heated at 900°C for 6 hours in air by an electric furnace to produce WRHA. Then both samples were milled in a high energy milling machine for 20 minutes to turn them into nano sized particle powder. The morphology of the specimens were verified by scanning electron microscopy using a Nova Nanosem 230 Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope. The elemental analysis of the sintered powder was measured by EDX. The particles size were then examined and analyzed using ImageJ software. The result from ImageJ software shows that for as-milled RH washed with tap water, the average size for particle size is 68 nm whereas for RH with acid leaching, the average size is 26 nm. The result shows that the acid-leached RH has smaller particle size which is about 62% compares to non-acid-leached technique. This RH contains more porosity and the RH pellets are more brittle. This is because the reaction of the chemical with the reactive elements contained in RH such as potassium, magnesium and calcium

Real-time motorcycle image detection and histogram analysis of plate recognition enhancement

This research investigated of image tracking and edge detection for motorcycle in various lighting and weather conditions. The capability in different resolution also evaluated. The developed framework showed great accuracy in the segmentation of plate number from motorcycle image in daylight condition as compared to rainy daylight and night condition. A benchmark study was conducted to identify fast processing time in the system. MATLAB-Simulink and Xilinx System Generator prototyping environment were selected for designing the detection system. The detection system was implemented on Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA/hardware) and MATLAB (software). Images were analyzed by comparing the accuracy of bounding box and edges which is displayed in different conditions, different threshold level, different resolutions and different distances. The output image is clear with pixel 1024 x768 in daylight, rainy and night. The performance of image output is drop and blur while used low pixel resolutions such as 640 x 480, 720 x 480 and 800 x 600. Motorcycle plate number is recognized in daylight condition at 5.0 meter. The analysis showed daylight is the best situation in detecting the motorcycle image followed by rainy daylight condition and night. Analysis with Histogram level and contrast stretching method showed performance in hardware is improved rather than software. This project can be applied to improve the visual driver support system in the future