? titanium alloys are widely used in orthopaedic applications as an alternative to the high modulus ? + ? titanium alloys which leads to aseptic loosening of implants as a result of the mismatch of the modulus to that of human bone. Hydroxyapatite (HA) coating has been used to enhance the biological properties of Ti alloys. The present study determined the effect of heat treatment on the properties of plasma-sprayed low modulus Ti-13Nb-13Zr alloy using a natural and economical HA derived from fish scales (FsHA) and FsHA-doped yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ). The microstructure was examined by SEM-EDS and the hardness was determined using Vickers hardness tester whereas the corrosion resistance was studied using potentiodynamic polarization method. The SEM micrograph of the as-coated FsHA revealed micro pores and cracks with partially melted and unmelted FsHA particles while the as-coated FsHA/YSZ samples developed denser coatings, lesser number of pores with increased number of melted.....

1040 hits

Abstract: In this work, the use of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is highlighted in enhancing the controlled release behaviour of zinc/aluminium layered double hydroxide-quinclorac (Zn/Al-LDH-QC). The Zn/Al-LDH-QC-CMC nanocomposite were characterised using powder x-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and derivative thermogravimetric analysis and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The release study was carried out in an aqueous solution of Na3PO4, Na2SO4 and NaCl, so as to mimic the environmental condition where the QC is frequently used. The Zn/Al-LDH-QC-CMC nanocomposites showed better performance in releasing QC, with prolonged release time ranging from 163?6083�min, compared to 99?2639�min for the uncoated nanocomposites. The hygroscopic nature of the CMC play a critical role in enhancing the release behaviour of the Zn/Al-LDH-QC-CMC. The kinetic study shows that the Zn/Al-LDH-QC-CMC follows the pseudo-second order kinetic model; .....

370 hits

Setiu Wetland is rapidly developing into an aquaculture and agriculture hub, causing concern about its water quality condition. To address this issue, it is imperative to acquire knowledge of the spatial and temporal distributions of pollutants. Consequently, this study applied combinations of hydrodynamic and particle tracking models to identify the transport behaviour of pollutants and calculate the residence time in Setiu Lagoon. The particle tracking results indicated that the residence time in Setiu Lagoon was highly influenced by the release location, where particles released closer to the river mouth exhibited shorter residence times than those released further upstream. Despite this fact, the pulse of river discharges successfully reduced the residence time in the order of two to twelve times shorter. Under different tidal phases, the residence time during the neap tide was longer regardless of heavy rainfalls, implying the domination of tidal flow in the water renewal within t.....

633 hits

Researching Instagram as a tool in political communication is a relatively new phenomenon since the platform only began to operate in 2010. However due to its increasing popularity, it is definitely time for more studies to be conducted. World leaders are becoming very prominent on Instagram. They are sharing both personal and political contents and are challenging the usually formal and beurecratic nature of political communication. Therefore this study attempts to explore how Instagram affects political communication by focusing on how several Malaysian politicians used Instagram as part of their communication and campaign during the 14th general election that was held on May 8th, 2018. Coding analysis was done on the Instagram posts of 8 prominent Malaysian politicians. The results showed that these politicians were very active on Instagram and have extensively used Instagram to campaign during the election thus verifying that Instagram is indeed a vital medium for political communi.....

1010 hits

Graphene-based nanomaterials offer superior properties especially in optical performance. The existence of oxygen functionalized group in graphene active layers is beneficial to enhance the optical properties of current tellurite glass. In this work, two series of glasses denoted as ZBTEr (uncoated) and ZBTEr-GO (coated) were successfully prepared using melt-quenching and low-cost spray coating techniques. X-ray diffraction analysis was done on both glass series and confirmed the amorphous structural arrangement in the glass system. Morphological study was investigated by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and revealed the distribution of graphene layers on the glass surface. The UV-Vis spectroscopy was carried out and several absorption bands were determined for both series of glasses. The computation of oxide ion polarizability and optical basicity were investigated based on Lorentz-Lorentz equation. The oxide ion polarizability and optical basicity for ZBTEr-GO (coated) glasse.....

569 hits

A strong statistical reasoning command and other factors will revise the academic performance of undergraduate studies, thereby strengthening their future perspective in the field of scientific activities, particularly in higher education interest. This study is aimed at establishing and examining a structural model for the association involving students' attitude and belief toward statistics, academics motivations, self-efficacy, statistical reasoning and students' academic performance. Bachelor of Mathematics Education students from Sultan Idris Education University Malaysia were selected as a sample comprised of a total of 99 students using a systematic sampling technique. The study employed the technique of PLS-SEM (Partial Least Squares: Structural Equation Model) in developing the academic performance model due the limited sample size and therefore the conventional technique of SEM-AMOS (Structural Equation Model: Analysis of Moment Structure) are not feasible to be applied. The .....

450 hits

Pixel value access control (PVAC) was introduced to deliver a secure and simple graphical password method where it requires users to load their image as their password. PVAC extracts the image to obtain a three-octet 8-bits Red-Green-Blue (RGB) value as its password to authenticate a user. The pixel value must be matched with the record stored in the database or otherwise, the user is failed to authenticate. However, users which prefer to store images on cloud storage would unintentionally alter and as well as the pixel value due to media compression and caused faulty pixels. Thus, the K-Means clustering algorithm is adapted to fix the issue where the faulty pixel value would be recognized as having the same pixel value cluster as the original. However, most of K-Means algorithm works were mainly developed for content-based image retrieval (CBIR) which having opposite characteristics from PVAC. Thus, this study was aimed to investigate the crucial criteria of PVAC and its compatibility.....

600 hits

The novel hematite (?-Fe2O3)/nickel oxide (NiO) heterostructures were grown on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) coated glass substrates at various deposited NiO of 3, 5, and 7 layers. The heterostructures were successfully synthesized using the immersion and sol?gel spin coating methods for ?-Fe2O3 and NiO films, respectively. The field emission scanning electron microscopy analysis showed that each sample of ?-Fe2O3/NiO heterostructures has a unique surface morphology when deposited with different NiO layers. The X-ray diffraction pattern shows that the number of NiO layers affected the diffraction peaks. The NiO diffraction peak intensity at (111) plane increased when the deposition number of NiO layer was increased. The crystallite sizes of NiO were 35.4, 33.6, and 38.0 nm for 3-, 5-, and 7-layer NiO, respectively. The interplanar spacing, lattice parameter, and unit cell volume indicate NiO with 3-layer as the highest, while 5-and 7-layer had the same values. Meanwhile, the strain an.....

656 hits

In this work, sand/zinc oxide (ZnO)/titanium dioxide (TiO2)?based photocatalysts were hybridized with graphene oxide (GO) and GO_multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) hybrid solution. The novel hybrid was then used in photocatalysis to degrade dye contamination. The nanocomposite photocatalyst was initially fabricated by growing ZnO nanorods (NRs) via sol?gel immersion followed by synthesizing TiO2 NRs for different times (5 and 20 h) using a hydrothermal method on sand as a substrate. Prior to the hybridization, the initial GO was synthesized using electrochemical exfoliation and further mixed with 1 wt% MWCNTs to form GO_MWCNTs hybrid solution. The synthesized GO and GO_MWCNTs hybrid solution were then incorporated onto sand/ZnO/TiO2 nanocomposite?based photocatalysts through immersion. Various sand/ZnO/TiO2-based photocatalysts were then tested for methylene blue (MB) dye degradation within 3 days. On the basis of UV-Vis measurement, the highest MB degradation was achieved by using.....

444 hits

Di era globalisasi dan kecanggihan teknologi maklumat yang melanda dunia, masyarakat semakin terdedah dengan perubahan semasa dan ancaman jenayah seperti ancaman keselamatan peribadi melalui aplikasi dalam talian seperti Facebook. Justeru, kajian ini membincangkan bentuk-bentuk ancaman keselamatan peribadi melalui Facebook dan penyelesaiannya di Malaysia. Facebook merupakan salah satu medium komunikasi masa kini yang paling popular di Malaysia serta mempunyai jutaan pengguna setiap hari sama ada di dalam negara mahupun luar negara. Ianya bersifat mesra, mudah, cepat serta individu atau masyarakat boleh berkongsi segala aktiviti harian dalam bentuk status penulisan, gambar atau video kepada komuniti maya. Kajian ini bertujuan mengetengahkan bentuk-bentuk ancaman keselamatan peribadi yang bermula di Facebook, memberi kesedaran awam kepada masyarakat Malaysia sewaktu menggunakan Facebook dan memberi saranan terhadap langkah penyelesaian sebelum atau selepas berlaku penipuan di melalui med.....

730 hits