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Abstract Higher education students are frequently required to assess lecturers with a convenient, fast, and anonymous learning management system. Following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia (UiTM) adopted a remote teaching and learning approach. This study examined how lecturers’ professionalism, course impression, and facilitating conditions at UiTM affected undergraduate and graduate students’ remote learning pre- and mid-pandemic. The higher prediction accuracy of the model demonstrated that students’ remote learning activities were highly related to lecturers’ professionalism, course impression, and facilitating conditions. The structural model demonstrated that the t-statistics of all measurement variables were significant at 1%. The strongest predictor of students’ enjoyment of remote learning pre- and mid-pandemic was lecturers’ professionalism. In the importance-performance matrix, lecturers’ professionalism was in the quadrant for ‘keep up the good work’. Facilitating conditions and course impression did not require further improvement even during the pandemic. The influence of remote learning was demonstrated in the students’ graduation rates and grades. The results also presented theoretical and practical implications for the UiTM hybrid learning plan post-pandemic.

Long-term use of agrochemicals in the oil palm plantation sector, particularly chemical pesticides for pest control, can have a negative impact on the environment. The use of biological control has long been advocated as an alternative to pesticides, but empirical evidence in the context of oil palm plantations is very limited. This study aims to assess whether the installation of artificial bird perches can attract predatory birds, thereby enhancing the potential for biological pest control, particularly against rodents in oil palm plantations. We installed six artificial bird perches in a mature oil palm plantation in Keratong, Pahang, Peninsular Malaysia. Our data showed the presence of eight farmland bird species that utilised artificial perches, specifically White-throated Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Oriental Magpie-Robin, Javan Myna, Barn Owl, Spotted Wood-Owl, Crested Serpent-Eagle, and Spotted Dove, and one forest associated species, Crested Goshawk. Our study is the first to describe predation of pest rodents by many of these eight farmland birds in oil palm plantations during daytime. Of the 1013 images taken, 48 showed rodent predation involving White-throated Kingfisher, Collared Kingfisher, Crested Serpent-Eagle, Crested Goshawk, Barn Owl and Spotted Wood-Owl. In a 24 h period, bird visits to artificial perches peaked between 10:00 am and 5:30 pm. Our findings suggest that artificial bird perches can facilitate the occurrence of diurnal and nocturnal predatory birds in oil palm plantations to control rodent infestation. The installation of artificial bird perches within oil palm plantations has the potential to enhance the ecosystem service of rodent biological control and increase avian biodiversity in palm oil producing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural materials have a high potential to be used as coagulant/flocculant owing to the problems of inorganic materials. Petai belalang (Leucaena leucocephala) is a widely abundant plant in Malaysia and very efficient as a plant-based coagulant in previous research. This research investigated the effectiveness of seeds of L. leucocephala in removing turbidity from synthetic wastewater and the effect of operation parameters of jar test on treatment performance through optimization of dosage, pH, rapid mixing speed and time, slow mixing speed and time, and settling time. The water extraction method was used to extract the active ingredients from the seeds by drying and pulverizing the seeds and then dissolving them in distilled water at a concentration of 20 g/L. The extraction solution of the seeds gives removal efficiency of turbidity of 93.05% at the optimum operation parameters dosage, pH, rapid mixing speed and time, slow mixing speed and time, and settling time of 120 mg/L, 6.5, 260 rpm for 11 min, 30 rpm for 15 min, and 30 min, respectively. It is expected that bridging was the possible mechanism given that the flocs are formed under the same negative zeta potential condition. With this high performance of L. leucocephala, it has high potential to be used as a coagulant in wastewater treatment at specific operation parameters with further exploration to determine the optimum extraction method of the active ingredients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial cellulose (BC) is a safe, flexible and biocompatible polymer that is suitable as a delivery mechanism for Moringa oleifera leaf extract and silver nanoparticles which have antibacterial and wound healing properties. In this study, BC impregnated with Moringa oleifera leaf extract and/or silver nanoparticles was characterized using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and mapping (FESEM-EDX-Mapping). The antibacterial activity of the impregnated BC was also evaluated using disc diffusion method. Based on the obtained results, impregnation of Moringa oleifera leaf extract and silver nanoparticles apparently improved crystallinity of BC. The presence of both formulants in BC could also be detected through FTIR and FESEM-EDX-Mapping. The antibacterial activity of Moringa oleifera and silver nanoparticles impregnated BC against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, however, varies depending on its formulation. Briefly, the impregnated BC has potential to be applied as antibacterial dressing, but more intensive studies need to be conducted in future to confirm its effectiveness and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioelectrochemical sensors for environment monitoring have the potential to provide facility operators with real-time data, allowing for better and more timely decision-making regarding water and wastewater treatment. To assess the robustness and sensitivity of the Sentry™ biosensor in local conditions, it was tested in Malaysia using domestically available wastewater. The study objectives included (1) enrich the biosensor locally, (2) operate and test the biosensor with local domestic wastewater, and (3) determine the biosensor’s responsiveness to model pollutants through pollutant spike and immersion test as well as response to absence of wastewater. Lab-scale operation shows the biosensor was successfully enriched with (1) local University Kebangsaan Malaysia’s, microbial community strain collection and (2) local municipal wastewater microflora, operated for more than 50 days with a stable yet responsive carbon consumption rate (CCR) signal. Meanwhile, two independent biosensors were also enriched and operated in Indah Water Research Centre’s crude sewage holding tank, showing a stable response to the wastewater. Next, a pilot scale setup was constructed to test the enriched biosensors for the spiked-pollutant test. The biosensors showed a proportional CCR response (pollutant presence detected) towards several organic compounds in the sewage, including ethanol, chicken blood, and dilution of tested sewage but less to curry powder, methanol, and isopropanol. Conversely, there was no significant response (pollutant presence not detected) towards hexane, Congo red, engine oil, and paint, which may be due to their non-biodegradability and/or insoluble nature. Additionally, the biosensors were exposed to air for 6 h to assess their robustness towards aerobic shock with a positive result. Overall, the study suggested that the biosensor could be a powerful monitoring tool, given its responsiveness towards organic compounds in sewage under normal conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The toxicity of hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) present in the environment has exceeded the current limits or standards and thus may lead to biotic and abiotic catastrophes. Accordingly, several treatments, including chemical, biological, and physical approaches, are being used to reduce Cr(VI) waste in the surrounding environment. This study compares the Cr(VI) treatment approaches from several areas of science and their competence in Cr(VI) removal. As an effective combination of physical and chemical approaches, the coagulation–flocculation technique removes more than 98% of Cr(VI) in less than 30 min. Most membrane filtering approaches can remove up to 90% of Cr(VI). Biological approaches that involve the use of plants, fungi, and bacteria also successfully eliminate Cr(VI) but are difficult to scale up. Each of these approaches has its benefits and drawbacks, and their applicability is determined by the research aims. These approaches are also sustainable and environmentally benign, thus limiting their effects on the ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reliance of conventional oil palm production on agrochemicals to control understory vegetation has caused devastating impacts on the environment. Overuse of chemical herbicides leads to the decline of native biodiversity and production-related ecosystem services, including biological pest control. In contrast to herbicide applications, livestock integration is a chemical-free approach to eradicate weeds without negative consequences on the environment. In this sentinel prey experiment, we assessed the predation pressure (based upon the number of bite marks left by natural predators such as arthropods, birds, and mammals) in three oil palm plantations with different weeding practices (i.e., rotational grazing, free-range grazing, and conventional weeding) located on the south-west part of Peninsular Malaysia. We also investigated the effects of site level characteristics on the predation pressures of artificial caterpillars. Across all types of weeding systems, we found that the majority of the predation attempts on the deployed artificial caterpillars were made by arthropods (532 attempts), whereas mammals (66 attempts) and birds (60 attempts) played much smaller roles. Our results showed that predation pressures were consistent across sites indicating that oil palm-cattle integrated plantations (either free-range or rotational grazing systems) would experience similar level of pest control services as conventional herbicide-sprayed plantations. Our results also indicate the influence of site-level habitat variables (i.e., mean of palm heights, canopy cover, and elevation) on predation pressures. Our results suggest that livestock-oil palm integration may sustain natural predation with little or no herbicide input. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More concerning about dye pollution is that it is being worsened by a lack of adequate treatment. This study optimized the adsorption of Trypan Blue (TB) dye in an aqueous solution using screened bacterial biomass. Among twelve different bacterial isolates screened against TB dye, Pseudomonas sp. strain MM02 showed a high adsorption percentage of 36.5%. The adsorption process was enhanced using one-factor-at-a-time (OFAT) and response surface methodology (RSM) optimization. An adsorption of 59% was achieved through OFAT optimization (TB dye concentration 15 ppm, contact time 20 min, pH 6.5, agitation speed 150 rpm, adsorbent amount 1.10 g and temperature 30 °C), while statistical optimization using RSM resulted in a further increased adsorption of the dye to 61.51% (TB dye concentration 22.27 ppm, adsorbent size 0.32 g, and temperature 34.27 °C). The results of this investigation demonstrated that OFAT and RSM optimization were effective and that they were also appropriate strategies for optimizing the adsorption of TB dye by Pseudomonas sp. strain MM02. Thus, it is possible to achieve the necessary water quality while saving money by using the strain MM02 of Pseudomonas sp. MM02 in a water treatment facility. Changes in free energy of adsorption (ΔGo), enthalpy (ΔHo) and entropy (ΔSo) as well as the activation energy (Ea) were determined. ΔHo, ΔSo and Ea with pH control were −26.5, −230 and 43.5 kJ/mol. The result showed that bacterial cellulose could be employed as an effective sorbent for the removal of direct dye from an aqueous solution and the values of ΔHo, ΔGo and Ea indicate that the adsorption of direct dye onto bacterial cellulose was a physisorption process: ΔGo and ΔHo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Membrane isolation, ion exchange, precipitation, transformation, and biosorption are all viable methods for pollutant removal. Adsorption is a common commercial method to concentrate precious molecules or eliminate contaminants, and it is a cost-effective method of treating industrial wastewater. A novel method for increasing their removal effectiveness has been developed for this purpose, using a low-cost biosorbent made from durian husk and Evans blue (EB) dye as a subject. The EB dye adsorption percentage was determined to be 95.95% with 72.0 mg/g adsorption amount at optimal conditions of pH 2 and 40 °C. The second-order kinetic model fit the experimental data the best. Additionally, the results indicated that the Sips isotherm model fits the experimental data better and that the experiment involved single-layer adsorption on the adsorbent surface. A non-linear regression of the van't Hoff plot gave negative values of Gibbs free energy (−39.38 to −41.48 kJ/mol) at all the temperatures studied (from 20 to 60 °C), indicating that the adsorption process is spontaneous and feasible. A negative value for the enthalpy (ΔHo=−23.37kJ/mol) indicated that the adsorption was exothermic, and the positive value of (ΔSo=54.55kJ/mol·K) concludes the nature of adsorption of Evans blue dye by Durian husk likely to follow a physisorption adsorption mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education students are frequently required to assess lecturers with a convenient, fast, and anonymous learning management system. Following the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak, Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia (UiTM) adopted a remote teaching and learning approach. This study examined how lecturers' professionalism, course impression, and facilitating conditions at UiTM affected undergraduate and graduate students' remote learning pre- and mid-pandemic. The higher prediction accuracy of the model demonstrated that students' remote learning activities were highly related to lecturers' professionalism, course impression, and facilitating conditions. The structural model demonstrated that the t-statistics of all measurement variables were significant at 1%. The strongest predictor of students' enjoyment of remote learning pre- and mid-pandemic was lecturers' professionalism. In the importance-performance matrix, lecturers' professionalism was in the quadrant for 'keep up the good work'. Facilitating conditions and course impression did not require further improvement even during the pandemic. The influence of remote learning was demonstrated in the students' graduation rates and grades. The results also presented theoretical and practical implications for the UiTM hybrid learning plan post-pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the expense of irreversible biodiversity loss, industrial modern agriculture is expanding in tropical regions. The conversion of forests to large scale monoculture plantations has fragmented and reduced habitat complexity, and altered biotic communities. However, the establishment of agroforestry orchards as a part of a conservation set-aside programme may aid biodiversity by providing a wider range of ecological niches to support more diverse bird fauna within industrial monoculture plantations. Thus, in this study, we compared avian biodiversity assemblages (species richness, abundance, and functional bird groups) between two types of agricultural production (agroforestry orchards and agriculture monocultures) in Peninsular Malaysia with the aim of assessing the applicability of the conservation set-aside. We measured 14 predictor variables consisting of habitat attributes, vegetation health, and insect food availability, to determine the key ecological drivers for avian biodiversity in tropical agriculture matrices. Across the study area, we recorded 6,284 birds from 110 species (42 families) via point count sampling. Our results revealed that agroforestry orchards were able to support greater avian biodiversity assemblages in terms of species richness and abundance compared to monoculture plantations. Bird species richness and abundance were driven by 10 out of 14 predictor variables, with arthropod order richness, vegetation health, land-use type and season having significant influence on both models. Bird functional groups were attributed to 11 predictor variables with vegetation health, land-use type and season having the most influence over all bird groups. Our findings highlight the potential of agroforestry orchards as conservation set-aside for avian biodiversity in industrialised monoculture plantation landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antibiotics and immunotherapies possess unavoidable adverse effects that hinder sepsis management. Herbal drugs have demonstrated potential immunomodulatory properties vital for sepsis treatment. We hypothesized in the present study that the use of Carica papaya leaves extract had the potential to improve survival and modulate immune cytokine release during sepsis. Animals were subjected to cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) to induce sepsis. Septic rats divided into 10 groups received ethanol extract of C. papaya leaves (50 and 100 mg/kg), imipenem (120 mg/kg) and cyclophosphamide (CP, 10 mg/kg). To investigate the immunomodulatory potentials of EE, cytokine levels like interleukin (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and IL-10 along with hematological and biochemical parameters were analyzed. Our results exhibited improved survival rates concerning ethanol extract treatment alone and in combination with imipenem and CP (100%) as compared to the CLP group (33.3%) on day 7 post-surgery. The combination treatment of ethanol extract with imipenem and CP significantly (P < 0.001) ameliorated cytokine levels and hematological and biochemical parameters in septic rats. A histopathological examination suggested improved liver and kidney tissue condition after combination treatment as compared to the CLP group. Therefore, it was concluded that combination therapy of extract with imipenem and CP improved survival rates and marked immunomodulatory potential in septic rats compared to monotherapy. The findings suggested the use of a mixture of these drugs in clinical settings to treat sepsis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing intensification of the aquaculture industry requires the development of new strategies to reduce the negative impacts of wastewater on the environment. Plant-based coagulants/flocculants, regarded as one of the environmentally friendly technologies for wastewater treatment, show good performance in the removal of suspended solids from wastewater. The aforementioned technology involves the utilization of plants as coagulants/flocculants in the treatment process and produces nontoxic sludge as treatment by-products. The produced sludge could be converted into valuable compounds used in agriculture. This review summarizes coagulation–flocculation by using plant-based coagulants/flocculants, its mechanisms, operational factors that control the treatment process, and its application in the treatment of wastewater, especially aquaculture effluent. Moreover, this work discusses the potential utilization of aquaculture sludge as a valuable compound used in agriculture. The presented review aims to emphasize the potential of using plant-based coagulants/flocculants in the treatment of aquaculture effluent and explore the potential of using the produced sludge as fertilizer for plants to solve problems related to sludge handling and the toxicity of inorganic coagulants in a recirculating aquaculture system. This paper concluded that utilization of recovered nutrients in the form of solids is feasible for agricultural purposes, while a hydroponic system can be used to reclaim the nutrients in the form of solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of local plants was tested using synthetic turbid water resembling real wastewater by measuring their ability to remove turbidity. The selected plants were A. indica, S. palustris, D. linearis, S. polyanthum, M. esculenta, P. sarmentosum, and M. malabathricum which can easily be found locally. The experiment was run based on coagulant dosages varied from 0 to 10 g/L for each plant with a rapid mixing speed at 180 rpm for 3 min, slow mixing speed at 10 rpm for 20 min, and settling time for 30 min. The results demonstrated that each plant has been capable of reducing turbidity by different amounts, with an increase in the coagulant dosage. The optimum coagulant dosages achieved for A. indica, S. palustris, S. polyanthum, and D. linearis were 10 g/L with turbidity removal at 26.9%, 24.9%, 24.9%, and 17.5%, respectively. P. sarmentosum and M. esculenta attained optimum coagulant dosages at 5 g/L with turbidity removal at 24.2% and 22.2%, and lastly M. malabathricum at 0.1 g/L (12.2%). P. sarmentosum was suggested to the best natural coagulant which achieved the highest removal of turbidity with a low dosage used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microplastics contamination is becoming a major concern worldwide. More than 1 million seabirds and 100,000 sea animals have died due to plastic contamination. In addition, plastic particles have been found in juvenile turtles. Statistical data on plastic pollution indicate that this is a serious issue. Due to their small size, microplastics have a large surface area and have more ability to absorb into biological cells. The hydrophobic surface of microplastics attracts co-contaminants such as heavy metals, pharmaceutical toxicants, flame retardants, and other plasticizers, which can then enter biological organisms. Microplastics are usually recalcitrant in the environment, causing microplastics to be transported along the food chain, with humans as the final consumer. Research has been conducted to evaluate the best way to treat and remediate microplastic pollution. Research on microplastic degradation is focused on biological and non-biological approaches. To date, microorganisms such as algae, fungi, and bacteria have attracted the attention of scientists as a tool for microplastic treatment. The degradation of microplastics is closely related to the enzymatic reactions produced by the microorganisms. Here we review microplastics degradation through enzymes from the microorganism's perspective. We present the enzymes that have been isolated from microorganisms for specific microplastics; the mechanisms of microplastics degradation by various enzymes; and the types of microplastics for which degradation mechanisms remain unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently developed lead-free double perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have been proposed for the possible application in solution-processed optoelectronic devices. However, the optoelectronic applications of double perovskite NCs have been hampered due to the structural and chemical instability in the presence of polar molecules. Here, we report a facile strategy for the synthesis and purification of Cs2AgBiBr6 double perovskite NCs that remained stable even after washing with polar solvent. This is realized with our efficient colloidal route to synthesize Cs2AgBiBr6 NCs that involve stable and strongly coordinated precursor such as silver-trioctylphosphine complex together with bismuth neodecanoate, which leads to a significantly improved chemical and colloidal stability. Using layer-by-layer solid-state ligand exchange technique, a compact and crack-free thin film of Cs2AgBiBr6 NCs were fabricated. Finally, perovskite solar cells consisting of Cs2AgBiBr6 as an absorber layer were fabricated and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study describes preparation of cellulose incorporated magnetic nano-biocomposites (CNPs) by using cellulose as base material. The prepared CNPs were characterised by SEM, EDAX, TEM, XRD, and FT-IR and found to exhibit an intrinsic peroxidase-like activity with a Km and Vmax of 550 μM and 3.8 μM/ml/min, respectively. The CNPs exhibited higher pH and thermal stability compared to commercial peroxidase. These nanocomposites were able to completely remove (i) a persistent azo dye, methyl orange at a concentration of 50 ppm, within 60 min under acidic conditions (pH 3.0) and also (ii) decolourize commercial textile dye mixture under acidic conditions within 30 min. CNP-mediated degradation of dyes into simple products was further confirmed by UV-Vis and AT-IR spectroscopy The added advantage of CNPs separation after decolourization by simple magnet due to their magnetic properties and consequent reusability makes them fairy attractive system for dye remediation from environmental samples or textile industries effluents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]