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Anorectal manometry may be useful to objectively evaluate anorectal function following definitive pullthrough for Hirschsprung Disease (HD) but there is little published data. Our study aims to investigate anorectal manometry findings and their association with bowel function.This was a prospective observational study. Convenience sampling method was used to recruit all HD patients who had definitive pullthrough from January 2019 to December2020 in our institution. High-resolution anorectal manometry (HRAM) was used to record anal resting pressure (ARP), length of high-pressure zone (HPZ), and presence/absence of recto-anal inhibitory reflex (RAIR). The Paediatric Incontinence/Constipation Scoring System (PICSS) was scored for all participants. PICSS is a validated questionnaire with scores mapped to an age-specific normogram to denote constipation, incontinence, and their combinations. Non-parametric and chi-square tests at significance p0.05 were conducted to examine the relationship between PICSS categories and manometry findings. Ethical approval was obtained.There were 32 participants (30 boys). Median age at participation was 26.5 months (range: 13.8-156). Twenty-four (75%) had transanal pullthrough, 8(25%) underwent Duhamel procedure. PICSS scored 10(31.3%) as normal, 8(25%) as constipation, 10(31.3%) as incontinent, and 4(12.5%) as mixed. RAIR was present in 12 patients (37.5%). HPZ, maximum ARP, mean ARP were comparable across all PICSS groups without statistically significant differences. Presence of RAIR was not significantly associated with any PICSS groups (p = 0.13).Bowel function does not appear to be significantly associated with HRAM findings after definitive pullthrough for HD, but our study is limited by small sample size. RAIR was present in 37.5% patients after pullthrough.Level II.

Background: Power converters used in nanosatellite application required to be more tolerant to radiations including proton, electron and heavy-ion radiation. Methods: A Single-Ended Primary Inductance Converter (SEPIC) is selected for the nanosatellite application because of the availability to step up and down the input voltage as well as having a non-inverting polarity between the input and output voltage. In this paper, remodeled SEPIC converter proposed with an improved performance at radiation environment to work for nanosatellite application. In addition, the analysis is carried out for the irradiated power MOSFET in SEPIC converter to check its impact on converter behavior. Results: Experiments conducted with the help of power MOSFET switch used in converter, irradiated with Cobalt60 gamma ray dose level from 50krad to 300krad and output characteristics analyzed by chancing the duty cycle of converter. Investigations shown that conventional converter output characteristics were virtually constant from 10% to 60% duty cycle when different radiated MOSFETs used in the converter. Conclusion: The electrical characteristics started to fluctuate at 60% duty cycle and onwards, while the remodeled converter circuit was less distorted when increasing the radiation dose.

In this paper, the detail study of electrical conductivity of single layer graphene (SLG) on silicon dioxide (SiO2)/Silicon substrate irradiated by high energy (MeV) electron is presented. The SLG samples prepared by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) were irradiated by 50 kGy, 100 kGy and 200 kGy doses of electron radiation at energy voltage of 3 MeV. Current-Voltage (I-V) characteristics and conductivity of the pristine and irradiated graphene samples were measured and analysed using I-V measurement at room temperature. The non-linear I-V curves were clearly observed as the voltage reach to 2.0 V for non-irradiated and irradiated samples. This may be attributed to the non-uniform charges by high energy electron irradiation and poor metal contact of the sample. Hysteresis loop form at 2.0 V probably due to the to the charge trapping occurs at the interface of the graphene and SiO2. The reaction of high energy particles lead to creation of more carrier charges that contribute to the increment of conductivity compare to the small number of atom displacement of knock-on collisions with the nuclei of carbon atoms at higher dose. This study provides significant findings on the graphene electrical characteristics when irradiated with high energy (MeV) electron.

Graphene is of particular interest in utilizing it as a carbon-based radiation device due to its unique electronic properties. The understanding of radiation damage mechanism in graphene is crucial for applications in radiation harsh environments. In this paper, we investigate the influence of high energy (MeV) electron beam irradiation on structural and electrical properties of single layer graphene (SLG) prepared by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) on SiO2/Si substrate using Raman Microscopy and Current-Voltage (I-V) measurement. The samples were irradiated at doses of 50 kGy, 100 kGy and 200 kGy with high energy voltage of 3 MeV. It was found that as irradiation dose increases to 100 kGy, the 2D bands and G bands shift to lower frequency energy and surprisingly no appearance of D band. As dose increases to 200 kGy, the G band shifts to higher frequency energy and 2D band shifts back to position similar with the pristine graphene as before irradiation. Only a small D band appear at 1349 cm−1 after 200 kGy of irradiation. This means that only small number of defects formed in SLG structure even after it is irradiated at higher electron energy (MeV), indicating stability of the SLG used in this study. I-V analysis shows non-monotonic behaviour of graphene which electrical conductance increase at 50 kGy, decrease at 100 kGy and increase significantly at 200 kGy. The major mechanism is probably related to the charge-transfer doping due to the high dose of electron irradiation and low defect scattering.

The synergistic effects of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) on the mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposites were investigated. The addition of hybrid nanofillers (0.5 wt% HNTs–0.5 wt% CNTs) has significantly increased the storage modulus, flexural strength, tensile strength, fracture toughness (K1C), critical strain energy release rate (G1C), and microhardness of the nanocomposites. The tensile strength and Young’s modulus increased up to approximately 45% and 49%, respectively. The flexural strength and modulus increased up to approximately 46% and 17%, respectively. K1C, G1C, and microhardness recorded improvements of up to approximately 125%, 134%, and 11%, respectively. The formation of a large number of microcracks (emanated radially) and the increase in fracture surface area (due to crack deflection) were the major toughening mechanisms in the hybrid nanocomposites. SEM images revealed that the hybrid nanofillers were uniformly dispersed in the epoxy matrix and the fracture surface was coarser than that of neat epoxy, suggesting a semi-ductile fracture. This study has shown that the synergistic effects of HNTs–CNTs hybrid nanocomposites at low content (0.5 wt% HNTs–0.5 wt% CNTs) have significantly enhanced the mechanical properties of epoxy nanocomposites.

National unity is pertinent to the stability and progress of a country. For multi-ethnic nations such as Malaysia, diversity is perceived as a challenge to national unity. Extant literature shows that the different ethnic groups in Malaysia have expressed different ideals on inter-ethnic unity and differ in their ideas on how it may be achieved. To what extent do these differences exist? The purpose of this research was to investigate the perceptions of inter-ethnic unity in Malaysia among the three main ethnic groups. A survey measuring perceptions on the issue of inter-ethnic unity was distributed among 575 university students at four different institutions of higher learning in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The results show that the different ethnic groups held similar problem perceptions in terms of problem recognition, involvement, constraint recognition, and did not differ significantly in terms of their social position on the problem. There were however, significant differences between the Chinese and Malay/ Bumiputeras , as well as between the Chinese and Indians when it came to perceived level of knowledge and experience about the problem. The findings indicate that different ethnic groups may be differently equipped to handle the issue of inter-ethnic unity in Malaysia. Communication and policy efforts to build an integrated nation would benefit from taking these differences into consideration to ensure effective implementation. Keywords: Inter-ethnic unity, Malaysia, situational recognition, social self-construal, situational complexity.

Half-wave rectifier; buck; and boost converter with electron-irradiated, high-voltage silicon carbide Schottky power diodes from CREE, Inc., performance were studied and presented in this paper subjected to electron radiation. The diodes were irradiated by high-energy (3 MeV) electrons with doses ranging from 1 to 5 MGy. The performance of the circuits in term of the output voltage were measured before and after the diodes being irradiated. It was observed, at 4 MGy, the half-wave rectifier output voltage degrades by 6.2 times as compared to before irradiation. Meanwhile, the output voltage of the buck converter degrades by 1.7 times; and for boost converter, the degradation of the output voltage is approximately 4.6 times for 4MGy radiation. These degradations are believed to be due to the increase in the series resistance of the Schottky diodes which is caused by the defects introduced inside the semiconductor during the irradiation and also the increase of turn-on voltage of the diodes after being irradiated.

This study was to assess the concentration levels of some heavy metals and natural radioactivities within the surface sediments collected along the Juru river at Penang from upstream to downstream. The elemental concentrations were measured using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) technique while natural radioactivities were quantified using HPGe gamma spectrometry. Using the continental crust value that normalized with iron concentration, enrichment for each element within the surface sediments was calculated. Overall, the enrichment appeared to be extremely severe for zinc, followed by severe enriched for arsenic and uranium, moderate enriched for antimony and thorium and no enrichment in elements barium, cobalt and chromium. Meanwhile, based on the radioactivity concentration in sediment, radiation risk was calculated using radium equivalent activity concentration index where three locations were found to have the index value higher than those recommended by UNSCEAR.The average elemental concentration found in the heavy metals of As, Ba, Co, Cr, Fe, Sb, Th, U, and Zn was 11.4 ppm, 297 ppm, 9.0 ppm, 128 ppm, 41400 ppm, 1.3 ppm, 36.3 ppm, 10.7 ppm and 1420 ppm, respectively. The enrichment factors (EFs) for zinc were between 3.5 to 80.5 with the average value of 20.2, whilst for the elements of arsenic and uranium, they were between 4.1 – 15.3 and 4.6 – 17.0, respectively. In antimony and thorium, the EFs were between 2.5– 9.4 and 1.9 – 9.6, respectively. EFs for barium, cobalt and chromium were less than 3.0. The activity concentration of 226Ra, 228Ra and 40K were found in ranges from 43 Bq/kg to 268 Bq/kg (mean 125 Bq/kg), 88 Bq/kg to 328 Bq/kg with a mean value of 165 Bq/kg and from 339 Bq/kg to 777 Bq/kg (mean 485 Bq/kg), respectively. The estimated radium equivalent index were between 199 – 792 Bq/kg and average of 395 Bq/kg which was exceeding the 370 Bq/kg suggested value by UNSCEAR.

The effect of neutron irradiation on superconducting properties of Bi2Sr2CaCu2 (Bi-2212) phase superconductor was studied. TRIGA MARK II research reactor with neutron flux of 2.00 × 1011 /cm2s was used as the neutron source. Results between non-irradiated and irradiated samples have been analyzed from the aspects of microstructure and electrical properties. In this work, the bulk samples were prepared using the conventional solid-state reaction method. Molar ratio of Bi2O3, Sr2CO3, CaCO3 and CuO were mixed according to its ratio into composition of Bi:Sr:Ca:Cu = 2:2:1:2. The samples were sintered at 840°C during the sample preparation process. Some of the fully synthesized samples were irradiated with neutron irradiation. Neutron irradiation has been proved to promote better flux pinning properties by introducing larger defects in various superconductor ceramics. Enhanced flux pinning centers in the superconductor is responsible in enhancing the critical current, Ic and critical current density, Jc of the irradiated samples. The samples were characterized through X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The transition temperature, Tc and the Jc were measured by using a cryogenic four-point probe system. The XRD patterns for the non-irradiated and irradiated samples show well-defined peaks of which could be indexed on the basis of the Bi-2212 phase structure. XRD patterns also indicate that irradiation did not affect the Bi-2212 superconducting phase. However, the enhancement of Jc was observed in the neutron irradiated sample and this indicates the effectiveness of .neutron irradiation in creating defects that acted as effective flux pinning centers for vortices.

The emergence of new media as a result of the development of the internet has made the media a democratic agent of information. In conjunction with the transition of current political culture, society is now more comfortable using social media as a source of political information. This study was conducted to identify the impact of social media use on politics in Malaysia and to analyze the level of social media uses in determining the people's pattern of support for political parties and political candidates in Malaysia. This study was conducted using survey questionnaire as the research instrument. A total of 993 respondents consisting of males (46.2%) and females (53.8%) were selected randomly to participate in this study. Among the survey results, almost two-third of the respondents used newspapers (65.5%), followed by social media (63.5%) and television (59.5%) to search and read current political information in Malaysia. The findings also show that respondents agree that social media plays a role and has the advantage of channeling political information (mean = 3.57) compared to conventional media. The respondents agreed that social media helped to enhance the image of candidates and political parties (mean = 3.17) by displaying candidate activity in serving the people (mean = 3.25). This suggests that today's society is very concerned with what is shown on social media on matters involving current politics. Therefore, monitoring of political information shared on social media should be done to ensure that information is free from seditious elements that can diverge unity. Keywords: Social media, political support, political engagement, political participation, Malaysia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of annealing to the hardness of high Y2O3-oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) ferritic steels. The samples were prepared by mechanical alloying method followed by Cold Isostatic Pressing (CIP). After compaction process, the samples were sintered at 1100°C for 1 h in a tube furnace. The crystal structure and morphology of samples were analyzed by X-ray Diffraction (XRD) measurement and characterized by using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM), respectively. The hardness of samples was measured by using a micro-Vickers hardness tester with a load of 200 gf at annealing temperature of 600°C, 800°C and 1000°C, respectively. The Vickers hardness value (HV0,2) versus annealing temperature graph showed that the hardness of all samples started to decrease at temperature of 600°C due to grain growth. The hardness value of all samples (1Y and 5Y) identified at this annealing temperature is 855 HV0,2 and 808 HV0, 2, respectively.

In this paper the effects of high energy (3.0 MeV) electrons irradiation over a dose ranges from 6 to 15 MGy at elevated temperatures 298 to 448 K on the current-voltage characteristics of 4H-SiC Schottky diodes were investigated. The experiment results show that after irradiation with 3.0 MeV forward bias current of the tested diodes decreased, while reverse bias current increased. The degradation of ideality factor, n, saturation current, Is, and barrier height, Phib, were not noticeable after the irradiation. However, the series resistance, Rs, has increased significantly with increasing radiation dose. In addition, temperature dependence current-voltage measurements, were conducted for temperature in the range of 298 to 448 K. The Schottky barrier height, saturation current, and series resistance, are found to be temperature dependent, while ideality factor remained constant. DOI: 10.21883/FTP.2017.12.45193.8646

Struktur sosial masyarakat boleh dianggap sebagai satu rangkaian yang saling berkait antara individu hingga akhirnya akan menjadi satu rangkaian penting dalam menjayakan sesebuah program pembangunan komuniti. Sehubungan dengan itu, fokus utama kajian ini ialah untuk meneliti peranan pemimpin pendapat sebagai agen penyebaran inovasi penanaman kelapa sawit kepada golongan belia. Kajian ini melibatkan kaedah pengumpulan data primer dan sekunder. Data telah dikumpul menggunakan pendekatan kualitatif melalui temubual bersemuka dengan empat orang informan yang terdiri daripada usahawan, ketua kampung, Ahli Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK) dan seorang pemangku ketua kampung. Kajian ini dijalankan di Johor Utara iaitu Kluang dan Kulai Jaya. Hasil kajian mendapati peranan pemimpin pendapat sebagai agen penyebaran inovasi sangat penting dalam usaha menarik para belia untuk terlibat dalam industri sawit. Kajian juga mendapati generasi muda memerlukan bimbingan individu yang telah berjaya untuk mengembangkan potensi mereka. Individu yang berjaya ini berperanan sebagai penyebar inovasi yang utama dalam mengembalikan keyakinan para belia terhadap masa depan kerjaya dalam industri sawit. Di samping itu, kajian turut mendapati pemimpin pendapat yang terlibat secara langsung dalam sektor pertanian dan industri sawit lebih dipercayai oleh para belia berbanding dengan pemimpin yang memegang jawatan penting di peringkat kampung namun terlibat secara sebahagian dan tidak sepenuhnya dalam sektor tersebut. Kesimpulannya, usaha menarik minat belia memerlukan intervensi banyak pihak terutamanya yang melibatkan pemegang taruh. Minda golongan muda terhadap perkerjaan dalam industri kelapa sawit perlu diubah supaya persepsi, minat terhadap sektor ini lebih berbentuk positif dan seterusnya akan menggerakkan penglibatan mereka.

Advertising literacy has been a topic of discussion for decades long and up till today, the subject is still debated on. In fact, the dimensions of advertising literacy have evolved along with its many factors and varied key terms. Thus, this study was conducted to identify the key dimensions intact with advertising literacy through the use of factor analysis with the objective of measuring the reliability and validity of the dimensions present in advertising literacy. A survey was conducted at three locations of the Public’s Housing Program (PHP) in Kuala Lumpur to accumulate the response of this study. The use of the Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with varimax rotation revealed that there are four factors which determines the advertising literacy index. Initially, a factor analysis on the 4 dimensions with 41 items was done and this showed that the numbers of dimensions are retained, yet, only 22 items could be measured. The results of this analysis contributed to the study by determining the reliability and validity of the four dimensions of advertising literacy; informational, visual, rhetorical and promotional literacy is applicable to other studies. In addition to this, it develops awareness towards the people in the advertising industry mainly the advertisers on how to maximise their advertising strategy by understanding the targeted audience intended in a deeper sense.

The objective of this study is to investigate the microstructure and effect of annealing to the hardness properties of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) Fe-15Cr-0.3Y2O3 alloy. This type of alloy was prepared by mechanical alloying (MA) method followed by compacting and sintering. The microstructure of milled Fe-15Cr-0.3Y2O3 alloy powders and pellet was examined by using field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM). The milled alloy powders consist of nearly spherical shape of powder particles with average size of 10 µm. For the alloy pellet microstructure, the formations of Y2O3 nanoparticles with average size of 5 nm were observed indicating the dispersion and incorporation of this nano-scale dispersoids into the alloy matrix. Fe-15Cr-0.3Y2O3 alloy pellet was annealed at temperature of 600°C, 800°C and 1000°C, respectively for the Vickers hardness test. The Vickers hardness test was performed by using a micro-Vickers hardness tester with a load of 200 gf. The hardness value (HV) of this alloy pellet started to decrease at temperature of 600°C indicating the grain growth of this material at high temperature

In this work, thermoplastic natural rubber (TPNR) composites were produced through melt blending method. Boron carbide (B4C) as filler was added into the polymer blend (TPNR) with different weight percent from 0% to 30% and the effect of different B4C contents on mechanical and thermal neutron attenuation properties of TPNR composites has been studied. The phase formation in composites was analyzed using XRD technique. From the results, it showed that the incorporation of B4C fillers into TPNR matrix has enhanced the macroscopic cross section of the composites, however it lessens the tensile strength. Macroscopic cross section of the composites were increased from 3.34 cm-1 to 14.8 cm-1, while the tensile strength of the composites decreased from 3.79 MPa to 1.06 MPa with increasing B4C from 0 wt% to 30 wt%. B4C diffraction peaks were also increased in intensity with increasing B4C content.

Nitride-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) is an attractive material due to its high temperature tolerance and suitable to be used in extreme environment. The irradiation process of Gallium Nitride (GaN) diode was carried out by electron irradiation with 1000 kGy and 1500 kGy doses with a conveyor speed of 50 kGy per pass. Capacitance-voltage (C-V) and current-voltage (I-V) characterization for both pre and post irradiation samples was done. Both current and capacitance show decreasing while reverse leakage current increased after irradiation. The reverse leakage current revealed that the current were start leakage at 1.0 x10 -7 A and 1.0 x10-9 A for 1000 kGy and 1500 kGy irradiations respectively. The current-voltage graph indicated that the effect of electron irradiation on diode produced weak spots as defect cause leakage current. The traps and bulk defect is believed to contributed to the leakage current increased.

Small pellets with differing mullite contents were prepared by a conventional ball-milling and dry-powder pressing technique, followed by firing at temperature of 1300°C and 1600°C for four hours. Kaolin processing waste and high purity aluminum hydroxide were used as starting materials. The sintered samples were examined using X-ray diffraction to determine the weight percent of each identified phase. The results showed that the percentage of mullite in kaolin processing waste can be increased by introducing additional aluminum hydroxide. It was found that sintered samples yielded best results when derived from both types of kaolin processing waste with 40wt% of aluminum hydroxide and a firing temperature of 1600°C.

The effect of electron irradiation on structural and optical properties of TiO2 particles has been studied. The crystallinity change was observed at low dose irradiation (4-20 kGy) while phase transformation from pure anatase to mixture of anatase-rutile was inevitable after 100 kGy without significant change in crystallinity. The highest fraction of rutile:anatase ratio was 20:80 obtained at 700 kGy. Morphology study demonstrated that TiO2 particles were spherical, nano-sized and heavily agglomerated with no obvious microstructural changes were observed after irradiation. The direct and indirect band gap (Eg) showed a decrement at low dose but re-increased after irradiation at >100 kGy. The highest Eg was at 700 kGy which can be explained by the changes of TiO2 atomic structure in the presence of mixture anatase:rutile. Therefore, the electron beam irradiation does affect both structural and optical properties of TiO2 nanoparticles. This is expected to affect the photocatalytic activity of TiO2.

Electrochemical route has been a favorite technique for the fabrication of ZnO as it is relatively cheap and capable of producing abundance amount of materials. In this paper, we investigate the morphologies of hydrothermally synthesized ZnO structures assisted by galvanic process on conducting Au-coated silicon substrate. To induce the galvanic process, the substrate was in contact with aluminum so that the difference in the reduction potentials between the two materials provided the driving force for the formation of the ZnO structures. The galvanic process was found to promote compact and anisotropy growth of ZnO nanorods along the (001) plane. It was also found that substrate orientations in the electrolyte solution had an important bearing on the morphologies of ZnO. Well aligned periodic hexagonal arrays of ZnO nanorods of homogeneous diameters were obtained on gold-coated Si substrate with face-down orientation in the electrolyte solution.

The raw material of the extraction process is dust from the electric arc furnace dust (EAFD). EAFD is a byproduct of steel mills which comprises mainly of iron (33-35%) and zinc (22-27%). In this study, ZnO was extracted and purified from EAFD using solvent extraction technique to remove other impurities. Solvent extraction process can easily be adapted into small and large capacities. Characterization of the samples has been done and the results show the production of purity of ZnO samples was quite high. The sample was characterized using equipment such as X-ray fluorescence, XRF, X-ray diffraction, XRD and field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM).

PLLA merupakan biodegrasi polimer yang mempunyai aplikasi yang meluas dalam pelbagai bidang industri dan perubatan. Dalam kajian ini, PLLA telah dicampurkan dengan triali isosianurat (TIAC) antara 1 hingga 6 v/v% bagi melihat perubahan sifat tegangan dan terikan filem PLLA. TIAC biasanya digunakan sebagai agen taut silang dan keplastikan untuk mengubah sifat polimer. Campuran PLLA-TIAC telah diiradiasi pada 10 kGy di bawah alur elektron (EB) dan gamma (γ). Keputusan menunjukkan kekuatan tegangan (tegasan maksimum) menurun dengan peningkatan kandungan TIAC di dalam PLLA tetapi meningkat sedikit pada 4 v/v% TIAC bagi PLLA iradiasi dan tanpa iradiasi. Manakala nilai terikan didapati meningkat pada TIAC 2 v/v% dan menurun apabila TIAC ditambah melebihi 2% v/v% terutamanya bagi PLLA yang diiradiasikan. Daripada keputusan DSC terdapat perubahan pada suhu peralihan kaca, Tg, suhu penghabluran sejuk, Tc, entalpi penghabluran sejuk, Hc dan suhu peleburan, Tm menunjukkan berlaku perubahan pergerakan rantaian PLLA dan fasa penghabluran dengan kehadiran TIAC dan sinaran mengion di dalam PLLA. Perubahan pada puncak penyerapan spektra infra merah jelmaan fourier (FTIR) menunjukkan berlaku penggantian atau kemasukkan molekul TIAC ke dalam rantian PLLA.

Literasi kesihatan merupakan kemahiran yang perlu dimiliki oleh setiap orang dalam usaha untuk memahami maklumat kesihatan dengan baik. Seseorang yang dikatakan mempunyai literasi kesihatan yang baik apabila individu tersebut berupaya mencari, memahami dan menggunakan maklumat yang berkaitan dengan kesihatan dalam kehidupan hariannya Literasi kesihatan telah menjadi topik yang sangat penting dalam sektor penjagaan kesihatan kontemporari, promosi kesihatan, pendidikan kesihatan dan pembangunan polisi kesihatan. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui pengaruhi literasi kesihatan terhadap pencarian maklumat kesihatan dalam kalangan pelajar IPTA. Kajian ini merupakan kajian kuantitatif dengan menggunakan soal selidik sebagai alat pengumpulan data. Instrumen kajian ini telah diadaptasi melalui model literasi kesihatan Sorensen at al., (2012). Instrument kajian ini mempunyai nilai kebolehpercayaan yang baik iaitu antara 0.810-0.890. Sebanyak 1025 responden yang terdiri daripada pelajar IPTA merangkumi empat zon telah terlibat dalam kajian ini. Secara umumnya dapatan kajian menunjukkan tahap literasi kesihatan pelajar IPTA adalah sederhana. Hasil kajian juga menunjukkan sebanyak 23.6 peratus faktor literasi kesihatan telah menyumbang perubahan varian model kajian. Ini menggambarkan literasi kesihatan merupakan faktor yang meramal tingkah laku pencarian maklumat kesihatan. Justeru usaha perlu dilakukan untuk meningkatkan tahap literasi kesihatan dalam kalangan pelajar kerana ia memberi impak kepada pengurusan kesihatan dan merupakan penentu kepada kualiti kesihatan yang baik.

A natural polymer of carboxymethyl starch (CMS) was used in combination with the inorganic mineral of &beta, Tricalcium Phosphate (&beta, TCP) and Poly l-lactide (PLLA) to prepare composite nanofibers with the potential to be used as a biomedical membrane. &beta, TCP contents varied in the range of 0.25% to 1% in the composition of PLLA and CMS. A mixed composition of these organic and inorganic materials was electro-spun to produce composite nanofibers. Morphological investigation indicated that smooth and uniform nanofibers could be produced via this technique. The average of the nanofiber diameters was slightly increased from 190 to 265 nm with the &beta, TCP content but some agglomeration of particles began to impede in the fiber at a higher content of &beta, TCP. It was observed that the fibers were damaged at a higher content of &beta, TCP nanoparticles. With the presence of higher &beta, TCP, the wettability of the PLLA was also improved, as indicated by the water contact angle measurement from 127.3&deg, to 118&deg, The crystallization in the composite decreased, as shown in the changes in glass transition (Tg) and melting temperature (Tm) by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and X-ray diffraction analysis. Increases in &beta, TCP contributed to weaker mechanical strength, from 8.5 to 5.7 MPa, due to imperfect fiber structure.

This paper investigates on the reaction of 10 and 15MGy, 3MeV electron irradiation upon off-the-shelves (commercial) Silicon Carbide Schottky diodes from Infineon Technologies (model: IDH08SG60C) and STMicroelectronics (model: STPSC806). Such irradiation reduces the forward-bias current. The reduction is mainly due to the significant increase of the series resistance (i.e. Infineon: 1.45Ω at before irradiation → 121×103 Ω at 15MGy); STMicroelectronics: 1.44Ω at before irradiation → 2.1×109 Ω at 15MGy). This increase in series resistance gives 4.6 and 8.2 orders of magnitude reduction for the forward-bias current density of Infineon and STMicroelectronics respectively. It is also observed that the ideality factor and the saturation current of the diodes increases with increasing dose (i.e. ideality factor- Infineon: 1.01 at before irradiation → 1.05 at 15MGy; STMicroelectronics: 1.02 at before irradiation → 1.3 at 15MGy | saturation current- Infineon: 1.6×10-17A at before irradiation → 2.5×10-17A at 15MGy; STMicroelectronics: 2.4×10-15A at before irradiation → 8×10-15A at 15MGy). Reverse-bias leakage current density in model by Infineon increases by one order of magnitude after 15MGy irradiation, however, in model by STMicroelectronics decreases by one order of magnitude. Overall, for these particular samples studied, Infineon devices have shown to be better in quality and more radiation resistance toward electron irradiation in forward-bias operation while STMicroelectronics exhibit better characteristics in reverse-bias operation.

Impact of 2 MGy and 10 MGy electron irradiation on gallium nitride (GaN) light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been studied. The device was a commercial product (Manufacturer: Vishay) type of GaN Blue LEDs (TLHB5400). The capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of pre- and post-irradiation were measured. The result showed that the amount of capacitance and doping concentration decreases as the radiation dose increased. The deactivation of dopants atoms in the bulk increased due to higher irradiation dose hence increasing the radiation-induced defect which lead to the degradation of the device.

Thermal-dependence experiments were executed on silicon carbide Schottky diodes. Devices were exposed to 3 MeV electrons with 10 MGy dose. Current density-voltage (~300 K to ~490 K) characterisation was used for investigation. At highest tested temperature, forward current at 0.3 V increased approximately seven orders of magnitude for unirradiated; and eight orders of magnitude for irradiated devices due to free carriers generation which obtained energy from the temperature. Series resistance of unirradiated increased with increasing temperature due to decrease in free carriers mobility, whilst irradiated devices decreased with increasing temperature which indicates that more free carriers acquired enough energy to escape the radiation-induced traps. Reverse current increased with increasing temperature due to the radiation-induced defects that act as generation-recombination centres. Activation energies of irradiated is higher than unirradiated devices. Also, there are two slopes in the plot of the activation energy-voltage which suggests that the reverse leakage current is due to two different mechanisms.

The effect of low doses of gamma and electron irradiation on mechanical strength of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi-2212) superconductor ceramics was studied by exposing the superconductor to gamma irradiation dose of up to 50 kGy, and electron irradiation dose of up to 80 kGy. All the samples were prepared using the conventional solid-state reaction method. For samples to be irradiated with electron particles, 5% weight percentage of nanosized MgO was added to absorb certain amount of the energy from electrons and thus reducing the formation of complicated defects structure in the Bi-2212 superconductor. The SEM micrographs of the Bi-2212 superconductor showed the existence of platelet-type grains of Bi-2212 phase in both non-irradiated and irradiated samples. The XRD patterns for the non-irradiated and irradiated samples showed well-defined peaks of which could be indexed on the basis of a Bi-2212 phase structure. The phase purity, lattice parameter, surface morphology and degree of crystallinity for the non-irradiated and irradiated samples were also compared and analyzed and it was found that both the gamma and electron irradiation have considerable effect on the mechanical properties of Bi-2212 superconductor. When subjected to gamma and electron irradiation, the microstructure of the samples was found to be more textured and consequently enhanced the strength of the samples.

4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) were irradiated to neutron fluence of 3.55 x1016 cm-2 and 6.6 x 1015 cm-2 (15,000 kGy) electrons respectively. In general, characterization of the irradiated samples show that the current characteristics of the diodes decreased. The performance of Schottky gate contact is less for electron irradiated sample compared to neutron irradiated sample. The d-spacing, crystallite sizes and lattice strains were calculated from X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. SiC Schottky interface damage and radiation defects, as observed in atomic force microscopy (AFM) topography and scanning electron microscope (SEM) morphology images is possibly the main reason for this reduction in performance.

The year 2010 has seen the rise of West Asia with the Arab Spring phenomena. The event has triggered the solidarity of at least 8 countries in the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and has seen the ousting of Hosni Mubarak’s regime. Malaysia is emotionally attached to Egypt through religion, economy and education which has led Malaysians to track the event. In the meantime, the media is seen as the catalyst towards the rise of the people there. The democratic system depends very much on free, accurate and responsible flow of credible information. The flow of information has brought huge changes in the communications aspect. This article will discuss about the impact of social media as the main source of information channel among Malaysians during the massive uprise in Egypt.

Malaysia is undergoing tremendous development programs towards a developed nation. ICT initiative is one of the strategies to facilitate the implementation of economic, social and cultural development in the society. The embrace (adoption) of ICT among the people depends on many factors which facilitate or inhibit the use of ICT. The purpose of this paper is to determine the factors that facilitate internet usage among urban dwellers living in the Klang Valley, an area comprising the capital city, Kuala Lumpur and parts of the state of Selangor. This is crucial in order to trace the impact of various public sector ICT initiatives like the High Speed Broadband (HSBB). The study distributed 303 questionnaires to respondents who were sampled from internet users. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were used to analyse the data. The descriptive statistics included frequency, percentages, means and standard deviation while the inferential statistics included reliability test, means and multiple regressions. The results of the study showed that factors such as interpersonal and social network, perceived and realized benefits and communication channels facilitate internet usage. Implication of this usage is expected to reflect on urban living with regard to the use of Internet.

The impact of fast electron exposure upon the performance of commercial silicon carbide Schottky diodes has been studied. Under 3 MeV electrons, absorbed dose of 10 and 15 MGy at room temperature, the forward current density-voltage characteristic of INFINEON and STMICROELECTRONICS devices have been decreased by 4.6 and 8.2 orders of magnitude respectively. The reduction is associated with the significant rise in the series resistance (INFINEON: 1.45 Ω to 121×103 Ω; STMICROELECTRONICS: 1.44 Ω to 2.1 × 109 Ω) due to the irradiation-induced defects. Besides that, the reverse leakage current density in INFINEON increased by one order of magnitude while reverse leakage current density in STMICROELECTRONICS decreased by about one order of magnitude. We have also observed an increase in ideality factor (INFINEON: 1.01 to 1.05; STMICROELECTRONICS: 1.02 to 1.3) and saturation current (INFINEON: 1.6×10−17 A to 2.5×10−17 A; STMICROELECTRONICS: 2.4×10−15 A to 8 × 10−15 A) as a result of electron irradiation. Overall, for particular devices studied, INFINEON have better quality devices and more radiation resistance compared to STMICROELECTRONICS.

A film of poly (L-lactide)(PLLA) and carboxymethyl starch (CMS) is prepared by casting evaporation method. The use of CMS blended with PLLA induces the porous film that is potentially used in tissue engineering applications. PLLA is blended with CMS in solution form and rolled on glass to produce a film. The film is then irradiated with gamma-ray (γ) at 10 and 80 kGy. FTIR analysis indicates weak interaction between PLLA and CMS at 10 kGy. Degradation and crosslinking are predicted to have occurred simultaneously at 10 kGy and massive degradation at 80 kGy as indicated in differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) curves. Mechanical analysis shows a higher strength at 10 kGy indicating that crosslinking has occured whereas degradation takes place at higher doses as shown in the reduction of mechanical strength for both PLLA and PLLA/CMS.

There has been an increased interest in improving the properties of alumina ceramic to be used in nuclear applications. This paper focuses on the effect of electron beam irradiation on the morphology of alumina ceramic. Alumina ceramic pellet was prepared by compacting of fine alumina powder then subjected for sintering process at 1500oC for 2 hours using electrical heating furnace. Then, the pellets were irradiated with electron beam of total dose 200 kGy with vary of electron beam speed of 100kGy/pass and 25kGy/pass. Scanning Electron Microscope and Atomic Force Microscope were used to observe the morphology of the sample. The results show that the irradiation changes the grain of the alumina ceramic due to bonding of particles caused by energy from electron beam especially at high speed. Furthermore, the surface roughness decreases after irradiation and become lower at low speed. Finer grain is obtained on the surface after irradiated at lower speed. The high energy of electron beam destroyed the particles during long contact period to the surface when low speed of electron beam is applied.

In Malaysia recently, it was found that cockle shell (Anadara granosa) is a potential source of biomaterial for bone repair. It is the most abundant sea species cultured in Malaysia. A possible advantage of using cockle shell as a biomaterial is that they may act as an antilog of calcium carbonate. Malaysian Nuclear Agency took this challenge to develop synthetic bone graft from natural cockle shell. To date, the artificial bone graft substitutes developed from hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) a bio ceramic is similar to the mineral constituent of human bone. The structure and the composition of hydroxyapatite (HA) are similar to the mineral phase of bone and, its bioactivity and biocompatibility makes it a preferred bone graft.

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an important material that has the potential to be used in the nuclear industry. The surface of 0001 silicon carbide, 4H polytype wafer has been irradiated by electron accelerator at the accelerator voltage of 3 MeV and 10 mA beam current. Samples were irradiated to dose received of 1000 kGy, 1500 kGy and 2000 kGy. Characterization of the samples have been done using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the electron irradiation effect on structure as well as current-voltage tests to study electrical property.