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In this paper, we study the dynamical properties of set-valued dynamical systems. Specifically, we focus on the sensitivity, transitivity and mixing of set-valued dynamical systems. Under the setting of set-valued case, we define sensitivity and investigate its properties. We also study the transitivity and mixing of set-valued dynamical systems that have been defined. We show that both transitivity and mixing are invariant under topological conjugacy. We also discuss some implication results on the product set-valued function constructed from two different set-valued functions equipped with various transitivity and mixing conditions.

This paper aims at introducing a new generalized differential operator and new subclass of analytic functions to obtain some interesting properties like coefficient estimates and fractional derivatives.

Corrosion of copper occurs when it is exposed to the atmosphere and oxidizes, causing bright copper surfaces to become dull and discolour. After a few years, it slowly changes to dark brown and finally green. In this study, the copper plate was coated with cobalt-nickel-iron (Co-Ni-Fe) alloy using electrodeposition in a hull. The process was done for 15 min using platinized titanium as the anode and the copper plate as cathode. The electrolyte was sulphate solution and the working temperature was 50 °C. This method allows a variation of thickness, microhardness, morphology and composition of the coating which were influenced by different local current density. Multiple tests were conducted to obtain the desired properties of the coating using 3D surface metrology system, Vickers microhardness tester, and scanning electron microscope (SEM). The copper plates had uniform coating of Co-Ni-Fe at the surface under the examination of SEM. In conclusion, the thickness and microhardness of coating increase when the current density increases. Furthermore, this method improved the mechanical properties of the copper plate because the microhardness of the coating was 285.3 HV compared to 126.4 HV of the copper plate. Some voids and agglomerates were found on the surface of the coating when deposited at low and high current density. The desirable surface morphology was obtained at 32.29 mA/cm2 but with a trade-off having moderate microhardness.

In this paper, we introduce a new differential operator $$T_{p,w,\mu ,\lambda ,\sigma ,\varsigma ,\gamma ,\varphi ,\delta }^{m}(\alpha ,\beta )$$ in the open unit disc $$U=\{z\in \mathbb {C}:\left| z\right

The properties regarding thermal stability of syntactic foam such as coefficient thermal expansion, alpha (CTE) had been investigated in this paper. Determination of CTE in composite materials is commonly used for application in heat exchange transformation. The CTE comparison using kinetic theory model has not really been investigated yet for composite materials. The syntactic foam prepared by mixing fused borosilicate or glass microballoon with matrix resin were considered in this study. The different weight percentage of glass microballoon varied from 2wt.% to 10wt.% were analysed using thermo-mechanical analyser (TMA). The results showed that CTE value became up to 53-63% lower than the pure resin after mixing with different weight percentages (2wt.%-10wt.%) of glass microballoon. Experimental results showed that the CTE decreases when glass microballoons are added into the composites measured at different temperatures ranging from 30°C to 70°C. The CTE from the experimental results were also compared with Turner’s modification model for composites for its suitability for thermal expansion of syntactic foams. The results indicate that Turner’s modification model exhibits a close correlation with the reduction up to 80% of CTE based on experiment.

Corrosion has been acknowledged as one of the biggest opponents in applications and industries such as in motorized industries, oil and gas industries, manufacturing and chemical plants, electric power generation plants and concrete structuresUsing the electrodeposition process, Cobalt-Nickel-Iron (CoNiFe) nanocrystalline coatings were successfully synthesized onto mild steel fasteners (bolt and washer) with deposition times of 15, 30, and 45 minutes, respectively. The objective of this research is to study the corrosion behaviour of the CoNiFe coated onto the mild steel fasteners. The electrodeposition process was performed by controlling its operating parameters such as temperature, pH, current density, deposition time and electrolyte composition. The temperature used throughout the process was 50 °C in an acidic condition of pH 3. By varying the deposition times, the phase and crystallographic structure, surface morphology, grain size, microhardness, and surface roughness of the CoNiFe coatings were examined. Based on the FESEM micrographs, the grain sizes of the coatings were in the range of 85.34 nm to 95.01 nm. Dendrite and irregular shapes were observed for the microstructure of CoNiFe nanocoating. The CoNiFe nanocrystalline coating prepared with a deposition time of 45 minutes achieved the highest microhardness of 228 HVN. The surface roughness also increases with longer deposition time. It was found that by increasing the deposition time also enhanced the microhardness and magnetic properties of CoNiFe nanocoating. From the salt (fog) spray test, the longer deposition time used had the highest corrosion resistance. Thus, it can be concluded that the optimum deposition time of the electrodeposited CoNiFe coating on the mild steel fasteners was 45 minutes which produces optimum properties.

This article aims to explore the mediating influence of good governance on the relations between economic activity and Lebanese acceptance of Malaysian peacekeepers. While prior research has studied the relationship between economic activities and local acceptance, relatively few study has been conducted on the mediating impacts of good governance on this relationship, particularly in the Malaysian setting. The data came from 532 Lebanese people in Tebnine and Maarakeh districts. SmartPLS was used to analyse the proposed framework. The findings indicate that good governance mediated the relationship between economic activity and Lebanese acceptance of Malaysian peacekeepers. These findings will help the peacekeepers to assist the local people in increasing the economic output in their country and help reduce the pressure of food resources that are depleted.

This paper aims to examine the mediating effect of good governance on the relationship between political organization and the acceptance of the Lebanese towards Malaysian peacekeepers. While previous research has examined the relationship between political organisation and local acceptance, there has been relatively little research on the mediating effects of good governance on this relationship, particularly in the Malaysian context. Data was collected from 532 Lebanese residing in Tebnine and Maarakeh district. The proposed framework was evaluated using SmartPLS. The result shows good governance mediated the relationship between political organizations and the acceptance of Lebanese towards Malaysian peacekeepers. The conclusion highlights the research's implications for future research and practise.

The thermal properties such the coefficient thermal expansion, α (CTE) of fused borosilicate syntactic foam was determined using dimensional changes of a temperature gradient plot. The CTE was measured and found to be achieved the value lower than the vinyl ester resin matrix when mixing with different weight percentages of the glass microballoon ranging from 2 wt.% to 10 wt.% using a thermomechanical analyzer (TMA). These results showed that it has a strong relationship with the syntactic foam physical properties such density, radius ration,cavity porosity and matrix porosity. Experimental results showed that the CTE decreases when glass microballoons are added into the composites measured at different temperatures ranging from 30 °C to 70 °C. The CTE from the experimental results were also analysed using Turner’s modification model for composites for its suitability for thermal expansion of syntactic foams.

International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 12, 9, 12A9U: 1-13

The aim of this research is to monitor the growth of barnacle at the KL Paus hull vessel part using Scilab programming (image processing). Barnacles paste on the hull of a ship might effect the resistance of the vessel, increase friction and can reduce the vessel’s speed. The ship must then be put in a dry dock to have the bottom scraped. From the results, it is shown that barnacle grew drastically for three consecutive months and the analysis form the Scilab Blob analysis found the indicated grey, dark and red intensity with true pixel increased by 30%. The edge detection image was also able to find the starting of the barnacle growth with small size. The monitoring of the barnacles is difficult if no proper instrument and analysis processes are used. It is now commonly accepted that using computers simulation and data analysis have become widespread throughout differences areas of engineering applications. By using the Scilab software, we analysed the photos of barnacle growth that were taken frequently for 3 months.

International Transaction Journal of Engineering, Management, & Applied Sciences & Technologies, 12, 9, 12A9P: 1-11

The United Nations (UN) has made a significant contribution to maintaining the security of people around the world. Through the role of peacekeeping operations, many countries that have just ended the conflict, such as Somalia, Nigeria, and Iraq, have been visited in order to help the locals rebuild their infrastructure. Nevertheless, in achieving these goals, some of the peacekeeping missions have faced difficulties due to a lack of exposure in understanding the cultural patterns and problems faced by the host people, and as a result, they are less accepted by the locals. This challenge is also caused by the weakness of the implementation of good governance for a country in managing peacekeeping missions, such as providing information on the culture, religion, and customs of the host people and the political structure and ethnic composition of a population. In this case, it was found that most Malaysian peacekeepers are less faced with difficulties, and they are usually welcomed by locals in every peacekeeping operation, including in Lebanon. Hence, the main objective of this study is to analyses the role of good governance as the mediating effect of the acceptance of the host people. Therefore, this study used two civil-military interaction (CMI) elements: environmental usage and belief systems mediated by good governance, to investigate the Lebanese acceptance of Malaysian peacekeepers. Therefore, a set of questionnaires was conducted in Maarakeh and Tebnine, involving 532 Lebanese. The findings showed that good governance positively influences environmental usage and belief systems, thus the Lebanese’s acceptance of Malaysian peacekeepers.

Given the variety of actions concentrating on peacekeeping with significant successful operations, the United Nations (UN) continues to encounter concerns and challenges that have hampered its peacekeeping operations’ efficiency, effectiveness, and performance. This article aimed to investigate the primary challenges that adversely influence peacekeeping operations and challenge them based on the security theory proposed by Barry Buzan. According to the study’s findings, UN peacekeeping missions have been successful in addressing conflict situations and promoting peace in many regions of the world. Nevertheless, faults and challenges, notably in terms of the operations’ political, economic, and societal factors, have restricted the peacekeeping operations’ ability to achieve their objectives successfully. Therefore, a better policy that includes all involved actors, especially local government and the population, should be established in order to rebuild a conflict-torn country.

Ethnic tolerance among peacekeepers plays an important role in ensuring the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the influence of governance and ethnic-cross relationship towards enhancing of ethnic tolerance based on the perspectives of Malaysian peacekeepers. This study applied quantitative data collection method through a set of questionnaires with 432 participants that previously being deployed to various United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO). The result indicates that both governance and ethnic-cross relationships have a positive correlation towards enhancement of the level of ethnic tolerance among Malaysian peacekeepers. The findings could strengthen the code of ethics for cultural competence, which emphasises the importance of understanding ethnic tolerance during peacekeeping operations or deployments. Received: 4 October 2021 / Accepted: 21 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

This paper presented the stress concentration factor (SCF) around the half circular edge of tensile specimens made of syntactic foam using finite element software Strand7 software. The study is a preliminary effort, which investigates the effect of variations of crack geometry on the stress concentration factor on a tensile specimen subjected to a constant, uniform, uniaxial tensile load. The material property is graded for varying Young’s Modulus and Poisson’s Ratio with different composition of glass microballoons. Finally, a uniform pressure is applied at the top and the model is constrained with symmetric boundary conditions at the left and bottom. As the result, these numerical results for both SCF experimental and simulation model are compared to those obtained from analytic fracture mechanics procedures and are found to be varied. In addition, the SCF is sensitive to the modulus of elasticity, particularly for lower composition weight percentage (wt.%), while it is also varied with the different weight percentage (wt.%) of glass microballoons, which is led by 2 wt.% specimen.

Calcium phosphate ceramics were substituted with several concentrations of zinc ions (0, 5, 10 and 15 mol%) using precipitation method. The effect of sintering temperature at 900 and 1000°C on zinc substituted calcium phosphate ceramics were observed. By increasing the sintering temperature, XRD peaks for zinc substituted calcium phosphate ceramics changed significantly. At sintering temperature of 900°C, hydroxyapatite phase was the major phase in the calcium phosphates containing 0 and 5 mol% zinc. However, at the sintering temperature of 1000°C, hydroxyapatite phase was partly transformed to another phase which was tricalcium phosphate. FESEM observations at sintering temperature of 1000°C exhibit that the particle size of the samples increased with addition of more zinc ions.

Sandwich composites or sandwich panels have been widely used as potential materials or building structures and are regarded as a lightweight material for marine applications. In particular, the mechanical properties, such as the compressive, tensile and flexural behaviour, of sandwich composites formed from glass fibre sheets used as the skin and glass microballoon/vinyl ester as the syntactic foam core were investigated in this report. This syntactic foam core is sandwiched between unidirectional glass fibre reinforced plastic (GFRP) using vinyl ester resins to build high performance sandwich panels. The results show that the compressive and tensile strengths decrease when the glass microballoon content is increased in syntactic foam core of sandwich panels. Moreover, compressive modulus is also found to be decreased, and there is no trend for tensile modulus. Meanwhile, the flexural stiffness and effective flexural stiffness for edgewise position have a higher bending as 50% and 60%, respectively. Furthermore, the results indicated that the glass microballoon mixed in a vinyl ester should be controlled to obtain a good combination of the tensile, compressive and flexural strength properties. Published version

This paper measure the carbon emission from small scale fishing boats. Carbon emissions were measured from two types Class A Malaysian fishing boats marine engines covering various size of inboard engines and outboard engines. The gas emission analyser MSA Altair 5x used is portable and easy to handle. Selected fishing boats were sampled from a total of 664 fishing boats operates in Manjung, Perak. The results of carbon emission measurement were presented in parts per million (ppm). The outboard powered fishing boats recorded the highest carbon value in ppm about 2000 ppm meanwhile inboard powered fishing boats constitutes slightly less carbon emission with 379 ppm. The results signify that outboard engine fueled by petrol producing more carbon value if compared with inboard diesel engine. These results can be an initial data for carbon emission inventory for local fishing boats.

The electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) composite of micro- (2–3.5 μm of diameter) and nano-sized (80 nm in diameter) silver (Ag) particle effect were prepared by using the epoxy polymer. The characteristics of particles size are analysed on the synergistic effect in thermal conductivity that respect to volume fraction (vol.%). In both micro- and nano-particles study, the volume fraction factor which is set in the range of 2–8 vol.%. The hybrid-sized technique is proposed by using the volume ratios of the micro- and nano-sized particles. During hybrid process, the combination size is varied in three sets: 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75 (the number on the left indicates the micro-sized particle content, while nano-sized on the right side). A significant improvement in the optimization of the particles dispersion synergistic effect on thermal conductivity has been obtained with new techniques in the experimental data. The influence of the hybrid filler composition on the thermal properties of the hybrid system was studied. A positive effect was observed in the thermal conductivity result when the composition of micro- and nano-sized Ag particles reached a 75:25 weight ratio. The nano-sized Ag particles became interconnecting particles in the interstitial spaces between micro-sized particles.

The investigation on the strain value for flexural sandwich panel syntactic foam were also carried out using the FEA approach to predict the properties’ behaviour in this study. It was found that the micro strain for SG1 for FEA was 17% higher than the experimental value, even though they were at the same loading setting. However, the prediction for the micro strain of SG2 was only 2.7% different, which was considered a good agreement to predict the properties of syntactic foam core sandwich panel for different loading values.

This study investigated the mechanical behavior of the treated and untreated kenaf with different matrix resin (epoxy and polyester) using the tensile and low velocity test. The long kenaf fibre was treated with 6% of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution for twelve hours in room temperature. The tensile properties of composites at different weight percentage (10,15,20 and 25%) were studied by using Instron Universal Testing Machine according to the standard ASTM D638. Impact test was conducted using an instrumented drop tower device at 10J incident energy level according to the standard ASTM D3763. The results of the study indicated that the epoxy resin reinforced with treated kenaf fibre exhibited higher tensile properties. On the other hand, the impact properties of polyester resin reinforced with treated kenaf fibre show better matrix bonding compared to those with epoxy resin matrices.

The natural fiber composites product becomes popular among the world to promote sustainable development. Unlike the synthetic fibers, natural fibers can absorb as much as the carbon dioxide to prevent the global warming happened. Natural fiber composites such as kenaf mixed with polypropylene, have been commercialized in automotive parts due to its lightweight ability which can improve the fuel efficiency. The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of injection moulding temperature to the shrinkage and tensile properties of kenaf/polypropylene key chain product. The optimum weight fraction of 30 wt% kenaf and 70 wt% polypropylene was fabricated using different temperatures of the injection moulding process. The best physical appearance of the key chain was prepared at 180°C. The sample that was fabricated at 210°C has higher tensile stress and tensile modulus which are 12.48 MPa and 1.03 GPa, respectively. As a conclusion, the kenaf/polypropylene specimen prepared at 210 °C has better tensile strength and less shrinkage if compared to others. Brittleness due to voids formation was evident in the SEM image of the kenaf/polypropylene. By using the injection moulding process, a high volume of products could be produced in a very short time.

The combinations of polymer resin and glass microballoon are the main materials used to produce syntactic foams. Syntactic foam is a lightweight material that has good mechanical properties and is commonly used as a component for structural materials in civil construction, aerospace and marine applications. Hence, it should have suitable mechanical properties, particularly good compression behaviour. In the present study, the results obtained from compression tests are compressive strength, elastic modulus and specific compression that decrease when increasing of glass microballoon contents (2.0 wt.%, 4.0 wt.%, 6.0 wt.%, 8.0 wt.% and 10.0 wt.%) and also neat resin. The highest strength value for compression testing is owned by 2.0 wt.% which is 88.9 MPa, while the lowest strength is 43 MPa that belongs to 10.0 wt.% of glass microballoon. This shows that the density and weight percentage of glass microballoon in these syntactic foams affect compression properties. Therefore, a further study should be conducted, which includes the effect of compressive failure mechanism.

This research was carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of hybridization composite material which used treated kenaf long fibre with Kevlar reinforcement and polyester as matrix. The purpose of this research is to improve the tensile strength and impact resistance quality of kenaf fibre, so it can be widely used in automotive, military and marine application. From this study, hybrid composites were fabricated by hand lay up and cold press method. The hybrid composites were studied by experimental using Instron Universal Testing Machine according to the standard ASTM D3039. Impact test were conducted using drop tower device according to the standard ASTM D3763. It is clearly observed that the mechanical properties were increased with the addition of weight percentage of woven Kevlar in the kenaf composites. The highest energy was recorded at by hybrid composite in combination of 20 wt% Kevlar. The structure observation of impacted hybrid samples showed that as the impact energy increased, the energy absorbed was also increased. It is found that reinforcing kenaf fibre composite with woven Kevlar can improve mechanical properties of kenaf fibre.

This study focuses on tensile properties and impact strength of coir fibre reinforced polypropylene composites under influences of fibre loading and various temperatures conditions. All samples were fabricated by using hot-press technique. Tensile and izod impact samples were prepared in accordance to the standard specifications as closely as possible. Three different ratios of fibre with matrix which were 10%, 20% and 30% were studied. The results revealed that 20% volume fraction of coir fibre demonstrated optimum tensile and impact properties. Significance reduction of impact strength under low temperature condition had been shown for all composites due to the brittleness of both fibre and matrix.

The coefficient thermal expansion, alpha (CTE) of glass microballoon/vinyl ester syntactic foam was determined using dimensional changes of a temperature gradient plot. The CTE was measured and found to be up to 53-63% lower than the vinyl ester resin matrix when mixing different weight percentages of the glass microballoon ranging from 2 wt.% to 10 wt.% using a thermomechanical analyzer (TMA). The results of CTE show that it has a strong relationship with the syntactic foam density (rho), radius ration (eta), cavity porosity (phi y) and matrix porosity (phi mu) within the parameters entered. Experimental results show that the CTE decreases when glass microballoons are added into the composites measured at different temperatures ranging from 30-70°C. The CTE from the experimental results were also compared with Turner’s modification model for composites for its suitability for thermal expansion of syntactic foams. The results indicate that Turner’s modification model exhibits a close correlation with the reduction of up to 80% of CTE based on experiment.

Fused borosilicate/vinyl ester syntactic foams mostly used for thermal stability in many applications are considered to be characterised for their properties in higher temperature condition. Therefore, higher temperature characteristics need to be explored with respect to physical parameters such as porosity and void content. The filler, also known as glass microballoons, was incorporated in vinyl ester resin matrix in 2wt%, 4wt%, 6wt.% , 8wt.% and 10wt.%. These composites are characterised and degraded to examine the onset temperature, Tonset, peak temperature, Tpeak and end temperature, Tend using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) method. The results for Tonset showed an increment while Tend and T peak showed decrement when glass microballoons were added in syntactic foams. Based on TGA data, they exhibited excellent thermal stability, showing 5% weight loss at 380-450oC. Glass transition temperature (Tg) decreased when more glass microballoons were added, and also related to the effect on the physical properties of syntactic foams. Therefore, understanding of the relationship between thermal properties of syntactic foams and their physical properties such as porosity and void content will help in developing syntactic foams to optimise their thermal characteristics, which will be beneficial for engineering applications.

This research is to develop the natural Activated Carbon (AC) composites prepared from carbon coconut shell reinforced with polypropylene (PP). Carbon coconut shell were selected from in-productive of coconut shell specifically namely as carbon Komeng coconut shell (CKCS) with different weight percentages of AC (6, 4 and 2wt%) and PP (4, 6 and 8wt%) contents. The specimens were then encapsulated with epoxy resin. The entire specimens were prepared using SRM (Silicon Rubber Moulds) with dumbbell shape and rectangular shape according to the standard ASTM D2099 and ASTM D256 respectively. The mechanical properties of all samples were investigated to characterize the quality of the samples. The morphological studies of reinforced samples were observed by using SEM machine. The results showed that the tensile stress was increased when AC is increased specifically for sample 4 wt% and 8 wt%. Maximum tensile stresses lead by sample 4 wt% with 30MPa.

Plastic recycling can be an effective way of reducing large amount of plastic waste in plastic manufacturing industry. Polypropylene (PP) is a versatile material that is capable of numerous commercial applications. This study is about the effect of composition between virgin and recycled PP towards their mechanical properties. The effect of blending PP product was investigated whether it can improve the performance of the material without deteriorating its original mechanical properties. The tensile and flexural tests were conducted according to ASTM D638 and ASTM D790, respectively. The results from tensile and flexural tests revealed that the sample which consisted of 75wt% of virgin PP and 25wt% of recycled PP were the optimum composition. The blended PP had positive influence on tensile strength, percent of elongation at break and Young's modulus. Opposite trends were obtained from flexural tests where both flexural strength and bending modulus performed slightly less compared to virgin PP. In fact, blending virgin and recycled PP together at any composition did not seriously deteriorate the mechanical properties. Therefore, recycled PP can be used in production without the need to sacrifice its mechanical properties. Besides, PP recycling can reduce material costing and help to save the environment by reducing PP waste.

Electrodeposition method has been effectively applied to the synthesis of the Cobalt-Iron (Co-Fe) nanoparticles on Copper (Cu) substrate. The electrodeposition was conducted in acidic environment at controlled temperature of 50°C±0.5°C. The influence of deposition times (30, 60 and 90 min) towards the characteristics and properties such as phase and crystallographic structure, surface morphologies, particle size and magnetic properties of Co-Fe nanoparticles were studied. The Co-Fe phase showed the Body Centered Cubic (BCC) crystal structure. Dendritic structure was visible in the Co-Fe nanoparticles prepared at 30 minutes deposition. Meanwhile, irregular particles surrounded by flakes were found in the sample prepared at 90 min deposition. The particle sizes were reduced from 61.6 nm to 54.8 nm when the deposition time was increased. The best soft ferromagnetic properties with higher saturation magnetization, Ms and lower coercivity, Hc were achieved by Co-Fe nanoparticles deposited at 90 min.

This study investigate the role of hydroxide ions (OH-) in the synthesis of Ni nanoparticles through polyol method at the temperature of 180°C. Ni nanoparticles were prepared using ethylene glycol (EG) as the solvent and hydrazine (N2H4) as the reducing agent. Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) was used to introduce the OH-in solutions. Amount of OH-has been controlled through manipulation of OH-/Ni2+ratios. The role of OH-has been discussed in terms of size, morphology and reaction rate. Particles size and morphology were determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD) was used to verify the chemical composition of as-synthesized particles. The results demonstrated that at temperature of 180°C, Ni nanoparticles can be synthesized even without the existance of OH-. Although there no significant particles size changes,synthesis without OH-showed the most rapid reaction as compared to samples with OH-. Probable mechanisms for formation of Ni nanoparticles with and without OH-are also discussed. This finding contribute to a new rapid and facile synthesis of Ni nanoparticles.

Manipulation of adding sequences have been found to influence the reaction rate, thus made it easier to produced controllable Ni nanoparticles. Hot-injection approach shown capability to significantly reduce the production time of Ni nanoparticles compared to the conventional one-pot synthesis. With minor modification on conventional polyol method, narrow, monodispersed and highly yield spherical nickel (Ni) nanoparticles were successfully produced at synthesis temperature of 60°C. Three mixing methods were investigated to study its efficiency towards producing rapid and narrower size distribution of Ni nanoparticles. Reduction processes were proposed each of the method. As-synthesized Ni nanoparticles were characterized with Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) to analyze the size, morphology and interaction of reactants. Fine particles size distribution revealed that when hydrazine was first heated, reaction rate improved tremendously.

This paper presents an experimental study on the influence of fiberglass woven in Long Kenaf Polyester Composite (LKPC). Wear and friction characteristics were examined using sea water and sand as a slurry. Wear test were carried out using Slurry Erosion Test Rig (TR-40). These tests were performed at room temperature with speed of 200 rpm for every 2 km interval. The results from the tests show that mass loss were depends on the matrix composition of the composite. Surface Roughness, Ra, was consistently reduced after each test in all cases.

This paper focuses on the comparison of various types of matrix materials and their mechanical properties for development of syntactic foams for marine applications. Generally, syntactic foams are close pore foams fabricated by the mechanical mixing of hollow microsphere particles in a polymeric matrix resin. From the literature review, it was found that there are several polymeric resins that have been used for development of syntactic foams such as epoxy, cyanate ester, polypropylene, polysialate and vinyl ester. In this paper, a comparative discussion is presented on the mechanical properties of hollow glass particles mixing with polymeric resins for development of syntactic foams for the use of these composites in bulk applications such as marine structures.

Natural fibres have emerged as the potential reinforcement material for composites and thus gain attraction by many researchers. This is mainly due to their applicable benefits as they offer low density, low cost, renewable, biodegradability and environmentally harmless and also comparable mechanical properties with synthetic fibre composites. The properties of hybrid composites highly depends on several factors, including the interaction of fillers with the polymeric matrix, shape and size (aspect ratio), and orientation of fillers [1]. In this study, natural fibre kenaf composites and kenaf/fibreglass hybrid composites were fabricated by a combination of hand lay-up method and cold-press method. The effect of different fibre types (powder, short and long) on the tensile properties of composites is investigated. The kenaf composites with and without the addition of fibreglass were then characterized by tensile testing and scanning electron microscopy. A significant improvement in tensile strength and modulus were indicated by the introduction of long kenaf/woven fibreglass hybrid composite. However, the opposite trends are observed in kenaf powder composite. Fractographic observation shows that fibre/matrix debonding causes the fibres pull out. This phenomenon results in the fibre and matrix fracture., {"references":["S.-Y. Fu et al., \"Hybrid effects on tensile properties of hybrid shortglass-\nfibreand short-carbon-fibrereinforced polypropylene composites,\"\nJournal of Materials Science, vol. 36, pp. 1243-1251, 2001.","D. Nabi Saheb and J. B. Jog, \"Natural fibre polymer composites: a\nreview,\" Advances in Polymer Technology, vol. 18, no. 4, pp. 351-365,\n1999.","X. Li, L. G. Tabil, S. Panigrahi, and W. J. Crerar, \"The influence of fibre\ncontent on properties of injection molded flax fibre-HDPE\nbiocomposites,\" Can Biosyst Eng, vol. 8, no. 148, pp. 1-10, 2009.","R. Malkapuram, V. Kumar, and S. N. Yuv, \"Recent development in\nnatural fibre reinforced polypropylene composites,\" J Reinf Plast\nCompos, vol. 28, pp. 1169-89, 2008.","J. Mirbagheri, M. T ajvidi, J. C. Hermanson, and I Ghasem, \"Tensile\nproperties of wood flour/kenaf fibre Polypropylene hybrid composites,\"\nJournal of Applied Polymer Science, vol. 105, pp. 3054-3059, 2007.","T. Chou, \"Microstructural design of fibre composites,\" in Cambridge\nsolid state science series: Cambridge University Press, 1992.","P. N.B. Reis, J. A.M. Ferreira, F. V. Antunes, and J. D.M. Costa,\n\"Flexural behaviour of hybrid laminated composites\" Composites: Part\nA, vol. 38, pp. 1612-1620, 2007.","S. Panthapulakkal and M. Sain, \"Studies on water absorption properties\nof short-hemp glass fibre hybrid polypropylene composites\" Journal of\nComposite Materials, vol. 41, no. 15, pp. 1871-1883, 2007.","H. P.S. Abdul-Khalil, S. Hanida, and C. W. Kang, \"Agro-hybrid\ncomposite: the effects on mechanical and physical properties of oil palm\nfibre/glass hybrid reinforced polyester composites\" Journal of\nReinforced Plastics and Composites, vol. 26, pp. 203-218, 2007.\n[10] A. B.A. Hariharan and H. P.S. Abdul-Khalil, \"Lignocellulose based\nhybrid bilayer laminate composite: part1: studies on tensile and impact\nbehaviour of oil palm fibre/glass fibre reinforced epoxy resin\" Journal of\nComposite Materials, vol. 39, no. 8, pp. 663-684, 2004.\n[11] K. John and S. V. Naidu, \"Sisal fibre/glass fibre hybrid composites: the\nimpact and compressive properties\" Journal of Reinforced Plastics and\nComposites, vol. 23, pp. 1253-1258, 2004."]}

Background & objectives: Genetic polymorphisms of uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase 1A1 (UGT1A1) have been associated with a wide variation of responses among patients prescribed with irinotecan. Lack of this enzyme is known to be associated with a high incidence of severe toxicity. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of three different variants of UGT1A1 (UGT1A1*6, UGT1A1*27 and UGT1A1*28), which are associated with reduced enzyme activity and increased irinotecan toxicity, in the three main ethnic groups in Malaysia (Malays, Chinese and Indians). Methods: A total of 306 healthy unrelated volunteers were screened for UGT1A1*28, UGT1A1*6 and UGT1A1*27. Blood samples (5 ml) were obtained from each subject and DNA was extracted. PCR based methods were designed and validated for detection of UGT1A1*6, UGT1A1*27 and UGT1A1*28. Direct DNA sequencing was performed to validate the results of randomly selected samples. Results: Malays and Indian have two-fold higher frequency of homozygous of UGT1A1*28 (7TA/7TA) which was 8 and 8.8 per cent, respectively compared to the Chinese (4.9%). However, the distribution of UGT1A1*6 and UGT1A1*27 showed no significant differences among them. UGT1A1*27 which has not been detected in Caucasian and African American population, was found in the Malaysian Malays (3.33%) and Malaysian Chinese (2.0%). Interpretation & conclusions: There was interethnic variability in the frequency of UGT1A1*28 in the Malaysian population. Our results suggest that genotyping of UGT1A1*6, UGT1A1*28 and UGT1A1*27 need to be performed before patients are prescribed with irinotecan due to their high prevalence of allelic variant which could lead to adverse drug reaction.