Areas In Peninsular Malaysia Research Articles

Chemometric techniques in distribution, characterisation and source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHS) in aquaculture sediments in Malaysia

This study investigated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) pollution in surface sediments within aquaculture areas in Peninsular Malaysia using chemometric techniques, forensics and univariate methods. The samples were analysed using soxhlet extraction, silica gel column clean-up and gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The total PAH concentrations ranged from 20 to 1841ng/g with a mean of 363ng/gdw. The application of chemometric techniques enabled clustering and discrimination of the aquaculture sediments into four groups according to the contamination levels. A combination of chemometric and molecular indices was used to identify the sources of PAHs, which could be attributed to vehicle emissions, oil combustion and biomass combustion. Source apportionment using absolute principle component scores–multiple linear regression showed that the main sources of PAHs are vehicle emissions 54%, oil 37% and biomass combustion 9%. Land-based pollution from vehicle emissions is the predominant contributor of PAHs in the aquaculture sediments of Peninsular Malaysia.

Smoking is associated with an increased risk of developing ACPA-positive but not ACPA-negative rheumatoid arthritis in Asian populations: evidence from the Malaysian MyEIRA case–control study

We investigated the association between cigarette smoking and the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the Malaysian population. A total of 1,056 RA patients and 1,416 matched controls aged 18–70 years within a defined area of Peninsular Malaysia were evaluated in a case–control study between August 2005 and December 2009. A case was defined as a person with early diagnosed RA using the 1987 American College of Rheumatology criteria for RA. Controls were randomly selected matched for sex, age, and residential area. Cases and controls answered a questionnaire on a broad range of issues, including lifestyle factors and smoking habits wherein current and former smoking was classified as ever-smoking. The presence of anti-citrullinated peptide antibodies (ACPA) was determined for cases and controls. We found that ever-smokers had an increased risk of developing ACPA-positive RA [odds ratio (OR) = 4.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.9–9.2] but not ACPA-negative RA (OR = 0.7, 95% CI 0.3–2.0), compared with never-smokers. A significant dose–response relationship between cumulative dose of smoking and risk of ACPA-positive RA was observed (<20 pack-years OR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.1–9.8; at least 20 pack-years OR = 5.2, 95% CI 1.6–17.6). Hence, smoking is associated with an increased risk of ACPA-positive RA in the Malaysian population, in which the genetic context is similar to several other Asian countries.

Species diversity of small mammals at Gunung Stong State Park, Kelantan, Malaysia

A recent small mammal survey was conducted in Gunung Stong State Park. Standard mist nets, harp traps and cage traps were used to document diversity of small mammals in this new protected area. This study reports five new distributional records of bats in Gunung Stong State Park and a first record of Myotis muricola in Kelantan. The study also shows that Gunung Stong State Park is one of the three areas in Peninsular Malaysia where all four Cynopterus species that can be found in Peninsular Malaysia coexist. This protected area also has Maxomys rajah, M. whiteheadi and Niviventer cremoriventer which are currently listed as Vulnerable, highlighting this location as an important conservation area for small mammals. Continuous surveys are needed as information of small mammal diversity in Kelantan is still scarce, and this study is a part of a series of small mammal surveys that have been carried out in Kelantan.

Towards more Manageable Coastal Building; Initial Coastal Building Construction Guidelines

Problem statement: As we may not be aware that the coastal construction is different from inland construction. Building in a coastal environment is different from building in an inland area. In general, buildings in coastal areas must be designed and built to withstand higher loads due to its more extreme conditions. Nowadays, the issue of global warming, uncertainty of global weather and the climate change effect indirectly creating the coastal area with much more expose to extreme condition. Formulate initial guidelines with certain degree of details how coastal construction requirements are different from those for inland construction. Approach: Due to the exposure to higher loads and extreme conditions, these structures in coastal areas will cost more to design, construct, maintain, repair and insure. Proper and right usage of building materials including electrical and mechanical equipments, are crucial in order to minimize damage. Nowadays, the issue of global warming, uncertainty of global weather and the climate change effect indirectly creating the coastal area with much more expose to extreme condition. Feedback has been gathered from the government local engineers who are doing the management of the Government’s local buildings located along the coastal area of Peninsular Malaysia. Data findings through research method, discussion with the suppliers and discussion with coastal buildings maintenance crews also has been done. Results: The research finding discus the specific characteristics that makes for successful coastal buildings focusing in tropical region. Conclusion: We must accept on the idea of building in coastal areas will require more maintenance and upkeep. By having proper coastal building guideline may create more positive awareness in constructing better management coastal buildings and can save time and money to maintain the said structures.

Phylogenetic Analysis of Different Breeds of Domestic Chickens in Selected Area of Peninsular Malaysia Inferred from Partial Cytochrome b Gene Information and RAPD Markers

The present investigation was carried out in an attempt to study the phylogenetic analysis of different breeds of domestic chickens in Peninsular Malaysia inferred from partial cytochrome b gene information and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Phylogenetic analysis using both neighbor-joining (NJ) and maximum parsimony (MP) methods produced three clusters that encompassed Type-I village chickens, the red jungle fowl subspecies and the Japanese Chunky broilers. The phylogenetic analysis also revealed that majority of the Malaysian commercial chickens were randomly assembled with the Type-II village chickens. In RAPD assay, phylogenetic analysis using neighbor-joining produced six clusters that were completely distinguished based on the locality of chickens. High levels of genetic variations were observed among the village chickens, the commercial broilers, and between the commercial broilers and layer chickens. In this study, it was found that Type-I village chickens could be distinguished from the commercial chickens and Type-II village chickens at the position of the 27th nucleotide of the 351 bp cytochrome b gene. This study also revealed that RAPD markers were unable to differentiate the type of chickens, but it showed the effectiveness of RAPD in evaluating the genetic variation and the genetic relationships between chicken lines and populations.

Ethnobotanical study on some Malaysian anti-malarial plants: A community based survey

Various plants species are used in the traditional medicine for the treatment of malaria. This is the first community based ethnobotanical study in Peninsular Malaysia. To investigate the plants traditionally used in the treatment of malaria in Malaysia. An ethnobotanical survey was carried out among 233 Aboriginal and rural households, and traditional healers in malaria endemic areas in Peninsular Malaysia. Data were collected using a pre-tested questionnaire. Nineteen species belonging to 17 families were identified. Twelve plant species have not previously been documented for the treatment of malaria in Malaysia. Findings of this study can be used as an ethnopharmacological basis for selecting plants for further anti-malarial phytochemical and pharmaceutical studies.

Allozyme polymorphisms in horseshoe crabs, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda, collected from polluted and unpolluted intertidal areas in Peninsular Malaysia

It has been widely reported that allozyme frequency variation is a potential indicator of heavy metal-induced impacts in aquatic populations. In the present study, wild populations of horseshoe crab (Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda) were collected from contaminated and uncontaminated sites of Peninsular Malaysia. By adopting horizontal starch gel electrophoresis, seven enzyme systems were used to study allozyme polymorphisms. Nine polymorphic loci were observed in C. rotundicauda. The relationships of allozyme variations with the concentrations of Cd, Cu, Ni, and Zn in sediments and in muscle tissues of horseshoe crabs were determined. Based on genetic distance, the lower mean value of Nei's D (0.017) indicated that both of the contaminated populations of Kg. Pasir Puteh and Kuala Juru were very closely related when compared to the relatively uncontaminated Pantai Lido population. Higher heterozygosities were shown by the contaminated populations when compared to the uncontaminated population. Different allelic frequencies could be observed for the aldolase (ALD; E.C. 2.7.5.1) locus between the contaminated and uncontaminated populations of C. rotundicauda. The dendrogram of genetic relationships of the three populations of C. rotundicauda showed the same clustering pattern as the dendrograms are based on heavy metals in the sediments and in the horseshoe crabs' abdominal muscles. From the F statistics, the present study showed that the three populations of horseshoe crabs were considered to have undergone moderate genetic differentiation with a mean F (ST) value of 0.092 .The current results suggest that allozyme polymorphism in horseshoe crabs is a potential biomonitoring tool for metal contamination, although further validation is required.

Rice Double Cropping in Kemubu Irrigation Project Area in Peninsular Malaysia

Rice Double Cropping in Kemubu Irrigation Project Area in Peninsular Malaysia

The First Report of the Occurrence of Anthracnose Disease Caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Penz.) Penz. &amp; Sacc. on Dragon Fruit (Hylocereus spp.) in Peninsular Malaysia

Problem statement: The increasing of dragon fruit (Hylocereus spp.) plantations in Malaysia enhances the researches on this crop, particularly focusing on its physico-chemical characteristics, great potential health benefits and nutritional value. However, its scientific report of disease is still lacking, primarily on anthracnose disease. This study was then conducted to investigate the distribution of anthracnose disease on dragon fruit and to correlate its occurrence with weather and cultural data. Approach: Survey and sampling were conducted on dragon fruit-growing areas in Peninsular Malaysia since December 2007 until August 2008 to measure the Disease Incidence (DI) and Disease Severity (DS). The diseased stem and fruit were sampled and brought to laboratory for isolation and identification. DI data were plotted with DS and then correlated using Pearson correlation with weather and cultural data. Results: Of the 43 surveyed-farms in 11 states, DI and DS were successfully recorded on three dragon fruit species from 36 farms (83.72%). The infected stem and fruit had reddish-brown lesions with chlorotic haloes symptoms. The lesion had brown centers and coalesced to rot. Based on its whitish-orange colony, septated hypae and capsule-like conidia and the pathogenicity test, the pathogen was identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. One way ANOVA with DMRT test highlighted that the most disease occurrence was found in Malacca (mean of DI and DS, 57.30 and 21.20%), whereas the lowest in Kelantan state (mean of DI and DS, 6.70 and 4.30%). Pearson coefficient correlations were around 0.107-0.261 for relationships between disease occurrence and age of crops and acreage of farm, from-0.049 to-0.237 for disease prevalence with relative humidity and rainfall and around-0.012-0.173 for disease occurrence with monthly temperature, wind velocity and altitude. Conclusion: The occurrence of anthracnose on dragon fruit in Peninsular Malaysia was more influenced by environmental conditions and agricultural practices rather than climatic factors.

Sheath Brown Rot Disease of Rice Caused by Pseudomonas Fuscovaginae in the Peninsular Malaysia

Relative to the established and well known rice diseases, sheath brown rot caused by Pseudomonas fuscovaginae can be considered new but getting widespread and serious all over the world. Our research was aimed to monitor and quantify the incidence and importance of the disease in Malaysia. A series of field monitoring and sampling were conducted to quantify the incidence and severity of the disease. Laboratory analysis of the collected diseased plant was done to identify the causal organism. Disease resistance screening of selected rice cultivars were also conducted to overcome the problem. The disease was found to become more important,prevalent and widely spread throughout rice growing areas in Peninsular Malaysia. Infected plants in the field became yellowish,lower leaf sheaths turned light or dark brown, while grains produced by an infected plant were discoloured, malformed and empty. The highest disease incidence was recorded in the state of Pahang (62%) and Selangor (62%), while the most severe infection was recorded in Pahang (55%) and Terengganu (61%). The evaluations of varietal resistance evaluation showed that the pathogen naturally infected all tested rice varieties at different levels of infection. Several rice varieties i.e. MR240, MR243, MR244, MR245, MR246, MR248 and MR249, classified as moderately resistant to the disease, could be recommended for planting in the next planting season.

Endemicity of Nipah Virus in Pteropus Bats Over Wide Geographical Areas in Peninsular Malaysia

Endemicity of Nipah Virus in Pteropus Bats Over Wide Geographical Areas in Peninsular Malaysia A.R. Sohayati 1,∗, S. Syed Hassan1, L. Hassan2, J.H. Epstein3, S.S. Arshad2, R. Mohamed1, A.A. Jamaluddin4, P. Daszak3 1 Veterinary Research Institute, Ipoh, Malaysia 2 Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia 3 The Consortium for Conservation Medicine, New York, NY, USA 4 Department of Veterinary Services of Malaysia, Putrajaya, Malaysia

Sensitivity Analysis of an Optimal Access Road Location in HillyForest Area: A GIS Approach

There are various models for establishing the efficient forest road allocation and evaluating optimum density of forest roads network for the transport of timber commodity. Most of them are based on the calculation of common timber transport costs and costs for forest roads. Today, forest road design from traditional method continues to be transformed by remote sensing technology and advancement of GIS. It is now possible for a forester to analyze many different road location alternatives over a large geographic area in a minimal amount of time. A computer programming using GIS, digital terrain data and sensitivity analysis for locating optimal forest road access in a hill area is presented. The optimal access road location specifies destination (starting point) and target (ending point) of the desired path. These paths were allocated by calculated each individual criteria by given weights placed on each cell. Therefore, the objective of this work is to describe an attempt to compute the optimal allocation of forest road corridor in hilly area of Peninsular Malaysia using GIS approach and sensitivity analysis to satisfy the result. Finally, the model minimizes total cost of construction and forest environmental impacts resulting from a specific access road. Sensitivity analysis should be explored further to understand the effects of uncertainty in derivation of model parameter on model outputs. It is concluded that the location of optimal access path were established in the area can reduce the cost and environmental impact to the forest ecosystem.

CUSTOMER ORIENTATION AMONG RURAL HOME STAY OPERATORS IN MALAYSIA

Based on earlier writings and research in the fields of total quality management, service quality and marketing which suggest understanding customer needs is a pre-requisite to satisfactory service delivery, a study was undertaken to understand and analyze customer orientation among the home stay operators in Malaysia. Data was collected from 142 respondents who operate home stay programs in 10 rural areas in Peninsular Malaysia using structured survey questionnaires. Findings from the study indicate that rural home stay operators place utmost importance on customer satisfaction as long as it is within their means and their boundaries of traditional customs. What needs to be improved on is their capability so that they are able to identify the expected quality of service of the visitors and so that they are able to fulfil this expected quality of service.

Phenology of Tropical Birds in Peninsular Malaysia: Effects of Selective Logging and Food Resources

AbstractThe increasing prevalence of selective logging in Southeast Asian tropical rainforests compels much-needed studies to examine its effects on the vital life-cycle events of their resident understory birds, which are particularly sensitive to such degradation. Food abundance, which can be an important factor in avian phenology, may be affected by selective logging. Therefore, studies that compare food abundance and breeding and molting occurrence simultaneously at the same sites are important for the ecological monitoring of such logging regimes. Using bimonthly mist netting in two rainforest areas in Peninsular Malaysia, we assessed the breeding and molting occurrence and diets of understory birds and compared the abundance of food resources in unlogged forests and forests that had been selectively logged 30 years before. Our study revealed no differences between forest types in overall understory-resident bird abundance; comparative species richness; feeding-guild composition; breeding and molting occurrence and temporal variation; or arthropod, fruit, and flower abundance. The similarity in food resources could account for the similarity in avian phenological characteristics between forest types. Increased breeding corresponded with increased food abundance at the feeding-guild level, and dietary data supported these findings. Breeding cycles of sensitive indicator groups such as understory resident birds are likely to depend on food abundance and forest structure and, thus, on selective logging. Our observation of undiminished avian breeding and molting occurrence in selectively logged forests is an encouraging indication of their conservation potential. However, we emphasize that differences in selective logging practices could affect the forest structure and avifauna differently. Setting thresholds for extraction and regeneration time and subscribing to minimum-impact methods that reduce collateral damage are essential if selectively logged areas are to maintain most of their initial biodiversity.Fenología de Aves Tropicales en Malasia Peninsular: Efectos de la Tala Selectiva y los Recursos Alimenticios

Systematic study on Guttiferae Juss. of Peninsular Malaysia based on plastid sequences

Twenty-one taxa in 4 genera (Calophyllum, Mammea, Mesua s.l. and Garcinia) of Guttiferae from several areas in Peninsular Malaysia were used to investigate the status and relationships of taxa within the family Guttiferae using the chloroplast DNA trnL-trnF sequence data. Molecular phylogeny results indicated that Calophyllum, Mammea and Garcinia are monophyletic genera. However, the genus Mesua appeared to be polyphyletic as Mesua ferrea did not form a cluster with the other Mesua taxa. Therefore, the molecular phylogeny supports the morphological classification that Mesua taxa in Peninsular Malaysia other than M. ferrea, be transferred back into genus Kayea. On the other hand, the molecular phylogeny disagrees with the morphological classification of Calophyllum wallichianum var. wallichianum and C. wallichianum var. incrassatum as varieties of C. wallichianum. Therefore, the status of these two varieties should be reinstated to distinct species as C. wallichianum and C. incrassatum respectively.

PHENOLOGY OF TROPICAL BIRDS IN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA: EFFECTS OF SELECTIVE LOGGING AND FOOD RESOURCES

Abstract The increasing prevalence of selective logging in Southeast Asian tropical rainforests compels much-needed studies to examine its effects on the vital life-cycle events of their resident understory birds, which are particularly sensitive to such degradation. Food abundance, which can be an important factor in avian phenology, may be affected by selective logging. Therefore, studies that compare food abundance and breeding and molting occurrence simultaneously at the same sites are important for the ecological monitoring of such logging regimes. Using bimonthly mist netting in two rainforest areas in Peninsular Malaysia, we assessed the breeding and molting occurrence and diets of understory birds and compared the abundance of food resources in unlogged forests and forests that had been selectively logged 30 years before. Our study revealed no differences between forest types in overall understory-resident bird abundance; comparative species richness; feeding-guild composition; breeding and moltin...

SEEDBANK AND SEEDLING EMERGENCE CHARACTERISTICS OF WEEDS IN RICEFIELD SOILS OF THE MUDA GRANARY AREA IN NORTH-WEST PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Tlie experiment was conducted in the glasshouse of UPM from March 2003 to June 2004 to determine the soil seedbank in the ricefields ot'Muda rice granary area in Peninsular Malaysia. Six soil cores of 5 cm in diameter and 10 cm depth were sampled from each of 24 fields. All samples from each individual field were bulked and placed in plastic trays of 38 x 25 x 10 cm. Soil was moistened as required and emergence of weed seedlings were recorded over period of one year. After one year, remaining seeds were separated, removed and identified. The total seed bank was estimated at 1136.48 million/ha of which 62.35% (708.60 million seedlings ha 1 ) germinated within 12 months and 37.65% (427.88 million seeds ha 1 ) remained ungerminated. Total of 20 taxa were recognized. Based on importance value (I.V.) the five most dominant species in terms of emerged seedling were Fimbristylis miliacea, Leplochloa chinensis, LitJwigia hyssopifolia, Cyperus difformii and C. iria. Of the remaining seeds the five dominant species with decreasing trend in ranking were F. miliacea, Scirpus lateriflonis, Monochoria vagina/is, L. hyssopifolia and L. chinensis. Ranking of total seed reserves (seedlings+ remaining seeds) were similar to emerged seedling indicating that emerged seedlings reflect the actual weed flora in the Muda area. Among the dominant species F. miliacea accounted for 58.07% of emerged seedlings, 79.31% of remaining seeds and 66.07% of total seed bank. Total seedling emergence of all species was higher in the first observation in April 2003 and cumulative seedling emergence showed no clear peaks. Key words : Seedbank, seedling emergence, weeds, ricefield soils, Malaysia

Effect of iodized oil supplementation on thyroid hormone levels and mental performance among Orang Asli schoolchildren and pregnant mothers in an endemic goitre area in Peninsular Malaysia

Although endemic goitre is no longer a major public health problem in Malaysia, iodine deficiency still remains a significant problem in a few remote settlements. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of iodized oil intervention in the prevention of endemic goitre among the indigenous people in Malaysia. A pretest and post-test controlled trial was conducted among primary schoolchildren and pregnant mothers in Lasah, Sungai Siput and Perak. Legap Post and Yum Post were selected as the intervention areas, while Perwor Post and Poi Post were taken as controls. The variables studied included thyroid hormone concentrations, thyroid volume, urinary iodine excretions and mental performance. A baseline and two follow-up visits were conducted in both intervention and control areas. Intervention subjects were given iodized oil in the form of capsules which were taken orally (Laboratoire Guerbet, Paris, France). There was a significant increase in serum thyroxine hormone (T4) concentrations (p<0.0001) and a significant decrease in thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations (p<0.05) in the schoolchildren following the intervention, however, pregnant mothers did not show any significant changes in T4 and TSH concentrations. Thyroid size was significantly reduced in both groups (p<0.05). Urinary iodine excretions showed a significant increase in both groups following the intervention (p<0.01). However, mental performance in schoolchildren was not affected. In conclusion, iodized oil (oral) is effective in reducing thyroid size, as well as improving the supply of iodine among schoolchildren and pregnant mothers in endemic goitre areas; however, its long-term effects need to be monitored closely. This method can be considered as an alternative while awaiting national coverage for the salt iodization program.

EPMA characterisation and geochemistry of gold deposits of Peninsular Malaysia- genetic implications

The highly automated electronprobe microanalyzer (EPMA) was used as a tool to characterise gold from the Raub-Tersang-Selinsing-Penjom, Rusila-Lubuk Mandi, and Jeli-Sokor areas in Peninsular Malaysia with the aim of characterising the various primary and alluvial gold deposits and tracing the alluvial gold grains to their primary sources. Gold from quartz-veins and their associated country rocks were sampled and studied in terms of . their morphology, size, inclusions, associated minerals and geochemistry. Alluvial gold and tailings in the surrounding areas were also sampled to study their association with the primary occurrences. The common mineral associated with gold in the quartz veins in all the areas sampled is pyrite. At Bukit Koman monazite was also found together with arsenopyrite and a Cu-Sb-S mineral in the gold veins. At TRA Mining, Selinsing, arsenopyrite together with a Pb-Fe-As-S mineral are associated with gold. At Specific Resources, Penjom, there is galena, chalcopyrite, sphalerite together with silver in the gold veins. At the limestone quarry at Kechau, galena is associated with chalcocite (Cu 2 S), and Cu-Sb- S and Cu-Zn-Sb-S minerals. - In Terengganu, at Rusila it was demonstrated that alluvial gold grain sizes nearest to the primary gold veins average 3.05 mm long and 2.5 mm wide while those furthest away tend to average to about 0.81 mm long and 0.7 mm wide. On the whole grains which are longer than 1 mm tend to be prismoidal in shape while those less than 1 mm are generally spherical. In the Raub-Tersang-Selinsing-Penjom area in P ahang, the alluvial samples from Sg. Ulu Tersang, a river in SE Selinsing and Sg. Terenggun and tailings samples from Kg. Pulai (Tersang) and NW Penjom generally show a bimodal distribution with dominant lengths averaging 0.4 mm for the major distribution and 1.0 mm for the minor. In Kelantan the-dominating sphericity of the alluvial samples collected in the Jeli area is prismoidal, and this differs from the samples in the Sokor area which have sphericity that ranges from subdiscoidal to discoidal. Gold grain size studies show that the samples from Sokor are fine grained which range from 0.1-0.3 mm for the lengths and the widths of the samples collected from Sg. Tui and Sg. Sokor, whereas the grain size of the samples from Jeli are bigger with an average length of 0.7 mm for samples from Sg. Pergau and an average particle size of 0.8 mm long and 0.4 mm wide for samples from Sg. Tadoh. In Terengganu, at Rusila the average Au content is 90.30% and silver is 10.46% for the gold from the veins (a fineness of 896.1889) while the alluvial gold average 88.52% Au and 10.32% Ag (a fineness of 895.5889). In Pahang, Primary gold at Bukit Koman, Raub has a fineness of 956.679, at TRA Mining, Selinsing the fineness is 881.7301, at Specific Resources, Penjom the fineness is 903.7245 and at the limestone quarry at Kechau, the fineness is 951.1200. The alluvial gold at Bukit Koman has a fineness of 982.8318, at a river in SE Selinsing the fineness is 930.9519 at Sg. Ulu Tersang the fineness is 944.0056 and at Sg. Terenggun (NW of Penjom) the fineness is 924.4767. The tailings at Kg. Pulai, Tersang show fineness of 976.5234 and those at NW Specific Resources have fineness of 891.8836. In Kelantan, EPMA studies show that the geochemistry ofthe gold grains are different for the 2 main areas. In the Jeli area, the 3 areas sampled in Sg. Pergau show average fineness of 922.9157, while the 2 areas in Sg. Tadoh average 923.7250. In the Sokor area, the fineness values are less than 900.000 and the average fineness values show a larger spread, the 2 areas in Sg. Tui average 845.1322, whereas the 2 areas in Sg. Sokor average 894.0914. Geochemical EPMA analysis of the gold grains revealed that silver is present in the gold in different amounts from different areas. It can be demonstrated that fineness is a useful character for tracing the primary sources of gold from the panned alluvial gold samples further downstream_ Preliminary results

単一民族村と多民族地域の社会関係と空間構成 : マレーシアの多民族混住と居住空間計画 その2

The rural area in Malaysia, it has also consisted 3 main ethnic groups as Ethnic Malay, Chinese, and Indian. They has gradually divided on their settlement each of small ethnic group. But, on the social activities which has kept vital and close relation each other. This study examines ethnic relation of human settlement on rural area in Peninsular Malaysia. And, author focused on the unique village of S. K. and its surrounding area in Penang state. SK village has succeed in well maintained environment on the compact village space, and they won the most beautiful village prize from national government's Beautify Contest. Main findings are as follow; (1) On the each of ethnic settlement as a village space which has reflected distinctive area's ethnic identity. (2) In the village, they has a well maintained living environment which kept by ethnic society. (3) But, the society has divided another ethnic village, so there isn't any social connection with each other which toward the cooperation on the process of environmental improvement.