Universiti Putra Malaysia Research Articles

Preface

The 2022 International Conference on Energy Internet and Power Systems (ICEIPS 2022) was successfully held on August 26-28, 2022 in Shanghai, China as a virtual conference. Energy Internet is an important technology to support new electrical power systems but its development in China is still very incipient. Therefore, ICEIPS 2022 provided an academic platform for scholars, engineers, and researchers to increase their skills and gain a better knowledge of the industry’s needs in energy internet and power systems,We were honored to have three distinguished professors to serve as our Conference Chairs. They are Prof. Zainal Kadir from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia, Prof. Hazlie Mokhlis from Universiti Malaya, Malaysia and Prof. Hongwei Li from Southwest Petroleum University, China respectively. The online conference consisted of keynote speeches, oral presentations, and online Q&A discussion, bringing together 100 participants. Firstly, keynote speakers were each allocated 30-45 minutes to hold their speeches. Then in the oral presentations, the excellent papers we had selected were presented by their authors by turns.During the conference, four professors were invited as keynote speakers to address speeches. Among them, Prof. Zainal Kadir from Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia delivered a keynote speech on Geomagnetically Induced Current Analysis for Grid System Resiliency Assessment. In the report, he presented that the Power System Computer-Aided Design for Electromagnetic Transients incorporating Direct Current (PSCAD/EMTDC) programme and Power System Simulator for Engineering (PSS/E) were used to construct a complete power network and a geoelectric field strength was then applied to the whole network in both north and east directions, showing the influence of GIC on HV transformers in the Malaysian power network. Besides, Assoc. Prof. Rakesh Patel from G H Patel college of Engineering & technology, India reported to us The Future of Electric Vehicles and Material Resources. He introduced that electric vehicles (EVs) offer an opportunity to replace fossil fuels in the transport sector. But the issue of long-term sustainability of EVs is underscored by the supply risks of critical material resources used in the EV batteries. The wonderful and dramatic speeches had triggered heated discussion. Moreover, every participant praised this conference for disseminating useful and insightful knowledge.The proceedings of ICEIPS 2022 are a compilation of the accepted papers and represent an interesting outcome of the conference. These papers feature but are not limited to the following topics: Energy Technology, Utilization and Development, Energy Internet, Electricity Systems, etc. All the papers have been checked through rigorous review and processes to meet the requirements of publication.On behalf of the organizing committee, we would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to the keynote speakers, peer reviewers, and all the participants. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the Journal of Physics: Conference Series, for the endeavor of all its colleagues in publishing this paper volume. The help and contribution of each individual and institution was instrumental in the success of the conference, and with the strong support, we firmly believe that ICEIPS 2022 has been beneficial to all attendees.Committee of ICEIPS 2022List of Committee member is available in this Pdf.

Disappearance or overlooked or untouched? - A brief history of aquatic gastropods of Malaysian Borneo

The aquatic gastropods (marine and freshwater) in Malaysian Borneo (MYB) have an ancient history of 255 years, while the first record was observed in 1767 by the pioneer Carl Linnaeus. Over time, many European, native taxonomists and conservationists have worked on the diverse group of gastropods in the Malaysian part of Borneo (states of Sabah and Sarawak). No previous work has been conducted to assess the historical status of this particular class of Mollusca. The study objective was to reveal the types of aquatic gastropods and the number of published research and expeditions conducted in MYB. The bibliometric analysis found 145 research publications mentioning the names of the region and reporting at least one gastropod species from this geographic region. Over the history of 255 years, a total of 559 gastropod species were reported by different research groups. Between 1767 and 1900, a total of 150 gastropod species were reported, followed by 79 species from 1900 to 2000 and 330 species from 2001 to 2022. The Grubbs test (p<0.05) identified outlier years for the reporting of gastropod species from MYB with 54 new species each in 2011 and 2020 and 39 species in 2001. Over the history of aquatic gastropod research in MYB, the taxonomists making the greatest contribution were Han Raven and his colleagues from Naturalis Biodiversity Center, The Netherlands, The Netherlands, who reported 111 new species from the region, followed by Nur Leena Wong from Universiti Putra Malaysia (54 new species). The results suggested that reporting of new species from MYB is increasing, which may reflect the many unexplored sites and suggests the existence of as yet unrecorded species in this ecoregion. In this regard further expeditions and research should improve estimates of the true number of aquatic gastropod species in this area. These results can help the regional governments in making a regional biodiversity database as well as in taking decisions regarding aquatic gastropod research and management.

EFFECTIVENESS ON TRAINING METHOD USING VIRTUAL REALITY AND AUGMENTED REALITY APPLICATIONS IN AUTOMOBILE ENGINE ASSEMBLY

Training and education have become increasingly crucial in obtaining new skills in a variety of fields, especially in assembly and disassembly operations. The main issue in mechanical engineering, particularly in the assembly department, was that automobile engine components assembly was found to be complicated and challenging to assemble using an existing method, where they only rely on a video-based method. The purpose of this paper is to create interactive Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) applications that allow users to efficiently assist and complete the assembly tasks. In this work, the authors designed and developed a fully immersive VR application using an HTC Vive headset and two AR applications (marker-less AR application and marker-based AR application) using EPSON MOVERIO BT-300 (AR Smart Glasses). Fourteen engineering students from Universiti Putra Malaysia were selected for the experiment. They were divided into four groups: video-based group, VR-based group, marker-less AR group, and marker-based AR group. They are required to complete all four experiments (video-based experiment, VR-based experiment, marker-less AR experiment, and marker-based AR experiment). The results showed that the marker-less AR application is the best impressive method (37% better), the VR application is the second impressive method (23% better) followed by the marker-based AR application is the third impressive method (3% better) compared to the existing video-based guideline. Therefore, the students favored AR and VR applications rather than the existing method to be used in automobile engine assembly tasks.

The integration of affective domains in French Language learning: Translating molière into Malay

Translation is the communication of meaning by converting the source language to the target language. The discipline requires excellent mastery and control of both source and target language, as well as their affective values as in the cultures of both languages. As translation includes the high order thinking skills, the teaching of learning of translation is normally conducted using a traditional method. Hence, this research evaluates the effectiveness of theatre-based task in the learning of French-Malay translation. The respondents for the study were 54 French Language Studies students at Universiti Putra Malaysia. The translation theater project involves four phases, which are the translation of the Molière theater script Fourberries de Scapin to Malay, the selection of characters for the theater play, the management of the play, and the insertion of the script into the theater video. It was found that the theater task was well received by the respondents and effective as to enhance their team management skills (TS), creative thinking problem solving (CTPS), psychomotor (P6), communication skills (CS) as well as their cognitive skills (C5). Subsequently, the respondents reported putting their theoretical learning of the translation strategies into practice by performing the translation and the theater task.

3rd International Anatomical and Biomedical Scientific Conference (IABS) 2022

Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, partnered with Universitas Brawijaya, Indonesia to host the virtual 3rd International Anatomical and Biomedical Scientific Conference (IABS) 2022 on 22nd – 24th November 2022. With the theme ‘Rejuvenating health sciences towards inclusive and sustainable ecosystem’, this platform is one of the best avenues that cultivates sharing and exchanging scientific endeavours among scientists, clinicians, postgraduate students and academicians involved in the field of anatomy, health sciences and relevant disciplines. The goal of the Special Issue is to revitalise the body of knowledge in health sciences to enhance and offer a sustainable and inclusive ecosystem now that the COVID-19 pandemic has transitioned to the endemic stage globally. Submissions that conceptually, experimentally, or theoretically analyse and explain some of the major problems with achieving the objectives. In light of this, this Special Issue of the conference proceedings aims to integrate practitioner and academic viewpoints. This special issue, in particular, can advance the theory and synthesis of the selected topic. Additionally, it can present fresh findings from experiments, drawing attention to the effectiveness of techniques now employed by subject-matter experts.

Comparative Analysis of Airborne Particulates and Indoor Physical Parameters between Dry and Wet Laboratories at the Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Laboratories are special micro-environments in university buildings in which the levels of pollutants depend on the nature of the experiments and the number of people employed. The aim of this study is to compare the airborne particulate (PM2.5) and the physical parameters in the existing indoor environment of Faculty of Forestry and Environment (FHAS) dry and wet laboratories. PM2.5, air temperature (AT), relative humidity (RH) and air speed (AS) were monitored for nine working hours in selected dry and wet laboratories. Dusttrak aerosol monitor and Kestrel 4500 were used to collect the data for PM2.5 and the physical parameters, respectively. Descriptive analysis was performed to summarize the data characteristics. Meanwhile, independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation were conducted to compare the mean variables for dry and wet laboratories and measure the linear association strength between parameters, respectively. The results showed that airborne particulates and RH recorded were below and within the Department of Occupational Safety & Health (DOSH) acceptable limits which is 150μg/m3 and between 40-70%, respectively. Some of the laboratories have AT in the range of 23-26°C while others were not in the acceptable range where Chemical Laboratory recorded the highest (30 ± 0.5°C), while Xylarium was the lowest (18 ± 2.2°C). As for the AS, majority of the laboratories did not have air movement in the range of 0.15 – 0.50 m/s. Some of them recorded no air flow for the entire monitoring hours. Independent t-test analysis showed there was no significant difference between dry and wet laboratories in terms of the airborne particles, AT and RH, except for AS (p<0.05). The results from Pearson’s correlation found that airborne particles have significant relationship with all physical parameters in wet laboratories, while only RH and AS were found significant in dry laboratories. Therefore, it can be concluded that both laboratories have similar indoor air quality except for AS which highly depends on the ventilation systems and occupants’ activities.

SIMULASI BANTUAN ZAKAT OLEH PENOLONG AMIL INSTITUSI PENGAJIAN TINGGI DI SELANGOR SIMULATION OF ZAKAT ASSISTANCE BY AMIL ASSISTANTS OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS IN SELANGOR

The appointment of higher education institutions (IPT) as amil assistants of the Selangor Zakat Board (LZS) has been implemented since 1998. This appointment allows IPTs to collect zakat from payers and distribute it to their university staff, especially students. Eligible students will receive zakat assistance to cover part of their study costs. Accordingly, this study tries to simulate zakat assistance by IPT to students in detail. In this study, documentation method was used to collect study data. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) were selected as the study sample. The simulation was developed using PTPTN loan rate data which is the main source of financing for student education in Malaysia. This study uses the tuition and accommodation fee structure from the official websites of UKM and UPM. As for zakat assistance, the study refers to the assistance scheme displayed through the IPT's official zakat website and from the findings of interviews with IPT zakat representatives. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive analysis method. The results of the study show that the simulation of zakat assistance increases students’ finances in covering the cost of education and living expenses incurred by students but still does not reach the minimum amount of expenditure required by students' needs. From this simulation, zakat institutions and IPTs should review the rate of educational zakat assistance to students' needs in order to achieve the minimum expenditure required throughout the study.

Social Media Use and Hypertension Knowledge Among Undergraduate Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Introduction: Malaysian hypertension prevalence is high at 30% and is the highest risk factor for mortality. Good hypertension knowledge suggests a favourable outcome. Online sources are a popular method of obtaining information especially in young adults and during the pandemic. Our objective is to determine health information seeking online, use of social media, and hypertension knowledge among undergraduate students. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FHMS), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Random sampling was done. An online questionnaire with four sections: (1) socio-demographic data; (2) use of social media; (3) health information sought online; and (4) hypertension knowledge was used . Data were analysed using the SPSS version 25 using Independent T tests and one-way ANOVA to identify factors associated with hypertension knowledge. Results: Mean (SD) age of 286 respondents was 21(1.2) years. Most respondents were female, 207(73.1%), Malays, 177(61.9%) and taking the Medicine course 127(44.4) with a mean of 9.50(4.50) hours of internet usage daily. Many respondents 196(68.5%) looked for information on hypertension online. The mean score for hypertension knowledge was 8.32(1.46); classified as good knowledge. Hypertension knowledge was significantly associated with race (p&lt;0.001), type of course (p&lt;0.001), year of study (p&lt;0.001) and type of health information searched online (p=0.010). Conclusion: We found significant better knowledge in Indians compared to Malays, medical students compared to biomedical sciences and occupational health, students in year 5 compared to years 1&amp;2. Participants that searched on hypertension online had better knowledge on hypertension.

The Association Between Learning Styles, Time Management Skills and Pharmacology Academic Performance Among First Year Medical Students in Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: The scientific understanding gained from pharmacology investigations is used to support a wide range of medical therapies. As a result, pharmacology is essential in medicine. As a result of the coronavirus epidemic, several colleges throughout the world have resorted to online pharmacology learning, which has an indirect impact on student academic progress. Aside from learning styles, a student’s time management abilities are another essential aspect that affects their academic success. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that employed a questionnaire to assess first-year medical students from Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences’ learning style and time management skills. A series of pharmacological questions involving short answer questions was also given to the students to assess their pharmacology performance. Results: There was a significant weak negative correlation between superficial learning style and pharmacology performance (r=-0.272, p&lt;.05). There was also a significant weak correlation between deep learning style and long range planning (r=0.256, p&lt;.05) and including short range planning (r=0.263, p&lt;0.5). Lastly, significant weak negative correlation on pharmacology performance and long range planning was seen (r=0.256, p&lt;.05). However, there was no significant correlation between time management and pharmacology performance. Conclusion: Students that use a superficial learning style struggle in school, yet deep learning styles in both short and long term planning do not always increase pharmacology performance. A good time management skills does not guarantee a good pharmacology performance either. Other relevant factors, like as socio-demographic characteristics, that may contribute to this outcome, particularly during this epidemic, should be investigated further.

Early Clinical Experience Module: Single Medical School Experience During the Pandemic

The Early Clinical Experience (ECE) module is a module that was introduced to expose preclinical medical students to the clinical skills required for their clinical practice. COVID-19 has forced traditional face-to-face teaching into online mode. In Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), the teaching underwent several improvisations to cope with the online mode but still within the framework of four basic components of clinical skills namely history taking, physical examination, basic procedural skills, and communication skills. The advantages and limitations of the usage of online lectures and demonstrations, video recordings, Google Classroom (GC) platform, and written feedback were discussed. In conclusion, the online mode of ECE delivery has its advantages and limitations, and educators need to address these concerns to ensure the future success of the module.

Association Between Level of Knowledge Gained, Confidence, Motivation and Flexibility on Types of Learning for Bedside Teaching Among Clinical Students in Four Malaysian Medical Schools During COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: With the arise of the COVID-19 pandemic, higher institutions are forced to change the method of delivery for bedside teaching sessions from face-to-face to online learning. However, online learning was found not effective in delivering practical knowledge and skills to students. Hence, the objective of this study was to determine the association between level of knowledge gained, confidence, motivation and flexibility on types of learning for bedside teaching sessions among clinical students in four Malaysian medical schools during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional study involving medical students from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Universiti Islam Antarabangsa (UIA) and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) were conducted from 1st March 2021 until 6th June 2021. An online questionnaire was distributed and it consisted of 5 sections which cover sociodemographic information, level of knowledge gained, confidence, motivation, and flexibility from bedside teaching session. The data was analysed by using SPSS software program. Results: There is a significant association between the level of knowledge gained, level of confidence, level of motivation and level of flexibility with the type of learning (online or face-to-face) during bedside teaching sessions. Results revealed that students gained a higher level of knowledge (84.9%), higher level of confidence in physical examination (93.3%), higher motivation (82.2%) and higher flexibility (64.1%) during face-to-face bedside teaching sessions compared to online learning. Conclusion: Most of the medical students in four Malaysian medical schools prefer face-to-face learning compared to online learning for bedside teaching sessions.

Psychometric Properties of the English and Malay Version of the Adapted Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale.

The study examines the psychometric properties of the adapted Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (A-SEIS) with 200 undergraduate students at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM). Upon the permission, the researchers adapted the original instrument, SEIS by incorporating a new construct which is understanding of emotions and some ability-based items into the perceived emotions construct. The A-SEIS is a mixed (trait and ability) measure EI instrument that aims at assessing four important dimensions of EI, including perception of emotions, utilization of emotions, understanding of emotions, and management of emotions. The study investigated the content validity of the A-SEIS by using the content validity indexing (CVI). Three expert panels translated and back-translated the A-SEIS and rated the degree of relevance of every item based on the four-point scale provided in the content validation form. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) methods were used to explore the underlying structure of the A-SEIS. The general validity testing of the adapted instrument was carried out in the framework of the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach by applying two iterations of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the first approach is the covariance-based SEM (CB-SEM) approach, followed by the partial least squares based SEM (PLS-SEM) using two different software: AMOS and smartPLS. Research findings concluded that the instrument is reliable and valid to be applied in tertiary education settings and future research.

The Association Between Learning Style, Social Demographic Background, and Pharmacology Assessment Result Amongst First Year Medical Students in Universiti Putra Malaysia During Covid-19 Pandemic

Introduction: A variety of medical treatments are based on the scientific understanding gathered from pharmacology studies. Thus, pharmacology is crucial in medicine. Many universities around the world have resorted to online learning of pharmacology as a result of the unique coronavirus epidemic, which has an indirect impact on the student’s academic achievement. Apart from learning styles, the socio-demographic background of a student, which includes the student’s family income, parental educational level, and residential area, is another important factor that influences pharmacology academic achievement. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving first-year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences Universiti Putra Malaysia which used a questionnaire regarding the socio-demographic background and learning style. In addition, the pupils were given a set of pharmacological questions to assess their academic performance. Results: Findings revealed that the family income had a considerable impact on medical students’ academic performance with a significant value for the Chi-Square at p = 0.013. The pupils’ learning styles had no discernible impact on their academic success with an insignificant Fisher’s exact test value at p = 0.822. Conclusion: Lower-income students (those with parental income below the median) were significantly more likely to have poorer academic outcomes than their higher-income peers. Our findings imply that policymakers can prevent COVID-19 from worsening existing achievement gaps in higher education by focusing on resolving the economic and health burden imposed by COVID-19.

Student Selection Process for Undergraduate Medical Programme Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned and Future Directions for Universiti Putra Malaysia

Student Selection Process for Undergraduate Medical Programme Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons Learned and Future Directions for Universiti Putra Malaysia

Determinants of Consumer Literacy among Universiti Putra Malaysia Students

Consumer literacy means whether the consumers can apply the information when making transactions and are more likely to understand how to seek redress. This study aims to determine the factors of consumer literacy among university students. The studied factors were self-efficacy, attitude toward consumerism, peer influence, and the intensity of consumer education. The study also aims to see the difference between those involved in the consumer movement and those who were not. The data was collected from 200 respondents who were chosen through cluster samplings. The multiple regression analysis results showed that self–efficacy, attitude towards consumerism, and the intensity of consumer education (frequency, clarity and effectiveness) explain the 13.0 % variance in consumer literacy. Nevertheless, the peer influence had no significant relationship with consumer literacy. The t-test analysis also found that those students involved in the consumer movement at the university had achieved a good literacy level compared to those not involved. The research gives a significant implication to consumers, government, non-government organizations, and institutions of higher learning to draft a consumer policy for young consumers. Consumer education needs to be systematic and more intense, especially in disseminating information more frequently, clearer, and easily accessible to every consumer.

Factor Influencing Consumer Willingness to Pay for Green Foods Consumption

Green food is produced using environmentally friendly technology and will not harm the environment. The main objective of this research is to determine the factors that influence the willingness to pay for the consumption of green foods among Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) students. A total of 250 respondents were involved in this study through simple random sampling. Questionnaires were used as research instruments and distributed online using Google Forms. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) for Windows version 25.0. Multiple Linear Regression analysis was used to study the factors influencing consumers ’willingness to pay for green foods consumption. The results of Multiple Linear Regression analysis found that the green foods attributes and green advertising significantly influenced the willingness of consumers to pay for green foods (adjusted R2 = 0.876, F = 0.000, p ?0.001). In conclusion, green advertising (Beta = 0.548) was the strongest significant correlation followed by green foods attributes (Beta = 0.297). The implication of this study is that it allows companies to be more focused on these factors that further influence consumers ’willingness to pay for green foods.

About The Author

About The Author

A Cost-Effective Novel Biochemical Fertilizer for Better Managing Nutrient Levels and Vegetative Growth in the Immature Oil Palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.)

The oil palm (OP) Elaeis guineensis is a robust feeder of nutrients and necessitates the adjustment and adequate allocation of nutrients for optimum growth and yields. Therefore, information on leaf nutrient concentrations during the immature stage is essential for maximal OP yield at the mature stage. Currently, in Malaysia, fertilizer by the standard practice application (Treatment 1; T1) is considered a cost-effective fertilization practice in terms of fertilization cost and the overall cost per palm oil tree per hectare. However, there is an idea to further reduce the costs of fertilizers and labour per hectare to make it more cost-effective. Therefore, the present study aims to develop a novel biochemical fertilizer by testing the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) biochemical fertilizer (Treatment 2; T2) in the immature OP. Since the use of T1 has been well established in Malaysia, the present study is to compare the leaflets’ nutrient levels (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), and boron (B)) and vegetative parameters (frond length (FL), frond number of leaves (FNL), frond width (FW), frond thickness (FT), chlorophyll index (CI), and the canopy of immature OP by using T2 to compare with those in T1. This study was conducted 6 to 48 months after planting (MAP) at the Telang OP plantation, Kuala Lipis (Pahang), from January 2015 to December 2018. Based on the chemical levels of the pre-treatment soil samples collected at the weeded circle area in January 2015 in the two depths (0–15 cm and 15–30 cm), there was no significant difference (p &gt; 0.05) in all 11 chemical parameters (pH, total N, organic carbon (Org C), total P, available P (Av P), cation exchange capacity (CEC), exchangeable K, (Ex K), exchangeable Ca (Ex Ca), exchangeable Mg (Ex Mg), exchangeable aluminium (Ex Al) and B between T1 and T2. This indicated that the chemical levels in the OP soils in both T1 and T2 would not be significant factors when T1 and T2 were applied. All six leaflets’ nutrient levels showed at least ‘Optimum’ or ‘Excessive’ compared to the established guideline using T1 and T2. Overall, there was no significant (p &gt; 0.05) difference in all the above six leaflets’ nutrient levels and six vegetative parameters between T1 and T2 based on the t-Test, multiple linear stepwise regression analysis, and correlation analysis. These results suggested that rates of T1 and T2 applied in this study are enough to provide the amount of nutrients needed to support the OP vegetative growth during the immature period. The estimated cost savings for the combination of T2 fertilizers per hectare (RM 1113.43 or 250 USD) and reduction of the number of rounds (RM 133.85; or 30 USD) of T2 fertilizer application would give a sum of total cost savings of at least RM 1247.25 (280 USD) per hectare. If only based on the T2 fertilizer per hectare, the economic benefit of the total cost saving is estimated to be at least 10.6%. In summary, this study recommends the utilization of T2 as a novel, cost-effective, and alternative biochemical fertilizer treatment for better management of immature OP plantations in Malaysia.

Effect of Liquid Urea on Growth and Yield of Grain Corn (Zea mays L.)

ABSTRACT Efficient nitrogen management is the key strategy for sustainable crop production. A two-season (south-west and north-east monsoon season) experiments were conducted in Ladang 15, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia in 2020 to compare the effect of liquid (LU) and granular urea (GU) on growth and yield of grain corn. The treatments were T0 = No urea (Control), T1 = GU (100%) at 10 days after sowing (DAS) and 28 DAS, T2 = LU (100%) at 10 and 28 DAS, T3 = LU (100%) at 10, 40 and 65 DAS, T4 = LU (50%) at 10 and 28 DAS and T5 = LU (50%) at 10, 40 and 65 DAS. Plant height, stem diameter, ear height and dry grain weight were higher in season 1 (south-west monsoon), but other growth and yield parameters were similar to season 2 (north-east monsoon). The highest cob diameter (5.43 and 5.30 cm), kernel rows/cob (17.30 and 16.72), seeds/row (38.88 and 36.96) and fresh cob weight (325.45 g and 319.18 g) were recorded from T3 and T5 treatments but the highest 100-grain weight resulted in T3 (50.51 g) and T2 (49.02 g) treatments. The highest grain yield (11,019.23 kg/ha) was recorded in T3 treatment. The highest total N content was recorded in T3 (161.92 kg/ha) treatment followed by T2 (141.04 kg/ha). In addition, the highest NUE was recorded in T3 (77.42%) and T5 (75.42%) treatments. As a result, the three splits application of LU was the most efficient application method for maximizing the growth and yield of grain corn.

Malaysian socio-demographic characteristics, mean haemoglobin levels and BMI distribution of the monthly transfused group (MTG) and non-monthly transfused group (NMTG) thalassemia patients

Background: Thalassemia is a genetic blood disorder characterized by insufficient haemoglobin level due to mutation in the globin chains causing anaemia with iron overload and the most common genetic haemoglobinopathy in Malaysia. They are grouped as transfusion dependent and non-dependent according to their transfusion requirement. The frequency of thalassemia transfusions can be discriminated further into monthly to non-monthly transfusion group. Objective: To analyze the socio-demographic characteristic, haemoglobin levels and BMI distribution after classifying the thalassemia patients according to monthly transfused group (MTG), non-monthly transfused group (NMTG) and comparing to a healthy individual control group. Methods and Materials: This was a prospective cross-sectional study gathering data on socio-demographic characteristic, haemoglobin levels and BMI distribution of patients with MTG and NMTG thalassemia patients from a thalassemia clinic in Ampang Hospital and comparing them to healthy individuals in Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia. The study embarked between August to October 2020. Results: Our study clearly shows in adult thalassemia MTG are predominantly in Malay ethnicity and younger in comparison to NMTG. The mean Hb levels of MTG is lower compared to NMTG regardless of the genotype and phenotype characteristics.