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- PublicationUnderstanding The Economic Impacts Of International Branch Campuses (Ibc) In Uzbekistan: Insights From Graduates(2025-08)The number of international branch campuses (IBC) in Uzbekistan has grown rapidly in recent decades. The government has actively supported the establishment of these institutions with the aim of increasing access, quality, and capacity within the higher education system, as well as preparing qualified human resources for the national economy. Although the industry has matured and some IBCs have already produced several batches of graduates, the actual benefits and impacts of these institutions on the economy and society remains unclear. Therefore, this study explores the perspectives of IBC graduates on the economic impacts of international branch campuses in Uzbekistan, with a focus on human capital development.
- PublicationInvestigating Source Apportionment And Ecological Risk Assessment Of Microplastic Pollution In The Surface Waters Of Pinang River And Kerian River Using Spatial Analysis(2025-09)Microplastic pollution in freshwater ecosystems is an emerging environmental concern due to its persistence, widespread distribution, and ecological risks. This study investigates the sources, distribution, and ecological risks of microplastics in the surface waters of the Pinang River (Balik Pulau) and Kerian River (Nibong Tebal), Malaysia. These two rivers are subjected to varied land uses, including agriculture, aquaculture, and urban development. The study integrates historical water quality data (2017–2021), in-situ measurements, stereomicroscopy, FTIR polymer identification, and ecological risk assessment through the Risk Quotient (RQ) method. To identify potential pollution sources, secondary water quality data were analyzed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), revealing that both rivers are predominantly impacted by diffuse sources such as agricultural runoff, aquaculture effluents, and domestic discharges.
- PublicationThe Influence Of Institutional Pressures And Social Capital On Blockchain Technology Diffusion In Malaysian Agriculture And Food Supply Chain: The Moderating Role Of Social Networks(2025-09)The conventional agriculture and food supply chain (AFSC) suffers from concerns such as food security, food waste, operational inefficiency, instances of food fraud, and lack of traceability, among others. These concerns exist due to a lack of traceability, transparency, digitalization, and interconnectedness across AFSC. In addition, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to adopt digitalization solutions to sustain their business operations. While most businesses reverted to existing practices once the pandemic's adversities eased, this implies that the adopted system does not meet the needs of AFSC companies. In response, researchers advocated for the use of blockchain technology (BCT) to unlock the capabilities of traceability and transparency, as well as to offer a secure platform for digitalization. Despite the benefits of BCT in improving AFSC, its usage is still in the infancy stage. Therefore, this study aims to increase the diffusion of BCT in the Malaysian AFSC by assessing the influence of social capital theory and institutional theory. Also, most previous studies have particularly focused on intention to adopt, and this study extends the scope by adding two preceding stages: knowledge seeking and evaluation of perceived innovation characteristics. The key research objectives are to identify the significant determinants of each BCT diffusion stage and examine the moderating role of social networks in trust-based relationships.
- PublicationImmunomodulatory Effect Of Christia Vespertilionis Leaf Extract (Cvle) On B Cell Activating Factor (Baff) - Mediated Monocyte Proliferation(2025-09)Aberrant expression of B cell activating factor (BAFF) has been strongly implicated in a range of immunological disorders, particularly autoimmune diseases and lymphoid malignancies. Among the various disorders influenced by BAFF dysregulation, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is particularly notable, as elevated levels of BAFF have been consistently reported in patients with SLE, thereby positioning BAFF as a promising target for therapeutic intervention. While synthetic BAFF antagonists are currently used for treatment, a substantial percentage of patients do not respond well to these treatments, justifying the need for alternative approaches with natural products from traditional/medicinal plants. Christia vespertilionis (CV), commonly known as the butterfly wing plant demonstrated various medicinal properties, though its immunomodulatory effects remain largely unexplored. Therefore, this study evaluates the potential immunomodulatory effects of aqueous CV leaf extract (CVLE) on BAFF-mediated monocyte proliferation.
- PublicationExamining The Relationship Between Hrm Practices, Organizational Justice, Transformational Leadership, And Job Performance Of Administrative Staff In “Double First Class” Universities In Sichuan, China: The Moderating Role Of Organizational Identification(2025-08)As China’s higher education sector expands, operational-level administrative staff face increasing workloads, evolving job expectations, and immense pressure. Ensuring their effectiveness is crucial for institutional efficiency, yet research on their performance remains limited. This study, based on social exchange theory (SET) and social identity theory (SIT), explores how HRM practices, organizational justice, and transformational leadership influence job performance, with organizational identification as a moderator.
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- ItemThe Daylight And Luminous Environment Of Working Area In Library Of University Malaya(Universiti Sains Malaysia., 2021-09)Public living conditions can be improved through several different parameters, which are effective and important. Daylighting is one of the most significant parameters. Natural light can penetrate in buildings through implementing daylighting. It also can lead to improvement of living conditions and comfort, including acoustic comfort, thermal comfort, and as well as luminous comfort. Therefore, one of the most important concern that should be considered in luminous comfort studies, is satisfaction with daylight. Although, many studies have been conducted about daylighting in buildings, in the past and recent, in a few studies, satisfaction with daylighting has been considered as a main impressive element in luminous conditions of buildings. Libraries is one of the most critical places where daylight issue should be concerned. Users’ productivity and psychological health could be boosted through the proper luminous conditions in the library. The lack of daylighting methods can be clearly observed in the University of Malaya library, where the users and staff of the library are not satisfied enough with the luminous condition. This study aimed to investigate and clearly define the factors of daylight satisfaction which have an impact on luminous comfort through some concepts that has been used in previous studies relating to this area. An attempt was then made to test the impact of these factors on luminous comfort and the effect of luminous comfort on occupants' psychological health and productivity. To achieve this objective, survey-based quantitative approach was applied. At first, a questionnaire was developed; and then, a pilot study was made to detect any deficiencies and weaknesses in the questions set
- ItemPerformance Optimization For Video Streaming Using Hybrid Multicast And Peer-To-Peer (DHT) Model(2006-06)Peer-to-peer (p2p) is a network where anyone or any peer can communicate at anytime. A peer may be regarded as either client and / or server. Users use this network for many purposes such as video streaming. This area faces many challenges such as, network load, network bottleneck, file transfer time, load balancing of files on servers and response time to retrieve a query. The objectives of this research are to solve these problems using an effective method. Our contribution involves combining multicast and unicast techniques and using distributed hash table (DHT) to store and retrieve a query of media file. The architectural framework is divided into two parts. The first part involves streaming the video via a multicast address when the file is available in the local network. The second part involves streaming the video via a unicast address when the file is available in another network and using a multicast address when the file is to be transmitted to the local network. The results show that the proposed method is better than using only the unicast technique based on the reduction of number of packets on the networks, reduction of number of dropped packets, reduction of transfer time, and redistributed files on servers. In the case of six clients, the numbers of packets are reduced by 83.1 % than using unicast only. The response time for retrieving the query result was very small and follow linear equation y = 0.0017x - 0.0009. So the response time for retrieving the query result has been improved.
- ItemPeranan Kawasan Lapang Di Kawasan Perumahan Sebagai Tempat Interaksi Antara Penduduk. Kajiankes: Bandar Indera Mahkota 1 Dan 2, Kuantan(Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2000-03)Kawasan lapang merupakan satu kawasan yang tidak mempunyai apa-apa, kosong dan tidak mempunyai struktur binaan. Tetapi ia boleh berperanan sebagai penggalak interaksi antara penduduk sesebuah kawasan perumahan. Situasi ini menjadi sebab utama pihak berkuasa tempatan mengarahkan pemaju menyediakan satu kawasan lapang apabila mereka mengemukakan permohonan untuk membina sesuatu kawasan perumahan pelan pembangunan perumahan. Penyediaan elemen dan kemudahan yang lengkap mestilah bersesuaian dengan penduduk kerana ia mendorong penduduk untuk berinteraksi semasa berada di kawasan lapang. Perancangan fizikal dan perancangan sosial perlu seiring dalam menggalakkan pengunjung datang ke kawasan lapang di sesebuah kawasan perumahan·untuk melakukan aktiviti. Masyarakat yang tinggal dalam sebuah kawasan perumahan perlu memupuk semangat kejiranan yang tinggi antara penduduk. Ia bertujuan untuk merapatkan hubungan silaturrahim, tiada perasaan prasangka, meJ1iamin keselamatan dan tolong menolong jika mengalami kesusahan atau sebarang kesulitan. Jika perancangan penyediaan kawasan lapang di buat dengan teliti, maka usaha yang di lakukan untuk menggalakkan interaksi antara penduduk akan tercapai dengan baik. Oleh itu, setiap kawasan lapang yang disediakan oleh pemaju mestilah dapat trW:mberi faedah dan kelebihan kepada semua pihak terutama penduduk.
- PublicationPhysical-chemical removal of ammonia, iron and zinc from semi-aerobic landfill leachate by zeolite and limestone(2005-04-01)This study investigates the removal of ammonia, iron and zinc using zeolite and limestone as adsorbents. Literature review indicated that zeolite and limestone are capable of removing heavy metal cations through batch process. Therefore, batch experiments were carried out in this research to determine the efficiency removal of ammonia, iron and zinc in leachate taken from Pulau Burung Landfill Site. Shaking and settling times, shaking speed, the optimum mixture of zeolite and limestone were pre-determinated, respectively. Result show that the shaking and settling times were 1 hour, respectively. The optimum shaking speed was 350 rpm and the optimum mixture between zeolite and limestone was 15 mL of zeolite and 25 mL of limestone. Mixing the limestone with zeolite could reduce the cost of treatment. Adsorption isotherm at the optimum mixture was determined using Freundlich and Langmuir principle. The value of 1/n and Kf for iron was 0.5845 and 0.00062, respectively and was 1.4131 and 0.1683, respectively for zinc. The breakthrough time for iron and zinc was 4.28 and 4344.33 days, respectively at flow rate 460m3/day and 4.5 m3 column volume. Adsorption kinetics determination showed that it followed the pseudo second order chemical adsorption of R2 values for ammonia, iron and zinc was 0.9726, 0.9991 and 0.9958, respectively.
- ItemAdapting And Enhancing Hybrid Computational Methods For RNA Secondary Structure Prediction(Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2011-12)The secondary structure of RNA with pseudoknots is widely utilized for tracing the RNA tertiary structure, which is a key to understanding the functions of the RNAs and their useful roles in developing drugs for viral diseases. Experimental methods for determining RNA tertiary structure are time consuming and tedious. Therefore, predictive computational approaches are required. Predicting the most accurate and energy-stable pseudoknot RNA secondary structure has been proven to be an NP-hard problem. This thesis presents a hybrid method to predict the RNA pseudoknot secondary structures by combining detection methods with dynamic programming algorithms. This hybrid method is further enhanced by adopting the case-based reasoning (CBR) technique. Three different methods are proposed, (i) Bioinspired swarm intelligence method (HPRna); (ii) Adaptive hybrid method (MSeeker); and (iii) Fast parallel method (FGTSeeker), where each is an improvement to the previous method. The proposed prediction methods were evaluated against other existing prediction methods using the real native structures as the main factor of comparison. Results show that the three proposed methods obtained more accurate pseudoknotted RNA secondary structures with better performance, especially in predicting long sequences.