Abstract: In Malaysia, there is no research done on the tensile strength of structural size timber. The tension stress found in the Malaysian code of practice, MS 544: Part 2: 2001, was not determined directly and it was taken as 60% of the bending strength values of small clear specimens. This paper presents the results of the tensile test on structural size timber specimens from selected Malaysian Tropical hardwoods namely Kedondong (Canarium spp), Keruing (Dipterocarpus spp) and Bintangor (Calophyllum spp) under the strength group SG5. A special tensile grip was fabricated using the model suggested in ASTM D198 and the tests were also conducted according to ASTM D198. The tensile strength characteristics evaluated include tensile strength, modulus of elasticity and Poisson’s ratio, and the data were analyzed statistically. In this study it was found that the grade stresses for structural size specimens were higher than that published in the Malaysian code of practice.

Abstract: Tin mining is one of the oldest industries in Malaysia that have started since1820s. These mining activities have resulted in about 113,700 hectors of tin tailings throughout the peninsula that created numerous environmental problems such as threat to natural reserves due to landscape changes, damage to natural drainage, pollution and destruction of natural habitats The present study was carried out in old tin mining area Bestari Jaya (Batang Berjuntai old name), district Kuala Selangor in Selangor state. The purpose of this study is to get the ground information about environmental and contamination characteristics and also planning for future work. The mined out catchment covers an area of 323.74 hectors. Initially 92.61 hectors of downstream catchment were investigated which includes two mined out water ponds. These ponds flow downstream to River Ayer Hitam that ultimately ends up with River Selangor, 5 Km upstream of Batang Berjunti Water Treatment Plants SSP1 and SSP2 which are major water distributors to federal territory (Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya) and Selangor state as well. Samples of soil and water were taken separately from fifteen locations of downstream catchment using Global Positioning System. In preliminary studies physio-chemical parameters and concentration of heavy metals Pb2+, Zn2+, Ni2+, Co2+, As3+, Cu2+, Fe2+, Mn2+, Sn2+ were analyzed. The metals were extracted by nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a closed vessel microwave digestion system and analysed by using atomic absorption spectroscopy. The method was validated by using standard reference material (NIST SRM 4354, 1643e) and results were compared with interim national water quality standards for Malaysia and found that most of physio-chemical parameters and metals concentration exceeds the permissible limits set by interim national water quality standards for Malaysia. So it is concluded that Bestari Jaya ex-mining catchment has a high pollution potential due to mining activities and Sungai (River) Ayer Hitam, recipient of catchment water is a highly polluted river. Therefore extensive research needs to be carried out in order to evaluate possible environmental risk factors in the area. Different environmental aspects have also discussed in this paper for the future research during this project.

Abstract: Self-organizing Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a technique that is inspired by the behavior of the ants as social insect that work together to accomplish a common goal using wisdom of the crowd. ACO is one of the algorithms that put swarm intelligence into action. Swarm intelligence, which is based on the idea of collective behavior, has occupied ACO in various fields and problem solving domains. Data mining is one of the domains where ACO has been applied successfully and provided scalable solutions. In this paper, we describe a knowledge discovery classification technique based on ACO. AntMiner, first proposed in [5], is a rule induction algorithm that occupies collective intelligence to construct classification rules. Experimental results are shown as the AntMiner+ is implemented with different variations inspired from discrete optimization, fuzzy rule induction, self-organizing map (SOM), dimensionality reduction, parallel simultaneous rule learning and tested on different datasets. Moreover, further combinations of these variations that produced enhancement are also proposed and tested.

Abstract: A study was conducted in Jamber Khurd, a union council of Tehsil Pattoki, district Kasur in Punjab province, Pakistan, in order to determine the effects of using polluted water for irrigation which disturbed the quality of ground water and then its ultimate effects on the environment and health of common man living in the area. Different water quality parameters were studied in ground water samples that includes physico-chemical parameters (pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, turbidity and total dissolved solids), anions (carbonates, bicarbonates and chlorides), cations (sodium, calcium and magnesium), biological parameters like total coliform (faecal coliform and e- coli), heavy metals (manganese, nickel, chromium, lead, copper, cobalt, iron and zinc), Sodium absorption ratio (SAR) and residual sodium carbonate (RSC). The results were compared with National Environment Quality Standards (NEQS). The results of the study show that, the use of polluted water increases the value of conductivity, total dissolved solids, sodium absorption ratio and residual sodium carbonate in ground water and exceeds the acceptable limits of National Environment Quality Standards. After detailed survey it was concluded that the use of polluted water not only degraded the ground water quality but also have a severe health hazard on the residents of the area. The concentration of heavy metals was also found to be higher than acceptable range. Possible recommendations were given, in order to protect the area from pollution degradation.

Abstract: Reasoning is an important part of many fields like logic, artificial intelligence, philosophy of science, and so on. Reasoning can either be deductive (deduction) or it can be inductive (induction). The decisions based on induction are very helpful in research but some times they produce uncertain and unreliable results upon which no reliable decision can be made. This is known as the problem of induction. In this paper, after giving deep introduction of induction and deduction, we explain views of different scholars about the problem. These scholars, unfortunately, do not agree at a single point. At the end of this discussion, we come up with a solution to the problem and conclude it. In our solution, we disagree with the strict decision of either to accept or reject induction. Instead, we are in favor to deal induction in a probable manner.

Abstract: This study is about reinforced kenaf fibres with processed of polyester composites resin by using vacuum infusion and hand lay-up method. Here, the continues long kenaf fibres material were used and treated by using different concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH), that is 6 % and 9 %. Based on the findings, vacuum infusion process appears to produce higher results of composite tensile properties compared to the composites manufactured by hand lay-up method. Also, vacuum infusion method used in this study offers the advantages over hand lay-up method for better comparison ratio between fibres to resin which resulting in stronger and lighter laminates. The kenaf-polyester composite manufactured by vacuum infusion process provides an opportunity of replacing existing materials with a higher strength, low-cost alternative that is environmentally friendly.