Rafflesia kerrii is an endemic species to Peninsular Malaysia and Southern part of Thailand. The genus grows without the vegetative components such as, leaves, stems and true roots, where the only visible structure is the flower itself. It is easy to identify R. kerrii by its large dull red flowers, perigones covered by numerous small white pinkish warts and a wide diaphragm opening. However, there is a scarcity of knowledge about the species’s anatomical traits. Herein, this study is aimed to evaluate the anatomical characteristics of R. kerrii in Lojing Highlands by using micro techniques analysis. The results were compared to those of a similar species found in Thailand. Four main components of flower were analysed, these are; the perigone lobe, window, processes and ramenta. The anatomical analysis of R. kerrii collected in Lojing Highlands have revealed that all the four components had simple and uncomplicated structures. Both upper and bottom layers of the plant have epidermal cell layers. The ground tissues also have an undeveloped vascular bundle. Based on the findings, the anatomical characteristics of R. kerrii found in Lojing Highlands and in Khao Sok National Park in Thailand were identical and shared similar types of main tissues. However, there are minor differences such as in the presence of starch grains, distance between vascular bundles in perigone lobe, and the presence of trichome in the compartment of windows.

Located at Bersia Timur, the Rafflesia Conservation and Interpretive Centre (RCIC) was initiated by the Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and FELDA to boost research and conservation efforts of the iconic Rafflesia species in the state of Perak. It also plays a role in supporting the economy of local communities by promoting local eco-tourism, providing trainings to local tour-guides and involving them in conserving the Rafflesia population. As part of the R & D and conservation effort, genetic diversity assessment of Rafflesia cantleyi from RCIC and Gerik Forest Reserve (FR) was carried out. Bract samples from a total of eight and 35 R. cantleyi individuals of different flowering / anthesis stages were collected from RCIC and Gerik FR, respectively. We used nine polymorphic microsatellite markers for genotyping. Despite the small sample size (∼75% lesser compared with Gerik FR), the total number of alleles observed in RCIC is > 50% than that of Gerik FR, i.e., 33 compared to 57. The genetic diversity measure in terms of observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosities from both sites are comparable (RCIC: Ho = 0.5298, He = 0.5347; Gerik FR: Ho = 0.5145, He = 0.5868). Our findings suggest that the R. cantleyi population in Gerik FR is a suitable source for future translocation activities.

Various noise-absorbing materials and apparatus were developed not only for industry purposes but also for increased personal convenience through the absorption of unwanted sound. Absorbing products are typically passive mediums, whereas active-control absorption is expensive and complicated to install. Thus, in this study, a semi-active panel design for the sound absorber is developed to ensure operation at a required absorption level for a particular environment and to allow manual control. This study focused on producing an optimum design from several blueprints by using the simulation program, WinFlag. Simulation results are validated by using the impedance tube method. The samples used are perforated plates with open areas of 5%, 7.5%, 10%, 12.5%, ​​and 15%. The second layer is a 35-mm thick coconut coir fiber as the main absorbing material. The third layer is air cavity. Simulation results indicate that the panel with perforation plates with 15% open areas gained the highest peak of sound absorption coefficient (0.851) at 5000 Hz. By using 30 mm thick air cavities, the highest peak is 0.963 at 3129 Hz. Experimental results indicate that the highest peak of sound absorption coefficient is 0.847 for the 15% open area of perforated plates, whereas the highest peak is 0.934 when 30 mm thick air cavities are used. The same pattern in the overall results denotes that the experiment result agrees with that of the simulation