Oil palm crop yield is sensitive to heat and drought. Therefore, El Niño events affect oil palm production, resulting in price fluctuations of crude palm oil due to global supply shortage. This study developed a new Fresh Fruit Bunch Index (FFBI) model based on the monthly oil palm fresh fruit bunch (FFB) yield data, which correlates directly with the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) to model the impact of past El Niño events in Malaysia in terms of production and economic losses. FFBI is derived from Malaysian monthly FFB yields from January 1986 to July 2021 in the same way ONI is derived from monthly sea surface temperatures (SST). With FFBI model, the Malaysian oil palm yields are better correlated with ONI and have higher predictive ability. The descriptive and inferential statistical assessments show that the newly proposed FFBI time series model (adjusted R-squared = 0.9312 and residual median = 0.0051) has a better monthly oil palm yield predictive ability than the FFB model (adjusted R-squared = 0.8274 and residual median = 0.0077). The FFBI model also revealed an oil palm under yield concern of the Malaysian oil palm industry in the next thirty-month forecasted period from July 2021 to December 2023.

Detecting breast cancer (BC) at the initial stages of progression has always been regarded as a lifesaving intervention. With modern technology, extensive studies have unraveled the complexity of BC, but the current standard practice of early breast cancer screening and clinical management of cancer progression is still heavily dependent on tissue biopsies, which are invasive and limited in capturing definitive cancer signatures for more comprehensive applications to improve outcomes in BC care and treatments. In recent years, reviews and studies have shown that liquid biopsies in the form of blood, containing free circulating and exosomal microRNAs (miRNAs), have become increasingly evident as a potential minimally invasive alternative to tissue biopsy or as a complement to biomarkers in assessing and classifying BC. As such, in this review, the potential of miRNAs as the key BC signatures in liquid biopsy are addressed, including the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning platforms (ML), in capitalizing on the big data of miRNA for a more comprehensive assessment of the cancer, leading to practical clinical utility in BC management.

This study calibrated the Soil Conservation Service Curve Number (SCS-CN) model to predict decadal runoff in Peninsula Malaysia and found a correlation between the reduction of forest area, urbanization, and an increase in runoff volume. The conventional SCS-CN runoff model was found to commit a type II error in this study and must be pre-justified with statistics and calibrated before being adopted for any runoff prediction. Between 1970 and 2000, deforestation in Peninsula Malaysia caused a decline in forested land by 25.5%, resulting in a substantial rise in excess runoff by 10.2%. The inter-decadal mean runoff differences were more pronounced in forested and rural catchments (lower CN classes) compared to urban areas. The study also found that the CN value is a sensitive parameter, and changing it by ±10% can significantly impact the average runoff estimate by 40%. Therefore, SCS practitioners are advised not to adjust the CN value for better runoff modeling results. Additionally, NASA’s Giovanni system was used to generate 20 years of monthly rainfall data from 2001–2020 for trend analysis and short-term rainfall forecasting. However, there was no significant uptrend in rainfall within the period studied, and occurrences of flood and landslide incidents were likely attributed to land-use changes in Peninsula Malaysia.

This study presents a revised and calibrated Soil Conservation Service (SCS) curve number (CN) rainfall runoff model for predicting runoff in Malaysia using a new power correlation Ia = SL, where L represents the initial abstraction coefficient ratio. The traditional SCS-CN model with the proposed relation Ia = 0.2S is found to be unreliable, and the revised model exhibits improved accuracy. The study emphasizes the need to design flood control infrastructure based on the maximum estimated runoff amount to avoid underestimation of the runoff volume. If the flood control infrastructure is designed based on the optimum CN0.2 values, it could lead to an underestimation of the runoff volume of 50,100 m3 per 1 km2 catchment area in Malaysia. The forest areas reduced by 25% in Peninsular Malaysia from the 1970s to the 1990s and 9% in East Malaysia from the 1980s to the 2010s, which was accompanied by an increase in decadal runoff difference, with the most significant rises of 108% in Peninsular Malaysia from the 1970s to the 1990s and 32% in East Malaysia from the 1980s to the 2010s. This study recommends taking land use changes into account during flood prevention planning to effectively address flood issues. Overall, the findings of this study have significant implications for flood prevention and land use management in Malaysia. The revised model presents a viable alternative to the conventional SCS-CN model, with a focus on estimating the maximum runoff amount and accounting for land use alterations in flood prevention planning. This approach has the potential to enhance flood management in the region.

No abstract