Browse publications by year: 2016

Fulltext Automatic infant cry classification using radial basis function network

Wahid, N. S. A., Saad, P., Hariharan, M.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;4(1):12-28.
MyJurnal

– This paper proposes the automatic infant cry classification to analyse infant cry signals.
The cry classification system consists of three stages: (1) feature extraction, (2) feature selection, and
(3) pattern classification. We extract features such as Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC),
Linear Prediction Cepstral Coefficients (LPCC), and dynamic features to represent the acoustic
characteristics of the cry signals. Due to the high dimensionality of data resulting from the feature
extraction stage, we perform feature selection in order to reduce the data dimensionality by selecting
only the relevant features. In this stage, five different feature selection techniques are experimented. In
pattern classification stage, two Artificial Neural Network (ANN) architectures: Multilayer Perceptron
(MLP) and Radial Basis Function Network (RBFN) are used for classifying the cry signals into binary
classes. Experimental results show that the best classification accuracy of 99.42% is obtained with
RBFN. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru - All rights reserved.
Fulltext Anti-cancer potential of pseuduvaria macrophylla in human cancer cell lines

Taha, H., Mohebali, N., Chung, Y. L., Ismail, N. H., Aziz , A., Bakar, M. Z. A., et al.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;4(1):1-11.
MyJurnal

his is a short report on the recent investigation on the anticancer and antioxidant potential
of Pseuduvaria macrophylla stem bark and leaf extract on human breast cancer cell (MCF-7), human
prostate cancer cell (PC-3) and human colon cancer cell (HT29). LCMS experiment was done to
identify the chemical composition in the methanolic extracts while GCMS analysis was done to
determine the chemical composition in the hexanolic extracts. For antioxidant activity, the most active
extract was leaf methanolic with 69.22 % of DPPH inhibition. Additionally, the leaf methanolic extract
inhibited the better proliferation especially on human breast cancer cell (MCF-7) compared to hexane
crude extracts due to more than 90% of cancer cell death and lowest IC50 value at range of 80.70
µg/mL ± 0.08 – 106.70 µg/mL ± 0.07. The major detected compounds were α-Cadinol, neophytadiene,
palmitic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid and isopolycerasoidal and isopolycerasoidal methyl ester. The
findings of this study support the anti-cancer claims of Pseuduvaria macrophylla leaf. Copyright© 2016
Penerbit Akademia Baru- All rights reserved.
Fulltext Common type of turbines in power plant: a review

Khattak, M. A., Mohd Ali, N. S., Zainal Abidin, N. H., Azhar, N. S., Omar, M. H.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;3(1):77-100.
MyJurnal

Most conventional power plants require a turbine as conversion system from various
working fluid like water, gas, steam and wind into mechanical energy that will be used to generate
electricity. In future, the forecast energy usage is higher and thus, to compensate this, the power plant
needs high efficiency of turbine to extract maximum quantity of energy from the working fluid.
Therefore, various improvements on turbine technology has been done and studied. There are four
common type of turbine which is hydraulic turbine, gas turbine, wind turbine and steam turbine that
will reviewed in this paper. Each turbine was differentiating based on their working fluid and different
type of turbine has their own efficiency. There is some parameter that affects the turbine efficiency like
the turbine component, the characteristic of working fluid, materials used, cooling invention and many
more. There is also some future development in progress to enhance the turbine efficiency and thus
increase the amount of electricity produce. The aims for this review paper is to find out the common
type of turbine used in power plant as different power plant needs different type of turbine. About 46
published studies (1939-2016) are reviewed in this paper. By reviewing others research studies
worldwide, this review paper can be taken as a guideline in future regarding to common type of turbines
used in power plant. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru - All rights reserved.
Fulltext Design and planning of a nuclear power plant in Malaysia: a feasibility report

Khattak, M. A., Arif, A., Hannan, A., Syukri, F., Hamid, H.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;3(1):67-76.
MyJurnal

Malaysia is currently planning on building its first nuclear power plant to add on more
variety of national energy mix. This paper is on the study on the feasibility of the plan. We will show
the current and forecast energy demand that make the nuclear power plant as the major solution to
cover the deficit. Malaysia current strategy and action on building the plant will be presented in this
paper. The challenge on delivering this project of energy mix is also a major aspect that will be
discussed. The international and national policy regarding of nuclear power and its waste has provide
a rough guidelines to execute this planning. While existing literature points to a correlation between
nuclear power, strong state involvement, centralized energy planning and the rhetoric linking energy
to national prestige and security, we show that these factors are not sufficient for a successful nuclear
program. Another motivation on pursuing nuclear power is to reduce the carbon emission to the
environment. By the end of this paper, we include the nuclear conventions that Malaysia involve and
future prospect for nuclear power plant development. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru -
All rights reserved.
Fulltext Effect of government policy on the relationship between organizational resources and construction waste management

Nasidi, Y., Bamgbade S. Abu, J. A., Adeleke, A. Q., Ali, B.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;3(1):30-47.
MyJurnal

The construction organization contributes to the generation of large quantities of
construction waste across Nigerian cities. Nigeria has been known to lack appropriate procedures for
managing construction waste, and developers and their contractors are left with the collection and
disposal of construction waste management, despite the fact that they are expected to embrace all
administrative, financial, legal, planning, and technological functions involved in solutions to all
problems of construction waste. Therefore, this leads to ineffective construction waste management.
This paper examines the effect of the government policy on the relationship between organizational
resources and construction waste management among construction organizations, in Abuja, Nigeria. A
quantitative method of survey was used to obtain data from managers of construction project-based
organizations in Abuja, Nigeria. A total of 310 questionnaires were administered and 178 usable
questionnaires were returned, yielding 57.4 response rate. Partial least square Structural equation
model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyse the data. The Cronbach’s Alpha value for the variables ranging
from 0.885 to 0.972 indicates a very good reliability of the research instrument. It was found that all
the hypotheses are significant at 5% significance level. It was found that while government policy
moderates the relationship between the Transformational leadership as a dimension of organizational
resources and construction waste management, it does not support organizational learning and staff
training. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru - All rights reserved.
Fulltext Identification and evaluation of wastes from biodiesel production process

Hayder, G., Puniyarasen, P.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;3(1):21-29.
MyJurnal

Biodiesel is an alternative fuel for diesel produced from waste oils, vegetable oils
and animal fats. Biodiesel is produced using chemical process called transesterification. The
main target of this study is the identification and evaluation of wastes from that process. Soap
and glycerol have been identified as wastes from this biodiesel production process. Soap and
glycerol were collected from a Biodiesel Production Plant. In one batch of biodiesel production
process, 100 L of glycerin and 99 L of soap produced. Evaluation of these wastes was based
on Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) test, Total Suspended Solid (TSS) test, pH test, and Oil
& Grease (O&G) test. Results of the above mentioned tests were compared with Acceptable
Conditions from Environmental Quality (Industrial Effluents) Regulations 2009 (PU (A) 434)
to identify the impact of the wastes towards the environment. For the soap, COD and O&G are
not within the acceptable conditions of the regulations. On the other hand, for glycerin, COD
is not in acceptable range of the regulations. However, the glycerin is not discharged into the
environment since glycerin has been collected and kept in storage for the further in anaerobic
digestion. On the other hand, soap couldn’t be discharged into the drain. This is not
recommended because of the high value of COD and O&G. This may cause pollution to the
environment and may endanger the life of human beings. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit
Akademia Baru - All rights reserved.
Fulltext Cable theft monitoring system (CTMS) using GSM modem

Mohd Chachuli, S. A., Mohd Nazri, S., Yusop, N., Mohamad, N. R.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;2(1):57-66.
MyJurnal

This system is developed to help in reducing the number of cable theft activities.
Currently, various methods have been applied by many companies to overcome this problem however
cable theft activities were still occurred. Thus, a new system based on simple method is proposed in
this paper to overcome these problems. The main objective of this project is to design and develop a
cable theft monitoring system (CTMS) using GSM Modem. The main parts for this system are
Peripheral Interface Controller (PIC) 16F877A microcontroller, voltage divider and temperature
sensor. From the experimental results, it showed that CTMS able to detect the voltage drop and
temperature changed with 99% of efficiency. This system is expected to enhance the capability of
existing system in term of compatibility. With significant improved in range and reliable data
accuracy in real time, this project promise a bright future to develop in reducing cable theft activities.
Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru - All rights reserved
Fulltext Non-destructive blended fibre analysis from forensic perspective

Wong, T. L., Ahmad, U. K., Tharmalingam, S.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;2(1):44-56.
MyJurnal

– The increasing use of fibre blends in clothing requires effective characterisation methods.
Fibre analysts have often relied on the methods developed for single fibres to characterise fibre
blends. This study was thus carried out using light microscopy and infrared spectroscopy to
characterise binary-blended specimens and to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools on blended
fibres. The blended samples were successfully characterised with the application of stereomicroscope,
polarized light microscope (PLM), fluorescence microscope and attenuated total reflectance Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). PLM was more effective in discovering the presence of
fibre blends compared to other techniques used in this work. Stereomicroscope allowed preliminary
screening while fluorescence microscope provided useful information in fibre discrimination. High
correlations (>80%) with combined infrared spectra of individual fibre components were reached for
most blended samples. Therefore, light microscopy (stereo, polarizing and fluorescence) and infrared
spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) are recommended for the effective characterisation of fibre blends.
Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru - All rights reserved.
Fulltext Application of taguchi method for lower subthreshold swing in ultrathin pillar SOI VDGMOSFET device

Kaharudin, K. E., Salehuddin, F., Zain, A. S. M., Aziz, M. N. I. A., Ahmad, I.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;2(1):30-43.
MyJurnal

The reduction in the dimension of planar MOSFET device appears to be limited when it
reaches to 22nm technology node. In this research , a new concept of MOSFET architecture named
as Ultrathin Pillar Vertical Double Gate (VDG) MOSFET device was introduced and it was
integrated with silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology for better electrical performances. The virtual
device fabrication and characterization were executed by using ATHENA and ATLAS modules from
SILVACO Internationals. The process parameters of the device were then optimized by utilizing the
Taguchi method for obtaining the lowest value of subthreshold swing (SS). The optimal result of the
subthreshold swing (SS) was observed to be 58.07 mV/dec with threshold voltage (VTH) of 0.408 V
and a very low leakage current (IOFF)value of 9.374 x 1016 A/µm. These results are well within the
predicted value of International Technology Roadmap Semiconductor (ITRS) 2013 for low power
(LP) requirement in the year 2020. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit Akademia Baru - All rights reserved.
Fulltext Optimization of biodegradable urea production process to minimize ammonia release through response surface method experimental design

Norhidayah, M., Dimin, M. F., Shaaban, A ., Norazlina, M. Y., Rostam, O.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;2(1):9-18.
MyJurnal

This paper investigated the influence of temperature and binder speed rate as a process
variable towards amount of ammonia emission (NH3) in the fluidized bed top spray granulation.
Response Surface Method (RSM) was employed in this experiment to optimize the process parameters
in a top-spray fluid-bed processor. Three significant variables (binder feed rate, atomize pressure and
temperature) were selected for the optimization studies. The statistical model was constructed via
central composite design (CCD) using three screened variables. These methods are exclusively used to
examine the "surface," or the relationship between the response and the factors affecting the response.
The response in this experiment is the quantity of gas release, then the goal would be to find the factor
settings that minimize the amount.The inlet temperature was identified as the most critical parameter,
followed by the binder addition rate and atomize pressure, respectively. Copyright © 2016 Penerbit
Akademia Baru - All rights reserved.
Fulltext Effects of formulation parameters on particle size and polydispersity index of orthosiphon stamineus loaded nanostructured lipid carrier

Suhaimi, S. H., Hasham @Hisam, R., Rosli, N. A.

Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2016;1(1):36-39.
MyJurnal

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of particle size and polydispersity index
(PDI) by changing the concentration of active ingredient and solid lipid in the Orthosiphon stamineus
(O. stamineus) loaded nanostructured lipid carrier (NLC) formulation. O. stamineus extract was
prepared by maceration method. From the HPLC analysis, the O. stamineus extract contains 38%
sinensetin and 62% rosmarinic acid. The method used to prepare the formulation of O. Stamineus
loaded NLC is melt emulsification homogenization technique. Solid and liquid lipid used were glyceryl
monostearate and triglyceride respectively. It was found that the size of particles increased as
increasing in concentration of active and solid lipid in the formulation. The best range for concentration
of active and solid lipid are 1-4% and 1-3% respectively since the particle size and PDI needed are
below 200 d.nm and 0.2. Collectively, based on particle size and PDI results show that the NLC system
is highly potential to be a carrier of transdermal delivery for O. stamineus. Copyright © 2015 Penerbit
Akademia Baru - All rights reserved
Fulltext Vietnam, a Hotspot for Chromosomal Diversity and Cryptic Species in Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae)

Adler PH, Takaoka H, Sofian-Azirun M, Low VL, Ya'cob Z, Chen CD, et al.

PLoS One, 2016;11(10):e0163881.
PMID: 27695048 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163881

The increasing attention on Vietnam as a biodiversity hotspot prompted an investigation of the potential for cryptic diversity in black flies, a group well known elsewhere for its high frequency of isomorphic species. We analyzed the banding structure of the larval polytene chromosomes in the Simulium tuberosum species group to probe for diversity beyond the morphological level. Among 272 larvae, 88 different chromosomal rearrangements, primarily paracentric inversions, were discovered in addition to 25 already known in the basic sequences of the group in Asia. Chromosomal diversity in Vietnam far exceeds that known for the group in Thailand, with only about 5% of the rearrangements shared between the two countries. Fifteen cytoforms and nine morphoforms were revealed among six nominal species in Vietnam. Chromosomal evidence, combined with available molecular and morphological evidence, conservatively suggests that at least five of the cytoforms are valid species, two of which require formal names. The total chromosomal rearrangements and species (15) now known from the group in Vietnam far exceed those of any other area of comparable size in the world, supporting the country's status as a biodiversity hotspot. Phylogenetic inference based on uniquely shared, derived chromosomal rearrangements supports the clustering of cytoforms into two primary lineages, the Simulium tani complex and the Southeast Asian Simulium tuberosum subgroup. Some of these taxa could be threatened by habitat destruction, given their restricted geographical distributions and the expanding human population of Vietnam.

MeSH terms: Animals; Chromosome Mapping; Larva; Phylogeny; Simuliidae/classification*; Simuliidae/genetics*; Translocation, Genetic; Genetic Variation*; Vietnam; Cytogenetic Analysis; Biodiversity*; Polytene Chromosomes*
Fulltext Performance of the Malay Audit of Diabetes Dependent Quality of Life-18 and Associates of Quality of Life among Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus from Major Ethnic Groups of Malaysia

Daher AM, AlMashoor SH, Winn T

PLoS One, 2016;11(10):e0163701.
PMID: 27695086 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163701

INTRODUCTION: Diabetes Mellitus (DM) is notorious for its metabolic effect, acute and chronic complications and impact on Quality of Life (QoL). Successful intervention to improve QoL necessitates a valid and reliable measurement tool to identify areas of concern to patients with diabetes.
OBJECTIVES: To (1) assess the factor structure of the Malay Audit of Diabetes Dependent Quality of Life-18 (ADDQoL-18) questionnaire; (2) determine the impact of DM on QoL; and (3) identify areas of concern to patients with type 2 DM from three major ethnic groups in Malaysia.
METHODS: Data was obtained from a cross sectional study involving 256 patients with type 2 DM attending the diabetes clinic of the National University of Malaysia Medical Centre. The Malay version of ADDQoL-18 survey was translated from its English version according to standard guidelines and administered by a trained research assistant. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) with oblimin rotation was used to determine factor structure of the data. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to confirm the factor structure. Hierarchical liner regression was used to determine factors associated with QoL.
RESULTS: Unforced factor solution yielded two factors for the whole sample. Forced one factor solution was ascertained for the whole sample and for each ethnic group. Loadings ranged between 0.588 and 0.949. Reliability coefficients were all higher than 0.955. CFA showed that the two factor model had better fit statistics. QoL was associated with the use of insulin and desired glycaemic control, longer diabetes duration, worry about diabetes, and diabetes complications.
CONCLUSIONS: The Malay ADDQoL-18 is a valid tool to be used among patients with diabetes from different ethnic groups in Malaysia. The use of insulin to achieve desired glycaemic control had more negative impact on QoL than the use of tablets and/or dietary changes.

MeSH terms: Blood Glucose; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/blood; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy*; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/epidemiology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/pathology; Ethnic Groups; Female; Humans; Insulin/therapeutic use*; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Obesity/blood; Obesity/drug therapy*; Obesity/epidemiology; Obesity/pathology; Quality of Life*; Surveys and Questionnaires
Fulltext No Compensatory Relationship between the Innate and Adaptive Immune System in Wild-Living European Badgers

Sin YW, Newman C, Dugdale HL, Buesching C, Mannarelli ME, Annavi G, et al.

PLoS One, 2016;11(10):e0163773.
PMID: 27695089 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0163773

The innate immune system provides the primary vertebrate defence system against pathogen invasion, but it is energetically costly and can have immune pathological effects. A previous study in sticklebacks found that intermediate major histocompatibility complex (MHC) diversity correlated with a lower leukocyte coping capacity (LCC), compared to individuals with fewer, or many, MHC alleles. The organization of the MHC genes in mammals, however, differs to the highly duplicated MHC genes in sticklebacks by having far fewer loci. Using European badgers (Meles meles), we therefore investigated whether innate immune activity, estimated functionally as the ability of an individual's leukocytes to produce a respiratory burst, was influenced by MHC diversity. We also investigated whether LCC was influenced by factors such as age-class, sex, body condition, season, year, neutrophil and lymphocyte counts, and intensity of infection with five different pathogens. We found that LCC was not associated with specific MHC haplotypes, MHC alleles, or MHC diversity, indicating that the innate immune system did not compensate for the adaptive immune system even when there were susceptible MHC alleles/haplotypes, or when the MHC diversity was low. We also identified a seasonal and annual variation of LCC. This temporal variation of innate immunity was potentially due to physiological trade-offs or temporal variation in pathogen infections. The innate immunity, estimated as LCC, does not compensate for MHC diversity suggests that the immune system may function differently between vertebrates with different MHC organizations, with implications for the evolution of immune systems in different taxa.

MeSH terms: Adaptation, Physiological/immunology; Alleles; Animals; Female; Haplotypes; Immunity, Innate/genetics*; Major Histocompatibility Complex/genetics; Major Histocompatibility Complex/immunology; Male; Seasons; Selection, Genetic; Genetic Variation/immunology*; Mustelidae/genetics; Mustelidae/immunology*; Adaptive Immunity/genetics*
Fulltext Non-ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction and Coronary Artery Stenting in Pregnancy in a Woman with Resistant Familial Hyperlipidaemia

Roslani AL, Jaafar AH, Ruhani AI

J Obstet Gynaecol India, 2016 Oct;66(Suppl 2):698-702.
PMID: 27803548
Fulltext Clinical Impact of Education Provision on Determining Advance Care Planning Decisions among End Stage Renal Disease Patients Receiving Regular Hemodialysis in University Malaya Medical Centre

Hing Wong A, Chin LE, Ping TL, Peng NK, Kun LS

Indian J Palliat Care, 2016 Oct-Dec;22(4):437-445.
PMID: 27803566

Advance care planning (ACP) is a process of shared decision-making about future health-care plans between patients, health care providers, and family members, should patients becomes incapable of participating in medical treatment decisions. ACP discussions enhance patient's autonomy, focus on patient's values and treatment preferences, and promote patient-centered care. ACP is integrated as part of clinical practice in Singapore and the United States.

MeSH terms: Decision Making; Family; Health Personnel; Humans; Singapore; United States; Patient-Centered Care; Advance Care Planning
Role of Antioxidants and Natural Products in Inflammation

Arulselvan P, Fard MT, Tan WS, Gothai S, Fakurazi S, Norhaizan ME, et al.

Oxid Med Cell Longev, 2016;2016:5276130.
PMID: 27803762

Inflammation is a comprehensive array of physiological response to a foreign organism, including human pathogens, dust particles, and viruses. Inflammations are mainly divided into acute and chronic inflammation depending on various inflammatory processes and cellular mechanisms. Recent investigations have clarified that inflammation is a major factor for the progression of various chronic diseases/disorders, including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, eye disorders, arthritis, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and inflammatory bowel disease. Free radical productions from different biological and environmental sources are due to an imbalance of natural antioxidants which further leads to various inflammatory associated diseases. In this review article, we have outlined the inflammatory process and its cellular mechanisms involved in the progression of various chronic modern human diseases. In addition, we have discussed the role of free radicals-induced tissue damage, antioxidant defence, and molecular mechanisms in chronic inflammatory diseases/disorders. The systematic knowledge regarding the role of inflammation and its associated adverse effects can provide a clear understanding in the development of innovative therapeutic targets from natural sources that are intended for suppression of various chronic inflammations associated diseases.

MeSH terms: Animals; Antioxidants/therapeutic use*; Antioxidants/chemistry; Biological Products/pharmacology; Biological Products/therapeutic use*; Biological Products/chemistry; Chronic Disease; Humans; Inflammation/classification; Inflammation/drug therapy*; Signal Transduction/drug effects
Optimization of Physiochemical Parameters during Bioremediation of Synthetic Dye by Marasmius cladophyllus UMAS MS8 Using Statistical Approach

Shuib FN, Husaini A, Zulkharnain A, Roslan HA, Guan TM

ScientificWorldJournal, 2016;2016:8296239.
PMID: 27803944

In many industrial areas such as in food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, printing, and textile, the use of synthetic dyes has been integral with products such as azo dye, anthrax, and dyestuffs. As such, these industries produce a lot of waste by-products that could contaminate the environment. Bioremediation, therefore, has become an important emerging technology due to its cost-sustainable, effective, natural approach to cleaning up contaminated groundwater and soil via the use of microorganisms. The use of microorganisms in bioremediation requires the optimisation of parameters used in cultivating the organism. Thus the aim of the work was to assess the degradation of Remazol Brilliant Blue R (RBBR) dye on soil using Plackett-Burman design by the basidiomycete, M. cladophyllus UMAS MS8. Biodegradation analyses were carried out on a soil spiked with RBBR and supplemented with rice husk as the fungus growth enhancer. A two-level Plackett-Burman design was used to screen the medium components for the effects on the decolourization of RBBR. For the analysis, eleven variables were selected and from these four parameters, dye concentration, yeast extract concentration, inoculum size, and incubation time, were found to be most effective to degrade RBBR with up to 91% RBBR removal in soil after 15 days.

MeSH terms: Biodegradation, Environmental*; Coloring Agents/metabolism*; Soil Pollutants/metabolism*; Marasmius/metabolism*
Sexual History and Present Attractiveness: People Want a Mate With a Bit of a Past, But Not Too Much

Stewart-Williams S, Butler CA, Thomas AG

J Sex Res, 2016 11 02;54(9):1097-1105.
PMID: 27805420 DOI: 10.1080/00224499.2016.1232690

The aim of this study was to explore how people's sexual history affects their attractiveness. Using an Internet survey, 188 participants rated their willingness to engage in a relationship with a hypothetical individual with a specified number of past sexual partners, ranging from 0 to 60+. The effect of past partner number was very large. Average willingness ratings initially rose as past partner number rose, but then fell dramatically. For short-term relationships, men were more willing than women to get involved (although the difference was not large). For long-term relationships, in contrast, there was virtually no sex difference. Thus, contrary to the idea that male promiscuity is tolerated but female promiscuity is not, both sexes expressed equal reluctance to get involved with someone with an overly extensive sexual history. Finally, participants with an unrestricted sociosexual orientation (high SO participants) were more tolerant than low SO participants of prospective mates with higher numbers of past sexual partners but were also less tolerant of prospective mates with low numbers of past sexual partners.

MeSH terms: Adolescent; Adult; Choice Behavior/physiology*; Female; Humans; Male; Sexual Behavior/psychology*; Sexual Partners/psychology*; Young Adult
Fulltext Migrant Workers in Malaysia: Current Implications of Sociodemographic and Environmental Characteristics in the Transmission of Intestinal Parasitic Infections

Sahimin N, Lim YA, Ariffin F, Behnke JM, Lewis JW, Mohd Zain SN

PLoS Negl Trop Dis, 2016 Nov;10(11):e0005110.
PMID: 27806046 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0005110

A cross-sectional study of intestinal parasitic infections amongst migrant workers in Malaysia was conducted. A total of 388 workers were recruited from five sectors including manufacturing, construction, plantation, domestic and food services. The majority were recruited from Indonesia (n = 167, 43.3%), followed by Nepal (n = 81, 20.9%), Bangladesh (n = 70, 18%), India (n = 47, 12.1%) and Myanmar (n = 23, 5.9.2%). A total of four nematode species (Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Enterobius vermicularis and hookworms), one cestode (Hymenolepis nana) and three protozoan species (Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, Giardia sp. and Cryptosporidium spp.) were identified. High prevalence of infections with A. lumbricoides (43.3%) was recorded followed by hookworms (13.1%), E. histolytica/dispar (11.6%), Giardia sp. (10.8%), T. trichura (9.5%), Cryptosporodium spp. (3.1%), H. nana (1.8%) and E. vermicularis (0.5%). Infections were significantly influenced by socio-demographic (nationality), and environmental characteristics (length of working years in the country, employment sector and educational level). Up to 84.0% of migrant workers from Nepal and 83.0% from India were infected with intestinal parasites, with the ascarid nematode A. lumbricoides occurring in 72.8% of the Nepalese and 68.1% of the Indian population. In addition, workers with an employment history of less than a year or newly arrived in Malaysia were most likely to show high levels of infection as prevalence of workers infected with A. lumbricoides was reduced from 58.2% to 35.4% following a year's residence. These findings suggest that improvement is warranted in public health and should include mandatory medical screening upon entry into the country.

MeSH terms: Adult; Animals; Bangladesh; Myanmar; Cross-Sectional Studies; Environment; Female; Helminths/classification; Helminths/genetics; Helminths/isolation & purification; Humans; India; Indonesia; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/epidemiology; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/parasitology*; Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic/transmission*; Malaysia/ethnology; Malaysia/epidemiology; Male; Middle Aged; Nematoda/classification; Nematoda/genetics; Nematoda/isolation & purification; Parasites/classification; Parasites/genetics; Parasites/isolation & purification*; Transients and Migrants/statistics & numerical data; Young Adult

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