Resale Price Maintenance (hereinafter ‘RPM’) can be defined as the practice whereby a manufacturer and a distributor agree that the former will sell the latter’s products at certain prices. RPM may take a variety of forms including fixed, minimum, maximum, or recommended resale prices. In general, practice of RPM may restrict the distributors’ freedom of setting their prices at the downstream level henceforth attracting the application of competition law. The paper aims to analyse the legal status of RPM in the context of competition law in European Union and Malaysia including the ways RPM is able to restrict competition. This paper contains a detailed analysis of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (hereinafter ‘TFEU’), the Competition Act 2010 (hereinafter ‘CA 2010’), related regulations, guidelines, case law, and scholarly writing in this area. The paper concludes that not all forms of RPM are prohibited under these two jurisdictions. Some of them are deemed illegal or anti-competitive because they are likely to harm competition and some of them may be permitted subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions.
The construction industry in Malaysia is heavily dependent on foreign workers. Unfortunately, it
seems that the local youth would prefer to be unemployed rather than be employed in construction
sites. Archival data from the Labor Force Survey Report was compiled to determine the trend of youth
participation in the construction workforce. The findings indicate that local youth participation has
never exceeded 25% of the total construction workforce. An extensive survey was also carried out on
youth at vocational training centers to determine their current perception of a career in the
construction industry especially in construction sites. Surprisingly, the findings of the survey found
that 3’D (difficult, dangerous and dirty) image is no longer a main factor in distracting local youth
from pursuing career in the construction workforce. Hence, the strategies have been adopted based on
extensive feedback from self-administered questionnaire survey to acquire perception 288 local youth
who are taking the non-construction courses at GIATMARA Malaysia. Construction industry experts
representing Government Authority, Researcher and contractor were also interviewed to obtain an
insight on what went wrong with the previous and current initiatives to attract youth into the
construction industry and how things can be done better. This study has attempted to produce more
effective and sustainable strategies that can transform the construction industry into a preferred sector
of employment for local youth.
Most studies done in the past on factors affecting academic performance did not touch on quality of life factor. Also, most studies only used correlation and regression analysis. Not many studies used classification analysis. Hence, this study aimed to classify students based on quality of life and academic performance. Students’ quality of life was measured by using WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire which consists of five quality of life domains namely physical health, psychological health, social relationship, environment and overall quality of life whereas the academic performances were represented by cumulative grade point average (CGPA). The selected sample for this study was 60 Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perlis students from Bachelor of Science (Hons.) Management Mathematics program. This study applied support vector machine (SVM) method for classifying the students. The results for each quality of life domain showed that students with both low and high academic performance were classified into high academic performance class. The same result was obtained when all domains were combined. All models showed high accuracy which implied that the classification made by SVM were strongly correct. The findings of this study demonstrated that quality of life plays an important role in students’ academic performance.
Banana fruit which belongs to the family Musaceae is one of the most widely distributed and
consumed fruit in the world especially in tropical and subtropical countries. People only consume the
banana’s pulp and dump its peel as solid waste. This gives a very serious agricultural waste disposal
and eventually cause environmental problems that keep worsen each day. Thus, this study concern
on the phytochemical content and the antioxidant in peel extracts of unripe Cavendish and Dream
banana. The dried peels of banana fruit were grinded and extracted by using ethanol as the extraction
solvent. The percentage yield of the ethanol extract of unripe Cavendish and Dream banana fruit
peels were 17.765 % and 17.081 % respectively. The banana peel extracts were screened for the
presence of bioactive compounds which showed the presence of phenols, flavonoids and tannins.
Antioxidant activity of the banana peel extracts was evaluated using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl
(DPPH) free radical scavenging assay. The concentration of the peel extracts required for 50 %
inhibition of DPPH radical scavenging activity ( ) were recorded at 90.28 μg/ml for Cavendish
and 113.09 μg/ml for Dream banana. The extracts of both banana peels definitely showed potential
as a sources of natural antioxidant.
This study was carried out to investigate the electrical properties of YBCO sample as superconductor
and the effect of addition of Co3O4 on the superconducting properties of YBCO superconductor. The
YBCO sample was prepared by solid state reaction route. The samples were prepared by each with
weight percentage of cobalt oxide of x= 0.00, x= 0.01, x= 0.02 and x= 0.03. Electrical Conduction by
Multimeter, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Critical temperature (Tc) measurement, X-ray
Diffraction (XRD), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were conducted for analysis.
Multimeter showed all samples were in electric conduction, FTIR showed that carbonyl compound in
the sample was removed after calcinations. Tc measurement showed that the critical temperature of
sample of x= 0.02 was increased compared to sample of x= 0.00. XRD showed all samples have
orthorhombic structure and SEM showed that the grain size was increased as increased the cobalt
addition in YBCO superconductor. Besides, the EDX also showed the composition of elements
YBCO were tally with chemicals used for pure YBCO and addition cobalt oxide into YBCO
superconductor.
Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) is a crucial scope of work in civil engineering specifically on
monitoring the in-service and ageing coastal bridge deck concrete structure serviceability and limit
state status performance. One of the possible natural process that pose detrimental effects to such
structure performance monitoring is the steel rebar pitting corrosion problem. Progressive pitting
corrosion process on the certain steel rebar area in low quality of concrete cover due to chloride
ingression will cause local premature damage the steel rebar which obviously affect the serviceability
performance of the structural element, i.e. displacement. However, the available displacement
monitoring methods become an issue when it comes to engineering practicality and costs
considerations. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to monitor and analyze the vertical
displacement of an undamaged and damage reinforced concrete beam using the digital signal
processing technology, Digital Image Correlation, (DIC) that use Sony camera and MATLAB scripts,
and compared to a traditional method, Linear Variable Displacement Transducer (LVDT) at two
points bending tests setup. It was concluded, that the quantified displacement for corrosion-damage
RC via DIC method is higher than the normal reinforced concrete beam by 2 to 46 percent of error to
LVDT measurements. Based on two tailed paired t-test analysis, DIC method was concluded to be as
good as the LVDT method of measuring the beam’s displacement. The developed method has the
potential implementation on monitoring the any beam deflection on current real civil engineering
related projects.
Technological innovations are significant in human and professional life. A new online correction and
prevention system called eTPP to replace old traditional system has introduced new major changes in
the reporting process. Therefore, this study was carried out to determine the level of user's acceptance
towards eTPP and to investigate the factors that influence user's behavioural intentions to use eTPP in
UiTM Cawangan Johor, Kampus Segamat. A Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was employed
as a conceptual framework to investigate the factors that influence users' acceptance to use eTPP. To
test the model, data were collected from 44 respondents from various departments in UiTM
Cawangan Johor, Kampus Segamat. Questionnaires were distributed to collect primary data from the
respondents about their acceptability of eTPP. The results were presented through multiple regression
analysis and supported by mediating analysis (Preacher and Hayes, 2008; Baron and Kenny, 1986),
whereby it showed consistent mediating result with the regression result. The overall finding of the
study showed that the perceived ease of use was the main factor influencing eTPP acceptance among
the users.
In this study, the unprecedented extraction of the Vitex pouch was performed. The compounds from
methanolic and chloroform extracts were isolated by using thin layer chromatography (TLC). The
compound of interest was investigated by using 1H-Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR, 500 MHz)
spectroscopy. From the NMR spectral examination, the compound from the methanolic extract was
suggested as glucononitol. Indeed, there are some parameters that could enhance the attainment of this
research, which include high performance liquid chromatographic supplies. Nevertheless, more
information and understanding on the pharmaceutical and chemical analysis of the Vitex species were
obtained. To sum up, it is anticipated that incoming research with advanced technology for this
natural product could be explored in the future.
MeSH terms: Methanol; Biological Products; Chloroform; Chromatography, Gas; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Thin Layer; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy; Vitex
This article attempts to provide an overview of issues related to children’s participation in decisions relating to health care. It sets the discussion in the context of current debate about children’s participation in health care decisions and explores the extent to which children want to participate in the decision. This article concludes that children mostly occupy a minimal role in communication and decisions regarding their care. The patterns of participation of children in communication and decisions are differing and fluctuate between the children and within the same child throughout their hospitalisation, depending on the participating child, their preferences, and requirements at a particular time.
In Malaysia, breastfeeding was dominantly practiced among Malay whose deeply believe in Islam and any decision should abide by Islamic teachings. Existing literature appear to have limited evidence on Malay mothers’ interpretation and construction of this practice. The decision to breastfeed was believed to be influenced by social and cultural context. Therefore, in order to explore life experience of breastfeeding mothers on their beliefs related to religious and sociocultural, qualitative study design was used. A minimal guidance of phenomenological approach adopted as the methodological framework. Semi structured interviews were carried out among 15 mothers whose were recruited from four Maternal and Child Health Clinic in Kuantan using purposive sampling. The experience of researchers thorough out their journey will be shared in terms of challenges; barriers and solution to overcome the concerned that exist while conducting in-depth interview session.
MeSH terms: Adult; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Breast Feeding*; Female; Humans; Malaysia/ethnology; Maternal-Child Health Centers; Interview; Qualitative Research
The protection of human subjects through the application of appropriate ethical principles is important in all research study. In a qualitative study, ethical considerations have a particular resonance due to the indepth nature of the study process. The existing ethical guidance for undertaking qualitative research often provide general guidelines rather than focusing on how to apply it in practice, particularly when interviewing vulnerable group of women. The aim of this paper is to present my own experience of conducting 33 individual face to face interviews on the women’s experience of postnatal depression across three different cultural backgrounds in Malaysia. This paper reflects on the strategies that can be adopted by a qualitative researcher to ensure that their participants’ identity is protected throughout recruitment and dissemination process, to deal with participants from different cultural backgrounds, and to handle and manage distress during interview. The consideration of ethical issues is crucial throughout all stages of qualitative study to keep the balance between the potential risks of research and the likely benefits of the research.
Objective: This paper reports the medical record analysis findings to identify nurses and junior doctors risk assessment and response to the incidence of deteriorating patient in general ward. Methods: A medical records analysis was conducted at a medical ward in one Malaysian hospital. Patients that were admitted for more than 24 hours and scored at least 3 points on the Modified Early Warning Sign (MEWS) assessment with their last 24 hours parameters calculated and nurses and junior doctor’s responses were analysed retrospectively. Results: Out of 200 records obtained, only 10 patients’ medical records met the study inclusion criteria. Three main themes were evident in the study, namely ‘track and trigger’, ‘hierarchical intervening’ and ‘attitude’. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that some nurses and junior doctors experience difficulties in effectively responding to patient deterioration which often occurs at a critical juncture. This study highlights factors which need to be addressed to increase patient safety and improve medical outcomes during hospitalization.
Objective: this study aims to assess the knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B and its associated factors among students of medical colleges at Kuantan Campus, the International Islamic University Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used, and data collection was carried out using a selfstructured close-ended questionnaire. Descriptive and analytic statistics were performed with independent t-test, One Way ANOVA and a correlation analysis determine any significant differences between the groups with p < 0.05 significance value Results: According to the results, there was a significant (p < 0.001) association between the type of Faculty with knowledge and awareness about hepatitis B. In addition, the results showed an association between year of study with the knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B (p < 0.001). Furthermore, there was an association between duration of clinical experience with knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B (p < 0.001). The results showed that there was no association between gender with knowledge and awareness of hepatitis B (p > 0.05). Conclusion: levels of knowledge showed a strong correlation with levels of awareness, meaning that students with high knowledge also had high awareness of hepatitis B. On the whole, students were aware of and knowledgeable about hepatitis B.
MeSH terms: Analysis of Variance; Awareness; Cross-Sectional Studies; Faculty; Hepatitis B; Malaysia; Surveys and Questionnaires; Students; Universities
Objective: This study aimed to determine the association of socio-demographic factors and quality of life (QOL) of HNC survivors before and after treatment in Malaysia. Methods: 40 HNC patients were recruited, and assessed for their with QOL with Life Cancer Survivor (QLQ-CS) Head & Neck 35 (QLQ-H&N35) questionnaire pre-treatment and six months post-treatment. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and paired t-test were done to analyse the data. Results: The result shows that the QOL of HNC patients were at medium level (total mean score M= 6.22) before treatment, and reduced (total mean score M= 4.84) at 6 months after treatment) . Only health history was seen significantly associated with QOL of HNC patients, both pre and post-treatment. Post treatment showed only marital status factor associated with QOL of HNC patients. The paired sample t-test result shows that the symptoms /problem pre- treatment (M = 255.10, SD = 20.405 )was lower than post treatment (M = 201.80, SD = 22.025)(t (49) = 9.337; p =0.001). Conclusions: The present research suggested that the patients’ QOL is reduced after treatment (medium level). This could be due to the advancement of the cancer and evidence when the health history and symptoms found significantly associated with the QOL. Thus, socio-demographic factors is very crucial factors that must be considered during patients’ assessment in improving patients’ care and optimum QOL pre and post treatment.
Objective: This study aims to determine the prevalence of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and its association with perceived stress levels among nursing students at the International Islamic University Malaysia.
Methods: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. A three-part questionnaire was used to gather data on stress levels and IBS symptoms. Part A posed questions on socio-demographic aspects. In part B, a Perceived Stress Scale was used to measure individuals’ perceived stress. Part C used a questionnaire developed by the World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO) with the support of Danone.
Results: The response rate was 85.5%: out of 200 students, 171 completed the questionnaires. According to the results, there is a significant relationship between stress levels and IBS (p = 0.006), where students who experienced moderate stress (151, 88.3%) were more exposed to IBS (60, 39.7%). There is no association between the characteristics of subjects with IBS and their level of stress (P > 0.05).
Conclusion: The prevalence of IBS among the students in this study was roughly moderate. The frequency of moderate stress levels was high and there was a significant association with IBS. On the other hand, subject characteristics, e.g. smoking habits, were insignificantly associated with IBS and stress level (SL).
Objective: This study aims to determine the incidence rate of phlebitis among patients with peripheral intravenous catheter. Methods: An observational study was conducted in one of the hospitals in East Coast Malaysia. There were 321 data collected among patients who had peripheral intravenous catheter in medical, gynecology and orthopedic wards. The incidence of phlebitis was evaluated using modified Visual Infusion Phlebitis score checklist. Results: The incidence of phlebitis, was found out to be 36.1% (n=116/321). Most patients who developed phlebitis had visual infusion phlebitis, with a score of two (34.9%) and the rest developed phlebitis with a score of three (1.2%). Conclusion: This high incidence of phlebitis indicated a worrying outcome. Therefore, the study findings suggested that a specific guideline on post insertion management of peripheral intravenous catheter should be revised which may help in reducing more incidence of phlebitis, subsequently reduce infection in ward, and provide more safety environment in hospital and reducing cost in managing infection control.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of the public on the services provided in the Emergency Department (ED) of Hospital Tengku Ampuan Afzan (HTAA). Methods: An exploratory, descriptive design was used to understand public experiences on the services in the ED. Ten respondents who fit the inclusion criteria were selected using purposive sampling method during their visit to the ED. They were interviewed for 30 to 45 minutes and were audio-recorded with the permission of the participants. The general meaning and the tone conveyed by the respondents were determined through coding, descriptions, and the themes that emerged. Results: Four major themes emerged from the study including waiting time, ED staff, information regarding the ED, and expectation on the ED services. Conclusion: As a result, there is a need to improve the practices in the ED and a need for an awareness program on the real functions and services of the ED
MeSH terms: Awareness; Emergency Medical Services; Emergency Service, Hospital; Hospitals; Surveys and Questionnaires
OBJECTIVES: To describe the features and treatment outcomes of IgG4-RD in multi-ethnic patients in Singapore.
METHODS: Retrospective study was performed on IgG4-RD patients identified from patient databases in a tertiary hospital.
RESULTS: Fourty-two patients (76% male) were included; 79% fulfilled the 2011 comprehensive diagnostic criteria for IgG4-RD for definite IgG4-RD. 81% were Chinese and 19% were Malays. Common initial manifestations included jaundice (52%), abdominal pain (36%) and swollen salivary glands (26%). Only 36% had a history of allergy. 83% had ≥ 1 organ involvement. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, immunoglobulin E, IgG2 and IgG4 levels were elevated in 84%, 100%, 70% and 44% of patients, respectively. The most common histopathological feature was >10 IgG4+ cells per high power field (66%). 94% (34/36) of patients were treated with moderate to high doses of glucocorticoids, including 17 patients with combination immunosuppressants. Of these, all patients responded to therapy by 3 months. With a median (range) follow-up of 4.1 (0.4-13.8) years, 69% (25/36) needed low dose of glucocorticoids to maintain disease remission. Twenty-six per cent had relapse of disease, of which 82% had disease recurrence in the same organs.
CONCLUSIONS: Pancreatitis, lymphoadenopathy and cholangitis were the commonest manifestations in Asians with IgG4-RD. All patients responded to glucocorticoid therapy by 3 months, two-thirds required maintenance therapy with glucocorticoids, and one-quarter developed relapse of disease.
Nanotechnology advancements have led to the development of its allied fields, such as nanoparticle synthesis and their applications in the field of biomedicine. Nanotechnology driven innovations have given a hope to the patients as well as physicians in solving the complex medical problems. Nanoparticles with a size ranging from 0.2 to 100 nm are associated with an increased surface to volume ratio. Moreover, the physico-chemical and biological properties of nanoparticles can be modified depending on the applications. Different nanoparticles have been documented with a wide range of applications in various fields of medicine and biology including cancer therapy, drug delivery, tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, biomolecules detection, and also as antimicrobial agents. However, the development of stable and effective nanoparticles requires a profound knowledge on both physico-chemical features of nanomaterials and their intended applications. Further, the health risks associated with the use of engineered nanoparticles needs a serious attention.
MeSH terms: Animals; Anti-Infective Agents/pharmacology*; Anti-Infective Agents/chemistry; Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology*; Antineoplastic Agents/chemistry; Biology/methods; Drug Carriers/chemistry; Humans; Neoplasms/drug therapy; Metals, Heavy/chemistry; Tissue Engineering/methods; Regenerative Medicine/methods; Metal Nanoparticles/therapeutic use*; Metal Nanoparticles/chemistry
The aim of the present research work was synthesis of some 2-furyl[(4-aralkyl)-1-piperazinyl]methanone derivatives and to ascertain their antibacterial potential. The cytotoxicity of these molecules was also checked to find out their utility as possible therapeutic agents. The synthesis was initiated by reacting furyl(-1-piperazinyl)methanone (1) in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) and lithium hydride with different aralkyl halides (2a-j) to afford 2-furyl[(4-aralkyl)-1-piperazinyl]methanone derivatives (3a-j). The structural confirmation of all the synthesized compounds was done by IR, EI-MS, 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR spectral techniques and through elemental analysis. The results of in vitro antibacterial activity of all the synthesized compounds were screened against Gram-negative (S. typhi, E. coli, P. aeruginosa) and Gram-positive (B. subtilis, S. aureus) bacteria and were found to be decent inhibitors. Amongst the synthesized molecules, 3e showed lowest minimum inhibitory concentration MIC = 7.52±0.μg/mL against S. Typhi, credibly due to the presence of 2-bromobenzyl group, relative to the reference standard, ciprofloxacin, having MIC = 7.45±0.58μg/mL.