Introduction: Secondhand tobacco smoke is a known carcinogen and has shown positive association with smok-ing status, susceptibility and cessation. Smoke free environment policy seem to reduce this exposure and influence intention to quit and frequency of quit attempts. Despite having a smoke free policy, smokers are still exposed to second hand smoke and this might influence their smoking behaviour and cessation. The objective of this study was to examine the association between environmental tobacco smoke exposures with intention to quit smoking among young adults in college with smoke free policy. Methods: Data were drawn from a cluster based randomised controlled trial in 10 government colleges in Selangor. Baseline characteristics of 160 college smokers were mea-sured using adapted questionnaire. Intention to quit was measured using Transtheoretical Model and environmental influence of tobacco smoke exposure. Results: Majority of the smokers were male (99.4%), single (100%), of Malay ethnicity (94.4%) and Muslim (95.6%). Most of them are in pre-contemplation stage where they do not have any intention to quit (65.6%). On environmental influence, at work or college environmental exposure, majority were exposed between 1 to 2 hours (36.9%) and 3 to 8 hours (40.6%). On exposure at home or hostel, majority were exposed between 1 to 4 hours (44.4%) and 5 to 14 hours (21.9%). In terms of friend’s exposures, majority have most of their friends smoking (68.1%). We found no statistically significant association between environmental influence and intention to quit smoking. Conclusion: Although we found no relationship, future research should examine the pathway between environmental influence and smoking behaviour.
Lignocellulosic biomass, found in wooden plant husks is a potent renewable material source which can be utilised to form various chemicals and biomaterials including polyols such as xylitol. Xylitol has been used commercially as an alternative to sucrose in many products as bulk sweetener in non-cariogenic confectionery as well as in diabetic diets and solutions for parenteral nutrition. Therefore, this study aims to optimise separation parameters of the Shimadzu high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (Model No: LC-20A) and quantify the potential of coconut husk as substrate for Candida albicans in producing xylitol using HPLC. Pretreatment to depolymerise components of biomass i.e. cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin were done using dilute acid hydrolysis method which yielded fermentable reducing sugars, xylose. Xylose is a monosaccharide with an aldehyde functional group, a reducing sugar which is then utilised and fermented by the yeast Candida albicans to form xylitol. In this study, the media used for fermenting pretreated coconut husk and Candida albicans is a synthetic defined (SD) minimal broth. Growth curves against concentration of reducing sugar were plotted to determine utilisation and production trends with specific mixes of carbon sources. The presence of reducing sugars were tested using 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS) assay in pretreated coconut husk yielded 13.22 g/L. In order to analyse the product with HPLC, an existing protocol is modified for Hypersil GOLD™ C18 column with acetonitrile as the mobile phase. Results obtained from HPLC analyses using developed protocol suggested the formation of xylitol from the fermentation of pretreated husk by Candida albicans. These can be followed by purification of fermented media in obtaining a better separation of contaminating peaks.
Objective: To assess if the recall appointments and the use of radiographs for paediatric dental patients at Faculty of Dentistry, UiTM comply with current guidelines. Materials and Method: A retrospective study was conducted using patients’ dental records that were registered at the Faculty of Dentistry UiTM. The sample consisted of 350 randomly chosen treatment records of paediatric patients aged between birth and 16 years of age at the time of data collection which was in the year 2016. Data collection included demographic details, whom the cases were treated by, caries risk assessment, radiographs taken and time taken for the patient’s review appointments. Results: An initial sample size of 350 records were assessed. The mean age of patients seen when they were first seen is 6.3 years old. Caries Risk Assessment was not reported in majority of the cases (58%,). Baseline radiographs were taken in 44.6% of the cases. For the assessment of recall attendance, only samples with data on CRA was analysed (n=145). The review appointments at 3 months interval was 70% whereas at 6 months was 6.2% and one year recall was 6.7%. A chi-square test showed significant difference (p=0.013) between the category of operators for the 1-year review whereby review was higher among students and specialists as compared to dental officers. Conclusion: This study shows poor adherence to the recommended recall protocol as suggested by NICE and AAPD guidelines. Further studies need to be done to assess the patients’ and clinicians awareness regarding the recall protocol and determine the problems causing poor recall attendance.
The application of the Variance Targeting Estimator (VTE) is considered in GJR-GARCH(1,1) model, under three
misspecification scenarios, which are, model misspecification, initial parameters misspecification and innovation
distribution assumption misspecification. A simulation study has been performed to evaluate the performance of VTE
compared to commonly used, which is the Quasi Maximum Likelihood Estimator (QMLE). The data has been simulated
under GJR-GARCH(1,1) process with initial parameters ω = 0.1, α = 0.05, β = 0.85, γ = 0.1 and an innovation with a
true normal distribution. Three misspecification innovation assumptions, which are normal distribution, Student-t
distribution and the GED distribution have been used. Meanwhile, for the misspecified initial parameters, the first initial
parameters have been setup as ω = 1, α = 0, β = 0 and γ = 0. Furthermore, the application of VTE as an estimator has
also been evaluated under real data sets and three selected indices, which are the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kuala Lumpur
Index (FBMKLCI), the Singapore Straits Time Index (STI) and the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI). Based on the results, VTE
has performed very well compared to QMLE under both simulation and the applications of real data sets, which can be
considered as an alternative estimator when performing GARCH model, especially the GJR-GARCH.
Nepenthes, locally known as ‘periuk kera’ in Malaysia, is a fascinating species due to uniqueness in their morphology
in having pitcher organ for carnivorous diet. The pitcher plant has been used for cooking traditional delicacies and
as traditional remedies to treat illness. Hence, this species might possess beneficial health properties. This study
aimed to compare the antioxidant activity of the pitcher extracts from Nepenthes ampullaria, Nepenthes rafflesiana
and their hybrid, Nepenthes × hookeriana. The samples were extracted using methanol:chloroform:water (3:1:1)
via sonication assisted extraction and the extracts were subjected to three different antioxidant assays, namely
2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), ferric reducing power (FRAP) and total phenolic content (TPC). Extract from N.
ampullaria exhibited the strongest radical scavenging activity (0.148 ± 0.04 mg/mL) with the highest ferric reducing
power (0.009 ± 0.003 mg GA/mg dry weight) among the three species, whereas that of N. rafflesiana possessed the
highest phenolic content (0.057 ± 0.017 mg GA/mg dry weight). However, the antioxidant capacities of the pitcher
extracts were not significantly different (p>0.05) between the three species and were much lower than the gallic acid
as a standard reference.
Local profiles on the use of weight loss products are scarce. The study aims to address this together with concerns on the users’ misperception of the safety of these products, and the absence of high-quality evidence to support such use. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted in overweight and obese patients attending a public primary care clinic in Penang. Selected patients were given a set of self-administered questionnaire that assessed types of weight loss products used, factors that influenced the usage and the users’ perception of their own body weight and the diet products they are taking. Results: From 332 participants of this study, 18.7% were users. Mean age of users were 44.6 (SD 11.9) years. The majority (66.1%) only used dietary supplements, 11.3% used weight loss medications and the rest (22.6%) used both products. Reasons for its use were for health, a faster result to lose weight and failing dieting and exercise regimes. The average amount spent on this was RM100 per month. Commonest source of weight loss products were friends. Majority (80.6%) did not discuss the use of the products with doctors. Factors associated with the use of weight loss products were being female (AOR=5.59), had tertiary level education (AOR=2.27), being employed (AOR=3.42), self-perceived of overweight (AOR=3.61) and perception that weight loss products as safe (AOR 2.48). Conclusion: Users of weight loss products are among highly educated working females who perceived themselves as being overweight and assume the products are safe.
Common conventional biological treatment methods fail to decolorize palm oil mill effluent (POME). The present study focused on using the abundant palm oil mill boiler (POMB) ashes for POME decolorization. The POMB ashes were subjected to microwave irradiation and chemical treatment using H2SO4. The resultant adsorbents were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) analyses. The adsorption efficiency was evaluated at various pH levels (2-8.5), adsorption dosages (3-15 g) in 200 mL, and contact times (1-5 h). The microwave-irradiated POMB-retained ash recorded the highest color removal of 92.31%, for which the best conditions were pH 2, 15 g adsorbent dosage in 200 mL, and 5 h of contact time. At these best treatment conditions, the color concentration of the treated effluent was analyzed using the method proposed by the American Dye Manufacturers Institute (ADMI). The color concentration was 19.20 ADMI, which complies with the Malaysia discharge standard class A. The Freundlich isotherm model better fit the experimental data and had a high R2 of 0.9740. Based on these results, it can be deduced that microwave-irradiated POMB-retained ash has potential applications for POME decolorization via a biosorption process.
Laryngopharyngeal tuberculosis (TB) is a rare disease and usually associated with pulmonary tuberculosis. Mostly, it occurs in adults without BCG vaccination or in immuno-compromised patients (such as AIDS patients). A 34-year-old gentleman with odynophagia and poor oral intake was referred to us to rule out malignancy. Direct laryngoscopy examination revealed ulcerative lesion involving right tonsillar fossa extending downward till right pyriform sinus. Panendoscopy and biopsy was performed. Laryngopharyngeal TB was diagnosed based on the histopathological examination and Ziehl-Neelsen staining.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a clinicopathological syndrome strongly associated with
hyperlipidemia, hypertriglyceridemia, insulin resistance and obesity. The objective of this study is to evaluate the
potential health benefits of Baccaurea angulata fruit in preventing liver damage due to hypercholesterolemia.
Twenty-five healthy adult New Zealand White rabbits were assigned to five groups for 90 days diet and
intervention plan. While four groups (atherogenic groups) were fed 1% cholesterol diet and 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mL
of B. angulata juice kg/per day, the fifth group (negative control) was fed with commercial rabbit pellet only.
After overnight fasting and sacrifice, the thoracic cavity was opened and the liver was carefully removed,
specifically observing for any presence of a gross lesion and then immediately fixing in 4% paraformaldehyde for
at least 48 hours for histopathological analysis. The hepatoprotective effect of B. angulata fruit juice was evident
in the histological examination of liver tissues. The results indicate the potential health benefits of the antioxidantrich
B. angulata fruit juice as a functional food with a therapeutic effect against hypercholesterolemia-induced
liver injury.
Osteomyelitis refers to an infection of the bone characterized by progressive inflammatory destruction caused by infecting microorganism. Open fracture carries the risk of developing osteomyelitis from 3 to 50% with a high amputation rate. Salvage of the limb is always a challenge and needs perseverance. We report the case of a 44-year-old male with chronic osteomyelitis with successful multiple limb salvage surgeries. The curative approach to chronic osteomyelitis has the following goals including arrest of infection, pain reduction and salvage of limb and function. With regard to survival and function, the result obtained in this case is more promising compared to above knee amputation.
Oil-palm-boiler clinker (OPBC) is an agricultural solid waste sourced from the palm oil industry in tropical regions. This study investigates the use of OPBC as coarse aggregate instead of conventional coarse aggregates to produce a greener concrete, which will help in implementing sustainable construction practices by reducing the usage of raw materials. For this purpose, normal weight coarse aggregates was substituted with dry OPBC aggregates up to 75% (by volume) in a high strength normal weight concrete. The effectiveness of this substitution on the properties of the concrete such as workability, density, compressive strength, splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity was studied. The slump test results showed that using OPBC in dry condition reduced the workability of the concrete and therefore can be used up to 50% of the total volume of coarse aggregate. Concrete containing 50% OPBC can be considered as semi-lightweight concrete with high strength. Using OPBC in concrete reduced the splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity, however, the reduction was not significant.
Zinc (Zn) deficient soil prevails throughout the world and it has become the bottleneck in achieving production potential
and quality of crops. The negligible use of micronutrients along with irregular use of macronutrients is practised for
fodder production in Pakistan. Varying levels of zinc (0, 5, 10 and 15 kg ha-1) and nitrogen (0, 60, 120 and 180 kg ha-1)
were evaluated for their effect on yield, quality and zinc uptake on fodder sorghum (variety Hegari) in a field experiment
for two consecutive years (2014 and 2015). Data were analysed by using Fishers’ analysis of variance (at p<0.05) and
response surface methodology (RSM). Correlation between different parameters was also studied. Application of zinc
and nitrogen improved the plant height, leaf area plant-1, green fodder yield, dry matter yield, crude protein percentage
and zinc content of plant but decreased the neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and ash percentage. Values for
different parameters recorded at second and third levels of zinc and nitrogen were remained at par with each other.
Application of 10 kg ha-1 zinc and 120 kg ha-1 nitrogen showed an average increase of 7.3 and 18.6% in green fodder
yield while 12.1 and 15.8% in dry matter yield, respectively. Similarly 6.1 and 7.5% increase in crude protein was noted
over control. Correlation between NDF and ADF was negative with rest of the studied parameters. In conclusion, Zn2
and
N2
gave the best results in term of yield and quality of fodder sorghum.
Osteoporosis dikaitkan dengan radikal bebas dan tekanan oksidatif. Kandungan polifenol yang tinggi dalam minyak
kelapa dara (VCO) yang bertindak sebagai antioksidan mampu menghalang tekanan oksidatif seterusnya mencegah
osteoporosis. Uji kaji in vitro ini dijalankan untuk mengkaji mekanisme kesan perlindungan polifenol ekstrak daripada
VCO (PF) ke atas sel selanjar pre-osteoblas mencit (MC3T3-E1) teraruh tekanan oksidatif. Untuk mengkaji viabiliti
kesan perlindungan polifenol terhadap MC3T3-E1 daripada toksisiti hidrogen peroksida (H2
O2
), sel MC3T3-E1 dirawat
dengan beberapa dos polifenol selama 24 jam selepas dieram dengan 250 µM (IC50) H2
O2
selama 1 jam. Mekanisme
perlindungan dikaji dengan mengukur aras malondialdehid (MDA) serta aktiviti enzim antioksidan iaitu superoksida
dismutase (SOD), glutation peroksidase (GPx) dan katalase (CAT). Keputusan kajian menunjukkan bahawa kepekatan
perencatan median (IC50) H2
O2
pada 1 jam adalah 250 µM. Ujian viabiliti sel mendapati kesemua dos polifenol dapat
melindungi sel MC3T3-E1 daripada toksisiti H2
O2
. Dos 1 dan 0.01 µM polifenol dapat meningkatkan aras GPx dan CAT,
manakala dos 0.01 dan 0.0001 µM dapat meningkatkan aras SOD. Sementara itu, hanya dos 0.01 dan 0.001 µM sahaja
yang dapat menghalang peningkatan aras MDA. Kesimpulan yang dapat dibuat di dalam kajian ini adalah polifenol
daripada minyak kelapa dara mencegah lipid peroksida pada sel MC3T3-E1 yang telah diaruh dengan H2
O2
dengan
meningkatkan aktiviti enzim antioksidan.
A computational fluid dynamic analysis (CFD) is presented in the study of low Reynolds number fluid flow moving past bluff bodies. The study is focusing on the understanding of the effects of the apex-angles orientation on the flow structure and related occurring force. The apex-angle both facing upstream and downstream were computationally investigated. The simulation results of the cylinder solid are compared with available experimental data to justify the results and the model used. Results obtained in the present work were Strouhal number, drag coefficient, and Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The study had found that the value of the drag force is increasing directly proportional to the apex angle. In contrast, the value of Strouhal number inversely proportional to the increasing of the apex angle. This was due to the flow over a cylinder creating a vortex shedding in the wake region which influenced the flow separation of fluid. Through the changing on orientation of the apex angle, it was also found that the characteristic linear dimension of the geometry will also be changed, thus affecting the flow pattern.
The application of pultruded glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites (PGFRPCs) as a replacement for conventional wooden cross-arms in transmission towers is relatively new. Although numerous studies have conducted creep tests on coupon-scale PGFRPC cross-arms, none had performed creep analyses on full-scale PGFRPC cross-arms under actual working load conditions. Thus, this work proposed to study the influence of an additional bracing system on the creep responses of PGFRPC cross-arms in a 132 kV transmission tower. The creep behaviors and responses of the main members in current and braced PGFRPC cross-arm designs were compared and evaluated in a transmission tower under actual working conditions. These PGFRPC cross-arms were subjected to actual working loads mimicking the actual weight of electrical cables and insulators for a duration of 1000 h. The cross-arms were installed on a custom test rig in an open area to simulate the actual environment of tropical climate conditions. Further creep analysis was performed by using Findley and Burger models on the basis of experimental data to link instantaneous and extended (transient and viscoelastic) creep strains. The addition of braced arms to the structure reduced the total strain of a cross-arm's main member beams and improved elastic and viscous moduli. The addition of bracing arms improved the structural integrity and stiffness of the cross-arm structure. The findings of this study suggested that the use of a bracing system in cross-arm structures could prolong the structures' service life and subsequently reduce maintenance effort and cost for long-term applications in transmission towers.
The microsporidian parasite Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) is an emerging problem in the marine shrimp industry, primarily in Asian countries such as China, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. A screening was conducted to investigate the prevalence of EHP after a fixed period of culturing for 1 rearing cycle in 3 states of Malaysia. The screening stages covered Penaeus vannamei post larvae (PL) and after 14-30, 31-50, 51-70, and 71-90 d of culture in 1 production cycle. A total of 279 samples were amplified using a PCR assay targeting the gene encoding a spore wall protein (SWP) of EHP. The EHP infection was initially detected in the hatchery and increased to 96.6% after the shrimp were transferred to the pond. The positive EHP sequence showed 91 to 100% similarity to sequences from India, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Latin America. EHP infection increased throughout 1 rearing cycle due to factors such as the cannibalistic feeding habits of shrimp and the presence of unknown vectors or carriers of EHP in the culture ponds. Hence, the finding from the current study will be fundamental for other studies concerning EHP.
Disabled persons usually require an assistant to help them in their daily routines especially for their mobility. The limitation of being physically impaired affects the quality of life in executing their daily routine especially the ones with a wheelchair. Pushing a wheelchair has its own side effects for the user especially the person with hands and arms impairments. This paper aims to develop a smart wheelchair system integrated with home automation. With the advent of the Internet of Things (IoT), a smart wheelchair can be operated using voice command through the Google assistant Software Development Kit (SDK). The smart wheelchair system and the home automation of this study were powered by Raspberry Pi 3 B+ and NodeMCU, respectively. Voice input commands were processed by the Google assistant Artificial Intelligence Yourself (AIY) to steer the movement of wheelchair. Users were able to speak to Google to discover any information from the website. For the safety of the user, a streaming camera was added on the wheelchair. An improvement to the wheelchair system that was added on the wheelchair is its combination with the home automation to help the impaired person to control their home appliances through Blynk application.
Observations on three voice tones (low, medium and high) of voice command show that the minimum voice intensity for this smart wheelchair system is 68.2 dB. Besides, the user is also required to produce a clear voice command to increase the system accuracy.
This study presents pre-processing methods for detecting lane detection using camera and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) sensor technologies. Standard image processing methods are not suitable for complicated roads with various sign on the ground. Thus, determining the right techniques for pre-processing such data would be a challenge. The objectives of this study are to pre-process the scanned images and apply the image recognition algorithm for lane detection. The study employed Canny Edge Detection and Hough Transform algorithms on several sets of images. A different region of interest was experimented to find the optimal one. The experimental results showed that the proposed algorithms could be practical in terms of effectively detecting road lines and generate lane detection.
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is categorized as expensive oil due to high-quality nutritional value. Unfortunately, EVOO is easily adulterated with other low-quality edible oils. Therefore, this study was done to differentiate and analyze the adulteration of EVOO with other edible oils using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. The study was used several edible oils included canola oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and soybean oil as an adulterant for EVOO. The adulterant EVOO samples were prepared by mixing with dissimilar concentrations of the solely edible oils (20 %, 40 %, 60 % and 80 % (v/v)). The main functional groups of EVOO and other edible oils are O-H, C-H, C=C and C=O groups were assigned around 3500 cm-1, 2925 cm-1, 3006 cm-1 and 1745 cm-1 wavenumbers, respectively. From the comparison of EVOO and other adulterant edibles oil spectra, it showed that the EVOO has the lowest absorbance intensity at around 3006 cm-1 represented double bond which is closely related to the composition of oil sample. The adulteration of EVOO was evaluated by analysing the changes in the absorbance based on the linear regression analysis graph of the bands at 3006 and 2925 cm-1 and the limit of detection (LOD) was measured. The graph of A3008/A2925 with good relative coefficients (R2) and lower LOD is more favourable than the linear regression graph of A3006 versus percentage of edible oils added in EVOO. This study showed that ATR-FTIR spectroscopy is a convenient tool for analysing the adulteration of EVOO.
The first case of COVID-19 in Malaysia was detected on 24 January 2020.1 As of 10 September 2020, when this editorial article is written, the total cases have increased to 9,628 cases, with active cases of 333 are being isolated and undergoing treatment, while 9,167 cases achieved recovery.2 The number of deaths in Malaysia due to COVID-19 is 128 people. Within the past few months, there has been increased in the number of clusters of infection in some states including Sabah. The number of cases in Sabah is currently at 592 cases.