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Fulltext The association between climatic factors and dengue fever: a study in Subang Jaya and Sepang, Selangor

Nik Syaza Lina Nik Ruzman, Haliza Abdul Rahman

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17 Special(1):140-150.

Dengue fever is one of the most dangerous vector-borne diseases. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dengue fever is a mosquito-borne infection caused by virus serotype DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN-4. In Malaysia, dengue fever cases are on the rise from 6,000 cases in 1995 to over 40,000 in 2010, and this number is still rising. In 2014, the increase of dengue fever cases was alarming. It was reported that up to the end of the year 2014, there were 108,698 notified cases, indicating an increment of 151% compared to the same period of time in 2013 with only 43,346 reported cases. Selangor was the highest contributor of dengue fever cases in 2014. The objective of this paper is to study the relationship between climatic factors namely temperature, rainfall and humidity to the prevalence of dengue fever in Subang Jaya and Sepang district, Selangor. Data on monthly average temperature, precipitation, relative humidity and dengue fever cases for each month in 2014 and 2013 were collected. Data collection was dealt with a few institutions such as Malaysian Meteorological Department, Subang Jaya and Sepang Municipal Council and health district offices. Data were analysed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) Version 20. General linear model analysis was used to investigate the relationship between the climatic variables and dengue prevalence. Results and Discussion: Based on the general linear model, rainfall and humidity were found to have significant relationships to monthly dengue fever cases (p= <0.001, p= 0.002). Rainfall was identified as the most significant predictor because rainfall can provide more breeding places for Aedes mosquitoes. As for humidity, higher relative humidity had been associated with increased Aedes aegypti feeding activity, survival and egg development. Temperature was not significantly related to monthly dengue fever cases (p= 0.561) in this study. However, this could be due to the short period of study. Conclusion: Climatic factors play an important role in the prevalence of dengue fever. However, there are many other factors of dengue fever that should be considered such as urbanisation as well as community knowledge, attitude and practice.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Spatiotemporal analysis of ground and satellite-based aerosol for air quality assessment in the Southeast Asia region

Nguyen TTN, Pham HV, Lasko K, Bui MT, Laffly D, Jourdan A, et al.

Environ Pollut, 2019 Dec;255(Pt 1):113106.
PMID: 31541826 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113106

Satellite observations for regional air quality assessment rely on comprehensive spatial coverage, and daily monitoring with reliable, cloud-free data quality. We investigated spatiotemporal variation and data quality of two global satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) products derived from MODIS and VIIRS imagery. AOD is considered an essential atmospheric parameter strongly related to ground Particulate Matter (PM) in Southeast Asia (SEA). We analyze seasonal variation, urban/rural area influence, and biomass burning effects on atmospheric pollution. Validation indicated a strong relationship between AERONET ground AOD and both MODIS AOD (R2 = 0.81) and VIIRS AOD (R2 = 0.68). The monthly variation of satellite AOD and AERONET AOD reflects two seasonal trends of air quality separately for mainland countries including Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan, Hong Kong, and for maritime countries consisting of Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore, and Timor Leste. The mainland SEA has a pattern of monthly AOD variation in which AODs peak in March/April, decreasing during wet season from May-September, and increasing to the second peak in October. However, in maritime SEA, AOD concentration peaks in October. The three countries with the highest annual satellite AODs are Singapore, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. High urban population proportions in Singapore (40.7%) and Hong Kong (21.6%) were associated with high AOD concentrations as expected. AOD values in SEA urban areas were a factor of 1.4 higher than in rural areas, with respective averages of 0.477 and 0.336. The AOD values varied proportionately to the frequency of biomass burning in which both active fires and AOD peak in March/April and September/October. Peak AOD in September/October in some countries could be related to pollutant transport of Indonesia forest fires. This study analyzed satellite aerosol product quality in relation to AERONET in SEA countries and highlighted framework of air quality assessment over a large, complicated region.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Population Density and Risk of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Prospective Population-Based Study in 13 Countries or Regions in Asia-Pacific

Ng SC, Kaplan GG, Tang W, Banerjee R, Adigopula B, Underwood FE, et al.

Am J Gastroenterol, 2019 01;114(1):107-115.
PMID: 30177785 DOI: 10.1038/s41395-018-0233-2

INTRODUCTION: Living in an urban environment may increase the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is unclear if this observation is seen globally. We conducted a population-based study to assess the relationship between urbanization and incidence of IBD in the Asia-Pacific region.
METHODS: Newly diagnosed IBD cases between 2011 and 2013 from 13 countries or regions in Asia-Pacific were included. Incidence was calculated with 95% confidence interval (CI) and pooled using random-effects model. Meta-regression analysis was used to assess incidence rates and their association with population density, latitude, and longitude.
RESULTS: We identified 1175 ulcerative colitis (UC), 656 Crohn's disease (CD), and 37 IBD undetermined (IBD-U). Mean annual IBD incidence per 100 000 was 1.50 (95% CI: 1.43-1.57). India (9.31; 95% CI: 8.38-10.31) and China (3.64; 95% CI, 2.97-4.42) had the highest IBD incidence in Asia. Incidence of overall IBD (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 2.19; 95% CI: 1.01-4.76]) and CD (IRR: 3.28; 95% CI: 1.83-9.12) was higher across 19 areas of Asia with a higher population density. In China, incidence of IBD (IRR: 2.37; 95% CI: 1.10-5.16) and UC (IRR: 2.63; 95% CI: 1.2-5.8) was positively associated with gross domestic product. A south-to-north disease gradient (IRR: 0.94; 95% CI: 0.91-0.98) was observed for IBD incidence and a west-to-east gradient (IRR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.05-1.24) was observed for CD incidence in China. This study received IRB approval.
CONCLUSIONS: Regions in Asia with a high population density had a higher CD and UC incidence. Coastal areas within China had higher IBD incidence. With increasing urbanization and a shift from rural areas to cities, disease incidence may continue to climb in Asia.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Universal Coverage of Hypertension Treatment Services in Malaysia Is Still an Elusive Goal

Ng CW, Shahari MR, Mariapun J, Hairi NNM, Rampal S, Mahal A

Health Syst Reform, 2017 Jul 03;3(3):159-170.
PMID: 31514671 DOI: 10.1080/23288604.2017.1342746

An analysis of population coverage of hypertension treatment services can be used to make inferences about the performance of primary care services within health systems. Malaysia, an upper middle-income country, has a well-established primary care system but one that favors rural populations and provision of services for maternal and child health and infectious diseases. Demographic factors including rapid aging, urbanization, as well as lifestyle changes characteristic of a modernizing society have led to an increase in noncommunicable diseases, including hypertension. In this article, we used data from a nationally representative household health survey to develop service coverage indicators for hypertension screening and treatment services. The age-standardized prevalence of hypertension was estimated to be 33.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 33.9, 33.9). Only 39.0% (95% CI, 37.5, 40.6) of adults with hypertension had been diagnosed by a medical practitioner, 35.7% had been on treatment, and 9.6% had blood pressure controlled under treatment. The diagnosis, treatment, and controlled treatment coverage were higher for older persons compared to younger persons. There were no differences in the diagnosis and treatment coverage between urban and rural areas and between ethnic groups. However, controlled treatment coverage was higher among Chinese and those living in urban areas. Our findings suggest that primary care services in Malaysia may need to intensify health education activities to promote screening services. There is also a need to reprioritize activities to provide regular community health screening of adults and increase access to affordable primary care services, especially in the urban areas.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Fulltext Fractionation of as, co, cu and zn by sequential extraction in surface sediment of Kuala Terengganu river estuary

Muhammad Nazirul Mubin Abd Halim Shah, Lee, Siang Hing, Mohd Yusoff Nurulnadia, Meng, Chuan Ong

Malaysian Journal of Applied Sciences, 2020;5(2):57-68.
MyJurnal

Development and urbanization processes around Terengganu River estuary are expected to release a significant amount of heavy metals into the existing surface sediment. However, information on how and why these metals are attached into specific fraction of sediments is still lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to explain the heavy metal concentration distribution in each available fraction in Terengganu River estuary. In this study, nine surface sediments originated from various human activities area in Terengganu River estuary were collected during four different sampling sessions in 2017. Heavy metal content from the collected sediments were extracted using 3-steps BCR sequential extraction method followed by detection using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass-Spectrometer (ICP-MS) and we discovered that the total concentration of arsenic (As), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) ranged from 2.18 to 17.48 mg/kg dry wt., 2.53 to 20.53 mg/kg dry wt., 1.01 to 13.13 mg/kg dry wt., and 6.10 to 65.71 mg/kg dry wt., respectively. Dominance of metals in each fraction can be arranged as follows: As: residual > reducible > exchangeable > oxidizable; Co: residual > exchangeable > reducible > oxidizable; Cu: residual > oxidizable > reducible > exchangeable; Zn: residual > exchangeable > reducible > oxidizable. Availability of metals in the sediment at Terengganu River estuary is limited since that majority of metals resides in non-mobilisable fraction of the sediment. In essence, the sequential extraction provides information regarding the metals’ fractionation, availability and mobility, which could be used in assessing the environmental contamination in the area.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Fulltext Biting rhythm and demographic attributes of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) females from different urbanized settings in Penang Island, Malaysia under uncontrolled laboratory conditions

Muhammad NAF, Abu Kassim NF, Ab Majid AH, Abd Rahman A, Dieng H, Avicor SW

PLoS One, 2020;15(11):e0241688.
PMID: 33175896 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241688

Urbanization could potentially modify Aedes albopictus' ecology by changing the dynamics of the species, and affecting their breeding sites due to environmental changes, and thus contribute to dengue outbreaks. Thus, this study was conducted to evaluate the biting rhythm, fecundity and longevity of adult female Ae. albopictus in relation to urbanization strata; urban, suburban and rural areas in Penang Island, Malaysia. The experiments were done in comparison to a laboratory strain. Twenty-four hours biting activity of all the mosquito strains showed a clear bimodal biting activity, with morning and evening twilight peaks. The interaction effect between biting time and mosquito strains was not significant. Meanwhile, differences in fecundity among mosquito strains were statistically significant (F(3,442) = 10.559, P < 0.05) with urban areas having higher mean number of eggs (mean = 107.69, standard error = 3.98) than suburban (mean = 94.48, standard error = 5.18), and rural areas (mean = 72.52, standard error = 3.87). Longevity of adult females were significantly higher (F(3,441) = 31.259, P < 0.05) for mosquito strains from urban areas compared to the other strains. These findings would provide crucial information for the planning of control programs in Malaysia, particularly Penang.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Lifestyle practices and prevalence of obesity in a community within a university campus

Moy FM, Atiya AS

JUMMEC, 2005;8:33-38.

Malaysia has undergone rapid pace of industrialization and urbanization in recent decades and this has brought about imminent changes in the lifestyle of Malaysians. This is a cross-sectional study which attempts to examine the lifestyle practices and the prevalence of obesity of a group of security guards and their spouses of the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur. Data collection was conducted by both the methods of face-to-face interview and self-administered questionnaire. The respondents were surveyed on lifestyle practices such as smoking habits, exercise and eating pattern. Anthropometric measurement such as weight and height were also taken to establish the extend of obesity by using Body Mass Index (BMI). This study reveals that the community did have some unhealthy lifestyle practices such as smoking (27.7%; 95%CI 20.2%, 36.2%), low prevalence of adequate exercise (13.8%; 95%CI 8.4%, 21.0%); high prevalence of overweight and obesity (64%; 95%CI 55.1%, 72.3%); and high prevalence of co-morbidities such as diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. In conclusion, the community is considered to be a vulnerable and high-risk group for morbidity and mortality with the above predisposed risk factors. KEYWORDS: Lifestyle practices, overweight and obesity

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Fulltext A four-decade analysis of the incidence trends, sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of inflammatory bowel disease patients at single tertiary centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Mokhtar NM, Nawawi KNM, Verasingam J, Zhiqin W, Sagap I, Azman ZAM, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2019 Jun 13;19(Suppl 4):550.
PMID: 31196184 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-019-6858-2

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was once considered as a Western disease. However, recent epidemiological data showed an emerging trend of IBD cases in the Eastern Asia countries. Clinico-epidemiological data of IBD in Malaysia is scarce. This study aimed to address this issue.
METHODS: Retrospective analysis of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), diagnosed from January 1980 till June 2018 was conducted at our centre.
RESULTS: A total of 413 IBD patients (281 UC, 132 CD) were identified. Mean crude incidence of IBD has increased steadily over the first three decades: 0.36 (1980-1989), 0.48 (1990-1999) and 0.63 per 100,000 person-years (2000-2009). In the 2010 to 2018 period, the mean crude incidence has doubled to 1.46 per 100,000 person-years. There was a significant rise in the incidence of CD, as depicted by reducing UC:CD ratio: 5:1 (1980-1989), 5:1 (1990-1999), 1.9:1 (2000-2009) and 1.7:1 (2010-2018). The prevalence rate of IBD, UC and CD, respectively were 23.0, 15.67 and 7.36 per 100,000 persons. Of all IBD patients, 61.5% (n = 254) were males. When stratified according to ethnic group, the highest prevalence of IBD was among the Indians: 73.4 per 100,000 persons, followed by Malays: 24.8 per 100,000 persons and Chinese: 14.6 per 100,000 persons. The mean age of diagnosis was 41.2 years for UC and 27.4 years for CD. Majority were non-smokers (UC: 76.9%, CD: 70.5%). The diseases were classified as follows: UC; proctitis (9.2%), left-sided colitis (50.2%) and extensive colitis (40.6%), CD; isolated ileal (22.7%), colonic (28.8%), ileocolonic (47.7%) and upper gastrointestinal (0.8%). 12.9% of CD patients had concurrent perianal disease. Extra intestinal manifestations were observed more in CD (53.8%) as compared to UC (12%). Dysplasia and malignancy, on the other hand, occurred more in UC (4.3%, n = 12) than in CD (0.8%, n = 1). Over one quarter (27.3%) of CD patients and 3.6% of UC patients received biologic therapy.
CONCLUSION: The incidence of IBD is rising in Malaysia, especially in the last one decade. This might be associated with the urbanization and changing diets. Public and clinicians' awareness of this emerging disease in Malaysia is important for the timely detection and management.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Fulltext Quality use of medicine in a developing economy: Measures to overcome challenges in the Malaysian healthcare system

Mohd-Tahir NA, Paraidathathu T, Li SC

SAGE Open Med, 2015;3:2050312115596864.
PMID: 26770795 DOI: 10.1177/2050312115596864

Malaysia inherits a highly subsidized tax-based public healthcare system complemented by a fee-for-service private sector. Population health in Malaysia has considerably improved since independence using a relatively small amount of gross domestic product (~4%). Brain drain of highly specialized personnel, growth in healthcare spending, demographic and disease pattern changes and increase in patients' demands and expectations towards better medical care are exerting pressure on the sustainability of the system to continuously provide efficient and effective services at relatively low cost. Malaysia has adopted and implemented some of the quality use of medicine concepts such as National Essential Medicine List, health technology assessment and promotion of generic medicines in their health policy, but so far the results may not be optimal. Activities to further promote these strategies are needed for successful implementation to achieve more positive and sustained beneficial outcomes. Better strategic planning, management and collaboration between various stakeholders, considering the needs and barriers of the strategies, are important to ensure effective implementation of the strategies. More emphasis should be placed upon more equitable and rational distribution of healthcare resources to cater for rapid urbanization. Additionally, a sustainable health financing structure that is more progressive and does not encourage moral hazard should be established. In conclusion, Malaysia has achieved good outcomes in population health with relatively low financial inputs since independence. However, changes in the overall environment have created issues which would threaten the long-term viability of the healthcare system if not tackled properly. The numbers of internationally trialled strategies could be used to deal with these challenges. In addition, coordinated implementation of these strategies and effective engagement and communication between various stakeholders are necessary to further strengthen the Malaysian healthcare system effectively.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
System of cities dynamics in newly industrializing nations

Meyer DR

Stud Comp Int Dev, 1986;21(1):3-22.
PMID: 12314582
Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization*
Heavy metal pollution in immobile and mobile components of lentic ecosystems-a review

Meena RAA, Sathishkumar P, Ameen F, Yusoff ARM, Gu FL

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2018 Feb;25(5):4134-4148.
PMID: 29247419 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-0966-2

With growing population and urbanization, there is an increasing exploitation of natural resources, and this often results to environmental pollution. In this review, the levels of heavy metal in lentic compartments (water, sediment, fishes, and aquatic plants) over the past two decades (1997-2017) have been summarized to evaluate the current pollution status of this ecosystem. In all the compartments, the heavy metals dominated are zinc followed by iron. The major reason could be area mineralogy and lithogenic sources. Enormous quantity of metals like iron in estuarine sediment is a very natural incident due to the permanently reducing condition of organic substances. Contamination of cadmium, lead, and chromium was closely associated with anthropogenic origin. In addition, surrounding land use and atmospheric deposition could have been responsible for substantial pollution. The accumulation of heavy metals in fishes and aquatic plants is the result of time-dependent deposition in lentic ecosystems. Moreover, various potential risk assessment methods for heavy metals were discussed. This review concludes that natural phenomena dominate the accumulation of essential heavy metals in lentic ecosystems compared to anthropogenic sources. Amongst other recent reviews on heavy metals from other parts of the world, the present review is executed in such a way that it explains the presence of heavy metals not only in water environment, but also in the whole of the lentic system comprising sediment, fishes, and aquatic plants.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Assessment of pollution and improvement measure of water quality parameters using scenarios modeling for sungai Selangor basin

Md. Sadek Uddin Chowdhury, Faridah Othman, Wan Zurina Wan Jaafar, Nuzaima Che Mood, Md. Ibrahim Adham

Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:457-469.

Sungai Selangor is very important from the viewpoint of water supply and multipurpose water use in Malaysia. The
water quality of this river is degrading due to point and non-point sources of pollution. This study, focus on the water
quality assessment and simulation the effect of the pollution sources from urbanization to the Sungai Selangor basin.
Water quality Index (WQI) is used to define the status of river water quality and the QUAL2K was used as a simulation
model. Water quality parameters DO, BOD and NH3
-N have been chosen for modeling. In addition, five different model
scenarios were simulated to observe the impacts of pollution sources on the Sungai Selangor water quality. WQI results
showed that most of the stations in this river basin recorded water inferior to Class III. The water quality model presented
different scenarios for changes of Sungai Selangor water quality. Simulation results for different scenarios showed
that reduced levels of BOD and NH3
-N at 51.10% and 66.18%, respectively, can be obtained if Scenario-5 is employed.
The river water quality issue in the Rawang sub- basin within the study area is considered crucial to create significant
improvement within the sub basin and in the downstream area of Sungai Selangor basin.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
[Malay women as producers and managers]

Massard J

Tiers Monde, 1985 4 1;26(102):359-70.
PMID: 12340322
Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Fulltext Trends and Spatial Pattern Analysis of Dengue Cases in Northeast Malaysia

Masrani AS, Nik Husain NR, Musa KI, Yasin AS

J Prev Med Public Health, 2022 Jan;55(1):80-87.
PMID: 35135051 DOI: 10.3961/jpmph.21.461

OBJECTIVES: Dengue remains hyperendemic in Malaysia despite extensive vector control activities. With dynamic changes in land use, urbanisation and population movement, periodic updates on dengue transmission patterns are crucial to ensure the implementation of effective control strategies. We sought to assess shifts in the trends and spatial patterns of dengue in Kelantan, a north-eastern state of Malaysia (5°15'N 102°0'E).
METHODS: This study incorporated data from the national dengue monitoring system (eDengue system). Confirmed dengue cases registered in Kelantan with disease onset between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2018 were included in the study. Yearly changes in dengue incidence were mapped by using ArcGIS. Hotspot analysis was performed using Getis-Ord Gi to track changes in the trends of dengue spatial clustering.
RESULTS: A total of 10 645 dengue cases were recorded in Kelantan between 2016 and 2018, with an average of 10 dengue cases reported daily (standard deviation, 11.02). Areas with persistently high dengue incidence were seen mainly in the coastal region for the 3-year period. However, the hotspots shifted over time with a gradual dispersion of hotspots to their adjacent districts.
CONCLUSIONS: A notable shift in the spatial patterns of dengue was observed. We were able to glimpse the shift of dengue from an urban to peri-urban disease with the possible effect of a state-wide population movement that affects dengue transmission.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Surface ozone trend in major rice growing areas in Malaysia

Marzuki Ismail, Azrin Suroto, Nurul Ain Ismail, Mohd Talib Latif

Sains Malaysiana, 2014;43:321-329.

Surface ozone or tropospheric ozone has been recognized as one of the major factors that can give adverse impact on crops including rice plants. Effects of ozone on rice plants could be seen in decreased of biochemical activities and physiological performance which contribute to yield reduction. In Malaysia, surface ozone is on the rise due to increment anthropogenic sources i.e. urbanization, transportation and also industrialization process. This condition is alarming due to the facts that rice is the major staple food to the majority of Malaysian population. In this study, exceedence of ozone exposure above an hourly threshold concentration of 40 ppb (AOT40) and ozone trends in four major rice growing areas in Malaysia were assessed using time series analysis of ozone data recorded in each area from January 2000 until December 2010 with a total of 132 readings. The results showed a steady increase in exceedence ozone of yearly AOT40 and statistical significant upward trend for ozone concentrations in each rice growing area in Malaysia. This finding was particularly alarming because ozone is able to inhibit production of rice yields. Preventive actions need to be implemented as soon as possible in order to alleviate ozone threat to our national food security agenda.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Fulltext Readiness of school teachers to accept notifications about causes and preventive measures on food poisoning

Marzo RR, Bhattacharya S, Niranjan V, Shagaran K, Mohd Idris MAB, Clement BJ, et al.

J Educ Health Promot, 2020;9:43.
PMID: 32318611 DOI: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_505_19

INTRODUCTION: In this era of globalization, urbanization, and rapidly expanding unhygienic food corners across the globe, the incidence of food poisoning is very common nowadays.
AIM: The aim of our study was to investigate the perceptions and readiness of schoolteachers to accept notifications on food poisoning as a part of education to the students.
METHODOLOGY: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with the help of a validated questionnaire for data collection. Our research involved schoolteachers from both primary and secondary schools in Muar. The questionnaire was pretested among the eligible trainee teachers and yielded an internal consistency reliability coefficient (c = Cronbach's alpha) of 0.082. This study was conducted from October 29, 2017, to December 14, 2018, in Muar. Our sample size was 259. Ethical consent was obtained from the Institution Ethical Committee.
RESULTS: A total of 259 schoolteachers from both primary and secondary schools in Muar were included in this study. In our study, 81.1% of the teachers responded that they can easily educate their students about food poisoning. Most of them (93.1%) were ready to receive notifications on food poisoning in any mode, and about 72% of the teachers preferred WhatsApp as their mode of receiving notification. The least (1.2%) preferred mode of notification was LINE (a social app). Teachers' willingness to disseminate the information regarding food poisoning was also higher (98.5%).
CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that majority of the schoolteachers had a good perception and were ready to receive the notifications on food poisoning through WhatsApp as a part of education to the students.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Impact of transportation infrastructure and urbanization on environmental pollution: evidence from novel wavelet quantile correlation approach

Malik MU, Rehman ZU, Sharif A, Anwar A

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2024 Jan;31(2):3014-3030.
PMID: 38079035 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31197-x

In terms of achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs), the developing economies are facing many issues, and one of the key issues is environmental degradation. Being a developing economy, Pakistan is also experiencing thought-provoking impacts of global warming and still far away from the ideal track of sustainable development. For addressing environment-related issue and achieving the targets of SDGs, a policy-level reorientation might be necessary. In this view, this study investigates the impact of economic growth, transport infrastructure, urbanization, financial development, and renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions by using the data of Pakistan during 1990-2020. For this purpose, we use novel wavelet quantile correlation approach. The empirical results of wavelet quantile correlation approach demonstrate that economic growth, transport infrastructure, urbanization, and financial development are responsible for environmental pollution. Whereas, result also claims that renewable energy consumption is a useful tool for reducing environmental pollution in Pakistan. Moreover, the results of FMOLS approach show that 1% increase in economic growth, transportation infrastructure, urbanization, and financial development increases CO2 emissions by 0.240, 0.010, 0.478, and 0.102%, respectively. However, 1% increase in renewable energy usage reduces CO2 emission by 1.083%. Based on the empirical outcomes, this study proposes comprehensive policy framework for achieving the targets of SDG 7 (clean energy), SDG 8 (economic growth), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and SDG 13 (climate action).

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization*
Fulltext Landslide susceptibility mapping using averaged weightage score and GIS: a case study at Kuala Lumpur

Mahmud, A.R., Awad, A., Billa, R.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2013;21(2):473-486.
MyJurnal

Many residential areas of Kuala Lumpur are susceptible to landslides; this is seen in the frequency of landslide occurences in these areas. The objective of this study is to delineate landslide risk areas in support of development planning, monitoring and control of unstable areas. In this study, five landslide causative factors were extracted from satellite imagery and maps provided by the Geological Survey Department of Malaysia. Factors included in the study including land use, river density and lineament derived from Landsat ETM image, precipitation amount from rain gauge stations and lithology, were extracted from the geological map of the study area. Layers were analyzed and divided into subclasses. An average weightage score was applied to calculate the subclasses into percentage weights of influence on landslide. Overlay, geo-processing and geo-statistic techniques in GIS were used to discriminate these weighted subclasses into landslide susceptibility at low, medium and high levels of risk areas. Results showed very high susceptible areas covering 0.21% of Kuala Lumpur of which 5.02% were found in the highly urbanized areas. Meanwhile, a landslide susceptibility map was generated to show low, medium and high susceptible areas in Kuala Lumpur. Results were verified using recorded cases of landslides in Kuala Lumpur which showed a 77% agreement with the study.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
On-site phytoremediation applicability assessment in Alur Ilmu, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia based on spatial and pollution removal analyses

Mahmud MH, Lee KE, Goh TL

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2017 Oct;24(29):22873-22884.
PMID: 28905277 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-0079-y

The present paper aims to assess the phytoremediation performance based on pollution removal efficiency of the highly polluted region of Alur Ilmu urban river for its applicability of on-site treatment. Thirteen stations along Alur Ilmu were selected to produce thematic maps through spatial distribution analysis based on six water quality parameters of Malaysia's Water Quality Index (WQI) for dry and raining seasons. The maps generated were used to identify the highly polluted region for phytoremediation applicability assessment. Four free-floating plants were tested in treating water samples from the highly polluted region under three different conditions, namely controlled, aerated and normal treatments. The selected free-floating plants were water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), rose water lettuce (Pistia sp.) and pennywort (Centella asiatica). The results showed that Alur Ilmu was more polluted during dry season compared to raining season based on the water quality analysis. During dry season, four parameters were marked as polluted along Alur Ilmu, namely dissolve oxygen (DO), 4.72 mg/L (class III); ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), 0.85 mg/L (class IV); total suspended solid (TSS), 402 mg/L (class V) and biological oxygen demand (BOD), 3.89 mg/L (class III), whereas, two parameters were classed as polluted during raining season, namely total suspended solid (TSS), 571 mg/L (class V) and biological oxygen demand (BOD), 4.01 mg/L (class III). The thematic maps generated from spatial distribution analysis using Kriging gridding method showed that the highly polluted region was recorded at station AL 5. Hence, water samples were taken from this station for pollution removal analysis. All the free-floating plants were able to reduce TSS and COD in less than 14 days. However, water hyacinth showed the least detrimental effect from the phytoremediation process compared to other free-floating plants, thus made it a suitable free-floating plants to be used for on-site treatment.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization
Fulltext Green wall for retention of stormwater

Mah, D.Y.S., Lau, J.T.

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2018;26(1):283-298.
MyJurnal

Urbanisation increases the level of imperviousness in a catchment, and more runoff is converted from rainfall in urban areas. To mitigate this adverse situation, dispensed green infrastructure presents the best solution for delivering results in reducing stormwater impact. Green roofs and rain gardens are extensively studied and widely available in the literature, but this is not the case for green walls, which more often than not, are treated as ornaments. Thus, this study developed a computer-aided stormwater model that incorporates a green wall to investigate its effectiveness as an urban drainage system. The effectiveness of employing a green wall as a stormwater component is tested using USEPA SWMM 5.1 and the embedded bioretention cell interface. Four simulation models according to different conditions and precipitation input are tested, compared and discussed. The conditions include investigation of different soil types, average recurrence interval (ARI) and storm duration with design and observed rainfall. The results reveal that synthesis precipitation data, used in Scenario 1, 2 and 3, decreased runoff by more than half, at 55% on condition of one-year ARI and 5 minutes of storm duration. Meanwhile, Scenario 4 also shows a repetition of runoff reduction by half after the integration of the green wall using the observed rainfall data. Thus, it is verified that a green wall can be effectively used as an urban drainage system in reducing surface runoff.

Matched MeSH terms: Urbanization

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