Displaying publications 61 - 80 of 119 in total

Abstract:
Sort:
  1. Seltmann A, Czirják GÁ, Courtiol A, Bernard H, Struebig MJ, Voigt CC
    Conserv Physiol, 2017;5(1):cox020.
    PMID: 28421138 DOI: 10.1093/conphys/cox020
    Anthropogenic habitat disturbance is a major threat to biodiversity worldwide. Yet, before population declines are detectable, individuals may suffer from chronic stress and impaired immunity in disturbed habitats, making them more susceptible to pathogens and adverse weather conditions. Here, we tested in a paleotropical forest with ongoing logging and fragmentation, whether habitat disturbance influences the body mass and immunity of bats. We measured and compared body mass, chronic stress (indicated by neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios) and the number of circulating immune cells between several bat species with different roost types living in recovering areas, actively logged forests, and fragmented forests in Sabah, Malaysia. In a cave-roosting species, chronic stress levels were higher in individuals from fragmented habitats compared with conspecifics from actively logged areas. Foliage-roosting species showed a reduced body mass and decrease in total white blood cell counts in actively logged areas and fragmented forests compared with conspecifics living in recovering habitats. Our study highlights that habitat disturbance may have species-specific effects on chronic stress and immunity in bats that are potentially related to the roost type. We identified foliage-roosting species as particularly sensitive to forest habitat deterioration. These species may face a heightened extinction risk in the near future if anthropogenic habitat alterations continue.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  2. Izadi M, Abd Rahman MS, Ab-Kadir MZ, Gomes C, Jasni J, Hajikhani M
    PLoS One, 2017;12(2):e0172118.
    PMID: 28234930 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172118
    Protection of medium voltage (MV) overhead lines against the indirect effects of lightning is an important issue in Malaysia and other tropical countries. Protection of these lines against the indirect effects of lightning is a major concern and can be improved by several ways. The choice of insulator to be used for instance, between the glass, ceramic or polymer, can help to improve the line performance from the perspective of increasing the breakdown strength. In this paper, the electrical performance of a 10 kV polymer insulator under different conditions for impulse, weather and insulator angle with respect to a cross-arm were studied (both experimental and modelling) and the results were discussed accordingly. Results show that the weather and insulator angle (with respect to the cross-arm) are surprisingly influenced the values of breakdown voltage and leakage current for both negative and positive impulses. Therefore, in order to select a proper protection system for MV lines against lightning induced voltage, consideration of the local information concerning the weather and also the insulator angles with respect to the cross-arm are very useful for line stability and performance.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  3. Siti Farhana Zakaria, Millington, Keith R.
    MyJurnal
    Polymers and organic materials that are exposed to sunlight undergo photooxidation, which leads to deterioration of their physical properties. To allow adequate performance under outdoor conditions, synthetic polymers require additives such as antioxidants and UV absorbers. A major problem with optimising polymer formulations to maximise their working life span is that accelerated weathering tests are empirical. The conditions differ significantly from real weathering situations, and samples require lengthy irradiation period. Degradation may not be apparent in the early stages of exposure, although this is when products such as hydroperoxides are formed which later cause acceleration of oxidation. A simple way of quantifying the number of free radicals presents in organic materials following exposure to light or heat is by measuring chemiluminescence (CL) emission. Most polymers emit CL when they undergo oxidative degradation, and it originates from the bimolecular reaction of macroperoxy radicals which creates an excited carbonyl.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  4. Hidayu Abdul Rani, Nor Fadilah Mohamad, Sherif Abdulbari Ali, Matali, Sharmeela, Sharifah Aishah Sheikh Abdul kadir
    MyJurnal
    Mercury emission into the atmosphere is a global concern due to its detrimental effects on human health in general. The two main sources of mercury emission are natural sources and anthropogenic sources. Mercury emission from natural sources include volcanic activity, weathering of rocks, water movement and biological processes which are obviously inevitable. The anthropogenic sources of mercury emission are from coal combustion, cement production and waste incineration. Thus, in order to reduce mercury emission it is appropriate to investigate how mercury is released from the anthropogenic sources and consequently the mercury removal technology that can be implemented in order to reduce mercury emission into the atmosphere. Many alternatives have been developed to reduce mercury emission and the recent application of activated carbon showed high potential in the adsorption of elemental mercury. This paper discusses the ability of activated carbon and variable parameters that influence mercury removal efficiency in flue gas.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  5. Norzaida Abas, Zalina Mohd Daud, Norazizi Mohamed, Syafrina Abdul Halim
    MyJurnal
    Climate change is undeniably the greatest issue facing our society. Around the globe,
    increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and extreme weather events are
    observed, causing considerable risks to human lives, properties and health safety and
    also on the natural ecosystem. The magnitude and impacts of climate change are
    growing, and particularly in Malaysia, studies show increases in temperature and
    changes in rainfall regimes. Such changes have profound implications, especially for
    coastal communities. Since knowledge and perceptions of the public on climate change
    could affect the success of implemented adaptation and mitigation options, it is
    essential to conduct assessments to gather such information. A public awareness and
    perception study was conducted at Sabak and Tanjung Karang, two coastal
    communities which were affected by changes in sea level and flooding incidences. The
    knowledge level and perceptions of climate change among respondents were assessed
    covering areas such as level of awareness of the respondents, their perceptions of
    climate change issues, their sentiments on climate change and adaptation measures,
    their socio-economic activity and the effect on their lives. Results show that majority
    of respondents were aware of climate change issues and challenges. High levels of
    concern about climate change were expressed with the majority were worried and
    uncertain about the climate change impact and hoped for government measures.
    Almost half of respondents cited significant damage to their properties and reduction
    in income generation. Overall, the results of the present study gave insights of the
    affected parties on perceptions and awareness pertaining to climate change, which
    could potentially be used to promote greater awareness of climate change matters and
    to gauge the public response to related policies and strategies.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  6. Mohd Nasir Selamat, Lilis Surienty
    MyJurnal
    Recent statistics from the Social Security Organization (SOCSO) of Malaysia shows Commuting Accident (CA)
    increased consistently by 1500 cases per year from 2008 to 2012. This has resulted in the rising of fatality rate,
    extensive claims of compensation payment and not to mention loss of valuable talents. However, little is known
    about the contributing factors to the occurrences of CA in Malaysia because CA is never considered to be work
    related before. This study aims to explore work related factors with occurrence of CA using 5-year statistical data
    from SOCSO, Malaysia. Moreover, we also reviewed studies published between 1990s and 2014 to support the
    statistical findings. Motorbike is found as the most common vehicle used which involved in CA. Individual factors
    concerning workers behaviour is a main risk factor of CA. Family related factors (parenting responsibility), work
    burden, workplace support as well as environmental factors such as bad weather and bad road conditions are also
    significant contributions of CA. It is very important to develop behavioural intervention strategies and provide proper
    training. Hence, more attention should be directed to young individual workers in balancing them with capabilities and
    organization performance demand. This may lead to the elimination of the other causes of CA. In conclusion, solutions
    to this problem involve not only a particular party to ensure the wellbeing of workers in Malaysia, but all authorities
    should play roles in enhancing safety and health matter of workers especially on the occurrence of accident.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  7. Tang KHD
    Sci Total Environ, 2019 Feb 10;650(Pt 2):1858-1871.
    PMID: 30290336 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.316
    PURPOSE: This paper reviews the past and future trends of climate change in Malaysia, the major contributors of greenhouse gases and the impacts of climate change to Malaysia. It also reviews the mitigation and adaptations undertaken, and future strategies to manage the impacts of regional climate change.

    METHODOLOGY: The review encompasses historical climate data comprising mean daily temperature, precipitation, mean sea level and occurrences of extreme weather events. Future climate projections have also been reviewed in addition to scholarly papers and news articles related to impacts, contributors, mitigation and adaptations in relation to climate change.

    FINDINGS: The review shows that annual mean temperature, occurrences of extreme weather events and mean sea level are rising while rainfall shows variability. Future projections point to continuous rise of temperature and mean sea level till the end of the 21st century, highly variable rainfall and increased frequency of extreme weather events. Climate change impacts particularly on agriculture, forestry, biodiversity, water resources, coastal and marine resources, public health and energy. The energy and waste management sectors are the major contributors to climate change. Mitigation of and adaptations to climate change in Malaysia revolve around policy setting, enactment of laws, formulation and implementation of plans and programmes, as well as global and regional collaborations, particularly for energy, water resources, agriculture and biodiversity. There are apparent shortcomings in continuous improvement and monitoring of the programmes as well as enforcement of the relevant laws.

    ORIGINALITY/VALUE: This paper presents a comprehensive review of the major themes of climate change in Malaysia and recommends pertinent ways forward to fill the gaps of mitigation and adaptations already implemented.

    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  8. Idris A.B., Norhayati Abdul Mukti
    Resistance of diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostela (L), to coventional pesticides and concerns about environmental quality have lead to increased worldwide efforts to develop viable biocontrol methods for DBM. The success of using parasitoids, especially larval parasitoids like Diadegma, Cotesia and Microplitis species for controlling DBM have been reported in several countries. These larval parasitoids of DBM are commonly found in the field. Diadegma semiclausum (=eucerophaga) Hellen is the major parasitoid of DBM in Europe and Asia, while Diadegma insulare (Cresson) are predominates in the Americas. To date, the bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner subspecies kurstaki, has been the most widely used DBM pathogen. Although it is environment friendly pesticides, its effectiveness always vary with weather, field location and frequency of application per season. These are the main factors that contribute to the slow acceptance of B.thuringiensis by the cabbage growers worldwide. Because of this many studies have been done to improve its efficacay and persistence in the field. This paper provides an overview of the current status of these agents for use in controlling DBM and suggest research that is needed to improve the usefulness of these biocontrol agents and to maximize their impact on the DBM management in the future.
    Ketahanan rama-rama belakang-intan (diamondback moth), Plutella xylostella (L.), kepada semua racun-racun perosak yang biasa digunakan untuk mengawalnya dan keprihatinan terhadap kualiti alam sekitar telah menyebabkan bertambahnya usaha mencari beberapa kaedah kawalan biologi rama-rama ini di seluruh dunia. Kejayaan menggunakan parasitoids, terutamanya parasitoid larva seperti spesies Diadegma, Cotesia dan Microplitis bagi kawalan serangga ini telah dilaporkan oleh beberapa negara. Parasitoid-parasitoid larva ini mudah didapati di lapangan. Diadegma semiclausum (=eucerophaga) Hellen adalah merupakan parasitoid utama di Eropah dan Asia, sementara Diadegma insulare (Cresson) predominen di benua America. Sehingga kini, bakteria Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner subspesies kurstaki, adalah sejenis patogen serangga yang digunakan secara meluas untuk mengawal rama-rama tersebut. Walaupun B. thuringiensis adalah sejenis racun makhluk perosak yang tidak mencemari alam sekitar, tahap keberkesanan tindakannya adalah kerap berubah-ubah mengikut perubahan cuaca, lokasi lapangan dan kekerapan penggunaannya. Ini adalah merupakan faktor-faktor penting yang menyebabkan kelambatan penerimaannya oleh penanam-penanam kobis di merata dunia. Oleh sebab inilah banyak kajian telah dan sedang dijalankan bagi memperbaiki tahap keberkesanan dan persistentnya di lapangan. Kertas ini disedia bagi memperihalkan status penggunaan kedua-dua jenis agen kawalan biologi disamping mengesyurkan penyelidikan yang perlu dibuat untuk mempertingkatkan kegunaan dan memaksimumkan dampaknya dalam pengurusan rama-rama ini masa akan datang.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  9. Ahmed Ii JB, Pradhan B, Mansor S, Yusoff ZM, Ekpo SA
    Sensors (Basel), 2019 May 07;19(9).
    PMID: 31067734 DOI: 10.3390/s19092107
    In some parts of tropical Africa, termite mound locations are traditionally used to site groundwater structures mainly in the form of hand-dug wells with high success rates. However, the scientific rationale behind the use of mounds as prospective sites for locating groundwater structures has not been thoroughly investigated. In this paper, locations and structural features of termite mounds were mapped with the aim of determining the aquifer potential beneath termite mounds and comparing the same with adjacent areas, 10 m away. Soil and species sampling, field surveys and laboratory analyses to obtain data on physical, hydraulic and geo-electrical parameters from termite mounds and adjacent control areas followed. The physical and hydraulic measurements demonstrated relatively higher infiltration rates and lower soil water content on mound soils compared with the surrounding areas. To assess the aquifer potential, vertical electrical soundings were conducted on 28 termite mounds sites and adjacent control areas. Three (3) important parameters were assessed to compute potential weights for each Vertical Electrical Sounding (VES) point: Depth to bedrock, aquifer layer resistivity and fresh/fractured bedrock resistivity. These weights were then compared between those of termite mound sites and those from control areas. The result revealed that about 43% of mound sites have greater aquifer potential compared to the surrounding areas, whereas 28.5% of mounds have equal and lower potentials compared with the surrounding areas. The study concludes that termite mounds locations are suitable spots for groundwater prospecting owing to the deeper regolith layer beneath them which suggests that termites either have the ability to locate places with a deeper weathering horizon or are themselves agents of biological weathering. Further studies to check how representative our study area is of other areas with similar termite activities are recommended.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  10. Umar Hamzah, Ibrahim Komoo
    A survey to characterize seismic and ultrasonic properties of a granite weathering profile have been carried out at a roadcut slope exposure along Kuala Lumpur-Karak highway at kilometres 39.9. The terraced cut slope shows a complete weathering profile beginning from fresh grade I rock to grade VI residual soil. Together with in situ seismic measurement, rock samples have been collected for ultrasonic tests in laboratory. The range of velocities representing grades and indices of weathered rocks and soils are determined from the in situ seismic surveys. The range of ultrasonic velocities and elastic moduli are obtained from the laboratory measurements.
    Satu survei untuk mencirikan sifat seismos dan ultrasonik profil luluhawa granit telah dilakukan di singkapan potongan jalan, cerun utara lebuhraya Kuala Lumpur-Karak pada lokaliti 39.9 km. Potongan berteres ini mempamirkan satu profil luluhawa lengkap iaitu mulai batuan gred 1 yang segar hingga ke tanah baki bergred VI. Di samping pengukuran seismos secara in situ, sampel batuan juga diambil untuk dibuat pengukuran halaju ultrasonik di makmal. Julat halaju yang mewakili gred dan indeks luluhawa bagi tanah dan batuan diperolehi daripada survei seismos in situ. Julat halaju trasonik dan modulus kenyal diperolehi hasil pengukuran di makmal.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  11. Shafika Sultan Abdullah, M.A. Malek, Namiq Sultan Abdullah, A. Mustapha
    Sains Malaysiana, 2015;44:1053-1059.
    Water scarcity is a global concern, as the demand for water is increasing tremendously and poor management of water resources will accelerates dramatically the depletion of available water. The precise prediction of evapotranspiration (ET), that consumes almost 100% of the supplied irrigation water, is one of the goals that should be adopted in order to avoid more squandering of water especially in arid and semiarid regions. The capabilities of feedforward backpropagation neural networks (FFBP) in predicting reference evapotranspiration (ET0) are evaluated in this paper in comparison with the empirical FAO Penman-Monteith (P-M) equation, later a model of FFBP+Genetic Algorithm (GA) is implemented for the same evaluation purpose. The study location is the main station in Iraq, namely Baghdad Station. Records of weather variables from the related meteorological station, including monthly mean records of maximum air temperature (Tmax), minimum air temperature (Tmin), sunshine hours (Rn), relative humidity (Rh) and wind speed (U2), from the related meteorological station are used in the prediction of ET0 values. The performance of both simulation models were evaluated using statistical coefficients such as the root of mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The results of both models are promising, however the hybrid model shows higher efficiency in predicting ET0 and could be recommended for modeling of ET0 in arid and semiarid regions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  12. Ahmed AA, Pradhan B
    Environ Monit Assess, 2019 Feb 26;191(3):190.
    PMID: 30809746 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-019-7333-3
    This study proposes a neural network (NN) model to predict and simulate the propagation of vehicular traffic noise in a dense residential area at the New Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) in Shah Alam, Malaysia. The proposed model comprises of two main simulation steps: that is, the prediction of vehicular traffic noise using NN and the simulation of the propagation of traffic noise emission using a mathematical model. First, the NN model was developed with the following selected noise predictors: the number of motorbikes, the sum of vehicles, car ratio, heavy vehicle ratio (e.g. truck, lorry and bus), highway density and a light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-derived digital surface model (DSM). Subsequently, NN and its hyperparameters were optimised by a systematic optimisation procedure based on a grid search approach. The noise propagation model was then developed in a geographic information system (GIS) using five variables, namely road geometry, barriers, distance, interaction of air particles and weather parameters. The noise measurement was conducted continuously at 15-min intervals and the data were analysed by taking the minimum, maximum and average values recorded during the day. The measurement was performed four times a day (i.e. morning, afternoon, evening, and midnight) over two days of the week (i.e. Sunday and Monday). An optimal radial basis function NN was used with 17 hidden layers. The learning rate and momentum values were 0.05 and 0.9, respectively. Finally, the accuracy of the proposed method achieved 78.4% with less than 4.02 dB (A) error in noise prediction. Overall, the proposed models were found to be promising tools for traffic noise assessment in dense urban areas.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  13. Jayaraj VJ, Avoi R, Gopalakrishnan N, Raja DB, Umasa Y
    Acta Trop, 2019 Sep;197:105055.
    PMID: 31185224 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2019.105055
    Dengue is fast becoming the most urgent health issue in Malaysia, recording close to a 10-fold increase in cases over the last decade. With much uncertainty hovering over the recently introduced tetravalent vaccine and no effective antiviral drugs, vector control remains the most important strategy in combating dengue. This study analyses the relationship between weather predictors including its lagged terms, and dengue incidence in the District of Tawau over a period of 12 years, from 2006 to 2017. A forecasting model purposed to predict future outbreaks in Tawau was then developed using this data. Monthly dengue incidence data, mean temperature, maximum temperature, minimum temperature, mean relative humidity and mean rainfall over a period of 12 years from 2006 to 2017 in Tawau were retrieved from Tawau District Health Office and the Malaysian Meteorological Department. Cross-correlation analysis between weather predictors, lagged terms of weather predictors and dengue incidences established statistically significant cross-correlation between lagged periods of weather predictors-namely maximum temperature, mean relative humidity and mean rainfall with dengue incidence at time lags of 4-6 months. These variables were then employed into 3 different methods: a multivariate Poisson regression model, a Seasonal Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (SARIMA) model and a SARIMA with external regressors for selection. Three models were selected but the SARIMA with external regressors model utilising maximum temperature at a lag of 6 months (p-value:0.001), minimum temperature at a lag of 4 months (p-value:0.01), mean relative humidity at a lag of 2 months (p-value:0.001), and mean rainfall at a lag of 6 months (p-value:0.001) produced an AIC of 841.94, and a log-likelihood score of -413.97 establishing it as the best fitting model of the methodologies utilised. In validating the models, they were utilised to develop forecasts with the model selected with the highest accuracy of predictions being the SARIMA model predicting 1 month in advance (MAE: 7.032, MSE: 83.977). This study establishes the effect of weather on the intensity and magnitude of dengue incidence as has been previously studied. A prediction model remains a novel method of evidence-based forecasting in Tawau, Sabah. The model developed in this study, demonstrated an ability to forecast potential dengue outbreaks 1 to 4 months in advance. These findings are not dissimilar to what has been previously studied in many different countries- with temperature and humidity consistently being established as powerful predictors of dengue incidence magnitude. When used in prognostication, it can enhance- decision making and allow judicious use of resources in public health setting. Nevertheless, the model remains a work in progress- requiring larger and more diverse data.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  14. Shufang Fan
    Sains Malaysiana, 2017;46:2179-2186.
    In this paper, with debris flow in Zhouqu as the research object, combined with experiments such as cation exchange capacity (CEC), mineral chemical composition and water quality analysis, relation between water and salt in solid source forming debris flow was studied via soil column leaching test and soluble salt analysis, and internal characteristics of debris flow was accordingly showed. It was found that, the soil was loose, and the content of gravel and sand was high, and the content of fine particle was low. The soluble contents at the slope of the accumulation body were described as, collapsed accumulation body > landslide accumulation body, slope toe > slope top, gentle slope > steep slope, also related to length of the slope. The results indicated that accumulations released a large number of base ion after intense weathering, which migrated with water, concentrated and enriched at the slope toe. Saline soil with high salt content collapsed when encountering water and then formed mudflow, thus becoming the internal power to trigger and initiate debris flow to some extent.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  15. Arora S, Sawaran Singh NS, Singh D, Rakesh Shrivastava R, Mathur T, Tiwari K, et al.
    Comput Intell Neurosci, 2022;2022:9755422.
    PMID: 36531923 DOI: 10.1155/2022/9755422
    In this study, the air quality index (AQI) of Indian cities of different tiers is predicted by using the vanilla recurrent neural network (RNN). AQI is used to measure the air quality of any region which is calculated on the basis of the concentration of ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, and sulphur dioxide in air. Thus, the present air quality of an area is dependent on current weather conditions, vehicle traffic in that area, or anything that increases air pollution. Also, the current air quality is dependent on the climate conditions and industrialization in that area. Thus, the AQI is history-dependent. To capture this dependency, the memory property of fractional derivatives is exploited in this algorithm and the fractional gradient descent algorithm involving Caputo's derivative has been used in the backpropagation algorithm for training of the RNN. Due to the availability of a large amount of data and high computation support, deep neural networks are capable of giving state-of-the-art results in the time series prediction. But, in this study, the basic vanilla RNN has been chosen to check the effectiveness of fractional derivatives. The AQI and gases affecting AQI prediction results for different cities show that the proposed algorithm leads to higher accuracy. It has been observed that the results of the vanilla RNN with fractional derivatives are comparable to long short-term memory (LSTM).
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  16. Abdul-Hadi A, Mansor S, Pradhan B, Tan CK
    Environ Monit Assess, 2013 May;185(5):3977-91.
    PMID: 22930185 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-012-2843-2
    A study was conducted to investigate the influence of Asian monsoon on chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) content in Sabah waters and to identify the related oceanographic conditions that caused phytoplankton blooms at the eastern and western coasts of Sabah, Malaysia. A series of remote sensing measurements including surface Chl-a, sea surface temperature, sea surface height anomaly, wind speed, wind stress curl, and Ekman pumping were analyzed to study the oceanographic conditions that lead to large-scale nutrients enrichment in the surface layer. The results showed that the Chl-a content increased at the northwest coast from December to April due to strong northeasterly wind and coastal upwelling in Kota Kinabalu water. The southwest coast (Labuan water) maintained high concentrations throughout the year due to the effect of Padas River discharge during the rainy season and the changing direction of Baram River plume during the northeast monsoon (NEM). However, with the continuous supply of nutrients from the upwelling area, the high Chl-a batches were maintained at the offshore water off Labuan for a longer time during NEM. On the other side, the northeast coast illustrated a high Chl-a in Sandakan water during NEM, whereas the northern tip off Kudat did not show a pronounced change throughout the year. The southeast coast (Tawau water) was highly influenced by the direction of the surface water transport between the Sulu and Sulawesi Seas and the prevailing surface currents. The study demonstrates the presence of seasonal phytoplankton blooms in Sabah waters which will aid in forecasting the possible biological response and could further assist in marine resource managements.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather*
  17. Sharif Nia H, Gorgulu O, Naghavi N, Froelicher ES, Fomani FK, Goudarzian AH, et al.
    BMC Cardiovasc Disord, 2021 11 23;21(1):563.
    PMID: 34814834 DOI: 10.1186/s12872-021-02372-0
    BACKGROUND: Although various studies have been conducted on the effects of seasonal climate changes or emotional variables on the risk of AMI, many of them have limitations to determine the predictable model. The currents study is conducted to assess the effects of meteorological and emotional variables on the incidence and epidemiological occurrence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Sari (capital of Mazandaran, Iran) during 2011-2018.

    METHODS: In this study, a time series analysis was used to determine the variation of variables over time. All series were seasonally adjusted and Poisson regression analysis was performed. In the analysis of meteorological data and emotional distress due to religious mourning events, the best results were obtained by autoregressive moving average (ARMA) (5,5) model.

    RESULTS: It was determined that average temperature, sunshine, and rain variables had a significant effect on death. A total of 2375 AMI's were enrolled. Average temperate (°C) and sunshine hours a day (h/day) had a statistically significant relationship with the number of AMI's (β = 0.011, P = 0.014). For every extra degree of temperature increase, the risk of AMI rose [OR = 1.011 (95%CI 1.00, 1.02)]. For every extra hour of sunshine, a day a statistically significant increase [OR = 1.02 (95% CI 1.01, 1.04)] in AMI risk occurred (β = 0.025, P = 0.001). Religious mourning events increase the risk of AMI 1.05 times more. The other independent variables have no significant effects on AMI's (P > 0.05).

    CONCLUSION: Results demonstrate that sunshine hours and the average temperature had a significant effect on the risk of AMI. Moreover, emotional distress due to religious morning events increases AMI. More specific research on this topic is recommended.

    Matched MeSH terms: Weather*
  18. Adiana G, Shazili NA, Marinah MA, Bidai J
    Environ Monit Assess, 2014 Jan;186(1):421-31.
    PMID: 23974537 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-013-3387-9
    Concentrations of trace metals in the South China Sea (SCS) were determined off the coast of Terengganu during the months of May and November 2007. The concentrations of dissolved and particulate metals were in the range of 0.019-0.194 μg/L and 50-365 μg/g, respectively, for cadmium (Cd), 0.05-0.45 μg/L and 38-3,570 μg/g for chromium (Cr), 0.05-3.54 μg/L and 21-1,947 μg/g for manganese (Mn), and 0.03-0.49 μg/L and 2-56,982 μg/g for lead (Pb). The order of mean log K D found was Cd > Cr > Pb > Mn. The study suggests that the primary sources of these metals are discharges from the rivers which drain into the SCS, in particular the Dungun River, which flows in close proximity to agricultural areas and petrochemical industries. During the northeast monsoon, levels of particulate metals in the bottom water samples near the shore were found to be much higher than during the dry season, the probable result of re-suspension of the metals from the bottom sediments.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  19. Chow MF, Yusop Z, Toriman ME
    Water Sci Technol, 2013;67(8):1822-31.
    PMID: 23579839 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2013.048
    Urbanization and frequent storms play important roles in increasing faecal bacteria pollution, especially for tropical urban catchments. However, only little information on the faecal bacteria levels from different land use types and the factors that influence bacteria concentrations is available. Thus, the objectives of this study were to quantify the levels and transport mechanism of faecal coliforms (FCs) from residential and commercial catchments. Stormwaters were sampled and the runoff flow rates were measured from both catchments during four storm events in Skudai, Malaysia. The samples were then analysed for FC, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS) and ammoniacal-nitrogen (NH3-N) concentrations. Intra-storm and inter-storm characteristics of FC bacteria were investigated in order to identify the level and transport pattern of FC. The commercial catchment showed significantly higher event mean concentration (EMC) of FC than the residential catchment. For the residential catchment, the highest bacterial concentrations occurred during the early part of stormwater runoff with peak concentrations usually preceding the peak flow. First flush effect was more prevalent at the residential catchment.
    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
  20. Anyamba A, Chretien JP, Small J, Tucker CJ, Linthicum KJ
    Int J Health Geogr, 2006 Dec 28;5:60.
    PMID: 17194307
    BACKGROUND: El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) related climate anomalies have been shown to have an impact on infectious disease outbreaks. The Climate Prediction Center of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA/CPC) has recently issued an unscheduled El Niño advisory, indicating that warmer than normal sea surface temperatures across the equatorial eastern Pacific may have pronounced impacts on global tropical precipitation patterns extending into the northern hemisphere particularly over North America. Building evidence of the links between ENSO driven climate anomalies and infectious diseases, particularly those transmitted by insects, can allow us to provide improved long range forecasts of an epidemic or epizootic. We describe developing climate anomalies that suggest potential disease risks using satellite generated data.

    RESULTS: Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the equatorial east Pacific ocean have anomalously increased significantly during July - October 2006 indicating the typical development of El Niño conditions. The persistence of these conditions will lead to extremes in global-scale climate anomalies as has been observed during similar conditions in the past. Positive Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) anomalies, indicative of severe drought conditions, have been observed across all of Indonesia, Malaysia and most of the Philippines, which are usually the first areas to experience ENSO-related impacts. This dryness can be expected to continue, on average, for the remainder of 2006 continuing into the early part of 2007. During the period November 2006 - January 2007 climate forecasts indicate that there is a high probability for above normal rainfall in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Islands, the Korean Peninsula, the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida, northern South America and equatorial east Africa. Taking into consideration current observations and climate forecast information, indications are that the following regions are at increased risk for disease outbreaks: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and most of the southeast Asia Islands for increased dengue fever transmission and increased respiratory illness; Coastal Peru, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Colombia for increased risk of malaria; Bangladesh and coastal India for elevated risk of cholera; East Africa for increased risk of a Rift Valley fever outbreak and elevated malaria; southwest USA for increased risk for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome and plague; southern California for increased West Nile virus transmission; and northeast Brazil for increased dengue fever and respiratory illness.

    CONCLUSION: The current development of El Niño conditions has significant implications for global public health. Extremes in climate events with above normal rainfall and flooding in some regions and extended drought periods in other regions will occur. Forecasting disease is critical for timely and efficient planning of operational control programs. In this paper we describe developing global climate anomalies that suggest potential disease risks that will give decision makers additional tools to make rational judgments concerning implementation of disease prevention and mitigation strategies.

    Matched MeSH terms: Weather
Filters
Contact Us

Please provide feedback to Administrator (afdal@afpm.org.my)

External Links