In July 1997 at 7 pm , 49 members 0f the public complained of dizziness, sore throat, eyes irritation and tightness of chest after exposed to sulphur dioxide while traveling on the road about 100 meter 90m the sulphuric acid factory in Teluk Kalong Kemaman. The incident was caused by leaking sulfur dioxide from return pipe of scrubber circulation. tank in the factory. The problem had occurred due to carelessness of the operator to inspect the level of water in the scrubber circulation tank during the operation.
The aim of this study was to identify the problems of stress and health effect among the office computer users. A total of 41 office workers whose job required the use of computers. A set of constructed questionnaire were use to measure the work stress and health problems among workers. The data was analyzed by using of descriptive and inference statistic. The result showed that subjects who use computer for more than 2 hours would experienced work stress such as fatigue 29(70.7%), eye and visual symptoms such as blurring of vision 27(65.9%) and musculoskeletal pain at neck 32( 78.6%). However most of symptoms were moderate. There were a significant relationship between the time spent of using computer with problem of stress (r= 0.440, p<0.05) and eyes and visual problem (r=0.319, p<0.05). However there was no significant relationship between the work station design with stress, musculoskeletal, eye and visual problems. Therefore the longer time spent using computer will lead to health problems. Using the safety operating procedure will reduce the work stress problems.
Keys word: Work stress, health problems, computer users
The study aims to evaluate students’ perceptions towards e-Learning Management System (e-LMS) in pharmacy education. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among all undergraduates enrolled at School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. A pre-validated questionnaire consisting of two domains (demographic characteristics and students’ perception regarding the use of e-LMS) was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographic characteristics of the study respondents. Chi Square test was used to measure association between the study variables. All analysis was performed by using Predictive Analytical Software (PASW) v. 18. A total of 315 students completed the survey questionnaire with a response rate of 57.6%. Majority of the students (61.0%) accessed e-LMS to acquire lecture notes for their studies, followed by 53.3% have used e-LMS for the preparation of the assignments. Seventy eight percent of the respondents agreed that e-LMS is very useful and felt that e-LMS is making their studies easier. However, 50% of students claimed that poor network connection at the campus is a major barrier in accessing e-LMS. Moreover, 48% of the respondents disagreed that e-LMS should be taken into account as an assessment criterion for students’ grading. Students are found to be frequently engaged in using e-LMS and believed that online based learning is
enhancing their academic performances. Nevertheless, students still prefer hybrid teaching methodologies than choosing traditional system or e-learning as an alone entity.
Palm oil-based wax is a waste material from palm oil refining process. Recent prototyping
activities have used industrial blue wax or synthetic wax to produce prototype parts by machining
processes. The new palm oil-based wax blended with LLDPE reduces the use of synthetic wax for
engineering applications. This paper studies the machining characteristic of two different composite
blends: LLDPE/PALMAC 95 -16 Palm Oil-Based Wax and LLDPE/PALMAC 98-18 Palm Oil-Based
Wax. Three machining characteristic results were recorded, namely; surface roughness, temperature
and dimensional consistency.
A possible outbreak of beriberi occurred at a drug detention and rehabilitation centre, Pusat Serenti Bukit Cabang, Perlis, Malaysia in February 2004. This outbreak was identified following the presentation of a large number of inmates at a health centre with signs and symptoms of ankle oedema and shortness of breath. Further investigations revealed the death of three inmates at the General Hospital with similar clinical presentations during the period from October 2003 till February 2004. A cross sectional comparative study was carried out at the rehabilitation centre to find out the prevalence of thiamine deficiency among the inmates both symptomatic and asymptomatic. A total of 154 inmates were examined (57 symptomatic and 97 asymptomatic cases). It was found that 74% from the sample study (114 cases) had thiamine deficiency (44 symptomatic and 70 asymptomatic). Further statistical analysis showed that ankle oedema is consistent with the diagnosis of thiamine deficiency but lack sensitivity (p < 0.05, sensitivity 24.6%, specificity 95%). This outbreak could have been triggered by poor diet intake of thiamine by the inmates coupled with possible intake of certain thiamine antagonists in their diet.
A demographic and obstetric profile of pregnant mothers attending antenatal clinics in Kelantan over period of one year was determined by a retrospective study of 10,032 registered pregnant mothers. The prevalence of risk factors related to the age of the mother, parity, weight, haemoglobin level, bad obstetric history and pregnancy related diseases were determined. Prevalence of teenage pregnancy and primigravida accounted for 4.3 and 17.2 percent respectively. Nearly 3.9 percent of the mothers weighed less than 40 kg and 44.5 percent of mothers were found to be anaemic (Hb less than 11g/d) at the first antenatal visit. Only 3.2 percent of the mothers did not have any designated risk factor. Previous bad obstetric history and pregnancy related disease accounted for 17.1 and 3.5 percent of mothers respectively.
Study site: Antenatal clinics, klinik kesihatan, Kelantan, Malaysia
A coconut de-husking machine comprising of two rollers with spikes, chain drives,
presser, clearers, shafts and belting system was developed for small-scale production in rural areas.
Performance test analysis showed that the machine de-husks coconut fruits without any nut breakage
or distortion of the extracted fibre length. The objective of this project is to improve the efficiency and
productivity in producing coconut fruits without husks by using the best selection of mechanical
mechanisms with minimum costs. One electric motor (2hp, 1500rpm) is used to drive two shafts using
a combination of pulley and belt. In between the motor and the shafts, one box of worm gears is used
to reduce the rotation speed from 1500rpm to 21rpm (ratio 70:1). Two metal cylinders with a series of
spikes are used to remove the husks from the coconut fruit and are attached to the rotary shaft. The
machine’s average de-husking efficiency and capacity are 90.42% and 222 coconuts per hour,
respectively. In addition, the development of the machine is also a solution to the constraint of space,
whereby a compact-size machine is more suitable for small and medium enterprises (SME’s). Plus, it
operates with lesser noise, which also contributes to a more viable operating condition for the
environment.