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  1. Fulltext Charphy impact of medium molecular weight phenol formaldehyde (MMwPF) plywood
    Hasmawi Khalid, Norhayati Ibrahim
    Journal of Advanced Research in Applied Sciences and Engineering Technology, 2020;18(1):24-30.
    MyJurnal
    Plywood is a wood product frequently utilized in building as part of concrete formwork systems. In the concreting process, plywood formwork needs to be strongly made to withstand the pressure subjected by the wet concrete as well as the impact. To reduce the dependency on solid timber as plywood, oil palm stem offers alternative materials. There are four main weaknesses of oil palm stem (OPS) as a material for plywood manufacturing; high variations in density and moisture content (MC), high water absorption and high surface roughness. Therefore, this study modified the drying and treatment process of OPS veneer. The veneer was predried by using roller presser for removing a large amount of water and later treated with medium molecular weight phenolformaldehyde (MMwPF) to bond together parenchyma tissue, cell wall, and a lumen for much uniform density and better surface bonding. The Charpy impact of OPS plywood developed in this study denoted as PTA was investigated. These properties were compared with the properties of another two types of commercial OPS plywood denoted as PTB and PTC which were manufactured using OPS veneer with tropical hardwood veneer for face and back veneer and control plywood denoted as PTD which was manufactured using 100% tropical hardwood veneer. The results showed that PTA has the highest mean value of energy and strength for both notched and unnotched Charpy impact.
  2. Fulltext Barriers to health promotion for indigenous communities: lessons for Malaysia
    Aniza, I, Norhayati, M
    Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2016;16(1):6-14.
    MyJurnal
    Globally, the health of the indigenous people is lagging behind as compared to the mainstream population in countries in which they live. Despite improved overall prosperity and population longevity, social and health inequalities seem to persist in this underprivileged community. Failure in delivering effective health promotion toward the indigenous community is determined by a range of factors. This includes the absence of culturally sensitive awareness among the healthcare workers, ineffective communication of the healthcare providers, poor access to health service, lack of culturally specific health promotional materials, lack of involvement by indigenous healthcare workers, lack of community based programs and inefficiency of indigenous health data collection. Effective interventions for indigenous health require a trans-disciplinary and holistic approach that incorporates indigenous health beliefs and engages with the social and cultural drivers of health.Such culturally congruent health promotion strategies are hoped to narrow down the existing wide gap of health outcomes that contribute to inequalities between indigenous communities and the mainstream population.
  3. Safety in the construction industry: are we barking at the wrong tree?
    Khairuddin Sulaiman, Norhayati Mahyuddin
    Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2005;2(1):30-36.
    MyJurnal
    The construction industry is an important industry in the Malaysian’s economy. Much has been said about the quality of the product as well as the image of the industry due to the small percentage of local workers on site. The industry’s welfare and safety record is not at all encouraging. To stop the rot, the government has taken important and significant steps by the establishment of the Malaysian Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). These efforts have shown some significant positive improvement in the perception and action of those involved in the industry but we are still far from the standard shown in other developed countries in terms of site safety. This paper is to discuss the roles and responsibilities of the key players in the industry be it the clients, consultants or contractors. The focus is on the ‘upstream’ activities i.e. the pre-construction stage, rather than the ‘downstream’ i.e. the construction phase of a project.
  4. Densification and mechanical properties of electroconductive Si3N4-based composites prepared by spark plasma sintering
    Norhayati Ahmad, Sueyoshi H
    Sains Malaysiana, 2012;41:1005-1009.
    Si3N4-TiN composites were prepared by conventional powder processing (SPS1) and in-situ reaction sintering (SPS2). Rapid densification of SPS was achieved for sample SPS1 and SPS2 within a few minutes at low temperature. Sample SPS1 sintered at 1550ºC showed rapid transformation of α to β Si3N4 while for sample SPS2 sintered at 1350ºC, a significant
    degree of α to β Si3N4 transformation was achieved. Homogeneous distribution of equiaxed TiN grains in matrix Si3N4 resulting in high hardness (21.7 GPa) and bending strength (621 MPa) for sample SPS1 sintered at 1550ºC. Elongated TiN grains as the reinforcement of Si
    3N4 matrix composites was found to increase the toughness (8.39 MPa m1/2) of sample
    SPS2 sintered at 1350ºC. The composites prepared by SPS2 sintered at 1250-1350ºC had low electrical resistivity and could be machined by electrical discharge machining (EDM).
  5. Fulltext Mental health-related experiences and challenges of informal HIV/AIDS caregivers: a brief review and analysis
    Pei, Lin Lua, Norhayati Mustapha
    ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 2012;13(2):197-217.
    MyJurnal
    encountered particularly in mental health issues and to additionally analyze the methodologies used in studies involving HIV/AIDS informal caregivers.

    Methods: Four electronic databases; Science Direct, EBSCOhost, Ovid and Springer Link were searched for articles published in the past 10 years (2002 - 2012). Only full-text English articles related to research on care giving of HIV-infected adult patients were selected.

    Results: Twenty two out of 293 articles (7.5%) were reviewed, involving 2,765 caregivers in the USA (n=1,610), Africa (n=253), Asia (n=838) and Oceania (n=64) regions. A variety of age categories was involved in care giving with the youngest carer being 12 years old and the oldest, 60 years on average. Females and whites appeared to be dominant and 603 caregivers themselves were HIV positive. The main outcomes measured were care giving burden, challenges and coping. Stress and depression, stigma and discrimination, insufficient support, role overload and extreme poverty were the main challenges experienced in care giving. Both qualitative (n=11) and quantitative (n=9) were the equally preferred types of study. Purposive sampling emerged as the most preferred sampling technique. Various instruments were utilized, but the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was the most popular particularly in quantitative studies.

    Conclusion: A variety of life aspects were negatively affected in the process of care giving for HIV/AIDS patients and studies of such nature commonly focused on caregivers' psychosocial burden.
  6. Biological Control of Diamondback Moth, Plutella xylostella (L.),Using Parasitoids and Bacteria: A Review
    Idris A.B., Norhayati Abdul Mukti
    Sains Malaysiana, 1997;26.
    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.
  7. Sensory quality of pilot-scale prebiotic chocolates in Malaysia
    Norhayati H, Mohd Khan Ayob
    Sains Malaysiana, 2014;43:1333-1344.
    Prebiotic, such as inulin, has been applied as functional food and known for its various health benefit effects such as increased mineral absorption, improved immune response and colorectal cancer prevention. An attempt was made to determine the level of Malaysian consumers’ acceptance and market potential of newly developed pilot scale prebiotic milk chocolates (MC-1) and dark chocolates (DC-1) with no sugar added as compared to control milk and dark chocolate (containing sugar), MC-0 and DC-0, respectively. Trained panels were employed to evaluate the sensory quality of the chocolate products using the quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) technique and the 7-point hedonic scale was used by consumer panels. In comparison with control milk chocolate (MC-0), consumer and trained panels gave better (p<0.05) overall acceptance score for MC-1. Both MC-1 and DC-1 showed similar smoothness attribute (p>0.05) as control chocolates (MC-0 and DC-0). Similar likeness were shown by both trained panels and untrained Malaysian public consumers, where prebiotic milk chocolate MC-1 was the most preferred compare to prebiotic dark chocolate DC-1. This could be due to bitter taste driven by high cocoa liquor content in dark chocolate compared to milk chocolate. However, both type of prebiotic chocolates have high potential (>70%) to be bought by Malaysian consumers once introduced in the market.
  8. Kesan antropogenik terhadap kualiti air di lembangan sungai marang, perairan Selatan Laut China Selatan
    Suhaimi Suratman, Norhayati Mohd Tahir
    Sains Malaysiana, 2013;42:743-751.
    Satu kajian kualiti air yang melibatkan pengukuran parameter seperti oksigen terlarut (DO), pH, permintaan oksigen biokimia (BOD), permintaan oksigen kimia (COD), jumlah pepejal terampai (TSS) dan nutrien terlarut telah dijalankan di lembangan Sungai Marang bermula dari bulan Julai-September 2001. Lapan stesen pensampelan telah dipilih yang merangkumi sungai utama dan cabangannya. Hasil kajian menunjukkan julat nilai untuk DO, pH, BOD, COD dan TSS masing-masing ialah 3.5-7.5 mg/L, 5.9-8.2, 0.4-1.3 mg/L, 4.0-50.2 mg/L dan 0.3-20.4 mg/L. Kepekatan ortofosfat, jumlah fosfat terlarut, nitrit, nitrat, ammonia dan jumlah nitrogen terlarut masing-masing adalah dalam julat 27-62 μg P/L, 55-105 μg P/L, 0.5-4.1 μg N/L, 65-426 μg N/L, 16-161 μg N/L dan 128-787 μg N/L. Julat kepekatan klorofil-a pula ialah 4.06-7.75 μg/L. Kajian menunjukkan taburan nutrien dipengaruhi oleh kesan antropogenik. Berdasarkan kepada Piawai Interim Kualiti Air Kebangsaan, kebanyakan kepekatan nutrien boleh dikelaskan dalam Kelas I dan II. Mengikut indeks kualiti air Jabatan Alam Sekitar, Sungai Marang berada dalam Kelas I dengan status bersih.
  9. Fulltext Validity and reliability of the Noor Evidence-Based Medicine Questionnaire: A cross-sectional study
    Norhayati MN, Nawi ZM
    PLoS One, 2021;16(4):e0249660.
    PMID: 33886615 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249660
    BACKGROUND: Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is a widely accepted scientific advancement in clinical settings that helps achieve better, safer, and more cost-effective healthcare. However, presently, validated instruments to evaluate healthcare professionals' attitude and practices toward implementing EBM are not widely available. Therefore, the present study aimed to determine the validity and reliability of a newly developed knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) questionnaire on EBM for use among healthcare professionals.

    METHODS: The Noor Evidence-Based Medicine Questionnaire was tested among physicians in a government hospital between July and August 2018. Exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency reliability-based Cronbach's alpha statistic were conducted.

    RESULTS: The questionnaire was distributed among 94 physicians, and 90 responded (response rate of 95.7%). The initial number of items in the KAP domains of the Noor Evidence-Based Medicine Questionnaire were 15, 17, and 13, respectively; however, two items in the practice domain with communalities <0.25 and factor loadings <0.4 were removed. The factor structure accounted for 52.33%, 66.29%, and 55.39% of data variance in the KAP domains, respectively. Cronbach's alpha values were 0.81, 0.81, and 0.84 for KAP domains, respectively, indicating high reliability.

    CONCLUSIONS: This questionnaire can be used to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of healthcare professionals toward EBM. Future testing of this questionnaire among other medical personnel groups will help expand the scope of this tool.

  10. Long-term postpartum effect of severe maternal morbidity on sexual function
    Norhayati MN, Azman Yacob M
    Int J Psychiatry Med, 2017 11 08;52(4-6):328-344.
    PMID: 29117756 DOI: 10.1177/0091217417738933
    There was limited knowledge on the sexual function in women who have survived severe obstetric complications. The aim of this study was to compare the level of sexual functioning among women with and without severe morbidity at six months postpartum and to identify the factors associated with sexual function scores of women. A prospective double-cohort study design was applied at two tertiary hospitals over a six-month period. Postpartum women with and without severe maternal morbidity were selected as the exposed and the non-exposed group, respectively. The study included 145 exposed and 187 non-exposed women. Those with severe maternal morbidity were significantly ( P 
  11. Fulltext Fractionation of coconut oil via supercritical fluid extraction for production of cocoa butter substitute
    Halimatun Sa’adiah, A.H., Jinap, S., Norhayati, H.
    International Food Research Journal, 2019;26(3):783-790.
    MyJurnal
    Coconut oil (CNO) is a vegetable fat that can be applied as a cocoa butter substitute (CBS) due to its similar physical characteristics to cocoa butter. However, it must be fractionated or hydrogenated to be used as CBS. The aims of the present work was to fractionate CNO using supercritical fluid extraction (SFE), and determine the potential fraction which is suitable as CBS. CNO was fractionated by SFE at 48.3 MPa and 80°C into four different fractions, F1, F2, F3 and F4. Fraction 1 had the highest yield (48.9%) as compared to the other fractions. Fraction 4 had the lowest content of lauric acid, C12 (31.12%) and the highest amount of palmitic acid, C16 (16.43%); stearic acid, C18:0 (4.99%); and linoleic acid, C18:1 (17.44%). Fraction 4 also had the highest melting profile (25.24°C) and amount of solid fat content (state) closest to CB. Therefore, F4 was selected as a potential fraction for the application of CBS. This finding reveals that CNO can be fractionated by SFE and applied as CBS to help diversify the application of coconut products.
  12. Fulltext Preliminary study of the nutritional content of Malaysian edible bird’s nest
    Norhayati, M.K., Azman, O., Wan Nazaimoon, W.M.
    Malays J Nutr, 2010;16(3):389-396.
    MyJurnal
    Malaysian edible bird’s nests (EBN) are from the swiflet species, Aerodromus fuciphagus. The objective of this study was to determine and compare the nutrient composition of EBN obtained from different parts of Peninsular Malaysia, collected at three different harvesting seasons, to four commercial brands. A total of 18 raw, unprocessed EBN samples from the North, South and East Coast zones of Peninsular Malaysia and duplicate samples of 4 commercial brands (processed) of EBN samples were analysed. The protein and mineral contents of unprocessed EBN samples between zones and harvesting seasons were comparable. Mean (± SEM) protein content of unprocessed EBN was 61.5 ± 0.6 g/100g and the top four minerals detected were calcium, sodium, magnesium and potassium with mean (± SEM) concentration of 553.1 ± 19.5 mg/100g, 187.9 ± 10.4 mg/100g, 92.9 ± 2.0 mg/100g and 6.3 ± 0.4 mg/100g respectively. Sialic acid content ranged between 0.7 to 1.5%, and remained comparable between samples from different zones and harvesting seasons. The commercial brands were found to contain higher amounts of calcium, sodium, magnesium, potassium and phosphorus compared to unprocessed EBN, warranting further investigation and verification with more samples. Since the nutrient contents of EBN may be affected by seasonal variations and even breeding sites, it is recommended that a more comprehensive study be conducted involving more samples and breeding sites as such data are important to ensure sustainability of the EBN industry in this country.
  13. Fulltext Validity and reliability of the Malay version of 12-item short form health survey among postpartum mothers
    Norhayati Mohd Noor, Aniza Abd Aziz
    Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2014;14(2):56-66.
    MyJurnal
    The Short Form Health Survey SF-36 is a well-known generic health-related quality of life measure that has widely been used worldwide. However, given the cultural, social and ethnic differences in some countries, it might not follow the intended structure of the instrument. Hence, this study aims to determine the psychometric properties of the Malay version of Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) among postpartum mothers. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1-month postpartum mothers attending Obstetric and Gynecology clinic, Universiti Sains Malaysia Hospital, Kelantan, Malaysia. Reliability was estimated using internal consistency and the factor structure was extracted by performing confirmatory factor analysis using SPSS v. 20 and AMOS v. 20. A total of 108 women responded. The mean (SD) score for the Physical Component Summary (PCS) score and Mental Component Summary (MCS) score were 43.3 (7.08) and 42.4 (6.87) respectively. The Cronbach alpha for PCS-12 was 0.749 and MCS-12 was 0.701. Spearman correlations of individual items and the SF-12 component summary scores showed PF, RP, BP and GH items correlated higher with the PCS score, whereas the VT, SF, RE, and MH items correlated higher with the MCS score lending support to its good convergent validity. The confirmatory factor solution showed final model with two factors structure and six items each with acceptable factor loadings, satisfactory absolute and parsimonious fitness (RMSEA=0.1, x2/df=2.4). The psychometric tests of the Malay version of SF-12 generally showed acceptable validity and reliability among postpartum women.
    Study site: Obstretic and gynecology Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM)
  14. Fulltext HRQoL profile and psychometric properties assessment of caregiver quality of life instrument among HIV/AIDS family caregivers in Terengganu
    Lua, P.L., Norhayati, M., Ahmad Kashfi, A.R.
    Malaysian Journal of Psychiatry, 2013;22(1):1-13.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: This preliminary investigation intended to evaluate the healthrelated quality of life (HRQoL) profile of HIV/AIDS family caregivers residing in Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia and to explore the psychometric properties of the Malay Caregiver Quality of Life (MCQoL) questionnaire in this sample. Methods: A convenient sample of family caregivers of HIV/AIDS patients who were aware of the diagnosis was enrolled. They were recruited from the Infectious Disease Clinic, Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, Terengganu. Data was analysed using SPSS16 employing descriptive and non-parametric statistical methods. Results: Thirty respondents consented participation [median age = 43.0 years (range 19.0-81.0); female = 63.3%, married = 70.0%; ≤ primary school qualification = 46.7%; self-employed = 66.7% and rural residents = 56.7%]. Across all patients, the highest domain score was for Disruptiveness (median = 3.3; range 1.4-4.0) while Burden was the lowest (median = 2.3; range 1.0-3.6). As expected, males reported significantly better Financial Concerns and Burden (p
  15. Fulltext Malaysian participation in the IAEA/WHO TLD postal dose quality audit service: data analysis from 2011-2015
    Norhayati Abdullah, Kadni, Taiman, Mohd Taufik Dolah
    Jurnal Sains Nuklear Malaysia, 2018;30(1):36-45.
    MyJurnal
    In this paper, we report the dosimetry methodology used in the IAEA/WHO Thermoluminescent Dosimeter (TLD) Postal Dose Quality Audit Service and the results of 22 Malaysian radiotherapy centres participated in the audit from 2011 to 2015. Each participating centre was provided with a few sets of TLD capsule (two unit of TLD capsules to be irradiated and a control TLD in one set) as requested by the centres. The participating centres were asked to irradiate each TLD capsule at 2 Gy absorbed a dose to water under reference conditions i.e the TLD capsule is positioned at 10 cm depths in water, at central axis with 10 cm x 10 cm field size at 100 cm Source-Surface Distance or 100 cm Source-Axis Distance. In this period, a total of 70 photon beams consist of 43 beams and 27 beams produced by 6 MV and 10 MV photon beams, respectively have been audited. The results demonstrated that all participating centres comply with the acceptance limits of ± 5% as recommended by the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) Report 24, except eight photon beams from six centres. However, these centres presented better compliance results after being followed up with a second round of TLD irradiation.

  16. Fulltext Housing infrastructure and quality of life of orang asli and non-orang asli populations in Kuala Langat Selangor
    Norhayati, M., Aniza, I., Norfazilah, A.
    Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2018;18(1):0-0.
    MyJurnal
    We investigated the association between housing conditions with a primary focus on basic housing infrastructure and WHOQOL BREF score among the Orang Asli and non-Orang Asli populations. A cross–sectional study was conducted between August 2014 and May 2015 among the Orang Asli and non-Orang Asli populations in Kuala Langat, Selangor. Sampling of the population was done through multistage sampling while eligible respondents participated conveniently. The socio-demographic information collected consisted of age, ethnicity, marital status, educational level, and employment status. Basic housing infrastructure variables including the types of housing unit, wall construction material, availability and types of toilet, availability of electricity, source of water supply, and availability of garbage collection facilities were obtained. Among the Orang Asli respondents, having the pour type of toilet in the house was significantly (p=0.003) associated with a reduction in the physical health domain score by 0.36 (95% CI: -0.61,-0.12). Conversely, having no toilet in the house and living in a semi-detached house had significantly (p=0.023 and p=0.026 respectively) increased the social relationships domain score by 0.81 (CI: 0.11, 1.51) and 3.90 (CI: 0.47, 7.34) respectively. Unavailability of garbage disposal facilities was found to be significantly (p
  17. Assessment of riparian ecosystem on amphibians along a green corridor in oil palm plantation, Pasoh, Negeri Sembilan, Peninsular Malaysia
    Norhayati A, Ehwan N, Okuda T
    Sains Malaysiana, 2014;43:655-666.
    The large scale expansion of oil palm plantations nowadays bring huge negative impact on habitat destruction and loss of biodiversity, especially at Pasoh, Negeri Sembilan, Peninsular Malaysia. The monoculture system that was developed since the 1970s has suppressed biodiversity levels because of the lack of suitable microhabitats. In order to assess ecological remediation of plantation, a green corridor was established along Sg. Petekah at Felda Pasoh 2. The assessment was conducted from March to May 2012 at Sg. Petekah green corridor (SPGC) at Felda Pasoh 2 and Felda Pasoh 3 with no green corridor (FP3). Amphibians were sampled for species richness by using fenced pit fall traps and visual encounter surveys. Microhabitat selection of amphibians was identified to come up with recommendations for improvement. The low Shannon-Wiener diversity value, H’ at SPGC (1.82 ± 0.126) was obtained indicating that the remediation is yet to be achieved, but the H’ value was much lower at PF3 (0.62±0.2) indicating a positive projection of remediation. Microhabitat selection study indicated that each amphibian species tend to avoid overlapping of microhabitat based on specific guilds. Based on the results, the green corridor should be widened to allow space for foraging and territorial defence, planted not only with trees but also shrubs and herbs to improve the ground cover for the amphibians and also to include other
  18. Pm2.5 and associated ionic species in a sub-urban coastal area of Kuala Terengganu, Southern South China Sea (Malaysia)
    Norhayati Mohd Tahir, Meikee Koh, Suhaimi Suratman
    Sains Malaysiana, 2013;42:1065-1072.
    PM2.5 mass concentration and associated water-soluble ionic species in a sub-urban coastal area of Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia were investigated intermittently from year 2006 to 2009. A total of 78 weekly PM2.5 samples were analyzed. The mass concentration of PM2.5 exhibited annual, seasonal and diurnal variations. Temporal distributions of rainfall, sporadic haze episodes and local air flow (sea breeze circulation) were factors controlling PM2.5 mass variations in the study area. Although the PM2.5 concentrations were increased during haze episodes in 2006 (August and October) and2007 (October), their concentrations however, were still within the international guidelines. The average concentration of individual ions was in decreasing trend; SO42-> NH4+> K+> Na+> NO3-> Cl-> Ca2+. The concentrations of SO42- and NH4+ accounted for > 70% of the water-soluble aerosol mass. More than 80% of ionic species associated with PM2.5 are from non-marine sources. Major processes affecting the ionic composition of PM2.5 are biomass burning, crustal loading and sea spray. Air quality mitigation strategies should focus on anthropogenic activities emitting SO2, which promotes aerosol SO42- formation.
  19. Fulltext Development and validation of a questionnaire on sociocultural factors among the orang asli and general population in Selangor
    Aniza I, Norhayati M, Norfazilah A
    Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17(2):140-150.
    Cultural attitudes of the societies have long been identified as one of the important determinants of Quality of Life (QoL). Yet there is a dearth of socio-culturally validated instruments for local population to assess the impact of socio-cultural practice on health. The aim of this validation study is to develop and test the validity and reliabilityof a questionnaire on culture dimensions.Respondents were asked about their engagement in socio-cultural aspects including beliefs and practice oftraditional customs and culture using a set of newly developed questionnaire.A total of 275eligible respondentsparticipatedwith150(54.5%)from the general population and 125 (45.5%)from the Orang Asli population. Kaiser-Meyer Olkin measure of Sampling Adequacy (KMO) was 0.791 and 0.677 for the general and Orang Asli population respectively. Bartlett’s test for both population was significant (p<0.001). By Principal Common Analysis, four factorswere extracted (Eigen values >1.0) that jointly accounted for 54.7% and 52.0% of the total variance among the general population and Orang Asli respectively.The Cronbach alpha value score was 0.785and 0.730 for the general population and Orang Asli population respectively. The Cronbach alpha values foreach of the four domains ranged from 0.477-0.865 and 0.543-0.758 for the general population and Orang Asli population respectively.These results suggest that the newly developed questionnaire appeared to have adequate validity and reliability in measuringsocio-cultural factors in the population.
  20. Fulltext Effects of extraction conditions on yield, total phenolic contents and antibacterial activity of methanolic Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume leaves extract
    Ida Madiha, Y., Rukayadi, Y., Norhayati, H.
    International Food Research Journal, 2017;24(2):779-786.
    MyJurnal
    Increase of foodborne diseases has promulgated the development of new natural food additive
    with high extraction yield to eliminate food pathogenic organisms. One such possibility is the
    use of plant product as antibacterial agents with non-conventional method to enhance the yield.
    In this study, cinnamon leaves (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Blume) were subjected to ultrasonic
    assisted extraction (UAE) using response surface methodology (RSM) to optimise extraction
    yield and total phenolic contents. The effect of two independent factors, extraction temperature
    (x1: 25-40°C) and extraction time (x2: 15-45 minutes) were investigated. Optimum extraction
    yield and total phenolic contents of cinnamon leaves were 27.49 ± 1.59% and 3987 ± 79.10 mg
    GAE/g which were closely as predicted using RSM (28.34%, 4048 mg GAE/g), respectively.
    The optimum condition of extraction yield (40°C and 45 minutes) showed the maximum zone
    of inhibition against all tested foodborne pathogens (7.33 ± 0.50 to 13.22 ± 0.44 mm), whereas
    optimum condition of total phenolic contents (33°C and 31 minutes) showed the lowest zone
    inhibition (6.78 ± 0.67 mm to 11.67 ± 1.41 mm). The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC)
    values range from 97.65 to 6250.00 μg/mL and minimal bactericidal concentration (MBC)
    values from 6.25 to 50.00 mg/mL. These results indicated that UAE method is excellent in
    producing significantly the highest of extraction yield, total phenolic contents and act as a
    potential natural antibacterial agent even using low extraction temperature and short time.
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