Accidental poisoning in children is a preventable condition. It is a problem mainly in children aged 1 to 4 years. This is a descriptive study of accidental poisoning in children below 12 years old admitted to Hospital Seremban from October 15, 1994 to October 14, 1995. A major cause of household accidental poisoning was kerosene ingestion (25%) followed by ingestion of medications (22%), liniment methyl salicylate (12 %), mothballs (12%) and hypochlorinate solution (9%). There was a higher incidence of poisoning in males (50.8%), among Indians (41.2%) and in children from lower social classes (67%). A greater proportion of the accident occurred when the child was taken care by the parents (53 %) and in the house (80%). Most of the poison was ingested from its original package (81%). The immediate action taken was sending the child to the hospital (75%) without carrying out other actions such as washing the child’s mouth. The delay of sending the child to hospital was due to husband not at home (57%). Most of the cases (72.1 %) were discharged well within 1-2 days following admission.
An improved laboratory technique for measurement of polonium-210(
210Po) in environmental
samples has been developed in Radiochemistry and Environmental Laboratory (RAS), Malaysian
Nuclear Agency. To further improve this technique, a study with the objectives to determine the
optimum conditions for
210Po deposition and; evaluate the accuracy and precision results for
the determination of 2 1 0 P o in environmental samples was carried-out. Polonium-210 which
is an alpha emitter obtained in acidic solution through total digestion and dissolution of samples
has been efficiently plated onto one side of the silver disc in the spontaneous plating process for
measurement of its alpha activity. The optimum conditions for deposition of 210Po were achieved
using hydrochloric acid (HCl) media at acidity of 0.5 M with the presence of 1.0 gram hydroxyl
ammonium chloride and the plating temperature at 90
oC. The plating was carried out in 80 mL
HCl solution (0.5 M) for 4 hours. The recorded recoveries obtained using 2 0 9 P o tracers in
the CRM IAEA-385 and environmental samples were 85% – 98% whereby the efficiency of the
new technique is a distinct advantage over the existing techniques. Therefore, optimization of
deposition parameters is a prime importance to achieve accuracy and precision results as well as
economy and time saving
The in vitro cytotoxic potential of locally produced dental porcelain was evaluated in this study. The cellular response of human osteoblast and fibroblast cell lines were assessed using MTT assay by incubating with the fluid extract of dental porcelain powder and dental porcelain discs (direct test). Aging process was carried out by submerging the discs into 3% bovine serum albumin (BSA) solution. Tests on extracts showed that dental porcelain was significantly different from the control at a concentration of 250 mg/ml. Direct test showed that dental porcelain after aging was not significantly different from the control with a mean (SD) of 89.2 (13.4)%, whereas, it was significantly different from the control before conditioning of BSA with a mean (SD) of 88.5 (12.1)%. However, the dental porcelain caused mild suppression of succinate dehydrogenase activity (
Composite resins Amaris is claimed to have hydrophobic effect which minimizes the staining intake. This study is to investigate the colour stability of Amaris compared to Filtek Z250 in coffee solution. Sixty discs of composite resins Filtek Z250 (3M ESPE) and Amaris (Voco) with diameter of 5mm and depth of 2mm were fabricated by packing in a drinking straw and sectioned with hard tissue cutter (Exakt, Japan). The surfaces of the specimens were polished with Sof-Lex disc before each group of the samples is immersed in coffee solution. They were kept in the solution for 4 days at 370C and assessed at the period of 2 hours, 1 day, 2 days, 3 days, and 4 days. The staining was assessed visually and recorded using Lobene (1968) Stain Index and score was given accordingly. The colour changes of both groups were not statistically significant (p
Side effects such as abrasion of the dental hard tissue have been frequently observed following the extensive use of mechanical cleansing. As promising antiseptics like chlorhexidine produces extrinsic dental staining on long term usage, there has been increasing interest and research generated towards chemically based stain removing agents. This invitro studyexamined whether some commercial oral hygiene products could inhibit chlorhexidine derived stain independent of any mechanical cleansing action. Perspex blocks were soaked in triplicate in chlorhexidine solution for 2 minutesand stain inhibition by these products was determined by further soaking the blocks in productl water slurries for 2 minutes and finally in tea solution for I hourly periods. The optical density (OD) of each specimen was determined at each hourly interval by spectrophotometry at 395 nm and the mean values obtained. At the end of the study, most of the products inhibited stain compared to water control and there was a variation in the stain inhibitingefficacyof the products. It is thus concluded that oral hygiene products like dentifricesand mouthrinses can inhibit chlorhexidine derived extrinsic dental stain to a variable degree through a chemical action by contained ingredients.
Layered double hydroxide (LDH) with Mg/Al molar ratio of 4/1 (MAN-4) was synthesized by co-precipitation and followed by hydrothermal method. The compound was allowed to undergo ion exchange with K2HPO4 for 48 hours to produce MgAlHPO4 (MAHP-4). The solid produced was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Adsorption of copper solution by MAHP-4 was carried out using batch experiment by mixing the copper solution and the sorbent MAHP-4. The effects of
various parameters such as contact time, pH, adsorbent dosage and initial concentration were investigated. The optimum pH for copper removal was found to be 4 and the optimum time of copper removal was found at 4 hours. The isotherm data was analysed using model isotherm Langmuir with the correlation coefficient of 0.999 was recorded. The maximum adsorption capacity, Qo (mg/g) of 142.8 mg/g was also recorded from the Langmuir isotherm. The remaining copper solution was determined by using EDXRF (Energy Dispersive XRay Fluorescence spectrometry) model MiniPal 4 (PAN analytical). The results in this study indicate that MAHP-4 has potential as an effective adsorbent for removing copper from aqueous solution.
In this paper, the problem of steady laminar boundary layer flow of an incompressible viscous fluid over a moving thin needle is considered. The governing boundary layer equations were first transformed into non-dimensional forms. These non-dimensional equations were then transformed into similarity equations using the similarity variables, which were solved numerically using an implicit finite-difference scheme known as the Keller-box method. The solutions were obtained for a blunt-nosed needle. Numerical computations were carried out for various values of the dimensionless parameters of the problem which included the Prandtl number Pr and the parameter a representing the needle size. It was found that the heat transfer characteristics were significantly
influenced by these parameters. However, the Prandtl number had no effect on the flow characteristics due to the decoupled boundary layer equations.
This work aims at optimizing the media constituents for citric acid production from oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFB) as renewable resource using artificial neural networks (ANN) approach. The bioconversion process was done through solid state bioconversion using Aspergillus niger. ANN model was built using MATLAB software. A dataset consists of 20 runs from our previous work was used to develop ANN. The predictive and generalization ability of ANN and the results of RSM were compared. The determination coefficients (R2-value) for ANN and RSM models were 0.997 and 0.985, respectively, indicating the superiority of ANN in capturing the non-linear behavior of the system. Validation process was done and the maximum citric acid production (147.74 g/kg-EFB) was achieved using the optimal solution from ANN which consists of 6.1% sucrose, 9.2% mineral solution and 15.0% inoculum.
Konjac glucomannan (KGM) was treated with or without sonication and/or hydrochloric acid (HCl).
Hydrolysis effects on KGM were studied for properties such as degree of hydrolysis, fluidity, molecular mass, and creep properties. The degree of hydrolysis for sonicated KGM and acid treated KGM were not significantly different. However, the combination treatment of acid hydrolysis and sonication was found effective in yielding a smaller molecular weight fraction of KGM and solution with higher fluidity. From the creep analysis, KGM treated with combination treatment exhibited the highest compliance among samples tested. In general, ultrasound mediated acid hydrolysis was found to be a promising technique in degrading high molecular weight biopolymer. This could be attributed to a localized high temperature and high shear forces generated during cavitation that facilitated the endothermic acid hydrolysis.
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)
Normally, topographic map is produced using aerial photogrammetry. The recent development in aerial photogrammetry is the use of large format digital aerial camera for producing topographic map, however, the cost of the camera is too expensive and many mapping organization around the world could not afford to purchase it. In certain application, there is a need to map small area with limited budget. This issue has been solved by using small format camera (i.e. conventional or digital) to produce digital map. This study concentrates on the use of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for producing digital map. UAV has been widely used in military for reconnaissance, planning, combat, and etc. Today, UAV can be used by civilian for reconnaissance, monitoring, mapping, and others. The objectives of this study are to investigate the capability of UAV in producing digital map and assess the accuracy of mapping using UAV. In this study, a light weight fixed wing UAV was used as a platform and a high resolution digital camera was used to acquire aerial digital images of the study area. The aerial digital images were acquired at low altitude. After capturing the aerial digital images, ground control points and check points were established using GPS. Then the aerial digital images were processed using photogrammetric software. The output of the study is a digital map and digital orthophoto. For accuracy assessment, the root mean square error (RMSE) is used. Based on the assessment, the results showed that accuracy of sub-meter can be obtained using the procedure and method used in the study. In conclusion, this study shows that UAV can be used for producing digital map at sub-meter accuracy and it can also be used for diversified applications.
The effect of ribose-induced Maillard reaction on the physical and mechanical properties of gelatin films was investigated. Bovine gelatin solution (5 g/100 mL) containing glycerol and sorbitol (1:1) was mixed with 20% (R20), 40% ribose (R40), or 40% sucrose (S40) (weight % is based on gelatin dry weight) followed by heating (90ºC, 2 h) and oven drying to produce dried gelatin films. R20 and R40 films were brownish in color with lower light transparency, while CF (control film; without sugars) and S40 were colorless and had higher transparency. Tensile strength and Young Modulus values of the films were in the order; CF > R20 > R40 > S40, while elongation at break was in the order; R40 > S40 > R20 > CF. Water solubility and swelling percentages of the films were in the order; CF > S40 > R20 > R40, indicating the occurrence of insoluble “Maillard complexes” within R20 and R40 films. R20 and R40 films showed maximum light absorption at wavelength of 200 − 350 nm, whilst S40 and CF showed maximum absorbance at 200 − 250 nm. The addition of ribose yielded gelatin films with increased protection against UV light, even though the presence of sugars might had disrupted the inter connection of junction zones and decrease in mechanical properties. Occurrence of the Maillard reaction within R20 and R40 films could be the main reason for differences in physical and mechanical properties of films containing ribose that were formed from heated film-forming solutions.
Microbial keratitis is one of the most challenging complications of contact lens (CL) wear. Proper CL practice plays an important role to reduce the risk for contact lens related microbial keratitis (CLRMK). Methods: This multi-centre case-control study was conducted from January 2008 until June 2009 to determine the risk factors associated with CLRMK. Cases were defined as respondents who were treated for CLRMK, whilst controls were respondents who were contact lens wearers without microbial keratitis. Ninety four cases were compared to 94 controls to determine the risk factors for
CLRMK. Results: The predictors for CLRMK were: Not washing hands with soap before handling CL (aOR 2.979, CI 1.020, 8.701 p=0.046), not performing rubbing technique whilst cleaning the CL (aOR 3.006, CI 1.198, 7.538 p=0.019) and, not cleaning the lens case with multipurpose solution daily (aOR 3.242 CI 1.463, 7.186 p=0.004). Sleeping overnight with the CL in the eye (aOR 2.864, CI 0.978, 8.386 p=0.049) and overall non-compliance with lens care procedures (aOR 2.590, CI 1.003, 6.689 p=0.049) contributed significantly to CLRMK. Conclusion: Health education and promotion in contact lens care are important and should be conducted by eye care practitioners to reduce the occurrence of CLRMK.
α-Mangostin was extracted from the pericarp of the Malaysian local Garcinia mangostana linn., The structure was characterised by Infrared red, UV-Visible and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopic data. The fluorescence peak at 500nm in ethanol was not observed in PNIPAM microgel solution. The increase of colloidal size of the gel in the presence of α-mangostin was studied by Dynamic Light Scattering and Transmission Electron Microscope. The size of the particle also increases with increasing temperature up to 45⁰C after which it began to shrink. The TEM micrograph at 45°C showed a uniformly structured pattern of the gel occurs in the range of the lowest solution critical temperature.
This paper presents the solution to a calculation of the pH of a very dilute solution of a strong acid or base, taking into account the effect of the hydronium or hydroxyl ions generated from the ionisation of the strong acid or base on the ionisation of water, as a second very weak acid. To be solved successfully, this calculation involves the concepts of conservation of charge, pH and the application of the general solution to a quadratic equation. Such an exercise involves the application of skills in basic numeracy, and can provide a core of understanding that can prepare students for
many different sorts of calculations that represent reallife problems in the medical and biological sciences.A programme is presented in C++ which enables the work of students to be individualised so that each student in a class can work through a slightly different pH calculation, in such a way that a class supervisor can quickly check each student’s result for accuracy. This exercise is presented as a potential means of enabling students to undertake and master similar types of calculations involving simple or more complex equilibria.
The removal of heavy metals like lead, copper and cadmium from wastewater streams is an important environmental issue. The capability of immobilized Pycnoporus sanguineus (P. sanguineus), a white-rot macrofungi to remove heavy metals from aqueous solution in a packed bed column was investigated. Lead (Pb (II)) biosorption by immobilized cells of P. sanguineus was investigated in a packed bed column. The experiments were carried out by considering the effect of bed height (5-13 cm), flow rate (4-12 ml min-1) and initial lead (II) concentration (50-300 mg L-1). The breakthrough profiles showed that the saturation of metal ions was achieved faster for 5 cm bed height and 12 ml min-1 influent flow rate. However, the breakthrough time decreased as the initial metal concentration increased from 50 to 300 mg L-1. The column was regenerated using 0.1M HCl solution and biosorptiondesorption studies were carried out for 2 cycles. The results showed that the breakthrough time decreased as the number of cycle was proceeded.
Patient safety is a serious global healthcare issue. Harm can be caused by a range of errors or adverse events. Therefore, it is vital that the commissioning of a new operating theatre should comply to the highest standard before it is allowed to function. This paper accounts our experience in the commissioning of the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) trauma centre operating theatre(OT) complex in July 2008. We highlighted the problems we faced in adhering to the international standard guidelines. Unanticipated events were handled professionally and solved. With this experience, we hope that the identified problems would provide suggestions for commissioning an operating theatre in the local setting in the future.
This study is carried out to determine the physical properties of green pepper berries and to
improve the existing retting technique in white pepper production using the Viscozyme and
Celluclast as the enzymes. Effects of blanched and non-blanched pepper berries, acidic solution
and non-acidic solution, and different temperature of 28, 35, 42, and 49°C are determined to
obtain the optimum conditions for enzymatic retting. The physical properties of green pepper
berries such as dimension (5.21 mm), weight (0.11 g per berry), true density (1319.33 kg/m3),
bulk density (596.9 kg/m3), sphericity (0.976), angle of repose (6.87°) and flow ability with
funnel flow time of 5.27 seconds were determined. The enzymatic retting in 42oC can fully
soften the pericarp of pepper berries from 15 days to 7 days. The enzymatic decortication has
the efficiency in acidic solution (pH 4) and temperature of 42°C with non-blanched pepper
berries. The enzymatic retting reached constant fracture force (20.98N) at the ninth soaking
days while the non-enzymatic retting reached constant fracture force (21.89N) at the fifteenth
soaking days.
This paper presents the use of factorial experiments and response surface methodology to determine the best workstation design configuration of an existing electronic industry. The aim is to find the value of physical dimensions that gives the best performance for the workstation. Four performance measures are selected; the cycle time, the metabolic energy expenditure, worker’s posture during the task and lifting limitations. The methodology used in this study consists of two parts. The first part is based on factorial experiments and handles discrete search over combinations of factor-levels for improving the initial solution. In the second part, the solution that was obtained earlier is further refined by changing the continuous factors by using response surface methodology. The result of this optimization study shows that the optimum value of physical dimensions gives a significant improvement for the performance measures of the workstation.
In this present study, a series of polymer electrolyte thin films were synthesized by incorporating different ratios of lithium triflate (LiCF3SO3) in a low molecular weight polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix by the solution casting technique. The incorporation of LiCF3SO3 suppressed the high degree of crystallinity in PVC enabling the system to possess an appreciable ionic conductivity. The ionic conductivity of the samples, with different LiCF3SO3 content, was determined by the aid of ac impedance spectroscopy. The highest ionic conductivity of 4.04 10–9 S cm–1 was identified for the composition of PVC: LiCF3SO3 (75:25). Further understanding of the ionic conductivity mechanism was based on temperature-dependent conductivity data which obeyed Arrhenius theory, indicating that the ionic conductivity enhancement was thermally assisted. The possible dipole-dipole interaction between the chemical constituents was confirmed with changes in cage peak, analysed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.