Effect of Motorcycling on Salivary Noise-Induced Cortisol among Young Motorcyclists

Saliva cortisol response was investigated from the motorcycling exposure for approximately 50 minutes between low and high noise-sensitive (Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale) young riders (19-25 years). The results showed significant difference (p < 0.05) in salivary cortisol concentrations in High-Noise Sensitive group (n = 27). Significant gender differences were found (p < 0.05) among the Low-Noise sensitive group (n = 30), after ride. Cross-analysis between groups was significant (p < 0.05) for before ride cortisol levels of Low-Noise sensitive group. This study suggests that subjective noise sensitivity plays a vital role in increased cortisol level among noise sensitive riders

Risk factors of musculoskeletal symptoms among healthcare workers in a public hospital

Introduction: This study aims to determine the risk factors of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) among healthcare workers in a public hospital. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 121 respondents among healthcare workers (HCW) (doctors, nurses and physiotherapists) working in Emergency and Trauma Department and Physiotherapy Department in a public hospital by using universal sampling. Self-administered questionnaire containing questions on socio demographical data, work characteristics, body movement and work tasks, Standardized Nordic Questionnaire for assessing musculoskeletal symptoms and Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ) for measuring psychosocial risk factors was used as the main instrument for this study. Results: Response rate was 81.88% and 95% of respondents reported to have at least one symptom at body site. The most prevalent symptom was neck pain (80.2%) followed by low back pain (79.3%), and shoulder pain (71.9%). Physiotherapists reported to have more symptoms of MSS than doctors and nurses (χ2 = 6.84, p = 0.033). For socio-demographic characteristics, only level of education had significant association with MSS (χ2 = 7.25, p = 0.008). Meanwhile, there were 14 body movements and work tasks had significant association (moderate) with MSS. For psychosocial risk factors, high job insecurity was significantly (fair) correlated with more MSS (r=-0.302). Conclusion: The prevalence of reported MSS at a number of body sites was high which were associated with socio-demographic background, work task characteristics, body movements and work tasks, and psychosocial risk factors

Noise-Induced Cortisol Assessment among Young Motorcyclist: A field study

Saliva cortisol response was investigated from the motorcycling exposure for approximately 50 minutes between low and high noise-sensitive (Weinstein Noise Sensitivity Scale) young riders (19-25 years). The results showed significant difference (p < 0.05) in salivary cortisol concentrations in High-Noise Sensitive group (n=27). Significant gender differences were found (p < 0.05) among the Low-Noise sensitive group (n=30), after ride. Cross-analysis between groups was significant (p < 0.05) for before ride cortisol levels of Low-Noise sensitive group. This study suggests that subjective noise sensitivity plays a vital role in increased cortisol level among noise sensitive riders. Keywords: Noise; Salivary cortisol; Noise sensitivity; Motorcycle. eISSN 2398-4279 © 2018. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia.  DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ajqol.v3i13.16

Growth and development of black soldier fly (Hermetia illucens (L.), Diptera: Stratiomyidae) larvae grown on carbohydrate, protein, and fruit-based waste substrates

There has been a surge in interest in using food waste (FW) as an insect-rearing substrate in recent years. We examine the effect of protein-based food waste (leftover boneless chicken, LBC), carbohydrate-based food waste (overnight rice, OR), and fruit-based food waste (rotten banana, RB) on the following parameters: substrate reduction (SR), waste reduction index (WRI), bioconversion rate (BCR) and relative growth rate (RGR). BSFL reared on OR feed substrate had the highest biomass (0.23±0.01) g at d9 followed by RB (0.22±0.00) g and LBC (0.16±0.00) g. Larvae from OR-fed BSFL were the longest, averaging 20.53±0.46 mm in length on d12. The SR calculated for all feed substrates were as followed: RB (95.35 ± 0.33)% > OR (85.29 ± 0.80)% > LBC (83.17 ± 0.27)%. The WRI for control (C) and BSFL-fed on all feeds were in the following manner: (RBC:8.90±0.00 g days-1, RBBSFL:9.53±0.00 g days-1) > (ORC:7.35±0.00 g days-1, ORBSFL:8.53±0.09 g days-1) > (LBCC:6.90±0.00 g days-1, LBCBSFL: 8.32±0.03 g days-1). OR-fed BSFL showed the highest BCR (76.0±1.0) % and RGR (0.32±0.01) days-1. The FW’s self-composting (as in control) influenced the BSFL’s SR and WRI in all diets. Overall, the BSFL’s growth and development are affected by the nature, quality, and type of diet of the feed substrates