Teratogenic effects and maternal toxicity sprague dawley rats fed Ficusdeltoidea leaves aqueous extract in late gestation

Ficusdeltoidea have many beneficial uses however no report has been documented on the possible teratogenic effects if consumed during pregnancy. A study was conducted to observe the effects of feeding Ficusdeltoidea leaves aqueous extract (FDLAE) to rats during the late gestation period. Thirty pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were divided equally into five groups: positive control (retinylpalmitate in corn oil), negative control (only water), vehicle control (corn oil), low dose (5g/kg/day) and high dose (10g/kg/day) of FDLAE. Dams were sacrificed at term and their uteri removed by Caesarean section. Livers, placentae and kidneys of dams were subjected to histopathological examination. Fetuses were stained with Adlizarin Red S to observe skeletal malformations. The results showed that the maternal liver and kidneys were significantly (p<0.05) affected in FDLAE treatment and positive control groups, however only the placenta was affected in the positive control group. Mortality of dams and numerous skeletal abnormalities of fetuses were also observed in FDLAE treatment groups. We suggest that feeding FDLAE to pregnant dams during the late gestation period cause teratogenic effects and contribute to maternal toxicity

Towards sustainable campus environment: case study of UTM campus Johor Bahru

There are many important criteria that should be taken into consideration to make a sustainable campus environment. Among them are bringing ideas together with consumers, designing spaces that are not only just for the facility, balancing flexibility and control on campus, enhancing the relationship with the environment, planting of plants and reducing traffic jams of vehicles. This paper highlights some of the environmental problems found in the campus mainly at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Johor Bahru Malaysia. These include vehicle problems, not enough outdoor areas for students to do work and unfriendly pedestrian walkways With the recent government calls to conserve energy and to manage buildings together with their surrounding context to be more sustainable, it has led the top management in UTM to outline a sustainability campus policy since the year 2010. Various strategies have been established and implemented to improve the quality of student life on campus such as encouraging students to cycle or walk to their respective faculties and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle within a secure environment

Machiavellianism and spiritual intelligence as predictors of waste-prevention behaviours among Malaysian university students

Understanding the psychological factors related to waste-prevention behaviours of university students could enable local governments and policy makers to craft effective policies to reduce waste. This study utilised a questionnaire-based survey to assess the associations between spiritual intelligence and Machiavellianism as factors that influence waste-prevention behaviours. A total of 210 participants from Universiti Putra Malaysia completed the questionnaires, including the demographic questions, spiritual intelligence inventory, Mach IV, and the waste-prevention behaviours. The data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The results showed that individuals with higher spiritual intelligence and lower Machiavellianism were more likely to report a positive attitude towards waste-prevention behaviours, and that an inverse association existed between spiritual intelligence and Machiavellianism. Overall, these variables explained 12.0% of the variance in waste-prevention behaviours. Therefore, these findings reinforce the importance of personality traits and cognitive abilities in waste-prevention behaviours

Documentation of modern da'wah mosque in Malaysia

The main purpose of this paper is to document mosques owned by the dawah (Tabligh) group in Malaysia from 1950 until present context This is because Tabligh da wah movement is consider as the most prominent group in spreading Islamic ideology in Malaysian Muslim society. This study focuses on two prominent Tabligh mosques as case study to show the important of da wah ideology in Malaysia (Masjid Seri Petaling and Masjid India), Since this paper formulates new ways to approach mosque design and cultural study, it applies case study research as strategy and combines various paradigms involving (structuralism and interpretivism) as well as adopts methodologies like (semiotics and hermeneutics) to study the contextual of the mosque setting. For data collection, this study use observation and literature review method. This study is vital as it offers newr insights by formulating new design and example of good character of mosque that builds and manage by the group that hold on to the Sumiah and Al-Quran principles. It also adds to new knowledge in architectural field by widening and strengthening the understanding of religious belief and Islamic architecture in the Muslim world

Life cycle assessment at a sawmill manufacturing company in Terengganu, Malaysia

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is known as a tool to evaluate and assessing the impacts of products towards the environment. It will include all the process or activities used and waste released into the environment. In detail, LCA involved the collection and evaluation of quantitative data on the inputs and outputs of material, energy and waste flows associated with a product over its entire life cycle. The objective of this study is to identify potential impact of sawmill manufacturing process. This study followed the four phases as stipulated in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 14040 series of standard) for conducting LCA studies such as goal and scope definition, Life Cycle Inventory analysis (LCI), Life Cycle Impacts Assessment (LCIA), and Interpretation

Promoting education for sustainable consumption and production: an analysis of Malaysian school curriculum

This paper provides understanding of education of sustainable consumption and production (ESCP) and its implementation, Education for Sustainable Consumption (ESC) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). These are the driving tools to address the challenges of sustainable consumptions such as environmental degradation, depletion of natural resources, pollutions, global warming and poverty that negatively affect the quality of life. Therefore, the practical approach to promote ESCP was presenting its purpose and its potential to positively affect the education system. The objective of this study is to assess the existing initiatives in ESCP for Malaysian public education system. The document analysis method was conducted towards the secondary public school for their curriculum materials and textbooks. The result from the analysis shows that some of the elements in the content are related to sustainable consumption and production of education. One of the learning outcomes was that it matches the desired behavioral of sustainable consumption. It is concluded that education plays a vital role in strengthening the sustainable consumption choice and it is evidently supported by government policy as stated in The National Sustainable Consumption and Production Blueprint 2016-2030. The integration of ESCP into curriculum is indisputably important to facilitate and provide adequate transformation for the sustainable consumption behavior into daily life practice

Barriers to practice of non-hazardous solid waste minimization by industries in Malaysia

The practice of waste minimization plays a significant role in sustainable development as the most acceptable method in the waste management hierarchy. This paper is a case study research on industrial non-hazardous wastes generated from different industrial activities in one of the major Malaysian industrial areas. This study is aimed at identifying the barriers of waste minimization practices in Malaysian industries. The combination of quantitative and qualitative methods were applied in the study through the use of a structured questionnaire prepared on Likert scale and semi-structured interviews with respondents across thirty (30) factories. Data collected through the questionnaire was analyzed using software and severity index tool. Findings reveal the barriers faced in practicing waste minimization by industries include the lack of time for separation of waste, absence of guidelines, regulations and limited accurate knowledge with severity index range of 62.5<=SI< 87.5, which were considered to be serious issues. Through the application of suitable educational and awareness programs for industrial stakeholders, an effective waste minimization practice can be achieved

Solid Waste Minimization in Malaysia

Malaysia has taken initiative in enforcing the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act 2007 (Act 672) since 2011 to ensure the uniformity of law relating to the solid waste management and public cleansing. Despite the alarming issues on the increasing of solid waste generation, Malaysian government has made solid waste separation at source as mandatory starting 1st September 2015 at eight states. Solid waste separation at source has been seen as the best practice of solid waste minimization where it eliminates and reduces the amount of solid waste produced by the society. The government has taken seriously in solid waste separation at source as the lifespan of disposal site has been decreased and limited space for the new disposal site due to the increasing cost of solid waste management. Hence, to overcome the increasing of solid waste generation, an integrated solid waste minimization through recycling should be implemented as it is involved in minimizing resource and offers the best outcome for the environment. Thus, this paper discussed the overview of solid waste minimization in Malaysia and the stakeholder’s role and their obstacles in solid waste minimization to attract the public participate in reducing the solid waste generation as an efficient solid waste management. A proper solid waste management ensures a sustainable development of Malaysia in terms of health, socio-economy and environment respectively towards Malaysian Vision of 2020

Measuring and mapping urban growth patterns using remote sensing and GIS techniques

Remote sensing and geographic information system techniques are significant and popular approaches that have been used in recent years to measure and map urban growth patterns. This paper primarily aims to provide a basis for a literature review of urban growth measurement and mapping by using different methods. For this purpose, the general characteristics of measuring and mapping urban growth patterns are described and classified. The strengths and weaknesses of the various methods have been identified from an analysis and discussion of the characteristics of the techniques. Results of reviews confirm that combining quantitative and qualitative techniques, such as Shannon approach and change detection, to measure and map urban growth patterns will improve understanding of the phenomenon of urban growth. Moreover, using social and economic data such as population and income data will improve understanding of the relationships between causes and effects. The integration of social and economic factors with quantitative and qualitative techniques will contribute to a perfect evaluation of urban growth patterns and land use changes, taking technical, social, economic, spatial, and temporal factors into account

Challenges Faced by Teachers in Online Teaching during the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has caused a major transformation in the education system around the world. Due to the closure of schools and other learning institutions, the teaching and learning that were once face to face are now conducted online. Sudden change of education landscape has put educators and students in harrowing time. This paper reviews literature to find out the challenges faced by educators when teaching online. The results reveal that all educators around the world are facing intrinsic challenges, such as little or no knowledge, skills and experience in the implementation of online teaching, as well as extrinsic challenges such as students having no Internet access and coverage and own no proper gadgets. It is found out that the biggest challenge faced by most local educators as compared to their counterparts in some parts of the world is their lower level of readiness in facing the transition from teaching traditionally to online. Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, online teaching, challenges in online teaching, readiness in online teaching DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-2-06 Publication date: January 31st 2021