Assessment of interradicular spaces for miniscrew placement in class 1 subjects / Nagham Al-Jaf, Rohaya Megat Abdul Wahab and Mohamed Ibrahim Abu Hassan

Objectives: To assess interradicular spaces of maxilla and mandible in subjects with class I sagittal skeletal relationship as an aid for miniscrew placement. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of 47 adult subjects with class I skeletal relationship. Interradicular spaces were obtained at the alveolar processes from first premolar to second molar at 2 different vertical levels (6 and 8mm) from the cementoenamel junction (C.E.J). Results: In the maxilla, the highest interradicular space existed between second premolar and first molar. In the mandible, the highest interradicular space existed between first and second molar. All mandibular measurements were higher than their respective maxillary measurement. Generally, availability of interradicular space increases apically in both arches, but the difference is not significant. In the maxilla, male subjects' measurement were significantly higher at 8 mm level between second premolar and first molar and between first and second molar Conclusions: Interradicular spaces in the maxillary and mandibular alveolar spaces are available for miniscrew placement. In both arches, a more apical location provides more interradicular space. However, careful planning is needed to avoid sinus perforation

School-based assessment : a study on teacher's knowledge and practices

School-Based Assessment is a new policy venture in the highly centralized education system of Malaysia. The traditional system of assessment no longer satisfies the educational and social needs of the third millennium. In the past few decades, many countries have made profound reforms in their assessment systems. Since then, there have been only a few studies that looked into the implementation of SBA in Malaysia. Therefore, this study is conducted to investigate the knowledge and practices of Malaysian primary school teachers who directly involved in the SBA implementation. This study is deemed timely and crucial as it could provide a relevant picture for scholars, practitioners and policy makers in relation to testing and assessment. Descriptive research design was employed to examine the level of knowledge and practices of 400 school teachers in Johor Bahru that has been selected randomly using the Teacher Assessment Knowledge and Practice Inventory (TAKPI). The data were validated using Rasch Measurement Model and analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics. Result showed that 68% from the total respondent scored was in moderate level in SBA knowledge while 75.5% of the teachers seldom applied Assessment for Learning (AfL) practices in SBA context. In regard to the result, teachers still have insufficient knowledge in implementing SBA and inconsistent on applying AfL practices. Implications on the teachers’ competency and further recommendations for future research will be discussed

Life cycle assessment analyzing with gabi software for food waste management using windrow and hybrid composting technologies

The use of composting technologies to treat food waste (FW) now represents an environmentally friendly form of waste treatment, in which organic matter can decompose biologically. However, the damaging emissions of composting technologies for FW treatment vary, thus a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach is often used to certify the quality of the decision-making process. This study quantifies and compares the environmental impact of two scenarios in Malaysia: windrow and hybrid composting (windrow integrated with a landfill) technologies. The scenario modeling was performed via GaBi v6.0 software using 1 ton of pre-treated FW as a functional unit, with the analysis based on the ReCiPe (H) v1.07 characterization method. The midpoint results revealed that windrow composting technology has a lower environmental impact and is an environmentally friendly option compared to hybrid technology. Treating FW in a windrow scenario has relatively low power requirements for operation with the added advantageous properties of compost production, and a substantial reduction in the distances transferred by the road. The hybrid scenario had the largest negative environmental impact in all categories, such as climate change (1.45E+03 kg CO2 eq), and ozone depletion (4.39E-09kg CFC-11 eq) because of the energy-intensive waste collection and treatment activities it needs, and with no landfill gas filtration. Finally, based on the single score synthesis, windrow is considered as an appropriate treatment with the avoidance of Resource Depletion (6.61E+02 Pt). This study provides valuable insights for policy-making groups to help predict the environmentally preferred choice of FW management technologies in a particular area, resulting in improved environmental management sustainability

The attainment of soft skills among students: impact of abroad study visit program

This study aims to determine the impact of an abroad study visit program on the attainment of soft skills among the students. A questionnaire was used to collect the data using a five-scale range of answers. Thirty-five students were selected among the participants of the program. The data is analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics, namely mean, standard deviation, and correlation. The primary finding obtained is that the program has provided a huge opportunity for the students to develop their professional ethics and moral indicated through the highest mean obtained by the items related to the construct. In terms of correlations, the positive and the strongest correlation is between the construct of Critical Thinking and Problem Solving Skills and the construct of Lifelong Learning and Information Management. The implications of the findings are also discussed

Inventory analyses of dry and wet anaerobic digestion technologies for food waste management

Dry anaerobic digestion (AD) has grown in popularity in recent years as an environmentally friendly form of food waste (FW) treatment. However, when compared to the wet AD, there appears to be a scarcity of information on environmental inventory evaluation. Therefore, the study aims to assess the life cycle inventory (LCI) of FW treatment in Malaysia through dry and wet AD plants and landfills. LCI entails identifying and quantifying all of the resources required for waste treatment, such as electricity, water, raw materials, and processed materials. In this study, all contaminants discharged into the atmosphere, including pollutant emissions into the air, soil, and water, and deficits arising from the inventory evaluation of FW treatment options were assessed. The system boundaries involve transportation, feedstock, biogas, electricity production, and bio-fertilizer processing. The scenarios for FW treatment were modeled and evaluated using the GaBi database and the functional unit is defined as the management of one ton of treated FW. The findings discovered the wet AD scenario depicts a drastic reduction in emissions of air (6.90E+01 kg) and freshwater (9.66E+03 kg) as compared to Scenario 1 (dry AD) and 3 (landfill). The number of pollutants generated from the analysis of Scenario 3, in which all waste is brought to a disposal site, indicates there is a massive exposure of air pollution (5.12E+03 kg) and freshwater contaminants (1.18E+06 kg) from landfills. Carbon dioxide and methane are the two most significant sources of emissions. To achieve a more accurate result, it is suggested by contrasting the value chain with the related studies conducted. Further, in the third phase of the life cycle assessment analysis, the life cycle impact assessment (LCIA), the statistics on elementary flows from the LCI are converted into environmental impact scores

Virulence Gene Profile, Antimicrobial Resistance and Multilocus Sequence Typing of Salmonella enterica Subsp. enterica Serovar Enteritidis from Chickens and Chicken Products

This study was undertaken to determine the virulence, antimicrobial resistance and molecular subtypes of Salmonella in the Central Region of Peninsular Malaysia. A total of 45 Salmonella Enteritidis were detected from live chicken (cloacal swab), and chicken products (fresh and ready-to-eat meat) samples upon cultural isolation and serotyping. Similarly, an antimicrobial susceptibility test based on the Kirby Bauer disk diffusion method as well as antimicrobial resistance AMR genes, virulence determinants and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) typing were conducted after the Whole Genome Sequencing and analysis of the isolates. The results indicate that sequence types ST1925 (63.7%), and ST11 (26.5%) were the predominant out of the seven sequence types identified (ST292, ST329, ST365, ST423 and ST2132). The phenotypic antimicrobial profile corresponds to the genotypic characterization in that the majority of the isolates that exhibited tetracycline, gentamycin and aminoglycoside resistance; they also possessed the tetC and blaTEM β-Lactam resistance genes. However, isolates from cloacal swabs showed the highest number of resistance genes compared to the chicken products (fresh and ready-to-eat meat) samples. Furthermore, most of the virulence genes were found to cluster in the Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI). In this study, all the isolates were found to possess SPI-1, which codes for the type III secretion system, which functions as actin-binding proteins (SptP and SopE). The virulence plasmid (VP) genes (spvB, spvC) were present in all genotypes except ST365. The findings of this study, particularly with regard to the molecular subtypes and AMR profiles of the Salmonella Enteritidis serotype shows multidrug-resistance features as well as genetic characteristics indicative of high pathogenicity

Analysis of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis isolates from chickens and chicken meat products in Malaysia using PFGE, and MLST

Background: Salmonella is a very important foodborne pathogen causing illness in humans. The emergence of drug-resistant strains also constitutes a serious worry to global health and livestock productivity. This study investigated Salmonella isolates from chicken and chicken meat products using the phenotypic antimicrobial screening as well as the molecular characteristics of Salmonella isolates. Upon serotyping of the isolates, the antimicrobial susceptibility profiling using a panel of 9 commonly used antimicrobials was done. Subsequently, the molecular profiles of all the isolates were further determined using Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and the Whole Genome Multi-Locus Sequence Type (wgMLST) analysis in order to obtain the sequence types. Results: The PFGE data was input into FPQuest software, and the dendrogram generated was studied for possible genetic relatedness among the isolates. All the isolates were found to belong to the Salmonella Enteritidis serotype with notable resistance to tetracycline, gentamycin, streptomycin, and sulfadimidine. The S. Enteritidis isolates tested predominantly subtyped into the ST11 and ST1925, which was found to be a single cell variant of ST11. The STs were found to occur in chicken meats, foods, and live chicken cloacal swabs, which may indicate the persistence of the bacteria in multiple foci. Conclusion: The data demonstrate the presence of S. Enteritidis among chickens, indicating its preference and reservoir status for enteric Salmonella pathogens