Factors that contribute to workplace stress at HRM division in Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) / Amirah Amir

This study conducted to identify the factors that contribute to workplace stress. The researchers have chosen HRM Division in Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd (PCSB) to represent this study. Researchers have listed three variables which are support at work, work overload and workplace bullying as the independent variables and workplace stress as the dependent variable. The researcher distributed 70 set of questionnaires to respondents which are employees at HRM division in PCSB. This study discussed the factors that improve and reduce workplace stress in PCSB and those factors will be the outcome of this study. The finding and analysis were made based on Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20.0 to analyze the data. The finding of this study proves that the support at work, work overload and workplace bullying influenced the level of stress in the workplace. Support at work appears to be the most influenced factor towards workplace stress at HRM Division in Petronas Carigali Sdn Bhd

Contamination of heavy metals in Patin fish (Pangasius sp.) from Jelai River and Tembeling River, Pahang / Nur Amirah Amir

A study was conducted to determine and compare the concentration level of heavy metals in Pangasius sp. from Jelai River and Tembeling River, Pahang. Physical parameters measured were water temperature, dissolved oxygen concentration, pH and conductivity. Metals concentration in fish and grower fish feed samples were analyzed using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence meanwhile the water samples was analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma- Optical Emission Spectroscopy. According to Malaysian National Interim Water Quality Standard (INWQS), Jelai River and Tembeling River were classified between moderate to good quality. Heavy metals in both rivers was found higher in aluminum followed by Fe and four elements (As, Fe, Mn and Zn) were found exceed the maximum allowable limit suggested by World Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization (WHO/FAO, 2004) and Malaysia Food and Drug Regulation (MFR, 1985). Generally, present of As, Cd and Ni within the Patin fish from both Jelai River and Tembeling River were due to the fish feed. The findings of this research study indicates that, Patin Fish in Jelai River contained high concentration of heavy metals compared to the samples in Tembeling River

Water filtration by using apple and banana peels as activated carbon

Water filter is an important devices for reducing the contaminants in raw water. Activated from charcoal is used to absorb the contaminants. Fruit peels are some of the suitable alternative carbon to substitute the charcoal. Determining the role of fruit peels which were apple and banana peels powder as activated carbon in water filter is the main goal. Drying and blending the peels till they become powder is the way to allow them to absorb the contaminants. Comparing the results for raw water before and after filtering is the observation. After filtering the raw water, the reading for pH was 6.8 which is in normal pH and turbidity reading recorded was 658 NTU. As for the colour, the water becomes more clear compared to the raw water. This study has found that fruit peels such as banana and apple are an effective substitute to charcoal as natural absorbent

Learning Mathematics: One Minute

This game is made with purpose to educate student in terms of mathematical skill combined with fun adventure game. The target audience is the students should be primary-school (10-13 years old). This is an educational game and made on purpose to create a difference method to present solving a mathematical problem to the audience. The user will play a game where the character is chased by a dog and must avoid obstacles such as river. In each level of the game, the user must find a door in which they must solve the mathematical question as pass code. Successful in solving the mathematical question will bring user to another level. This game is made with 3 level and must be completed within 1 minute. This game can be used as a tool for learning. The level of mathematical questions is simple mathematical quiz, designed with objective to teach early age students

Fatal case of amoebic liver abscess in a child

AbstractWe reported a case of amoebic liver abscess (ALA) in a 6-year-old Malaysian boy who presented with fever, lethargy, diarrhoea and right hypochondriac pain. On admission he was diagnosed with perforated acute appendicitis and a laparotomy was done. After surgery he developed acute respiratory distress. Ultrasonography, chest X-Ray and CT scan revealed two ALAs in the posterior segment of right lobe of liver, pleural effusion and collapsed consolidation of lungs bilaterally. Percutaneous liver abscesses drainage was done and intravenous Metronidazole was started. PCR carried out on the pus from the abscess was positive for Entamoeba histolytica. Patient however succumbed to the infection one week after admission

Effect of design parameters of serpentine-shaped flat plate solar collector under Malaysia climate conditions

Solar thermal energy plays a vital role in the industrial sector, especially for water heating applications. Further research to improve the efficiency of flat plate solar collectors by focusing on collector design modification is imperative. This research aimed to carry out an experimental investigation on comparative designs and fabrication approaches that deal with the analysis of flat plate solar collector thermal performance, thermal efficiency, the effect of various mass flow rates, and pressure drop analyses. In this paper, a different design modification of pipe collector with serpentine-shaped was established with different tube diameters (3/4-inch and 3/8-inch), and different pipe spacing (18.5 cm and 27.0 cm). Under the same heat radiation intensity and constant mass flow rate, a pipe collector with a tube diameter of 3/4-inch achieved 3.5% and 9.4% higher thermal performance and collector efficiency respectively compared to the tube diameter of 3/8-inch. Furthermore, the pipe collector with pipe spacing of 18.5 cm exhibited 4.3% and 12.6% higher thermal performance and collector efficiency respectively compared to pipe spacing of 27 cm. The relationship between collector efficiency and temperature difference was also investigated. Moreover, the effect of different mass flow rates was studied upon and it was found that a flow rate of 0.03 kg/s exhibited optimum thermal performance for the pipe collector. Additionally, a pressure drop was observed with the increase in flow rate, while decreases when the fluid temperature increase

Fatal case of amoebic liver abscess in a child

We reported a case of amoebic liver abscess (ALA) in a 6-year-old Malaysian boy who presented with fever, lethargy, diarrhoea and right hypochondriac pain. On admission he was diagnosed with perforated acute appendicitis and a laparotomy was done. After surgery he developed acute respiratory distress. Ultrasonography, chest X-Ray and CT scan revealed two ALAs in the posterior segment of right lobe of liver, pleural effusion and collapsed consolidation of lungs bilaterally. Percutaneous liver abscesses drainage was done and intravenous Metronidazole was started. PCR carried out on the pus from the abscess was positive for Entamoeba histolytica. Patient however succumbed to the infection one week after admission

Determining intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) in inmates from Kajang Prison, Selangor, Malaysia for improved prison management

Background: The prison management in Malaysia is proactively seeking to improve the health status of the prison inmates. Intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) are widely distributed throughout the world and are still gaining great concern due to their significant morbidity and mortality among infected humans. In Malaysia, there is a paucity of information on IPIs among prison inmates. In order to further enhance the current health strategies employed, the present study aims to establish firm data on the prevalence and diversity of IPIs among HIV-infected and non-HIV-infected individuals in a prison, an area in which informed knowledge is still very limited. Methods: Samples were subjected to microscopy examination and serological test (only for Strongyloides). Speciation for parasites on microscopy-positive samples and seropositive samples for Strongyloides were further determined via polymerase chain reaction. SPSS was used for statistical analysis. Results: A total of 294 stool and blood samples each were successfully collected, involving 131 HIV positive and 163 HIV negative adult male inmates whose age ranged from 21 to 69-years-old. Overall prevalence showed 26.5 % was positive for various IPIs. The IPIs detected included Blastocystis sp., Strongyloides stercoralis, Entamoeba spp., Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia spp., and Trichuris trichiura. Comparatively, the rate of IPIs was slightly higher among the HIV positive inmates (27.5 %) than HIV negative inmates (25.8 %). Interestingly, seropositivity for S. stercoralis was more predominant in HIV negative inmates (10.4 %) compared to HIV-infected inmates (6.9 %), however these findings were not statistically significant. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed the presence of Blastocystis, Strongyloides, Entamoeba histolytica and E. dispar. Conclusions: These data will enable the health care providers and prison management staff to understand the trend and epidemiological situations in HIV/parasitic co-infections in a prison. This information will further assist in providing evidence-based guidance to improve prevention, control and management strategies of IPIs co-infections among both HIV positive and HIV negative inmates in a prison environment

Flavanols and Flavonols Content of Camellia sinensis with Different Maturity Stage Planted at Cameron Highland and Sabah Tea Plantation in Malaysia

This study was done to determine and compare the nutritional composition of ash, crude protein, crude fat and fiber, as well as the content of flavanols (EGCG, EGC, ECG and EC) and flavonols (quercetin and kaempferol) in tea planted in Cameron Highland (CH) and Sabah tea Plantation (ST) with different maturity stages (young, matured and old leaves). Young tea leaves in both CH and ST had the highest content of crude fat, protein and fiber and the values decreased as the leaves aged. Interestingly, crude protein content in all maturity stages of CH and ST were higher than in commercial tea (13.81%) with the range of 15.41 - 16.35% and 14.20 - 15.32% respectively. Meanwhile, ash content in ST (8.59 - 13.49%) was higher compared to CH (5.06 - 5.14%) and values decreased from young to old leaves. CH leaves had the highest moisture content (8.18 - 8.55%) followed by ST (5.23 - 9.20%), and commercial tea (5.7%). The order of flavanol in young leaves of CH and ST, and commercial tea leaves was ECG > EGCG > EGC > EC but for mature and old leaves the order was ECG > EGC > EGCG > EC with the only difference was in EGC and EGCG. The content of flavonol quercetin and kaempferol in CH were 3.51 mg/g and 4.05 mg/g respectively. Meanwhile, in ST leaves the values were 1.79 mg/g and 3.35 mg/g respectively, and both CH and ST showed that the highest content of flavonol was observed in young leaves and decreased as leaves aged

Case Report : Anisakiasis Causing Acute Dysentery in Malaysia

Human anisakiasis is a zoonosis acquired by eating raw or undercooked infected seafood. Herein, we report a case of acute dysentery caused by anisakiasis in a 64-year-old man in Malaysia. A colonoscopy was performed and a nematode larva was found penetrating the mucosa of the ascending colon. Bleeding was observed at the site of penetration. Y-shaped lateral epidermal cords were seen from the cross section of the worm, which is a prominent feature of Anisakis larva. Molecular analysis using polymerase chain reaction of cytochrome oxidase 2 (cox2) gene confirmed the specimen to be larva of Anisakis simplex