An investigation of emotional intelligence and counselling self-efficacy among counsellors-in-training

The challenges faced by the counsellors-in-training are enormous. Therefore, investigating emotional quotient (EQ) and counselling self-efficacy among counsellors-in-training is crucial. This study aimed to examine the EQ and counselling self-efficacy levels among counsellors-in-training and investigate the relationships between these variables. A total of 373 counselling students from three universities in the Northern Peninsular of Malaysia have participated in this study. This study involved a quantitative method using survey as a data collection technique and also employed a convenience sampling procedure. There were two questionnaires used in this study, namely Bar-On emotional quotient inventory (EQ-i) and counselling self-estimate inventory. The results showed that there was a significant correlation between EQ and counselling self-efficacy which all sub-constructs for both measures are well-associated with each other. In conclusion, these two variables are essential to ensure counselling students would move toward a better developing identity of counsellors-in-training and encourage the growth of professional competency among trainee counsellors in the future. Hence, it is vital for the government to ensure that quality counselling services should be provided for the community to deal with this problem

Chocolate Spread Emulsion: Effects of Varying Oil Types on Physico-chemical Properties, Sensory Qualities and Storage Stability

Chocolate spread emulsion is an alternative product to the conventional dry-based chocolate spreads. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the use of three potential oils; palm olein, olive oil and corn oil, in the production of chocolate spread emulsions. The palm olein chocolate spread was the easiest to spread compared to the olive oil and corn oil chocolate spread emulsions. The melting point of the commercial spread was higher than the emulsion samples, but the sensory scores of the samples were comparable to the commercial spread. The proximate analyses of the samples with different oil types gave no significant difference in the values of moisture, ash, protein, fat, fibre and carbohydrate. Further study on the storage stability of all samples for 28 days at 28 and 10 °C revealed that the firmness of the spread emulsions generally decreased by week, while the water activity (aw) values decreased during the storage at 28 °C and increased at 10 °C. There was no oil separation and microbial growth observed on the chocolate spread samples throughout the storage period at both temperatures

Highly efficient removal of diazinon pesticide from aqueous solutions by using coconut shell-modified biochar

This study evaluates the adsorption of diazinon from aqueous solutions onto coconut shell-modified biochar using a batch system. The amount of dosage and initial pH are the main parameters being studied to obtain maximum adsorption capacity of the probe molecules. The carbonized coconut shell biochar (BC1), activated coconut shell biochar (BC2), chemically modified phosphoric acid (BC3) and sodium hydroxide coconut shell biochar (BC4) were prepared and tested as variables in the adsorption experiment. The characteristic of biochar via SEM, EDX and BET analysis revealed the large porous of surface morphology and slight changes in the composition with high surface area (405.97 – 508.07 m2/g) by following the sequence of BC3 > BC2 > BC4. Diazinon removal percentage as high as 98.96% was achieved at pH 7 with BC3 as adsorbent dosing at 5.0 g/L. The high coefficient of determination, R2 with a small value of ERRSQ and χ2 error analysis present the BC1 (0.9971) and BC2 (0.9999) are best fitted with Freundlich isotherm indicates multilayer sorption onto heterogeneous surface whereby the Langmuir isotherm model is the best fitting is described of monolayer adsorption process onto the homogenous surface of BC3 and BC4. The results indicated the maximum adsorption capacity (qm) was achieved by BC3 with 10.33 mg/g, followed by BC2 (9.65 mg/g) in accordance to the Langmuir isotherm while Freundlich isotherm showed the highest adsorption capacity (kF) with 1.73 mg/g (L/mg)1/n followed by BC4 with 0.63 mg/g (L/mg)1/n at favorable adsorption isotherm (1 ≤ n ≤ 10). Thus, the results obtained depicted that BC2 and BC3 are highly efficient adsorbents and both exhibit great potential in removing diazinon from aqueous solutions

Preparation and characterization of sodium alginate-based edible film with antibacterial additive using lemongrass oil

Sodium alginate films at various concentrations of glycerol (0.4, 0.6, and 0.8% v/v) were prepared and characterized. The thickness, water solubility (WS), water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), tensile strength (TS), elongation at break (EB) and Young’s Modulus (YM) of the films were affected by the amount of glycerol added. Among these films, the film containing lower glycerol (0.4 % v/v) presents better WS, WVTR, and the highest TS compared to other concentrations. Sodium alginate films containing lemongrass essential oil (LEO) were prepared to examine its antibacterial properties on four common foodborne pathogens: B. subtilis, S. aureus, E. coli, and P. aeruginosa using Disc-diffusion assay. The highest inhibition was shown by E. coli (21 mm/susceptible), B. subtilis (18 mm/intermediate), S. aureus (16 mm/intermediate), and P. aeruginosa (13.5 mm/resistant). The incorporation of lemongrass essential oil as a natural antibacterial agent in the film formulation has developed its potential to be used as an active packaging with improved physical properties, especially water barrier properties

A review on the potential of photocatalysis in combatting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater

Photocatalytic technology offers powerful virus disinfection in wastewater via oxidative capability with minimum harmful by-products generation. This review paper aims to provide state-of-the-art photocatalytic technology in battling transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater. Prior to that, the advantages and limitations of the existing conventional and advanced oxidation processes for virus disinfection in water systems were thoroughly examined. A wide spectrum of virus degradation by various photocatalysts was then considered to understand the potential mechanism for deactivating this deadly virus. The challenges and future perspectives were comprehensively discussed at the end of this review describing the limitations of current photocatalytic technology and suggesting a realistic outlook on advanced photocatalytic technology as a potential solution in dealing with similar upcoming pandemics. The major finding of this review including discovery of a vision on the possible photocatalytic approaches that have been proven to be outstanding against other viruses and subsequently combatting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. This review intends to deliver insightful information and discussion on the potential of photocatalysis in battling COVID-19 transmission through wastewater

Seawater desalination by modified membrane distillation: Effect of hydrophilic surface modifying macromolecules addition into pvdf hollow fiber membrane

Hollow fiber membranes of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) were prepared by incorporating varying concentrations of hydrophilic surface-modifying macromolecules (LSMM) and a constant amount of polyethylene glycol (PEG) additives. The membranes were fabricated by the dry-wet spinning technique. The prepared hollow fiber membranes were dip-coated by hydrophobic surface-modifying macromolecules (BSMM) as the final step fabrication. The additives combination is aimed to produce hollow fiber membranes with high flux permeation and high salt rejection in the matter of seawater desalination application. This study prepares hollow fiber membranes from the formulation of 18 wt. % of PVDF mixed with 5 wt. % of PEG and 3, 4, and 5 wt. % of LSMM. The membranes are then dip-coated with 1 wt. % of BSMM. The effect of LSMM loading on hydrophobicity, morphology, average pore size, surface porosity, and membrane performance is investigated. Coating modification on LSMM membranes showed an increase in contact angle up to 57% of pure, unmodified PVDF/PEG membranes, which made the fabricated membranes at least passable when hydrophobicity was considered as one main characteristic. Furthermore, The PVDF/PEG/4LSMM-BSMM membrane exhibits 161?C of melting point as characterized by the DSC. This value indicates an improvement of thermal behavior shows so as the fabricated membranes are desirable for membrane distillation operation conditions range. Based on the results, it can be concluded that PVDF/PEG membranes with the use of LSMM and BSMM combination could enhance the permeate flux up to 81.32 kg·m-2·h-1 at the maximum, with stable salt rejection around 99.9%, and these are found to be potential for seawater desalination application

EFFECTS OF ZAMZAM WATER AND METHADONE ON THE EXPRESSION OF MU-OPIOID RECEPTOR-1 GENE IN MORPHINE-DEPENDENT RATS AFTER CHRONIC MORPHINE ADMINISTRATION

Background: Sodium ion is an essential ion that is implicated in many physiological functions. Recently, sodium ion was reported to facilitate the activation of Mu-Opioid Receptor (MOR) by binding at the allosteric site of the MOR. Zamzam water is water originated from Mecca. Couple of studies proved that Zamzam water has the therapeutic effect owing to its mineral. In this study, we want to determine the ion concentration of Zamzam water and then to investigate the effects of Zamzam water and co-treatment with methadone on the regulation of MOR-1gene after chronic morphine administration. Materials and Methods: Zamzam water, tap water and normal mineral water were analyzed using Ion chromatography. Meanwhile, in animal study, 50 male Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups. All group of rat were made dependence on morphine using intraperitoneal injection except for normal group. Morphine dependent rats then were treated with methadone, Zamzam water and co-treatment methadone with Zamzam water for thirty days, respectively. The Ventral Tegmental Area (VTA) of rat’s brain was dissected and subjected to real-time quantitative RT-PCR to determine the regulation of MOR-1 gene expression. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS v.11 software, and one-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s Post-test. Results: The data obtained showed that Zamzam water is significantly high in ion concentration compared to tap water and normal mineral water. Besides, the result from gene expression analysis showed co-treatment Zamzam water and methadone significantly prevented the downregulation of MOR as compared to methadone and Zamzam water treatment alone (

Highly adsorptive polysulfone/hydrous iron-nickel-manganese (PSF/HINM) nanocomposite hollow fiber membrane for synergistic arsenic removal

The integration of nanotechnology and membrane technology has led to the development of nanocomposite membranes that endowed with outstanding performances for arsenic removal in water system. In this study, a novel adsorptive nanocomposite membrane was fabricated by incorporating novel hydrous iron-nickel-manganese trimetal oxides (HINM) nanoparticles into polysulfone (PSf) membrane. HINM with atomic ratio of Fe:Ni:Mn of 3:2:1 was first synthesized by oxidation and coprecipitation method. The PSf/HINM membranes were fabricated by dry-jet wet spinning phase inversion technique. The physicochemical properties of the membranes were observed by contact angle goniometer, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). H1.5 PSf/HINM membrane shows maximum adsorption capacity of 41.90 mg/g and water flux of 173.82 L/m2 h.bar. This membrane was fabricated by impregnating 1.5 wt% of HINM nanoparticles within 18 wt% of PSf, 5% PVP, and 78% NMP solution. The experimental data of arsenite adsorption were best fitted into pseudo-second order and Freundlich isotherm models. The mechanism of arsenite removal on PSf/HINM membrane involved both chemisorption and physisorption. Chemisorption is concerned to hydroxyl substitution by arsenite ions through the formation of inner-sphere complex, while physisorption associated to electrostatic attraction between arsenite ions and the surface charge of HINM nanoadsorbents. Leaching test demonstrated that HINM was stably incorporated within the membrane matrix. Continuous adsorption-filtration study showed that H1.5 membrane has successfully treated arsenic contaminated water to meet the maximum level (0.01 mg/L) set by World Health Organization (WHO). The membrane could be easily regenerated using 0.1 M NaOH solution. Hence, development of adsorptive nanocomposite PSf/HINM membrane is a promising solution for synergistic arsenic removal in water system due to both adsorption and filtration properties of the membrane

Biochemical Analysis and α-Glucosidase Inhibition of Ziziphus mauritiana (Bidara) Immature Leaves Extracts

Ziziphus mauritiana is locally known as ‘bidara’ and commanly used as traditional medicine for various ailments and disease treatments. The aims of this study is to evaluate the biochemicals composition and α-glucosidase inhibition of Ziziphus mauritiana immature leaves extracts. The fresh leaves were used to estimate the proximate values. The leaves were extracted separately with aqueous and ethanol using ultrasonication-asssisted technique, while crude polysaccharide was yielded from aqueous extract after ethanol precipitation. The ethanol (EE), aqueous (AE) and polysaccharide (PS) extracts were studied for total phenolics content (TPC), total sugars content (TSC), α-glucosidase inhibition and chemical fingerprints using fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Proximate nutritional analysis revealed the presence of high moisture (70.89%) as well as crude proteins (6.92%), crude fibres (6.17%), ash (3.50%), fats (0.46%) and carbohydrates (12.0%). EE contained the most abundance TPC (24.80±0.08 mg GAE/g of extract) compared to AE (20.71±3.14 mg GAE/g of extract) and PS (3.28±1.58 mg GAE/g of extract). Meanwhile, all extracts contained high amount of carbohydrates with values 127.1 to 186.6 μg/mL. AE and PS showed stronger α-glucosidase inhibition compared to EA with IC50 values 0.959±0.15, 0.962± 0.17 and2.152±0.13 mg/mL, respectively. Thus, this research could contribute towards providing valuable scientific information to the local communities and for promoting further research on Z. mauritiana young leaves in Malaysia

Recent progress on fabrication and application of electrospun nanofibrous photocatalytic membranes for wastewater treatment: A review

Presently, photocatalytic degradation has emerged as an attractive and efficient technology for water and wastewater treatment. Many photocatalysts have been introduced and applied to treat organic pollutants in an aqueous system such as dyes, antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and oily wastes. However, several hurdles, such as difficulty in the suspended photocatalyst segregation from the aqueous system and low reutilization rate, urgently need to be addressed for photocatalytic degradation to be independently implemented in wastewater treatment. The suspended photocatalyst in wastewater needs to be separated to enable the recovery of the spent photocatalyst efficiently. The spent photocatalyst can be regenerated and reused to reduce the operational cost. Therefore, extensive studies have been carried out, targeting photocatalyst immobilization in the nanofibrous membrane to promote the photocatalyst's practical usage in natural wastewater treatment. This review aims to comprehensively discuss the recent progress of the developed nanofibrous photocatalytic membrane, emphasizing advancements in physical and morphological structure towards exhibiting high performance in wastewater treatment. Performance evaluation, challenges, and future directions regarding the utilization of electrospun nanofibrous photocatalytic membranes in wastewater treatment are comprehensively reviewed