CSETT memudahkan proses penyediaan jadual waktu kuliah / Zaimi Mohamed … [et al.]

Antara langkah-langkah aw al yang sangat penting dalam proses penyediaan jadual waktu kuliah adalah mengenal pasti kursus-kursus yang perlu ditawarkan dan menentukan bilangan kumpulan yang perlu dibuka bagi setiap kursus. Kesilapan yang berlaku pada peringkat awal ini bukan sahaja akan menimbulkan masalah kepada para pelajar malahan akan mengganggu banyakpihak Kes-kes kesilapanpenetapan bilangan kumpulan kuliah yang sering berlaku pada setiap semester menyebabkan sebilangan pelajar tidakdapat mendaftar kursus manakala kes-kes bilangan kumpulan yang dibuka melebihi keperluan pula menyebabkan pensyarah yang terlibat membazir masa di kelas-kelas kosong. Situasi yang berlaku juga memberi tekanan kepada para pensyarah yang terlibat sebagai ahli jawatankuasa jadual waktu kuliah kerana kekerapan pindaan jadual waktu dan tugastugas ad-hoc yang perlu dilakukan memaksa mereka menangguhkan kuliah. Berpandukan Program Transformasi Universiti Teknologi MARA (TRANS4U), Fakulti Pengurusan dan Perniagaan (FPP), UiTMCawangan Terengganu telah mengambil inisiatifuntuk meneliti masalah yang berlaku seterusnya mencadangkan langkah penambahbaikan kepada proses yang berkaitan. Berdasarkan punca-punca masalah yang telah dianalisis serta beberapa cadangan yang dikemukakan, sistem pengurusan data secara elektronik yang dikenali sebagai Course Setting and Tracking System (CSETT) telah dibangunkan. CSETT memudahkan para pelajar membuat perancangan pengajian secara seragam dan sistematik serta menyediakan maklumat terkini berkenaan keperluan kursus untuk kegunaan Pentadbir Akademik dan pihak-pihak yang berkenaan. Dengan maklumatyang tepat serta mudah dicapai proses penyediaanjadualwaktu kuliah dapat dilakukan dengan lebih tepat dan cepat. Keberkesananprojek terbukti apabila tempoh penyediaan Jadual Waktu Kuliah dapat dikurangkan daripada 14 hari kepada tujuh hari

The relationship between social support and demographic characteristics among Malaysian university students during the Covid-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the fastest and most widespread epidemics affecting the world today, and its impacts are also experienced in Malaysia. The pandemic has a huge impact on the social, economic, and educational livelihood of the community. Furthermore, the government’s implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) has resulted in most sectors not operating at full capacity, including higher education institutions. This situation has largely affected the field of education. Thus, this study was conducted to explore the relationship between social support and demographic characteristics among the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted the quantitative survey research design and involved 468 randomly sampled participants. Data were collected using a digital questionnaire developed using Google Form and distributed through social media applications. The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) software was used to analyze the data obtained. The study’s findings showed that there was no significant difference between social support and sociodemographic backgrounds. Apart from that, the study also found a significant correlation between the three elements of social support (family, peer, and other close individual). Therefore, continuous social support must be fully utilized in order to avoid the emergence of any issues that can have a negative impact on students, thereby affecting their academic achievement and progress

Changing predominant SARS-CoV-2 lineages drives successive COVID-19 waves in Malaysia, February 2020 to March 2021

Malaysia has experienced three waves of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as of March 31, 2021. We studied the associated molecular epidemiology and SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence during the third wave. We obtained 60 whole-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences between October 2020 and January 2021 in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor and analyzed 989 available Malaysian sequences. We tested 653 residual serum samples collected between December 2020 to April 2021 for anti-SARS-CoV-2 total antibodies, as a proxy for population immunity. The first wave (January 2020) comprised sporadic imported cases from China of early Pango lineages A and B. The second wave (March–June 2020) was associated with lineage B.6. The ongoing third wave (from September 2020) was propagated by a state election in Sabah. It is due to lineage B.1.524 viruses containing spike mutations D614G and A701V. Lineages B.1.459, B.1.470, and B.1.466.2 were likely imported from the region and confined to Sarawak state. Direct age-standardized seroprevalence in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor was 3.0%. The second and third waves were driven by super-spreading events and different circulating lineages. Malaysia is highly susceptible to further waves, especially as alpha (B.1.1.7) and beta (B.1.351) variants of concern were first detected in December 2020/January 2021. Increased genomic surveillance is critical

Changing predominant SARS-CoV-2 lineages drives successive COVID-19 waves in Malaysia, February 2020 to March 2021

Malaysia has experienced three waves of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as of March 31, 2021. We studied the associated molecular epidemiology and SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence during the third wave. We obtained 60 whole-genome SARS-CoV-2 sequences between October 2020 and January 2021 in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor and analyzed 989 available Malaysian sequences. We tested 653 residual serum samples collected between December 2020 to April 2021 for anti-SARS-CoV-2 total antibodies, as a proxy for population immunity. The first wave (January 2020) comprised sporadic imported cases from China of early Pango lineages A and B. The second wave (March–June 2020) was associated with lineage B.6. The ongoing third wave (from September 2020) was propagated by a state election in Sabah. It is due to lineage B.1.524 viruses containing spike mutations D614G and A701V. Lineages B.1.459, B.1.470, and B.1.466.2 were likely imported from the region and confined to Sarawak state. Direct age-standardized seroprevalence in Kuala Lumpur/Selangor was 3.0%. The second and third waves were driven by super-spreading events and different circulating lineages. Malaysia is highly susceptible to further waves, especially as alpha (B.1.1.7) and beta (B.1.351) variants of concern were first detected in December 2020/January 2021. Increased genomic surveillance is critical

Faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi keinginan melancong di kalangan pelajar Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

Determinants that influence the selection of a destination by the students are very important to be studied in order to develop a tourism destination. The choice of destinations is due to several factors which is more of a factor desire to wander, to see the outside world, to know the culture of other countries and so on. Related factors can be divided into two factors: internal factors and external factors which are referred to as a motivation factor. These motivation factors encourage the students to go on vacation. Internal factors consist of four factors, psychological, physical, and exploration of the relationship of reaction / review. Meanwhile external factors are divided into tangible and intangible factors. In addition, the socio-psychological factors, personal factors and environmental factors also have an impact on students' choice in deciding to travel. Each selection is influenced by motivation from various sources such as family, friends, and siblings and so on. Data for the research was obtained through questionnaires consisting of students in years 1 through 4. Then, data obtained from the survey are analyzed quantitatively through descriptive analysis. Hopefully with the identification of students desire to travel will help the management of the university to further increase activity towards touris

Microbiological guidelines of medium najs (filth) contamination in Halal ready to eat food

This study was conducted to evaluate the severity of najs (filth) contamination in ready to eat food as to confirm the definition of halal food which suppose not contaminated with najs mutawwassitah (medium filth). A total of 52 human stools samples were collected and the screening of bacteria in the human stools samples were done according to traditional microbiological analysis methods. Determinations of bacterial growth curves were performed using NanoDrop 1000 UV-VIS Spectrophotometer at 630nm where the initial and end of log times for each of bacteria was determined. The growth evaluation of fecal borne bacteria in ready to eat food was done using prepared fried rice samples which were prepared at food preparation laboratory. The results showed that healthy human stools which fall under najs mutawassitah contain high amount of presumptive pathogenic bacteria specifically E. coli, S. aureus, B. cereus, Aromonas spp. and Salmonella spp. at different mean values. Average lag phase time for faecal borne bacteria is about 60 minutes (one hour). Thus consuming food before one hour should not give any significant health effect. Consuming food which contains faecal borne bacteria within one to two hours will give either no risk or low risk health effect. Consuming food after two hours has medium risk. Consuming food after three or four hours has high health risk. If the level of health risk is translated according to syariah law, RTE food which contaminated with more than 2 drops of human stools or contaminated with small amount (1-2 drops) of human stools and left over at ambient temperature more than 4 hours is considered as syubhah/makhrooh (doubtful) to be eaten

Quantitative evaluation of medium filth (najs mutawassitah) in halalan toyyibah food

Introduction: This study was conducted to evaluate the quantity of medium filth (najs mutawassitah) and the growth rate of faecal borne bacteria in self prepared fried rice toward the standardization of ‘halalan toyyibah’ food. Methods: The samples of fried rice were cooked with the application of hygienic practices. A specific quantity of human stools were then purposely inoculated into the samples. The growth curves of the bacteria were determined using NanoDrop 1000 UV-VIS Spectrophotometer at 630nm where the initial and end of lag times for each of the bacterial growth were determined. Results: The results showed that if the contamination of human stools in the food is in small quantity (1-2 drops), it may have no health risk at all (within lag time). If the human stools are in higher volume (more than 2 drops, or about 1 ml) then it may start to contaminate the food and could then lead to health risks. If foods are contaminated with small amounts (about 0.1 ml) of human stools and left at ambient temperature (about 37o C) for about 4 hours, the same thing will happen. Conclusions: If the level of health risk is translated according to Shariah law, foods which are contaminated with higher amount (more than 2 drops, or about 1 ml) of human stools or contaminated with small amounts (1-2 drops) of human stools, but are left (about 4 hours) at ambient temperature can be considered as shubhah/makhrooh to be eaten

Microbiological quality evaluation of fried rice sold at food premises in Kuantan city, Pahang

Food contamination is a crucial health problem as it could result in food-borne illness. This research aimed to evaluate the microbiological quality of ready-to-eat (RTE) fried rice dishes sold at different type of food premises in Kuantan city, Pahang. Total Plate Count (TPC), Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus cereus and Aeromonas spp. bacteria were used as microbiological contamination indicators. About 52 samples were collected stratified randomly from four types of food premises (restaurant, cafeteria, food stall and night market) where about 13 samples were respectively collected from each type of the food premises. The results showed that TPC had medium mean count (6.30x105±1.47x105 cfu/g), S. aureus and B. cereus had high mean counts (7.70x104±2.22x105 cfu/g and 3.85x105±1.67x106 cfu/g respectively), while Aeromonas spp. had medium mean count (7.13x104±2.42x105 cfu/g). The mean counts of TPC in the samples collected from cafeteria were highest compare to other food premises

Lifestyles and non-communicable disease status among primary health care staff in Kuantan, Pahang

Unhealthy lifestyle is one of the risks of non-communicable disease (NCDs) in our population even among the healthcare provider. They should be as the role model for their NCDs patients in the clinics. Therefore, this study was to determine the lifestyle practices and lifestyle-related NCDs (LR-NCDs) status was to determine the lifestyle practice and lifestyle-related NCDs (LR-NCDs) status among primary health care staffs