Combination of Iron Chloride and Polyacrylamide as Coagulant-Flocculants to Remove Pollutants in Dye Wastewater

Dye Industrial developments have been increasing over the years and have created various environmental problems for water resources. This study was carried out in order to reduce the concentration of colour as well as the COD concentration by coagulation (Iron chloride) and flocculation (Polyacrylamide) using a standard jar test apparatus. The coagulation and flocculation processes were completed using Response Surface Methodology – Central Composite Design in order to see the effect of pH on iron chloride and polyacrylamide at optimum conditions. The analysis of zeta potential was done at various pH levels to compare the reduction of COD and colourant at various levels. Further analysis using the sludge produced included measuring for phytotoxicity using Lactuca sativa seeds. The treatment showed the highest colour removal with 95% (31 pt. co) and 92.0 % (42 mg/ L) COD reduction at pH conditions of around 5.4, 375 mg/ L of coagulant and 28 mg/ L of flocculant. Charge neutralization occurred when the pH moved to acidic region of 4-6. It was found that pH significantly influenced Iron chloride and Polyacrylamide for both responses (colour and COD). The phytotoxicity assessment indicated the mortality rate is increased with an increase in sludge concentration. Results revealed that FeCl3PAM at 100% undiluted dye sludge recorded the highest mortality rate

Application Of Banana Stem And Rice Straw Derived Bio-Flocculants For Textile Wastewater Treatment

Kajian ini melibatkan tiga peringkat yang berbeza iaitu pembuku-bio yang diekstrak daripada batang pisang dan jerami padi, rawatan efluen terawat air sisa tekstil menggunakan menggunakan ekstrak pembuku-bio dan ujian toksik keatas enapcemar yang terhasil selepas proses pengentalan dan pemberbukuan. Pembuku-bio yang diekstrak daripada batang pisang menggunakan proses ekstrak asid panas didapati lebih tinggi hasilnya iaitu 32.8% sementara hanya 16.2% daripada jerami padi yang berjaya dikumpul daripada berat asal masing-masing (10g). Seterusnya, pembuku-bio dianalisa menggunakan spektoskopi FTIR untuk mengenal pasti kehadiran kumpulan berfungsi yang membantu dalam proses pemberbukuan. Kumpulan hidroksil dan karboksil telah dikenalpasti hadir di dalam analisis FTIR. Efluen terawat air sisa tekstil di analisa bagi pengurangan warna dan keperluan oksigen kimia (COD) menggunakan ujian kelalang oleh pengental (FeCl3) dan pemberbukuan ( P dan PAM). This study involve three different stages which are extraction of bio-flocculant (P) from banana pseudo-stem and rice straw, treatment of textile wastewater treated effluent using extracted bio-flocculant and phytotoxicity test on the sludge produced after coagulation and flocculation process. The bio-flocculant extracted from banana pseudo-stem using hot acid extraction process was found to be higher in yield at 32.8 % while only 16.2% from rice straw was manage to collect from the dry weight 10 g respectively. Later the bio-flocculant was analysing using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) to detect the existence of functional group which helps in the flocculation process. Hydroxyl and carboxyl group was detected from the FTIR analysis. The textile wastewater treated effluent was analysed for colour and COD reduction by coagulation (FeCl3) and flocculation (P and PAM) using a standard jar test apparatus

Iban's Pua Kumbu: Geographical Indications Towards Intellectual Property

This research addresses the issue of applying suitable In IP protection for the Iban traditional textile known as Pua Kumbu. The thesis conducted a case study on pua kumbu with the relation with GI from the perspective of Malaysia framework. This exploratory research was done mainly based on qualitative methodology where the primary data gathered using interviews, observations, and document reviews. Besides that, selected literature including other relevant documents and data from personal observations, derived previous research were examined to provide insights on the subject and to help achieving research objectives. The study found that, IP protection specifically GI was important for preserving and sustaining pua kumbu mainly for commercialization. This was because the major potential benefits that can be gain from this regime is from the socio-economy aspect. Those benefits immunity in Sarawak. The state government play vital role in the successful registration for potentially Sarawak Pua Kumbu GI. It was found also higher education institution play important role in conducting research for gaining IP protection for traditional handicrafts. The protection for TCEF and TK is not established yet in our country, so GI is the most suitable tool for time being when compared to other IP mechanism. The collective and perpetual protection duration characteristic of GI enable it to be the best sustainability option for Iban’s traditional pua kumbu

Psychological strain as the mediator in the relationships between work design and work attitudes among Malaysian technical workers

Work design has long been found to affect employee well-being, but scholars have begun to question whether the established theoretical relations regarding work design continue to hold given the enormous changes in the nature of work during the past two decades. This study examined the mediation effect of psychological strain on the relationships between work design variables and work attitude outcomes (i.e. job satisfaction, affective commitment, and turnover intentions). This research involved a survey design. Self-reports on the study variables were obtained from 429 technical workers in a large telecommunication company in Malaysia. This study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to assess the mediation effects hypotheses. The findings confirmed the direct effects of job demands and job control on psychological strain. Psychological strain (especially anxiety/depression) functioned as a mediator between work design variables and work attitudes. The findings may help human resource practitioners understand how work design influences employees’ well-being

Pengaruh humor self-enhancing ke atas hubungan antara stres kerja dan kesetiaan organisasi

Stres kerja telah menjadi kebimbangan bagi pihak pengurusan kerana ianya memberi kesan negatif kepada tingkah laku pekerja di tempat kerja. Oleh yang demikian, pihak pengurusan organisasi pada masa kini semakin cenderung mencari kaedah yang efektif untuk menyederhanakan kesan stres kerja. Justeru itu, kajian ini dijalankan untuk mengenal pasti peranan humor self-enhancing sebagai penyederhana ke atas hubungan antara stres kerja dan kesetiaan organisasi dalam kalangan pekerja. Kajian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif dengan reka bentuk kajian keratan rentas. Sebanyak 340 orang kakitangan kesihatan di Negeri Sabah terlibat dalam kajian ini. Hasil yang diperolehi daripada analisis regresi menunjukkan bahawa tuntutan kerja berhubungkait secara negatif, manakala kawalan kerja berhubungkait secara positif dengan kesetiaan organisasi dalam kalangan kakitangan kesihatan. Disamping itu, didapati humor self-enhancing berperanan sebagai penyederhana yang signifikan ke atas hubungan antara kawalan kerja dan kesetiaan organisasi. Dapatan ini menyediakan maklumat spesifik mengenai hubungan penting antara stres kerja, kesetiaan organisasi dan humor self-enhancing. Ianya boleh membantu pihak pengurusan organisasi untuk membina intervensi pengurusan stres kerja yang efektif untuk mengekalkan pekerja dalam organisasi

Employees contentment in an organization

In an attempt to stay competitive in the ever growing challenging education world, higher institutions are often trying to develop creative and innovative ways in which to improve their organizations performance. One way to attain this is, by looking into their employees’ job contentment level. It is believed that job contentment level has a direct association with employees’ achievement and organizations success. Hence, by having a better understanding of their perceived job contentment level, an institution should be able to increase its work quality and productivity. This paper will present the findings of the study which aims to determine the main facet affecting employees’ job contentment level based on Job Satisfaction Index [1] such as pay, promotion, supervision, benefit, contingent reward, operating condition, co-workers, nature of work and communication. It is also aimed to determine whether gender could influence job contentment level in a higher learning institution

Antidiabetic and Hypolipidemic Activities of Curculigo latifolia Fruit:Root Extract in High Fat Fed Diet and Low Dose STZ Induced Diabetic Rats

Curculigo latifolia fruit is used as alternative sweetener while root is used as alternative treatment for diuretic and urinary problems. The antidiabetic and hypolipidemic activities of C. latifolia fruit:root aqueous extract in high fat diet (HFD) and 40 mg streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetic rats through expression of genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolisms were investigated. Diabetic rats were treated with C. latifolia fruit:root extract for 4 weeks. Plasma glucose, insulin, adiponectin, lipid profiles, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT), urea, and creatinine levels were measured before and after treatments. Regulations of selected genes involved in glucose and lipid metabolisms were determined. Results showed the significant ( < 0.05) increase in body weight, high density lipoprotein (HDL), insulin, and adiponectin levels and decreased glucose, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), urea, creatinine, ALT, and GGT levels in diabetic rats after 4 weeks treatment. Furthermore, C. latifolia fruit:root extract significantly increased the expression of IRS-1, IGF-1, GLUT4, PPAR , PPAR , AdipoR1, AdipoR2, leptin, LPL, and lipase genes in adipose and muscle tissues in diabetic rats. These results suggest that C. latifolia fruit:root extract exerts antidiabetic and hypolipidemic effects through altering regulation genes in glucose and lipid metabolisms in diabetic rats

Riding the wave of innovation: immunoinformatics in fish disease control

The spread of infectious illnesses has been a significant factor restricting aquaculture production. To maximise aquatic animal health, vaccination tactics are very successful and cost-efficient for protecting fish and aquaculture animals against many disease pathogens. However, due to the increasing number of immunological cases and their complexity, it is impossible to manage, analyse, visualise, and interpret such data without the assistance of advanced computational techniques. Hence, the use of immunoinformatics tools is crucial, as they not only facilitate the management of massive amounts of data but also greatly contribute to the creation of fresh hypotheses regarding immune responses. In recent years, advances in biotechnology and immunoinformatics have opened up new research avenues for generating novel vaccines and enhancing existing vaccinations against outbreaks of infectious illnesses, thereby reducing aquaculture losses. This review focuses on understanding in silico epitope-based vaccine design, the creation of multi-epitope vaccines, the molecular interaction of immunogenic vaccines, and the application of immunoinformatics in fish disease based on the frequency of their application and reliable results. It is believed that it can bridge the gap between experimental and computational approaches and reduce the need for experimental research, so that only wet laboratory testing integrated with in silico techniques may yield highly promising results and be useful for the development of vaccines for fish

Hybridization of MMT/Lignocellulosic fiber reinforced polymer nanocomposites for structural applications: a review

In the recent past, significant research effort has been dedicated to examining the usage of nanomaterials hybridized with lignocellulosic fibers as reinforcement in the fabrication of polymer nanocomposites. The introduction of nanoparticles like montmorillonite (MMT) nanoclay was found to increase the strength, modulus of elasticity and stiffness of composites and provide thermal stability. The resulting composite materials has figured prominently in research and development efforts devoted to nanocomposites and are often used as strengthening agents, especially for structural applications. The distinct properties of MMT, namely its hydrophilicity, as well as high strength, high aspect ratio and high modulus, aids in the dispersion of this inorganic crystalline layer in water-soluble polymers. The ability of MMT nanoclay to intercalate into the interlayer space of monomers and polymers is used, followed by the exfoliation of filler particles into monolayers of nanoscale particles. The present review article intends to provide a general overview of the features of the structure, chemical composition, and properties of MMT nanoclay and lignocellulosic fibers. Some of the techniques used for obtaining polymer nanocomposites based on lignocellulosic fibers and MMT nanoclay are described: (i) conventional, (ii) intercalation, (iii) melt intercalation, and (iv) in situ polymerization methods. This review also comprehensively discusses the mechanical, thermal, and flame retardancy properties of MMT-based polymer nanocomposites. The valuable properties of MMT nanoclay and lignocellulose fibers allow us to expand the possibilities of using polymer nanocomposites in various advanced industrial applications