An analysis of the impact of soft skills on Malaysian technical institutions

Many people recognize the importance of technical skills as knowledge and proficiencies required in the accomplishment of professional jobs. However, the importance and applicability of soft skills are mostly ignored despite the fact that, it is a process how individual carry himself in an organization or professional environment for the progress of that individual and the organization he found himself. The paper explored into some journals from the previous the literatures, some soft skills were identified such as communication, lifelong learning, entrepreneurship, leadership, and teamwork, problem solving and critical among TVET institutions in Malaysia. Document analysis was conducted as a methodology for this study. The impacts of these soft skills on TVET related institutions like polytechnics, training centers and universities in Malaysia. It was indicated that, the result of the impact of soft skills on these institutions was generally moderate. The paper concluded that, technical skills alone could not bring about the organizational development there must be a compliment of soft skills for any organizational sustainability. Supplementary of soft and technical skills conceptual model was formulated. The paper was concluded by saying that, the competitive nature of the present situation, soft skills are essential because they have affected all aspect of human development. Some recommendations were suggested, teachers, lecturers and instructor must teach students soft skills for complete individual proficiencies and organizational sustainability

Deep Eutectic Solvent-Based Microextraction of Lead(II) Traces from Water and Aqueous Extracts before FAAS Measurements

Microextraction procedures for the separation of Pb(II) from water and food samples extracts were developed. A deep eutectic solvent composed of α-benzoin oxime and iron(III) chloride dissolved in phenol was applied as a phase separator support. In addition, this deep eutectic mixture worked as an efficient extractor of Pb(II). The developed microextraction process showed a high ability to tolerate the common coexisting ions in the real samples. The optimum conditions for quantitative recoveries of Pb(II) from aqueous extracts were at pH 2.0, conducted by adding 150 µL from the deep eutectic solvent. The quantitative recoveries were obtained with various initial sample volumes up to 30 mL. Limits of detection and limits of quantification of 0.008 and 0.025 µg L−1 were achieved with a relative standard deviation (RSD%) of 2.9, which indicates the accuracy and sensitivity of the developed procedure. Recoveries from the reference materials, including TMDA 64.2, TMDA 53.3, and NCSDC-73349, were 100%, 97%, and 102%, respectively. Real samples, such as tap, lake, and river water, as well as food samples, including salted peanuts, chickpeas, roasted yellow corn, pistachios, and almonds, were successfully applied for Pb(II) analysis by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) after applying the developed deep eutectic solvent-based microextraction procedures

Fabrication of Spiny-like Spherical Copper Metal–Organic Frameworks for the Microextraction of Arsenic(III) from Water and Food Samples before ICP-MS Detection

Spiny-like spherical copper metal–organic frameworks (SSC-MOFs) were prepared and characterized via SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD, FTIR and the BET surface area. The fabricated SSC-MOFs were applied to develop a procedure for the microextraction of trace arsenic(III) for preconcentration. The results show that a copper- and imidazole-derived metal–organic framework was formed in a sphere with a spiny surface and a surface area of 120.7 m2/g. The TEM confirmed the perforated network structures of the SSC-MOFs, which were prepared at room temperature. The surface functional groups were found to contain NH and C=N groups. The XRD analysis confirmed the crystalline structure of the prepared SSC-MOFs. The application for the process of microextracting the arsenic(III) for preconcentration was achieved with superior efficiency. The optimum conditions for the recovery of the arsenic(III) were a pH of 7 and the use of a sample volume up to 40 mL. The developed SSC-MOF-derived microextraction process has an LOD of 0.554 µg·L−1 and an LOQ of 1.66 µg·L−10. The developed SSC-MOF-derived microextraction process was applied for the accurate preconcentration of arsenic(III) from real samples, including food and water, with the promised performance efficiency

Kinetic, Equilibrium and Thermodynamic Studies of Cadmium (II) Adsorption by Modified Agricultural Wastes

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Flame atomic absorption spectrometric determination of Cd, Pb, and Cu in food samples after pre-concentration using 4-(2-thiazolylazo) resorcinol-modified activated carbon

This work aimed to develop a solid-phase extraction method using low-cost activated carbon produced from waste and modified with 4-(2-thiazolylazo) resorcinol for Cd(II), Pb(II), and Cu(II). The results showed that quantitative recovery of analytes was obtained at pH 6 with 3 M nitric acid as the eluent and a sample volume up to 1000 mL. The method was validated using certified reference material and addition-recovery tests. The limits of detection (LODs) for Pb(II), Cd(II), and Cu(II) were 2.03 mu g L-1, 0.15 mu g L-1, and 0.19 mu g L-1, respectively. The procedure was applied for determination of analytes in food samples. (C) 2014 The Korean Society of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Solid phase extraction of metal ions in environmental samples on 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol impregnated activated carbon cloth

1-(2-Pyridylazo)-2-naphthol impregnated activated carbon cloth (PAN-imp-ACC) was prepared as a solid phase sorbent and, for the first time, was used for the simultaneous separation and preconcentration of trace amounts of lead, cadmium and nickel in water, soil and sewage sludge samples prior to determination by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). The parameters governing the efficiency of the method were optimized, including the pH, the eluent type and volume, the sample and eluent flow rates, diverse ions effects and the sample volume. A preconcentration factor of 100 was achieved for all the metal ions, with detection limits of 0.1-2.8 mu g L-1 and relative standard deviations below 6.3%. The adsorption capacity of the PAN-imp-ACC for Pb(II), Cd(II) and Ni(II) ions was found to be 45.0mg g(-1), 45.0 mg g(-1) and 43.2 mg g(-1), respectively. The method was validated by the analysis of the certified reference materials TMDA-64.2 fortified Lake Ontario water and BCR-146R Sewage Sludge Amended Soil (Industrial Origin). The procedure was applied to determine the analytes content in real samples. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction and Micros ample Injection Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry Combination for Copper(II)3-hydroxy-4-methy1-2 (3H) -thiazolethione Chelates

A novel dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME) procedure was developed using 3hydroxy-4-methy1-2(31-1)-thiazole- thione for the separation and preconcentration of Cu(II) prior to quantification by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Ethanol (0.5 mL) was used as the dispersion solvent, and a mixture of ethanol, carbon tetrachloride, and 3-hydroxy4methy1-2(3H)thiazolethione was rapidly injected with a syringe into a sample containing Cu(ll). Fine droplets formed, and then the mixture was centrifuged. The lower organic phase was isolated and dissolved in concentrated nitric acid to a total volume of 250 pL. A 25-4 aliquot of this solution was introduced into a FAAS using a microinjection system. The influence of parameters such as pH, volume, and type of the extraction solvent, the volume and type of the dispersion solvent, and the amount of 3hydroxy-4-methy1-2(3H)-thiazole- thione was examined. The relative standard deviation (%RSD), limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), preconcentration factor (PF), and enhancement factor (EF) were 5.34%, 2.54iig/L, 8.48 pg/L, 60, and 42, respectively

A Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction Methodology for Copper(II) in Environmental Samples Prior to Determination Using Microsample Injection Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometry

A simple, environmentally friendly, and efficient dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction method combined with microsample injection flame atomic absorption spectrometry was developed for the separation and preconcentration of Cu(II). 2-(5-Bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-(diethylamino)phenol (5-Br-PADAP) was used to form a hydrophobic complex of Cu(II) ions in the aqueous phase before extraction. To extract the Cu(II)-5-Br-PADAP complex from the aqueous phase to the organic phase, 2.0 mL of acetone as a disperser solvent and 200 mu L of chloroform as an extraction solvent were used. The influences of important analytical parameters, such as the pH, types and volumes of the extraction and disperser solvents, amount of chelating agent, sample volume, and matrix effects, on the microextraction procedure were evaluated and optimized. Using the optimal conditions, the LOD, LOQ, preconcentration factor, and RSD were determined to be 1.4 mu g/L, 4.7 mu g/L, 120, and 6.5%, respectively. The accuracy of the proposed method was investigated using standard addition/recovery tests. The analysis of certified reference materials produced satisfactory analytical results. The developed method was applied for the determination of Cu in real samples