Prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from fresh water and fresh water fish in Negeri Sembilan / Siti Faranabila Mohammad Yaacob

Vibrio parahaemolyticus is a Gram negative bacteria that can cause a systemic infection in fish called Vibriosis and also as a main foodborne disease in seafood that easily deteriorates in quality, colors and flavors. A total of 36 samples were collected from Oreochromis sp. (Red Tilapia) and fresh water samples in Negeri Sembilan. The sampling was done on the gills, intestinal tracts, flesh and also the fresh water samples. In this study, Vibrio parahaemolyticus were identified by morphological testing and the growth of green centered colonies on the Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Sucrose (TCBS) agar. These samples were analyzed using Most Probable Number (MPN) method. The prevalence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus was found to be 100% in intestinal tracts followed by 88% prevalence in gills and only 44% found in the flesh part of fish samples. However, the presence Vibrio parahemolyticus was at 56%. The density of Vibrio parahemolyticus in the whole samples was ranged from 7.5x103 to 2.4x107 MPN/g. Almost all strain shows a multiple resistance towards all four antibiotics tested with a Multiple Antibiotic Resistant (MAR) index ranging from 0.5 to 0.8 respectively. This results however will indicate that another potential source of food safety issues to consumers

Development of a retractable tray dryer for drying crops in solar PV farms

Temperature plays a significant element in Solar PV technology as well as herbal growth. Significant research laboratories have proven that approximately 0.5% electricity from PV generators are reduced based on 1°C increase of the module temperature which is dispersed as heat energy whereas increasing temperature may degrade the plant growth. Harvesting the dissipated heat from the bottom surface of a Photovoltaic (PV) Array is currently a new research area which is in line with sustainable urban development. This study suggested a new prototype of Retractable Tray Dryer (RtD) be embedded directly under PV arrays as means of harvesting the dissipated heat as well as reducing the bottom temperature within the concept of heat convection. The tray dryer is designed in such a way that it can be suited to any PV structures and can be clustered for a large scale farm. A specified leavy-type herbal crop was used as sample and tested at the Universiti Putra Malaysia PV Pilot site. Field test of the embedded tray as compared to the normal system showed higher drying rate for RtD which produces higher yield and good quality of dried crops

The numerical techniques for thermal distribution analysis in optical waveguides

In this paper, the analysis of thermal distribution in planar optical waveguide cross-section when a single heater electrode applied is presented. Starting from the heat equation, the thermal analysis has been done using two proposed numerical methods which are include finite difference method (FDM) and finite element method (FEM). By considering conduction as the only heat transfer mechanism, the obtained results from the mentioned methods are shown to have a good agreemen

Preferences toward news sources of international news among Malaysian academicians

The present world has been influenced and changed very rapidly by the technological development. The electronic media have become as phenomena of transitions which have opened new possibility for delivery of news and information to people.The main objective of this study was to determine the news sources that Malaysian academicians depended on to gain news and information about Arabs World and international world.Another objective is to examine the differences of news source according to the demographic data of the respondents.The study is based on a survey.A total of 300 respondents were Malaysian academicians in five public universities which were located in Klang valley.The findings indicated that the internet was the first or primary source for them to gain news (58.7%) followed by Astro (55%)

Drug Utilization Pattern During Flood Season In The State Of Kelantan, Malaysia: Perceptions, Experiences And Challenges In Military Field Hospitals

Every medical mission faces a dilemma on which type of drugs to be brought adequately to cover the whole operation throughout the mission. There are uncertain-ties about the duration of mission, type of drugs to be brought, and difficulties in communication and land transport in the disaster area. Pharmacists will be able to plan which medical stock to bring if they can acquire relevant data regarding the pat-tern of drug utilization from previous missions. The deployment of a military field hospital for the purpose of responding to natural disaster, man-made conflicts, and peacekeeping mission, as well as conventional battlefield, brings grief challenges to healthcare providers. They face many uncertainties in different environments and situations, including the exposure to personal and health threats. This current re-search was conducted in two phases (mixed method: explanatory design). The first phase was a quantitative study, which was a retrospective and descriptive examina-tion of the drug utilisation pattern during the flood season of 2014 at a military field hospital which was deployed at Manek Urai, Kelantan. This study aimed to estimate the drug utilisation pattern during a specific flood season at a military field hospital in the state of Kelantan. The researcher analysed 2771 prescriptions with an average of 103 prescriptions per day. Most of the patients displayed diseases related to the respiratory system (44.9%); skin problem (15.1%); and the digestive system (11.6%)

Grounds for Termination of Franchise Agreement in Jordan

Purpose: This study explores the termination of franchise agreement in Jordan. The study discusses the grounds to terminate the franchise agreement by each party whether franchisor or franchisee. Regulating the franchise sector by a specific act minimizes unfair termination and helps strengthen the franchise sector in Jordan. Design/methodology/approach: This study is qualitative. Eleven in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with the relevant parties involved in franchise agreements as well as legislatures. The analysis was thematically conducted and accordingly supported by sufficient excerpts. Findings: The study found several grounds to terminate the franchise agreement by the parties involved. Emphatically, the participants were unanimous regarding the breach of the contract terms and conditions as the main ground to terminate the franchise agreement. Research limitations: The research participants were franchisors, franchisees and parliamentarians in Jordan. Additionally, the data collection constrained by funds paucity and difficulties in securing appointments with the participants who were always busy and not available. Two of the participant answered the interview questions by filling up the questions instead of face to face and recorded interview. Practical implications: The study suggests that the termination grounds of the franchise agreement need to be more specific and limited to certain provisions which should be provided by specific act for this purpose. Otherwise the unfair termination whether by the franchisors or franchisees will continue. Originality/value: Even though franchise agreement literatures are aplenty, this study, however, is the first attempt at qualitatively exploring in-depth regarding the termination grounds for the franchise agreement in Jordan. Paper type: Research Paper Keywords: franchise agreement, termination, specific act, franchise la

A Case of an Undifferentiated Embryonal Sarcoma of the Liver Mimicking a Liver Abscess

An undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver is a rare malignant tumour. We highlight the diagnostic dilemma and differential diagnosis of a case involving a large cystic liver lesion in a young adult. A 20-year-old man presented with a large liver lesion to the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Center, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in February 2012. The initial clinico-radiological presentations were suggestive of a liver abscess. A total tumour resection was performed and the final histopathological results of the resected specimen indicated an undifferentiated embryonal sarcoma of the liver. The ultrasound and computed tomographic images of the tumour were reviewed and found to be contradictory in appearance, as the tumour seemed predominantly solid in the ultrasound image and predominantly cystic in the computed tomographic image. Familiarisation with the imaging appearance of this tumour and a high index of suspicion is therefore crucial in making a successful diagnosis

Electrochemical characterization of supercapacitors with glass wool separator

Supercapacitor, also known as ultracapacitor exhibits higher power density, greater rapid charging and discharging rates, and superior life cycle than a rechargeable battery. The major drawback of supercapacitor is its relatively lower energy density. Previous researchers have proved that the specific capacitance of supercapacitor increases with the increment of electrolyte concentration, which contributes to the improvement of its energy density. Commercial separator, such as cellulose paper, is incapable of withstanding high concentration of electrolyte. A corrosive-resistant material, glass wool has been previously introduced as a potential material for the separator. Nonetheless, studies of the electrochemical performance of supercapacitors with glass wool separator under different types of electrolytes with different concentrations are very limited. This thesis aims to electrochemically evaluate glass wool-based supercapacitor under three types of electrolytes; 1 mol/dm3 sulfuric acid (H2SO4), 6 mol/dm3 potassium hydroxide (KOH) and 1 mol/dm3 tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TEABF4) and compare the performance to an identical supercapacitor with cellulose separator. A systematic study on the effect of high concentrated electrolytes coupled with the glass wool separator was also carried out. The electrochemical performance of the constructed supercapacitors was evaluated through cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge, electrochemical spectroscopy, and cyclability charge-discharge tests using a symmetrical two-electrode test cell. It is found that the glass wool separator has outperformed cellulose in terms of its internal resistance and power density under the acidic, basic, and organic electrolytes. Interestingly, the glass wool-based supercapacitor coupled with high concentrated H2SO4 (18 mol/dm3) electrolyte exhibits 23% increment of specific capacitance and energy density with almost 100% retention throughout 3000 cycles of charge-discharge process as compared to the one with 1 mol/dm3 H2SO4 electrolyte. The optimum concentration for basic electrolyte KOH suggested is 10 mol/dm3 which gives 5.3% increment in energy density, 13% increments in power density and excellent cyclability compared to that of 6 mol/dm3 KOH electrolytes. The application of 2.5 mol/dm3 concentration of TEABF4 improves the energy and power density by 153% and 3821%, respectively compared to 1 mol/dm3 TEABF4

Environmental Management Practices in Small Batik Industry in Kelantan, Malaysia

Small businesses form a backbone of economy in developed countries as well as in developing countries. However, at the same time, small businesses significantly contributed to environmental degradations because they are preoccupied with matters pertaining to business as well their limitation in resources to look after the environment. In Malaysia, batik industry is one of handicraft products that contributed significant to the country economy, but the industry has poor environmental record. Yet until recently, not many researchers in Malaysia conducted in research pertaining to environmental management practices of SMEs entrepreneurs by using batik as a case. This paper examines environmental practices adopted by entrepreneurs in their business activities. This study utilized in-depth interviews with three entrepreneurs in the industry in Kelantan. The results of the study found that the level of implementation of environmental-friendly practices among batik entrepreneurs were low. Keywords: Environmental management practices, SMEs, batik industr

Fear appeal approach for a political campaign published in Utusan Malaysia and Harakah during the 13th General Election / Nor Azni Ahmad Husairi and Mohammad Yaacob

Previous studies have shown the ability of fear appeal in influencing voting behaviour among citizens (Jerit, 2004). During the 15-day campaign period of 13th Malaysian General Election (GE13), candidates from Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) tended to induce fear appeal into the stories reported by newspapers that support them, namely Utusan Malaysia and Harakah, respectively. This study seeks to investigate the characteristics of fear appeal in both the newspapers, the genre of news and articles that comprise the fear appeal, relationships between the genre of news and articles with characteristics of fear appeal, and differences in the way political fear appeal was employed in the content of both newspapers