Fitness professionals’ knowledge and perceptions on hydration and fluid intake: a preliminary study

This descriptive study examined the extent of hydration knowledge and fluid intake pattern in people who work within fitness industry. Fourty fitness professionals were asked to complete a questionnaire about their perspectives on hydration, thirst and fluid intake pattern. Water was the most preferred drink before (75.0%), during (72.5%) and after exercise (60.0%) as well as generally during the day (75.0%). Most participants rated plain tap water and plain bottled mineral water as excellent sources of water for human body, whereas colas or lemonade and chocolate drinks were rated as a poor source of water. To conclude, the fitness professionals generally demonstrated substantial knowledge about the timing and benefits of fluid replacement, hydration status monitoring and the health consequences of water consumption, but lack understanding on the type of beverages that adequately hydrate the body.Keywords: thirst; fluid balance; fluid intake; personal trainers; knowledge

Comparison of normal incident sound absorption coefficient of direct piercing carved wood panel for circular, geometry and floral design

Direct Piercing Carved Wood Panel (DPCWP) is among the famous Malay wood carving art in the Malay culture. It is the best example of Malay people’s creativity and masterpiece. In this paper, the comparison of normal incidence sound absorption coefficient, αn (SAC) for three major types of design for the DPCWP is discussed. The simplest form of DPCWP, the circular type, then the geometry and floral types were investigated based on simulation and measurement works using sound intensity method to determine the normal incidence SAC, for 30% and 40% perforation ratios. The simulation work was carried out by using BEASY Acoustic software based on Boundary Element Method (BEM). From the results, there is an identical trend for DPCWP with geometry and floral design from 250 Hz to 4 kHz. At high frequencies (1 kHz to 4 kHz), both design show the tendency of decrement, suggesting that the complexity of the design does affect the average SAC value. However, for circular design, SAC is higher than other design at 1 kHz and shows a similar trend with other design at 2 kHz and 4 kHz for both simulation and measurement result

Electrochemical strategy for grown ZnO nanoparticles deposited onto HY zeolite with enhanced photodecolorization of methylene blue: Effect of the formation of Si O Zn bonds

Nanoparticles of electrogenerated zinc-supported HY zeolite (EGZnO/HY) catalyst were prepared by a simple electrochemical method. The interaction between zinc species and HY support during the electrolysis was found to affect the EGZnO/HY structure. In addition to the formation of EGZnO nanoparticles (<30 nm in size) that distributed on the surface of HY support, an isomorphous substitution of Al with Zn also occurred in the aluminosilicate framework to result in a Si O Zn bonds. The photoactivity of EGZnO/HY was tested on the decolorization of methylene blue (MB). An amount of 0.375 g L−1 of 1 wt% EGZnO/HY was found to be the optimum dosage for 10 mg L−1 MB, which resulted in 80% of maximum decolorization after 6 h of contact time at pH 3 under fluorescent light (420 nm). Increasing the EGZnO loading led to additional formation of Si O Zn bonds and lessened the number of EGZnO nanoparticles, which then reduced the photodecolorization percentage of MB.The photocatalytic reaction was follows the first-order Langmuir–Hinshelwood model, and gives partially mineralization. The photocatalyst was still stable after five cycling runs with no Zn leaching

Real-Time Shadow Using a Combination of Stencil and The Z-Buffer

In this paper we describe a real-time shadow generation with volume shadow algorithm in virtual environment that is illuminated by light sources with possibility to move separately. This algorithm uses the combination of stencil and Z-buffers to generate shadow volume. It is simple to understand and implement. We have significantly improved and implemented recent techniques that are used in shadow volume algorithms using stencil buffers especially in order to recognize silhouette, reduce the number of shadow polygons and also redundant length of each triangles that makes the volume shadow. This work may be applied in commercial games or other virtual reality systems

Microfinance: Viable Approaches for Islamic Banking Implementation

Islamic banks have very much engaged in debt financing businesses the same way and as much as their conventional counterparts do. Debt financing businesses, as widely implemented, were specifically targeted for and tailored to the needs of middle and upper income group of people. The low income people remain left out and forgotten in most banking businesses while microfinance instruments, which are meant to help the poor and needy, remain unpopular among the banking institutions. There is indeed increasing calls for Islamic banks to seriously consider this type of instrument as part of their religious obligation embedded under their Islamic identity. This paper demonstrated that microfinance instruments are viable for Islamic banks to consider despite the claims that the contracts are less secured and hence, too risky to embark in. A number of microfinance instruments based on Islamic concepts namely Musyarakah, Murabahah, Mudharabah, Ijarah and Qard al-Hassan as well as operational frameworks such as SPV and wakalah, were being proposed and discussed to pave ways for its implementation by the Islamic banks

Effect of Gliricidia sepium leaves and molases inclusion on aerobic stability, value and digestibility of Napier grass silage

Most tropical roughage feeds are generally deficient in nitrogen, energy or some minerals and vitamins. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of adding Gliricidia (Gliricidia sepium) leaves and molasses to Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) silage. Silage were prepared from Napier grass and mixed with Gliricidia and molasses. There were four treatments involved which were NG, containing Napier grass only which was the experiment control, GS containing Napier grass mixed with 5% Gliricidia leaves, ML containing the Napier grass mixed with 5% molasses, and MG containing Napier grass mixed with 5% molasses and 5% Gliricidia leaves. The treatments were analyzed for aerobic stability, dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and digestibility. There were no significant differences in aerobic stability of silage between treatments, and the treatments with Gliricidia were higher in crude protein (p<0.05) and had better digestibility (p<0.05) when compared to the control. In conclusion, Gliricidia leaves as additives to Napier grass silage can improve its nutritive value and quality

Relationship between body mass index, waist circumference, fat mass and fat percentage as a measurement of obesity among Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris students

The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of obesity based on the Body Mass Index (BMI), waist circumference, and fat mass and fat percentage and to examine the relationship between BMI, waist circumference, fat mass and fat percentage as the measurement of obesity among university students. The participants were 305 students from Univesiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) aged between 18-25 years old with males (n =101) and females (n =204). Digital InBody Stadiometer was used to measure height. Body Composition Analyzer was used to determine body mass, fat percentage, fat mass and body mass index. Seca - SC100 tapes was used to measure waist circumference. The data was analysed using descriptive statistic to determine the prevalence of obesity and the Pearson correlation was used to determine the relationship between the variables being studied. Results showed that the prevalence of obesity based on BMI in male was 34.6. % overweight and 12.9 % obese and 31% was overweight and 12% obese among female participants.  The prevalence of obesity according to BMI was higher in men if compare to women. The results of waist circumference showed the greater number of females (71.6%) being overweight compared to males (64.3 %). Overall, there was a strong, positive correlation between body mass index, waist circumference, fat mass and fat percentage in measuring obesity.Keywords: Overweight, Obese, BMI, Waist circumference, and Fat mas

Relationship of TQM and business performance with mediator of SPC, Lean Production and TPM

In today s highly competitive market, the demand for quality is the single most critical factor for companies to survive in the ever-expanding global marketplace. The concept of Total Quality Management (TQM) has been developed as a result of intense global competition. Most of the previous works show that TQM has significant relationship with business performance. However, the examining of moderators is less given in previous work, which mediators are known generally as general tools and techniques without specific focus on types of improvement. The purpose of this paper is to propose relationship between TQM practices and business performance with mediators of Statistical Process Control (SPC), Lean Production (LP) and Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) based on extensive review of the literature. Study on TQM, Lean Production, TPM and SPC generally investigate the practices and business performance in isolation. The main contribution of this paper is to identify the relationships among TQM, TPM, SPC and Lean Production practices as a conceptual model. This proposed conceptual model will help the academicians and industry players to have better understanding on the relationship between the practices and step by step implementation to improve business performance. The structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques are used to examine the relationships of the practices.©2012 the Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open Access under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY–NC–ND 4.0) license, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

THERMAL COMFORT IN TECHNICAL SCHOOL: PHYSICAL MEASUREMENT APPROACH

A field study on the relationship between thermal comfort and students’ performance was carried out in a technical school in Selangor. The buildings were mechanically ventilated by fans. The measured environmental parameters were air temperature (ºC), mean radiant temperature (ºC), relative humidity (%) and air velocity (m/s) of the surrounding classroom area. The environmental factors were measured using Thermal Comfort Equipment, which is capable to measure simultaneously all the environmental factors. All the windows were left open for natural ventilation. Subjective measurements were also conducted using survey questionnaire on the same days when the environmental factors were measured. The Predicted Mean Vote (PMV) was calculated using ASHRAE Thermal sensation scale which has been proposed earlier by Fanger (1970) for the measured data. Further Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PPD) was used to estimate the thermal comfort satisfaction of the occupant. The study revealed that 70% of the students’ population at the classroom is dissatisfied with the thermal comfort

Real-Time Shadow Using a Combination of Stencil and The Z-Buffer

In this paper we describe a real-time shadow generation with volume shadow algorithm in virtual environment that is illuminated by light sources with possibility to move separately. This algorithm uses the combination of stencil and Z-buffers to generate shadow volume. It is simple to understand and implement. We have significantly improved and implemented recent techniques that are used in shadow volume algorithms using stencil buffers especially in order to recognize silhouette, reduce the number of shadow polygons and also redundant length of each triangles that makes the volume shadow. This work may be applied in commercial games or other virtual reality systems