Effect of poster and video intervention on the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) level of personal hygiene among food handlers in 24 hours Mamak restaurants in Sungai Petani, Kedah

This study assesses the knowledge, attitude and practice on personal hygiene among foodhandlers at 24 hours Mamak operation restaurants before and after poster and video intervention. A survey and observation checklist was conducted among 100 food handlers selected from Mamak restaurants. 77% of respondents were aware on personal hygiene during the pre-intervention and the percentage has slightly escalated to 100% after intervention. Similarly, the percentage of good personal hygiene practice was increase after the intervention (42% to 73% respectively). It was observed that there was no significant correlation between knowledge and practice (r= -0.082, p=0.415) similarly there was no significant correlation observed between knowledge and attitude (r= -0.009, p=0.930). The finding adds to the growing body of evidence on the effectiveness of poster and video intervention.Keywords: KAP; poster and video intervention; personal hygiene; food handlers; 24 hoursMamak restaurants

Spatial analysis of heavy metals in mangrove estuary at east coast peninsular Malaysia: a preliminary study

The objectives of this preliminary study are to determine heavy metal concentration in mangrove estuary and to identify spatial patterns in the water quality based on heavy metals concentration. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) were selected to analyze the dataset of six heavy metal parameters namely: Ni, Cu, Pb, Cd, As and Zn. PCA results show that the major source of water pollution in mangrove estuary is mostly due to the agriculture activities surface runoff. ANN results show a better prediction performance in discriminating between the regions with an excellent percentage of correct classification.This study presents the obligation and expediency of environmetric for the understanding of datasets directing to gain better information about water quality patterns in mangrove estuary based on spatial characterizations at the selected monitoring stations.Keywords: marine water quality; PCA; ANN; heavy metal; mangrov

Air quality modelling using chemometric techniques

The datasets of air quality parameters for three years (2012-2014) were applied. HACA gave the result of three different groups of similarity based on the characteristics of air quality parameters. DA shows all seven parameters (CO, O3, PM10, SO2, NOx, NO and NO2) gave the most significant variables after stepwise backward mode. PCA identifies the major source of air pollution is due to combustion of fossil fuels in motor vehicles and industrial activities. The ANN model shows a better prediction compared to the MLR model with R2 values equal to 0.819 and 0.773 respectively.This study presents that the chemometric techniques and modelling become an excellent tool in API assessment, air pollution source identification, apportionment and can be setbacks in designing an API monitoring network for effective air pollution resources management.Keywords: air pollutant index; chemometric; ANN; ML