Overview of Health Impacts Due to Haze Pollution in Johor, Malaysia

Haze pollution is one of the major environmental issues caused by aerosols, having brought about a history of heavy smog pollution events like the London smog in 1952 and the Los Angeles smog in the 1960s. However, in Malaysia, haze events are attributed to forest and peat fires in Kalimantan and Southern Sumatra, Indonesia. The burned biomass basically contains concentrated particulate matters that are hazardous to health among susceptible population groups. Based on the extensive literature review conducted, the small number of available local studies on the health effects of air pollution in Malaysia conducted so far focused on air pollution sciences. In this paper, a comprehensive overview of studies done on the impacts of haze on health conditions among populations in Malaysia is presented. The result shows that the number of upper respiratory tract infection cases was directly proportional to the particulate matter concentration and Air Pollution Index value in Johor in the years 2014 and 2015. Particulate matteris the major contributor in the formation of heavy hazes and is more likely to initiate detrimental health effects compared to other inhalable particles due to their size, large area, and strong activity, making them more likely to carry harmful substances causing a higher number of infected patients with upper respiratory tract infections

Carbonized rice husk and cocopeat as alternative media bed for aquaponic system

The study evaluates the suitability of carbonized rice husk and cocopeat substrates as alternative media bed in aquaponics unit for cultivation of red Nile tilapia and Gynura procumbens. Area occupied by the aquaponics unit is about 4.5 m2 and it was operated under equatorial climate conditions. Various substrates namely lightweight expanded clay aggregate (LECA), cocopeat, carbonized rice husk and a mixture of cocopeat-rice husk at ratio 1:1 were prepared using polybags for growing of the longevity spinach. The resultant effects from fish cultivation and plants growth on the water qualities and nitrification efficiency of the aquaponics unit were reported. The aquaponics unit were operated for twelve weeks and the values of pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen level were measured to be within the range of 6.4-6.9, 27.7-29oC, and 5.5-7 mg·L-1, respectively. Survival rate for fish was 98% with specific growth rate (SGR) and food conversion ratio (FCR) of 6.9% per day and 1.13, respectively. Nutrient deficiency was not evident and plants showed healthy growth with harvest yield ranging between 3.6 and 3.9 kg·m-2. Results attained signified the suitability of utilizing carbonized rice husk and cocopeat as alternatives media bed compared to commercial media bed such as LECA

Determination of fibernolytic enzyme activities of white rot fungi isolated from oil palm fronds

Oil palm fronds (OPF) is widely used as the source of roughage for the farm animals. However, the full potential of OPF as animal feed is limited by their high lignin content which limits the rumen microbe’s access to the cellulose and hemicellulose. White rot fungi (WRF) are a group of fungi belonging to basidiomycete phylum and are commonly found in decaying woody plant. They possess the ability to degrade lignin. This experiment aims to identify the phylum of the best lignin decaying fungi based on their enzymes activity. In this experiment, 11 fungi species were isolated from decaying oil palm fronds. They are labelled as WR1, WR 2, WR3, WR4, WR5, WR6, WR7, WR8, WR9, WR10 and WR11. Their fibernolytic enzyme activities which includes laccase, manganese peroxidase, lignin peroxidase, avicelase, carboxylmethylcellulase and xylanase are analysed using the solid state fermentation method. It is was found that 5 fungi species which are the WR1, WR2, WR4, WR7 and WR10 produced the highest ratio of lignin degrading enzyme to cellulose and hemicellulose degrading enzyme. The fungi are then analysed under microscope to determine the phylum of the fungi. From the observation, the fungi are identified to belong to the phylum basidiomycetes due to presence of clamp connection

New Compact Dual-Band Bandpass Filter Using Stepped Impedance Resonator and U-Shaped Microstrip Structure

This paper presented a design to realize a compact dual-band bandpass filter using a pair of coupled symmetric stepped impedance resonator (SIRs) and U-shaped microstrip structure for wireless communication applications. To obtain its compact size, the symmetric SIR was bent like an L-shape. The U-shaped microstrip structure was designed and integrated into the SIR to achieve notch bandstop response so as to produce the specified dual-band bandpass filter. For the resonant frequency and attenuation, the U-shaped microstrip structure was designed at 3GHz and greater than 60dB respectively. Based on the simulation and experimental results, it was verified that this proposed design produced two passbands centered at 2.5GHz and 3.5GHz with the fractional bandwidth of more than 16%. The return loss and insertion loss are better than 15dB and 1dB respectively. The simulated and measured results are both presented and showed a good agreement. This proposed dualband bandpass filter is beneficial in modern wireless communication and many other applications such as WiMAX and WLAN

Mass spectrometric analysis of electrophoretically separated allergens and proteases in grass pollen diffusates

BACKGROUND: Pollens are important triggers for allergic asthma and seasonal rhinitis, and proteases released by major allergenic pollens can injure airway epithelial cells in vitro. Disruption of mucosal epithelial integrity by proteases released by inhaled pollens could promote allergic sensitisation. METHODS: Pollen diffusates from Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis), rye grass (Lolium perenne) and Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylon) were assessed for peptidase activity using a fluorogenic substrate, as well as by gelatin zymography. Following one- or two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, Coomassie-stained individual bands/spots were excised, subjected to tryptic digestion and analysed by mass spectrometry, either MALDI reflectron TOF or microcapillary liquid chromatography MS-MS. Database searches were used to identify allergens and other plant proteins in pollen diffusates. RESULTS: All pollen diffusates tested exhibited peptidase activity. Gelatin zymography revealed high M(r )proteolytic activity at ~ 95,000 in all diffusates and additional proteolytic bands in rye and Bermuda grass diffusates, which appeared to be serine proteases on the basis of inhibition studies. A proteolytic band at M(r )~ 35,000 in Bermuda grass diffusate, which corresponded to an intense band detected by Western blotting using a monoclonal antibody to the timothy grass (Phleum pratense) group 1 allergen Phl p 1, was identified by mass spectrometric analysis as the group 1 allergen Cyn d 1. Two-dimensional analysis similarly demonstrated proteolytic activity corresponding to protein spots identified as Cyn d 1. CONCLUSION: One- and two-dimensional electrophoretic separation, combined with analysis by mass spectrometry, is useful for rapid determination of the identities of pollen proteins. A component of the proteolytic activity in Bermuda grass diffusate is likely to be related to the allergen Cyn d 1

Bio-composting oil palm waste for improvement of soil fertility

Sources of bio-compost as agro-industrial wastes includes wide range of oil palm wastes viz. waste, biomass, palm kernels, empty fruit bunch, mill effluent, trunk and frond compost. Various composting processes are summarized in brief with distinct reference of oil–palm composting covering aerated static pile, and co-composting with earthworms (vermicomposting). However, in-vessel composting and windrow composting has meritorious advantages in composting. This review article refers to various significant roles played by microorganisms associated. Noteworthy study of bio-compost applications and procedures are correspondingly glosses framework of ecological, economical and agro-ecosystemic benefits

Overview of health impacts due to haze pollution in Johor, Malaysia

Haze pollution is one of the major environmental issues caused by aerosols, having brought about a history of heavy smog pollution events like the London smog in 1952 and the Los Angeles smog in the 1960s. However, in Malaysia, haze events are attributed to forest and peat fires in Kalimantan and Southern Sumatra, Indonesia. The burned biomass basically contains concentrated particulate matters that are hazardous to health among susceptible population groups. Based on the extensive literature review conducted, the small number of available local studies on the health effects of air pollution in Malaysia conducted so far focused on air pollution sciences. In this paper, a comprehensive overview of studies done on the impacts of haze on health conditions among populations in Malaysia is presented. The result shows that the number of upper respiratory tract infection cases was directly proportional to the particulate matter concentration and Air Pollution Index value in Johor in the years 2014 and 2015. Particulate matter is the major contributor in the formation of heavy hazes and is more likely to initiate detrimental health effects compared to other inhalable particles due to their size, large area, and strong activity, making them more likely to carry harmful substances causing a higher number of infected patients with upper respiratory tract infections