A Study of Some Community Water Supply Problems in Wilayah Persekutuan

This study was carried out to examine the various sources of water which are being used by residents in squatter settlements around Kuala Lumpur. The results showed that piped water from the public stand-pipes was used primarily Jar drinking and cooking purposes but water from other sources was also collected to augment their water supply jar use in washing, gardening, etc. An evaluation of the methods used Jar the collection and storage of water other than piped water, indicated that the system can be further improved to yield good quality water by adoption of appropriate technologies for household water treatment

Optimization of Water Treatment Parameters using Processed Moringa oleifera As a Natural Coagulant for Low Turbidity Water

Moringa oleifera is a natural coagulant which can be used for water treatment in tropical developing countries. This study presents the results of production of natural coagulant from processed Moringa oleifera with simple technique (oil extraction, salt extraction, and microfiltration with 0.2 μm). The optimization study on physical factors was carried out for coagulation-flocculation process. Low initial turbidity water samples (synthetic and river water) were used with turbidity less than 50 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU). The response surface methodology (RSM) was used, and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to validate the developed regression model. The residual turbidity obtained was 4.514 NTU for synthetic water and 1.598 NTU for river water by applying the optimum conditions of 40 rpm (low speed), mixing time of 41 minutes, and Moringa oleifera dosage of 0.75 mg/L

The neural correlates of emotion in decision-making

Both neuroscientific and psychology methods are used to study and explain the active neurons of the individuals' brain response when exposed to external stimuli. This study analyses the relevance literature and investigates the neural correlates of emotion, rewards, and motivation in the decision-making process, the emotional interactions between children, adolescents, and ageing. It was reviewed the literature to explore if neuroscientific methods provide accurate information about the role of emotion, reward, and motivation in decision- making mechanisms. The findings showed that the amygdala, medial prefrontal cortex, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex play a central role in processing of emotion which in turn influence decision-making process. While individuals with lesion in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex which is responsible for emotional responses toward risk, reward, and decision-making are not good decision-makers. In addition, the prefrontal cortex plays central role in approach and withdrawal motivational, whereby the right prefrontal cortex associated with withdrawal behavior and the left prefrontal cortex associated with approach behavior

Differential Responses to Blood Pressure and Oxidative Stress in Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Wistar-Kyoto Rats and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats: Effects of Antioxidant (Honey) Treatment

Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis and/or complications of hypertension and/or diabetes mellitus. A combination of these disorders increases the risk of developing cardiovascular events. This study investigated the effects of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg; ip)-induced diabetes on blood pressure, oxidative stress and effects of honey on these parameters in the kidneys of streptozotocin-induced diabetic Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Diabetic WKY and SHR were randomized into four groups and received distilled water (0.5 mL) and honey (1.0 g/kg) orally once daily for three weeks. Control SHR had reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) and increased systolic blood pressure (SBP), catalase (CAT) activity, and total antioxidant status (TAS). SBP, activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione reductase (GR) were elevated while TAS was reduced in diabetic WKY. In contrast, SBP, TAS, activities of GPx and GR were reduced in diabetic SHR. Antioxidant (honey) treatment further reduced SBP in diabetic SHR but not in diabetic WKY. It also increased TAS, GSH, reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio, activities of GPx and GR in diabetic SHR. These data suggest that differences in types, severity, and complications of diseases as well as strains may influence responses to blood pressure and oxidative stress

Inhibitory effects of swietenia mahagoni seeds extract on A-glucosidase and A-amylase

This study analyzed the inhibition activity of Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract on α-glucosidase and α-amylase enzymes inhibition assays. Swietenia mahagoni seeds were extracted by using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction at pressures of 20-30 MPa and temperatures of 40-60°C. The oil yields obtained were analyzed with α- glucosidase and α- amylase enzymes inhibition assays. All data obtained were expressed as mean ± standard deviation for triplicate experiments. One way analysis was used for statistical significance by using statistica software version 7.0 (StartSoft, EUA) and IC50 (extract concentration causing 50% enzyme inhibitory) was determined by using GraphPad Prism 6.0 software. Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract have a strong inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme activity (98.4% ± 0.2) but a moderate inhibition of α- amylase enzyme activity (34.9% ± 1.2). These findings implied that Swietenia mahagoni seeds extract could be an effective natural antidiabetic agent

Effective Communication As a Tool for Achieving Organizational Goals

Communication is a key element of human behaviour. In other words, it is an act by which one person gives to or receives information from other person about that person’s needs, desire, knowledge, opinions and perceptions. Communication in the workplace can occur under many different modes such as writing, verbal and nonverbal (body gestures and facial expression). In business and industry, communication helps to align workers to work with one another and to achieve the objective of the organization, which means objectives, can be in the target, attained and improved. Without workplace communication, nothing can be done.     Keywords: communication, organization, workplac

Effect of number of baffles on flow and pressure drop in a shell side of a shell and tube heat exchangers

The effect of number of baffles on flow and pressure drop on a shell side of shell-andtube heat exchangers was studied. In the present study, a set of CFD simulations using FLUENT version 17.0 from ANSYS were used to analyze the flow in the single shell and single tube pass heat exchangers consists of 20 mm diameter of tubes in staggered configuration with a variable number of baffles. The simulations were undertaken to inform on how the fluid flowed within the shell side of shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The results show that the variable number of baffles and baffle spacing in a heat exchanger strongly affect the flow pattern and pressure drop. This is consistent with other published data

Effect of number of baffles on flow and pressure drop in a shell side of a shell and tube heat exchangers

The effect of number of baffles on flow and pressure drop on a shell side of shell-andtube heat exchangers was studied. In the present study, a set of CFD simulations using FLUENT version 17.0 from ANSYS were used to analyze the flow in the single shell and single tube pass heat exchangers consists of 20 mm diameter of tubes in staggered configuration with a variable number of baffles. The simulations were undertaken to inform on how the fluid flowed within the shell side of shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The results show that the variable number of baffles and baffle spacing in a heat exchanger strongly affect the flow pattern and pressure drop. This is consistent with other published data

Application of Genetic Algorithm to the Design Optimization of Complex Energy Saving Glass Coating Structure

Attenuation of GSM, GPS and personal communication signal leads to poor communication inside the building using regular shapes of energy saving glass coating. Thus, the transmission is very low. A brand new type of band pass frequency selective surface (FSS) for energy saving glass application is presented in this paper for one unit cell. Numerical Periodic Method of Moment approach according to a previous study has been applied to determine the new optimum design of one unit cell energy saving glass coating structure. Optimization technique based on the Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to obtain an improved in return loss and transmission signal. The unit cell of FSS is designed and simulated using the CST Microwave Studio software at based on industrial, scientific and medical bands (ISM). A unique and irregular shape of an energy saving glass coating structure is obtained with lower return loss and improved transmission coefficient

A model of online protection to reduce children's online risk exposure: empirical evidence from Asia

Children are surrounded by a variety of digital media and are exposed to potential risks that come with such easy accessibility. Learning how to be safe online is an important consideration for both children and their caregivers. The present study proposes an integrated model of online safety based on constructs from protection motivation theory and the health belief model, namely perceived severity of (and susceptibility to) risk, online self-efficacy, online privacy concern, and digital literacy. The study comprised a survey conducted among 420 schoolchildren aged 9–16 years. Using partial least squares-structural equation modelling, the results illustrated the presence of a negative effect of ‘perceived severity of online risk’ toward online risks, whereas the effect of ‘digital literacy’ was found to be positive. Children whose perception of online risks was more severe were less exposed to online risks if they had higher ‘online privacy concerns’ than the children with higher ‘digital literacy’ who are more exposed to online risk. Results of the study show that engaging in safe online behaviour requires children to have a high perception regarding severity of online risks as well as knowledge of online privacy concerns. Online risks and opportunities occur in parallel. Consequently, the factors that increase or decrease risk may also increase or decrease the benefits