Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 41 in total

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  1. Tamilvanan S, Karmegam S
    Pharm Dev Technol, 2012 Jul-Aug;17(4):494-501.
    PMID: 21609308 DOI: 10.3109/10837450.2010.550622
    Methyl salicylate-lactose physical mixture (1:1 and 1:1.5 ratios) was incorporated into calcium alginate beads by a coacervation method involving an ionotropic gelation/polyelectrolyte complexation approach.
  2. Davidson PD, Muniandy T, Karmegam D
    J Comput Soc Sci, 2023 Mar 28.
    PMID: 37363805 DOI: 10.1007/s42001-023-00203-0
    Vaccination has been a hot topic in the present COVID-19 context. The government, public health stakeholders and media are all concerned about how to get the people vaccinated. The study was intended to explore the perception and emotions of the Indians citizens toward COVID-19 vaccine from Twitter messages. The tweets were collected for the period of 6 months, from mid-January to June, 2021 using hash-tags and keywords specific to India. Topics and emotions from the tweets were extracted using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) method and National Research Council (NRC) Lexicon, respectively. Theme, sentiment and emotion wise engagement and reachability metrics were assessed. Hash-tag frequency of COVID-19 vaccine brands were also identified and evaluated. Information regarding 'Co-WIN app and availability of vaccine' was widely discussed and also received highest engagement and reachability among Twitter users. Among the various emotions, trust was expressed the most, which highlights the acceptance of vaccines among the Indian citizens. The hash-tags frequency of vaccine brands shows that Covishield was popular in the month of March 2021, and Covaxin in April 2021. The results from the study will help stakeholders to efficiently use social media to disseminate COVID-19 vaccine information on popular concerns. This in turn will encourage citizens to be vaccinated and achieve herd immunity. Similar methodology can be adopted in future to understand the perceptions and concerns of people in emergency situations.

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42001-023-00203-0.

  3. Ayuni Nabilah Alias, Karmegam Karuppiah, Vivien How, Velu Perumal
    MyJurnal
    In order to accomplish a wide range of duties and responsibilities that may be done under unpleasant working con- ditions, prolonged standing posture is common with school teachers. Nevertheless, standing upright for a long time or otherwise regarded as prolonged standing frequently contributes to body pain and discomfort, muscle fatigue and even health problems such as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs). The aim of this paper is to review MSDs arising from prolonged standing and spread information on existing ergonomic and non-ergonomic interventions to alleviate prolonged standing discomfort. Systematic review on prolonged standing school teachers with specific keywords were recognized to discover the appropriate studies and information in a systematic search. The informations in this review may be helpful to guide teacher, school management and researchers to implement the suitable interventions in order to minimise the health issue due to MSDs among school teachers.
  4. Mahmood Ali, Mohd Sapuan Salit, Karmegam Karuppiah, Abu Saleh Ahmed
    MyJurnal
    This study was conducted to evaluate the discomfort level of students from the Polytechnic Kuching Sarawak while they were sitting on chairs. Polytechnic Kuching students (n=500) completed a set of questionnaires utilizing a survey form which showed the body chart discomfort using Borg’s CR-10 Scale. The students was asked to identify body areas experiencing discomfort and to rate this discomfort using score rating groups (0 to 5) where score 0-1.99 = No discomfort (1), score2.00-3.99 =Discomfort (2) and score 4.00-5.00 = Very uncomfortable (3).The evaluation of seating discomfort levels showed acceptable levels for the students and possible outstanding problems. Students were asked to rank over an order 10 statements about comfort and choose three responses which gave the most consistent equal interval scale. The results showed that the main response of discomfort indicated the students felt cramped, stiff, numb, sore and tender muscle, unbearable pain, barely comfortable and uncomfortable. This project was identified to evaluate the comfort level for classrooms chairs of polytechnic students. Overall, there was a significant discomfort level for the students whilst sitting on chairs and a possible solution put forward is to design a new type of classroom chair made of natural fibre reinforced composite.
  5. Pei Zam H, Emilia Z, Karmegam K, Mohd Sapuan S
    This study aims to review existing studies on the relations between indoor dampness and mould in different public occupied buildings with the risk of adverse health effects among both children and adults. This study specifically focused on the dampness-related problems from countries with tropical climate. A systematic literature search of ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar and Wiley Online Library from 2000 through December 2015 was conducted. Furthermore, the reference lists of recent reviews and of relevant articles were identified in our search. Crosssectional, case-control, and cohort studies in children or adults were selected according to a priori criteria. The search yielded a total of 18 studies on damp buildings, dampness and mould in buildings and indoor mould. Dampness and mould exposure in buildings is a risk factors for respiratory symptoms, wheeze, cough, bronchitis, rhinitis, eczema and upper respiratory tract infection as well as general symptoms such as headache and tiredness. Evident strongly suggested increased asthma development and exacerbation of current or ever diagnosis of asthma in children. Based on the results of the review, indoor dampness and mould problems in buildings are associated with substantial and increases in prevalence of a variety of respiratory and asthma-related health outcomes.
  6. Adriana Abdul Aziz, Karmegam Karuppiah, Velu Perumal, Shamsul Bahri Mohd Tamrin, Enoch Kumar Perimal, Sivasankar S.
    MyJurnal
    Prolonged standing has been identified as one of the risk factors which is associated with occupational injuries. Therefore, the primary aim for this study is to determine the association between prolonged standing and muscle dis- comfort among workers who have to stand for long periods of time. A total of 74 respondents were given and asked to complete a self-administered Borg’s Scale questionnaire. After that, the completed questionnaire was analysed using statistical analysis. This study highlighted the correlation between height, weight and age of the respondents with muscle discomfort following exposure to prolonged standing. Besides that, the association between prolonged standing and muscle discomfort also will be highlighted. In short, the prevalence of leg muscle discomfort was higher compared to the muscle discomfort experienced by the other body parts.
  7. Noreen Adila Omar, Karmegam Karuppiah, Vivien How, Enoch Kumar Perimal, Sivasankar S., Kulanthayan K. C. Mani
    MyJurnal
    Ergonomics is a science focusing on the study of human fit, decreasing human fatigue and discomfort through the design of new product. Prevention related to workers injury and illness such as muscle discomfort is part of the main goals in ergonomics interventions. Thus, this present study investigates the effectiveness of ergonomic interventions such as footrest and floor conditions in reducing workers lower leg muscle discomforts during prolonged standing. The main objective of this study was to determine and compare the lower leg muscles discomfort (exertion percent- age (%)) of Gastrocnemius and Tibialis Anterior among the respondents using the two ergonomic interventions (foot- rest and anti-fatigue mat). About 60 healthy subjects were recruited to stand for 2 hours (120 minutes) while using the two interventions in different session with one week interval between each test session. During standing, lower leg muscle discomfort of Gastrocnemius and Tibialis Anterior muscles were continuously monitored. Changes in lower leg muscle discomforts over standing time were measured using the surface Electromyography (sEMG). In this study, the sEMG readings showed that the percentage of exertion (%) were increasing with time (within 120 minutes) on muscles for both legs with the usage of the interventions (footrest and anti-fatigue mat). However, the percentage of exertion (%) from the sEMG readings were lower compared to previous studies. The independent t-test was used to find the mean changes on exertion percentage (%) between each muscles of both legs for the two interventions. Results found that there were significant exertion percentage at certain time with 15 minutes time period within the 120 minutes standing. This study showed that the ergonomic interventions (anti-fatigue mat and footrest) gives a low number of exertion percentage (%), showing a reduced muscle discomfort to the lower leg muscles compared to previous studies and interventions. In comparisons with footrest, this study showed that anti-fatigue mat is more applicable for the assembly workers in the industrial factory. The data produced by the comparisons between the two interventions can be useful especially to the Department of Occupational Safety and Health Malaysia (DOSH) in enhancing the safety and wellbeing of industrial workers in Malaysia.
  8. Huong Pei Zam, Emilia Zainal Abidin, Karmegam Karuppiah, Mohd Sapuan Salit
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Innovative ways of balancing indoor relative humidity without compensate for the optimal working environment is crucial as excessive dampness is a risk factor for health symptoms among people and deteriorate building performance. This study examines the potential of fabricating humidity controlling material by sintering a mixture of diatomite, waste glass and cockle shell powder. Moisture sorption isotherms, moisture buffer values, pore structure, surface morphology and flexural strength of the final products were determined. Methods: Mixture of diatomite, powdered waste glass and cockle shell powder is mixed at different ratio, pressed and sintered at 1100°C for 20 minutes. The final products were examined using nitrogen gas adsorption-desorption and scanning electron microscopy for mesoporous and morphology properties. The moisture adsorption-desorption performances of the samples were tested using desiccator method while the flexural strength is tested using universal testing machine. Results: The sintered products have specific surface area from 5.744 m2/g to 14.765 m2/g and have pore size from 39.5-67.7 nm. The best product, manufactured by mixing 60% diatomite, 30% waste glass and 10% cockle shell powder, showed a good moisture buffer value (MBV: 1.3 g/m2 %RH) and flexural strength of 8.23 ± 1.8 MPa satisfy the standard of those commercial porous ceramics. Conclusion: Usage of waste glass and cockle shell powder in development of humidity control material helped in the waste reduction. The humidity control material produced can regulate indoor humidity without additional energy consumption. The superior products show excellent charac- teristics and highly promising for various construction applications.
  9. Ayman Albeeli, Shamsul Bahri Mohd Tamrin, Ng Yee Guan, Karmegam Karuppiah
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) among office workers found to be high worldwide, leading to considerable economic impacts and health issues. The relationship between MSDs and productivity loss is widely recognized. This study investigates the possible relationships between the self-reported musculoskeletal dis- orders and productivity in term of absenteeism/presenteeism and self-evaluated productivity levels during presentee- ism time among office workers. Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried among office workers (n=398) in three public sector organizations in Putrajaya. Socio-demographic and productivity data were determined using self-ad- ministered general questionnaire whereas prevalence of MSDs evaluated using Cornell Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire (CMDQ). Results: This study found that prevalence of MSDs symptoms among office workers in any body parts is high (83.7%), low-back pain reported the highest (58.5%) whereas thighs pain reported less prevalent MSDs symptoms (25.4%) among participants. Also, the results showed a significant association between prevalence of MSDs and productivity loss in regard with presenteeism (p
  10. A. Perakas Rav, S. Sivasankar, Nur Khusairi Razali, K. Karmegam, P.Velu, S. Kulanthayan, et al.
    MyJurnal
    Air pollution, with a range of health consequences is known to cause major public health issues especially
    to the respiratory system. Unfortunately, for those working in the cement industry, the respiratory system
    is vulnerable to injury following airborne or hematogenous exposure to toxicants. This study was undertaken
    to identify associated factors of occupational safety and health problems among quarry plant workers.
    Various Universities databases and other databases were searched with specific search such as occupational
    safety and health, quarry plant workers, cement, occupational exposure, respiratory symptoms. In the concrete
    sector, cement dust is the most visible and the pollution of fugitive and stack is mostly throughout two ways.
    The absorption of toxins into the human body and respiratory tract is a common occurrence where the air
    passage narrowness (nose, pharynx, glottis, bronchi are filtered). Previous research has shown that there
    is inadequate work safety procedures in quarry factories where the training and use of acceptable
    PPEs and hazards / safety measures training is grossly deficient. There is an urgent need to redesign processes
    in order to impose a barrier between danger and staff; to adopt safe working practices; to provide
    appropriate training for people, to provide training or information to reduce the risk of adverse
    health effects and/or harmful effects to people; and to implement personal protective equipment (PPE).
  11. Al Johani Abdulrahman, A., Karmegam Karuppiah, Al Mutairi Alya, O., Kulanthayan K.C. Mani, Sivasankar Sambasivam
    MyJurnal
    This paper explains Needlestick and Sharp Injuries among Healthcare Workers in Saudi Hospitals. Presently there are number of factors that are responsible for health care workers injuries. Lack of secure environment and ignorance to safety measures can lead to injuries due to Needlestick and Sharp objects. There is a significant need of providing better working environment for health care workers in Saudi Arabia. Following daily practices and World Health Organization’s measures for taking the preventive steps for these injuries is necessary. Trying to avoid utilizing needles whenever secure and efficient substitutes are present, providing needle containers, avoiding re-capping and wearing gloves on both hands are some of the measures that could be taken to make sure these problems do not recur.
  12. Adib Asmawi Mohd Yusoff, Irniza Rasdi, Ahmed S. Mahmoud Ben Hameid, Karmegam Karuppiah
    MyJurnal
    Ergonomic is important in classroom. Sitting for protracted period in class may lead students to develop musculoskeletal disorders. Their physical health and performance in the class may increase by designing school furniture that match with human body. In Malaysia, there is a lack of ergonomic assessment for school environment especially in urban areas. The aim of this study is to determine the mismatch between the furniture dimension and anthropometric parameters among primary school children in Putrajaya. This is a cross-sectional study which involved 100, Year 1 and Year 6 primary school students randomly selected in Putrajaya. Five anthropometric measurements (popliteal height, buttock popliteal length, elbow height, shoulder height (sitting), hip breadth) as well as five furniture dimensions (seat height, seat depth, seat width, backrest height and seat to desk height) were measured. Instrument used is Martin type anthropometer set, SECA body meter, and SECA weighing scale. Calculation for determining mismatch between the furniture and anthropometric measures were calculated using a standard mismatch formula. There was 100% mismatch for seat height, seat depth, and seat to seat to desk height for Year 1. As for Year 6, mismatch was reported 100% for backrest height and seat to desk height. There were significance difference for parameters of popliteal height between Year 1 and Year 6 and between male and female of Year 1. There was a presence of mismatch between furniture dimension and children anthropometric measurement. Proposed dimension of furniture shows decrease in percentage of mismatch for the most parameter of anthropometric measurement.
  13. Saravanan Dhanabal, Karmegam Karuppiah, Kulanthayan K.C Mani, Irniza Rasdi, Sivasankar Sambasivam
    MyJurnal
    Workplace accident is a big challenges for a safety professional. Workplace accidents may lead from minor to serious
    effects to both employees and employers alike. Accident is an unexpected and undesirable event, especially those
    resulting in damage, harm or unforeseen incidents. This paper also discussed all available accident theories that are
    commonly used in workplace as fundamental to mitigating accident. Throughout this paper, the author justified that a
    new or updated accident theory is needed in Malaysia. The author stated that current accident theories are based on
    different environments and are different in terms physical of the employee who involved in the accident. This author
    also stated that technology changes is also another factor which can be supporting the new or updated accident
    theory needed in Malaysia.
  14. Nur Hidayah Rani, Emilia Zainal Abidin, Noor Afifah Ya'acob, Karmegam Karuppiah, Irniza Rasdi
    MyJurnal
    Pineapple plantation workers are exposed to strenuous physical activities. This study aims to determine the prevalence
    of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS), analyse the body postural risks related to work tasks and identify relevant MSS risk factors
    among pineapple plantation workers. This was a cross-sectional study performed at a pineapple plantation in Johor in 2016. MSS,
    information on socio-demographic background and occupational history were collected via structured questionnaires. Identification
    and risk assessment of ergonomic hazard and postural risk analysis were performed for a subset of workers. Data were entered into
    statistical software and analyse according to relevant objectives. A total of 108 workers participated in this study. The prevalence
    of MSS was 87.0% and was highest for the lower back (64.8%). In terms of ergonomic hazards, Harvesting were categorised as a
    task with the highest risk. Harvesting was also the task with the highest postural risk. From the multivariate analysis, lower back
    pain is mainly contributed by a working tenure of 10 to 25 years (Odds Ratio, OR: 3.90; 95% Confidence Interval, CI 1.05-14.4) and
    more than 25 years (OR: 7.45 (95% CI 1.26 to 44.0). Workers who worked more than 7-hour daily have a higher risk for reporting
    lower back pain. Pineapple plantation workers are exposed to excessive bending, twisting and carrying of heavy loads that may be
    linked to MSS. Effective preventive strategies are required to address MSS in this population in order to minimize risk for subsequent
    musculoskeletal disorders.
  15. Sivasankar S, Karmegam K, Shamsul Bahri M, Kulanthayan S, Emilia Z, Sadeghi N, et al.
    As Malaysia races towards a developed nation status, children are increasingly being ferried daily in vehicles almost exclusively as the majority of the population are able to afford private transportations. This paper reviews the current safety concerns for children whilst going in vehicles on Malaysian roads and the steps undertaken to address the need to enhance children’s safety whilst going in these vehicles and suggest possible remedial action to counter the possible lack of awareness for children’s safety whilst in these vehicles. This paper focuses on children on motorcycles and private vehicles (cars, vans and multi-purpose vehicle (MPV)) and excludes other form of transport (buses, lorries) as this paper tries to put forth measures that can be undertaken by the children’s parents and guardian to better enhance the safety of their children. A search was undertaken of all the major database of articles. Articles related to children’s safety systems, children related injuries, children related accident data, available laws and legislation were reviewed to present the need for greater awareness of children’s safety while going in vehicles in Malaysia. There are currently already safety legislations, measures, steps and equipments in place in ensuring the safety of children whilst going in vehicles on Malaysian roads. However, enforcement of laws in developing countries are not easy and we have to start at the root of the problem which is the parents and adults who ferry these children in vehicles. There is a pressing need to educate parents and adults alike on the urgent undertaking of child safety whilst in vehicles. Engineering countermeasures and intervention are probably needed to protect these vulnerable users. For vehicles, a device capable of providing some sort of protection to the child whilst riding pillion should be designed and developed. A legislation mandating the use of child seats whilst ensuring the child seats are affordable to the masses.
  16. Sivasankar S, Karmegam K, Bahri MT, Naeini HS, Kulanthayan S
    Traffic Inj Prev, 2014;15(6):564-71.
    PMID: 24484430 DOI: 10.1080/15389588.2013.861596
    Motorcycles are a common mode of transport for most Malaysians. Underbone motorcycles are one of the most common types of motorcycle used in Malaysia due to their affordable price and ease of use, especially in heavy traffic in the major cities. In Malaysia, it is common to see a young or child pillion rider clinging on to an adult at the front of the motorcycle. One of the main issues facing young pillion riders is that their safety is often not taken into account when they are riding on a motorcycle. This article reviews the legally available systems in child safety for underbone motorcycles in Malaysia while putting forth the need for a safety system for child pillion riders.
  17. AlJohani A, Karuppiah K, Al Mutairi A, Al Mutair A
    J Epidemiol Glob Health, 2021 03;11(1):20-25.
    PMID: 33605115 DOI: 10.2991/jegh.k.201101.001
    BACKGROUND: Infection is one of the major threats to Healthcare Workers (HCW) worldwide. It exposes HCW to more than 20 kinds of blood-borne pathogen infections, especially the most severe cases, namely Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The impact of infection about HCWs' health, clinical burden, national economic burden, and humanistic burden suggests the importance of further investigation and discussion on this topic.

    AIMS: This paper aimed to discuss literature on infection control knowledge and attitudes among HCWs and potential factors contributing to infection control.

    METHOD: For this narrative review Proquest, Medline, and Up To Date have been utilized to search articles about infection control knowledge and attitudes among healthcare workers and potential factors contributing to infection control. The search was narrowed to article between 2000 and 2018. A total of 400 materials were initially identified to be potentially relevant for the review. A total of 28 articles were included, and they were found to match the inclusion criteria.

    RESULTS: Results from the reviewed studies showed that there was a high-level knowledge in terms of precautionary measures and compliance with needle safety precautions while staff attitude achieved above average. Weak positive correlation was found between staff attitude and precautionary measures, while moderate positive correlation was found between precautionary measures and compliance with needle safety precautions. Only precautionary measures were found to significantly influence compliance with needle safety precautions, in which higher precautionary measures, resulted in higher compliance with needle safety precautions.

  18. Nur Athirah Diyana, Irniza Rasdi, Vivian How, Karmegam Karuppiah, Shamsul Bahri Mohd Tamrin, Sivasankar S., et al.
    MyJurnal
    This paper studies the muscle discomfort among police officers when carrying out their work. The objective of this study is to give a basic introduction of ergonomic problems in among police officers and risk controls in relation to minimize the ergonomics risk factors. This paper gives quick review of muscle discomfort problems and prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) among police officer. An ergonomic application has been purposed in the liter- ature to solve the problem related with design of mechanical.
  19. Nurul Shahida Mezlan, Emilia Zainal Abidin1, Karmegam Karuppiah, Irniza Rasdi, Sharifah Norkhadijah Syed Ismail, Noor Hassim Ismail
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Pineapple harvesting work contributes to the reporting of musculoskeletal symptoms (MSS) and er- gonomic risks. Pineapples are harvested manually in some parts of Malaysia using rattan baskets and workers are exposed to excessive bending, pain and discomfort. This intervention study developed and tested a prototype of an ergonomic harvesting basket to potentially reduce discomfort and physiological workload during a simulation of har- vesting activity. Methods: The development and testing of improved harvesting basket was performed in laboratory and workshop. The improved basket had adjustable cushion straps, foam back pad and an opening for unloading of fruits. Harvesting was simulated using improved and existing basket by human subjects and questionnaires were used to assess discomfort. Physiological workload was assessed by heart rate and energy expenditure. Results: A total of 12 male respondents with average age of 22.4 (2.2) years participated in harvesting simulation. Discomfort as measured in Likert scale (mean (standard deviation) for improved basket 4.13 (6.1) vs existing basket 12.26 (11.2); p
  20. Al Johani Abdulrahman A, Karmegam K, Al Nozha OM, Al Mutairi Alya O, Mani KK
    The paper puts forth the need for health care workers safety whilst undertaking their job on a daily basis. Presently there are number of factors that are directly linked to the safety of health care workers. However, Occupational Health is very important and useful for health workers that are exposed to their job hazards. Every year, many lives are lost because of the spread of infections in hospitals. Every hospital’s occupational health departments should ensure that all new staff are vaccinated to protect them against microorganisms carried by other patients, and with vaccinated against preventable diseases. This will help to prevent the health workers from occupational exposure to patients’ blood or any other bodily substances, including injury from sharp objects, and also guarantees that the new employees does not infect the patients with infectious diseases. Furthermore, all the new staff should be screened for blood borne pathogenic diseases.
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