Plywood is a wood product frequently utilized in building as part of concrete formwork systems. In the concreting process, plywood formwork needs to be strongly made to withstand the pressure subjected by the wet concrete as well as the impact. To reduce the dependency on solid timber as plywood, oil palm stem offers alternative materials. There are four main weaknesses of oil palm stem (OPS) as a material for plywood manufacturing; high variations in density and moisture content (MC), high water absorption and high surface roughness. Therefore, this study modified the drying and treatment process of OPS veneer. The veneer was predried by using roller presser for removing a large amount of water and later treated with medium molecular weight phenolformaldehyde (MMwPF) to bond together parenchyma tissue, cell wall, and a lumen for much uniform density and better surface bonding. The Charpy impact of OPS plywood developed in this study denoted as PTA was investigated. These properties were compared with the properties of another two types of commercial OPS plywood denoted as PTB and PTC which were manufactured using OPS veneer with tropical hardwood veneer for face and back veneer and control plywood denoted as PTD which was manufactured using 100% tropical hardwood veneer. The results showed that PTA has the highest mean value of energy and strength for both notched and unnotched Charpy impact.
Food insecurity is associated with an inadequate nutrient intake among older adults. Therefore, this study aimed
to determine the food intake among older adults with food insecurity in an agricultural settlement, i.e. Felda Land
Development Authority (FELDA) settlers at Lubuk Merbau, Kedah. A total of 70 older adults were selected as a subsample
to record data on food supply for a week, from an original study (n = 289: mean age= 69.2 ± 7.4 years). This study was
conducted through a house to house visit of which respondent was interview to get information on sociodemographic
and food insecurity. Food intake was recorded for a week using food supply questionnaire. Food insecurity was assessed
using Food Security Tool For the Elderly. Results indicated that 19.7% respondents had food insecurity. Energy intake
was found to be higher among women with food insecurity (2329.0 ± 814 kcal/day) compared to respondents with food
secured (1836 ± 447 kcal/day) (p < 0.05). However, after removing over reporters, the energy intake among both groups
did not differ significantly (1890 ± 208 kcal/day and 1643 ± 233 kcal/day). Total intake from food groups of fat, oil, sugar
and salt was higher among respondents with food insecurity (106.6 ± 60.0 g/day) as compared to those who were food
secured (80.3 ± 30.1 g/day)(p < 0.05). In conclusion, food insecurity affected approximately a fifth of the respondents and
associated with unhealthy diet with high in fat, oil, sugar and salt. There is a need to formulate intervention programme
to improve the quality of diet of older adults at high risk of food insecurity.
This cross-sectional study examined the influence of illness perception of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in end
stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on either hemodialysis (HD) or continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).
The Short Form-36 (SF-36) was used to measure HRQoL which comprised the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and
Mental Component Summary (MCS). Illness perception was evaluated using Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire
(IPQ-R). Both questionnaires were administered on 183 HD and 93 CAPD patients. The results showed that almost all
HRQoL subscales except physical functioning and bodily pain were found to be significantly different between HD and
CAPD patients. There are significant correlations between most components of illness perception with HRQoL. Significant
illness perception predictors of PCS among HD patients were time line, consequences, cyclical and identity, whereas on
CAPD patients were time line, illness coherence, emotional, cyclical and identity. Significant illness perception predictors
of MCS among HD patients included time line, cyclical and identity and only time line was significant predictor of MCS on
CAPD patients. These should be considered when developing intervention programmes to improve their HRQoL.
Obesity is a risk factor for chronic diseases which can affect work productivity and physical function of employees
particularly among those in security sector. The study aimed to determine the association between obesity with total
days of sick leave and health related quality of life (HRQoL) among Malay male security officers. A cross-sectional
study was conducted among Malay male security officers working in a Malaysian higher learning institution. Subjects
were evaluated using anthropometric measurements, quality of life and number of sick leave taken within two months
prior to the study. A total of 194 subjects (mean age 40.12 ± 11.41 years) were recruited. A total of 30.4% were obese,
39.7% were pre-obese and only 29.9% had normal body weight or underweight. Central obesity was observed in 57.7%
of them and 87.1% shown excessive body fat percentage. Number of sick leave days was positively correlated with Body
Mass Index (BMI) (r = 0.162, p = 0.024) and waist circumference (r = 0.181, p = 0.012). Score of the general health
component was negatively correlated with BMI (r = -0.161, p = 0.025), waist circumference (r = -0.194, p = 0.007) and
body fat percentage (r = -0.191, p = 0.008). Physical functioning score was lowest in obese subjects than normal and
pre-obese subjects (p = 0.046). Score of the bodily pain component was positively correlated with waist circumference (r
= 0.156, p = 0.030). Obesity is associated with number of sick leave days and quality of life in the studied group. Hence,
body weight of the security staff should be monitored and appropriate intervention should be conducted to improve their
work attendance and quality of life.
This review aims to present an overview of current research findings on the possible relationship between phonological awareness and visual-spatial skills among individuals with dyslexia. Narrative review of the relevant articles were obtained through computerized searches of databases such as PubMed, PubMed Central (PMC) and Google Scholar which included articles from SAGE, Taylor & Francis and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Press from the year 2000 to 2014. The key words were explored, both exclusively and in combination with each other, so as to provide a better understanding of the relationship between them among individuals with dyslexia. Although it is evident that there is a phonological deficit in individuals with dyslexia, however, it is inconclusive with regards to the visual-spatial deficit and strength. There is a consensus on the nature of phonological awareness skill deficits but not on the visual spatial abilities in dyslexia. In fact, the relationship between phonological awareness and visual spatial abilities in dyslexia is dependent on the area of visual ability measured.
The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) have increased and become one of the major public health concerns
worldwide including Malaysia. Previous studies on CKD generally focused on patients who were already undergoing
dialysis treatment; however, studies investigating the stresses experienced by pre-dialysis CKD patients were limited. This
study aimed to examine the prevalence of psychological distress and their association with the Health Related Quality
of Life (HRQoL) during the different stages of CKD. This cross-sectional study involved 200 pre-dialysis patients from
stages 3 to 5, who were recruited from the Nephrology Clinic at the National University of Malaysia Medical Centre
(UKMMC). The instruments used in this study were the Short Form 36 (measuring HRQoL) and Hospital Anxiety and
Depression Scale (HADS) to measure the psychological distress. The results showed that the prevalence of depression
and anxiety increased proportionally with the CKD stages. The HRQoL sub-component scores declined as the CKD stages
increased except for social functioning. An impaired HRQoL was associated with depression and anxiety in the CKD
patients. The results suggested that it is very important to manage kidney disease at an early stage and that a healthier
lifestyle is adopted.
A structured weight management programme at a workplace may help in reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity.
Therefore, this intervention study was to determine the effectiveness of weight loss programmes including face-to-face,
online and control group at workplace among employees who are overweight and obese. A total of 108 overweight and
obese adults were recruited and randomly divided into three groups (face-to-face group (FT), n=38; online group (OG),
n=31; control group (CG), n=39). In the FT group, the participants took part in health talks, interactive activities and
counselling; the OG group was given access to an online weight management program and the CG group was provided
with educational booklets on weight loss. All information given was related to nutrition, physical activity and motivation
to reduce weight. Body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), body fat percentage, dietary intake,
fasting lipid profile and glucose levels were assessed at baseline and 4 months. The FT group showed greater reduction
in body weight (-5.80 kg) compared to OG (-1.12 kg) and CG (-1.82 kg). Significant interaction effects were found for BMI,
WC, fasting serum triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol and total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio (all p<0.05), with the FT
group showing the biggest improvements, compared to the other groups. The face-to-face weight management program
offered in the workplace showed to be the most effective at improving anthropometric profile, fasting serum triglycerides,
HDL-C, total cholesterol/HDL-C ratio, and dietary intake among overweight and obese employees.