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Introduction: The repeatedly heating cooking oil in preparation of fried food has become a main dietary habit among Malaysian which can cause health impacts on humans. The peroxide value (PV) can be applied to identify cooking oil's quality through the oxidative change that takes place in fats or oils. High peroxide value indicates bad quality of cooking oil. This research was conducted to identify the awareness and practice of repeatedly heating cooking oil among food premise operators and to determine the peroxide value in repeatedly heating cooking oil samples. Methods: A total of 124 food premise operators in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, participated in this research. A face-toface interview was carried out by using the structured questionnaire for data collection to obtain socio-demographics information as well as awareness and practice of repeatedly heating cooking oil among respondents. The peroxide values analysis was performed on five samples of respondent's most favourable brands of cooking oil by using iodometric titration method. Results: Majority of respondents had moderate awareness (53.2%) and practice (50.0%) level regarding repeatedly heating cooking oil. The PV analysis showed that the peroxide value begin to exceed the AOCS standard limit of 10 meqO2/kg following the 5th cycles of frying. Conclusion: Relevant actions need to be taken by the governmental food authorities to address this issue and ensure safe consumption of fried foods by consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the suitability of natural silica sand as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of ammoniacal nitrogen and heavy metals, particularly iron and zinc, from semi-aerobic stabilized landfill leachate. Leachate samples were collected from the Pulau Burung landfill site (PBLS) in Penang, Malaysia. The above-mentioned contaminants are highlighted in this study because of their unsafe concentrations at PBLS. The effects of shaking time, settling time, and silica sand dosage on the study parameter removal efficiencies were investigated to predict the performance of the process. The adsorptions of ammoniacal nitrogen, iron, and zinc were judiciously described by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models. The optimum removal efficiencies of ammoniacal nitrogen, iron, and zinc obtained were 51%, 44.4%, and 39.2%, respectively, with a shaking time of 90 min, a settling time of 60 min, and with a dosage of 60 g (0.5 kg/L) of silica sand. Based on the coefficient of determination (R²) values obtained from Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models, ammoniacal nitrogen, iron, and zinc adsorption were better fitted to the Freundlich model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Fenton's technique for the treatment of semi-aerobic landfill leachate collected from Pulau Burung Landfill Site (PBLS), Penang, Malaysia. The Fe2 + or Fe3 + as catalyst and H2O2 as oxidizing agent are commonly used for the classical Fenton's reaction. In present study, the effect of operating conditions such as pH, reaction time, molar ratio, agitation rate, feeding mode and Fenton reagent concentrations which are important parameters that affect the removal efficiencies of Fenton method were investigated. Under the most favorable conditions, the highest removals of 58.1 and 78.3% were observed for COD and color, respectively. In general, the best operating conditions were pH = 3, Fe = 560 mg L-1, H2O2 = 1020 mg L-1, H2O2/Fe2 + molar ratio = 3, agitation rate = 400 rpm and reaction time = 120 minutes. The results highlighted that stepwise addition of Fenton's reagent was more effective than adding the entire volume in a single step. Excessive hydrogen peroxide and iron have shown scavenging effects on hydroxyl radicals and reduced degradation of refractory organics in the landfill leachate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suspended solids, colour and chemical oxygen demand (COD) are among the main pollutants in landfill leachate. Application of physical or biological processes alone is normally not sufficient to remove these constituents, especially for leachate with a lower biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)/COD ratio. The main objective of this research was to investigate the efficiency of coagulation and flocculation processes for removing suspended solids, colour and COD from leachate produced in a semi-aerobic landfill in Penang, Malaysia. A 12- month characterization study of the leachate indicated that it had a mean annual BOD/COD ratio of 0.15 and was partially stabilized, with little further biological degradation likely to occur. Particle size analysis of the raw leachate indicated that its 50th percentile (d50) was 11.68 μm. Three types of coagulants were examined in bench scale jar test studies: aluminium sulphate (alum), ferric chloride (FeCl3) and ferrous sulphate (FeSO4). The effects of agitation speed, settling time, pH, coagulant dosages and temperature were examined. At 300 rpm of rapid mixing, 50 rpm of slow mixing, and 60 min settling time, higher removals of suspended solids (over 95%), colour (90%) and COD (43%) were achieved at pH 4 and 12. FeCl3 was found to be superior to other coagulants tested. At pH 4 and 12, fair removal of suspended solids was observed at a reasonably low coagulant dose, i.e., 600 mg L-1 hHowever, about 2500 mg L-1 of coagulant was required to achieve good removals at pH 6. Better removals were achieved at higher temperature. The d50 of sludge after coagulation at pH 4 with a 2500 mg L-1 FeCl3 dose was 60.16 μm, which indicated that the particles had been removed effectively from the leachate. The results indicate that coagulation and flocculation processes can be used effectively in integrated semi-aerobic leachate treatment systems, especially for removing suspended solids, colour and COD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Results from a 6-year study of solar ultraviolet A (UVA) radiation measurements at the equatorial location of Penang (5°N) are presented. On clear days, the diurnal flux reaches a very high dosage of about 3.0 × 10-2 KWHM-2 around midday. The average daily total flux is in the range of 1.6 × 10-1 KWHM-2 and does not change much seasonally. The high 83% cloud cover only reduces the incoming flux to about half. The radiation flux represents a lower limit of the incident UVA radiation applicable to much of the equatorial/ tropical region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: With the expanding need of nutrients to support fetal growth during pregnancy, pregnant women are recommended to take dietary supplements. However, the intake of these supplements in Malaysia are not much reported. We aimed to determine the awareness, attitude and behaviour among pregnant women related to intake of dietary supplements during pregnancy and associated factors. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among pregnant women attending Obstetrics and Gynecology Specialist Clinic at Penang General Hospital between April and June 2018. Convenience sampling was used, and data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Awareness, attitude and behaviour were reported as frequency and percentages, and logistic regression was used to report associated factors. Analyses were performed using SPSS Statistics (Version 22). Results: A total of 273 respondents completed the questionnaires. While the awareness level on the role of dietary supplements during pregnancy is high (87.9%, n=240), only half of the respondents had a good attitude (53.5%, n=146) and had been taking essential supplements during pregnancy (49.1%, n=134). Having health problem was inversely associated with a good attitude towards the use of dietary supplements (OR=0.52, 95% CI 0.31-0.88), while respondents with a good awareness and a good attitude were more likely to consume dietary supplements (OR: 6.51, 95% CI 2.42 - 17.55, OR: 2.07, 95% CI 1.26 - 3.41, respectively). Conclusion: While the awareness level on the role of dietary supplements during pregnancy is high, only half of the respondents had a good attitude towards its intake and had been taking essential supplements during pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]