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Livestock is one of the country's important economic resources, nevertheless, an unsystematic livestock farm management system contributes to microplastic pollution. Microplastics (MPs) pollutant hurts the environment and human life, limited studies have been done in Malaysia's freshwater ecosystems. Therefore, this research was to determine the abundance of MPs in surface water and sediments from the nearby river and the last catchment pond of pig farm effluent in Paya Mengkuang and Sungai Tuang, Melaka. The concentration of MPs was compared with six water quality parameters (pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids (SS), dissolved oxygen (DO), total ammoniacal nitrogen (NH3-N), and chemical oxygen demand (COD). This study found that the average concentration of MPs was 487.38 particles/L and 50.96 particles/g for water and sediment samples consequently. This study showed a significant correlation between COD concentration and microplastic count in sediment samples. The source of microplastics in rivers is associated with anthropogenic activities such as unsystematic garbage disposal and poultry manure. The prevalence of microplastics in the environment of MPs could threaten the safety of resource utilization as MPs enter the food chain in aquatic ecology and pose a severe threat to aquatic organisms directly and subsequently to humans. Our study provides essential data on microplastic pollution in river estuaries and livestock farm areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The distribution and concentrations of extractable fatty alcohols in surface sediments of the Endau River were determined to identify their sources and variations. A total of 18 surface sediment samples were taken from Sungai Endau, Johor. Samples were then extracted and analyzed using a gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GC-MS). Total fatty alcohol concentration ranged from 0.62 to 34.54 ngg-1 dry weight sediment. Generally, the study area is dominated by long chain fatty alcohols which are indicator for terrestrial organic matter. This is also supported by the ratio of short chain/long chain fatty alcohol and alcohol source index (ASI). This study showed the fatty alcohols detected in the study area originated from various sources with inputs from terrestrial being the more dominant sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A total of ten surface sediment samples collected around the Redang Island, Terengganu were used to evaluate sterol variations in the study area. The sediment samples were extracted and analyzed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometer (GCMS). Generally, the study area is dominated by cholesterol which accounted for 32% of total sterols, followed by phytosterols (27%), marine sterols (20%), fecal sterols (17%) and cholestanol (4%). The sterol source index (SSI) showed low input of phytosterols indicated terrestrial plants source. This might be due to influence of the marine environment of the study area. Furthermore, the sewage contamination index clarified the study area was not contaminated by sewage. The presence of sterols in the study area was derived from various sources which were dominated by inputs from marine sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]