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This study was designed to investigate the effect of different thawing methods on the bacteriological quality of frozen broiler chicken meat. Forty-five samples of whole frozen broiler chicken carcasses were collected from different supermarkets in Cairo and Giza governorates. These samples were divided into three groups (fifteen samples for each) as follows: the first group was thawed in a household refrigerator at 7ºC for 20hrs., the 2nd group was thawed over the counter-top at ambient temperature (27-29ºC) for 5-6hrs. while, the 3rd group was thawed in microwave oven for 22 to 24mins. All thawed samples (core temperature arrived at 0ºC) were subjected to bacteriological examination immediately after thawing for enumeration of total aerobic mesophilic bacterial count, Staph. aureus count, total Coliforms count and isolation of food borne pathogens such as E. coli, Salmonella and Staph. aureus. In addition, all isolated bacterial strains were exposed to antimicrobial sensitivity test. The results revealed that the lowest bacterial counts were observed in samples thawed in microwave oven, while the highest bacterial counts were recorded in samples thawed over counter-top. Moreover, Staph. aureus, E. coli and S. kentucky were isolated only from samples thawed over the counter-top and these strains were resistant to amoxicillin and sensitive to fosfomycin. Such results indicated that defrosting in microwave oven is quick and easy method for thawing frozen broiler chicken carcasses and provides an appropriate level of security for the consumers and could achieve the microbiological safety objectives while, thawing over counter-top not recommended due to food safety and quality aspect. more...

The newly developed non-woven filter media are composed of randomly oriented fibrous fibers from lignocellulosic biomass. The aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility of incorporating chitosan solution in fibrous filter media made from lignocellulosic biomass. The wet lay-up method was adopted for filter media fabrication. Diluted acetic acid was used as medium to dissolve the chitosan powder. Chitosan solution was applied to the fiber using two different deposition techniques, namely, spray method and addition method. The tensile test demonstrated that the filter media using spray method outperformed a filter media made from by addition technique. From the FT-IR spectrum, when the chitosan was added to empty fruit bunches fibers, the absorption peaks at around 1642 cm-1 are clearly identified that showing the presence of amine group in the fibers. The changes observed in the spectra indicated the possible interaction of functional groups between chitosan and cellulose in the fibers. The newly developed non-woven filter media integrates the functions for both the deep filtration and mechanical screen, thus it will be an alternative medium in oily wastewater treatment industry. more...

This paper introduces sludge palm oil (SPO) as a novel substrate for biosurfactant production by liquid state fermentation. Potential strains of microorganism were isolated from various hydrocarbon-based sources at palm oil mill and screened for biosurfactant production with the help of drop collapse method and surface tension activity. Out of 22 isolates of microorganism, the strain S02 showed the highest bacterial growth with a surface tension of 36.2 mN/m and was therefore, selected as a potential biosurfactant producing microorganism. Plackett-Burman experimental design was employed to determine the important nutritional requirement for biosurfactant production by the selected strain under controlled conditions. Six out of 11 factors of the production medium were found to significantly affect the biosurfactant production. K(2)HPO(4) had a direct proportional correlation with the biosurfactant production while sucrose, glucose, FeSO(4), MgSO(4), and NaNO(3) showed inversely proportional relationship with biosurfactant production in the selected experimental range. more...

Post-occupancy evaluation (POE) of buildings is vitally needed to ensure that building performance of government and public buildings and facilities is sustained. POE of buildings is of utmost importance in building performance evaluation, as it comprises the technique that is used to evaluate whether a building meets the user ’ s requirements. By using occupants as a benchmark in evaluation, the potential for improving the performance of a building is enormous. This paper discusses research with the broad aim of developing a general guideline for the POE practice, specifi cally for government and public buildings in Malaysia. The objectives were fi rst, to review and analyse government and public building performance, secondly, to determine the occupants ’ satisfaction level and thirdly, to determine the correlation between building performance and occupants ’ satisfaction level. This study has revealed that 74 per cent of the aspects of building performance are highly correlated with the occupants ’ satisfaction. The study concludes that the proposed guideline for POE is effective, relevant and benefi cial to be used by the public sector in evaluating the performance of government and public buildings in Malaysia. more...

Industrialised Building System (IBS) have been adopted in Malaysia for over five decades and is expected to grow consistent with Malaysia's economic development. In promoting the adoption of IBS in construction projects, the government has taken several steps such as levy exemption for contractors and developers. Despite its numerous advantages and efforts pulled by the government, the implementation and adoption of IBS are still below the expected figure. Many researchers investigated readiness, setbacks and issues related to the implementation of IBS in Malaysia's construction projects. However, most of the research mainly for projects located in urban areas of West Malaysia. Therefore, this paper aims to close the gap on factors affecting the implementation of IBS for SMEs in Sarawak, where the level urbanisation is low. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 10 SME's contractors to get better insight view. The study found that logistics and infrastructure problems, a limited number of the manufacturer, lack of incentive, conventional payment methods, lack of financial supports are among critical factors affecting the implementation of IBS. Therefore, it was concluded that government plays major role in providing supports, incentives and facilitating the improvement of infrastructure to successfully implementing IBS in Sarawak. more...

Sustainable manufacturing is regarded as the most complex manufacturing paradigm to date as it holds the widest scope of requirements. In addition, its three major pillars of economic, environment and society though distinct, have some overlapping among each of its elements. Even though the concept of sustainability is not new, the development of the performance indicator still needs a lot of improvement due to its multifaceted nature, which requires integrated approach to solve the problem. This paper proposed the best combination of criteria en route a robust sustainable manufacturing performance indicator formation via Analytic Network Process (ANP). The integrated lean, green and sustainable ANP model can be used to comprehend the complex decision system of the sustainability assessment. The finding shows that green manufacturing is more sustainable than lean manufacturing. It also illustrates that procurement practice is the most important criteria in the sustainable manufacturing performance indicator. more...

In this paper, the consistency of crisp pairwise comparison matrix is compared with the fuzzy pairwise comparison matrix of Analytic Network Process (ANP). The fuzzy input in the form of triangular membership function is converted into crisp value using Fuzzy Preference Programming (FPP) method which is implemented using MATLAB. The consistency ratio (CR) for both of the crisp and fuzzy pairwise comparison matrix is calculated using SuperDecisions. Main finding shows that the involvement of fuzzy elements into the decision maker's judgment can reduce the inconsistency of the pairwise comparison matrix compared with the crisp judgment. more...

Background Marked changes in the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease have occurred in developed and developing countries in recent decades. The overarching aim of the study is to examine the relationship of societal influences on human lifestyle behaviors, cardiovascular risk factors, and incidence of chronic noncommunicable diseases. Methods The Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study is a large-scale epidemiological study that plans to recruit approximately 140,000 individuals residing in >600 communities in 17 low-, middle-, and high-income countries around the world. Individual data collection includes medical history, lifestyle behaviors (physical activity and dietary profile), blood collection and storage for biochemistry and future genetic analysis, electrocardiogram, and anthropometric measures. In addition, detailed information is being collected with respect to 4 environmental domains of interest—the built environment, nutrition and associated food policy, psychosocial/socioeconomic factors, and tobacco environment. A minimum follow-up of 10 years is currently planned. Results This report describes the design, justification, and methodology of the PURE study. The PURE study has been recruiting since 2002 and has enrolled 139,506 individuals by March 31, 2009. Conclusions The PURE study builds on the work and experience gained through conduct of the INTERHEART study. Its design and extensive data collection are geared toward addressing major questions on causation and development of the underlying determinants of cardiovascular disease in populations at varying stages of epidemiologic transition. more...

This paper presents a conceptual design approach to the development of a hybrid Knowledge Based (KB) system for Green Manufacturing Management (GMM) at the planning and design stages. The research concentrates on the GMM by using a hybrid KB system, which is a blend of KB system and Gauging Absences of Pre-requisites (GAP). The hybrid KB/GAP system identifies all potentials elements of green manufacturing management issues throughout the development of this system. The KB system used in the planning and design stages analyses the gap between the existing and the benchmark organizations for an effective implementation through the GAP analysis technique. The proposed KBGMM model at the design stage explores two components, namely Competitive Priority and Lean Environment modules. Through the simulated results, the KBGMM System has identified, for each modules and sub-module, the problem categories in a prioritized manner. The System finalized all the Bad Points (BP) that need to be improved to achieve benchmark implementation of GMM at the design stage. The System provides valuable decision making information for the planning and design a GMM in term of business organization. more...

11 p., Background The PURE study was established to investigate associations between social, behavioural, genetic, and environmental factors and cardiovascular diseases in 17 countries. In this analysis we compare the age, sex, urban/rural, mortality, and educational profiles of the PURE participants to national statistics. Methods PURE employed a community-based sampling and recruitment strategy where urban and rural communities were selected within countries. Within communities, representative samples of adults aged 35 to 70 years and their household members (n = 424,921) were invited for participation. Results The PURE household population compared to national statistics had more women (sex ratio 95.1 men per 100 women vs 100.3) and was older (33.1 years vs 27.3), although age had a positive linear relationship between the two data sources (Pearson's r = 0.92). PURE was 59.3% urban compared to an average of 63.1% in participating countries. The distribution of education was less than 7% different for each category, although PURE households typically had higher levels of education. For example, 37.8% of PURE household members had completed secondary education compared to 31.3% in the national data. Age-adjusted annual mortality rates showed positive correlation for men (r = 0.91) and women (r = 0.92) but were lower in PURE compared to national statistics (7.9 per 1000 vs 8.7 for men; 6.7 vs 8.1 for women). Conclusions These findings indicate that modest differences exist between the PURE household population and national data for the indicators studied. These differences, however, are unlikely to have much influence on exposure-disease associations derived in PURE. Further, incidence estimates from PURE, stratified according to sex and/or urban/rural location will enable valid comparisons of the relative rates of various cardiovascular outcomes across countries. more...

special issue, 3, EnvironmentAsia