From Port to Planet: Assessing NO2 Pollution and Climate Change Effects in Maritime Zones.

The growing effects of climate change on Malaysia's coastal ecology heighten worries about air pollution, specifically caused by urbanization and industrial activity in the maritime sector. Trucks and vessels are particularly noteworthy for their substantial contribution to gas emissions, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is the primary gas released in port areas. The application of advanced analysis techniques was spurred by the air pollution resulting from the combustion of fossil fuels such as fuel oil, natural gas, and gasoline in vessels. The study utilized satellite photos captured by the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) on the Sentinel-5P satellite to evaluate the levels of NO2 gas pollution in Malaysia's port areas and exclusive economic zone. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, unrestricted gas emissions led to persistently high levels of NO2 in the analyzed areas. Nevertheless, the temporary cessation of marine industry operations caused by the pandemic, along with the halting of vessels to prevent the spread of COVID-19, resulted in a noticeable decrease in NO2 gas pollution. In light of these favourable advancements, it is imperative to emphasize the need for continuous investigation and collaborative endeavours to further alleviate air contamination in Malaysian port regions, while simultaneously acknowledging the wider consequences of climate change on the coastal ecology. The study underscores the interdependence of air pollution, maritime activities, and climate change. It emphasizes the need for comprehensive strategies that tackle both immediate environmental issues and the long-term sustainability and resilience of coastal ecosystems in the context of global climate challenges.

Indoor air quality and sick building syndrome symptoms in administrative office at public university.

Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) is an illness among workers linked to time spent in a building. This study aimed to investigate the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) and symptoms of Sick Building Syndrome (SBS) among administrative office workers. The IAQ parameters consist of ventilation performance indicators, and physical and chemical parameters were measured using specified instruments for three days during weekdays. The SBS symptoms were assessed by a questionnaire adopted from the Industry Code of Practice of Indoor Air Quality (ICOP-IAQ) 2010 among 19 employees from the office in East Coast Malaysia. Relationship between past symptoms and present symptoms which are draught (past symptoms) with feeling heavy headed (present symptoms) (r = 0.559, p < 0.05), room temperature too high (past symptoms) was highly correlated with feeling heavy headed (present symptoms) (r = 0.598, p < 0.01) and cough (present symptoms) (r = 0.596, p < 0.01). Room temperature (past symptoms) has a positive medium relationship with cough (present symptoms) (r = 0.477, p < 0.05) and scaling itching scalp or ears (present symptoms) has a relationship between stuffy bad air (r = 0.475, p < 0.05) and dry air (r = 0.536, p < 0.05). There was a significant association between RH with drowsiness (χ2 = 7.090, p = 0.049) and dizziness (χ2 = 7.090, p = 0.049). The association was found between temperature and SBS symptoms between temperature with headache (χ2 = 7.574, p = 0.051), feeling heavy-headed (χ2 = 8.090, p = 0.046), and skin rash itchiness (χ2 = 7.451, p = 0.044). Air movement also showed a positive association with symptoms of feeling heavy-headed (x2 = 8.726, p = 0.021). PM10 has positive significance with SBSS which are feeling heavy-headed (χ2 = 7.980, p = 0.023), and eyer's irritation (χ2 = 7.419, p = 0.038). The conclusion of this study showed that there were positive significant between temperature and relative humidity toward SBSS.

Efficiency of Malaysian states in managing the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 and 2021.

INTRODUCTION: Many developing countries have drastically imbalanced health systems in different regions. The COVID-19 outbreak posed a further challenge as hospital structures, equipped with doctors, critical care units and respirators, were not available to a sufficient extent in all regions. OBJECTIVE: This study is a descriptive study on the efficiency of Malaysian states in facing the COVID-19 outbreak. METHODOLOGY: The efficiency of all Malaysian states was measured using Data Envelopment Analysis in which each state's Score of COVID Index (SCI) was quantified. The SCI of these states were then further compared between the year 2020 and 2021. A greater disparity would indicate a decline in the performance of a state over time, where nearly all the states in Malaysia experienced an increase in the score of COVID Index (SCI). RESULT: This study found that the central region was the most affected, since all the three states in the region (Selangor, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur, and Federal Territory of Putrajaya) showed a situation of inadequacy (SCI: >0.75) due to the COVID-19 outbreak. CONCLUSION: The ranking of Malaysia's states according to their vulnerability to an outbreak of COVID-19 is vitally significant for the purposes of assisting the government and policymakers in planning their responses to the outbreak and ensuring that resources are distributed appropriately.

An analysis on the effect of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic movement control order (MCOS) on the solid waste generation in Peninsular Malaysia.

This study intends to deal with the environmental consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, by providing a summary of the effects of COVID-19 on municipal solid waste (MSW). In this analysis, the data on domestic waste collection were collected from the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleaning Corporation (SWCorp) from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020 to evaluate the relative changes in MSW percentage via a waste weighing method. The data consisted of the cumulative tonnage of MSW for every local authority in Peninsular Malaysia and was classified according to MCO phases; before the MCO, during the MCO, during the conditional MCO (CMCO) and during the recovery MCO (RMCO) phases. The results indicated that the enforcement of the early MCO showed a positive effect by decreasing the volume of MSW. This decrease was noted across 41 local authorities, which accounts for 87.23% of Peninsular Malaysia. However, the amount of MSW began to increase again when the MCO reached the conditional and recovery stages. From this, it can be concluded that the implementation of the MCO, in its various incarnations, has shown us that our lifestyles can have a harmful impact on our environment. While the pandemic was still spreading and limitations were still in place in Malaysia, local governments and waste management companies had to quickly alter their waste management systems and procedures. The current circumstance allows us to rethink our social and economic structures while improving environmental and social inclusion.

The impact of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic movement control order (MCO) on dengue cases in Peninsular Malaysia.

This study has highlighted the trend of recently-reported dengue cases after the implementation of the Movement Control Orders (MCOs) caused due to COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia. The researchers used the dengue surveillance data published by the Malaysian Ministry of Health during the 3 phases of MCO (which ranged between 17th March 2020 and 28th April 2020) was used for determining the cumulative number of dengue patients. Thereafter, the dengue cases were mapped using the Geographical Information System (GIS). The results indicated that during the 42 days of MCO in Peninsular Malaysia, 11,242 total cases of dengue were reported. The daily trend of the dengue cases showed a decrease from 7268 cases that occurred before the MCOs to 4662 dengue cases that occurred during the initial 14 days of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., MCO I), to 3075 cases occurring during the MCO II and 3505 dengue cases noted during MCO III. The central peninsular region showed a maximal decrease in new dengue cases (52.62%), followed by the northern peninsular region (1.89%); eastern coastal region (1.25%) and the southern peninsular region (1.14%) during the initial MCO implementation. However, an increase in the new dengue cases was noted during the MCO III period, wherein all states showed an increase in the new dengue cases as compared during MCO II. The decrease in the pattern was not solely based on the MCO, hence, further investigation is necessary after considering different influencing factors. These results have important implication for future large-scale risk assessment, planning and hazard mitigation on dengue management.

Data on combustion, performance and emissions of a 6.8 L, 6-cylinder, Tier II diesel engine.

A diesel engine has been a desirable machine due to its better fuel efficiency, reliability, and higher power output. It is widely used in transportations, locomotives, power generation, and industrial applications. The combustion of diesel fuel emits harmful emissions such as unburned hydrocarbons (HC), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon monoxides (CO). This article presents data on the efficiency, combustion, and emission of a 4-stroke diesel engine. The engine is a 6.8 L turbocharged 6-cylinder Tier II diesel engine fitted with a common rail injection system. The test was carried out at the Powerhouse Energy Campus, Colorado State University Engines and Energy Conversion facility. The ISO Standard 8178:4 Cycle D2 cycle was adopted for this study consists of five test runs at 1800 rpm. During the testing, CO, carbon dioxide (CO2), oxygen (O2), NOx, PM, unburned HC as a total HC (THC), methane (CH4), formaldehyde (CH2O), and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions were measured. At the same time, the data acquisition system recorded the combustion data. The engine's performance is characterized by the brake specific fuel combustion (BSFC) and thermal efficiency. A dataset of correlations among the parameters was also presented in this article.

Air quality status during 2020 Malaysia Movement Control Order (MCO) due to 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) pandemic.

An outbreak of respiratory illness which is proven to be infected by a 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) officially named as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first detected in Wuhan, China and has spread rapidly in other parts of China as well as other countries around the world, including Malaysia. The first case in Malaysia was identified on 25 January 2020 and the number of cases continue to rise since March 2020. Therefore, 2020 Malaysia Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented with the aim to isolate the source of the COVID-19 outbreak. As a result, there were fewer number of motor vehicles on the road and the operation of industries was suspended, ergo reducing emissions of hazardous air pollutants in the atmosphere. We had acquired the Air Pollutant Index (API) data from the Department of Environment Malaysia on hourly basis before and during the MCO with the aim to track the changes of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at 68 air quality monitoring stations. It was found that the PM2.5 concentrations showed a high reduction of up to 58.4% during the MCO. Several red zone areas (>41 confirmed COVID-19 cases) had also reduced of up to 28.3% in the PM2.5 concentrations variation. The reduction did not solely depend on MCO, thus the researchers suggest a further study considering the influencing factors that need to be adhered to in the future.

Data on greenhouse gases emission of fuels in power plants in Malaysia during the year of 1990-2017.

Energy has a significant influence on Malaysia's industry. It is used in electricity generation, refineries, gas processing plants and end-user applications such as transportation, residential, agriculture and fishing. These burning fossil fuel activities produce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions. This article presents the emissions data of fuel used in power plants in Malaysia during the year of 1990 until 2017. The fuel used in power plants is coal and coke, natural gas, diesel oil and residual fuel oil. The energy data used in power plants were gathered from the Malaysia Energy Information Hub, published by the Malaysian Energy Commission. The GHG emissions data were calculated using the emission factors method. The climate impact of different GHGs in terms of CO2-equivalent (CO2-e) was also calculated using global warming potentials. The article also presents population data in Malaysia during the year. A correlation between the fuels, GHG emission and the population is also investigated using statistical analysis. The data presented here may facilitate the Malaysian government to identify the source of the pollutants and undertake a climate change mitigation plan.

The dataset for antifeedant activity of eugenol derived compounds against red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, Olivier) larvae.

Rhynchophorus ferrugineus or red palm weevil (RPW) is a destructive insect pest of major cultivated palms such as coconut, date and oil palm. One of the control management of RPW is trunk injection using monocrotophos or methamidophos, but these chemicals are found to affect ecosystems and human health. Thus, we aimed to determine a bio-pesticide to replace these synthetic chemicals. We tested the antifeedant activity of three eugenol-based compounds as potential control agent against RPW larvae in vitro condition for two weeks. All these compounds show significant effect as feeding deterrent agent on 4th instar larvae, while WN16 (4-allyl-2-methoxy-1-(4-trifluoromethyl-benzyloxy)-benzene) shows the highest feeding deterrent index (FDI = 64.42%). Here we present the data regarding the biological aspect on treated RPW larvae as well as antifeedant activity index of these eugenol derived compounds.

Data on Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in kindergartens with different surrounding activities.

The aim of the measurement of this data is to evaluate the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) in terms of chemical and physical parameters. Data were collected at three different kindergartens having different surrounding activities (industrial, institutional, residential area). The chemical parameters measured were respirable suspended particulates of PM10, PM2.5, PM1, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide, and the concentrations are within the acceptable limit. Physical parameters of wind speed are within the standard, while temperature and relative humidity exceeded the acceptable limit. A strong correlation was found between the chemical IAQ parameters with thermal comfort parameters (temperature and relative humidity). The concentration of IAQ pollutants is higher in order of residential > institutional > industrial.