Self-Dual Conformal Supergravity and the Hamiltonian Formulation

In terms of Dirac matrices the self-dual and anti-self-dual decomposition of a conformal supergravity is given and a self-dual conformal supergravity theory is developed as a connection dynamic theory in which the basic dynamic variabes include the self-dual spin connection i.e. the Ashtekar connection rather than the triad. The Hamiltonian formulation and the constraints are obtained by using the Dirac-Bergmann algorithm. PACS numbers: 04.20.Cv, 04.20.Fy,04.65.+

Biomonitoring of trace metals (Fe, Cu and Ni) in the mangrove area of Peninsular Malaysia, using different soft tissues of flat-tree oyster Isognomon alatus.

It is well documented that marine oysters are net bioaccumulators of trace metals and they can be employed as biomonitors of time-integrated measurements of bioavailable metal fractions over their lifetime. In this study, the Malaysian mangrove flat tree oyster Isognomon alatus collected from the estuaries of Lukut River (five sites), Sepang Besar River (one site), and one metal-polluted site at Kg. Pasir Puteh were dissected into muscle, mantle plus gills, byssus, and remaining soft tissues. All the four different soft tissues were analyzed for Fe, Cu, and Ni. Significant spatial differences in the accumulated metal concentrations of the oysters were found between sampling sites, and these could be attributed to anthropogenic inputs including discharges of shrimp ponds (Lukut), animal husbandry (Sepang Besar), sewage, shipping, and industrial effluents (Kg. Pasir Puteh). For Fe, the tissue distribution followed: byssus > mantle plus gill >muscle > remaining soft tissues, while for Cu and Ni, both followed byssus > remaining soft tissues > mantle plus gill > muscle. This indicated that byssus could act as an excretion route for the metals. Based on a correlation analysis between oyster tissues and sediments, selected tissues of I. alatus were shown to be good biomonitors of Ni and Cu contamination, while high regulative capacity of Fe in the oyster tissues could hardly reflect the actual Fe levels in the surroundings. However, the clustering patterns based on metal levels in the four different soft tissues were not in agreement with those based on the geochemical fractions of sediment data. This phenomenon which was due to the metal contamination might not necessarily create high bioavailabilities of metals to the biomonitor I. alatus, which might involve differences in uptake, excretion, and sequestration of metals. Similarly to the Mussel Watch approach, this study points to the very potential use of the different soft tissues of I. alatus as biomonitors for regular biomonitoring in the mangrove area of Peninsular Malaysia

How elevated levels of Cd, Cu and Pb in the surface sediments collected from the drainage receiving metal industrial effluents? Comparison with metal industrial drainage and intertidal sediments in Selangor, Malaysia

Surface sediments were collected in April 2005 from a drainage receiving metal industrial effluents from Serdang in addition to 6 sampling sites from intertidal area and 4 urban drainage sites. The sediment samples were analysed for Cd, Cu and Pb. The metal concentrations at the Serdang industrial drainage sediments were 15.9 μg/g dw for Cd, 1003.5 μg/ g dw for Cu and 1267 μg/g dw for Pb. These metal levels were significantly higher than those in the sediments collected from intertidal area (6 sites) and other urban drainages (4 sites) [Cd: 1.39-3.41 μg/g dw; Cu: 6.64-122.7 μg/g dw; Pb: 26.0-227.7 μg/g dw]. The total concentrations of Cu, Pb and Cd found at Serdang industrial drainage sediments were 48.76, 23.52 and 8.36 times higher than those in the other sites. Based on the metal concentrations in the four geochemical fractions, for Cu, the EFLE, acid-reducible and oxidisable-organic fractions in the sediment at the Serdang industrial drainage was 59.97, 35.26 and 103.74 times, respectively, higher than those in the other sites. For Pb, the EFLE, acid-reducible and oxidisable-organic fractions in the sediment at the Serdang industrial drainage was 3.60, 2.10 and 25.42 times, respectively, higher than those in the other sites. For Cd, the EFLE, acid-reducible and oxidisable-organic fractions in the sediment at the Serdang industrial drainage was 6.17, 11.8 and 12.39 times, respectively, higher than those in the other sites. Thus, the elevated concentrations of Cu, Cd and Pb in the sediments collected from Serdang industrial drainage sediments were evidently receiving point source industrial effluent from the nearby metal factory. Therefore treatment on the factory effluent based on the present findings is necessary

The impact of social media influencers on pregnancy, birth, and early parenting experiences : A systematic review

Background Pregnant and new parents are increasingly engaging with social media. The impacts of engaging with social media ‘influencers’ and ‘bloggers’ during a time of heightened vulnerability to influence, in particular, merits exploration. Aim To systematically review the literature to identify what is known about how following social media ‘influencers’ and ‘bloggers’ impacts pregnant and new parents’ experiences and decision-making. Methods A search of CINAHL, World of Science, Medline, EMBASE and Google Scholar databases was undertaken in January 2023 to identify the literature focusing on the impacts of engaging with influencers or bloggers as pregnant or new parents. The reference lists of the included papers were hand-searched. Data were extracted from each paper, tabulated, and thematically analysed. The review was reported using the 2020 Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Findings Seventeen papers met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final synthesis. Thematic analysis revealed four overarching themes, which were ‘sharing information’, ‘support’, ‘identity’, and ‘monetisation’. Discussion Social media influencers provide a network of peers amongst whom discussions, supportive behaviours, and information sharing take place. However, concern arises around the potential for combative interactions, the risk for transmission of misinformation, and the potential impacts of following influencers who are also qualified health professionals. Conclusion Existing research suggests that engaging with social media influencers can be both beneficial and harmful for pregnant and new parents. At the current time, it is unclear how exposure to the benefits or harm impacts personal experiences and decision-making

Social media influencers' impact during pregnancy and parenting : A qualitative descriptive study

Pregnant people and parents engage with social media networking sites seeking support and information that is shared in a relatable way. Engaging with social media influencers (SMIs) and their followers, however, may have both affirming and harmful effects. SMIs can facilitate information-sharing, discussion, and supportive behaviors, but engaging with SMIs can lead to negative experiences and exposure to misinformation. To date, little is known about the impacts of following influencers during pregnancy and early parenthood. The aim of this study was to explore how engaging with SMIs impacts pregnant people and parents of children aged 5 or under in Australia. A qualitative descriptive approach was taken. Qualitative data from 85 anonymously completed online written surveys were thematically analyzed using Braun & Clarke's six-step process. Five overarching themes and two subthemes were identified. The first theme, “Comparisons of self,” held two subthemes: “Unfavorable comparisons of self to SMIs” and “Favorable comparisons of self to SMIs.” Additional themes were “A virtual community of inspiration and togetherness,” “Sharing of information, opinions & experiences,” “Gatekeeping self-efficacy,” and “Credibility.” The findings of the study indicated that discordance between influencer-mediated expectations of parenthood and a person's actual experience may affect well-being and perceptions of parental self-efficacy. Information sought from influencers may substitute for face-to-face education by clinicians. Health professionals who are also influencers may possess the ability to provide evidence-based information. This content, however, is not without risk for bias or incompleteness

Impact of Customer Perception towards Online Business in Malaysia: An Empirical Study

The use of social networks has become a phenomenon of great importance to the business environment nowadays. The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of customer perception towards online business in Malaysia. A total of 100 respondents aged 21 years and above were involved in this survey. Prior to the hypothesis testing, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), reliability analyses for each construct, correlation and regression were conducted to achieve the research objectives. The results found that the online business has the opportunity of doing business with a lower cost by using customer perception as their marketing platform. Thus, this online business required to be assisted by the government in order to provide the proper business courses and to comply with the law. The implication of the study would draw the bigger picture in business milieu. Although online business is generally is in the infant stage, but given the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of business and with proper guidance, there will be a future for them and there can be an expectation to expand the business on to the next level. Keywords: Customer Perception, Online Business, Malaysi

Clinical Pharmacology and Dosing Regimen Optimization of Neonatal Opioid Withdrawal Syndrome Treatments

In this paper, we review the management of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS) and clinical pharmacology of primary treatment agents in NOWS, including morphine, methadone, buprenorphine, clonidine, and phenobarbital. Pharmacologic treatment strategies in NOWS have been mostly empirical, and heterogeneity in dosing regimens adds to the difficulty of extrapolating study results to broader patient populations. As population pharmacokinetics (PKs) of pharmacologic agents in NOWS become more well-defined and knowledge of patient-specific factors affecting treatment outcomes continue to accumulate, PK/pharmacodynamic modeling and simulation will be powerful tools to aid the design of optimal dosing regimens at the patient level. Although there is an increasing number of clinical trials on the comparative efficacy of treatment agents in NOWS, here, we also draw attention to the importance of optimizing the dosing regimen, which can be arguably equally important at identifying the optimal treatment agent

DOES TEACHING EXPERIENCE MODERATE TEAM STRUCTURE AND OPTIMIZE THE FACULTY? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM GUIZHOU UNIVERSITY IN CHINA

Establishing a well-structured faculty is not only the focus of the construction of college faculty but also the only way for the survival and development of the university. The current research is based on quantitative research methods through a measurement model and tries to gain further understanding. After that, the primary data required is collected according to the survey strategy by providing self-administered questionnaires and interviews. Full-time lecturers who teach at Guizhou University in China were selected as the sampling frame for this study. Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), moderating effects were observed to test the hypotheses. The results indicate that there are moderating effects of lecturers’ teaching experience on team structure towards optimizing the faculty. Optimizing the structure of the faculty of Guizhou University not only requires Guizhou University to introduce policies that are conducive to the construction of faculty but also requires the government to give team structure support to the faculty of the university. Finally, this research brings some implications to the policymakers and regulators as well. JEL: I20, I23, J24  Article visualizations

Morphological and allozyme studies of small terrestrial snails( Opeas sp., Subulina sp., and Huttonella bicolor) collected from Peninsular Malaysia

Shell morphological characters and allozyme electrophoresis were used to study the relationships among six geographical populations of land snails collected from Peninsular Malaysia. Allozyme electrophoresis was used to study the genetic variations to complement the morphological features studied that included shell lengths, numbers of whorls and shell colour. Ten loci coding for six enzymes (MDH, LAP, ALP, PGM, G6PDH, and EST) could be reliably scored in samples from the six populations studied. The dendrogram showed two major clusters with one cluster comprising Subulinidae populations from Perak, Selangor, Johor, Terengganu, and Pahang while the other cluster included only the Streptaxidae Huttonella bicolor (red) population. The Subulinidae populations were grouped into two subclusters: one subcluster included the Subulina sp. populations from Perak, Selangor, and Johor, while the other subcluster included the Opeas sp. populations from Terengganu and Pahang. Morphological features can identify the different families ant therefore they can complement the allozyme genetic studies on the land snail populations. Like other reports in the literature, our results also underline the importance of a genetic approach in conjunction with a morphological approach, for discriminating land snail species. The present results suggest that small land snails, which were similar in colour but different in sizes, were not of the same family/genus