Influence of marketing mix strategy in insurance business: The case of Kota Bharu

Malaysia has experience a low penetration for Takaful business despite many growing operators in insurance industry. After 25 years in operation, it is time that Takaful industry is evaluated in terms of its performance. This study provides better understanding on Takaful customer satisfaction in a case of Kota Bharu. Population of this study are customers who have subscribing family Takaful plans in selected Takaful operator at least one years’ experience based on convenience sampling method. A total of 196 questionnaires were distributed and 163 questionnaires were returned. Therefore, this study revealed that the Product, Pricing, Promotion, People and Process towards Takaful operator were positively influence customer satisfaction. Finally, the study found that the Process indicates as the most critical factor that influences customer satisfaction toward Takaful Operator.© 2019 Sciedu Pressfi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Effects of two CIDR-based oestrus synchronization protocols on oestrus response in boer goats.

Sixty fertile and healthy female Boer goats were divided equally and randomly into two groups (n=30). The first group received CIDR treatment for 14 days (T14) with 400 IU PMSG and 0.05 mg cloprostenol injection (i.m.) prior to CIDR removal and the second group received CIDR treatment for 9 days (T9) with 0.05 mg cloprostenol injection (i.m.) 24 hours before CIDR removal. The number of does with oestrus and the time of oestrus sign were recorded every 6-hour interval and the observation was conducted from 24 hours after CIDR removal and terminated 66 hours after CIDR removal. Blood samples were taken from all of the does before CIDR insertion and 48 hours after CIDR removal. The results showed all 30 does (100%) in T14 and 28 does (93.3%) in T9 came to oestrus. The mean time of does showing signs of oestrus for both treatments were significantly different in tail flagging and standing to be mounted (P0.05). The current study suggests that CIDR treatment for 14 days with 400 IU PMSG and 0.05 mg cloprostenol prior to CIDR removal gave better result in oestrus synchronisation compared to CIDR treatment for 9 days with 0.05 mg cloprostenol given 24 hours before CIDR removal

Malaysian Society of Animal Production 29 Effects of Two CIDR-based Oestrus Synchronization Protocols on Oestrus Response in Boer Goats

Abstract Sixty fertile and healthy female Boer goats were divided equally and randomly into two groups (n=30). The first group received CIDR treatment for 14 days (T14) with 400 IU PMSG and 0.05mg cloprostenol injection (i.m.) prior to CIDR removal and the second group received CIDR treatment for 9 days (T9) with 0.05 mg cloprostenol injection (i.m.) 24 hours before CIDR removal. The number of does with oestrus and the time of oestrus sign were recorded every 6-hour interval and the observation was conducted from 24 hours after CIDR removal and terminated 66 hours after CIDR removal. Blood samples were taken from all of the does before CIDR insertion and 48 hours after CIDR removal. The results showed all 30 does (100%) in T14 and 28 does (93.3%) in T9 came to oestrus. The mean time of does showing signs of oestrus for both treatments were significantly different in tail flagging and standing to be mounted (P<0.05). However, the progesterone concentrations between T14 and T9 after 48 h CIDR removal were not significantly different (P>0.05). The current study suggests that CIDR treatment for 14 days with 400 IU PMSG and 0.05 mg cloprostenol prior to CIDR removal gave better result in oestrus synchronisation compared to CIDR treatment for 9 days with 0.05 mg cloprostenol given 24 hours before CIDR removal

Seroprevalence of hepatitis E virus (HEV) among male craft and manual workers in Qatar (2020–2021)

BackgroundThe rapid growth of Qatar in the last two decades has attracted a large influx of immigrant craft and manual workers (CMWs) seeking employment in jobs associated with food handling, domestic service, and construction. Nearly 60 % of Qatar's population are expatriates CMWs, including many from hyperendemic countries for HEV. Thus, estimating the seroprevalence of HEV in Qatar and understanding its epidemiology is essential for public health efforts to control HEV transmission in Qatar. MethodsBlood samples from 2670 CMWs were collected between 2020 and 2021. All samples were tested for HEV-IgG antibodies. Positive HEV-IgG samples were tested for HEV-IgM antibodies, and those positives were also tested for viral antigens using an HEV-Ag ELISA kit and HEV-RNA by RT-PCR to confirm current HEV infections. ResultsThe seroprevalence of HEV-IgG was 27.3 % (729/2670; 95 % CI: 25.6–29.0). Of those HEV-IgG positive, 8.23 % (60/729; 95 % CI: 6.30–10.5) were HEV-IgM positive. Of the IgM-positive samples, 2 were HEV-RNA positive (3.39 %; 95 % CI: 0.40–11.7), and 1 was HEV-Ag positive (1.69 %; 95 % CI: 0.04–9.09). In addition, HEV-IgG seroprevalence was associated with age and nationality, with the highest seroprevalence in participants from Egypt (IgG 60.0 %; IgM 5.56 %), Pakistan (IgG 59.0 %; IgM 2.24 %), Nepal (IgG 29.3 %; IgM 2.70 %), Bangladesh (IgG 27.8 %; IgM 2.45 %), and India (IgG 23.9 %; IgM 2.43 %). ConclusionIn this study, we showed that the seroprevalence of HEV among CMWs was slightly higher than what was previously reported among the urban population in Qatar (2013–2016).This report was made possible by GSRA8-L-1-0501-21022 and NPRP13S-0128–200,185 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, the decision to publish, or the preparation of the manuscript. The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors. This study was approved by IRB at Qatar University (QU-IRB 1558-EA/21)

Follow up and comparative assessment of IgG, IgA, and neutralizing antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 between mRNA-vaccinated naïve and unvaccinated naturally infected individuals over 10 months

BackgroundEvidence on the effectiveness of vaccination-induced immunity compared to SARS-CoV-2 natural immunity is warranted to inform vaccination recommendations. AimIn this study, we aimed to conduct a comparative assessment of antibody responses between vaccinated naïve (VN) and unvaccinated naturally infected individuals (NI) over 10 Months. MethodThe study comprised fully-vaccinated naïve individuals (VN; n = 596) who had no history of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and received two doses of either BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273, and naturally infected individuals who had a documented history of SARS-CoV-2 infection and no vaccination record (NI cohort; n = 218). We measured the levels of neutralizing total antibodies (NtAbs), anti-S-RBD IgG, and anti-S1 IgA titers among VN and NI up to ∼10 months from administration of the first dose, and up to ∼7 months from SARS-CoV-2 infection, respectively. To explore the relationship between the antibody responses and time, Spearman's correlation coefficient was computed. Furthermore, correlations between the levels of NtAbs/anti-S-RBD IgG and NtAbs/anti-S1 IgA were examined through pairwise correlation analysis. ResultsUp to six months, VN individuals had a significantly higher NtAb and anti-S-RBD IgG antibody responses compared to NI individuals. At the 7th month, there was a significant decline in antibody responses among VN individuals, but not NI individuals, with a minimum decrease of 3.7-fold (p < 0.001). Among VN individuals, anti-S1 IgA levels began to decrease significantly (1.4-fold; p = 0.007) after two months, and both NtAb and S-RBD IgG levels began to decline significantly (NtAb: 2.0-fold; p = 0.042, S-RBD IgG: 2.4-fold; p = 0.035) after three months. After 10 months, the most significant decline among VN individuals was observed for S-RBD-IgG (30.0-fold; P < 0.001), followed by NtAb (15.7-fold; P < 0.001) and S-IgA (3.7-fold; P < 0.001) (most stable). Moreover, after 5 months, there was no significant difference in the IgA response between the two groups. ConclusionThese findings have important implications for policymakers in the development of vaccination strategies, particularly in the consideration of booster doses to sustain long-lasting protection against COVID-19.This work was made possible by WHO grant number COVID-19-22-43 and grant number UREP28-173-3-057 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors

Recent advances in hydrothermal carbonisation:from tailored carbon materials and biochemicals to applications and bioenergy

Introduced in the literature in 1913 by Bergius, who at the time was studying biomass coalification, hydrothermal carbonisation, as many other technologies based on renewables, was forgotten during the "industrial revolution". It was rediscovered back in 2005, on the one hand, to follow the trend set by Bergius of biomass to coal conversion for decentralised energy generation, and on the other hand as a novel green method to prepare advanced carbon materials and chemicals from biomass in water, at mild temperature, for energy storage and conversion and environmental protection. In this review, we will present an overview on the latest trends in hydrothermal carbonisation including biomass to bioenergy conversion, upgrading of hydrothermal carbons to fuels over heterogeneous catalysts, advanced carbon materials and their applications in batteries, electrocatalysis and heterogeneous catalysis and finally an analysis of the chemicals in the liquid phase as well as a new family of fluorescent nanomaterials formed at the interface between the liquid and solid phases, known as hydrothermal carbon nanodots