Oracle SQL Simplified

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Mahasiswa dan matlamat hidup

Topik yang dibawa dalam bab ini adalah berkenaan dengan matlamat hidup mahasiswa yang akan diperbincangkan menurut perspektif Islam. Pada asasnya semua umat Islam mempunyai matlamat hidup yang umum, iaitu menjadi Allah SWT sebagai subjek peribadatan dalam hidup, di samping matlamat ini terdapat juga matlamat yang lain yang menjurus kepada Allah SWT sebagai subjek peribadatan. Oleh itu, perbincangan dalam bab ini akan memfokuskan matlamat kehidupan mahasiswa dari segi Allah SWT sebagai subjek ibadah

Understanding Quality of Life in Brunei Darussalam

Brunei Darussalam (hereafter Brunei) aspires to be one of the countries in the world with the highest Quality of Life by 2035. However, there is a dearth of studies on the meaning of Quality of Life and characteristics of a high Quality of Life in Brunei. This study examined the conceptualisation of Quality of Life by the Government of Brunei and descriptions of a high Quality of Life within the country. It also analysed the constructs that inform such a conceptualisation and such descriptions. Lastly, the study assessed the conceptualisation of Quality of Life in Brunei using the principles for conceptualising Quality of Life. It employed a mixed methods approach and drew data from government policy documents and interviews with 208 purposively selected households. The study found that the government construes Quality of Life, through the capability lens, as having a population that is well-educated, highly skilled and healthy, among other elements; lives harmoniously and peacefully; and engages effectively in economic and social activities. Descriptions of a high Quality of Life in Brunei, expressed through the basic needs and capability lenses, include “fulfilled basic needs”, “being financially secure”, ‘being well-educated”, “having a well-paying and permanent job”, “living comfortably” and “being healthy”. These descriptions are, by and large, similar in urban and rural areas. Moreover, the descriptions are similar to those held in other Southeast Asian countries. The conceptualisation of Quality of Life in Brunei is sound in that it satisfies Quality of Life conceptualisation principles

Mitigation of Harmonics Using Novel Sector-Based Switching Pattern Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) driven power converters are widely used in realizing the function of rectification and inversion in renewable and emerging power applications. They play a key role in tying renewable energy sources of solar and wind to conventional energy grid systems. Such emergying styles of power systems are referred to as Distributed Generation (DG) or energy mix. The PWM-based switching devices are also sources for injecting harmonics to degrade the quality level in this emerging style of DG systems causing steady-state waveform distortion. Thus power converters operated by finely tuned PWM play an important role in mitigating the voltage waveform distorting harmonics and consequently improving the stability of the system. This paper presents the mitigation of harmonic contents by reproducing as a novel space vector-based switching pattern of SVPWM. In this work, the proposed switching pattern will have a DC link RMS current equal to or less than that of a conventional SVPWM current under the same switching frequency (SF), load, L-C filter, DC bus voltage, and Modulation Index (MI). The results include a 13.43% improvement in Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) at relatively high modulation indices. The Weighted Total Harmonic Distortion (WTHD) has also improved by 47.37% and the number of thyristors has been reduced lowering switching losses. The Matlab-Simulink simulation results have been experimentally verified with an Advanced Digital Analog Learning Module (ADALM M2k)-based experimental setup, improving the proposed SVPWM THD by 13.49%. The conventional and proposed SVPWM performance comparison is done by obtaining Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) by driving a two-level three-phase voltage source inverter

Association between administration of IL-6 antagonists and mortality among patients hospitalized for COVID-19 : a meta-analysis

IMPORTANCE Clinical trials assessing the efficacy of IL-6 antagonists in patients hospitalized for COVID-19 have variously reported benefit, no effect, and harm. OBJECTIVE To estimate the association between administration of IL-6 antagonists compared with usual care or placebo and 28-day all-cause mortality and other outcomes. DATA SOURCES Trials were identified through systematic searches of electronic databases between October 2020 and January 2021. Searches were not restricted by trial status or language. Additional trials were identified through contact with experts. STUDY SELECTION Eligible trials randomly assigned patients hospitalized for COVID-19 to a group in whom IL-6 antagonists were administered and to a group in whom neither IL-6 antagonists nor any other immunomodulators except corticosteroids were administered. Among 72 potentially eligible trials, 27 (37.5%) met study selection criteria. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS In this prospectivemeta-analysis, risk of biaswas assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Assessment Tool. Inconsistency among trial results was assessed using the I-2 statistic. The primary analysis was an inverse variance-weighted fixed-effects meta-analysis of odds ratios (ORs) for 28-day all-cause mortality. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome measurewas all-cause mortality at 28 days after randomization. There were 9 secondary outcomes including progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death and risk of secondary infection by 28 days. RESULTS A total of 10 930 patients (median age, 61 years [range of medians, 52-68 years]; 3560 [33%] were women) participating in 27 trials were included. By 28 days, there were 1407 deaths among 6449 patients randomized to IL-6 antagonists and 1158 deaths among 4481 patients randomized to usual care or placebo (summary OR, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.79-0.95]; P =.003 based on a fixed-effects meta-analysis). This corresponds to an absolute mortality risk of 22% for IL-6 antagonists compared with an assumed mortality risk of 25% for usual care or placebo. The corresponding summary ORs were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.74-0.92; P <.001) for tocilizumab and 1.08 (95% CI, 0.86-1.36; P =.52) for sarilumab. The summary ORs for the association with mortality compared with usual care or placebo in those receiving corticosteroids were 0.77 (95% CI, 0.68-0.87) for tocilizumab and 0.92 (95% CI, 0.61-1.38) for sarilumab. The ORs for the association with progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death, compared with usual care or placebo, were 0.77 (95% CI, 0.70-0.85) for all IL-6 antagonists, 0.74 (95% CI, 0.66-0.82) for tocilizumab, and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.74-1.34) for sarilumab. Secondary infections by 28 days occurred in 21.9% of patients treated with IL-6 antagonists vs 17.6% of patients treated with usual care or placebo (OR accounting for trial sample sizes, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.85-1.16). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this prospectivemeta-analysis of clinical trials of patients hospitalized for COVID-19, administration of IL-6 antagonists, compared with usual care or placebo, was associated with lower 28-day all-cause mortality