The Mediating Role of Social Media Usage as a Learning Tool on Students’ Academic Performance: A Structural Equation Modelling (SEM-AMOS) Approach

Social media is used in many aspects of modern life. Lately, higher education has also expanded its focus to include globalized online learning using social media. Educational establishments have acknowledged that social media gives students a chance to interact with teachers, other students, and higher authorities. However, there is little information available on it in educational settings, especially in the classroom. Only a small number of studies in Malaysia have specifically examined social media, even though many studies have looked at how social media influences the academic performance of university students. Therefore, we conducted this quantitative study to determine whether social media usage mediates the relationship between educational variables and academic performance among students enrolled in Malaysian public higher education institutions. We conducted a cross-sectional study at UiTM Segamat, involving 388 respondents. The findings demonstrate that social media usage mediates the relationship between students' performance and perceived usefulness, perceived enhanced communication, and resource sharing. Social media use does not mediate perceived ease of use, collaborative learning, or perceived enjoyment of students' performance. To use social media as a teaching tool, particularly in higher education institutions, the research findings bring new knowledge to the field. The higher education community may share knowledge anytime and anywhere. This platform allows educators and students to interact with one another after learning sessions, which will help the student succeed academically

Analyzing Consumers Online Shopping Behavior Using Different Online Shopping Platforms: A Case Study in Malaysia

Nowadays, online shopping is gaining increasing popularity in Malaysia. The development of online shopping has led some to argue that there are additional elements influencing consumer behavior. As a result, a growing number of researchers are currently studying online consumer behavior to better understand the specific characteristics of online shopping. Therefore, this study is conducted to determine the factors that influence online shopping behavior between different online shopping platforms among Malaysian consumers. This is a quantitative study, and 371 students and staff from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) were randomly picked to participate. The data was gathered via an online questionnaire using Google Forms. The findings show a positive relationship between the variables, namely web characteristics, external stimulus, affection, and cognition. It indicates that all variables influence online shopping behavior among Malaysian consumers. Furthermore, the findings reveal that consumer behavior patterns for online shopping are not different even when using different online shopping platforms. Therefore, it is very critical to understand consumer online purchasing behavior and its influencing factors to improve online shopping in Malaysia. Malaysian businesses must have an in-depth knowledge of the market for their goods and the demographics of the customers they are targeting before engaging in online commerce

Combination effect of tamoxifen and ascorbic acid treatment on breast cancer cells (MCF-7) and cervical cancer cells (HeLa)

Breast cancer and cervical cancer are among the leading causes of death among women in the world. Even though chemotherapy is available as cancer treatment, the development of drug resistance in both cancer cells has reduced the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs in such treatment. The current study was aimed to evaluate the cell viability of human breast cancer cells, MCF-7, and cervical cancer cells, HeLa upon the combination treatment of ascorbic acid and tamoxifen. The cell viability was measured using the MTT assay, with an incubation period of 72 hours in a humidified CO2 incubator. The concentrations of tamoxifen and ascorbic acid that reduced 50% of the cell population (IC50) were determined from the dose-response curve. The IC50 concentration was used to determine the cell viability in the treated cells. CompuSyn software was used to evaluate the combined effects towards both cells upon treatment and the results were calculated as combination index (CI). The data were analyzed using GraphPad Prism (version 7). Statistical analysis was performed using an independent t-test. The IC50 values of tamoxifen and ascorbic acid on MCF-7 cells were 14.53 μg/ml and 15.8 μg/ml respectively, while the IC50 values of tamoxifen and ascorbic acid on HeLa cells were 11.09 μg/ml and 202.3 μg/ml respectively. The combination of tamoxifen and ascorbic acid exerted a greater growth reduction percentage in both cells compared to tamoxifen alone. The results indicated that ascorbic acid synergizes the cytotoxic effect of tamoxifen at lower concentrations towards MCF-7 cells with a CI less than 1. However, the combination of tamoxifen and ascorbic acid exerted an antagonistic effect in HeLa cells, with a CI more than 1

Role of toll like-receptor 2 in inflammatory activity of macrophage infected with a recombinant BCG expressing the C-terminus of merozoite surface protein-1 of Plasmodium falciparum

Objective: To investigate the role of toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) in inflammatory activity of macrophage infected with the recombinant Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (rBCG). Methods: Mouse macrophage cell line J774A.1 was infected with Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and rBCG cultures for 48 h in the presence or absence of 10 μg/mL of TLR2 inhibitor. Untreated macrophages were used as a negative control while lipopolysaccharide-stimulated macrophages were used as a positive control. The ability of the macrophage to engulf the BCG and rBCG in the absence or presence of TLR2 inhibitor was assessed using a phagocytic assay, while the production of inflammatory cytokines and nitric oxide by the infected macrophages was evaluated using ELISA and Griess reagent method, while the expression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase was determined using Western blot analysis. Results: The results showed that blocking TLR2 function reduced the phagocytic activity, nitric oxide production and proinflammatory cytokine secretion such as TNF- α, IL-1 β and IL-12p40 as well as inducible nitric oxide synthase expression in the infected macrophages. These data showed the importance of TLR2 in the activation of macrophages following BCG and rBCG infections. Conclusions: Through exploring the immunological mechanism which underlies the protection conferred by the candidate vaccine, this study will improve our understanding of the vaccine candidate’s mechanism to protect the host from malaria infection

Contract doctors' strike in Malaysia: A content analysis of the perception of medical fraternity and stakeholders on Facebook.

Contract appointment policy for newly graduated medical officers was implemented by the Ministry of Health Malaysia in 2016 to overcome the lack of permanent posts. Contract officers faced disadvantages in terms of salary, leave provision, and career prospects. A nationwide strike, Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) was organised on 26th July 2021. Besides generating widespread public attention, HDK was also closely scrutinised by the medical fraternity and stakeholders. This content analysis aimed to explore how the medical fraternity and stakeholders viewed the strike as their perception would offer vital insights into the fundamental causes and viable solutions to the contract appointment policy. A qualitative content analysis of Facebook (FB) posts on the HDK strike was conducted from 1st June 2021 until 28th February 2022. A total of 182 FB posts were retrieved from stakeholders, medical fraternity groups, and medical key opinion personnel. Inductive coding was used in the thematic analysis to identify pertinent themes. Three main themes emerged: triggering factors, reactions to the strike, and outcomes of the strike. Factors that led to the strike included unequal treatment faced by contract officers, frustration with the government's lack of long-term solutions, and aggravation by the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of reactions, there was a mixture of supportive and opposing voices. No substantial negative impact on the healthcare service resulted from the strike. Instead, it generated widespread attention that propelled the government into implementing solutions to prevent adverse short and long-term consequences. Various suggestions were proposed, including the reform of human resource planning and undergraduate medical education. The results highlight the importance of proactive systemic measures by the government to prevent further strikes that may jeopardise healthcare provision. In summary, social media was found to influence the progress and outcome of HDK, thus demonstrating the impact of media influence on similar issues

Summary of identified themes and sub-themes.

Contract appointment policy for newly graduated medical officers was implemented by the Ministry of Health Malaysia in 2016 to overcome the lack of permanent posts. Contract officers faced disadvantages in terms of salary, leave provision, and career prospects. A nationwide strike, Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) was organised on 26th July 2021. Besides generating widespread public attention, HDK was also closely scrutinised by the medical fraternity and stakeholders. This content analysis aimed to explore how the medical fraternity and stakeholders viewed the strike as their perception would offer vital insights into the fundamental causes and viable solutions to the contract appointment policy. A qualitative content analysis of Facebook (FB) posts on the HDK strike was conducted from 1st June 2021 until 28th February 2022. A total of 182 FB posts were retrieved from stakeholders, medical fraternity groups, and medical key opinion personnel. Inductive coding was used in the thematic analysis to identify pertinent themes. Three main themes emerged: triggering factors, reactions to the strike, and outcomes of the strike. Factors that led to the strike included unequal treatment faced by contract officers, frustration with the government’s lack of long-term solutions, and aggravation by the COVID-19 pandemic. In terms of reactions, there was a mixture of supportive and opposing voices. No substantial negative impact on the healthcare service resulted from the strike. Instead, it generated widespread attention that propelled the government into implementing solutions to prevent adverse short and long-term consequences. Various suggestions were proposed, including the reform of human resource planning and undergraduate medical education. The results highlight the importance of proactive systemic measures by the government to prevent further strikes that may jeopardise healthcare provision. In summary, social media was found to influence the progress and outcome of HDK, thus demonstrating the impact of media influence on similar issues.</div

A study on the contribution of inventory planning towards business performance: A case of Al Faiz Industries Sdn Bhd

Consequently, many companies that produce wellness beverage are looking at various inventory management systems as they belief this will have a positive effect on the satisfaction of their customers.Align with that, this research aims to investigate the contributions of inventory planning toward business performance at Al Faiz Industrie Sdn Bhd.Significance of this research are to identify whether Al Faiz industry Sdn Bhd effectively practices inventory planning in the production of wellness beverage.In addition to that, this study looks at how Al Faiz Industries manages inventories to improve their business performance. The research framework consists of two independent variables which are support system and supplier’s reliability while business performance in Al Faiz Industries Sdn Bhd as dependent variable.This research deploys qualitative method through interview with top management.It is expected that the findings could contribute towards greater understanding in view of beverage industry of SMI scale.This research is also expected to provide good insights on managerial applications

Improved Maturity and Ripeness Classifications of &lt;em&gt;Magnifera Indica &lt;/em&gt;cv.&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;Harumanis Mangoes through Sensor Fusion of an Electronic Nose and Acoustic Sensor

In recent years, there have been a number of reported studies on the use of non-destructive techniques to evaluate and determine mango maturity and ripeness levels. However, most of these reported works were conducted using single-modality sensing systems, either using an electronic nose, acoustics or other non-destructive measurements. This paper presents the work on the classification of mangoes (&lt;em&gt;Magnifera Indica&lt;/em&gt; cv. Harumanis) maturity and ripeness levels using fusion of the data of an electronic nose and an acoustic sensor. Three groups of samples each from two different harvesting times (week 7 and week 8) were evaluated by the e-nose and then followed by the acoustic sensor. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) were able to discriminate the mango harvested at week 7 and week 8 based solely on the aroma and volatile gases released from the mangoes. However, when six different groups of different maturity and ripeness levels were combined in one classification analysis, both PCA and LDA were unable to discriminate the age difference of the Harumanis mangoes. Instead of six different groups, only four were observed using the LDA, while PCA showed only two distinct groups. By applying a low level data fusion technique on the e-nose and acoustic data, the classification for maturity and ripeness levels using LDA was improved. However, no significant improvement was observed using PCA with data fusion technique. Further work using a hybrid LDA-Competitive Learning Neural Network was performed to validate the fusion technique and classify the samples. It was found that the LDA-CLNN was also improved significantly when data fusion was applied