Composition of Ballast Water from Ships Arriving at Kertih Port, Malaysia with Observations on Port and Offshore Waters, and Notes on Settlement Patterns of Fouling Organisms

We investigated plankton composition and water quality of ballast water from seven international ships docked at Kertih Port, Malaysia. Coscinodiscophyceae and cyanobacteria were the dominant phytoplankton found in ballast water samples, whereas copepod nauplii, Oithona sp., Microstella sp. and Paracalanus sp. were the dominant zooplankton. The densities for both phytoplankton and zooplankton in ships’ ballast and port waters were higher than those of offshore samples. All water quality parameters (except Cr) of port samples were within the safety levels prescribed for ports, oil and gas fields (Class 3) by the Malaysia Marine Water Quality Criteria Standard. The study of fouling organisms using PVC panels revealed that brown algae covered 87–95% of the panels’ surface area but they were subsequently succeeded by barnacles, bivalves and red encrusting algae. Barnacle recruitment, however, was greatly influenced by crab predation which left behind a high percentage cover of barnacle bases as calcareous deposits on panels

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

PLANNING FOR THE RECREATIONAL NEEDS OF SENIOR CITIZENS

Bachelor'sBACHELOR OF SCIENCE (ESTATE MANAGEMENT

Unlocking the mysteries behind baby viral videos.

With the rise of social media platforms, sharing online content has integrated into our everyday lives. Online content that contains viral elements will effortlessly spread through the Internet as users share among their peers. Mysteriously, videos containing baby content are shared widely and received millions of views. Although there are a few researches that explored how videos become viral, minimal research has been done to understand the complexity behind baby-related viral videos. As a result, this research will investigate the uncanny Internet phenomenon – Baby-related Viral Videos. To uncover the motivations behind viewers’ desire to watch baby videos, a netnography analysis was conducted. This analysis is achieved by analyzing comments left on 38 widely viewed baby videos hosted on YouTube. The results allowed us to create a comprehensive list of interpretations that explained why viewers found these baby videos interesting. These preliminary findings were condensed into three broad categories: adorable, funny and share worthy. Subsequently, a questionnaire was designed to further explore the secrets behind baby-related videos. Through a multidimensional scaling analysis, findings revealed that baby-related videos that contain external stimuli (e.g. an adult trying to talk to a baby) are likely to be shared as compared to videos without. Videos that have babies with emotionally charged facial expressions (e.g. laughing hysterically, shocked expressions) are also more likely to be shared compared to videos where the babies are less active. Overall, baby videos with emotionally charged facial expressions have a stronger correlation with the likelihood of videos being shared or becoming viral. The netnography analysis showed that the most overwhelming comment on baby-related videos was “Adorable”, followed by “Funny”. Contrary to our initial findings, funny baby videos are actually more likely to be shared as opposed to purely adorable ones. This research not only helps to understand the secrets behind baby-related viral videos, but it also gives people who aspire a career in YouTube and small-medium enterprises (SME) more understanding on utilizing baby-related viral videos effectively and using it to their advantage.BUSINES