Elimination of Subterranean Termite Colonies With Hexaflumuron in an Improved Bait Matrix, Preferred Textured Cellulose (PTC)

An improved, cellulosic bait matrix (Preferred Textured Cellulose, PTC) containing 0.5% hexaflumuron was tested against field colonies of the subterranean termites Coptotermes gestroi and Schedorhinotermes sp. in Malaysia. Of the eight colonies of C. gestroi detected, six were estimated for population size using dyed blank bait before treatment. Then, the colonies were treated with hexaflumuron-PTC baits. Bait consumption and days to colony elimination were estimated. All of the eight colonies were eliminated between 42-77 days (mean = 60 days) with estimated bait consumption of 22.93-167.00 g (mean = 60.17 g) which is equivalent to 114-835 mg of hexaflumuron. A Schedorhinotermes sp. colony appeared in one of the sites within two months after the elimination of C. gestroi. The Schedorhinotermes colony was baited with hexaflumuron-PTC bait and eliminated after 59 days with an estimated 48.85 g of bait consumed. While the effect of PTC bait on Coptotermes sp. showed no difference from that of Laminated Textured Cellulose (LTC) matrices, the PTC matrices showed increased palatability to other termite species such as Schedorhinotermes and Microtermes pakistanicus

The international transmission of volatility shocks on an emerging economy: the case of Malaysia

This study examines the effects of global economic policy uncertainty (EPU) on Malaysia’s macroeconomic indicators. Three substantive findings emerged from our inquiry based on a multivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model: (1) Domestic uncertainty- in nominal and real terms - seems to have no material impact on the macro-economy after controlling for global uncertainty. (2) Fluctuations in the global EPU are more important than domestic uncertainty in predicting a country’s macroeconomic variables, particularly output and CPI-based inflation. The macroeconomic variables carry signs as per theoretical expectation. (3) The model predicts that external shocks exhibit a much larger impact on macroeconomic variables than those shocks originating from domestic markets. The results have deepened our insight on how the real variables correlate with external uncertainties and the fitful recovery in the recent past

The Asymmetric Effects of Real and Nominal Uncertainty on Inflation and Output Growth: Empirical Evidence from Bangladesh

This study examines an empirical analysis of the causal links and volatility spillovers between inflation, output growth and their uncertainties in Bangladesh by utilizing the AR(p)-EGARCH model for the period 1993-2014. The study shows that EGARCH version provides the best statistical fit by investigating that volatility is variable and asymmetric than symmetric. The empirical results show an overwhelming support for Friedman-Ball hypothesis that inflationary shocks affect inflation uncertainty positively. Both inflation and output growth generate output uncertainty which is detrimental for real economic activity while nominal uncertainty (real uncertainty) is positively (negatively) affecting output growth. Finally, output uncertainty is reducing inflation uncertainty while there is no effect from the opposite side. Our estimated results suggest that policy makers should adopt dynamic stabilization policies in order to reduce a rise in inflation and to achieve economic stability for stimulating output growth further. Keywords: Inflation, output growth, uncertainties, Bangladesh, AR(p)-EGARCH. JEL Classifications: C32, C51, C52, E10, E3

Comparison analysis of different classification methods of power quality disturbances

Good power quality delivery has always been in high demand in power system utilities where different types of power quality disturbances are the main obstacles. As these disturbances have distinct characteristics and even unique mitigation techniques, their detection and classification should be correct and effective. In this study, eight different types of power quality disturbances were synthetically generated, by using a mathematical approach. Then, continuous wavelet transform (CWT) and discrete wavelet transform with multi-resolution analysis (DWT-MRA) were applied, which eight features were then extracted from the synthesized signals. Three classifiers namely, decision tree (DT), support vector machine (SVM) and k-nearest neighbors (KNN) were trained to classify these disturbances. The accuracy of the classifiers was evaluated and analyzed. The best classifier was then integrated with the full model, which the performance of the proposed model was observed with 50 random signals, with and without noise. This study found that wavelet-transform was effective to localize the disturbances at the instant of their occurrence. On the other hand, the SVM classifier is superior to other classifiers with an overall accuracy of 94%. Still, the need for these classifiers to be further optimized is crucial in ensuring a more effective detection and classification system

Work flow improvement at Kenny Leather (M) Sdn. Bhd.

Kenny Leather who was located at Merlimau Industrial Estate, Melaka driving force in the manufactures of leather. The company supply its product internationally and the product are well known globally due to their product’s quality and their commitment to give their best to the customer. Former world number one player of golf, Tiger Wood is among the user of hand glove that were made by this company. Kenny Leather has 200 workers and all of their workers are Malaysian. The managing director is Mr. Tadashi Fujisawa and main share partner is Kenny Co. Ltd. The company motto is ‘one for all and all for one’. Kenny Leather (M) Sdn Bhd is the factory processed all the material consists of leather. The nature of business is manufacturing leather gloves (for gloves), betting gloves, dress leather, cut leather and dyed sheep/goat skin leather. This factory is one of the biggest suppliers for leather material. In fact the former number one golfer in the world which is, Mr. Eldrick Tont Woods, known as Tiger Woods is using leather products made by the Kenny Leather. One company known as FootJoy which is the main company that sponsor Tiger Wood accessories for golfing is almost 80% was supplied by Kenny Leather

Risk factors of insulin refusal among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with poor glycaemic control at Tanglin Health Clinic, Kuala Lumpur

Introduction: The number of patients with poor glycaemic control who refuse insulin therapy is alarming. Factors that contribute to insulin refusal are important to study to identify high risk groups so that appropriate measures can be taken to prevent progression of uncontrolled diabetes. The objective of this study is to determine the risk factors of insulin refusal among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with poor glycaemic control at Tanglin Health Clinic, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Methods: A case control study was conducted among 216 cases and 230 controls using stratified sampling method. Cases were defined as patients with HbA1C more than 7.5% but not on insulin therapy despite being offered by the doctor whereas controls consist of patients with HbA1C of more than 7.5% but already on insulin therapy. Data was collected from April until May 2018, using a self-administered questionnaire. Analysis was done via IBM SPSS version 23.0. Results: Response rate for cases was 93.9% and response rate for controls was 100%. Risk factors of insulin refusal among poor glycaemic control includes age above 60 years old, tertiary level education, duration of diabetes less than 10 years, poor level of knowledge on insulin, fear on injection pain and fear to bruising due to injections. Conclusion: Hence, efforts must be taken to tackle the modifiable factors such as knowledge on insulin and diabetes, and fear on injections and bruises

Editors’ Introduction: An Overview of the Educational Administration and Leadership Curriculum: Traditions of Islamic Educational Administration and Leadership in Higher Education

This chapter provides an overview of several topics relevant to constructing an approach to teaching educational administration and leadership in Muslim countries. First, it places the topic in the context of the changing nature and critiques of the field that argue for a greater internationalisation to both resist some of the negative aspects of globalisation and to represent countries’ traditions in the professional curriculum. Then, it identifies literature that presents the underlying principles and values of Islamic education that guide curriculum and pedagogy and shape its administration and leadership including the Qur’an and Sunnah and the classical educational literature which focuses on aims, values and goals of education as well as character development upon which a ‘good’ society is built. This is followed by a section on the Islamic administration and leadership traditions that are relevant to education, including the values of educational organisations and how they should be administered, identifying literature on the distinctive Islamic traditions of leadership and administrator education and training as it applies to education from the establishment of Islam and early classical scholars and senior administrators in the medieval period who laid a strong foundation for a highly sophisticated preparation and practice of administration in philosophical writings and the Mirrors of Princes writings, and subsequent authors who have built upon it up to the contemporary period. The final section provides an overview of the chapters in this collection

Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries.

BACKGROUND: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. METHODS: This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. RESULTS: We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p<0.001). Association rule mining suggests that nurses and doctors who had a 'great-extent-of-confidence' in handling suspected COVID-19 patients had participated in COVID-19 training courses. Male participants (mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.46; p<0.001) and nurses (mean difference = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.81; p<0.001) had higher preparedness scores compared to women participants and doctors. INTERPRETATION: There was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type

Burnout among surgeons before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: an international survey

Background: SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had many significant impacts within the surgical realm, and surgeons have been obligated to reconsider almost every aspect of daily clinical practice. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study reported in compliance with the CHERRIES guidelines and conducted through an online platform from June 14th to July 15th, 2020. The primary outcome was the burden of burnout during the pandemic indicated by the validated Shirom-Melamed Burnout Measure. Results: Nine hundred fifty-four surgeons completed the survey. The median length of practice was 10&nbsp;years; 78.2% included were male with a median age of 37&nbsp;years old, 39.5% were consultants, 68.9% were general surgeons, and 55.7% were affiliated with an academic institution. Overall, there was a significant increase in the mean burnout score during the pandemic; longer years of practice and older age were significantly associated with less burnout. There were significant reductions in the median number of outpatient visits, operated cases, on-call hours, emergency visits, and research work, so, 48.2% of respondents felt that the training resources were insufficient. The majority (81.3%) of respondents reported that their hospitals were included in the management of COVID-19, 66.5% felt their roles had been minimized; 41% were asked to assist in non-surgical medical practices, and 37.6% of respondents were included in COVID-19 management. Conclusions: There was a significant burnout among trainees. Almost all aspects of clinical and research activities were affected with a significant reduction in the volume of research, outpatient clinic visits, surgical procedures, on-call hours, and emergency cases hindering the training. Trial registration: The study was registered on clicaltrials.gov "NCT04433286" on 16/06/2020