Profile of Fatty Acid contents in Malaysian freshwater fish

Nine species of Malaysian freshwater fish were analysed for their lipid and fatty acid contents. The results show that 4 species offish commonly consumed by local people contained significantly high levels offat (range 11-17% of wet weight). Malaysian freshwater fish analysed also contained high levels of unsaturated acids compared to saturated acids. The ratio of unsaturates/saturates ranged from 1.2 to 2.3. The omega-3 acids were generally low in most species analysed except for the belut sawah which contained significantly high levels in C22:6w3 (9.4/100g oil). This quantity is comparable to that of salmon, cod and herring and thus warrants consideration for commercial exploitation. Phospholipid fractions of all fish analysed (except jelawat) had polyunsaturates/saturates ratios greater than 1. O

Adaptability, social support, and psychological wellbeing among Malaysian adults

Malaysian adults are regularly exposed to a wide variety of complex stressors (exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic): these stressors, without sufficient protective resources, threaten to negatively impact upon psychological wellbeing. Recent literature has shown that personal resources (e.g., one’s adaptability) and situational resources (e.g., one’s social support) are associated with psychological wellbeing; however, limited research has examined the unique contribution of these resources to psychological wellbeing among collectivist cultures (e.g., Malaysian adults). Here, a sample of 136 Malaysian adults completed a survey measuring their adaptability and social support as well as different components of psychological wellbeing (i.e., flourishing, psychological distress, and life satisfaction). We found that adaptability and social support contribute significantly, and independently, to psychological wellbeing (all measures) among Malaysian adults, with social support being the stronger predictor in each case. Further, no significant interaction effects between adaptability and social support on psychological wellbeing were observed. The findings corroborate a developing literature suggesting that adaptability and social support may be targeted in efforts to enhance psychological wellbeing but also indicate that among Malaysian adults of a collectivist culture, social support may be more salient

Knowledge, Perception and Practice of Malaysian Residents on Covid-19 during the Period of the Conditional Movement Control Order

Introduction: Since Malaysia’s first case of Covid-19 was detected early February 2020, cases slowly increased. A Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed on 18th March 2020 to control spread of the disease. Information on the MCO, the required social behaviour was disseminated through the media. From 4th May 2020 the MCO restrictions were relaxed - thence referred to as the Conditional Movement Order (CMCO). This lasted till 9th June. This study was to determine knowledge, perception, and practice of residents during the CMCO to see if they adhered to the new norms.  Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria was residents of Malaysia aged 20 to 70 years. A pretested questionnaire with internal validity of 0.751 was used via Google forms. Data converted into categorical variables and analysed using SPSSv23. Statistically significant was p<0.05. Spearman’s co-relation used to determine linear relationship between knowledge and practice and between perception and practice. Results:  We had a total of 420 respondents. Significant association of knowledge with age group, marital status, employment, and education level. Good practice was significantly associated with marital status, employment, and education level. A weak but significant relationship between knowledge and practice and between perception and practice. From all, 8.1% feel that Covid-19 is not a dangerous disease Conclusion: Residents in Malaysia had good knowledge on the new social norms during the CMCO. Overall perceptions and practice scored lower. Focus should be on Health education to ensure residents do not revert to old lifestyle so soon

Sustainable Assessment Practices for Engineering Programme Outcomes: Challenges and Recommendations in Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions

A new paradigm in the implementation of engineering programme outcomes assessment has emerged throughout Malaysia since the introduction of Outcomes-based Education (OBE) by the Engineering Accreditation Council of Malaysia in 2005. Despite the fact that OBE has been in place for over seventeen years, Malaysian Higher Learning Institutions (HLIs) continue to face challenges in effectively assessing programme outcomes. This research aimed to explore the challenges faced by academic staff when assessing programme outcomes at HLIs. The research was guided by the theory of sustainable assessment, as well as the key barriers identified by previous researchers that hinder academic staff from changing assessment practices. A qualitative methodology was employed, involving interviews with 18 participants to gain a comprehensive understanding of programme outcomes assessment in HLIs. The data was analysed using a constant comparative method, and themes were systematically examined and reported using Strauss and Corbin’s coding analytical framework. The research revealed various emerging themes, including the need to change academic staff’s mindset and increase their exposure to assessment, implementing effective HLI initiatives to enhance outcomes assessment, securing support from accreditation bodies to reduce assessment workload, establishing a robust outcomesbased support system, and working with dedicated and enthusiastic leaders. Based on the findings, sustainable practices for assessing engineering programme outcomes were proposed. These practices aim to address the challenges faced by HLIs and academic staff in engineering and other Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education settings, foster the exchange of best practices, and improve the overall quality of STEM education globally

RFID Transponder Collision Control Algorithm

Transponder collision problem can be significant when a large number of RFID (radio frequency identification) transponders exist in field. Most existing anti-collision algorithms can solve this problem. However, problem arises when all or part of these transponders are having identical UID (unique identification). This paper proposes a new transponder collision control algorithm to overcome overlapping that occurs among transponders with identical UID in RFID large scale deployment (e.g., in a large warehouse), so that the RFID reader can successfully identify the quantity of transponders for each particular UID with high identification accuracy. The proposed anti-collision algorithm adopts a modified version of frequency domain method by adding stochastic delays in time domain. The obtained results show that the proposed method can achieve optimum frequency bandwidth utilization and at the same time poses high identification accuracy (almost 100%) with low identification delay

Covalent functionalization of graphene oxide with D-mannose: evaluating the hemolytic effect and protein corona formation

In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was covalently functionalized with D-mannose (man-GO) using mannosylated ethylenediamine. XPS (C1s and N1s) confirmed the functionalization of GO through the binding energies at 288.2 eV and 399.8 eV, respectively, which are attributed to the amide bond. ATR-FTIR spectroscopy showed an increase in the amine bond intensity, at 1625 cm−1 (stretching CO), after the functionalization step. Furthermore, the man-GO toxicity to human red blood cells (hemolysis) and its nanobiointeractions with human plasma proteins (hard corona formation) were evaluated. The mannosylation of GO drastically reduced its toxicity to red blood cells. SDS-PAGE analysis showed that the mannosylation process of GO also drastically reduced the amount of the proteins in the hard corona. Additionally, proteomics analysis by LC–MS/MS revealed 109 proteins in the composition of the man-GO hard corona. Finally, this work contributes to future biomedical applications of graphene-based materials functionalized with active biomolecules