Halal food in New Zealand restaurants: an exploratory study

Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) believes that New Zealand, as a major exporter and producer of halal slaughtered meat in the world, can become an attractive destination for Muslim travellers. However, research has also shown that Muslim travellers find it difficult searching for halal food in New Zealand, with many having to prepare their own meals while travelling in the country. This paper is based on a survey that was carried out to investigate the management and promotion of halal food in New Zealand restaurants. Data were collected using a questionnaire that was administered through face-to-face interviews. As the total population of halal restaurants in New Zealand was (and still is) unknown, the snowball sampling technique was used, which resulted with a sample of 99 restaurants. Results show that a huge percentage of the sample did not agree that the Muslim tourist market was significant to their business. Many were also reluctant to promote their halal food or put up the ‘halal’ sign in front of their shop

Tahap Celik Alam Sekitar Dalam Kalangan Pelajar Tingkatan Lima di Sabah

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti tahap ‘Celik Alam Sekitar’ dalam kalangan pelajar di negeri Sabah. Sampel adalah terdiri daripada 110 orang responden yang dipilih secara rawak mudah dalam kalangan pelajar tingkatan 5 di sebuah sekolah menengah di daerah Tawau, Sabah. Pendekatan kuantitatif dengan teknik tinjauan digunakan dalam kajian ini. Data deskriptif yang diperolehi menunjukkan bahawa tahap elemen pembangunan mampan pada Celik Alam Sekitar adalah lebih tinggi berbanding elemen lain dalam konstruk ini. Data ini juga menunjukkan tahap Celik Alam Sekitar responden berada pada tahap tinggi (skor min= 4.20, SP= 0.30). Manakala Ujian-t menunjukkan tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan bagi celik alam sekitar dalam kalangan pelajar sekolah menengah harian berdasarkan jantina walaupun perbezaan min menunjukkan pelajar perempuan melebihi daripada pelajar lelaki. Kesimpulannya, tahap celik alam sekitar bagi pelajar adalah pada tahap yang boleh dibanggakan dan responden menyetujui elemen pembangunan mapan dimasukkan dalam definisi ‘Celik Alam Sekitar’

Germline and Somatic DNA Damage Repair Gene Mutations and Overall Survival in Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Patients Treated with FOLFIRINOX

Purpose: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a lethal cancer with lack of predictive biomarkers. We conducted a study to assess DNA damage repair (DDR) gene mutations as a predictive biomarker in PDAC patients treated with FOLFIRINOX. Experimental Design: Indiana University Simon Cancer Center pancreatic cancer database was used to identify patients with metastatic PDAC, treated with FOLFIRINOX and had tissue available for DNA sequencing. Baseline demographic, clinical, and pathologic information was gathered. DNA isolation and targeted sequencing was performed using the Ion AmpliSeq protocol. Overall survival (OS) analysis was conducted using Kaplan–Meier, logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard methods. Multivariate models were adjusted for age, gender, margin status, CA 19-9, adjuvant chemotherapy, tumor and nodal stage. Results: Overall, 36 patients were sequenced. DDR gene mutations were found in 12 patients. Mutations were seen in BRCA1 (N = 7), BRCA2 (N = 5), PALB2 (N = 3), MSH2 (N = 1), and FANCF (N = 1) of all the DDR genes sequenced. Median age was 65.5 years, 58% were male, 97.2% were Caucasian and 51.4% had any family history of cancer. The median OS was near significantly superior in those with DDR gene mutations present vs. absent [14 vs. 5 months; HR, 0.58; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.29–1.14; log-rank P = 0.08]. Multivariate logistic (OR, 1.47; 95% CI, 1.04–2.06; P = 0.04) and Cox regression (HR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.15–0.94; P = 0.04) showed presence of DDR gene mutations was associated with improved OS. Conclusions: In a single institution, retrospective study, we found that the presence of DDR gene mutations are associated with improved OS in PDAC patients treated with FOLFIRINOX

Computational Study of Hydrogel Ring Device for Ocular Drug Delivery

Researchers have developed many different kinds of ocular drug delivery devices. However, most address anterior eye disorders—very few are designed specifically for the treatment of posterior eye diseases. A recently-developed hydrogel ring device is capable of delivering therapeutic quantities of the drug Ofloxacin to treat ocular infections at the back of the eye—a region typically difficult to access via systemic (e.g. ingestion of pills) and topical (e.g. eye drops) methods. Despite promising preliminary in vivo test results, much remains unknown about the precise drug transport pathway from the hydrogel ring to the posterior segment of the eye, as well as how design parameters may be altered to increase drug delivery efficiency. The aim of this work is to fully characterize the drug release and transport characteristics from the hydrogel, to ocular tissues (anterior and posterior), as well as provide a quantitative method for the optimization of various hydrogel ring design parameters. To achieve the abovementioned goals, we built a computational model using COMSOL Multiphysics to simulate the release of Ofloxacin from the hydrogel ring and to obtain the resulting drug distribution in ocular tissues at various time points. Using the model, we monitored the transient Ofloxacin concentration profile over the entire eye, for a treatment period of ten hours. Our results showed that while Ofloxacin diffuses to the anterior region much more quickly than to posterior tissues, Ofloxacin concentrations do successfully accumulate to therapeutic levels in the posterior tissues during the simulated ten-hour treatment period. This finding supports the therapeutic potential of the hydrogel ring for the treatment of posterior eye diseases. We also performed optimization analyses to determine the ideal set of hydrogel ring design parameters for the treatment of infections caused by three bacterial species commonly associated with ocular disorders: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. Preliminary findings suggest that the combination of an initial mass of 3 mg/m3 of Ofloxacin in the hydrogel and an Ofloxacin diffusivity of 3.11X10−9 m2/s in the hydrogel provide the best possible therapeutic outcome (from the range of values tested) for the treatment of E. coli and S. aureus infections. To our best knowledge, there is no existing computational model that simulates drug transport through the entire human eye from an ocular drug delivery device. We believe that our computational model will be highly useful for quantitative device characterization of the hydrogel ring, as well as in the optimization of the hydrogel ring design for the treatment of posterior eye disorders. This work may also serve as a model and reference for future computational work on ocular pharmacokinetics and/or ocular drug delivery devices

Hubungan Antara Suri Teladan dan Celik Alam Sekitar dalam kalangan Pelajar Tingkatan Lima di Tawau, Sabah

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti tahap dan hubungan elemen ‘Suri Teladan’ dan ‘Celik Alam Sekitar’ dalam kalangan pelajar di negeri Sabah. Sampel adalah terdiri daripada 110 orang responden yang dipilih secara rawak mudah dalam kalangan pelajar tingkatan 5 di sebuah sekolah menengah di daerah Tawau, Sabah. Pendekatan kuantitatif dengan teknik tinjauan digunakan dalam kajian ini. Data deskriptif yang diperolehi menunjukkan bahawa tahap Celik Alam Sekitar (skor min= 4.20, SP= 0.30) dan ‘Suri Teladan’ (skor min= 4.09, SP= 0.34) pada guru adalah tinggi. Manakala Ujian-t menunjukkan tidak terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan bagi celik alam sekitar dalam kalangan pelajar sekolah menengah harian berdasarkan penglibatan kelab dan persatuan. Namun begitu ujian korelasi Pearson menunjukkan terdapat hubungan yang positif antara suri teladan dan celik alam sekitar. Kesimpulannya, tahap celik alam sekitar bagi pelajar adalah pada tahap yang boleh dibanggakan dan responden bersetuju bahawa suri teladan berhubungan positif dengan celik alam sekitar

Lung Metastases Presenting as Multiple Bleeding Ulcers in the Small Bowel: A Case Report

Introduction: Lung cancer is a leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide and approximately half of the patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage.  Gastrointestinal metastases from lung cancer are very rare.Case Report: Here, we present a case of a 73-year-old gentleman with gastrointestinal metastases from lung cancer, presenting as acute gastrointestinal bleeding from multiple bleeding ulcers in the small bowel.Conclusion: Early detection of gastrointestinal metastases will help with determining clinical management. Whilst likely palliative in nature, treatment may incorporate surgical resection which if to be undertaken, should be performed early for prompt palliation of symptoms and improvement of quality of remaining life

The convection connection: how ocean feedbacks affect tropical mean moisture and MJO propagation

The response of the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO) to ocean feedbacks is studied with coupled and uncoupled simulations of four general circulation models (GCMs). Monthly mean SST from each coupled model is prescribed to its respective uncoupled simulation, to ensure identical SST mean state and low-frequency variability between simulation pairs. Consistent with previous studies, coupling improves each model's ability to propagation MJO convection beyond the Maritime Continent. Analysis of the MJO moist static energy budget reveals that improved MJO eastward propagation in all four coupled models arises from enhanced meridional advection of column water vapor (CWV). Despite the identical mean state SST in each coupled and uncoupled simulation pair, coupling increases mean-state CWV near the Equator, sharpening equatorial moisture gradients and enhancing meridional moisture advection and MJO propagation. CWV composites during MJO and non-MJO periods demonstrate that the MJO itself does not cause enhanced moisture gradients. Instead, analysis of low-level subgrid-scale moistening conditioned by rainfall rate (R) and SST anomaly reveals that coupling enhances low-level convective moistening for R > 5 mm/day; this enhancement is most prominent near the Equator. The low-level moistening process varies among the four models, which we interpret in terms of their ocean model configurations, cumulus parameterizations, and the sensitivity of convection to column relative humidity

Evaluating Consent Labs: prioritizing sexual wellbeing through a youth-led, curriculum-based education initiative

IntroductionConsent Labs is an Australian, youth-led, not-for-profit organization delivering comprehensive consent education. Workshops are co-designed by young people and delivered by near-to-peer facilitators in secondary and tertiary institutions. The aims of this paper are (1) to describe the development, design and delivery of Consent Labs and (2) to conduct a retrospective analysis of evaluation data collected by Consent Labs.MethodsE-survey data were collected by workshop facilitators between March 2021 and April 2023. This paper presents a retrospective analysis of these de-identified data. Survey items included age, identity, pre- and post- sexual consent knowledge, attitudes towards the content and delivery and questions inviting free-text responses. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics: frequencies, self-reported change in knowledge using paired t-tests, and differences between groups using chi-square tests. Free-text responses were analyzed using content analysis.ResultsWe describe the conceptualization of Consent Labs, present information about topics covered and report on process evaluation data analysis. Six thousand and twenty-six students returned complete evaluation surveys; 76.3% were school students and 23.7% were university students. The majority (67.3%) identified as female, 24.2% as male, 1.7% as non-binary, 1.2% as other gender identity. Self-reported change in knowledge before and after workshops was significant (pre-workshop knowledge mean score 3.77; post-workshop knowledge mean score 4.58; p < 0.0001). Change in knowledge remained significant when analyzed by institution, school type gender and sexual identity. ‘Consent Foundations’ was the most frequently selected (41.0%) topic as being most valuable. Respondents selected ‘Recognizing Coercion’ and ‘Gaslighting and Other Consent Challenges’ most frequently for future workshops (both 48.3%). Analysis of free text responses provided additional feedback.DiscussionConsent Labs has been gaining recognition nationally since it was first implemented; this is the first analysis of process evaluation data. Limitations of the study include the low response rate, self-reported change in knowledge and the cross-sectional nature of the evaluation. Preliminary findings are encouraging and provide a sound platform for quality improvement and further evaluation. A recent government grant to partner with education academics will ensure that the Consent Labs program and continuing growth will be informed by more rigorous evaluation and evidence

Concentration of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn in water during Southwest monsoon in Salut-Mengkabong lagoon, Tuaran, Sabah

Concentrations of selected heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn) in water were determined adjacent to aquaculture sites located in Salut-Mengkabong Lagoon, Tuaran, Sabah. Samples collected from six stations were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometer (ICP-OES). The average concentrations of Cr, Cu Pb and Zn in lagoon water were 3.43 × 10-3, 4.37 × 10-3, 2.55 × 10-2, 1.51 × 10-1mg/L respectively and concentration for Cd was below detection limit. Referring to Malaysia Marine Water Quality Criteria and Standard (MMWQS), concentrations of Cd and Cr were in acceptable range whereas Cu, Pb and Zn were slightly higher than the standard. This study offers result of five heavy metals’ concentrations during south-west monsoon which is important reference for aquaculture activities and lagoon water quality management