Investigation of a Preliminary Mixed Method of Phubbing and Social Connectedness in Adolescents

Background: The exponential growth of smartphones has afforded many users with ubiquitous access to socialization as seen in the various mobile apps used to communicate and connect with others. The present study employed mixed-method approaches to analyse the impact of phubbing on social connectedness among adolescents in Malaysia. Methods:A total of 568 adolescents were participated in quantitative surveys, and of these participating adolescents, 6 were further invited to join focus group interviews. Findings: Quantitative findings supported the mediating role of communication disturbance in the relationships between phone obsession and familial connectedness, school connectedness, and self-connectedness, but not for friendship connectedness. Qualitative findings further elucidated the detrimental effect of phone obsession on their sense of belonging from the perspectives of adolescents. Conclusion: This study reaffirms that phubbing behaviour is predictive of social disconnectedness. Therefore, preventive and treatment interventions should be developed to avoid and control a potential risk of social disconnectedness epidemics attribute to phubbing

Recent advances in the vaccine development against Middle East respiratory syndrome- coronavirus

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a deadly viral respiratory disease caused by MERS-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection. To date, there is no specific treatment proven effective against this viral disease. In addition, no vaccine has been licensed to prevent MERS-CoV infection thus far. Therefore, our current review focuses on the most recent studies in search of an effective MERS vaccine. Overall, vaccine candidates against MERS-CoV are mainly based upon the viral spike (S) protein, due to its vital role in the viral infectivity, although several studies focused on other viral proteins such as the nucleocapsid (N) protein, envelope (E) protein, and non-structural protein 16 (NSP16) have also been reported. In general, the potential vaccine candidates can be classified into six types: viral vector-based vaccine, DNA vaccine, subunit vaccine, nanoparticle-based vaccine, inactivated-whole virus vaccine and live-attenuated vaccine, which are discussed in detail. Besides, the immune responses and potential antibody dependent enhancement of MERS-CoV infection are extensively reviewed. In addition, animal models used to study MERS-CoV and evaluate the vaccine candidates are discussed intensively

Optimal conditions for hepatitis B core antigen production in shaked flask fermentation

The effects of various environmental factors such as pH (5, 6, 7, 8 and 9), temperature (30, 37 and 40°C) and rotational speed (150, 200 and 250 rpm) on the growth and the hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg) production of Escherichia coli W3110IQ were examined in the present study. The highest growth rate is achieved at PH 7, 37°C and at a rotational speed of 250 rpm which is 0.927 h−1. The effect of pH on cell growth is more substantial compared to other parameters; it recorded a 123% different between the highest growth rate (0.927 h−1) at pH 7 and lowest growth at pH 5. The highest protein yield is achieved at pH 9, rotational speed of 250 rpm and 40°C. The yield of protein at pH 7 is 154% higher compared to the lowest yield achieved at pH 5. There is about 28% different of the protein yield for theE. coli cultivated at 250 rpm compared to that at 150 rpm which has the lowest HBcAg yield. The yield of protein at 40°C is 38% higher compared to the lowest yield achieved, at 30°C

Principal component analysis on meteorological data in UTM KL

The high usage of fossil fuel to produce energy for the increasing demand of energy has been the primary culprit behind global warming. Renewable energies such as solar energy can be a solution in preventing the situation from worsening. Solar energy can be harnessed using available system such as solar thermal cogeneration systems. However, for the system to function smoothly and continuously, knowledge on solar radiation’s intensity several minutes in advance are required. Though there exist various solar radiation forecast models, most of the existing models requires high computational time. In this research, principal component analysis were applied on the meteorological data collected in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Kuala Lumpur to reduce the dimension of the data. Dominant factors obtained from the analysis is expected to be useful for the development of solar radiation forecast model

Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus: advances in diagnosis and vaccine development

The aquaculture of salmonid fishes is a multi-billion dollar industry with production over 3 million tons annually. However, infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), which infects and kills salmon and trout, significantly reduces the revenue of the salmon farming industry. Currently, there is no effective treatment for IHNV infected fishes; therefore, early detection and depopulation of the infected fishes remain the most common practices to contain the spread of IHNV. Apart from hygiene practices in aquaculture and isolation of infected fishes, loss of fishes due to IHNV infection can also be significantly reduced through vaccination programs. In the current review, some of the diagnostic methods for IHNV, spanning from clinical diagnosis to cell culture, serological and molecular methods are discussed in detail. In addition, some of the most significant candidate vaccines for IHNV are also extensively discussed, particularly the DNA vaccines

Crown ether decorated silicon photonics for safeguarding against lead poisoning

Lead (Pb2+) toxification in society is one of the most concerning public health crisis that remains unaddressed. The exposure to Pb2+ poisoning leads to a multitude of enduring health issues, even at the part-per-billion scale (ppb). Yet, public action dwarfs its impact. Pb2+ poisoning is estimated to account for 1 million deaths per year globally, which is in addition to its chronic impact on children. With their ring-shaped cavities, crown ethers are uniquely capable of selectively binding to specific ions. In this work, for the first time, the synergistic integration of highly-scalable silicon photonics, with crown ether amine conjugation via Fischer esterification in an environmentally-friendly fashion is demonstrated. This realises a photonic platform that enables the in-situ, highly-selective and quantitative detection of various ions. The development dispels the existing notion that Fischer esterification is restricted to organic compounds, laying the ground for subsequent amine conjugation for various crown ethers. In this work, the platform is engineered for Pb2+ detection, demonstrating a large dynamic detection range of 1 - 262000 ppb with high selectivity against a wide range of relevant ions. These results indicate the potential for the pervasive implementation of the technology to safeguard against ubiquitous lead poisoning in our society

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Behavioral aspect of design and marketing of financial products

There is a substantial body of evidence which shows that investors are not always indifferent among identical cash flows that are framed differently. This implies that it is possible for financial products marketers to manipulate decision frames to better promote their products. However, no study has yet been conducted in Singapore to test the impact of framing on consumer behaviour. The purpose of this present study is therefore to find out if the above phenomenon applies in the local context.BUSINES

Behavioral aspect of design and marketing of financial products

There is a substantial body of evidence which shows that investors are not always indifferent among identical cash flows that are framed differently. This implies that it is possible for financial products marketers to manipulate decision frames to better promote their products. However, no study has yet been conducted in Singapore to test the impact of framing on consumer behaviour. The purpose of this present study is therefore to find out if the above phenomenon applies in the local context.BUSINES