Association between air pollutants with FeNO among primary school children at petrochemical industries

Children's increased risk of respiratory diseases is possibly due to air pollutants exposure. This study aims to determine the association between air pollutants and respiratory inflammation among school children at petrochemical industries in Kemaman, Terengganu. A cross-sectional comparative study was conducted among selected healthy school children from primary schools in Kemaman. Questionnaires were used to determine reported respiratory symptoms. Indoor exposure to PM2.5 in classrooms was measured using DustTrak DRX Aerosol Monitor; VOCs using PbbRAE, while NO2 and SO2 using LaMotte Air Sampler. Fractional exhaled Nitric Oxide (FeNO) was measured by instructing respondents to exhale directly into the NIOX MINO device. The median and interquartile range of concentration of PM2.5, VOCs, NO2 and SO2 in classrooms and homes of studied group was higher than the values in comparative group at p<0.001. FeNO shows a significant difference between studied and comparative group at p<0.001. NO2 and SO2 were found to be significantly associated with FeNO at p<0.05. Exposure to NO2 and SO2 is associated with FeNO in petrochemical industries area suggesting that greater exposure may influence children’s respiratory health

Competitive Advantage between Malaysia and World Halal Producers of Ruminant Meat

The gap created by the mismatch between high domestic demand and low domestic supply of halal meat has been filled by ruminant meat sourced from the international markets. However, the exporting countries are still limited due to stringent halal requirements. This study examined the competitive advantage of trading partners in the exportation of ruminant meat. Moreover, this study also identified factors underlying the import of ruminant meat and determined the comparative advantage of local production of ruminant meat. This study employed Vollrath indices through the utilization of relative export advantage, relative import advantage, and overall relative trade advantage. Analysis was conducted on 26 countries and 15 product codes of ruminant meat. The findings disclosed that the possession of competitive advantage did not exclusively belong to traditional sources but to other countries, particularly Pakistan and the Netherlands

Near infrared spectroscopy of plantation forest soil nutrients in Sabah, Malaysia, and the potential for microsite assessment

Knowledge of soil physical and chemical properties is vital to the optimal growing performance of agricultural crops, including plantation forest trees. Near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy has been shown to be a tool that enables rapid and low-cost assessment of soils, however its use in forest plantations has been slow to develop. This study shows the development of calibrations for total organic carbon, total nitrogen and soil pH using a handheld NIR spectrometer for soils at three sites in Sabah, Malaysia. Soil samples were collected, dried, milled and scanned after which they were analysed using standard chemical methods to obtain total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN). Partial least squares regression was used to develop calibrations between reference data and NIR spectra and validated using an independent sample set. The calibration of soil pH is made using a subset of samples across A- and B-horizons for samples from two of the three sites. The most effective spectral pre-treatment was the standard normal variate for TOC and TN while the Savitzky-Golay first derivative was the best pre-treatment for predicting soil pH. Principal component analysis was performed on the raw NIR spectra of all samples to confirm that the samples from different sites were able to be used in a single regression analysis. Kennard-Stone selection was used to create calibration sets and validation sets from the combined spectra from all sites and both soil horizons. Calibrations were also developed independently on the A- and B-horizon samples, but there were insufficient sample numbers to utilize an independent validation set. The coefficients of determination for the validation set (r2p) were 0.77 and 53 for TOC and TN respectively while the root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) was 0.44 g 100 g−1 for TOC and 0.051 g 100 g−1 for TN. In addition, it showcases the application of these calibrations to provide spatial assessment of two differing micro-sites within a single Eucalyptus pellita progeny breeding trial. Combined with the potential to monitor foliar nutrients, the ability to obtain high spatial details of soil composition will assist tree plantation growers and also other agricultural producers, such as oil palm plantation managers, to better manage their soil and fertiliser regimes

Evaluation of a quality improvement intervention to reduce anastomotic leak following right colectomy (EAGLE): pragmatic, batched stepped-wedge, cluster-randomized trial in 64 countries

Background Anastomotic leak affects 8 per cent of patients after right colectomy with a 10-fold increased risk of postoperative death. The EAGLE study aimed to develop and test whether an international, standardized quality improvement intervention could reduce anastomotic leaks. Methods The internationally intended protocol, iteratively co-developed by a multistage Delphi process, comprised an online educational module introducing risk stratification, an intraoperative checklist, and harmonized surgical techniques. Clusters (hospital teams) were randomized to one of three arms with varied sequences of intervention/data collection by a derived stepped-wedge batch design (at least 18 hospital teams per batch). Patients were blinded to the study allocation. Low- and middle-income country enrolment was encouraged. The primary outcome (assessed by intention to treat) was anastomotic leak rate, and subgroup analyses by module completion (at least 80 per cent of surgeons, high engagement; less than 50 per cent, low engagement) were preplanned. Results A total 355 hospital teams registered, with 332 from 64 countries (39.2 per cent low and middle income) included in the final analysis. The online modules were completed by half of the surgeons (2143 of 4411). The primary analysis included 3039 of the 3268 patients recruited (206 patients had no anastomosis and 23 were lost to follow-up), with anastomotic leaks arising before and after the intervention in 10.1 and 9.6 per cent respectively (adjusted OR 0.87, 95 per cent c.i. 0.59 to 1.30; P = 0.498). The proportion of surgeons completing the educational modules was an influence: the leak rate decreased from 12.2 per cent (61 of 500) before intervention to 5.1 per cent (24 of 473) after intervention in high-engagement centres (adjusted OR 0.36, 0.20 to 0.64; P &lt; 0.001), but this was not observed in low-engagement hospitals (8.3 per cent (59 of 714) and 13.8 per cent (61 of 443) respectively; adjusted OR 2.09, 1.31 to 3.31). Conclusion Completion of globally available digital training by engaged teams can alter anastomotic leak rates. Registration number: NCT04270721 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov)