The Role of Media on Knowledge, Awareness and Students' Attitude during Movement Control Order (MCO)

The Malaysian government had announced the Movement Control Order (MCO) to handle the Covid-19 crisis. During MCO, the government has used media channels to spread the information to the public. This research aims to identify the mediating part of both knowledge and awareness between students' attitude and media role during MCO. The findings from 338 respondents analysed using structural equation modelling found that knowledge and awareness mediate between media and students' attitude. This study could guide policymakers to promote a greater understanding of the coronavirus pandemic by using the mass media. Keywords: Knowledge, Awareness, Attitude, Role of Media eISSN: 2398-4287© 2021. The Authors. Published for AMER ABRA cE-Bs by e-International Publishing House, Ltd., UK. This is an open access article under the CC BYNC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Peer–review under responsibility of AMER (Association of Malaysian Environment-Behaviour Researchers), ABRA (Association of Behavioural Researchers on Asians/Africans/Arabians) and cE-Bs (Centre for Environment-Behaviour Studies), Faculty of Architecture, Planning & Surveying, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Malaysia. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21834/ebpj.v6i16.271

Optimization of Process Parameters of Immobilized Escherichia Coli for Cyclodextrin Production

The growing interest toward cylclodectrin (CD) application in industries is due to its unique structure that able to form inclusion complexes with substances. However, the problems arise during the CD synthesis using the commercial enzyme (cyclodextrin glucanotransferase) are low production rate and the process is expensive. Hence, cell immobilization system was used. The objective of this study is to optimize the process parameters using Response Surface Methodology to increase the CD production of the immobilized cell. High CD production was achieved after the optimization process. The reusability of immobilized cell also can be reuse up to six cycles using the optimized parameters. The findings propose that optimization process increased the CD production and made it more valuable for industrial application

Microbial diversity in decaying oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB) and isolation of lignin degrading bacteria from tropical environment

Oil palm empty fruit bunches (OPEFB) are the most abundant, inexpensive, and environmentally friendly lignocellulosic biomass in Malaysia. Investigations on the microbial diversity of decaying OPEFB may reveal microbes with complex enzymes that have the potential to enhance the conversion of lignocellulose into second-generation biofuels as well as the production of other value-added products. In the present study, fungal and bacterial diversities in decaying OPEFB were identified using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the V3 region of the 16S rRNA gene and V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene. Fungal diversity in decaying OPEFB was dominated by the phylum Ascomycota (14.43%), while most of the bacterial sequences retrieved belonged to Proteobacteria (76.71%). Three bacterial strains isolated from decaying OPEFB, designated as S18, S20, and S36, appeared to grow with extracted OPEFB-lignin and Kraft lignin (KL) as the sole carbon source. 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified the 3 isolates as Paenibacillus sp.. The molecular weight distribution of KL before and after degradation showed significant depolymerization when treated with bacterial strains S18, S20, and S36. The presence of low-molecular-weight lignin-related compounds, such as vanillin and 2-methoxyphenol derivatives, which were detected by a GC-MS analysis, confirmed the KL-degrading activities of isolated Paenibacillus strains

Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study

Summary Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally. Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality. Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis, exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause, in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status. We did a complete case analysis. Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male. Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3). Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups). Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries; p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11], p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20 [1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention (ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed (ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65 [0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality. Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome, middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger than 5 years by 2030

Technology enhanced education

Dental education has evolved through the years, and various advanced technologies are being incorporated into the curriculum to improve the quality of teaching and learning. The use of electronic devices and software programs continues to be at the forefront of e-learning modules, including in the field of Endodontology. This chapter aims to discuss current advances in dental education and applications of e-learning in Dentistry. Advances and applications of e-learning tools and virtual reality combined with more recent improvements in knowledge and clinical practice in the field of Endodontology will also be discussed

Resuming clinical teaching in the era of COVID-19 : experiences and protocols from a dental school in Malaysia

The rapid spread of the global pandemic COVID-19 had challenged the Malaysian Healthcare and Education Systems. Teaching and learning at dental schools across the country were drastically changed to online approach as the nation enforced Movement Control Order (MCO). However, translation of psychomotor skills still require hands-on approach to produce competent dentists upon graduation, but most dental schools were not prepared for the prevention of COVID-19 transmission that require more strict cross infection protocol. The aim of this paper was to describe the response by a dental school in Malaysia to COVID-19 in modifying the clinical teaching and learning, infrastructure, facilities, and clinical services, and enhancing the infection control protocol through risk assessment of COVID-19 transmission and prevention strategies. The paper also discusses the limitations of our approach, challenges in providing clinical services and supervision as well as implications of changes to our practice. In conclusion, COVID-19 has modified the delivery and implementation of clinical teaching and learning in Malaysia. However, within the limited fund and resources, dental teaching institutions need to adapt to the new normal clinical environment in order to ensure that dentals students graduate on time with sufficient clinical training

A study on the contribution of inventory planning towards business performance: A case of Al Faiz Industries Sdn Bhd

Consequently, many companies that produce wellness beverage are looking at various inventory management systems as they belief this will have a positive effect on the satisfaction of their customers.Align with that, this research aims to investigate the contributions of inventory planning toward business performance at Al Faiz Industrie Sdn Bhd.Significance of this research are to identify whether Al Faiz industry Sdn Bhd effectively practices inventory planning in the production of wellness beverage.In addition to that, this study looks at how Al Faiz Industries manages inventories to improve their business performance. The research framework consists of two independent variables which are support system and supplier’s reliability while business performance in Al Faiz Industries Sdn Bhd as dependent variable.This research deploys qualitative method through interview with top management.It is expected that the findings could contribute towards greater understanding in view of beverage industry of SMI scale.This research is also expected to provide good insights on managerial applications

Hand Gesture Recognition Based on Continuous Wave (CW) Radar Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) Methods

Human-computer interaction (HCI) is a field of study studying how people and computers interact. One of the most critical branches of HCI is hand gesture recognition, with most research concentrating on a single direction. A slight change in the angle of hand gestures might cause the motion to be misclassified, thereby degrading the performance of hand gesture detection. Therefore, to improve the accuracy of hand gesture detection, this paper focuses on analyzing hand gestures based on the reflected signals from two directions, which are front and side views. The radar system employed in this paper is equipped with two sets of 24 GHz continuous wave (CW) monostatic radar sensors with a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz. Four different hand gestures, namely close hand, open hand, OK sign, and pointing down, are collected using SignalViewer software. The data is stored as a waveform audio file format (WAV) where one data consists of 20 segments, and the data is then examined by using MATLAB software to be segmented. To evaluate the effectiveness of the classification system, principal component analysis (PCA) and k-nearest neighbor (KNN) are integrated. The PCA findings are depicted in Pareto and 2-D scatter plot for both radar directions. The Leave-One-Out (LOO) method is then used in this analysis to verify the accuracy of the classification method, which is represented in the confusion matrix. At the end of the analysis, the classification results indicated that both angles achieved near-perfect accuracy for most hand gestures