User perception of information credibility of news on Twitter

In this paper, we examine user perception of credibility for news-related tweets. We conduct a user study on a crowd-sourcing platform to judge the credibility of such tweets. By analysing user judgments and comments, we find that eight features, including some that can not be automatically identified from tweets, are perceived by users as important for judging information credibility. Moreover, distinct features like link in tweet, display name and user belief consistently lead users to judge tweets as credible. We also find that users can not consistently judge or even misjudge the credibility for some tweets on politics news

Correlation analysis of reader's demographics and tweet credibility perception

When searching on Twitter, readers have to determine the credibility level of tweets on their own. Previous work has mostly studied how the text content of tweets in uences credibility perception. In this paper, we study reader demographics and information credibility perception on Twitter. We nd reader's educational background and geolocation have signi cant correlation with credibility perception. Further investigation reveals that combinations of demographic attributes correlating with credibility perception are insigni cant. Despite di erences in demographics, readers nd features regarding topic keyword and the writing style of a tweet to be independently helpful in perceiving tweets' credibility. While previous studies reported the use of features independently, our result shows that readers use combination of features to help in making credibility perception of tweets

Development and preliminary validation of socio-cultural influences on body image scale for Malaysian female adolescents

The present study aimed to develop and validate comprehensive multi-dimensional sociocultural (parental, peers, media) influence on body image scale for Malaysian female adolescents. A total of 328 female adolescents from a secondary school in Kuantan district, Pahang, Malaysiacompleted a self-administered questionnaire, which encompassed a multiple measure of sociocultural influence, Body Dissatisfaction and Body Importance subscales of Body Image Questionnaire (McCabe & Ricciardelli, 2001), and Body Change Inventory (Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2002). Through factor analysis, the three major components (parental, peers, media) of the sociocultural influence scale were found to consist of multi-dimensional constructs. Particularly, five dimensions were identified for the parental influence subscale: 1) parental teasing on weight, 2) parental encouragement on increasing muscle and weight, 3) parental social support, 4) parental preoccupation with thinness and dieting behaviour, and 5) parental feedback on body change behaviour; the peer influence subscale comprised four dimensions including 1) peer social support, 2) peer preoccupation with thinness and dieting behaviour, 3) peer teasing on weight, and 4) peer encouragement on increasing muscle and weight; and three dimensions were identified in the media influence subscale, which included 1) media encouragement on reducing weight, 2) media modeling on weight reducing behaviour, and 3) media encouragement on increasing muscle and weight. As for construct validity, there were positive correlations between the composite score of the subscales and body dissatisfaction, body importance, strategies to decrease body size and strategies to increase body size and muscle size. In short, the present study has developed a sociocultural (parental, peer, media) influences on body image scale with construct validity and good internal consistency for Malaysian female adolescents. The scale can be used to assess the various dimensions of socio-cultural influences and will be useful to determine the etiology, prevention and treatment of negative body image and its related problems for Malaysian female adolescents

Site Suitability Analysis for Ecotourism Development at the Kirala Kele Partial-Nature-Based Wetland of Southern Sri Lanka

Wetland resources form an integral part of the environment and their management must be pursued in the context of an interaction between conservation and the national development strategies. Sri Lanka has a tremendous partial nature based wetland resources that have a great potential for further development in Southern Asia. In this study a literature based spatial model is developed to explain the potential of a partial-nature-based wetland to be developed as an ecotourism site. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model is used to analyze the site suitability for ecotourism development of the partial-nature-based wetland. Six integrated criteria; biodiversity, water resources, terrain, land use and land cover, road network and settlements are identified. Several evaluating indicators which are based on literature survey, expert

Energy and nutrient intakes: findings from the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey (MANS)

Nutrition surveys based on a representative sample of the Malaysian adult population have hitherto not been reported. In 2003, the Ministry of Health, Malaysia, conducted the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey (MANS), the first and largest nutrition survey in the country which aimed to provide detailed quantitative information on nutritional status, food and nutrient intakes, and physical activity pattern on a nationwide representative sample of adult subjects between the ages of 18 and 59 years. The survey covered four zones in Peninsular Malaysia (Central, Southern, Northern and East Coast), Sabah and Sarawak. This paper presents the mean and selected percentiles of energy and nutrient intake of 6886 subjects by selected demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Energy contributions by macronutrients and dietary adequacy in relation to the Recommended Nutrient Intake for Malaysians are also described. Information on dietary intake was collected by trained nutritionists using a one day 24-hour diet recall. Dietary data were analysed using Nutritionist Pro, a diet analysis software and statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS ver. 13.0. In most of the demographic and socioeconomic groups, males had higher mean energy (1776 kcal) and nutrient intake and percent achievement of RNI than females (1447 kcal). The proportions of calories derived from macronutrients were within the recommendations for a healthy diet. Intake of micronutrients such as iron, calcium and vitamin A was about 50% of RNI particularly in women. Sodium intake of Malaysians, not reported in earlier studies, is also made available. Under-reporting using the EI/BMR ratio was found in half of the population studied. The present study provides the first national estimates of energy and nutrient intake of the Malaysian adult population. Regular nutrition surveys are needed at the national level to provide valuable information on trends in food and nutrient intake, particularly among age and ethnically diverse subgroups of the population

Daily Energy Intake from Meals and Afternoon Snacks: Findings from the Malaysian Adults Nutrition Survey(MANS)

Meal and snack patterns are associated with energy and nutrient intakes and consequently health and nutritional status. The aim of this paper is to describe the percentage of daily energy intake from meals and afternoon snack among Malaysian adults. The study included a representative sample of adults aged 18- 59 years (n=7349) from a nationwide Food Consumption Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health. Information on dietary intake was obtained using a one day 24-hour diet recall (24-HDR). Dietary data on 6886 adults were analysed using Nutritionist ProTM and statistical analysis was carried out using the SPSS 13.0. The median percentage of daily energy intake is reported only for adults consuming meals and afternoon tea and by socio-demographic characteristics as well as body mass index (BMI) status. More than 80% of Malaysian adults consumed morning meals, lunch and dinner and 54% reported having afternoon tea. The median percentage of energy intake from morning meals, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea was 29.9%, 30.5%, 32.4% and 17%, respectively. There were variations in the median percentage of energy from meals and snacks according to the socio-demographic variables and BMI status. It is important to understand the eating patterns of Malaysians as the information can assist in efforts to address obesity and diet-related chronic diseases among adults

High use of private providers for first healthcare seeking by drug-resistant tuberculosis patients: a cross-sectional study in Yangon, Myanmar.

BACKGROUND: Drug resistance is a growing challenge to tuberculosis (TB) control worldwide, but particularly salient to countries such as Myanmar, where the health system is fragmented across the public and private sector. A recent systematic review has identified a critical lack of evidence for local policymaking, particularly in relation to drivers of drug-resistance that could be the target of preventative efforts. To address this gap from a health systems perspective, our study investigates the healthcare-seeking behavior and preferences of recently diagnosed patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), focusing on the use of private versus public healthcare providers. METHODS: The study was conducted in ten townships across Yangon with high DR-TB burden. Patients newly-diagnosed with DR-TB by GeneXpert were enrolled, and data on healthcare-seeking behavior and socio-economic characteristics were collected from patient records and interviews. A descriptive analysis of healthcare-seeking behavior was followed by the investigation of relationships between socio-economic factors and type of provider visited upon first feeling unwell, through univariate logistic regressions. RESULTS: Of 202 participants, only 8% reported first seeking care at public facilities, while 88% reported seeking care at private facilities upon first feeling unwell. Participants aged 25-34 (Odds Ratio = 0.33 [0.12-0.95]) and males (Odds Ratio = 0.39 [0.20-0.75]) were less likely to visit a private clinic or hospital than those aged 18-24 and females, respectively. In contrast, participants with higher income were more likely to utilize private providers. Prior to DR-TB diagnosis, 86% of participants took medications from private providers. After DR-TB diagnosis, only 7% of participants continued to take medications from private providers. CONCLUSION: In urban Myanmar, most patients shifted to being managed exclusively in the public sector after being formally diagnosed with DR-TB. However, since the vast majority of DR-TB patients first visited private providers in the period leading to diagnosis, related issues such as unregulated quality of care, potential delays to diagnosis, and lack of care continuity may greatly influence the emergence of drug-resistance. A greater understanding of the health system and these healthcare-seeking behaviors may simultaneously strengthen TB control programmes and reduce government and out-of-pocket expenditures on the management of DR-TB

Macronutrient concentration in stem, leaf and petiole of wild grown water spinach (ipomea aquatic forsk.) and its relationship with pond water

Water spinach (Ipomoea aquatic Forsk.) is a food for human beings and animals. It is rich in minerals, protein, dietary fibre, with high moisture content. The work was undertaken to determine contents of K, Ca, Mg, Na & P in the stems, leaves and petioles of water spinach. Atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) and Inductive Couple Plasma (ICP) were used to determine concentration of nutrients, where one way ANOVA was applied to analyse if there is any significant differences in the macronutrient contents amongst the leaves, petioles and stems of the water spinach. If any of the results showed significant differences, Turkey post-hoc HSD test (p<0.05%) was adopted to separate the means. In addition, Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient Test was conducted between the plant macronutrients samples (leaves + stem + petioles combined) and water macronutrients data run to determine their relationships. In addition, purpose of this study is to highlight to the public which parts of the plant should be consumed and also to indicate the relationship of Water Spinach with its growing medium. The K concentration was higher than the other elements and maximum concentration was in petioles (432+27.45 mg∙L-1) and stems (424.60+14.19 mgL-1). The element with the least concentration was Na (3.10+0.40 mgL-1), in the petiole. There was no difference in Mg content in leaves, petioles and stems (avg. 28.55+1.61 mgL- 1). High amounts of Ca (150+0.10 mgL-1) and low amounts of P (41.11+0.01 mgL-1) were in pond water. A positive correlation of each nutrient occurred between water spinach and pond water

Sequence Variation in Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) Inferred Using Partial Sequences of the Cytochrome b Segment of the Mitochondrial DNA

Comparison of 321 bp long mtDNA cytochrome b sequences of wild and captive Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus)revealed low variation among the individuals investigated. Phylogenetic analyses using distance (neighbor-joining) analysis supported the monophyletic status of the Malayan tapir. Two haplotypes were identified out of 13 Malayan tapir analyzed

Changes in microstructures of rambutan seed and the quality of its fat during drying

The application of pre-treatment on oilseeds prior to extraction process may exert undesirable impact towards the quality of oils as well as microstructures of seed. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efects of three drying methods on the microstructures of rambutan seeds and its efects on physicochemical properties of rambutan seed fat (RSF). The fats that being pre-treated with three diferent drying methods showed shrinkage or alteration of porous structure in terms of size, shape, and diameter. The diferences between the RSF pre-treated with oven-, freeze-, and cabinet drying RSF were in fatty acids (oleic and arachidic acids), and free fatty acid (1.56–1.80 mg KOH/g fat). From the results obtained, the useful information regarding to the efects of pre-treatment on RSF, which is a potent ingredient to be used as a cocoa butter substitute in the formulation of chocolate in the confectionery industries. Moreover, the outcomes of this work able to provide information for better grasp about the correlation of drying methods and quality of RSFs, as well as its applications in other food industries