Mobile Tour Assistant for Malaysia

Malaysia's tourism industry has seen a rapid growth rate for the past years, and played a significant role in the development of the country's economy. 2007 is a special year for Malaysian tourism since it is called the "Visit Malaysia" year in celebration of 50 years of Independence. Information Technology has made remarkable contributions to the growth of tourism industry in Malaysia. Its efforts to promote tourism range from websites providing information to systems to service tourists. However, while countries with well-developed tourism industry like France and Hong Kong have developed comprehensive tour assistant packages for tourists, Malaysia is yet to do so. Thus, a comprehensive mobile tour package is needed for Malaysia. The objective of the project is to develop a well-designed tour assistant running on PDAs which makes use of current trends in mobile applications such as the adoption of AI technique in scheduling. Due to time and resource constraints, the project focuses on areas within and around Kuala Lumpur and targets on short-stay and transit tourists. Going through a thorough literature review and following the waterfall methodology, the project has successfully developed a full package of mobile tour assistant including the back end and front end. The project also makes contribution to creatively applying Genetic Algorithm, an AI technique in plan auto-scheduling. The author hopes that the package will be of high commercial value and contribute significantly to boosting Malaysia's tourism

Mobile Tour Assistant for Malaysia

Malaysia's tourism industry has seen a rapid growth rate for the past years, and played a significant role in the development of the country's economy. 2007 is a special year for Malaysian tourism since it is called the "Visit Malaysia" year in celebration of 50 years of Independence. Information Technology has made remarkable contributions to the growth of tourism industry in Malaysia. Its efforts to promote tourism range from websites providing information to systems to service tourists. However, while countries with well-developed tourism industry like France and Hong Kong have developed comprehensive tour assistant packages for tourists, Malaysia is yet to do so. Thus, a comprehensive mobile tour package is needed for Malaysia. The objective of the project is to develop a well-designed tour assistant running on PDAs which makes use of current trends in mobile applications such as the adoption of AI technique in scheduling. Due to time and resource constraints, the project focuses on areas within and around Kuala Lumpur and targets on short-stay and transit tourists. Going through a thorough literature review and following the waterfall methodology, the project has successfully developed a full package of mobile tour assistant including the back end and front end. The project also makes contribution to creatively applying Genetic Algorithm, an AI technique in plan auto-scheduling. The author hopes that the package will be of high commercial value and contribute significantly to boosting Malaysia's tourism

Physicians, Primary Caregivers and Topical Repellent: All Under-Utilised Resources in Stopping Dengue Virus Transmission in Affected Households

BACKGROUND: Primary health care facilities frequently manage dengue cases on an ambulatory basis for the duration of the patient’s illness. There is a great opportunity for specific messaging, aimed to reduce dengue virus (DENV) transmission in and around the home, to be directly targeted toward this high-risk ambulatory patient group, as part of an integrated approach to dengue management. The extent however, to which physicians understand, and can themselves effectively communicate strategies to stop focal DENV transmission around an ambulatory dengue case is unknown; the matter of patient comprehension and recollection then ensues. In addition, the effectiveness of N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET)-based insect repellent in protecting dengue patients from Aedes aegypti mosquitoes’ bites has not been investigated. METHODOLOGY: A knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) survey, focusing on the mechanisms of DENV transmission and prevention, was performed using semi-structured questionnaires. This survey was targeted towards the patients and family members providing supportive care, and physicians routinely involved in dengue patient management in Southern Vietnam. An additional clinical observational study was conducted to measure the efficacy of a widely-used 13% DEET-based insect repellent to repel Ae. aegypti mosquitoes from the forearms of dengue cases and matched healthy controls. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Among both the physician (n = 50) and patient (n = 49) groups there were several respondents lacking a coherent understanding of DENV transmission, leading to some inappropriate attitudes and inadequate acute preventive practices in the household. The application of insect repellent to protect patients and their relatives from mosquito bites was frequently recommended by majority of physicians (78%) participating in the survey. Nevertheless, our tested topical application of 13% DEET conferred only ~1hr median protection time from Ae. aegypti landing. This is notably shorter than that advertised on the manufacturer’s label. No differences in landing time between febrile dengue cases or matched healthy controls (n = 19 experiments) were observed. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our study identifies missed opportunities for primary care physicians to improve public health through communication of strategies that could prevent focal dengue transmission in and around a case household. We advocate better access to more efficient communication methods for physicians and auxilliary health workers, supporting to educate those at high risk of DENV transmission. Our empirical testing of a widely-available 13% DEET-based repellent was limited in its protective efficacy against Ae. aegypti mosquito bites, and therefore DENV transmission, suggesting more frequent application is necessary to be beneficial

The effect of environmental accounting information disclosure on financial performance of Vietnamese listed industrial firms: The moderating role of Leverage and Big4

Environmental Accounting Information Disclosure (EAID) is the most recent novelty in corporate non-financial information reporting practice. This study aims to evaluate the effects of EAID on the financial performance of Vietnamese enterprises. The population of this study comprises listed companies in the industrial sector on the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange for the period of five years (2017–2021). The research employed a purposive sampling technique and some analysis techniques, such as content analysis and regression analysis, including Ordinary Least Squares, Fixed Effects Model, Random Effects Model, and Feasible General Least Squares. The final regression results show a positive effect of EAID on profitability. Specifically, as a moderating variable, leverage weakens the relationship when financial performance is measured by ROA and ROE, whereas the quality of financial statements is assured by the Big 4, which strengthens the nexus between EAID and ROE. The study cannot confirm the negative moderating variable of the duality of the CEO position in the relationship. The research gives implications for improving financial performance with increased EAID and some future research directions

Two decades of studies on learning management system in higher education: A bibliometric analysis with Scopus database 2000-2020

Over the past twenty years, using learning management systems in higher education has attracted increasing interest from researchers around the globe. In this context, the current study aimed to explore the volume, growth trajectory, and geographic distribution of learning management systems in higher education literature, along with identifying impactful authors, sources, and publications, and highlight emerging research issues. The authors conducted bibliometric analysis on 1334 documents, related to the use of learning management systems in the context of higher education, extracted from Scopus database. The findings show a rapidly growing knowledge base on learning management systems in higher education, especially intensely in the years 2015-2020 and primarily from research in developed societies. This flourishing is consistent with the development trend of international education and the strong development of technology. In addition, the core literature was identified based on the volume of publications and citations. The results also reveal the emerging intellectual structure of the field and provide points of reference for scholars studying the discipline. This paper offers a knowledge map for future research assessments of learning management systems in higher education

Word segmentation of Vietnamese texts: a comparison of approaches

International audienceWe present in this paper a comparison between three segmentation systems for the Vietnamese language. Indeed, the majority of Vietnamese words is built by semantic composition from about 7,000 syllables, that also have a meaning as isolated words. So the identification of word boundaries in a text is not a simple task, and ambiguities often appear. Beyond the presentation of the tested systems, we also propose a standard definition for word segmentation in Vietnamese, and introduce a reference corpus developed for the purpose of evaluating such a task. The results observed confirm that it can be relatively well treated by automatic means, although a solution needs to be found to take into account out-of-vocabulary words

Lovastatin for the Treatment of Adult Patients With Dengue: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Dengue endangers billions of people in the tropical world, yet no therapeutic is currently available. In part, the severe manifestations of dengue reflect inflammatory processes affecting the vascular endothelium. In addition to lipid lowering, statins have pleiotropic effects that improve endothelial function, and epidemiological studies suggest that outcomes from a range of acute inflammatory syndromes are improved in patients already on statin therapy. METHODS: Following satisfactory review of a short pilot phase (40 mg lovastatin vs placebo in 30 cases), we performed a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 5 days of 80 mg lovastatin vs placebo in 300 Vietnamese adults with a positive dengue NS1 rapid test presenting within 72 hours of fever onset. The primary outcome was safety. Secondary outcomes included comparisons of disease progression rates, fever clearance times, and measures of plasma viremia and quality of life between the treatment arms. RESULTS: Adverse events occurred with similar frequency in both groups (97/151 [64%] placebo vs 82/149 [55%] lovastatin; P = .13), and were in keeping with the characteristic clinical and laboratory features of acute dengue. We also observed no difference in serious adverse events or any of the secondary outcome measures. CONCLUSIONS: We found lovastatin to be safe and well tolerated in adults with dengue. However, although the study was not powered to address efficacy, we found no evidence of a beneficial effect on any of the clinical manifestations or on dengue viremia. Continuing established statin therapy in patients who develop dengue is safe.Chinese Clinical Trials Registration. ISRCTN03147572

Standardised patient study to assess tuberculosis case detection within the private pharmacy sector in Vietnam.

BACKGROUND: Of the estimated 10 million people affected by (TB) each year, one-third are never diagnosed. Delayed case detection within the private healthcare sector has been identified as a particular problem in some settings, leading to considerable morbidity, mortality and community transmission. Using unannounced standardised patient (SP) visits to the pharmacies, we aimed to evaluate the performance of private pharmacies in the detection and treatment of TB. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was undertaken at randomly selected private pharmacies within 40 districts of Vietnam. Trained actors implemented two standardised clinical scenarios of presumptive TB and presumptive multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB). Outcomes were the proportion of SPs referred for medical assessment and the proportion inappropriately receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics. Logistic regression evaluated predictors of SPs' referral. RESULTS: In total, 638 SP encounters were conducted, of which only 155 (24.3%) were referred for medical assessment; 511 (80·1%) were inappropriately offered antibiotics. A higher proportion of SPs were referred without having been given antibiotics if they had presumptive MDR-TB (68/320, 21.3%) versus presumptive TB (17/318, 5.3%; adjusted OR=4.8, 95% CI 2.9 to 7.8). Pharmacies offered antibiotics without a prescription to 89.9% of SPs with presumptive TB and 70.3% with presumptive MDR-TB, with no clear follow-up plan. CONCLUSIONS: Few SPs with presumptive TB were appropriately referred for medical assessment by private pharmacies. Interventions to improve appropriate TB referral within the private pharmacy sector are urgently required to reduce the number of undiagnosed TB cases in Vietnam and similar high-prevalence settings

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

Word segmentation of Vietnamese texts: a comparison of approaches

International audienceWe present in this paper a comparison between three segmentation systems for the Vietnamese language. Indeed, the majority of Vietnamese words is built by semantic composition from about 7,000 syllables, that also have a meaning as isolated words. So the identification of word boundaries in a text is not a simple task, and ambiguities often appear. Beyond the presentation of the tested systems, we also propose a standard definition for word segmentation in Vietnamese, and introduce a reference corpus developed for the purpose of evaluating such a task. The results observed confirm that it can be relatively well treated by automatic means, although a solution needs to be found to take into account out-of-vocabulary words