Background Absenteeism amongst pre-school children is often due to illnesses such as hand,foot,and mouth disease,acute gastroenteritis,cold and flu,which are easily spread amongst them.This is because of weak immunity...Background Absenteeism amongst pre-school children is often due to illnesses such as hand,foot,and mouth disease,acute gastroenteritis,cold and flu,which are easily spread amongst them.This is because of weak immunity and lack of knowledge on proper hand hygiene.This quasi-experimental study assessed the efficacy of an intervention consisting of a hand hygiene education programme,along with digital tools in bringing about a change in behaviour and health conditions amongst pre-school children in Klang Valley,Malaysia.Methods A total of 377 school children,male and female,aged 5–6 years old,participated and were assigned to either the intervention or a control group.During the 2 months intervention period,children in the test group were trained on proper hand hygiene practices and techniques with the aid of the interactive android-based tablets.The numbers of absent days of all the children were recorded for 2 months before the intervention and during the intervention.Results In the test group,there was a 25%increase in the total number of absent days from the pre-intervention period to the intervention period,a much lesser increment observed as compared to that of control group in which the increase was much higher at 89%.Results showed a significant difference(P<0·05)between the absenteeism rates for the test and control group during the intervention period.Conclusion These results suggest that proper education and intervention increase hand hygiene compliance,which may help decrease school absenteeism due to illness;however,a longer study duration may be necessary to evaluate the benefit further.展开更多
Industry 4.0 is expected to play a crucial role in improving energy management and personnel performance in power plants.Poor performance problem in maintaining power plants is the result of both human errors,human fa...Industry 4.0 is expected to play a crucial role in improving energy management and personnel performance in power plants.Poor performance problem in maintaining power plants is the result of both human errors,human factors and the poor implementation of automation in energy management.This problem can potentially be solved using artificial intelligence(AI)and an integrated management system(IMS).This article investigates the current challenges to improving personnel and energy management performance in power plants,identifies the critical success factors(CSFs)for an integrated intelligent framework,and develops an intelligent framework that enables power plants to improve performance.The theoretical basis is founded on a systematic literature review to locate 110 out of 3108 papers studied carefully to examine the performance architecture that best enables effective maintenance.The findings from this literature review are combined with expert judgment and the big data advantages of AI applications to develop an intelligent model.Data are collected from a power plant in Iraq.To ensure the reliability of the proposed model,various hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling.The results confirm that the measurement model is acceptable,and that the hypotheses are supported and significant.A case study demonstrates the strong relationship and significance between big data of performance and the CSFs.It is hoped that this model will be adopted to enable performance improvement in power plants.展开更多
The effectiveness of the logic mining approach is strongly correlated to the quality of the induced logical representation that represent the behaviour of the data.Specifically,the optimum induced logical representati...The effectiveness of the logic mining approach is strongly correlated to the quality of the induced logical representation that represent the behaviour of the data.Specifically,the optimum induced logical representation indicates the capability of the logic mining approach in generalizing the real datasets of different variants and dimensions.The main issues with the logic extracted by the standard logic mining techniques are lack of interpretability and the weakness in terms of the structural and arrangement of the 2 Satisfiability logic causing lower accuracy.To address the issues,the logical permutation serves as an alternative mechanism that can enhance the probability of the 2 Satisfiability logical rule becoming true by utilizing the definitive finite arrangement of attributes.This work aims to examine and analyze the significant effect of logical permutation on the performance of data extraction ability of the logic mining approach incorporated with the recurrent discrete Hopfield Neural Network.Based on the theory,the effect of permutation and associate memories in recurrent Hopfield Neural Network will potentially improve the accuracy of the existing logic mining approach.To validate the impact of the logical permutation on the retrieval phase of the logic mining model,the proposed work is experimentally tested on a different class of the benchmark real datasets ranging from the multivariate and timeseries datasets.The experimental results show the significant improvement in the proposed logical permutation-based logic mining according to the domains such as compatibility,accuracy,and competitiveness as opposed to the plethora of standard 2 Satisfiability Reverse Analysis methods.展开更多
The El Minia governorate lies within the Nile Valley,surrounded by calcareous plateaus to the east and west.The present study focuses on the hydrogeochemistry of the Eocene limestone aquifer at some wadis in the east ...The El Minia governorate lies within the Nile Valley,surrounded by calcareous plateaus to the east and west.The present study focuses on the hydrogeochemistry of the Eocene limestone aquifer at some wadis in the east El Minia governorate,Eastern Desert,Egypt.Hydrogeologically,two main aquifers are encountered in the study area,namely the Maghagha marly limestone and the Samalut chalky limestone aquifers.The Maghagha aquifer is composed of alternating layers of marly limestone and shale with thicknesses ranging from 3.49 m to 177.05 m and a groundwater depth ranging from 8.5 m to 59.27 m which reflects low groundwater potentiality.The groundwater salinity representing this aquifer ranges from 603.5 mg/L to 978.5 mg/L,reflecting fresh water type.Samalut aquifer is made up of chalky,cavernous and fractured limestone with thickness ranging from 30 m to 205 m and groundwater depth ranging from 9 m to 86.77 m,which indicates good groundwater potential.The groundwater salinity of the concerned aquifer ranges from 349.7 mg/L to 2043.9 mg/L,reflecting fresh to possibly brackish water types.Groundwater in the study area is of meteoric water origin;recent recharge is mainly controlled through the presence of fractures and their densities.The majority of groundwater samples in the study area are suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes.展开更多
Malaria is one of the most devastating infectious diseases that caused millions of clinical cases annually despite decades of prevention efforts. Recent cases of Plasmodium falciparum resistance against the only remai...Malaria is one of the most devastating infectious diseases that caused millions of clinical cases annually despite decades of prevention efforts. Recent cases of Plasmodium falciparum resistance against the only remaining class of effective antimalarial(artemisinin) in South East Asia may soon pose a significant threat. Hence, the identification of new antimalarial compounds with a novel mode of action is necessary to curb this problem. Protein kinase has been implicated as a valid target for drug development in diseases such as cancer and diabetes in humans. A similar approach is now recognized for the treatment of protozoan-related disease including malaria. Few Plasmodium protein kinases that are not only crucial for their survival but also have unique structural features have been identified as a potential target for drug development. In this review, studies on antimalarial drug development exploiting the size of Plasmodium protein kinase ATP gatekeeper over the past 15 years are mainly discussed. The ATP-binding site of Plasmodium protein kinases such as Pf CDPK1, Pf CDPK4, Pf PKG, Pf PK7, and Pf PI4K showed great potential for selective and multi-target inhibitions owing to their smaller or unique ATP-gatekeeper amino acid subunits compared to that of human protein kinase. Hence it is a feasible solution to identify a new class of active antimalarial agents with a novel mode of action and longer clinical life-span.展开更多
Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior(TPB)suggests that planned behavior is determined by behavioral intention.Despite extensive literature based on TPB,household mental budgeting behavior explained by TPB is underexplo...Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior(TPB)suggests that planned behavior is determined by behavioral intention.Despite extensive literature based on TPB,household mental budgeting behavior explained by TPB is underexplored.The current study empirically tested TPB factors in light of mental budgeting behavior.The hypothesized model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling(PLS-SEM).PLS-SEM was employed using a Likert-scaled questionnaire administered to 275 households.The results indicate that mental budgeting attitude and mental budgeting past behavior strongly predict mental budgeting intention,and mental budgeting intention predicts mental budgeting behavior.Further,mental budgeting intention partially mediates the relationship between mental budgeting attitude and mental budgeting behavior,and mental budgeting past behavior and mental budgeting behavior.This study contributes to the academic interest in theoretical progress in household behavior.展开更多
BACKGROUND A diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM)negatively influences maternal mental health.There is a lack of systematic review and meta-analysis on prevalence of anxiety among GDM women.AIM To pool data...BACKGROUND A diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM)negatively influences maternal mental health.There is a lack of systematic review and meta-analysis on prevalence of anxiety among GDM women.AIM To pool data from existing literature to determine the pooled estimates for the prevalence of anxiety among women diagnosed with GDM.METHODS We searched multiple databases including MEDLINE,Cinahl,PubMed and Scopus to identify studies published up to 31 October 2019 with data on the prevalence of anxiety among women diagnosed with GDM.Data were extracted from published reports.Estimates were pooled using random-effects metaanalyses.RESULTS We reviewed 19 abstracts,retrieved 10 articles and included three studies incorporating 12744 GDM women from three countries.The pooled prevalence of anxiety was 29.5%(95%CI:6.9,52.0)among GDM women.CONCLUSION Prevalence of anxiety among GDM women was high.We suggest that epidemiological studies on anxiety should be conducted urgently as it merits clinical attention.In addition,it is important to identify factors associated with anxiety among women diagnosed with GDM.展开更多
In this letter,a humidity sensor is demonstrated by applying a whispering gallery mode(WGM)from a microsphere resonator onto the ZnO nanorods coated glass surface.The diameter of the microsphere was 234μm and the gla...In this letter,a humidity sensor is demonstrated by applying a whispering gallery mode(WGM)from a microsphere resonator onto the ZnO nanorods coated glass surface.The diameter of the microsphere was 234μm and the glass surface was coated with ZnO nanorods using the hydrothermal method at growth duration of 12 h.A significant response to humidity level ranging from 35%RH to 85%RH has been observed with the sensitivity of 0.0142 nm/%RH.The proposed humidity sensor has successfully employed to enhance interaction between the whispering gallery mode evanescent and surrounds analyte with the assistance of ZnO nanorods coated glass.展开更多
The literature that a lack of integration between the performance shaping factors(PSFs)and the energy management performance(EMP)is one of the critical problems that prevent performance improvement and reduces the pow...The literature that a lack of integration between the performance shaping factors(PSFs)and the energy management performance(EMP)is one of the critical problems that prevent performance improvement and reduces the power plant’s efficiency.To solve this problem,this article aims to achieve two main objectives:(1)Systematically investigate and identify the critical success factors(CSFs)for integration with PSFs and EMP;(2)Develop a novel modelling approach to predict the performance of power plants based on innovative integrated strategies.The research methodology is grounded on the theoretical and practical approach to improving performance.The Newcastle Ottawa Scale(NOS)was used to assess the quality of the literature that met the criteria.To ensure the reliability and accuracy of the proposed model,the researchers developed a hypothesis and evaluated the CSFs via a case study in the Iraqi power plants.The findings of this study succeeded in developing a novel modeling approach to predict the performance by integrating the CSFs of both the PSFs and EMP to increase the positive interaction and energy efficiency of power plants.The results confirmed the validity of the selected hypotheses and verified the positive and important relationship with the success and improvement of the performance in power plants.However,the lack of consistency and balance in the current studies indicates that the performance strategy in power plants did not receive sufficient attention and needs further investigations.展开更多
Environmental Education (EE) has been introduced into the Malaysian Curriculum since 1992. Related to that, EE was found to be an important subject that must be known by the teachers, prior to teach EE indirectly in t...Environmental Education (EE) has been introduced into the Malaysian Curriculum since 1992. Related to that, EE was found to be an important subject that must be known by the teachers, prior to teach EE indirectly in the classroom. Problems occurred while implementing EE in schools such as;less knowledge about EE an extra burden among teachers to teach. At Teachers Training Institute (TTI), EE is a compulsory subject due to complete their training and this study carried out to identify the attitude of teaching EE among pre-service teachers’. The reliability of the items showed 0.830 cronbach’s alpha. One hundred and twenty five respondents among pre-service teachers’ were analyzed and the result shows pre-service teachers’ have positive attitude towards teaching EE in classroom. Analysis of data shown that there are significant differences between male and female pre-service teachers’ in attitude of teaching, with t = 0.036 (p 0.05).展开更多
Dengue is a severe mosquito-borne viral infection causing half a million deaths annually. Dengue virus NS2B/NS3 protease is a validated target for anti-dengue drug design. A series of hitherto unreported 3,5-bis(aryli...Dengue is a severe mosquito-borne viral infection causing half a million deaths annually. Dengue virus NS2B/NS3 protease is a validated target for anti-dengue drug design. A series of hitherto unreported 3,5-bis(arylidene)-4-piperidones analogues 4a4j were synthesized and screened in silico against DENV2 NS2B/NS3 protease to elucidate their binding mechanism and orientation around the active sites. Results were validated through an in vitro DENV2 NS2B/NS3 protease assay using a fluorogenic Boc-Gly-Arg-Arg-AMC substrate. Nitro derivatives of 3,5-bis(arylidene)-4-piperidones (4e and 4j) emerged as promising lead molecules for novel protease inhibitors with an IC<sub>50</sub> of 15.22 and 16.23 µmol/L, respectively, compared to the standard, panduratin A, having IC<sub>50</sub> of 57.28 µmol/L.展开更多
Olea europaea, a native plant of the Mediterranean region, is of great interest to agronomists worldwide, owing to its health beneficial properties and tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, along with its econo...Olea europaea, a native plant of the Mediterranean region, is of great interest to agronomists worldwide, owing to its health beneficial properties and tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, along with its economic importance. The productivity and production efficiency of olive is linearly related to both the level of transpiration and the amount of water supplied. Under conditions of limited supply of good quality water for irrigation in Kuwait, deficit irrigation applied at selected phenological stages can maximize economic gains and minimize environmental damage. Moreover, mulching contributes to a significant reduction in water requirements via reducing soil water losses and increasing soil water retention. In this study, the effects of different irrigation levels, a restitution of 50%, 75% or 100% of the estimated evapotranspiration rate (ETc), and the application of mulching on plant growth under the Kuwait environmental conditions were determined to evaluate the possibilities of reducing the amounts of water supplied with irrigation. Various parameters determining the vegetative growth of the trees such as average height, stem girth and number of branches were recorded at three months intervals. Both the irrigation level and mulching were shown to possess a significant impact on growth of Sourani olive cultivar under the Kuwait environmental conditions. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in the height of the trees under all the three irrigation treatments with mulch and trees under 100% ETc devoid of mulch. In contrast, a significant difference was exhibited by trees under 100% ETc with mulch and 50% ETc without mulch. Within each irrigation treatment, trees with mulch presented higher values for plant height, stem girth and number of shoots. Thus deficit irrigation of 50% ETc along with organic mulch was shown to enhance vegetative growth close to its maximum potential by conserving the scarce water resources.展开更多
Increased agricultural production under the harsh environmental conditions with limited water resources and scarce natural resources is a major challenge in arid regions like Kuwait. The implementation of sustainable ...Increased agricultural production under the harsh environmental conditions with limited water resources and scarce natural resources is a major challenge in arid regions like Kuwait. The implementation of sustainable agricultural practices holds paramount importance in delivering better agricultural environment for increased production. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is one among the most dependable cereal crops under saline and drought conditions. Mutant barley genotypes that have evolved under stress conditions using the improved genetic resources have the desired morphological, physiological and agronomic traits. As Kuwait lack local barley genotypes, it is important to find suitable barley genotypes adaptable to drought and salinity, with high crop water productivity. In this study, several mutant barley varieties were screened for better performance under drought and salinity, with high feed quality. The growth performance and the nutritive value of twelve different barley cultivars were evaluated under both fresh and brackish water irrigation in Kuwait. The seeds of the superior lines were multiplied for fodder production trials and their nutritive value was evaluated in animal production systems. It was found that two parental lines Gustoe and California Marriot and two mutant barley genotypes ari-e.228 and Golden Promise produced high grain yield of 3 - 4 ton/ha. The mutant genotype Golden Promise was the most tolerant, while ari-e.156 was the most susceptible genotype to saline stress. Both proximate analysis and animal feeding trial showed that the dry matter content of the air dry straws varied from 91.26% to 93.35%. The crude fat contents were within the acceptable range (1.13% to 1.93%), and high concentrations of ash and crude protein were found in straw in all genotypes. Thus, the evolution of farming systems that are economically viable, competitive, sustainable and environmental friendly improves the production efficiency, productivity and product quality of various crops.展开更多
Biosphere Reserves (BR) are special areas or regions highly recognized for their conservation, logistic functions and sustainable development initiatives. However, not much work has explored into the BRs’ roles or fu...Biosphere Reserves (BR) are special areas or regions highly recognized for their conservation, logistic functions and sustainable development initiatives. However, not much work has explored into the BRs’ roles or functions as tourism learning destination, especially during the early years of their recognition as BR. This article aims to identify the mechanism utilised in the learning tourism function at Tasik Chini Biosphere Reserve since its inception in 2009 to the present year of 2013. The results reveal that learning of science and culture of the locals are the two-tier perspectives utlised in conceptualizing a tourism learning destination. Activities introduced in the specific themes of The Sustainability of Tropical Heritage fulfils the fundamental need of deep learning of scientific research and learning of the BR’s ecosystem, while the Ecosystem Health fulfils both deep and surface learning of the young visitors. The cultural knowledge of the community, on the other hand, offers a unique and authentic experience to the learners or visitors. As a learning tourism destination, the learning community, nevertheless, expects that the standard of tourism services should not be marginalised and must meet the high standard of tourism services. It is imperative that the science of Biosphere Reserve and the local culture are linked to set a holistic foundation in the creation of the learning programmes at the Tasik Chini Biosphere Reserve.展开更多
基金This study was fully funded by Mundipharma Pharmaceutical Sdn.Bhd.(No.USIM/MUNDI/FPSK/052002/42817).
文摘Background Absenteeism amongst pre-school children is often due to illnesses such as hand,foot,and mouth disease,acute gastroenteritis,cold and flu,which are easily spread amongst them.This is because of weak immunity and lack of knowledge on proper hand hygiene.This quasi-experimental study assessed the efficacy of an intervention consisting of a hand hygiene education programme,along with digital tools in bringing about a change in behaviour and health conditions amongst pre-school children in Klang Valley,Malaysia.Methods A total of 377 school children,male and female,aged 5–6 years old,participated and were assigned to either the intervention or a control group.During the 2 months intervention period,children in the test group were trained on proper hand hygiene practices and techniques with the aid of the interactive android-based tablets.The numbers of absent days of all the children were recorded for 2 months before the intervention and during the intervention.Results In the test group,there was a 25%increase in the total number of absent days from the pre-intervention period to the intervention period,a much lesser increment observed as compared to that of control group in which the increase was much higher at 89%.Results showed a significant difference(P<0·05)between the absenteeism rates for the test and control group during the intervention period.Conclusion These results suggest that proper education and intervention increase hand hygiene compliance,which may help decrease school absenteeism due to illness;however,a longer study duration may be necessary to evaluate the benefit further.
基金This work was supported/funded by the Ministry of Higher Education/University of Technology Malaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme(FRGS/1/2019/TK08/UTM/02/4).
文摘Industry 4.0 is expected to play a crucial role in improving energy management and personnel performance in power plants.Poor performance problem in maintaining power plants is the result of both human errors,human factors and the poor implementation of automation in energy management.This problem can potentially be solved using artificial intelligence(AI)and an integrated management system(IMS).This article investigates the current challenges to improving personnel and energy management performance in power plants,identifies the critical success factors(CSFs)for an integrated intelligent framework,and develops an intelligent framework that enables power plants to improve performance.The theoretical basis is founded on a systematic literature review to locate 110 out of 3108 papers studied carefully to examine the performance architecture that best enables effective maintenance.The findings from this literature review are combined with expert judgment and the big data advantages of AI applications to develop an intelligent model.Data are collected from a power plant in Iraq.To ensure the reliability of the proposed model,various hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling.The results confirm that the measurement model is acceptable,and that the hypotheses are supported and significant.A case study demonstrates the strong relationship and significance between big data of performance and the CSFs.It is hoped that this model will be adopted to enable performance improvement in power plants.
基金Universiti Sains Malaysia for Short Term Grant with Grant Number 304/PMATHS/6315390.
文摘The effectiveness of the logic mining approach is strongly correlated to the quality of the induced logical representation that represent the behaviour of the data.Specifically,the optimum induced logical representation indicates the capability of the logic mining approach in generalizing the real datasets of different variants and dimensions.The main issues with the logic extracted by the standard logic mining techniques are lack of interpretability and the weakness in terms of the structural and arrangement of the 2 Satisfiability logic causing lower accuracy.To address the issues,the logical permutation serves as an alternative mechanism that can enhance the probability of the 2 Satisfiability logical rule becoming true by utilizing the definitive finite arrangement of attributes.This work aims to examine and analyze the significant effect of logical permutation on the performance of data extraction ability of the logic mining approach incorporated with the recurrent discrete Hopfield Neural Network.Based on the theory,the effect of permutation and associate memories in recurrent Hopfield Neural Network will potentially improve the accuracy of the existing logic mining approach.To validate the impact of the logical permutation on the retrieval phase of the logic mining model,the proposed work is experimentally tested on a different class of the benchmark real datasets ranging from the multivariate and timeseries datasets.The experimental results show the significant improvement in the proposed logical permutation-based logic mining according to the domains such as compatibility,accuracy,and competitiveness as opposed to the plethora of standard 2 Satisfiability Reverse Analysis methods.
基金This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public,commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
文摘The El Minia governorate lies within the Nile Valley,surrounded by calcareous plateaus to the east and west.The present study focuses on the hydrogeochemistry of the Eocene limestone aquifer at some wadis in the east El Minia governorate,Eastern Desert,Egypt.Hydrogeologically,two main aquifers are encountered in the study area,namely the Maghagha marly limestone and the Samalut chalky limestone aquifers.The Maghagha aquifer is composed of alternating layers of marly limestone and shale with thicknesses ranging from 3.49 m to 177.05 m and a groundwater depth ranging from 8.5 m to 59.27 m which reflects low groundwater potentiality.The groundwater salinity representing this aquifer ranges from 603.5 mg/L to 978.5 mg/L,reflecting fresh water type.Samalut aquifer is made up of chalky,cavernous and fractured limestone with thickness ranging from 30 m to 205 m and groundwater depth ranging from 9 m to 86.77 m,which indicates good groundwater potential.The groundwater salinity of the concerned aquifer ranges from 349.7 mg/L to 2043.9 mg/L,reflecting fresh to possibly brackish water types.Groundwater in the study area is of meteoric water origin;recent recharge is mainly controlled through the presence of fractures and their densities.The majority of groundwater samples in the study area are suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes.
文摘Malaria is one of the most devastating infectious diseases that caused millions of clinical cases annually despite decades of prevention efforts. Recent cases of Plasmodium falciparum resistance against the only remaining class of effective antimalarial(artemisinin) in South East Asia may soon pose a significant threat. Hence, the identification of new antimalarial compounds with a novel mode of action is necessary to curb this problem. Protein kinase has been implicated as a valid target for drug development in diseases such as cancer and diabetes in humans. A similar approach is now recognized for the treatment of protozoan-related disease including malaria. Few Plasmodium protein kinases that are not only crucial for their survival but also have unique structural features have been identified as a potential target for drug development. In this review, studies on antimalarial drug development exploiting the size of Plasmodium protein kinase ATP gatekeeper over the past 15 years are mainly discussed. The ATP-binding site of Plasmodium protein kinases such as Pf CDPK1, Pf CDPK4, Pf PKG, Pf PK7, and Pf PI4K showed great potential for selective and multi-target inhibitions owing to their smaller or unique ATP-gatekeeper amino acid subunits compared to that of human protein kinase. Hence it is a feasible solution to identify a new class of active antimalarial agents with a novel mode of action and longer clinical life-span.
文摘Ajzen’s theory of planned behavior(TPB)suggests that planned behavior is determined by behavioral intention.Despite extensive literature based on TPB,household mental budgeting behavior explained by TPB is underexplored.The current study empirically tested TPB factors in light of mental budgeting behavior.The hypothesized model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling(PLS-SEM).PLS-SEM was employed using a Likert-scaled questionnaire administered to 275 households.The results indicate that mental budgeting attitude and mental budgeting past behavior strongly predict mental budgeting intention,and mental budgeting intention predicts mental budgeting behavior.Further,mental budgeting intention partially mediates the relationship between mental budgeting attitude and mental budgeting behavior,and mental budgeting past behavior and mental budgeting behavior.This study contributes to the academic interest in theoretical progress in household behavior.
基金Supported by the Universiti Putra Malaysia under Putra Graduate Initiative,No UPM/700-2/1/GPIPS/2018/9593800High Impact Grant,No.UPM/800-3/3/1/GPB/2018/9659600.
文摘BACKGROUND A diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus(GDM)negatively influences maternal mental health.There is a lack of systematic review and meta-analysis on prevalence of anxiety among GDM women.AIM To pool data from existing literature to determine the pooled estimates for the prevalence of anxiety among women diagnosed with GDM.METHODS We searched multiple databases including MEDLINE,Cinahl,PubMed and Scopus to identify studies published up to 31 October 2019 with data on the prevalence of anxiety among women diagnosed with GDM.Data were extracted from published reports.Estimates were pooled using random-effects metaanalyses.RESULTS We reviewed 19 abstracts,retrieved 10 articles and included three studies incorporating 12744 GDM women from three countries.The pooled prevalence of anxiety was 29.5%(95%CI:6.9,52.0)among GDM women.CONCLUSION Prevalence of anxiety among GDM women was high.We suggest that epidemiological studies on anxiety should be conducted urgently as it merits clinical attention.In addition,it is important to identify factors associated with anxiety among women diagnosed with GDM.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.U1304608 and 61774053)the Project of Henan Provincial Department of Science and Technology(No.182102410047)the Program of Henan Polytechnic University(No.B2014-020)。
文摘In this letter,a humidity sensor is demonstrated by applying a whispering gallery mode(WGM)from a microsphere resonator onto the ZnO nanorods coated glass surface.The diameter of the microsphere was 234μm and the glass surface was coated with ZnO nanorods using the hydrothermal method at growth duration of 12 h.A significant response to humidity level ranging from 35%RH to 85%RH has been observed with the sensitivity of 0.0142 nm/%RH.The proposed humidity sensor has successfully employed to enhance interaction between the whispering gallery mode evanescent and surrounds analyte with the assistance of ZnO nanorods coated glass.
基金This work was supported/funded by the Ministry of Higher Education/University of TechnologyMalaysia under the Fundamental Research Grant Scheme(FRGS/1/2021/TK0/UTM/02/45).
文摘The literature that a lack of integration between the performance shaping factors(PSFs)and the energy management performance(EMP)is one of the critical problems that prevent performance improvement and reduces the power plant’s efficiency.To solve this problem,this article aims to achieve two main objectives:(1)Systematically investigate and identify the critical success factors(CSFs)for integration with PSFs and EMP;(2)Develop a novel modelling approach to predict the performance of power plants based on innovative integrated strategies.The research methodology is grounded on the theoretical and practical approach to improving performance.The Newcastle Ottawa Scale(NOS)was used to assess the quality of the literature that met the criteria.To ensure the reliability and accuracy of the proposed model,the researchers developed a hypothesis and evaluated the CSFs via a case study in the Iraqi power plants.The findings of this study succeeded in developing a novel modeling approach to predict the performance by integrating the CSFs of both the PSFs and EMP to increase the positive interaction and energy efficiency of power plants.The results confirmed the validity of the selected hypotheses and verified the positive and important relationship with the success and improvement of the performance in power plants.However,the lack of consistency and balance in the current studies indicates that the performance strategy in power plants did not receive sufficient attention and needs further investigations.
文摘Environmental Education (EE) has been introduced into the Malaysian Curriculum since 1992. Related to that, EE was found to be an important subject that must be known by the teachers, prior to teach EE indirectly in the classroom. Problems occurred while implementing EE in schools such as;less knowledge about EE an extra burden among teachers to teach. At Teachers Training Institute (TTI), EE is a compulsory subject due to complete their training and this study carried out to identify the attitude of teaching EE among pre-service teachers’. The reliability of the items showed 0.830 cronbach’s alpha. One hundred and twenty five respondents among pre-service teachers’ were analyzed and the result shows pre-service teachers’ have positive attitude towards teaching EE in classroom. Analysis of data shown that there are significant differences between male and female pre-service teachers’ in attitude of teaching, with t = 0.036 (p 0.05).
基金The Research University Team Grant (RUT/1001/PKIMIA/855006) provided by Universiti Sains Malaysia(USM)
文摘Dengue is a severe mosquito-borne viral infection causing half a million deaths annually. Dengue virus NS2B/NS3 protease is a validated target for anti-dengue drug design. A series of hitherto unreported 3,5-bis(arylidene)-4-piperidones analogues 4a4j were synthesized and screened in silico against DENV2 NS2B/NS3 protease to elucidate their binding mechanism and orientation around the active sites. Results were validated through an in vitro DENV2 NS2B/NS3 protease assay using a fluorogenic Boc-Gly-Arg-Arg-AMC substrate. Nitro derivatives of 3,5-bis(arylidene)-4-piperidones (4e and 4j) emerged as promising lead molecules for novel protease inhibitors with an IC<sub>50</sub> of 15.22 and 16.23 µmol/L, respectively, compared to the standard, panduratin A, having IC<sub>50</sub> of 57.28 µmol/L.
文摘Olea europaea, a native plant of the Mediterranean region, is of great interest to agronomists worldwide, owing to its health beneficial properties and tolerance to harsh environmental conditions, along with its economic importance. The productivity and production efficiency of olive is linearly related to both the level of transpiration and the amount of water supplied. Under conditions of limited supply of good quality water for irrigation in Kuwait, deficit irrigation applied at selected phenological stages can maximize economic gains and minimize environmental damage. Moreover, mulching contributes to a significant reduction in water requirements via reducing soil water losses and increasing soil water retention. In this study, the effects of different irrigation levels, a restitution of 50%, 75% or 100% of the estimated evapotranspiration rate (ETc), and the application of mulching on plant growth under the Kuwait environmental conditions were determined to evaluate the possibilities of reducing the amounts of water supplied with irrigation. Various parameters determining the vegetative growth of the trees such as average height, stem girth and number of branches were recorded at three months intervals. Both the irrigation level and mulching were shown to possess a significant impact on growth of Sourani olive cultivar under the Kuwait environmental conditions. Statistical analysis revealed no significant difference in the height of the trees under all the three irrigation treatments with mulch and trees under 100% ETc devoid of mulch. In contrast, a significant difference was exhibited by trees under 100% ETc with mulch and 50% ETc without mulch. Within each irrigation treatment, trees with mulch presented higher values for plant height, stem girth and number of shoots. Thus deficit irrigation of 50% ETc along with organic mulch was shown to enhance vegetative growth close to its maximum potential by conserving the scarce water resources.
文摘Increased agricultural production under the harsh environmental conditions with limited water resources and scarce natural resources is a major challenge in arid regions like Kuwait. The implementation of sustainable agricultural practices holds paramount importance in delivering better agricultural environment for increased production. Barley (Hordeum vulgare) is one among the most dependable cereal crops under saline and drought conditions. Mutant barley genotypes that have evolved under stress conditions using the improved genetic resources have the desired morphological, physiological and agronomic traits. As Kuwait lack local barley genotypes, it is important to find suitable barley genotypes adaptable to drought and salinity, with high crop water productivity. In this study, several mutant barley varieties were screened for better performance under drought and salinity, with high feed quality. The growth performance and the nutritive value of twelve different barley cultivars were evaluated under both fresh and brackish water irrigation in Kuwait. The seeds of the superior lines were multiplied for fodder production trials and their nutritive value was evaluated in animal production systems. It was found that two parental lines Gustoe and California Marriot and two mutant barley genotypes ari-e.228 and Golden Promise produced high grain yield of 3 - 4 ton/ha. The mutant genotype Golden Promise was the most tolerant, while ari-e.156 was the most susceptible genotype to saline stress. Both proximate analysis and animal feeding trial showed that the dry matter content of the air dry straws varied from 91.26% to 93.35%. The crude fat contents were within the acceptable range (1.13% to 1.93%), and high concentrations of ash and crude protein were found in straw in all genotypes. Thus, the evolution of farming systems that are economically viable, competitive, sustainable and environmental friendly improves the production efficiency, productivity and product quality of various crops.
文摘Biosphere Reserves (BR) are special areas or regions highly recognized for their conservation, logistic functions and sustainable development initiatives. However, not much work has explored into the BRs’ roles or functions as tourism learning destination, especially during the early years of their recognition as BR. This article aims to identify the mechanism utilised in the learning tourism function at Tasik Chini Biosphere Reserve since its inception in 2009 to the present year of 2013. The results reveal that learning of science and culture of the locals are the two-tier perspectives utlised in conceptualizing a tourism learning destination. Activities introduced in the specific themes of The Sustainability of Tropical Heritage fulfils the fundamental need of deep learning of scientific research and learning of the BR’s ecosystem, while the Ecosystem Health fulfils both deep and surface learning of the young visitors. The cultural knowledge of the community, on the other hand, offers a unique and authentic experience to the learners or visitors. As a learning tourism destination, the learning community, nevertheless, expects that the standard of tourism services should not be marginalised and must meet the high standard of tourism services. It is imperative that the science of Biosphere Reserve and the local culture are linked to set a holistic foundation in the creation of the learning programmes at the Tasik Chini Biosphere Reserve.
