Browse publications by year: 2023

Microplastics in green mussels (Perna viridis) from Jakarta Bay, Indonesia, and the associated hazards to human health posed by their consumption

Irnidayanti Y, Soegianto A, Brabo AH, Abdilla FM, Indriyasari KN, Rahmatin NM, et al.

Environ Monit Assess, 2023 Jun 26;195(7):884.
PMID: 37358711 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11535-9

The Jakarta Bay is the estuary for thirteen rivers that flow through densely populated and industrialized upstream regions. This condition has the potential to pollute the Jakarta Bay with microplastics that are transported from the upstream river. Meanwhile, people, particularly fishermen, continue to use Jakarta Bay for fishing and aquaculture. This study examined microplastics (MP) abundance in the whole tissues of green mussels (Perna viridis) grown in Jakarta Bay, Indonesia, and their health risks. MP was identified in all 120 green mussels, with fiber > film > fragment being the most common kinds. The abundance of fiber was 19 items/g of tissue, whereas the abundances of fragments and film were 14.5 items/g and 15 item/g, respectively. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy tests on MP from the tissues of green mussels showed that there were 12 different types of MP polymers. The estimated amount of MP that humans consume each year varied from 29,120 MP items/year to 218,400 MP items/year for different age groups. Based on the total mean number of MP found in the tissues of green mussels and the amount of shellfish consumed per person in Indonesia, it was estimated that people ate 775,180 MP through shellfish each year.

MeSH terms: Animals; Environmental Monitoring/methods; Humans; Indonesia; Plastics; Perna*; Bays
A new meta-heuristic optimization-based MPPT control technique for green energy harvesting from photovoltaic systems under different atmospheric conditions

Kishore DJK, Mohamed MR, Sudhakar K, Peddakapu K

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Jul;30(35):84167-84182.
PMID: 37358770 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-28248-8

At present, a photovoltaic (PV) system takes responsibility to reduce the risk of global warming and generate electricity. However, the PV system faces numerous problems to track global maximum peak power (GMPP) owing to the nonlinear nature of the environment especially due to partial shading conditions (PSC). To solve these difficulties, previous researchers have utilized various conventional methods for investigations. Nevertheless, these methods have oscillations around the GMPP. Hence, a new metaheuristic method such as an opposition-based equilibrium optimizer (OBEO) algorithm is used in this work for mitigating the oscillations around GMPP. To find the effectiveness of the proposed method, it can be evaluated with other methods such as SSA, GWO, and P&O. As per the simulation outcome, the proposed OBEO method provides maximum efficiency against all other methods. The efficiency for the proposed method under dynamic PSC is 95.09% in 0.16 s, similarly, 96.17% for uniform PSC and 86.25% for complex PSC.

MeSH terms: Heuristics*; Algorithms; Climate; Computer Simulation; Models, Theoretical*
Enhancement of energy recovery from caffeine wastewater in constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell through operating conditions

Teoh TP, Ong SA, Ho LN, Wong YS, Lutpi NA, Tan SM, et al.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2023 Jul;30(35):84397-84411.
PMID: 37358771 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-28362-7

The enhancement of up-flow constructed wetland-microbial fuel cell (UFCW-MFC) performance in energy retrieval from caffeine containing wastewater has been explored via various operating conditions (hydraulic retention time (HRT), multianode (MA), multicathode current collector (MC), external resistance). The anaerobic decaffeination and COD removal improved by 37 and 12% as the HRT extended from 1 to 5 d. The increment in contact time between the microbes and organic substrates promoted the degradation and contributed to higher power output (3.4-fold), CE (eightfold), and NER (14-16-fold). The MA and MC connections facilitated the electron transfer rate and the degradation rate of organic substrates in the multiple anodic zones, which enhanced the removal efficiency in the anaerobic compartment (Caffeine: 4.2%; COD: 7.4%) and led to higher electricity generation (Power: 4.7-fold) and energy recovery (CE: 1.4-fold; NER: 2.3-2.5-fold) compared to SA. The lower external resistance favored the growth of electrogens and induced higher electron flux, where the best treatment performance and electricity production was obtained when the external resistance approached the internal resistance. Overall, it was noteworthy that the optimum operating conditions were achieved with 5 d HRT, MA, and MC connection along with external resistance of 200 Ω, which significantly outperformed the initial conditions (1 d HRT, SA connection, and 1000 Ω) by 43.7 and 29.8% of caffeine and COD removal in the anaerobic compartment, respectively as well as 14-fold of power generation.

MeSH terms: Bioelectric Energy Sources*; Caffeine; Electricity; Electrodes; Wetlands; Waste Water
Fulltext The Effectiveness of Early Food Introduction in Preventing Childhood Allergic Diseases: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abang Abdullah AF, Muhamad NA, Ab Ghani RM, Maamor NH, Leman FN, Too CL, et al.

JMIR Res Protoc, 2023 Jun 26;12:e46816.
PMID: 37358892 DOI: 10.2196/46816

BACKGROUND: Allergic diseases affect around 40% of the pediatric population worldwide. The coexistence of asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and food allergy renders allergy treatment and prevention challenging. Infant feeding strategies recommend avoiding allergenic foods to prevent allergy development and anaphylaxis. However, recent evidence suggests that early consumption of food allergens during weaning in infants aged 4-6 months could result in food tolerance, thus reducing the risk of developing allergies.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to systematically review and carry out a meta-analysis of evidence on the outcome of early food introduction for preventing childhood allergic diseases.
METHODS: We will conduct a systematic review of interventions through a comprehensive search of various databases including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CENTRAL, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Google Scholar to identify potential studies. The search will be performed for any eligible articles from the earliest published articles up to the latest available studies in 2023. We will include randomized controlled trials (RCTs), cluster RCTs, non-RCTs, and other observational studies that assess the effect of early food introduction to prevent childhood allergic diseases.
RESULTS: Primary outcomes will include measures related to the effect of childhood allergic diseases (ie, asthma, allergic rhinitis, eczema, and food allergy). PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines will be followed for study selection. All data will be extracted using a standardized data extraction form and the quality of the studies will be assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. A summary of findings table will be generated for the following outcomes: (1) total number of allergic diseases, (2) rate of sensitization, (3) total number of adverse events, (4) improvement of health-related quality of life, and (5) all-cause mortality. Descriptive and meta-analyses will be performed using a random-effects model in Review Manager (Cochrane). Heterogeneity among selected studies will be assessed using the I2 statistic and explored through meta-regression and subgroup analyses. Data collection is expected to start in June 2023.
CONCLUSIONS: The results acquired from this study will contribute to the existing literature and harmonize recommendations for infant feeding with regard to the prevention of childhood allergic diseases.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42021256776; https://tinyurl.com/4j272y8a.
INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/46816.
Fulltext Who's Remembering to Buy the Eggs? The Meaning, Measurement, and Implications of Invisible Family Load

Wayne JH, Mills MJ, Wang YR, Matthews RA, Whitman MV

J Bus Psychol, 2023 May 30.
PMID: 37359080 DOI: 10.1007/s10869-023-09887-7

Although much is known of the observable physical tasks associated with household management and child rearing, there is scant understanding of the less visible tasks that are just as critical. Grounding our research in the extant literature, the broader lay discussion, as well as our own qualitative research, we define, conceptualize, and operationalize this construct, which we label as "invisible family load." Using a mixed method, five-study approach, we offer a comprehensive, multidimensional definition and provide a nine-item, empirically validated scale to measure its component parts-managerial, cognitive, and emotional family load. In addition, we investigate gender differences and find, as expected, that women report higher levels of each dimension. We also examine the implications of invisible family load for employee health, well-being, and job attitudes, as well as family-to-work spillover. Although we substantiated some significant negative consequences, contrary to the popular view that consequences of invisible family load are uniformly negative, our results show some potential benefits. Even after accounting for conscientiousness and neuroticism, managerial family load related to greater family-work enrichment, and cognitive family load related to greater family satisfaction and job performance. Yet, emotional family load had uniformly negative potential consequences including greater family-to-work conflict, sleep problems, family and job exhaustion, and lower life and family satisfaction. Our research sets the stage for scholars to forge a path forward to enhance understanding of this phenomenon and its implications for individuals, their families, and the organizations for which they work.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10869-023-09887-7.
Fulltext Refractory Helicobacter pylori treatment in resource-limited settings

Mahadeva S

JGH Open, 2023 Jun;7(6):401-402.
PMID: 37359112 DOI: 10.1002/jgh3.12934
Fulltext Post-COVID-19 pandemic and the Paris agreement: a socioeconomic analysis and carbon emissions forecasting in developed and developing countries

Hoy ZX, Leong JF, Woon KS

Clean Technol Environ Policy, 2023 Mar 18.
PMID: 37359167 DOI: 10.1007/s10098-023-02508-0

The COVID-19 pandemic caused profound impacts on the global economy, resulting in a sharp drop in carbon emissions as energy demand fell. The emissions reduction due to past extreme events often follows with a rebound after the economy recovers, but the pandemic's impacts on the long-term carbon emissions trend remain unknown. This study forecasts the carbon emissions of Group of Seven (G7) as developed countries and Emerging Seven (E7) as developing countries using socioeconomic indicators and artificial intelligence-powered predictive analytics to assess the pandemic's impacts on the long-term carbon trajectory curve and their progress toward achieving the Paris Agreement goals. Most E7's carbon emissions have strong positive correlations (> 0.8) with the socioeconomic indicators, whereas most G7's correlate negatively (> 0.6) due to their decoupled economic growth from carbon emissions. The forecasts show higher growth rates in the E7's carbon emissions after the rebound in the pandemic scenario compared to the pandemic-free scenario, while the impact on the G7's carbon emissions is negligible. The overall impact of the pandemic outbreak on long-term carbon emissions is small. Still, its short-term positive impact on the environment should not be misunderstood, and stringent emissions reduction policies must be implemented urgently to ensure the achievement of Paris Agreement goals.
GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: Research methodology for assessing the pandemic's impacts on the G7 and E7 countries' long-term carbon trajectory curve.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10098-023-02508-0.
Fulltext A review on co-pyrolysis of agriculture biomass and disposable medical face mask waste for green fuel production: recent advances and thermo-kinetic models

Wee MXJ, Chin BLF, Saptoro A, Yiin CL, Chew JJ, Sunarso J, et al.

Front Chem Sci Eng, 2023 May 29.
PMID: 37359292 DOI: 10.1007/s11705-022-2230-7

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is blessed with agricultural resources, and with the growing population, it will continue to prosper, which follows the abundance of agricultural biomass. Lignocellulosic biomass attracted researchers' interest in extracting bio-oil from these wastes. However, the resulting bio-oil has low heating values and undesirable physical properties. Hence, co-pyrolysis with plastic or polymer wastes is adopted to improve the yield and quality of the bio-oil. Furthermore, with the spread of the novel coronavirus, the surge of single-use plastic waste such as disposable medical face mask, can potentially set back the previous plastic waste reduction measures. Therefore, studies of existing technologies and techniques are referred in exploring the potential of disposable medical face mask waste as a candidate for co-pyrolysis with biomass. Process parameters, utilisation of catalysts and technologies are key factors in improving and optimising the process to achieve commercial standard of liquid fuel. Catalytic co-pyrolysis involves a series of complex mechanisms, which cannot be explained using simple iso-conversional models. Hence, advanced conversional models are introduced, followed by the evolutionary models and predictive models, which can solve the non-linear catalytic co-pyrolysis reaction kinetics. The outlook and challenges for the topic are discussed in detail.
Fulltext Determinants of financial resilience: insights from an emerging economy

Hamid FS, Loke YJ, Chin PN

J Soc Econ Dev, 2023 Mar 03.
PMID: 37359359 DOI: 10.1007/s40847-023-00239-y

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Financial Literacy Survey of 2018 response is used to study the impact of financial knowledge, financial inclusion, and socio-demographic characteristics on financial resilience. The measurement of financial resilience considers elements related to keeping control of money, taking care of expenditures, having a financial cushion, handling financial shortfall or stress, and having financial planning. Using a sample of 3395 individuals across Malaysia, we find that greater financial knowledge is associated with the probability of being financially resilient. Greater financial inclusion in terms of having more bank accounts and holding more financial products is linked to the probability of being financially resilient. We also find that financial resilience varies across certain socio-demographic characteristics. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Fulltext A systematic review on the cultural factors associated with stigma during pandemics

Zay Hta MK, Ting RS, Goh PH, Gan QH, Jones L

Curr Psychol, 2023 Mar 15.
PMID: 37359581 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04509-0

Both public stigma and perceived self-stigma are prevalent during pandemics threatening a divide among the global community. This systematic review examined the cultural factors associated with viral respiratory-related pandemic stigma. Following PRISMA guidelines, the keywords, "culture, stigma, and pandemic" were searched across relevant databases for empirical papers between January 2000 to March 2022. Quality assessment and coding were adopted in the screening process. Thirty-one articles were included in the final analysis. Themes revealed that collectivistic values, cultural identities, and non-western regions were associated with public (others) stigma; mismatch of cultural values, minority groups, and North America, Asia, Oceania, and African regions were associated with higher perceived and self-stigma. We further mapped the themes into a proposed systemic cultural stigma model to integrate the dynamic intersection of cultural values, identity, and ecology. The cultural factors and their influence on stigma were then explained by drawing on two evolutionary theories: Cultural rationality theory and scapegoating theory. Lastly, we proposed culturally sensitive and responsive practices for stigma management at the community level, especially in non-Western regions during the pandemic recovery phase.
Fulltext When and why are employees willing to engage in voice behavior: a power cognition perspective

Luo S, Wang J, Xie Z, Tong DYK

Curr Psychol, 2023 Apr 18.
PMID: 37359604 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04638-6

Previous studies have found that sense of power is an important predictor of employee voice; however, the mechanism underlying the relationship between these factors remains unclear. To explore this mechanism, 642 valid questionnaires from 45 enterprises were used to conduct an empirical test based on the approach-inhibition theory of power. The results showed that sense of power can affect error risk taking positively, error risk taking mediates the relationship between sense of power and employee voice; and power congruence moderates both the direct relationship between sense of power and employee voice and their indirect relationship via error risk taking. This study thus provides a useful reference for improving employees' enthusiasm for voice behavior and can help enhance the competitiveness of enterprises.
Fulltext The impact of employment stress on college students: psychological well-being during COVID-19 pandemic in China

Peng Y, Lv SB, Low SR, Bono SA

Curr Psychol, 2023 May 30.
PMID: 37359658 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04785-w

Employment among final year college students in China has encountered unprecedented difficulties during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the high unemployment rate had led college graduates faced inadvertently mental health issues such as anxiety and depression. This study aims to investigate the impact of employment stress on college students' psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. An online survey consisting of demographic items (i.e., age, gender, subject major, type of university, and perceived severity of the current employment situation), Employment Stress scale, Employment Anxiety Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire was employed for data collection. A total of 2,627 final year college students were recruited, with participants displayed below moderate levels of employment stress and anxiety. Approximately 13.2% of participants were depressed and 53.3% considered the current employment situation as severe. Female students were stressed by individual factors and anxious, whilst male students were more depressed. Arts students were less depressed and students from comprehensive universities were more depressed and anxious compared to other types of universities. Students who perceived the employment situation as very severe displayed the lowest level of employment stress and anxiety. Gender, university type, family stress, college stress, and individual stress are predictors of psychological well-being among college students. The family environment, female identity, and stress from university play a crucial role in college students' psychological well-being. The government should pay more attention to the psychological well-being of graduate students and develop feasible measures to help them secure a job during this unprecedented time.
Fulltext Exploring global trends and future directions in advertising research: A focus on consumer behavior

Alsharif AH, Salleh NZM, Alrawad M, Lutfi A

Curr Psychol, 2023 Jun 03.
PMID: 37359681 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-023-04812-w

This study aims to select the physiological and neurophysiological studies utilized in advertising and to address the fragmented comprehension of consumers' mental responses to advertising held by marketers and advertisers. To fill the gap, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework was employed to select relevant articles, and bibliometric analysis was conducted to determine global trends and advancements in advertising and neuromarketing. The study selected and analyzed forty-one papers from the Web of Science (WoS) database from 2009-2020. The results indicated that Spain, particularly the Complutense University of Madrid, was the most productive country and institution, respectively, with 11 and 3 articles. The journal Frontiers in Psychology was the most prolific, with eight articles. The article "Neuromarketing: The New Science of Consumer Behavior" had the most citations (152 T.Cs). Additionally, the researchers discovered that the inferior frontal and middle temporal gyri were associated with pleasant and unpleasant emotions, respectively, while the right superior temporal and right middle frontal gyrus was connected to high and low arousal. Furthermore, the right prefrontal cortex (PFC) and left PFC were linked to withdrawal and approach behaviors. In terms of the reward system, the ventral striatum played a critical role, while the orbitofrontal cortex and ventromedial PFC were connected to perception. As far as we know, this is the first paper that focused on the global academic trends and developments of neurophysiological and physiological instruments used in advertising in the new millennium, emphasizing the significance of intrinsic and extrinsic emotional processes, endogenous and exogenous attentional processes, memory, reward, motivational attitude, and perception in advertising campaigns.
Fulltext A quantitative study on the effects of an interactive multimodal application to promote students' learning motivation and comprehension in studying Tang poetry

Chen C, Jamiat N

Front Psychol, 2023;14:1189864.
PMID: 37359868 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1189864

Studying China's Tang poetry is a crucially integrated part of the language curriculum in primary schools because it is an important part of its cultural heritage and classical literature. However, due to the fact that Tang poetry is written in classical Chinese, which is quite different from modern Chinese Mandarin, and the complex categories of this poetry style, learning Tang poetry can be a challenging experience for many students. To address this problem, this study developed an interactive multimodal application based on the cognitive-affective theory of learning with media to learn Tang poetry in an interactive way. In order to assess the effectiveness of this method, a pretest-posttest control group experiment was conducted. The experiment included eighty third-grade students randomly and equally divided into experimental and control groups from an elementary school in Xinzheng, Henan Province, to test (1) whether the interactive multimodal application improves students' reading comprehension of Tang poetry and (2) whether the application enhances students' intrinsic and/or extrinsic motivation in learning Tang poetry. A multimodal interactive application was used by the experimental group to learn Tang poetry, while the control group used a traditional classroom method. According to the study's findings, it was found that students' intrinsic motivation and comprehension of Tang poetry improved through the use of the interactive multimodal application mode.
Fulltext Masturbation Among Malaysian Young Adults: Associated Sexual and Psychological Well-Being Outcomes

Phuah LA, Teng JHJ, Goh PH

Sex Cult, 2023 May 26.
PMID: 37360020 DOI: 10.1007/s12119-023-10101-2

Despite being a common sexual practice, not much is known about masturbation within the Malaysian context. The current study examined the masturbation practices of a convenience sample of Malaysian young adults, and how one's reported experience of masturbating and frequency of masturbation is associated with sexual and psychological well-being. Satisfaction with sex life, satisfaction with life, depression, anxiety, and stress were measured as outcome variables. Responses from 621 participants (M = 22.1 years, SD = 2.4 years) that were collected through an online questionnaire were analyzed. Results revealed that most participants (77.7%) had masturbated at least once in their life. Sexual satisfaction and psychological well-being did not differ between those who reported masturbating before and those who did not. Among those with masturbation experience, higher frequency of masturbation was associated with less sexual satisfaction and more symptoms of anxiety and stress. Masturbation frequency was not associated with life satisfaction or reports of depressive symptoms. Gender, frequency of partnered sex, availability of a sexual partner, and religiosity did not moderate the relationships between masturbation frequency with sexual satisfaction and psychological well-being. Although the limitations of the current study impede generalizability, masturbation was found to be a common behavior among the current sample. Causal inferences cannot be drawn from the significant associations found in the current study, as the findings indicate such relationships may be bidirectional.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12119-023-10101-2.
Fulltext Genetic differentiation following recent domestication events: A study of farmed Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) populations

Barría A, Peñaloza C, Papadopoulou A, Mahmuddin M, Doeschl-Wilson A, Benzie JAH, et al.

Evol Appl, 2023 Jun;16(6):1220-1235.
PMID: 37360025 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13560

Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is among the most farmed finfish worldwide, distributed across different environmental conditions. Its wide distribution has mainly been facilitated by several breeding programs and widespread dissemination of genetically improved strains. In the first Nile tilapia study exploiting a whole-genome pooled sequencing (Poolseq) approach, we identified the genetic structure and signatures of selection in diverse, farmed Nile tilapia populations, with a particular focus on the GIFT strain, developed in the 1980s, and currently managed by WorldFish (GIFTw). We also investigated important farmed strains from The Philippines and Africa. Using both SNP array data and Poolseq SNPs, we characterized the population structure of these samples. We observed the greatest separation between the Asian and African populations and greater admixture in the Asian populations than in the African ones. We also established that the SNP array data were able to successfully resolve relationships between these diverse Nile tilapia populations. The Poolseq data identified genomic regions with high levels of differentiation (F ST) between GIFTw and the other populations. Gene ontology terms associated with mesoderm development were significantly enriched in the genes located in these regions. A region on chromosome Oni06 was genetically differentiated in pairwise comparisons between GIFTw and all other populations. This region contains genes associated with muscle-related traits and overlaps with a previously published QTL for fillet yield, suggesting that these traits may have been direct targets for selection on GIFT. A nearby region was also identified using XP-EHH to detect genomic differentiation using the SNP array data. Genomic regions with high or extended homozygosity within each population were also identified. This study provides putative genomic landmarks associated with the recent domestication process in several Nile tilapia populations, which could help to inform their genetic management and improvement.
Fulltext Comparative estimation of the lysine requirements in two generations of improved strain of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) at the grow-out stage

Ahmad Fatan N, Sivajothy K, Yossa R

Heliyon, 2023 Jun;9(6):e17221.
PMID: 37360106 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17221

A 3 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary lysine on growth performance, body indices, feed intake, feed efficiency, whole body nutrient composition and amino acid deposition in two successive generations (16th and 17th) of GIFT (Oreochromis niloticus). Three diets containing different levels of lysine at 1.16%, 1.56% and 2.41% were prepared for the feeding trial. Triplicate groups of fish with an initial body weight of 155 g were fed to apparent satiation for 10 weeks in a recirculating aquaculture system. Apparent digestibility coefficients (ADC) of dry matter, crude protein, crude lipids, and total carbohydrates were measured in the experimental diets. At the end of the experiment, no interactions between dietary lysine levels in diet and fish generation were observed on all parameters except for the condition factor (CF) and ADC of crude protein. However, dietary lysine level significantly affected the final weight, weight gain, thermal unit growth coefficient (TGC), protein efficiency ratio (PER) and ADC of dry matter regardless of the fish generation. Final weight, weight gain and TGC of fish were the highest in fish fed 2.41% dietary lysine in diet or 6.52% lysine in the protein. PER was the lowest in fish fed 1.16% dietary lysine. The final weight and the body's accumulation of isoleucine, phenylalanine, and alanine were significantly affected by the fish generation, with the 17th generation having the best performance. Increase growth and higher lysine requirement observed in the improved generation (17th) compared to the (16th) generation at grow out phase indicating that genetic improvement may have changed the dietary lysine requirement.
Fulltext Technology Applications in Tracking 2019-nCoV and Defeating Future Outbreaks: Iraqi Healthcare Industry in IoT Remote

Meri A, Dauwed M, Kareem HM, Hasan MK

Wirel Pers Commun, 2023 Mar 16.
PMID: 37360133 DOI: 10.1007/s11277-023-10358-8

A serious effect on people's life, social communication, and surely on medical staff who were forced to monitor their patients' status remotely relying on the available technologies to avoid potential infections and as a result reducing the workload in hospitals. this research tried to investigate the readiness level of healthcare professionals in both public and private Iraqi hospitals to utilize IoT technology in detecting, tracking, and treating 2019-nCoV pandemic, as well as reducing the direct contact between medical staff and patients with other diseases that can be monitored remotely.A cross-sectional descriptive research via online distributed questionnaire, the sample consisted of 113 physicians and 99 pharmacists from three public and two private hospitals who randomly selected by simple random sampling. The 212 responses were deeply analyzed descriptively using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviation.The results confirmed that the IoT technology can facilitate patient follow-up by enabling rapid communication between medical staff and patient relatives. Additionally, remote monitoring techniques can measure and treat 2019-nCoV, reducing direct contact by decreasing the workload in healthcare industries. This paper adds to the current healthcare technology literature in Iraq and middle east region an evidence of the readiness to implement IoT technology as an essential technique. Practically, it is strongly advised that healthcare policymakers should implement IoT technology nationwide especially when it comes to safe their employees' life.Iraqi medical staff are fully ready to adopt IoT technology as they became more digital minded after the 2019-nCoV crises and surely their knowledge and technical skills will be improved spontaneously based on diffusion of innovation perspective.
Fulltext Seasonal correlation of meteorological parameters and PM2.5 with the COVID-19 confirmed cases and deaths in Baghdad, Iraq

Hashim BM, Al-Naseri SK, Hamadi AM, Mahmood TA, Halder B, Shahid S, et al.

Int J Disaster Risk Reduct, 2023 Aug;94:103799.
PMID: 37360250 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103799

The COVID-19 pandemic was a serious global health emergency in 2020 and 2021. This study analyzed the seasonal association of weekly averages of meteorological parameters, such as wind speed, solar radiation, temperature, relative humidity, and air pollutant PM2.5, with confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in Baghdad, Iraq, a major megacity of the Middle East, for the period June 2020 to August 2021. Spearman and Kendall correlation coefficients were used to investigate the association. The results showed that wind speed, air temperature, and solar radiation have positive and strong correlations with the confirmed cases and deaths in the cold season (autumn and winter 2020-2021). The total COVID-19 cases negatively correlated with relative humidity but were not significant in all seasons. Besides, PM2.5 strongly correlated with COVID-19 confirmed cases for the summer of 2020. The death distribution by age group showed the highest deaths for those aged 60-69. The highest number of deaths was 41% in the summer of 2020. The study provided useful information about the COVID-19 health emergency and meteorological parameters, which can be used for future health disaster planning, adopting prevention strategies and providing healthcare procedures to protect against future infraction transmission.
Fulltext Small-molecule inhibitors of bacterial-producing metallo-β-lactamases: insights into their resistance mechanisms and biochemical analyses of their activities

Ayipo YO, Chong CF, Mordi MN

RSC Med Chem, 2023 Jun 22;14(6):1012-1048.
PMID: 37360393 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00036b

Antibiotic resistance (AR) remains one of the major threats to the global healthcare system, which is associated with alarming morbidity and mortality rates. The defence mechanisms of Enterobacteriaceae to antibiotics occur through several pathways including the production of metallo-β-lactamases (MBLs). The carbapenemases, notably, New Delhi MBL (NDM), imipenemase (IMP), and Verona integron-encoded MBL (VIM), represent the critical MBLs implicated in AR pathogenesis and are responsible for the worst AR-related clinical conditions, but there are no approved inhibitors to date, which needs to be urgently addressed. Presently, the available antibiotics including the most active β-lactam-types are subjected to deactivation and degradation by the notorious superbug-produced enzymes. Progressively, scientists have devoted their efforts to curbing this global menace, and consequently a systematic overview on this topic can aid the timely development of effective therapeutics. In this review, diagnostic strategies for MBL strains and biochemical analyses of potent small-molecule inhibitors from experimental reports (2020-date) are overviewed. Notably, N1 and N2 from natural sources, S3-S7, S9 and S10 and S13-S16 from synthetic routes displayed the most potent broad-spectrum inhibition with ideal safety profiles. Their mechanisms of action include metal sequestration from and multi-dimensional binding to the MBL active pockets. Presently, some β-lactamase (BL)/MBL inhibitors have reached the clinical trial stage. This synopsis represents a model for future translational studies towards the discovery of effective therapeutics to overcome the challenges of AR.

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