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Fulltext A review on hindering factors to maximize healthcare potential in poverty and Islamic way of promoting health

Farrah Farzana Abdullah, Mohd Rahman Omar

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):106-106.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Malaysia has been nominated among the top four well-established healthcare system in the world. However, with the status of a developing country, there are still lacking in offering healthcare services and aware-ness among poverty. The objective of this review is to look into the factors hindering healthcare coverage in poverty. Methods: These literature reviews were carried out by using the electronic databases included, Google Scholars, Medline, PUBMED and EBSCOhost. Results: In current economic status, poverty status needs to be revised as the cost of living has markedly increased especially in the urban. Many factors affect the health status, which include the issues in term of rising health expenditure, demography-geography and imbalance workload distribution. Less expo-sure to health and wellness and geographical-demographic profile are the main reasons for the lack of self-awareness in assessing health services. Various actions had been taken by the stakeholders to improve health statuses such as telehealth, referral system and integration between agencies. Suggestion to improve the existing plan with the atten-tion given especially in the rural area which composed of multi-ethnicity and demography-geographical distribution. In Islam, Prophet Muhammad PBUH promotes health through his eating habits, physical activities include prayer and sports, proper sleep habit and through fasting. Conclusion: Poor and lack of awareness of healthcare services and health ownership have been the main reason for low health-seeking in poverty. Factors such as rising health expenditure, demography-geography factors and lack of facilities provided and unbalance workload distribution in the public-private sector contribute to the issue of concern.
Fulltext Research trends in microarray data analysis: modelling gene regulatory network by integrating transcription factors data

Farzana Kabir Ahmad, Siti Sakira Kamaruddin

Scientific Research Journal, 2015;12(1):1-10.
MyJurnal

The invention of microarray technology has enabled expression levels of thousands of genes to be monitored at once. This modernized approach has created large amount of data to be examined. Recently, gene regulatory network has been an interesting topic and generated impressive research goals in computational biology. Better understanding of the genetic regulatory processes would bring significant implications in the biomedical fields and many other pharmaceutical industries. As a result, various mathematical and computational methods have been used to model gene regulatory network from microarray data. Amongst those methods, the Bayesian network model attracts the most attention and has become the prominent technique since it can capture nonlinear and stochastic relationships between variables. However, structure learning of this model is NP-hard and computationally complex as the number of potential edges increase drastically with the number of genes. In addition, most of the studies only focused on the predicted results while neglecting the fact that microarray data is a fragmented information on the whole biological process. Hence this study proposed a network-based inference model that combined biological knowledge in order to verify the constructed gene regulatory relationships. The gene regulatory network is constructed using Bayesian network based on low-order conditional independence approach. This technique aims to identify from the data the dependencies to construct the network structure, while addressing the structure learning problem. In addition, three main toolkits such as Ensembl, TFSearch and TRANSFAC have been used to determine the false positive edges and verify reliability of regulatory relationships. The experimental results show that by integrating biological knowledge it could enhance the precision results and reduce the number of false positive edges in the trained gene regulatory network.
Fulltext Assessing the perceptions of a biostatistics and epidemiology module: views of Year 2 medical students from a Malaysian university. A cross-sectional survey

Daher AM, Amin F

BMC Med Educ, 2010 May 13;10:34.
PMID: 20462464 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6920-10-34

BACKGROUND: In the era of evidence based medicine, biostatistics and epidemiology are considered as the main elements aiding the health professional to design a research study, understand the literature, and make decisions about patient care. The aim of the study is to explore students' perception about this subject because it plays an important role in determining educational outcome.
METHODS: Data were collected from a self-administered questionnaire distributed among 164 Year 2 medical students. The 5-point Likert scale anchored by Strongly disagree = 1 and Strongly agree = 5 included 36 questions in four domains designed to assess the perception of a biostatistics and epidemiology module amongst students.
RESULTS: 138 students with ages ranging from 20 to 24 years (Mean = 20.7; SD = 0.62) returned their responses to the questionnaire. This was a response rate of 84.14%. Of the 138 students, 80.7% realized the relevance of the subject to real health issues at the end of the module, while 89.8% believed the module focused on interpretation more than calculation.More than three quarters (78.1%) agreed that lack of practicing exercises was the cause for declining interest in the subject, while only 26.1% believed that lectures were not interesting. Another three quarters (75.4%) believed that there were too many lectures for one day of teaching activities, while 84.6% recommended practical sessions for designing research and data collection.
CONCLUSIONS: This study found that students perceived the relevance of biostatistics and epidemiology to real health issues. The major cause of poor interest in the subject was attributed to the short duration of the course, lack of practicing exercises, and the need for practical data collection sessions. Emphasis should be given to early introduction of projects for data collection and analysis.
Association between pulse wave velocity with other vascular markers and inflammation among young adults: an evidence-based review

Norizam Salamt, Amilia Aminuddin, Azizah Ugusman, Aini Farzana Zulkefli

Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:2455-2461.

Studies evaluating the association between pulse wave velocity (PWV), a gold standard measurement of aortic stiffness
and established markers of cardiovascular disease (CVD), with other established vascular markers or inflammation
among young adult is still scarce. A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify relevant studies on the
association between PWV with other vascular markers or inflammation. Relevant articles from Ovid Medline, Science
Direct and Scopus databases were explored between 2009 and March 2018. Original articles published in English
measuring any correlation between carotid-femoral PWV (PWVcf) with either augmentation index (AIx), carotid intima
media thickness (CIMT) or C-reactive protein (CRP) on young adult with age range between 18 and 45 years old were
included. The literature search identified 21 potential articles to be reviewed, which meet all the inclusion criteria.
Four articles investigated the correlation between PWVcf with CRP, however only two studies gave significant but weak
correlations. As for CIMT, a single relevant article was found and the correlation was not significant. In conclusion, lack
of association between PWV and other vascular markers and inflammation may suggest that these vascular markers have
their own property in assessing vascular status. Thus, these markers should be measured independently for comprehensive
assessment of future CVD risk.
Fulltext A review of augmented reality systems and their effects on mental workload and task performance

Jeffri NFS, Awang Rambli DR

Heliyon, 2021 Mar;7(3):e06277.
PMID: 33748449 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e06277

Augmented Reality (AR) systems have been shown to positively affect mental workload and task performance across a broad range of application contexts. Despite the interest in mental workload and the increasing number of studies evaluating AR use, an attempt has yet to be made to identify the relationship between the effects of AR on mental workload and task performance. This paper seeks to address this gap in AR technology literature. With a better understanding how AR affects mental workload and task performance, researchers and developers can design more effective AR systems. 34 articles investigating the effects of the use of AR systems were selected for the review. A positive correlation was found between effects on mental workload and effects on task performance: if the effect on mental workload is positive, then the effects on task performance are more likely to be positive as well, and vice versa. Effectiveness of AR systems were shown to be influenced by the type of AR display device used, relevance and timeliness of content, information presentation, user characteristics and task characteristics. Additionally, the paper addresses the use of the concept of mental workload and limitations in current literature.
Fulltext Does It Matter Who Exhibits More Green Purchase Behavior of Cosmetic Products in Asian Culture? A Multi-Group Analysis Approach

Quoquab F, Jaini A, Mohammad J

Int J Environ Res Public Health, 2020 07 21;17(14).
PMID: 32708199 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17145258

This study attempts to investigate the moderating effect of gender on value-belief-norm relationships. In addition, this study aims to investigate the factors that affect green purchase behavior of cosmetics products. Particularly, this study investigates the causal relationships between values and pro-environmental beliefs, pro-environmental beliefs and personal norms and personal norms and green purchase behavior. An online survey was carried out which yielded 240 usable responses among which 79 responses were obtained from males and 161 from females. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, partial least square (PLS-SEM) approach and multi-group analysis (MGA) technique. Results revealed that all direct relationships were supported by the data. It was also found that gender moderates the relationships between altruistic values and pro-environmental beliefs, pro-environmental beliefs and personal norms and personal norms and green purchase behavior. Nevertheless, gender did not moderate the link between hedonic value and pro-environmental beliefs. This study contributes to the existing literature by considering gender as a moderator, which is comparatively new in the green purchase behavior literature. In addition, this study examines few new linkages: more specifically, incorporating hedonic value in value-belief link and adapting value-belief-norm (VBN) theory in measuring consumers' green purchase behavior.
Fulltext Presence of rotavirus and free-living amoebae in the water supplies of Karachi, Pakistan

Yousuf FA, Siddiqui R, Khan NA

Rev Inst Med Trop Sao Paulo, 2017 Jun 01;59:e32.
PMID: 28591260 DOI: 10.1590/S1678-9946201759032

Rotavirus and pathogenic free-living amoebae are causative agents of important health problems, especially for developing countries like Pakistan where the population has limited access to clean water supplies. Here, we evaluated the prevalence of rotavirus and free-living amoebae (Acanthamoeba spp., Balamuthia mandrillaris, Naegleria fowleri) in drinking water supplies of Karachi, Pakistan. Six water filtration plants that supply drinking water to the population of Karachi were investigated. Additionally, drinking water samples from households were analyzed for the presence of rotavirus and free-living amoebae. Rotavirus was present in 35% of the water samples collected from water filtration plants; however, domestic tap water samples had a prevalence of only 5%. Out of 20 water samples from filtration plants, 13 (65%) were positive for Acanthamoeba spp., and one (5%) was positive for B. mandrillaris. Out of 20 drinking water samples collected from different areas of Karachi, 35% were positive for Acanthamoeba spp. Rotavirus was detected in 5% of the drinking water samples tested. Overall, these findings showed for the first time the presence of rotavirus, in addition to pathogenic free-living amoebae in drinking water supplies of Karachi that could be an important public health risk for the affected population.
Fulltext Dengue Fever: Therapeutic Potential of Carica papaya L. Leaves

Sarker MMR, Khan F, Mohamed IN

Front Pharmacol, 2021;12:610912.
PMID: 33981215 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2021.610912

Dengue, a very widespread mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by Aedes aegypti virus, has been occurring during the monsoons every year. The prevalence and incidence of dengue fever and death due to its complications have been increased drastically in these recent years in Bangladesh, Philippines, Thailand, Brazil, and India. Recently, dengue had spread in an epidemic form in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Philippines. Although the infection affected a large number of people around the world, there is no established specific and effective treatment by synthetic medicines. In this subcontinent, Malaysia could effectively control its incidences and death of patients using alternative medication treatment mainly prepared from Carica papaya L. leaves along with proper care and hospitalization. Papaya leaves, their juice or extract, as well as their different forms of preparation have long been used traditionally for treating dengue fever and its complications to save patients' lives. Although it is recommended by traditional healers, and the general public use Papaya leaves juice or their other preparations in dengue fever, this treatment option is strictly denied by the physicians offering treatment in hospitals in Bangladesh as they do not believe in the effectiveness of papaya leaves, thus suggesting to patients that they should not use them. In Bangladesh, 1,01,354 dengue patients have been hospitalized, with 179 deaths in the year 2019 according to information from the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control, and Research as well as the Directorate General of Health Services of Bangladesh. Most of the patients died because of the falling down of platelets to dangerous levels and hemorrhage or serious bleeding. Therefore, this paper aims to critically review the scientific basis and effectiveness of Carica papaya L. leaves in treating dengue fever based on preclinical and clinical reports. Thrombocytopenia is one of the major conditions that is typical in cases of dengue infection. Besides, the infection and impairment of immunity are concerned with dengue patients. This review summarizes all the scientific reports on Carica papaya L. for its ability on three aspects of dengue: antiviral activities, prevention of thrombocytopenia and improvement of immunity during dengue fever.
Fulltext Modelling social entrepreneurial intention among university students in Bangladesh using value-belief-norm framework

Naznen F, Al Mamun A, Rahman MK

Curr Psychol, 2022 Dec 16.
PMID: 36540692 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-04119-2

While the public sector authorities and governments struggle to ensure socioeconomic balance at all levels of society, social entrepreneurship is widely known as the optimum solution to societal issues, such as unemployment, social disparities, and ecological imbalances. Despite the fact that the younger generation holds the highest potential to be future social entrepreneurs, a few studies have been conducted to explore the factors that influence their social entrepreneurial intentions (SEI) in developing countries, such as Bangladesh. Furthermore, the empirical studies based on the value-belief-norm (VBN) theory for addressing SEI were scarce in the existing literature. The study aims to measure the influence of Altruistic Values (AV), Traditional Values (TV), Personal Normative Beliefs (NB), Awareness of Consequences (AC), Ascription of Responsibility (AR), Personal Norms (PN), and Social Norms (SN) on SEI implementation of the VBN framework. A combination of web-based and hardcopy surveys was used to collect data from 797 students of higher educational institutes in Bangladesh. The hypotheses and associations between the factors were statistically analysed using structural equation modelling. As a result, it was demonstrated that AV and TV had a notable influence on NB. Similarly, NB showed a significant positive impact on PN and AC, while AC and AR were reported to have a substantial influence on PN. Finally, PN and SN showed a strong impact on SEI. The holistic social entrepreneurship model proposed in this study should be effective for socioeconomic development by incorporating commercially feasible and sustainable principles. Overall, the study findings would assist researchers, current social entrepreneurs and organisations, educational institutes, government agencies, and individual potential entrepreneurs with accurate knowledge and insight to construct their strategies and efficiently pursue social ventures.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-04119-2.
Fulltext Usage and impact of the internet-of-things-based smart home technology: a quality-of-life perspective

Rock LY, Tajudeen FP, Chung YW

Univers Access Inf Soc, 2022 Nov 16.
PMID: 36407566 DOI: 10.1007/s10209-022-00937-0

The aim of this paper is to explore the usage and impact of the Internet-of-Things-based Smart Home Technology (IoT-SHT) in Malaysia. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a total of eleven IoT-SHT users who had a minimum of 2-year usage experience. The semi-structured interview consisted of six questions which were compartmentalised into two sections. Common themes were identified through constant comparison of the inductive data in the coding process. The in-depth interview uncovered six uses of IoT-SHT. Mainly, it was used for real-time remote control, surveillance, sensing, home automation, entertainment, and family communication. It seems clear that the IoT-SHT helped people to save time, changed their lives, improved security, safety, environment condition, fun, convenience, and comfort within the home ground. It also facilitated better health tracking, family care, and energy conservation. Psychologically, the IoT-SHT also enhanced one's image, offered better companionship, and improved the sense of belongingness, and closeness within the family. This study fills the research gap by providing insights into how the IoT-SHT was used, thereby benefiting users in Malaysia. With the arrival of industrial revolution 4.0, a comprehensive knowledge on the usage of IoT is pertinent. The findings of this study may also serve as a foundation for future research in IoT-SHT adoption. Practically, this study accelerates IoT-SHT diffusion by providing insights to vendors in designing better IoT products and services, based on the popular usages and impactful benefits.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10209-022-00937-0.
Factors affecting the attractiveness of medical tourism destination: an empirical study on India- review article

Sultana S, Haque A, Momen A, Yasmin F

Iran J Public Health, 2014 Jul;43(7):867-76.
PMID: 25909055

In this edge, medical tourism is not a new idea. Medical treatment is one of the essential demands of human beings and it requires high quality and intensive care. Beside western world, few developing countries are playing key roles as medical tourism destinations. India is one of the leading names among these countries. The purpose of the paper is to find the factors influencing the attractiveness of India as a health tourism destination.
The effect of graphene content on the structure and conductivity of cellulose/graphene composite

Farzana Abd Hamid, Fauzani Md Salleh, Nor Sabirin Mohamed, Syed Bahari Ramadzan Syed Adnan

Sains Malaysiana, 2017;46:1025-1031.

The effect of graphene content on the structure and conductivity of an eco-friendly cellulose/ graphene (CG) composite was investigated. Different compositions of graphene content from 0 to 70 wt. % were prepared using the sol-gel method. Ionic liquids 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chloride was used to disperse graphene between the cellulose. The investigation showed that CG composite with higher graphene composition exhibits higher conductivity. The highest conductivity (2.85×10-4 S cm-1) was observed at 60 wt. % graphene composition. Sample without graphene showed the lowest conductivity of 1.77×10-7 S cm-1, which acts as an insulator. The high conductivity of CG composite can be associated with the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns. The XRD patterns of α-cellulose exhibits a decrease in crystallinity at peak 15° and 22° due to the depolymerization in CG composite. At 60 wt. % composition, XRD pattern showed the decrease in intensity at peak 26° indicates that graphene is more dispersed in the cellulose mixture. This is supported by Fourier transform infrared spectrum of CG composite where the absorption peaks of C-O stretching are weakened at wavelength of 1163 and 1032 cm-1, suggested dehydration and rupture of cellulose. The dehydration and rupture of cellulose result in the high conductivity of CG composite. This research is believed to provide an eco-friendly method to produce cellulose/graphene composite which is useful in future applications of energy.
Fulltext Structuring quality education by proposing physical infrastructure of a medical school

Ashfaq Akram, Muhammad Zahedi Daud, Md Gapar Md Joha, Rizwan Farzana, Rahmatullah Khan

Education in Medicine Journal, 2016;8(3):75-87.
MyJurnal

Due to cost containment considerations, it is common to have medical schools being
located in buildings or campuses built for some other purposes. These buildings are converted into
medical schools which often compromising the functional architectural aspects. Objectives: The
paper examines, explores and proposes an architectural concept of a purpose-built medical school. The
architectural design proposed is sensitive to the values and norms of many schools around the globe.
Methods: An Internet search and personal communication were conducted, focusing on the concepts
of the functionality of medical school. It emphasises on general design of the main building, keeping
in mind the various kinds of teaching, learning and assessment activities. We examined lecture hall,
pre-clinical laboratory, skill laboratory, general facilities of Objective Structured Practical Examination
(OSPE) and Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Results: We present hypothetical
structural designs based on built-functions concepts. For example, for the better vision of students
around a demonstration table, an inclined floor surface is proposed. The concept is as illustrated by
anatomy dissection area built inclined upward from the cadaver table. It inevitably provides a better
visual access to the students around the table. Other teaching and learning areas are also illustrated
wherever appropriate in the text. Conclusion: The paper is hypothetical and explores innovative
structural designs of modern medical schools. While most are built to meet the demands of current
technology, it cannot however completely replace face-to-face teaching and learning processes.
Research in architectural designs of education buildings and facilities may be further developed into a
new research niche of medical education.
Occurrence of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria in Pond Water Associated with Integrated Poultry-Fish Farming in Bangladesh

Farzana Ashrafi Neela, MST. Nasrin Akhter Banu, Md. Atiqur Rahman, M. Firoz Alam, M. Habibur Rahman

Sains Malaysiana, 2015;44:371-377.

The use of antibiotics in poultry feed can cause antibiotic resistance in integrated poultry-fish farming pond environment.
Therefore, the goal of this study was to monitor the prevalence of drug-resistant bacteria in pond water associated with
poultry-fish farming in Bangladesh. The results showed that the prevalence rate of tetracycline (TC) and ampicillin (AMP)
resistant bacteria were 0.24 to 2.59% and 0.16 to 1.0%, respectively. The higher prevalence rate of TC and AMP-resistant
bacteria was found in site 3 followed by site 4 and 2 compared with control site 1. Site 2, 3 and 4 were adjacent to the
integrated poultry farm. On the other hand, higher TC and AMP-resistant bacteria were found in the rainy season than
in the winter. The minimum inhibitory concentration result showed quite high level of TC and AMP-resistant bacterial
distribution in the pond water. Seven genera of resistant bacteri¡a were identified in pond water samples by 16S rRNA
gene analysis. Among them Acinetobacter sp. was predominant followed by Enterococcus sp., Pseudomonas sp., Bacillus,
Staphylococcus sp., Enterobacter sp. and Brevibacillus sp.
Fulltext Factors influencing vegetable consumption and weight loss awareness among private university students

Muhammad Syazwi Asna, Mazlan, Albattat, Ahmad Rasmi, Anis Sofea, A. Aziz, Farzana, et al.

Journal of Management & Science, 2019;17(2):32-40.
MyJurnal

Due to the recent increase in obesity, effective nutritional strategies for weight management is needed. Because vegetables and fruits are high in water, vitamins and minerals, it is possible to reduce the density of energy, promoting satiety and reducing energy consumption by incorporating them into the diet. While few interventions have specifically mentioned the consumption of fruit and vegetables, evidence indicates advice to increase coupling the consumption of such foods with recommendations for reducing energy intake are particularly important in efficient weight management strategies. The aims of this study are therefore to assess the level of awareness and factors influencing vegetable consumption behaviour among students. This study examined the advantages of eating more vegetables and whether it can contribute to weight loss among university students, about the nutrition knowledge of the benefits of eating vegetables and the demographic factors of gender, race, age, marital status, education level, occupation and monthly income. Using the quantitative research methodology, this study explores vegetable consumption and weight loss among university students to ensure a healthy lifestyle, there is a need to educate the youth about the importance of fruit and vegetables in their diet. Findings suggest that fruits and vegetables can play an important role in weight management. Studies show that certain fruits and vegetables increase the feeling of fullness and decrease hunger. There is however limited knowledge on factors affecting the consumption of vegetables in Malaysia. It is therefore important to identify factors that increase the consumption of more vegetables that will help to lose weight.
Targeting cyst wall is an effective strategy in improving the efficacy of marketed contact lens disinfecting solutions against Acanthamoeba castellanii cysts

Abjani F, Khan NA, Yousuf FA, Siddiqui R

Cont Lens Anterior Eye, 2016 Jun;39(3):239-43.
PMID: 26675112 DOI: 10.1016/j.clae.2015.11.004

Acanthamoeba cysts are highly resistant to contact lens disinfecting solutions. Acanthamoeba cyst wall is partially made of 1,4 β-glucan (i.e., cellulose) and other complex polysaccharides making it a hardy shell that protects the resident amoeba. Here, we hypothesize that targeting the cyst wall structure in addition to antiamoebic compound would improve the efficacy of marketed contact lens disinfecting solutions. Using chlorhexidine as an antiamoebic compound and cellulase enzyme to disrupt cyst wall structure, the findings revealed that combination of both agents abolished viability of Acanthamoeba castellanii cysts and trophozoites. When tested alone, none of the agents nor contact lens disinfecting solutions completely destroyed A. castellanii cysts and trophozoites. The absence of cyst wall-degrading enzymes in marketed contact lens disinfecting solutions render them ineffective against Acanthamoeba cysts. It is concluded that the addition of cyst wall degrading molecules in contact lens disinfecting solutions will enhance their efficacy in decreasing the incidence of Acanthamoeba effectively.
Fulltext High-speed current dq PI controller for vector controlled PMSM drive

Marufuzzaman M, Reaz MB, Rahman LF, Chang TG

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:709635.
PMID: 24574913 DOI: 10.1155/2014/709635

High-speed current controller for vector controlled permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) is presented. The controller is developed based on modular design for faster calculation and uses fixed-point proportional-integral (PI) method for improved accuracy. Current dq controller is usually implemented in digital signal processor (DSP) based computer. However, DSP based solutions are reaching their physical limits, which are few microseconds. Besides, digital solutions suffer from high implementation cost. In this research, the overall controller is realizing in field programmable gate array (FPGA). FPGA implementation of the overall controlling algorithm will certainly trim down the execution time significantly to guarantee the steadiness of the motor. Agilent 16821A Logic Analyzer is employed to validate the result of the implemented design in FPGA. Experimental results indicate that the proposed current dq PI controller needs only 50 ns of execution time in 40 MHz clock, which is the lowest computational cycle for the era.
The role of genomic islands in Escherichia coli K1 interactions with intestinal and kidney epithelial cells

Yousuf FA, Rafiq S, Siddiqui R, Khan NA

Microb Pathog, 2016 Apr;93:145-51.
PMID: 26867478 DOI: 10.1016/j.micpath.2016.02.002

The completion of Escherichia coli K1 genome has identified several genomic islands that are present in meningitis-causing E. coli RS218 but absent in the non-pathogenic E. coli MG1655. In this study, the role of various genomic islands in E. coli K1 interactions with intestinal epithelial cells (Caco-2) and kidney epithelial cells (MA104) was determined. Using association assays, invasion assays, and intracellular survival assays, the findings revealed that the genomic island deletion mutants of RS218 related to P fimbriae, S fimbriae, F17-like fimbriae, non-fimbrial adhesins, Hek and hemagglutinin, protein secretion system (T1SS for hemolysin; T2SS; T5SS for antigen 43), Iro system and hmu system), invasins (CNF1, IbeA), toxins (α-hemolysin), K1 capsule biosynthesis, metabolism (d-serine catabolism, dihydroxyacetone, glycerol, and glyoxylate metabolism), prophage genes, showed reduced interactions with both cell types. Next, we determined the role of various genomic islands in E. coli K1 resistance to serum. When exposed to the normal human serum, the viability of the genomic island deletion mutants related to adhesins such as S fimbriae, P fimbriae, F17-like fimbriae, non-fimbrial adhesins, Hek and hemagglutinin, antigen 43 and T5SS for antigen 43, T2SS, and T1SS for hemolysin, Iro system and hmu system, prophage genes, metabolism (sugar metabolism and d-serine catabolism), K1 capsule biosynthesis, and invasins such as CNF1 was affected, suggesting their role in bacteremia. The characterization of these genomic islands should reveal mechanisms of E. coli K1 pathogenicity that could be of value as therapeutic targets.
Fulltext Feelings of guilt and pride: Consumer intention to buy LED lights

Moghavvemi S, Jaafar NI, Sulaiman A, Parveen Tajudeen F

PLoS One, 2020;15(6):e0234602.
PMID: 32584847 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234602

The adoption of energy-efficient lighting systems such as light-emitting diode (LED) lights is an effective strategy to address global warming and climate change. The adoption of LED light usage is largely shaped by consumer behavior. Understanding the factors that influence consumers' awareness of the advantages of using LED lights and consumers' eventual buying behavior is critical to industry players and policy-makers. The objective of this study is to investigate the significant factors that affect consumer intention to use LED lights among Malaysian households. A survey questionnaire of 1,075 potential consumers was employed and the partial least squares technique was applied in data analysis. The results show that consumer awareness creates responsibility and influences consumers' personal norms and attitudes, and their ultimate intention to buy LED lights. Feelings of guilt about contributing to air pollution and an awareness of the advantages of using LED lights both activate individual personal norms and attitudes, and influence the intention to buy LED lights. Awareness of the advantages of using LED lights, and of the negative consequences of not using them, prompts consumers to have feelings of guilt. The findings point to the importance of creating awareness among consumers.
Fulltext Traceability of Sustainability and Safety in Fishery Supply Chain Management Systems Using Radio Frequency Identification Technology

Rahman LF, Alam L, Marufuzzaman M, Sumaila UR

Foods, 2021 Sep 24;10(10).
PMID: 34681313 DOI: 10.3390/foods10102265

At present, sustainability and emerging technology are the main issues in any supply chain management (SCM) sector. At the same time, the ongoing pandemic is increasing consumers' concerns about food safety, processing, and distribution, which should meet sustainability requirements. Thus, supervision and monitoring of product quality with symmetric information traceability are important in fresh food and fishery SCM. Food safety and traceability systems based on blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), wireless sensor networks (WSN), and radio frequency identification (RFID) provide reliability from production to consumption. This review focuses on RFID-based traceability systems in fisheries' SCM, which have been employed globally to ensure fish quality and security, and summarizes their advantages in real-time applications. The results of this study will help future researchers to improve consumers' trust in fisheries SCM. Thus, this review aims to provide guidelines and solutions for enhancing the reliability of RFID-based traceability in food SCM systems so to ensure the integrity and transparency of product information.

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