The objective of the study was to determine the proportion of sound HIV knowledge and common misconceptions about HIV among university students. A set of pre tested and validated questionnaire assessing sound HIV knowledge and common misconceptions about HIV was used in this cross sectional study. HIV knowledge was defined as sound when one was able to identify correctly two ways of preventing the sexual transmission of HIV and reject three major misconceptions about HIV. Out of 300 respondents, 298 completed the questionnaire giving a response rate of 99.3%. A total of 40.9% of university students have sound HIV knowledge. The majority of those who lacked sound HIV knowledge were young (60.2%) and female (60.4%). A significant proportion still believed that HIV can be transmitted via social contact (13.8%), by sneezing or coughing (11.4%) and mosquito bites (10.1%). About 6.7% were believed wrongly that HIV can be treated by vaccine and healthy-looking people cannot have HIV.
Study site: Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Malaysia
Two-dimensional materials are among the most scientifically accessible materials in material science at the beginning of the twenty-first century. There has been interest in the monolayer transition metal dichalcogenide (TMDC) family because of its large active site surface area for UV photons of light for wastewater treatment. In the present work, density functional theory (DFT) is utilized to model the optical, structural and electrical properties of TMDCs such as NbS2, ZrS2, ReS2 and NbSe2 using the GGA-PBE simulation approximation. Based on DFT calculations, it is determined that NbS2, ZrS2, ReS2 and NbSe2 have zero energy bandgap (E g). The additional gamma-active states that are generated in NbS2, ZrS2, ReS2 and NbSe2 materials aid in the construction of the conduction and valence bands, resulting in a zero E g. In the ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, the increase in optical conductance peaks from 4.5 to 15.7 suggests that the material exhibits stronger absorption or interaction with UV light due to the excitation of electronic transitions or inter-band transitions. The highest optical conductivity and absorbance of two-dimensional TMDCs NbS2, ZrS2, NbSe2 and ReS2 show 2.4 × 105, 2.5 × 105, 2.8 × 105 and 7 × 105 Ω - 1 c m - 1 , respectively. The TMDC family, including two-dimensional TMDCs NbS2, ZrS2, NbSe2 and ReS2, is known for its unique electronic and optical properties. Their layered structure and high surface area make them excellent candidates for applications involving light absorption and photodetection. These materials reduce photon recombination and improve charge transport, making them suitable for photocatalytic and photoanode applications.