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Intro: The COVID-19 pandemic is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, an enveloped RNA of the coronavirus family. The advancement in molecular technology and biochemistry has accelerated the development of diagnostic reagents and assays. Much attention has been focused on the S protein, but the high mutation rate in this region could lead to false negative results. Thus, a better target protein for diagnostic application is needed for accurate detection. Method(s): Nucleotide sequences encoded for membrane (M) glycoprotein gene region of SARS-CoV-2 from Malaysian isolates were extracted from GISAID, aligned, and selected accordingly. The DNA plasmid was commercially synthesized with codon optimization for Escherichia coli (E. coli), and the presence of the M gene was confirmed by PCR. The plasmid was then transformed into E. coli. Later, the expression of M glycoprotein was induced, separated on an SDS-PAGE gel, and transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane, followed by immunostaining. Finding(s): The analysis of the M glycoprotein against the Omicron strains demonstrated that the amino acid is conserved (99.5%). The M glycoprotein was successfully expressed and detected with antibodies from SARS-CoV-2 infected patients at ~26 kDa. The protein is currently upscale for the generation of monoclonal Ab (Mab). Discussion(s): The M protein of SARS-CoV-2 is more conserved among the virus and also has been reported to confer antigenic properties. Selection of M protein perhaps a better option compared to current detection assays that use spike (S) protein, which could lead to false negative results, as this gene region particularly the ribosome-binding domain (RBD) rapidly undergoes mutations. The utilization of M protein potentially improves negative predictive value (NPV) of the diagnostic test. Conclusion(s): Further development of diagnostic reagents is needed to improve the assay's specificity. The newly developed M protein and the MAb can be used to generate a more accurate viral detection assay.Copyright © 2023
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Mobile messaging apps are currently a popular method in Malaysia for communicating while on the go, owing to its convenience, reliability, and contact-free feature of mobile application. Fueled by mobile internet and smartphone growth, mobile messaging apps have become a strong force in the mobile app sector, offering users an alternative to SMS-based texting paired with social media elements and enhanced features, such as group chats and photo sharing. The study was anchored using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2 theory. A survey with 150 respondents and PLS analysis is used to determine the antecedents of mobile application continuance usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results revealed that there is an influence in the usage of mobile messaging apps among the younger generation in Malaysian public university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main implication shows that mobile application among young generations in public universities has become popular. The convenience usage of the internet has turned the world into a global village.
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In recent years, the world is facing Covid-19 pandemic which has spread to more than 200 countries. WHO recommend everyone to always wearing a mask and keeping a distance to reduce transmission since Covid-19 is very susceptible to infection in a crowded area. In fact, many people misuse masks, such as wearing a mask but not covering the nose, and thus, monitoring the correct use of masks on a large-scale area is not easy. A technology implementing a high precision computer vision is needed to help monitoring the correct use of human mask automatically. This paper proposes a deep learning method that performs semantic segmentation and classification tasks to precisely identify the use of human face mask. Since it is rarely done so far, a sufficient dataset for this task is still lacking. Therefore, we also construct a dataset for face mask semantic segmentation task, including the fine-grained annotated ground truth. Based on our experiments, the proposed method that uses U-Net base model provides the best Mean IoU performance, which is 95%, compared to several comparative models. The segmentation output is then forwarded to a classification process, to decide whether it is a correct or an incorrect use of mask, and provides an accuracy rate that reaches 100%. Details of the experimental results are shown both quantitatively and qualitatively in this paper. The current results of this study may inspire the development of a better system in the future. © 2022 IEEE.
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Within the first two years of COVID-19's exposure, countries around the world mitigated, among other things, social mobility control, resulting in other limitations on fundamental rights, such as freedom of movement and peaceful assembly. Within the rights restrictions, the desire of citizens to satisfy their desire for information and exercise their right to free expression was insatiable. The authors argue that citizens deserve access to sufficient information in order for them to have a meaningful right to participate. At the same time, electronic means can be an additional feature to channel public participation in policy-making. Regrettably, the primary platform adopted in Human Rights laws in operationalizing the right to participate in public affairs remains minimal to coexist meaningful e-participation embarked on the adequacy of the right to information based on Human Rights (HR) standards. This study aims to answer how a justification for meaningful e-participation in lawmaking can be defined. It also queries which framework can provide sufficient public information based on a rights-based approach. The study leverages the convention of civil and political rights (ICCPR) as the primary legal instrument for a qualitative doctrinal approach. The study suggests that adequate information should be in one package with e-participation to optimize the enjoyment of the right to participate in policy-making. © University of Jember & Indonesian Consortium for Human Rights Lecturers.
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Lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic had led to lifestyle changes among Malaysians. These changes were due to people being confined to work and study at home and stress due to the risk of COVID-19 transmission. Our study aimed to observe changes in the patterns of eating habits and physical activity during the pandemic of COVID-19 in Malaysia and look for the associations with sociodemographic factors, people living together, living conditions and mental health status. This study was an online cross-sectional survey among 963 participants who completed self-administrated questionnaires on socio-demography, Likert scales on eating habits and physical activity and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for mental health status. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlations and independent t tests. Marital status has a significant association with the frequency and intensity of physical workouts during this pandemic and lockdown, changes in eating amount, and changes in body weight (p<0.001). Employment had a significant association with all components of eating habits and physical activities except the level of physical activity affected by the pandemic (p<0.001). Those with normal mental health status found exercise to be helpful in preventing anxiety, practicing healthy eating, and having more changes in body weight, compared to those who were depressed (p<0.001). There was a significant difference in how the vulnerable group practiced healthy eating compared to the non-vulnerable group (p<0.001). The vulnerable group had significant changes in eating amount and body weight (p<0.001). In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought changes in eating habits and body weight which were also influenced by sociodemographic factors and mental health status. © 2023, Mahidol University - ASEAN Institute for Health Development. All rights reserved.
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Since the COVID-19 outbreak was discovered in Malaysia on January 25, 2020, it has impacted many aspects of Malaysian life, including health, lifestyle, and economic changes. As a result, this study was carried out to conduct a more thorough investigation into the problems and effects experienced by the public in Malaysia as a result of the disease outbreak. The study was conducted for six months, from January 2020 until June 2020, and 100 people were chosen randomly as the study sample. The method employed online questionnaires administered via the Google Forms platform. Based on the study's results, the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacts the community's physical and mental health, especially among students and employees. COVID-19 also affects peoples' lifestyles, and many have difficulties adapting to the new norms, as these changes involve how people socialize, learn, and work. The study also found that COVID-19 also negatively impacts the economy of individuals, communities, and countries, based on the current spending of Malaysian society and the affected industrial and worker conditions.
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Many Higher Education Institutions (HEI) students had to make an immediate change to online learning from the conventional face-to-face mode due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed by the government. Learning practical courses such as Culinary Arts via online without application or practical work generated bigger challenges for HEIs. It was emphasised that Culinary Arts education depends predominantly on hands-on application and training. The purpose of this study is to investigate Culinary Arts program students' acceptance with online learning methods (hands-on learning at home) and how the Big Five Personality Traits (BFPT) could have an impact on the relationship. A total of 234 responses from Culinary Arts based program students of six (6) HEIs in Malaysia were obtained and analysed using SPSS statistical software. Findings showed that students were able to accept the transition in learning from face-to-face to online learning. However, it was found that BFPT did not have a significant moderating impact on the relationship between Learning Transition and Online Learning Acceptance. The results could help HEIs in adapting to the new Learning Transition without compromising the quality of the graduates and the curriculum set by the institutions. In addition, the results of this study could enhance further investigations on Online Learning Acceptance to a wider scope and type of study programs. © Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Publisher's Office.
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OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of depression and the sociodemographic factors associated with depression in Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic METHODS. This study is part of the COVID-19 Mental Health International Study to collect data on the impact of the pandemic on mental health through an online survey. People who were aged ≥18 years, able to read Malay or English, had access to the internet, and consented to participate were asked to complete a pro forma questionnaire to collect their sociodemographic data. The presence of distress and depression was assessed using the English or Malay version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. RESULTS: Of 963 participants, 451 (46.8%) had depression and 512 (53.2%) had no depression who were either normal (n = 169, 17.5%) or had distress (n = 343, 35.6%). Participants had higher odds of having depression when living with two people (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.896, p = 0.001), three people (AOR = 2.622, p < 0.001) or four people (AOR = 3.135, p < 0.001). Participants with three children had higher odds of having depression (AOR = 2.084, p = 0.008), whereas having only one child was a protective factor for depression (AOR = 0.481, p = 0.01). Participants had higher odds of having depression when self-employed (AOR = 3.825, p = 0.003), retired (AOR = 4.526, p = 0.001), being housekeeper (AOR = 7.478, p = 0.004), not working by choice (AOR = 5.511, p < 0.001), or unemployed (AOR = 3.883, p = 0.009). Participants had higher odds of depression when living in a small town (AOR = 3.193, p < 0.001) or rural area (AOR = 3.467, p < 0.001). Participants with no chronic medical illness had lower odds of having depression (AOR = 0.589, p = 0.008). CONCLUSION: In Malaysia during the COVID-19 pandemic, people who are living with two, three, or four people, having three children, living in a small town or rural areas, and having unstable income have higher odds of having depression. Urgent intervention for those at risk of depression is recommended.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Child , Humans , Adolescent , Adult , COVID-19/epidemiology , Pandemics , Malaysia/epidemiology , Mental Health , Sociodemographic FactorsABSTRACT
Background: Ladies who are pregnant and get infected cab be viewed as a unique population because they have altered immune reaction because of pregnancy in addition to being healthy young women. Preterm labor, spontaneous abortion and mortality among pregnant ladies have been reported to be higher during pregnancy when associated with concomitant SARS-Cov-1 infection in 2003. Despite a lot of publications about COVID-19, data about pregnancy outcome in association with SARS-Cov-2 are still not very well clear. Aim of the study: The planning and conduction of the current study was justified aiming at assessing the rate of obstetric adverse outcomes by ultrasound examination. Patients and Methods: The current cross sectional study was conducted at Maternity and Childhood Teaching Hospital in Al-Diwaniyah Province, Iraq. The study started on December the 15th 2020 and ended at October the 3rd 2021. The study included 600 pregnant ladies with no previous chronic medical illness with an age range of 20 to 38 years. All participants had positive RT-PCR test results. Result(s): Regarding the first group, during first trimester, no complication was reported, during the second trimester, oligohydramnios was reported in 5 (2.8 %) and placental maturation was reported in 2 (1.1 %). During the third trimester, oligohydramnios was reported in 10 (5.6 %) and placental maturation was reported in 8 (4.4 %). Regarding the second group, during the second trimester, oligohydramnios was reported in 5 (2.0 %) and placental maturation was reported in 2 (0.8 %). During the third trimester, oligohydramnios was reported in 10 (4.0 %) and placental maturation was reported in 8 (3.2 %). Regarding the third group, oligohydramnios was reported in 10 (5.9 %) and placental maturation was reported in 8 (4.7 %). Conclusion(s): The effect of Covid 19 in pregnancy: no gross anomaly can be detected, and because elevated d-dimer level, it causes oligohydramnios in different degree & early calcified placenta, mild decrease in placental artery flow velocity, with normal pattern of flow & this more sever in 3rd trimester than 2nd trimester, with nearly no effect in 1st trimester . Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications. All rights reserved.
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The global pandemic of COVID-19 has had a huge influence on bioscience education in which digital technology and transformation has gained momentum and this pattern appears to be set to persist for the foreseeable future. Adopting new technology and changing biosciences education models, processes, and procedures has posed challenges to all stakeholders within the ecosystem. Aside from the move to online or distance learning, bioscience courses in higher education also necessitate the development of critical practical skills, which is yet to be fully addressed in digital platform context. This article examines the challenges and issues that biosciences education faces, as well as the tactics, methodologies, and alternatives that have been employed in the present pandemic context to reform biosciences education to enhance its resiliency and sustainability. This article also defines effective teaching criteria in biosciences education and considers whether higher education institutions can use virtual learning to offer the newest bioscience skills and knowledge to be future-proof and job-ready. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
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COVID-19's global pandemic has had a significant impact on bioscience education, which has switched to online learning. Every entity within the higher education ecosystem, whether technical, pedagogical, or social, has faced a number of challenges as a result of this. Regardless, biosciences education stakeholders have been fast to implement innovative strategies to maintain high standards and quality of biosciences online teaching and learning. This paper focuses on the biosciences education transition toward developing resiliency, as well as the technology resources and approaches that have been deployed in the current context to change biosciences education to be robust in the face of the COVID-19 upheaval. Finally, significant insights into 'resilience sustainability' approaches that may be employed in relation to the digitisation of biosciences education in a concerted effort to promote resiliency, adaptability and sustainability in biosciences education are presented. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
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Exercise training is paramount in improving aerobic capacity, lung function, reducing the symptoms of dyspnea, and reconditioning the lean skeletal muscles. Many literature and guidelines have advocated the importance of exercise intervention in addressing the secondary impairment to post covid-19 infection, including home-based therapy and telerehabilitation. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) was previously thought to be contraindicated by exercise training;however, exercise was later found to be beneficial and relatively safe in chronic PH. However, them is a lack of high-quality evidence on the safety and effectiveness of exercise training in post-COVID-19 infected individuals with PH. Pulmonary hypertension has been documented to be one of the post-COVID-19 complications. PH occurred due to COVID-19 infection should be carefully considered before subjecting them to exercise training, especially in home-based therapy. This article aims to discuss the differing etiological factor, pathophysiological backgrounds, and the possible disease long-term outcomes that may compromise the safety of exercise training in post-COVID-19 patients complicated with PH. By understanding the risk of developing PH, risk assessment and stratification can be explicitly outlined for a safe exercise prescription through proper patient selections. Any possible complications can be anticipated;hence, proper preventive strategies can be instituted.
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Exercise training is paramount in improving aerobic capacity, lung function, reducing the symptoms of dyspnea, and reconditioning the lean skeletal muscles. Many literature and guidelines have advocated the importance of exercise intervention in addressing the secondary impairment to post covid-19 infection, including home-based therapy and telerehabilitation. Pulmonary hypertension (PH) was previously thought to be contraindicated by exercise training;however, exercise was later found to be beneficial and relatively safe in chronic PH. However, there is a lack of highquality evidence on the safety and effectiveness of exercise training in post-COVID-19 infected individuals with PH. Pulmonary hypertension has been documented to be one of the post-COVID-19 complications. PH occurred due to COVID-19 infection should be carefully considered before subjecting them to exercise training, especially in home-based therapy. This article aims to discuss the differing etiological factor, pathophysiological backgrounds, and the possible disease long-term outcomes that may compromise the safety of exercise training in post-COVID-19 patients complicated with PH. By understanding the risk of developing PH, risk assessment and stratification can be explicitly outlined for a safe exercise prescription through proper patient selections. Any possible complications can be anticipated;hence, proper preventive strategies can be instituted.
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Digitalization in Malaysia shapes the nature of entrepreneurial opportunities and the effectiveness of governmental policies, practices, and funding to improve those opportunities. The positive impact of the digital age, in terms of job creation and economic expansion, has prompted a set of cyber-development initiatives during the Coved-19 pandemic to alleviate poverty;first to boost the productivity potential of digital entrepreneurs, and second to forward progress towards Cyberpreneurship, especially during lockdown protocols, which is in line with promoted Working from Home (WFH) efforts. This study explores the potential factors of the initiatives needed for Covid-19 pandemic situational poverty eradication. Next, to analyses how these factors relate to a single mothers’ participation in Cyberpreneurship. This study highlights several entrepreneurial and policy ideas to decrease poverty among single-mother entrepreneurs. The study relies on in-depth qualitative research that includes a systematic literature review and Focus Group Discussions (FGD). A total of n = 12 interviews were conducted with seven single, micro-entrepreneurs, mothers, two Officers of The Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development (KPWKM) Department, and three local Community Welfare Officers. The findings of this research indicate that competency among single mothers has a significant influence on poverty alleviation. The correlation between the constructs has shown that most participant members actively contribute to the human, economic, cultural, and social capitals. This research is critical for understanding the circumstances that facilitate digital entrepreneurship which guides public policies to support single, low-income, women and suggests potential improvements to their socioeconomic conditions by using cyber technology as an entrepreneurship option, particularly during this ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
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Introduction: Telehealth has a significant potential to complement and replace the traditional service paradigm. It can expand access to the interventions for children with ASD, particularly during the pandemic COVID-19. This study aimed to explore parents' experiences to carry out parent-mediated intervention (PMI) programs for their children with ASD via telehealth. Methods: This qualitative study used an Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis approach. We conducted online individual semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven parents of children with ASD who had experienced using telehealth to carry out PMI programs for children with ASD during the pandemic COVID-19 in Malaysia. The interviews lasted between 30 and 40 minutes. All interviews were transcribed into verbatim transcripts. The transcripts were coded, categorised, and summarised by two analysts. Results: Four superordinate themes emerged from the analysis, namely;(i) Adapting with Telehealth;(ii) Challenging but Rewarding;(iii) Supports;and (iv) Hopes and Inner Drives. Despite the implementation challenges, essential experiences reported included the inner motivation and satisfaction in using telehealth services. Conclusion: Generally, parents of children with ASD have positive attitudes towards telehealth and regard it as opportunities and initiatives to further provide treatments for their children despite the restrictions during the pandemic. All participants emphasised the importance of implementing the PMI program to meet the intervention needs of ASD children. These findings highlight the parents' lived experiences of carrying out the PMI program at home with ASD children using telehealth during the pandemic and provide a catalyst for further research to deliver better services for children with ASD. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
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This paper explores the urban population's walking behaviour and mobility pattern within a walkable environment in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the selected neighbourhood in Klang Valley, Malaysia. Data was collected through an online questionnaire survey. The key findings revealed that the pandemic limits pedestrian movement and changes their travelling methods due to the Malaysian government's Movement Control Order (MCO). As a result, walking and public transportation usage have declined due to the fear of proximity in public areas. Hence, further recommendations are required to ensure walking sustainability for daily routines whilst promoting resilient and healthy cities.
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Depression is a common illness that is affecting many people nowadays, this is especially true now with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. It often arises when a person is having difficulty coping with stressful life events. It can occur throughout the lifespan of a person, and it pervades all aspects of our lives. Currently, depression diagnoses rely on patient interviews and self-report questionnaires, which depend heavily on the patient honesty and the subjective experience of the clinician. In this paper, we will begin with investigating the viability of using the Short-Time Fourier Transform (STFT) as a feature descriptor to objectively diagnose depression from speech data. The dataset used in this research is the Audio-Visual Emotion Challenging 2017 (AVEC2017). The model is based on a modified ResNet18 model architecture to perform a binary classification (i.e., depressed or non-depressed). The STFT is computed from the speech signal to generate a mel-spectrogram for training and testing the model. The experiment shows that relying solely on STFT as an input feature resulted in an F1 score of 74.71% in classifying depression. © 2021 IEEE.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 Vaccines/adverse effects , COVID-19/prevention & control , Drug Eruptions/etiology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , BNT162 Vaccine/adverse effects , ChAdOx1 nCoV-19/adverse effects , Drug Eruptions/drug therapy , Drug Eruptions/pathology , Drug Eruptions/physiopathology , Female , Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use , Histamine Antagonists/therapeutic use , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Phenotype , SARS-CoV-2 , Young AdultABSTRACT
The world was shocked by an unprecedented outbreak caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In Malaysia, it started with the largest number of COVID-19 cases with the first wave of infection on 25 January 2020. The objectives of this paper are to obtain the perspective of the respondents about the need for web-mapping in the form of mapping the geospatial data in Malaysia and to visualize the current online datasets of COVID-19 disease case clusters. The study area would cover the entire Malaysia since a rapidly increasing number of citizens were affected by this virus. To be specific, this study focused on the active clusters of COVID-19 in Malaysia. The data were freely shared in real-time by referring to the Ministry of Health (MOH) channel. The hotspots map were explored using the Map Editor by Cloud GIS. The approach has been illustrated using a dataset of whole Malaysia which are locally transmitted confirmed cases in four phases of COVID-19 wave in Malaysia. This study is significant to raise public awareness of the virus, especially among Malaysian citizens. It can provide an accurate estimation of the cluster tracking of the COVID-19 system by using geospatial technology. Therefore, people are more concerned and followed all the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) provided by the government to prevent the spread of COVID-19. © 2021, Russian Geographical Society. All rights reserved.
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Uncertainty of the COVID-19 outbreak impacts mental health mainly among university students. This research seeks to identify the psychological impact and social support received among nursing students in UiTM Puncak Alam during COVID-19. A cross-sectional study used Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) and the Impact on Social and Family Support questionnaire among 114 nursing students. Students' anxiety (2.10 +/- 1.20) was higher than depression (1.50 +/- 0.73). However, participants reported receiving substantial social support, especially from family members (1.30 +/- 0.46). In conclusion, half of the participants showed the psychological impact;however, there was an increase in social support during the COVID-19 outbreak.