ABSTRACT
Cryptocarya densiflora Blume (Lauraceae) is an evergreen tree widely distributed throughout the hills and mountain forests up to 1500 m in Malaysia and Indonesia. The plant has been reported to contain phenanthroindolizidine-type of alkaloids. In the present work, a new phenanthroindolizidine alkaloid named (R)-13aalpha-densiindolizidine, was isolated from the dichloromethane (DCM) extract of the leaves. The structure of the alkaloid was established based on 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and liquid chromatography mass spectrometry-ion trap-time of flight (LCMS-IT-TOF) analysis. (R)-13aalpha-densiindolizidine displayed binding interactions with crucial amino acid residues in the active sites of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Mpro (SARS-CoV-2 Mpro) and RNA-dependent protease (RdRp) in silico, whilst fulfilling the absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity (ADMET) criteria and Lipinsky's rule, thus revealing its potential as a lead compound. Copyright © The Author(s) 2022.
ABSTRACT
Due to the Covid-19 epidemic, the education system worldwide has changed profoundly. This has caused many lecturers to transform face-to-face teaching and learning to online learning. In this regard, this study focuses on students' experiences in dealing with online learning. A survey method using a questionnaire is used to gather data from students, and 46 respondents answered the survey. The survey is divided into three sections, which comprise of Online Learning (Assigning Tasks), Online Learning (Quizzes), and Online Learning (Online Meetings). The results showed that the online learning application that was mostly used for assigned tasks was Google Classroom, which was 78.3%. The online learning application that is mostly used for quizzes was Kahoot, 97.8% and for online meetings was Zoom, 63.2%. Overall, most respondents, 45.7% chose a combination of online learning and face-to-face classes. © 2022 IEEE.
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This study explored the association between lifestyle and bowel movement frequency among students. A cross-sectional study was employed using a structured questionnaire that was administrated via an online platform. A total of 363 participants were involved in this study, where 77.4% (n=281) were female while 72.2% (n=262) of them did not experience constipation. Further investigation found that calories, dietary fibre, drink consumption, and physical activity level were associated with bowel movement frequency. This study showed that a good nutrient intake and adequate physical activity would improve bowel movement frequency even though restricted movement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19 has accelerated the growth of E-commerce revenue and market size within a few months, causing the quality of E-commerce systems to be top-notch to gain a competitive edge. This study attempts to maximize feasibility and boost confidence throughout the development of e-commerce systems. This paper presents different types of software development methodologies, including traditional and agile methodologies. This study also presents related works on software development methodologies, comprising Extreme Programming, Scrum, and Kanban, and a particular software quality model, ISO/IEC 25010. Their challenges and advantages are discussed. The sub-characteristics of ISO/IEC 25010 are mapped to the features of e-commerce systems. As a result, Scrum with frequent and effective meetings can minimize technical debt, design failures, stress, miscommunication, ambiguity, improve shared vision, continuous feedback for verification, productivity, team morale, delivery predictability, project visibility, risk reduction, and engineering discipline. The ISO/IEC 25010 contributes to the success of E-commerce systems. © 2022 Little Lion Scientific.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Teachers are among the occupation most affected due to COVID-19 pandemic in which they are forced to navigate through full online teaching and learning process due to the implementation of Movement Control Order (MCO). This study aims to determine the prevalence of psychological symptoms and its predictors during COVID-19 MCO among primary school teachers in rural Terengganu, Malaysia. Methods: A total of 239 teachers from 17 primary schools were recruited. Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) questionnaire was employed to measure to psychological problems. Online questionnaire was used and data were analysed using statistical software. Results: Majority of respondents was female (80%) with a mean (standard deviation) age of 43 (7.37). Approximately 14%, 20% and 8% of teachers reported depressive, anxiety and stress symptoms. The reporting of anxiety was contributed by low technological competence (Adjusted Odds Ratio, AOR) 4.46;95% Confidence Interval, CI: 1.03-19.34). Other factors include not living with in-laws (AOR 0.12;95% CI: 0.01-0.96) that were linked with depression and diagnosed with chronic diseases (AOR 4.54;95% CI: 1.16-17.88) that were linked with stress. Conclusion: Low technological competence was a significant barrier to online teaching during MCO and is linked to anxiety among teachers. There is the need to ensure continuous provision of targeted upskilling programs specific for the current online learning landscape and support system to address mental health problems. This will entitle teachers to pursue work without detrimental impacts on mental health. © 2022 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The Covid-19 pandemic has intensified the online learning activities, which have becoming the most crucial platforms for learning sessions. With these online learning activities, a major concern arises particularly on the security of educators and students' data. Every element in an online learning system can be a potential target of hacking or attack. Therefore, this paper examines students' awareness of data security in online learning. Google forms have been used to gather the students' feedback. Forty-two (42) students, involving the secondary school, pre-university and university students, responded to the survey questions. The results show that most of the respondents are well aware of how to keep their data safe in online learning. It is discovered that the level of awareness about data security in online learning amongst the students is commendable. The findings of this study indicate there are various ways to secure students' data especially during online learning. © 2022. All Rights Reserved.
ABSTRACT
Umrah package operations in Malaysia have recorded a significant increase every year. Before leaving for Umrah, Muslims need to make various preparations including travel, operations, and worship. So far, the management of umrah operations must adhere to the MPPU requirements. Nevertheless, this management manual still fails to produce quality management standards in monitoring the entire operation of umrah packages in Malaysia. Some problems such as the misuse of operating licenses, taking excessive profits, and handling of unregistered packages still occur. However, the 2019 Coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) global outbreak has resulted in many countries implementing travel restrictions and movement controls. In Malaysia, the business sector is one of the sectors directly affected by the movement control order (MCO). In summary, using the qualitative and quantitative methods, the findings of the study found that covid-19 had a significant impact on umrah operators. Therefore, it is hoped that improvement in the assistance provided can ensure the continuity of their business. © 2021, CA and C Press AB. All rights reserved.
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Introduction: Police officers are at high risk for many forms of psychological problems which includes anxiety and depression during COVID-19 outbreak. This review is aimed to identify relevant stress factors faced by police officers during COVID-19. Methods: Literature searches were conducted in Scopus and Web of Science databases. Search terms used includes the following: psychological OR stress OR mental health, and COVID-19 OR coronavirus, and police, OR policing OR law enforcement. Results: All types of articles published in January 2020-October 2020 which were relevant to the subject of the review were identified. The stress factors found relevant can be divided into operational, organizational, and other factors. Risk of infection, lack of knowledge on disease, uncertainty, availability of safety gear, and lack of pre-disaster training are the unique stress factors related to COVID-19. Conclusion: It is crucial to determine pandemic-specific occupational stressors experienced by police officers to enable its mitigation and improve work performance. Recommended risk control may include counseling services to officers affected by COVID-19, improve officers job satisfaction by acknowledging their work, and provide social support to maintain their wellbeing. © 2021 UPM Press. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the change in stress and anxiety level caused by practicing dentistry during COVID-19 pandemic, along with any financial impact and changes in dentists' cross infection control methods and history taking. Methods: An online questionnaire was conducted between June 10th and 2nd of July 2020 which was distributed after the ease of the lockdown on the dental health sector in most countries. It consisted of four sections (demographic and general characteristics, financial, cross infection control, psychological and mental aspects). Results: The questionnaire was completed by 480 dentists. Participants who were financially affected by the lockdown formed 87.5% of the full sample. There was an increase in the amount of stress they felt in the workplace after the pandemic, and a mean score of (7.1/10) for how much they worry about getting infected by COVID-19 while practicing dentistry. The female dentists had significantly higher stress level than the male dentists after the pandemic (P = 0.001) and significantly higher score for how much they worry about getting infected by Covid-19 while practicing dentistry (P = 0.002). Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic made practicing dentistry more stressful than before along with fear of getting infected. Dentists who participated in this study are implementing more methods to prevent getting infected by COVID-19, which could be a positive effect if this level of care remains after the pandemic is over.
ABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected all individuals across the globe in some way. Despite large numbers of reported seroprevalence studies, there remains a limited understanding of how the magnitude and epitope utilization of the humoral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 viral anti-gens varies within populations following natural infection. Here, we designed a quantitative, multi-epitope protein microarray comprising various nucleocapsid protein structural motifs, including two structural domains and three intrinsically disordered regions. Quantitative data from the microarray provided complete differentiation between cases and pre-pandemic controls (100% sensitivity and specificity) in a case-control cohort (n = 100). We then assessed the influence of disease severity, age, and ethnicity on the strength and breadth of the humoral response in a multi-ethnic cohort (n = 138). As expected, patients with severe disease showed significantly higher antibody titers and interestingly also had significantly broader epitope coverage. A significant increase in antibody titer and epitope coverage was observed with increasing age, in both mild and severe disease, which is promising for vaccine efficacy in older individuals. Additionally, we observed significant differences in the breadth and strength of the humoral immune response in relation to ethnicity, which may reflect differences in genetic and lifestyle factors. Furthermore, our data enabled localization of the immuno-dominant epitope to the C-terminal structural domain of the viral nucleocapsid protein in two independent cohorts. Overall, we have designed, validated, and tested an advanced serological assay that enables accurate quantitation of the humoral response post natural infection and that has revealed unexpected differences in the magnitude and epitope utilization within a population.
ABSTRACT
Objectives: The aim of this study is to investigate the change in stress and anxiety level caused by practicing dentistry during COVID-19 pandemic, along with any financial impact and changes in dentists' cross infection control methods and history taking.