Perspectives and practices of dietitians with regards to social/mass media use during the transitions from face-to-face to telenutrition in the time of COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey in 10 Arab countries.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, most healthcare professionals switched from face-to-face clinical encounters to telehealth. This study sought to investigate the dietitians' perceptions and practices toward the use of social/mass media platforms amid the transition from face-to-face to telenutrition in the time of COVID-19. This cross-sectional study involving a convenient sample of 2,542 dietitians (mean age = 31.7 ± 9.5; females: 88.2%) was launched in 10 Arab countries between November 2020 and January 2021. Data were collected using an online self-administrated questionnaire. Study findings showed that dietitians' reliance on telenutrition increased by 11% during the pandemic, p = 0.001. Furthermore, 63.0% of them reported adopting telenutrition to cover consultation activities. Instagram was the platform that was most frequently used by 51.7% of dietitians. Dietitians shouldered new difficulties in dispelling nutrition myths during the pandemic (58.2% reported doing so vs. 51.4% pre-pandemic, p < 0.001). Compared to the pre-pandemic period, more dietitians perceived the importance of adopting tele nutrition's clinical and non-clinical services (86.9% vs. 68.0%, p = 0.001), with 76.6% being confident in this practice. In addition, 90.0% of the participants received no support from their work facilities for social media usage. Following the COVID-19 outbreak, the majority of dietitians (80.0%) observed a rise in public interest in nutrition-related topics, particularly those pertaining to healthy eating habits (p = 0.001), healthy recipes (p = 0.001), nutrition and immunity (p = 0.001), and medical nutrition therapies (p = 0.012). Time constraint was the most prevalent barrier to offering telenutrition for nutrition care (32.1%), whereas leveraging a quick and easy information exchange was the most rewarding benefit for 69.3% of the dietitians. In conclusion, to ensure a consistent provision of nutrition care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic, dietitians working in Arab countries adopted alternative telenutrition approaches through social/mass media.

A Machine Learning-driven IoT Architecture for Predicting the Growth and Trend of Covid-19 Epidemic Outbreaks to Identify High-risk Locations

Covid-19 has had a destructive influence on global economics, social life, education, and technologies. The rise of the Covid-19 pandemic has increased the use of digital tools and technologies for epidemic control. This research uses machine learning (ML) models to identify populated areas and predict the disease's risk and impact. The proposed system requires only details about mask utilization, temperature, and distance between individuals, which helps protect the individual's privacy. The gathered data is transferred to an ML engine in the cloud to determine the risk probability of public areas concerning Covid-19. Extracted data are input for multiple ML techniques such as Random Forest (RF), Decision tree (DT), Naive Bayes classifier(NBC), Neural network(NN), and Support vector machine (SVM). Expectation maximization (EM), K-means, Density, Filtered, and Farthest first (FF) clustering algorithms are applied for clustering. Compared to other algorithms, the K-means produces better superior accuracy. The regression technique is utilized for prediction. The outcomes of several methods are compared, and the most suitable ML algorithms utilized in this study are used to identify high-risk locations. In comparison to other identical architectures, the suggested architecture retains excellent accuracies. It is observed that the time taken to build the model using locally weighted learning(LWL) was 0.02 seconds, and the NN took more time to build, which is 0.90 seconds. To test the model, an LWL algorithm took more time which is 1.73 seconds, and the NN took less time to test, which is 0.02 seconds. The NBC has a 99.38 percent accuracy, the RF classifier has a 97.33 percent accuracy, and the DT has a 94.51 percent accuracy for the same data set. These algorithms have significant possibilities for predicting the likelihood of crowd risks of Covid-19 in a public space. This approach generates automatic notifications to concerned government authorities in any aberrant detection. This study is likely to aid researchers in modeling healthcare systems and spur additional research into innovative technology. © 2023 IEEE.

Share Your Beautiful Journey: Investigating User Generated Content (UGC) and Webrooming Among Malaysian Online Shoppers

The electric commerce (e-commerce) platform in Malaysia has been growing exponentially since the spread of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Many local businesses were badly affected when the first phase of Movement Control Order (MCO) was implemented for several weeks. The increasing number of social media platform users stems from wide internet accessibility and smartphone ownership. As such, this study investigated online purchasing behaviour in Malaysia by linking webrooming and user generated content (UGC) with brand experience and brand engagement. Essentially, this study unravelled consumer purchasing behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored the effects of UGC and webrooming on brand experience and brand engagement among Malaysian online consumers who purchased beauty product. As a result, UGC and webrooming displayed positive correlation with brand experience. However, brand experience was insignificant for brand engagement. Additionally, brand experience was unsuitable to function as a mediator. Thus, the impact of social influencers and shoppertainment on brand engagement should be assessed. Future studies may look into webrooming from the light of Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) Theory. Lastly, fake reviews, fake accounts, and bots that influence online purchasing behaviour among Malaysians should be investigated as well. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

PATHWAYS OF NEIGHBOURHOOD OBESOGENIC ENVIRONMENT DURING COVID-19: IMPACTS AND WAY FORWARD

Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, obesity is already a pandemic illness on its own. It has been a public health priority in developing countries especially Malaysia where the obesity rate in the country is one of the highest in South East Asia. Early studies have concurred that the presence of COVID-19 makes anatomising the obesity pandemic even more urgent as impaired metabolic health increase complications and mortality in COVID-19 patients. COVID-19 induced movement restriction orders and related policies by the Malaysia government are believed to have altered the country's food and physical activity environments. The paper expanded the original Neighbourhood Environment, Health Behaviours and BMI (NEHB-BMI Model) where the pathways of neighbourhood obesogenic environment that reflects COVID-19 induced changes to the constructs from the perspective of Malaysia is presented. Through the discussion, three key variables were added to the model: 1) government environment;2) establishment/business environment;and 3) individual psychosocial factors. Exploring the impacts of COVID-19 to the obesogenic environment constructs paves way to gauging insights by allowing associations between the presented variables to be tested in future studies, especially in the South East Asian region where such studies are very limited. © 2022 by MIP.

Design of Mobile Application for SME Business Sustainability during Post Covid-19

In the 21st century, mobile and portable devices have become an integral part of people's lives, assisting them in managing daily tasks, whether for work or personal reasons. Furthermore, this technology will benefit people, particularly those who run small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs), by allowing them to manage their firms' using smartphones and other portable devices from anywhere and at any time. However, many SMEs in Malaysia do not own a mobile app. During this Covid-19 pandemic, the country's economic growth rate has slowed. It has impacted negatively on all types of businesses on a massive scale. Several major retailers have temporarily closed their doors. Aside from that, poor footfalls are causing problems for medium and small-sized enterprises. They have entirely lost their businesses due to the absence of a mobile app. They might still earn profits if they had their smartphone app because the delivery sectors were still operating as usual. The primary purpose of this study is to create importance of using electronic commerce mobile applications among SME business owners. This ecommerce mobile application was developed using Android studio with Kotlin programming language. UI of this application was designed with simple widget and layout. Google Firebase platform was connected to Android studio application which is used to store user details and verify whenever user try to login. © 2022 IEEE.

S6 Timing of pneumothorax post-CT-guided thoracic biopsy in a tertiary referral centre: implications for the ambulatory pneumothorax pathway

S6 Table 1Study population characteristicsn % Total number of procedures 641 - Male 371 57.9% Female 270 42.1% Median age (years) 71.0 - Lesion site RUL 177 27.61% RML 22 3.43% RLL 109 17.00% LUL 151 23.56% LLL 104 16.22% Anterior mediastinal 29 4.52% Pleural 40 6.24% Chest wall 9 1.40% Median lesion size (mm) 41 - Total pneumothorax incidence 223 34.8% Timing of pneumothorax T = 0 hours 186 83.41% T = 0-2 hours 37 16.59% T = 2 hours - 7 days 0 0.00% Pneumothorax management(% of n=223) Conservative 144 64.57% Aspiration 47 21.08% Chest drain 31 13.90% Pleural vent 1 0.45% Total pneumothorax needing intervention (% of n=223) 79 35.43% Immediate pneumothorax management (% of n=186) Conservative 111 59.68% Aspiration 46 24.73% Chest drain 28 15.05% Pleural vent 1 0.54% Immediate pneumothorax needing intervention (% of n=186) 75 33.63% Delayed pneumothorax management (% of n=37) Conservative 33 89.19% Aspiration 1 2.70% Chest drain 3 8.11% Pleural vent 0 0.00% Delayed pneumothorax needing intervention (% of n=37) 4 10.81% ConclusionsThis study demonstrates that the incidence of delayed-onset pneumothorax requiring intervention is low in a tertiary centre setting. The optimal time for patient observation post-CTGB remains unknown. The authors acknowledge a high incidence of pneumothorax in the study cohort, which they postulate may be due to a higher volume of complex procedures in a tertiary setting, higher sensitivity of CT for reporting trivial post-biopsy pneumothorax, and the diversion of more complex lung cancer patients to the CTGB route during the COVID pandemic to avoid aerosol-generating procedures.ReferenceHeerink WJ, de Bock GH, de Jonge GJ, Groen HJ, Vliegenthart R, Oudkerk M. Complication rates of CT-guided transthoracic lung biopsy: meta-analysis. Eur Radiol 2017;Jan;27(1):138–148.

Evaluation of serum soluble HLA-G levels post-recovery from COVID-19 and post-vaccination (Sinopharm and Pfizer-BioNTech).

Serum soluble HLA-G (sHLA-G) levels have been shown to be upregulated in COVID-19 patients. In this study, sHLA-G levels were examined in COVID-19 patients 14-21 days post-recovery (100 patients) and 80 uninfected controls. In addition, individuals vaccinated with Sinopharm or Pfizer-BioNTech (50 individuals each) were followed 21 days post-first dose and 21 days post-second dose. Serum sHLA-G levels were significantly higher in recovered patients than in controls. The first and second doses of Sinopharm and Pfizer-BioNTech were associated with significantly elevated levels of sHLA-G compared to controls or recovered patients, except for the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech where sHLA-G levels did not show significant differences compared to recovered patients. In conclusion, recovery from COVID-19, as well as vaccination with two doses of Sinopharm or Pfizer-BioNTech, were associated with up-regulated levels of sHLA-G molecules, but the first dose of Sinopharm had the greatest effect in raising sHLA-G levels.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Public Interest in the Energy Labelling on Restaurant Menus.

No study has investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public's interest in using energy labelling on restaurant menus. This study explores the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the public interest in using energy labelling on restaurant menus and meal delivery applications and the impact of energy-labelling availability on food choices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. An online questionnaire was completed by 1657 participants aged ≥ 18 years. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, 32% of customers visited a restaurant 2-4 times/week. However, during the pandemic, 35% of customers visited a restaurant only once per week. There was no difference in interest in reading energy labelling or using meal delivery applications before and during the pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, about 55% of restaurant customers reported that they had noticed energy labelling, with 42% of them being influenced by the energy-labelling information. Regarding energy information on food delivery applications, 40% of customers noticed energy labelling when using the applications, with 33% of them being affected by the energy labelling. Customer interest in reading about energy on restaurant menus during the pandemic did not change significantly from the level of interest before the pandemic. The interest expressed by the public in using the energy labelling was low both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Testing Weak Form of Efficient Market Hypothesis before and during COVID-19 Pandemic Periods: Evidence from Indonesia

This research examines the Weak Form of Efficient Market Hypothesis (WFEMH) on the Indonesian Stock Exchange. Specifically, the study empirically tests the extent to which future stock price changes are not determined by the previous period's stock price movement or the stock price changes are random. Thus, future stock price changes fully reflect new relevant information on the market. This research utilizes the daily closing price of the Composite Stock Price Index on the Indonesian Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2021. The sample of the study is divided into two groups. The first group is from January 2011 to December 2019 as the normal pre-COVID-19 period, and the second group is from January 2020 to December 2021 as the economic crisis period (during COVID-19). We apply three statistical tests: A unit root test, serial correlation test, and regression model examining the WFEMH. The study found that the WFEMH is documented in the Indonesian Stock Exchange in some periods before and during COVID-19. These research findings advocate that regulators and policy-makers should monitor the issue of the market efficiency of public firms in Indonesia. © 2022 IEEE.

Do intellectual capital and financing matter for the profitability of the Islamic banking industry in Indonesia?

In Indonesia, the Islamic banking industry has been experiencing growth since its establishment in 1992. Although its profitability has declined slightly due to Covid-19, Islamic banks have recorded higher profitability than the average banking industry nationwide. Motivated to identify the factors that determine the banking profitability, this research empirically tests the contribution of intellectual capital (measured by VAICTM), banks’ liquidity (financing-to-deposit ratio), and financing ineffectiveness (non-performing financing or NPF) to the profitability (return on assets or ROA) of Islamic banks in Indonesia. We gathered data from the published financial information comprising a total of 130 observation years. The result shows that intellectual capital, banks’ liquidity, and financing ineffectiveness impacted the profitability of Islamic banks in Indonesia. The findings of this study provide policy implications for Indonesia’s Islamic banks to apply prudential banking principles in their financing activities. Copyright © 2022 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Saudi Adults' Behavior Regarding Food Literacy and Food Consumption.

Background The coronavirus pandemic has forced worldwide closures, especially of restaurants closed, which partly contributed to people all over the world changing the way they choose and prepare foods. Objective The objective of this study was to compare changes in behavioral food literacy (planning, selecting, and preparing food) and food consumption before and during the COVID-19 crisis in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Design This was a cross-sectional study, with data from an online survey made in UAntwerpen Qualtrics Accounts and collected from April-June 2020. The study was part of the International Corona Cooking Survey. Results There were 2788 respondents (83%, n = 2323 females) who reported that the COVID-19 home lockdown had positively affected all their behavioral food literacy components (all p<0.05) except feeling confident about cooking a variety of healthy meals in which the difference was not significant (p>0.05); however, its impact on their food consumption was varied. There was a noticeable positive increase in fruit intake (Z= -3.330, p=0.001) and a noticeable positive decrease in processed meat (Z= -11.375, p<0.001) and sweetened drinks consumption (Z= -2.403, p<0.05). There were simultaneously noticeable adverse effects represented in the reduction in the consumption of the vegetable group (Z= -3.447, p=0.001) and an increase in sweets consumption (Z= -2.268, p<0.05). However, the overall impacts of these changes as measured by the Hedges' g measure indicated a small effect (Hedges' g = 0.04, 95% CI (-0.07, -0.16)). Discussion and conclusions Even though the pandemic may have created a sense of responsibility for one's health and increased people's nutritional awareness, the Saudi population may be still a long way from having healthy eating habits. Public health campaigns need to increase the population's level of nutritional awareness, educate them about the meaning of healthy eating, and how they can achieve that by advocating the national dietary guidelines and providing reliable and accurate information by authorized official bodies.

Effects of Role Ambiguity on Work Stress with Islamic Coping as Mediation among Nurses during a Covid-19 Pandemic at the General Hospital in Aceh-Indonesia

The nursing work environment has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. Its presence has impacted work stress among nurses in addition to other stressors including role ambiguity. Nurses with good stress coping can mitigate environmental stressors to minimize the work stress to the lowest level. This study intends to measure and analyze the direct effect of role ambiguity and Islamic coping on work stress. It also attempts to measure the indirect effect of role ambiguity on work stress through Islamic coping among nurses at the General Hospital dr. Zainoel Abidin (Rumah Sakit Umum dr. Zainoel Abidin - RSUDZA), Banda Aceh, Indonesia. A number of 206 nurses in inpatient rooms at the hospital were selected as the study's sample using a stratified random sampling method. The primary data were collected using the questionnaires and analyzed using a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach. The study found that role ambiguity has positively influenced work stress, while Islamic coping has negatively impacted work stress. In addition, Islamic coping has mediated the effect of role ambiguity on work stress. These results have implications for reducing work stress of the nurses during the Covid-19 pandemic. The clarification of the roles and responsibilities and improvement of Islamic coping skills could mitigate the nurses' work stress during the Covid-19 pandemic. © 2022 IEEE.

Adherence to 'covid:diabetes' guidance improved management of blood glucose in patients with covid-19 respiratory disease treated with dexamethasone

Background and Aims: Dexamethasone has been widely used in the management of covid-19 respiratory disease after the RECOVERY (Randomised Evaluation of covid-19 Therapy) trial showed improved outcomes. We conducted a double loop audit in order to improve our practice according to the Diabetes UK guidance for the management of hospitalised patients with covid-19 respiratory disease who received dexamethasone therapy. Methods: The data was collected consecutively for adult hospitalised patients with covid-19 infection proven on PCR or on high clinical suspicion. Patients on prior maintenance steroids and those admitted to the Intensive care were excluded. The patients were identified via hospital management system and data was collected from clinical notes and drug charts. We collected 56 patients' data in the first cycle and 41 patients in the second cycle. Evaluation was focussed on correct blood glucose monitoring, insulin dose administration and glycaemic complications. First cycle results were shared with the teams followed by a period of education using leaflets and easy to read posters. Results: Adherence to guidance improved from 48.2% to 92.7% between the two audit cycles. Correct dose of insulin was given in 41% cases initially which improved to 100% after teams' education. No glycaemic complications were noted after teams' education as compared to one hypoglycaemia event in the first cycle. Diabetes Specialist Team's input was less frequently (15%) sought after teams education as compared to 44.4% in the first cycle. Conclusion: Better adherence to the 'covid:diabetes' guidance improved the management of blood glucose in covid-19 respiratory disease treated with Dexamethasone. This saves healthcare resources and improves inpatient care.

WHAT DETERMINES CO-OPERATIVES' PRODUCTIVITY IN INDONESIA? A-TWO STAGE ANALYSIS

This study empirically measures and analyzes determinants of productivity changes of the co-operatives across all 34 provinces in Indonesia over the 2015-2020 period using a-two stage approach. In the first stage, the study measures the productivity of the co-operatives using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Meanwhile, in the second stage, the study utilizes a panel regression model to measure and analyze the determinants of productivity of the co-operatives in Indonesia. The study recorded that the co-operatives in Indonesia have experienced a 9.7% increase in their Total Factor Productivity (TFP), contributed mainly by the technical efficiency progress. Furthermore, the study found that the business volume has contributed to the improvement of the co-operatives' TFP. Meanwhile, the co-operatives' members, liquidity, and indebtedness are found to deteriorate the TFP growth. Profitability, however, is found to have an insignificant effect on TFP growth due to the non-profit orientation of the co-operatives. These findings suggest the need for cooperatives to diversify their business activities, supported by the adoption of relevant advanced technologies, particularly the use of online marketing. In addition, the co-operatives should improve their financial performances to maximize the use of capital by restricting liquidity and indebtedness. Finally, the government support to enhance financial and managerial aspects is essential to realize the co-operatives as the pillar of Indonesia's economy, as mandated by the 1945 Indonesian constitution.

Determination Of Had Kifayah Zakat Among Pre-Graduate Students At Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (Usim)

Had Kifayah refers to a minimum basic necessity rate set based on the current cost of living. The objective of this paper is to determine the current Had Kifayah for asnaf candidates focusing more on USIM Pre-Graduate students as the target group. The research method used are the qualitative and quantitative which apart from referring to existing writing and references, a survey was conducted to obtain the latest data from asnaf students through previous databases. The survey has been conducted via online instead one to one interview due to Covid-19 pandemic. Through a survey that covers aspects of student spending and income, the average of spending method has been used as per agreed with all team members to determine the Had Kifayah, in line with the method used by the state Islamic religious council as a reference. With the improvements made in the agreed calculation system, a more accurate calculation method has been developed and at the same time can help the process of proper distribution of zakat.

COVIDiot di masyarakat post-truth: Dari anti-otoritarianisme ke anti-religiusitas

This article aimed to elaborate on COVIDiot as discourse emerged within the Post-Truth Society and how it is linked to Anti-Authoritarianism and Anti-Religiousity. It turns out that COVIDiot is considered as one of the lethal ignorance practised by the global communities refuting parts or the whole COVID-19 protocols regulated by the government while at the same time distributing the massive number of hoaxes. In order to enquire into the discussion Researcher utilized the Discourse-Analysis method uncovering the ideological substance of COVIDiot starting from its definition and history followed by an analysis concerning a relationship between COVID-19 and the Post-Truth era. The research continued with a proper comprehension regarding the impact of COVIDiot on society and ended with a reflection regarding how COVIDiot symbolized an act of Anti-Authoritarianism and Anti-Religiosity. This paper concluded that COVIDiot in the Post-Truth society is in urgent demand of the sustained approach from government officers and religious figures to successively educate society further about the jeopardy of COVIDiot.

Risk of COVID-19 in healthcare workers working in intensive care setting.

BACKGROUND: The higher risk of COVID-19 in health care workers (HCWs) is well-known. However, the risk within HCWs is not fully understood. The objective was to compare the COVID-19 risk in intensive care unit (ICU) vs non-ICU locations. METHODS: A prospective surveillance study was conducted among HCWs at a large tertiary care facility in Riyadh between March 1st to November 30th, 2020. HCWs included both clinical (provide direct patient care) and nonclinical positions (do not provide direct patient care). RESULTS: A total 1,594 HCWs with COVID-19 were included; 103 (6.5%) working in ICU and 1,491 (93.5%) working in non-ICU locations. Compared with non-ICU locations, ICU had more nurses (54.4% vs 22.1%, P < .001) and less support staff (2.9% vs 53.1%, P < .001). COVID-19 infection was similar in ICU and non-ICU locations (9.0% vs 9.8%, P = .374). However, it was significantly higher in ICU nurses (12.3% vs 6.5%, P < .001). Support staff had higher risk than other HCWs, irrespective of ICU working status (15.1% vs 7.2%, P < 0.001). The crude relative risk of COVID-19 in ICU vs non-ICU locations was 0.92, 95% confidence interval ( was 0.76-1.11 (P = .374). However, relative risk adjusted for professional category was significantly increased to 1.23, 95% confidence interval 1.01-1.50 (P = .036). CONCLUSIONS: ICU had a significantly higher risk of COVID-19 infection only after adjusting for the distribution and risk of different professional categories. The latter is probably determined by both exposure level and protection practices. The finding underscores the importance of strict implementation of preventive measures among all HCWs, including those performing nonclinical services.

Post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers in tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia: A case series.

Healthcare workers have been categorized among the priority groups for COVID-19 vaccination. However, post-vaccination infections have been identified. This study was conducted to investigate SARS-CoV-2 infection among healthcare workers (HCWs) who received the COVID-19 vaccine. A case series in a multicenter healthcare system in Saudi Arabia was created from HCWs who had (PCR-RT) confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection after at least one dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination. A total of 20 healthcare workers (HCWs) have been included. The majority (70.0%) were males and the average age was 39.4 ± 10.1 years. They included physicians (55.0%), nurses (25.0%) and other HCWs (20.0%). Eighteen (90%) HCWs had infection after the first dose; 47.1% within the first week, 41.2% within the second week, and 11.8% within the third week. Only two HCWs (10.0%) had infection one week after the second dose. The majority (63.2%) had mild (52.6%) or moderate (10.3%) disease with no severe disease or hospitalization. The majority of post-vaccination COVID-19 infections among HCWs occurred before the full protection of the vaccine is gained. Suspicion of COVID-19 infection should be considered even with a history of COVID-19 vaccination. Recently vaccinated HCWs should be advised to fully comply with all recommended precautions to prevent COVID-19 transmission.