ABSTRACT
This study evaluates whether social media plays a role as the main source of information and, at the same time, as information sharing. Research on information-seeking behaviour, information needs, and information sharing has received increasing attention from various scientific communities since COVID-19 was declared a global epidemic. However, efforts have not been made to compare the capabilities of digital and interpersonal channels in both aspects of seeking and sharing information in Indonesia. Among the siege of information sources, identifying the primary sources of information used by students is important if the government is to intervene in health policies to overcome the pandemic. With an online survey conducted on 624 students, this study revealed that social media, which appears to be dominant as a source of COVID-19 information, cannot influence the behaviour of sharing information with others. The ETA correlation test confirms no correlation between the information source and information sharing behaviour. Indonesian students are moved to pass on information from interpersonal communication. In the two-stage communication model, individuals obtain information from the media and then discuss the information with others, which emerged in the conventional era and is still valid in today's digital era. The issue of trust is still inherent in social media, which makes it difficult to confirm the information on social media to be shared with others. The study explains that although communication technology has developed into the digital era, it does not necessarily eliminate the role of conventional technology. © 2023, Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
3,5-Di[(E)-arylidene]-1-[3-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)alkyl]piperidin-4-ones 7 a-k were synthesized through dehydrohalogenation of 1-(2-chloroacyl)piperidin-4-ones 5 a-k with N-methylpiperazine (6). High antiproliferation potencies were observed by most of the synthesized agents against both HCT116 (colon) and MCF7 (breast) cancer cell lines relative to the standard references (sunitinib and 5-fluorouracil). The synthesized agents are of dual activity against topoisomerases I and II alpha however, with higher efficacy against topoisomerase II alpha rather than topoisomerase I. Flow-cytometry cell cycle studies support the observed antiproliferation properties and exhibit the capability of 1-(2-chloroacetyl)-3,5-bis[(E)-4-chlorobenzylidene]piperidin-4-one (5 e) and 3,5-bis[(E)-4-bromobenzylidene]-1-[2-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)acetyl]piperidin-4-one (7 g) to arrest the HCT116 cell cycle progression at G1/S and G1 phases, respectively. Noticeable anti-SARS-CoV-2 properties were observed by many synthesized agents. 3,5-Bis[(E)-4-chlorobenzylidene]-1-[3-(4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)propanoyl]piperidin-4-one (7 f) is the most effective anti-SARS-CoV-2 synthesized with high SI. Applicability of the highly effective candidates synthesized as antitumor and anti-SARS-CoV-2 is due to the safety observations against normal (RPE1 and VERO-E6) cells. QSAR models validated internally and externally, support their possibility for optimizing more hits/leads.
ABSTRACT
Indonesia and Malaysia are currently holding prominent roles in the global palm oil market. Both countries are the top two palm oil producers in the world and have ambitious targets to increase the palm oil-based biodiesel mandate. In Indonesia, the current programme of blending 20 per cent palm oil into 80 per cent diesel (B20) increases to B30 in 2020. Likewise, Malaysia plans to increase its biodiesel mandate from B10 to B20 in 2020. However, the outbreak of COVID-19 has infected millions and brought the global economy to a near-deadlock. The effect is particularly severe in the fuel industry owing to movement restrictions and the historic drop in oil prices. Evaluating the impact of the COVID-19 on the biodiesel industry is crucial for policymakers but challenging as the pandemic has evolved with intense speed. This article aims to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the Indonesian and Malaysian biodiesel industry. In addition to that, a number of possible solutions to overcome the challenges were addressed and proposed. Despite severely affected by COVID-19, both Indonesia and Malaysia can use this momentum to improve and strengthen their biodiesel sector. Given its fiscal deficit, Indonesia should postpone its biodiesel blending mandate as the subsidy to support the programme can worsen the country's financial stability. In Malaysia, where labour shortage is prevalent, modernising plantations with automated equipment, for instance, could potentially remove the dirty and dangerous stereotypes associated with plantation works, thus attracting more locals to work in the palm oil plantation and solving the labour shortage. This paper also briefly addresses the adoption of Industry 4.0 and Circular Economy for the palm oil biodiesel industry.
ABSTRACT
The current COVID-19 outbreak was caused by a new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2. It accesses host cells through the angiotensinconverting enzyme 2 (ACE2) protein, which is expressed by endothelial cells (EC) and very abundantly expressed in the lungs. SARS-CoV-2 uses a surface glycoprotein (peplomer) called a spike to access host cells and ACE2 has been revealed to be a co-receptor for coronavirus entry. The antigen presentation of SARS-CoV mainly depends on the MHC I molecule, but MHC II also contributes to the presentation. Based on the mechanism of a common acute viral infection, the antibody profile against the SARS-CoV virus contains characteristic pattern of IgM and IgG production. By the end of week 12, SARS-specific IgM antibodies disappear, whereas IgG antibodies can last in a longer period of time, which shows IgG antibodies can mainly hold a protective role, and SARS-specific IgG antibodies mainly are S-specific and N-specific antibodies. Clinical manifestations are not only found in mucosa in the airways but also in the cardiovascular system, kidneys, central nervous system, pregnancy, skin, oral cavity and digestive system. The diagnose of clinical presentation of COVID-19 is mainly based on a history of epidemiology, clinical manifestations of pneumonia symptoms (for example, fever, dry cough, myalgia, and shortness of breath) and several additional examinations, include detection of nucleic acids, CT scanning, immune identification technology (POCT) ) IgM / IgG, related to enzymes, immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and blood culture.