Search results for: Ahmad Beng Hong Kueh

Authors: Ahmad Khoirul Umam

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This paper investigates the role of vested interests and its impacts on anti-corruption agenda in Indonesia following the collapse of authoritarian regime in 1998. A pervasive and rampant corruption has been believed as the main cause of the state economy’s fragility. Hence, anti-corruption measures were implemented by applying democratization and market liberalization since the establishment of a consolidated democracy which go hand in hand with a liberal market economy is convinced to be an efficacious prescription for effective anti-corruption. The reform movement has also mandated the establishment of the independent, neutral and professional special anti-corruption agency namely Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) to more intensify the fight against the systemic corruption. This paper will examine whether these anti-corruption measures have been effective to combat corruption, and investigate to what extend have the anti-corruption efforts, especially those conducted by KPK, been impeded by the emergence of a nexus of vested interests as the side-effect of democratization and market liberalization. Based on interviews with key stakeholders from KPK, other law enforcement agencies, government, prominent scholars, journalists and NGOs in Indonesia, it is found that since the overthrow of Soeharto, anti-corruption movement in the country have become more active and serious. After gradually winning the hearth of people, KPK successfully touched the untouchable corruption perpetrators who were previously protected by political immunity, legal protection and bureaucratic barriers. However, these changes have not necessarily reduced systemic and structural corruption practices. Ironically, intensive and devastating counterattacks were frequently posed by the alignment of business actors, elites of political parties, government, and also law enforcement agencies by hijacking state’s instruments to make KPK deflated, powerless, and surrender. This paper concludes that attempts of democratization, market liberalization and the establishment of anti-corruption agency may have helped Indonesia to reduce corruption. However, it is still difficult to imply that such anti-corruption measures have fostered the more effective anti-corruption works in the newly democratized and weakly regulated liberal economic system.

Keywords: vested interests, democratization, market liberalization, anti-corruption, Indonesia

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Authors: Marilou Cadatal-Raduban, Minh Hong Pham, Duong Van Pham, Tu Nguyen Xuan, Mui Viet Luong, Kohei Yamanoi, Toshihiko Shimizu, Nobuhiko Sarukura, Hung Dai Nguyen

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There is a great deal of interest in developing all-solid-state tunable ultrashort pulsed lasers emitting in the ultraviolet (UV) region for applications such as micromachining, investigation of charge carrier relaxation in conductors, and probing of ultrafast chemical processes. However, direct short-pulse generation is not as straight forward in solid-state gain media as it is for near-IR tunable solid-state lasers such as Ti:sapphire due to the difficulty of obtaining continuous wave laser operation, which is required for Kerr lens mode-locking schemes utilizing spatial or temporal Kerr type nonlinearity. In this work, the transient cavity method, which was reported to generate ultrashort laser pulses in dye lasers, is extended to a solid-state gain medium. Ce:LiCAF was chosen among the rare-earth-doped fluoride laser crystals emitting in the UV region because of its broad tunability (from 280 to 325 nm) and enough bandwidth to generate 3-fs pulses, sufficiently large effective gain cross section (6.0 x10⁻¹⁸ cm²) favorable for oscillators, and a high saturation fluence (115 mJ/cm²). Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the spectro-temporal evolution of the broadband UV laser emission from Ce:LiCAF, represented as a system of two homogeneous broadened singlet states, by solving the rate equations extended to multiple wavelengths. The goal is to find the appropriate cavity length and Q-factor to achieve the optimal photon cavity decay time and pumping energy for resonator transients that will lead to ps UV laser emission from a Ce:LiCAF crystal pumped by the fourth harmonics (266nm) of a Nd:YAG laser. Results show that a single ps pulse can be generated from a 1-mm, 1 mol% Ce³⁺-doped LiCAF crystal using an output coupler with 10% reflectivity (low-Q) and an oscillator cavity that is 2-mm long (short cavity). This technique can be extended to other fluoride-based solid-state laser gain media.

Keywords: rare-earth-doped fluoride gain medium, transient cavity, ultrashort laser, ultraviolet laser

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Authors: Ahmad Alqatan

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Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze how the adoption of cloud accounting systems influences the governance practices and performance of boards of directors in MENA countries. The research aims to identify the benefits and challenges associated with cloud accounting and its role in improving board efficiency and oversight. Methodology: This research employs a mixed-method approach, combining quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews with board members and financial officers from a diverse range of companies in the MENA region. The quantitative data is analyzed to determine patterns and correlations, while qualitative insights provide a deeper understanding of the contextual factors influencing cloud accounting adoption and its impacts. Findings: The findings indicate that cloud accounting significantly enhances the decision-making capabilities of boards by providing real-time financial information and facilitating better communication among board members. Companies using cloud accounting reports improved financial oversight and more timely and accurate financial reporting. However, the research also identifies challenges such as cybersecurity concerns, resistance to change, and the need for ongoing training and support. Practical Implications: The study suggests that MENA companies can benefit from investing in cloud accounting technologies to improve board governance and strategic decision-making. It highlights the importance of addressing cybersecurity issues and providing adequate training for board members to maximize the advantages of cloud accounting. Originality: This research contributes to the limited literature on cloud accounting in the MENA region, offering valuable insights for policymakers, business leaders, and academics. It underscores the transformative potential of cloud accounting for enhancing board performance and corporate governance in emerging markets.

Keywords: cloud accounting, board of directors, MENA region, corporate governance, financial transparency, real-time data, decision-making, cybersecurity, technology adoption

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Authors: Jimmy K. C. Lam, Carrie Wong

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One of the key goals on Learning and Teaching as documented in the University strategic plan 2012/13 – 2017/18 is to encourage active learning, the use of innovative teaching approaches and technology, and promoting the adoption of flexible and varied teaching delivery methods. This research reported the recent visited to Prof Eric Mazur at Harvard University on Peer Instruction: Collaborative learning in large class and innovative use of technology to enable new mode of learning. Peer Instruction is a research-based, interactive teaching method developed by Prof. Eric Mazur at Harvard University in the 1990s. It has been adopted across the disciplines, institutional type and throughout the world. One problem with conventional teaching lies in the presentation of the material. Frequently, it comes straight out of textbook/notes, giving students little incentive to attend class. This traditional presentation is always delivered as monologue in front of passive audience. Only exceptional lecturers are capable of holding students’ attention for an entire lecture period. Consequently, lectures simply reinforce students’ feelings that the most important step in mastering the material is memorizing a zoo of unrelated examples. In order to address these misconceptions about learning, Prof Mazur’s Team developed “Peer Instruction”, a method which involves students in their own learning during lectures and focuses their attention on underling concepts. Lectures are interspersed with conceptual questions called Concept Tests, designed to expose common difficulties in understanding the material. The students are given one or two minutes to think about the question and formulate their own answers; they then spend two or three minutes discussing their answers in a group of three or four, attempting to reach consensus on the correct answer. This process forces the students to think through the arguments being developed, and enable them to assess their understanding concepts before they leave the classroom. The findings from Peer Instruction and innovative use of technology on teaching at Harvard University were applied to the first year Textiles and Fashion students in Hong Kong. Survey conducted from 100 students showed that over 80% students enjoyed the flexibility of peer instruction and 70% of them enjoyed the instant feedback from the Clicker system (Student Response System used at Harvard University). Further work will continue to explore the possibility of peer instruction to art and fashion students.

Keywords: peer instruction, education, technology, fashion

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Authors: Rizwan Ahmad, Soomin Chang, Daeun Kwon, Jeonghwan Kim

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Interests in an inorganic membrane are growing rapidly for industrial wastewater treatment due to its excellent chemical and thermal stability over polymeric membrane. Nevertheless, understanding of the membrane rejection and fouling rate caused by the deposit of contaminants on membrane surface and within membrane pores through inorganic porous membranes still requires much attention. Microfiltration alumina membranes were developed and applied for the industrial wastewater treatment to investigate rejection efficiency of organic contaminant and membrane fouling at various operational conditions. In this study, organic rejection and membrane fouling were investigated by using the alumina flat-tubular membrane developed for the treatment of industrial wastewaters. The flat-tubular alumina membranes were immersed in a fluidized membrane reactor added with granular activated carbon (GAC) particles. Fluidization was driven by recirculating a bulk industrial wastewater along membrane surface through the reactor. In the absence of GAC particles, for hazardous anionic dye contaminants, functional group characterized by the organic contaminant was found as one of the main factors affecting both membrane rejection and fouling rate. More fouling on the membrane surface led to the existence of dipolar characterizations and this was more pronounced at lower solution pH, thereby improving membrane rejection accordingly. Similar result was observed with a real metal-plating wastewater. Strong correlation was found that higher fouling rate resulted in higher organic rejection efficiency. Hydrophilicity exhibited by alumina membrane improved the organic rejection efficiency of the membrane due to the formation of hydrophilic fouling layer deposited on it. In addition, less surface roughness of alumina membrane resulted in less fouling rate. Regardless of the operational conditions applied in this study, fluidizing the GAC particles along the surface of alumina membrane was very effective to enhance organic removal efficiency higher than 95% and provide an excellent tool to reduce membrane fouling. Less than 0.1 bar as suction pressure was maintained with the alumina membrane at 25 L/m²hr of permeate set-point flux during the whole operational periods without performing any backwashing and chemical enhanced cleaning for the membrane.

Keywords: alumina membrane, fluidized membrane reactor, industrial wastewater, membrane fouling, rejection

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Authors: Muhammad Dildar Gogi, Muhammad Jalal Arif, Muhammad Junaid Nisar, Mubashir Iqbal, Waleed Afzal Naveed, Muhammad Ahsan Khan, Ahmad Nawaz, Muhammad Sufian, Muhammad Arshad, Amna Jalal

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Fruit flies of Bactrocera genus cause heavy losses in fruits and vegetables globally and insecticide-application for their control creates issues of ecological backlash, environmental pollution, and food safety. There is need to explore alternatives and food-baits application is considered safe for the environment and effective for fruit fly management. Present experiment was carried out to assess the attractancy of five phagostimulant-Mixtures (PHS-Mix) prepared by mixing banana-squash, mulberry, protein-hydrolysate and molasses with some phagostimulant-lure sources including beef extract, fish extract, yeast, starch, rose oil, casein and cedar oil in five different ratios i.e., PHS-Mix-1 (1 part of all ingredients), PHS-Mix-2 (1 part of banana with 0.75 parts of all other ingredients), PHS-Mix-3 (1 part of banana with 0.5 parts of all other ingredients), PHS-Mix-4 (1 part of banana with 0.25 parts of all other ingredients) and PHS-Mix-5 (1 part of banana with 0.125 parts of all other ingredients). These were evaluated in comparison with a standard (GF-120). PHS-Mix-4 demonstrated 40.5±1.3-46.2±1.6% AI for satiated flies (class-II i.e., moderately attractive) and 59.5±2.0-68.6±3.0% AI for starved flies (class-III i.e., highly attractive) for both B. dorsalis and B. zonata in olfactometric study while the same exhibited 51.2±0.53% AI (class-III i.e., highly attractive) for B. zonata and 45.4±0.89% AI (class-II i.e., moderately attractive) for B. dorsalis in field study. PHS-Mix-1 proved non-attractive (class-I) and moderately attractive (class-II) phagostimulant in olfactometer and field studies, respectively. PHS-Mix-2 exhibited moderate attractiveness for starved lots in olfactometer and field-lot in field studies. PHS-Mix-5 proved non-attractive to starved and satiated lots of B. zonata and B. dorsalis females in olfactometer and field studies. Overall PHS-Mix-4 proved better phagostimulant-mixture followed by PHS-Mix-3 which was categorized as class-II (moderately attractive) phagostimulant for starved and satiated lots of female flies of both species in olfactometer and field studies; hence these can be exploited for fruit fly management.

Keywords: attractive index, field conditions, olfactometer, Tephritid flies

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Authors: Yi Meng, Yun Gao

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Having spent significant periods studying and working in North America and Europe, we, as two Chinese art educators, have been profoundly shaped by both Eastern and Western cultures. Consequently, our ambition is to enrich students' learning experiences by delving into and merging both cultural perspectives for innovative, creative expressions. This exposition draws on our action research study on students' visual literacy practices in a visual literacy course at a prominent Chinese university. The central premise was to explore innovative art forms by cross-utilizing various aspects of diverse cultures. By examining distinct cultural elements, we encouraged students to break away from familiar approaches and forge new paths in their creative endeavors. In implementing our curriculum, we utilized a multimodal pedagogy that deviated from the predominant print-based presentations typically employed in our classroom settings. This pedagogical approach effectively encouraged students to critically analyze the artifact, imbue it with their understanding and perspectives, and then produce an original piece. This approach also motivated students to leverage the semiotic potential of various communicative modes to address diverse cultural issues through their multimodal designs. To demonstrate the potential for cultural amalgamation, we utilized the artwork of Hong Kong-based artist Tik Ka. His works epitomize the fusion of Chinese traditions with Western pop culture, which served as a visual and conceptual reference point for students. Seeing how these distinct cultural elements could coexist and enrich each other in Tik Ka's work was inspiring and motivating for the students. Taken together, these pedagogical strategies helped create a dialogical space where students could actively experience, analyze, and negotiate complex modes of expression. This environment fostered active learning, encouraging students to apply their knowledge, question their assumptions, and reconsider their perspectives. Overall, such a unique approach to visual literacy education has the potential to reshape students' understanding of both cultures. By encouraging them to critically engage with their multimodal designs, we promoted an in-depth, nuanced appreciation of these diverse cultural heritages. The students no longer just interpreted and replicated images—they actively contributed to a dynamic and ongoing conversation between cultures.

Keywords: multimodal pedagogy, creative expressions, visual literacy education, multimodal designs

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Authors: Siamak Dawazdah Emami, Amin Khodaei, Harith Bin Ahmad, Hairul A. Adbul-Rashid

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The Fano resonance effect on plasmonic nanoparticle materials results in such materials possessing a number of unique optical properties, and the potential applicability for sensing, nonlinear devices and slow-light devices. A Fano resonance is a consequence of coherent interference between superradiant and subradiant hybridized plasmon modes. Incident light on subradiant modes will initiate excitation that results in superradiant modes, and these superradient modes possess zero or finite dipole moments alongside a comparable negligible coupling with light. This research work details the derivation of an electrodynamics coupling model for the interaction of dipolar transitions and radiation via plasmonic nanoclusters such as quadrimers, pentamers and heptamers. The directivity calculation is analyzed in order to qualify the redirection of emission. The geometry of a configured array of nanostructures strongly influenced the transmission and reflection properties, which subsequently resulted in the directivity of each antenna being related to the nanosphere size and gap distances between the nanospheres in each model’s structure. A well-separated configuration of nanospheres resulted in the structure behaving similarly to monomers, with spectra peaks of a broad superradiant mode being centered within the vicinity of 560 nm wavelength. Reducing the distance between ring nanospheres in pentamers and heptamers to 20~60 nm caused the coupling factor and charge distributions to increase and invoke a subradiant mode centered within the vicinity of 690 nm. Increasing the outside ring’s nanosphere distance from the centered nanospheres caused the coupling factor to decrease, with the coupling factor being inversely proportional to cubic of the distance between nanospheres. This phenomenon led to a dramatic decrease of the superradiant mode at a 200 nm distance between the central nanosphere and outer rings. Effects from a superradiant mode vanished beyond a 240 nm distance between central and outer ring nanospheres.

Keywords: fano resonance, optical antenna, plasmonic, nano-clusters

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Authors: Omar Asad Ahmad, Mohammed Awwad

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Concrete is one of the essential elements that used in different types of construction these days, but it has many problems when interacts with environmental elements such as water, air, temperature, dust, and humidity. Also concrete made with Portland cement has certain characteristics: it is relatively strong in compression but weak in tension and tends to be brittle. These disadvantages make concrete limited to use in certain conditions. The most common problems appears on concrete are manifested by tearing, cracking, corrosion and spalling, which will lead to do some defect in concrete then in the whole construction, The fundamental objective of this research was to provide information about the hardened properties of concrete achieved by using easily available local raw materials in Jordan to support the practical work with partners in assessing the practicability of the mixes with polypropylene, and to facilitate the introduction of polypropylene fiber concrete (PFC) technology into general construction practice. Investigate the effect of the polypropylene fibers in PCC mixtures and on materials properties such as compressive strength, and tensile strength. Also to investigate the use of polypropylene fibers in plain cubes and cylindrical concrete to improve its compressive and tensile strengths to reduce early cracking and inhibit later crack growth. Increasing the hardness of concrete in this research is the main purpose to measure the deference of compressive strength and tensile strength between plain concrete and concrete mixture with polypropylene fibers different additions and to investigate its effect on reducing the early and later cracking problem. To achieve the goals of research 225 concrete test sample were prepared to measure it’s compressive strength and tensile strength, the concrete test sample were three classes (A,B,C), sub-classified to standard , and polypropylene fibers added by the volume of concrete (5%, 10%, 15%, and 20%). The investigation of polypropylene fibers mixture with concrete shows that the strengths of the cement are increased and the cracking decreased. The results show that for class A the recommended addition were 5% of polypropylene fibers additions for compressive strength and 10 % for tensile strength revels the best compressive strength that reach 26.67 Mpa and tensile strength that reach 2.548 Mpa records. Achieved results show that for classes B and C the recommend additions were 10 % polypropylene fibers revels the best compressive strength records where they reach 21.11 and 33.78 Mpa, records reach for tensile strength 2.707 and 2.65 Mpa respectively.

Keywords: polypropylene, effects, compressive, tensile, strengths, concrete, construction

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Authors: Kausar Harun, Ahmad Azmin Mohamad

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Zinc oxide (ZnO) has been extensively used in optoelectronic devices, with recent interest as photoanode material in dye-sensitize solar cell. Numerous methods employed to experimentally synthesized ZnO, while some are theoretically-modeled. Both approaches provide information on ZnO properties, but theoretical calculation proved to be more accurate and timely effective. Thus, integration between these two methods is essential to intimately resemble the properties of synthesized ZnO. In this study, experimentally-grown ZnO nanoparticles were prepared by sol-gel storage method with zinc acetate dihydrate and methanol as precursor and solvent. A 1 M sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution was used as stabilizer. The optimum time to produce ZnO nanoparticles were recorded as 12 hours. Phase and structural analysis showed that single phase ZnO produced with wurtzite hexagonal structure. Further work on quantitative analysis was done via Rietveld-refinement method to obtain structural and crystallite parameter such as lattice dimensions, space group, and atomic coordination. The lattice dimensions were a=b=3.2498Å and c=5.2068Å which were later used as main input in first-principles calculations. By applying density-functional theory (DFT) embedded in CASTEP computer code, the structure of synthesized ZnO was built and optimized using several exchange-correlation functionals. The generalized-gradient approximation functional with Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof and Hubbard U corrections (GGA-PBE+U) showed the structure with lowest energy and lattice deviations. In this study, emphasize also given to the modification of valence electron energy level to overcome the underestimation in DFT calculation. Both Zn and O valance energy were fixed at Ud=8.3 eV and Up=7.3 eV, respectively. Hence, the following electronic and optical properties of synthesized ZnO were calculated based on GGA-PBE+U functional within ultrasoft-pseudopotential method. In conclusion, the incorporation of Rietveld analysis into first-principles calculation was valid as the resulting properties were comparable with those reported in literature. The time taken to evaluate certain properties via physical testing was then eliminated as the simulation could be done through computational method.

Keywords: density functional theory, first-principles, Rietveld-refinement, ZnO nanoparticles

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Authors: Ahmad Alsaber

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This paper aims to understand the intermediary role of the payment platform applications by analyzing the various factors that can influence the desirability of utilizing said payment services in Kuwait, as well as to determine the effect of the presence of different types of payment platforms on the variables of the “Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology” (UTAUT) model. The UTAUT model's findings will provide an important understanding of the moderating role of payment platform mobile applications. This study will explore the influence of payment platform mobile applications on customer purchase intentions in Kuwait by employing a quantitative survey of 200 local customers. Questions will cover their usage of payment platforms, purchase intent, and overall satisfaction. The information gathered is then analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis in order to gain insights. The research hopes to provide greater insight into the effect of mobile payment platforms on customer purchase intentions in Kuwait. This research will provide important implications to marketers and customer service providers, informing their strategies and initiatives, as well as offer recommendations to payment platform providers on how to improve customer satisfaction and security. The study results suggest that the likelihood of a purchase is affected by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, risk, and trust. The purpose of this research is to understand the advancements in the different variables that Kuwaiti customers consider while dealing with mobile banking applications. With the implementation of stronger security measures, progressively more payment platform applications are being utilized in the Kuwaiti marketplace, making them more desirable with their accessibility and usability. With the development of the Kuwaiti digital economy, it is expected that mobile banking will have a greater impact on banking transactions and services in the future.

Keywords: purchase intention, UTAUT, performance expectancy, social influence, risk, trust

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Authors: Mohd Zaki Hamzah, Roslan Rani, Ahmad Bazli Razali, Satiful Bahri Mamat, Abdul Hadi Ripin, Mohd Harun Esa

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Ever since 1901, forest management and silviculture practices in Malaysia have been frequently reviewed and updated to take into account changes in forest conditions, markets, timber demand/supply and technical advances that can be achieved in industrial processes, logging and forest harvesting, and currently, the forest management system practiced in Peninsular Malaysia is the Selective Management System (SMS) which was introduced in 1978. This system requires the selection of management regime (felling) based on Pre-Felling Forest Inventory (Pre-F) data to ensure economical harvesting and also ensuring adequate standing stands for subsequent rounds of felling, while maintaining ecological balance and environmental quality. SMS regulates forest harvesting through area and volume controls, with the cutting cycle 30 years. Most of the forest management units (FMU) (in Peninsular Malaysia) implementing SMS have been certified by Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and/or Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC), and one such FMU belongs to Kumpulan Pengurusan Kayu Kayan Terengganu (KPKKT). KPKKT, a timber management subsidiary of Golden Pharos Berhad (GPB), adopts the SMS to manage its 108,900 ha of timber concessionary areas in its role as logs’ supplier for the consumption of three subsidiaries of GPB. KPKKT is also responsible for the sustainable development and management of its concession in accordance with the Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) standards to ensure that it addresses the loss of forest cover and forest degradation, forest-based economic, social and environmental benefits, and ecologically protecting forests while mobilising financial resources for the implementation of sustainable forest management planning, harvesting, monitoring and the marketing of products. This paper will detail out the management and harvesting guidelines imposed by the controlling government agency, and harvesting processes taken by KPKKT to comply with guidelines and eventually supplying timber to the relevant subsidiaries (downstream mills under GPB).

Keywords: sustainable forest management, silviculture, reduce impact logging, forest certification

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Authors: Prateek Singh, Dilshad Ahmad

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Growing demand for high-quality steel products has inspired researchers to investigate the unit operations involved in the manufacturing of these products (slabs, rods, sheets, etc.). One such operation is tundish operation, in which a vessel (tundish) acts as a buffer of molten steel for the solidification operation in mold. It is observed that tundish also plays a crucial role in the quality and cleanliness of the steel produced, besides merely acting as a reservoir for the mold. It facilitates removal of dissolved oxygen (inclusions) from the molten steel thus improving its cleanliness. Inclusion removal can be enhanced by increasing the residence time of molten steel in the tundish by incorporation of flow modifiers like dams, weirs, turbo-pad, etc. These flow modifiers also help in reducing the dead or short circuit zones within the tundish which is significant for maintaining thermal and chemical homogeneity of molten steel. Thus, it becomes important to analyze the flow of molten steel in the tundish for different configuration of flow modifiers. In the present work, effect of varying positions and heights/depths of dam and weir on the dead volume in tundish is studied. Steady state thermal and flow profiles of molten steel within the tundish are obtained using OpenFOAM. Subsequently, Residence Time Distribution analysis is performed to obtain the percentage of dead volume in the tundish. Design of Experiment method is then used to configure different tundish geometries for varying positions and heights/depths of dam and weir, and dead volume for each tundish design is obtained. A second-degree polynomial with two-term interactions of independent variables to predict the dead volume in the tundish with positions and heights/depths of dam and weir as variables are computed using Multiple Linear Regression model. This polynomial is then used in an optimization framework to obtain the optimal tundish geometry for minimizing dead volume using Sequential Quadratic Programming optimization.

Keywords: design of experiments, multiple linear regression, OpenFOAM, residence time distribution, sequential quadratic programming optimization, steel, tundish

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Authors: Farhana Nosheen, Moeez Ahmad

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Throughout the food chain, the food waste from initial agricultural production to final household consumption has become a serious concern for global sustainability because of its adverse impacts on food security, natural resources, the environment, and human health. About a third of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) delivered to processing plants end as processing waste. The amount of such waste material is estimated to have increased with the emergence of mechanical harvesting. Experiments were made to determine the nutritional profile and antioxidant activity of tomato processing waste and to explore the bioactive compound in tomato waste, i.e., Lycopene. Tomato Variety of ‘SAHARA F1’ was used to make tomato waste. The tomatoes were properly cleaned, and then unwanted impurities were removed properly. The tomatoes were blanched at 90 ℃ for 5 minutes. After which, the skin of the tomatoes was removed, and the remaining part passed through the electric pulper. The pulp and seeds were collected separately. The seeds and skin of tomatoes were mixed and saved in a sterilized jar. The samples of tomato waste were found to contain 89.11±0.006 g/100g moisture, 10.13±0.115 g/100g protein, 2.066±0.57 g/100g fat, 4.81±0.10 g/100g crude fiber, and 4.06±0.057 g/100g ash and NFE 78.92±0.066 g/100g. The results confirmed that tomato waste contains a considerable amount of Lycopene 51.0667±0.00577 mg/100g and exhibited good antioxidant properties. Total phenolics showed average contents of 122.9600±0.01000 mg GAE/100g, of which flavonoids accounted for 41.5367±0.00577 mg QE/100g. Antioxidant activity of tomato processing waste was found 0.6833±0.00577 mmol Trolox/100g. Unsaturated fatty acids represent the major portion of total fatty acids, Linoleic acid being the major one. The mineral content of tomato waste showed a good amount of potassium 3030.1767 mg/100g and calcium 131.80 mg/100g, respectively were present in it. These findings suggest that tomato processing waste is rich in nutrients, antioxidants, fatty acids, and minerals. I recommend that this waste should be sun-dried to be used in the combination of feed of the animals. It can also be used in making some other products like lycopene tea or several other health-beneficial products.

Keywords: food waste, tomato, bioactive compound, sustainable management

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Authors: Yongde Dai

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The recent Chinese military action blockbusters, notably known as, Wolf Warrior/Zhan Lang (2015), Operation Mekong/Mei gong he xing dong (2016), Warrior 2/Zhan Lang 2 (2017) and Operation Red Sea/Hong hai xing dong (2018), have achieved phenomenal box-office successes and in particular, Wolf Warrior 2 became China’s highest-grossing film of all time. However, their yearly presence tends to show a paradigmic shift from China’s primacy of wen manliness (soft) to wu masculinity (hard). With the increasing cinematic exposure of a more muscular image manifesting in both the Chinese heroic soldiers and China itself as a rising global power, the backlash of the Chinese public against the proliferation of the feminized masculinity influenced by the ‘pretty-boy’ pop-culture and China’s harder approach to the current Sino-US tensions have correspondingly emerged and continued to brew. Chinese masculinity imagined in these films is one of the key factors that enable a gendered interpretation of the correlation between the Chinese on-screen fantasy and off-screen reality, that is, China’s public and official discourse about the hegemonic masculinity and non-hegemonic masculinity as well as China’s international profile on cinematic appearance and in today’s Sino-US relation. By reading closely at the four megahits as visual-audio texts with Chinese masculinity studies by Kam Louie and Geng Song, this paper attempts to examine the Chinese construction of manliness with historical accounts and argue why and how the recurrent emphasis of hard/military masculinity (wu) on screen are viewed as China’s contemporary rewriting of the ‘sick-man’ history in the film form. Through this investigation, the paper finds that the rewriting of the ‘sick-man’ history in the cinematic world through heroic brawny soldiers comes to resonate a collective anxiety of China in countering the real-life increasing feminized masculinity on the public appearance, particularly on the male celebrities. In addition, the superpower fantasy about China illuminates a hypermasculine imaginary of China as a global rising power and this coincidently echoes China’s current tougher diplomatic strategy tackling the Sino-US trade war, South China sea dispute and Huawei-US lawsuits.

Keywords: Chinese masculinity, Chinese military action film, feminized masculinity, manhood and nationhood, sick man of Asia

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Authors: Yiu K. C. Jacky, Tang S. K. Eric, W. Y. Tsang, C. Y. Li, C. K. Leung

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Objectives : (1) To enhance the competence of nurses on using IPMOE for drug administration; (2) To ensure the transition on implementation of IPMOE in safer and smooth way hospital-wide. Methodology: (1) Well-structured Governance: To make provision for IPMOE implementation, multidisciplinary governance structure at Corporate and Local levels are well established. (2) Staff Engagement: A series of staff engagement events were conducted including Staff Forum, IPMOE Hospital Visit, Kick-off Ceremony and establishment of IPMOE Webpage for familiarizing the forthcoming implementation with frontline staff. (3) Well-organized training program: from Workshop to Workplace Two different IPMOE training programs were tailor-made which aimed at introducing the core features of administration module. Fifty-five identical training classes and six train-the-trainer workshops were organized at 2-3Q 2015. Lending Scheme on IPMOE hardware for hands-on practicing was launched and further extended the training from workshop to workplace. (4) Standard Guidelines and Workflow: the related workflow and guidelines are developed which facilitates users to acquire the competence towards IPMOE and fully familiarize with the standardized contingency plan. (5) Facilities and Equipment: The installations of IPMOE hardware were promptly arranged for rollout. Besides, IPMOE training venue was well-established for staff training. (6) Risk Management Strategy: UCH Medication Safety Forum is organized in December 2015 for sharing “Tricks & Tips” on IPMOE which further disseminate at webpage for arousal of medication safety. Hospital-wide annual audit on drug administration was planned to figure out the compliance and deliberate the rooms for improvement. Results: Through the comprehensive training plan, over 1,000 UCH nurses attended the training program with positive feedback. They agreed that their competence on using IPMOE was enhanced. By the end of November 2015, 28 wards (over 1,000 Inpatient-bed) involving departments of M&G, SUR, O&T and O&G have been successfully rolled out IPMOE in 5-month. A smooth and safe transition of implementation of IPMOE was achieved. Eventually, we all get prepared for embedding IPMOE into daily nursing and work altogether for medication safety at UCH.

Keywords: drug administration, inpatient medication order entry system, medication safety, nursing informatics

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Authors: Uraib Sharaha, Guy Beck, Joseph Kapelushnik, Adam H. Agbaria, Itshak Lapidot, Shaul Mordechai, Ahmad Salman, Mahmoud Huleihel

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Infectious diseases cause a significant burden on the public health and the economic stability of societies all over the world for several centuries. A reliable detection of the causative agent of infection is not possible based on clinical features, since some of these infections have similar symptoms, including fever, sneezing, inflammation, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Moreover, physicians usually encounter difficulties in distinguishing between viral and bacterial infections based on symptoms. Therefore, there is an ongoing need for sensitive, specific, and rapid methods for identification of the etiology of the infection. This intricate issue perplex doctors and researchers since it has serious repercussions. In this study, we evaluated the potential of the mid-infrared spectroscopic method for rapid and reliable identification of bacterial and viral infections based on simple peripheral blood samples. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy is considered a successful diagnostic method in the biological and medical fields. Many studies confirmed the great potential of the combination of FTIR spectroscopy and machine learning as a powerful diagnostic tool in medicine since it is a very sensitive method, which can detect and monitor the molecular and biochemical changes in biological samples. We believed that this method would play a major role in improving the health situation, raising the level of health in the community, and reducing the economic burdens in the health sector resulting from the indiscriminate use of antibiotics. We collected peripheral blood samples from young 364 patients, of which 93 were controls, 126 had bacterial infections, and 145 had viral infections, with ages lower than18 years old, limited to those who were diagnosed with fever-producing illness. Our preliminary results showed that it is possible to determine the infectious agent with high success rates of 82% for sensitivity and 80% for specificity, based on the WBC data.

Keywords: infectious diseases, (FTIR) spectroscopy, viral infections, bacterial infections.

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Authors: Samuel J. Ahmad, Michael Zhu, Andrew J. Kobets

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Segmentation tools continue to advance, evolving from manual methods to automated contouring technologies utilizing convolutional neural networks. These techniques have evaluated ventricular and hemorrhagic volumes in the past but may be applied in novel ways to assess posterior fossa-associated pathologies such as Chiari malformations. Herein, we summarize literature pertaining to segmentation in the context of this and other posterior fossa-based diseases such as trigeminal neuralgia, hemifacial spasm, and posterior fossa syndrome. A literature search for volumetric analysis of the posterior fossa identified 27 papers where semi-automated, automated, manual segmentation, linear measurement-based formulas, and the Cavalieri estimator were utilized. These studies produced superior data than older methods utilizing formulas for rough volumetric estimations. The most commonly used segmentation technique was semi-automated segmentation (12 studies). Manual segmentation was the second most common technique (7 studies). Automated segmentation techniques (4 studies) and the Cavalieri estimator (3 studies), a point-counting method that uses a grid of points to estimate the volume of a region, were the next most commonly used techniques. The least commonly utilized segmentation technique was linear measurement-based formulas (1 study). Semi-automated segmentation produced accurate, reproducible results. However, it is apparent that there does not exist a single semi-automated software, open source or otherwise, that has been widely applied to the posterior fossa. Fully-automated segmentation via such open source software as FSL and Freesurfer produced highly accurate posterior fossa segmentations. Various forms of segmentation have been used to assess posterior fossa pathologies and each has its advantages and disadvantages. According to our results, semi-automated segmentation is the predominant method. However, atlas-based automated segmentation is an extremely promising method that produces accurate results. Future evolution of segmentation technologies will undoubtedly yield superior results, which may be applied to posterior fossa related pathologies. Medical professionals will save time and effort analyzing large sets of data due to these advances.

Keywords: chiari, posterior fossa, segmentation, volumetric

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Authors: Ahmad B. Habieb, Gabriele Milani, Tavio Tavio, Federico Milani

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Housings in developing countries have often inadequate seismic protection, particularly for masonry. People choose this type of structure since the cost and application are relatively cheap. Seismic protection of masonry remains an interesting issue among researchers. In this study, we develop a low-cost seismic isolation system for masonry using fiber reinforced elastomeric isolators. The elastomer proposed consists of few layers of rubber pads and fiber lamina, making it lower in cost comparing to the conventional isolators. We present a finite element (FE) analysis to predict the behavior of the low cost rubber isolators undergoing moderate deformations. The FE model of the elastomer involves a hyperelastic material property for the rubber pad. We adopt a Yeoh hyperelasticity model and estimate its coefficients through the available experimental data. Having the shear behavior of the elastomers, we apply that isolation system onto small masonry housing. To attach the isolators on the building, we model the shear behavior of the isolation system by means of a damped nonlinear spring model. By this attempt, the FE analysis becomes computationally inexpensive. Several ground motion data are applied to observe its sensitivity. Roof acceleration and tensile damage of walls become the parameters to evaluate the performance of the isolators. In this study, a concrete damage plasticity model is used to model masonry in the nonlinear range. This tool is available in the standard package of Abaqus FE software. Finally, the results show that the low-cost isolators proposed are capable of reducing roof acceleration and damage level of masonry housing. Through this study, we are also capable of monitoring the shear deformation of isolators during seismic motion. It is useful to determine whether the isolator is applicable. According to the results, the deformations of isolators on the benchmark one story building are relatively small.

Keywords: masonry, low cost elastomeric isolator, finite element analysis, hyperelasticity, damped non-linear spring, concrete damage plasticity

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Authors: Muhammad Ather Nadeem, Bilal Ahmad Khan, Tasawer Abbas

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Nanoherbicides utilize nanotechnology to enhance the delivery of biological or chemical herbicides using combinations of nanomaterials. The aim of this research was to examine the efficacy of chitosan nanoparticles containing MCPA herbicide as a potential eco-friendly alternative for weed control in wheat crops. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and ultraviolet absorbance were used to analyze the developed nanoparticles. The SEM analysis indicated that the average size of the particles was 35 nm, forming clusters with a porous structure. Both nanoparticles of fluroxyper + MCPA exhibited maximal absorption peaks at a wavelength of 320 nm. The compound fluroxyper +MCPA has a strong peak at a 2θ value of 30.55°, which correlates to the 78 plane of the anatase phase. The weeds, including Chenopodium album, Lathyrus aphaca, Angalis arvensis, and Melilotus indica, were sprayed with the nanoparticles while they were in the third or fourth leaf stage. There were seven distinct dosages used: doses (D0 (Check weeds), D1 (Recommended dose of traditional herbicide, D2 (Recommended dose of Nano-herbicide (NPs-H)), D3 (NPs-H with 05-fold lower dose), D4 ((NPs-H) with 10-fold lower dose), D5 (NPs-H with 15-fold lower dose), and D6 (NPs-H with 20-fold lower dose)). The chitosan-based nanoparticles of MCPA at the prescribed dosage of conventional herbicide resulted in complete death and visual damage, with a 100% fatality rate. The dosage that was 5-fold lower exhibited the lowest levels of plant height (3.95 cm), chlorophyll content (5.63%), dry biomass (0.10 g), and fresh biomass (0.33 g) in the broad-leaved weed of wheat. The herbicide nanoparticles, when used at a dosage 10-fold lower than that of conventional herbicides, had a comparable impact on the prescribed dosage. Nano-herbicides have the potential to improve the efficiency of standard herbicides by increasing stability and lowering toxicity.

Keywords: mortality, visual injury, chlorophyl contents, chitosan-based nanoparticles

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Authors: Tas Yong Koh, Steve Rowlinson, Yuzhong Shen

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In construction safety management, safety climate has long been linked to workers' safety behaviors and performance. For this reason, safety climate concept and tools have been used as heuristics to diagnose a range of safety-related issues by some progressive contractors in Hong Kong and elsewhere. However, as a diagnostic tool, safety climate tends to treat the different components of the climate construct in a linear fashion. Safety management in construction projects, in reality, is a multi-faceted and multilevel phenomenon that resembles a complex system. Hence, understanding safety management in construction projects requires not only the understanding of safety climate but also the organizational-systemic nature of the phenomenon. Our involvement, diagnoses, and interpretations of a range of safety climate-related issues which culminated in the project’s sub-optimum safety performance in an infrastructure construction project have brought about such revelation. In this study, a range of data types had been collected from various hierarchies of the project site organization. These include the frontline workers and supervisors from the main and sub-contractors, and the client supervisory personnel. Data collection was performed through the administration of safety climate questionnaire, interviews, observation, and document study. The findings collectively indicate that what had emerged in parallel of the seemingly linear climate-based exploration is the exposition of the organization-systemic nature of the phenomenon. The results indicate the negative impacts of climate perceptions mismatch, insufficient work planning, and risk management, mixed safety leadership, workforce negative attributes, lapsed safety enforcement and resources shortages collectively give rise to the project sub-optimum safety performance. From the dynamic causation and multilevel perspective, the analyses show that the individual, group, and organizational levels issues are interrelated and these interrelationships are linked to negative safety climate. Hence the adoption of both perspectives has enabled a fuller understanding of the phenomenon of safety management that point to the need for an organizational-systemic intervention strategy. The core message points to the fact that intervention at an individual level will only meet with limited success if the risks embedded in the higher levels in group and project organization are not addressed. The findings can be used to guide the effective development of safety infrastructure by linking different levels of systems in a construction project organization.

Keywords: construction safety management, dynamic causation, multilevel analysis, safety climate

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Authors: Awais Ahmad, Mostafa Muhammad Selim, Ali Abdullah Alderfasi

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Water limitation is undoubtedly a critical environmental constraint limiting the crop production under arid and semiarid areas. Mung bean is susceptible to both drought and water logging stresses. Therefore, present study was conducted to assess the water deficit stress consequences of yield components and water use efficiency in Mung bean. A field experiment was conducted at Educational Farm, Crop Production Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Kind Saud University, Saudi Arabia. Trail comprised of four irrigation levels — total amount of irrigation divided into irrigation intervals — (3, 5, 7 and 9 days interval) and three Mung bean genotypes; Kawmay-1, VC-2010 and King from Egypt, Thailand and China respectively. Experiment was arranged under split plot design having irrigation as main while genotype as subplot treatment, and replicated thrice. Plant height, 100 seed weight, biological yield, seed yield, harvest index and water use efficiency were recorded at harvesting. Results revealed that decrease in irrigation have significantly hampered all the studied parameters. Mung bean genotypes have also shown significant differences for all parameters, whereas irrigation genotype interaction was highly significant for seed yield, harvest index and water use efficiency (WUE) while it was significant for biological yield. Plant height and 100 seed weight were recorded non-significant for irrigation genotype interaction. A statistically highly significant correlation among recorded parameters was observed. Minimum irrigation interval (3 days) significantly produced maximum values while VC-2010 comparatively performed better under low irrigation levels. It was concluded that Mung bean may be successfully adopted under Saudi Arabian climate but it needs high water or frequent irrigation, however, genotypic differences are a hope to develop some improved varieties with high water use efficiency.

Keywords: mung bean, irrigation intervals, water use efficiency, genotypes, yield

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Authors: Hong Je Kang, Young Chae Choi, Jin Sung Park, Isac Kim

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Purpose: Osteoporotic fractures are an important among postmenopausal women. When osteoporotic distal radial fractures occur, osteoporosis must be treated to prevent the hip and spine fractures. Intravenous injection of Zoledronic acid is expected to improve preventing osteoporotic fractures. Many articles reported the effect of intravenous Zoledronic acid to BMD of the hip and spine fracture or non-fracture patients with low BMD. However, that with distal radial fractures has rarely been reported. Therefore, the authors decided to study the effect of Zoledronic acid in BMD score, bone union, and bone turnover markers in the patients who underwent volar plating due to osteoporotic distal radial fractures. Materials: From April 2018 to May 2022, postmenopausal women aged 55 years or older who had osteoporotic distal radial fractures and who underwent surgical treatment using volar plate fixation were included. Zoledronic acid (5mg) was injected intravenously between 3 and 5 days after surgery. BMD scores after 1 year of operation were compared with the initial scores. Bone turnover markers were measured before surgery, after 3 months, and after 1 year. Radiological follow-up was performed every 2 weeks until the bone union and at 1 year postoperatively. Clinical outcome indicators were measured one year after surgery, and the occurrence of side effects was observed. Result: Total of 23 patients were included, with a lumbar BMD T score of -2.89±0.2 before surgery to -2.27±0.3 one year after surgery (p=0.012) and a femoral neck BMD T score of -2.45±0.3 before surgery to -2.36±0.3 (p=0.041) after one year, and all were statistically significant. Measured as bone resorption markers, serum CTX-1 was 337.43±10.4 pg/mL before surgery, 160.86±8.7 pg/mL (p=0.022) after three months, and 250.12±12.7 pg/mL (p=0.031) after one year. Urinary NTX-1 was 39.24±2.2 ng/mL before surgery, 24.46±1.2 ng/mL (p=0.014) after three months and 30.35±1.6 ng/mL (p=0.042) after one year. Measured as bone formation markers, serum osteocalcin was 13.04±1.1 ng/mL before surgery, 8.84±0.7 ng/mL (p=0.037) after 3 months and 11.1±0.4 ng/mL (p=0.026) after one year. Serum bone-specific ALP was 11.24±0.9 IU/L before surgery, 8.25±0.9 IU/L (p=0.036) after three months, and 10.2±0.9 IU/L (p=0.027) after one year. All were statistically significant. All cases showed bone union within an average of 6.91±0.3 weeks without any signs of failure. Complications were found in 5 out of 23 cases (21.7%), such as headache, nausea, muscle pain, and fever. Conclusion: When Zoledronic acid was used, BMD was improved in both the spine and femoral neck. This may reduce the likelihood and subsequent morbidity of additional osteoporotic fractures. This study is meaningful in that there was no difference in the duration of bone union and radiological characteristics in patients with distal radial fractures administrated with intravenous BP early after the fractures, and improvement in BMD and bone turnover indicators was measured.

Keywords: zeoldreonic acid, BMD, osteoporosis, distal radius

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Authors: Runlian Miao, Wei Xie, Hong Zhang

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In China, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei is regarded as a strategically important region because itenjoys highest development in economic development, opening up, innovative capacity and andpopulation. Integrated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is increasingly emphasized by the government recently years. In 2014, it has ascended to one of the national great development strategies by Chinese central government. In 2015, Coordinated Development Planning Compendium for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region was approved. Such decisions signify Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region would lead innovation-driven economic development in China. As an essential factor to achieve national innovation-driven development and significant part of regional industry chain, the optimization of science and technology resources allocation will exert great influence to regional economic transformation and upgrading and innovation-driven development. However, unbalanced distribution, poor sharing of resources and existence of information isolated islands have contributed to different interior innovation capability, vitality and efficiency, which impeded innovation and growth of the whole region. Under such a background, to integrate and vitalize regional science and technology resources and then establish high-end, fast-responding and precise innovation service system basing on regional resources, would be of great significance for integrated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and even handling of unbalanced and insufficient development problem in China. This research uses the method of literature review and field investigation and applies related theories prevailing home and abroad, centering service path of science and technology resources for innovation. Based on the status quo and problems of regional development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, theoretically, the author proposed to combine regional economics and new economic geography to explore solution to problem of low resource allocation efficiency. Further, the author puts forward to applying digital map into resource management and building a platform for information co-building and sharing. At last, the author presents the thought to establish a specific service mode of ‘science and technology plus digital map plus intelligence research plus platform service’ and suggestion on co-building and sharing mechanism of 3 (Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei ) plus 11 (important cities in Hebei Province).

Keywords: Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, science and technology resources, innovation service, digital platform

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Authors: Parimalah Velo, Ahmad Zakaria

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Introduction: Monte Carlo simulations of preclinical imaging systems allow opportunity to enable new research that could range from designing hardware up to discovery of new imaging application. The simulation system which could accurately model an imaging modality provides a platform for imaging developments that might be inconvenient in physical experiment systems due to the expense, unnecessary radiation exposures and technological difficulties. The aim of present study is to validate the Monte Carlo simulation of thyroid phantom imaging using Geant4-GATE for Siemen’s e-cam single head gamma camera. Upon the validation of the gamma camera simulation model by comparing physical characteristic such as energy resolution, spatial resolution, sensitivity, and dead time, the GATE simulation of thyroid phantom imaging is carried out. Methods: A thyroid phantom is defined geometrically which comprises of 2 lobes with 80mm in diameter, 1 hot spot, and 3 cold spots. This geometry accurately resembling the actual dimensions of thyroid phantom. A planar image of 500k counts with 128x128 matrix size was acquired using simulation model and in actual experimental setup. Upon image acquisition, quantitative image analysis was performed by investigating the total number of counts in image, the contrast of the image, radioactivity distributions on image and the dimension of hot spot. Algorithm for each quantification is described in detail. The difference in estimated and actual values for both simulation and experimental setup is analyzed for radioactivity distribution and dimension of hot spot. Results: The results show that the difference between contrast level of simulation image and experimental image is within 2%. The difference in the total count between simulation and actual study is 0.4%. The results of activity estimation show that the relative difference between estimated and actual activity for experimental and simulation is 4.62% and 3.03% respectively. The deviation in estimated diameter of hot spot for both simulation and experimental study are similar which is 0.5 pixel. In conclusion, the comparisons show good agreement between the simulation and experimental data.

Keywords: gamma camera, Geant4 application of tomographic emission (GATE), Monte Carlo, thyroid imaging

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Authors: Macie Matta, Ahmad Jabri, Stephanie Jackson

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Introduction: In the absence of hypotension, pulmonary embolism (PE) causing right ventricular dysfunction or strain, whether confirmed by imaging or cardiac biomarkers, is deemed to be an intermediate-risk category. Urgent treatment of intermediate-risk PE can prevent progression to hemodynamic instability and death. Management options include thrombolysis, thrombectomy, or systemic anticoagulation. We aim to evaluate the short-term outcomes of a half-dose tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) for the management of intermediate-risk PE. Methods: We retrospectively identified adult patients diagnosed with intermediate-risk PE between the years 2000 and 2021. Demographic data, lab values, imaging, treatment choice, and outcomes were all obtained through chart review. Primary outcomes measured include major bleeding events and in-hospital mortality. Patients on standard systemic anticoagulation without receiving thrombolysis or thrombectomy served as controls. Patient data were analyzed using SAS®️ Software (version 9.4; Cary, NC) to compare individuals that received half-dose tPA with controls, and statistical significance was set at a p-value of 0.05. Results: We included 57 patients in our final analysis, with 19 receiving tPA. Patient characteristics and comorbidities were comparable between both groups. There was a significant difference between PE location, presence of acute deep vein thrombosis, and peak troponin level between both groups. The thrombolytic cohort was more likely to demonstrate a 60/60 sign and thrombus in transit finding on echocardiography than controls. The thrombolytic group was more likely to have major bleeding (17% vs 7.9%, p= 0.4) and in-hospital mortality (5.3% vs 0%, p=0.3); however, this was not statistically significant. Patients who received half-dose tPA had non-significantly higher rates of major bleeding and in-hospital mortality. Larger scale, randomized control trials are needed to establish the benefit and safety of thrombolytics in patients with intermediate-risk PE.

Keywords: pulmonary embolism, half dose thrombolysis, tissue plasminogen activator, cardiac biomarkers, echocardiographic findings, major bleeding event

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Authors: Seyed Hassan Nikookar, Mahmoud Fazeli-Dinan, Seyyed Payman Ziapour, Ahmad-Ali Enayati

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Background: Mosquitoes look for all kinds of aquatic habitats for laying eggs. Characteristics of water habitats are important factors in determining whether a mosquito can survive and successfully completed their developmental stages. Physicochemical factors can display an important role in vector control programs. This investigate determined whether physicochemical factors differ between habitats can be effective in the larvae density in Mazandaran province. Methods: Larvae were collected by the standard dipper up to 350 ml for 15-20 minutes from fixed habitats in 16 villages of 30 townships, the specimens identified by morphological key. Water samples were collected during larval collection and were evaluated for temperature (°C), acidity (pH), turbidity (NTU), electrical conductivity (μS/cm), alkalinity (mg/l), total hardness (mg/l), nitrate (mg/l), chloride (mg/l), phosphate (mg/l), sulfate (mg/l) in selected habitats using standard methods. Spearman Correlation coefficient was used for analyze data. Results: Totally 7566 mosquito larvae of three genera and 15 species were collected of fixed habitats. Cx. pipiens was the dominant species except in villages of Tileno, Zavat, Asad Abad, Shah Mansur Mahale which An. maculipennis, Cx. torrentium were as the predominant species. Turbidity in Karat Koti, Chloride in Al Tappeh, nitrate, phosphate and sulfate in Chalmardi, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, total hardness in Komishan villages were significantly higher than other villages (P < 0.05). There were a significant positive correlation between Cx. pipiens and Electrical conductivity, Alkalinity, Total hardness, Chloride, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and Chloride, whereas a significant negative correlation observed between Sulfate and Cx. perexiguss. Conclusion: The correlations observed between physicochemical factor and larval density, possibly can confirm the effect of these parameters on the breeding activities of mosquitoes, and could probability facilitate larval control programs by the handwork of such factors.

Keywords: anopheles, culex, culiseta, physicochemical, habitats, larvae density, correlation

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Authors: Faiz N. K. Yusufi, Aquil Ahmed, Jamal Ahmad

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Diabetes in India is growing at an alarming rate and the complications caused by it need to be controlled. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is one of the complications that will be discussed for prediction in this study. India has the second most number of diabetes patients in the world. To the best of our knowledge, there is no CHD risk score for Indian type 2 diabetes patients. Any form of CHD has been taken as the event of interest. A sample of 750 was determined and randomly collected from the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Diabetes and Endocrinology, J.N.M.C., A.M.U., Aligarh, India. Collected variables include patients data such as sex, age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), blood sugar fasting (BSF), post prandial sugar (PP), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), systolic blood pressure (SBP), smoking, alcohol habits, total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), physical activity, duration of diabetes, diet control, history of antihypertensive drug treatment, family history of diabetes, waist circumference, hip circumference, medications, central obesity and history of CHD. Predictive risk scores of CHD events are designed by cox proportional hazard regression. Model calibration and discrimination is assessed from Hosmer Lemeshow and area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Overfitting and underfitting of the model is checked by applying regularization techniques and best method is selected between ridge, lasso and elastic net regression. Youden’s index is used to choose the optimal cut off point from the scores. Five year probability of CHD is predicted by both survival function and Markov chain two state model and the better technique is concluded. The risk scores for CHD developed can be calculated by doctors and patients for self-control of diabetes. Furthermore, the five-year probabilities can be implemented as well to forecast and maintain the condition of patients.

Keywords: coronary heart disease, cox proportional hazard regression, ROC curve, type 2 diabetes Mellitus

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Authors: Jihee Jang, Seowon Yoon, Gaeun Son, Minjung Kang, Joon Yeon Choeh, Kee-Hong Choi

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Background: Self-report multiple choice questionnaires have been widely utilized to quantitatively measure one’s personality and psychological constructs. Despite several strengths (e.g., brevity and utility), self-report multiple-choice questionnaires have considerable limitations in nature. With the rise of machine learning (ML) and Natural language processing (NLP), researchers in the field of psychology are widely adopting NLP to assess psychological constructs to predict human behaviors. However, there is a lack of connections between the work being performed in computer science and that psychology due to small data sets and unvalidated modeling practices. Aims: The current article introduces the study method and procedure of phase II, which includes the interview questions for the five-factor model (FFM) of personality developed in phase I. This study aims to develop the interview (semi-structured) and open-ended questions for the FFM-based personality assessments, specifically designed with experts in the field of clinical and personality psychology (phase 1), and to collect the personality-related text data using the interview questions and self-report measures on personality and psychological distress (phase 2). The purpose of the study includes examining the relationship between natural language data obtained from the interview questions, measuring the FFM personality constructs, and psychological distress to demonstrate the validity of the natural language-based personality prediction. Methods: The phase I (pilot) study was conducted on fifty-nine native Korean adults to acquire the personality-related text data from the interview (semi-structured) and open-ended questions based on the FFM of personality. The interview questions were revised and finalized with the feedback from the external expert committee, consisting of personality and clinical psychologists. Based on the established interview questions, a total of 425 Korean adults were recruited using a convenience sampling method via an online survey. The text data collected from interviews were analyzed using natural language processing. The results of the online survey, including demographic data, depression, anxiety, and personality inventories, were analyzed together in the model to predict individuals’ FFM of personality and the level of psychological distress (phase 2).

Keywords: personality prediction, psychological distress prediction, natural language processing, machine learning, the five-factor model of personality

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Authors: Norazilawati Binti Md Dahlal, Nabiila Binti Mat Yusoff, Anis Najiha Binti Ahmad

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With the increasing demand for halal products, there is a growing emphasis on ensuring their quality and adherence to halal standards. However, the vulnerability of halal goods to fraud and adulteration poses a significant challenge to the integrity of the halal industry. Whistleblowers play a pivotal role in safeguarding the safety and integrity of halal food by exposing wrongdoings, misconduct, and fraudulent practices. This study explores the implementation of whistleblowing practices aligned with halal and toyyib principles to effectively address halal food fraud issues. Whistleblowing is defined as the act of disclosing information about misconduct, immorality, or unlawful activities to relevant authorities or the public. Although whistleblowing is universally recognized as beneficial, it exposes whistleblowers to substantial risks, including career setbacks, reputation damage, and personal safety threats. Despite legal protections, whistleblowers often face retaliation and hesitancy to come forward. By integrating the principles of halal and toyyib, which encompass the physical and spiritual as well as material and supernatural elements, effective whistleblowing practices can be developed. These principles include the physical characteristic of the product in accordance with Shari’ah law (P1); products that are sourced ethically and responsibly (P2); Products that meet high standard of quality and safety (P3); functioning as servant and caliph of Allah in managing according to Allah's commands and prohibitions (P4); not excessively wasteful or extravagant (P5); positive moral and spiritual implications associated with the product (P6); and aimed at achieving prosperity in both this life and the Hereafter (P7). Employing a quantitative research approach, this study examines Islamic primary data sources and secondary data sources to investigate the prevalence and impact of whistleblowing in the halal industry. By analyzing the principles of halal and toyyib and exploring the importance of whistleblowing effective whistleblowing practices, this research aims to enhance our understanding of promoting accountability and justice within the halal industry from an Islamic perspective.

Keywords: whistleblowing, halal and toyyib, food fraud, halal integrity, Islamic practices

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