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Wireless power transfer (WPT) is a technology used to transmit power using air as it medium of transfer. The function of the WPT is similar to a transformer. The power provided on the primary side will be transferred through air to the secondary side. The performance of the WPT is crucially depends on the air gap length, 𝛿 that separates primary and secondary side. In this paper discusses the performance of WPT using series-to-series topology. The performance of the WPT was estimated using finite element analysis (FEA). During the study, focus was given to effect of turn ratio, a, air gap length, 𝛿 and capacitor value at primary Cp, and secondary, Cs winding to voltage ratio of the WPT. The air gap length, 𝛿 was set to 1 and 2 mm while the capacitors were set depend on the ratio of primary to secondary winding capacitor, Cp/Cs. The WPT performance also being tested under no-load and loaded operation to observed it effect. As a result, the WPT with turn ratio, a at 0.37, air gap length, 𝛿 at 1 mm and ratio of primary to secondary winding capacitor, Cp/Cs at 0.5 produce the best voltage ratio compared to other settings.

A 63-year-old male patient, who had a severely resorbed edentulous maxillary arch and partially edentulous mandibular arch decided on the implant-supported fixed treatment option to replace the edentulous maxillary arch. The fully guided implant placement that utilizes the computer-generated guide is more accurate than traditional surgical guides and free-hand placements. The researchers have correlated possible implant failure risk factors with age, sex, smoking, type of edentulism, bone quality and volume, implant location, angulation, diameter, length, and various systemic factors. This case report demonstrated the failure cause of virtually planned anterior implants in All-on-4 and how to manage it by free-hand surgery without surgical guides.

Periodontitis (PD) is a dysbiotic disease of tooth-supporting structures that has been associated with various systemic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA). To date, evidence demonstrated increased prevalence of RA among PD patients and postulated PD to have a role in the development of autoantibodies in RA patients. Therefore, a systematic review was conducted to assess the available evidence to ascertain the effect of PD on levels of autoantibodies in the serum, saliva and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) of RA patients.The systematic review was conducted in compliance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement guidelines. Relevant literature was searched from PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Ebscohost databases from inception until 31 August 2020. The risk of bias in each study was determined based on the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale tool. Results from random-effect meta-analyses were presented as summary estimates of odds ratios (ORs) for seropositivity and standardised mean difference (SMD) of autoantibody levels with 95% confidence intervals. Sensitivity tests and meta-regression were performed to assess the robustness of the results and potential cause of heterogeneity.The electronic and manual searches gathered 932 articles. Following screening and full-text assessment, a total of 29 studies were included in the analysis. Twenty-eight published observational studies were included in the quantitative analysis in the form of random-effect meta-analysis which revealed that PD was associated with anti-citrullinated proteins autoantibodies (ACPAs) and Rheumatoid Factor (RF) seropositive RA patients (OR for ACPA seropositivity: 1.82; 95% CI: 1.13-2.93) (OR for RF seropositivity: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.05-2.24). Also, RA patients with PD had increased serum levels of ACPA and RF. However, high heterogeneity among studies' results, partially ascribed to the unstandardised case definition of PD and laboratory testing of autoantibodies. Apart from ACPA and RF in serum, studies which reported on other RA-related autoantibodies, as well as autoantibody levels in saliva and GCF were scarce.RA patients with PD tend to have greater ACPA and RF levels in their serum when compared with the RA patients without PD supporting the plausible role of PD in the development of systemic autoimmunity in RA patients.

This study used GC-MS analysis and computational biology to examine the diabetic effect of bioactive substances obtained from brown seaweed. Using AutoDock/Vina in Pymol 4.2, the molecular docking of Spatoglossum asperum on the human PPAR- protein was determined and compared to that of the well-known PPAR- agonist Gilbenclamide. The analysis the active components of seaweed extracts is the main focus of the current investigation. 12 substances were discovered using GC-MS analysis and evaluated using AutoDock/Vina against PPAR. Docking tests showed that the existing phytochemical 9-Octadecenoic Acid (Z)-, Octadecyl Ester, obtained from seaweed, has the highest fitness score of -398.9 kcal/mol and may therefore be a potent anti-diabetic drug. This study could result in the creation of brand-new marine nutraceuticals that use brown seaweed to treat a number of diseases.

IntroductionLow body mass index (BMI) is a major risk factor for tuberculosis (PTB). Low BMI can impair the immune system and thus might affect TB incidence.MethodsWe examined the plasma levels of Type 1, Type 17, pro-inflammatory, Type 2 and regulatory cytokines and CC and CXC chemokines in PTB and latent TB (LTB) individuals with low BMI (LBMI) or normal BMI (NBMI).ResultsOur data show that PTB is associated with significantly lower levels of IFNγ, TNFα, IL-2, IL-17A, IL-6, IL-12, IL-4 and IL-5 cytokines but significantly higher levels of IL-10, TGFβ and GM-CSF in LBMI compared to NBMI. Similarly, PTB is also associated with significantly lower levels of CCL2, CCL3, CCL11, CXCL1, CXCL9 and CXCL10 chemokines in LBMI compared to NBMI. Our data reveals that LTB is associated with significantly lower levels of IFNγ, TNFα, IL-2, IL1β, IL-12, IL-13 cytokines but significantly higher levels of IL-10, TGFβ, IL-4 and IL-22 in LBMI compared to NBMI. Similarly, LTB is also associated with significantly lower levels of CCL2, CXCL1, CXCL9 and CXCL10 and significantly higher levels of CCL1, CCL3, and CCL4 in LBMI compared to NBMI.ConclusionThus, LBMI has a major impact on the cytokine and chemokine milieu of both PTB and LTB and might predispose to the increased risk of tuberculosis by this immunomodulatory effect.

Background: Discovery of novel anti-cancer drugs from natural origin has increased tremendously due to the resistance of multiple chemotherapeutic drugs in breast cancer therapy and its high toxicity to undesirable side effects. Objective: The aim of the study was to investigate the bioactivity of secondary metabolites derived from Actinobacteria sp. BACSAS14 isolated from a vegetable farm in Vellore, Tamil Nadu, and India. Methods: Five actinomycetes strains were isolated and screened for antagonistic activity by the agar well diffusion method. Out of which, Actinobacteria sp. BACSAS14 exhibited potency, and its crude extract was tested for anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, and antioxidant potential. The Actinobacteria sp. BACSAS14 ethyl acetate extract was analyzed by Gas chromatography- mass spectrometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and Thin Layer Chromatography to determine the bioactive compounds. A drug interaction study with the anti-inflammatory protein COX-2, anti-oxidant protein lipoxygenase, and anti-cancer protein MT1-MMP was done by molecular docking analysis. Results: Maximum activity was found against Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19 mm) at a concentration of 500 μL. Maximum inhibitory activity was 98.8±0.98 % at a concentration of 5 mg/mL with an IC50 value of 417.58 μg/mL. Maximum antioxidant activity was 67.87 ± 0.59% at a concentration of 5 mg/mL. At an extract concentration of 500 μg/mL, cell viability was found to be 31.62 ± 0.79 with an IC50 value of 365.23 μg/mL. The compound with the lowest binding energy was observed to be sulfurous acid, cyclohexylmethyl isohexyl ester. In-silico studies of sulfurous acid, cyclohexylmethyl isohexyl ester revealed promising anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anticancer potential. Conclusion: The current study reported that the bioactive secondary metabolites of Actinobacteria sp. BACSAS14 retains anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and antioxidant properties. This is the first report stating the production of the metabolite sulfurous acid, cyclohexylmethyl isohexyl ester from Actinobacteria sp. BACSAS14.

This study investigated the subgingival microbial profile of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and its associations with disease parameters and the inflammation-related antimicrobial peptide, LL-37.RA and non-RA (NRA) patients were assessed for periodontal status and divided into periodontitis (CP), gingivitis (G), and healthy (H) groups. Subgingival plaque 16s rRNA gene sequencing data was processed and analyzed using the CLC Genomic Workbench (Qiagen). Bacterial diversity and co-occurrence patterns were examined. Differential abundance between groups was also investigated. Associations between bacterial genera with disease parameters and LL-37 levels were explored qualitatively using canonical correlation analysis.Subgingival microbial community clustered in CP status. Co-occurrence network in NRA-H was dominated by health-associated genera, while the rest of the networks' key genera were both health- and disease-associated. RA-CP displayed highly inter-generic networks with a statistically significant increase in periodontal disease-associated genera (p0.05). In NRA-H, disease parameters and LL-37 were correlated positively with disease-associated genera while negatively with health-associated genera. However, in the remaining groups, mixed positive and negative correlations were noted with genera.RA patients demonstrated subgingival microbial dysbiosis where the bacteria networks were dominated by health- and disease-associated genera. Mixed correlations with disease parameters and LL-37 levels were noted.The subgingival microbial dysbiosis in RA may predispose these patients to developing periodontal inflammation with an associated detrimental effect on host immune responses. Routine periodontal assessment may allow initiation of treatment strategies to minimize the effects of gingival inflammation on the existing heightened immune response present in RA patients.

Aims: To encapsulate a purified bacteriocin into a nanovesicles and check its antibacterial effect. Background: Although the use of nano-encapsulated bacteriocins in food matrices is poorly reported, encapsulated nisin can reduce L. monocytogenes counts in whole and skimmed milk and in soft cheese. Objective: The present study deals with the extraction and purification of a bacteriocin from an isolated strain Pediococcus pentosaceus KC692718. A comparative study of the effect of free pediocin and liposome encapsulated pediocin against Listeria sp. was performed. Methods: The purification of the extracted cell free supernatant was subjected to ammonium sulphate precipitation, cation exchange chromatography followed by gel permeation chromatography. The bacteriocin activity and protein concentration were determined using Lowry’s method. The characterization of the pure pediocin was done. Liposome like nanovesicle was constructed and the stability of the liposome encapsulated pediocin was checked. Finally, the antibacterial effect was comparatively studied of the free pediocin, liposome, and liposome encapsulated pediocin simultaneously. Results: The pediocin of 3.6kDa was purified with a specific activity of 898.8. AU/mg. It remained stable from pH 2.0-8.0 was found to be moderately stable above 80°C and remain stable for one month when stored at -20°C. The encapsulated pediocin showed stability since it retained 50% of its initial activity. The encapsulated pediocin showed 89% of encapsulation efficiency. Conclusion: The encapsulated pediocin not only improved pediocin stability but also enhanced the controlled release of the antimicrobial substances, enough for inhibiting the foodborne pathogen L. monocytogenes.

Introduction: The bi-directional relationship between periodontitis (PD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) has been confirmed. Medical practitioners (MPs) serve an important role in relaying this information to patients. This study aimed to investigate the awareness, knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) in the management of DM patients with PD in primary care clinics under the Ministry of Health (MOH) of Malaysia. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire on KAP in the management of DM patients with PD was posted to 725 medical officers (MOs) and family medicine specialists (FMSs) in MOH clinics in Kedah, Terengganu, Johor and Negeri Sembilan. Collected data were tabulated and analysed using descriptive and regression analyses (simple and multiple). Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05. Results: A total of 549 MPs responded. The majority of MPs were MOs (92.6%) and female (75.8%). FMSs had a greater awareness of PD when compared to MOs (p = 0.002). All MPs had good knowledge, except for the incorrect notion that excessive sugar causes PD (94.3%). Overall, FMSs had better knowledge when compared to MOs (p=0.026). The majority of MPs agreed that ‘they should update their knowledge on the association between systemic disease and PD’ (89.6%) and claimed that ‘it was not their responsibility to examine DM patients for PD’ (83.1%). Most MPs did not enquire or examine for PD in their DM patients. More FMSs (67.5%) referred patients to dentists compared to MOs (31.6%). Conclusion: Most MPs have sufficient knowledge on PD, but a negative attitude in the management of PD in DM patients. The reasons for not referring included workload and patients refusing referral.

Dieses Forschungsprojekt untersucht, ob sich Freiwilligenarbeit und Youth Leadership (engl. Leadership in der Jugend) positiv auf die Motivation, um eine Führungsposition in der Arbeitswelt einzunehmen, auswirken und beleuchtet die geschlechterspezifischen Faktoren.

Innerhalb des unserer Gruppe zugewiesenen Themas «Leadership in Early Stages» entschieden wir uns zu untersuchen, wie und ob die Faktoren «Youth Leadership» (engl. Führung in der Jugend) und Freiwilligenarbeit als Motivationstreiber agieren in Hinblick auf die Ausübung einer Führungsposition in einer Unternehmung. Zusätzlich wird ermittelt, ob es dabei geschlechterspezifische Unterschiede gibt zwischen Frau und Mann. Anhand dieser Überlegungen formulierten wir folgende konkrete Forschungsfrage: «Führen Freiwilligenarbeit und Leadership in der Jugend zu einer stärkerer Motivation, um später eine Führungsposition einzunehmen und gibt es dabei geschlechtsspezifische Unterschiede?» In der heutigen Welt sind die Themen Lohnungleichheit zwischen den Geschlechtern und die geringe Besetzung von Führungspositionen durch weibliche Arbeitskräfte relevante und viel diskutierte Themen. Allerdings existieren dazu schon vielzählige Forschungen. Deshalb konzentriert sich die Forschungsgruppe darauf, zu analysieren was zwei potentielle Motivationstreiber sind um auf eine Führungsposition hinzuarbeiten und dabei spezifisch zu beleuchten wo die geschlechterspezifischen Unterschiede liegen.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the public health authorities to impose a lockdown as an epidemiological containment strategy. Due to COVID-19, the world is facing an unprecedented challenge that has changed people's lifestyles. This study aimed to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown affected students in Tamilnadu in terms of changes to their eating habits, sleeping patterns, and level of physical activity. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a random representative sample of 263 undergraduate students (mean age 19.63+1.86 years, males 33.46%) from Tamilnadu voluntarily filling out an online questionnaire. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and The International Physical Activity Questionnaires, Eating Attitude Test (EAT-26) were used to assess sleep quality, Physical Activity, and Eating Attitude disorder, respectively. The prevalence of poor sleep quality among participants was 43.3% (males: 44.32% and females: 42.86%). The mean score of the participants' EAT-26 score was found to be 10.92 ± 8.63. Students' high body weight and BMI risk factors for eating disorders (2=9.68 p=0.02, 2=9.59 p=0.02). 46% of students did not do any physical activity. There is no significant correlation between sleep and Eating attitude scores (p=0.21). 66.16% of participants experienced Psychological stress due to lock down. Findings from this study indicate that a lockdown period due to COVID-19 negatively impacted young undergraduate adults' physical activity levels and sleep quality. Finally, body weight, BMI, monthly family income, and poor physical activity with excess eating during the COVID 19 lockdown were the common exposures that are significantly associated with a higher risk of developing sleep disturbances and eating disorders. Several efficient strategies, programs, and coordinated efforts must be rigorously executed to encourage a seamless transition between school and daily life.

In this paper we show that two-stage adjustable robust linear programs with affinely adjustable data in the face of box data uncertainties under separable quadratic decision rules admit exact semi-definite program (SDP) reformulations in the sense that they share the same optimal values and admit a one-to-one correspondence between the optimal solutions. This result allows adjustable robust solutions of these robust linear programs to be found by simply numerically solving their SDP reformulations. We achieve this result by first proving a special sum-of-squares representation of non-negativity of a separable non-convex quadratic function over box constraints. Our reformulation scheme is illustrated via numerical experiments by applying it to an inventory-production management problem with the demand uncertainty. They demonstrate that our separable quadratic decision rule method to two-stage decision-making performs better than the single-stage approach and is capable of solving the inventory production problem with a greater degree of uncertainty in the demand.

This thesis contributes to the understanding of the key factors that encourage computer-aided education amongst students from a vulnerable community in Malaysia, specifically, students from the bottom 40% of the income distribution from the Indian community. Drawing upon the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model, this thesis shows the factors that impact computer-aided learning, academic enthusiasm, and creativity amongst these students. Findings from this study provide valuable insights into the type of policies that educationists and parent-teacher associations can put in place to equip students from vulnerable communities to compete in an information-driven economy.

Carbon nanomaterials derived from agricultural waste streams present an exciting material platform that hits multiple sustainability targets by reducing waste entering landfill, and enabling clean energy and environmental remediation technologies. In this work, the energy and photocatalytic properties of reduced graphene oxide fabricated from coconut coir using a simple reduction method using ferrocene are substantially improved by introducing metallic oxides flakes. A series of cobalt ferrite rGO/CoFe

This article provides the explanatory manuscript regarding the SARS-Corona virus 2. Sub-titled as the history of single-stranded RNA, internal characters of COVID-19, resource, the life cycle of COVID-19, reservoir of the disease, secondary infections of COVID-19 and nano herbal remedy.The skin is not the main target of the SARS-corona virus 2 infections but somehow directly or indirectly, it causes exacerbating eruptions on the skin. Recent research shows that curcumin-mediated synthesized AgNPs show its potential character in the entry of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), blocks interaction with the viral surface, and damages the viral protein. In modern days, molecular docking studies fabricated copper iodide flower extract (CuI-FE) which shows tough inhibitory action against COVID-19. Many articles show green synthesis-mediated nanoparticles like silver, gold, zinc, copper, iron, titanium dioxide, selenium, and cadmium which possess high anti-viricidal activity.The anti-oxidant, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, anti-hive rich plant-mediated nanoparticle synthesis might be an alternative betterment, cost-effective, and eco-friendly medication for the skin disease caused by SARS-corona virus 2 (the viral clinical signs are itchy, hives, rashes, papules, psoriasis, and inflammation) and (non-viral clinical signs-pressure urticaria, contact dermatitis, and acne) that occurred as the result of COVID-19.

The varying molar ratios of nickel-cobalt/sulphide nanoparticles coated on bio-carbon (Ni1.5Co0.5S/C, Ni1Co1S/C and Ni0.5Co1.5S/C), nickel-chalcogenide/bio-carbon (NiS/C) and cobalt-chalcogenide/bio-carbon (CoS/C) have been prepared though a facile single-step in situ solvothermal route using livestock poultry waste chicken feathers as sources for bio-carbon and bio-sulphur. The catalysts developed were characterized using different analytical techniques, viz., X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) and cyclic voltammetry. The results obtained from the electrochemical characterization studies, it was inferred that the Ni1Co1S/C nanocatalyst possesses the higher methanol (0.5 M) oxidation current density in 0.5 M KOH with minimum onset potential when compared to that of other green composite catalysts, Ni1.5Co0.5S/C, Ni0.5Co1.5S/C and NiS/C developed in the present work. Further, the green nanocomposite Ni1Co1S/C synthesized was subjected to different studies in order to assess and ascertain its super capacitor characteristics. The results confirmed that the green nanocatalyst Ni1Co1S/C possesses the maximum value of specific capacitance of 785 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 in 3.0 M KOH solution. The enhanced performance of Ni1Co1S/C catalyst developed in the present work makes it suitable for the power generation and storage application, in addition to have an advantage of value added product of bio-carbon and sulphur derived from sustainable and renewable resource of livestock poultry waste. The present work is also considered as the first attempt to develop green nanocomposite Ni-Co sulphide/C electrocatalysts through a facile and cost-effective method and can be used for the development of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) and super capacitor device design applications.

This paper presents exact dual semi-definite programs (SDPs) for robust SOS-convex polynomial optimization problems with affinely adjustable variables in the sense that the optimal values of the ro...

Water for human consumption is required to be free from any bacteria that might pose a health risk. The worldwide prevalence of pathogen contamination is a serious concern, and enhancing the understanding of major pathogen sources and their significant impacts on water resources is crucial. Further, these organisms underwent multiple drug resistance in their systems. The present study mainly focused on Multiple Drug Resistant (MDR) bacterial pathogens in well water system in and around Wolaita Sodo Town. A total of 380 well water samples were collected and screened for SPC, enrichment process and selective media isolation. Further all the isolates were used to know the sensitivity/resistant patterns by Bauer-Kirby method and based on resistant pattern MDR isolates were assessed and recorded. Amon 380 well water samples screened for water potability by SPC method, 154 samples were positive. Among 154 SPC positive water samples yielded 106 different isolates of bacteria and it includes five genera, namely Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Proteus spp. and Enterococcus spp. All the isolated five genus were confirmed by preliminary characters, colony morphology and biochemical tests. Among 106 isolates, 13 isolates of E. coli, 3 isolates of Salmonella spp., 21 isolates of Shigella spp., 9 isolates of Proteus spp., and 4 isolates of Enterococcus spp. were documented as MDR bacterial pathogens. The high prevalence rate of multiple drug resistant bacterial pathogens in the well water samples could potentially pose a threat to people consuming this water. Therefore, the present study suggesting to monitor the quality of water and strict quality control measures should be put in place to ensure the effective treatment of drinking water. Keywords: Water samples, Standard Plate Count, Antibacterial Susceptibility Test and MDR

The features that characterize the onset of Huntington disease (HD) are poorly understood yet have significant implications for research and clinical practice. Motivated by the need to address this issue, and the fact that there may be inaccuracies in clinical HD data, we apply robust optimization and duality techniques to study support vector machine (SVM) classifiers in the face of uncertainty in feature data. We present readily numerically solvable semi-definite program reformulations via conic duality for a broad class of robust SVM classification problems under a general spectrahedron uncertainty set that covers the most commonly used uncertainty sets of robust optimization models, such as boxes, balls, and ellipsoids. In the case of the box-uncertainty model, we also provide a new simple quadratic program reformulation, via Lagrangian duality, leading to a very efficient iterative scheme for robust classifiers. Computational results on a range of datasets indicate that these robust classification methods allow for greater classification accuracies than conventional support vector machines in addition to selecting groups of highly correlated features. The conic duality-based robust SVMs were also successfully applied to a new, large HD dataset, achieving classification accuracies of over 95% and providing important information about the features that characterize HD onset.

The paper describes the assessment of existing concrete structures that support large oil platforms in the North Sea when subjected to internal explosion loads. Internal explosion loads are the result of a gas leak from the pipes inside of a hollow concrete column (shafts) supporting large concrete gravity-based oil platforms. Explosion at base, mid-height and close to the deck support of the column were studied following a gas leak at different zones of pipe networks in the shafts. Explosion models generated pressure–time curves for predicting the structural response. The structural response of the shaft during an explosion is dependent on the interaction of fluid and structure. Explosion models generated dynamic pressure–time history loading to be used in structural safety assessments. Transient dynamic analysis was carried out to assess the structural response and strength assessment was carried out using design codes. As the original designs in the past for most of the existing offshore installations did not include the ‘gas leak’ scenario, the study suggested that a suitable risk assessment for existing installations carrying utilities in the column is carried out to ensure that the structural stability is not compromised.

Background Sporadic outbreaks of COVID-19 remain a threat to public healthcare, especially if vaccination levels do not improve. As Malaysia begins its transition into the endemic phase, it is essential to identify the key determinants of COVID-19 vaccination intention amongst the pockets of the population who are still hesitant. Therefore, focusing on a sample of individuals who did not register for the COVID-19 vaccination, the current study integrated two widely used frameworks in the public health domain—the health belief model (HBM) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA)—to examine the inter-relationships of the predictors of vaccination intention amongst these individuals. Methodology Primary data from 117 respondents who did not register for the COVID-19 vaccination were collected using self-administered questionnaires to capture predictors of vaccination intention amongst individuals in a Malaysian context. The partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique was used to analyze the data. Results Subjective norms and attitude play key mediating roles between the HBM factors and vaccination intention amongst the unregistered respondents. In particular, subjective norms mediate the relationship between cues to action and vaccination intention, highlighting the significance of important others to influence unregistered individuals who are already exposed to information from mass media and interpersonal discussions regarding vaccines. Trust, perceived susceptibility, and perceived benefits indirectly influence vaccination intention through attitude, indicating that one’s attitude is vital in promoting behavioral change. Conclusion This study showed that the behavioral factors could help understand the reasons for vaccine refusal or acceptance, and shape and improve health interventions, particularly among the vaccine-hesitant group in a developing country. Therefore, policymakers and key stakeholders can develop effective strategies or interventions to encourage vaccination amongst the unvaccinated for future health pandemics by targeting subjective norms and attitude.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their piezoelectric properties and potential applications in energy harvesting, sensing, and nanogenerators. Piezoelectric energy harvesting-based nanogenerators have emerged as promising new devices capable of converting mechanical energy into electric energy via nanoscale characterizations such as piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM). This technique was used to study the piezoresponse generated when an electric field was applied to the nanorods using a PFM probe. However, this work focuses on intensive studies that have been reported on the synthesis of ZnO nanostructures with controlled morphologies and their subsequent influence on piezoelectric nanogenerators. It is important to note that the diatomic nature of zinc oxide as a potential solid semiconductor and its electromechanical influence are the two main phenomena that drive the mechanism of any piezoelectric device. The results of our findings confirm that the performance of piezoelectric devices can be significantly improved by controlling the morphology and initial growth conditions of ZnO nanorods, particularly in terms of the magnitude of the piezoelectric coefficient factor (d33). Moreover, from this review, a proposed facile synthesis of ZnO nanorods, suitably produced to improve coupling and switchable polarization in piezoelectric devices, has been reported.

Extra esophageal manifestation of Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD) include erosive wear dental lesions. Early erosive wear lesions in this group of patients can be easily missed as they are accompanied by few clinical signs and hardly any symptoms. This case series aims to report the prevalence and severity of erosive wear lesions amongst a sample of GERD patients in Malaysia. Eleven subjects with well characterized GERD, diagnosed based on modified Reflux Disease Questionnaire (RDQ) or via endoscopy, were included in this case series. A standardized intra oral clinical examination was performed to assess presence and severity of erosive wear lesions on tooth surfaces using Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE) index. Majority of BEWE score 1 lesions were distributed in maxillary anterior teeth, followed by maxillary posterior and mandibular teeth. BEWE score 2 lesions were most prevalent in maxillary anterior teeth and there were no BEWE score 3 lesions observed. Based on the clinical findings, more erosive wear lesions were found on the buccal surfaces of maxillary and mandibular teeth in GERD patients. This case series further confirms the link between GERD and erosive wear lesions. The authors would like to highlight the need for both medical and dental practitioners to be aware of early clinical presentations of GERD and erosive wear lesions. Early diagnoses allow for intervention and conservative management of these conditions.

Case Presentation A 41-year-old man presented to our institution with shortness of breath for 1 day, and nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea for 10 days. He has a medical history of gastroesophageal reflux disease, migraines, and anxiety. He is a 10 pack-year former cigarette smoker and an active vaper. He quit smoking cigarettes in 2013 but reports vaping flavored nicotine from 2013 to 2018. Since 2018, he has been vaping tetrahydrocannabinol products of different flavors and brands. A few weeks prior to admission, the subject had changed the brand of his vaping product to "Cookies High Flyers" with a "Biscotti" flavor. The new product contains 1,000 mg (883 mg tetrahydrocannabinol and 117 mg cannabidiol) in a 0.04 oz cartridge. He vapes five times a day, taking two to three puffs every time. He had recently traveled to Texas and had a sick contact with his 18-month-old daughter. She recently recovered from a diarrheal illness of presumed viral origin. Prior to admission, the subject tested negative for influenza and completed outpatient antibiotic treatment, with no improvement.

Palm oil sector is considered one of main economical contributions in countries such a Malaysia where approximately 6.1% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is contributed. Low Oil Extraction Rate (OER) from poor quality fresh fruit bunches have led to a decrease the oil palm production. The traditional method of using human naked eye to inspect the Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB) during reception process is one of common methods that is still being practiced which eventually would lead to inaccuracy in grading and harvesting. This paper presents a new approach to identify the maturity of oil palm fruit using fruit-based maturity sensor and the electronic circuit. The study utilizes multiple terminals to evaluate the sensitivity of the sensor by analyzing the relation between the load voltage and the moisture content in the oil palm fruit. The sensitivity of the sensor increased by three-fold when four terminal fruit battery was used compared to single terminals with 47.61% for the moisture range of 50-80% value. This proposed approach significantly improved the accuracy in grading the oil palm fruit which is the most common challenge posed during the reception process.

Due to increased load demand, the power system developers are encouraged to meet power quality requirements. Using harmonic filter and capacitor bank is one of the essential solutions in mitigating power quality issues. This research aims to mitigate harmonics and improve the voltage in distribution systems by using ETAP. For this purpose, a distribution system in Homs city is considered, which is a part of Syrian power system. The capacitor banks are designed using numerical analysis and Optimal Capacitor Placement (OCP). The results indicate that this approach enhances the voltage profile, which is reflected in some buses. The voltage profile is effectively improved on several buses, and power losses are significantly reduced. The Total Harmonic Distortions (THDs) and Individual Harmonic Distortions (IHDs) of the subjected buses are reduced. Moreover, the power factor is improved from 0.877 to 0.926 for the studied system.

The aim of this study is to update the list of fish species in order to increase the knowledge about biodiversity of commercially important fishes of Puducherry coastal waters. This study also concentrated on the availability and threatened status of commercially important fish species. A total of 88 fish species under 36 families and 11 orders has been collected during the study. Order Perciformes were made up to 65% with 23 families and 58 species followed by Clupeidae 15% with 3 families and 13 species. Clupeiformes stand on top in the catch followed by perches and mackerel’s. The study revealed that there were noteworthy variations found in the ichthyofaunal diversity. Among the 36 families, only 27 families were seen in the caught without any depletion. Order Beloniformes and Gadiformes showed sudden appearance in the catch which were not seen for the past 7 years. IUCN status of 88species were studied, about 63% of species were under least concern and 8% near threatened, 3% vulnerable category, 7% data deficient, 19% not evaluated. Anthropogenic activities affect aquatic habitats leading to loss of many species as well as bring changes in the species composition. Therefore, ichthyofaunal diversity studies on regular basis are essential for sustainable management.

Three LC-based methods, including reversed-phase chromatography (RPC), ion-pair RPC and weak anion-exchange chromatography (WAX), were examined in the separations of precolumn derivatized mono- and oligosaccharides with the following three tagging agents: 1-naphthylamine (1-NA), 2-aminoanthracene (2-AA), and 3-amino-2,7-naphthalenedisulfonic acid (ANDSA). Due to differences in their charges and polarity, the three tagging agents imparted the sugar derivatives varying elution patterns in the three, just mentioned, chromatographic modes. While RPC yielded high resolution separations for 1-NA- and 2-AA-sugar derivatives, ion-pair RPC in the presence of the ion-pairing agent dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide (DTAB) in the mobile phase exhibited far more resolution and selectivity than WAX in the separation of ANDSA-sugar derivatives. This finding portrays the fact that an octadecyl column operating in ion-pair RPC mode can eliminate in most cases the need for an ion-exchange column for bioanalytical separations of ionic or ionizable species. Lastly, the characteristics of each chromatographic mode in the analysis of derivatized sugars are described using various mobile phase compositions.