19672 research outputs found
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How Children Gauge Information Trustworthiness in Online Search: Credible or Convenience Searcher?
No full textThis study investigates children’s information search behaviour to learn about their search characteristics. The study uses a qualitative approach by observing and noting children’s searching process. A total of 30 children aged 7-9 years participated in this study. The unobtrusive observation of children’s searching process via the Web were recorded using Camtasia software. Probing interviews were used to gather understanding on how the children perceive information trustworthiness. The data was analysed using a thematic coding approach. The findings highlighted two main characteristics of children’s search: Credible Searcher and Convenience Searcher. The children in general could gauge information trustworthiness and have confidence with regard to the relevance, reliability and the credibility of resources. The children do not consider source reputation and currency as an important criterion when seeking information. This study contributes to a better understanding of information trustworthiness as reflected in young children’s information seeking and processing. © 2019, University of the Punjab. All rights reserved
Enhancement and Assessment of a Code-Analysis-Based Energy Estimation Framework
No full textEnergy estimation of applications helps developers greening the smartphone- and Internet-of-Things-based devices. Traditional energy estimation schemes consider smartphone component's power measurement or code analysis methods for energy estimation of applications. The existing code analysis method considers the energy cost of software operations to minimize the energy estimation overhead of dynamic estimation methods. However, it overlooked cache storage analysis and overheads associated with it due to concurrent program execution at runtime. As a result, the performance of estimation tools is affected. To handle these issues, this study put forward an enhanced static-code-analysis-based lightweight energy estimation (SA-LEE) framework that has considered overheads associated with the application runtime execution environment, cache storage analysis, and the application inactivity period for energy estimation of applications. The experiments revealed that the SA-LEE model has minimized the estimation time and the energy overhead by 98% and 97%, respectively. Also, the accuracy is observed to be 82-88%. © 2018 IEE
Super Stability of Ag Nanoparticle in Crystalline Lamellar (Lc) Liquid Crystal Matrix at Different pH Environment
No full textThe symmetry concept in this paper is related to the natural self-assembly of noble metal nanoparticles in the long range periodic structure of liquid crystal (LC). The current study deliberates the effect of pH on the stability of nanoparticles (NPs) in the lamellar phase of a lyotropic LC environment. The LC was prepared by the mass ratio 0.33:0.22:0.45 for (HDTABr):1-pentanol:water. The LC containing silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) was prepared by replacing the water with Ag solution. The AgNPs were produced by the in situ preparation method in LC. The solution of AgNPs-LC was varied at different pH. The absorption intensities were determined by using ultra-violet spectroscopy (UV-vis). The surface potential and hydrodynamic particle size were determined by using Zeta-potential (measurements). The surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) was carried out to enhance the Raman signals of 4-aminobenzenethiol (4-ABT) deposited onto AgNPs as substrate. It is found that all characterizations exhibited super stability for AgNPs dispersed in LC at pH = 3 to 12 with the optimum stability at pH = 5-6. The remarkable stability of NPs is an important indicator of the various applications in nanotechnology and nanoscience fields. © 2019 by the authors
Local product brand image: A case study of small and medium enterprises in Muar, Johor
No full textMalaysia, which has a variety of races and cultures, is booming with commercial activities. Currently, small and medium enterprises in Malaysia have received increasing attention from the public and government. Today, brand plays important roles which is to improve consumers' lives and enhance the financial values of firms. It can also differentiate companies' products with those of competitors'. Strong brands don't just happen. They are usually the results of a long-term strategy that guides how a company does business and is tightly bound to its understanding of customer needs. The focus of this research is an examination of brand and branding of local products produced by small and medium enterprises of local people at Bandar Muar, Johor. Branding theory signifies three important frameworks for this study, namely symbol, communication and behavior. Overall, branding benefits in terms of customer recognition. The brand image plays an important role when a customer decides to buy one product over another. Usually, well-established brands have good reputations and are immediately recognizable to consumers. Almost 86 percent customers who have been interviewed prefer good and attractive packaging, which is reflected in symbol framework. Around 82 percent customers demand that communication element uses all mediums of communication for wider reach. The most preferred product branding behavior by local customers and local product is equivalent competitive standing for local and foreign products. Basically, well-known brands are likely to be purchased rather than those that are unknown. People often trust what they know and distrust, or, at the very least, feel suspicious with unknown brands
Nucleoside Analogs with Selective Antiviral Activity against Dengue Fever and Japanese Encephalitis Viruses
No full textDengue virus (DENV) and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) are important arthropod-borne viruses from the Flaviviridae family. DENV is a global public health problem with significant social and economic impacts, especially in tropical and subtropical areas. JEV is a neurotropic arbovirus endemic to east and southeast Asia. There are no U.S. FDA-approved antiviral drugs available to treat or to prevent DENV and JEV infections, leaving nearly one-third of the world’s population at risk for infection. Therefore, it is crucial to discover potent antiviral agents against these viruses. Nucleoside analogs, as a class, are widely used for the treatment of viral infections. In this study, we discovered nucleoside analogs that possess potent and selective anti-JEV and anti-DENV activities across all serotypes in cell-based assay systems. Both viruses were susceptible to sugar-substituted 2=-C-methyl analogs with either cytosine or 7-deaza-7-fluoro-adenine nucleobases. Mouse studies confirmed the anti-DENV activity of these nucleoside analogs. Molecular models were assembled for DENV serotype 2 (DENV-2) and JEV RNA-dependent RNA polymerase replication complexes bound to nucleotide inhibitors. These models show similarities between JEV and DENV-2, which recognize the same nucleotide inhibitors. Collectively, our findings provide promising compounds and a structural rationale for the development of direct-acting antiviral agents with dual activity against JEV and DENV infections
Changes of Lower Limb Kinematics during 2000m Ergometer Rowing among Male Junior National Rowers
No full textRowing involves cyclic motions that have a number of similar repetitions of joint excursion. Similar movement patterns, physiological, muscular activity and biomechanical aspects were observed while rowing on dynamic ergometer and on water. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the changes of lower limb kinematics during 2000m rowing on dynamic ergometer among male junior national rowers. Ten male junior national-level rowers participated in the study. 24 passive reflective markers were attached on their lower extremity and their rowing motions were captured. Each phases of rowing cycle was interpolated to 100 time points separately. The lower limb joint kinematics were compared across every 500m sections to evaluate its changes during 2000m rowing trial. There was a statistically significant difference between stroke rates for every 500m of 2000m rowing trial as determined by one-way ANOVA (F(3,36) = 4.880, p = 0.006). Kinematical variabilities were observed across splits particularly in frontal and transverse planes of lower limb joints
Vortex-induced interfacial waves in liquid–liquid flows across cylindrical bluff bodies of various sizes
No full textThe use of transverse cylinders of various sizes for generating vortex-induced waves in stratified oil–water pipe flows is investigated in this work. From CFD simulations in single phase flows, cylinders with 2 mm and 8 mm in diameter were selected which are found to generate vortices with frequencies in the range of 1 to 100 Hz. The experimental work was conducted in a 8 m long acrylic test section with 37 mm internal diameter. High speed imaging was used to study the flow patterns and the interfacial wave characteristics while velocity fields and the characteristics of the vortices shed by the cylinders in the water phase were obtained with Particle Image Velocimetry. It was found that the vortex properties generated by different cylinder sizes are reflected on the interfacial wave characteristics. The frequencies of both the waves and the vortices agreed for all cases studied, while the wave amplitudes increased with increasing cylinder diameter. The Strouhal number for the 2 mm cylinder had the same value of 0.20 as in unbounded flows, while for the 8 mm cylinder and small distance from the wall, the Strouhal number was equal to 0.27. The presence of the transverse cylinders modified the two-phase flow pattern maps and reduced the transition from stratified to dispersed flows to lower mixture velocities compared to flows without cylinders. The transition boundaries were shifted further towards lower mixture velocity with increasing cylinder diameter
Applying the Theory of Consumption Values to Explain Drivers’ Willingness to Pay for Biofuels
No full textThe transportation sector has dominated global fuel consumption and as a result, greenhouse gas emissions have risen at an alarming rate. As a consequence, many countries have adopted policies and strategies to diversify their fuel sources in the transportation sector. Biofuel is one of the potential substitution fuels that has attracted the attention of both researchers and policy makers. Public acceptance of biofuels is one of the major challenges for the implementation of biofuel blends in transportation. To determine the influence of different values that affect drivers' willingness to pay for biofuels, the theory of consumption values is applied in the present research. The data were gathered by distributing questionnaires to 343 Malaysian people with driving licences and access to cars. The data were analysed using the partial least squares technique. The results of the analysis revealed that functional values, specific condition, emotional values and novelty seeking were among the main factors that influence drivers' willingness to pay for biofuels. Social values were shown to not be a significant factor. The results of the study contribute to the literature by testing the relationship between consumption values and willingness to pay for biofuels. The information provided in the present research might be beneficial for policy makers in modifying tactics and strategies towards the successful promotion of the usage of biofuels in developing countries
Ten-year trend in prevalence and outcome of Down syndrome with congenital heart disease in a middle-income country
No full textLimited data are available on the survival of patients with Down syndrome and congenital heart disease (CHD) from middle-income countries. This retrospective cohort study was performed to determine the trends in the prevalence and survival of such patients born from January 2006 to December 2015 in Malaysia. Among 754 patients with Down syndrome, 414 (55%) had CHD, and no significant trend was observed during the 10 years. Of these 414 patients, 30% had lesions that closed spontaneously, 35% underwent surgery/intervention, 9% died before surgery/intervention, and 10% were treated with comfort care. The overall mortality rate was 23%, the median age at death was 7.6 months, and no significant changes occurred over time. The early and late post-surgery/intervention mortality rates were 0.7% and 9.0%, respectively. Most deaths were of non-cardiac causes. The overall 1-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 85.5%, 74.6%, and 72.9%, respectively. Patients with severe lesions, persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn, atrioventricular septal defect, and pulmonary hypertension had low survival at 1 year of age. Conclusion: The prevalence of CHD in patients with Down syndrome is similar between Malaysia and high-income countries. The lower survival rate is attributed to limited expertise and resources which limit timely surgery.What is Known:• The survival of patients with Down syndrome with congenital heart disease (CHD) has improved in high-income countries. However, little is known about the survival of patients with Down syndrome with CHD from middle-income countries.• In the Caucasian population, atrioventricular septal defect is the most common type of CHD associated with Down syndrome.What is New:• In middle-income countries, the prevalence of CHD is the same as in high-income countries, but with a lower survival rate.• In the Asian population, ventricular septal defect is the most common type of CHD in patients with Down syndrome
Amphiphilic Biopolyester‐Carbon Nanotube Anode Enhances Electrochemical Activities of Microbial Fuel Cell
No full textHydrophobic bacterial polyhydroxyalkanoates were rendered amphiphilic by grafting with poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate, followed by compositing with carbon nanotubes. The polymer graft composite as an anode material encouraged superior biofilm surface growth; thus enhancing electrochemical activities in microbial fuel cells and resulting in higher current and power densities. The internal resistance of the cell was greatly reduced due to improved electron transfer from the biofilm to the anode