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A structural equation model and effects of music on mental energy, mental toughness, psychological skills, mindfulness, athletic identity and sports performance among young basketball players in shandong province, China
No full textThis study examines how psychological variables are related to sports performance and the effects of music interventions among young basketball players in Shandong Province, China, through a two-study research design. Study 1 (n=604) validated Chinese versions of six psychological measures and developed a structural equation model examining relationships between psychological variables and sports performance. Study 2 (n=42) explored the effects of different music interventions on these variables through a 12-week randomized controlled trial. Study 1's confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated excellent psychometric properties for all translated instruments: AMES-C, TMTIS-C, APSI-C, AIMSP-C, MAAS-C and SSS-C. All scales showed strong construct validity (CFI>0.94, RMSEA0.50), discriminant validity, and test-retest reliability (ICC>0.89). The structural equation model revealed Mental Energy as a crucial mediator between psychological factors and sports performance, with Mindfulness (β=0.314, p<0.001), Psychological Skills (β=0.267, p<0.001), and Mental Toughness (β=0.238, p<0.001) showing significant direct effects on Mental Energy, which in turn influenced Sports Success (β=0.322, p<0.001). Study 2 demonstrated significant differential effects of music interventions on both psychological variables and basketball performance. Motivational music showed superior effects on complex motor tasks like dribble layup performance (MD=4.04, p<0.001), while self-selected music was more effective for precision tasks like shooting accuracy (MD=-6.86, p<0.001). Both music conditions significantly enhanced mental energy, psychological skills, and mental toughness compared to controls. This research provides empirical evidence supporting the integration of structured music sessions into athletic training programs, with findings suggesting that different types of music may be optimal for different aspects of basketball performance. The validated psychological measures and structural equation model offer valuable tools for future research and practical applications in sports psychology
Quantification of methamphetamine in seized tablets by gas chromatography- flame ionisation detector
No full textMethamphetamine, is a drug function as a stimulant that affect the central nervous system. It has become a significant global concern due to its widespread abuse and dangerous health effects. This study focused on the quantification of methamphetamine in seized tablet samples from Kelantan, Malaysia, using gas chromatography coupled with flame ionisation detector (GC-FID). Methamphetamine quantification is critical for judicial processes, as the drug’s quantity directly affects the severity of legal charges. In this study, chromatographic separation was performed on a HP-5 MS column (30 m x 320 μm x 0.25 μm) with a temperature programme of 70 °C for 2 min, followed by a ramp up at 20 °C/min to 280 °C for 2 min with purified nitrogen as the carrier gas at a flow rate of 1.0 mL/min. The method was found to be satisfactory and successfully applied for quantification of methamphetamine samples with analysis time of 14.5 min. The GC-FID method was validated by assessing its linearity, limit of detection (LOD), limit of quantification (LOQ), precision, and accuracy. Calibration curves ranged 1.95 - 1000 μg/mL, established a correlation coefficient of 0.9976. Limit of detection and limit of quantification were 0.293 μg/mL and 0.975 μg/mL respectively. The precision test showed %RSD value below 2%. The accuracy test showed percentage recovery between 85 - 106 %. Quantification analysis of 155 methamphetamine samples indicated purity with range of 0.5 - 30.6%. This simple method was suitable for forensic routine analysis, especially in quantifying the methamphetamine from seized samples
Pusat Kajian Kelestarian Global (Centre for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS),(2025) Kampus Sejahtera @ USM Town Hall TNCJIM Induk v2.0
Full text linkKampus Sejahtera ialah satu inisiatif yang diperkenalkan oleh Universiti
Sains Malaysia (USM) pada tahun 2001. Ianya adalah inovasi unik USM
dalam menerajui pembangunan lestari di dalam kampus. Kampus
Sejahtera merupakan komitmen universiti terhadap kelestarian,
kesejahteraan, dan pembangunan holistik komuniti USM. Konsep
"Sejahtera" merangkumi kesejahteraan fizikal, emosi, rohani, intelektual,
alam sekitar dan sosial.
Kampus Sejahtera bertanggungjawab menyelaras pelaksanaan agenda
kelestarian universiti dan strategi Matlamat Pembangunan Lestari (SDG)
universiti. Ia selaras dengan visi USM ‘Mentransformasikan Pendidikan
Tinggi Untuk Kelestarian Hari Esok’
Developing, validating and evaluating the effectiveness of a blended learning for teaching clinical surgical nursing skills among nursing students at Xiangnan University in Chenzhou, China
No full textOnline teaching is a new teaching method, and there is not much research on teaching clinical nursing skills and even less on the online teaching of this aspect of nursing apprenticeships. This study aimed to develop, validate, and evaluate a surgical nursing apprenticeship online and offline blended teaching module using the Learning Pass mobile app. This quantitative study design was carried out in two phases. Phase I involved the development and validation of a surgical nursing apprenticeship online and offline blended teaching module using the Learning Pass mobile app. The researchers and teaching team developed a blended teaching module based on the syllabus and literature review. After that, the blended teaching module was validated by ten experts using the Delphi method. In Phase II, a randomized control trial was conducted among 166 nursing students at Xiangnan University in Chenzhou, China, to evaluate the effectiveness of the blended teaching module towards skill performance, self-directed learning ability, online academic emotions, and learning attitude. The intervention group utilized online and offline blended teaching methods using the Learning Pass mobile app, while the control group used traditional face-to-face teaching methods. SPSS 26.0 statistical software was used for data analysis. One-sample t-tests, independent t-tests, and chi-square tests were performed. As a result of Phase I, the online and offline blended teaching module for the surgical nursing apprenticeship was agreed upon with 100% experts through two rounds of the Delphi technique. Phase II results showed that after the intervention, there was a significant increase in self-directed learning ability in the intervention group compared to the control group (p = 0.019), with the mean score for the intervention group 78.89 (SD = 13.32) and the control group 74.48 (SD = 11.55). The skill scores also showed a significant increase in the intervention group compared to the control group (p < 0.001), with the mean score for the intervention group 91.81 (SD = 3.54) and the control group 89.65 (SD = 4.11). The intervention group's mean value of online academic emotions (Mean = 3.33) was higher than the theoretical mean (Mean = 3), and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.001). Besides that, there were no significant differences in the students' learning attitudes. In conclusion, online and offline blended teaching method using the Learning Pass mobile app effectively improves nursing skills, self-directed learning ability, and online academic emotions among nursing students. In the future, multicenter studies are needed to validate the effectiveness of this mobile app for online teaching, as well as longitudinal studies to assess long-term outcomes
Detection and classification of breast cancer calcifications using machine learning with augmentation technique
No full textBreast cancer calcifications are among the earliest indicators of malignancy but are often difficult to detect due to their subtle appearance and reliance on subjective radiological interpretation. This study aimed to enhance the detection and classification of breast calcifications in mammographic images through the integration of image preprocessing and augmentation techniques with machine learning. A total of 234 annotated mammographic images were collected from the Picture Archiving and Communication System at Hospital Pakar Universiti Sains Malaysia. These images were augmented using various transformations including rotation, flipping, Gaussian blur, and elastic deformation, resulting in a total dataset of 2574 images to improve variability and reduce the risk of overfitting. Preprocessing techniques such as grayscale conversion, contrast enhancement using CLAHE, and top hat filtering were applied to improve the visibility of calcification features. Five machine learning models were evaluated including Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest (RF), Logistic Regression (LR), and a Soft Voting ensemble model. Model performance was measured using accuracy, precision, recall, specificity, and F1 score. Validation was performed using 5-fold cross validation and statistical significance was tested with the Friedman test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank test. Based on the results, the KNN model achieved the highest average accuracy of 87.61% followed by SVM at 79.07%, RF at 78.64% and LR at 69.62%. The findings suggest that the KNN model was particularly effective at distinguishing between benign and malignant calcifications due to its sensitivity to local feature patterns. Although Logistic Regression had the shortest training time, it performed the poorest in all evaluation metrics, indicating that training speed alone is not a sufficient measure of diagnostic utility. The results also highlight that proper augmentation and preprocessing not only improve model accuracy but also contribute to more balanced performance across sensitivity and specificity. The use of statistical validation confirmed that differences among the model performances were significant, thus reinforcing the reliability of the findings. This study demonstrates that machine learning models when supported by proper data preparation strategies, can serve as effective tools in the development of computer assisted diagnostic systems for early breast cancer detection
Detection of lead, cadmium and nickel in children’s plastic toys using atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS)
No full textExposure to heavy metals present in plastic toys which can pose significant health risks to children is a growing concern particularly through mouthing behaviours like chewing, licking and sucking. The contents of three heavy metals (Pb, Cd and Ni) were analysed in six children’s plastic toys samples by using atomic absorption spectrosocpy (AAS). The plastic toy samples were prepared using dry ashing method and digested with nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The analysis showed that all six plastic toy samples contained Cd (0.2026 - 3.5519 mg/kg), five out of six samples contained Ni (0.5581 - 6.8927 mg/kg) and only one sample contained Pb (3.4529 mg/kg). All heavy metal concentrations were below the permissible limits specified in the EN71-3:2019 set by the European Union (EU). Leaching of Pb, Cd and Ni from plastic toy samples was conducted on the plastic toy samples under two different temperature conditions: room temperature and 50°C. Samples exposed to 50°C for four hours exhibited increased levels of Pb, Cd and Ni compared to unheated samples, demonstrating that elevated temperatures facilitated heavy metal leaching from plastic toys. Despite this, the leaching rates remained within the EU limits. These findings emphasised the potential risks of storing plastic toys in high-temperature environments, such as inside vehicles under direct sunlight for extended periods. While the tested toys were deemed safe for children, proper storage practices were strongly recommended
Analytical investigation of corrosive agents in relation to cotton textile damage assessment
No full textAcid attacks cases occur commonly with the ill intention to hurt the victim by utilising corrosive substances that are easily obtained and cheap. Clothing fabrics are one of the surfaces that are in contact with the corrosive agents used making identification of the corrosive substances vital to provide clue in connecting the perpetrator to the crime. Therefore, this study investigates the chemical characterization of corrosive agents and the relation to textile damage.
Relationships of corrosive substance samples with cotton textile were studied over time interval of every 5 minutes in spend of 15 minutes. The tear area and absorption area occurred to the cotton textile were taken into account as the effect. Lab graded acids and commercial products were included in the analytical investigation, whereby pH measurements and chemical characterization of the corrosive substance samples by using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy was performed. Resulting in observation of the acidity trends of the samples through the pH measurement. In addition, the chemical characteristics of the samples was achieved through principal component analysis, clustering the samples according to selected features of each sample unique chemical characteristics.
These findings provide implications for acid attack cases in identifying corrosive substances evidence. Furthermore, identifying the corrosive substance by utilising analytical instrument and observation the relationship between corrosive substances with cotton textile in contac
The combined effects of exercise and music on sports anxiety, exercise beliefs, coping effectiveness, and mental toughness among chinese college students with sports anxiety
No full textSports anxiety is a worldwide concern that impacts athletes’ performance and
discourages non-athletes from participating in sports. In China, with a population
exceeding 1.4 billion and an increasing emphasis on physical education in the school
curriculum, students are encountering growing challenges related to sports
participation. This study comprises two phases. The aim of Phase 1 is to examine the
validity and reliability of the Chinese-translated versions of the Physical Education
State Anxiety Scale (PESAS), the Exercise Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ), the Coping
Effectiveness (CE) scale, and the Mental Toughness for Youth Questionnaire (MTYQ)
utilizing Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and internal consistency reliability
assessments. Additionally, Phase 1 aims to construct a Structural Equation Modelling
(SEM) to explore the relationships among sports anxiety, exercise beliefs, coping
effectiveness, and mental toughness in Chinese university students with sports anxiety.
A total of 1,055 participants completed the questionnaires, of which 755 responses
were valid. According to the research results, the final SEM of phase 1 has a good
model fitting index: comparative fit index (CFI)=0.926, tucker lewis index (TLI) =
0.923, standardised root means square residual (SRMR) = 0.029, root mean square
error of approximation (RMSEA) (90% CI) = 0.045 (0.041, 0.048), RMSEA p-value <
0.001. The 6 SEM specific hypotheses (2 additional alternative hypotheses and 4
hypotheses from the initial model) were produced a significant interrelationship with cognitive processes (CP), coping effectiveness (CE), somatic anxiety (SA), exercise
beliefs (EB), and mental toughness (MT) in the final SEM. CE and CP were
constructs that directly affected MT. The objective of Phase 2 is to investigate time
effects, group effects, and time*group effects between experimental and control
groups of Chinese university students with sports anxiety. The exercise intervention
consisted of an intensity of at least 50% to 60% of the average maximum heart rate,
progressing by 5% every four weeks. For the music intervention, tracks with a tempo
range of 110–120 beats per minute were selected. The combination of music and
exercise interventions were conducted simultaneously. A total of 108 university
students with sports anxiety were randomly assigned to two groups. The intervention
lasted for 12 weeks, with sessions conducted three times a week, each lasting 40
minutes. Participants completed the PESAS, EBQ, CE, and MTYQ at four time points:
one week before the intervention, during the intervention at four weeks, during the
intervention at eight weeks, and after the intervention at twelve weeks. According to
the research results of phase 2, experimental group significantly exhibited the higher
scores than the control group on sports anxiety, exercise beliefs, mental toughness,
and coping effectiveness with respectively p-values =0.001, =0.046, =0.022, <0.001.
The music and exercise intervention has a positive impact on sports anxiety SA, SB,
MT, and CE among Chinese university students with sports anxiety. The research
findings contribute to the diversity of measurement tools for assessing SA, sports
anxiety, EB, CE, and MT in the Chinese context, offering effective instruments for
advancing psychological research in Chin
Workplace based learning, a legitimate forum for faculty development
No full textFaculty development is an increasingly vital component of medical education, playing a critical role in fostering academic excellence. Although various faculty development approaches have been implemented, many are conducted outside the medical educator’s workplace context. A review of the literature reveals that such approaches rarely result in effective skill transfer to the workplace. This study aims to design, evaluate, and compare the impact of two faculty development approaches: a formal method (workshop) and a combined formal-informal method through a workplace-based faculty development (WBFD) model. The WBFD model is grounded in social learning theories and the cognitive apprenticeship model, focusing on medical faculty performance and the transfer of learning to the workplace, while identifying factors that facilitate or hinder this process. The research was conducted in three phases. Phase 1 involved a meta-synthesis of the literature to design WBFD version 1 (V1) and identify factors influencing learning transfer using the learning transfer system inventory. Phase 2 focused on content validation and feasibility testing of WBFD V1 by medical education experts and institutional stakeholders, leading to the development of WBFD version 2 (V2). Phase 3 employed a quasi-experimental design based on the Kirkpatrick model (reaction–learning–behavior), where junior faculty members were divided into two groups: one trained via workshops, and the other through WBFD V2. Training was conducted in the context of case-based learning (CBL) facilitation, with senior faculty serving as coaches. Performance was assessed using validated pre- and post-tests with a CBL facilitation rating scale,alongside post-training satisfaction surveys. Findings revealed that participants trained through WBFD V2 achieved significantly higher outcomes across all measured domains, particularly in group management, goal and role setting, and communication. A qualitative exploration of factors influencing learning transfer further enriched the study, resulting in a mixed-methods approach. Behavioural changes were reassessed two months post-training using the Mann-Whitney U test, which showed statistically significant improvements in five key domains of CBL facilitation skills. In conclusion, the WBFD V2 model, embedded within the cognitive apprenticeship framework, effectively enhances skill transfer among novice medical educators in the workplace. It provides a legitimate and impactful platform for learning and holds strong potential for adoption by medical education institutions both nationally and internationall
