Some new norms need to be adapted due to COVID-19 pandemic period where people need to wear masks, wash their hands frequently, maintain social distancing, and avoid going out unless necessary. Therefore, educational institutions were closed to minimize the spread of COVID-19. As a result of this, online education was adapted to substitute face-to-face learning. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the Malaysian university students’ adaptation to the new norms, knowledge and practices toward COVID-19, besides, their attitudes toward online learning. A convenient sampling technique was used to recruit 500 Malaysian university students from January to February 2021 through social media. For data collection, all students were asked to fill in a questionnaire that was developed based on previous literature, using Google Forms. 498 students completed the questionnaire (response rate 99.6%). Malaysian Ministry of Health was the main source (83.73%) that students refer to when looking for information on COVID-19. Only 40% of the participants had good overall knowledge about COVID-19; such knowledge was influenced by the students' field of study. The current practice towards COVID-19 was good only by 26.1% of participating students; such practice was influenced by the ethnic groups. Additionally, 60% of participated students agreed that COVID-19 can be successfully controlled. About one-third of participants had positive attitudes toward online learning. The major challenges facing students during online learning include distraction of the learning environment (80%), unstable internet connectivity (75%), lack of motivation (70%), limited technical skills (41%), and limited broadband data (34%). In conclusion, the knowledge and practice toward COVID-19 was good in less than half of Malaysian university students. Attitudes to the controlling of COVID-19 were positive, while the attitudes toward online learning were neutral among most of the Malaysian university students. Challenges toward online learning are diverse and include both technical and student-related problems.
We studied the relationship between DNA sequencing of interleukin-10 (IL-10) gene promoter for -1082 (A/G) and -592 (A/C) positions with the concentration of IL-10 in blood serum of Iraqi children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D). Fifty blood serum samples collected from children with age ranged between 7-12 years. Thirty-five blood samples collected from patient children with T1D, and compared with 15 healthy children age matched as control sample. The results revealed decreasing in anti-inflammatory IL-10 concentration in T1D patient’s blood serum (0.068 Pg/ml) as compared with the control sample (0.111 Pg/ml). No significant differences were found in interleukin concentration between the studied samples when they analyzed with the M
... Show MoreThe emergence of mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) or nanocomposite membranes embedded with inorganic nanoparticles (NPs) has opened up a possibility for developing different polymeric membranes with improved physicochemical properties, mechanical properties and performance for resolving environmental and energy-effective water purification. This paper presents an overview of the effects of different hydrophilic nanomaterials, including mineral nanomaterials (e.g., silicon dioxide (SiO2) and zeolite), metals oxide (e.g., copper oxide (CuO), zirconium dioxide (ZrO2), zinc oxide (ZnO), antimony tin oxide (ATO), iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3) and tungsten oxide (WOX)), two-dimensional transition (e.g., MXene), metal–organic framework (MOFs), c
... Show MoreBackground : It had been indentified by histological, histochemical and morphometrical studies that peganum harmala is a mammogenic herb and borage officinalis is a lactogenic one . To complete our investigation about these two herbs , we performed electron microscopical study . Materials and methods : Rats were grouped according to their physiological status into three groups . Each group was subdivided in to three subgroups : one control and two experimental . The two experimental group were treated daily; the 1st one with an aqueous extract of peganum harmala seeds and the 2nd with an aqueous extract of borage officinalis flowers . After two weeks of treatment , mammary glands were employed for electron microscopical study . Resu
... Show MoreIn this work, the geomagnetic storms that occurred during solar cycles 23 and 24 were classified based on the value of the Disturbance Storm Time index (Dst), which was considered an indicator of the strength of geomagnetic conditions. The special criterion of Dst >-50 nT was adopted in the classification process of the geomagnetic storms based on the minimum daily value of the Dst-index. The number of geomagnetic storms that occurred during the study period was counted according to the adopted criteria, including moderate storms with (Dst >-50 nT), strong storms with (Dst >-100 nT), severe storms with (Dst >-200 nT), and great storms with (Dst >-350 nT). The statistica
This study was conducted to assess the hydrocarbon degradation abilities of Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Pentoae species, Staphylococcus aureus, and Enterobacter cloacae, which isolated from diesel contaminated soil samples. Single strains and mixed bacterial consortia have been investigated their ability to degrade 1.0 % (v/v) of diesel oil in Bushnell- Haas medium as sole.carbon.and.energy.source. At temperature 30∘C, the individual.bacterial.isolates exhibited low growth and low degradation.than did the.mixed. bacterial.culture. After 28 days.of incubation the.combination.of four isolates degraded.an upper limit.of diesel 88.4%. This was. continued.by 85.1% by S. paucimobilis, 84 % by Pentoae sp., 79% by S.aureus, and
... Show MoreGiven the paucity and toxicity of available drugs for leishmaniasis, coupled with the advent of drug resistance, the discovery of new therapies for this neglected tropical disease is recognised as being of the utmost urgency. As such antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been proposed as promising compounds against the causative Leishmania species, insect vector-borne protozoan parasites. Here the AMP temporins A, B and 1Sa have been synthesised and screened for activity against Leishmania mexicana insect stage promastigotes and mammalian stage amastigotes, a significant cause of human cutaneous disease. In contrast to previous studies with other species the activity of these AMPs against L. mexicana amastigotes was low. This suggests that ama
... Show MoreA total of (25) stool samples were collected from children and adults (2- 4) years old suffering from diarrhea to isolate E. coli strains that produce heat-stable enterotoxin a (STa), and after performing microscopic examination, cultural characterization and biochemical identification only (11) isolates showed positive E. coli. STa activity was estimated by using suckling mouse assay (SMA) and from these (11) isolates only (5) showed STa activity and the one with the highest STa activity was selected for large scale production of STa, which was followed by partial purification using ion-exchange chromatography (normal phase) using DEAE sephadex A-50 column. After purification and determination of protein concentration by using the standard
... Show MoreAn oral bi layer sustained release (SR) strips of Sodium Montelukast SMLT , which is selective leukotriene antagonist , used for patients suffered from mid-night asthma , were prepared successfully ,using different polymers, like guar gum , carrageenan , and xanthan gum , by solvent casting method .
The results obtained by this study revealed ,that best fast dissolving film of SMLT was loaded in carrageenan polymer 57% w\w (30mg.) , with acceptable physical properties, like film thickness , elastic endurance and surface pH .
Besides to that , the disintegration t
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