Development of Post-Pandemic Covid19 Higher Education Resilience Framework in Malaysia

The pandemic of Covid-19 will drastically change the world. The thought and functioning of governments, organisations, and citizens will change dramatically – even for the long term. The higher education (HE) market is currently experiencing a tectonic change among many economic sectors. Following the pandemic in Covid-19, the country is home to tens of thousands of students either forced to live in the campus or deportation from the campuses and academic staff. Higher education institutions (HEI) are split up and teachers and students struggle with the new sudden law of teaching and learning completely implemented in the field of technology. How has Covid 19 pandemic altered main processes in education, including academic recruitment, academic management, teaching and learning processes, study and advancement processes, student life (accommodations on the campus, financial and co-curricular activities and other student welfare activities including food, transportation etc.)?  On the other hand, how has Covid-19 compelled the institutions of HE to implement new approaches, and to let go of their current teaching practices. The benefits, drawbacks and barriers to online platforms are included. In addition, intellectual honesty is a crucial concern in the online educational network. In this paper, all the main issues described above will be addressed through the development of a conceptual framework as a response to the Covid-19 pandemic that is happening throughout the world. The framework is based on the propositions developed by Duchek (2020). In this process-based framework the issues are connected to a set of constructs that act as enablers of Higher Education Resilience (HER). The enablers or drivers of HER include ‘meta-capability’ of HE (knowledge, resource availability, social resources, and power/responsibility) and resilience stages (anticipation, coping, and adaptation). The practical application of this study is the formulation of Higher Education Resilience Index (HERI) which will help stakeholders such Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) to categorize each HEI according to the level of HERI, as either Very Low, Low, Moderate, and High Resilience. Using the HERI categories the governments, MOHE in particular, would be able to come up with ‘stimulus packages’ for HEIs that needs assistance (financial and non-financial) from the government.

Analysis of the Vacuum-Steam Defrosting Process of Plums Pre-Treated with Dehydrofreezing

The research material was prune plums ( Prunus domestica L.), subjected to osmotic pre-treatment, with variable process time parameters and osmotic solution concentration. Plums thus fixed were frozen and stored for 6 months. At even (monthly) intervals, the product was defrosted by the vacuum-steam method, using the s-p-p chamber, until the thermocouple indicated a temperature of 4ºC in the sample’s thermal center. In order to study the kinetics of phenomena occurring during the defrosting process, the chamber was equipped with a measuring system to enable measurement and recording of temperature changes in time in the geometric center of the sample, as well as the temperature on the sample surface. The conducted tests proved that the time of vacuum-steam defrosting of fruit depended on the amount of water contained in it. In plums dehydrated in 45-65% sucrose solutions, duration of the defrosting process was shortened already after three months of frozen storage. After 6 months of storage, defrosting of these fruits was twice as fast as that of control samples.

Experimental investigation of start-up dynamics for various heating effects in batch reactive distillation to produce methyl acetate

In this article the experimental results related to various wall heating conditions for a batch reactive distillation (BRD) are presented. A solid catalyzed esterification reaction between acetic acid and methanol to produce methyl acetate and water is chosen as the system for study. An experimental apparatus with reboiler and a rectification column along with top total condenser is used. As a novelty the rectification column is provided a jacket through which hot water can be circulated. The dynamics of temperature in the reboiler, the time for onset of distillate and the purity of product in the distillate were recorded. The wall temperature of rectification column is varied to study its effect. Another two sets of conditions with air filled jacket and insulated conditions were also studied. The reboiler is supplied a constant heat input rate at three different values. An objective function pertaining to high throughput of the desired product in distillate is defined to select the most suitable option among all the above mentioned operating conditions.

On multivalued Suzuki-type θ -contractions and related applications

In this study, we develop the concept of multivalued Suzuki-type θ -contractions via a gauge function and established two new related fixed point theorems on metric spaces. We also discuss an example to validate our results.

Development and characterization of paracetamol medicated lollipops

Objectives The oral route is the most common route of administration of drugs because of the low cost of therapy, ease of administration, patient compliance, and flexibility in formulation. Taking oral medicine is extremely odious to some patients, such as pediatric and geriatric patients. Paracetamol is one of the most used antipyretic and analgesic drugs, used in the management of fever and headache. Difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia) is common among pediatric and geriatric patients. Accordingly, there is a need for a solid form of medicine that is in a form easy to take and swallow, such as lollipops. The main objective of the present research study is to provide a solid form of medicine that is in a form that makes it pleasant to take and swallow by pediatric, geriatric, and bedridden patients, and avoid the dangers of being swallowed as do the other solid forms in those patients. However, lollipop is designed to improve patient compliance, acceptability, transportation, etc. Methods In the present research study, an attempt has been made to prepare sugar-based paracetamol medicated lollipops for pediatrics, geriatrics, and bedridden patients to overcome the administration problem. The paracetamol medicated lollipops were prepared using sucrose and corn syrup. All the formulations prepared were subjected to various physicochemical parameters like hardness, friability, weight variation, drug content, etc. Results The hardness of these lollipops ranges between 8 and 11 kg/cm 3 with good physical characteristics like taste and color, they have good stability and moisture content below 1% and no variation in the IR spectrum. Conclusions Conventional dosage forms have some limitations that make it hard to use in pediatric and geriatric patients such as dysphagia, while medicated lollipops are found to be favorable by them and also effective in delivering the drug with advantages like bypass of the first-pass metabolism and increasing drug contact time in the mouth which increases its bioavailability. Paracetamol medicated lollipops can provide an attractive alternative formulation in the treatment of fever and pain in pediatric and geriatric patients because they are easily swallowed.

ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES OF CdxSe1-x FILMS AT DIFFERENT THICKNESS AND ANNEALING TEMPERATURES

Maternal Mortality in an Iraqi Tertiary Hospital: Lessons From the Years of the Crisis

Objectives: Maternal mortality is a crucial indicator of health care provision within a nation, particularly during the periods of instability. This study aimed to assess the maternal mortality ratio in one of the largest hospitals in Baghdad over eight years including the time of the threat of the so-called Islamic State of Syria and Iraq. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken by reviewing the records of mothers who passed away in the hospital from February 2011 to February 2018. The gathered data included the patients’ demographic features as well as obstetrical and medical conditions and causes of death each year. Results: During the eight years, the total live births numbered 95 800 while 52 mothers died for a maternal mortality ratio of 58.12 per 105 . Most of the deceased mothers aged between 30 and 39 years ( P = 0.0015), were multiparous and from rural residence ( P = 0.000), booked no antenatal care ( P = 0.0014), and completed delivery via a cesarean section ( P = 0.0184). The majority died in the postpartum period ( P = 0.000) within the first 12 hours of admission ( P = 0.000). Finally, the major presentation and cause of death were often obstetrical hemorrhage. Conclusions: The maternal mortality was high and obstetrical hemorrhage was the main cause of death. In addition, the majority of patients died within the first 12 hours of admission, which is attributed to delays in access to the hospital and the lack of needed facilities during that critical period of time.

Taxanomic study of family Asteraceae from ShishiKoh Valley, Chitral, Pakistan

The current study pronounces the taxonomic revision of the family Asteraceae from the proposed area, Shishi Koh Valley, District, Chitral KPK, Pakistan. After surveyed total of 23 plant species (13. 93% of the total 165 spp. by Stewart in 1972) per 17 genera were identified, described and classified from Shishikoh Valley. The results revealed that all the collected species belong to herbs and Artimisia was dominant genera with high number of species 4 (17. 39%) followed by Lactuca 3 species (13. 04%), Tegetes 2(8. 69%) and the remaining genera contains 1(4. 34%) species in each. Keywords: Chitral; Shishikoh Valley; Taxanomy of Asteraceae   References Ali, S. I. (2000). Impact of the environmental degradation on the biodiversity. In Proceedings: Ali, S. I., Y. J. Nasir. (Eds. ). (1989-1991). Flora of Pakistan. Department of Botany, University of Karachi, Pakistan. p. 191-193. Ali, S. I. (2008). Significance of the flora with special reference to Pakistan. Pak. J. Bot. 40(3), 967-971. 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Nudrat. (2015). Bio-Accumulation of heavy metals and metalloids in Luffa (Luffacylindrica L. ) irrigated domestic water in Jhang, Pakistan: A prospect human nutrition. Pak. J. Bot 47, 217-224. Kifayat, U., J. Alam., H. Ali., H. Ahmad and S. Muhammad. (2017). Traditional knowledge of phanerogames of Mulkhow valley DistritChitral. Science Arena, Vol, 3 (2): 16-31. Mukarram, S and F. Hussain. (2012). Ethno Medicinal Plants of Mastuj Valley, Hindukush Range, District, Chitral Pakistan J. Med. Vol. 6(26), pp. 4328-4332. Meyer, N. (2001). Hot spot. In: Encyclopedia of Biodiversity, 3: 371-381. Malik, Z. H., M. S. Amjad., S. Rafique., N. Z. Malik. (2013). Phytosociology of some weeds of wheat communities around Kotli fields, Western Himalaya. J. Ecol. Nat. Environ. 5(11), 340-345. Myers, N. (2001). Hotspots. In: Encyclopedia of Biodiversity 3, 371-381. Nasir. (2011). Important Medicinal plants of ChitralGol National Park(CGNP), Pakistan. Pak. J Bot. 43(2): 797-809. Pysek, P and D. M. 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Serological and psychological assessment of patients with oral lichen planus using serum cortisol levels and hads questionnaire—a case control study

Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a T cell-mediated chronic autoimmune disorder directed against antigens secreted by the basal cell layer, with an incidence of 0.02-0.22% in Indian population and showing female predilection. Stress is considered one of the etiological factors in the causation, progression, and recurrence of this disease.

BIOREMEDIATION OF AGRICULTURAL SOIL CONTAMINATED BY A CRUDE OIL SPILL