Lockdown impact on energy consumption in university building.

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the global demand and consumption of energy. In particular, the effect of the lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic can be seen directly in the reduced energy consumption in educational buildings. Therefore, the objective of this study is to assess the impact of COVID-19 on the electricity use in university buildings.

Modeling COVID-19 Impacts and Response Strategies in the Construction Industry: PLS-SEM Approach.

Policymakers are developing response strategies to reduce the impacts of COVID-19. However, developing response strategies without considering their relationships with the impacts of COVID-19 is ineffective. This study aims to model the causal relationships between COVID-19 impacts and response strategies in the construction industry, using Malaysia as a case study.

Bamboo-Fiber-Reinforced Thermoset and Thermoplastic Polymer Composites: A Review of Properties, Fabrication, and Potential Applications.

Natural-fiber-reinforced composites, especially bamboo, are an alternative material to compete with conventional materials. Their environmentally friendly, renewable, low-cost, low-density, non-toxic, and fully biodegradable properties are concerning for researchers because of their advantages over synthetic polymers. This comprehensive review presents the results of work on bamboo fiber composites with special reference to bamboo types, thermoplastic and thermoset polymers matrices, hybrid composites, and their applications.

Effect of Silver Nanopowder on Mechanical, Thermal and Antimicrobial Properties of Kenaf/HDPE Composites.

This study aims to investigate the effect of AgNPs on the mechanical, thermal and antimicrobial activity of kenaf/HDPE composites. AgNP material was prepared at different contents, from 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 to 10 wt%, by an internal mixer and hot compression at a temperature of 150 °C. Mechanical (tensile, modulus and elongation at break), thermal (TGA and DSC) and antimicrobial tests were performed to analyze behavior and inhibitory effects.

Oncologist-led counselling improves access to cancer genetic testing in middle-income Asian country, with no significant impact on psychosocial outcomes.

Background: Identifying patients with mutations is clinically important to inform on the potential response to treatment and for risk management of patients and their relatives. However, traditional referral routes may not meet clinical needs, and therefore, mainstreaming cancer genetics has been shown to be effective in some high-income and high health-literacy settings. To date, no study has reported on the feasibility of mainstreaming in low-income and middle-income settings, where the service considerations and health literacy could detrimentally affect the feasibility of mainstreaming.

Religiosity as Mediator in Reducing Misconduct of Adolescents-at-Risk.

In dealing with adolescents-at-risk who are involved in misconduct, the religious factor can be an effective approach. The objective of this research is to study the religious factor as a mediator in dealing with misconduct of adolescents-at-risk. This research is a survey study by design.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymophism in adult primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Background: Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) accounts for a third of biopsy-proven primary glomerulonephritis in Malaysia. Pediatric studies have found the insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene to be associated with renal disease progression. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the ACE (I/D) genotypes in adult primary FSGS and its association with renal outcome on follow-up.

Clinical and testing protocols for the analysis of epidermal growth factor receptor mutations in East Asian patients with non-small cell lung cancer: a combined clinical-molecular pathological approach.

Background: Several randomized phase III studies in advanced stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) confirmed the superior response rate and progression-free survival of using epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor as first-line therapy compared with chemotherapy in patients with activating EGFR mutations. Despite the need for EGFR mutation tests to guide first-line therapy in East Asian NSCLC, there are no current standard clinical and testing protocols.

Methods: A consensus meeting was held involving expert oncologists, pulmonologists, and pathologists to discuss the current status and variations in EGFR mutation testing of NSCLC across Asia and to recommend a standard clinical and laboratory testing approach for future use.

The effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme gene polymorphism on the progression of immunoglobulin A nephropathy in Malaysian patients.

Introduction: Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism, especially the deletion/deletion (DD) genotype, is associated with the disease progression of immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy patients in various studies from both Asia Pacific and European populations. However, recent studies within the same populations were unable to reproduce the same results. Hence, we had studied the distribution of the DD genotype, the association between ACE gene polymorphism and the disease progression, and the factors (other than ACE gene polymorphism) which were involved in the disease progression of our local patients.

Disease Expression and HLA Types in Early and Late Onset Disease of Malaysian Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Age has been suggested to modify systemic lupus erythematosus expression. In this study we have attempted to study 13 patients with late onset (40 years and above) and 90 with early onset disease (below 40 years) to determine whether age-related differences in disease expression exist and whether the genetic make-up influences the age of disease onset. We found that patients with late onset disease initially presented with pericarditis (31% vs 3%, P<0.