Stunting and food insecurity among children from low socioeconomic family during COVID-19 pandemic in urban area in Selangor

INTRODUCTION

Food insecurity is often link with nutritional status. An increased rate of food insecurity can have a severe impact on children's growth. During the COVID-19 outbreak, little is known regarding its effect on food security and nutritional status, especially concerning vulnerable groups such as children. The purpose of this study was to assess household food security status, children's nutritional status along with their association, and the determinants of food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted from May to July 2022 in urban areas in Selangor among children aged less than two years old from B40 households using purposive sampling through both online surveys and face-to-face interviews. There were 112 children aged < 2 years old from B40 households participating in this study. The data obtained on maternal sociodemographic, Household Food Insecurity Scale (HFIAS), and children's anthropometric measurements were analysed by using the WHO Anthro Survey, descriptive analysis, Person's Chisquare test and Fischer's exact test.

RESULTS

The prevalence of food insecurity was more significant than the prevalence of food secured, at 55.4% and 44.6% respectively. The stunting among the children rated at 34.8%, followed by 7.2% of the sample found underweight, 7.8% (BAZ) and 16.1% (BAZ) of them were wasted, and overweight & obese, proportionately. This study discovered that household size was the sole determinant of household food security status. This finding suggested that size of a household influenced the odds of a household being food insecure.

CONCLUSION

The findings of this study provide insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic have an impact on children's nutritional status especially those from low-income and bigger size households. Therefore, more thorough and effective interventions should be designed particularly targeting this urban poor community to enhance their nutritional status and health.

Effect of reduced graphene oxide-hybridized ZnO thin films on the photoinactivation of Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi

The immobilization of photocatalyst nanoparticles on a solid substrate is an important aspect for improved post-treatment separation and photocatalyst reactor design. In this study, we report the simple preparation of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-hybridized zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films using a one-step electrochemical deposition, and investigated the effect of rGO-hybridization on the photoinactivation efficiency of ZnO thin films towards Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi (S. Typhi) as target bacterial pathogens. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) revealed the formation of geometric, hexagonal flakes of ZnO on the ITO glass substrate, as well as the incorporation of rGO with ZnO in the rGO/ZnO thin film. Raman spectroscopy indicated the successful incorporation of rGO with ZnO during the electrodeposition process. Photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy indicates that rGO hybridization with ZnO increases the amount of oxygen vacancies, evidenced by the shift of visible PL peak at 650 to 500nm. The photoinactivation experiments showed that the thin films were able to reduce the bacterial cell density of Staph. aureus and S. Typhi from an initial concentration of approximately 10(8) to 10(3)CFU/mL within 15min. The rGO/ZnO thin film increased the photoinactivation rate for S. aureus (log[N/No]) from -5.1 (ZnO) to -5.9. In contrast, the application of rGO/ZnO thin film towards the photoinactivation of S. Typhi did not improve its photoinactivation rate, compared to the ZnO thin film. We may summarise that (1) rGO/ZnO was effective to accelerate the photoinactivation of S. aureus but showed no difference to improve the photoinactivation of S. Typhi, in comparison to the performance of ZnO thin films, and (2) the photoinactivation in the presence of ZnO and rGO/ZnO was by ROS damage to the extracellular wall.

PROGRESS ON ANTIMICROBIAL SURGICAL GLOVES: A REVIEW

Surgical gloves provide a protective blockade for patients and members of the surgical team. Glove integrity is critical in an era of blood-borne pathogens. Therefore, the need for improved means for prevention and also gloving and appropriate hand hygiene in a hospital setting is ostensible. This perspective highlights the progress on antimicrobial surgical gloves in deducting the microbial passage after a glove puncture in a model of wound contamination. Moreover, traditional methods to avoid microbes in the hospital and various antimicrobial agents, such as metal ions and antiseptic dyes, are reviewed.

Characterization of nanostructured binary molybdenum oxide catalyst precursors for propene oxidation

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy characterization of molybdenum oxide catalyst precursors is carried out for a better understanding of the mechanisms leading to the active catalytic material. The precipitated material consists of both large-unit cell crystals and randomly orientated clusters on a 3-5 nm scale. The crystalline clusters are embedded in non-crystalline material, preventing the formation of large well-defined inactive orthorhombic MoO(3) crystals during activation of the catalyst material.