Search results for: Elaine Wong Yee-Sing

Authors: Ai Chin Wong, Wan Ahmad Jaafar Wan Yahaya, Balakrishnan Muniandy

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This study aims to explore the impact of Virtual Reality (VR) using visual signaling principles in learning about the science laboratory safety guide; this study involves students with different spatial ability. There are two types of science laboratory safety lessons, which are Virtual Reality with Signaling (VRS) and Virtual Reality Non Signaling (VRNS). This research has adopted a 2 x 2 quasi-experimental factorial design. There are two types of variables involved in this research. The two modes of courseware form the independent variables with the spatial ability as the moderator variable. The dependent variable is the students’ performance. This study sample consisted of 141 students. Descriptive and inferential statistics were conducted to analyze the collected data. The major effects and the interaction effects of the independent variables on the independent variable were explored using the Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVA). Based on the findings of this research, the results exhibited low spatial ability students in VRS outperformed their counterparts in VRNS. However, there was no significant difference in students with high spatial ability using VRS and VRNS. Effective learning in students with different spatial ability can be boosted by implementing the Virtual Reality with Signaling (VRS) in the design as well as the development of Virtual Science Laboratory (ViSLab).

Keywords: spatial ability, science laboratory safety, visual signaling principles, virtual reality

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Authors: Grace Fangmin Tan, Elaine Yiling Tay, Elizabeth Huiwen Tham, Andrea Wei Ching Yeo

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Background: While accidental poisonings in children may seem unavoidable, knowledge of circumstances surrounding such incidents and identification of risk factors is important in the development of secondary prevention strategies. Some risk factors include age of the child, lack of adequate supervision and improper storage of substances. The aim of this study is to assess risk factors and circumstances influencing outcomes in these children. Methodology: A retrospective medical record review of all accidental poisoning cases presenting to the Children’s Emergency at National University Hospital (NUH), Singapore between January 2014 and December 2015 was conducted. Information on demographics, poisoning circumstances and clinical outcomes were collected. Results: Ninety-nine of a total of 186 poisoning cases were accidental ingestions, with a mean age of 4.7 (range 0.4 to 18.3 years). The gender distribution is rather equal with 52(52.5%) females and 47(47.5%) males. Seventy-nine (79.8%) were self-administered by the child and in 20 cases (20.2%), the substance was administered erroneously by caregivers 12/20 (60.0%) of whom were given the wrong drug dose while 8/20 (40.0%) were given the wrong substance. Self-administration was associated with presentation to the ED within 12 hours (p=0.027, OR 6.65, 95% CI 1.24-35.72). Notably, 94.9% of the cases involved substances kept within reach of the child. Sixty-nine (82.1%) had the substance kept in the original container, 3(3.6%) in food containers, 8(9.5%) in other containers and 4(4.8%) without a container. Of the 50 cases with information on labelling, 40/50(80.0%) were accurately labelled, 2/50 (4.0%) wrongly labelled, and 8/50 (16.0%) were unlabelled. Implicated substances included personal care products (11.1%), household cleaning products (3.0%), and different classes of drugs such as paracetamol (22.2%), antihistamines (17.2%) and sympathomimetics (8.1%). Children < 3 years of age were 4.8 times more likely to be poisoned by household substances than children >3 years of age (p=0.009, 95% CI 1.48-15.77). Prehospital interventions were more likely to have been done in poisoning with household substances (p=0.005, OR 6.12 95% CI 1.73-21.68). Fifty-nine (59.6%) were asymptomatic, 34 (34.3%) had a Poisoning Severity Score (PSS) grade of 1 (minor) and 6 (6.1%) grade 2 (moderate). Older children were 9.3 times more likely to be symptomatic (p<0.001, 95% CI 3.15-27.25). Thirty (32%) required admission. Conclusion: A significant proportion of accidental poisoning cases were due to medication administration errors by caregivers, which should be preventable. Risk factors for accidental poisoning included lack of adequate caregiver supervision, improper labelling and young age of the child. There is an urgent need to improve caregiver counselling during medication dispensing as well as to educate caregivers on basic child safety measures in the home to prevent future accidental poisonings.

Keywords: accidental, caregiver, paediatrics, poisoning

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Authors: Sally Shepherd, Jessica Wong, David Read

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Traumatic brachiocephalic artery aneurysm is a rare injury that typically occurs as a result of a blunt chest injury. A 19-year-old female sustained a head-on, high speed motor vehicle crash into a tree. Upon release after 45 minutes of entrapment, she was tachycardic but normotensive, with a significant seatbelt sign across her chest and open deformed right thigh with weak pulses in bilateral lower limbs. A chest XR showed mild upper mediastinal widening. A CT trauma series plus gated CT chest revealed a grade 3a aortic arch transection with brachiocephalic pseudoaneurysm. Endovascular repair of the brachiocephalic artery was attempted post-presentation but was unsuccessful as the first stent migrated to the infrarenal abdominal aorta and the second stent across the brachiocephalic artery origin had a persistent leak at the base. She was transferred to Intensive Care for strict blood pressure control. She returned to theatre 5 hours later for a median sternotomy, aortic arch repair with an 8mm graft extraction, and excision of the innominate artery pseudoaneurysm. She had an uncomplicated post-operative recovery. This case highlights that brachiocephalic artery injury is a rare but potentially lethal injury as a result of blunt chest trauma. Safe management requires a combined Vascular and Cardiothoracic team approach, as stenting alone may be insufficient.

Keywords: blunt chest injury, Brachiocephalic aneurysm, innominate artery, trauma

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Authors: Carmel Khrisna Wong Moreno, Dinah M. Espina

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The increasing price of feed ingredients has prompted farmers to seek feasible feed alternatives like the utilization of locally-grown protein-rich feedstuff which is cheaper but gives a positive result in poultry production. Trichanthera gigantea, a fodder tree which is an excellent alternative as feed ingredient in the Philippines has now gained popularity as feed supplement. This study was conducted to determine the growth and laying performance of commercial hens fed with varying levels of Trichanthera gigantea leaf meal. The incorporation of Trichanthera gigantea leaf meal at 5%, 10%, and 15% into the diet of commercial hens did not affect the growth and laying performance. Results of the study revealed that the weight gain of the birds fed with Trichanthera gigantea supplemented diets was not significantly different with the control (100% commercial layer mash). The voluntary feed intake, feed conversion ratio, weekly average egg weight and egg production of the commercial hens fed with T. gigantea leaf meal supplemented diets were not significantly different from the control. Results of the study showed that the supplementation of Trichanthera gigantea leaf meal of up to 15% into the diets of commercial hens is highly acceptable since it does not affect the growth and laying performance of the birds. In addition, it would mean a 15% savings in production cost from commercial feeds.

Keywords: egg production, growth, laying performance, trichanthera gigantea (nees)

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Authors: Louis N. Y. Wong

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En-echelon fractures are commonly found in rocks, which appear as a special set of regularly oriented and spaced fractures. By using both experimental and numerical approaches, this study investigates the interaction among them, and how this interaction finally contributes to the development of a shear rupture (fault), especially in brittle natural rocks. Firstly, uniaxial compression tests are conducted on marble specimens containing en-echelon flaws. The latter is cut by using the water abrasive jet into the rock specimens. The fracturing processes of these specimens leading to the formation of a fault are observed in detail by the use of a high speed camera. The influences of the flaw geometry on the production of tensile cracks and shear cracks, which in turn dictate the coalescence patterns of the entire set of en-echelon flaws are comprehensively studied. Secondly, a numerical study based on a recently developed contact model, flat-joint contact model using the discrete element method (DEM) is carried out to model the present laboratory experiments. The numerical results provide a quantitative assessment of the interaction of en-echelon flaws. Particularly, the evolution of the stress field, as well as the characteristics of new crack initiation, propagation and coalescence associated with the generation of an eventual shear rupture are studied in detail. The numerical results are found to agree well with the experimental results obtained in both microscopic and macroscopic observations.

Keywords: discrete element method, en-echelon flaws, fault, marble

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Authors: Mazita Mohd Diah, Anton V. Dolzhenko, Tin Wui Wong

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Nanoparticles, being small with a large specific surface area, increase solubility, enhance bioavailability, improve controlled release and enable precision targeting of the entrapped compounds. In this study, chitosan as polymeric permeation enhancer was conjugated to a polar pro-drug, carboxymethyl-5-fluorouracil (CMFU) to increase the skin drug permeation. Chitosan-CMFU conjugate was synthesized using chemical conjugation process through succinate linker. It was then transformed into nanoparticles via spray drying method. The conjugation was elucidated using Fourier Transform Infrared and Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance techniques. The nanoparticle size, size distribution, zeta potential, drug content, skin permeation and retention profiles were characterized. The conjugation was denoted using 1H NMR by new peaks at signal δ = 4.184 ppm (singlet, 2H for CH2) and 7.676-7.688 ppm (doublet, 1H for C6) attributed to CMFU in chitosan-CMFU NMR spectrum. The nanoparticles had profiles of particle size: 93.97 ±35.11 nm, polydispersity index: 0.40 ± 0.14, zeta potential: +18.25 ±2.95 mV and drug content: 6.20 ± 1.98 % w/w. Almost 80 % w/w CMFU in the form of nanoparticles permeated through the skin in 24 hours and close to 50 % w/w permeation occurred in first 1-2 hours. Without conjugation to chitosan and nanoparticulation, less than 40 % w/w CMFU permeated through the skin in 24 hours. The skin drug retention likewise was higher with chitosan-CMFU nanoparticles (15.34 ± 5.82 % w/w) than CMFU (2.24 ± 0.57 % w/w). CMFU, through conjugation with chitosan permeation enhancer and processed in nanogeometry, had its skin permeation and retention degree promoted.

Keywords: carboxymethyl-5-fluorouracil, chitosan, conjugate, skin permeation, skin retention

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Authors: Li Hoon Lim, Nur Farhanah Said, Katie Simmons, Eric Pei Ping Pang, Sharon Mei Mei Wong

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Background and Purpose: Research regarding the sexual impact of breast cancer treatment on Asian women is both sensitive and scarce. This study aims to assess and evaluate the sexual health needs and concerns of breast cancer radiotherapy patients. It is hoped that awareness will be increased and an appropriate intervention can be developed to address the needs of future breast cancer patients. Methods: 110 consecutive unselected breast cancer patients were recruited prospectively. Questionnaires were administered once for patient undergoing radiotherapy to the breast. This study employed an anonymous questionnaire; any breast radiotherapy patient who can read English can voluntarily receive and complete the survey. The questionnaire consisted of items addressing demographics, potential informational needs, and educational preferences. Results: Patients’ interest to address sexual concerns decreases with age (p=0.024). Coherently, sexual concerns of patients are reported to decrease with age (p=0.015) where 70% of all respondents below age 50 [age 20-29 (60%); 30-39 (56.3%); 40-49(55.1%)] have started to have sexual concerns regarding their treatment effects on their sexual health. Patients who underwent breast conservation surgery (42.2%) and reconstruction surgery (83.3%) were more likely to have concerns about sexual health versus patients who underwent mastectomy (36.7%) (p=0.032). 74.2% of patients with sexual concern regardless of age would initiate conversation with their healthcare providers (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The results showed a staggering interest of female patients wanting information on this area which would not only boost their confidence and body image but also address concerns of the effect of breast radiotherapy on sexual health during their treatment.

Keywords: breast cancer, breast radiotherapy, sexual health, sexual impact

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Authors: Kwok W. Mui, Ling T. Wong, F. Xiao, Chin T. Cheung, Ho C. Yu

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This study addresses a concept of the Sustainable Building Environmental Model (SBEM) developed to optimize energy consumption in air conditioning and ventilation (ACV) systems without any deterioration of indoor environmental quality (IEQ). The SBEM incorporates two main components: an adaptive comfort temperature control module (ACT) and a new carbon dioxide demand control module (nDCV). These two modules take an innovative approach to maintain satisfaction of the Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) with optimum energy consumption, they provide a rational basis of effective control. A total of 2133 sets of measurement data of indoor air temperature (Ta), relative humidity (Rh) and carbon dioxide concentration (CO2) were conducted in some Hong Kong offices to investigate the potential of integrating the SBEM. A simulation was used to evaluate the dynamic performance of the energy and air conditioning system with the integration of the SBEM in an air-conditioned building. It allows us make a clear picture of the control strategies and performed any pre-tuned of controllers before utilized in real systems. With the integration of SBEM, it was able to save up to 12.3% in simulation and 15% in field measurement of overall electricity consumption, and maintain the average carbon dioxide concentration within 1000ppm and occupant dissatisfaction in 20%.

Keywords: sustainable building environmental model (SBEM), adaptive comfort temperature (ACT), new demand control ventilation (nDCV), energy saving

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Authors: Mst. Tuhina-Khatun, Mohamed Hanafi Musa, Mohd Rafii Yosup, Wong Mui Yun, Md. Aktar-Uz-Zaman, Mahbod Sahebi

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Rice is a staple crop of economic importance of most Asian people, and blast is the major constraints for its higher yield. Heritability of plants traits helps plant breeders to make an appropriate selection and to assess the magnitude of genetic improvement through hybridization. Diversity of crop plants is necessary to manage the continuing genetic erosion and address the issues of genetic conservation for successfully meet the future food requirements. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to estimate heritability and to determine the diversity of 27 blast resistant upland rice genotypes based on 18 quantitative traits using randomized complete block design. Heritability value was found to vary from 38 to 93%. The lowest heritability belonged to the character total number of tillers/plant (38%). In contrast, number of filled grains/panicle, and yield/plant (g) was recorded for their highest heritability value viz. 93 and 91% correspondingly. Cluster analysis based on 18 traits grouped 27 rice genotypes into six clusters. Cluster I was the biggest, which comprised 17 genotypes, accounted for about 62.96% of total population. The multivariate analysis suggested that the genotype ‘Chokoto 14’ could be hybridized with ‘IR 5533-55-1-11’ and ‘IR 5533-PP 854-1’ for broadening the gene pool of blast resistant upland rice germplasms for yield and other favorable characters.

Keywords: blast resistant, diversity analysis, heritability, upland rice

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Authors: Ender Su, Kai Wen Wong, I-Ling Ju, Ya-Ling Wang

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In this study, the systemic risk change of Taiwan’s banking sector is analyzed during the financial crisis. The risk expose of each financial institutions to the whole Taiwan banking systemic risk or vice versa under financial distress are measured by conditional Value-at-Risk (CoVaR) and conditional coherent expected shortfall (CoES). The CoVaR and CoES are estimated by using vector quantile autoregression (MVMQ-CaViaR) with the daily stock returns of each banks included domestic and foreign banks in Taiwan. The daily in-sample data covered the period from 05/20/2002 to 07/31/2007 and the out-of-sample period until 12/31/2013 spanning the 2008 U.S. subprime crisis, 2010 Greek debt crisis, and post risk duration. All banks in Taiwan are categorised into several groups according to their size of market capital, leverage and domestic/foreign to find out what the extent of changes of the systemic risk as the risk changes between the individuals in the bank groups and vice versa. The final results can provide a guidance to financial supervisory commission of Taiwan to gauge the downside risk in the system of financial institutions and determine the minimum capital requirement hold by financial institutions due to the sensibility changes in CoVaR and CoES of each banks.

Keywords: bank financial distress, vector quantile autoregression, CoVaR, CoES

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Authors: A. W. J. Wong, I. H. Ibrahim

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Increasing urbanisation has driven building designers to incorporate natural ventilation in the designs of sustainable buildings. This project utilises Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to investigate the natural ventilation of an academic building, SIT@SP, using an assessment criterion based on daily mean temperature and mean velocity. The areas of interest are the pedestrian level of first and fourth levels of the building. A reference case recommended by the Architectural Institute of Japan was used to validate the simulation model. The validated simulation model was then used for coupled simulations on SIT@SP and neighbouring geometries, under two wind speeds. Both steady and transient simulations were used to identify differences in results. Steady and transient results are agreeable with the transient simulation identifying peak velocities during flow development. Under a lower wind speed, the first level was sufficiently ventilated while the fourth level was not. The first level has excessive wind velocities in the higher wind speed and the fourth level was adequately ventilated. Fourth level flow velocity was consistently lower than those of the first level. This is attributed to either simulation model error or poor building design. SIT@SP is concluded to have a sufficiently ventilated first level and insufficiently ventilated fourth level. Future works for this project extend to modifying the urban geometry, simulation model improvements, evaluation using other assessment metrics and extending the area of interest to the entire building.

Keywords: buildings, CFD Simulations, natural ventilation, urban airflow

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Authors: Myungsu Lim, William Xiu Shun Wong, Yoonjin Hyun, Chen Liu, Seongi Choi, Dasom Kim, Namgyu Kim

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The amount of real-time data generated through various mass media has been increasing rapidly. In this study, we had performed topic analysis by using the unstructured text data that is distributed through news article. As one of the most prevalent applications of topic analysis, the issue tracking technique investigates the changes of the social issues that identified through topic analysis. Currently, traditional issue tracking is conducted by identifying the main topics of documents that cover an entire period at the same time and analyzing the occurrence of each topic by the period of occurrence. However, this traditional issue tracking approach has limitation that it cannot discover dynamic mutation process of complex social issues. The purpose of this study is to overcome the limitations of the existing issue tracking method. We first derived core issues of each period, and then discover the dynamic mutation process of various issues. In this study, we further analyze the mutation process from the perspective of the issues categories, in order to figure out the pattern of issue flow, including the frequency and reliability of the pattern. In other words, this study allows us to understand the components of the complex issues by tracking the dynamic history of issues. This methodology can facilitate a clearer understanding of complex social phenomena by providing mutation history and related category information of the phenomena.

Keywords: Data Mining, Issue Tracking, Text Mining, topic Analysis, topic Detection, Trend Detection

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Authors: Eugene Wong, Felix Chan, Linsey Chen, Joey Cheung

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The widespread use of technologies and cyber/digital means for complex maritime operations have led to a sharp rise in global cyber-attacks. They have generated an increasing number of liability disputes, insurance claims, and legal proceedings. An array of antiquated case law, regulations, international conventions, and obsolete contractual clauses drafted in the pre-technology era have become grossly inadequate in addressing the contemporary challenges. This paper offers a critique of the ambiguity of cybersecurity liabilities under the obligation of seaworthiness entailed in the Hague-Visby Rules, which apply either by law in a large number of jurisdictions or by express incorporation into the shipping documents. This paper also evaluates the legal and technological criteria for assessing whether a vessel is properly equipped with the latest offshore technologies for navigation and cargo delivery operations. Examples include computer applications, networks and servers, enterprise systems, global positioning systems, and data centers. A critical analysis of the carriers’ obligations to exercise due diligence in preventing or mitigating cyber-attacks is also conducted in this paper. It is hoped that the present study will offer original and crucial insights to policymakers, regulators, carriers, cargo interests, and insurance underwriters closely involved in dispute prevention and resolution arising from cybersecurity liabilities.

Keywords: seaworthiness, cybersecurity, liabilities, risks, maritime, transport

Procedia PDF Downloads 111

Authors: Venkatalakshmi Ranganathan, Ong Hsin Ju, Tan Yinn Ming, Lim Kien Sin, Wong Man Ting, Venkata Srikanth Meka

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The mucoadhesive buccal tablet is an oral drug delivery system which attached to the buccal surface for direct drug absorption into the systemic circulation and the unidirectional drug release is ensured by formulating a hydrophobic backing layer. The objective of present study was to formulate mucoadhesive atenolol bilayer buccal tablets by using sodium alginate, hydroxyethyl cellulose, and xanthan gum as mucoadhesive polymer and the technique applied was direct compression method. Ethyl cellulose was used as backing layer of the tablet. FTIR and DSC analysis were carried out to identify the drug polymer interactions. The prepared tablets were evaluated for physicochemical parameters, ex vivo mucoadhesion time and in-vitro drug release. The formulated tablets showed the average surface pH 6-7 which is favourable for oral mucosa. The formulation containing sodium alginate showed more than 90 % of drug release at the end of the 7 hours in vitro dissolution studies. The formulation containing xanthan gum showed more than 8 hours of mucoadhesion time and all formulation exhibited non fickian release kinetics. The present study indicates enormous potential of erodible mucoadhesive buccal tablet containing atenolol for systemic delivery with an added advantage of circumventing the hepatic first pass metabolism.

Keywords: atenolol, mucoadhesion, in vitro drug release, direct compression, ethyl cellulose

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Authors: Jie Ding, Yingying Pan, Shammy Raj, Lindy Schaffrick, Jolene Wong, Antoinette Nguyen, Sharada Manchikanti, Larry Unsworth, Peter Kwan, Edward E. Tredget

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Background: Exosomes (EXOs) have been considered a new target that is thought to be involved in and treat wound healing. More research is needed to fully understand the EXO characteristics and mechanisms of EXO-mediated wound healing, especially wound healing after burn injury. Methods: Total EXOs were isolated from 85 serum samples of 29 burn patients and 13 healthy individuals. We characterized the EXOs for morphology and density, serum concentration, protein level, marker expression, size distribution, and cytokine content. After confirmation of EXO uptake by dermal fibroblasts, we also explored functional regulation of primary human normal skin and hypertrophic scar fibroblast cell lines by the EXOs in vitro, including cell proliferation and apoptosis. Results: EXOs dynamically changed their morphology, density, size, and cytokine level during wound healing in burn patients, which were correlated with burn severity and the stages of wound healing. EXOs from both burn patients and healthy individuals stimulated dermal fibroblast proliferation and apoptosis. Conclusion: EXO features may be important signals that influence wound healing after burn injury; however, to understand the mechanisms by which EXOs regulated the fibroblasts in healing wounds, further studies will be required in the future.

Keywords: exosome, burn, wound healing, hypertrophic scarring, cytokines

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Authors: C. S. Wong, K. H. Badri, N. Ataollahi, K. P. Law, M. S. Su’ait, N. I. Hassan

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Novel bio-based polymer electrolyte was synthesized with LiClO4 as the main source of charge carrier. Initially, polyurethane-LiClO4 polymer electrolytes were synthesized via polymerization method with different NCO/OH ratios and labelled as PU1, PU2, PU3, and PU4. Subsequently, the chemical, thermal properties and ionic conductivity of the films produced were determined. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis indicates the co-ordination between Li+ ion and polyurethane in PU1 due to the greatest amount of hard segment of polyurethane in PU1 as proven by soxhlet analysis. The structures of polyurethanes were confirmed by 13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (13C NMR) and FTIR spectroscopy. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) analysis indicates PU 1 has the highest glass transition temperature (Tg) corresponds to the most abundant urethane group which is the hard segment in PU1. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of the PU-LiClO4 shows the good miscibility between lithium salt and the polymer. The study found that PU1 possessed the greatest ionic conductivity (1.19 × 10-7 S.cm-1 at 298 K and 5.01 × 10-5 S.cm-1 at 373 K) and the lowest activation energy, Ea (0.32 eV) due to the greatest amount of hard segment formed in PU 1 induces the coordination between lithium ion and oxygen atom of carbonyl group in polyurethane. All the polyurethanes exhibited linear Arrhenius variations indicating ion transport via simple lithium ion hopping in polyurethane. This research proves the NCO content in polyurethane plays an important role in affecting the ionic conductivity of this polymer electrolyte.

Keywords: ionic conductivity, palm kernel oil-based monoester-OH, polyurethane, solid polymer electrolyte

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Authors: Sabir Khan, Sajjad Hussain, Ademar Wong, Maria Del Pilar Taboada Sotomayor

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The present work aims to develop magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) for determination of a selected pesticide (ametryne) using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Computational simulation can assist the choice of the most suitable monomer for the synthesis of polymers. The (MMIPs) were polymerized at the surface of Fe3O4@SiO2 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) using 2-vinylpyradine as functional monomer, ethylene-glycol-dimethacrylate (EGDMA) is a cross-linking agent and 2,2-Azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) used as radical initiator. Magnetic non-molecularly imprinted polymer (MNIPs) was also prepared under the same conditions without analyte. The MMIPs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Pseudo first-order and pseudo second order model were applied to study kinetics of adsorption and it was found that adsorption process followed the pseudo-first-order kinetic model. Adsorption equilibrium data was fitted to Freundlich and Langmuir isotherms and the sorption equilibrium process was well described by Langmuir isotherm mode. The selectivity coefficients (α) of MMIPs for ametryne with respect to atrazine, ciprofloxacin and folic acid were 4.28, 12.32 and 14.53 respectively. The spiked recoveries ranged between 91.33 and 106.80% were obtained. The results showed high affinity and selectivity of MMIPs for pesticide ametryne in the food samples.

Keywords: molecularly imprinted polymer, pesticides, magnetic nanoparticles, adsorption

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Authors: Vun Yee Thien, Kenneth Francis Rodrigues, Clemente Michael Vui Ling Wong, Wilson Thau Lym Yong

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Transcriptomes associated with the process of photosynthesis have offered insights into the mechanism of gene regulation in terrestrial plants; however, limited information is available as far as macroalgae are concerned. This investigation aims to decipher the underlying mechanisms associated with photosynthesis in the red alga, Kappaphycus alvarezii, by performing a differential expression analysis on a de novo assembled transcriptomes. Comparative analysis of gene expression was designed to examine the alteration of light qualities and its effect on physiological mechanisms in the red alga. High-throughput paired-end RNA-sequencing was applied to profile the transcriptome of K. alvarezii irradiated with different wavelengths of light (blue 492-455 nm, green 577-492 nm and red 780-622 nm) as compared to the full light spectrum, resulted in more than 60 million reads individually and assembled using Trinity and SOAPdenovo-Trans. The transcripts were annotated in the NCBI non-redundant (nr) protein, SwissProt, KEGG and COG databases with a cutoff E-value of 1e-5 and nearly 30% of transcripts were assigned to functional annotation by Blast searches. Differential expression analysis was performed using edgeR. The DEGs were designated to six categories: BL (blue light) regulated, GL (green light) regulated, RL (red light) regulated, BL or GL regulated, BL or RL regulated, GL or RL regulated, and either BL, GL or RL regulated. These DEGs were mapped to terms in KEGG database and compared with the whole transcriptome background to search for genes that regulated by light quality. The outcomes of this study will enhance our understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying light-induced responses in red algae.

Keywords: de novo transcriptome sequencing, differential gene expression, Kappaphycus alvareziired, red alga

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Authors: Fadzel Wong Chee Ping, Chee Keong Chen, Foong Kiew Ooi, Mahaneem Mohamed

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Introduction: To date, information on the effects of bee bread supplementation on isokinetic muscular performance are lacking. Therefore, this study was carried out to investigate the effects of 8-week bee bread supplementation on isokinetic muscular strength and power in young athletes. Methodology: Twelve male athletes (age: 24.0±1.8 years; BMI: 22.3 ± 1.3 kg.m-2; VO2max: 52.0 ± 2.8 mL.kg-1.min-1) were recruited in this randomised double blind, placebo-controlled crossover study. Participants consumed either bee bread at a dosage of 20 g.d-1 or placebo for 8 weeks. An isokinetic dynamometer was used to measure participants’ lower limb muscular strength and power prior (pre-test) and post (post-test) 8 weeks of experimental period. Testing angular velocities were set at 180o.s-1 and 300o.s-1 to determine knee flexion and extension muscular peak torque (an indicator of muscular strength) and average power of the participants. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA with repeated measures. Results: Isokinetic knee extension peak torque and average power at 180o.s-1, and isokinetic knee flexion peak torque and average power at 180o.s-1 were significantly (p<0.05) higher at post-test compared to pre-test with bee bread supplementation. However, significant differences were not observed in the measured parameters between pre- and post-test with placebo supplementation. Conclusion: Supplementation of bee bread for 8 weeks at a dosage of 20 g daily increased some of the measured isokinetic muscular strength and power parameters in young athletes.

Keywords: bee bread, isokinetic, power, strength

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Authors: Julia Wong, Hua Beng Lim, Cheryl Ho, Gin Jen Gwee, Rachel Tay

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In Singapore, a few hospitals and non-governmental social service agencies have been utilising animal-assisted therapy (AAT) in their practice in recent years, although the animals used (e.g., dogs, cats, and horses) and program modality may differ due to the different practice settings, client profiles, and intervention goals. This pilot study explores dog owners’ perceptions of AAT with a focus on examining the enablers and barriers towards volunteering with their dogs in AAT programs in Singapore. A qualitative, thematic analysis study was conducted using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 16 dog owners. 3 of the dog owners had previous experience volunteering with their dogs serving elderly patients in a community hospital, while the rest of the dog owners had no previous experience volunteering with their dogs. The former group was recruited with the help of the hospital, while the latter group was recruited via word-of-mouth. Dog owners who had volunteering experiences in AAT program versus those who had none differed in their perceptions towards AAT. Dog owners who had volunteered with their dogs in an AAT program in a hospital felt that their volunteering experience were meaningful to patients and to themselves, as they were intrinsically motivated by the desire to serve the community. Those who had not volunteered were hesitant to volunteer with their dogs as they were not comfortable with strangers touching their dogs. They also felt that it would be a huge commitment in terms of time and money; most of them do not own a car as it is uneconomical, and pets are not allowed on Singapore’s public transport systems. This study is limited by its small sample size, and its findings are not generalisable. However, given that volunteers are an invaluable resource in healthcare settings, future studies can examine more stakeholders’ perceptions towards AAT.

Keywords: animal-assisted therapy, dog-assisted therapy, volunteers, complementary therapy

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Authors: K. M. Wong

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Engineering education is crucial to technological innovation and advancement worldwide by generating young talents who are able to integrate scientific principles and design practical solutions for real-world problems. Graduates of engineering curriculums are expected to demonstrate an extensive set of learning outcomes as required in international accreditation agreements for engineering academic qualifications, such as the Washington Accord and the Sydney Accord. On the other hand, students have different learning preferences of receiving, processing and internalizing knowledge and skills. If the learning environment is advantageous to the learning styles of the students, there is a higher chance that the students can achieve the intended learning outcomes. With proper identification of the learning styles of the students, corresponding teaching strategies can then be developed for more effective learning. This research was an investigation of learning styles of tertiary students studying higher diploma programmes in Hong Kong. Data from over 200 students in engineering programmes were collected and analysed to identify the learning characteristics of students. A small-scale longitudinal study was then started to gather academic results of the students throughout their two-year engineering studies. Preliminary results suggested that the sample students were reflective, sensing, visual, and sequential learners. Observations from the analysed data not only provided valuable information for teachers to design more effective teaching strategies, but also provided data for further analysis with the students’ academic results. The results generated from the longitudinal study shed light on areas of improvement for more effective engineering curriculum design for better teaching and learning.

Keywords: learning styles, learning characteristics, engineering education, vocational education, Hong Kong

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Authors: Yusha'u Shu'aibu Baraya, Kah Keng Wong, Nik Soriani Yaacob

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Strobilanthes crispus (S. crispus), is a Malaysian herb locally known as ‘Pecah kaca’ or ‘Jin batu’ which have demonstrated potent anticancer effects in both in vitro and in vivo models. In particular, S. crispus subfraction (SCS) significantly reduced tumor growth in N-methyl-N-Nitrosourea-induced breast cancer rat model. However, there is paucity of information on the effects of SCS in breast cancer metastasis. Thus, in this study, the antimetastatic effects of SCS (100 mg/kg) was investigated following 30 days of treatment in 4T1-induced mammary tumor (n = 5) model. The response to treatment was assessed based on the outcome of the tumour growth, body weight and hematological parameters. The results demonstrated that tumor bearing mice treated with SCS (TM-S) had significant (p<0.05) reduction in the mean tumor number and tumor volume as well as tumor weight compared to the tumor bearing mice (TM), i.e. tumor untreated group. Also, there was no secondary tumor formation or tumor-associated lesions in the major organs of TM-S compared to the TM group. Similarly, comparable body weights were observed among the TM-S, normal (uninduced) mice treated with SCS and normal (untreated/control) mice (NM) groups compared to the TM group (p<0.05). Furthermore, SCS administration does not cause significant changes in the hematological parameters as compared to the NM group, which indicates no sign of anemia and toxicity related effects. In conclusion, SCS significantly inhibited the overall tumor growth and metastasis in 4T1-induced breast cancer mouse model suggesting its promising potentials as therapeutic agent for breast cancer treatment.

Keywords: 4T1-cells, breast cancer, metastasis, Strobilanthes crispus

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Authors: Kwok W. Mui, Ling T. Wong, Chi T. Cheung

Abstract:

Cooling energy consumption in the residential sector, different from shopping mall, office or commercial buildings, is significantly subject to occupant decisions where in-depth investigations are found limited. It shows that energy consumptions could be associated with housing types. Surveys have been conducted in existing Hong Kong public housings to understand the housing characteristics, apartment electricity demands, occupant’s thermal expectations, and air–conditioning usage patterns for further cooling energy-saving assessments. The aim of this study is to develop a hybrid cooling energy prediction model, which integrated by EnergyPlus (EP) and artificial neural network (ANN) to estimate cooling energy consumption in public residential sector. Sensitivity tests are conducted to find out the energy impacts with changing building parameters regarding to external wall and window material selection, window size reduction, shading extension, building orientation and apartment size control respectively. Assessments are performed to investigate the relationships between cooling demands and occupant behavior on thermal environment criteria and air-conditioning operation patterns. The results are summarized into a cooling energy calculator for layman use to enhance the cooling energy saving awareness in their own living environment. The findings can be used as a directory framework for future cooling energy evaluation in residential buildings, especially focus on the occupant behavioral air–conditioning operation and criteria of energy-saving incentives.

Keywords: artificial neural network, cooling energy, occupant behavior, residential buildings, thermal environment

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Authors: Wong Kean Hin, Kumarason A. L. V. Rasiah

Abstract:

A building provides shelter and protection for an individual to live, work, sleep, procreate or engage in leisurely activities comfortably. Currently, a very popular term related to building was often stated by many parties, which is sustainability. A sustainable building is environmental friendly, healthy to the occupants, as well as efficient in electricity and water. This particular research is important to any parties that are involved in the construction industry. This research will provide the awareness and acceptability of Malaysian public towards sustainable residential building. It will also provide the developers about which sustainable features that the people usually want so that the developers can build a sustainable housing that suits the needs of people. Then, propose solutions to solve the difficulties of implementing sustainability in Malaysian housing industry. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were used throughout the process of data collection. The quantitative research method was distribution of questionnaires to 100 Malaysian public and 50 individuals that worked in developer companies. Then, the qualitative method was an interview session with experienced personnel in Malaysian construction industry. From the data collected, there is increasingly Malaysian public and developers are aware about the existence of sustainability. Moreover, the public is willing to invest on sustainable residential building with minimum additional cost. However, there is a mismatch in between sustainable elements provided by developers and the public needs. Some recommendations to improve the progression of sustainability had been proposed in this study, which include laws enforcement, cooperation between the both government sector with private sector, and private sector with private sector, and learn from modern countries. These information will be helpful and useful for the future of sustainability development in Malaysia.

Keywords: acceptability, awareness, Malaysian housing industry, sustainable elements, green building index

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Authors: Jamil Ahmed, Li P. Wong, Yan P. Chua

Abstract:

The United Nation's sustainable development goals include the target to ensure access to water and sanitation for all; however, very few studies have assessed school-based drinking water in Pakistan. The purpose of this study was to characterize water quality in primary schools of Pakistan and to characterize how recent WASH interventions were associated with school water quality. We conducted a representative cross-sectional study of primary schools in the Sindh province of Pakistan. We used structured observations and structured interviews to ascertain the school’s WASH conditions. Our primary exposures of interest were the implementation of previous WASH interventions in the school and the water source type. Outcomes of interest included water quality (measured by various chemical and microbiological indicators) and water availability at the school’s primary drinking water source. We used log-binomial regression to characterize how WASH exposures were associated with water quality outcomes. We collected data from 256 schools. Groundwater was the primary drinking water source at most schools (87%). Water testing showed that 14% of the school’s water had arsenic above the WHO recommendations, and over 50% of the water samples exceeded recommendations for both lead and cadmium. A majority of the water sources (52%) had fecal coliform contamination. None of the schools had nitrate contamination (0%), and few had fluoride contamination (5%). Regression results indicated that having a recent WASH intervention at the school was not associated with either arsenic contamination (prevalence ratio=0.97; 95% CI: 0.46-2.1) or with fecal coliform contamination (PR=0.88; 95% CI: 0.67-1.17). Our assessment unveiled several water quality gaps that exist, including high heavy metal and fecal contamination. Our findings will help various stakeholders to take suitable action to improve water quality in Pakistani schools.

Keywords: WASH interventions, water quality, primary school children, heavy metals

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Authors: Siew Ming Thang, Wong Hoo Keat, Chee Hao Sue, Fung Lan Loo, Ahju Rosalind

Abstract:

There are numerous studies that explored young learners’ literacy skills in Malaysia but none that uses the eye-tracking device to track their cognitive processes when reading picture storybooks. This study used this method to investigate two groups of prereaders’ cognitive processes in four conditions. (1) A congruent picture was presented, and a matching narration was read aloud by a recorder; (2) Children heard a narration telling about the same characters in the picture but involves a different scene; (3) Only a picture with matching text was present; (4) Students only heard the reading aloud of the text on the screen. The two main objectives of this project are to test which content of pictures helps the prereaders (i.e., young children who have not received any formal reading instruction) understand the narration and whether children try to create a coherent mental representation from the oral narration and the pictures. The study compares two groups of children from two different kindergartens. Group1: 15 Chinese children; Group2: 17 Malay children. The medium of instruction was English. An eye-tracker were used to identify Areas of Interest (AOI) of each picture and the five target elements and calculate number of fixations and total time spent on fixation of pictures and written texts. Two mixed factorial ANOVAs with the storytelling performance (good, average, or weak) and vocabulary level (low, medium, high) as between-subject variables, and the Areas of Interests (AOIs) and display conditions as the within-subject variables were performedon the variables.

Keywords: eye-tracking, cognitive processes, literacy skills, prereaders, visual attention

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Authors: Molly Pui Man Wong

Abstract:

In this study, a blended and interactive e-learning Courseware that our team developed will be introduced, and our team’s experiences on how the e-learning Courseware and the flipped classroom benefit student learning in bioethics in the medical program will be shared. This study is a continuation of the previously established study, which provides a summary of the well-developed e-learning Courseware in a blended learning approach and an update on its efficiency and efficacy. First, a collection of animated videos capturing selected topics of bioethics and related ethical issues and dilemma will be introduced. Next, a selection of problem-based learning videos (“simulated doctor-patient role play”) with pop-up questions and discussions will be further discussed. Our recent findings demonstrated that these activities launched by the Courseware strongly engaged students in bioethics education and enhanced students’ critical thinking and creativity, which were consistent with the previous data in the preliminary studies. Moreover, the educational benefits of the online art exhibition, art jamming, and competition will be discussed, through which students could express bioethics through arts and enrich their learning in medical research in an interactive, fun, and entertaining way, strengthening their interests in bioethics. Furthermore, online survey questionnaires and focus group interviews were conducted. Consistent with the preliminary studies, our results indicated that implementing the e-learning Courseware with a flipped classroom in bioethics education enhanced both active learning and student engagement. In conclusion, our Courseware not only reinforces education in art, bioethics, and medicine but also benefits students in understanding and critical thinking in socio-ethical issues and serves as a valuable learning tool in bioethics teaching and learning.

Keywords: bioethics, courseware, e-learning, flipped classroom

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Authors: César Ramírez-Dolores, Jorge Wong-Loya, Jorge Andaverde, Caleb Becerra

Abstract:

Low-depth geothermal energy can take advantage of the use of the subsoil as an air conditioning technique, being used as a passive system or coupled to an active cooling and/or heating system. This source of air conditioning is possible because at a depth less than 10 meters, the subsoil temperature is practically homogeneous and tends to be constant regardless of the climatic conditions on the surface. The effect of temperature fluctuations on the soil surface decreases as depth increases due to the thermal inertia of the soil, causing temperature stability; this effect presents several advantages in the context of sustainable energy use. In the present work, the thermal behavior of a horizontal Air-Water Heat Exchanger (AWHE) is evaluated, and the thermal effectiveness and temperature of the air at the outlet of the prototype immersed in groundwater is experimentally determined. The thermohydraulic aspects of the heat exchanger were evaluated using the Number of Transfer Units-Efficiency (NTU-ε) method under conditions of groundwater flow in a coastal region of sandy soil (southeastern Mexico) and air flow induced by a blower, the system was constructed of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and sensors were placed in both the exchanger and the water to record temperature changes. The results of this study indicate that when the exchanger operates in groundwater, it shows high thermal gains allowing better heat transfer, therefore, it significantly reduces the air temperature at the outlet of the system, which increases the thermal effectiveness of the system in values > 80%, this passive technique is relevant for building cooling applications and could represent a significant development in terms of thermal comfort for hot locations in emerging economy countries.

Keywords: convection, earth, geothermal energy, thermal comfort

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Authors: Elaine Lima Da Fonseca, Eliomar Pereira Da Silva Filho

Abstract:

The modeling of areas susceptible to soil loss by hydro erosive processes consists of a simplified instrument of reality with the purpose of predicting future behaviors from the observation and interaction of a set of geoenvironmental factors. The models of potential areas for soil loss will be obtained through binary logistic regression, artificial neural networks, and support vector machines. The choice of the municipality of Colorado do Oeste in the south of the western Amazon is due to soil degradation due to anthropogenic activities, such as agriculture, road construction, overgrazing, deforestation, and environmental and socioeconomic configurations. Initially, a soil erosion inventory map constructed through various field investigations will be designed, including the use of remotely piloted aircraft, orbital imagery, and the PLANAFLORO/RO database. 100 sampling units with the presence of erosion will be selected based on the assumptions indicated in the literature, and, to complement the dichotomous analysis, 100 units with no erosion will be randomly designated. The next step will be the selection of the predictive parameters that exert, jointly, directly, or indirectly, some influence on the mechanism of occurrence of soil erosion events. The chosen predictors are altitude, declivity, aspect or orientation of the slope, curvature of the slope, composite topographic index, flow power index, lineament density, normalized difference vegetation index, drainage density, lithology, soil type, erosivity, and ground surface temperature. After evaluating the relative contribution of each predictor variable, the erosion susceptibility model will be applied to the municipality of Colorado do Oeste - Rondônia through the SPSS Statistic 26 software. Evaluation of the model will occur through the determination of the values of the R² of Cox & Snell and the R² of Nagelkerke, Hosmer and Lemeshow Test, Log Likelihood Value, and Wald Test, in addition to analysis of the Confounding Matrix, ROC Curve and Accumulated Gain according to the model specification. The validation of the synthesis map resulting from both models of the potential risk of soil erosion will occur by means of Kappa indices, accuracy, and sensitivity, as well as by field verification of the classes of susceptibility to erosion using drone photogrammetry. Thus, it is expected to obtain the mapping of the following classes of susceptibility to erosion very low, low, moderate, very high, and high, which may constitute a screening tool to identify areas where more detailed investigations need to be carried out, applying more efficient social resources.

Keywords: modeling, susceptibility to erosion, artificial intelligence, Amazon

Procedia PDF Downloads 38

Authors: Cheng Yang Kwa, Yoke Rung Wong

Abstract:

Laminated composite materials are widely employed in automotive, aerospace, and other industries. These materials provide distinct benefits due to their high specific strength, high specific modulus, and ability to be customized for a specific function. However, delamination of laminated composite materials is one of the main defects which can occur during manufacturing, regular operations, or maintenance. Delamination can bring about considerable internal damage, unobservable by visual check, that causes significant loss in strength and stability, leading to composite structure catastrophic failure. Structural health monitoring (SHM) is known to be the automated method for monitoring and evaluating the condition of a monitored object. There are several ways to conduct SHM in aerospace. One of the effective methods is to monitor the natural frequency shift of structure due to the presence of defect. This study investigated the mechanical resonance frequency shift of a multi-layer composite cantilever beam due to interlaminar delamination. ANSYS Workbench® was used to create a 4-plies laminated composite cantilever finite element model with [90/0]s fiber setting. Epoxy Carbon UD (230GPA) Prepreg was chosen, and the thickness was 2.5mm for each ply. The natural frequencies of the finite element model with various degree of delamination were simulated based on modal analysis and then validated by using literature. It was shown that the model without delamination had natural frequency of 40.412 Hz, which was 1.55% different from the calculated result (41.050 Hz). Thereafter, the various degree of delamination was mimicked by changing the frictional conditions at the middle ply-to-ply interface. The results suggested that delamination in the laminated composite cantilever induced a change in its stiffness which alters its mechanical resonance frequency.

Keywords: structural health monitoring, NDT, cantilever, laminate

Procedia PDF Downloads 74