Browse publications by year: 2017

  1. Goh BL
    Contrib Nephrol, 2017;189:79-84.
    PMID: 27951553
    BACKGROUND: The success rate of peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter insertion is known to vary among different operators and may be influenced by many factors such as patient and various situational factors. Traditionally, surgeons have inserted Tenckhoff catheters by mini-laparotomy or an open technique. However, with recent advances in endoscopic instrumentation and video capabilities, peritoneoscope Tenckhoff catheter insertion has become a viable approach in interventional nephrologist-initiated PD access programmes.

    SUMMARY: Nephrologist-initiated peritoneoscopic PD access programs have had a positive impact on PD penetration. The technique has been associated with a better primary success rate, superior catheter survival, less postoperative pain, shorter hospital stay, and shorter catheter break-in time compared with the conventional surgical technique. The role of interventional nephrologists in peritoneoscope Tenckhoff catheter placement is still perceived to be a relatively new advance, investigational by some, and many nephrologists and surgeons alike remain sceptical of the value of this recent option. Crucial questions often raised are how many procedures one needs to perform before being considered competent and who should be credentialed to perform the procedure or supervise trainees performing it. The evaluation of technical proficiency in a specific operation is difficult and complex. Cumulative summation (CUSUM) analysis is one option for tracking the success and failure of technical skill and examining trends over time. Key Messages: The author's facility has had good outcomes with a nephrologist-initiated peritoneoscopic PD access programme. Quality control of PD catheter insertion can be performed using CUSUM charting to monitor for primary catheter dysfunction, primary leak, and primary peritonitis.

    MeSH terms: Catheterization/methods*; Humans; Length of Stay; Pain/prevention & control; Peritoneal Dialysis/methods*; Peritoneal Dialysis/trends; Laparoscopy/methods*; Survival Rate; Nephrologists
  2. Lim SP, Lim YS, Pandikumar A, Lim HN, Ng YH, Ramaraj R, et al.
    Phys Chem Chem Phys, 2017 Jan 04;19(2):1395-1407.
    PMID: 27976767 DOI: 10.1039/c6cp05950c
    In the present investigation, gold-silver@titania (Au-Ag@TiO2) plasmonic nanocomposite materials with different Au and Ag compositions were prepared using a simple one-step chemical reduction method and used as photoanodes in high-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The Au-Ag incorporated TiO2 photoanode demonstrated an enhanced solar-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency of 7.33%, which is ∼230% higher than the unmodified TiO2 photoanode (2.22%) under full sunlight illumination (100 mW cm-2, AM 1.5G). This superior solar energy conversion efficiency was mainly due to the synergistic effect between the Au and Ag, and their surface plasmon resonance effect, which improved the optical absorption and interfacial charge transfer by minimizing the charge recombination process. The influence of the Au-Ag composition on the overall energy conversion efficiency was also explored, and the optimized composition with TiO2 was found to be Au75-Ag25. This was reflected in the femtosecond transient absorption dynamics in which the electron-phonon interaction in the Au nanoparticles was measured to be 6.14 ps in TiO2/Au75:Ag25, compared to 2.38 ps for free Au and 4.02 ps for TiO2/Au100:Ag0. The slower dynamics indicates a more efficient electron-hole separation in TiO2/Au75:Ag25 that is attributed to the formation of a Schottky barrier at the interface between TiO2 and the noble metal(s) that acts as an electron sink. The significant boost in the solar energy conversion efficiency with the Au-Ag@TiO2 plasmonic nanocomposite showed its potential as a photoanode for high-efficiency DSSCs.
  3. Garcia C, Gibbins CN, Pardo I, Batalla RJ
    Sci Total Environ, 2017 Feb 15;580:1453-1459.
    PMID: 28027801 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.12.119
    Here we provide the first evidence of long term reductions in flow in temporary streams on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca and use a simple metric of the degree of water permanence (the number of days with water) to highlight the implications of flow change for aquatic invertebrate diversity. Analysis of a 33year data set for 13 streams on the island yielded evidence of consistent downward trends in water permanence, particularly in spring and summer. Data from 27 relatively undisturbed mountain streams indicate that the diversity of benthic invertebrates in temporary streams across the island is directly related to water permanence. Streams with lower values of water permanence support few species overall and have less abundant invertebrate assemblages; the abundance and species richness of sensitive mayfly, stonefly and caddisfly taxonomic groups is also reduced in streams with lower water permanence. Although developed using spatial data, these flow-invertebrate relationships suggest that future reductions in water permanence may lead to reduced diversity. We argue that the 'number of days with water' is a simple but ecologically-relevant metric of water permanence that can be used effectively to monitor change in threatened temporary streams worldwide.
    MeSH terms: Animals; Insects/classification*; Seasons; Spain; Water Movements*; Biodiversity*; Rivers*; Islands
  4. Ragavendran K, Xia H, Mandal P, Arof AK
    Phys Chem Chem Phys, 2017 Jan 18;19(3):2073-2077.
    PMID: 28044160 DOI: 10.1039/c6cp07289e
    The phase transition near room temperature in LiMn2O4 was studied using thermal expansion measurements, and directly compared with the electrochemical performance of the material. Studies based on thermal expansion indicate the onset of a first-order phase transition at Tc ∼ 220 K for the nearly half-doped material, with [Mn3+]/[Mn4+] ≈ 1. The Tc shifts to a higher temperature, ∼290 K, and signatures for Verwey-type charge ordering at 290 K can be observed when the fraction of Jahn-Teller Mn3+ in LiMn2O4 is increased, i.e., [Mn3+]/[Mn4+] > 1. These studies show that the first-order phase transition near room temperature in LiMn2O4 is associated with charge ordering, which ultimately is a consequence of the Jahn-Teller effect. In addition, the Jahn-Teller effect is proven to be an important cause of magnetoresistance and electrochemical capacity fading in LiMn2O4. Electrochemical measurements show that both materials, either with a Tc ∼ 220 K or Tc ∼ 290 K, exhibit capacity fading to almost the same extent. Electrochemical capacity retention is observed only in nanosized LiMn2O4, for which the phase transition anomalies are completely absent.
  5. Geetha Bai R, Muthoosamy K, Shipton FN, Manickam S
    Ultrason Sonochem, 2017 May;36:129-138.
    PMID: 28069192 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.11.021
    Graphene is one of the highly explored nanomaterials due to its unique and extraordinary properties. In this study, by utilizing a hydrothermal reduction method, graphene oxide (GO) was successfully converted to reduced graphene oxide (RGO) without using any toxic reducing agents. Following this, with the use of ultrasonic cavitation, profoundly stable few layer thick RGO nanodispersion was generated without employing any stabilizers or surfactants. During ultrasonication, shockwaves from the collapse of bubbles cause a higher dispersing energy to the graphene nanosheets which surpass the forces of Van der Waal's and π-π stacking and thus pave the way to form a stable aqueous nanodispersion of graphene. Ultrasonication systems with different power intensity have been employed to determine the optimum conditions for obtaining the most stable RGO dispersion. The optimised conditions of ultrasonic treatments led to the development of a very stable reduced graphene oxide (RGO) aqueous dispersion. The stability was observed for two years and was analyzed by using Zetasizer by measuring the particle size and zeta potential at regular intervals and found to have exceptional stability. The excellent stability at physiological pH promotes its utilization in nano drug delivery application as a carrier for Paclitaxel (Ptx), an anticancer drug. The in vitro cytotoxicity analysis of Ptx loaded RGO nanodispersion by MTT assay performed on the cell lines revealed the potential of the nanodispersion as a suitable drug carrier. Studies on normal lung cells, MRC-5 and nasopharyngeal cancer cells, HK-1 supported the biocompatibility of RGO-Ptx towards normal cell line. This investigation shows the potential of exceptionally stable RGO-Ptx nanodispersion in nano drug delivery applications.
    MeSH terms: Acoustics*; Antineoplastic Agents/chemistry*; Drug Carriers/chemistry*; Drug Stability; Graphite/chemistry*; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Oxidation-Reduction; Oxides/chemistry*; Paclitaxel/chemistry*; Nanostructures/chemistry*
  6. Panda D, Manickam S
    Ultrason Sonochem, 2017 May;36:481-496.
    PMID: 28069236 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.12.022
    Sonophotocatalysis (SPC) is considered to be one of the important wastewater treatment techniques and hence attracted the attention of researchers to eliminate recalcitrant hazardous organic pollutants from aqueous phase. In general, SPC refers to the integrated use of ultrasonic sound waves, ultraviolet radiation and the addition of a semiconductor material which functions as a photocatalyst. Current research has brought numerous improvements in the SPC based treatment by opting visible light irradiation, nanocomposite catalysts and numerous catalyst supports for better stability and performance. This review accomplishes a critical analysis with respect to the recent advancements. The efficiency of SPC based treatments has been analyzed by considering the individual methods i.e. sonolysis, photocatalysis, sonophotolysis, sono-ozone, photo-Fenton and sono-Fenton. Besides, the essential parameters such as solution temperature, concentrations of initial pollutant and catalyst, initial pH, dosages of Fenton's reagent and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), ultrasonic power density, gas sparging, addition of radical scavenger, addition of carbon tetrachloride and methanol have been discussed with suggestions for the selection of optimum parameters. A higher synergistic pollutant removal rate has been reported during SPC treatment as compared to individual methods and the implementation of numerous doping materials and supports for the photocatalyst enhances the degradation rate of pollutants using DSPC under both visible and UV irradiation. Overall, SPC and DSPC based wastewater treatments are emerging as potential techniques as they provide effective solution in removing the recalcitrant organic pollutants and progressive research is expected to bring out superior treatment efficiency using these advanced technologies.

    IMPORTANCE OF THIS REVIEW: The review has accomplished a thorough and a critical analysis of sonophotocatalysis (SPC) based on the recently published journals. Recent advancements in the doped sonophotocatalysis (DSPC) and the mechanisms behind synergistic enhancement in the pollutant degradation rate have been discussed with justifications. Besides, the possible future works are suggested for the advancements in sonophotocatalysis based treatment. This review will be beneficial for electing a SPC based method because of the accomplished sharp comparisons among the published results. The review includes current advancements of SPC based methods which aid for a low-cost and a large-scale wastewater treatment application.

  7. Tiong TJ, Chandesa T, Yap YH
    Ultrason Sonochem, 2017 May;36:78-87.
    PMID: 28069242 DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2016.11.003
    One common method to determine the existence of cavitational activity in power ultrasonics systems is by capturing images of sonoluminescence (SL) or sonochemiluminescence (SCL) in a dark environment. Conventionally, the light emitted from SL or SCL was detected based on the number of photons. Though this method is effective, it could not identify the sonochemical zones of an ultrasonic systems. SL/SCL images, on the other hand, enable identification of 'active' sonochemical zones. However, these images often provide just qualitative data as the harvesting of light intensity data from the images is tedious and require high resolution images. In this work, we propose a new image analysis technique using pseudo-colouring images to quantify the SCL zones based on the intensities of the SCL images and followed by comparison of the active SCL zones with COMSOL simulated acoustic pressure zones.
  8. Khachatryan V, Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Asilar E, Bergauer T, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2017 Jan 13;118(2):021802.
    PMID: 28128610 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.021802
    A first search for pair production of dark matter candidates through vector boson fusion in proton-proton collisions at sqrt[s]=8  TeV is performed with the CMS detector. The vector boson fusion topology enhances missing transverse momentum, providing a way to probe supersymmetry, even in the case of a compressed mass spectrum. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 18.5  fb^{-1}, recorded by the CMS experiment. The observed dijet mass spectrum is consistent with the standard model expectation. In an effective field theory, dark matter masses are explored as a function of contact interaction strength. The most stringent limit on bottom squark production with mass below 315 GeV is also reported, assuming a 5 GeV mass difference with respect to the lightest neutralino.
    MeSH terms: Motion; Motivation; Protons; Mass Spectrometry; United States
  9. Rozaini MNH, Yahaya N, Saad B, Kamaruzaman S, Hanapi NSM
    Talanta, 2017 Aug 15;171:242-249.
    PMID: 28551135 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2017.05.006
    Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was employed as sorbent in ultrasound assisted emulsification molecularly imprinted polymer micro-solid phase extraction (USAE-MIP-µ-SPE) of bisphenol A (BPA) in water, beverages and the aqueous liquid in canned foods prior to high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) analysis. Several effective variables, such as types of emulsification solvent and its volume, types of desorption solvent and its volume, salting out effect, pH of sample solution, mass of sorbent, extraction and desorption time, and sample volume, were optimized comprehensively. Under the optimized USAE-MIP-µ-SPE and HPLC-DAD conditions, the method demonstrated good linearity over the range of 0.5-700μgL-1with a coefficient determination of R2=0.9973, low limit of detection (0.07μgL-1), good analyte recoveries (82.2-118.9%) and acceptable RSDs (0.7-14.2%, n=3) with enrichment factor of 49. The method was applied to thirty samples of drinking water, mineral water, river water, lake water, as well as beverages and canned foods, the presence of BPA was identified in four samples. The proposed method showed good selectivity and reusability for extraction of BPA, and hence the USAE-MIP-µ-SPE is rapid, simple, cost effective and environmentally friendly.
    MeSH terms: Benzhydryl Compounds; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; Mineral Waters; Phenols; Polymers; Solvents; Rivers; Solid Phase Microextraction; Food, Preserved; Limit of Detection; Lakes; Drinking Water
  10. El-Hassan O, Sharif A, Al Redha M, Blair I
    PMID: 29295053
    In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), health services have developed greatly in the past 40 years. To ensure they continue to meet the needs of the population, innovation and change are required including investment in a strong e-Health infrastructure with a single transferrable electronic patient record. In this paper, using the Emirate of Dubai as a case study, we report on the Middle East Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM). Between 2011-2016, the number of participating hospitals has increased from 23 to 33. Currently, while 20/33 of hospitals are at Stage 2 or less, 10/33 have reached Stage 5. Also Dubai's median EMRAM score in 2016 (2.5) was higher than the scores reported from Australia (2.2), New Zealand (2.3), Malaysia (0.06), the Philippines (0.06) and Thailand (0.5). EMRAM has allowed the tracking of the progress being made by healthcare facilities in Dubai towards upgrading their information technology infrastructure and the introduction of electronic medical records.
    MeSH terms: Australia; Humans; Middle East; New Zealand; Philippines; Thailand; United Arab Emirates; Benchmarking*; Electronic Health Records*
  11. Rodrigues JM, Kim S, Aljunid S, Lee JJ, Ten Napel H, Trombert B
    PMID: 29295415
    The International Classification of Health Interventions (ICHI) alpha2 2016 Section 1 Interventions on Body Systems and Functions is based on ISO 1828 international standard named categorial Structure (CAST). This is not sufficient to represent the meaning of ICD9-CM Volume 3 labels. We propose to modify it by using the SNOMED CT concept model.
    MeSH terms: Humans; Vocabulary, Controlled; International Classification of Diseases*; Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine*
  12. Low JZB, Khang TF, Tammi MT
    BMC Bioinformatics, 2017 12 28;18(Suppl 16):575.
    PMID: 29297307 DOI: 10.1186/s12859-017-1974-4
    BACKGROUND: In current statistical methods for calling differentially expressed genes in RNA-Seq experiments, the assumption is that an adjusted observed gene count represents an unknown true gene count. This adjustment usually consists of a normalization step to account for heterogeneous sample library sizes, and then the resulting normalized gene counts are used as input for parametric or non-parametric differential gene expression tests. A distribution of true gene counts, each with a different probability, can result in the same observed gene count. Importantly, sequencing coverage information is currently not explicitly incorporated into any of the statistical models used for RNA-Seq analysis.

    RESULTS: We developed a fast Bayesian method which uses the sequencing coverage information determined from the concentration of an RNA sample to estimate the posterior distribution of a true gene count. Our method has better or comparable performance compared to NOISeq and GFOLD, according to the results from simulations and experiments with real unreplicated data. We incorporated a previously unused sequencing coverage parameter into a procedure for differential gene expression analysis with RNA-Seq data.

    CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that our method can be used to overcome analytical bottlenecks in experiments with limited number of replicates and low sequencing coverage. The method is implemented in CORNAS (Coverage-dependent RNA-Seq), and is available at https://github.com/joel-lzb/CORNAS .

    MeSH terms: Bayes Theorem; Computer Simulation; Gene Expression Regulation*; Humans; Organ Specificity/genetics; Predictive Value of Tests; RNA/genetics; ROC Curve; Reproducibility of Results; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Sequence Analysis, RNA/methods*; Area Under Curve; Gene Expression Profiling; Databases, Genetic*
  13. Tee, E.T., Siow, L.F.
    MyJurnal
    This study aims to determine the effect of tapioca and potato starch added at 3, 6 or 9%w/w
    on the physical properties of Spanish mackerel (Scomberomoru guttatus) fish balls. Water
    holding capacity, gel strength and four attributes of texture profile analysis, namely hardness,
    springiness, cohesiveness and chewiness increased with increasing starch concentration for
    both fish balls added with tapioca or potato starch after 6th freeze-thaw cycles. Both tapioca
    or potato starch-added samples showed decrease in drip loss and colour with increasing starch
    concentration up to 9% (w/w) after 6th freeze-thaw cycles. Drip loss and colour of fish balls
    made from the two types of starch decreased with increasing starch concentration. Overall,
    gel strength, drip loss, and color of fish balls added with starch showed no significant changes
    (p≥0.05) after 6th freeze-thaw cycle. The results suggested that starch plays an important role
    in improving freeze-thaw stability of fish balls.
  14. Kam YC, Woo KK, Ong LGA
    Molecules, 2017 Dec 08;22(12).
    PMID: 29292721 DOI: 10.3390/molecules22122106
    Lipases with unique characteristics are of value in industrial applications, especially those targeting cost-effectiveness and less downstream processes. The aims of this research were to: (i) optimize the fermentation parameters via solid state fermentation (SSF); and (ii) study the performance in hydrolysis and esterification processes of the one-step partially purified Schizophyllum commune UTARA1 lipases. Lipase was produced by cultivating S. commune UTARA1 on sugarcane bagasse (SB) with used cooking oil (UCO) via SSF and its production was optimized using Design-Expert® 7.0.0. Fractions 30% (ScLipA) and 70% (ScLipB) which contained high lipase activity were obtained by stepwise (NH₄)₂SO₄ precipitation. Crude fish oil, coconut oil and butter were used to investigate the lipase hydrolysis capabilities by a free glycerol assay. Results showed that ScLipA has affinities for long, medium and short chain triglycerides, as all the oils investigated were degraded, whereas ScLipB has affinities for long chain triglycerides as it only degrades crude fish oil. During esterification, ScLipA was able to synthesize trilaurin and triacetin. Conversely, ScLipB was specific towards the formation of 2-mono-olein and triacetin. From the results obtained, it was determined that ScLipA and ScLipB are sn-2 regioselective lipases. Hence, the one-step partial purification strategy proved to be feasible for partial purification of S. commune UTARA1 lipases that has potential use in industrial applications.
    MeSH terms: Esterification; Fermentation*; Fish Oils/chemistry; Glycerol/chemistry; Hydrolysis; Kinetics; Lipase/isolation & purification; Lipase/metabolism; Lipase/chemistry*; Oleic Acids/chemistry; Plant Oils/chemistry; Schizophyllum/enzymology*; Triacetin/chemistry; Triglycerides/chemistry
  15. Abdul Manaf SA, Hegde G, Mandal UK, Wui TW, Roy P
    Curr Drug Deliv, 2017;14(8):1071-1077.
    PMID: 27745545 DOI: 10.2174/1567201813666161017130612
    BACKGROUND: Nano-scale carbon systems are emerging alternatives in drug delivery and bioimaging applications of which they gradually replace the quantum dots characterized by toxic heavy metal content in the latter application.

    OBJECTIVE: The work intended to use carbon nanospheres synthesized from biowaste Sago bark for cancer cell imaging applications.

    METHODS: This study synthesised carbon nanospheres from biowaste Sago bark using a catalyst-free pyrolysis technique. The nanospheres were functionalized with fluorescent dye coumarin-6 for cell imaging. Fluorescent nanosytems were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X ray, photon correlation spectroscopy and fourier transform infrared spectroscopy techniques.

    RESULTS: The average size of carbon nanospheres ranged between 30 and 40 nm with zeta potential of -26.8 ± 1.87 mV. The percentage viability of cancer cells on exposure to nanospheres varied from 91- 89 % for N2a cells and 90-85 % for A-375 cells respectively. Speedy uptake of the fluorescent nanospheres in both N2a and A-375 cells was observed within two hours of exposure.

    CONCLUSION: Novel fluorescent carbon nanosystem design following waste-to-wealth approach exhibited promising potential in cancer cell imaging applications.

    MeSH terms: Animals; Carbon/pharmacology*; Carbon/chemistry; Cell Survival/drug effects; Fluorescent Dyes/pharmacology*; Fluorescent Dyes/chemistry; Humans; Neoplasms/drug therapy; Neoplasms/pathology; Particle Size; Drug Delivery Systems*; Arecaceae/chemistry*; Cell Line, Tumor; Mice; Nanospheres/chemistry*; Optical Imaging/methods*
  16. Mohd Najib Yacob, Mimi Haryani Hassim
    MyJurnal
    Issue related to safety, health and environmental has become major priority to be
    concerned of in the transportation of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) worldwide. Due
    to the high risk that entailed in the operation of HAZMAT transportation, many
    accidents in this industry have been reported which include chemicals spillage, fire
    and explosion. In order to quantify the degree of hazards and risks of these accidents,
    various assessment methods have been introduced either by the academia, the
    industry as well as the authority. The methods present various approaches for the
    assessment, ranging from a simple to highly complicated ones depending on the
    purpose of the assessment and the available resources and constraints. To date there
    is yet any study conducted to review those available methods. This paper intends to
    present a comprehensive review of the existing methods for hazards and risks
    assessment of HAZMAT transportation between years 1995-2015 which considers
    road, marine, railway, air and pipeline system. Based on careful screening of the
    abundance of methods available, 151 of them were selected – that is those
    specifically meant for hazards and risks assessment of HAZMAT transportation only.
    The methods are reviewed in terms of the types of assessment; either qualitative,
    quantitative or hybrid techniques, as well as their specific application in different
    mode of transportation. Also, statistical analysis was performed to determine the
    trend of past publications regarding on the type of journal, year of publication and
    also financial support received in the context of hazard and risk assessment of
    HAZMAT transportation.
  17. Mohammed Sulaiman, Daniel Andrawus Zhigila, Kabiru Mohammed, Danladi Mohammed Umar, Babale Aliyu, Fazilah Abd Manan
    MyJurnal
    Historically, there is evidence to suggest that communities in the developing countries
    are still using plant-based materials as one of the strategies for purifying drinking
    water. In this review, the coagulant properties of Moringa oleifera seeds extract were
    quantitatively evaluated toward suitable wastewater treatment and examining its
    coagulation mechanism. The seeds are rich in bio-active components and also used as
    a natural coagulant for effective water treatment. The seeds extract operates
    predominantly by bridging coagulation mechanism and operates through charge
    neutralization. This natural ingredient of an organic polymer is essential as it contains
    acrylamide monomers that are harmless to human’s health and lesser expensive as
    compared to conventional chemicals since they are available in most rural
    communities. The application of this readily available natural product as part of pointof-use
    in water treatment technology may offer a practical, cheap, appropriate and
    sustainable solution for producing potable water in some developing nations.
  18. Rosliza Hasan, Faieza Abdul Aziz, Hesham Ahmed Abdul Mutaleb, Zakaria Umar
    MyJurnal
    This review presents generally about Virtual Reality (VR) technologies in industrial
    training. Virtual reality training is increasingly used for maintenance and operation,
    assembly procedure, welding and operative construction training that allow the
    workers to work on existing and new tasks in safe, and perceive on how an item takes
    shape as it travels through the manufacturing system, which result more effective
    training. For companies to spend the large amount of economic resources in training
    people, thus VR systems for training may reduce in dealing with issues such as the high
    economic costs of training for travel and living expenses for those who need to move
    from work to training centers. An adaptive technology has been used for pilot training
    and vehicle driver training that may improves accuracy of the procedure. VR training
    could create a more effective and efficient learning even without the presence of a
    trainer.
  19. Muhammad Adil Khattak, Muhammad Zulhelmi Mahadi, Nurlaila Syamsul Bahri, Hor, Yen Tiu, Khairulnadzmi Jamaluddin, Muhammad Faiz Farhan Noorizhab, et al.
    MyJurnal
    The objective of this review paper is to summarize the current state of understanding
    on a topic ‘Nuclear spent fuel storage and facilities’. This review paper surveys and
    summarizes previously published studies, rather than reporting new facts or analysis.
    It is importance to case study this issue since the number of spent fuel are increasing
    in which a typical nuclear power plant in a year generates almost 20 metric tons of
    used nuclear fuel. In which the nuclear industry generates a total of about 2,000 - 2,300
    metric tons of used fuel per year and for the last 40 years produced 76,430 metric tons
    of nuclear spent fuel. Future understanding and attention need to be accomplished
    since spent fuel can cause harm due to its high radioactive level and also the ability to
    reprocess the fuel to be used as MOX fuel.
  20. Oung QW, Muthusamy H, Basah SN, Lee H, Vijean V
    J Med Syst, 2017 Dec 29;42(2):29.
    PMID: 29288342 DOI: 10.1007/s10916-017-0877-2
    Parkinson's disease (PD) is a type of progressive neurodegenerative disorder that has affected a large part of the population till now. Several symptoms of PD include tremor, rigidity, slowness of movements and vocal impairments. In order to develop an effective diagnostic system, a number of algorithms were proposed mainly to distinguish healthy individuals from the ones with PD. However, most of the previous works were conducted based on a binary classification, with the early PD stage and the advanced ones being treated equally. Therefore, in this work, we propose a multiclass classification with three classes of PD severity level (mild, moderate, severe) and healthy control. The focus is to detect and classify PD using signals from wearable motion and audio sensors based on both empirical wavelet transform (EWT) and empirical wavelet packet transform (EWPT) respectively. The EWT/EWPT was applied to decompose both speech and motion data signals up to five levels. Next, several features are extracted after obtaining the instantaneous amplitudes and frequencies from the coefficients of the decomposed signals by applying the Hilbert transform. The performance of the algorithm was analysed using three classifiers - K-nearest neighbour (KNN), probabilistic neural network (PNN) and extreme learning machine (ELM). Experimental results demonstrated that our proposed approach had the ability to differentiate PD from non-PD subjects, including their severity level - with classification accuracies of more than 90% using EWT/EWPT-ELM based on signals from motion and audio sensors respectively. Additionally, classification accuracy of more than 95% was achieved when EWT/EWPT-ELM is applied to signals from integration of both signal's information.
    MeSH terms: Machine Learning; Aged; Algorithms*; Electroencephalography; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods*; Male; Middle Aged; Parkinson Disease/diagnosis*; Severity of Illness Index; Speech; Neural Networks (Computer); Wavelet Analysis; Remote Sensing Technology*; Accelerometry
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