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Fulltext Anxiety disorders and quality of life among patients with hematological cancer in a Malaysian hospital

Priscilla, D., Hamidin, A., Azhar, M. Z., Noorjan, K. O. N., Salmiah, M. S., Bahariah, K.

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2011;7(2):9-16.
MyJurnal

Objective: The purpose of this study is to access the prevalence of anxiety disorders and quality of life factors among hematological cancer patients in a Malaysian hospital. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional research design. It was conducted at the Ampang Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, a tertiary referral center for hematological cancer. Anxiety disorders were diagnosed using the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI); quality of life was assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQC30) questionnaire. Results: A total of 105 hematological cancer patients participated in the study, which constituted a response rate of 83.3%. The prevalence of anxiety disorders in our sample ranged from 1% to 24.8%. Overall, compared to patients without anxiety disorders, hematological cancer patients with anxiety disorders reported impaired quality of life in regards to emotional functioning, cognitive functioning, insomnia, dyspnoea, nausea and vomiting, appetite loss and constipation (p

Matched MeSH terms: Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
Laboratory Study on Injection Force Measurement on Syringe and Needle Combinations

Prasetyono TOH, Adhistana P

Malays J Med Sci, 2019 Mar;26(2):66-76.
PMID: 31447610 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2019.26.2.8

Background: This study aimed to measure the least initial and maintenance forces of syringe and needle combinations to provide a reference for local anesthetic injection.
Methods: An experimental study was conducted in our Physics Laboratory during September 2015. A series of syringes sized 1 mL, 3 mL, 5 mL, 10 mL and 20 mL were paired with the original needles, 27G, 27G spinal and 30G. Each combination was tested three times using a compression testing Instron 5940 Series to measure initial and maintenance forces. Statistical analysis was performed using One-way ANOVA.
Results: The lowest initial force was shown by the combination of 1 mL syringe and 27G spinal needle. However, the 1 mL syringe showed no significant difference across the needles [F(3, 8) = 3.545; P < 0.068]. The original and 27G needle showed mean difference 0.28 (95%CI: -0.19, 0.75; P = 0.420). The lowest maintenance force was measured in the combination of 1 mL syringe and its original 26G needle. On the contrary, both the highest initial and maintenance forces were shown by the combination of 10 mL syringe and 30G needle.
Conclusion: The 1 mL syringe with original 26G needle shows the best combination.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext Agarwood branch ethanolic extract: optimal extraction process conditions and cytotoxic effects

Phirdaous Abbas, Yumi Zuhanis Has-Yun Hashim, Hamzah Mohd Salleh, Saripah Salbiah Syed Abdul Azzizz

Biological and Natural Resources Engineering Journal, 2020;3(2):7-26.
MyJurnal

Uninfected agarwood branch is readily available as raw material in agarwood plantation as new practices of agarwood plantation scheme were opted as substitute to the endangered wild type agarwood. The uninfected branch can be easily obtained during pruning process (one of plantation’s common maintenance procedure), throughout the years before inoculation stage. This current study aimed to investigate the optimal extraction process conditions of agarwood branch using ethanol as solvent system for maximal yield, and assess its cytotoxic effects towards MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Uninfected branch of Aquilaria subintegra was subjected to One Factor at a Time (OFAT) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM)-guided ethanolic extraction to achieve maximal yield. The extract was then subjected to cytotoxicity, cell attachment and cell viability assays, respectively. Optimization Run 2 (temperature 45 °C, solid-liquid ratio of 1:30, 16 hours maceration) gave the highest agarwood branch ethanolic extract (ABEE) yield of 44.70 ± 18.9 mg/g dried material (DM). Meanwhile Run 7 (temperature 45 °C, solid-liquid ratio of 1:10, 16 hours of maceration) gave the lowest yield (19.34 ± 14.1 mg/g DM). However, while maintaining the 16 hour-maceration, the model predicted a slightly lower yield of 30.232 ± 0.266 mg/g DM of ABEE with process conditions of 45 °C and solid-liquid ratio of 1:19 when the desirable parameters were factored in namely using (ⅰ) the most suitable temperature (that does not risk the bioactivities of the extract), and (ⅱ) an economical volume of solvent. Crude ABEE obtained from the optimal process conditions resulted in cytotoxicity effects on MCF-7 breast cancer cells with IC50 estimate of 3.645 ± 0.099 μg/mL. The extract also affected MCF-7 cell attachment and viability with altered morphology. More work to elucidate the mechanism of actions of the extract are warranted; which could further lead to development of breast cancer natural product-based therapeutics.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext Therapeutic roles of natural remedies in combating hereditary ataxia: A systematic review

Phang MWL, Lew SY, Chung I, Lim WK, Lim LW, Wong KH

Chin Med, 2021 Jan 28;16(1):15.
PMID: 33509239 DOI: 10.1186/s13020-020-00414-x

BACKGROUND: Hereditary ataxia (HA) represents a group of genetically heterogeneous neurodegenerative diseases caused by dysfunction of the cerebellum or disruption of the connection between the cerebellum and other areas of the central nervous system. Phenotypic manifestation of HA includes unsteadiness of stance and gait, dysarthria, nystagmus, dysmetria and complaints of clumsiness. There are no specific treatments for HA. Management strategies provide supportive treatment to reduce symptoms.
OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aimed to identify, evaluate and summarise the published literature on the therapeutic roles of natural remedies in the treatment of HA to provide evidence for clinical practice.
METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Web of Science, PubMed and Science Direct Scopus were thoroughly searched for relevant published articles from June 2007 to July 2020.
RESULTS: Ten pre-clinical and two clinical studies were eligible for inclusion in this systematic review. We identified the therapeutic roles of medicinal plants Brassica napus, Gardenia jasminoides, Gastrodia elata, Ginkgo biloba, Glycyrrhiza inflata, Paeonia lactiflora, Pueraria lobata and Rehmannia glutinosa; herbal formulations Shaoyao Gancao Tang and Zhengan Xifeng Tang; and medicinal mushroom Hericium erinaceus in the treatment of HA. In this review, we evaluated the mode of actions contributing to their therapeutic effects, including activation of the ubiquitin-proteasome system, activation of antioxidant pathways, maintenance of intracellular calcium homeostasis and regulation of chaperones. We also briefly highlighted the integral cellular signalling pathways responsible for orchestrating the mode of actions.
CONCLUSION: We reviewed the therapeutic roles of natural remedies in improving or halting the progression of HA, which warrant further study for applications into clinical practice.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext In vitro and In vivo Antioxidant Evaluation and Estimation of Total Phenolic, Flavonoidal Content of Mimosa pudica L

Patro G, Bhattamisra SK, Mohanty BK, Sahoo HB

Pharmacognosy Res, 2016;8(1):22-8.
PMID: 26941532 DOI: 10.4103/0974-8490.171099

OBJECTIVE: Mimosa pudica Linn. (Mimosaceae) is traditionally used as a folk medicine to treat various ailments including convulsions, alopecia, diarrhea, dysentery, insomnia, tumor, wound healing, snake bite, etc., Here, the study was aimed to evaluate the antioxidant potential of M. pudica leaves extract against 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) (in vitro) and its modulatory effect on rat brain enzymes.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total phenolic, flavonoid contents, and in vitro antioxidant potential against DPPH radical were evaluated from various extracts of M. pudica leaves. In addition, ethyl acetate extract of Mimosa pudica leaves (EAMP) in doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg/day were administered orally for 7 consecutive days to albino rats and evaluated for the oxidative stress markers as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione (GSH) from rat brain homogenate.
RESULTS: The ethyl acetate extract showed the highest total phenolic content and total flavonoid content among other extracts of M. pudica leaves. The percentage inhibition and IC50 value of all the extracts were followed dose-dependency and found significant (P < 0.01) as compared to standard (ascorbic acid). The oxidative stress markers as SOD, CAT, and GSH were increased significantly (P < 0.01) at 200 and 400 mg/kg of EAMP treated animals and decreased significantly the TBARS level at 400 mg/kg of EAMP as compared to control group.
CONCLUSION: These results revealed that the ethyl acetate extract of M. pudica exhibits both in vitro antioxidant activity against DPPH and in vivo antioxidant activity by modulating brain enzymes in the rat. This could be further correlated with its potential to neuroprotective activity due to the presence of flavonoids and phenolic contents in the extract.
SUMMARY: Total phenolic, flavonoid contents and in-vitro antioxidant potential were evaluated from various extracts of M. pudica leaves. Again, in-vivo antioxidant evaluation from brain homogenate on oxidative stress markers as TBARS, SOD, CAT and GSH from rat was investigated. Our findings revealed that M. pudica possesses both in-vitro and in-vivo antioxidant activity due to presence of phenolics and flavonoids.
KEYWORDS: 2; 2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; Brain homogenate; Flavonoids; Mimosa pudica; Oxidative stress

Matched MeSH terms: Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
Fulltext Osseointegration: an update

Parithimarkalaignan S, Padmanabhan TV

J Indian Prosthodont Soc, 2013 Mar;13(1):2-6.
PMID: 24431699 DOI: 10.1007/s13191-013-0252-z

Osseointegration, defined as a direct structural and functional connection between ordered, living bone and the surface of a load-carrying implant, is critical for implant stability, and is considered a prerequisite for implant loading and long-term clinical success of end osseous dental implants. The implant-tissue interface is an extremely dynamic region of interaction. This complex interaction involves not only biomaterial and biocompatibility issues but also alteration of mechanical environment. The processes of osseointegration involve an initial interlocking between alveolar bone and the implant body, and later, biological fixation through continuous bone apposition and remodeling toward the implant. The process itself is quite complex and there are many factors that influence the formation and maintenance of bone at the implant surface. The aim of this present review is to analysis the current understanding of clinical assessments and factors that determine the success & failure of osseointegrated dental implants.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing for Deciphering the Colorectal Cancer Gut Microbiome: Current Protocols and Workflows

Osman MA, Neoh HM, Ab Mutalib NS, Chin SF, Jamal R

Front Microbiol, 2018;9:767.
PMID: 29755427 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2018.00767

The human gut holds the densest microbiome ecosystem essential in maintaining a healthy host physiology, whereby disruption of this ecosystem has been linked to the development of colorectal cancer (CRC). The advent of next-generation sequencing technologies such as the 16S rRNA gene sequencing has enabled characterization of the CRC gut microbiome architecture in an affordable and culture-free approach. Nevertheless, the lack of standardization in handling and storage of biospecimens, nucleic acid extraction, 16S rRNA gene primer selection, length, and depth of sequencing and bioinformatics analyses have contributed to discrepancies found in various published studies of this field. Accurate characterization of the CRC microbiome found in different stages of CRC has the potential to be developed into a screening tool in the clinical setting. This mini review aims to concisely compile all available CRC microbiome studies performed till end of 2016 and to suggest standardized protocols that are crucial in developing a gut microbiome screening panel for CRC.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext Microstructure analysis, physical and thermal properties of al2o3-al2tio5 functionally graded ceramics for the application of car brake rot

Oo, Z., Sujan, D., Rong Kimberly, F. P

Pertanika Journal of Science & Technology, 2015;23(1):153-161.
MyJurnal

Aluminium titanate (AT) (Al2TiO5) is a promising engineering material because of its low thermal expansion coefficient, excellent thermal shock resistance, good refractoriness and non-wetting with most metals. Functionally graded material (FGM) is generally a particulate composite with continuously varying volume fractions. FGMs are alternative materials for dental implants, building materials and ballistic protection. It has been of great interest to future engines, internal combustion engines, metal cutting and other high temperature engineering application. There has been a demand for an adequate disc brake that requires less maintenance in the automotive manufacturing industry. FGM, the next evolution of layered structure, consists of graded compositions that are dispersed across the ceramic which produces a gradual improvement in the properties across the ceramic at a steady pace.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
A synergistic heterostructured ZnO/BaTiO3 loaded carbon photoanode in photocatalytic fuel cell for degradation of Reactive Red 120 and electricity generation

Ong YP, Ho LN, Ong SA, Banjuraizah J, Ibrahim AH, Lee SL, et al.

Chemosphere, 2019 Mar;219:277-285.
PMID: 30543963 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2018.12.004

Photocatalytic fuel cell (PFC) is considered as a sustainable green technology which could degrade organic pollutant and generate electricity simultaneously. A synergistic double-sided ZnO/BaTiO3 loaded carbon plate heterojunction photoanode was fabricated in different ratios by using simple ultrasonication and mixed-annealed method. The double-sided design of photoanode allowed the lights irradiated at both sides of the photoanode. The ferroelectricity fabricated photoanode was applied in a membraneless PFC with platinum-loaded carbon as the cathode. Results revealed that the photoanode with 1:1 ratio of BaTiO3 and ZnO exhibited a superior photocatalytic activity among all the photoanodes prepared in this study. The heterojunction of this photoanode was able to achieve up to a removal efficiency of 93.67% with a maximum power density of 0.5284 μW cm-2 in 10 mg L-1 of Reactive Red 120 (RR120) without any supporting electrolyte. This photoanode was able to maintain at high performance after recycling 3 times. Overloading of ZnO above 50% on BaTiO3 could lead to deterioration of the performance of PFC due to the charge defects and light trapping ability. The interactions, interesting polarizations of the photocatalysts and proposed mechanism of the n-n type heterojunction in the photoanode of ZnO/BaTiO3 was also discussed.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
A Review Of Oculoplastic Photography: A Guide For Clinician Photographers

Ong CT, Yap JF, Wai YZ, Ng QX

Cureus, 2016;8(8):e733.
PMID: 27630805 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.733

Clinical photography in the field of oculoplastic surgery has many applications. It is possible for clinicians to obtain standardized clinical photographs without a studio. A clinician photographer has the advantage of knowing exactly what to photograph as well as having immediate access to the images. In order to maintain standardization in the photographs, the photographic settings should remain constant. This article covers essential photographic equipment, camera settings, patient pose, and digital asset management.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Single-machine Integrated Production Preventive Maintenance Scheduling: A Simheuristic Approach

Nurul Nadiah Abdul Halim, S. Sarifah Radiah Shariff, Siti Meriam Zahari

MATEMATIKA, 2020;36(2):113-126.
MyJurnal

Preventive maintenance (PM) planning becomes a crucial issue in the real world of the manufacturing process. It is important in the manufacturing industry to maintain the optimum level of production and minimize its investments. Thus, this paper focuses on multiple jobs with a single production line by considering stochastic machine breakdown time. The aim of this paper is to propose a good integration of production and PM schedule that will minimize total completion time. In this study, a hybrid method, which is a genetic algorithm (GA), is used with the Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) technique to deal with the uncertain behavior of machine breakdown time. A deterministic model is adopted and tested under different levels of complexity. Its performance is evaluated based on the value of average completion time. The result clearly shows that the proposed integrated production with PM schedule can reduce the average completion time by 11.68% compared to the production scheduling with machine breakdown time.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext Delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae of carbon monoxide poisoning: a case report

Nurul Azreen Hashim, Norley Shuib, Salina Mohamed, Ling SL, Khariah Mat Nor

Journal of Clinical and Health Sciences, 2016;1:64-68.

Delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae is an important condition which commonly occur during recovery from acute carbon monoxide poisoning. Typical presentation would be apathy, disorientation, amnesia, hypokinesia, bizarre behavior, insomnia and neurological manifestations such as gait disturbance, hypertonia and tremor. We report here a case of a man presented with delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae one month after the carbon monoxide poisoning in his suicidal attempt. He presented with the typical presentation and diagnosis confirmed with the MRI findings. His MRI showed abnormal signal in subcortical hemisphere white matter of both temporo-fronto-parietal-occipital regions along the insula and both globus pallidus. He was treated with Olanzapine, Fluvoxamine, Chlorpromazine and Levodopa and his condition slowly improved. It is important for clinicians to recognize the symptoms and risk factors to develop delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae in patients who previously had carbon monoxide poisoning.

Matched MeSH terms: Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
Fulltext Scheme of obtaining β-carotene standard from pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) flesh

Norshazila, S., Irwandi, J., Othman, R., Yumi Zuhanis, H.H.

International Food Research Journal, 2012;19(2):531-535.
MyJurnal

Characterization and quantification of carotenoid compound is complicated, costly and timeconsuming. The accuracy and reliability of the data depend solely on the standard and to High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis but the major constraint is to acquire and to maintain the pure standards. Carotenoid standards are commercially available but they are expensive and are prone to isomerization and oxidation. Thus, the purpose of this study is to establish an analytical method for isolating β-carotene by using open column chromatography (OCC) from pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata) to be used as one of the carotenoid standards for determination of total and individual carotenoid. Pumpkin with orange flesh has been chosen due to the non-seasonal nature and its availability all year-round. This study demonstrated that the purity of β-carotene standard; determined by HPLC was ranged from 92.21 to 97.95%. The standard curves with five different concentrations of β-carotene extract from pumpkins in triplicate were constructed by plotting the peak area against the concentration. The coefficient of correlation was 0.9936. Therefore, this study established that pumpkin can be a reliable source of beta-carotene standard as it is cheap and commonly available throughout the year.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext Homeownership affordability: an analysis of household socio‐economic

Norizan Rameli, Dani Salleh, Mazlan Ismail

Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2016;1(1):10-16.
MyJurnal

Homeownership affordability is not only the ability of households to pay the housing cost. But homeownership affordability is also involving the ability of households to pay housing costs as well as to maintain the basic needs in the continuity of life. Thus, affordability aspect is important in home ownership. Meanwhile, home ownership is the biggest decision for a household in a term. The combination of affordability and homeownership led to research on factors that affect the affordability of homeownership, especially in terms of socio-economic households inclusively. Socio-economic factors as discussed include income, household expenditures, job type, education level, number of dependents, monthly housing loan and financial savings. Each factor plays the role of its own to ensure the affordability level of homeownership. In fact, the factors that affect the homeownership affordability is different between households. Analysis of the socio-economic factors is necessary because homeownership affordability issues impact the quality life of mankind.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext Wait time analysis to optimize number of opened counters

Noraini Noordin, Nurul Elfieqah Rostam, Nur Ariena Farhana Noor Hamizan

ESTEEM Academic Journal, 2020;16(2):1-10.
MyJurnal

The Morning Shift (MS) flow of passengers on Thursday is similar to any other day in the week at an urban train station. However, passenger congestion occurring in the Evening Shift (ES) affects the system behaviour. The system has been showing this characteristic over the years. However,
only one counter is opened. This counter also sells different types of tickets. Thus, the system is not cost-effective. The study aims to determine the optimal number of counters that should be opened on Thursday. In order to solve this problem, the study has applied Poisson Queuing Simulation (PQ) to the MS and ES data. Findings indicate that running one or two counters in MS
maintains the mean of wait time in-queue and in-system at less than one minute, while the mean of in-queue and in-system passengers is also at one person. Extra cost has to be incurred to hire another teller; thus, one counter is optimal. For ES, the service rate was only slightly higher than the arrival rate. Based on the mean number of in-queue and in-system passengers, there was no way that one counter can efficiently service the queue that was formed. A simulation was done to determine if there was a need to set up a two-counter or a three-counter system. Although a two-counter system will be idle 47% of the time, it was not cost-effective for the management to two
extra tellers for a three-counter system. The management must take future corrective measures. Based on the findings, one counter is optimal for MS, but cost-effectiveness tests must confirm that two counters are optimal for ES. Besides, the management should also identify actions that can be taken during the 47% idle system time in ES.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Performance of two-samples pseudo-median procedure

Nor Aishah Ahad, Sharipah Soaad Syed Yahaya, Abdul Rahman Othman

Sains Malaysiana, 2012;41:1149-1154.

This article investigates the performance of two-sample pseudo-median based procedure in testing differences between groups. The procedure is a modification of the one-sample Wilcoxon procedure using the pseudo-median of differences between group values as the central measure of location. The test was conducted on two groups with moderate sample
sizes of symmetric and asymmetric distributions. The performance of the procedure was measured in terms of Type I error and power rates computed via Monte Carlo methods. The performance of the procedure was compared against the t-test and Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test. The findings from this study revealed that the pseudo-median procedure performed very
well in controlling Type I error rates close to the nominal value. The pseudo-median procedure outperformed the MannWhitney-Wilcoxon test and is comparable to the t-test in controlling Type I error and maintaining adequate power.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
Fulltext A feasibility study: Use of actigraph to monitor and follow-up sleep/wake patterns in individuals attending community pharmacy with sleeping disorders

Noor ZM, Smith AJ, Smith SS, Nissen LM

J Pharm Bioallied Sci, 2016 Jul-Sep;8(3):173-80.
PMID: 27413344 DOI: 10.4103/0975-7406.171739

INTRODUCTION: Community pharmacists are in a suitable position to give advice and provide appropriate services related to sleep disorders to individuals who are unable to easily access sleep clinics. An intervention with proper objective measure can be used by the pharmacist to assist in consultation.
OBJECTIVES: The study objectives are to evaluate: (1) The effectiveness of a community pharmacy-based intervention in managing sleep disorders and (2) the role of actigraph as an objective measure to monitor and follow-up individuals with sleeping disorders.
METHODS AND INSTRUMENTS: The intervention care group (ICG) completed questionnaires to assess sleep scale scores (Epworth Sleepiness Scale [ESS] and Insomnia Severity Index [ISI]), wore a wrist actigraph, and completed a sleep diary. Sleep parameters (sleep efficiency in percentage [SE%], total sleep time, sleep onset latency, and number of nocturnal awakenings) from actigraphy sleep report were used for consultation and to validate sleep diary. The usual care group (UCG) completed similar questionnaires but received standard care.
RESULTS: Pre- and post-mean scores for sleep scales and sleep parameters were compared between and within groups. A significant difference was observed when comparing pre- and post-mean scores for ISI in the ICG, but not for ESS. For SE%, an increase was found in the number of subjects rated as "good sleepers" at post-assessment in the ICG.
CONCLUSIONS: ISI scores offer insights into the development of a community pharmacy-based intervention for sleeping disorders, particularly in those with symptoms of insomnia. It also demonstrates that actigraph could provide objective sleep/wake data to assist community pharmacists during the consultation.
KEYWORDS:
Actigraph; community pharmacy; intervention; pharmacist; sleeping disorders

Matched MeSH terms: Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders
Fulltext Improved Power System Stability Using Backtracking Search Algorithm for Coordination Design of PSS and TCSC Damping Controller

Niamul Islam N, Hannan MA, Mohamed A, Shareef H

PLoS One, 2016;11(1):e0146277.
PMID: 26745265 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0146277

Power system oscillation is a serious threat to the stability of multimachine power systems. The coordinated control of power system stabilizers (PSS) and thyristor-controlled series compensation (TCSC) damping controllers is a commonly used technique to provide the required damping over different modes of growing oscillations. However, their coordinated design is a complex multimodal optimization problem that is very hard to solve using traditional tuning techniques. In addition, several limitations of traditionally used techniques prevent the optimum design of coordinated controllers. In this paper, an alternate technique for robust damping over oscillation is presented using backtracking search algorithm (BSA). A 5-area 16-machine benchmark power system is considered to evaluate the design efficiency. The complete design process is conducted in a linear time-invariant (LTI) model of a power system. It includes the design formulation into a multi-objective function from the system eigenvalues. Later on, nonlinear time-domain simulations are used to compare the damping performances for different local and inter-area modes of power system oscillations. The performance of the BSA technique is compared against that of the popular particle swarm optimization (PSO) for coordinated design efficiency. Damping performances using different design techniques are compared in term of settling time and overshoot of oscillations. The results obtained verify that the BSA-based design improves the system stability significantly. The stability of the multimachine power system is improved by up to 74.47% and 79.93% for an inter-area mode and a local mode of oscillation, respectively. Thus, the proposed technique for coordinated design has great potential to improve power system stability and to maintain its secure operation.

Matched MeSH terms: Maintenance
A double-blind placebo-controlled trial of zopiclone 7.5 mg and temazepam 20 mg in insomnia

Ngen CC, Hassan R

Int Clin Psychopharmacol, 1990 Jul;5(3):165-71.
PMID: 2230060

Zopiclone, a cyclopyrrolone with hypnotic properties was compared with temazepam and placebo in the treatment of insomnia. After a week's washout period, suitable subjects were allocated at random to zopiclone 7.5 mg or temazepam 20 mg or placebo for 2 weeks. Measurements of psychomotor function using the Leed's psychomotor tester and letter cancellation were carried out on day 0, 7 and 14. Sleep latency, duration of sleep and number of times waking during the night were recorded on a sleep diary filled by the subjects nightly. Forty-four subjects completed the trial, 15 taking zopiclone, 16 taking temazepam and 10 taking placebo. Both zopiclone and temazepam had significant hypnotic properties when compared to placebo. Zopiclone increased total sleep time in both weeks of the trial while temazepam increased sleep time in the first week only. There was no significant deterioration in psychomotor performance at the end of both weeks for zopiclone. Critical flicker fusion was significantly increased in subjects on temazepam. There were no abnormalities for both zopiclone and temazepam subjects in the blood picture, renal profile, liver function, urine and ECG before and after the study. Zopiclone is an effective hypnotic comparable to temazepam.

Matched MeSH terms: Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders/drug therapy*
Perceived barriers to and ideas for weight control interventions in Malay homemakers: results from focus groups

Ng LW, Malhotra R, Lai D, Tai ES, Østbye T

Asia Pac J Public Health, 2015 Mar;27(2):NP552-61.
PMID: 23482708 DOI: 10.1177/1010539513479966

To develop a better understanding of perceived barriers to and ideas for weight loss and maintenance among Malay homemakers in Singapore.

Matched MeSH terms: Body Weight Maintenance*

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