Displaying publications 901 - 920 of 9860 in total

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  1. Comparison of the Newtonian and relativistic predicted trajectories for a low-speed periodically delta-kicked system
    Lan BL
    Chaos, 2006 Sep;16(3):033107.
    PMID: 17014212
    The dynamics of a periodically delta-kicked Hamiltonian system moving at low speed (i.e., at speed much less than the speed of light) is studied numerically. In particular, the trajectory of the system predicted by Newtonian mechanics is compared with the trajectory predicted by special relativistic mechanics for the same parameters and initial conditions. We find that the Newtonian trajectory, although close to the relativistic trajectory for some time, eventually disagrees completely with the relativistic trajectory, regardless of the nature (chaotic, nonchaotic) of each trajectory. However, the agreement breaks down very fast if either the Newtonian or relativistic trajectory is chaotic, but very much slower if both the Newtonian and relativistic trajectories are nonchaotic. In the former chaotic case, the difference between the Newtonian and relativistic values for both position and momentum grows, on average, exponentially. In the latter nonchaotic case, the difference grows much slower, for example, linearly on average.
    Matched MeSH terms: Physics/methods*
  2. Discontinuous region growing scheme for preliminary detection of tumor in MRCP images
    Logeswaran R, Eswaran C
    J Med Syst, 2006 Aug;30(4):317-24.
    PMID: 16978012
    Tumors are generally difficult to detect in Magnetic Resonance (MR) images as they can be of varying intensities and do not appear as clear structures on these images. This difficulty is more prominent in MR Cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), which is the MR technology using a special sequence of T2-weighted imaging to identify the biliary tract, pancreatic duct, and gallbladder in the liver region, as MRCP images are more noisy in nature and are acquired for a more focused area with too much flexibility in position orientation for convenient computer-aided diagnosis. Based on the principle that the tumor mass manifests itself as blockage of the biliary tree structure, this paper introduces a technique that uses a region growing algorithm to identify discontinuities in the biliary tree as a means to preliminary detection of a possible tumor, in a fashion similar to the visual observation used by most radiologists in making their preliminary diagnosis. Through the use of appropriate image normalization, watershed segmentation, thresholding, rule-based region growing, and region analysis, the proposed technique is shown in this paper to be successful in identifying MRCP images with liver carcinoma from those with normal liver. Acquisition standardization, interactive image selection, and optimum image orientation will further enhance the accuracy of this proposed scheme for use in aiding clinical diagnosis at medical institutions.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance/methods*
  3. Embracing diversity in user needs for affective design
    Khalid HM
    Appl Ergon, 2006 Jul;37(4):409-18.
    PMID: 16764817
    To develop product portfolios and affective design we need to understand the diversity in user needs. The challenge is how to predict what users want and how they will behave. One approach is to understand user emotions and affective needs, and predict successful product design that can match the needs. This paper discusses affect and its link to cognition. To provide a context, several theories are presented. A framework is described that incorporates characteristics of users, tasks, products, and use environment. The goal is to highlight the importance of emotions in enhancing the value of products. This research field, which we call Hedonomics, is new. There are many challenges in developing valid and reliable measurements of affect, which can influence human factors research as well as design.
    Matched MeSH terms: Human Engineering/methods*
  4. Relationship between item difficulty and discrimination indices in true/false-type multiple choice questions of a para-clinical multidisciplinary paper
    Sim SM, Rasiah RI
    Ann Acad Med Singap, 2006 Feb;35(2):67-71.
    PMID: 16565756
    INTRODUCTION: This paper reports the relationship between the difficulty level and the discrimination power of true/false-type multiple-choice questions (MCQs) in a multidisciplinary paper for the para-clinical year of an undergraduate medical programme.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: MCQ items in papers taken from Year II Parts A, B and C examinations for Sessions 2001/02, and Part B examinations for 2002/03 and 2003/04, were analysed to obtain their difficulty indices and discrimination indices. Each paper consisted of 250 true/false items (50 questions of 5 items each) on topics drawn from different disciplines. The questions were first constructed and vetted by the individual departments before being submitted to a central committee, where the final selection of the MCQs was made, based purely on the academic judgement of the committee.

    RESULTS: There was a wide distribution of item difficulty indices in all the MCQ papers analysed. Furthermore, the relationship between the difficulty index (P) and discrimination index (D) of the MCQ items in a paper was not linear, but more dome-shaped. Maximal discrimination (D = 51% to 71%) occurred with moderately easy/difficult items (P = 40% to 74%). On average, about 38% of the MCQ items in each paper were "very easy" (P > or =75%), while about 9% were "very difficult" (P <25%). About two-thirds of these very easy/difficult items had "very poor" or even negative discrimination (D < or =20%).

    CONCLUSIONS: MCQ items that demonstrate good discriminating potential tend to be moderately difficult items, and the moderately-to-very difficult items are more likely to show negative discrimination. There is a need to evaluate the effectiveness of our MCQ items.

    Matched MeSH terms: Educational Measurement/methods*
  5. Restocking and stock enhancement of marine invertebrate fisheries
    Bell JD, Munro JL, Nash WJ, Rothlisberg PC, Loneragan NR, Ward RD, et al.
    Adv. Mar. Biol., 2005;49:xi-374.
    PMID: 16503428
    Matched MeSH terms: Fisheries/methods*
  6. Thermal sintering: a novel technique in the design of gastroretentive floating tablets of propranolol HCl and its evaluation
    Meka VS, Songa AS, Nali SR, Battu JR, Kukati L, Kolapalli VR
    Invest Clin, 2012 Sep;53(3):223-36.
    PMID: 23248967
    The aim of the present investigation was to formulate thermally sintered floating tablets of propranolol HCl, and to study the effect of sintering conditions on drug release, as well as their in vitro buoyancy properties. A hydrophilic polymer, polyethylene oxide, was selected as a sintered polymer to retard the drug release. The formulations were prepared by a direct compression method and were evaluated by in vitro dissolution studies. The results showed that sintering temperature and time of exposure greatly influenced the buoyancy, as well as the dissolution properties. As the sintering temperature and time of exposure increased, floating lag time was found to be decreased, total floating time was increased and drug release was retarded. An optimized sintered formulation (sintering temperature 50 degrees C and time of exposure 4 h) was selected, based on their drug retarding properties. The optimized formulation was characterized with FTIR and DSC studies and no interaction was found between the drug and the polymer used.
    Matched MeSH terms: Chemistry, Pharmaceutical/methods*
  7. Comparing measures of the 'typical' score across treatment groups
    Othman AR, Keselman HJ, Padmanabhan AR, Wilcox RR, Fradette K
    Br J Math Stat Psychol, 2004 Nov;57(Pt 2):215-34.
    PMID: 15511305
    Researchers can adopt one of many different measures of central tendency to examine the effect of a treatment variable across groups. These include least squares means, trimmed means, M-estimators and medians. In addition, some methods begin with a preliminary test to determine the shapes of distributions before adopting a particular estimator of the typical score. We compared a number of recently developed adaptive robust methods with respect to their ability to control Type I error and their sensitivity to detect differences between the groups when data were non-normal and heterogeneous, and the design was unbalanced. In particular, two new approaches to comparing the typical score across treatment groups, due to Babu, Padmanabhan, and Puri, were compared to two new methods presented by Wilcox and by Keselman, Wilcox, Othman, and Fradette. The procedures examined generally resulted in good Type I error control and therefore, on the basis of this critetion, it would be difficult to recommend one method over the other. However, the power results clearly favour one of the methods presented by Wilcox and Keselman; indeed, in the vast majority of the cases investigated, this most favoured approach had substantially larger power values than the other procedures, particularly when there were more than two treatment groups.
    Matched MeSH terms: Psychology/methods
  8. Leveraging intelligent agents for knowledge discovery from heterogeneous healthcare data repositories
    Zaidi SZ, Abidi SS, Manickam S
    Stud Health Technol Inform, 2002;90:335-40.
    PMID: 15460713
    This paper presents a case for an intelligent agent based framework for knowledge discovery in a distributed healthcare environment comprising multiple heterogeneous healthcare data repositories. Data-mediated knowledge discovery, especially from multiple heterogeneous data resources, is a tedious process and imposes significant operational constraints on end-users. We demonstrate that autonomous, reactive and proactive intelligent agents provide an opportunity to generate end-user oriented, packaged, value-added decision-support/strategic planning services for healthcare professionals, manages and policy makers, without the need for a priori technical knowledge. Since effective healthcare is grounded in good communication, experience sharing, continuous learning and proactive actions, we use intelligent agents to implement an Agent based Data Mining Infostructure that provides a suite of healthcare-oriented decision-support/strategic planning services.
    Matched MeSH terms: Information Storage and Retrieval/methods*
  9. Free-space accommodative response and minus lens-induced accommodative response in pre-school children
    Chen AH, O'Leary DJ
    Optometry, 2000 Jul;71(7):454-8.
    PMID: 15326899
    The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the accommodative accuracy of pre-school children between free-space accommodative stimulus and minus lens-induced accommodative stimulus.
    Matched MeSH terms: Vision Tests/methods
  10. Statistical evaluation of alternative light sources for bloodstain photography
    Lee WC, Khoo BE, Bin Abdullah AF, Abdul Aziz ZB
    J Forensic Sci, 2013 May;58(3):658-63.
    PMID: 23488634 DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.12103
    Bloodstain photography is important in forensic applications, especially for bloodstain pattern analysis. This study compares the enhancement effect of bloodstain photography using three different types of light source: fluorescent white light, near-ultraviolet (UV) light-emitting diode (LED) light, and 410 nm LED light. Randomized complete block designs were implemented to identify the lighting that would statistically produce the best enhancement results for bloodstains on different types of surfaces. Bloodstain samples were prepared on white cotton, brown carpet, tar road, and wood. These samples were photographed in darkroom conditions using a Canon EOS 50D digital SLR camera, with Canon EFS 60 mm f/2.8 Macro USM lens. Two-way analysis of variance and Fisher's least significant difference test were used to analyze the contrast of the images. The statistical analysis showed that 410 nm light is the best among the tested lights for enhancing bloodstains on the tested surfaces, where the contrast of bloodstain to background was the highest.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forensic Medicine/methods*
  11. Tonsillectomy without headlights: a unique solution
    Prepageran N, Omar R, Raman R
    Ear Nose Throat J, 2005 Sep;84(9):564.
    PMID: 16261756
    Matched MeSH terms: Lighting/methods*
  12. EUS and hepatobiliary disease
    Ponnudurai R
    Med J Malaysia, 2005 Jul;60 Suppl B:81-2.
    PMID: 16108181
    Matched MeSH terms: Endosonography/methods*
  13. Using satellite fire detection to calibrate components of the fire weather index system in Malaysia and Indonesia
    Dymond CC, Field RD, Roswintiarti O, Guswanto
    Environ Manage, 2005 Apr;35(4):426-40.
    PMID: 15902449
    Vegetation fires have become an increasing problem in tropical environments as a consequence of socioeconomic pressures and subsequent land-use change. In response, fire management systems are being developed. This study set out to determine the relationships between two aspects of the fire problems in western Indonesia and Malaysia, and two components of the Canadian Forest Fire Weather Index System. The study resulted in a new method for calibrating components of fire danger rating systems based on satellite fire detection (hotspot) data. Once the climate was accounted for, a problematic number of fires were related to high levels of the Fine Fuel Moisture Code. The relationship between climate, Fine Fuel Moisture Code, and hotspot occurrence was used to calibrate Fire Occurrence Potential classes where low accounted for 3% of the fires from 1994 to 2000, moderate accounted for 25%, high 26%, and extreme 38%. Further problems arise when there are large clusters of fires burning that may consume valuable land or produce local smoke pollution. Once the climate was taken into account, the hotspot load (number and size of clusters of hotspots) was related to the Fire Weather Index. The relationship between climate, Fire Weather Index, and hotspot load was used to calibrate Fire Load Potential classes. Low Fire Load Potential conditions (75% of an average year) corresponded with 24% of the hotspot clusters, which had an average size of 30% of the largest cluster. In contrast, extreme Fire Load Potential conditions (1% of an average year) corresponded with 30% of the hotspot clusters, which had an average size of 58% of the maximum. Both Fire Occurrence Potential and Fire Load Potential calibrations were successfully validated with data from 2001. This study showed that when ground measurements are not available, fire statistics derived from satellite fire detection archives can be reliably used for calibration. More importantly, as a result of this work, Malaysia and Indonesia have two new sources of information to initiate fire prevention and suppression activities.
    Matched MeSH terms: Forecasting/methods*
  14. Comparison of bioengineered human bone construct from four sources of osteogenic cells
    Ng AM, Saim AB, Tan KK, Tan GH, Mokhtar SA, Rose IM, et al.
    J Orthop Sci, 2005;10(2):192-9.
    PMID: 15815868
    Osteoprogenitor cells have been reported to be present in periosteum, cancellous and cortical bone, and bone marrow; but no attempt to identify the best cell source for bone tissue engineering has yet been reported. In this study, we aimed to investigate the growth and differentiation pattern of cells derived from these four sources in terms of cell doubling time and expression of osteoblast-specific markers in both monolayer cells and three-dimensional cell constructs in vitro. In parallel, human plasma derived-fibrin was evaluated for use as biomaterial when forming three-dimensional bone constructs. Our findings showed osteoprogenitor cells derived from periosteum to be most proliferative followed by cortical bone, cancellous bone, and then bone marrow aspirate. Bone-forming activity was observed in constructs formed with cells derived from periosteum, whereas calcium deposition was seen throughout the constructs formed with cells derived from cancellous and cortical bones. Although no mineralization activity was seen in constructs formed with osteoprogenitor cells derived from bone marrow, well-organized lacunae as would appear in the early phase of bone reconstruction were noted. Scanning electron microscopy evaluation showed cell proliferation throughout the fibrin matrix, suggesting the possible application of human fibrin as the bioengineered tissue scaffold at non-load-bearing sites.
    Matched MeSH terms: Tissue Engineering/methods*
  15. Fulltext Skin-sparing mastectomy
    Chan KY, Azlan NMN, Lo HL, Naqiyah I, Norlia A
    Med J Malaysia, 2004 Oct;59(4):538-40.
    PMID: 15779590 MyJurnal
    Skin-sparing mastectomy is still in its infancy in Malaysia. The option of skin-sparing mastectomy is rarely given to patients as many general surgeons perform the conventional mastectomy. This could also be compounded by the lack of awareness amongst the local surgeons on the safety, surgical technique and treatment outcome of this relatively new procedure. This case report demonstrates the feasibility of this procedure performed on a Malaysian patient with a comparable outcome of those reported in the Western countries.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mastectomy/methods*
  16. Fulltext Congenital nasal encephalocele--a review of surgical techniques
    Zamzuri I, Abdullah JM, Samsudin AR
    Med J Malaysia, 2004 Oct;59(4):552-4.
    PMID: 15779595
    We report a case of a 6 month old baby boy who had congenital nasal encephalocele, repaired via the traditional staging procedure. The surgical techniques and procedures are described and discussed.
    Matched MeSH terms: Obstetric Surgical Procedures/methods
  17. Determination of heavy metal contents by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) in some medicinal plants from Pakistani and Malaysian origin
    Akram S, Najam R, Rizwani GH, Abbas SA
    Pak J Pharm Sci, 2015 Sep;28(5):1781-7.
    PMID: 26408897
    This study depicts a profile of existence of heavy metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Cd, Hg, Mn, Fe, Na, Ca, and Mg) in some important herbal plants like (H. Integrifolia, D. regia, R. communis, C. equisetifolia, N. oleander, T. populnea, M. elengi, H. schizopetalus, P. pterocarpum) from Pakistan and an antidiabetic Malaysian herbal drug product containing (Punica granatum L. (Mast) Hook, Momordica charantia L., Tamarindus indica L., Lawsonia inermis L.) using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Heavy metals in these herbal plants and Malaysian product were in the range of 0.02-0.10 ppm of Cu, 0.00-0.02 ppm of Ni, 0.02-0.29 ppm of Zn, 0.00-0.04 ppm of Cd, 0.00-1.33 ppm of Hg, 0.00-0.54 ppm of Mn, 0.22-3.16 ppm of Fe, 0.00-9.17 ppm of Na, 3.27-15.63 ppm of Ca and 1.85-2.03 ppm of Mg. All the metals under study were within the prescribed limits except mercury. Out of 10 medicinal plants/product under study 07 were beyond the limit of mercury permissible limits. Purpose of this study is to determine heavy metals contents in selected herbal plants and Malaysian product, also to highlight the health concerns related to the presence of toxic levels of heavy metals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Spectrophotometry, Atomic/methods*
  18. The Application of Ibadah (Worship) in Counseling: Its Importance and Implications to Muslim Clients
    Hanin Hamjah S, Mat Akhir NS, Ismail Z, Ismail A, Mohd Arib N
    J Relig Health, 2017 Aug;56(4):1302-1310.
    PMID: 26359049 DOI: 10.1007/s10943-015-0122-6
    Ibadah is one of the important components in Islamic teachings other than aqidah (belief) and akhlaq (moral). Its importance is determined through the purpose for creation of humans, namely to be devoted to Allah. In the context of counseling discipline, however, the element of ibadah or worship (submission) of Allah is not applied in the counseling process and is not recognized as one of the spiritual therapies able to help the client know his true potential in decision-making and problem-solving. Hence, the purpose of this study is to determine the importance of applying ibadah in counseling and its implications to the client. This study selects survey research as the method to collect data from clients. A set of questionnaire instruments was constructed and distributed to 30 clients selected through convenience sampling. Data obtained from research questionnaire are then analyzed using descriptive statistical technique. Research outcome finds that application of ibadah is very important in counseling and has four implications for the client: the client is able to control his behavior, gain peace of mind, control his emotions and becomes increasingly diligent in ibadah.
    Matched MeSH terms: Counseling/methods*
  19. Prediction of blast-induced air overpressure: a hybrid AI-based predictive model
    Jahed Armaghani D, Hajihassani M, Marto A, Shirani Faradonbeh R, Mohamad ET
    Environ Monit Assess, 2015 Nov;187(11):666.
    PMID: 26433903 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-015-4895-6
    Blast operations in the vicinity of residential areas usually produce significant environmental problems which may cause severe damage to the nearby areas. Blast-induced air overpressure (AOp) is one of the most important environmental impacts of blast operations which needs to be predicted to minimize the potential risk of damage. This paper presents an artificial neural network (ANN) optimized by the imperialist competitive algorithm (ICA) for the prediction of AOp induced by quarry blasting. For this purpose, 95 blasting operations were precisely monitored in a granite quarry site in Malaysia and AOp values were recorded in each operation. Furthermore, the most influential parameters on AOp, including the maximum charge per delay and the distance between the blast-face and monitoring point, were measured and used to train the ICA-ANN model. Based on the generalized predictor equation and considering the measured data from the granite quarry site, a new empirical equation was developed to predict AOp. For comparison purposes, conventional ANN models were developed and compared with the ICA-ANN results. The results demonstrated that the proposed ICA-ANN model is able to predict blast-induced AOp more accurately than other presented techniques.
    Matched MeSH terms: Environmental Monitoring/methods*
  20. A sustainable system of systems approach: a new HFE paradigm
    Thatcher A, Yeow PH
    Ergonomics, 2016;59(2):167-78.
    PMID: 26307437 DOI: 10.1080/00140139.2015.1066876
    Sustainability issues such as natural resource depletion, pollution and poor working conditions have no geographical boundaries in our interconnected world. To address these issues requires a paradigm shift within human factors and ergonomics (HFE), to think beyond a bounded, linear model understanding towards a broader systems framework. For this reason, we introduce a sustainable system of systems model that integrates the current hierarchical conceptualisation of possible interventions (i.e., micro-, meso- and macro-ergonomics) with important concepts from the sustainability literature, including the triple bottom line approach and the notion of time frames. Two practical examples from the HFE literature are presented to illustrate the model. The implications of this paradigm shift for HFE researchers and practitioners are discussed and include the long-term sustainability of the HFE community and comprehensive solutions to problems that consider the emergent issues that arise from this interconnected world.
    Matched MeSH terms: Human Engineering/methods*
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