User perception on the use of a custom-built augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device for elderly with Aphasia in Malaysia

Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device is one type of AAC which can be used to communicate besides oral speech. It has high potential to assist people with speech disabilities including elderly with aphasia (EWA) to communicate with others. This study was conducted using a newly built AAC device, TalkMate™, as a reference for AAC devices. This study aims to explore the views and perception of users regarding the use of AAC device for elderly with aphasia living in Malaysia. The EWA participants recruited for this study varied in age, severity level and experience with AAC. A qualitative design with five focus groups was conducted. The focus group discussion included caretakers, healthcare professionals and AAC device developers to gain information about multiple perspectives on AAC device use. Thematic analysis yielded four key themes: needs of using AAC, decision on using AAC, resources, and potential improvement of AAC for EWAs. This study highlighted the importance of understanding the needs of EWAs, decision, improvement on the quality of life of the EWAs, and the future of using AAC device. The main barriers of using AAC were identified to be due to funding and access to devices

Usability Of Augmented Reality (AR) Application In ‘Fertigation System’ Among Form 1 Students At Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Behrang 2020, Perak, Malaysia

The purpose of teaching aid is important to attract students to always be active in the classroom. It is important to focus on educational activities among students such as the usage of teaching aid during the teaching and learning process. Therefore, the objective of this study is to identify the usability of augmented reality (AR) application 'Fertigation System' among form 1 students of SMK Behrang 2020 who took Design and Technology subject. The application was developed using the ADDIE model which has five phases including analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The design of the studies used was quantitative method (survey method). The instrument of study used was a questionnaire. In the first phase (Analysis), a questionnaire that was endorsed by experts was distributed to 35 respondents to identify the needs of the AR application development. In this phase, there were 72% of respondents agreed the needs of the AR application development. For the next phases, an AR 'Fertigation System' has been designed and developed. A questionnaire was distributed together with the AR application that has been developed and verified by three experts from different fields (language, education, content). After that, a pilot study was conducted among 50 students of form 1 who took Design and Technology subject at SMK Behrang 2020 as respondents for improvement purposes (Implementation phase). For the final phase (Evaluation), a questionnaire and application of AR 'Fertigation System' which has been verified and improved was distributed to 76 respondents comprising form 1 students who took Design and Technology subject at SMK Behrang 2020. The results of this study showed that 62.72% of the respondents strongly agreed with the usability of the AR application 'Fertigation System'. All data obtained was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) to obtain the average value, percentage, frequency and standard deviation. In conclusion, the results of this study show that the AR application of the 'Fertigation System' that has been developed can be used among form 1 students who took Design and Technology subject at SMK Behrang 2020, Perak

Students readiness and motivation to use mobile phone for learning english at higher learning institution

The rapid growth on ICT have reshaped our live today, and nowadays' university students in Higher Learning Institutions have an immense use of mobile phones, iPads and other portable devices. Mobile learning or m-Learning focuses on the mobility of the learner while interacting with portable technologies. The use of mobile learning among university students is seen as an alternative to increase their interest and motivation on learning the academic programmes at Higher Learning Institution. The m-learners use mobile device for educational purpose at their own time convenience. An online questionnaire survey will be used to collect data for this study. The findings will reveal on the students‟ readiness which are basic readiness, skills readiness, psychological readiness and budget readiness at a public university in Malaysia in relation to mobile learning. The study will also explore the students‟ motivation towards the use of mobile technologies for learning English in the university. A discussion on the implications of the findings will also be presented

Cytokines (IL 1β and IL 6) responses in non-pregnant does infected with corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis following intradermal route of infection in chronic state

Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is the causative agent of caseous lymphadenitis (CLA) which commonly affects sheep and goats. The disease remains as a major disease causing economic loss to the small ruminant industries. There is little information related to responses of interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 in the chronic states. This study was designed to determine the serum concentrations of interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 (pg/mL) in non-pregnant does experimentally inoculated with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis via intradermal route in chronic form. Eighteen non-pregnant healthy Katjang does aged 2 years old were divided randomly into two groups. The control and the treatment groups consist of nine does each and were kept for 3 months. The control group was inoculated with PBS solution while the treatment group was inoculated intradermally with C. pseudotuberculosis. Serum samples were collected every 3 days (72 hours) for 3 months (2064 hours). The present study showed significant increase in IL-1β (278 ± 19.19 pg/mL) after 1day (24 hours) of post infection (p<0.0001) which decreased sharply (98.31 ± 19.19 pg/mL) after 5 days (120 hours) of post infection (p = 0.9293) and attained a significant concentration (217.43 ± 19.19 pg/mL) after 3 months (2064 hours) of post infection (p<0.0048) in does challenged with C. pseudotuberculosis compared to the control group. In contrast, the concentration of IL-6 increased significantly (p<0.0001) to (56.43 ± 1.98 pg/mL) in 2 months (1392 hours) of post infection and then decreased significantly (p<0.0001) to concentration of (22.18 ± 1.98 pg/mL) in 3 months (2064 hours) compared to the control group. In conclusion, the present study indicate that the importunity of C. pseudotuberculosis is associated with persistently high concentrations of IL-1β and low concentration of IL-6 which, when interpreted, could severely contribute to pathological vicissitudes and injury of organs and tissues in the chronic stage of C. pseudotuberculosis infections

Passively Q-Switched pulse erbium doped fiber laser using Antimony (III) Telluride (Sb2Te3) thin film as saturable absorber

This paper demonstrates on an antimony telluride (Sb2Te3) thin film sandwiched between two fiber ferrule as saturable absorber for Qswitched pulsed Erbium doped fiber (EDF) laser. The saturable absorber is fabricated by dissolving Antimony (III) Telluride powder into PVA solution and dry in the ambient temperature for 48 hours. Then, 1 mm2 x 1 mm2 Sb2Te3-PVA film based saturable absorber is sandwiched in between FC/PC ferrule for Q-switched laser generation. The modulation depth of the Sb2Te3 is measured as 28.01% with input intensity 0.02 MW/cm2 . The developed passive saturable absorber integrated in EDF laser in ring cavity and the characterised pulse is with repetition rates of 30.21 kHz, shortest pulse width of 3.26 µs and signal-noise-ratio (SNR) of 42 dB. The maximum output pulse energy is achieved at pump power 69.5 mW with 29.5 nJ and the output power 0.89 mW

A hybrid analysis of critical discourse analysis and systemic functional language to unmask ideological stance inside President Joko Widodo’s political speech text

President Joko Widodo is a phenomenon president because he is the one and only president who comes from a lower level class as compared to the other presidents who comes from Indonesia’s elite, especially the Javanese elite. Of the importance of the Indonesian people, every Indonesian President is concerned with the people’s interests to gain the people’s sympathy. Hence, this study unentangles how Jokowi disseminated his ideology to influence the Indonesian people through his political speech text. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate Jokowi’s ideological stance inside his political speech text. This study also identifies why Jokowi prioritizes Indonesia’s people as the main concern in his program. This study integrated interpretivism as the underlying paradigm. Meanwhile, case study research design was applied as this study centered on Jokowi’s speeches as Indonesian President. Data were collected from the first official speech text of President Jokowi delivered on August 16, 2015. This paper combined Critical Discourse Analysis and Systemic Functional Linguistics, particularly the Appraisal System’s judgmental analysis. The paper formed Judgement as a sub-type of the attitudinal classification rather than the other two, Affect and Appreciation. The Judgmental categories dominated by the sub-type of Capacity have exceeded other judgmental subtypes. Jokowi mostly evaluated Indonesia’s people using the positive Capacity to show that the People of Indonesia the capable people to overcome their problems. The reason behind Indonesia’s people’s political inclination is that Jokowi is supported by the people-based political party, Struggle-Indonesian Democratic Party (PDIP). The analysis of this study illustrates the importance of a leader’s ideological stance in facing and communicating with the people. This is because the stance allows Jokowi to inspire and empower the Indonesian people with his speeche

Host range and control strategies of Phytophthora palmivora in Southeast Asia perennial crops

Phytophthora palmivora is a destructive plant pathogenic oomycete that has caused lethal diseases in a wide range of hosts. It is a pan-tropical distributed pathogen that can infect plants at all growth stages. Extensive studies have linked P. palmivora to severe diseases in several crops, such as black pepper, rubber, cocoa, and durian, causing global economic losses. This review covers the following topics in depth: (i) P. palmivora as phytopathogen; (ii) identification and infection mechanism in rubber, cocoa, and durian; and (iii) management and control applied for P. palmivora diseases. Effective management strategies were studied and practiced to prevent the spread of P. palmivora disease. Genetic resistance and biocontrol are the best methods to control the disease. A better understanding of P. palmivora infection mechanisms in our main crops and early disease detection can reduce the risk of catastrophic pandemics

Histopathological assessment of chronic Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection in the reproductive tract and iliac lymph node of Katjang does

FAEZ FIRDAUS JESSE BIN ABDULLAH (A03854) / Yusuf Abba / ABDUL AZIZ BIN SAHAREE,ERIC LIM TEIK CHUNG,ABD. WAHID BIN HARON,MOHD ZAMRI BIN SAAD,MOHD AZMI BIN MOHD LILA,ZUNITA BINTI ZAKARIA,NUR AMIRAH BINTI ABDUL LATIF

Graphite saturable absorber for Q switched fiber laser

This paper reported a successful demonstration on Q-switched fiber laser by using graphite as saturable absorber (SA). The graphite is deposited on the fiber ferrule through a simple mechanical exfoliation method. The modulation depth of the graphite SA is 19.2% with a saturation intensity of 85 MW/cm². The maximum achievable pulse repetition rates and pulse width are 42.41 kHz and 3.40 μs respec-tively. Meanwhile, its optical signal-to-noise ratio is about 50.81 dB. The Q-switched pulses have the maximum pulse energy of 5.84 nJ. These outcomes demonstrated that a stable output of passively Q-switched fiber laser is produced and can be applied for various optical fiber applications

Isolation and detection of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis in the reproductive organs and associated lymph nodes of non-pregnant does experimentally inoculated through intradermal route in chronic form

Abstract Aim: Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is the etiological agent of caseous lymphadenitis that affects sheep and goats. This study was designed to determine the presence of the causative organism in the female reproductive organs and associated lymph nodes in non-pregnant does experimentally inoculated through intradermal route in the chronic form. Materials and Methods:18 non-pregnant healthy Katjang does aged 2-year-old were divided randomly into two groups. The first and second group consists of nine non-pregnant does each and the two groups were subdivided into three subgroups. The first group was experimentally inoculated with 1 ml of 10 7 cfu of live C. pseudotuberculosis through intradermal route, whereas the second group was inoculated with 1 ml phosphate buffer saline (pH 7) solution intradermally. The first group were further subdivided into three subgroups where, the first subgroup (B1) were kept for 30 days post-infection, second subgroup (B2) were kept for 60 days post-infection, and third subgroup (B3) were kept for 90 days. The second group was further subdivided into three subgroups (C1, C2, and C3) where they were kept for 39, 60, and 90 days post-infection, respectively. Results: From this study, there was successful isolation of C. pseudotuberculosis from the reproductive organs of the treatment group after 60 days post-infection. The subgroups (B1, C1, C2, and C3) did not show any presence of the causative organism in the reproductive organs. The second subgroup B2 and third subgroup B3 showed positive isolation of the causative organisms from the ovary, uterine horns, uterus, cervix, vagina, and inguinal lymph node of the experimental non-pregnant does. Conclusion: This study showed that chronic infection of C. pseudotuberculosis via intradermal route may cause effect toward the reproductive organs and may be able to influence the reproductive efficiency of the infected animals