A Pilot Study on the Quality of Life in Family Caregivers of Cancer Patients at an Urban Tertiary Hospital in Kuala Lumpur

Background: Family plays an important role in caregiving of cancer patients. There are limited published articles on cancer caregiving in the Malaysian population. The aim of the study was to determine the quality of life (QoL) of cancer patient caregivers and its associated factors. Subjects and Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted at an urban tertiary hospital in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A total of 94 family caregivers of all types of cancer patients completed validated questionnaires in the national language. The dependent variable was theQoL in family caregivers, which was measured by the Malay Caregiver Quality of Life–Cancer (MCQOL-C) questionnaire. It consisted of 35 items, and the domains are burden, positive adaptation, disruptiveness, financial concerns and others. The higher the QoL scores, the better the QoL. The independent variables were socio-demographic factors (age, education level, ethnicity, gender, marital status, relationship with patient, any children less than 18 years old, and employment status). The data were analyzed by a linear regression model. Results: The study population (N= 94) comprised of 73.4% females, 38.8% were spouses to cancer patients. The mean age was 45.02+14.65, ranged from 17-78 years old. Half (56.4%) of the study subjects were Malays, 54.3% obtained secondary education, and 50% were not working. The reliability of the questionnaire was good with Cronbach alpha= 0.87. The mean (SD) score of QoL was 80.57 (21.27), ranged from 25-128. The multivariate analysis showed that being non-Malay had lower quality of life than Malay (b= -18.40; 95% CI= 3.10 to 33.70; p= 0.020). Conclusion: Ethnicity affects the QoL of cancer patient caregiving. This provides invaluable insight for developing health care service. Keywords: quality of life, family caregiver, cance

Edible mushrooms from Malaysia; a literature review on their nutritional and medicinal properties

Mushrooms have been consumed by mankind for millennia. In Malaysia, there are many species of edible mushrooms which are either cultivated (Agaricus spp., Auricularia spp., Pleurotus spp.) or harvested in the wild (Ganoderma spp., Polyporus spp., Termitomyces spp.). With the advancement of technology, numerous discoveries have been made that elucidated the nutritional (high in fibres, proteins, vitamins; low in fats, cholesterols, sodium) and medicinal (anti-oxidative, anti-hypertensive, neuritogenesis) properties of edible mushrooms, all of which are highly beneficial for the maintenance of human health and well-being. This review thus compiles and documents the available literatures on edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia complete with scientific, English, and vernacular names for future references; provides a comprehensive and updated overview on the nutritional and medicinal properties edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia; and identifies the research gaps to promote further research and development on edible mushrooms reported from Malaysia. Overall, Malaysia is and remains a natural repository for wild and cultivated edible mushrooms. Deeper investigation on their nutritional and medicinal properties will certainly serve as an impetus for economic as well as scientific progress

A sensitive acoustic sensor using fiber bragg grating based on strain compensation

An acoustic sensitivity single ring fiber sensor with enhanced pressure sensitivity is designed by using Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG). Measurement sensitivity of the this fiber sensor is 0.3714 με/Hz. This sensor exhibited a good acoustic sensitivity, showing that the sensor has good sensing properties for the detection of the acoustic signals

Battery cell balancing optimisation for battery management system

Battery cell balancing in every electrical component such as home electronic equipment and electric vehicle is very important to extend battery run time which is simplified known as battery life. The underlying solution to equalize the balance of cell voltage and SOC between the cells when they are in complete charge. In order to control and extend the battery life, the battery cell balancing is design and manipulated in such way as well as shorten the charging process. Active and passive cell balancing strategies as a unique hallmark enables the balancing of the battery with the excellent performances configuration so that the charging process will be faster. The experimental and simulation covers an analysis of how fast the battery can balance for certain time. The simulation based analysis is conducted to certify the use of optimisation in active or passive cell balancing to extend battery life for long periods of time

Impact of unbalanced harmonic loads towards winding temperature rise using FEM modeling

This paper investigates the hot spot temperature of transformer thermal model due to unbalanced harmonic loads from the network. The finite element method has been used to solve the coupling multiphysic for heat transfer in solid and fluid. All material properties in the model were been took into consideration such as copper as the coil material, iron as the core material and transformer oil as the coolant material for the transformer. The transient study on the model has been set for 1minutes using 30 degree celcius as the ambient temperature reference. The simulation hot spot temperature result has been compared for rated load (without harmonic) versus the unbalanced load (with harmonic) which shown in 2D regime. It can be clearly seen the significant increment of the hotspot temperature of the transformer from the rated load to the unbalanced harmonic load. The result has successfully shows the detection of the prospect failure of the transformer due to the harmonic current load in a form of winding loss that contributes to the hotspot temperature of the transformer

Effect of particle discretisation and horizon size on the displacement and damage plot using bond-based peridynamics

Peridynamics (PD) represents a new non-local theory of continuum mechanics which uses integro differential equations instead of the typical local partial differential equations in its formulation. Thus, it is suitable for modelling fracture mechanics, where a continuum domain is modelled through particles connected via physical interactions. The PD formulation allows us to model spontaneous crack initiation, and crack branching without the need for special mathematical treatment. The value of parameters such as particle discretisation and horizon size will be checked to make sure that it agreed to the result from Finite Element Method (FEM) in elastic deformation before proceed to the failure mode. In PD, failure criterion is established when its stretch value exceeds a prescribed critical stretch value. In the classical bond model or Prototype Microelastic Brittle (PMB), the bond force grows linearly with the bond stretch, and the value suddenly goes down to zero when the bond stretch exceeds its critical value. This study will focus on the effect of horizon size and particle discretisation on PD displacement of elastic analysis, and damage patterns with PMB damage model. The proposed study leads to a better understanding of how horizon size and particle disretisation affect the damage patterns in PD frameworks

A quasi-brittle damage model in the framework of bond-based peridynamics with adaptive dynamic relaxation method

Peridynamics (PD) is a new tool, based on the non-local theory for modelling fracture mechanics, where particles connected through physical interaction used to represent a domain. By using the PD theory, damage or crack in a material domain can be shown in much practical representation. This study compares between Prototype Microelastic Brittle (PMB) damage model and a new Quasi-Brittle (QBR) damage model in the framework of the Bond-based Peridynamics (BBPD) in terms of the damage plot. An in-house code using Matlab was developed for BBPD with inclusion of both damage models, and tested for a quasi-static problem with the implementation of Adaptive Dynamic Relaxation (ADR) method in the theory in order to get a faster steady state solutions. This paper is the first attempt to include ADR method in the framework of BBPD for QBR damage model. This paper analysed a numerical problem with the absence of failure and compared the displacement with literature result that used Finite Element Method (FEM). The obtained numerical results are in good agreement with the result from FEM. The same problem was used with the allowance of the failure to happen for both of the damage models; PMB and QBR, to observe the damage pattern between these two damage models. PMB damage model produced damage value of roughly twice compared to the damage value from QBR damage model. It is found that the QBR damage model with ADR under quasi-static loading significantly improves the prediction of the progressive failure process, and managed to model a more realistic damage model with respect to the PMB damage model

Visual Thinking Process and Emotions Through Expressive Art

Background: Drawing has a therapeutic function in the lives of people with special needs.These people need additional support for communication and learning.Researchers believed that drawing is an effective way for these people to show their self-esteem, emotions, social competence, and other hidden personalities. Art therapy teaches knowledge of visual art (drawing and painting). It is also known as expressive art because it assists in dealing with some emotions that are difficult for verbal communication. Furthermore, art therapy is beneficial for fine motor skill development. The aim of this study was to explore the use of expressive art in a group of autistic people. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative study. A series of art therapy workshop were conducted in University of Malaya in collaboration with Malaysian Rehabilitation Council, and Maybank Foundation. A number of 18 people aged 8-17 years old with autism from Malaysian Rehabilitation Council were invited to University of Malaya for the art therapy workshop. They consisted of Malays, Chinese, and Indians. These peoplehad some level of communication problems. Art therapy workshop was conducted twice a month for 6 month with each session lasted for 4 hours. Art template, art materials, and a list of activities were given to each participant. Before the session, the participants informed the researchers verbally the scope of art that they would be drawing. The researchers observed the thinking process and emotions of the participants through the art activities. Results: Some of the art work was not related to what they have mentioned earlier. We found that art demonstrated their thought process. Drawing was more accurate in visualizing their thinking process rather than verbal communication. Besides, we detected a range of emotions illustrated from their final art work. Some of the emotions were psychological distress, happiness, and sadness. Conclusion: Expressive artis useful for visualizing thinking process of autistic people. Keywords: art therapy, autistic, visual thinking, emotions, expressive ar

ART THERAPY FOR PEOPLE WITH AUTISM

Background: Art therapy is a technique used in mental health profession in which patients with special needs use creative process facilitated by the art therapist to explore patients‘ interpersonal and art skills. Art therapy teaches knowledge of visual art (drawing and painting) and the creative process involved is not only beneficial for fine motor skills development but also assists in dealing with emotions. The objectives were to identify interpersonal skills, to develop art skills and to increase self-esteem through art therapy activities. Subjects and Method: This was a qualitative study. A series of art therapy workshop were conducted in University of Malaya in collaboration with Malaysian Rehabilitation Council, Maybank Foundation, and University of Malaya. A number of 38 participants from Malaysian Rehabilitation Council who were autistic were invited to University of Malaya for the art therapy workshop. Their age range was from 8 – 17 years old and consisted of Malays, Chinese and Indians. It was a participant observer study in which the researcher studied the life of a group by sharing in its activities. Art therapy workshop was conducted for 6 months duration twice a month and each session was for 4 hours. Art template, art materials and a list of activities were given to each participant. Throughout the sessions, the way participants communicate and interact with researcher were documented to identify interpersonal skills. The development of art skills was through the teaching of art using the different art template for each session. Results: From the outcome of the artwork, participants showed increased self-esteem as their art skills improved throughout the art sessions. Conclusion: Art therapy is able to develop interpersonal skills, art skills and increase self-esteem of people with autism. Keywords: Art therapy, autism, interpersonal skills, art skills, self-estee

Development of a Compact Wide-Slot Antenna for Early Stage Breast Cancer Detection Featuring Circular Array Full-View Geometry

A novel planar type antenna printed on a high permittivity Rogers’ substrate is proposed for early stage microwave breast cancer detection. The design is based on a p-shaped wide-slot structure with 50Ω microstrip feeding circuit to eliminate losses of transmission.The design parameters are optimized resulting in a good reflection coefficient at −10 dB from4.5 to 10.9GHz. Imaging result using inhomogeneous breast phantom indicates that the proposed antenna is capable of detecting a 5mm size cancerous tumor embedded inside the fibroglandular region with dielectric contrast between the target and the surroundingmaterials ranging from 1.7:1 to 3.6:1