Virtual Collaborative R&D Teams in Malaysia Manufacturing SMEs

This paper presents the results of empirical research conducted during March to September 2009. The study focused on the influence of virtual research and development (R&D) teams within Malaysian manufacturing small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The specific objective of the study is better understanding of the application of collaborative technologies in business, to find the effective factors to assist SMEs to remain competitive in the future. The paper stresses to find an answer for a question “Is there any relationship between company size, Internet connection facility and virtuality?”. The survey data shows SMEs are now technologically capable of performing the virtual collaborative team, but the infrastructure usage is less. SMEs now have the necessary technology to begin the implementation process of collaboration tools to reduce research and development (R&D) time, costs and increase productivity. So, the manager of R&D should take the potentials of virtual teams into account

Crystallization of osumilite from modified basaltic glasses

Osumilite-type phases, which have high temperature stability and low linear thermal expansion coefficients, were crystallized from modified basalt glass composition. To satisfy the compositional requirements of osumilite molecules, a deliberate amount of kaolin, sand, magnesite and TiO2 should be added to the basalt. The crystallization process was investigated by DTA, X-ray diffractometry and SEM. The effect of compositional changes on bulk crystallization and growth morphology was also studied. The linear thermal expansion coefficient was measured to characterize the produced glass-ceramics

Adsorptive removal of Fe(III) using gallic acid anchored iron magnetic nano-adsorbents synthesized via two different routes under microwave irradiation

9-20Under microwave solvent free conditions, bare iron magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4-MNPs) have been silica coated, amine functionalized and gallic acid grafted, in presence and absence of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS). The synthesized adsorbents in both cases have been followed up by Fourier transform infrared, scan electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy analyses to verify and compare the progress of surface modification. The effects of various parameters on the adsorption efficiency of Fe(III) such as pH of solution, amount of adsorbent and contact time have been studied and optimized. The adsorbents Fe3O4-MNPs-SiO2-CPTMS-1,2-EDA-GA and MNPs-CPTMS-1,2-EDA-GA exhibit higher Fe(III) capacities (4.980 and 4.700 mmol/g) than their analogous Fe3O4-MNPs-SiO2-APTMS-GA and Fe3O4-MNPs-APTMS-GA (4.324 and 4.230 mmol/g). The studies of sorption kinetics showed rapid sorption dynamics by a second-order kinetic model, suggesting chemisorption mechanism. Fe(III) adsorption equilibrium data have been fitted well to the Langmuir isotherm. The results of medium stability as criteria for potential coating and values of metal uptake capacity support the possibility of the direct use of alkoxysilanes as an alternative to TEOS not only for coating but also for amine functionalization. This is strengthened by almost equal capability of gallic acid anchored adsorbents for extraction of trace concentrations of Fe(III) spiked natural water samples

Comparison Between Different Algorithms for Maximum PPT in Photovoltaic Systems and its Implementation on Microcontroller

This paper presents the practical implementation of fuzzy logic control algorithm for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in photovoltaic (PV) systems. A prototyping PV system is implemented with a boost DC-DC converter using Microchip® PIC18F452 microcontroller to execute the MPPT algorithms. The common algorithms like perturbation and observation (P&O) and incremental conductance (IncCon.) as well as the proposed fuzzy logic control algorithm are implemented and tested under different conditions, and the test results are analyzed and compared. The results show that the proposed fuzzy logic control algorithm can give better performance than perturbation and observation and incremental conductance algorithms. Keywords: Photovoltaic, Maximum power point tracking, Fuzzy logic control, Microcontrollers

Obesity Related Metabolic Disorders and Risk of Renal Disease: Impact of Hypocaloric Diet and Avena Sativa Supplement

BACKGROUND: The recognition of the complications of obesity in various organs and systems should make clinicians and dietitians aware of the importance of early strategies to fight obesity in all age groups.AIM: The objective of this study was to evaluate the early effect of using Avena sativa (oat) flour supplement compared to a hypocaloric diet in the management of obesity-related metabolic disorders.MATERIAL AND METHODS: Snack was prepared from wholemeal wheat flour (100% extraction) and oat flour. Chemical analysis of the raw materials and the formulae was carried out. 106 obese women with their mean body mass index were 37.73 ± 0.56 kg/m² volunteered for 8 weeks period. They were divided into two groups; group (A), consumed hypocaloric diet supplemented by the prepared snack, while group (B) subjects followed the low caloric balanced diet. All patients were monitored clinically, anthropometrically, dietary 24 h recall and biochemically.RESULT: Data demonstrated significantly decreased in the mean levels of the anthropometric parameters. Group (A) showed a higher decrease in the waist circumference, WHR, body fat% and SBP; while in group (B) weight, BMI, chest circumference and DBP were the most affected parameters. The reduction in the biochemical parameters was higher in the group (A). At the baseline, high values of cystatin-C were found in both groups which may indicate early renal injury. At the end of the study, a significant reduction of the cystatin concentration was observed among both groups (-24.54 & -12.23%).CONCLUSION: The healthy effect of the dietary oat supplement on the reduction of central obesity, percentage body fat and different metabolic disorders criteria was confirmed than with hypocaloric diet

Adsorptive removal of Fe(III) using gallic acid anchored iron magnetic nano-adsorbents synthesized via two different routes under microwave irradiation

Under microwave solvent free conditions, bare iron magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4-MNPs) were silica coated, amine functionalized and gallic acid grafted, in presence and absence of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS).  The synthesized adsorbents in both cases were followed up by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), scan electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses to verify and compare the progress of surface modification.  The results of medium stability as criteria for potential coating and values of metal uptake capacity support the possibility of the direct use of alkoxysilanes as alternative to TEOS not only for coating but also for amine functionalization.  This is strengthened by almost equal capability of gallic acid anchored adsorbents for extraction of trace concentrations of Fe(III) spiked natural water samples

Serum Level of the Adipokine “Vaspin†in Relation to Metabolic Parameters: Short – Term Effect of Specific Dietary Therapy

AIM: To investigate the association between the circulating vaspin concentration and both of glucose homeostasis and insulin resistance in metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients, and also to evaluate the metabolic impact of two different dietary therapies on such conditions.MATERIALS AND METHODS:  Fifty eight obese female volunteers suffering from MetS, followed a specially designed dietary therapy consists of a low caloric balanced diet, accompanied by either 30% doum biscuits (group A), or whole wheat biscuits (group B) for four weeks (phase 1). During the next four weeks, they were continued on the hypocaloric diet alone (phase 2).RESULTS: The health effects of two dietary therapies were more prominent in improving the biochemical markers of the MetS than in the body weight reduction. The lower levels of serum vaspin were significantly increased at the end of the 1st phase in both groups especially group (A). Sustained negative correlations were detected between vaspin level and both of C-peptide and insulin resistance expressed as modified homeostatic model assessment (M.HOMA).CONCLUSION: The effect of the dietary supplements may play a role in alleviating the impact of the components of the MetS and may also sustain the level of the vaspin in the sensitization of the C-peptide in order to attain glucose homeostasis

Management and outcomes of pregnant ICU patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia in Qatar: A retrospective cohort study

Introduction: Pregnant women are considered a high-risk group for COVID-19 due to their increased vulnerability to viral infections. The impact of COVID-19 on pregnant women is not well understood, and there is a need for data on managing severe COVID-19 in pregnant patients. This retrospective descriptive cohort study described the characteristics, hospital stay, interventions, and outcomes of pregnant patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICUs) with severe COVID-19 pneumonia in Qatar. Methods: Data were collected from medical records and chart reviews of pregnant women admitted to Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) with COVID-19 pneumonia from March 01, 2020, to July 31, 2021. The inclusion criteria encompassed pregnant women with a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) antigen test or radiological changes at admission, requiring respiratory support, and hospitalized for more than 24 hours. Results: A total of 43 pregnant women were included in this study. Most patients were admitted during the first wave of the pandemic, with a median gestational age of 212 days [interquartile range 178–242 days] at presentation. The most common respiratory support methods were high-flow nasal cannula, non-invasive positive pressure ventilation, and invasive positive pressure ventilation. Convalescent plasma therapy was administered to 58% of patients, and tocilizumab was used in 28%. Renal replacement therapy was required by 4.6% of patients and 7% required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Conclusion: This study provides valuable insights into the impact of COVID-19 on pregnant patient