Study on Granular Dynamics in Vertically Vibrated Beds using Tracking Technique

The study of granular material is of great interest to many researchers in both engineering and science communities. The importance of such a study derives from its complex rheological character and also its significant role in a wide range of industrial applications, such as coal, food, plastics, pharmaceutical, powder metallurgy and mineral processing. A number of recent reports have been focused on the physics of non-cohesive granular material submitted to vertical vibration in either experimental or theoretical approaches. Such a kind of system can be used to separate, mix and dry granular materials in industries. It exhibits different instability behaviour on its surface when under vertical vibration, for example, avalanching, surface fluidization and surface wave, and these phenomena have attracted particular interest of many researchers. However, its fundamental understanding of the instability mechanism is not yet well-understood. This paper is therefore to study the dynamics of granular motion in such a kind of system using Positron Emission Particle Tracking (PEPT), which allows the motion of a single tracer particle to be followed in a non-invasive way. Features of the solids motion such as cycle frequency and dispersion index were investigated via means of authors’ specially-written programmes. Regardless of the surface behaviour, particles are found to travel in rotational movement in horizontal plane. Particle cycle frequency is found to increase strongly with increasing vibration amplitude. Particle dispersion also increased strongly with vibration amplitude. Horizontal dispersion is observed to always exceed vertical dispersion.Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA

PET-Tool: a software suite for comprehensive processing and managing of Paired-End diTag (PET) sequence data

BACKGROUND: We recently developed the Paired End diTag (PET) strategy for efficient characterization of mammalian transcriptomes and genomes. The paired end nature of short PET sequences derived from long DNA fragments raised a new set of bioinformatics challenges, including how to extract PETs from raw sequence reads, and correctly yet efficiently map PETs to reference genome sequences. To accommodate and streamline data analysis of the large volume PET sequences generated from each PET experiment, an automated PET data process pipeline is desirable. RESULTS: We designed an integrated computation program package, PET-Tool, to automatically process PET sequences and map them to the genome sequences. The Tool was implemented as a web-based application composed of four modules: the Extractor module for PET extraction; the Examiner module for analytic evaluation of PET sequence quality; the Mapper module for locating PET sequences in the genome sequences; and the ProjectManager module for data organization. The performance of PET-Tool was evaluated through the analyses of 2.7 million PET sequences. It was demonstrated that PET-Tool is accurate and efficient in extracting PET sequences and removing artifacts from large volume dataset. Using optimized mapping criteria, over 70% of quality PET sequences were mapped specifically to the genome sequences. With a 2.4 GHz LINUX machine, it takes approximately six hours to process one million PETs from extraction to mapping. CONCLUSION: The speed, accuracy, and comprehensiveness have proved that PET-Tool is an important and useful component in PET experiments, and can be extended to accommodate other related analyses of paired-end sequences. The Tool also provides user-friendly functions for data quality check and system for multi-layer data management

Comprehensive Proteomic Profiling of Aldehyde Dehydrogenases in Lung Adenocarcinoma Cell Lines

We have explored the potential of proteomic profiling to contribute to the delineation of the range of expression and subcellular localization of aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) in lung adenocarcinoma. In-depth quantitative proteomics was applied to 40 lung adenocarcinoma cell lines resulting in the identification of the known members of the ALDH family. Substantial heterogeneity in the level and occurrence of ALDHs in total lysates and on the cell surface and in their release into the culture media was observed based on mass spectrometry counts. A distinct pattern of expression of ALDHs was observed in cells exhibiting epithelial features relative to cells exhibiting mesenchymal features. Strikingly elevated levels of ALDH1A1 were observed in two cell lines. We also report on the occurrence of an immune response to ALDH1A1 in lung cancer

Take the Initiative, Stop Being Passive to NCDs: A PCA-Weighted Composite Indicator towards Prevalence of NCDs in Malaysia

In today's highly dynamic socio-economic environment, the high degree of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) poses both direct and indirect health problems for nations. This study constructed a composite Non-Communicable Diseases Risk Indicator (NCDRI) that comprises leading characteristics to predict the movement of NCDs’ prevalence, which serves as an early signaling tool for policymakers and public health sectors. A weighting scheme for both non-weighted and principal component analysis (PCA)-weighted was applied from the PCA loading factor. The findings verified that the constructed PCA-weighted approach had a remarkable lead time, which also produced better lead times and was consistent in predicting the direction of change in the fluctuations caused by NCDs prevalence. An appropriate regime for policymaking and implementation is required, followed by periodic monitoring and rapid action, to reduce the deadly diseases. The findings of this study demonstrate that the cost indicator marked the most significant risk factor to indicate the prevalence of NCDs; therefore, policymakers should converge on this indicator so that cost-effective interventions can result in more valuable outcomes

Complex Microbiome in Brain Abscess Revealed by Whole-Genome Culture-Independent and Culture-Based Sequencing.

Brain abscess is a severe infectious disease with high mortality and mobility. Although culture-based techniques have been widely used for the investigation of microbial composition of brain abscess, these approaches are inherent biased. Recent studies using 16S ribosomal sequencing approaches revealed high complexity of the bacterial community involved in brain abscess but fail to detect fungal and viral composition. In the study, both culture-independent nanopore metagenomic sequencing and culture-based whole-genome sequencing using both the Illumina and the Nanopore platforms were conducted to investigate the microbial composition and genomic characterization in brain abscess. Culture-independent metagenomic sequencing revealed not only a larger taxonomic diversity of bacteria but also the presence of fungi and virus communities. The culture-based whole-genome sequencing identified a novel species in Prevotella and reconstructs a Streptococcus constellatus with a high GC-skew genome. Antibiotic-resistance genes CfxA and ErmF associated with resistance to penicillin and clindamycin were also identified in culture-based and culture-free sequencing. This study implies current understanding of brain abscess need to consider the broader diversity of microorganisms

INTENTION TO USE VIRTUAL REALITY IN SARAWAK TOURISM DESTINATIONS: A TEST OF STIMULUS-ORGANISM-RESPONSE (S-O-R) MODEL

The industry of tourism in Malaysia is highly recognized for its contribution to the national economy and employment opportunities. However, following the strike of global epidemic due to COVID-19, the number of visitations by tourists has plunged and Malaysia is currently in its stage of revitalizing the industry post-COVID-19. To rejuvenate the tourism industry of Sarawak, Malaysia, the understanding of motivators to boost favourable tourists’ behaviours is crucial, given the ever-changing situation in the tourism market. This study explored the relationship between dimensions of Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-OR) model, particularly in tourism destinations of Sarawak with the adoption of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. The survey was participated by 250 tourists and the proposed model was evaluated using WarpPLS 8.0. The statistical findings revealed the significant positive relationships between all tested constructs (i.e., media richness, presence, utilitarian and hedonic value, behavioural and visit intention). The implications of these findings are further discussed

Examining between Exchange Rate Volatility and Natural Rubber Prices: Engle-Granger Causality Test

There are two objectives of this study, first, it is to determine the impact of exchange rate volatility on Malaysian natural rubber (NR) prices of (SMR20 and RSS4); second, it is to forecast a short-term exchange rate (ERP) of Malaysian Ringgit (RM per USD) and NR prices strongly represented in the Malaysian NR market. The granger causality test is first analyzed using the vector error correction model (VECM) with the more efficient Engle-Granger causality procedure. Both short-term ERP and NR prices ex-ante forecasts are tested using Pindyck and Rubinfeld's procedures. The result shows the RSS4 NR price Granger-causes the SMR20 NR price and also ERP with unidirectional causality relationship. Both ERP and NR prices forecasts would be on a slightly increasing trend from January to June 2016. It was due to government and traders changing their behaviour by increasing domestic consumptions for the stabilization of the NR supply-demand balance. Keywords: Exchange Rate Volatility, Forecasting, Malaysian Natural Rubber Price JEL Classifications: C1, C2, D4, F31, F3