Orthopaedic specialty committee exit examination amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia- experiences and reflections from the candidates

Introduction: The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic had affected the Orthopaedic Specialty Committee (OSC) Exit Examination candidates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of this pandemic on the candidates’ teaching and learning, mental well-being, and personal experience during the examinations. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from 1st to 31st January 2021. 103 candidates for the OSC Exit Examination November 2020 were asked to answer a questionnaire. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare differences in the frequencies before and during the pandemic. A p-value of less than 0.05 was taken as significant. Results: There was a significant reduction in the number of classes (P-value < 0.001) and examination preparatory courses conducted, reduced number and variety of patients attended and limited exposure in the operation theatre. Most candidates had virtual and physical classes, and agreed virtual clinical teaching was less effective. A majority had increased caffeine intake and smoking habits, decreased time spent with family and sports activities and no impact on sleeping hours, alcohol and analgesic usage. During the examinations, most candidates felt disturbed by the COVID-19 safety protocol and worried about the risk of contracting the infections. Conclusion: The effect of this pandemic on the post-graduate Orthopaedics students teaching and learning is massive. Virtual teaching programmes or applications that can replace the traditional clinical teaching methods should be explored and developed for the benefit of our education system

DNA SEQUENCE DESIGN FOR DNA COMPUTATION BASED ON BINARY PARTICLE SWARM OPTIMIZATION

Abstract. Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) has certain unique properties such as selfassembly and self-complementary in hybridization, whic

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Automation of DNA computing readout method based on real-time PCR implemented on DNA engine opticon 2 system

Previously, an automation of a DNA computing readout method for the Hamiltonian Path Problem (HPP) has been implemented based on LightCycler System. In this study, a similar readout approach is implemented based on DNA Engine Opticon 2 System. The readout approach consists of two steps: real-time amplification in vitro using TaqMan-based real-time PCR, followed by an in silico phase. The in silico phase consists of a data clustering algorithm and an information processing to extract the Hamiltonian path after the TaqMan \YES and \NO reactions have been identified. The result indicates that the automation of DNA computing readout method can be efficiently implemented on DNA Engine Opticon 2 System

DNA sequence design for DNA computation based on binary particle swarm optimization

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) has certain unique properties such as self- assembly and self-complementary in hybridization, which are important in many DNA- based technologies. DNA computing, for example, uses these properties to realize a com- putation in vitro, which consists of several chemical reactions. Other DNA-based tech- nologies such as DNA-based nanotechnology and polymerase chain reaction also depend on hybridization to assemble nanostructure and to amplify DNA templates, respectively. Hybridization of DNA can be controlled by properly designing DNA sequences. In this paper, sequences are designed such that each sequence uniquely hybridizes to its comple- mentary sequence, but not to any other sequences. Objective functions involved are simi- larity, Hmeasure, continuity, and hairpin. Binary particle swarm optimization (BinPSO) is employed to minimize those objectives subjected to two constraints: melting tempera- ture and GCcontent. It is found that BinPSO can provide a set of good DNA sequences, better than basic PSO algorithm in terms of aggregated fitness value

Experimental Investigation on the Effectiveness of 1‑Butyl-3-methylimidazolium Perchlorate Ionic Liquid as a Reducing Agent for Heavy Oil Upgrading

An ionic liquid (IL), 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium perchlorate, [BMIM]­[ClO₄], is synthesized and used as a reducing agent to upgrade a selected heavy oil. The effects of [BMIM]­[ClO₄] on viscosity, density, SARA contents, elemental compositions, and molecular weight of the heavy oil are studied. The results show that the heavy oil treated with [BMIM]­[ClO₄] has reduction in viscosity and density. The results also indicate that the presence of [BMIM]­[ClO₄] significantly changes the composition of the heavy oil. Moreover, the effects of [BMIM]­[ClO₄] on the interfacial tension (IFT) of oil–water and oil recovery are tested. Results shows that [BMIM]­[ClO₄] can improve the mobility of heavy oil by reducing the IFT of oil–water and increase the recovery factor by 79.94%