Utilidad del 1-3-beta-d-glucano(BDG) y los anticuerpos antimicelio (CAGTA), en el diagnóstico de la candidiasis invasiva en pacientes críticos no neutropénicos.

La alta morbilidad y mortalidad de las candidiasis invasivas implica la necesidad de un diagnóstico rápido para instaurar un tratamiento antifúngico dirigido eficaz con rapidez. El método diagnóstico de referencia es el hemocultivo, pero debido a su baja sensibilidad y lentitud, hace estrictamente necesario buscar alternativas diagnósticas. Entre los métodos diagnósticos alternativos se encuentran los biomarcadores anticuerpos antimicelio (CAGTA) y 1-3-Beta-D-Glucano (BDG). El objetivo principal del estudio es analizar la utilidad y el rendimiento de los biomarcadores, CAGTA y BDG, tanto de forma individual como combinada, en el diagnóstico de la CI en el paciente crítico no neutropénico

Measuring The Nature of East Asia’s Automobile Production Networks

The aim of this study is to explore the nature of East Asia’s automobile production networks by means of social-network methods. In this paper, we have also developed a domination degree index (DDI) and domination intensity index (DII) to measure the dominating power of each East Asian country in the automobile networks. The results suggested that the networks of East Asia’s automobile industry are expanding over time both in terms of the number of links in the network as well as the strength of those links. This result indicates that both export and import of automobile products in this region increase significantly over time. In addition, Japan has emerged as the main player, both in the case of auto parts and components (PC) and final automobiles. The Republic of Korea has also emerged as the second most important player in East Asia’s final automobile networks, while China has become the second most important player in East Asia’s auto PC networks. Even though Thailand is the third most important player in East Asia’s automobile networks in both auto PC and final automobiles, the analysis of this paper has suggested that there is a possibility for this country to overtake China and the Republic of Korea to become the second most important player in terms of both auto PC and final automobiles. The dramatic changes in the development of Thailand’s automobile industry as well as significant development in China’s auto PC have been made possible by the pivotal role played by Japan (on Thailand) and the Republic of Korea (on China) – all of which have stimulated the development of their subordinates’ auto industry in a so-called “win-win situation

Threat assessment algorithm for Active Blind Spot Assist system using short range radar sensor

Road safety has become more concern due to the number of accidents that keeps increasing every year. The safety systems include from simple installation such as seat belt, airbag, and rear camera to more complicated and intelligent systems such as braking assist, lane change assist, steering control and blind spot monitoring. This paper proposes another intelligent safety system to be implemented in passenger vehicle by monitoring the blind-spot region by using automotive short range radar as sensor to assess its surrounding. This system is called Active Blind-Spot Assist (ABSA) system and this system will collaborate with a Steering Intervention system for autonomous steering maneuvers. The objective of ABSA system is to deploy safety interventions by giving warning to the driver whenever other vehicle is detected within the blind-spot region. Furthermore, this active system also triggers autonomous steering control when the potential of collision with the detected vehicle increases greatly. Consequently, a threat assessment algorithm is developed to evaluate the right moment to give safety interventions to the driver and the conditions for autonomous steering maneuvers. The process of developing the threat assessment algorithm explained in this paper

Steering intervention strategy for side lane collision Avoidance

Advance Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) have successfully been integrated in many vehicles; however, the research on its improvement is still on-going. Some of the features of ADAS include Lane Departure warning System, Blind Spot detection, Lane Change Assistance and etc. However, with such systems available, accidents still occurred due to the driver's lack of awareness and negligence towards the given indication and warning, especially situation related to side lane collision. Thus, this paper aims to propose a simple steering intervention control. If the driver still proceed for the lane change when there are other object appearing in the blind spot area, the proposed solution will automatically trigger vehicle evasion mode to avoid side lane collision. The system does not take into account comfort in order to warn the driver. The system was tested and validated using a test vehicle. The results show that the steering intervention provides good vehicle evasion results and hypothetically it may act as the final warning towards the person behind the wheel

I-Drive: Modular system architecture and hardware configuration for an intelligent Vehicle research platform

There are many researches in the field of autonomous and Intelligent Vehicle in Malaysia, but most of them never have the chance to be tested in actual environment due to constraints in terms of hardware and its configuration. Thus, this paper aims to share with other researchers in the field of Autonomous and Intelligent Vehicle with our independent modular-based system and hardware configuration of an Autonomous and Intelligent Vehicle research platform at our university. Each of the research projects are represented by a module and they are linked by a communication layer. The modules utilised the communication layers to transmit and received data as a part of system communication network, and finally this configuration build up the whole system. Through this approach, it is hoped that the contribution from each research project leads to fully autonomous vehicle and intelligent vehicle. The proposed modular system and hardware configuration have been successfully verified via our platform through lane-keeping research. The proposed platform is demonstrated via I-DRIVE (Intelligent Drive Vehicle) on the standard testing track and Malaysia highway road

I-Drive: Modular system architecture and hardware configuration for an intelligent Vehicle research platform

There are many researches in the field of autonomous and Intelligent Vehicle in Malaysia, but most of them never have the chance to be tested in actual environment due to constraints in terms of hardware and its configuration. Thus, this paper aims to share with other researchers in the field of Autonomous and Intelligent Vehicle with our independent modular-based system and hardware configuration of an Autonomous and Intelligent Vehicle research platform at our university. Each of the research projects are represented by a module and they are linked by a communication layer. The modules utilised the communication layers to transmit and received data as a part of system communication network, and finally this configuration build up the whole system. Through this approach, it is hoped that the contribution from each research project leads to fully autonomous vehicle and intelligent vehicle. The proposed modular system and hardware configuration have been successfully verified via our platform through lane-keeping research. The proposed platform is demonstrated via I-DRIVE (Intelligent Drive Vehicle) on the standard testing track and Malaysia highway road

Contribution of Candida biomarkers and DNA detection for the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis in ICU patients with severe abdominal conditions

Background: To assess the performance of Candida albicans germ tube antibody (CAGTA), (1???3)-ß-D-glucan (BDG), mannan antigen (mannan-Ag), anti-mannan antibodies (mannan-Ab), and Candida DNA for diagnosing invasive candidiasis (IC) in ICU patients with severe abdominal conditions (SAC). Methods: A prospective study of 233 non-neutropenic patients with SAC on ICU admission and expected stay?=?7 days. CAGTA (cutoff positivity?=?1/160), BDG (=80, 100 and 200 pg/mL), mannan-Ag (=60 pg/mL), mannan-Ab (=10 UA/mL) were measured twice a week, and Candida DNA only in patients treated with systemic antifungals. IC diagnosis required positivities of two biomarkers in a single sample or positivities of any biomarker in two consecutive samples. Patients were classified as neither colonized nor infected (n?=?48), Candida spp. colonization (n?=?154) (low-grade, n?=?130; high-grade, n?=?24), and IC (n?=?31) (intra-abdominal candidiasis, n?=?20; candidemia, n?=?11). Results: The combination of CAGTA and BDG positivities in a single sample or at least one of the two biomarkers positive in two consecutive samples showed 90.3 % (95 % CI 74.2–98.0) sensitivity, 42.1 % (95 % CI 35.2–98.8) specificity, and 96.6 % (95 % CI 90.5–98.8) negative predictive value. BDG positivities in two consecutive samples had 76.7 % (95 % CI 57.7–90.1) sensitivity and 57.2 % (95 % CI 49.9–64.3) specificity. Mannan-Ag, mannan-Ab, and Candida DNA individually or combined showed a low discriminating capacity. Conclusions: Positive Candida albicans germ tube antibody and (1???3)-ß-D-glucan in a single blood sample or (1???3)-ß-D-glucan positivity in two consecutive blood samples allowed discriminating invasive candidiasis from Candida spp. colonization in critically ill patients with severe abdominal conditions. These findings may be helpful to tailor empirical antifungal therapy in this patient population

Contribution of Candida biomarkers and DNA detection for the diagnosis of invasive candidiasis in ICU patients with severe abdominal conditions

BACKGROUND: To assess the performance of Candida albicans germ tube antibody (CAGTA), (1 → 3)-ß-D-glucan (BDG), mannan antigen (mannan-Ag), anti-mannan antibodies (mannan-Ab), and Candida DNA for diagnosing invasive candidiasis (IC) in ICU patients with severe abdominal conditions (SAC). METHODS: A prospective study of 233 non-neutropenic patients with SAC on ICU admission and expected stay ≥ 7 days. CAGTA (cutoff positivity ≥ 1/160), BDG (≥80, 100 and 200 pg/mL), mannan-Ag (≥60 pg/mL), mannan-Ab (≥10 UA/mL) were measured twice a week, and Candida DNA only in patients treated with systemic antifungals. IC diagnosis required positivities of two biomarkers in a single sample or positivities of any biomarker in two consecutive samples. Patients were classified as neither colonized nor infected (n = 48), Candida spp. colonization (n = 154) (low-grade, n = 130; high-grade, n = 24), and IC (n = 31) (intra-abdominal candidiasis, n = 20; candidemia, n = 11). RESULTS: The combination of CAGTA and BDG positivities in a single sample or at least one of the two biomarkers positive in two consecutive samples showed 90.3 % (95 % CI 74.2–98.0) sensitivity, 42.1 % (95 % CI 35.2–98.8) specificity, and 96.6 % (95 % CI 90.5–98.8) negative predictive value. BDG positivities in two consecutive samples had 76.7 % (95 % CI 57.7–90.1) sensitivity and 57.2 % (95 % CI 49.9–64.3) specificity. Mannan-Ag, mannan-Ab, and Candida DNA individually or combined showed a low discriminating capacity. CONCLUSIONS: Positive Candida albicans germ tube antibody and (1 → 3)-ß-D-glucan in a single blood sample or (1 → 3)-ß-D-glucan positivity in two consecutive blood samples allowed discriminating invasive candidiasis from Candida spp. colonization in critically ill patients with severe abdominal conditions. These findings may be helpful to tailor empirical antifungal therapy in this patient population

Occupational Stress and its Effects towards the Organization Management

Abstract: Problem statement: The aim of this study is to find out the causes of occupational stress within the organization and the implication on job satisfaction and intention to leave and absenteeism. The researcher chooses 100 employees in Companies Commission of Malaysia, a statutory body which regulated company and businesses. Approach: All questionnaires are gathered after 2 weeks after it was distribute. Pearson product moment correlation to find out correlations and Multiple Linear Regression Technique were used to find out effect between variables. The finding indicates that factor such as external environment contribute to the occupational stress. This external factor is beyond the control of the organization. Results: The finding showed that occupational stress does not have direct effect on intention to leave and absenteeism but have direct negative effect on job satisfaction. Job satisfaction has negative effect on intention to leave and absenteeism. Some recommendation needed to be applied by management to reduce the number of turnover. Conclusion: First organization need to increase job satisfaction by reducing occupational stress. By reducing stress companies can reduce the level of intentional to leave and absenteeism. Key words: Occupational stress, job satisfaction, intention to leave and absentis

Kajian tahap kecergasan fizikal berasaskan kesihatan atlit skuasy SUKMA Johor 2008

Kajian yang dijalankan adalah berbentuk eksperimental yang melibatkan ujian pra dan ujian pos untuk mengukur dan mengumpul data berkaitan dengan Kecergasan Fizikal Berasaskan Kesihatan yang mengandungi lima komponen asas iaitu daya tahan kardiovaskular, daya tahan otot, kekuatan otot, komposisi badan dan kelembutan. Kajian ini dijalankan bertujuan untuk mengukur tahap Kecergasan Fizikal Berasaskan Kesihatan atlit skuasy SUKMA Negeri Johor 2008 sebagai persediaan untuk menghadapi kejohanan SUKMA 2008 di Terengganu. Untuk menjayakan kajian ini seramai 6 atlit skuasy wanita SUKMA Negeri Johor 2008 telah diambil sebagai subjek untuk kajian ini. Ujian yang digunakan untuk mengukur lima komponen Kecergasan Fizikal Berasaskan Kesihatan merangkumi Ujian Multi-Stage Test, Push Up, Sit and Reach, Endurance Crunch dan Skinfold. Data-data yang telah dikumpulkan daripada ujian pra dan ujian pos akan dianalisis dengan menggunakan program Statistical Packege for Social Science (SPSS) untuk mendapatkan keputusan ujian secara signifikan. Ujian-t juga digunakan untuk membuat perbezaan data yang diperolehi daripada ujian pra dan ujian pos dengan aras signifikan yang ditetapkan ialah p 0.05