Michelle Liew\u27s ePortfolio

An online showcase of academic projects completed as a student in the MS Publishing program, and professional interests in Scientific, Technical, and Medical (STM) journal publishing.https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/eportfolio_showcase/1004/thumbnail.jp

The Experience of A First-time Online Cultural Studies Instructor: A Case Study

With enrollment in online courses continuing to rise, student learning and satisfaction have become the focus of a growing body of research. However, the first-time online instructor experience has not been as widely investigated. This study examines the experience of Pamela, a first-time online Cultural Studies instructor, through a series of interviews conducted throughout the semester in order to track her progression at four points in the semester. It also seeks to determine what factors the first-time online instructor perceives to have the greatest impact on course creation and teaching strategies, namely the nature of the Cultural Studies course as implemented online, Pamela’s digital immigrant mindset and growth throughout the semester, best practices and constraints in distance education, and the results of best practice

Perspectives of the wood-based industry on chain of custody certification in Sabah

Chain of Custody (CoC) Certification is part of the forest certification that ensures the wood products purchased can be tracked accurately back to its source in the forest. This study was done to determine the current status and the implementation of CoC Certification in the wood-based industries in Sabah. Two populations were identified, which are those holding a CoC certificate and those who do not possess a CoC certificate. Questionnaires were developed with respondents’ opinion and perception regarding forest certification focusing on COC Certification in Sabah. Distribution of questionnaire forms to the industry players related to wood-based industries and interview sessions was conducted with the person-in-charge of the Chain of Custody system. Results indicated that there are low percentage of the industries that possesses CoC Certification and have low knowledge regarding CoC Certification and its benefits. This is because the industry players are mainly targeting for local consumers and certification is not required. Others stated that the cost to obtain CoC Certification is too high with low to no benefit to the industry, while others stated that certification has no importance in terms of market benefits. Most of the wood-based industries in Sabah has low awareness regarding the importance of CoC Certification, hence the low number of companies that holds the certificate. The absence of government support, lack of training, lack of market benefit and price premium are also the factors that influences the low number of certificate holders

Data-Intensive architecture for scientific knowledge discovery

This paper presents a data-intensive architecture that demonstrates the ability to support applications from a wide range of application domains, and support the different types of users involved in defining, designing and executing data-intensive processing tasks. The prototype architecture is introduced, and the pivotal role of DISPEL as a canonical language is explained. The architecture promotes the exploration and exploitation of distributed and heterogeneous data and spans the complete knowledge discovery process, from data preparation, to analysis, to evaluation and reiteration. The architecture evaluation included large-scale applications from astronomy, cosmology, hydrology, functional genetics, imaging processing and seismology

Potential of using natural and synthetic binder in wood composites

The physical and mechanical properties of particleboard bonded with different cooking percentages of seaweed (Kappaphycus alvarezii), with different percentages of starch and different percentages of adhesives, and wood plastic composite (WPC) from High-Density Polyethlene (HDPE) with Acacia mangium wood powder were determined in this study. Seaweed mixed with different percentages of sulfuric acid (30%, 50%, 70%) and Sodium Hydroxide (70%, 50%, 30%) were prepared as a binder for particleboard. For a starch-based binder, different percentages of starch (10%, 15%, 20%) were prepared, before producing particleboard with different amounts of binder (20%, 25%, 30%). As for WPC, wood powders were bonded with different percentages of HDPE content (70%, 80%, 90%). Results indicated that WPC at 90% HDPE shows the best performance in the water absorption (0.07%) and thickness swelling test (2.54%). Starch-based particleboard recorded the highest Modulus of Elasticity (MOE) value (1115.07 N/mm2 at 15% starch with 30% amount of binder), while WPC (90% HDPE) and starch-based particleboard (10% starch with 20% amount of binder) both recorded the highest Modulus of Rupture (MOR) at the same value, which is 7.84 N/mm2. Starch-based particleboard has a better internal bond, which is 0.05 N/mm2. However, seaweed-based particleboard has a higher density value, which is 0.6 g/cm3

Pain management of pemphigus vulgaris

Pemphigus is a rare autoimmune bullous disease which affects the mucous membranes and skin. Pemphigus vulgaris (PV) is the most prevalent type of pemphigus. PV presents with extremely painful, non- healing oral erosions. However, there are only a handful of reports addressing the pain management of PV. We would like to present a case of a painful PV, which was successfully managed

Increasing Colonoscopy Compliance Using a Blood-Based Risk Assessment Test for Colorectal Cancer

ColonSentry® is a minimally invasive, blood-based risk assessment test for colorectal cancer. The test is used to increase patient compliance with colonoscopy. Many physicians have inquired about the incidence of non-malignant lesions found in patients after colonoscopy prompted by an increased risk score on the ColonSentry test. Here we report on the colonoscopy results of five patients with increased ColonSentry risk scores. Of those five patients, three were determined to have polyps, one of which was pre-malignant

Scientific Workflows: Moving Across Paradigms

Modern scientific collaborations have opened up the opportunity to solve complex problems that require both multidisciplinary expertise and large-scale computational experiments. These experiments typically consist of a sequence of processing steps that need to be executed on selected computing platforms. Execution poses a challenge, however, due to (1) the complexity and diversity of applications, (2) the diversity of analysis goals, (3) the heterogeneity of computing platforms, and (4) the volume and distribution of data. A common strategy to make these in silico experiments more manageable is to model them as workflows and to use a workflow management system to organize their execution. This article looks at the overall challenge posed by a new order of scientific experiments and the systems they need to be run on, and examines how this challenge can be addressed by workflows and workflow management systems. It proposes a taxonomy of workflow management system (WMS) characteristics, including aspects previously overlooked. This frames a review of prevalent WMSs used by the scientific community, elucidates their evolution to handle the challenges arising with the emergence of the “fourth paradigm,” and identifies research needed to maintain progress in this area

Autologous adoptive T-cell therapy for recurrent or drug-resistant cytomegalovirus complications in solid organ transplant patients: a single-arm open-label phase I clinical trial

BACKGROUND: Opportunistic infections including cytomegalovirus (CMV) are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients. The recurrent and protracted use of anti-viral drugs with eventual emergence of drug resistance represents a significant constraint to therapy. While adoptive T-cell therapy has been successfully used in haematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients, its extension to the SOT setting poses a considerable challenge because of the inhibitory effects of immunosuppressive drugs on the virus-specific T-cell response in vivo, and the perceived risk of graft rejection. METHODS: In this prospective study, 22 SOT recipients (13 renal, 8 lung and 1 heart) with recurrent or ganciclovir-resistant CMV infection were recruited and of these, 13 patients were treated with in vitro-expanded autologous CMV-specific T cells. These patients were monitored for safety, clinical symptoms and immune reconstitution. RESULTS: Autologous CMV-specific T-cell manufacture was attempted for 21 patients, and was successful in 20 cases. The use of this adoptive immunotherapy was associated with no therapy-related serious adverse events. Eleven (84%) of the thirteen treated patients showed improvement in symptoms, including complete resolution or reduction in DNAemia, CMV-associated end organ disease and/or the cessation or reduced use of anti-viral drugs. Furthermore, many of these patients showed co-incident increased frequency of CMV-specific T cells in peripheral blood following completion of T-cell therapy. CONCLUSIONS: The data presented here demonstrate for the first time the clinical safety of CMV-specific adoptive T-cell therapy and its potential therapeutic benefit for SOT patients with recurrent and/or drug-resistant CMV infection or disease