Profil penerima Implan Koklea Kebangsaan bagi kanak-kanak bermasalah pendengaran pralingual di Malaysia

Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia (KKM) telah melaksanakan Program Implan Koklea Kebangsaan sejak tahun 2008. Sehingga November 2014, program ini telah mengimplan sejumlah 205 orang individu yang mempunyai masalah pendengaran di mana sebahagian besarnya adalah kes kanak-kanak bermasalah pendengaran pralingual (71%). Kajian ini bertujuan memprofil penerima implan koklea kanak-kanak pralingual di bawah program KKM. Data yang dilaporkan meliputi 121 penerima implan koklea (82.8%) dari sembilan buah hospital satelit yang terlibat dalam program ini. Dari jumlah tersebut, 58 adalah kanak-kanak lelaki dan majoritinya ialah Melayu (66.9%). Seramai 39 daripada mereka (32.2%) mempunyai faktor berisiko tinggi dan majoriti mempunyai beberapa faktor berisiko tinggi (46%) untuk kehilangan pendengaran kekal. Dalam kohort ini, hanya 12 orang kanak-kanak (9.9%) telah dikenal pasti melalui program saringan pendengaran bayi baru lahir. Umur diagnosis masalah pendengaran adalah antara 1 hingga 46 bulan (Min = 24.3 ± 10.2 bulan). Alat bantu pendengaran telah dipasang pada usia 4 hingga 46 bulan (Min = 27.5 ± 9.9 bulan). Min umur pemasangan implan koklea adalah 41.5 ± 10.3 bulan. Min keseluruhan tempoh menunggu dari lawatan pertama berjumpa audiologis hingga implan koklea diaktifkan adalah 18.5 ± 9.1 bulan. Data deskriptif menunjukkan bahawa kanak-kanak ini didiagnos dan menerima implan pada usia lewat secara relatif untuk perkembangan bahasa dan pertuturan. Program saringan pendengaran bayi baru lahir kebangsaan yang sedia ada perlu lebih diperkemas dan dimantapkan supaya mampu menjadi penyumbang utama untuk mengenal pasti awal masalah pendengaran bagi penerima implan kanak-kanak di bawah Program Implan Koklea KKM. Seterusnya pengesanan awal masalah pendengaran diharapkan dapat mengurangkan usia pemasangan implan koklea dalam kalangan kanak-kanak pada masa hadapan

The First 10 Years of NeuroIS: A Systematic Literature Review of NeuroIS Publications (2007 - 2017)

NeuroIS is an emerging and promising academic field that has attracted increasing attention. The year 2017 signifies the 10th year of existence of NeuroIS as a research field in information systems area. In this study, we conduct a systematic literature review of the NeuroIS academic research publications of last 10 years (2007-2017). As a result, we categorize the existent NeuroIS literature into 8 groups, explore the correlations among various NeuroIS concepts/ constructs, and demonstrate how the study enhances our understanding of the granulated inter-relationships between pairs of NeuroIS elements. The implications of the result to the NeuroIS research community are discussed

Educational Case: Systemic Mastocytosis with an Associated Hematological Neoplasm

The following fictional case is intended as a learning tool within the Pathology Competencies for Medical Education (PCME), a set of national standards for teaching pathology. These are divided into three basic competencies: Disease Mechanisms and Processes, Organ System Pathology, and Diagnostic Medicine and Therapeutic Pathology. For additional information, and a full list of learning objectives for all three competencies, see http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2374289517715040.

Optical Coherence Tomography of Laryngeal Cancer

Objectives: Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution optical imaging technique that produces cross-sectional images of living tissues using light in a manner similar to ultrasound. This prospective study evaluated the ability of OCT to identify the characteristics of laryngeal cancer and measure changes in the basement membrane, tissue microstructure, and the transition zone at the edge of tumors. Materials and Methods: One hundred thirtythree patients underwent OCT examination during surgical endoscopy of the head and neck. Twenty-two patients with laryngeal cancer or a history of laryngeal cancer were imaged with a fiberoptic OCT system. Tumor and adjacent transition zones were imaged along with uninvolved subsites. OCT images were correlated with histopathology. Results: Twenty-six OCT examinations were performed in 22 patients. Basement membrane disruption was seen in 18 subjects, all of whom had histology showing classic features of cancer. A transition zone to uninvolved epithelium at the tumor periphery was also often observed. In six studies, benign or premalignant processes were histologically confirmed. In three thin, superficial lesions, an intact basement membrane was observed. The basement membrane could not be identified in three other bulky exophytic, premalignant lesions, primarily because of increased superficial signal backscattering observed in pathologic tissues. Conclusions: OCT clearly identifies basement membrane violation from laryngeal cancer and can identify transition zones at the cancer margin. In bulky exophytic lesions, OCT signal may not penetrate deeply enough to show the basement membrane, but for many suspicious lesions that require exclusion of cancer, OCT shows potential for assisting in diagnostic assessment

Comparison Of Meaningful Sound vs No Sound For Avoiding Attention Drifting Phenomenon While Driving

One of the causes of traffic accident is attention drifting while driving. Attention drifting is also known as habituation phenomenon. Habituation phenomenon refers to a situation where one’s attention would decay and possibly diminish over time due to repetitive stimuli. Hence, the aim of this study is to investigate the types of sound that can avoid attention drifting while driving. Using a driving simulation system, the subjects will be simulated with two conditions while driving: no sound and recorded speech. It was found that drivers encounter less accident while listening to the recorded speech compared to the silent condition (no sound). This finding could be used as a foundation to develop tips or methodology to avoid the attention deficit while driving

The Impact of Preparedness in Defying COVID-19 Pandemic Expectations in the Lower Mekong Region: A Case Study

Dire COVID-19 expectations in the Lower Mekong Region (LMR) can be understood as Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam have stared down a succession of emerging infectious disease (EID) threats from neighboring China. Predictions that the LMR would be overwhelmed by a coming COVID-19 tsunami were felt well before the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic had been declared. And yet, the LMR, excepting Myanmar, has proved surprisingly resilient in keeping COVID-19 contained to mostly sporadic cases. Cumulative case rates (per one million population) for the LMR, including or excluding Myanmar, from January 1 to October 31 2020, are 1,184 and 237, respectively. More telling are the cumulative rates of COVID-19–attributable deaths for the same period of time, 28 per million with and six without Myanmar. Graphics demonstrate a flattening of pandemic curves in the LMR, minus Myanmar, after managing temporally and spatially isolated spikes in case counts, with negligible follow-on community spread. The comparable success of the LMR in averting pandemic disaster can likely be attributed to years of preparedness investments, triggered by avian influenza A (H5N1). Capacity building initiatives applied to COVID-19 containment included virological (influenza-driven) surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, field epidemiology training, and vaccine preparation. The notable achievement of the LMR in averting COVID-19 disaster through to October 31, 2020 can likely be credited to these preparedness measure

A survey of multi-access edge computing in 5G and beyond : fundamentals, technology integration, and state-of-the-art

Driven by the emergence of new compute-intensive applications and the vision of the Internet of Things (IoT), it is foreseen that the emerging 5G network will face an unprecedented increase in traffic volume and computation demands. However, end users mostly have limited storage capacities and finite processing capabilities, thus how to run compute-intensive applications on resource-constrained users has recently become a natural concern. Mobile edge computing (MEC), a key technology in the emerging fifth generation (5G) network, can optimize mobile resources by hosting compute-intensive applications, process large data before sending to the cloud, provide the cloud-computing capabilities within the radio access network (RAN) in close proximity to mobile users, and offer context-aware services with the help of RAN information. Therefore, MEC enables a wide variety of applications, where the real-time response is strictly required, e.g., driverless vehicles, augmented reality, robotics, and immerse media. Indeed, the paradigm shift from 4G to 5G could become a reality with the advent of new technological concepts. The successful realization of MEC in the 5G network is still in its infancy and demands for constant efforts from both academic and industry communities. In this survey, we first provide a holistic overview of MEC technology and its potential use cases and applications. Then, we outline up-to-date researches on the integration of MEC with the new technologies that will be deployed in 5G and beyond. We also summarize testbeds and experimental evaluations, and open source activities, for edge computing. We further summarize lessons learned from state-of-the-art research works as well as discuss challenges and potential future directions for MEC research

Effect of Co catalyst on PECVD growth of carbon nanotubes for NEMS applications

In this paper the effect of cobalt (Co) catalyst on the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was studied. CNTs were vertically grown by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition method (PECVD) at 700°C with various sputtered Co catalyst thicknesses. Experimental results shows that for carbon nanotube growth duration of 20 minutes, growth was only achieved with thinner catalyst layers but when the growth duration was doubled, high density of CNTS were also observed with thicker catalyst layers with taller nanotubes formed. The nucleation of the catalyst with various thicknesses was also studied as the absorption of the carbon feedstock is dependent on the initial size of the catalyst island