A pilot study on assessment of knowledge and clinical reasoning in acute asthma management among healthcare provider in emergency department HUSM using k-cramed inventory

Introduction: Acute asthma attack is a common presentation to emergency department. Thus, healthcare provider at emergency department need to have sufficient knowledge and acceptable level of clinical reasoning to manage such cases. Objective: This study aimed to determine the cut off score for level of knowledge and clinical reasoning in acute asthma management through standard setting. Then attempt to assess level of knowledge and clinical reasoning in acute asthma management among healthcare provider in Emergency Department Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. Methodology: This study was a cross-sectional study from January 2017 until March 2017 at Emergency Department (ED) Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM). All healthcare provider available at ED HUSM from January 2015 until March 2015 were included. Purposeful sampling was used, and a total of 178 participants were involved in this study. K-CRAMED inventory were used as the tool to assess knowledge and clinical reasoning. Descriptive statistics were expressed as frequency (percentage) or mean ± standard deviation for numerical variables. For association study, Independent- Sample T Test, Pearson Correlation test and One-Way ANOVA were used. Standard setting was implemented using Angoff Method and Modified Angoff Method involving five specialists from ED HUSM. Results: Participants for this study consists of 178 people. The participants consist of 68 (38.2%) staff nurses, 66 (37.1%) postgraduate students, 20 (11.2%) medical assistants, 15 (8.4%) house officers and 9 (5.1%) service medical officers. Most healthcare provider had working experience of between 5-10 year, which was 55.6%, 38.8% participant had experience less than five years, and another 5.6% had working experience of more than 10 years. Standard setting using Angoff Method and Modified Angoff Method and was done with five emergency physicians from ED HUSM. Cut off score for adequacy of knowledgewere highest in the postgraduate students group with 75.6%, while the lowest cut off score was for the medical assistant group and staff nurses group with 28.4%. For level of clinical reasoning, postgraduate students received the highest cut off score of 66.8%, while the lowest cut off score was 29.9% also shared by both medical assistants and staff nurses group. This study found that majority of postgraduate students had inadequate knowledge (78.8%) and inadequate clinical reasoning (90.9%). A proportion of service medical officers, house officers, medical assistants and staff nurses also having inadequate level of clinical reasoning with total of 55.6%, 13.3%, 25.0% and 39.7% respectively. Association study found that males had higher mean score than female in level of knowledge (p = 0.020). However, there was no significant difference in level of clinical reasoning with gender (p = 0.055). Increase in age had a moderate positive correlation with level of knowledge (p = 0.000) and level of clinical reasoning (p = 0.047). While work experience had no relationship with level of knowledge (p = 0.053) or level of clinical reasoning (p = 0.539). Conclusions: Majority of postgraduate students had inadequate level of knowledge and clinical reasoning. A proportion of other healthcare provider also having inadequate level of clinical reasoning. Intervention by the department is needed to fill in the knowledge gap and to achieve acceptable level of clinical reasoning

Measurement Accuracy Assessment For Laser Triangulation 3D Scanning Machine

Laser triangulation 3D scanning machine is one of many types of 3D scanning technologies that are currently available in the current market. It is mainly use to capture object profiles as well as for measurement. Therefore, the measurement accuracy of laser triangulation 3D scanner was assessed and presented in paper. Three solid aluminum calibration block with known dimensions were fabricated by using CNC machine and these samples were named based on its profiles which are round, square and complex. Besides the laser triangulation 3D scanning machine, two more measuring equipment which are Vernier caliper and coordinate measuring machine were used as benchmarks. Three profiles were chose for each calibration block samples that made up of 9 profiles that have been measured and the deviation between the measuring values were analyzed. The results shown that the lowest deviation values for most of the profiles are from coordinate measuring machine and Vernier caliper measurement data. Nevertheless, the measurement deviation for laser triangulation 3D scanner are found to be comparable with other equipment

Orthopedic Calf Cast Using Antioxidative FS3200PA Nylon 3D Printing: Design And Optimization

Current cast designs such as heavy plaster cast come up with many disadvantages to patient like discomfort and itchy skin. Most of the hospitals in Malaysia are still using traditional custom made cast which is made by paris and mold that cannot be recycled. The objectives of this project were to design custom fit orthopedic cast and to optimize the weight of cast that used material of FS3200PA Nylon powder that has generally good anti-oxidative properties and not harmful to health. Computer Aided Design (CAD) software and Finite Element Analysis (FEA) computer software were used to design and optimize the shape and geometry of calf cast. T-Scan LV system is used for scanning process. The load applied for simulation are 981 N, 784.8 N, and 588.6 and the thickness varies between 1 mm, 2 mm and 3 mm. Safety factor of 1.0 ≤ s. f ≤ 3.0 is considered in selecting the acceptable combination. Fabrication of the cast had been made by used the Farsoon SS 402P laser sintering system. Through optimization and analysis, three combinations of the models are proven to be a safe-to-use model

Water Transport And Physical Properties Of Sugarcane Bagasse Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastic Potato Starch Biocomposite

Nowadays, development of bio composites from renewable resources has become great interest as the alternative to replace petroleum-based polymer. Starch is one of the examples of bio polymer that are biodegradable. However, there is limitation on starch usage where starch based polymer has poor mechanical properties and high water sensitivity. Sugarcane waste produced from the extraction of sugarcane juice has potential application to be used as reinforcement material for producing bio-based composites. In this study, Thermoplastic Potato Starch reinforced Sugarcane Fibre (TPPS/SF) composites were developed by using dry mixing and hot press method at 145°C for 1 hour by maintaining the composition of starch and glycerol at ratio 80:20. The sugarcane fibres content ranged from 0 to 15wt.%. This paper presents the results of water transport and physical properties of TPPS/SF composites by using water absorption, thickness swelling, water solubility and moisture content tests. In terms of water transport, the composites show decrease in water absorption capacity of the composites following the addition of sugarcane fibre. Dimensional stability of the composites was increased indicated through the lower thickness swelling reading of the composites. In terms of physical properties, the water solubility of the composites was decreased which indicate improved resistance against water. The moisture content of the composites was decreased gradually following increasing amount of sugarcane fibre in TPSS matrix. Overall, this study shows that incorporation of sugarcane fibre into TPPS has improve the functional properties of this green material

A bibliometric analysis of the global trend of using alginate, gelatine, and hydroxyapatite for bone tissue regeneration applications

Collecting information from previous investigations and expressing it in a scientometrics study can be a priceless guide to getting a complete overview of a specific research area. The aim of this study is to explore the interrelated connection between alginate, gelatine, and hydroxyapatite within the scope of bone tissue and scaffold. A review of traditional literature with data mining procedures using bibliometric analyses was considered to identify the evolution of the selected re�search area between 2009 and 2019. Bibliometric methods and knowledge visualization technologies were implemented to investigate diverse publications based on the following indicators: year of publication, document type, language, country, institution, author, journal, keyword, and number of citations. An analysis using a bibliometric study found that 7446 papers were located with the keywords “bone tissue” and “scaffold”, and 1767 (alginate), 185 (gelatine), 5658 (hydroxyapatite) papers with those specific sub keywords. The number of publications that relate to “tissue engineer�ing” and bone more than doubled between 2009 (1352) and 2019 (2839). China, the United States and India are the most productive countries, while Sichuan University and the Chinese Academy of Science from China are the most important institutions related to bone tissue scaffold. Materials Science and Engineering C is the most productive journal, followed by the Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A. This paper is a starting point, providing the first bibliometric analysis study of bone tissue and scaffold considering alginate, gelatine and hydroxyapatite. A bibliometric analysis would greatly assist in giving a scientific insight to support desired future research work, not only associated with bone tissue engineering applications. It is expected that the analysis of alginate, gelatine and hydroxyapatite in terms of 3D bioprinting, clinical outcomes, scaffold architecture, and the regenerative medicine approach will enhance the research into bone tissue engineering in the near future. Continued studies into these research fields are highly recommended

Students’ Inclination towards English Language as Medium of Instruction in the Teaching of Science and Mathematics

AbstractMalay language, the national language of Malaysia has been the medium of instruction for Science and Mathematics for the past four and a half decades in Malaysia. The government however changed the medium of instruction of these subjects to English in January 2003. The “Teaching and Learning of Science and Mathematics in English” (PPSMI) policy was implemented in all primary and secondary schools. It aims to improve the English language proficiency among students as well as the learning and achievement level in science and mathematics. This paper presents findings of the study on students’ inclination towards English language as medium of instruction in teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in Higher Learning Institutions in Malaysia. The respondents were 291 undergraduate students from the Faculty of Science and Technology (FST) and Faculty of Education (FPEND) of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). A questionnaire pertaining to students’ inclination was used as research instrument. Using descriptive statistics, ANOVA and t-test, the study found that undergraduate students of FST and FPEND had an inclination towards English as medium of instruction in the teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics. Using the Post-Hoc test, it is found that Indian students and students from other races than Malay and Chinese have greater inclination towards English as medium of instruction in teaching and learning of Science and Mathematics in UKM for both faculties. However, FST students who studied in Mandarin and Tamil at pre-university level (STPM) had higher inclination compared to those who used Malay language or even English