Evaluation of prognostic factors in patients with osteosarcoma: the HUSM experience

Introduction: Osteosarcoma is a highly malignant primary bone tumour thus the evaluation of prognostic factors influencing the survival rates is extremely essential for defining the approach to the management of these patients. Despite the recent advancement in chemotherapy and improved prognosis, 30 - 40% of patients still succumb to the disease; therefore reliable prognostic factors would be essential to plan a more aggressive treatment in patients at a higher risk of failure of treatment. Among multiple variables evaluated in literatures, it is known that pulmonary metastases and chemo-necrosis are the best prognostic components on the survival. At present, there is no consensus on the prognostic significance of simple and cheap biochemical markers of pretreatment serum alkaline phosphate (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). This study analyzed the prognostic factors of particularly ALP and LDH and other general variable for prognosis and overall oncological outcome. Method: Clinical data of at least 5 years related to prognostic factors of 163 patients with osteosarcoma who were under follow-up under Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia were retrospectively reviewed. This was a retrospective cohort study of all patients treated between January 2005 and December 2010. A total of 163 patients with the mean age of 18.9 years (range 6 – 59 years old) were evaluated. There were 109 males and 54 females. Majority of the patients were of Malay ethnic background (82.2%), compared to the Chinese (11.66%), followed by Indian ethnicity (4.29%). 55.2% of our patients presented with pulmonary metastases. In terms of type of surgery, 66.1% of our patients underwent limb salvage surgery and 33.9% underwent amputation. Results: The overall survival was 40.5%. The mean pre-treatment serum LDH level was 493.19 IU/L, and 52.8% of our patients had high values. The mean level of pre-treatment ALP was 273.93 IU/L, and 53% of our patients had high values. The 5-year overall survival rate of patients in the normal pre-treatment serum LDH group is 66.2%, whereas in the high pre-treatment serum LDH group is 17.4%. The 5-year overall survival rate of patients in the normal pre-treatment serum ALP group is 55.8 %, whereas in the high pre-treatment serum ALP group is 26.7%. In the multivariate statistical analysis, only the pre-treatment serum LDH and presence of metastasis maintained its prognostic significance as both the pre-treatment serum ALP and the type of surgery loses its independent predictive value. In regards to the other variables, 66.9% of our patients were male, with the overall survival of 39.4%. Our female patients had a similar overall survival of 42.6%. Pulmonary metastases presented in 90 patients (55.2%). The overall survival of these patients was 27.8% compared to 56.2% in those without metastatic disease. For patients who underwent limb-sparing surgery, their overall survival was 56.8%, whereas in the amputation group the overall survival was 17.6%. Conclusion: The overall survival of our osteosarcoma patients was influenced by the presence of pulmonary metastases and type of surgery. Pre-treatment serum LDH and ALP were of significant influence on the final survival. However age, gender, race, primary site of tumour, histological sub-type, were not of significant influence on the survival of our patients

Integration of anti-lock braking system and regenerative braking for hybrid/electric vehicles

Vehicle electrification aims at improving energy efficiency and reducing pollutant emissions which creates an opportunity to use the electric machines (EM) as Regenerative Braking System (RBS) to support the friction brake system. Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) is part of the active safety systems that help drivers to stop safely during panic braking while ensuring the vehicle’s stability and steerability. Nevertheless, the RBS is deactivated at a safe (low) deceleration threshold in favour of ABS. This safety margin results in significantly less energy recuperation than what would be possible if both RBS and ABS were able to operate simultaneously. Vehicle energy efficiency can be improved by integrating RBS and friction brakes to enable more frequent energy recuperation activations, especially during high deceleration demands. The main aim of this doctoral research is to design and implement new wheel slip control with torque blending strategies for various vehicle topologies using four, two and one EM. The integration between the two braking actuators will improve the braking performance and energy efficiency of the vehicle. It also enables ABS by pure EM in certain situations where the regenerative brake torque is sufficient. A novelmethod for integrating the wheel slip control and torque blending is developed using Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC). The method is well known for the optimal performance and enforcement of critical control and state constraints. A linear MPC strategy is also developed for comparison purpose. A pragmatic brake torque blending algorithm using Daisy-Chain with sliding mode slip control is also developed based on a pre-defined energy recuperation priority. Simulation using high fidelity model using co-simulation in Matlab/Simulink and CarMaker is used to validate the developed strategies. Different test patterns are used to evaluate the controllers’ performance which includes longitudinal and lateral motions of the vehicle. Comparison analysis is done for the proposed strategies for each case. The capability for real-time implementation of the MPC controllers is assessed in simulation testing using dSPACE hardware

Study on Hydrogen-On-Demand (HOD) System

The topic had been very popular recently was absolutely about price fuel hiking in global market. Not only the country that didn‟t produced the oil facing this problem, but all around the world, including our country had to faced this problem. Furthermore, we always here the speculations about the decreasing stock of oil from day to day. As example, our country Malaysia, have been forecasted to have the oil under the sea till about 10-15 years more. So, it is be the responsibility to our new generation to find the way and solution to solve this two major crisis in our world now. Many researches have been done by geniuses to find the solution to this problem. Finally they have found new alternative to replace the fossil fuel that we use today. From 1000 thousand experiment that had been conducted, they can proof that Hydrogen can be ultimate substitute for ordinary fossil fuel. The present research shows how can hydrogen will be use to fire up an engine, but the expenses to make it happen is too expensive. This experiment is about mixing hydrogen with fuel to get better car performance, more clean emissions and at the same time will safe you hard earned cash. In this experiment, hydrogen will be produced from electrolysis of water to get the HHO gas and will be mixed with fuel inside the combustion chamber. After performing the test to injection engine, there is small amount of change in power output and torque can be seen. But, there is a lot of improvement to make if we want to use it on everyday life. About the emission, from the gas analyzer test, its shows really good improvement. The results that appear on gas analyzer is the proof that this gas can save the environment and safe to use for alternative fuel. This study also indicates some problem in getting incredible result because there are some limitations on HHO generator itself. However, it can be improve and to see the really good result, experiment should be continue with the recommendations that have been stated

Development of A Small-Scale Vortex-Induced Wind Turbine

Over the last several years, there has been a significant and encouraging interest in the generation of power from wind, however, a massive wind turbine can only operate in a high wind speed condition. Vortex bladeless wind turbine is a completely new idea of wind turbine with a different mode of operation. It is designed to operate in a low wind speed condition which is a preferable option for areas with such conditions as in Malaysia. This study aims to develop and evaluate a functional prototype of a vortex bladeless wind turbine that can be used to harvest wind energy in a low wind speed condition. A vortex bladeless wind turbine is fabricated based on existing research on the principle of vortex shedding phenomenon. It is built in a cylindrical shape with approximately 2m in height measuring from the base to the top of the mast and 0.2m in diameter. The structure of a bladeless wind turbine is a flexible cylindrical mast over the setup that captures potential forms of energy from moving airstreams and uses a vortex-induced vibration (VIV) mechanism to produce vibration in the structure. The testing was done by using a wind tunnel’s exhaust that produced 1m/s to 10m/s of airflow which simulates a low to medium wind speed condition. The vibration is turned into electrical energy, using a power generating system like an electromagnetic induction mechanism. The analysis of the results is based on numerous data points gathered during the testing, including the frequency of oscillation, vortex shedding and natural frequency, and resonance parameter. Through the investigation, the results show that the phenomena of induced vibration were working at even critically low to moderate wind speeds, where standard and conventional wind turbines may fail to produce the desired outcomes. On this basis, it is confirmed that the prototype of vortex bladeless wind turbine is working properly in harvesting wind energy though several improvements need to be made

Ethnic and religious tolerance: barrier factors and improvement measures based on Malay youth perspectives in Malaysia

Ethnic and religious unity is a thing that every country wishes for not exempting Malaysia. Tolerance among the population is very much expected to achieve this. Nevertheless, ethnic and religious diversity in Malaysia is often seen as a challenge for realizing tolerance and thus creating unity. Therefore, this paper aims to analyze the barrier factors for ethnic and religious tolerance while at the same time identifying proposals for improvement measures to tolerance among the community. Hence, the Focus Group Discussion or FGD study design was used by involving 20 Malay youth informants as information providers. As a result of the analysis it can be concluded that there are six themes that exist as a barrier factor to ethnic and religious tolerance, namely (i) social gap; 38.06 percent, (ii) political debate; 16.42 percent, (iii) religious differences; 16.42 percent, (iv) economic inequality; 11.94 percent, (v) rights and constitution; 11.94 percent, and (vi) primordial sentiment; 5.22 percent. Meanwhile, in addressing the problem of ethnic and religious tolerance, the informants also proposed four perspectives on improvement measures i.e. (i) social empowerment; 71.19 percent, (ii) political role; 15.25 percent, (iii) the rule of law; 10.17 percent, and (iv) maintaining the image of Islam; 3.39 percent. The issues are important to be scrutinized because the practice of good ethnic and religious tolerance can unite the community, thereby driving the stability and progress of the country

Design proposal of the energy installation system for vehicle’s wind turbine

New inventions is relating to the idea of mounting a wind turbine for power generating system in vehicles. This study will investigate on the existing energy conversion and storage systems used in standard vehicle’s power system.This study involves with a proposed design of a vehicle’s wind turbine system. The energy that has been generated by wind turbine will be stored in the 12 volt battery and will then, be distributed to the entire vehicle for the use of the vehicle components. The optimal design for energy conversion system is created based on the review of the existing energy conversion and storage systems which are used in vehicle’s power system. A simulation study using NI Multisim (National Instrument Software) is conducted on the energy conversion and storage system that. The objectives of this study are to convert a mechanical energy from the blade to electrical energy to generate 12V voltage and to store it in a 12 volt battery. The 12V battery voltage will then be supplied to a high voltage system, up to 200V voltage capacity. From the analysis that has been done, the energy from a turbine has the potential to generate power to car system. The wind energy is possible to integrate with other existing and renewable energy. At this stage, the energy gained does not replace the existing one but it can be considered as a new energy source in the future energy developmen

The Understanding of Meaning and Cultural Significance of Leisure, Recreation and Sport in Malaysia towards Capitalizing Human Resources

This paper is concerned with examining the impact towards capitalizing human resource (i) the meaning of leisure, recreation and sport in the context of Malay language and (ii) the cultural significance of leisure, recreation and sport in Malaysia. There is no single word in Malay that could be translated as leisure and recreation. Most Malaysians understand leisure as “kegiatan masa lapang” (free time activity) or “waktu senggang” and recreation as” riadah” (active recreation) or “santai” (passive recreation). The direct translation for sport is “sukan”. The availability of the term” sukan” has helped sport to be more familiar among Malaysians than leisure and recreation. Leisure, recreation and sport in Malaysia are manifested in the patterns of the Malay language and culture. Culture is commonly used to describe a way of life. The symbols and rituals of some Malaysians indicate the strength of their adherence to certain behavioural norms related to good health and well-being. Attitude wise, Malaysians seem to enjoy „time after work‟, holidays and out of door activities during their leisure time. In Malaysia, sport persons are not as popular as a hero / role model as compared to a politician. Furthermore, Malaysians, being Eastern-oriented, are more inclined to incorporate their religious values into leisure, recreation and sport, although Islam allows one to proceed towards excellence in sport but the emphasis is on healthy bodies, family recreation and social harmony. Since sport is generally based on Western interpretations, many regulations such as dress codes, do not in accordance to Islamic principles, and this may make it difficult for some Malaysians, especially Muslim women, to participate

Analisis kualitatif pembingkaian akhbar The Star dan Utusan Malaysia mengenai kontroversi majlis “Thanksgiving” di DUMC

Kajian ini meneliti dan membandingkan bagaimana dua akhbar arus perdana berlainan bahasa di Malaysia, The Star dan Utusan Malaysia melaporkan isu konflik agama yang mencetuskan kontroversi berkaitan akidah dan kepercayaan umat Islam dalam satu majlis Thanksgiving yang melibatkan pelbagai kaum di Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC). Majlis ini dianjurkan oleh organisasi Komuniti Harapan pada 3 Ogos, 2011. Tindakan diambil oleh Bahagian Penguatkuasa Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (JAIS) yang menjalankan operasi pada majlis Thanksgiving itu menarik perhatian besar pihak media khususnya akhbar The Star dan Utusan Malaysia. Isu ini dianggap sebagai sebuah kes yang kontroversi untuk dikaji dan dibandingkan bagaimana media utama tempatan dan berlainan bahasa menonjolkan seterusnya membingkaikan isu konflik ini. The Star dan Utusan Malaysia dianalisis dengan objektif untuk menentukan pembingkaian berita (news frame) yang digunakan oleh kedua-dua akhbar dalam melaporkan mengenai isu ini seperti yang diperkenalkan oleh sarjana Robert Entman pada 1993. Dapatan kajian mendapati kedua-dua akhbar membingkai isu ini dengan memberi penekanan kepada isu konflik politik yang berlaku dalam parti gabungan Pakatan Rakyat (PR) terutamanya parti Parti Islam Semalaysia (PAS) dalam menangani isu ini. Selain bingkai konflik politik, kedua-dua akhbar menunjukkan perbezaan dalam membingkai isu ini. Akhbar The Star lebih membingkai isu ini dari sudut etika moral manakala akhbar Utusan Malaysia lebih membingkai isu ini dari sudut perlembagaan

Attitudes toward physical activities among college students

This study examined perceived benefits and barriers of physical activities among college students. Exercises Benefits/Barriers Scale (Sechrist, Walker, and Pender, 1987) was administered to 80 participants. Results indicated that the most common perceived benefits to physical activity for both female and male students were enjoyment of exercises, and decreased feelings of stress and tension. The female students also reported that exercise improves mental health, while for male students it improves strength. Among females students, the most common barrier to exercising is having no time to exercise, whereas for male students wanting to do other things with their time. Costly to exercise, lack of encouragement from family, taking too much time to exercise, and embarrassment are the other common barriers to physical activity