Singapore Malay migrants\u27 concepts of filial-piety and its support for aged parents to age-in-place in Australia

This study investigates the perceptions of first-generation Malay migrants from Singapore in Perth, Western Australia, who are caring for aged-parents at home. This research examines their interpretation of the Confucian concept of “filial piety” and how this influences their aged-caring. Using a social constructionism epistemology and interpretive phenomenological theoretical framework research methodology, data was collected through semi-structured indepth interviews, supplemented by observation of verbal and physical expressions. This research used purposive criterion sampling to achieve a culturally homogeneous sample. Results were analysed according to themes from previous findings, and newly identified themes. Among new themes discovered included a refined interpretation of Australian Malay carers’ subscription to the concept of filial piety. Contrary to previously reported research, this research found that carers provided care for their aged-parents to “filially serve” their parents and not to “repay” their parents’ kindness. Participants did not expect their own children to provide care for them at old age in contrast with participants’ parents’ expressed expectation to be physically cared for. This study found that participants felt disadvantaged when comparing themselves with their counterparts in Singapore. Even though additional support would have eased the burden of caring, these carers were unwilling to seek information about ageing challenges (including dementia), or outside help, because existing aged-care provision was not culturally sensitive or responsive; and because “dementia” was stigmatised in the Malay community. The outcome of this research has implications for the planning and provision of culturally responsive and sensitive aged-care policy and services, to assist the Singapore Malay population and other similar migrant populations with similar values, to provide care for their aged-parents. These results contribute to an understanding of the values of Singapore Malay carers’ living in Western Australia; and recommend culturally sensitive training and education about ageing processes, consequences and challenges

Physical and chemical properties of cement with nano black rice husk ash

The existing of pores and micro-crack in the hardened cement paste influences the strength itself. Nano silica produced from BRHA has been used in this study. Nano BRHA replacement levels of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% by weight of cement were applied. The TGA/DTA and XRD has been conducted for hardened cement paste powder to analyses the effect of different partial replacement of Nano BRHA. It was found that the weight loss results for Ca(OH)2 seems decreasing with increasing in Nano BRHA replacement. The higher CSH percentage contained in cement paste was 10% of Nano BRHA replacement

Production and characterization of cellulases by Bacillus pumilus EB3

Cellulase production from bacteria can be an advantage as the enzyme production rate is normally higher due to bacterial high growth rate. Screening of bacteria, optimisation of fermentation conditions and selection of substrates are important for the successful production of cellulase. This study is conducted to produce cellulase from our local isolate Bacillus pumilus EB3, using carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as substrate. Following that, cellulase produced from Bacillus pumilus EB3 was purified using ion exchange chromatography with anion exchanger (HiTrap QXL) for characterisation of the cellulase. Cellulase was successfully produced in 2L stirred tank reactor (STR) with the productivity of 0.53, 3.08 and 1.78 U/L.h and the maximum enzyme activity of 0.011, 0.079 and 0.038 U/mL for FPase, CMCase and β-glucosidase respectively. Purification of cellulase from Bacillus pumilus EB3 using ion exchange chromatography showed that 98.7% of total CMCase was recovered. Protein separation was however based on subtractive separation where the contaminants were bound to the column instead of CMCase. Characterisation of the enzyme found that CMCase from Bacillus pumilus EB3 has a molecular weight range from 30-65 kDa and was optimally active at pH 6.0 and temperature 60℃. The CMCase also retained its activity over a wide pH range (pH 5.0–9.0) and temperature range (30-70℃).Seminar on Engineering and Technology (SET2006), September 4-5, 2006, Putrajaya, Malaysi

Analytical study of flexible stimulation waveforms in muscle fatigue reduction

This paper presents the analytical study of flexible stimulation waveforms in muscle fatigue reduction for functional electrical stimulator (FES)-assisted hemiplegic muscle activities. The major challenge of muscle contraction induced by FES is early muscle fatigue which greatly limits activities such as FES-assisted standing and walking. The fixed stimulation pattern applied on a same motor unit has resulted the motor unit to be overworked and fatigue easily. Therefore, in this work, the stimulus parameters, which include the pulse width duration and the frequency were varied to create a few flexible stimulation waveforms using MATLAB/Simulink. The pulse width duration was modulated from 100µs – 500µs to generate five types of flexible stimulation waveforms such as Rectangular, Trapezoidal, Ramp Up, Ramp Down and Triangular. Concurrently, a few ranges of stimulus frequency were also used, which include 20Hz, 30Hz and 50Hz. The generated flexible stimulation waveforms were applied onto a humanoid muscle model to investigate and analyse the muscle output response and early muscle fatigue reduction. From the conducted simulation results and analyses, it was observed that flexible stimulation waveforms such as Triangular, Ramp Up and Ramp Down could reduce early muscle fatigue phenomenon by having lower average of negative slope, in the range of 0.012 to 0.013 for the muscle fitness. In contrast, the Rectangular and Trapezoidal shapes were found to have higher negative slope of muscle fitness in the range of 0.028 to 0.031. The Ramp Down shape was found to have the lowest average of negative slope (0.012) while Rectangular was found to have the highest average of negative slope (0.031). Therefore, it can be concluded that flexible stimulation waveforms such Ramp Down, Ramp Up and Triangular shapes could reduce early muscle fatigue phenomenon with Ramp Down shape having the highest muscle fatigue reduction

Effect of soft story on structural response of high rise buildings.

Severe structural damage suffered by several modern buildings during recent earthquakes illustrates the importance of avoiding sudden changes in lateral stiffness and strength. Recent earthquakes that occurred have shown that a large number of existing reinforced concrete buildings are vulnerable to damage or even collapse during a strong earthquake. While damage and collapse due to soft story are most often observed in buildings, they can also be developed in other types of structures. The lower level containing the concrete columns behaved as a soft story in that the columns were unable to provide adequate shear resistance during the earthquake. Usually the most economical way of retrofitting such as a building is by adding proper bracing to soft stories. So, in this paper occurring of soft at the lower level of high rise buildings subjected to earthquake has been studied. Also has been tired to investigate on adding of bracing in various arrangements to structure in order to reduce soft story effect on seismic response of building. It is lead to assess the vulnerability level of existing multi-storied buildings so that they can be retrofitted to possess the minimum requirements. This will help in minimizing the impending damages and catastrophes

Image analysis of non-aqueous phase liquid migration in aggregated kaolin

Double-porosity is an important feature in soil due to its influence on the migration of fluids within the soil. Conventional ways of measuring fluid saturation involves intrusive use of equipment that may disturb the original setting of the sample being measured. The use of image analysis has overcome this problem but has rarely been applied in research concerning double-porosity soil media. The study presented in this article applies image analysis to study the migration of non-aqueous phase liquid (NAPL) in soil with double-porosoity features. In this study, the laboratory experiments were conducted in a three-dimensional rectangular acrylic model and images were acquired using the photographic technique. Immiscible NAPL was chosen as the fluid applied as it is relatively less studied in double-porosity media compared to miscible contaminants. Aggregated kaolin was used as the double-porosity soil samples. Image analysis was utilized to observe the migration of the NAPL based on migration area coverage, the optical saturation of the NAPL as well as the intensity of the NAPL during migration. The experiments were performed over a range of different moisture content contained in the aggregated soil samples and the effect of different soil moisture content on the migration of NAPL in double-porosity soil was analyzed. The experimental results showed that the rate of NAPL migration will increase as the moisture content increases. In summary, image analysis was found to be a viable method in observing and visualizing the migration of NAPL based on optical saturation, intensity, and area invaded by NAPL in double-porosity soil

Cold-Active Enzymes and Their Potential Industrial Applications—A Review

More than 70% of our planet is covered by extremely cold environments, nourishing a broad diversity of microbial life. Temperature is the most significant parameter that plays a key role in the distribution of microorganisms on our planet. Psychrophilic microorganisms are the most prominent inhabitants of the cold ecosystems, and they possess potential cold-active enzymes with diverse uses in the research and commercial sectors. Psychrophiles are modified to nurture, replicate, and retain their active metabolic activities in low temperatures. Their enzymes possess characteristics of maximal activity at low to adequate temperatures; this feature makes them more appealing and attractive in biotechnology. The high enzymatic activity of psychrozymes at low temperatures implies an important feature for energy saving. These enzymes have proven more advantageous than their mesophilic and thermophilic counterparts. Therefore, it is very important to explore the efficiency and utility of different psychrozymes in food processing, pharmaceuticals, brewing, bioremediation, and molecular biology. In this review, we focused on the properties of cold-active enzymes and their diverse uses in different industries and research areas. This review will provide insight into the areas and characteristics to be improved in cold-active enzymes so that potential and desired enzymes can be made available for commercial purposes

Cold-Active Enzymes and Their Potential Industrial Applications—A Review

More than 70% of our planet is covered by extremely cold environments, nourishing a broad diversity of microbial life. Temperature is the most significant parameter that plays a key role in the distribution of microorganisms on our planet. Psychrophilic microorganisms are the most prominent inhabitants of the cold ecosystems, and they possess potential cold-active enzymes with diverse uses in the research and commercial sectors. Psychrophiles are modified to nurture, replicate, and retain their active metabolic activities in low temperatures. Their enzymes possess characteristics of maximal activity at low to adequate temperatures; this feature makes them more appealing and attractive in biotechnology. The high enzymatic activity of psychrozymes at low temperatures implies an important feature for energy saving. These enzymes have proven more advantageous than their mesophilic and thermophilic counterparts. Therefore, it is very important to explore the efficiency and utility of different psychrozymes in food processing, pharmaceuticals, brewing, bioremediation, and molecular biology. In this review, we focused on the properties of cold-active enzymes and their diverse uses in different industries and research areas. This review will provide insight into the areas and characteristics to be improved in cold-active enzymes so that potential and desired enzymes can be made available for commercial purposes

Flexural strength properties of porous concrete pavement incorporating nano black rice husk ash

Rice husk ash (RHA) as replacement material in the conventional concrete mixture has widely investigated around the world. However, there is a lack of study on nanoparticle produced from black rice husk ash (BRHA) used as a replacement material in porous concrete pavement mixture. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the flexural strength properties of porous concrete pavement containing nano black rice husk ash. A nano BRHA dosage of 0, 10, 20, 30 and 40% by weight of binder used throughout the experiments. The total cementitious content used was 450 kg/m3 with a water/binder ratio of 0.34. It found that there appears to be an optimum replacement of approximately 10% nano BRHA, during which time the flexural strength and flexural activity index increase significantly

A review on the empty fruit bunch composting: life cycle analysis and the effect of amendment(s)

This chapter reviews the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and the effect of amendment(s) for empty fruit bunches composting. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of empty fruit bunches EFB composting as a solid waste processing is presented. The LCA study by various investigators confirmed that composting is more really environmentally friendly based on the greenhouse gas reduction measurement. Successful composting of empty fruit bunches (EFB) and suitable amendment(s) and obtaining a product of horticultural value may increase the viability of this recycling approach. The EFB composting with suitable amendments has shown acceptable quality of compost and simultaneously accelerates the process to less than 60 days. Finally, a case study on utilization of banana skins as amendments is discussed. In the case study, the addition of banana skin could enhance rapid EFB decomposition and increase nutrients such as P and K. A 45 days experiment was conducted at a 100kg scale to observe decomposition processes in empty fruit bunch (EFB) amended with two different percentages of banana skins (BS) (H5 and H10, 5% and 10% of BS by weight, respectively) in comparison with the control (unamended EFB, i.e. H0). The temperature in the three points of the piles was recorded throughout the experiment. By day 3, the temperature in the substrates H10 exceeded 45°C while the highest temperature recorded in the control during the experiment was 39°C (day 22). In conclusion, banana skins have potential as amendment for enhancing EFB composting