Alexithymia and somatization in psychiatric and medical patients

315 subjects comprising of equal number of psychiatric and medical patients; and control group were randomly selected for the study. Neuroses and depressive illness of the psychiatric group was chosen through psychiatric clinic. The medical outpatients attending physician clinic formed the medical group while the control group was identified from staff and patients relatives. The selected patient was administered a series of questionnaires such as Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), Middlesex Hospital Questionnaires (MHQ) and Duke Health Profile (DUKE) after the diagnosis was confirmed. The psychiatric patient was further evaluated using Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDS) and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAS) for assessment of severity of depression and anxiety respectively.172 (55%) subjects had positive TAS score and consider as alexithymia. The prevalence of alexithymia was significantly higher in psychiatric and medical patients than the control group. The number of alexithymia among patients with underlying depression and anxiety were significantly increased. In general individual with alexithymia had significantly higher number of personality trait than healthy volunteer. There were marked psychosocial impairments and physical disability in psychiatric and medical patients respectively. However the difference was small and did not reach the level of significant. Although we cannot link alexithymia with a specific factor, most likely it is the product of personality disturbances aggravated by medical and psychiatric illness, especially depression and anxiety

Current review towards the new best practices of Corporate Real Estate Management (CREM) in Malaysia

Corporate Real Estate (CRE) is referring to land and buildings owned by companies which are not primarily in the real estate business used for operational purpose. CRE covers the entire range of activities. Awareness of knowledge of CRE in Malaysia lacks because the researcher found that the operation of properties owned by a few large companies is undermanaged and underused. This review paper focuses on the definition of corporate real estate (CRE), components of CRE, and the current practice in the industry. This paper a desk analysis reviewing the literature on general management of the corporate real estate. By using the secondary data such as Company Annual Report, Previous studies and other relevant sources. There are several different issues to examine along the way, from the business strategies, Constituent and tools to help make the right decisions. It draws a framework for CRE analysis. From this paper, we can find the issue to improve the current practice on the CRE in Malaysia

Experimental validation of a theoretical model for flexural modulus of elasticity of thin cement composite

Experimental and analytical investigations for the modulus of elasticity of thin cement composite composed of mesh and mortar are demonstrated. Based on the analyses and experimental data, new equations for the modulus of elasticity of thin cement composite are proposed. It is observed that the flexural modulus of elasticity of thin cement composite depends on the elastic modulus of mortar and some factor of the difference of elastic modulus of mesh and mortar. Results obtained by using the proposed equations are compared to those of the available equations. It has been found that the newly developed equations give relatively conservative results as compared to the typically used ones. A comparison between the analytical and experimental findings further indicates that there is a good agreement between the analytical and experimental result

An Analysis of the Prevalence of Pneumonia for Children under 12 Year Old in Tawau General Hospital, Malaysia

Pneumonia is one of the serious illnesses, which involves lung infection specifically alveoli. Nearly 40,000 to 70,000 people die each year in United State because of pneumonia. Therefore, it is not a surprise that pneumonia is one of the most critical illnesses for children under 12 years old in many parts of the world, including Malaysia and particularly in Tawau, Sabah, Malaysia. The objectives of this study are: to develop a summary on the prevalence of pneumonia in Tawau General Hospital, to analyze the best practice to prevent this illness and lastly to determine an overview of which area that is widely affected by pneumonia. The results can assist doctors and the government to take major precautions and preventive measures efficiently to the full extent. This paper presents a descriptive analysis of the data, which are retrieved from the medical reports at the Tawau General Hospital. Through the findings, pneumonia is widely spread among young children under 12 years old. There are more than one major factor that leads to this critical illness, such as family background, genetic and environment. Therefore, the government, doctors and parents should take major steps to prevent children suffering from pneumonia.Comment: Presented at the International Seminar on the Application of Science & Mathematics 201

Adaptive control simulation for multiagent autonomous underwater cleaning robot

The purpose of this research is to develop an adaptive control system for multiagent autonomous underwater cleaning robots that can handle problems that occur due to large areas of underwater environment cleaning operations, single robot challenges, and ineffective tactics that could cause a system failure. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to develop an adaptive control system for multiagent autonomous underwater cleaning robots that can be used to handle difficulties such as underwater environment cleanliness, single robot issues, and avoiding ineffective approaches that might cause system failure. This research used the MATLAB and Simulink tools to create an adaptive control system and simulate the designed controller with various unknown parameters and disturbances. The results demonstrate the adaptivity, adjustability, and stability of the multiagent underwater cleaning robot’s adaptive control system to cope with the underwater environment’s situations such water current using simulation

Effect of disc brake squeal with respect to thickness variation: Experimental Modal Analysis

Disc brake or rotor squeal is an ongoing problem that occurs in the automotive industry. An undesirable disc brake noise problem can arise after a period of time of usage. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the structural dynamic behaviour of disc brakes with different wear thickness by using Experimental Modal Analysis. The wear thickness of disc brake rotors are 0.5 mm, 1.0 mm and 1.5 mm from the original thickness of 15.8 mm and 3.2234 kg weight. The modal parameters such as natural frequency, damping ratio, and mode shape are obtained in a free-free condition by using an impact hammer test. For original thickness of disc brake rotor, the first eight natural frequencies are 1256.4 Hz, 2486.9 Hz, 2654.9 Hz, 3092.1 Hz, 3348.7 Hz, 3407.0 Hz, 4130.0 Hz, and 5709.6 Hz. The results show that the natural frequency decreases when the thickness reduction increased at the same mode. It can be concluded that the wear effect of the disc brake rotor is one of the factors which may lead to the brake squeal problem due to the reduction of the natural frequency of the disc brake rotor

Simulation and analysis for harvesting Dioscorea hispida tubers

This study discussed an analysis and simulation of fixture stand structure that will use for data collection of force required for harvesting the tubers of Dioscorea hispida. The tubers were surrounded by roots which were well gripped to the soil which made harvesting process difficult. Therefore, a new tool fixture equipped with digital force gauge device to gripped stem dioscorea hispida is required. Imada digital force measurement gauges are state-of-the-art, instruments capable of the highly accurate measurements required in quality testing to determine the strength or functionality of a part or product. The information from the experiments is used to model and simulate the tool in Computer Aided Design (CAD) environment. The solid modelling software Solidworks was used for the design, modelling and simulation of the equipment and the finite element analysis to determine the stress affected on various fixture designs

Adaptive control simulation for multiagent autonomous underwater cleaning robot

938-943The purpose of this research is to develop an adaptive control system for multiagent autonomous underwater cleaning robots that can handle problems that occur due to large areas of underwater environment cleaning operations, single robot challenges, and ineffective tactics that could cause a system failure. Therefore, the purpose of the research is to develop an adaptive control system for multiagent autonomous underwater cleaning robots that can be used to handle difficulties such as underwater environment cleanliness, single robot issues, and avoiding ineffective approaches that might cause system failure. This research used the MATLAB and Simulink tools to create an adaptive control system and simulate the designed controller with various unknown parameters and disturbances. The results demonstrate the adaptivity, adjustability, and stability of the multiagent underwater cleaning robot’s adaptive control system to cope with the underwater environment’s situations such water current using simulation

Substrate and cofactor binding interaction studies of galactitol -1- Phosphate 5- Dehydrogenase from Peptoclostridium difficile

Tagatose is a high value low calorie sweetener that is used as a sugar substitute in the food and pharmaceutical industry. The production of tagatose requires the conversion of galactitol-1-phosphate to tagatose-6-phosphate by galactitol-1-phosphate 5-dehydrogenase (PdGPDH). Theobjective of this work is to study the protein-ligand interaction between PdGPDH and its ligands; galactitol-1-phosphate, Zn2+ and NAD+. Understanding of this mechanism will provide an insight into the possible catalytic events in these domains, thus providing information for potential protein engineering to improve the tagatose production. A 3D model of PdGPDH was constructed to identify the catalytic and coenzyme binding domains. In order to understand the interaction of PdGPDH with its ligands, a docking analysis of PdGPDH-substrate, PdGPDH-Zn2+ and PdGPDH-NAD+ complex was performed using CDOCKER in Discovery Studio 4.0 (DS 4.0). A series of docking events were performed to find the most stable binding interaction for the enzyme and its ligands. This study found that Cys 37, His 58, Glu 59, Glu 142 residues from PdGPDH form an active site pocket similar to known GPDH. A catalytic Zn2+ binding domain and a cofactor NAD+binding domain with strong hydrogen bonding contacts with the substrate and the cofactor were identified. The binding pockets of the enzyme for galactitol-1-phosphate, NAD+ and Zn2+has been defined. The stability of PdGPDH with its ligand was verified by utilizing the molecular dynamic simulation of docked complex. The results from this study will assist future mutagenesis study and enzyme modification work to improve the tagatose production

Development of an innovative interlocking load bearing hollow block system in Malaysia

The paper describes the development of a new interlocking hollow block masonry system appropriate for load bearing masonry wall construction. The developed system is an alternative to the traditional bonded masonry system where the blocks in the wall are integrated through mortar layers. In the system developed, the blocks are stacked on one another and three-dimensional interlocking protrusions are provided in the blocks to integrate the blocks into walls. This paper includes the background, concept and procedure used to develop an efficient interlocking hollow block system, which may be used in the construction of load bearing walls. Twenty-one different block models have been investigated and analysed with respect to weight, bearing and shear areas, shape, ease of production, ability to accommodate vertical and horizontal reinforcing stabilising ties and efficiency of the interlocking mechanism under imposed loads. The blocks, developed under the name ‘PUTRA BLOCK’, have been used to construct a single-storey house at Universiti Putra Malaysia. The system provides a fast, easy and an accurate building system