Thalassaemia: A study on the perception of patients and family members

Marked improvement in the management of thalassaemia has not been matched by progress in psychosocial rehabilitation as thalassaemia continues to pose challenges to patients and their family members. Few studies have been carried out in Malaysia to look at such issues. This study is therefore to explore the concerns, beliefs and feelings about thalassaemia. It was conducted in the year 2009 over 7 months on “focus groups”, in patients aged 8-22 years and parents attending Paediatric Clinic of Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital, Kuantan, Pahang. Results showed that concerns and adverse impact were related to lower grades in education, poor self-image, less chance of employment, marriage, financial burden and social integration. Compliance to subcutaneous iron chelator was poor. There were various concerns related to blood transfusion therapy. It is evident that thalassaemia greatly affects the psychosocial dimensions and a more structured long term psychosocial support is needed to improve quality of life of patients

Electrochemical measurements of multiwalled carbon nanotubes under different plasma treatments

In the present work, we described the post-treatment effects of applying different plasma atmosphere conditions on the electrochemical performances of the multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). For the study, a composite of MWCNTs/Co/Ti was successfully grown on the silicon substrate and then pre-treated with ammonia, oxygen and hydrogen plasma. The composite was characterized by making use of field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) for the surface morphology and Raman spectroscopy for the functionalization. Further, the electrochemical measurements were performed with the use of the cyclic voltammetry (CV) applied in the 0.01 M potassium ferricyanide in 0.1 M KCl solution. On testing, the results indicated that the NH3-treated MWCNTs have the highest efficiency as compared to the other pretreatments and control. This increased performance of NH3 treated sample can be linked to the enhanced surface area of the composite, thereby improved adsorption and associated interaction with that of the analyte molecules at the electrodes. Further comparison of the electrode with that of commercial Dropsens electrodes provided the confirmation for the efficiency of the NH3/MWCNTs, thereby suggesting for the potentiality of applying the NH3 modified electrode towards electrochemical applications

Fabrication of bottom-up multiwalled carbon nanotube electrode for sensitive electrochemical detection

Preliminary study of the growth of multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was done using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) technique. Posttreatment of MWCNT using different kinds of plasma atmosphere including oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen were applied to introduce defects on the surface of MWCNTs and nitrogen plasma gives the most significant arises on the peak current compared to the bare electrode with increment from ~0.33 mA to ~0.42 mA with increased of effective area from ~0.32 cm2 to ~0.49 cm2. The study was extended into fabrication of screen-printed electrode system using photolithography methods and the MWCNTs working electrodes were modified under nitrogen plasma to enhance the surface sensitivity

Molecularly imprinted polymer-based nanoporous carbon nanocomposite for effective adsorption of Hg(II) ions from aqueous suspensions

Due to the release of hazardous heavy metals from various industries, water pollution has become one of the biggest challenges for environmental scientists today. Mercury Hg(II) is regarded as one of the most toxic heavy metals due to its ability to cause cancer and other health issues. In this study, a tailor-made modern eco-friendly molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)/nanoporous carbon (NC) nanocomposite was synthesized and examined for the uptake of Hg(II) using an aqueous solution. The fabrication of the MIP/NC nanocomposite occurred via bulk polymerization involving the complexation of the template, followed by polymerization and, finally, template removal. Thus, the formed nanocomposite underwent characterizations that included morphological, thermal degradation, functional, and surface area analyses. The MIP/NC nanocomposite, with a high specific surface area of 884.9 m2/g, was evaluated for its efficacy towards the adsorptive elimination of Hg(II) against the pH solution changes, the dosage of adsorbent, initial concentration, and interaction time. The analysis showed that a maximum Hg(II) adsorption effectiveness of 116 mg/g was attained at pH 4, while the Freundlich model fitted the equilibrium sorption result and was aligned with pseudo-second-order kinetics. Likewise, thermodynamic parameters like enthalpy, entropy, and Gibbs free energy indicated that the adsorption was consistent with spontaneous, favorable, and endothermic reactions. Furthermore, the adsorption efficiency of MIP/NC was also evaluated against a real sample of condensate from the oil and gas industry, showing an 87.4 recovery of Hg(II). Finally, the synthesized MIP/NC showed promise as a selective adsorbent of Hg(II) in polluted environments, suggesting that a variety of combined absorbents of different precursors is recommended to evaluate heavy metal and pharmaceutical removals

Fabrication of plasma-treated multiwalled carbon nanotube electrodes for detection of quinoline in infected oil palm

Oil palms suffer from the major disease, basal stem rot (BSR), caused by the white rot fungus Ganoderma. During the plant-pathogen interactions, secondary metabolites are secreted by plants as defence mechanism. Various types of secondary metabolites secreted being quinoline compound as one of them. A rapid electrochemical technique is developed in order to help in early detection of the disease before the loss of the oil palm plantations. Multiwalled carbon nanotube screen-printed electrode based on Silicon substrate was fabricated for electrochemical sensor. The sensor was applied for the detection of quinoline via linear sweep voltammetry approach. Preliminary study of the growth of multi-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) was done using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) techniques. Posttreatment of MWCNT using different kinds of plasma atmosphere including oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen were applied to introduce defects on the surface of MWCNTs and nitrogen plasma gives the most significant arises on the peak current compared to the bare electrode with increment from ~0.33 mA to ~0.52 mA with increased of effective area from ~0.32 cm2 to ~0.49 cm2. The study was further into fabrication of screen-printed electrode system using photolithography methods and the MWCNTs working electrodes were modified under nitrogen plasma to enhance the surface sensitivity. The study was extended into detection of quinoline in secondary metabolite. In pH 7 phosphate buffer saline, an oxidation peak of quinoline was observed. Compared with the unmodified electrode, the NH3-MWCNT modified electrode greatly increases the oxidation peak current of quinoline showing notable enhancement effect. The effects of pH value, amount of MWCNT, accumulation potential and time were studied on the oxidation peak current of quinoline. A detection limit of 0.164μM was also achieved by applying deposition potential of -0.6V and deposition time of 50s. Preliminary study on root extract was done by diluting the extract on 0.1M methanol solution in addition of 0.1M PBS (pH 7) as supporting electrolyte. The linear plot gives an equation of y= 0.4753x-2.2894 with R2= 0.9879

Strategi penyelesaian masalah matematik bukan rutin merentas kepelbagaian kecerdasan

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenalpasti pola strategi penyelesaian masalah matematik bukan rutin merentas kepelbagaian kecerdasan dalam kalangan pelajar Tingkatan 4 di lima buah sekolah di Daerah Kulim Bandar Baharu, Kedah. Seramai 192 orang pelajar telah dipilih sebagai responden kajian. Soal selidik kepelbagaian kecerdasan Howard Gardner dan set soalan penyelesaian masalah telah digunakan sebagai instrumen kajian. Hasil dapatan kajian menunjukkan seramai 122 orang pelajar mempunyai kecerdasan dominan dan 70 orang pelajar mempunyai lebih daripada satu kecerdasan. Namun penyelidik hanya melihat strategi penyelesaian masalah terhadap pelajar yang mempunyai kecerdasan dominan sahaja. Majoriti pelajar yang terlibat sebagai responden kajian mempunyai kecerdasan dominan Intrapersonal. Seterusnya analisis terhadap strategi penyelesaian masalah matematik bukan rutin bagi soalan pertama menunjukkan pelajar kerap mengaplikasikan strategi pemikiran logik dan melukis rajah. Manakala analisis terhadap strategi penyelesaian masalah matematik bukan rutin bagi soalan kedua pula menunjukkan pelajar sering menggunakan strategi menyusun data, pemikiran logik dan penyelesaian masalah dengan lebih mudah. Akhir sekali adalah analisis terhadap strategi penyelesaian masalah matematik bukan rutin bagi soalan ketiga yang menunjukkan pelajar cenderung melaksanakan strategi pemikiran logik dan penyelesaian masalah dengan lebih mudah bagi menjawab soalan penyelesaian masalah ini. Oleh demikian, para guru haruslah mengambil langkah inisiatif dengan memperbaiki dan meningkatkan lagi kaedah pengajaran untuk membimbing dan melatih pelajar yang mempunyai kecerdasan yang pelbagai mampu untuk mempelbagaikan lagi strategi dalam menyelesaikan masalah matematik bukan rutin

Model aliran pembuatan keputusan berkait untuk penjagaan kesihatan penyakit kencing manis

Penyakit kencing manis adalah satu daripada penyakit kronik yang kian meningkat. Pemberian rawatan yang tepat diperlukan bagi menghasilkan keberkesanannya. Kajian lepas telah mencadangkan satu Model Aliran Pembuatan Keputusan Berkait (MAPKB) sebagai penyelesaian sistem sokongan keputusan cerdas untuk penjagaan kesihatan. Model ini dapat memberikan keputusan yang tepat dalam menentukan rawatan penyakit tertentu. Oleh itu, tujuan kajian ini adalah membangunkan model penjagaan kesihatan penyakit kencing manis berasaskan MAPKB bagi menilai ketepatan membuat keputusan yang meningkat dengan konsep MAPKB. Konsep MAPKB membolehkan jumlah data bertambah dengan pertambahan rekod data pada peringkat penjagaan yang sama, dan pertambahan rekod data dan atribut dari peringkat penjagaan sebelum atau selepasnya. Semakin bertambah data atau maklumat, semakin tepat sesuatu keputusan dapat dibuat. Data dibangunkan bagi membuat ramalan diagnosis untuk setiap peringkat penjagaan dalam perkembangan penyakit kencing manis jenis 2. Pembangunan data pada setiap peringkat penjagaan disahkan oleh pakar perubatan. Walaubagaimanapun, eksperimen dilaksana menggunakan data simulasi bagi dua peringkat penjagaan sahaja. Empat set data berlainan saiz disediakan untuk melihat perubahan ketepatan ramalan. Setiap set data mengandungi 2 set data peringkat penjagaan primer dan peringkat penjagaan sekunder dengan 4 kali perubahan jumlah atribut dari 25 hingga 58 dan jumlah rekod dari 300 hingga 11,000. Hasil eksperimen menunjukkan secara purata, algoritma J48 menunjukkan model terbaik (99%) diikuti Logistik (98%), RandomTree (95%), NaiveBayes Updateable (93%), BayesNet (84%) dan AdaBoostM1 (67%).Analisis nisbah juga menunjukkan ketepatan model ramalan telah meningkat sehingga 49%. Model MAPKB untuk penjagaan penyakit kecing manis ini telah direkabentuk dengan kriteria perubahan data secara dinamik dan berupaya membangunkan model ramalan terbaru yang dinamik dengan berkesan

A review on the state of cost data inputs of Life Cycle Cost (LCC) for rigid pavement maintenance and rehabilitation in Malaysia

Many scholars asserted that LCC plays an important role in the cost estimation of rigid pavement due to high construction, maintenance and reconstruction costs in Malaysia. Due to high budget allocation and expenditure on the maintenance and rehabilitation works of pavements in Malaysia by the government, it is crucial for the transportation agencies to optimize the budget allocation and select the most cost-effective pavement maintenance and rehabilitation alternatives. LCC is a useful economic assessment technique that compares the cost-effectiveness of different maintenance and rehabilitation approaches within the same road pavement type. However, in order to produce a comprehensive and reliable LCC output, there is need to ensure the cost data inputs is ready and quality enough to be used in the LCC estimation. This paper presents the outcomes of the comprehensive literature review on the state of cost data inputs for LCC analysis of rigid pavement maintenance and rehabilitation in Malaysia. The outcomes of the literature study have established that the majority of the construction industry key players are aware LCC analysis should be practiced in the rigid pavement maintenance and rehabilitation. However, the current state of LCC practice of rigid pavement maintenance and rehabilitation in Malaysia is still at the infancy stage and unready to be implemented due to the difficulties in attaining quality cost data for generating a comprehensive and reliable LCC analysis. The findings provide information on the current state of cost data inputs of LCC analysis of rigid pavement maintenance and rehabilitation in the Malaysian construction industry

Thalassaemia : a study on the perception of patients and family members

Marked improvement in the management of thalassaemia has not been matched by progress in psychosocial rehabilitation as thalassaemia continues to pose challenges to patients and their family members. Few studies have been carried out in Malaysia to look at such issues. This study is therefore to explore the concerns, beliefs and feelings about thalassaemia. It was conducted in the year 2009 over 7 months on “focus groups”, in patients aged 8-22 years and parents attending Paediatric Clinic of Tengku Ampuan Afzan Hospital, Kuantan, Pahang. Results showed that concerns and adverse impact were related to lower grades in education, poor self-image, less chance of employment, marriage, financial burden and social integration. Compliance to subcutaneous iron chelator was poor. There were various concerns related to blood transfusion therapy. It is evident that thalassaemia greatly affects the psychosocial dimensions and a more structured long term psychosocial support is needed to improve quality of life of patients

Functional nano molecularly imprinted polymer for the detection of Penicillin G in pharmaceutical samples

In the present study, we demonstrated the synthesis of nanosized molecularly imprinted polymer (nanoMIP) particles via a miniemulsion polymerization strategy for the selective recognition of Penicillin G element, a β-lactam antibiotic (PenG-nanoMIP). The PenG-nanoMIP probe was developed by the mixture of functional monomer, methacrylic acid (MAA) and crosslinking agent, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA). The pre-polymerization of monomer-template mixture was emulsified into miniemulsion via sonication where the PenG-nanoMIP particles were obtained with an average diameter of 60–70 nm. Also, various MIPs were formed by taking different combinations of monomer to crosslinker and among all, the MIP formed with a ratio of 6:24 was chosen as the optimum formulation. In addition, the PenG-nanoMIP probe has been characterized thoroughly for the surface functionality (FTIR), morphological changes (FESEM-EDX), and particles diameter. Finally, the batch rebinding tests via UV–Vis were conducted to investigate that the PenG-nanoMIP 2 has the greatest binding capacity with 4.37 mg/g as compared to PenG-nanoMIP 1 and PenG-nanoMIP 3 having the binding capacities of 3.33 mg/g and 3.62 mg/g respectively. Based on the analysis, it can be suggested that PenG-nanoMIP 2 has offered the highest binding and selectivity for PenG