Poster appeal in fostering energy conservation behaviour among government office building users

Energy is essential for a nation to achieve sustainable development. The need for Malaysia to achieve efficient energy usage was explicitly addressed in the Ninth and Tenth Malaysia Plan. Extended from that, the government has directed all government office buildings to reduce energy usage by 10%. However, the lack of energy saving behaviour among building users still remains a major challenge. Previous studies reveal that visual persuasion tool is useful to encourage voluntary behaviour change for efficient energy usage. Poster is one of the visual persuasion tool. Yet, the effectiveness of different types of poster appeal in energy saving context remains unknown. The objectives of this research are to identify different types of poster appeal to foster energy conservation behaviour among government office building users; and to investigate the effectiveness of different poster appeal in fostering energy conservation behaviour among government office building users. Lights-off behaviour in washroom has been selected as targeted energy conservation behaviour in this study, which is an outcome from a focus group discussion. The methodology for this study consisted of two major stages: Focus group and Quasiexperimental studies. In order to identify the types of poster appeal, energy saving posters were shown to the focus group participants which included the energy saving expertise, designers and representatives from Kota Iskandar. Fear appeal, fun appeal and guilt appeal were identified from the focus group discussion and used as the visual persuasion tool in a Quasi-experimental study. The Quasi-experimental study involve: (i) one month pre-experimental (baseline) and (ii) four month postexperimental (intervention) which was then followed by a one month follow up, conducted in Kota Iskandar, Johor. A control group (without poster) and three treatment groups (with poster) were involve in the observations. A total of 6,750 observations were conducted on the government office staffs throughout the six months Quasi-experimental study, involving a total of 68 washrooms. Mann- Whitney U test, Kruaksal Wallis test, Wilcoxon test and Friedman test were conducted to analyse the collected data. The result indicates that there was an increase of lights-off frequency at the washroom for the three treatment groups while no changes were detected for the control group. The findings suggests that fear appeal has an immediate effect within a short period of time, but the effect did not last long. Over time, guilt and fun appeal were identified to be more effective than fear appeal and their effect were able to sustain after the removal of the poster. This study will contribute to existing literature by revealing the effectiveness of application of fear, fun and guilt appeal to foster lights-off behaviour. Facilities manager can utilise the appropriate poster appeal in fostering energy saving behaviour among the office building users

Production, safety, health effects and applications of diacylglycerol functional oil in food systems: a review

Diacylglycerol (DAG) is a world leading anti-obesity functional cooking oil synthesized via structural modification of conventional fats and oils. DAG exits in three stereoisomers namely sn-1,2-DAG, sn-1,3-DAG, and sn-2,3-DAG. DAG particularly sn-1,3-DAG demonstrated to have the potential in suppressing body fat accumulation and lowering postprandial serum triacylglycerol, cholesterol and glucose level. DAG also showed to improve bone health. This is attributed to DAG structure itself that caused it to absorb and digest via different metabolic pathway than conventional fats and oils. With its purported health benefits, many studies attempt to enzymatically or chemically synthesis DAG through various routes. DAG has also received wide attention as low calorie fat substitute and has been incorporated into various food matrixes. Despite being claimed as healthy cooking oil the safety of DAG still remained uncertain. DAG was banned from sale as it was found to contain probable carcinogen glycidol fatty acid esters. The article aims to provide a comprehensive and latest review of DAG emphasizing on its structure and properties, safety and regulation, process developments, metabolism and beneficial health attributes as well as its applications in the food industry

Prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue following ablation surgery

AbstractBackground/purposeThe purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in patients with squamous cell carcinoma (SSC) of the tongue after primary surgical resection and to correlate the presence of OSA with the occurrence of obstructive apnea in this patient population.Materials and methodsThis was a retrospective study of 26 Taiwanese patients, 24 males and two females, aged 37–71 years, after surgical resection of SSC of the tongue. Patients who had a follow-up after treatment of 6 months to 11 years were eligible for inclusion. During the post-treatment period, the occurrence of OSA was determined in these patients. Overnight polysomnography (PSG) was used to determine the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI). Patients were considered to have OSA if the AHI value was >5.ResultsPatients with an AHI value of <5 showed a mean body mass index (BMI) of 22.8 kg/m2, while those with an AHI value of >5 showed a mean BMI of 28.3 kg/m2. The BMI distribution between patients with AHI value of <5 and those with AHI values of >5 was statistically significant (P = 0.018). Using the definition of clinically significant sleep apnea as AHI > 5, 14 of 26 patients (53.85%) had clinical OSA. The OSA and non-OSA groups showed no statistical significance in terms of age, tumor size, tongue ablation, neck dissection [method?], or wound reconstruction methods.ConclusionIncidence of OSA in the patient population with SSC of the tongue was found to be significantly higher than that in the general population. The limitations of this study were the relatively small patient sample size and no presurgical PSG record being obtained from the patients to compare the sleep quality before and after cancer therapy

Cross-disciplinary collaboration through WuZhiQiao Project to foster cultural exchange and community engagement

In 2013, students of the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi), with the support of WuZhiQiao (WZQ) Charitable Foundation, formed a core team of 11 students to organize and participate in social service projects to help the underprivileged in the Chinese mainland. WuZhiQiao (WZQ) projects, the first cross-region social service engagement by THEi students, bring together students from Hong Kong and the Mainland. WZQ Charitable Foundation aims to help the Chinese traditional village in building Pedestrian Bridge and organizing community projects. Since there are Chinese villages facing flooding during rainy seasons, the local villagers will be trapped inside the village without the chance to go outside or wade outside the village. There are hundreds of such villages and they highly need our help. Each project mainly involves two or three institutes from Hong Kong and the Mainland, and they organize the whole volunteer project including planning, investigation, design, promotion and operation. Through involvement in different states or provinces, WZQ projects provide good chance of communication and interaction between Hong Kong teams and the Mainland teams and advocate intercultural social services. The projects can foster the cultural exchange between Hong Kong and the Mainland. Moreover, the majority of WZQ project members are coming from the fields of engineering, architecture and health care. We can practice our learning from lectures through the project implementation. Different parties are involved in the engineering projects including clients, consultants, contractors, surveyors, engineers and workers. Engineering students can gain good understanding of the holistic picture of a real-life engineering project. We visited the location village for investigation to learn more about the local culture, geometry and the people’s needs and discussed with the Mainland Team through online chatting tools in order to propose the optimal pedestrian building design and other community projects. Having spent over six months in planning and preparation, THEi students will implement a bridge-building and community project in Chongqing in January 2015. Through engagement in this service-learning project, not only the undergraduates of THEi can benefit through personal development but the life quality of the disadvantaged can also be improved

Targeted profiling of chlorinated transformation products and the parent micropollutants in the aquatic environment: A comparison between two coastal cities

This study investigated chlorinated transformation products (TPs) and their parent micropollutants, aromatic pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in the urban water bodies of two metropolitan cities. Nine PPCPs and 16 TPs were quantitatively or semi-quantitatively determined using isotope dilution techniques and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. TPs and most PPCPs were effectively removed by conventional wastewater treatments in a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Chlorinated parabens and all PPCPs (at concentrations below 1000 ng/L) were present in the waters receiving treated wastewater. By contrast, the waters receiving untreated wastewater contained higher levels of PPCPs (up to 9400 ng/L) and more species of chlorinated TPs including chlorinated parabens, triclosan, diclofenac, and bisphenol A. The very different chemical profiles between the water bodies of the two cities of similar geographical and climatic properties may be attributed to their respective uses of chemicals and policies of wastewater management. No apparent increase in the number of species or abundances of TPs was observed in either the chlorinated wastewater or the seawater rich in halogens. This is the first study to elucidate and compare the profiles of multiple TPs and their parent PPCPs in the water bodies of coastal cities from tropical islands. Our findings suggest that chlorinated derivatives of bisphenol A, diclofenac, triclosan, and parabens in the surface water originate from sources other than wastewater disinfection or marine chlorination. Although further studies are needed to identify the origins, conventional wastewater treatments may protect natural water bodies against contamination by those chlorinated substances

Rheological properties, textural properties, and storage stability of palm kernel-based diacylglycerol-enriched mayonnaise

The effect of replacement of soybean oil (SBO) with 0, 5, 10, 15, and 20% palm kernel based-diacylglycerol (PKDG) which were referred to as SD1000, SD9505, SD9010, SD8515, and SD8020 formulations, respectively, on the rheological properties, textural properties, and storage stability of mayonnaise were evaluated in this study. Emulsion stability results demonstrated no significant differences (P > 0.05) among all formulations except SD8020 which exhibited diminished emulsion stability. In terms of textural properties, both SD9010 and SD8020 showed closer textural characteristics compared with control. Microstructure evaluation of all mayonnaise formulations revealed significant increases in oil droplet diameter in tandem with increasing PKDG concentration. For rheological properties, all mayonnaise formulated displayed similar gel-like behavior with greater storage modulus (G') than loss modulus (G”) and loss tangent (tan δ) less than 0.3. Results indicated that up to 10% PKDG was suitable to be incorporated in healthy mayonnaise formulation. Both SD9505 and SD9010 were subsequently evaluated for their stability throughout a 2-month storage period. All mayonnaise displayed satisfying stability during storage with gradual increment in peroxide value, free fatty acid level, and G'G” crossover value except control. Additionally, an insignificant change in viscoelastic properties (P > 0.05) was observed after storage for all formulations examined. Practical applications: This present work has three main practical applications: (i) enable the incorporation of PKDG as a functional ingredient into a mayonnaise system; (ii) provide knowledge and understanding of the physicochemical, rheological, and textural properties of PKDG-enriched mayonnaise; and (iii) give insight into the storage stability of PKDG-incorporated mayonnaise throughout the 2-month storage period

Shipping to heterogeneous customers with competing carriers

__Problem definition:__ We consider a shipper transporting and selling a short-life-cycle product to a destination market. Customers in the destination market obtain higher utility if they receive the product earlier but their time preferences are heterogeneous. Two transportation service providers (i.e., carriers) offer distinct speeds and competing freight rates. This study analyzes the shipper’s optimal shipping strategy under carrier competition. __Academic/Practical relevance:__ Perishable products are commonly shipped via multiple means of transport. The faster the mode of transport is, the more expensive it is, but speed enables the product to reach the market with higher quality. In addition to the trade-off between speed and cost, the competition between carriers can also influence the shipper’s transportation procurement strategies. Our model highlights the implications of carrier competition in a dual sourcing problem. __Methodology:__ We study a two-stage game-theoretical framework: Carriers first compete on freight rates, and then the shipper determines the shipping schedule. __Results:__ The shipper may benefit from product differentiation via dual-mode shipping, in which the shipment that arrives earlier is sold at a premium price. In equilibrium, the shipper’s profit can be U-shaped in the speed difference between carriers. Dual sourcing may be inferior to simply restricting a single shipping service in a winner-take-all fashion. __Managerial implications:__ This study reveals an underlying trade-off between the operational advantage from product differentiation and the cost advantage from carrier competition. To benefit from either of these advantages, a shipper should use two carriers with either very distinct or very similar speeds. Single sourcing may bring an additional cost advantage that outweighs the value of production differentiation through dual sourcing

Consumer intention to use QR code

This study examines how the users' perception of QR code affects their attitude towards QR code, particularly in the context of Malaysian local university students. Next, the study examines the relationship between their attitude towards QR code and their intention to use the QR code. Empirical analysis via multiple regression analysis affirmed that PIQ influences PU and PSQ influences PEoU. Additionally, both PU and PEoU influences the attitude of users, which leads to the influence of attitude towards the user's intention to use to QR code. The functionality of QR codes can be utilized by business entities to serve for their company and create revenue. However, the companies must modify the content of the QR code application according to the minimum requirements and perception of the users. The results of this research offer essential guidelines for companies to tailor the information of their campaigns to the users' preferences. Next, future researches can utilize the proposed theoretical framework to exploit the potentials of QR code in the marketing field

Towards Personalized Healthcare in Cardiac Population: The Development of a Wearable ECG Monitoring System, an ECG Lossy Compression Schema, and a ResNet-Based AF Detector

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the number one cause of death worldwide. While there is growing evidence that the atrial fibrillation (AF) has strong associations with various CVDs, this heart arrhythmia is usually diagnosed using electrocardiography (ECG) which is a risk-free, non-intrusive, and cost-efficient tool. Continuously and remotely monitoring the subjects' ECG information unlocks the potentials of prompt pre-diagnosis and timely pre-treatment of AF before the development of any life-threatening conditions/diseases. Ultimately, the CVDs associated mortality could be reduced. In this manuscript, the design and implementation of a personalized healthcare system embodying a wearable ECG device, a mobile application, and a back-end server are presented. This system continuously monitors the users' ECG information to provide personalized health warnings/feedbacks. The users are able to communicate with their paired health advisors through this system for remote diagnoses, interventions, etc. The implemented wearable ECG devices have been evaluated and showed excellent intra-consistency (CVRMS=5.5%), acceptable inter-consistency (CVRMS=12.1%), and negligible RR-interval errors (ARE<1.4%). To boost the battery life of the wearable devices, a lossy compression schema utilizing the quasi-periodic feature of ECG signals to achieve compression was proposed. Compared to the recognized schemata, it outperformed the others in terms of compression efficiency and distortion, and achieved at least 2x of CR at a certain PRD or RMSE for ECG signals from the MIT-BIH database. To enable automated AF diagnosis/screening in the proposed system, a ResNet-based AF detector was developed. For the ECG records from the 2017 PhysioNet CinC challenge, this AF detector obtained an average testing F1=85.10% and a best testing F1=87.31%, outperforming the state-of-the-art

SARS in Hospital Emergency Room

Thirty-one cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) occurred after exposure in the emergency room at the National Taiwan University Hospital. The index patient was linked to an outbreak at a nearby municipal hospital. Three clusters were identified over a 3-week period. The first cluster (5 patients) and the second cluster (14 patients) occurred among patients, family members, and nursing aids. The third cluster (12 patients) occurred exclusively among healthcare workers. Six healthcare workers had close contact with SARS patients. Six others, with different working patterns, indicated that they did not have contact with a SARS patient. Environmental surveys found 9 of 119 samples of inanimate objects to be positive for SARS coronavirus RNA. These observations indicate that although transmission by direct contact with known SARS patients was responsible for most cases, environmental contamination with the SARS coronavirus may have lead to infection among healthcare workers without documented contact with known hospitalized SARS patients