Fetal movements recording system using accelerometer sensor

One of the compelling challenges in modern obstetrics is the monitoring fetal wellbeing. Physicians are gradually becoming cognizant of the relationship between fetal activity, movement, welfare, and future developmental progress. Previous works have developed few accelerometer-based systems to tackle issues related to ultrasound measurement, the provision of remote s1pport and self-managed monitoring of fetal movement during pregnancy. Though, many research questions on the optimal setup in terms of body-worn accelerometers, as well as signal processing and machine learning techniques used to detect fetal movement, are still open. In this work, a new fetal movement system recorder has been proposed. The proposed system has six accelerometer sensors and ARDUINO microcontroller. The device which is interfaced with the MATLAB signal process tool has been designed to record, display and store relevant sets of fetal movements. The sensors are to be placed on the maternal abdomen to record and process physical signals originating from the fetal. Comparison of data recorded from fetal movements with ultrasound and maternal perception technique gave the following results. An accuracy of 59.78%, 85.87%,and 97.83% was achieved using the maternal perception technique, fetal movement recording system, and ultrasound respectively. The findings show that the proposed fetal movement recording system has a better accuracy rate than maternal perception technique, and can be compared with ultrasound

Creative Leading Corporation / Farhana Aini Hailin...[et al.]

Umbrella is a primarily a device to keep people dry in rain and shade a person from the sun. Mostly, it can be seen that umbrella is used by women. In the market, there is abundance of designs, colours and functions that can be choose. The improvement in our design may lead umbrella to a better user friendly and easy to carry to anywhere. Basically, the new invention that we apply to our umbrella is that it can expand from the small size to a larger size just by clicking the button provided in the umbrella's handle. One of the reasons that we come out with this idea is that we notice most of the students carry their own umbrella to the class which the size of the umbrella usually is small and fit for 1 person only. By the time of raining, they cannot share the umbrella with their friends and we found out, the umbrella's owner also may get wet because of the small umbrella. Therefore, our group come with the idea of a helping-hand solution by having an expand umbrella. As we gather the information that is heeded, we eventually come out with some of the fantastic ideas that never had been explored by the other designers out there. Our new invention idea is that by having just 1 umbrella, you can share it with your friends. The canopy for our umbrella can be enlarged at 2 times. Basically, the size will be small that fit for 1 person. Then it can enlarged to the medium size that fit for 2 or persons, and again, the canopy can enlarged to the large size that will be fit for 4 or 5 persons. Other than that, this umbrella can also be a table umbrella. The umbrella's weight is not heavy although it has added the canopy enlargement which it is easy to be carried to everywhere

Islamic Governance for Managing Banking Performance Assessment

This research developed the Islamic governance model for assessing sharia banking performance management. This research engaged with mixed methods by combining a positive or quantitative paradigm approach and an interpretive paradigm. The quantitative approach was carried out using Factor Analysis with Structural Equation Modeling. Data collection was executed using the observation technique, three in-depth interviews, documentation in building the sharia governance model, and questionnaires distributed to respondents to measure more dominant indicators in building the sharia governance model. The result of the analysis scores demonstrated that the moral and integrity variable exhibited the best goodness of fit model. It was followed by independence and responsible freedom; continuous improvements; honesty; positive thinking; balance, transparency and openness; belief and faith; accountability; professionalism; spirit; management; fulfilment of trust; intelligence; leadership; and justice. Keywords: Islamic governance, Islamic banking, performanc

Alteration in the functional organization of the default mode network following closed non-severe traumatic brain injury

The debilitating effect of traumatic brain injury (TBI) extends years after the initial injury and hampers the recovery process and quality of life. In this study, we explore the functional reorganization of the default mode network (DMN) of those affected with non-severe TBI. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a wide-spectrum disease that has heterogeneous effects on its victims and impacts everyday functioning. The functional disruption of the default mode network (DMN) after TBI has been established, but its link to causal effective connectivity remains to be explored. This study investigated the differences in the DMN between healthy participants and mild and moderate TBI, in terms of functional and effective connectivity using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Nineteen non-severe TBI (mean age 30.84 ± 14.56) and twenty-two healthy (HC; mean age 27.23 ± 6.32) participants were recruited for this study. Resting-state fMRI data were obtained at the subacute phase (mean days 40.63 ± 10.14) and analyzed for functional activation and connectivity, independent component analysis, and effective connectivity within and between the DMN. Neuropsychological tests were also performed to assess the cognitive and memory domains. Compared to the HC, the TBI group exhibited lower activation in the thalamus, as well as significant functional hypoconnectivity between DMN and LN. Within the DMN nodes, decreased activations were detected in the left inferior parietal lobule, precuneus, and right superior frontal gyrus. Altered effective connectivities were also observed in the TBI group and were linked to the diminished activation in the left parietal region and precuneus. With regard to intra-DMN connectivity within the TBI group, positive correlations were found in verbal and visual memory with the language network, while a negative correlation was found in the cognitive domain with the visual network. Our results suggested that aberrant activities and functional connectivities within the DMN and with other RSNs were accompanied by the altered effective connectivities in the TBI group. These alterations were associated with impaired cognitive and memory domains in the TBI group, in particular within the language domain. These findings may provide insight for future TBI observational and interventional research

Molecular dynamics simulation of collagen binding to an amyloid-beta monomer and its effect on the peptide structure

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease associated with the accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides in the central nervous system (CNS). The extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins play an important role in the AD process. Fibrillar type III collagen is one of the major constituents of the ECM, providing the tissue with tensile strength and influencing cell attachment and migration. However, its structural properties and the binding mechanism of the Aβ42 monomer with type III collagen at the molecular level are largely unknown. In this study, the binding interactions of type III collagen with the Aβ42 monomer and the conformational dynamics of the Aβ42 monomer were investigated through molecular docking and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Docking results showed that type III collagen formed hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic contacts with the N-terminal, hydrophobic (CHC and SHR) and C-terminal regions of the Aβ42 monomer. Whereas MD results revealed that type III collagen reduced the helical content and promoted an aggregation-prone β-sheet conformation in the Aβ42 peptide structure. This finding suggests that type III collagen, and possibly other collagens, may play a role in regulating amyloid fibril formation. The results indicate that the localization of type III collagen may be an important initial event in amyloid plaque formation. Thus, our findings provide a preliminary understanding of the interaction of the Aβ peptide with type III collagen in Alzheimer’s disease

Instilling low carbon awareness through technology-enhanced cooperative problem based learning

Cooperative Problem-Based Learning (CPBL) is a highly Student-Centred Learning (SCL) method for students to develop self-directed learning skills. Previous studies show that CPBL succeeded in instilling environmental awareness, deep learning in Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) and 21st century skills among students. In this study, digital technologies were utilised to form learning communities during the planning and implementation of CPBL: Low Carbon Society program in two secondary schools in the Iskandar Region in Malaysia. CPBL requires the students and the facilitators to be proactive and sensible in seeking knowledge and information needed to solve the problem. Google search engine were predominantly used by the CPBL students to search for information, while WhatsApp and Telegram were primarily used to communicate and form learning support communities during the CPBL learning process. CPBL provides early exposure for the students to use software programs in planning and delivering their findings. Students' reflective journals and observation reports were collected and analysed to identify low carbon awareness developed through CPBL. It is found that students' active involvement in understanding the issues and the external motivation and pressure given enabled them to embrace the concept and awareness. The findings of this study indicate that technology assists and provides much needed support in the learning environment to develop low carbon awareness among the students

Instilling Low Carbon Awareness through Technology-Enhanced Cooperative Problem Based Learning

Cooperative Problem-Based Learning (CPBL) is a highly Student-Centred Learning (SCL) method for students to develop self-directed learning skills. Previous studies show that CPBL succeeded in instilling environ-mental awareness, deep learning in Science, Technology and Mathematics (STEM) and 21st century skills among students. In this study, digital tech-nologies were utilised to form learning communities during the planning and implementation of CPBL: Low Carbon Society program in two sec-ondary schools in the Iskandar Region in Malaysia. CPBL requires the stu-dents and the facilitators to be proactive and sensible in seeking knowledge and information needed to solve the problem. Google search engine were predominantly used by the CPBL students to search for information, while WhatsApp and Telegram were primarily used to communicate and form learning support communities during the CPBL learning process. CPBL provides early exposure for the students to use software programs in plan-ning and delivering their findings. Students’ reflective journals and obser-vation reports were collected and analysed to identify low carbon aware-ness developed through CPBL. It is found that students’ active involve-ment in understanding the issues and the external motivation and pressure given enabled them to embrace the concept and awareness. The findings of this study indicate that technology assists and provides much needed support in the learning environment to develop low carbon awareness among the students