19672 research outputs found
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Hypernasality in singing among children with cleft palate: a preliminary study
No full textThe aim of this study was to document differences in hypernasality during speaking and singing among children with cleft palate and to compare nasality score ratings of trained and untrained listeners. Twenty subjects with cleft palate aged between 7 and 12 years participated in this study. Audio recordings were made of the children reading a passage and singing a common local song, both in the Malay language. The degree of hypernasality was judged through perceptual assessment. Three trained listeners (a speech therapist, a classical singer, and a linguistic expert – all academicians) and two untrained listeners (a cleft volunteer worker and a national high school teacher) assessed the recordings using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability for hypernasality in both speaking and singing were verified using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). A significant reduction in hypernasality was observed during singing as compared to speaking, indicating that hypernasality reduces when a child with cleft palate sings. The act of singing significantly reduces hypernasality. The outcome of this study suggests that children with cleft palate would benefit from singing exercises to ultimately reduce hypernasality. However, future research is needed to objectively measure nasality in singing compared to speaking. © 2019 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon
Revision total hip arthroplasty with metal on metal bearing for ceramic bearing fractures
No full textBackground: Due to concern of potential metallosis caused by residual microscopic ceramic particles, metal-on-metal (MoM) bearing is deemed undesirable in revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) for ceramic bearing fracture. We determined whether MoM bearing is suitable to be used in revision THA for ceramic fractures and also evaluated whether this treatment increases serum iron levels compared with MoM bearing revision THA for polyethylene failure. Methods: Between 2006 and 2012, 22 patients underwent revision surgery using MoM bearing (28 mm femoral head in 18 hips and 32 mm in 4 hips) for ceramic bearing fracture and followed average 52.1 months. We assessed radiological parameter and functional outcome using Harris hip score (HHS) and WOMAC score. Also, serum cobalt (Co) and chromium (Cr) blood tests were performed and compared with the result obtained from age, sex- and follow-up duration-matched patients with MoM revision THA for failed polyethylene bearing. Results: The mean HHS improved from 60.6 preoperatively to 90.3 at final follow-up. There were no changes in cup position, progression of osteolytic lesions, and measurable wear of MoM bearing articulation at final follow-up radiographs. There was one case of recurrent dislocation after surgery, which was treated with greater trochanter distal advancement and one case of deep infection, which underwent two-stage revision. Mean serum Co level (1.7 vs. 1.4 μg/dl; p = 0.211) and Cr level (0.70 vs. 1.01 μg/dl; p = 0.327) showed no significant difference. Conclusions: MoM articulation with liner cementation into the acetabular cup along with total synovectomy can be chosen in revision surgery for ceramic fracture with good midterm follow-up. However, the use of MoM bearing is indicated when the stem and metal shell can be retained and ceramic on ceramic or ceramic on polyethylene bearing cannot be selected. Also long-term outcome needs to be further evaluated. © 201
Stress and anxiety among mothers of premature infants in a Malaysian neonatal intensive care unit
No full textObjective: This study aims to determine maternal stress and anxiety as perceived by mothers whose premature infants were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and to identify maternal stress and its relationship with maternal and infant characteristics and anxiety. Background: Vulnerable premature infants commonly require special care in the NICUs. In most cases, prolonged hospitalization results in stress and anxiety for the mothers. Methods: A non-probability convenience survey was used in a public hospital, with 180 mothers completing the 26-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and a 40-item State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Results: 56.5% of mothers had high levels of stress, 85.5% of mothers had a high level of state-anxiety and 67.8% of mothers had a high level of trait-anxiety. The stress experienced by these mothers had a significant relationship with anxiety, and was found to be associated with state and trait anxiety levels, but not with maternal and infant characteristics. Conclusion: Mothers in this setting revealed high levels of stress and anxiety during their premature infants’ NICU admission. An immediate interventional programme focusing on relieving mothers’ anxiety and stress is needed to prevent maternal stress and anxiety at an early stage. © 2018, © 2018 Society for Reproductive and Infant Psychology
The effect of ketamine on emergence agitation in children: A systematic review and meta‐analysis
No full textBackground: Ketamine is believed to reduce the incidence of emergence agitation in children undergoing surgery or procedure. However, recent randomized controlled trials reported conflicting findings. Aims: To investigate the effect of ketamine on emergence agitation in children. Methods: Databases of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were systematically searched from their start date until February 2019. Randomized controlled trials comparing intravenous ketamine and placebo in children were sought. The primary outcome was the incidence of emergence agitation. Secondary outcomes included postoperative pain score, duration of discharge time, and the adverse effects associated with the use of ketamine, namely postoperative nausea and vomiting, desaturation, and laryngospasm. Results: Thirteen studies (1125 patients) were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. The incidence of emergence agitation was 14.7% in the ketamine group and 33.3% in the placebo group. Children receiving ketamine had a lower incidence of emergence agitation, with an odds ratio being 0.23 (95% confidence interval: 0.11 to 0.46), certainty of evidence: low. In comparison with the placebo, ketamine group achieved a lower postoperative pain score (odds ratio: −2.42, 95% confidence interval: −4.23 to −0.62, certainty of evidence: very low) and lower pediatric anesthesia emergence delirium scale at 5 minutes after operation (odds ratio: −3.99, 95% confidence interval: −5.03 to −2.95; certainty of evidence: moderate). However, no evidence was observed in terms of incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting, desaturation, and laryngospasm. Conclusion: In this meta-analysis of 13 randomized controlled trials, high degree of heterogeneity and low certainty of evidence limit the recommendations of ketamine for the prevention of emergence agitation in children undergoing surgery or imaging procedures. However, the use of ketamine is well-tolerated without any notable adverse effects across all the included trials. PROSPERO registration: CRD42019131865. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Lt
Uncertainty analysis of rainfall depth duration frequency curves using the bootstrap resampling technique
No full textRainfall depth duration frequency (DDF) curves are used extensively in many engineering designs. However, due to the sampling error and the uncertainty associated with the parameter estimation process, the DDF curves are subjected to parameter uncertainty. In this study, an evaluation of the uncertainty of the DDF curves in the Kelantan river basin was performed using the bootstrap resampling method. Annual maximum rainfall series for durations of 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h were derived from the stochastic rainfall model outputs and fitted to the generalised extreme value (GEV) distribution. The bootstrap samples were generated by resampling with replacement from the annual maximum rainfall series. The relationships that describe the GEV parameters as a function of duration were used to establish the DDF curves. The 95% confidence intervals were used as an indicator to quantify the uncertainty in the DDF curves. The bootstrap distribution of the rainfall depth quantiles was represented by a normal probability density function. The results showed that uncertainty increased with the return period and there was significant uncertainty in the DDF curves. The suggested procedure is expected to contribute to endeavours in obtaining reliable DDF curves, where the uncertainty features are assessed. © 2019, Indian Academy of Sciences
Characterization and Transcriptome Studies of Autoinducer Synthase Gene from Multidrug Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Strain 863
No full textQuorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication system that uses autoinducers as signaling molecules to enable inter-species and intra-species interactions in response to external stimuli according to the population density. QS allows bacteria such as Acinetobacter baumannii to react rapidly in response to environmental changes and hence, increase the chances of survival. A. baumannii is one of the causative agents in hospital-acquired infections and the number of cases has increased remarkably in the past decade. In this study, A. baumannii strain 863, a multidrug-resistant pathogen, was found to exhibit QS activity by producing N-acyl homoserine lactone. We identified the autoinducer synthase gene, which we named abaI, by performing whole genome sequencing analysis of A. baumannii strain 863. Using high resolution tandem triple quadrupole mass spectrometry, we reported that abaI of A. baumannii strain 863 produced 3-hydroxy-dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone. A gene deletion mutant was constructed, which confirmed the functionality of abaI. A growth defect was observed in the QS-deficient mutant strain. Transcriptome profiling was performed to determine the possible genes regulated by QS. Four groups of genes that showed differential expression were discovered, namely those involved in carbon source metabolism, energy production, stress response and the translation process. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
Coleoptera of Genting Highland, Malaysia: species richness and diversity changes along the elevations
No full textThe objective of this study was to measure beetle richness and diversity in Genting Highland at four major elevations (500 m, 1,000 m, 1,500 m and 1,800 m). Beetles were collected using light traps, malaise traps and pitfall traps. Altogether, 1,499 beetle samples representing 156 morphospecies were collected. Light trap and pitfall traps were more effective than Malaise trap. The 500 m elevation band displayed high species richness, abundance and diversity with all indices showing a decreasing pattern. The species accumulation curve displayed a progressive asymptote for all the altitudinal transects, showing the sampling effort was sufficient for this study. A long–term monitoring program of beetle diversity and distribution is useful to test abiotic factors that might influence biodiversity. This study also serves as a benchmark for further studies on this highly disturbed montane cloud forest in Peninsular Malaysia and will be useful to implement effective conservation management, particularly under the threat of climate change. © 2019 belongs to the authors
Pyrochlore-structured Y2Ti2O7–2TiO2 composite thin films for photovoltaic applications
No full textA titanium-based heterobimetallic single-source precursor [Y2Ti4(μ3-O)4(μ2-O)3(H2O)(TFA)8(THF)5].3(THF) (1) (where TFA = trifluoroacetato and THF = tetrahydrofuran) was successfully used to fabricate pyrochlore-structured Y2Ti2O7–2TiO2 composite thin films on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrates using the aerosol-assisted chemical vapor deposition technique (AACVD). The precursor complex (1), isolated in crystalline form by reacting yttrium (III) acetate monohydrate with titanium (IV) isopropoxide and trifluroacetic acid in THF solution, was characterized by physicochemical methods such as melting point, microanalysis, FT-IR, 1H-NMR, thermogravimetric analyses (TGA/DTG), and single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Thin films prepared at 550 °C were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field emission gun-scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) which demonstrated the development of mesoporous structured microballs of Y2Ti2O7–2TiO2 with precise stoichiometry. The optical analysis showed that Y2Ti2O7–2TiO2 has a direct optical band gap of 1.8 eV. Photo-oxidation of water via Y2Ti2O7–2TiO2 thin films was carried out under simulated solar irradiation of AM 1.5 G (100 mW cm−2) using three-electrode photoelectrochemical cell in of in three separate 0.5 M electrolyte solutions of NaOH (pH = 13.5), Na2SO4 (pH = 7.2), and citrate buffer (pH = 4). A best photocurrent density of ~ 60 μA cm−2 at + 0.8 V vs. SCE was observed at pH of 13.5. These observations were further validated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) studies in terms of charge transportation and its recombination time. © 2019, Australian Ceramic Society
Increased Absorption with Al Nanoparticle at Front Surface of Thin Film Silicon Solar Cell
No full textThis article presents an effective structural design arrangement for light trapping in the front surface of a thin film silicon solar cell (TFSC). Front surface light trapping rate is significantly enhanced here by incorporating the Aluminium (Al) nanoparticle arrays into silicon nitride anti-reflection layer. The light trapping capability of these arrays is extensively analyzed via Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method considering the wavelength ranging from 400 to 1100 nm. The outcome indicates that the structural parameters associated with the aluminium nanoparticle arrays like particle radii and separations between adjacent particles, play vital roles in designing the solar cell to achieve better light trapping efficiency. A detailed comparative analysis has justified the effectiveness of this approach while contrasting the results found with commonly used silver nanoparticle arrays at the front surface of the cell. Because of the surface plasmon excitation, lower light reflectance, and significant near field enhancement, aluminium nanoparticle arrays offer broadband light absorption by the cell. © 2019 by the authors
A numerical solution for nonlinear heat transfer of fin problems using the Haar wavelet quasilinearization method
No full textThe aim of this paper is to study the new application of Haar wavelet quasilinearization method (HWQM) to solve one-dimensional nonlinear heat transfer of fin problems. Three different types of nonlinear problems are numerically treated and the HWQM solutions are compared with those of the other method. The effects of temperature distribution of a straight fin with temperature-dependent thermal conductivity in the presence of various parameters related to nonlinear boundary value problems are analyzed and discussed. Numerical results of HWQM gives excellent numerical results in terms of competitiveness and accuracy compared to other numerical methods. This method was proven to be stable, convergent and, easily coded. © 2019 The Author