19672 research outputs found
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Neratinib after trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy in patients from Asia with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer
No full textAim: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of neratinib as extended adjuvant therapy in patients from Asia based on exploratory analyses of the Phase III ExteNET trial. Patients & methods: A total of 2840 women with early stage HER2-positive breast cancer were randomly assigned to neratinib 240 mg/day or placebo for 1 year after trastuzumab-based adjuvant therapy. Results: A total of 341 patients were from Asia (neratinib, n = 165; placebo, n = 176). 2-year invasive disease-free survival rates were 92.8 and 90.8% with neratinib and placebo, respectively (HR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.31-1.55), and 5-year rates were 91.9 and 87.2%, respectively (HR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.27-1.13). Diarrhea was the most common adverse event with neratinib. Conclusion: Extended adjuvant therapy with neratinib reduces disease recurrences in Asian women with HER2-positive breast cancer. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00878709. © 2019 Future Medicine Ltd
Passively Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser utilizing lutetium oxide deposited onto D-shaped fiber as saturable absorber
No full textWe managed to produce a stable Q-switched pulse laser operating at 1563 nm using Lutetium (III) oxide (Lu2O3) material as a saturable absorber (SA). The Lu2O3 was deposited onto a D-shaped optical fiber and inserted into an erbium-doped fiber laser (EDFL) cavity for pulse generation. The D-shaped fiber was prepared by polishing wheel technique using rough and fine sandpapers to obtain a smooth surface and thus ensure an efficient light-matter interaction inside the SA. The proposed Q-switched EDFL generated pulses with duration as short as 11.84 μs at a repetition rate of 19.7 kHz. The Q-switched laser output was stable within the pump power of 68 mW–96 mW with the corresponding pulse energy and output power of 0.16 μJ–0.18 μJ and 2.76 mW–3.49 mW respectively. The signal-to-noise ratio was around 46.26 dB, which indicates the stability of the laser. The results show that the proposed Lu2O3 SA based on D-shaped fiber is suitable for realizing a portable Q-switched light source. © 2019 Elsevier Gmb
Microfiber loop resonator for formaldehyde liquid sensing
No full textThis work employed the whispering gallery mode (WGM) of microfiber loop resonator (MLR) for formaldehyde (CH2O) liquid sensing application. A significant sensing response to different concentrations of formaldehyde liquid from 0% to 5% was observed due to the surface absorption and changeable refractive index resulting in different light attenuation in the silica microfiber. As the concentration increases, the output power of the MLR decreased linearly from −18.9 dB m to −36.2.dBm with sensitivity increased by a factor of 2.5 as compared to straight microfiber (SmF). As for resolution, the MLR improved by a factor of 3.28 as compared to SmF. © 2019 Elsevier Gmb
Optimal battery and fuel cell operation for energy management strategy in MG
No full textMicrogrid (MG) with optimal operating (OC) and capital cost (CC) is highly required. This study presents dual-mode energy management system (DM-EMS) operation with the objective of minimising the overall OC of the MG. DM-EMS determines the best mode to operate battery and fuel cell at a particular time and its duration to operate MG with minimum cost. The CC of an MG is mainly depending on battery size and battery life. In this study, novel battery sizing method by using the proposed life cycle cost (LCC) function is introduced. Considering the impact of battery size and life in the OC and CC of an MG, the proposed DM energy management strategy and novel battery sizing are concurrently optimised by using the proposed LCC function. The proposed strategy is validated using an MG system consisting of wind, battery storage and fuel cell. The results show that better optimal OC and CC with an accurate optimal battery capacity of an MG are achieved. In addition, analysis on the optimal battery size variations for different battery level [state of charges (SOCs)] is conducted. Changes in OCs and CC for the different range of initial battery SOC are also assessed. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
Optimization of sensing performance factor (γ) based on microfiber-coupled ZnO nanorods humidity scheme
No full textAn optimization method of the proposed humidity sensing scheme comprises of silica microfiber laid on a glass surface coated with Zinc Oxide (ZnO) nanorods is reported. The silica microfibers were tapered into several waist diameters of 6 µm, 8 µm, 10 µm and 12 µm using flame brushing technique, while the glass surface was coated with ZnO nanorods using hydrothermal method for 6 h, 9 h, 12 h, 15 h and 18 h of growth time. The samples were exposed to the different humidity level ranging from 35%RH to 85%RH to observe several performance parameters such as scattering coefficient (α), sensing performance factor γ, output light intensity and ultimately the sensitivity. 12-h growth sample exhibited the optimum results in term of α,γ, output light intensity and sensitivity towards the %RH level. The sensitivity improved by a factor of 1.3 as compared to the closest best sample. Besides that, it was found that 6 µm waist diameter microfiber sample produced optimum result in term α, γ and sensitivity towards the %RH level. The sensitivity improved by a factor of 1.1 as compared to the closest best sample. The work provided the best optimization method for microfiber and ZnO nanorods samples for the proposed humidity sensing scheme. It utilized the distinctive features of the scattering and surface absorption capability of the microfiber and ZnO nanomaterials coated glass surface to couple with the surrounding water molecules for humidity sensing. © 2019 Elsevier Inc
Techno-Economic Analysis and Physicochemical Properties of Ceiba pentandra as Second-Generation Biodiesel Based on ASTM D6751 and EN 14214
No full textProcessing biodiesel from non-edible sources of feedstock seems to be thriving in recent years. It also has also gathered more attention than in the past, mainly because the biodiesel product is renewable and emits lower pollution compared to fossil fuels. Researchers have started their work on various kinds of biodiesel product, especially from a non-edible feedstock. Non-edible feedstocks such as Ceiba pentandra show great potential in the production of biodiesel, especially in the Southeast Asia region because the plants seem to be abundant in that region. Ceiba pentandra, also known as the Kapok tree, produces hundreds of pods with a length of 15 cm (5.9 in) and diameter 2-5 cm (1-2 in). The pods consist of seeds and fluffin the surrounding areas inside the pod, which itself contains yellowish fibre, a mixture of cellulose and lignin. The seeds of Ceiba pentandra can be used as feedstock for biodiesel production. The study for Ceiba pentandra will involve techno-economic, as well as a sensitivity analysis. Moreover, the study also shows that the techno-economic analysis of a biodiesel processing plant for 50 ktons Ceiba pentandra with a life span of 20 years is around 0.10/L and $0.18/L with a total tax exemption of 15%. The value was obtained from the latest subsidy cost and diesel in Malaysia. Finally, further research is needed in order to fully utilize the use of Ceiba pentandra as one of the non-edible sources of biodiesel. © 2019 by the authors
A Crisis in “Open Access”: Should Communication Scholarly Outputs Take 77 Years to Become Open Access?
Get PDFThis study diachronically investigates the trend of the “open access” in the Web of Science (WoS) category of “communication.” To evaluate the trend, data were collected from 184 categories of WoS from 1980 to 2017. A total of 87,997,893 documents were obtained, of which 95,304 (0.10%) were in the category of “communication.” In average, 4.24% of the documents in all 184 categories were open access. While in communication, it was 3.29%, which ranked communication 116 out of 184. An Open Access Index (OAI) was developed to predict the trend of open access in communication. Based on the OAI, communication needs 77 years to fully reach open access, which undeniably can be considered as “crisis in scientific publishing” in this field. Given this stunning information, it is the time for a global call for “open access” by communication scholars across the world. Future research should investigate whether the current business models of publications in communication scholarships are encouraging open access or pose unnecessary restrictions on knowledge development
The effectiveness of school management: A case study at religious schools in Selangor, Malaysia
Get PDFThis study has focused on describing the effectiveness of school practices adopted and practiced in the organizational structure. Based on a framework found in previous studies, researchers explored whether it affected the effectiveness the religious schools in Selangor. The aim of this study was to explore the other forms of art and practices practiced effectively in religious secondary schools, strategies and practices in the schools and the obstacles faced within the scope of the religious schools. The qualitative case study methods were used as the study design. Two teachers have been selected as respondents in this study. The selection of respondents was made based on their qualifications and their experience working as a teacher at the school whilst the school selection was based on the type of school that has excellent status. The method of collecting data was through interview. Next, it is the process of coding and sub-coding that establishes the theme and sub-themes of the questionnaire. The findings showed that respondents have good effective practices. Effective practices that are based on seven dimensions of school effectiveness such as effective professional leadership, supportive school environment, the focus on teaching and learning, high expectations, assessments on an ongoing basis, the school as a learning organization and collaboration between the school and home. These findings seemed to support the effective practices of the school. The implications of this study showed a positive reaction an impact to those who are involved in policy making, education training principals and teachers, school administration, pedagogy, student academic achievement and student learning. Thus, the effective practice in schools should be practices and it would help the learning process
A compartmental model on the effect of quarantine on MDR-TB
No full textThis paper presents a five compartmental deterministic model to study the effect of quarantine in managing multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). We established that the model exhibits two equilibria; disease free equilibrium (DFE) and endemic equilibrium point (EEP). The DFE was shown to be locally asymptotically stable when the basic reproduction number, R0 is less than unity (R0 < 1). The global stability of both the DFE and EEP were established with the aid of constructed Lyapunov functions. We proved that the model undergoes backward bifurcation, which gives direction to the medical experts that keeping the basic reproduction number less than unity (R0 < 1) is not enough to curtail the spread of the infection but rather think of other measures. The numerical simulation done gives a pictorial representation of the impact of quarantine in managing MDR-TB as it helps in reducing the disease incidence. © 2019, Badih/Ghusayni, Ed. & Pub
Petrological and Organic Geochemical Characteristics of Oil Sands from the Middle Jurassic Yan'an Formation in the Southern Ordos Basin, China
No full textAn integrated petrological and geochemical analysis of surface and drilled oil sands was conducted to assess the organic matter origin/type, thermal maturity and paleoenvironment. Petrographic analysis of the oil sand used to establish the relationships between porosity and permeability with bulk density, RQI, NPI and FZI. The strong correlation between reservoir quality index (RQI) and permeability (R2 = 0.98) reveal that porosity has a good correlation to RQI. The biomarker signatures of the analyzed oil reveal predominance of subaquatic-derived source input with mainly land plant materials. This was indicated based on the average concentration of αααC27:C28:C29 sterane 20R of about 38%, 22% and 40% respectively. This interpretation is also supported by high values of tricyclic terpane/αβC30 hopane and regular sterane/αβC30 hopane. An anoxic condition of deposition within a lacustrine paleoenvironment that attributed to the enhancement of the preservation of the organic matters in the area were indicated based on the low Pr/Ph ratios (average 0.74), low values of αβC31-22R-hopane/αβC30 hopane ratios and high C26/C25 tricyclic terpane ratios as well as the presence of gammacerane and a low water salinity. Biomarker maturity parameters show that the extracted oil sand has entered the early oil window stage. Editorial material and organization © 2019 Geological Society of China. Copyright of individual abstracts remains with the authors