19672 research outputs found
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13 μm fiber grating in a thin-core fiber for LP01–LP11 mode converters and sensing ability
No full textWe demonstrate an all-fiber structure that can realize LP01 − LP11 mode conversion and twist measurement. It is a thin-core fiber (TCF) grating at a wavelength of 1310 nm cascaded to a short segment of a TCF of a different core size. It is found that the different core size of the TCF between the fiber and the grating has an impact on the excitation of a higher-order mode and mode conversion efficiency. The fiber structure exhibits a good linear response to twisting, strain, and temperature. Depending on the associated mode, the mode intensity and the wavelength for exciting the peaks of the grating have different sensitivities to twisting angle, applied strain, and temperature. These properties can be exploited for simultaneous measurement. © 2019 Optical Society of Americ
A Mobile Web App to Improve Health Screening Uptake in Men (ScreenMen): Utility and Usability Evaluation Study
No full textBackground: Globally, the uptake of health screening is suboptimal, especially in men and those of younger age. In view of the increasing internet access and mobile phone ownership, ScreenMen, a mobile Web app, was developed to improve health screening uptake in men. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the utility and usability of ScreenMen. Methods: This study used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Healthy men working in a banking institution were recruited to participate in this study. They were purposively sampled according to job position, age, education level, and screening status. Men were asked to use ScreenMen independently while the screen activities were being recorded. Once completed, retrospective think aloud with playback was conducted with men to obtain their feedback. They were asked to answer the System Usability Scale (SUS). Intention to undergo screening pre-and postintervention was also measured. Qualitative data were analyzed using a framework approach followed by thematic analysis. For quantitative data, the mean SUS score was calculated and change in intention to screening was analyzed using McNemar test. Results: In total, 24 men participated in this study. On the basis of the qualitative data, men found ScreenMen useful as they could learn more about their health risks and screening. They found ScreenMen convenient to use, which might trigger men to undergo screening. In terms of usability, men thought that ScreenMen was user-friendly and easy to understand. The key revision done on utility was the addition of a reminder function, whereas for usability, the revisions done were in terms of attracting and gaining users’ trust, improving learnability, and making ScreenMen usable to all types of users. To attract men to use it, ScreenMen was introduced to users in terms of improving health instead of going for screening. Another important revision made was emphasizing the screening tests the users do not need, instead of just informing them about the screening tests they need. A Quick Assessment Mode was also added for users with limited attention span. The quantitative data showed that 8 out of 23 men (35%) planned to attend screening earlier than intended after using the ScreenMen. Furthermore, 4 out of 12 (33%) men who were in the precontemplation stage changed to either contemplation or preparation stage after using ScreenMen with P=.13. In terms of usability, the mean SUS score of 76.4 (SD 7.72) indicated that ScreenMen had good usability. Conclusions: This study showed that ScreenMen was acceptable to men in terms of its utility and usability. The preliminary data suggested that ScreenMen might increase men’s intention to undergo screening. This paper also presented key lessons learned from the beta testing, which is useful for public health experts and researchers when developing a user-centered mobile Web app. © Chin Hai Teo, Chirk Jenn Ng, Sin Kuang Lo, Chip Dong Lim, Alan White
Poverty and delinquency: A qualitative study on selected juvenile offenders in Malaysia
No full textThis qualitative case study explored the voices of juvenile offenders in Malaysia who were plagued with poverty, and brought to light their plight. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of poverty on the delinquent character and behavioural development of the children on three major crime-enhancing themes – miserable family conditions, school failure and association with deviant peers – to get a broader view of how poverty could influence their life trajectory. The purposive maximum variation sampling method was used in the selection of six young offenders between the ages of 13 and 17 years from Sekolah Tunas Bakti Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. A multiple data collection method that included observation, in-depth case study and document analysis was used for data collection. Results showed that three major crime-enhancing themes due to poverty were strongly related to children’s delinquent character and behavioural development. The knowledge gained from this study will further contribute to understanding the real-life experiences of juvenile offenders, particularly those who are experiencing extreme deprivation, and it is hoped that the insight gained could help in the prevention and control of juvenile delinquent behaviour in Malaysia. © The Author(s) 2018
Adsorption of arsenic using chitosan magnetic graphene oxide nanocomposite
No full textChitosan-magnetic-graphene oxide (CMGO) nanocomposite was prepared for arsenic adsorption. The nanocomposite was characterized through BET, FTIR, FESEM, EDX, and VSM analyses. These characterizations confirmed the formation of CMGO nanocomposites with high specific surface area (152.38 m2/g) and excellent saturation magnetization (49.30 emu/g). Batch adsorption experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of the nanocomposite in the adsorption of arsenic from aqueous solution. The effects of operational parameters, adsorption kinetic, equilibrium isotherm and thermodynamics were evaluated. The removal efficiency of arsenic increased with increasing adsorbent dosage and contact time. However, the effect of pH followed a different pattern, with the removal efficiency increasing from acidic to neutral pH, and then decreasing at alkaline conditions. The highest adsorption capacity (45 mg/g) and removal efficiency (61%) were obtained at pH 7.3. The adsorption kinetic followed a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. The analysis of adsorption isotherm shows that the adsorption data fitted well to Langmuir isotherm model, indicating a homogeneous process. Thermodynamic analysis shows that the adsorption of As(III) is exothermic and spontaneous. The superparamagnetic properties of the nanocomposite enabled the separation and recovery of the nanoparticles using an external magnetic field. Thus, the developed nanocomposite has a potential for arsenic remediation. © 2019 Elsevier Lt
Pattern of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use among patients with chronic kidney disease
No full text[No abstract available
A contingent valuation approach to evaluating willingness to pay for an improved water pollution management system in Dhaka City, Bangladesh
No full textThe city of Dhaka has been ranked repeatedly as the most polluted, the most populous, and the most unbearable city in the world. More than 19.5 million inhabitants live in Dhaka, and the population growth rate of urban areas in Bangladesh is almost double that of rural areas. Rapid urbanization is one of the leading contributors to water pollution in Dhaka and could prevent the country from achieving sustainable development. Therefore, this study estimates respondents’ willingness to pay (WTP) to improve water pollution management systems and identifies factors that influence WTP in Dhaka. This study employed the contingent valuation method (CVM) to estimate WTP of the respondents. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with CVM questions, which was distributed to households in the study areas. The results revealed that 67% of the respondents are willing to pay for an improved water pollution management system, while 31.8% of households are unwilling to pay. The study also found that socio-economic factors (e.g., income and education) and perception significantly influence WTP. Therefore, this paper will provide directives for policymakers in developing an effective policy framework, as well as sensitize all stakeholders to the management of water pollution in Dhaka. The study suggests that social institutions, financial institutions, banks, non-government organizations (NGOs), insurance companies, and the government could provide effective outreach programs for water pollution management as part of their social responsibility. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Goals, beliefs, knowledge, and barriers for diabetes selfcare in a multi-ethnic population in malaysia: A qualitative study
No full textIntroduction: Ethnic differences may influence diabetes selfcare practices and glycaemic control among people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This qualitative study explored goals, beliefs about treatment effectiveness, knowledge, and barriers to and facilitators for diabetes self-care among the three main ethnic groups in Malaysia. Methods: Patient focus group discussions were conducted in three different ethnic groups: Malays, Chinese, and Indians. Participants were recruited from the primary-care clinic of a university medical centre located in an urban area. Focus group discussions were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using a thematic approach. Results: A total of 31 patients participated in the study: Malays (n=12), Indians (n=10), and Chinese (n=9). There were three sessions for each ethnic group. Reported goals primarily related to quality of life and glycaemic control. Participants expressed the belief that the combination of diet, exercise, and medications is effective for controlling diabetes. Groups described their obtaining information external to a healthcare system and reported a need for more specific, practical counselling from health professionals on diet, exercise, and medications. Barriers to and facilitators for diabetes self-care practices were categorised into three major themes: having discipline, social habits, and “other” themes. Conclusion: Emerging themes were similar across the ethnic groups and included quality-of-life goals, confidence in combination treatment, common use of complementary and alternative medicine, need for further counselling, and the challenge regarding self-discipline. © 2019, Malaysian Medical Association. All rights reserved
In vivo evaluation of wound healing improvement of a new Schiff base derived bromine compound (CNBP) in rats
No full textBackground: The effect of delivered bromine vapor and also bromine substitutions are shown to play an important role in anti-inflammatory activity. The present study encompasses a broad in vivo study to size up healing activity of a novel dibromide substituted Schiff based compound against cutaneous wound model in Sprague Dawley (SD) rats. Methodology/principal findings: 2, 2′-[1, 2-Cyclohexanediylbis(nitriloethylidyne)] bis[4-bromophenol], CNBP, is synthesized through a Schiff base reaction applying the related ketone and diamine as the initiators. Four groups of six in each male SD rats are divided as negative group which are treated with gum acacia, positive control animals which are treated with topical dosage of Intrasite gel, and testing groups treated with low (10 mg/kg) and high (20 mg/kg) doses of CNBP. The excisional wounds are created on the posterior neck area of each group and the wound closure percentage was measured in the two separated days of the experiment. Moreover, the histopathological evaluation and determination of activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (GPx), and malondialdehyde (MDA) of the skin sections are performed. Furthermore, the immunohistochemistry consists of the evaluation of Hsp70 and BAX proteins. Conclusions/significance: The wound closure percentage showed a significant increase in high dose CNBP-treated group compared to the negative control. Histopathological evaluation of the skin sections showed that granulation tissue contained more proliferating fibroblast, collagen deposition, angiogenesis, and also less inflammatory cells in the high dose CNBP-treated group compared to the normal rats. In the treated groups with CNBP, SOD, CAT, and GPx activities were found significantly higher, however, the MDA level was shown to be lower (*P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; ***P < 0.001) than the negative control. At the molecular level, CNBP (20 mg/ml, HD) improved wound-healing process via down and up regulation of Bax and Hsp70 protein, respectively at the wound site. © 201
Design of a high-gain silicon BJT and an E-pHEMT hybrid matrix amplifier with an optimum filter-matching technique
No full textSoftware-defined radio (SDR) is an advanced wireless transmission paradigm that supports all the consumer wireless protocols such as 2G, 3G, Long-Term Evolution, Wi-Fi (2.4 and 5 GHz), Bluetooth, and Zigbee, by software rather than hardware. A typical frequency band of operation is in the range of 0.5–6 GHz. The challenge to bring an SDR system on portable devices is the availability of ultra-wide-band compact amplifiers with a high gain over a wide frequency band. A novel hybrid silicon bipolar junction transistor (BJT) and an enhancement-mode pseudomorphic-high-electron-mobility-transistor (E-pHEMT) matrix amplifier with two rows and four columns (2 × 4) of transistors are designed, realised, and tested demonstrating a 0.65–5.8 GHz frequency band to satisfy the SDR specifications. The novel optimum filter-matching technique is applied to optimise the performance and overcome the limit of the hybrid approach. The proposed matrix amplifier exhibits an average gain of 37.5 dB and an average output power of 18 dBm across the 0.65–5.8 GHz band with only 3 V supply voltage. The gain is the highest in the state of the art for the frequency range. A bandwidth of 5.15 GHz, 20.3 dBm above the 1-dB compression point at 1.35 GHz, 10–16% power added efficiency, and 1.2 W DC power consumptions are obtained. © The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
ICT usage at rural libraries: Does positive youth development exist?
No full textThis study was to discover the Positive Youth Development (PYD) dimensions towards ICT usage in rural libraries among youths in Malaysia. This is a quantitative design and descriptive study in nature, which involved 400 respondents among rural youths from 16 selected rural libraries in four states of Peninsular Malaysia were chosen based on multistage cluster and simple random sampling. Rural youth community in Malaysia exhibited high level of PYD towards ICT usage at rural libraries especially on level of confidence when using ICT. Based on the analysis performed, education level and employment status have significance difference, meanwhile age has positive relationship with PYD towards ICT usage at rural libraries. The findings are of limited generality due to the small size of the sample. However, the study has implications on the understanding of the acceptance of technology among socioeconomically disadvantaged people towards PYD. The practical implications is the implementation of PYD through ICT usage in local rural libraries instead of other positive places, particularly in terms of local community participation. Data on demographic can be used as evidence of service provision for rural community in the future. © 2019, Library Philosophy and Practice