19672 research outputs found
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Debunking the myth of money as motivator in a multigenerational workforce
No full textGranting an annual increment is the norm in Asian countries. Organisations spend millions on salaries, hoping for better performance. Undeniably, money is a crucial necessity for all. However, can it motivate every individual to work harder or to perform better at a job? Is the thought that everyone is money driven a misguided perception? This question is becoming increasingly pertinent with every change to workforce demographics as workers of newer generations come on board. With Baby Boomers, Generation X and Generation Y working side by side in the same space, workers are no longer a homogenous group. Today's workforce is the most diverse in history. Hence, the purpose of this study is to explore the truth of the perception that money is a motivator for good performance at work and to discover the actual motivators to work well of each generation. The findings confirm that money is perceived as the motivator for all the three generations. However, each generation is also driven by other specific motivators. With a multigenerational workforce, employers will need to take these motivators into consideration
A genetic diversity assessment of Halymenia malaysiana (Halymeniaceae, Rhodophyta) from Malaysia and the Philippines based on COI-5P and rbcL sequences
No full textLittle is known about the genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of seaweeds in Southeast Asia particularly for Halymenia species. Herein, molecular analyses based on DNA sequences of the COI-5P and rbcL were performed to assess the genetic structure within the foliose Halymenia species H. malaysiana in Malaysia and the Philippines. A total of ten COI-5P haplotypes and eight rbcL haplotypes were recognized from 42 specimens of H. malaysiana examined in this study. The genetic diversities of H. malaysiana were relatively higher based on the COI-5P sequences compared with the rbcL sequences. The results showed that populations from Peninsular Malaysia (East, South, and West coast) were genetically homogenous and exhibited low level of genetic divergence from populations from East Malaysia. In contrast, populations from the Philippines were distinct from Malaysian populations. Site-specific distribution was also evident in the Philippine populations of H. malaysiana
Zebrafish embryonic development-interfering macrolides from Streptomyces californicus impact growth and mitochondrial function in human colorectal cancer cells
No full textMicroorganisms are now recognized as a keysource of medicine. In this study, we aim to identify and characterize target-specific inhibitors from actinobacteria using zebrafish embryo developmental defect as readouts. From our preliminary screen, we evaluated 176 Malaysian actinobacteria extracts and from these, 15 extracts (8.52%) were observed to be toxic to embryos at 20 μg/mL at 72-h post fertilization (hpf). Detailed characterization of these 15 toxic hits uncovered one extract derived from Streptomyces californicus TY004-069 that arrested zebrafish embryonic development at 4–6 hpf after 24 h treatment, a phenotype indicative potentially targeting mitochondrial activity. Subsequent validation on one of the three isolated compounds from this extract, dimeric dinactin (DD) revealed its ability to disrupt mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) in human colorectal HCT116 and HT29 cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner and impacting cell proliferation through a cell cycle G1 block. Overall, using zebrafish phenotypic assay, we identified a potential mitochondrial function inhibitor from actinobacteria that warrants further detailed analysis and also demonstrated that macrolides may hold promise as therapeutic molecules for human diseases including cancer
Autochthonous spread of DENV-3 genotype III in Malaysia mitigated by pre-existing homotypic and heterotypic immunity
No full textDengue virus type 3 genotype III (DENV-3/III) is widely distributed in most dengue-endemic regions. It emerged in Malaysia in 2008 and autochthonously spread in the midst of endemic DENV-3/I circulation. The spread, however, was limited and the virus did not cause any major outbreak. Spatiotemporal distribution study of DENV-3 over the period between 2005 and 2011 revealed that dengue cases involving DENV-3/III occurred mostly in areas without pre-existing circulating DENV-3. Neutralisation assays performed using sera of patients with the respective infection showed that the DENV-3/III viruses can be effectively neutralised by sera of patients with DENV-3 infection (50% foci reduction neutralisation titres (FRNT50) > 1300). Sera of patients with DENV-1 infection (FRNT50 â 190), but not sera of patients with DENV-2 infection (FRNT50 â 50), were also able to neutralise the virus. These findings highlight the possibility that the pre-existing homotypic DENV-3 and the cross-reacting heterotypic DENV-1 antibody responses could play a role in mitigating a major outbreak involving DENV-3/III in the Klang Valley, Malaysia
Heterogenous expression of ERG oncoprotein in Malaysian men with adenocarcinoma of the prostate
No full textIntroduction: Prostate cancer is a heterogenous disease and the mechanisms that drive it to behave differently are not well understood. Tumour expression of the ERG oncogene occurs in the majority of patients with prostate cancer in Western studies. This is considered to be oncogenic as ERG acts as a transcription factor to regulate genes involved in tumour proliferation and invasion. In this study we investigated expression of ERG in Malaysian men with prostate cancer. Methods: Tissues were collected from 80 patients with clinically detected prostate cancer and treated with radical prostatectomy. Cases were tested for ERG by immunohistochemistry using the mouse monoclonal antibody EP111. All blocks on 48 cases were tested in order to determine the extent of heterogeneity of ERG expression within individual cases. ERG expression was analysed in relation to patient age, ethnicity and tumour stage and grade. Results: Forty-six percent of cases were ERG positive. There was no significant association between ERG and tumour grade or stage. Sixty-nine percent of Indian patients had ERG positive tumours; this was significantly higher (p=0.031) than for Chinese (40%) and Malay (44%) patients. Heterogeneity of ERG expression, in which both positive and negative clones were present, was seen in 35% of evaluated cases. Evaluation by tumour foci showed younger patients had more ERG positive tumour foci than older patients (p=0.01). Indian patients were more likely to have the majority of tumour foci with ERG staining positively, compared to either Chinese or Malay patients (P <0.01). Conclusion: In this study, tumour expression of ERG was more likely to occur in patients of Indian ethnicity
Effects of stretching exercise training and ergonomic modifications on musculoskeletal discomforts of office workers: a randomized controlled trial
No full textObjective: To evaluate the effectiveness of exercise, ergonomic modification, and a combination of training exercise and ergonomic modification on the scores of pain in office workers with neck, shoulders, and lower back pain. Methods: Participants (N = 142) in this randomized controlled trial were office workers aged 20–50 years old with neck, shoulders, and lower back pain. They were randomly assigned to either the ergonomic modification group, the exercise group, the combined exercise and ergonomic modification group, or the control group (no-treatment). The exercise training group performed a series of stretching exercises, while the ergonomic group received some modification in the working place. Outcome measures were assessed by the Cornell Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire at baseline, after 2, 4, and 6 months of intervention. Results: There was significant differences in pain scores for neck (MD −10.55; 95%CI −14.36 to −6.74), right shoulder (MD −12.17; 95%CI −16.87 to −7.47), left shoulder (MD −11.1; 95%CI −15.1 to −7.09) and lower back (MD −7.8; 95%CI −11.08 to −4.53) between the exercise and control groups. Also, significant differences were seen in pain scores for neck (MD −9.99; 95%CI −13.63 to −6.36), right shoulder (MD −11.12; 95%CI −15.59 to −6.65), left shoulder (MD −10.67; 95%CI −14.49 to −6.85) and lower back (MD −6.87; 95%CI −10 to −3.74) between the combined exercise and ergonomic modification and control groups. The significant improvement from month 4 to 6, was only seen in exercise group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: To have a long term effective on MSDs, physical therapists and occupational therapists should use stretching exercises in their treatment programs rather than solely rely on ergonomic modification. Clinical trial ID: NCT02874950 – https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02874950
Long-term wear failure analysis of uhmwpe acetabular cup in total hip replacement
No full textA revision of a metal-on-ultra high molecular weight (UHMWPE) bearing couple for total hip replacement was performed due to aseptic loosening after 23 years in-vivo. It is a major long-term failure identified from wear generation. This study includes performing failure analysis of retrieved polyethylene acetabular cup from Zimmer Trilogy® Acetabular system. The UHMWPE acetabular cup was retrieved from a 61 years old male patient with ability to walk but limited leg movement when he presented to hospital in early 2016 with complaint left thigh pain. It was 23 years after his primary total hip replacement procedure. Surface roughness and morphology condition were measured using 3D laser microscope and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) to evaluate and characterize the wear features on polyethylene acetabular cup surface. ATR-Fourier Transform Infra-Red (ATR-FTIR), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and gel permeation chromatography (GPC) were used to characterize the chemical composition of carbon-oxygen bonding, crystallinity percentage and molecular weight of the polymer liner that might changes the mechanical properties of polyethylene. Nano indentation is to measure hardness and elasticity modulus where the ratio of hardness to elastic modulus value can be reflected as the degradation of mechanical properties. A prominent difference of thickness between two regions resulted from acentric loading concentration was observed and wear rate were measured. The linear wear rate for thin side and thick side were 0.33 mm/year and 0.05 mm/year respectively. Molecular weight reduction of 57.5% and relatively low ratio of hardness to elastic modulus (3.59 × 10−3) were the indicator of major mechanical properties degradation happened on UHMWPE acetabular cup. This major degradation was contributed by oxidation and polishing wear feature accompanied with delamination, craters, ripple and cracks were the indication of extensive usage of UHMWPE from the suggested life span of acetabular cup application
Synthesis of 2D boron nitride doped polyaniline hybrid nanocomposites for photocatalytic degradation of carcinogenic dyes from aqueous solution
No full textThis investigation focused on the photocatalytic treatment of pollutants in waste water using methylene blue (MB) and methyl orange (MO) as the model dyes. In this study, conducting polyaniline (PANI) based nanocomposites doped with 2D hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) were synthesised using simplistic oxidative in-situ polymerization technique by employing ammonium persulfate as an initiator in acidic medium. The synthesised 2D h-BN doped PANI nanocomposites were comprehensively characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), elemental mapping, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis (BET), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Degradation of MB and MO dyes under UV irradiations was performed to evaluate the photocatalytic performance of the synthesised nanocomposites. The results indicated that the h-BN nanosheets doped nanocomposites demonstrated better photocatalytic activities as compared to bare PANI or h-BN. Moreover, the nanocomposite P-BN-2, with 2 wt% of 2D h-BN nanosheets was found to be an optimal composition with 93% and 95% degradation efficiency for MB and MO within 90 min respectively
Interface Pressure of Lycra Orthosis at Different Postures in Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP)
No full textMedical compression garment functions by exerted interface pressure between the fabric and skin. Yet, none of the previous studies have determine the pressure level of Lycra based orthosis. The current work aimed to determine the pressure level of Lycra orthosis at different postures in children with CP. Five (5) children with CP were recruited. Each were given a custom made Lycra orthosis. Two Tekscan medical sensor were placed over lateral side of upper garment and pants. The pressure was recorded when the child was in sitting, sit-to-stand (STS) and standing postures. There are significant differences of the interface pressure between each children, at different postures. The highest pressure recorded over upper garment is 122 mmHg and 120 mmHg over pants, both during sitting position. Overall, the Lycra orthosis exerted highest pressure over top garments than pants during sitting position
A PSO-DQ Current Control Scheme for Performance Enhancement of Z-Source Matrix Converter to Drive IM Fed by Abnormal Voltage
No full textA rotational d-q current control scheme is prepared with the particle swarm optimization-PI controller, which drives an induction motor through an ultra-sparse Z-source matrix converter. To minimize the total size of the system, the lowest feasible values of Z-source elements are calculated by considering both timing and circuit aspects. A meta-heuristic method is integrated with the control system in order to find the optimum coefficients values in a single multimodal problem. Henceforth, the effect of all coefficients in minimizing the THD and balancing the stator current are considered simultaneously. By changing the reference point of magnitude or frequency, the modulation index can be automatically adjusted and respond to changes without heavy computational cost. The focus of this research is on having a reliable and lightweight system with no extensive computing time demand. The proposed scheme is validated by the promising simulation and experimental results