79 research outputs found
The 1961 Kampong Bukit Ho Swee fire and the making of modern Singapore
No full textBy 1970, Singapore’s urban landscape was dominated by high-rise blocks of planned public housing built by the People’s Action Party government, signifying the establishment of a high modernist nation-state. A decade earlier, the margins of the City had been dominated by kampongs, home to semi-autonomous communities of low-income Chinese families which freely built, and rebuilt, unauthorised wooden houses. This change was not merely one of housing but belied a more fundamental realignment of state-society relations in the 1960s. Relocated in Housing and Development Board flats, urban kampong families were progressively integrated into the social fabric of the emergent nation-state. This study examines the pivotal role of an event, the great Kampong Bukit Ho Swee fire of 1961, in bringing about this transformation. The redevelopment of the fire site in the aftermath of the calamity brought to completion the British colonial regime’s ‘emergency’ programmes of resettling urban kampong dwellers in planned accommodation, in particular, of building emergency public housing on the sites of major fires in the 1950s. The PAP’s far greater political resolve, and the timing of and state of emergency occasioned by the scale of the 1961 disaster, enabled the government to rehouse the Bukit Ho Swee fire victims in emergency housing in record time. This in turn provided the HDB with a strategic platform for clearing other kampongs and for transforming their residents into model citizens of the nation-state. The 1961 fire’s symbolic usefulness extended into the 1980s and beyond, in sanctioning the PAP’s new housing redevelopment schemes. The official account of the inferno has also become politically useful for the government of today for disciplining a new generation of Singaporeans against taking the nation’s progress for granted. Against these exalted claims of the fire’s role in the Singapore Story, this study also examines the degree of actual change and continuity in the social and economic lives of the people of Bukit Ho Swee after the inferno. In some crucial ways, the residents continued to occupy a marginal place in society while pondering, too, over the unresolved question of the cause of the fire. These continuities of everyday life reflect the ambivalence with which the citizenry regarded the high modernist state in contemporary Singapore
Distribution and association of interpregnancy weight change with subsequent pregnancy outcomes in Asian women
No full textThe extent of interpregnancy weight change and its association with subsequent pregnancy outcomes among Asians remain unclear. We examined changes in maternal body mass index (BMI) between the first two deliveries and outcomes in the second delivery. Medical records of women with their first two consecutive deliveries between 2015 and 2020 at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore were retrieved. Gestational-age-adjusted BMI was determined by standardising to 12 weeks gestation and interpregnancy BMI change was calculated as the difference between both pregnancies. Pregnancy outcomes were analysed using modified Poisson regression models. Of 6264 included women with a median interpregnancy interval of 1.44 years, 40.7% had a stable BMI change within ± 1 kg/m2, 10.3% lost > 1 kg/m2, 34.3% gained 1–3 kg/m2 and 14.8% gained ≥ 3 kg/m2. Compared to women with stable BMI change, those with > 1 kg/m2 loss had higher risk of low birthweight (adjusted risk ratio [RR] 1.36; 95% confidence interval 1.02–1.80), while those with 1–3 kg/m2 gain had higher risks of large-for-gestational-age birth (1.16; 1.03–1.31), gestational diabetes (1.25; 1.06–1.49) and emergency Caesarean delivery (1.16; 1.03–1.31); these risks were higher in those with ≥ 3 kg/m2 gain. Our study strengthens the case for interpregnancy weight management to improve subsequent pregnancy outcomes
Developing Teachers’ Epistemic Agency in a Knowledge Building Community through Cogenerative Dialogues
No full textDietary supplement intake and fecundability in a Singapore preconception cohort study
No full textSubfertility is a global problem affecting millions worldwide, with declining total fertility rates. Preconception dietary supplementation may improve fecundability, but the magnitude of impact remains unclear. This prospective cohort study aimed to examine the association of preconception micronutrient supplements with fecundability, measured by time to pregnancy (TTP). The study was conducted at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Singapore, between February 2015 and October 2017, on 908 women aged 18-45 years old, who were trying to conceive and were enrolled in the Singapore PREconception Study of long-Term maternal and child Outcomes (S-PRESTO). Baseline sociodemographic characteristics and supplement intake were collected through face-to-face interviews. The fecundability ratio (FR) was estimated using discrete-time proportional hazard modelling. Adjusting for potentially confounding variables, folic acid (FA) (FR 1.26, 95% confidence interval 1.03–1.56) and iodine (1.28, 1.00–1.65) supplement users had higher fecundability compared to non-users. Conversely, evening primrose oil supplement users had lower fecundability (0.56, 0.31–0.99) than non-users. In this study, preconception FA and iodine supplementation were associated with shortened TTP, while evening primrose oil use was associated with longer TTP. Nonetheless, the association between supplement use and the magnitude of fecundability changes will need to be further confirmed with well-designed randomised controlled trials
The success of the genome-wide association approach: A brief story of a long struggle
No full text10.1038/ejhg.2008.12European Journal of Human Genetics165554-564EJHG
Metabolic health status and fecundability in a Singapore preconception cohort study
No full textBackground: obesity compromises metabolic health and female fertility, yet not all obese women are similar in metabolic status. The extent to which fecundability is influenced by the metabolic health status of women who are overweight or obese before conception is unknown.Objective: this study aimed to: (1) determine the metabolic health status, and (2) examine the association between metabolic health status and fecundability of overweight and obese women trying to conceive in the Singapore PREconception Study of long-Term maternal and child Outcomes cohort study.Study Design: we conducted a prospective preconception cohort study of Asian women (Chinese, Malay, and Indian) aged 18 to 45 years trying to conceive who were treated from 2015 to 2017 in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital in Singapore (n=834). We defined women to have metabolically unhealthy status if they: (1) met 3 or more modified Joint Interim Statement metabolic syndrome criteria; or (2) had homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index ≥2.5. Body mass index was categorized as normal (18.5–22.9 kg/m2), overweight (23–27.4 kg/m2), or obese (≥27.5 kg/m2) on the basis of cutoff points for Asian populations. Fecundability was measured by time to pregnancy in menstrual cycles within a year of enrolment. Discrete-time proportional hazards models were used to estimate fecundability odds ratios, with adjustment for confounders and accounting for left truncation and right censoring.Results: of 232 overweight women, 28 (12.1%) and 25 (10.8%) were metabolically unhealthy by metabolic syndrome ≥3 criteria and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance ≥2.5, respectively. Of 175 obese women, 54 (30.9%) and 93 (53.1%) were metabolically unhealthy by metabolic syndrome ≥3 criteria and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance ≥2.5, respectively. Compared with metabolically healthy normal-weight women, lower fecundability was observed in metabolically unhealthy overweight women on the basis of metabolic syndrome criteria (fecundability odds ratios, 0.38 [95% confidence interval, 0.15–0.92]) and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (fecundability odds ratios, 0.68 [95% confidence interval, 0.33–1.39]), with metabolic syndrome criteria showing a stronger association. Metabolically unhealthy obese women showed lower fecundability than the healthy normal-weight reference group by both metabolic syndrome (fecundability odds ratios, 0.35; 95% confidence interval, 0.17–0.72) and homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance criteria (fecundability odds ratios, 0.43; 95% confidence interval, 0.26–0.71). Reduced fecundability was not observed in overweight or obese women who showed healthy metabolic profiles by either definition.Conclusion: overweight or obesity was not synonymous with having metabolic syndrome or insulin resistance. In our preconception cohort, metabolically unhealthy overweight and obese women showed reduced fecundability, unlike their counterparts who were metabolically healthy. These findings suggest that metabolic health status, rather than simply being overweight and obese per se, plays an important role in fecundability
Polymer micro-fluidic devices: hot embossing of topas® using molds made of different materials
No full textIn the field of hot embossing of polymers for microfluidic devices, there is a lack of research into the performance of molds (dies) made of silicon, epoxy and TOPAS® COC grade 6017 (polymer of higher Tg) under identical experimental conditions, although all 3 materials have a set of promising advantages and are all easy to fabricate. This project explores the performance of silicon, epoxy and TOPAS® COC grade 6017 molds used to create micro-channels on TOPAS® COC grade 8007 substrates by the hot embossing method. In the subsequent part of the paper, the author takes into consideration thermal conductivity and mold thickness differences between the silicon and epoxy molds, an additional step of preheating is thus introduced. The results indicate that epoxy is the ideal choice for molds meant for the hot embossing. Generally, the author finds evidence that epoxy has low adhesion between the mold and substrate and the lowest surface roughness, is rugged and the most cost-efficient to mass fabricate.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering
Design analysis of explosion proof dust collector
No full textDust Explosion protection technology is an important application in pneumatic conveying industries. It is a vital business for equipment manufacturers and an important issue for users of dust handling machineries. Recent development in Europe demands all dust handling equipment to be regulated under European commission directive called ATEX 100 (Directive 94/9-ATEX) in which all machineries must be inspected and approved for usage in EU member countries by competent laboratories. Equipment manufacturer of pneumatic conveying system, Gericke Pte Ltd, is interested to certify their filtration apparatus under the CE scheme. The report will explore how the European pressure vessel code would be used as a design standard for explosion proof equipments. The author demonstrates the soundness of the current design using design by formula approach taken from CENELEC pressure vessel code EN 13445. The report also explored certain design concepts recommended by industry experts for a holistic approach to explosion proof design. As a result of these studies, the author recommends a set of changes that would improve any weakness in structural design. Finally, the finite element approach is used to estimate the behavior of the structure under overpeak pressure influence and ultimately allow the designer to verify its design.Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering
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