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Background: Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) is a rare, recessively inherited neuromuscular disorder that causes progressive muscle weakness. There is a low degree of awareness about SMA amongst the public and healthcare providers, which may impact the perception of the disease and its proper management. To understand how this lack of awareness may have affected diagnosis, care and support for SMA patients and their caregivers, this study aims to investigate the impact of SMA on the lives and daily activities of SMA patients and their caregivers in Malaysia.Methods: Nationwide recruitment was carried out via invitations coordinated by a local SMA advocacy organization. A mixed method cross-sectional study consisting of a self-administered questionnaire followed by in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) was conducted. The interview sessions were audio-taped, and verbatim transcripts analyzed thematically.Results: Participants reported feeling stressed, anxious and depressed. There were issues with delayed diagnosis, lack of information from healthcare professionals about the disease progression, and limited access to supportive services like physiotherapy. Participants expressed their concerns living with self-doubt and turmoil with having to modify their lifestyles, relationships with family and friends, and challenges with educational and career opportunities. Various themes of their hopes for the future touched on having access to treatment, clinical trials, holistic care for symptom management, as well as improving infrastructure for disability access.Conclusion: This study, to the best of our knowledge represents the first comprehensive study on SMA in South East Asia, highlights a plethora of issues and challenges experienced by persons with spinal muscular atrophy (PWSMA) and their caregivers in Malaysia, from the point of SMA diagnosis and throughout the management of care, in addition to the deep psychosocial impact of living with SMA. The significant findings of this study may contribute to a better understanding among stakeholders to make improvements in clinical practice, the education system, the work environment as well as holistic care support and society at large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To describe visual performance in high myopia. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 148 emmetropes [spherical equivalent (SE) − 0.50 to + 1.00 D] and 564 high myopes [SE ≤ − 6.00 D] were categorised into three groups (Group 1: SE − 6.00 to > − 8.00 D; Group 2: SE − 8.00 to > − 10.00 D; and Group 3: SE ≤ − 10.00 D). Multivariate regression analyses adjusting for age and ethnicity examined the relationship between corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) [photopic, mesopic and super vision test-night vision goggles (SVT-NVG)] and contrast sensitivity (CS)] (mesopic and SVT-NVG) with SE and axial length (AL). Results: Mean age of subjects was 21.07 ± 1.17 years, and majority were Chinese (91.9%). Mean SE was 0.10 ± 0.23 D (emmetropes) and − 8.76 ± 2.04 D (high myopes), p < 0.001. Higher degrees of myopia were associated with reduced CDVA and CS, and increased AL (all p < 0.001). Among high myopes, Group 1 had the highest proportion of subjects with good CDVA (photopic ≤ 0.00 LogMAR, mesopic ≤ 0.00 LogMAR and NVG ≤ 0.10 LogMAR) and CS (mesopic ≥ 0.75 LogCS and NVG ≥ 0.35 LogCS) compared with Groups 2 and 3 (all p < 0.001). Among high myopes with good VA (photopic ≤ 0.00 LogMAR, mesopic ≤ 0.00 LogMAR and NVG ≤ 0.10 LogMAR), Group 1 also had the highest proportion of subjects who achieved mesopic ≥ 0.75 LogCS and NVG ≥ 0.35 LogCS (both p < 0.001). Multivariate analyses demonstrated that reduced VA and CS were associated with decreased SE and increased AL (all p < 0.001). Conclusions: High myopia is associated with reduced VA and reduced CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Importance This study reports outcomes of myopic photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in a mainly ethnic Chinese population in Singapore. Background: To assess the incidence and associations of corneal haze and endothelial cell count (ECC) loss up to 12 months after PRK. Design This was a retrospective case series conducted in a tertiary eye centre. Participants: A total of 158 patients (309 eyes) with a mean age of 22.1 ± 3.4 years were included. The majority was Chinese (97.4%) and male (97.4%). Mean preoperative spherical equivalent was −3.33 ± 1.15 D. Methods: Eyes were categorized based on postoperative haze severity. A multivariate analysis adjusting for age and use of intraoperative mitomycin‐C (MMC), preoperative sphere and cylinder was performed. Main outcome measures: Refractive outcomes and corneal haze 3 and 12 months after PRK were assessed. ECC measurements were obtained before PRK and at variable periods postoperatively. Results: At 12 months, overall efficacy index was 0.98, and safety index was 1.09. Eight (2.5%) eyes underwent enhancement surgery. An analysis was performed on 295 eyes that did not undergo enhancement and had complete clinical data, which demonstrated a decrease in the incidence of haze from 38.2% at 3 months to 9.3% at 12 months. Higher myopia was associated with increased haze severity at 3 months (OR, 1.36; P =.005). Higher astigmatism was associated with increased haze severity at 3 (OR, 1.65; P =.018) and 12 months (OR, 2.32; P =.015). Intraoperative MMC was not associated with haze severity or ECC loss. Conclusions and relevance: Myopia and astigmatism were associated with increased corneal haze severity. Intraoperative MMC did not accelerate ECC loss. Overall, PRK is effective, predictable and safe in Asian eyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain technology has rapidly emerged as a decentralized trusted network to replace the traditional centralized intermediator. Especially, the smart contracts that are based on blockchain allow users to define the agreed behaviour among them, the execution of which will be enforced by the smart contracts. Based on this, we propose a decentralized booking system that uses the blockchain as the intermediator between hoteliers and travellers. The system enjoys the trustworthiness of blockchain, improves efficiency and reduces the cost of the traditional booking agencies. The design of the system has been formally modelled using the CSP# language and verified using the model checker Process Analysis Toolkit. We have implemented a prototype decentralized booking system based on the Ethereum ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ability to drive efficient micromixing on a microfluidic platform is crucial for a wide range of lab-on-a-chip applications. Here, we investigate the ability of acoustic waves generated on different geometric surfaces (concave and convex) to enhance the micromixing efficiency in droplet acoustomicrofluidic systems, and, concomitantly, to reduce the power consumption in these devices for a given performance requirement. Quite counterintuitively, we observe that although the acoustic streaming velocity, which scaled inversely with the droplet size, tended to be generally lower (by approximately 45%) when the flow is generated by transducers with convex surfaces compared to those with concave surfaces, the mixing efficiency is disproportionately higher: compared to pure diffusional mixing in the absence of the acoustic forcing, the mixing efficiency due to the acoustically driven convection increased by up to 25% and 43% on these respective surfaces. As such, the mixing enhancement cannot simply be attributed to an increase in the convective flow arising from the acoustic forcing. Rather, we observe the mixing enhancement to be due to the stronger chaotic advection arising in the transducer with the convex surface due to its diverging acoustic field into the droplet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, frequency-dependent dielectric properties of polycrystalline samples with nominal compositions FeTeSe ( x = 0.0-0.5) were investigated. The samples were synthesized via solid-state reaction method with intermittent grinding at ambient pressure. The phase formation, lattice properties and chemical compositions of the samples were analysed. Dielectric constants ( $\varepsilon ^{\prime }$ , $\varepsilon ^{\prime \prime }$ ), dielectric loss (tan δ) and alternating current (AC) conductivity ( σ ) as a function of frequency ranging from 100 Hz to 10 MHz were measured at room temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data showed the presence of impurity phases of FeO, FeTe and hexagonal FeSe/FeSe. Both a and c lattice parameters decreased with the substitution of Se. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy confirmed the increasing ratio of Se/Te with x. The measured negative values of real dielectric constant ( $\varepsilon ^{\prime } )$ for x = 0.0-0.5 indicate the conductive nature of these samples. As the Se content was increased, the $\varepsilon ^{\prime } $ became more negative as a result of better grain connectivity as shown by the higher AC conductivity and dielectric loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycrystalline samples with nominal composition FeTeS ( x = 0.00-0.30) were synthesized via solid state reaction method with intermittent grinding in argon gas flow. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns revealed the tetragonal structure (space group P4/nmm) of the samples with the presence of impurities FeO and FeTe. By substitution with S, the a and c lattice parameters shrink probably due to the smaller ionic radius of S compared to Te. Scanning electron microscopy images showed that the samples developed plate-like grains with increasing S substitution. Substitution of Te with S suppresses the structural transition of the parent compound FeTe as shown by both the temperature dependence of resistance and magnetic moment measurements. All of the S-substituted samples showed a rapid drop of resistance at around 9-10 K but zero resistance down to 4 K was not observed. In addition, negative magnetic moment corresponds to diamagnetism was detected in the samples for x = 0.25 and 0.30 suggesting the coexistence of magnetic and superconducting phase in these samples. The magnetization hysteresis loops measured at room temperature showed ferromagnetic behavior for the pure and S substituted samples. However, the magnetization, rentivity and coercivity decreased with S content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, polycrystalline samples with nominal composition FeTeSe ( x=0.1−0.5) were synthesized by solid-state reaction method at ambient pressure. In order to minimize oxidation, argon gas flow was maintained throughout the heat treatment. The phase formation of FeTeSe samples was checked by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The polycrystalline FeTeSe samples were indexed to a tetragonal structure with space group of P4/nmm. The lattice parameters a- and c-axes shrink significantly with the substitution of Se. As shown by the scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, the samples developed a plate-like grain structure gradually with the increase of Se concentration. Measurements of temperature dependence of magnetic moment showed that the onset of superconducting transition temperature, T, increased with Se concentration. The T is about 10.6 and 13.5 K for x= 0.1 and 0.5, respectively. All the samples exhibit ferromagnetic behavior asshown by the field-dependent magnetization measured at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article assesses the success of Singapore's mathematics education as well as its national commitment to high-quality education and a sound educational system. The writers, expound on Singapore's resolve to put the highest importance on giving quality education through adequate teacher preparation, training, motivation and reward system. A coherent national curriculum developed by the Ministry of Education, as well as well-written textbooks can also greatly enhance student learning abilities according to the authors.

The article presents a discussion on the career development of teachers in Singapore adapted from the article "Rethinking Human Capital in Education: Singapore as Model for Teacher Development," by Susan Sclafani with Edmund Lim published in 2008.