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This paper aims to develop a robust decomposed system control (RDSC) strategy under input constraints for an electro‐mechanical linear actuator (EMLA) facing model uncertainty and external disturbances. At first, a state‐space model of a complex multi‐stage gearbox EMLA system, driven by a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM), is developed, and the non‐ideal characteristics of the ball screw are presented through the model. The result is a four‐order nonlinear strict‐feedback form (NSFF) system decomposed into three subsystems. As the paper's main result, a novel RDSC strategy with uniform exponential stability for controlling subsystem states is presented. This developed controller avoids the "explosion of complexity" problem associated with backstepping by treating the time derivative of the virtual control input as an uncertain system term. The proposed method, despite assuming load disturbances and input constraints with arbitrary bounds, offers a straightforward control approach for a broader range of applications. Further, the controller's performance is evaluated by simulating two distinct duty cycles, each representing different levels of demand on the actuator facing load disturbances near the rated motor performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government of Malaysia is emphasizing on development of talent in the public sector, as it is the most significant resource for the federal and state services. Even though, the government has invested in various programs and initiatives to develop and produce key talented human capital, Malaysia is still short of talented people and struggling to develop talent, and talented skillful people are leaving. The aim of this research is to identify talent management practices affecting state government employees and to develop a conceptual framework explaining their relationships. Previous literature reveals that there is a positive relationship between talent acquisition, talent development and talent retention, and employee performance. Although the relationships among the four constructs have been extensively studied in the extant literature, this research is one of the few, if any, in investigating the constructs in state government agencies or local authorities in Malaysia. If empirically supported, the proposed framework may provide an effective alternative in assisting state government agencies at attracting and nurturing talented workers. Ultimately, this research proposes the policy in talent management for the state government and other government agencies in Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pre-existing comorbidities can predict severe disease requiring intensive care unit (ICU) admission among COVID-19 cases. We compared comorbidities, clinical features and other predictive factors between COVID-19 patients requiring ICU admission for intubation/mechanical ventilation and all other COVID-19 cases in Selangor, Malaysia. Method: Field data collected during the COVID-19 outbreak in Selangor, Malaysia, up to 13 April 2020 were used, comprising socio-demographic characteristics, comorbidities and presenting symptoms of COVID-19 cases. ICU admission was determined from medical records. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with ICU admission requiring intubation/mechanical ventilation among COVID-19 cases. Results: A total of 1287 COVID-19-positive cases were included for analysis. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (15.5%) and diabetes (11.0%). More than one third of cases presented with fever (43.8%) or cough (37.1%). Of the 25 cases that required intubation/mechanical ventilation, 68.0% had hypertension, 88.0% had fever, 40.0% had dyspnoea and 44.0% were lethargic. Multivariate regression showed that cases that required intubation/ mechanical ventilation had significantly higher odds of being older (aged >60 years) [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 3.9] and having hypertension (aOR = 5.7), fever (aOR = 9.8), dyspnoea (aOR = 9.6) or lethargy (aOR = 7.9) than cases that did not require intubation/mechanical ventilation. Conclusion: The COVID-19 cases in Selangor, Malaysia requiring intubation/mechanical ventilation were significantly older, with a higher proportion of hypertension and symptoms of fever, dyspnoea and lethargy. These risk factors have been reported previously for severe COVID-19 cases, and highlight the role that ageing and underlying comorbidities play in severe outcomes to respiratory disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Byline: Mohammad. Najafi, Gholam. Khodaee, Mohammad. Bahari, Masoumeh. Sabahi, Mostafa. Farsi, Fatomeh. Kiani Background : Evaluated serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), as an early index for diagnosis of neonatal hypothyroidism, indicates [...]