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Polyaniline (PANI) nanowire electrode was successfully prepared using electrodeposition method. The morphology, thickness, and electrochemical performance of PANI electrode can be controlled by varying the deposition scan rates. Lower deposition scan rate results in compact and aggregates of PANI nanowire morphology. The uniform nanowire of PANI was obtained at the applied scan rate of 100 mV s−1, and it was used as symmetric electrode coupled with H2SO4/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel electrolyte. The different concentrations of H2SO4 acid in polymer electrolyte have influenced the electrochemical performance as well. The optimum specific capacitance and energy density of P100 PANI electrode in 3 M H2SO4/PVA gel polymer electrolyte was 377 F g−1 and 95.4 Wh kg−1 at the scan rate of 1 mV s−1. The good stability of the electrode in this system is applicable to many wearable electronics applications.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is an inodorous and transparent gas, and naturally originates in our atmosphere. Due to its optical characteristics, CO2 is the most important greenhouse gas and play a key role in climate change due to an effective thermal infrared (IR) radiation absorber. Satellite observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) can significantly improve our knowledge about the sources and sinks of CO2. The remote sensing satellite, namely Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) was employed to investigate the spatial and variations of CO2 column-averaged dry airmole fractions, denoted XCO2 over Peninsular Malaysia from January 2013 to December 2013. The analysis of CO2 in the study area shows the significant differences between northeast monsoon (NEM) and the southwest monsoon (SWM). During NEM season, cold air outbreaks from Siberia spreads to equatorial region in the form of north-easterly cold surge winds and associated with a low-level anticyclone over Southeast Asia. Inversely, air masses from the southwest contribute to long–range air pollution due to transportation of atmospheric CO2 by wind is associated with biomass burning in Sumatra, Indonesia. The GOSAT data and the Satellite measurements are able to measure the increase of the atmosphere CO2 values over different regions.

Spectral reflectance of microalgae plays an important role to analysis and interpretation of their properties in freshwater. The aim of this study is to measure and investigate spectral reflectance of microalgae using an Analytical Spectral Device (ASD) - more specifically FieldSpec HandHeld 2™ Spectroradiometer - that records reflected radiation from visible to near infrared wavelength at Tasik Aman, USM Penang. The reflectance response of microalgae was analysed with the aid of ViewSpec Pro software. The peak position could be used to explain and understand the spectral reflectance of microalgae that occured in the visible and near infrared regions. In the visible spectrum, microalgae recorded the highest reflectance value in the range from 550 to 560 nm (green region) and around 700nm (red region). In the near infrared region, the highest reflectance value recorded was near 750-800nm. The wide spectral range was found from 550 to 560 nm and near 700 nm with maximum sensitivity of chlorophyll content.

Environmental monitoring through the method of traditional ship sampling is time consuming and requires a high survey cost. This study uses an empirical model, based on actual water quality of total suspended solids (TSS) measurements from the Penang Strait, Malaysia to predict TSS based on optical properties of satellite digital imagery using advanced land observing satellite imagery (ALOS) and Thai earth observation system (THEOS) satellite imageries. The proposed algorithm is based on the reflectance model that is a function of the inherent optical properties of water, which can be related to its constituent’s concentrations. Water samples were collected simultaneously with the airborne image acquisition and later analyzed in the laboratory. Water sample’s locations were determined by using a handheld GPS. The digital numbers for each band corresponding to the sea-truth locations were extracted and then converted into radiance values and reflectance values. The reflectance values were used for calibration of the water quality algorithm. The efficiency of the proposed algorithm was investigated based on the observations of correlation coefficient (R) and root-mean-square deviations (RMS) with the sea-truth data. This algorithm was then used to map the TSS concentration over Penang, Malaysia. The TSS map was color-coded and geometrically corrected for visual interpretation. The calibrated algorithm had the R and RMS values of 0.9012 and 5.3651 mg/l respectively for ALOS data. The R and RMS values were 0.8515 and 6.2635 mg/l respectively for THEOS data. This study indicates that TSS mapping can be carried out using remote sensing technique of the satellite digital photography system over Penang, Malaysia.

This study aims to investigate the performance of digital camcorder datasets for land cover classification. The chosen study area was the Universiti Sains Malaysia campus in Penang, Peninsular Malaysia. We encountered difficulties in obtaining cloud-free scenes because Malaysia is an equatorial region. This problem can be overcome by using airborne images. Digital images were taken from a low-altitude light aircraft (Cessna 172Q) at an average altitude of 2.44 km above sea level. The color image was separated into three bands (i.e., red, green, and blue) for multispectral analysis. We compared the performance of traditional methods (i.e., minimum distance and maximum likelihood) and advanced methods (i.e., frequency-based contextual and neural network (NN) techniques). The classified land cover map was geometrically corrected to provide a geocode map. This study presents preliminary findings vis-a-vis the potential application of an ordinary digital camcorder in local urban studies. The NN classifier prod...

This article presents the value and method of a pastoral diagnostic procedure used for people with disabilities. A spiritual assessment form for this diagnostic procedure is provided. The content includes explication of the dual benefits of pastoral diagnosis to pastors/chaplains and those whom they serve; a case study of three patients in which spiritual assessment was used in the diagnosis; an explanation of the areas and the implementation of the spiritual assessment procedure; and a conclusion that summarizes the challenges of pastoral diagnosis.

A high accuracy experimental platform for X-band PN radar performance evaluation has been created in our research lab. This PN radar platform could be used for the applications such as unmanned-aerial-vehicle anti-collision, and short-range distance measurement etc. It includes compact size X-band radar transceiver, baseband signal processing in FPGA, high speed analog to digital converter (ADC), arbitrary waveform generator (AWG), and Matlab Simulink tools. Our measurement result shows this PN radar has high accuracy within detection range. The detected range error is 0.082m. The radar carrier frequency is 9.5GHz.

Microwave Remote sensing data have been widely used for detecting and analyzing land cover/use feature in our environment. The objective of this project is to investigate the use of multi-polarized data of ALOS-PALSAR data for land cover/use mapping. ASF MapReady programs from Alaska satellite Facility Geographical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks was used for the preprocessing of ALOS-PALSAR data. Standard supervised classification techniques such as the maximum likelihood, minimum distance-to-mean, and parallelepiped were chosen for the ALOS-PALSAR images in land cover mapping. Some filtering and enhancement methods were applied to reduce speckle noise and to contrast the images. The ALOS-PALSAR data was classified into four categories, such as forest, urban, water and open land. The ALOS-PALSAR data training areas were choose based on optical satellite imagery. The land cover information was extracted from the digital data using PCI Geomatica 10.1 software package. The classification accuracy was used to evaluate the best performing data combination. This study indicates that the land cover/use of Penang Island, Malaysia can be mapped accurately using ALOS PALSAR data.

Remotely sensed can be the only data source in rural and remote areas where no ground-based measurements are taken. This image is used to detect air pollution at regional level, in coarser resolution. Remotely sensed data can be used qualitatively to provide a regional view of pollutants and to help assess the impact of events such as biomass burning or dust transport from remote sources. In this study, we explored the relationship between particulate matters of size less than 10 micron (PM10) derived from the Landsat TM using regression technique. We was developed a new algorithm that can effectively estimate the spatial distribution of atmospheric aerosols and retrieve surface reflectance from remotely sensed imagery. The algorithm was developed base on the aerosol characteristics in the atmosphere and the algorithm is modified to accommodate the visible and thermal bands of Landsat TM5 image. We were obtained the atmospheric reflectance values by subtracting surface reflectance from the amount of reflectance measured from the satellite. The satellite recorded reflectance is the sum of the surface reflectance and atmospheric reflectance. The efficiency of the developed algorithm, in comparison to other forms of algorithm, will be investigated in this study. Based on the values of the correlation coefficient and root-mean-square deviation, the proposed algorithm is considered superior. The calibrated algorithm will be used to generate the air quality maps over Penang Island, Malaysia. The finding obtained by this study indicates that the Landsat TM data can be used to retrieved air quality information for remotely sensed data.

Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Primary care doctors as general practitioners (GPs) play a central role in prevention, as they are in contact with a large number of patients in the community through provision of first contact, comprehensive and continuing care. This study aims to assess the adequacy of cardiovascular disease preventive care in general practice through a medical audit.Nine GPs in Malaysia did a retrospective audit on the records of patients, aged 45 years and above, who attended the clinics in June 2005. The adequacy of cardiovascular disease preventive care was assessed using agreed criteria and standards.Standards achieved included blood pressure recording (92.4 percent), blood sugar screening (72.7 percent) and attaining the latest blood pressure of equal or less than 140/90 mmHg in hypertensive patients (71.3 percent). Achieved standards ranged from 11.1 percent to 66.7 percent in the maintenance of hypertension and diabetic registries, recording of smoking status, height and weight, screening of lipid profile and attaining target blood sugar levels in diabetics.In the nine general practice clinics audited, targets were achieved in three out of ten indicators of cardiovascular preventive care. There were vast differences among individual clinics.

This paper presents the potential of integrating optical and radar remote sensing data to improve automatic land cover mapping. The analysis involved standard image processing, and consists of spectral signature extraction and application of a statistical decision rule to identify land cover categories. A maximum likelihood classifier is utilized to determine different land cover categories. Ground reference data from sites throughout the study area are collected for training and validation. The land cover information was extracted from the digital data using PCI Geomatica 10.3.2 software package. The variations in classification accuracy due to a number of radar imaging processing techniques are studied. The relationship between the processing window and the land classification is also investigated. The classification accuracies from the optical and radar feature combinations are studied. Our research finds that fusion of radar and optical significantly improved classification accuracies. This study indicates that the land cover/use can be mapped accurately by using this approach.

Microwave Remote Sensing data have been widely used for land cover classification in our environment. In this study, ALOS PALSAR polarization bands were used to identify land cover features in three study areas in Malaysia. The study area consists of Penang, Perak and Kedah. The aims of this research are to investigate the performance of ALOS PALSAR datasets which are assessed independently and combination of these data with ALOS AVNIR-2 for land cover classification. Standard supervised classification method Maximum Likelihood Classifier (MLC) was applied. Various land cover classes were identified and assessed using the Transformed Divergence (TD) separability measures. The PALSAR data training areas were chosen based on the information obtained from ALOS AVNIR-2 datasets. The original data gave very poor results in identifying land cover classes due to the presence of immense speckle. The extraction and use of mean texture measures was found to be very advantageous when evaluating the separability among the different land covers. Hence, mean texture was capable to provide higher classification accuracies as compared to the original radar. The highest overall accuracy was achieved by combining the radar mean texture with ALOS AVNIR-2 data. This study proved that the land cover of Penang, Perak, and Kedah can be mapped accurately using combination of optical and radar data.

Although infertility affects about 5% of the male population, its cause in most cases is uncertain. Normal spermatogenesis depends on a sequential cascade of genetic events triggered by factors encoded by the sex chromosomes. To determine the contribution of genetic aberrations to male infertility, the X-linked androgen receptor gene and the Y-chromosome were examined for mutations in a large cohort of infertile men.Screening of the androgen receptor (AR) gene for single-stranded conformation polymorphisms, confirmation by DNA sequencing, structure-function studies with androgen-responsive reporter genes and chimeric-protein constructs were performed. Y-chromosome microdeletions screening was done with multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analyses.Genetic screening of over 400 patients and controls showed that defects in the androgen receptor gene lead to the production of dysfunctional receptor protein in 15% of males with abnormally low sperm production. The dozens of mutations and polymorphisms uncovered were associated with reduced intrinsic androgen receptor activity and involve principally two regions of the androgen receptor. Gene-transfer experiments implicated defective intermolecular protein-protein interactions with coactivator molecules as the cause of reduced receptor function. Submicroscopic deletions of the Y-chromosome were also been detected in about 6% of patients with severely reduced spermatogenesis. The deleted segments encoded RNA-binding proteins of unknown function and are not linked to defects in the androgen receptor.Mutations and polymorphisms of the AR, and Y-microdeletions cause defective sperm production and male infertility in about 20% of subfertile men. These traits can be transmitted to progeny, and counselling can be offered to affected families. Clarification of the molecular mechanisms of pathogenesis has led to rational hormonal therapy.

One thousand and sixteen consecutive records of patients treated by the author for endodontic treatment was surveyed for the incidence of endodontic interappointment emergencies (EIE) and the major factors contributing to it. The overall incidence of EIE was 3.15% and unrelated to the patients' sex or tooth location. Caucasians were more likely to experience flare-ups than Chinese (p0.01). Patients20 years and60 years were less likely to experience EIE (p0.05). EIE was significantly higher in necrotic teeth than in vital teeth (p0.01). A clinical diagnosis of necrotic pulp with acute apical abcess (NP/AAA) increased the incidence of flare-ups significantly (p0.05). Retreatment cases also had a higher incidence of EIE and this was statistically significant (p0.01). The possibility of EIE was the highest after the first visit (p0.01) and this was reduced significantly with subsequent visits.

Summary Aspiration of a foreign body into the respiratory tract is a common and serious accident in childhood. Laryngotracheal foreign bodies, although less common than bronchial foreign bodies, are potentially more dangerous. Removal is commonly achieved using a rigid ventilating bronchoscope. We report a 16-month-old boy who had an open safety pin impacted in his larynx. This was removed through a tracheostomy, using high frequency jet ventilation to maintain gaseous exchange. We believe that this is the first case in which this method of removal has been reported.

The combination of lingual thyroid and median ectopic cervical thyroid in the same patient has not been described previously. A 10-year-old girl presented with a midline anterior neck tumour initially thought to be a thyroglossal cyst. Examination revealed a lobulated, nontranslucent lesion and a noncontiguous lingual thyroid. Thyroid scan showed two separate areas of thyroid activity.

The clinical presentation, surgical treatment and results in a group of 126 patients with histologically proven Hirschsprung's disease are presented. This study has enabled the authors to identify various problems and complications associated with the management of this condition. The typical clinical picture in the neonate has been observed in only 45.2% of our cases. In the long segment Hirschsprung's, especially those presenting with bowel perforation, the precise localisation of the aganglionic segment has been difficult. The standard surgical procedure in our department has been the mucosal-stripping endorectal pull-through operation. The problems of prolapse, stricture and cuff abscess associated with this procedure are, related to specific technical aspects of the operation which we believe have not been emphasised previously. Our current experience with this type of procedure has enabled us to carry out definitive surgery in early infancy without preliminary colostomy. The results justify our confidence that this approach to the surgical management of neonatal Hirschsprung's disease will become the standard procedure in our practice. An unusual feature has been the relatively common occurrence of the short segment type of Hirschsprung's disease--30.2% with rectal aganglionosis and 7.1% with ultrashort segment disease. This group has posed a dilemma as to the selection of the most appropriate surgical procedure. Rectal myectomy, which was the operation of choice, has given excellent results in some cases and yet in other cases it has been unsatisfactory, leading to the development of very gross megacolon.