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Kemahiran bahasa dan pertuturan merupakan antara komponen penting dalam menentukan keberhasilan penggunaan implan koklea. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengukur pencapaian kemahiran bahasa dan pertuturan kanak-kanak Melayu pengguna implan koklea menggunakan borang soal jawab skala perkembangan dan mengenalpasti faktor demografi yang menyumbang kepada pencapaian kanak-kanak. Kajian ini melibatkan 26 orang kanak-kanak Melayu pengguna implan koklea daripada Program Implan Koklea Kebangsaan di bawah Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia dengan umur kronologi antara 33 hingga 99 bulan (min=70, SP=18.9), umur semasa implan antara 18 hingga 71 bulan (min=40, SP=13.5) dan umur pendengaran antara 13 bulan hingga 48 bulan (min=30, SP=10.5). Instrumen yang digunakan adalah The Integrated Scale of Development-Malay version 2 (ISD-Mv2). Borang soal jawab diberikan kepada ibu bapa atau penjaga seterusnya temubual melalui telefon dilakukan. Hasil kajian menunjukkan hanya 9 subjek (35%) yang berjaya mencapai skor purata ISD-Mv2 setara atau lebih dari umur pendengaran. Antara enam komponen ISD-Mv2, komponen kognitif mencapai peratusan tertinggi dengan 96.79 peratus manakala penghasilan bahasa adalah yang terendah (76.21%). Ujian korelasi Pearson menunjukkan hubungan positif yang kuat antara kemahiran mendengar dengan pemahaman bahasa (r=0.554, p

Ideally, an analysis method for laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy (LHSV) based on the glottal area waveforms (GAW) requires images of a complete view of the glottis to ensure findings that are representatives of the vibratory behaviors of the whole vocal folds. However, in practice, the preferred images may not be obtained at all times. Often, the only available images that a clinician has to work with consist of a partial view of the glottis. This study aims to examine the effects of using images of a partial view of the glottis (ie, posterior-middle, anterior-middle, or middle) on the LHSV-based measures (ie, fundamental frequency (F0GAW), frequency perturbation (jitterGAW), amplitude perturbation (shimmerGAW), open quotient (OQGAW), and Nyquist plot). The participants consisted of 9 young normophonic females. The procedures involved LHSV recording of the vibration of the vocal folds. The images of the complete view of the glottis were analyzed to obtain the LHSV-based measures. The same images were used to simulate the images of partial views of the glottis by changing the outline of the region of interest to include only either the posterior-middle, anterior-middle, or middle parts of the glottis. The LHSV-based measures from the images of the partial views were then compared to those with the complete view . The results showed that all LHSV-based measures from the images of the posterior-middle view were similar to those of the complete view. However, only the F0GAW, jitterGAW, and shimmerGAW from the images of the anterior-middle and middle views were similar to those of the complete view. Lower OQGAW and different Nyquist plots than those of the complete view were generated by the images of the anterior-middle and middle views. In conclusion, all LHSV-based measures from the images of the posterior-middle view of the glottis, and only the F0GAW, jitterGAW, and shimmerGAW from the images of the anterior-middle and middle views of the glottis reflect the vibratory behaviors of the whole vocal folds. The same conclusion could not be applied to the OQGAW and Nyquist plots of the images of the anterior-middle and middle views of the glottis. A possible effect of the presence or absence of a posterior glottal gap on the findings warrants further confirmation.

This study aimed to compare the error patterns of Arabic phoneme-grapheme correspondence by a group of Malay children with cochlear implants (CIs) and normal hearing (NH) and the effects of the visual graphical features of Arabic graphemes (no-dot, single-dot, and multiple-dots) on the phoneme-grapheme correspondence.Participants were matched for hearing age (Mean, M = 7 ± 1.03 years) and duration of exposure to Arabic sounds (M = 2.7 ± 1.2 years). All 28 Arabic phonemes were presented through a loudspeaker and participants pointed to the graphemes associated with the presented phonemes.A total of 336 and 616 tokens were collected for six children with CI and 11 NH children for each task, i.e., phonemes repetition and phoneme-grapheme correspondence. Both groups found it easier to repeat phonemes than the phoneme-grapheme correspondence. The children with CIs showed more confusion ([ظ, ز, ذ, ض, خ, ب, ه, س, ع,ث]10% correct scores) in phoneme-grapheme correspondence than the NH children ([ظ:14%] and [ث: 27%]). There was a significant interaction (Our results infer that non-native Malay children with CIs and NH use different strategies to process the Arabic graphemes' visual features for phoneme-grapheme correspondence.

Head and neck cancer patients are at high risk of developing dysphagia from undergoing cancer treatment. It is essential for medical and dental practitioners to recognize speech–language pathologists’ role and dysphagia symptoms to provide a timely referral to speech–language pathologists. This study aims to determine the level of awareness, knowledge, and involvement of medical and dental practitioners in dysphagia management. A total of 391 medical and dental practitioners from 22 government hospitals across Malaysia participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants completed the questionnaire specifically on the level of involvement, knowledge, awareness regarding the role of SLP and dysphagia symptoms. The results revealed a statistically significant relationship between the level of awareness of the role of SLP, χ2 (4, 391) = 9.87, p = 0.043 and the level of involvement of medical and dental practitioners, χ2 (8, 391) = 27.68, p = 0.001 and percentage of referring head and neck cancer patients. The odds of referring head and neck cancer patients for pre-treatment assessment increased three times for each one unit of the participation of medical and dental practitioners [OR] 3.65 (1.56, 8.51) p = 0.003 among those who are already highly involved in dysphagia management. These findings compel healthcare practitioners in head and neck cancer to revisit their collaborative practices. Head and neck cancer patients should receive swallowing management from speech–language pathologists to improve their swallowing function and avoid further complications such as dehydration, malnutrition, and death.

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui kepraktisan dan keefektifan dari perangkat pembelajaran biologi berbasis Keterampilan Proses Sains di kelas X IPA SMA Negeri 2 Majene. Jenis penelitian ini adalah jenis penelitian pengembangan (Research and Development) dengan menggunakan model pengembangan dari Tjeerd Plomp, yang terdiri dari beberapa fase yaitu (1) fase investigasi awal, (2) fese desain, (3) realisasi, (4) fase tes, evaluasi dan revisi, dan (5) fase implementasi. Instrumen yang digunakan dalam pengumpulan data penelitian dibagi atas tiga yaitu lembar validasi, lembar observasi keterlaksanaan perangkat, dan angket respon siswa. Data yang diperoleh kemudian dianalisis dengan menggunakan analisis data deskriptif. Berdasarkan hasil uji kevalidan dari para ahli dengan menggunakan koefisien validasi isi untuk perangkat pembelajaran memperoleh rata-rata yaitu 3,50. Untuk kepraktisan perangkat pembelajaran diperoleh dari pengamatan keterlaksanaan perangkat pembelajaran 3,70 sedangkan untuk keefektifan perangkat pembelajaran diperoleh dari angket respon peserta didik 2,87, proses ini mengindikasikan bahwa perangkat pembelajaran yang dikembangkan layak untuk digunakan. Untuk uji keefektifan perangkat pembelajaran yang dikembangkan, diperoleh rata-rata ketuntasan belajar peserta didik adalah 78,24% yang mengindikasikan bahwa perangkat pembelajaran memenuhi kategori keefektifan dengan jumlah 25 orang peserta didik. Berdasarkan dari hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa perangkat pembelajaran berbasis keterampilan proses sains pada mata pelajaran biologi di kelas X IPA 3 yang dikembangkan memenuhi kriteria valid, praktis, dan efektif.

In this study, the chitin and chitosan were extracted from shrimp shell through two-steps acid and alkaline treatment. The shrimp shell was deproteinized by 1 M of sodium hydroxide and demineralised by 1%, 2%, 3%, 4% and 5% of hydrochloric acid, respectively. The produced chitin was characterized by FTIR and FESEM. FTIR depicted that the chitin extracted from shrimp shell was in α-chitin isomorph. The surface morphology of chitin was found to increase with an increase in acid concentration. The chitosan film with rod-like micro-structure was produced when dissolved in 2% of acetic acid. It was shown that chitosan with 65% of DD was successfully produced using this chemical route.

Today with a rapidly changing world and markets, SMEs are facing a critical challenge to remain competitive in the business market. In this paper, a case study of the SMEs food industry is presented. Work study methodology was embedded in the strategy to improve the productivity of the soya sauce enterprise. The sample size required for the study was calculated and random observations were determined through a work sampling technique to achieve a 95% confidence level. The result from this study reveals that work sampling data can be used as a reliable estimation for identification of any potential bottleneck as well as idle time in the factory. The process flowchart at the filling and capping terminal were examined and the travelling distance was optimized to 12.5 feet from original distance of 17 feet. The modified plant layout significantly improves the people flow, production material handling, work safety, space utilization, and better working conditions. The survival of SMEs is critical as this sector contributes 38.3% to Malaysian‘s gross domestic productivity (GDP). Thus, these findings demonstrated that enhancing the productivity of SME food industries is effective through a work study. However, the successful adoption of this approach is mostly because of top administrative involvement and the participation of all staff members. ABSTRAK: Pada hari ini, dengan perubahan pesat dunia dan pasaran, SMEs berhadapan cabaran getir bagi terus tetap berdaya saing dalam pasaran perniagaan. Kajian ini membincangkan berkaitan kes kajian SMEs dalam industri makanan. Kaedah kajian kerja telah diguna pakai dalam strategi bagi meningkatkan pengeluaran sos soya. Saiz sampel yang diperlukan bagi kajian ini dikira dan pemerhatian rawak diperoleh melalui teknik persampelan bagi memperolehi 95% tahap yakin diri. Hasil keputusan kajian menunjukkan data persampelan boleh digunakan sebagai anggaran boleh percaya bagi mengklasifikasi kemungkinan kesesakan dan juga masa terbiar dalam kilang. Proses carta alir pada terminal isian dan penutup telah diperiksa dan jarak perjalanan dioptimumkan pada 12.5 kaki dari jarak asal iaitu 17 kaki. Ubah suai susun atur kilang dapat memperbaiki dengan ketara aturan pekerja, pengendalian bahan pengeluaran, keselamatan kerja, pengunaan ruang tempat kerja dan persekitaran tempat kerja yang lebih bagus. Kemandirian SMEs adalah sangat kritikal kerana sektor ini menyumbang 38.3% kepada Keluaran Malaysia Dalam Negara Kasar (KDNK). Oleh itu, hasil kajian menunjukkan peningkatan produktiviti industri makanan SMEs adalah berkesan menerusi kajian ini. Walau bagaimanapun, keberhasilan kaedah ini berpunca daripada keterlibatan pentadbiran dan seluruh anggota pekerja.

Flow of Casson fluid in Darcy-Forchheimer porous medium near a stagnation point over a stretching sheet with Newtonian heating effect is investigated in this paper. The boundary-layer equations are solved numerically for f"(0) and θ(0) using the Keller-box method for some values of Casson fluid parameter (β), porous media parameter (κ1), inertia-coefficient parameter (κ2), Newtonian heating parameter (γ), Prandtl number (Pr) and stretching parameter (c).

AIM To evaluate the efficacy of a newly developed auditory-cognitive training system on speech recognition, central auditory processing and cognition among older adults with normal cognition (NC) and with neurocognitive impairment (NCI). METHODS A double-blind quasi-experiment was carried out on NC (n = 43) and NCI (n = 33) groups. Participants in each group were randomly assigned into treatment and control programs groups. The treatment group underwent auditory-cognitive training, whereas the control group was assigned to watch documentary videos, three times per week, for 8 consecutive weeks. Study outcomes that included Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Malay Hearing in Noise Test, Dichotic Digit Test, Gaps in Noise Test and Pitch Pattern Sequence Test were measured at 4-week intervals at baseline, and weeks 4, 8 and 12. RESULTS Mixed design anova showed significant training effects in total Montreal Cognitive Assessment and Dichotic Digit Test in both groups, NC (P

Summary Facilitative playback-based subjective measures offer a more reliable evaluation of the vocal fold vibration than those derived from direct inspection of video playback. One of the measures is a Nyquist plot, which presents the analyzed cycle-to-cycle vibratory information in a graphical form. While the potential is evident, the information of the features of the Nyquist plot, which the evaluation is based on, is still incomplete. The current identified features and their vibratory behaviors may be inadequate to guarantee accurate interpretation of the findings. The present study aims to address this issue by examining the features of the Nyquist plot and their vibratory behaviors. A total of 56 young normophonic speakers, that is, 20 males and 36 females were recruited as the participants. Each of them underwent laryngeal high-speed videoendoscopy to record the images of the vocal fold vibration, which were then analyzed to generate the Nyquist plots. The features were identified by inspecting the properties of the plot points forming the Nyquist plots. For each identified feature, its vibratory behaviors were examined. The results revealed four features: rim contour depicting the longitudinal phase difference; left edge shape signifying the glottal configuration, phase closure, and closed phase duration; rim width and rim pattern visualizing the regularity of glottal areas and the regularity of the intracycle variations, respectively. The findings present a more complete reference of the features and their vibratory behaviors that is pertinent for the Nyquist plot interpretation.

Investigation on structural dynamic characteristic is a crucial step in the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) analysis in order to enhance the structural vibration, which subsequently contribute to improving the acoustical environment. The excitation of the structure can produce high vibration which could be transferred to the other parts of the body, then lead to high noise radiating components. Structural dynamic modification is one of the important techniques in the design of mechanical structures. It is an application of experimental modal analysis technique to investigate the effect of the physical and geometrical parameters on the dynamic properties of the structures such as frequencies and mode shapes. This paper investigates the dynamic properties of a machine casing structure which is extensively used in industrial applications. This investigation had successfully produced natural frequencies and their associated mode shapes of such open box for the original structure and modified structure. The study establishes the step-by-step procedures to carry out experimental modal analysis on the structures, using single input excitation and single output responses (SISO) technique. To ensure the validity of the results obtained an inverse method was done by fixing the response and moving the excitation. The results found were absolutely the same. Finally, comparison between results obtained from analysis showed significant differences on both frequencies and mode shapes.

This study examined the patterns of recognition of Arabic consonants, via information transmission analysis for phonological features, in a group of Malay children with normal hearing (NH) and cochlear implants (CI).A total of 336 and 616 acoustic tokens were collected from six CI and 11 NH Malay children, respectively. The groups were matched for hearing age and duration of exposure to Arabic sounds. All the 28 Arabic consonants in the form of consonant-vowel /a/ were presented randomly twice via a loudspeaker at approximately 65 dB SPL. The participants were asked to repeat verbally the stimulus heard in each presentation.Within the native Malay perceptual space, the two groups responded differently to the Arabic consonants. The dispersed uncategorized assimilation in the CI group was distinct in the confusion matrix (CM), as compared to the NH children. Consonants /ħ/, /tˁ/, /sˁ/ and /ʁ/ were difficult for the CI children, while the most accurate item was /k/ (84%). The CI group transmitted significantly reduced information, especially for place feature transmission, then the NH group (p 0.001). Significant interactions between place-hearing status and manner-hearing status were also obtained, suggesting there were information transmission differences in the pattern of consonants recognition between the study groups.CI and NH Malay children may be using different acoustic cues to recognize Arabic sounds, which contribute to the different assimilation categories' patterns within the Malay perceptual space.

Casson fluid flow with variable viscosity in porous media over a heated stretching sheet is investigated. The partial differential equations representing the flow motion are first transformed to ordinary differential equations by similarity transformation before being solved numerically by the finite-difference method. The effects of the viscosity variation parameter \((\Omega)\), the permeability number \((\kappa)\), Prandtl number \((Pr)\), Biot number \((Bi)\) and non-Newtonian fluid parameter \((\beta)\) on the fluid flow and heat transfer, along with the temperature and velocity profiles, are presented graphically for some arbitrary values.

(−)-Desmethylsecoantofine N-oxide (1), a new seco-phenanthroindolizidine alkaloid along with prodensiflorins A and B (2-3), two new proaporphine alkaloids, were isolated from the leaves of Cryptocarya densiflora Blume. Their structures were established on the basis of 1D and 2D NMR techniques and LCMS-IT-TOF analysis. (+)-N-methyllaurotetanine (4), (+)-laurotetanine (5), (+)-nornantenine (6), crychine (7), (−)-isocaryachine (8), (+)-reticuline (9), (−)-desmethylsecoantofine (10), (+)-oridine (11), dicentrinone (12) and (−)-antofine (13) were also isolated with compounds 4, 7–9 and 12–13 being characterized for the first time in this plant. Compounds 1-3 were moderate to weak AChE and BChE inhibitors while compound 10 was a DPPH free radical scavenger.

The FeCl3-catalyzed cross-coupling through a sequential C−N and C−C bond-forming via tandem C−H and N−H bonds functionalization represents a novel method for the formation of dimeric carbazole derivatives. This approach provides a novel dimeric carbazole, namely murrabicine (4), from murrayacine (1). Following the same procedure, a cycloadduct (6) has been achieved due to different substitution pattern at the pyran ring of the mahanimbine (3). This strategy opens up an efficient and direct route to the formation of biologically important pyrano[3,2-a]carbazole alkaloids.

Introduction: Current clinical practice lacks a user-friendly quantitative method of measuring head posture in individuals with neck-related musculoskeletal disorders. Literature reveals that photogrammetry is a valid and reliable method to evaluate forward head posture (FHP) based on the angles and distance measured on a digital image. However, the adoption of the photogrammetry-based FHP assessment is not common clinical practice. This may be due to technical difficulties, high cost, and complexity of posture assessment software. Advancements in and access to information technology have allowed wide numbers of open resource software applications to be available for measurement of FHP in patients with neck pain in the clinical setting.Aim: To determine the technical feasibility of quantitative forward head posture assessment in clinical settings.Methods: A total of 15 subjects without history of neck pain and 16 subjects with neck pain were recruited for the study. Sagittal head tilt angle (SHA),...

Introduction Intensive voice therapy is one of the best evidence-based treatments to improve speech and voice difficulties to individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, accessibility to intensive voice therapy is highly challenging in Malaysia due to the lack of voice specialised speech-language therapists. This study examined the feasibility of using smartphone videoconference to deliver intensive voice therapy to individuals with PD in Malaysia. Methods Intensive voice therapy was delivered to 11 adults with PD using a smartphone videoconference method via WhatsApp Messenger freeware. The therapy consisted of 12 sessions over four weeks and focused on increasing vocal loudness. Outcomes were assessed using objective, perceptual and quality-of-life measures pre and post treatment. Participant satisfaction with the telerehabilitation method was obtained via the Smartphone-Based Therapy Satisfaction Questionnaire. Results Significant gains were reported for sound pressure level in sustained vowels and monologue. Perceptual ratings showed significant improvements in overall mean severity and loudness after treatment. Mean scores of speech intelligibility and Voice Handicap Index-10 were significantly better post treatment. Overall, participants were highly satisfied with the smartphone videoconference method. Discussion Present results suggest that the smartphone videoconference method is feasible to deliver intensive voice therapy to individuals with PD to gain better speech and voice functions. Future studies need to address the standardisation of the system protocol to optimise this novel service delivery method in Malaysia.

In this paper, a new reliable analytical technique has been introduced based on the Harmonic Balance Method (HBM) to determine higher-order approximate solutions of the strongly nonlinear cubic-quintic Duffing oscillator. The application of the HBM leads to very complicated sets of nonlinear algebraic equations. In this technique, the high-order nonlinear algebraic equations are approximated in the form of a power series solution, and this solution produces desired results even for small as well as large amplitudes of oscillation. Moreover, a suitable truncation formula is found in which the solution measures better results than existing results and it saves a lot of calculation. It is highly noteworthy that using the proposed technique, the third-order approximate solutions gives an excellent agreement as compared with the numerical solutions (considered to be exact). The proposed technique is applied to the strongly nonlinear cubic-quintic Duffing oscillator to reveals its novelty, reliability and wider applicability. Keywords: Approximate frequency, Harmonic balance method, Cubic-quintic Duffing oscillator, Analytical solutions, Truncation principle

This study investigates the steady-mixed convection boundary layer flow near a stagnation point that runs about a linearly stretched vertical surface filled with a Jeffery fluid in the presence of a transverse magnetic field. It is assumed that the external velocity impinges normally to the wall and the wall temperature varies linearly with the distance from the stagnation point. The governing partial differential equations that govern the fluid flow are transformed into a set of coupled ordinary differential equations, which are then solved numerically using a finite-difference scheme. The numerical results are presented for some values of parameters, namely the Deborah number ?, the Prandtl number Pr, the magnetic parameter M and the mixed convection parameter ?, for both assisting and opposing flows.

In this paper, Taguchi concept of robust process design and the classical statistical experimental design methodology are integrated for improving both the product quality and efficiency. It is a systematic method of optimizing a production process, and is concerned with productivity enhancement and cost effectiveness. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the inputs on the outputs in the presence of a noise factor and also to choose the best level settings of the control factors that will maximize the mean and minimize the variation in the glove's quality characteristics at minimal cost. The quality characteristic of the rubber glove that is considered in this study was the tensile strength. Taguchi L16, the orthogonal array is employed to run the experiments. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio were performed. The BG interaction was identified as the important mean effect. However, factor (B), the latex temperature was not affected by factor (G), oven temperature after coagulation dip when it was at high but enhanced the strength when both were set at low. Factor (A), curing temperature profile affected both the mean and the process variability. The effect of humidity (H) appeared insignificant using ANOVA, but was significant in S/N ratio for the mean tensile strength. The preferred optimal setting were: A 2 B 1 C 1 D 1 F 2 H 1 G 1.

Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is a technique used to teach children with autisme a variety of skills. In ABA, children with autisme often do not receive reinforcers because they have difficulty performing their targeted behaviors, which consequently leads to challenging behaviors. Objectives of this study are to increase spontaneous request and decrease challenging behavior among children with autisme by introducing a secondary reinforcer during therapy based on ABA model. Secondary reinforcer has lower reinforcing value than the primary reinforcer. When the children tried but were unable to produce their targeted behavior, they were given the secondary reinforcer. The children were divided into two groups, five children in the intervention group and four children in the control group, and they were taught specific target requesting behavior (TRB) to request for a preferred item. Three children in the intervention group recorded an increase in spontaneous request and a reduction in challenging behaviors. Only two children from the control group recorded an increase in spontaneous request and a decrease in challenging behaviors. However, only children from the intervention group were able to maintain their performance during the generalization sessions. The results suggest that children respond differently to specific prompts and interventions. Future studies should focus on how prompts affect children’s performance and also on reinforcer selection. Bigger scale studies are still needed to further determine the effectiveness of a secondary reinforcer in assisting the learning of requesting skill and in reducing challenging behaviors among children with autisme during therapy based on ABA model. DOI : http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2016-1402-11

Alzheimer’s disease is a cognitive disorder common among elderly whereby neurode generation occurs rapidly as a result of decline in brain activity. There have been many studies linking music memory with cognition among patients with Alzheimer’s disease. However, the types of music exposed, the familiarity of the music and their effects on speech production is still not adequately explained. Improvement in speech can be demonstrated in alteration of several speech parameters. This multiple case study (n = 3), seeks to investigate the effects of familiar and unfamiliar music on the speech fundamental frequency (F0), intensity range, and speech rate of 3 elderly subjects with Alzheimer’s disease. The speech parameters after exposure to familiar and unfamiliar music were measured longitudinally over a period of 21 weeks. A listening task to an audiobook was treated as control. Data revealed that in all of these subjects, there was wide variability in performance with no common pattern for familiar music. However, for unfamiliar music, two subjects showed increase in their speech rate. The third subject showed increase in F0 range. It is suggested that there may be more to understand how familiar and novel stimuli influence speech production in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Keywords Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), Familiar, Unfamiliar, music, Speech production

Six new carbazole alkaloids, murrastanine-A (1), murrastinine-A, -B, -C (2–4), murrayatanine-A (5) and bismahanimboline (6), were isolated from the bark and leaves of Murraya koenigii (Linn.) Spreng along with 24 known carbazole alkaloids. The structure of these compounds were elucidated by extensive spectroscopic analysis. Murrastinine-C (4) and murrayatanine-A (5) exhibited cytotoxic activity against HL-60 and HeLa (CD50

A new aporphine alkaloid, demethoxyglauvine (1), along with seven known isoquinoline alkaloids, was isolated from the alkaloid crude extract of the leaves of Alseodaphne corneri. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis including 1D and 2D NMR (1H–1H COSY, HSQC, and HMBC), mass spectrometry, and by comparing with the published data. A possible biogenetic pathway for the formation of 1 was proposed.

To characterize field strains of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) in Malaysia, selected gene target-specific sequences to MG, hemagglutinin protein A (pMGA) and phase variable putative adhesion protein A (pvpA) genes, were amplified from positive MG samples using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR). A total of 25 MG-positive samples out of 94 field samples were sequenced with primer targeting pMGA and pvpA genes. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were conducted using bioinformatics softwares (Bioedit and MEGA 5) and genetic variation patterns were evaluated based on partial nucleotide sequencing of pMGA and pvpA genes. In case of pMGA, all 25 field strains showed similar gene size patterns with strains of pathogenic reference (MGS6) and vaccine (MG F), which were different from the PCR product size of less pathogenic vaccine strain (TS 11). However, pvpA partial nucleotide sequences of MG local strains showed that 20 out of 25 strains possessed similar gene size pattern with MG F, which were different from MGS6 and TS 11. In conclusion, based on the molecular characterization from phylogenetic analysis of pMGA and pvpA partial nucleotide sequences, it was found that Malaysian MG strains were different from strains reported in other countries.

Usability of an application is assessed by the extent of ease in using the application to perform the required tasks during the development cycle by the target users. This paper presents a usability testing for therapeutic serious game known as ASAH-i, which was specifically designed to stimulate cognitive abilities for children with speech and language delay (CSLD). Six CSLD and six normal children were selected as participants for this study. A combination of the observation and think aloud method was utilised to evaluate the usability of ASAH-i. During the usability testing session, participants were observed and asked to verbalize their thoughts while performing the testing tasks. The collected data was then analyzed based on the time of the task, task success, error rates, and satisfaction to measure the level of learnability, efficiency, errors and satisfaction towards the use of ASAH-i. The findings show that the participants' learning ability is high and all participants can play ASAH-i efficiently. The participants also managed to play ASAH-i with only minimal errors. This contributes to participants' satisfaction where most of the participants were satisfied with ASAH-i Recommendation for optimal design based on the result in order to make the ASAH-i usable by the target users is proposed.

The creation of an effective therapeutic serious game (TSG) is highly dependent upon its design and the fundamental knowledge of the users. Furthermore, the TSG is designed for a purpose to the users by incorporating the needs of the users in all design components. Although numerous studies have been conducted on guidelines for designing serious games, to date, studies on the specific TSG’s design guidelines for stimulating the cognitive ability of children with speech and language delay (CSLD) has yet to be comprehensively studied. Therefore, this study focuses on the set of design guidelines for the development of TSG for CSLD, specifically on cognitive stimulation. The TSG design guidelines in this paper are derived through the study of relevant literature, and best practices gained from interviews with experts in the area of speech pathology. These guidelines would be useful for researchers and game designers to design TSG for CSLD focusing on cognitive stimulation.

The problem of steady Casson nanofluid flow past a wedge is studied in this paper. The presence of magnetic field along with Newtonian heating at the surface is considered. The governing partial differential equations are first transformed into a set of nonlinear ordinary differential equations by similarity transformations, before being solved numerically using the Keller-box method. The effects of the wedge angle $\Omega$ from $0^{\circ}$ (horizontal plate) to $180^{\circ}$ (vertical plate) as well as of as the magnetic parameter M on the non-Newtonian fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics are investigated. It is found that the surface temperature is slightly higher for the flow over a horizontal plate compared to that over a vertical plate. It is also found that the magnetic field decreases the surface temperature but increases the skin friction. The flow of a Newtonian fluid is found to give higher skin friction as compared to that of Casson fluid.

Murraya koenigii (L.) (Rutaceae) is an indigenous medicinally important herb of Indian origin and now is widely distributed throughout southern Asia. The stem bark, leaves and roots of Malayan Murraya koenigii were selected for phytochemical investigation. Eight carbazole alkaloids was isolated and identified using spectroscopic methods including NMR, IR, UV, MS spectra data. Crude extract and isolated compounds from the roots of this plant were screened for cytotoxic activity and antitumor promoting activity. All crude extracts of the roots including the isolated compounds, mahanimbine, mahanine and murrayafoline-A exhibited significant cytotoxic activity against CEM-SS cell line with IC50 3mg/mL. Girinimbine inhibited EBV-activation in the antitumor promoting assay.

Resveratrol, a natural stilbene found in grapes and wines exhibits a wide range of pharmacological properties. Resveratrol is also known as a good chemopreventive agent for inhibiting carcinogenesis processes that target kinases, cyclooxygenases, ribonucleotide reductase and DNA polymerases. A total of 19 analogues with an amide moiety were synthesized and the cytotoxic effects of the analogues on a series of human cancer cell lines are reported. Three compounds 6d, 6i and 6n showed potent cytotoxicity against prostate cancer DU-145 (IC50 = 16.68 µM), colon cancer HT-29 (IC50 = 7.51 µM ) and breast cancer MCF-7 (IC50 = 21.24 µM), respectively, which are comparable with vinblastine. The resveratrol analogues were synthesized using the Heck method.

The current paper is a response to the Wiley, McAllister, Davidson, and Marshall lead article regarding the application of the World Report on Disability (WRD) to people with communication disorders. The current paper directly addresses recommendation 5 (improvement of human resource capacity) and indirectly addresses recommendations 7, 8, and 9 (related to improving local knowledge and data on communicative disabilities) indirectly. The paper describes Malaysia's initiatives in the early 1990s, in developing its local professional capacity to provide services for people with communication disorders (PWCD). It charts the history of development of a local undergraduate entry-level degree program for speech-language pathology (SLP) from the point of conceptualization to full execution. The article provides glimpses to the processes and challenges faced by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia as the pioneer university in the South East Asia region to undertake the training and education of the SLP profession and highlights relevant issues faced by newly introduced professions in a country where resources and practice traditions were previously unavailable. It underscores the important role played by government institutions and an international professional network in driving forward-looking policies to implement and sustain the program.

Study on chemical constituents from Kopsia singapurensis (Apocynaceae) yielded four new aspidofractinines: Singaporentine A (1), N(1)-formylkopsininic acid (2), N(1)-formylkopsininic acid-N(4)-oxide (3), 15-hydroxykopsamine (4); a new aspidospermatan: 14α-hydroxy-N(4)-methylcondylocarpine (5) and a new akuamiline: singaporentinidine (6) together with 18 known indole alkaloids from different parts of the plant. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by combination of various spectroscopic methods.

Recently, serious games aimed at cognitive therapy have been gaining increasing importance in general health applications, creating new possibilities for various groups, including children, to access new forms of treatment. However, to develop therapeutic serious games that stimulate the cognitive abilities of children with speech and language delay (CSLD), the needs of this group and a few other issues must be considered. Therefore, this paper aims to identify the problems affecting the cognitive functions of CSLD as well as their needs, to assist in the development of a serious game for CSLD. We conducted a preliminary study through a semi-structured interview with experts in the area of therapy. Our results indicate that CSLD indeed have major difficulties that affect the development of their cognitive abilities such as memory, attention, perception, problem solving, decision making, language, learning, and reasoning. In addition, CSLD also lack preverbal and motor skills. These findings reinforce the need to propose a model for therapeutic serious game design that stimulates the cognitive abilities of CSLD.

Girinimbine, a carbazole alkaloid isolated from the stem bark of Murraya koenigii was tested for the in vitro anti-tumour promoting and antioxidant activities. Anti-tumour promoting activity was determined by assaying the capability of this compound to inhibit the expression of early antigen of Epstein-Barr virus (EA-EBV) in Raji cells that was induced by the tumour promoter, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The concentration of this compound that gave an inhibition rate at fifty percent was 6.0 µg/mL and was not cytotoxic to the cells. Immunoblotting analysis of the expression of EA-EBV showed that girinimbine was able to suppress restricted early antigen (EA-R). However, diffused early antigen (EA-D) was partially suppressed when used at 32.0 µg/mL. Girinimbine exhibited a very strong antioxidant activity as compared to a-tocopherol and was able to inhibit superoxide generation in the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced differentiated premyelocytic HL-60 cells more than 95%, when treated with the compound at 5.3 and 26.3 µg/mL, respectively. However girinimbine failed to scavenge the stable diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH)-free radical.

Summary The purpose of the study was to investigate relationships between vocal fold vibrations and voice quality. Laryngeal images obtained from high-speed digital imaging (HSDI) were examined for their open-closed timing characteristics and perturbation values. A customized software delineated the glottal edges and used the Hilbert transform-based method of analysis to provide objective quantification of glottal perturbation. Overlay tracings of the transformed glottal cycles provided visual patterns on the overall vibratory dynamics. In this paper, we described the use of this method in looking at vibratory characteristics of a group of young female speakers (N=23). We found that, females with no voice complaints and who had been perceived to have normal voices were not a homogeneous group in terms of their glottal vibratory patterns during phonation. Their vibratory patterns showed characteristics similar to exemplar voices targeted to be clear (50%), pressed (27%), breathy (15%), or a mixed quality (8%). Perturbation range in terms of cycle-to-cycle frequency and amplitude was small and did not discriminate patterns. All these patterns yielded perceptually normal voices suggesting that in normal young speakers, the level of perturbation may be more important to the judgment than the actual pattern of closure.