Contribution of Vision, Touch, and Hearing to the Use of Sham Devices in Acupuncture-Related Studies

Chee-Wee Tan,Derek Santos 사단법인약침학회 2020 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.13 No.1

This study investigates whether visual deprivation influences participants’ accuracy in differentiating between real and sham acupuncture needles. It also evaluates the relative contributions of tactile, visual, and auditory cues that participants use in their decisionmaking processes. In addition, a simple sensory decision-making model for research using acupuncture sham devices as comparative controls is proposed. Forty healthy individuals underwent two conditions (blindfolded and sighted) in random sequence. Four sham and four real needles were randomly applied to the participants’ lower limb acupoints (ST32 to ST39). Participants responded which needle type was applied. Participants then verbally answered a questionnaire on which sensory cues influenced their decisionmaking. The proportion of correct judgments, P(C), was calculated to indicate the participants’ accuracy in distinguishing between the needle types. Visual deprivation did not significantly influence the participants’ discrimination accuracy. Tactile cues were the dominant sensory modality used in decision-making, followed by visual and auditory cues. Sharp and blunt sensations were associated with the real and sham needles, respectively, for both conditions. This study confirmed that tactile cues were the main sensory modalities used in participant decision-making during acupuncture administration. Also, shortterm blindfolding of participants during procedures will unlikely influence blinding effectiveness. Clinical trial registration number: Not applicable. This study does not fall under the definition of a clinical trial under the ICMJE guidelines.

Augmented reality assisted facility layout digitization and planning

Chee Hau Tan,Hwa Jen Yap,Siti Nurmaya Musa,Siow Wee Chang,Chandra Sekaran Sivadas,Ahmad Syazwan Hisaburi,Kan Ern Liew,Ahmad Humaizi Ismail,Luqman Hakim Baharudin 대한기계학회 2021 JOURNAL OF MECHANICAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Vol.35 No.9

Facility layout planning (FLP) has an important role in manufacturing industries. There are few approaches to solve FLP such as procedural, algorithmic, virtual reality (VR) based and augmented reality (AR) based approaches. This research is about AR assisted FLP (ARFLP) to visualize the arrangement of virtual models in real facilities environment in realtime. It can check the material travel distance and total area occupied by the facilities. In the ARFLP system, the virtual model design is flexible and can be modified easily to suit the actual environment. A single row layout production line was chosen as a case study with four common types of layout considered: straight line, W-shaped, U-shaped and V-shaped layouts. The best location for the new machine was suggested for each layout. ARFLP has proven to be able to check and visualize the position of a new machine to be added to the existing layout.

Impact of Within-row Plant Spacing and Fixed Fruit Setting on Yield and Quality of Rockmelon Fruit Cultivated by Drip Irrigation in a Greenhouse

Wen-Chen Wee,Kok-Song Lai,Chee-Leong Kong,Wai-Sum Yap 한국원예학회 2018 원예과학기술지 Vol.36 No.2

Experiments were conducted in a ventilated greenhouse located in a commercial farm (2°56'N, 101º54'E) at Broga, Malaysia from 2014 to 2015. The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction between within-row plant spacing and fruit-set position on the yield and quality of ‘Glamour’ rockmelon fruit. Rockmelon was grown at 1.57 m between rows with 0.15 m, 0.30 m, and 0.60 m of within-row plant spacing. The plants were fixed to set fruit at T1 (one fruit, 1-7 lateral branches), T2 (one fruit, 8-14 lateral branches), T3 (two fruits, 1-7 lateral branches), and T4 (two fruits, 8-14 lateral branches). As within-row plant spacing decreased from 0.30 m to 0.15 m, yield per ha was increased by 58.1%, and a 3.7-fold increase in yield was seen from 0.60-m to 0.15-m spacing. Total soluble solids (11.96°Brix) and total carbohydrate content (86.60 g GE 100 g DW) were highest at a plant spacing of 0.60 m. Our results demonstrated that the interaction between 0.30-m within-row plant spacing with two fruits set at 8-14 lateral branches showed the most commercially viable outcome in fresh fruit weight as these conditions produced two fruits with an average fruit weight of 2.20 kg per fruit.

Laser hemorrhoidoplasty versus conventional hemorrhoidectomy for grade II/III hemorrhoids: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ian Jun Yan Wee,Chee Hoe Koo,Isaac Seow-En,Yvonne Ying Ru Ng,Wenjie Lin,Emile John Kwong-Wei Tan 대한대장항문학회 2023 Annals of Coloproctolgy Vol.39 No.1

Purpose: This study compared the short- and long-term clinical outcomes of laser hemorrhoidoplasty (LH) vs. conventional hemorrhoidectomy (CH) in patients with grade II/III hemorrhoids. Methods: PubMed/Medline and the Cochrane Library were searched for randomized and nonrandomized studies comparing LH against CH in grade II/III hemorrhoids. The primary outcomes included postoperative use of analgesia, postoperative morbidity (bleeding, urinary retention, pain, thrombosis), and time of return to work/daily activities. Results: Nine studies totaling 661 patients (LH, 336 and CH, 325) were included. The LH group had shorter operative time (P<0.001) and less intraoperative blood loss (P<0.001). Postoperative pain was lower in the LH group, with lower postoperative day 1 (mean difference [MD], –2.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], –3.44 to –0.75; P=0.002) and postoperative day 7 (MD, –3.94; 95% CI, –6.36 to –1.52; P=0.001) visual analogue scores and use of analgesia (risk ratio [RR], 0.59; 95% CI, 0.42–0.81; P=0.001). The risk of postoperative bleeding was also lower in the LH group (RR, 0.18; 95% CI, 0.12– 0.28; P<0.001), with a quicker return to work or daily activities (P=0.002). The 12-month risks of bleeding (P>0.999) and prolapse (P=0.240), and the likelihood of complete resolution at 12 months, were similar (P=0.240). Conclusion: LH offers more favorable short-term clinical outcomes than CH, with reduced morbidity and pain and earlier return to work or daily activities. Medium-term symptom recurrence at 12 months was similar. Our results should be verified in future well-designed trials with larger samples.

Ga Content and Thickness Inhomogeneity Effects on Cu(In, Ga)Se2 Solar Modules

Xiaobo Zhu,Tzu-Huan Cheng,Chee-Wee Liu 대한금속·재료학회 2016 ELECTRONIC MATERIALS LETTERS Vol.12 No.4

The fluctuation of Ga content and absorption layer thickness of Cu(In,Ga)Se2 (CIGS) solar modules is investigated by 3-dimensional numericalsimulation. The band gap of CIGS is increased by the increasing Gacontent, and the residual compressive strain. Strain effect worsens thedegradation of the power conversion efficiency of CIGS module in additionto Ga fluctuation. The intracell Ga fluctuation degrades the open circuitvoltage due to the minimum open circuit voltage in the parallelconfiguration, and also affects the short circuit current due to the Gadependentlight absorption. The intercell Ga fluctuation leads to a moresignificant degradation for CIGS solar module efficiency than the intracellGa fluctuation due to the additional degradation of the fill factor. Thethickness fluctuation has a small effect on open circuit voltage, but causesstrong degradation of short circuit current and fill factor, which leads to amore significant degradation on power conversion efficiency than Gafluctuation to the same fluctuation percentage. In reality, the thickness canbe tightly controlled within the fluctuation of 5% or less.

Studying the Strain Effect on Silicon Atomic Wires

Shu-Tong Chang,Shu-Hui Liao,Hsiao-Chun Huang,Chee-Wee Liu,Chung-Yi Lin 한국물리학회 2008 THE JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY Vol.53 No.6

The transport properties of a Si3 atomic wire system, which is formed by a Si3 cluster connected to two lithium electrodes with bias applied, is studied using the simulator Virtual NanoLab that is constructed based on the non-equilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) scheme. We investigated the Si3 atomic wire system under three strain conditions (tensile, compressive and shear). Different trends in the I-V characteristics are observed for the three cases at various applied biases. The transmission spectrum T(E, Vb), as a function of energy and applied biases, are analyzed. The interactions among eigenstates of the molecular projected self-consistent Hamiltonian (MPSH) strongly affect the transport properties of the system.

Health-related quality of life of patients with inflammatory bowel disease in Singapore

( Prisca Yue Min Ho ),( Wenjia Hu ),( Ying Yun Lee ),( Chuxi Gao ),( Yan Zhi Tan ),( Hua Heng Cheen ),( Hwee Lin Wee ),( Teong Guan Lim ),( Wan Chee Ong ) 대한장연구학회 2019 Intestinal Research Vol.17 No.1

Background/Aims: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with considerable impairment of patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Knowledge of factors that significantly affect IBD patients’ HRQoL can contribute to better patient care. However, the HRQoL of IBD patients in non-Western countries are limited. Hence, we assessed the HRQoL of Singaporean IBD patients and identified its determinants. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was conducted at Singapore General Hospital outpatient IBD Centre. The HRQoL of IBD patients was assessed using the short IBD questionnaire (SIBDQ), Short Form-36 physical and mental component summary (SF-36 PCS/MCS) and EuroQol 5-dimensions 3-levels (EQ-5D-3L) and visual analogue scale (VAS). Independent samples t-test was used to compare HRQoL between Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Determinants of HRQoL were identified through multiple linear regression. Results: A total of 195 IBD patients (103 UC, 92 CD) with a mean disease duration of 11.2 years were included. There was no significant difference in HRQoL between patients with UC and CD. Factors that significantly worsened HRQoL were presence of active disease (b=-6.293 [SIBDQ], -9.409 [PCS], -9.743 [MCS], -7.254 [VAS]), corticosteroids use (b=-7.392 [SIBDQ], -10.390 [PCS], -8.827 [MCS]), poor medication adherence (b=-4.049 [SIBDQ], -1.320 [MCS], -8.961 [VAS]), presence of extraintestinal manifestations (b=-13.381 [PCS]), comorbidities (b=-4.531 [PCS]), non-employment (b=-9.738 [MCS], -0.104 [EQ-5D-3L]) and public housing (b=-8.070 [PCS], -9.207 [VAS]). Conclusions: The HRQoL is impaired in this Asian cohort of IBD. The magnitude of HRQoL impairment was similar in UC and CD. Clinical characteristics were better determinants of patients’ HRQoL than socio-demographic factors. Recognizing the factors that impact patients’ HRQoL would improve the holistic management of IBD patients. (Intest Res 2019;17:107-118)