Prevalence and Factors Associated with Smoking Intentions among Non-smoking and Smoking Adolescents in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia

Hock, Lim Kuang,Ghazali, Sumarni Mohamad,Cheong, Kee Chee,Kuay, Lim Kuang,Li, Lim Hui,Huey, Teh Chien,Ying, Chan Ying,Yen, Yeo Lay,Ching, Fiona Goh Swee,Yi, Khoo Yi,Lin, Chong Zhuo,Ibrahim, Normala,Mu Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2014 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.15 No.10

Intention to smoke is a valid and reliable factor for predicting future smoking habits among adolescents. This factor, however, has received inadequate attention in Malaysia. The present paper elaborates the prevalence and factors associated with intent to initiate or to cease smoking, among adolescent nonsmokers and smokers in Kota Tinggi, Johor, Malaysia. A total of 2,300 secondary school students aged 13-16 years were selected through a two-stage stratified sampling method. A set of standardized questionnaires was used to assess the smoking behavior among adolescents and the inter-personal and intra-personal factors associated with smoking intention (intention to initiate smoking or to cease smoking). Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors related to smoking intention. The prevalence of intention to smoke in the future or to cease smoking among non-smoking adolescents and current smokers were 10.7% and 61.7% respectively. Having friends who smoke, social influence, and poor knowledge about the ill effects on health due to smoking showed significant relationships with intention to smoke in the future among non-smokers. Conversely, perceived lower prevalence of smoking among peers, weak contributory social influence, and greater awareness of the ill effects of smoking are factors associated with the intention to cease smoking sometime in the future. The study found that prevalence of intention to initiate smoking is low among non-smokers while the majority of current smokers intended to cease smoking in the future. Existing anti-smoking programmes that integrate the factors that have been identified in the current study should be put in motion to reduce the prevalence of intention to initiate smoking and increase the intention to cease smoking among adolescents.

Effects of Nanopowder Additives in Micro-electrical Discharge Machining

Peng-Cheong Tan,Swee-Hock Yeo,Yie-Voon Tan 한국정밀공학회 2008 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.9 No.3

The use of electrical discharge machining(EDM) for micro-machining applications requires particular attention to the machined surface roughness and discharge gap distance, as these factors affect the geometrical accuracy of micro-parts. Previous studies of conventional EDM have shown that selected types of semi-conductive and nonconductive powder suspended in the dielectric reduced the surface roughness while ensuring a limited increase in the gap distance. Based on this, an extension of the technique to micro-EDM was studied. Such work is necessary since the introduction of nanopowders suspended in the dielectric is not well understood The experimental results showed that a statistically significant reduction in the surface roughness value was achieved at particular concentrations of the powder additives, depending on the powder material and the machining input energy setting. The average reduction in surface roughness using a powder suspended dielectric was between 14-24% of the average surface roughness generated using a pure dielectric. Furthermore, when these additive concentrations were used for machining, no adverse increase in the gap distance was observed.

Effects of Nanopowder Additives in Micro-electrical Discharge Machining

Tan, Peng-Cheong,Yeo, Swee-Hock,Tan, Yie-Voon Korean Society for Precision Engineering 2008 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.9 No.3

The use of electrical discharge machining (EDM) for micro-machining applications requires particular attention to the machined surface roughness and discharge gap distance, as these factors affect the geometrical accuracy of micro-parts. Previous studies of conventional EDM have shown that selected types of semi-conductive and non-conductive powder suspended in the dielectric reduced the surface roughness while ensuring a limited increase in the gap distance. Based on this, an extension of the technique to micro-EDM was studied Such work is necessary since the introduction of nanopowders suspended in the dielectric is not well understood. The experimental results showed that a statistically significant reduction in the surface roughness value was achieved at particular concentrations of the powder additives, depending on the powder material and the machining input energy setting. The average reduction in surface roughness using a powder suspended dielectric was between 14-24% of the average surface roughness generated using a pure dielectric. Furthermore, when these additive concentrations were used for machining, no adverse increase in the gap distance was observed.

Surface Polishing of Laser Powder Bed Fused Inconel 625 Surfaces Using Multi-jet Hydrodynamic Cavitation Abrasive Finishing: An Emerging Class of Cleaner Surface Enhancement Process

Arun Prasanth Nagalingam,Boon Loong Toh,Swee Hock Yeo 한국정밀공학회 2023 International Journal of Precision Engineering and Vol.10 No.3

Polishing the laser powder bed fused (L-PBF) components and achieving uniform roughness is exceptionally challenging. Moreover, retaining the dimensional integrity of intricate features during polishing is difficult. This research aims to overcome these issues by developing a novel multi-jet hydrodynamic cavitation abrasive finishing (MJ-HCAF) approach for polishing the complex L-PBF components. The technique proposed in this article uses cavitation principles as a constructive tool for polishing hard-to-machine materials within 10 min. A new industrial-scale apparatus was developed to realize the proposed concept. L-PBF Inconel 625 surfaces were polished to demonstrate the MJ-HCAF technique's effectiveness. The MJ-HCAF technique resulted in up to ~ 85% improvement in surface texture quality (final Sa ≤ 0.5 µm; Sz ≤ 10 µm). Moreover, the final appearance was controlled to glossy or matt polish to suit aerospace aesthetic requirements. The proposed technique uses water as the primary working fluid with abrasives ≤ of 1.0% to generate a polished surface (conventional abrasive-based methods use 60–80%)—indicating an emerging class of cleaner manufacturing process. The Product Sustainability Index (PSI) for a sustainable approach showed that cavitation-assisted abrasive polishing mode has the highest PSI score of 7.88. The key factors leading to its high score are its synergistic effects, low-cost water operation, and extremely low abrasive usage.

A summary of the Malaysian Clinical Practice Guidelines on the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis, 2022

Terence Ing Wei Ong,Lee Ling Lim,Siew Pheng Chan,Winnie Siew Swee Chee,Alan Swee Hock Ch’ng,Elizabeth Gar Mit Chong,Premitha Damodaran,Fen Lee Hew,Luqman bin Ibrahim,Hui Min Khor,Pauline Siew Mei Lai 대한골다공증학회 2023 Osteoporosis and Sarcopenia Vol.9 No.2

Objectives: The aim of these Clinical Practice Guidelines is to provide evidence-based recommendations to assist healthcare providers in the screening, diagnosis and management of patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis (OP). Methods: A list of key clinical questions on the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of OP was formulated. A literature search using the PubMed, Medline, Cochrane Databases of Systematic Reviews, and OVID electronic databases identified all relevant articles on OP based on the key clinical questions, from 2014 onwards, to update from the 2015 edition. The articles were graded using the SIGN50 format. For each statement, studies with the highest level of evidence were used to frame the recommendation. Results: This article summarizes the diagnostic and treatment pathways for postmenopausal OP. Risk stratification of patients with OP encompasses clinical risk factors, bone mineral density measurements and FRAX risk estimates. Non-pharmacological measures including adequate calcium and vitamin D, regular exercise and falls prevention are recommended. Pharmacological measures depend on patients’ fracture risk status. Very high-risk individuals are recommended for treatment with an anabolic agent, if available, followed by an anti-resorptive agent. Alternatively, parenteral anti-resorptive agents can be used. High-risk individuals should be treated with anti-resorptive agents. In low-risk individuals, menopausal hormone replacement or selective estrogen receptor modulators can be used, if indicated. Patients should be assessed regularly to monitor treatment response and treatment adjusted, as appropriate.