Azni Zain Ahmed

Systematic Pharmacogenomics Analysis of a Malay Whole Genome: Proof of Concept for Personalized Medicine

Background With a higher throughput and lower cost in sequencing, second generation sequencing technology has immense potential for translation into clinical practice and in the realization of pharmacogenomics based patient care. The systematic analysis of whole genome sequences to assess patient to patient variability in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics responses towards drugs would be the next step in future medicine in line with the vision of personalizing medicine. Methods Genomic DNA obtained from a 55 years old, self-declared healthy, anonymous male of Malay descent was sequenced. The subjects mother died of lung cancer and the father had a history of schizophrenia and deceased at the age of 65 years old. A systematic, intuitive computational workflow/pipeline integrating custom algorithm in tandem with large datasets of variant annotations and gene functions for genetic variations with pharmacogenomics impact was developed. A comprehensive pathway map of drug transport, metabolism and action was used as a template to map non-synonymous variations with potential functional consequences. Principal Findings Over 3 million known variations and 100,898 novel variations in the Malay genome were identified. Further in-depth pharmacogenetics analysis revealed a total of 607 unique variants in 563 proteins, with the eventual identification of 4 drug transport genes, 2 drug metabolizing enzyme genes and 33 target genes harboring deleterious SNVs involved in pharmacological pathways, which could have a potential role in clinical settings. Conclusions The current study successfully unravels the potential of personal genome sequencing in understanding the functionally relevant variations with potential influence on drug transport, metabolism and differential therapeutic outcomes. These will be essential for realizing personalized medicine through the use of comprehensive computational pipeline for systematic data mining and analysis.

Thermal and Energy Performance of Pitch and Wall Insulation for Air-Conditioned Buildings in Malaysia

Thermal design of building envelope and microclimatic conditions influence the indoor thermal comfort conditions and energy consumption of buildings. This paper presents the findings of study conducted to investigate the effect of building insulation on thermal impact and energy for cooling. The study were performed via computer simulation using a whole-building thermal energy software Integrated Environmental Solution (IES) with ApacheSim 5.9.2. The results show that pitch insulation (PITCH) was more effective to reduce the attic temperature but both pitch and wall insulation (WALL) had nominal thermal improvement for the indoor. However, compared to the BASE model, WALL model gave a significant savings of 41% for cooling

Programme Quality Assessment by the Implication of Variable Entry Qualifications on Students' Performance

ABSTRACT Since its inception 30 years ago, the then Department of Engineering Science, Institut Teknologi MARA (ITM) was given the responsibility of preparing all the students in the first year engineering programmes by giving enough knowledge in basic science and mathematics. The nations vision to become a fully‐industrialised economy by the year 2020 required all institutes of higher learning (IHLs) in Malaysia to increase their intake of students in the science and technology courses, especially in engineering. However, at the upper secondary education level, students have the freedom to choose between the science‐based or non‐science combination of subjects. This has led to a dearth of science‐based students enrolling in IHLs. Because ITM believes that it is possible to educate individuals from various backgrounds, the engineering courses are open to students with a variety of academic qualifications. Special bridging courses were designed and created for such students since late 1996. The success or...

Thermal and energy analysis of ceiling and pitch insulation for buildings in Malaysia

The aim of this study is to investigate the benefits of pitch insulation and ceiling insulation for air-conditioned buildings in the tropical climate of Malaysia. These are performed via computer simulations using a whole-building thermal energy software Integrated Environmental Solution (IES) with Apache Sim 6.0.2. The benefits are appraised by the thermal impact and the cooling load in three cooling modes due to the pitch insulation and ceiling insulation. The three cooling modes are 24-hr cooling, daytime and night-time cooling. The simulation is performed using the Subang weather data for the month of March that represents the hottest month in typical year weather data in Malaysia. Results show that advantage and the disadvantage of the insulation are more evident in the attic than in the indoor space underneath the ceiling. Compared to the non-insulated roof, pitch insulation reduces the daytime attic temperature up to 6.9°C but only about 0.4°C for the indoor. On the contrary, ceiling insulation elevates daytime attic temperature up to 2.2 °C but lowers the indoor temperature up to 0.8°C. Both insulations create adverse temporal effect in both spaces, however the advantage outweighs the disadvantage. Despite nominal thermal improvements, the month savings on the cooling load of about 6–24 % is noteworthy.

Thermal performance of naturally ventilated test building with pitch and ceiling insulation

A field study was carried out to evaluate the benefits of insulated roof and insulated ceiling for naturally ventilated buildings in Malaysia. Two identical test cells with dimensions of 4m × 4m × 3m were used as building samples. Both test cells have identical design and were constructed with conventional building envelope. The non-insulated control unit is named as Test Cell A (TCA) while the insulated test unit is named as Test Cell B (TCB). Conductive thermal insulation of R-value 2.22 (m2K/W) and 2.88 (m2K/W) was consecutively installed at the roof pitch and internal ceiling respectively. For each insulation configuration, the outdoor and indoor environmental data for both test cells were concurrently monitored using automated data logging equipments. Data logging duration was five days for roof pitch insulation and ten days for ceiling insulation. This paper presents the findings on thermal impact on the non-insulated Test Cell A and insulated Test Cell B. These are appraised by the respective indoor temperature. The finding shows that pitch insulation and ceiling insulation lower the daytime indoor temperature up to 0.8°C and 0.6°C respectively. However, both have adverse impact at night. It is concluded that both pitch and ceiling insulations are beneficial to reduce the day-time thermal impact. The impact is more significant with the pitch insulation. Due to the nominal temperature differential to determine the benefits on the thermal comfort conditions, a cooling load analyses could further substantiate the advantage and disadvantage of the insulation.

The electrical conductivities of polyimide and polyimide/Li triflate composites: An a.c. impedance study

Polymer electrolytes have been an essential area of research for many decades. One of the reasons was the need to find new electrolyte materials suitable for device applications like solid-state batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, etc. with enhanced characteristics. For more than 40 years, polyimide has been known as a super-engineering plastic due to its excellent thermal stability (Tg > 250 °C) and mechanical properties. Therefore, in an effort to develop new polymer electrolytes, polyimide as a polymer matrix was chosen. Composite films of the polymer doped with lithium salt, LiCF3SO3 was prepared. These PI based polymer electrolyte films were investigated by the alternating current (a.c.) impedance spectroscopy method in the temperature range from 300 K to 373 K. It was observed that conductivity increased with the increase of temperature and amount of doping salt. Alternatively, the activation energy (Ea) of the composite films decreased with the increase of the doping salt, LiCF3SO3.Polymer electrolytes have been an essential area of research for many decades. One of the reasons was the need to find new electrolyte materials suitable for device applications like solid-state batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, etc. with enhanced characteristics. For more than 40 years, polyimide has been known as a super-engineering plastic due to its excellent thermal stability (Tg > 250 °C) and mechanical properties. Therefore, in an effort to develop new polymer electrolytes, polyimide as a polymer matrix was chosen. Composite films of the polymer doped with lithium salt, LiCF3SO3 was prepared. These PI based polymer electrolyte films were investigated by the alternating current (a.c.) impedance spectroscopy method in the temperature range from 300 K to 373 K. It was observed that conductivity increased with the increase of temperature and amount of doping salt. Alternatively, the activation energy (Ea) of the composite films decreased with the increase of the doping salt, LiCF3SO3.

Perceived and Measured Adaptive Thermal Comfort at an Outdoor Shaded Recreational Area in Malaysia

Psychological adaptation towards environmental ergonomic is important to encourage better usage of outdoor space. Green space is a significant aspect as it is beneficial for the community. Outdoor spaces are supposedly an essential component of urban recreation space that provides opportunities for recreational activities. Human responses to the outdoor environment and actual thermal sensation experienced by individuals are important to determine the people’s level of understanding of the condition. This paper explores people’s perception about the microclimate condition in hot and humid climate. The responses of the respondents are correlated with the measurement of the microclimate condition. The microclimate conditions of the urban recreational area are measured to get the actual sensation of thermal experience of the people. The results confirmed the existence of adaptive thermal comfort amongst the respondents where they perceived better microclimatic conditions compared to what were measured.

Classification of the Sky in Shah Alam, Malaysia Using Measured Sky Radiance and Luminance

This study aims at classifying the sky at Shah Alam, Malaysia (3° 3.82´N, 101° 29.50´ E). Measurements of sky luminance and sky radiance were made at a chosen location in Shah Alam. The measurements were done by using a sky scanner. This equipment tracked 145 points of sky hemisphere. Field measurements were made during the periods of October to December 2010 and between January, July and August 2011. The luminance and radiance data were converted to illuminance and irradiance. The sky ratio and Perez clearness index were then calculated. It was confirmed that the sky at Shah Alam is mostly of the partly cloudy or intermediate type. During the measurement period, the maximum mean monthly hourly irradiation was more than 200 W/m2 and the maximum mean monthly hourly illuminance exceeded 20klux.

Heat Flux through Naturally Ventilated Building in Malaysian Climate

Roofs and walls are the main media for heat transfer for typical Malaysian buildings. In order to estimate the duration of uncomfortable periods, the environmental temperature of a building was determined over a period of time. A study of heat flux through a naturally ventilated was conducted by simulation. This study focused on heat transfer through the roof, ceiling and vertical walls. A Thermal Analysis Software was used for the modeling and analyses. A virtual test building model dimension 4m x 4m x 3m was created using conventional construction parameters for roof, ceiling, windows, door, walls and floor which meet the minimum requirement in Malaysian Standards. The results show that heat rate flux mostly peak at east wall before 12:00 hrs and west wall after 12:00 hrs. The heat rate flux through the roof is higher than that through the ceiling during daytime but lower at night as roof was the surface of most exposed to solar radiation. The proportion of heat through roof was 87% by radiation, 11% by convection and 2% by conduction. 97% of heat was transferred by radiation and 3% by conduction for ceiling and heat through wall was 88% by radiation, 8% by convection and 4% by conduction respectively.

Thermal and energy performance of conditioned building due to insulated sloped roof

For low‐rise buildings in equatorial region, the roof is exposed to solar radiation longer than other parts of the envelope. Roofs are to be designed to reject heat and moderate the thermal impact. These are determined by the design and construction of the roofing system. The pitch of roof and the properties of construction affect the heat gain into the attic and subsequently the indoor temperature of the living spaces underneath. This finally influences the thermal comfort conditions of naturally ventilated buildings and cooling load of conditioned buildings. This study investigated the effect of insulated sloping roof on thermal energy performance of the building. A whole‐building thermal energy computer simulation tool, Integrated Environmental Solution (IES), was used for the modelling and analyses. A building model with dimension of 4.0 m × 4.0 m × 3.0 m was designed with insulated roof and conventional construction for other parts of the envelope. A 75 mm conductive insulation material with thermal ...