E-waste Management and Challenges in Malaysia

( Agamuthu Pariatamby ),( Priya Mohan ) 한국폐기물자원순환학회 2022 ISSE 초록집 Vol.2022 No.-

In Malaysia, E-waste is categorized as malfunctioning, obsolete, or damaged electrical and electronic equipment such as televisions, computers, air conditioners, washing machines, and refrigerators. This waste is classified as SW110 which commonly falls into two categories which are industrial electronic waste and domestic electronics waste. E-waste became an important issue in the mid-1990s, given that toxic substances in electronic appliances have a detrimental impact on the environment and human health. On the other hand, e-waste treatment in developed countries can be costly and it is cheaper to export hazardous waste to developing countries. As a result, the economic, social, and environmental sectors of developing countries are being damaged by the illegal transboundary movement of e-waste. To stop the unlawful transfer of e-waste from industrialised to developing countries, the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was put into effect in 1992. In Malaysia, the management of pollution brought on by the generation, storage, treatment, and disposal of e-waste was first codified as a form of hazardous waste in August 2005. However, there is still no legislation specifically addressing e-waste or a take-back program that is required by law. The Environmental Quality (Scheduled Wastes) Regulations of 2005 sought to govern the handling of hazardous wastes produced in Malaysia and forbade the importation of hazardous waste, including e-waste, for either refurbishment or recovery. As of now, there are 121 e-waste collection centres and 35 licensed companies with a combined capacity to process more than 30,416 metric tonnes of e-waste per month and 365,000 metric tonnes annually in Malaysia. Even so, it has been difficult to manage household e-waste in Malaysia due to a number of factors, including the prevalence of illegal precious metal recovery practices among recyclers, the difficulty of collection and transportation, the cost of formal e-waste treatment methods, and the need for advanced technology in developing nations. In order to reduce the illegal practices, transboundary movement of e-waste, and to improve formal recycling in Malaysia, a comprehensive e-waste management system should be implemented as the insufficient and tardy efforts of the responsible authorities as well as financial constraints delaying the essential actions to improve management of e-waste.

Incidentally Detected Adenocarcinoma Prostate in Transurethral Resection of Prostate Specimens: a Hospital Based Study from India

Varghese, Jophy,Kuruvilla, Priya Mariam,Mehta, Nisarg,Rathore, Ranjeet Singh,Babu, Manas,Bansal, Devesh,Pillai, Biju,Sam, Mohan P,Krishnamorthy, H Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2016 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.17 No.4

Background: Awareness about prostate cancer has increased in the community, and prostate cancer screening examinations, including prostate specific antigen (PSA) assays, are now widely available. Prior to the PSA era, up to 27% of prostate cancers were detected incidentally at the time of transurethral resection of prostate (TURP). After PSA testing became widely available, the incidence of incidentally detected carcinoma prostate in TURP specimens without prior diagnosis reduced to 5-13%. However, the incidence of incidentally detected carcinoma prostate has been reported to vary across the globe since various factors can influence the identification of this malignancy in TURP specimens. In this paper, we focus on rates of incidentally detected prostate cancer in TURP specimens in our hospital and correlate it with various parameters. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study of histopathological findings of biopsy specimens was conducted for patients undergoing TURP during a period of 5 years from April 2010. The inclusion criteria were patients diagnosed with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) (digital rectal examination (DRE) not showing any abnormally hard areas and normal age adjusted PSA values). Patients with elevated PSA, abnormal DRE, documented urinary tract infection and proved adenocarcinoma prostate (CaP) were excluded from the study. The total weight of prostatectomy specimen, occurrence of carcinoma prostate in the chips, percentage of total tissue resected showing malignancy and Gleason's scores were recorded. Results: A total of 597 patients belonging to the inclusion criteria were studied. The incidence of occult CaP in the study group was 5.2 % (31/597). Out of these, 8 belonged to T1a and 23 belonged to T1b stages. The age group 70 - 79 years had the maximum incidence of occult CaP. It was observed that the clinical grading of prostate did not have a bearing on the incidence of occult CaP whereas the weight of resected specimen correlated with the incidence of CaP. The incidence of occult CaP was greater with low volume prostates (<20 g). (P=0.15). Conclusions: The rate of incidentally detected adenocarcinoma prostate in patients undergoing TURP for clinically diagnosed BPH was found to be only 5.2 % in our study which is low when compared with similar studies done elsewhere. The age of the patient and weight of the resected specimen correlated with incidence of occult prostate cancer. The clinical grading of prostate by DRE however, demonstrated no correlation.

Sesame Inhibits Cell Proliferation and Induces Apoptosis through Inhibition of STAT-3 Translocation in Thyroid Cancer Cell Lines (FTC-133)

Yunhai Ma,Thiruventhan Karunakaran,Vishnu Priya Veeraraghavan,Surapaneni Krishna Mohan,Shuling Li 한국생물공학회 2019 Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering Vol.24 No.4

Thyroid cancer is the most widespread endocrine malignant cancer and its worldwide occurrence rates are swiftly mounting more pressure in the research institutions. Even though the transience of thyroid cancer is comparatively short, its rate of reappearance is moderately elevated, which is a major cause of the incurable disease of the thyroid gland. Consequently, we used natural component which restrains the cancer cell growth by amending precise molecular mechanisms. In this current study, we assessed sesame, which is a very active substance that inhibits cell proliferation by modulation of JAK/STAT-3 signaling in thyroid cancer cell lines (FTC-133). Results showed that sesame triggers cytotoxicity, ROS production and apoptosis in FTC-133 cell lines by time-dependent approach. Furthermore, Signal Transducer and Activating Transcription (STAT-3) is a novel oncogenic transcriptional factor which normalizes apoptosis and proliferation. The reticence of STAT-3 transcription was measured as an innovative approach to hamper thyroid cancer cell growth. In this current study, we established that sesame deactivates STAT-3 translocation, thereby reducing the elevated expression of, cyclin-D1, Bcl-2 and diminished expression of Bax, caspase-9 and 3 in FTC-133 cell lines. Conclusively, sesame hampers thyroid cell expansion and initiates apoptosis by hindering STAT-3 translocation.

Interface Controlled Growth of Single-Crystalline PbTiO₃ Nanostructured Arrays

Song, Hyun-Cheol,Maurya, Deepam,Sanghadasa, Mohan,Reynolds, William T.,Priya, Shashank American Chemical Society 2017 The Journal of Physical Chemistry Part C Vol.121 No.48

<P>PbTiO<SUB>3</SUB> (PTO) ferroelectric perovskite has appealing electromechanical characteristics such as low aging rate of the dielectric constant, a high pyroelectric coefficient, a high piezoelectric voltage constant (<I>g</I><SUB><I>ij</I></SUB>), and a high Curie temperature of 490 °C. However, the high tetragonality of PTO ceramics makes them difficult to be synthesized via conventional high-temperature techniques. Here, a novel synthesis methodology is reported that results in epitaxial growth of a vertically aligned array of PTO nanofibers on a Ti metal substrate. High quality single crystal PTO nanofibers oriented along the [001] PTO direction were obtained on a (110) oriented TiO<SUB>2</SUB> seed layer using a low-temperature hydrothermal synthesis technique. Fundamental understanding of the nucleation and growth criterion is provided through a combination of modeling of the geometric matching of crystal surfaces and experiments detailing the role of underlying TiO<SUB>2</SUB> phase and interplanar atomic configuration. Crystal matching revealed good correspondence at an interface between parallel PTO (001) and rutile TiO<SUB>2</SUB> (110) planes, in which six rows of Ti atoms in (010)<SUB>PTO</SUB>-type planes match with approximately seven rows of Ti atoms in (11̅0)<SUB>rutile</SUB>-type planes. In the orthogonal direction within the interface, four rows of Ti atoms in (1̅00)<SUB>PTO</SUB>-type planes correspond to five Ti atoms in (001̅)<SUB>rutile</SUB>-type planes. The lattice-matched interface appears to facilitate nucleation of epitaxial nanofiber growth. Availability of single crystalline PTO dense nanofiber arrays can give rise to a new generation of sensing and high-temperature energy harvesting applications.</P> [FIG OMISSION]</BR>

Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Adherence Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Hudrudchai Suchitra,Suwanwong Charin,Prasittichok Pitchada,Mohan Kanu Priya,Janeaim Nopphadol 대한예방의학회 2024 예방의학회지 Vol.57 No.1

Objectives: The effectiveness and efficiency of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in reducing the transmission of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among men who have sex with men (MSM) relies on how widely it is adopted and adhered to, particularly among high-risk groups of MSM. The meta-analysis aimed to collect and analyze existing evidence on various factors related to PrEP adherence in MSM, including demographic characteristics, sexual behaviors, substance use, and psychosocial factors.Methods: The meta-analysis followed the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The search included articles published between January 2018 and December 2022, obtained from the PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus databases. The studies that were included in the analysis reported the proportion of MSM who demonstrated adherence to PrEP and underwent quality appraisal using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.Results: Of the 268 studies initially identified, only 12 met the inclusion criteria and were included in the final meta-analysis. The findings indicated that education (odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12 to 2.40), number of sexual partners (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.31), engaging in sexual activities with an human immunodeficiency virus-positive partner (OR, 1.59; 95% CI, 1.16 to 2.26), substance use (OR, 0.83; 95% CI, 0.70 to 0.99), and lower levels of depression (OR, 0.55; 95% CI, 0.37 to 0.82) were associated with higher rates of PrEP adherence among MSM.Conclusions: Despite these findings, further research is necessary to investigate PrEP adherence more comprehensively. The findings of this meta-analysis can be utilized to inform interventions aimed at improving PrEP adherence among MSM and provide directions for future research in this area.

Surface Symmetry Effect on Self-Assembly of Three-Dimensional Single Crystal Piezoelectric Nanostructures

Song, Hyun-Cheol,Kang, Min-Gyu,Maurya, Deepam,Sanghadasa, Mohan,Bodnar, Robert J.,Reynolds, William T.,Priya, Shashank American Chemical Society 2018 Chemistry of materials Vol.30 No.7

[FIG OMISSION]</BR>

Broadband dual phase energy harvester: Vibration and magnetic field

Song, Hyun-Cheol,Kumar, Prashant,Sriramdas, Rammohan,Lee, Hyeon,Sharpes, Nathan,Kang, Min-Gyu,Maurya, Deepam,Sanghadasa, Mohan,Kang, Hyung-Won,Ryu, Jungho,Reynolds Jr., William T.,Priya Jr., Shashank Elsevier 2018 APPLIED ENERGY Vol.225 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Broadband mechanical energy harvesting implies stable output power over a wide range of source frequency. Here we present a cost-effective solution towards achieving broadband response by designing a magnetically coupled piezoelectric energy harvester array that exhibits a large power density of 243 μW/cm<SUP>3</SUP> g<SUP>2</SUP> at natural frequency and bandwidth of more than 30 Hz under 1 g acceleration. The magnetically coupled piezoelectric energy harvester array exhibits dual modes of energy harvesting, responding to both stray magnetic field as well as ambient vibrations, and is found to exhibit the output power density of 36.5 μW/cm<SUP>3</SUP> Oe<SUP>2</SUP> at 79.5 Hz under the ambient magnetic field while maintaining the broadband nature. The magnetically coupled piezoelectric energy harvester array was demonstrated to harvest continuous power from a rotary pump vibration, an automobile engine vibration and a parasitic magnetic field surrounding a cable of an electric kettle. These demonstrations suggest that the magnetically coupled piezoelectric energy harvester array could serve the role of a standalone power source for wireless sensor nodes and small electronic devices.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> Magnetically coupled energy harvester array is demonstrated for broadband operation. </LI> <LI> Energy harvester provides dual mode energy harvesting in magnetic field and vibration. </LI> <LI> Energy harvester exhibits 243 μW/cm<SUP>3</SUP> g<SUP>2</SUP> power density and over 30 Hz bandwidth. </LI> <LI> Energy harvester is implemented in practical environments of a rotary pump, power cable, and car engine. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>