Singapore Research Articles

Artificial intelligence: governing Singapore’s smart digital journey

ABSTRACT Since the 1990s, Singapore has sought to project itself as innovative and technologically cutting-edge through narratives such as ‘intelligent island’, digital ecosystem’, and more recently, ‘smart nation’. The Smart Nation initiative is aimed at digitising and, ‘datafying’ as many public services as possible. To this end, the government launched a National Artificial Intelligence Strategy in 2019 that envisions Singapore as a global hub for developing, test-bedding, deploying, and scaling AI solutions. In late 2023, the same year Generative AI entered public consciousness thanks to ChatGPT, Version 2.0 of Singapore’s AI strategy was released. Providing a commentary of Singapore’s digital journey and its governing approaches, this paper contends that AI is more than just a new digital tool for Singaporeans; it is also a proxy for Singapore’s digital and ‘smart nation’ global reputation.

Empowering people living with HIV (PLHIV): unveiling care gaps and identifying opportunities for improving care for PLHIV in Singapore and Hong Kong.

This study explored the behaviours of people living with HIV in Singapore and Hong Kong in terms of achieving and maintaining their physical and psychological wellbeing in relation to HIV, to identify the challenges and support needed in HIV care. This qualitative study involved 90-minute interviews among Singapore and Hong Kong people living with HIV aged ≥18 years to explore health-related quality of life perceptions and gaps in patient empowerment in HIV care during February-May 2022. The COM-B (C: Capability; O: Opportunity; M: Motivation; B: Behaviour) framework was used during data analysis to identify behaviour facilitators and barriers for people living with HIV to achieve and maintain their wellbeing. Detailed accounts of respondents' experience of living with and managing HIV, that is what worked well, unmet needs and perceived significance of wellbeing indicators, were analysed qualitatively via a combination of inductive content and deductive frameworks. A total of 30 and 28 respondents were recruited from Singapore (SG) and Hong Kong (HK), respectively. Most respondents were aged 20-49 years (SG: 83.3%; HK: 64.3%), males (SG: 96.7%; HK: 92.9%), men who have sex with men (SG: 93.3%; HK: 71.4%), had university or higher education (SG: 73.3%; HK: 50.0%) and were fully employed (SG: 73.3%; HK: 57.1%). In both Singapore and Hong Kong, physical health was considered a key focus of overall wellbeing, albeit attention to long-term health associated with cardiovascular and renal health was less salient. The impact of symptoms, side effects of treatment, mood and sleep were among the top wellbeing indicators of importance. Respondents felt that insufficient information was provided by physicians, citing consultation time and resource constraints impeding further expression of concerns to their physicians during consultation. Respondents prioritized functional wellness and delegated psychosocial health to supportive care professionals, patient groups, families and/or friends. There is a need in Singapore and Hong Kong to empower people living with HIV to establish better communications with their physicians and be more involved in their treatment journey and equally prioritize their psychosocial wellbeing.

Lion city soundscapes: Modified partitioning around medoids for a perceptually diverse dataset of Singaporean soundscapesa).

This study presents a dataset of audio-visual soundscape recordings at 62 different locations in Singapore, initially made as full-length recordings over spans of 9-38 min. For consistency and reduction in listener fatigue in future subjective studies, one-minute excerpts were cropped from the full-length recordings. An automated method using pre-trained models for Pleasantness and Eventfulness (according to ISO 12913) in a modified partitioning around medoids algorithm was employed to generate the set of excerpts by balancing the need to encompass the perceptual space with uniformity in distribution. A validation study on the method confirmed its adherence to the intended design.

An intelligent Island detection scheme to enhance grid resilience

The importance of strengthening grid resilience has grown with the increase in environmental destruction and modern power grid complexity, as a consequence of power outages inflicted by human intrusion and extreme weather events. Micro-grids (MGs) have proven to be a viable alternative in such circumstances. However, these occurrences are highly unpredictable, resulting in unintended islands of MGs with negative consequences. As a response, alerting its distributed generations about unintended island is indeed a crucial issue for enhancing grid resilience with MG. Therefore, it is essential to develop a technique for the efficient and accurate detection of unintended islands. There has been an increase in the use of micro-phasor measurement units (µ-PMUs) in MG. In the perspective of this, using an efficient µ-PMU, the research provides a method for finding unintended islands in a MG. The µ-PMU analyses the solar generator bus voltage and analyzes it with symmetrical components for island identification. This study introduces a µ-PMU based Fortescue-transform and random forest algorithm method for rapid detection of unintended islanding in distribution generation system. The approach monitors voltage phasor of zero and negative sequence, calculating angular sum over time to distinguish islanding event from other disturbance. Using Matlab/Simulink, the proposed method is evaluated on the IEEE-34 node distribution network. Multiple simulations provide validation for the method’s resilient performance. The methodology proposed has a detection time of 20 ms.

Circulating erythroferrone has diagnostic utility for acute decompensated heart failure in patients presenting with acute or worsening dyspnea.

In dyspneic patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or obesity, the diagnostic performance of NT-proBNP for acute heart failure is reduced. We evaluated the erythroblast derived protein erythroferrone (ERFE) as an ancillary biomarker for the diagnosis of acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) in these comorbid subgroups in both Western and Asian populations. The diagnostic performance of ERFE (Intrinsic Lifesciences) and NT-proBNP (Roche Cobas e411) for ADHF was assessed in 479 New Zealand (NZ) and 475 Singapore (SG) patients presenting with breathlessness. Plasma ERFE was higher in ADHF, compared with breathlessness from other causes, in both countries (NZ; 4.9 vs. 1.4 ng/ml, p < 0.001) and (SG; 4.2 vs. 0.4 ng/ml, p = 0.021). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) areas under the curve (AUCs) for discrimination of ADHF were reduced in the NZ cohort compared to SG for ERFE (0.75 and 0.84, p = 0.007) and NT-proBNP (0.86 and 0.92, p = 0.004). Optimal cut-off points for ERFE yielded comparable sensitivity and positive predictive values in both cohorts, but slightly better specificity, negative predictive values and accuracy in SG compared with NZ. In patients with AF, the AUC decreased for ERFE in each cohort (NZ: 0.71, n = 105, SG: 0.61, n = 44) but increased in patients with obesity (NZ: 0.79, n = 150, SG: 0.87, n = 164). Circulating ERFE is higher in patients with ADHF than in other causes of new onset breathlessness with fair diagnostic utility, performing better in Asian than in Western patients. The diagnostic performance of ERFE is impaired in patients with AF but not patients with obesity.

State Development Institutions in the System of Innovation Cooperation: Asian Countries Experience

In modern conditions, the main direction of the technological policy of the Russian Federation is to ensure technological sovereignty. The creation of critical and end-to-end technologies of proper development and production of goods, works and services based thereon is possible only in the conditions of integration and cooperation of research and production and technical activities. The functioning of the innovation cooperation system is impossible without the direct participation of state development institutions that perform an organizing role, ensure the creation and development of infrastructure.The paper analyzes the activities of state development institutions in Asian countries (the People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of India, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Singapore), their functions, including ensuring the commercialization of scientific research and technology transfer. The experience of building a system of innovation cooperation of these countries is of direct interest, firstly, due to the existence of developed economic relations between the Russian Federation and a number of analyzed countries, and secondly, because it was the Asian countries that managed to make a technological breakthrough in a fairly short time.The analysis showed that state development institutions in the analyzed countries are created as state-owned companies subordinate to government structures and perform functions for the implementation of state strategies for scientific and technological development. The activities of the institutions under consideration depend on the level of economic development and the chosen type (nature) of technological modernization. State development institutions are holdings, while there is a tendency to merge and consolidate them. However, the reforms carried out by states do not always have positive results.

Dynamic variations in and prediction of COVID-19 with omicron in the four first-tier cities of mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The COVID-19 pandemic, which began in late 2019, has resulted in the devastating collapse of the social economy and more than 10 million deaths worldwide. A recent study suggests that the pattern of COVID-19 cases will resemble a mini-wave rather than a seasonal surge. In general, COVID-19 has more severe impacts on cities than on rural areas, especially in cities with high population density. In this study, the background situation of COVID-19 transmission is discussed, including the population number and population density. Moreover, a widely used time series autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model is applied to simulate and forecast the COVID-19 variations in the six cities. We comprehensively analyze the dynamic variations in COVID-19 in the four first-tier cities of mainland China (BJ: Beijing, SH: Shanghai, GZ: Guangzhou and SZ: Shenzhen), Hong Kong (HK), China and Singapore (SG) from 2020 to 2022. The major results show that the six cities have their own temporal characteristics, which are determined by the different control and prevention measures. The four first-tier cities of mainland China (i.e., BJ, SH, GZ, and SZ) have similar variations with one wave because of their identical "Dynamic COVID-19 Zero" strategy and strict Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs). HK and SG have multiple waves primarily caused by the input cases. The ARIMA model has the ability to provide an accurate forecast of the COVID-19 pandemic trend for the six cities, which could provide a useful approach for predicting the short-term variations in infectious diseases.Accurate forecasting has significant value for implementing reasonable control and prevention measures. Our main conclusions show that control and prevention measures should be dynamically adjusted and organically integrated for the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the mathematical models are proven again to provide an important scientific basis for disease control.

Morphometric Differentiation of the Swimming Crab Portunus sanguinolentus (Herbst, 1783) Populations in East Asia: Implications for Stock Identification and Management

Morphometric disparities were employed to characterize the geographical variations in and elucidate the phylogeography of Portunus sanguinolentus in East Asia. In this study, a comprehensive assessment was undertaken based on measurements from 833 individual crabs. These crabs were sampled from eight distinct locations, namely Kyushu (KS), Fuzhou (FZ), Yilan (YL), Xiamen (XM), Tainan (TN), Hong Kong (HK), Vietnam (VN), and Singapore (SG). Twelve morphometric measurements were standardized based on size using the allometric method. A cluster analysis and a canonical variate analysis (CVA) were then conducted for a data analysis. Randomization tests were subsequently performed to validate the morphometric differences observed among the groups. The analytical results classified the eight sampled populations into at least two distinct clusters. The first cluster included three samples from China (specifically FZ, XM, and HK), while the second cluster consisted of samples from East Asia (including KS, YL, TN, VN, and SG). The CVA revealed a tripartite division into three groups: the mainland China group (FZ, XM, and HK), the Kuroshio group (KS, YL, and TN), and the Southeast Asia group (VN and SG). The observed morphometric variations between these broad groups were statistically significant for both genders. These differences may be attributed to evolutionary origins, geographical events, or environmental adaptations. This study highlights the effectiveness of morphometric techniques in providing comprehensive insights into species delimitation and philogeographic relationships.

Intelligent Island detection method of DC microgrid based on Adaboost algorithm

Aiming at the problems of large detection blind areas and difficult threshold settings in traditional passive islanding detection methods, this paper proposes an intelligent passive islanding detection method based on the adaptive boosting (Adaboost) algorithm. This method first uses feature screening technology to obtain the key feature electrical quantities of DC microgrid islands and form a sample set, and then rely on the Adaboost algorithm to generate a high-precision island classification model to realize the detection and classification of DC microgrid operation status. It has the advantages of automatic setting threshold, small detection blind area, and high accuracy. In addition, aiming at the problem that the classification results of the intelligent islanding detection algorithm based on machine learning cannot be directly used as the islanding discrimination results, an islanding criterion method based on the sliding window algorithm is added on the basis of the classification algorithm. This method realizes the accurate detection of the DC microgrid islanding operation state by the secondary analysis and judgment of the classification results of the islanding classification model. Finally, a DC microgrid model is built to simulate and verify the proposed method. The results show that the method can quickly and accurately complete the islanding detection of the DC microgrid.

The impact of COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Hong Kong SAR China and Singapore.

Vaccination has been the most important measure to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The vaccination coverage was relatively low in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region China, compared to Singapore, in early 2022. Hypothetically, if the two regions, Hong Kong (HK) and Singapore (SG), swap their vaccination coverage rate, what outcome would occur? We adopt the Susceptible - Vaccinated - Exposed - Infectious - Hospitalized - Death - Recovered model with a time-varying transmission rate and fit the model to weekly reported COVID-19 deaths (the data up to 2022 Nov 4) in HK and SG using R package POMP. After we obtain a reasonable fitting, we rerun our model with the estimated parameter values and swap the vaccination rates between HK and SG to explore what would happen. Our model fits the data well. The reconstructed transmission rate was higher in HK than in SG in 2022. With a higher vaccination rate as in SG, the death total reported in HK would decrease by 37.5% and the timing of the peak would delay by 3 weeks. With a lower vaccination rate as in HK, the death total reported in SG would increase to 5.5-fold high with a peak 6 weeks earlier than the actual during the Delta variant period. Vaccination rate changes in HK and SG may lead to very different outcomes. This is likely due that the estimated transmission rates were very different in HK and SG which reflect the different control policies and dominant variants. Because of strong control measures, HK avoided large-scale community transmission of the Delta variant. Given the high breakthrough infection rate and transmission rate of the Omicron variant, increasing the vaccination rate in HK will likely yield a mild (but significant) contribution in terms of lives saved. While in SG, lower vaccination coverage to the level of HK will be disastrous.

Means-end chain generation with online laddering: A study on vertical farming with consumers in Singapore and Germany

Through rapid advances, vertical farming (VF) systems are becoming an addition to conventional agricultural practices that under increasing climate stress can contribute to more sustainable food production. The present research advances extant consumer research on VF by exploring how consumers associate the different characteristics of VF with the technology’s pros and cons, and how these link to their personal values. To this end, consumers’ cognitive structures relating to VF were uncovered through means-end chains (MECs) and laddering methodology. While both soft and hard laddering approaches remain in use, innovation and methodological development are focused on hard laddering. The present research contributes to this expansion by trailing a hybrid-hard laddering approach that is suitable for online surveys and large sample sizes while incorporating some aspects of soft laddering. Participants lived in Singapore (SG) (n = 547) or Germany (DE) (n = 537) and completed the laddering task after reading an information text about VF. Data analysis resulted in hierarchical value maps (HVM) which were compared by country and groups of participants with different attitudes to VF. Both altruistic and self-centred motives were key to acceptance of VF while energy use emerged as a concern. For some consumers positive linkages were established to “pleasure and enjoyment” and this may be harnessed to enhance uptake. The hybrid-hard laddering approach was successful in so far as the results fitted expectations. However, room for improvement exists.

AN ANALYSIS OF PM2.5 USING THE DIRECTED ACYCLIC GRAPH: A CASE STUDY OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

In this study, we used the directed acyclic graph (DAG) to analyze a dataset of PM2.5 concentrationlevels in 11 cities in Southeastern Asian countries for the period of March 18 to April 11, 2021. Thisis the period that PM2.5 posted a major problem for several cities in Southeast Asia. We analyzedthe data to determine the effect of the PM2.5 concentration in each city on that of each of the othercities. The results show that the PM2.5 concentration in Yangon, Myanmar, had a direct effect onthe PM2.5 concentration in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and that the PM2.5 concentration in KualaLumpur, Malaysia, had a direct effect on the PM2.5 concentration in Singapore, Republic ofSingapore. Where one country has a direct effect on another, a reduction or increase of PM2.5 in theformer will reduce or increase, respectively, the PM2.5 concentration in those on which it has aneffect. Given this relationship, if the concentration of PM2.5 is to be reduced either overall or in anyspecific country is to be reduced, international cooperation will be essential. Our application ofDAG to this environmental issue exemplifies the viability of this technique for exploring andindicating solutions for real-world problems more generally.

Genetic Variations and Expansion of the Blue Swimmer Crab (Portunus pelagicus) in Southeast Asia

Blue swimmer crabs (Portunus pelagicus) primarily inhabit the coastal regions of Southeast Asia. This study aimed to examine their population genetic structure, phylogeography, and historical demography by applying partial sequences to the control region in the mitochondrial DNA. The analysis focused on 6 populations comprising 166 individual samples collected from Taiwan (Kezailiao Kaohsiung (KK) and Penghu (PH)), mainland China (Xiamen (XM) and Hong Kong (HK)), Vietnam (Hanoi (VN)), and Singapore (SGP). The estimated nucleotide diversity (π) for all of the samples was 0.062, with values ranging between 0.018 (PH) and 0.045 (HK). Our study collected 116 haplotypes and classified them into lineages A and B. The XM, HK, VN, and SGP populations made up lineage A, and the PH and KK populations comprised lineage B. For each lineage, the results highlighted indications of demographic expansion. Lineage A can be traced back to the second-to-last interglacial period, while lineage B possibly originated in the last glacial period. There were significant differences in the FST values among the six populations, except for the pairs HK–XM and PH–KK. In conclusion, the phylogeography and genetic structure of P. pelagicus in Southeast Asia were potentially affected by the Pleistocene glacial cycles and human introduction. These findings further highlight the possible dispersal routes of P. pelagicus throughout Southeast Asia.

Alienation in the Game of Chance Under Capitalism

Abstract Alienation is a universal theme in literature. The game of chance or gambling under capitalism can produce a hostile social setting for those who are unaware of its negative impacts. In such a social milieu, people can experience feelings of alienation, failing to make their lives their own. This paper analyzes the theme of alienation in the game of chance under capitalism in two stories written by s.e.a. Write Awardees, The Lottery of Karma by Chanthi Deuanesavanh and Lottery by Catherine Lim, through the lens of literary devices. The social settings of these stories are two countries in Southeast Asia, and these two writers set their stories in their own respective countries, Lao pdr and the Republic of Singapore. It finds that, in their exposure to such social settings, the protagonists are beset by a sense of alienation regardless of whether they perform their roles as laborers, capitalists, or consumers.

Human Properties of Singapore’s People and their Impact on the State Might

The research aims to study some of the human characteristics of the state of Singapore to know the impact of these characteristics on the strength of the state, its development and. The research included two aspects, theoretical and analytical, using the descriptive analytical method, force analysis method, as well as the historical method. The data was analyzed according to mathematical equations, including the size of the country's population, the extraction of the population growth rate and the concept of age structure, where some indicators related to this concept have been explained. The researcher reached a set of results, the most important of which were: that the population size of the state of Singapore in the period between (1970 - 2020) has been on a continuous increase since its independence. However, it has adopted a population policy that suits the area of ​​the state for the period (2010-2020). The increase continued to rise to reach (665,609, 7,570,240, and 861,7474 people) for the years (2030, 2040 and 2050), respectively. This is an indication of a real transformation of the demographic contribution, which constitutes a powerful factor that gives the state an influential position in international regional relations and a support for the demographic revolution despite the small area of ​​the Republic of Singapore. The results of the research also showed instability in population growth rates during the past fifty years, ranging between the lowest growth rate of 1.3% and the highest growth rate of 2.9% for the period between (1970 - 2020). Accordingly, the population increase in Singapore is not only related to natural increase, but is greatly affected by the factor of external migration, whose effects became clear during the last period of (2010-2020).

ЕВОЛЮЦІЯ ВІДНОСИН РЕСПУБЛІКИ СІНГАПУР ІЗ КРАЇНАМИ-ЧЛЕНАМИ РАДИ СПІВРОБІТНИЦТВААРАБСЬКИХ ДЕРЖАВ ПЕРСЬКОЇ ЗАТОКИ

The author made an attempt to comprehensively analyze the relations between the Republic of Singapore and the GCC countries. The article describes the reasons for the countries' mutual interest in deepening cooperation and the main spheres of interaction between them. Specific measures and projects undertaken by the Singapore government to intensify cooperation with the Persian Gulf states also are examined. Particular attention is paid to the collaboration of the countries in a multilateral format within the AMED.

Critical Analysis of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of India and the Republic of Singapore

Critical Analysis of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of India and the Republic of Singapore

Transcriptomic and proteomic analysis of pyrethroid resistance in the CKR strain of Aedes aegypti.

Aedes aegypti is an important vector of human viral diseases. This mosquito is distributed globally and thrives in urban environments, making it a serious risk to human health. Pyrethroid insecticides have been the mainstay for control of adult A. aegypti for decades, but resistance has evolved, making control problematic in some areas. One major mechanism of pyrethroid resistance is detoxification by cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (CYPs), commonly associated with the overexpression of one or more CYPs. Unfortunately, the molecular basis underlying this mechanism remains unknown. We used a combination of RNA-seq and proteomic analysis to evaluate the molecular basis of pyrethroid resistance in the highly resistant CKR strain of A. aegypti. The CKR strain has the resistance mechanisms from the well-studied Singapore (SP) strain introgressed into the susceptible Rockefeller (ROCK) strain genome. The RNA-seq and proteomics data were complimentary; each offering insights that the other technique did not provide. However, transcriptomic results did not quantitatively mirror results of the proteomics.There were 10 CYPs which had increased expression of both transcripts and proteins. These CYPs appeared to be largely trans-regulated, except for some CYPs for which we could not rule out gene duplication. We identified 65 genes and lncRNAs as potentially being responsible for elevating the expression of CYPs in CKR. Resistance was associated with multiple loci on chromosome 1 and at least one locus on chromosome 3. We also identified five CYPs that were overexpressed only as proteins, suggesting that stabilization of CYP proteins could be a mechanism of resistance. Future studies to increase the resolution of the resistance loci, and to examine the candidate genes and lncRNAs identified here will greatly enhance our understanding of CYP-mediated resistance in A. aegypti.

CONSTRUCTION, VOLUME-PLANNING SOLUTIONS OF MODERN MULTI-STOREY RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN BISHKEK IN SEISMIC CONDITIONS

This article discusses the prospects for the development of modern earthquake-resistant multi-storey residential buildings in Bishkek and their space-planning solution, taking into account national characteristics. The analysis of high-rise buildings under construction in Singapore "City of the Future", the capital of the Republic of Singapore, has been proposed for use some of the building codes of Singapore, used in the construction practice of developed countries, to address pressing issues related to the construction of multi-storey residential buildings in Bishkek.

Genetic Admixture in the Culturally Unique Peranakan Chinese Population in Southeast Asia.

The Peranakan Chinese are culturally unique descendants of immigrants from China who settled in the Malay Archipelago ∼300–500 years ago. Today, among large communities in Southeast Asia, the Peranakans have preserved Chinese traditions with strong influence from the local indigenous Malays. Yet, whether or to what extent genetic admixture co-occurred with the cultural mixture has been a topic of ongoing debate. We performed whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on 177 Singapore (SG) Peranakans and analyzed the data jointly with WGS data of Asian and European populations. We estimated that Peranakan Chinese inherited ∼5.62% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.76–6.49%) Malay ancestry, much higher than that in SG Chinese (1.08%, 0.65–1.51%), southern Chinese (0.86%, 0.50–1.23%), and northern Chinese (0.25%, 0.18–0.32%). A sex-biased admixture history, in which the Malay ancestry was contributed primarily by females, was supported by X chromosomal variants, and mitochondrial (MT) and Y haplogroups. Finally, we identified an ancient admixture event shared by Peranakan Chinese and SG Chinese ∼1,612 (95% CI: 1,345–1,923) years ago, coinciding with the settlement history of Han Chinese in southern China, apart from the recent admixture event with Malays unique to Peranakan Chinese ∼190 (159–213) years ago. These findings greatly advance our understanding of the dispersal history of Chinese and their interaction with indigenous populations in Southeast Asia.