Technical Advisory Committee Research Articles

Piloting During a Pandemic

Key TakeawaysFour pilot teams shared experiences with piloting during the COVID‐19 pandemic, emphasizing that thoughtful planning streamlines the piloting process while mitigating the risk of transmitting illness.Remote access to and control of pilot equipment, along with the use of virtual communication platforms, enabled teams to successfully perform pilot‐scale studies.Operating pilot systems through the pandemic allowed teams to respond to drastic changes on a small scale to mitigate risks around full‐scale processes at the treatment plant.

Peer review declaration

Peer review declaration • Type of peer review: Single-blindSingle-anonymous: authors' identities are known to the reviewers, reviewers’ identities arehidden from authorsDouble-anonymous: author and reviewer identities are hidden to each otherTriple-blind: author and reviewer identities are hidden to each other, and from the Editor(s)Open: author and reviewer identities are known to each other• Describe criteria used by Reviewers when accepting/declining papers. Was there the opportunity to resubmit articles after revisions? A reviewer form was shared to all the reviewers which contains different criteria’s i.e. originality, technicality, scientific merit, sufficient discussion on work context, presentation, organization etc.Yes, there was the opportunity to resubmit articles after revisions• Conference submission management system: The authors were informed to submit the papers in IOP template by email at icftmm2020@delhitechnicalcampus.ac.in • Number of submissions received: 52• Number of submissions sent for review: 48• Number of submissions accepted: 32• Acceptance Rate (Number of Submissions Accepted / Number of Submissions Received X 100): 61.53%• Average number of reviews per paper: 03• Total number of reviewers involved: 39• Any additional info on review process (ie plagiarism check system): Research papers received for the conference “ICFTMM-2020” were reviewed through a singleblind review process. Peer review of papers was undertaken through processes administered by the organizers. Authors were instructed to strictly adhere to the guidelines of the conference and publisher and prepare a high-quality research article. Papers were reviewed independently by a minimum of two members of the conference review committee. After plagiarism check for maximum limit of 16 % by Turnitin software, papers were then sent to the reviewer by making sure that the topic of paper best matches with reviewer expertise. Assigned reviewers have submitted their anonymous reviews. After submission of all reviews, a reviewing panel made the final accept/reject decisions based on the reviews. The reviewing panel was made up of members from technical advisory committee and review committee, Conference General Chair, Chairman, Convenor and Editors. Authors were notified the final decisions via email. Key Highlights • Peer review of papers has been done through processes administered by the organizers and proceedings editors.• Papers were checked for plagiarism before sending for review. Papers with less than 16% plagiarism were sent for review.• Minimum two independent reviewers have reviewed and approved a paper.• A maximum of 3 papers have been assigned to a single reviewer.• Unbiased consideration was given to all manuscripts offered for publication in the proceedings regardless of race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship or political philosophy of the authors.• Referees were asked to rate the paper based on the originality, technicality, scientific merit, sufficient discussion on work context, presentation, organization etc.• Contact person for queries: Dr Mohd Atif Wahidhodmae@delhitechnicalcampus.ac.inCovener, ICFTMM 2020

Preface

India has its position in the global technological arena as the most preferred destination for developing technology and its enabled services. To realize the goal of capturing a slot among the top five economies in the near future, we need to become a major player in Information and Communication Technology development. This would be possible through research and development taking centre stage in industry and technical education.Most of the Technical Institutions have realized the situation, the sheer size of the economical demands and have started involving in the development of the technology. Bannari Amman Institute of Technology (BIT) is celebrating its Silver Jubilee this year and is actively promoting research and development through UG, PG and Ph.D programmes offered in the Institution. In BIT, National and International Conferences, Workshops, Seminars, and Faculty Development Programmes are organized in the major areas of Engineering and Technology. In continuation of this process, the Departments of Electronics & Communication Engineering, Electronics & Instrumentation Engineering and Electrical & Electronics Engineering organized the First International Conference on Circuits, Signals, System and Securities 2020 (ICCSSS 2020).We are pleased to present the proceedings of the ICCSSS 2020 and we sincerely hope that all participants and interested readers would be benefited from this proceeding. Therefore, it is a great pleasure and beneficial for all to take this advantage and build strong sustainable network among researchers. It provides a platform for the scientists, researchers, scholars, engineers, students as well as marketing professionals from all over the world to share their experiences, cases and ongoing research activities through presentation, discussions and publications. The aim is to foster research relations between academia and the industry, for the presentation and exchange of their thoughts and practices in various domains.ICCSSS focuses on Signal Processing, Image Processing, Communication, Machine Learning, Security System, Automation Technologies and Power Conversion. The conference comprises of three key-note speeches by eminent academicians and paper presentations by the faculty/research scholars/students from various Universities and research centres. The selected papers for this publication are further classified into ten topics viz. Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Communications, Networks, VLSI Design, Process Control, Embedded System, Electric Drives, Internet of Things and Network Security.Nearly 298 articles were received from various states across India and other countries. After review by experts from academia and industry, 129 papers have been selected for presentation and publication in the proceedings.This conference proceedings will serve as a reference material and would be recommended for the libraries. This compendium of latest research articles will be highly beneficial for the academicians, scholars, industry researchers and policy makers who are keen in observing the latest trends in engineering and technology towards product/service/policy formulation. In this regard, we anticipate a good welcoming opportunity for this title to get exposed and popularized, especially through the banner of IOP Publications.On behalf of the organizing committee and the host Institute, we thank all the contributing authors, members of various committees, technical reviewers, and co-editors to make this attempt a grand success.List of Editors, TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE are available in this pdf.

COVID-19 Pandemic: Ethical and Medical issues arising for people with disability in Bangladesh

The disability viewpoint is the fundamental for understanding social justice in a given population. Disability rights need to be obeyed in the inclusive preparedness and response to all the disasters or during the crisis period including COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 pandemic jeopardized the health and rehabilitation services globally. The impact is much more in low resource developing countries like Bangladesh. In general, people with disability (PWD) suffer from multiple medical and rehabilitation complications and they need frequent rehabilitation consultations or hospital admissions in comparison to people without disability. As a developing country, Bangladesh has poor ratios of doctors, nurses and technologists of 1:0.4:0.24 (WHO: 1:3:5) to face the COVID-19 challenge. Rehabilitation services have been disrupted in almost two-thirds (63%) of countries of the world. Even though rehabilitation is the key to recovery following severe illness from COVID-19. There are many concerns and debates about the preparedness, response and mitigation the process of COVID-19 on the part of the national government. According to recent study reports, the lives of about 100% of PWD have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 National Technical Advisory Committee is working for strategic planning, response and mitigation process but omission of a representative of PWD or a rehabilitation physician in the committee has created much dissatisfaction. The difficult COVID-19 testing process due to country wide shutdown of rehabilitation essential services and central pulling of rehabilitation physicians have side lined the PWD inclusiveness. It is expected that the rehabilitation preparedness, response and mitigation of the pandemic should be based on an ethics driven process.

Reference Cut-Offs to Define Low Serum Zinc Concentrations in 1-19 Year Old Indian Children and Adolescents

Background: The quantification of population zinc (Zn) deficiency is based on serum zinc concentration (SZC) cut-offs, defined by International Zinc Nutrition Consultative Group (IZiNCG), derived from the 2·5th centile of age- and sex-specific SZC distributions from a high-income country. However, the SZC distributions, and its 2·5tthcentile cut-offs, can left-shift for a variety of reasons in lower middle-income countries (LMICs). The recent quality-controlled Indian Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey (CNNS) offered an opportunity to re-examine the SZC cut-offs in healthy 1–19-year-old children and adolescents and evaluate whether Zn deficiency was truly a public health problem in India. Methods: A healthy population (n=12473) of children was selected by including the highest 2 wealth quintiles, and excluding stunted, thin and obese children, and those with CRP >5mg/L, anemia, hypo-albuminemia, diabetes, recent diarrhea and a history of smoking. The 2·5th centile of the SZC distribution from this sample yielded the present cut-off to re-evaluate the prevalence of Zn deficiency against the IZiNCG cut-offs. Findings: The present study SZC cut-offs were significantly lower, by 10–18 µg/dL, than the IZiNCG cut-offs; more in adolescents. Thus, the prevalence of Zn deficiency in the entire CNNS sample, with the present cut-offs, was 2·7 to 5·5 times lower than with the IZiNCG cut-offs. No geographical state, nor any age group, showed Zn deficiency as a serious public health problem (≥20%). In contrast, with the IZiNCG cut-offs, between 9 to 27 states (depending on age group) had a serious public health problem with Zn deficiency. Interpretation: The present study reference SZC cut-offs for Zn deficiency are lower than the IZiNCG cut-offs, and since they were selected rigorously from a national sample, are more appropriate for use in India. A re-examination of the global applicability of IZiNCG recommended cut-offs to quantify Zn deficiency in other LMICs is required. Funding Source: CNNS is funded by The Mittal Foundation. However, there is no specific funding for this secondary analysis. Declaration of Interests: HSS designed the draft protocol of the CNNS with consultancy support from UNICEF, India. HSS, UK, and AVK were members of the Technical Advisory Committee of the CNNS, constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India, to oversee its conduct and analysis. HSS is a member of the WHO Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Subgroup on Diet and Health and Guideline Development Group on the use and interpretation of haemoglobin concentrations for assessing anaemia status in individuals and populations, member of the World Health Organization Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Subgroup on Diet and Health and Expert group on nutrient requirements: setting calcium, vitamin D and Zn nutrient intake values for children aged 0-4 years. He is also member of Expert Groups of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Nutrition and Child Health. SD was involved in the CNNS study implementation. There were no other conflicts to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: The Population Council’s International Review Board (New York, USA) and the Ethics Committee of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (Chandigarh, India) gave ethical approval. Written consent from parent/caregiver for children under 10 years, consent of parent/caregiver as well as assent from adolescents (11-17 years) and written consent of adolescents above 17 years were obtained after due description of study details in local languages.

Technical Advisory Committee

Technical Advisory Committee, Technical Review Committee, Conference advisory committee – Bannari Amman Institute of Technology (BIT), Conference Convener, Conference Coordinators are available in the pdf.

Why are smart cities proving to be so hard to deliver?

Why are smart cities proving to be so hard to deliver?

Hemoglobin Thresholds to Define Anemia in a National Sample of Healthy 1-19 Years Old Children and Adolescents in India: A Population-Based Study

Background: The original World Health Organization (WHO) thresholds to define anemia were based on five studies of predominantly white adult populations. In 2000, the threshold was lowered for 5-11 years based on National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey II data. A re-examination of the existing thresholds is now recommended, including through defining anemia by hemoglobin levels below the reference range in a representative and healthy population, employing stringent exclusion criteria. Such data are scarce, especially for children residing in Low- and Middle-Income-Countries. Methods: Age- and sex-specific hemoglobin percentiles were constructed from a nationally representative sample of 1-19 years old participants in India, employing “best practice” laboratory methods and rigorous quality control. The primary “healthy population” (n=8087) excluded iron, folate, vitamin B 12 and retinol deficiencies, inflammation (C-reactive protein), variant hemoglobins (HbA2 and HbS), and smokers. Sensitivity analyses filtered further for high total cholesterol, glycosylated haemoglobin and serum creatinine, zinc deficiency, stool parasitosis, and hypoalbuminemia. These Indian (<5 th percentile) and WHO thresholds were compared. Findings: Compared to WHO thresholds, these hemoglobin cut-offs were lower throughout 1-19 years, usually by 1-2 g/dl, and more so in 1-2 years old and in girls after 9 years age. The overall anemia prevalence was lower (10.8% vs 30.0%; gap 19.2) with marked differences for 1-4 and 15-19 years. The anemia prevalence gap was higher for 1-4 years old boys (28.3 vs 22.2), and for girls >10 years old (22.6 vs 8.9 for 10-14 years and 32.6 vs 11.5 for 15-19 years). Interpretation: These contemporary hemoglobin reference centiles are suitable for national use in India. Substantial variations argue against pooling thresholds across ages and sexes for convenience. The lower anemia burden may better reflect the responsiveness to programmatic interventions. These findings support an urgent re-examination of WHO thresholds for anemia. Funding: The survey was funded by the Mittal Foundation. For this analysis no funding was available. Declaration of Interests: HSS designed the draft protocol of the CNNS with consultancy support from the UNICEF, India. HSS, AS, UK and AVK were members of the Technical Advisory Committee of the CNNS, constituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India, to oversee its conduct and analysis. HSS is a member of the World Health Organization Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Subgroup on Diet and Health and Guideline Development Group on Use and interpretation of haemoglobin concentrations for assessing anaemia status in individuals and populations, and member of the National Technical Board on Nutrition of NITI Aayog, and Expert Groups of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Nutrition and Child Health. AVK is a Nutrition Advisor to the Tata Trusts. AS, RA, SR, NK and AP were involved in the CNNS study implementation and main analyses. There were no other conflicts to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethics approvals were obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Postgraduate Institute for Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India, and the Institutional Review Board of the Population Council, Zone 5A, Ground Floor India Habitat Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi, Delhi 110003, India, New York. Written, informed consent was obtained from caregivers of children aged 0–10 years. For adolescents aged 11–17 years, written informed consent was obtained from their caregivers and written informed assent obtained from the adolescents. Adolescents aged 18–19 years provided their own consent.

Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning in the Northern Gulf of California, Mexico: Consolidating stewardship, property rights, and enforcement for ecosystem-based fisheries management

Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) serves as a tool for ecosystem-based management, where human activities are allocated in space and time to meet ecological, economic and social objectives. In this study, we describe the implementation of a CMSP process in Sonora, Mexico, where a multi-tiered governance structure was built with transparent and inclusive stakeholder engagement in decision making processes to address growing conflicts and management problems. In its first phase, the process focused on artisanal fishing activities, the main economic driver in the region. The planning process was driven by CEDO Intercultural, a non-profit focused on environmental conservation and fisheries management. The governance structure included an Intercommunity Fisher Group (IFG), a base technical team, a technical advisory committee and a core group of government authorities relevant to fisheries management. Together, these actors developed different fisheries management tools to organize the spatial use of eleven species exploited by artisanal fisheries. Fishers were elected to represent their communities in the IFG and engaged through workshops to analyze information. Capacity building activities and extensive communication helped ensure broad coverage and understanding of the goals of the coastal corridor and the proposed management tools. These management tools included a network of fisheries refuges, areas for local management, catch quotas, and proposals for regulating fishing effort. They were designed using a variety of modeling approaches that combined the best available science with Local Ecological Knowledge. Management tools were modified based on feedback from the different actors; the final integrated management plan was assessed for impacts on fisheries and ecosystem services and function and a formal proposal was submitted to government agencies. In addition to meeting minutes demonstrating agreement with proposals, local actors wrote letters in support of the Integrated Plan and the Proposal for Fisheries Refuges. We are now defining indicators to measure management effectiveness. If this proposal is legally implemented, it will engage stakeholders in decision making and the spatial planning for the Coastal Corridor while enhancing fishers livelihoods and preserving ecosystem services.

Designing a resource-stratified, phased implementation strategy for breast health care services in India.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in India. Jhpiego, a not-for-profit health organization, is providing technical assistance for developing an evidence-based model of breast health care in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand in India. A situational assessment of breast health care services using validated tools was conducted in the 2 states. Findings of the assessment were presented to the Breast Health Technical Advisory Committee comprised of subject experts and government functionaries. The committee, guided by Breast Health Global Initiative resource-stratified guidelines, developed a conceptual framework for integration of breast health services into the existing health system. This conceptual framework was presented to the Technical Advisory Groups (TAGs) of the respective state governments. Each TAG then developed an operationally feasible, contextually appropriate implementation plan in alignment with the national guidelines for noncommunicable diseases. This implementation plan guided the rollout of the breast health care program in the Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) and Ranchi (Jharkhand) districts. Early results from the implementation suggest that it is feasible to integrate the breast health care pathway with the ongoing National Cancer Control Program of India.

Preface

The development of any contrived device, structure or product is conceivable due to material science; hence, it is thrust area of research. Engineers play a vital role in sustainable development by scheduling and execution that preserve natural resources, cost-effectiveness and support human and natural environment. Materials and Energy segments are continuously demanded by Science and Technology. Necessity of state-of-the-art materials for aerospace, automobile and various industries worldwide made many opportunities. Therefore, novel materials which are environmental friendly, inexpensive and energy efficient should get developed worldwide. Innovations and developments without sustainability have no significance in present eras. Therefore, thought process should be directed towards sustainability.We are honoured to state that International Conference on Sustainable Innovations in Civil and Mechanical Engineering, ICSICME-2020 will benefit to expand realistic and achievable Innovations in the arena of materials of Civil and Mechanical Engineering which in the long run aimed to bring together scientists, researchers, technologists and industrialists across the world to exchange their views and ideas for better possible scientific collaborations in the domain of interest. This will also help to expand the network and exchange knowledge for future collaborations. The scientific programme of the conference includes keynote speech, plenary and invited talks along with papers in the form of oral and poster presentations. We hope that they would have a very successful conference and vastly benefited by its deliberations.It gives us immense pleasure to thank the International, National and Technical Advisory committees as well as reviewer for their generous cooperation and advice. We wish to express our sincere thanks for participating in ICSICME-2020 and sharing your valuable ideas in the field. We are grateful to media partners Conal Conference Alerts and EasyChair for wide promotional of ICSICME-2020. We acknowledge the Publisher IOP Publishing Ltd., UK for journal publication support extended to ICSICME-2020. We also express sincere thanks to all sponsors and well-wishers for their valued support and co-operation. Also, we are very much thankful to Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, New Delhi, for granting political clearance to organize conference.We would also like to acknowledge the dedication of all the teaching, nonteaching staff of SKN Sinhgad College of Engineering, Pandharpur, India. We once again thank everyone for their co-operation, support directly and indirectly in making ICSICME-2020 success.Thank you.Dr. Kailash J. KarandeDr. Sampat G. DeshmukhDr. Swanand G. Kulkarni28th February, 2020Pandharpur, IndiaEditors

List of committees

International Conference on Sustainable Innovations in Civil and Mechanical Engineering (ICSICME-2020) Organised by and List of Chief Patrons, Chairperson, Convener, Co-convener, International Advisory Committee, National Advisory Committee, Technical Advisory Committee are available in this pdf.

Activities at W3C Technical Plenary and Advisory Committee Meetings Week (TPAC) 2019 in Fukuoka

Activities at W3C Technical Plenary and Advisory Committee Meetings Week (TPAC) 2019 in Fukuoka

Modeling Sustainability Scenarios in the Baltimore–Washington (DC) Region

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Planners today are confronted with unprecedented uncertainty in economic, political, and technological environments, especially at the regional scale. An increasingly common approach to addressing such uncertainty is exploratory scenario analysis. To provide new insights into the methods and utility of such analyses, we conducted a scenario analysis of the Baltimore (MD)–Washington (DC) region by engaging a technical advisory committee and exercising a loosely coupled suite of advanced transportation, land use, and environmental impact models. Our analysis suggests the future is indeed uncertain and may evolve into plausible but quite different alternative scenarios. Key drivers of these scenarios include fuel prices; the rate and form of technological change, especially in the transportation sector; and the restrictiveness of land use controls.Takeaway for practice: By developing exploratory scenario analyses and analyzing them using advanced computational models, planners can gain insights into how best to address uncertain development trends, such as how and to what degree planners can influence the adoption of electric and automated vehicles, how and where to guide development patterns through land use controls, and how best to respond to variation in the cost of energy, which could have dramatic impacts on the future sustainability of cities and regions. Although such scenario analyses cannot in most circumstances provide unambiguous robust or contingent policy prescriptions, they can provide important insights for raising public awareness and provide the foundation for further policy evaluation.

Developing a sustainable biosolids program through a comprehensive, collaborative approach for Arlington county

Abstract Arlington County, Virginia has recently completed a wastewater solids master plan addressing the near- and long- term needs of the County's biosolids program. The planning process included comprehensive evaluation of over 70 technologies. The project team included representatives from engineering, operations, maintenance, and management from the County; a consultant team of national and local experts; a technical expert advisory committee from consultants, utilities, and academia; and community stakeholders. There were multiple project team workshops and regular presentations to stakeholders, feedback from which was incorporated into the planning process. Ultimately, there was a detailed evaluation of four process options – lime-stabilization (the current process), mesophilic anaerobic digestion, thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment leading to anaerobic digestion, and anaerobic digestion with thermal drying. The four options were evaluated against nineteen criteria representing economic, operating, environmental, and social issues of the ‘quadruple bottom line.’ The County has now developed a more sustainable biosolids program plan that includes the development of anaerobic digestion with thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment to produce a commercially viable biosolids product. The process will also produce biogas for use as fuel. The collaborative approach, which included evaluating numerous options and engaging with many stakeholders, contributed to the project's success and has provided a resilient roadmap towards a more sustainable biosolids program.

A CLARION CALL TO ALL INDIANS TO FACILITATE INTENSE RESEARCH ON NATURAL PRODUCTS

More than 100 years before India was recognised as the “Generic Capital” or “Pharmacy of the World, India was acclaimed for the “Materia Medica” and the extensive research on natural products by Sir Col. Dr. Ram Nath Chopra, the father of Indian Pharmacology. In fact, Dr. M.L. Shroff got inspired from Sir R.N. Chopra and started the first Pharmacy course at Banaras Hindu University in 1932. Every student (even veterans) of Pharmacy should know that Drugs Act, 1940 (later renamed as Drugs and Cosmetics Act) as well as formal courses in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani were started under his mentorship. DTAB (Drugs Technical Advisory Committee) was set up under his stewardship. The first edition of the Indian Pharmacopoeia (evolved from Indian pharmacopoeial list 1946) 1955 was published with his contributions. “We are reaping the fruits of the plant grown by their sown seeds. We should make the same available to our future generations” said the biographer, Roja Rani. Prof.Harkishan Singh in J.Young Pharm, 2009 (Vol.1/No.3) had profiled Dr.R.N. Chopra (which is reproduced herein). Later Dr. K.M. Nadkarni came out with “Indian Materia Medica” in two volumes in 1908 with Foreword by Dr. R.N. Chopra. These are extremely valuable reference books for further research in Indian Natural Products.

EMC standards activity

In this issue of the EMC Magazine, we have news to report on IEEE P370 related to Signal Integrity and the "Sandpit" related to Power Integrity. These two new activities are helmed by our Chair and Vice-Chair, respectively, of the IEEE EMC Society's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC): Xiaoning Ye and Zhiping Yang. Their collective work in the Signal Integrity and Power Integrity (SIPI) community is drawing attention as evident by the record attendance at their IEEE EMC Society sponsored webinar on May 13, 2020. (This webinar is available on demand — see details on page 36 of this issue.) Read their articles below for the latest news on the standard IEEE P370 — Electrical Characterization of Printed Circuit Board and Related Interconnects at Frequencies up to 50 GHz and the latest news on a Power Integrity and Power Consumption Standards Virtual Sandpit.

EMC Personality Profile

With this Personality Profile, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Zhiping Yang, Chair of the EMC Society's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). Zhiping grew up in China, attended Tsinghua University, China and received the B.Sc. degree in Electrical Engineering and Applied Math in 1994. He continued his studies at Tsinghua University and received the M.E. in Electrical Engineering in 1997. After receiving his M.E. degree Zhiping left Tsinghua University as well as China and enrolled at the University of Missouri-Rolla, MO, USA as a Ph.D. student. Under the supervision of Dr. Mariesa Crow, he investigated the incorporation of battery energy storage into a Static Synchronous Compensator. The main contribution of Zhiping's research is the establishment of the modeling and control of the StatCom/BESS in power system dynamic applications. He received the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, Rolla, MO, USA in 2000.

From Evidence to Policy: Economic Evaluations of Healthcare in Malaysia: A Systematic Review

ObjectiveTo identify and describe the various economic evaluation studies in Malaysia and to determine the range of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) as reported in these studies. MethodsA comprehensive search of the scientific electronic databases was conducted (Medline, EBM Reviews, Embase, and hand search) to identify all published economic evaluation studies related to Malaysian healthcare. Two researchers assessed the quality of selected studies using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist and Quality of Health Economic Studies instrument. The assessment was also reviewed by expert members of the Technical Advisory Committee of Health Technology Economic Evaluations (TACHTEE). ResultsA total of 64 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and included in this systematic review. Thirty studies were partial economic evaluations; the full economic evaluations included 17 cost-effectiveness analyses and 17 cost-utility analyses. From all the reported ICERs, the majority (68%) were categorized as highly cost-effective (ICER of less than 1 gross domestic product (GDP) per capita per quality-adjusted life-years or disability-adjusted life-years gained). ConclusionThis review identifies information gaps and loopholes in health economics research in Malaysia. Additionally, this study provides the information that the majority of published interventions in Malaysia fell within the cost-effectiveness threshold of 1 GDP per capita per quality-adjusted life-years or disability-adjusted life-years gained.

Preface

The rapid advance of technology brings tremendous change and its impacts are upon every nation in the world. The fourth industrial industry will profoundly alter how things work and Civil Engineering too will advance from the current state. Stakeholders of Civil Engineering such as academicians, researchers, engineers, and policy makers must be ready to adapt and to progress in different mindsets of societies, different engineering method, different demand of infrastructures and different policies.Therefore, Civil Engineering Undergraduate Program of Universitas Tarumanagara will hold The First International Conference of Construction, Infrastructure, and Materials (ICCIM) to provide the international platform for professionals of their expertise to share the information about the state of art of Civil Engineering. By having better understanding of the current state and by establishing firm collaboration with each other, Civil Engineering stakeholders will be more prepared to thrive in perpetually progressing civilization.List of ICCIM 2019 Logo, Sponsors Logo, List of Committees, Steering Committee, Editorial Board, Technical Advisory Committee, Photographs are available in the pdf.