Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a common disorder among elderly and may worsen to dementia. The aim of this study is to develop a nutrition and lifestyle booklet to implement better lifestyle modification, as an effort to delay cognitive decline. A series of discussions with a research group comprising of dieticians, nutritionists, a geriatrician and a public health physician were conducted to ascertain the content of the booklet. There were seven guidelines in the booklet including; eat more fish, eat more foods rich in folic acid, eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise regularly, do activities to stimulate memory, stop smoking and alcohol drinking and stay cheerful and positive. Evaluation of acceptance for the booklet was carried out which comprised of assessment on content, graphic and design among elderly and health staff at health clinic in Cheras. The assessment involved 15 Malay elderly subjects aged 60 to 81 years (mean age 66.1 ±6.6 years), with 60.0% men and 40.0% women and 10 health staff aged 36.6 ± 12.0 years, with range of 27 to 58 years, consists of 20.0% men and 80.0% women also participated. Most of elderly subjects (80.0%, n = 12) indicated they understood information in the booklet. Meanwhile, 20.0% (n = 3) of elderly expressed they did not fully understand the content of the booklet in particular on sentence and terminology. All health staff (100.0%) understood the information in the booklet. This booklet was well accepted by elderly subjects and health staff, however adding more graphics, simplifying sentence structures and minimizing scientific terminologies to improve understanding were suggested. The booklet has the potential to increase the nutritional and health knowledge of elderly specifically with MCI. This would motivate them to adopt healthy eating and lifestyle, thus reducing cognitive decline and prevent dementia.
Keywords: Cognitive, education, booklet, elderly, lifestyle
Daging memainkan peranan penting dalam diet seseorang. Daging kaya dengan sumber protein, vitamin B12, vitamin D, asid lemak Omega 3 dan mineral seperti zink dan ferum. Walaupun daging membekalkan pelbagai keperluan nutrien yang diperlukan oleh tubuh, tetapi pengambilan daging juga boleh membawa kesan negatif kepada kesihatan. Oleh itu, di dalam artikel ini perbincangan akan menyentuh kepada risiko pengambilan daging merah kepada kesihatan. Pengambilan daging merah dalam kekerapan dan kuantiti yang tinggi boleh menyebabkan pelbagai penyakit antaranya seperti kanser dan kardiovaskular. Perbincangan juga di lakukan terhadap risiko pengambilan daging putih terhadap kesihatan. Pengambilan daging putih boleh mengundang pelbagai kesan negatif kepada kesihatan disebabkan oleh penggunaan hormon, antibiotik dan vaksin. Sebagai alternatif, daging ayam organik merupakan daging yang dicadangkan diambil oleh pengguna di dalam diet seharian. Prinsip penternakan ayam organik yang mementingkan sumber makanan ternakan tanpa penggunaan baja kimia dan racun perosak, aspek perumahan dan persekitaran yang mengutamakan kebajikan ternakan serta penjagaan kesihatan ternakan tanpa menggunakan hormon, antibiotik dan vaksin turut dibincangkan.
This survey was carried out to examine the habits of practising optometrists in private practice around Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. A questionnaire survey was prepared that encompassed questions on ophthalmic intruments and appliances, services offered, eye examinatians carried aut and patient management, failure ta carry out comprehensive eye examination, community engagements and their opinion on optometrists as primary eyecare practitioners. The questionnaire was sent to 100 registered optometrists practising in Kuala Lumpur and the Klang Valley. About 64 optometrists responded and returned the questionnaire, but 3 of them were excluded because they were incomplete. The results showed almast all aptornetric practice has all the equipment related to optometry practice except for tonometer and visual field measurement. F orty~four percent ( 44%) of aptometrists undertook comprehensive eye examinatians and necessary referred patients far further examinations. Optometrists who did not perform comprehensive eye examinations give reasons of inadequate equipment and clients who want a quick examination. ln conclusion optometric practice provide almost all the equipments required for optometrists to practice as primary health care practioners but only 44% of optometrists carriedout comprehensive eye examinations. Optometrists in private practice need to practice all the skills they learned and play important roles in educating the public in an effort to improve the primary eyecare of society. Keywords: optometric practice, private practice, primary health eyecare
MeSH terms: Adult; Ambulatory Care Facilities; Cross-Sectional Studies; Humans; Malaysia; Optometry*; Private Practice
Kajian ini dijalankan untuk membentuk formula demi menganggar ketinggian tubuh badan dan menentukan jantina dengan menggunakan panjang dan lebar kaki. Seramai 150 orang subjek yang berumur 20-30 tahun diambil dari Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Kampus Kuala Lumpur (UKMKKL). Subjek tersebut adalah Melayu (45 lelaki dan 45 perempuan) dan Cina (30 lelaki dan 30 perempuan). Ketinggian, panjang dan lebar kaki diukur menggunakan alatan antropometrik dalam ukuran milimeter. Hasil statistik menunjukkan bahawa pelbagai ukuran kaki kanan dan kiri tidak mempunyai perbezaan yang signifikan (Panjang kaki/FL: t(298) = -0.235, p = 0.815; Lebar kaki/FW: t(298) = 0.932, p = 0.352). Perbezaan yang signifikan pada semua ukuran pula dapat dilihat pada jantina (Tinggi/S: t(148) = 12.550, p < 0.05; FL:t(148) = 11.692, p < 0.05; FW:t(148) = 8.321, p < 0.05). Bagi kaum, ketinggian tubuh badan kaum Cina adalah lebih tinggi berbanding kaum Melayu secara signifikan (t(148) = -3.103, p < 0.05) tetapi tiada perbezaan yang signifikan diperhatikan pada ukuran kaki (FL: t(148) = 0.002, p = 0.999; FW:t(148) = 1.362, p = 0.175). Korelasi yang paling tinggi telah ditunjukkan antara ketinggian tubuh badan dengan panjang kaki pada semua kumpulan. Analisis Regresi Garis Lurus dan Regresi Berganda telah digunakan untuk membentuk formula menganggar ketinggian tubuh badan. Walau bagaimanapun, didapati formula yang dibentuk dari Regresi Berganda adalah lebih tepat kerana kombinasi panjang dan lebar kaki menghasilkan korelasi koefisen yang lebih tinggi dalam semua formula (S = 585.298+(4.898xFL)-(1.453xFW), F(2,149 = 149.324, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.670). Formula untuk penentuan jantina juga telah dibina menggunakan Analisis Pokok Klasifikasi. Keputusan menunjukkan ketepatan untuk menentukan jantina seseorang adalah di antara 86.3-87.5% bagi perempuan dan 85.2-85.7% bagi lelaki dengan menggunakan panjang kaki manakala di antara 68.4-76.8% bagi perempuan dan 77.8-81.0% bagi lelaki dengan menggunakan lebar kaki.
This study aimed to develop and examine the validity and reliability of a pregnancy symptoms questionnaire. A total of 214 pregnant women aged 19 to 40 years old were purposive randomly recruited from December 2009 to January 2010 in Antenatal Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia. Pregnant mothers at second and third trimesters were interviewed to complete the Pregnancy Symptoms Questionnaire (PSQ). The PSQ was developed by experts in nutrition, obstetrics and statistics. The PSQ consists of 38 items on frequency and severity of pregnancy symptoms. Factor analysis was done using Promax rotation method to check for construct validity. A total of 16 items which had poor correlation (<0.3) and less important content were removed during the final revise. The 22 remaining items were found to be loaded on the three components (general, constitutional and somatic pain). The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.93 and for each three components ranges from 0.70–0.87. The results suggest that the final PSQ consisting of 22 items is valid and reliable for measuring the frequency and severity of the symptoms experienced during pregnancy. It can be used in nutritional studies related to pregnancy and its outcome.
Keywords: Pregnant mothers; Pregnancy symptoms; Questionnaire; Validation
Study site: Antenatal Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan, Malaysia
The effect of low power 0.95 mW He-Ne laser irradiation (? = 632.8 nm) on the subpopulations of human blood parameters such as hemoglobin concentration (HGB), mean cellular volume of red blood cell (MCV), and mean cellular hemoglobin (MCH) were investigated by electronic sizing at the Wellness Centre of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). These parameters were correlated with human characteristics such as age, gender, ethnic, and blood types. The correlations were obtained by finding patterns in changes of blood parameters after radiation, non-parametric tests using SPSS version 11.5, centroid and peak positions, and flux variations. The analysis revealed significant changes according to human characteristics, for age (p = 0.067), gender (p = 0.044), ethnic (p = 0.094), and blood types (p = 0.099). This finding shows that the centroid and peak positions, flux peak and total flux, were highly correlated with human characteristics and can become a significant indicator for blood analysis. Furthermore, the encircled flux analysis demonstrated a good future prospect in blood research, thus leading the way as a vibrant diagnosis tool to clarify diseases associated with blood.
Dichloromethane and methanolic extracts of each plant were tested for their antiplasmodial activity on chloroquineresistant strain of Plasmodium falciparum (FCB strain), based on lactate dehydrogenase activity. Cytotoxicity was assessed with the MTT test on MRC-5 human diploid embryonic lung cells. Most extracts of ten selected plants used in Malay traditional medicine in Malaysia had activity in vitro. This supports continued investigations of traditional medicine in the search for new antimalarial agent. The compounds responsible for the observed antiplasmodial effects are under investigation.
Acanthamoeba is a free living protozoa that can cause keratitis and granulomatous amoebic encephalitis. Physiological characteristics of this amoeba are found to have a medical importance in which it can be related to the pathogenicity potential of the organism. This study was carried out to investigate the physiological characteristics of survivability during axenization. Six Acanthamoeba strains from three clinical isolates (HSB 1, HKL 48 and HKL 95) and three environmental isolates (PHS 2, PHS 11 and PHS 15) were used in this study. Axenization test was done by treating cysts with hydrochloric acid (3%) and Page saline containing Gentamicin (100 μg/ml). Cysts were then cultured into PYG enrich media, incubated at 30oC and the presence and proliferation of trophozoites of Acanthamoeba were observed. This study showed that PHS 15, HSB 1, HKL 48 and HKL 95 could be axenized but they have poor proliferation rate in PYG enrich media. The result showed that the difference between both clinical and environmental isolates was observed in two strains; PHS 2 and PHS 11. This indicates that there is a possibility that the physiological traits of strains from both isolates are the same and strains from the environment are able to show the pathogenic potential and capable of causing infection to human.
Keywords: Axenization, Survivability, Acanthamoeba, Clinical and environmental strains
It is the aim of all clinicians to accomplish biological tooth movement, which implies the use of low, continuous force. Constant unrelented search for a better wire, which can deliver optimal orthodontic force, has led to the invention of a lot of orthodontic wires such as Stainless steel, Beta Titanium, Nickel Titanium and multi stranded wires. In this study, the loading and unloading properties of 0.016 inch, 0.016x0.022 inch and 0.017x0.025 inch dimensions of stainless steel, conventional NiTi, Super elastic NiTi, and TMA arch wires were determined by means of a modified three point bending test for two inter bracket widths of 5 mm and 6.5 mm for deflection of 1 to 3 mm. The applied forces dependence on cross-sectional size differs from the linear-elastic prediction in super elastic NiTi wires. The stainless steel wires had the highest force values on all the three dimensions and cross section. On loading and unloading, TMA wires had force values in-between stainless steel, conventional NiTi and super elastic NiTi. The conventional NiTi had much lower force values compared to stainless steel and TMA and were linearly progressing compared to Super elastic NiTi. On loading and unloading the super elastic NiTi had force values in the range of conventional NiTi and had constant forces on higher deflection. The studies showed that the force value was comparatively higher in 5 mm inter bracket width than the 6.5 mm inter bracket width for all the cross section and dimension of wires.
Congenitally missing teeth creates significant challenges to the clinicians in both diagnosis and management. The need for interdisciplinary involvement is essential for optimum dental care. The purpose of this clinical report is to describe an interdisciplinary management of a 15-year-old adolescent presented with non-syndromic oligodontia. The principle of management is presented with special emphasis on prosthodontic aspects. Various restorative treatment modalities specified for oligodontia patients are outlined.
Objective: To audit the amount and complexity of case load and the waiting time for orthodontic treatment in Orthodontic Department of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Materials and Methods: This study involved three waiting list records in Orthodontic department, UKM and 484 patients’ record were selected using Random Sampling technique. Demographic data of the patients were noted. Data on date of patient’s visit to ‘Klinik Rawatan Utama’ (KRU), Screening clinic and first orthodontic treatment (removable/fixed) clinics were also recorded. The severity of referred cases were graded using complexity scale (Russle et al, 1999).
Results: Patients were mostly female (76%) with age ranging from 10 to 52 years old. 75% of the referred cases were complex cases. From the year 2002-2007, 35% were referred for removable and 65% were referred for fixed clinic. In average, orthodontic screening waiting time was 6.9 ± 2.5 month. Patient would received removable and fixed appliance treatment after 4.4 ± 1.0 months and 14.5 ± 9.8 months respectively.
Conclusions: Most patients were referred to fixed waiting list. The waiting time from 2002 until 2007 for orthodontic treatment in UKM was longest for fixed followed by screening. The shortest waiting time was for the removable treatment.
Study site: Orthodontic Department of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
Evaluation of the mechanical behaviour of restoration dental materials is essential to understand their performance under different load conditions and to estimate their durability under clinical oral function. Restorative materials and dental tissues like other materials by having specific mechanical properties, such as static strength (i.e. compressive strength, tensile strength, flexural strength) and dynamic strength (i.e. fatigue strength). The selection of proper mechanical test type depends on the goals that the study claims to define. On such basis, the mechanical test can be chosen correctly. Laboratory studies should be designed as replications of the clinical oral circumstances to measure the mechanical and physical properties of a material and any arbitrary choices in the design of the study may result in large variations of data.
Compliance to delivery of orthodontic appliances within specified times and factors which influenced compliance by dental technicians in Selangor was evaluated. This is a prospective 8-month study of 18 trainee/ trained technicians from 4 main government dental laboratories in Kajang, Klang, Tanjong Karang and Shah Alam. Delivery times specified by orthodontists were 1 day for plastic retainer, 3 days acrylic retainer, 5 days active plates (URA), 10 days functional appliances (FA), 10 days transpalatal arch (TPA) and 10 days for quadhelix. Punctual delivery was recorded as ‘compliant’. Compliance was compared between appliances, clinics, technicians, orthodontists and seniority of technicians. The sample comprised appliances from 365 patients; 38 (10.4%) Tanjong.Karang, 114 (31.2%) Kajang, 191 (52.3%) Klang and 22 (6.0%) Shah Alam. The majority of appliances were retainers (66.3%), followed by URA (13.4%), functionals (9.3%), TPA (9.0%) and quadhelix (1.9%). Mean compliance for all appliances in Selangor was 55%. Plastic retainers had highest compliance (77.8%), followed by acrylic retainers (59.9%), quadhelix (57.1%), FA (47.1%), TPA (45.5%) and URA (24.5%). Senior technicians (>3 years in service) were more compliant than juniors (
An 11-year-old Malay boy was allegedly involved in motor vehicle accident. He sustained left lung contusion and pneumothorax which necessitate chest tube insertion at a district hospital. On arrival at Accident & Emergency Unit, general physical examination was performed. Neck examination revealed multiple jagged lacerations wound on the left side of the neck (Panel 1). (Copied from article).
Some restorative materials are susceptible to erosion but whether it also causes microleakage is still questionable. The aim of this study was to assess the microleakage of few restorative materials after immersion in acidic solution. Standardized ‘U’ shaped cavity of 4mm diameter and 2mm depth were prepared on buccal or lingual surface of 52 human premolar and molar teeth. The teeth were divided into 4 groups which contains 13 samples and 3 controls for each and were restored either with Filtek Z250 (Group 1), Fuji IX (Group 2), Fuji II LC (Group 3), or Silverfill amalgam (Group 4).
All surfaces were painted with nail varnish leaving only 2mm of tooth structure surrounding the restoration before the study samples were immersed in acidic solution, lemon juice (pH 2.74) and control samples in deionised distilled water for 24 hours. Surface photos for erosion were taken before immersion in methylene blue for 7 days. After sectioning, the assessment of dye penetration was done using Leica Imaging System DMLM (Germany). Photos showed that Fuji IX demonstrated severe erosion but no obvious changes were seen on other materials. Kruskal-Wallis test indicated that microleakage between all four groups were statistically significant. The most significant difference was between Filtek Z250 and Fuji IX (p
A survey was conducted to assess dental caries experience and oral health related behaviour among Malaysian Territorial Army (TA) personnel. This cross-sectional study involved 284 personnel covering their socio-demography, oral hygiene habits and related behaviour and past utilization of dental services pattern. Dental caries were assessed using DMFT index. Caries prevalence was very high (97.2%; DMFT 8.15±5.36). Untreated decay (DT) was 3.67 (±3.15) and missing teeth (MT) 2.90 (±3.73). However, few were treated teeth (FT) at only 1.58 (±2.02). Almost everyone (98.2%) claimed they brushed their teeth at least once daily and 80% used fluoridated toothpaste. However, very few participants used dental floss (11.3%) while majority (60.2%) did not know about flossing. More than 70% were current smokers. Only 13.7% were regular attendees with the majority (86.3%) visiting the dentist only when they had dental problems. The most common reason (49.7%) for their last dental visit was related to presence of symptoms and few were (27.4%) for prevention. Symptomatic attendees are significantly more likely to have more severe caries experience than preventive oriented individuals (p=0.003). These findings support the importance of promoting preventive oral health utilization behaviour among army personnel.
MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental Care; Dental Caries; Dental Devices, Home Care; Dentists; Fluoridation; Habits; Humans; Military Personnel; Oral Health; Oral Hygiene; Surveys and Questionnaires; Toothpastes; Prevalence
Pyogenic granuloma is a benign lesion which is commonly found in the oral cavity. It is a reactive inflammatory process of the injured mucosa to trauma. It can appear as a sessile or pedunculated mass with smooth or lobulated surface, which sometimes can mimic malignant lesion. Excision biopsy of the lesion is the confirmatory investigation which also a treatment tool. We report a case of middle-aged lady who had pyogenic granuloma of the tongue, which was safely excised using ultrasonic scissors. This case highlights the new technique of using ultrasonic instruments for excision of benign tongue lesion, with marked reduction of blood loss and operation time.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate hardness (indicator for polymerization) and thickness of two types of resin cement at coronal, middle and apical level of tooth root canal. Ten extracted maxillary incisors were instrumented and post space was prepared for cementation of titanium post. Samples were divided into two groups and each group was cemented either of the two types of resin cements; Panavia F [dual-cured (PF)] and Rely X Luting 2 [self-cured (RL)]. The teeth were longitudinally sectioned; hardness and thickness was measured using Vickers hardness tester and a microscope (Leica DMLM). SEM observations along the cement line at the 3 different root levels were performed. Statistical analysis was performed to test significance of differences in hardness and thickness of the two types of cement (t-test; p= 0.05) and at different levels of the same type (one-way ANOVA followed by multiple comparison; p= 0.05). Significant difference of hardness was found at the apical level between the two groups and between the coronal and apical level of PF (p0.05). Moreover, voids were more obvious within the dual-cured group of cement. Dual-cured resin cement was found to be less polymerized than self-cured type at apical level. Increased thicknesses of resin cements in comparison to post space size were observed in both groups. Use of metallic post with resin cements needs further evaluation.
The objectives of this study were to determine the normal mean value of the root-crown (R/C ratios) in Malay patients and their variations by gender and dental arch from orthopantomogram radiographs (OPGs). Two thousand nine hundred and twenty teeth with fully developed roots were measured from 112 OPGs. Subjects with history of maxillofacial trauma or orthodontic therapy were excluded. The mean age of the subjects was 19.1 (SD 2.08) years old for males while females 18.9 (SD 2.19) years old in the range from 15 to 22 years old. The intra-examiner reproducibility of the assessment method was good (Intraclass correlation coefficient 0.81). Results of this study showed that there was no significant difference between R/C ratios of males and females groups. However, the ratios of the antagonist teeth for both males and females were significantly greater in the mandible than in the maxilla (p
Study site: Dental clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia
The aim of this study was to determine the genotoxicity of a locally produced nanocomposite by Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia using Comet assay. Stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) were treated with the nanocomposite at five different concentrations (0.006, 0.0125, 0.025, 0.05, and 0.1 mg/ml) along with concurrent negative (medium alone) and positive control (zinc sulfate heptahydrate) and incubated at 37°C for 24 hours in an incubator at 5% CO2. The tail moment was used to assess the extent of DNA damage. The tail moment for the group of SHED treated with nanocomposite (for all the five different concentrations) was not statistically significant as compared to the negative control, suggesting that the locally produced dental nanocomposite did not induce any DNA damage. Hence, it can be concluded that the locally produced nanocomposite is non-genotoxic on stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth.