The present study was conducted to assess the effects of dietary supplementation of Zingiber officinale and Zingiber zerumbet and to heat-stressed broiler chickens on heat shock protein (HSP) 70 density, plasma corticosterone concentration (CORT), heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (HLR) and body temperature. Beginning from day 28, chicks were divided into five dietary groups: (i) basal diet (control), (ii) basal diet +1%Z. zerumbet powder (ZZ1%), (iii) basal diet +2%Z. zerumbet powder (ZZ2%), (iv) basal diet +1%Z. officinale powder (ZO1%) and (v) basal diet +2%Z. officinale powder (ZO2%). From day 35-42, heat stress was induced by exposing birds to 38±1°C and 80% RH for 2 h/day. Irrespective of diet, heat challenge elevated HSP70 expression, CORT and HLR on day 42. On day 42, following heat challenge, the ZZ1% birds showed lower body temperatures than those of control, ZO1% and ZO2%. Neither CORT nor HLR was significantly affected by diet. The ZO2% and ZZ2% diets enhanced HSP70 expression when compared to the control groups. We concluded that dietary supplementation of Z. officinale and Z. zerumbet powder may induce HSP70 reaction in broiler chickens exposed to heat stress.
Combined factor V and VIII deficiency is a rare bleeding disorder. Diagnosis of congenital coagulation factor deficiency in a neonate is challenging due to "immaturity" of the hemostatic system. A 2-day-old baby girl presented with spontaneous cephalhematoma. She was found to have persistent abnormal coagulation tests and finally diagnosed as combined factor V and VIII deficiency. Interestingly, factor V and factor VIII in developmental hemostasis are quite similar with adult levels in newborn, and hence early diagnosis is possible. An investigation to detect underlying hemostatic defects is recommended in newborns with spontaneous cephalhematoma.
BACKGROUND: In Malaysia, surveillance of fatal occupational injuries is fragmented. We therefore analyzed an alternative data source from Malaysia's Social Security organization, the Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial (PERKESO).
METHODS: We conducted a secondary data analysis of the PERKESO database comprised of 7 million employees from 2002 to 2006.
RESULTS: Overall, the average annual incidence was 9.2 fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers. During the 5-year period, there was a decrease in the absolute number of fatal injuries by 16% and the incidence by 34%. The transportation sector reported the highest incidence of fatal injuries (35.1/100,000), followed by agriculture (30.5/100,000) and construction (19.3/100,000) sectors. Persons of Indian ethnicity were more likely to sustain fatal injuries compared to other ethnic groups.
CONCLUSIONS: Government and industry should develop rigorous strategies to detect hazards in the workplace, especially in sectors that continuously record high injury rates. Targeted interventions emphasizing worker empowerment coupled with systematic monitoring and evaluation is critical to ensure success in prevention and control measures.
Published data on oxalate poisoning in domestic animals are reviewed, with a focus on tolerance and performance. Oxalic acid is one of a number of anti-nutrients found in forage. It can bind with dietary calcium (Ca) or magnesium (Mg) to form insoluble Ca or Mg oxalate, which then may lead to low serum Ca or Mg levels as well as to renal failure because of precipitation of these salts in the kidneys. Dietary oxalate plays an important role in the formation of Ca oxalate, and a high dietary intake of Ca may decrease oxalate absorption and its subsequent urinary excretion. Oxalate-rich plants can be supplemented with other plants as forage for domestic animals, which may help to reduce the overall intake of oxalate-rich plants. Non-ruminants appear to be more sensitive to oxalate than ruminants because in the latter, rumen bacteria help to degrade oxalate. If ruminants are slowly exposed to a diet high in oxalate, the population of oxalate-degrading bacteria in the rumen increases sufficiently to prevent oxalate poisoning. However, if large quantities of oxalate-rich plants are eaten, the rumen is overwhelmed and unable to metabolize the oxalate and oxalate-poisoning results. Based on published data, we consider that <2.0% soluble oxalate would be an appropriate level to avoid oxalate poisoning in ruminants, although blood Ca level may decrease. In the case of non-ruminants, <0.5% soluble oxalate may be acceptable. However, these proposed safe levels of soluble oxalate should be regarded as preliminary. Further studies, especially long-term studies, are needed to validate and improve the recommended safe levels in animals. This review will encourage further research on the relationships between dietary oxalate, other dietary factors and renal failure in domestic animals.
A study on the quality of water abstracted for potable use was conducted in the Selangor River basin from November 2008 to July 2009. Seven sampling sites representing the intake points of water treatment plants in the basin were selected to determine the occurrence and level of 15 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), six phthalate esters (PAEs) and bisphenol A (BPA). Results indicated OCPs were still detected regularly in 66.1 % of the samples with the Σ(15)OCPs ranging from 0.6-25.2 ng/L. The first data on PAEs contamination in the basin revealed Σ(6)PAEs concentrations were between 39.0 and 1,096.6 ng/L with a median concentration of 186.0 ng/L while BPA concentration ranged from <1.2 to 120.0 ng/L. Although di-n-butyl phthalate was detected in all the samples, concentrations of di-ethyl(hexyl)phthalate were higher. Sampling sites located downstream recorded the highest concentrations, together with samples collected during the dry season. Comparison of the detected contaminants with the Department of Environment Water Quality Index (DOE-WQI) showed some agreement between the concentration and the current classification of stream water. While the results suggest that the sites were only slightly polluted and suitable to be used as drinking water source, its presence is cause for concern especially to the fragile firefly "Pteroptyx tener" ecosystem located further downstream.
The Asia and Oceania Society for Comparative Endocrinology (AOSCE) was founded in 1987, when the first congress was held in Nagoya, Japan. The purpose of the AOSCE is to progress scientific activities in the field of comparative endocrinology in Asia and Oceania and to establish a deep relationship among the members. For this purpose, the AOSCE holds a congress or an intercongress symposium every 2 years, which organizes an attractive scientific program covering the latest progress in the broad aspect of comparative endocrinology. 2012 was the 25th anniversary of AOSCE. Our scientific activities have increased dramatically during the past 25 years. The 7th AOSCE congress was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2012. The theme of this congress was "Overcoming challenges in the 21st century". To overcome challenges in the 21st century, we further need to create new research directions in comparative endocrinology from Asia and Oceania. This paper describes a brief history of the AOSCE and also highlights the discovery of gonadotropin-inhibitory hormone (GnIH) and the progress of GnIH research as one of new research directions in comparative endocrinology. In 2000, GnIH was discovered in Japan and now more than 50 laboratories are working on GnIH in the world. The discovery of GnIH has changed our understanding about regulation of the reproductive axis drastically in the past decade.
Tamper localization and recovery watermarking scheme can be used to detect manipulation and recover tampered images. In this paper, a tamper localization and lossless recovery scheme that used region of interest (ROI) segmentation and multilevel authentication was proposed. The watermarked images had a high average peak signal-to-noise ratio of 48.7 dB and the results showed that tampering was successfully localized and tampered area was exactly recovered. The usage of ROI segmentation and multilevel authentication had significantly reduced the time taken by approximately 50 % for the tamper localization and recovery processing.
MeSH terms: Humans; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted*; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted*; Artifacts*; Computer Security; Ultrasonography, Doppler/methods*; Data Compression/methods; Signal-To-Noise Ratio
OBJECTIVES: Recently, several genome-wide association studies have demonstrated a cumulative association of 5 polymorphic variants in chromosomes 8q24 and 17q with prostate cancer (CaP) risk in Caucasians, particularly those harboring aggressive clinicopathologic characteristics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of these variants on CaP susceptibility in Singaporean Asian men.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a case-control study in 289 Chinese CaP patients and 412 healthy subjects (144 Chinese, 134 Malays, and 134 Indians), and examined the association of the 5 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with CaP.
RESULTS: In the healthy subjects, rs16901979 A-allele frequency was highest amongst Chinese (0.32) compared with Malays (0.13; P < 0.0001) or Indians (0.09; P < 0.0001); rs6983267 G-allele was highest in Indians (0.51) compared with Chinese (0.42; P = 0.041) or Malays (0.43; P = 0.077); whereas rs1859962 G-allele frequency was highest amongst Indians (0.56) compared with Chinese (0.40; P = 0.0002) or Malays (0.38; P < 0.0001). Individuals with the rs4430796 TT genotype were at increased CaP risk in the Chinese via a recessive model (odds ratios (OR) = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.04-2.33). Significant associations were observed for rs4430796 TT with Gleason scores of ≥ 7 (OR = 1.76, 95% CI = 1.14-2.73) and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels of ≥ 10 ng/ml at diagnosis (OR = 1.63, 95% CI = 1.01-2.63), as well as for rs6983267 GG with stage 3-4 CaPs (OR = 1.91, 95% CI = 1.01-3.61). A cumulative gene interaction influence on disease risk, which approximately doubled for individuals with at least 2 susceptibility genotypes, was also identified (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.10-4.32).
CONCLUSIONS: This exploratory analysis suggests that the 5 genetic variants previously described may contribute to prostate cancer risk in Singaporean men.
KEYWORDS: Cancer; Ethnicity; Gleason; Pharmacogenetics; Polymorphism; Prostate
Based on disability-adjusted life-years, stroke is the second leading cause of death and among the top five diseases with the greatest burden. Although two community-based studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence of stroke in the Philippines, the incidence has not been nationally recorded to date. The prevalence ranged from 1·9% to 6·59%, and 'Wiihabilitation', a rehabilitation stroke therapy, is widely practiced. A clinical trial for stroke rehabilitation using the Chinese Medicine NeuroAid®, which consists of several herbs, is ongoing in many hospitals across the Philippines. Due to their ready availability, phytomedicines are widely used, especially in the rural areas, for the treatment of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolemia, which are predisposing factors for stroke in the Philippines. Due to the increasing number of stroke cases annually, the government of the Philippines should emphasize primary and secondary prevention strategies.
MeSH terms: Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use; Female; Humans; Male; Philippines/epidemiology; Incidence; Prevalence; Video Games; Quality-Adjusted Life Years; Stroke/drug therapy*; Stroke/epidemiology*; Stroke/prevention & control; Stroke/rehabilitation; Herbal Medicine
The local normative value in quantitative ultrasound (QUS) equipment needs to be established for wider application and accurate classification of patients into respective fracture risk groups. The present study aimed to establish the calcaneal speed of sound (SOS) value for Chinese and Malay men in Malaysia and determine the difference between calcaneal SOS of the local population and the reference values provided by the manufacturer for each age group. This study will also determine the effect of using the manufacturer's young adult (20-29yr) reference or the local young adult reference to classify the subjects into the respective risk groups. Eight hundred forty Malay and Chinese men residing in central peninsular Malaysia were recruited and their calcaneal QUS value was determined using the CM-200 machine (Furuno Electric, Nishinomiya City, Japan). The results showed that the differences in SOS values between Chinese and Malay men were not significant across all the age groups studied (p>0.05). The age-dependent reduction of SOS value assumed a biphasic form, which was evident at 30-39yr and older than 60yr. The calcaneal SOS of the subject under study was significantly higher as compared with the manufacturer's reference (based on Japanese population) in all groups aged 40yr and older (p<0.05). A significant proportion of the subjects in the osteoporosis group was misclassified using the manufacturer's young adult reference as compared with using the local young adult reference (p<0.05). In conclusion, the overall normative value of SOS obtained was suitable for Chinese and Malay men in Malaysia, and a local reference value should be applied to avoid misclassification of subjects into the respective risk groups.
MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bone Diseases, Metabolic/diagnosis; Calcaneus/physiology*; Calcaneus/ultrasonography*; Health Status; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Osteoporosis/diagnosis; Reference Values; Young Adult
This review describes the morphological, phytochemical and pharmacological properties of Cinnamomum iners Reinw. ex Blume (Lauraceae). The plant grows wild in the lowland of Malaysia, India, Myanmar, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and Philippines. This plant is commonly used for its carminative, analgesic and antipyretic properties, for postpartum treatment, rheumatism and digestive ailments. This article enumerates an overview of phytochemical and pharmacological aspects that is useful to researchers for further exploration necessary for the development of this potential herb.
The potential for using agricultural and industrial by-products as substrate for the production of the edible mushroom, Auricularia polytricha, was evaluated using several formulations of selected palm oil wastes mixed with sawdust and further supplemented with selected nitrogen sources. The best substrate formulations were sawdust (SD) mixed with oil palm frond (OPF; 90:10) added with 15% spent grain (SG) and sawdust mixed with empty fruit bunch (EFB; 50:50) added with 10% spent grain (SG) with mycelia growth rate of 8 mm/day and 7 mm/day respectively. These two substrate formulations were then subjected to different moisture content levels (65%, 75% and 85%). Highest total fresh sporophore yield at 0.43% was obtained on SD+OPF (90:10)+15% SG at 85% moisture content, followed closely by SD+EFB (50:50)+10% SG with 0.40% total yield, also at 85% moisture content. Each of the substrate formulations at 85% moisture content gave the highest biological efficiency (BE) at 288.9% and 260.7%, respectively. Both yield and biological efficiency of A. polytricha on these two formulations were almost three times higher when compared to sawdust substrate alone, thus proving the potential of these formulations to improve yield of this mushroom.
In this work, we report on the isolation of a phenol-degrading Rhodococcus sp. with a high tolerance towards phenol. The isolate was identified as Rhodococcus sp. strain AQ5NOL 2, based on 16S rDNA analysis. The strain degraded phenol using the meta pathway, a trait shared by many phenol-degraders. In addition to phenol biodegradation, the strain was also capable of degrading diesel. Strain AQ5NOL 2 exhibited a broad optimum temperature for growth on phenol at between 20 °C and 35 °C. The best nitrogen sources were ammonium sulphate, glycine or phenylalanine, followed by proline, nitrate, leucine, and alanine (in decreasing efficiency). Strain AQ5NOL 2 showed a high tolerance and degradation capacity of phenol, for it was able to register growth in the presence of 2000 mg l(-1) phenol. The growth of this strain on phenol as sole carbon and energy source were modeled using Haldane kinetics with a maximal specific growth rate (μ(max)) of 0.1102 hr(-1), a half-saturation constant (K(s) ) of 99.03 mg l(-1) or 1.05 mmol l(-1), and a substrate inhibition constant (K(i)) of 354 mg l(-1) or 3.76 mmol l(-1). Aside from phenol, the strain could utilize diesel, 2,4-dinitrophenol and ρ-cresol as carbon sources for growth. Strain AQ5NOL 2 exhibited inhibition of phenol degradation by Zn(2+), Cu(2+), Cr(6+), Ag(+) and Hg(2+) at 1 mg l(-1).
RATIONALE, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: Existing literature suggests that doctors' poor adherence with guidelines is one of the major contributing factors to suboptimal control of hypertension. This study aims to evaluate doctors' adherence with Malaysian clinical practice guideline (CPG 2008) in a tertiary care hospital, and factors associated with guideline adherence and hypertension control.
METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Hospital Pulau Pinang, Penang, Malaysia. Prescriptions written by 26 enrolled doctors to 650 established hypertensive outpatients (25 prescriptions per enrolled doctor) were noted on visit 1 along with patients' demographic and clinical data. The noted prescriptions were classified either as compliant or non-compliant to CPG (2008). Five hundred twenty (80%) of the enrolled patients (20 patients per enrolled doctor) were followed for one more visit. Blood pressure (BP) noted on visit 2 was related to the prescription written on visit 1. SPSS 16 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) was used for data analysis.
RESULTS: Three hundred forty-nine (67.1%) patients received guidelines compliant pharmacotherapy. In multivariate analysis, hypertension clinic had significant negative association with guidelines adherence. Two hundred sixty-five patients (51%) were at goal BP on visit 2. In multivariate analysis, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and guidelines adherence had significant positive, while renal disease, diabetes mellitus and diabetic clinic had significant negative association with hypertension control.
CONCLUSIONS: An overall fair level of adherence with guidelines and better control of hypertension was observed. Guidelines compliant practices resulted in better control of hypertension. The gaps between what guidelines recommend and clinical practice were especially seen in the pharmacotherapy of uncomplicated hypertension and hypertension with diabetes mellitus and renal disease.
KEYWORDS: Malaysia; adherence; guidelines; hypertension
Study site: Cardiology, nephrology, diabetic and hypertension clinics, Hospital Pulau Pinang, Malaysia
MeSH terms: Adult; Aged; Antihypertensive Agents/classification; Antihypertensive Agents/therapeutic use*; Attitude of Health Personnel; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Hospitals, General; Humans; Hypertension/therapy*; Malaysia; Male; Middle Aged; Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; Surveys and Questionnaires; Treatment Outcome; Practice Guidelines as Topic/standards*; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory/statistics & numerical data; Quality Indicators, Health Care/standards; Quality Indicators, Health Care/statistics & numerical data
We report the first study on the occurrence of antibiotic-resistant enterococci in coastal bathing waters in Malaysia. One hundred and sixty-five enterococci isolates recovered from two popular recreational beaches in Malaysia were speciated and screened for antibiotic resistance to a total of eight antibiotics. Prevalence of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium was highest in both beaches. E. faecalis/E. faecium ratio was 0.384:1 and 0.375:1, respectively, for isolates from Port Dickson (PD) and Bagan Lalang (BL). Analysis of Fisher's exact test showed that association of prevalence of E. faecalis and E. faecium with considered locations was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). Chi-square test revealed significant differences (χ(2) = 82.630, df = 20, p < 0.001) in the frequency of occurrence of enterococci isolates from the considered sites. Resistance was highest to nalidixic acid (94.84 %) and least for chloramphenicol (8.38 %). One-way ANOVA using Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison test showed that resistance to ampicillin was higher in PD beach isolates than BL isolates and the difference was extremely statistically significant (p < 0.0001). Frequency of occurrence of multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) isolates were higher for PD beach water (64.29 %) as compared to BL beach water (13.51 %), while MAR indices ranged between 0.198 and 0.48. The results suggest that samples from Port Dickson may contain MAR bacteria and that this could be due to high-risk faecal contamination from sewage discharge pipes that drain into the sea water.
MeSH terms: Bathing Beaches*; Environmental Monitoring; Humans; Malaysia; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Recreation; Water Microbiology*; Water Pollution; Enterococcus/classification; Enterococcus/drug effects; Enterococcus/genetics*; Enterococcus/isolation & purification; Drug Resistance, Bacterial/genetics*
Interventional cardiologists (ICs) are exposed to X-rays and may be at risk to develop cataract earlier than common senile cataract. Excess risk of posterior subcapsular cataract, known as radiation-induced, was previously observed in samples of ICs from Malaysia, and Latin America. The O'CLOC study (Occupational Cataracts and Lens Opacities in interventional Cardiology) was performed to quantify the risk at the scale of France.
Standard X-ray images using conventional screen-film technique have a limited field of view that is insufficient to show the full bone structure of large hands on a single frame. To produce images containing the whole hand structure, digitized images from the X-ray films can be assembled using image stitching. This paper presents a new medical image stitching method that utilizes minimum average correlation energy filters to identify and merge pairs of hand X-ray medical images. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated in the experiments involving two databases which contain a total of 40 pairs of overlapping and non-overlapping hand images. The experimental results are compared with that of the normalized cross-correlation (NCC) method. It is found that the proposed method outperforms the NCC method in classifying and merging the overlapping and non-overlapping medical images. The efficacy of the proposed method is further indicated by its average execution time, which is about five times shorter than that of the other method.
Anaerobic treatment processes to remove organic matter from palm oil mill effluent (POME) have been used widely in Malaysia. Still the amounts of total organic and total mineral released from POME that may cause degradation of the receiving environment need to be verified. This paper proposes the use of the hydrodynamic equations to estimate performance of the cascaded anaerobic ponds (CAP) and to calculate amounts of total organic matter and total mineral released from POME. The CAP efficiencies to remove biochemical oxygen demands, chemical oxygen demands, total solids and volatile solids (VS) as high as 94.5, 93.6, 96.3 and 98.2 %, respectively, are estimated. The amounts of total organic matter and total mineral as high as 538 kg VS/day and 895 kg FS/day, respectively, released from POME to the receiving water are calculated. The implication of the proposed hydrodynamic equations contributes to more versatile environmental assessment techniques, sometimes replacing laboratory analysis.