Efficient solar driven photoelectrochemical (PEC) response by enhancing charge separation has attracted great interest in the hydrogen generation application. The formation of one-dimensional ZnO nanorod structure without bundling is essential for high efficiency in PEC response. In this present research work, ZnO nanorod with an average 500 nm in length and average diameter of about 75 nm was successfully formed via electrodeposition method in 0.05 mM ZnCl₂ and 0.1 M KCl electrolyte at 1 V for 60 min under 70 °C condition. Continuous efforts have been exerted to further improve the solar driven PEC response by incorporating an optimum content of TiO₂ into ZnO nanorod using dip-coating technique. It was found that 0.25 at % of TiO₂ loaded on ZnO nanorod film demonstrated a maximum photocurrent density of 19.78 mA/cm² (with V vs. Ag/AgCl) under UV illumination and 14.75 mA/cm² (with V vs. Ag/AgCl) under solar illumination with photoconversion efficiency ~2.9% (UV illumination) and ~4.3% (solar illumination). This performance was approximately 3-4 times higher than ZnO film itself. An enhancement of photocurrent density and photoconversion efficiency occurred due to the sufficient Ti element within TiO₂-ZnO nanorod film, which acted as an effective mediator to trap the photo-induced electrons and minimize the recombination of charge carriers. Besides, phenomenon of charge-separation effect at type-II band alignment of Zn and Ti could further enhance the charge carrier transportation during illumination.
Introduction Drug abuse has been a global threat not only in Malaysia but worldwide,
especially among adolescents. This is alarming issue had been a serious
public health problem worldwide. The aim of the study is to access the
knowledge and attitude on drug abuse among Pahang Matriculation students
in 2016.
Methods A cross¬-sectional study was conducted involving 217 matriculation
students. A self-determined questionnaire was distributed among the students
regarding knowledge and attitude about drugs.
Results The prevalence of good knowledge on drug abuse was (82.03%). The
prevalence of students’ attitude on drug abuse has higher number of good
attitude with the sum of 182 (83.9 %). Only gender showed a significant
association with students’ knowledge (P= 0.046).
Conclusion The knowledge, attitude, and practice of drug abuse among Pahang
Matriculation students are good.
Introduction The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Malaysia shows a
rising trend that influences the society in many respects. Country specific
evidence is vital for effective intervention. The aims of this study were to
identify the role of gender and urbanisation status on NCDs prevalence and
its effect on health care demand, specifically doctor visits among elderly in
Malaysia. We focused on two of the highest occurrence NCDs in the country
– diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
Methods A total of 1,414 respondents aged 60 years and above were selected using a
multistage sampling for face-to-face interview. We started the analysis with
descriptive analysis of the prevalence, taking the effect of gender and
urbanisation status of residing area. We extended the study with parametric
analysis to find the effect of these health problems on the likelihood of doctor
visits as it reflects the equity for access and utilisation issues.
Results Results showed that there were no significant difference of prevalence by
gender and urbanisation for hypertension and diabetes mellitus. By utilising
probit model, we found that those with diabetes mellitus or hypertension,
controlling for other variables, were more likely to utilise doctor services.
Conclusion This result implies that the prevalence of NCDs may further increase demand
for health care, especially in the state with a high proportion of older age
groups.
Introduction: Rheumatic Heart Disease (RHD) has been thought as a disease of poor socioeconomic status. It is more prevalent in underdeveloped and developing countries than in developed countries. It is also common among the population with multiple social issues such as overcrowded dwellings, undernutrition, poor sanitation and suboptimal medical care. This study was done to review the socio demographic profiles of RHD patients in Hospital Queen Elizabeth (HQE) II, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah.
Methods: A secondary data review of all patients registered under the RHD registry in HQE II for one- year starting from July 2013 to June 2014.
Results: 204 RHD patients were included. Nearly three quarter (74.0%) were female. The mean age was 40.43 (14.75) years old. 61.1% has completed secondary
education. 42.7% were housewives. The mean monthly income was RM 1363.83 (1297.05) which was categorized under the vulnerable income group. When they were categorized under the poverty level and the vulnerable income group, 42.6% and 76.5% of them fell under those categories respectively. The nearest health facilities to their houses were district hospitals (33.3%) with the mean distance of 9.17 km and health clinics (30.8%) with the mean distance of 4.27 km. Only 11.5% of them lived near the specialist hospitals with the mean distance of 21.32 km.
Conclusions: Results from this review suggested that majority of RHD patients were in the low socioeconomic group with less access to health care facilities with specialist care. They are the most vulnerable groups and need to be prioritized in the specialized care program. .
Introduction In Malaysia although mortality rate among women of reproductive ages has
reduced over the years, the reduction has been stagnant for the past ten years.
In order to achieve the 5th Millennium Development Goal, several measures
need to be taken including a proper implementation of pre-pregnancy
services in this country. This study explores the awareness, intention and
usage of pre-pregnancy care (PPC) services and its determinant among
women of reproductive ages in Kedah, Malaysia.
Methods This is a qualitative study, which consisted of a focus group discussion
(FGD) among women in the ages of 18 to 45 years old from all ethnic groups
who attended four government clinics in the state of Kedah. The mothers
were chosen through purposive sampling from twelve districts that were
selected through a multistage random sampling. A semi-structured
questionnaire was utilized during the FGD. The results from the FGD were
recorded verbatim and thematic analysis was finalized once saturation of
information from respondents was achieved.
Results These are two themes was identified, namely personal reasons and reasons of
service and there are several subthemes under two main themes. Under the
Personal reason themes, the subthemes including awareness and intention to
used the services, knowledge, perception, social support and history of
medical illness. While under pre-pregnancy care services themes, the
subthemes including the promotion of the services, the communication
relationship with the health staff, the waiting time and also the accessibility
of the service.
Conclusions As a conclusion, there is still part of society who was unaware of prepregnancy
services and its importance in reducing maternal mortality rate as
well as producing good pregnancy outcome. Information and knowledge on
pre-pregnancy care services should be disseminated among community
members through various means including roadshows and pre wedding
workshops.
MeSH terms: Ethnic Groups; Female; Goals; Government; Humans; Malaysia; Maternal Mortality; Mothers; Perception; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome; Prenatal Care; Surveys and Questionnaires; Social Support; Focus Groups; Intention; Qualitative Research
The role and function of the granular life cycle stage in Blastocystis sp, remains uncertain despite suggestions being made that the granules are metabolic, reproductive and lipid in nature. This present study aims to understand granular formation by triggering apoptosis in Blastocystis sp. by treating them with metronidazole (MTZ). Blastocystis sp.cultures of 4 sub-types namely 1, 2, 3 and 5 when treated with 0.01 and 0.0001 mg/ml of metronidazole (MTZ) respectively showed many of the parasites to be both viable and apoptotic (VA). Treated subtype 3 isolates exhibited the highest number of granular forms i.e. 88% (p<0.001) (0.0001 mg/ml) and 69% (p<0.01) (0.01 mg/ml) respectively at the 72 h in in vitro culture compared to other subtypes. These VA forms showed distinct granules using acridine orange (AO) and 4',6-diamino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining with a mean per cell ranging from 5 in ST 5 to as high as 16 in ST 3. These forms showed intact mitochondria in both viable apoptotic (VA) and viable non-apoptotic (VNA) cells with a pattern of accumulation of lipid droplets corresponding to viable cells. Granular VA forms looked ultra-structurally different with prominent presence of mitochondria-like organelle (MLO) and a changed mitochondrial trans-membrane potential with thicker membrane and a highly convoluted inner membrane than the less dense non-viable apoptotic (NVA) cells. This suggests that granular formation during apoptosis is a self-regulatory mechanism to produce higher number of viable cells in response to treatment. This study directs the need to search novel chemotherapeutic approaches by incorporating these findings when developing drugs against the emerging Blastocystis sp. infections.
Normally endometrial carcinoma presents with post-menopausal bleeding in the majority of cases. It
rarely presents with haematometra. If it does, it rarely reaches the term pregnant uterus size. This case
report is a rare presentation of endometrial carcinoma which was at first diagnosed as a huge ovarian
mass later found out to be haematometra intraoperatively. There was a discordant finding between the
endometrial invasions with distant metastasis (Local invasion of stage 1A with lung metastasis which
should be stage 4B). It is an uncommon combined occurrence but at least we learnt there can be possible
different presentation for endometrial cancer. It further proved that almost all of haematometra can turn
out to be associated with endometrial carcinoma.
Dengue is one of the commonest viral diseases of Africa and tropical Asia. This disease is characterized by headache, fever, generalized body pain, severe malaise and back pain. The uncomplicated Dengue which is also named the classical dengue fever usually begins 3-8 days after biting of an infected mosquito. This is a cross sectional study on clinical presentation of Dengue in a general hospital in Bangladesh. The total number of patients was 198. The study period was 6 months (July 2004 to December 2004). All the patients who were admitted in the ‘Dengue ward’ and diagnosed as Dengue by serological test were included in this study. The aim of this study was to evaluate the common clinical presentations of Dengue in a General hospital in Bangladesh. The aim and objective was to compare the clinical presentations of Dengue in Bangladesh patients with those of other international studies. Most of the patients were male (3.7 :1) in sex and young adult(s) in age (80.3%). Fever and severe backache were the commonest clinical features. Nearly two-third (74%) patients presented with hemorrhagic features. Gum bleeding (20.2%) was the commonest bleeding feature. The result of this study showed a similarity with that of other international studies.
The Emergency Department (ED) provides treatment for acutely ill patients in need of urgent medical attention. Despite the availability of the primary care unit ‘Klinik Kesihatan’, where non urgent patients should be treated, Malaysia’s public hospitals still need to deal with overcrowding of non-urgent patients in ED. The main aim of the study was to assess the willingness of non-urgent patients to be redirected to Klinik Kesihatan. This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Hospital Tuaran Emergency Department, Sabah. Non-urgent patients were interviewed using a questionnaire, to find out the purpose of their visit to Emergency Department. A total of 318 non-urgent patients out of 457 patients were interviewed during the study duration. 41 respondents (12.9%) were willing to be redirected towards a Klinik Kesihatan. No associated factors were found when compared with the unwilling to be redirected group. Among 277 respondents who rejected redirection to Klinik Kesihatan, 70.4% agreed to pay a surcharge to be treated in the Emergency Department and there was no association found with the employment status (p= 0.391). Most patients were not willing to accept redirection to a Klinik Kesihatan and would prefer to visit the Emergency Department despite knowing that their condition or illness is one that does not require emergency treatment. Social media, advertisements and pamphlets must be made available to educate patients on the proper use of the Emergency Department.
MeSH terms: Ambulatory Care Facilities; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emergency Service, Hospital; Hospitals, District; Humans; Malaysia; Referral and Consultation
Antenatal (AN) care is vital for all pregnant women and for reduction of maternal mortality and morbidity. AN care knowledge and specific AN care practices are some of the crucial components of what determines effective AN care. In developing nations, the health of pregnant women can be even more sensitive to these factors. Objectives of this study was to assess the antenatal (AN) care practice and pregnancy outcome of ever-married women aged 18 to 49 years old having at least one pregnancy experience ,residing in kampongs of Sikuati area, Kudat between March to December 2015. Cross–sectional descriptive study, non-probability convenient sampling method was used and 150 eligible participants were interviewed through face to face by trained interviewers using a semi-structured questionnaire and their knowledge of AN care, their AN care practices and outcomes and complications of their pregnancies were recorded. 99% of all the women received AN care, and 64% of the women received essential AN care practice (AN visit of minimum 4 times). The study revealed that overall knowledge amongst the women with good knowledge was 48% and low knowledge was 52%. Despite this, it was found that low knowledge of AN care was associated with essential AN care practice. Additionally, AN care practices, assessed through timing of first AN care visit and frequency of visits, was not significantly associated with pregnancy complications. Despite these results, outcomes were good and all complications were properly and successfully addressed. This may reflect the effectiveness of current programs in place promoting importance of AN care and delivery practices. Maintenance of current programs with targeted interventions to address low knowledge level and the low level of compliance with essential AN care completed are recommended..
Antimicrobial activity of ethanolic extract of Aloe vera were observed against Staphylococcus
aureus, Staphylococcus pyogenes, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, Streptococcus pneumoniae
and Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae . Aloe vera leaf gel
was used for ethanolic extraction.Zones of inhibition in millimeter was used to measure the
antimicrobial effect. Antimicrobial susceptibility test showed that ethanolic extract has growth
inhibitory effects against the tested pathogens. Ethanolic extract of Aloe vera has growth
inhibitory effects against tested pathogen seen by antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
Gurayat General Hospital is a 350 bed secondary referral hospital of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This is one of the busiest hospitals in Al-Jouf region. Trauma is very common in this city and the ER department is mostly overwhelmed by Neurosurgical emergency patients. The aim the study was to evaluate the age sex,
types of injuries and causes of injuries of the neurosurgical emergency patients. This was a cross-sectional descriptive observational study. Ethical approval was achieved from proper authority. Good Clinical Practice (GCP) ICH E6 protocol was followed in order to ensure safety and efficacy. Data was collected from the log book of the ER department. Data were transferred to a spreadsheet to make a master sheet. Valuables of individual columns were analyzed and tabulated. Comparison was performed between the result of this study and other international studies. About 7.3% of all ER admissions were for the Neurosurgical cases. Among the Neurosurgical cases (n=3588) there was clear predominance of male
gender (81%). Majority (45%) of the Neurosurgical patients were from children and teen age group. Nearly 50% of the patients reported to ER with the history of Road Traffic Accident (RTA). Head injury was the commonest (61%) type of injury. Approximately 45% patients were admitted in to general ward whereas 42% patients were discharged from ER after providing primary treatment. When the results of this study were compared to the results of the other international studies fair similarities were observed.
MeSH terms: Cross-Sectional Studies; Emergencies*; Hospitals; Humans; Saudi Arabia*
Ocular trauma is a significant health problem in paediatric age group. This study is to evaluate the
demographics, etiology, management and visual outcome of paediatric ocular trauma in Sabah.
This is a retrospective review of all ocular trauma occurring in the paediatric age group from age
12 years old and below from January to December 2014 at Hospital Wanita Dan Kanak-Kanak,
Sabah. Medical records were reviewed and the data was examined based on Birmingham Eye
Trauma Terminology (BETT) system. Incomplete case notes were excluded from the study. A total
of 37 cases were accumulated during the study period. All the paediatric ocular trauma cases were
admitted and accounted for 13.4% of the total paediatric eye ward admission. However, 4 cases
were excluded from the study as the medical records were incomplete. There were 26(78.8%) males
while 7(21.2%) female children with a ratio male: female of 3.7: 1. There were 31(93.9%) unilateral
ocular injury cases while only 2(6.1%) bilateral injury caused by chemical injury. The most
common type of ocular trauma was closed globe injury totaling 24 (72.7%) cases. Trauma caused
by blunt object contributed to the highest mode of injury 15 (45.5%) of cases. Open globe injuries
which had poor visual outcome accounted for 9 (27.3%) cases. Most of patients required surgical
treatment 21(63.6%) while 12(36.4%) cases treated non-surgically. In conclusion, ocular trauma
was more common in male and pre-school age group. The main aetiology was blunt injury. Most
of the cases treated surgically. Poorer visual outcome was observed in open globe injury.
Cigarette smoking is considered as the symbol of adulthood and as a friend during stress and loneliness. The developing countries in South Asia where the largest segment of the population is comprised of adolescents are more susceptible to smoking epidemic and its consequences. A cross sectional survey among 304 randomly selected medical students was carried out to determine their smoking habit of a selected medical college in Dhaka, from 1st October to 31st December 2014. The respondents were from 16 to 20 years of age, with mean (±SD) of 16.8 (±1.9) years. Among them (including 28 girl students), 96(31.5%) were non-smokers. The remaining 208(68.4%) were smokers, among them 43(20.6%) were regular smokers, and 165(79.3%) were occasional smokers. All 28 female students were non-smokers. Regarding duration of smoking, 42(20.2%) respondents smoked for less than 6 months, 64(30.8%) for 6 months to 1 year, 88(42.3%) for 1 to 4 years, 11(5.3%) for 5 to 10 years and a least 3(1.4%) smoked for more than 10 years. Thirty six percent of current smokers smoked more than 10 sticks per day compared
with thirty percent who smoked 6 to 10 a day. Significantly more users knew that it causes tuberculosis, heart attack, cancer and development of hypertension. Overall, students’ major sources of information were doctors (69.7%), medias (47.7%), parents (9.2%) and friends (3.3%). As the prevalence of smoking among medical students was found very high hence, the multi-pronged intervention strategy is needed to tackle the problem. Anti-tobacco education and awareness should be adopted in the curriculum of schools and colleges. All forms of tobacco advertising and promotional activities should be banned, and parents should be encouraged to adopt more responsible attitudes toward smoking in the home.
Out of bacteria which cause food –borne infections, enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) is
well known to be pathogen causing serious outbreaks. The first outbreak of EHEC infection occurred
in 1982 was due to ingestion of hamburger at restaurant. A rare Escherichia coli serotype, 0157:H7
was isolated at that time and the following outbreaks were mostly due to this serotype. However, O26,
O111 and O104 were also responsible for EHEC outbreaks. Enterohemorrhagic E. coli is an important
food and water-borne pathogen. Verotoxins (VTs) produced by this pathogen causes painful
hemorrhagic colitis along with major complications of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The
morbidity and significantly high mortality and enormous economic loss are problematic to the health
care administrators and EHEC infection is a serious public health issue. Another factor which makes
it high transmissibility is the low infectious dose. The German O104:H4 epidemic was caused by the
pathogen carrying a combination of virulence genes derived from two well-known pathogens, EHEC
and enteroaggregative E. coli (EAEC). There is a possibility that two mobile DNA elements can occur
again in this versatile pathogen. In this article, some aspects of EHEC infections which were
established but not well known to the medical personals were explained to get understanding of why
this infection should not be overlooked and should be under surveillance.
Parasitic worm infections, particularly by soil-transmitted helminths (STHs), are considered a public
health concern affecting millions of children in developing countries around the world. In Malaysia,
various prevalence studies have been carried out since 1970s among children from diverse population
ranging from the remote aboriginal communities in the Peninsular Malaysia to the rural interior tribes of
Sarawak. However, the number of worm infection studies in Malaysia is still limited particularly in East
Malaysia but overall, more studies should be conducted presently compared to 20 years ago. Focusing
mainly on STHs, we reviewed the prevalence and intensity of worm infection among children between
East Malaysia and West Malaysia, particularly from rural and urban settings.
Slum children are at risk for serious mental health problems because of their economic and social
environments. Little is known about their mental health. This cross sectional study was carried out to
know the extent of mental health problems among slum-dweller children in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. One
hundred and twenty students of four different primary schools were selected. In the first stage of the study,
socio-demographic data as well as information about mental health problems were collected through
socio-demographic questionnaire and validated Bengali version of Rutter B2 scale respectively, from the
teachers of the schools. In the second stage, all the students were assessed again personally by the both
authors with the help of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders- fourth edition (DSMIV).
High prevalence of mental health problems was found among slum children (70.8%). Emotional,
conduct and undifferentiated disorders were detected in 14.17%, 45.83% and 10.83%, respectively.
Conduct disorder was 3.23 times more prevalent in the children than was emotional disorder. It was more
prevalent in boys than in girls (57.90% vs 34.90%). Significant relationships were found among gender
and emotional disorder (p < 0.030), father’s employment status and undifferentiated disorder (p < 0.010),
substance abuse by father and child’s emotional disorder(p
Toxigenic strains of Vibrio cholerae serogroup O1 and O139 are causative agents of deadly
diarrheal disease named cholera. Vibrio cholerae O1 is traditionally divided into two
biotypes, classical and El Tor, which are different in phenotypic as well as genotypic traits.
Since 1961, classical strains of Vibrio cholerae O1 serogroup has become obsolete as the
cause of epidemic and pandemic cholera and replaced by El Tor strains. Since 2002, atypical
O1 El Tor strains possessing the traits of classical strains have been increasingly recognized
as the cause of cholera in many countries across the world. This article focuses on the genetic
traits of O1 classical and El Tor strains. Furthermore, an overview of emergence of atypical
O1 El Tor strains and their genetic traits is presented.
Diversity of forensically important insects were documented from two experiments using a monkey
(long-tailed macaque, Macacafascicularis Raffles) and a pig (Susscrofa L.) carcasses. The experiments
were conducted in shrub area of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Kota Kinabalu and in rural area of
Menggatal district, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah respectively. Records were made daily on insects visiting the
carcasses, the environmental temperatures and relative humidity.Blowflies, Chysomyamegacephala
(Fabricius), Chrysomyarufifacies (Macquart) and Sarcophagabrevicornis(Ho) were the earliest species
to be recorded in both studies. Other species of flies recorded from both
carcasesincludeLuciliacuprina(Wiedemann),Hydroteaspinigera(Stein), Muscadomestica(Linnaeus)
and Fannia spp. Additional species observed on pig carcasswere Hypopygiopsisviolacea(Macquart),
Stomorhina sp.(Rondani) and beetles,Diamesusosculans(Vigors) (Coleptera: Silphidae). Information
from this study provides important base data on the local carrion fauna which help to improve the post
mortem interval determination in local forensic cases.
In this study parallel scales were constructed to use to measure the levels of HIV-related stigma towards people living with HIV (PLHIV) in populations with different backgrounds in Sabah. The study also explored the components of stigma within the population. We found that there were three principle components of HIV related stigma: “Interpersonal distancing,” “Shame and blame,” and “Positive opinions about PLHIV”. The scales constructed showed adequate internal consistency (Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.69 to 0.85) in all samples. The medical students and people with more knowledge about HIV had significantly lower levels of all three factors of personal stigma. Regarding HIV-related knowledge, the non-medical university students and the rural community group were found to have poor knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention. This scale can be used by researchers or public health officials who wish to study HIV related stigma or to evaluate the impact of stigma interventions in the local context.
Study site: Universiti Malaysia Sabah; Rural Medical Education Centre, Sikuati, Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia
MeSH terms: Adult; Borneo; Humans; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Malaysia; Students, Medical; HIV Infections*; Social Stigma*