The livestock industry has been relying merely on chemically synthesized antibiotic for eye infections as sprays and ointment. A natural remedy from Curcuma spp. has been tested for efficacy in curing keratoconjunctivitis and uveitis. A severe case of uveitis has been cured within 7 days, with impaired vision restored. These results are observations of a preliminary study conducted in a goat with uveitis.
This report describes the complications of obstructive urolithiasis in the lower urinary tract causing urinary bladder rupture in a Jamnapari buck. A 3-year-old Jamnapari buck was presented with the complaint of stranguria, subsequent anuria and a progressively distended abdomen for the past three days. Upon physical examination, body temperature, pulse rate and respiration rate were increased. Uroliths could be felt within the urethra in the ventral abdomen region. A urolith was removed via amputationof the urethral process, but the patency of the urethra could not be established. Transabdominal ultrasound revealed anechoic areas around the bladder, and the bladder was relatively small for a urinary obstructed goat. The bladder wall was thickened and shadow of sludge was observed within the bladder. Abdominocentesis was done and fluid analysis revealed that it was a haemorrhagic effusion. Blood results revealed renal disease, liver disease, muscle injury and haemoconcentration. Retrograde cystourethrogram revealed no urolithswithinthe urethra but there was leakage of the contrast agent from the bladder into the peritoneal cavity. The final diagnosis was complete blockage of the lower urinary tract leading to bladder rupture. Exploratory laparotomy was done and emergency cystorraphy was planned. Due to the poor condition of the urinary bladder with presence of septic peritonitis, the goat was euthanised.
Edible bird’s nest (EBN) is an emergent industry in Malaysia. In 2016, EBN worth RM 1.2 billion with the total production of 228-tonne metrics. EBN is salivary secretion of swiftlets (Aerodramus spp.) that contained various nutritive values. Back in Tang Dynasty, it had been recognized as a natural product with broad medicinal effects. Recently, various scientific studies have been done to elucidate the medicinal properties of this precious food. For the past 10 years, antiviral effects of EBN had been explained via in-vitro and in-vivo well-designed researches, in which generally EBN is exerting a good alternative food for prophylactic and therapeutic agent against Influenza A virus infection in the laboratory setting. The limited study had been done to identify the bioactive ingredient of EBN that have antiviral properties. Nevertheless, based on the previous nutritional studies, some contents of EBN have been hypothesised to serve as an antiviral agent, and comprehensive study is required to explicate those claimed. The aim of this paper is to review on the recent discovery pertaining to the potential antiviral effect of EBN in the cell culture and animal model studies.
Avian polyomavirus disease is among the most common viral diseases of domesticated exotic birds as such in psittacine families. Caused by avian polyomavirus (APV) which possess a circular, double-stranded DNA which encodes for major structural virus protein 1 (VP1) and minor structural proteins VP2, VP3 and VP4, the disease is also known as Budgerigar fledgling disease polyomavirus (BFPyV), Papovavirus, and Psittacine polyomavirus. Infections from APV may lead to cutaneous haemorrhage, abdominal distension, feather abnormalities and even death. The APV virus has a broad avian host range and is known to cause acute chronic disease in several psittacine birds such as parrot, cockatoo, macaw, and budgerigar. The current status of APV epidemiology globally has not been fully recorded. Only the studies of the virus and disease caused within several countries are used as references, and few were done together with detection of beak and feather disease virus. Despite the common occurrence of APV among bird breeders in Malaysia, a very limited study has been done to evaluate the prevalence status of APV in Malaysia. In this review, we wish to disseminate knowledge, particularly to pet owners and bird breeders, on APV characterisations, its updated occurrence worldwide and prevention strategies. This information may be useful to trigger in depth study on the epidemiology of disease and better management practises among breeders.
Cattle is one of an important maintenance hosts involved in the transmission of leptospirosis. Serological method is always implemented to detect current or past leptospiral infection in cattle. The results can be obtained immediately compared to isolation method which need more longer time. An in-house IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using heat-killed whole cells of local isolate Leptospira kmetyi serovar malaysia strain Bejo-Iso9 (ELISABejo-Iso9) was developed in this study. The perfomance of ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 was compared with in-house IgGELISA using reference strain 117123 (hardjo bovis) antigen (ELISA-117123) and CUSABIO® commercial ELISA. It was found that, the performance of ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 was promising to compete with commercial ELISA. The specificity and sensitivity was 98.75% and 53.75%, respectively. The sensitivity of ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 was lower than commercial ELISA. However, the specificity of ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 was higher than commercial ELISA. Due to economically and availability factors, this finding suggested that the ELISA-Bejo-Iso9 can be used as an alternatif method for serological diagnosis of leptospirosis in cattle.
Leptospirosis is re-emerging in Malaysia and many other tropical countries. Its infection of human and animal’s worldwide. The study was carried out to identify predominate Leptospira serovars within rat populations in Kuala Lumpur (KL) by microscopic agglutination test (MAT). As well to investigate the frequency of infection by polymerase chain reaction assays (PCR). The isolated cultures that obtained from culturing kidney tissue of 112 trapped rats from four sites in KL, were identified by MAT using panel of 16 standard hyper immune anti-sera. Besides, identification of Leptospira strains by PCR amplification with G1/G2 and ompL1 Borgpetersenii genes. Results from typing by MAT revealed that 8/57 (7.1%) of cultured isolates reacted against; hyper-immune antisera of serogroup Javanica and 13/57 (22.8%) against serogroup Bataviae. Whereas, the rest of isolates recorded across reactivity 1/20 against serogroups; Icterohaemorrhagiae 2/57, Canicola 1/57, Australis 2/57. From PCR-G1/G2; 50/112 (50.9%) cultures were positive included (40/57 cultures positive to isolation and 10/55 cultures negative to isolation). While, from PCR-ompL1 Borgpetersenii gene; 21/112 (18.7%) cultures positive included (17/57 cultures positive to isolation and 4/55 cultures were negative to isolation). It is obvious from this study that serogroups Javanica and Bataviae were the predominant among rat populations in KL. Also it revealed the high frequency of pathogenic strains among rat populations and their potential risk of humans and animals contracting infection.
An innovative assembly to maintain isoflurane anaesthesia in rats is described. This assembly was used successfully in laboratory rats for dental procedures that may last as long as sixty minutes. Repeated exposures to isoflurane anaesthesia, of up to eight times within a 30-day study period in healthy laboratory rats did not result in any observable adverse-effects.
A comparative study of nutrient composition and in vitro ruminal degradability of selected local plants, Macaranga sp.and Mallotus sp.was carried out and Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum) was used as control.The results obtained from proximate analysis revealed that there were significant difference (P
An 11-year-old intact male Shih Tzu dog was referred to the University Veterinary Hospital (UVH) with history of coughing and laboured breathing. Auscultation revealed that the dog had a left systolic heart murmur grade V/VI at the base of the heart. Radiography showed findings of cardiomegaly and pulmonary oedema. Echocardiography findings revealed that dog has a myxomatous mitral valve disease. The mitral valve was severely thickened and prolapsed into the left atrium. Congestive heart failure (CHF) was treated with an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and diuretic. An anti-mucolytic agent was prescribed as a symptomatic treatmentfor the coughing that could be due to mild bronchitis. Dog did not response well with treatment as the frequency of cough was not reduced and the duration was longer each time. Pimobendan was then added on to the initial treatment and there was a tremendous improvement seen from the patient after that. Episodes of productive cough were noticed greatly reduced and dog was much more active at home post two weeks of ACE inhibitor, diuretic and dual-acting inodilator. We successfully maintained the dog with minimal coughing episodes. However, the prognosis is moderate to poor in this case due to possibilities of refraction towards medications.
A case report of pneumonia and egg retention in a river terrapin was presented in this paper. A 20 year-old river terrapin (Batagur baska) was presented with complaint of coughing with blood discharge, wheezing breathing and inappetance. Plain radiograph showed both right and left lung lobes were consolidated due to pneumonia 90% and 70%, respectively. Tentative diagnosis of pneumonia due to opportunistic bacterial infection of Chromobacterium sp. and Plesiomonas shigelloides was made in this case based on bacterial isolation and response to antibiotic and antiinflammatory drugs. Enrofloxacin and flunixin meglumine were administered from Day-1 to -5. Enrofloxacin was then changed to gentamicin since it showed resistance in those bacteria. No clinical changes were observed. Gentamicin was given at rate 2.5 mg/kg once a week intramuscularly and prednisolone 2 mg/kg once on Day-6 given intramuscularly, showed a response on Day-10 of hospitalisation with the evidence of reduction in lung consolidation by almost 90% clear of lung lobes from pneumonia. Sixteen thin-shelled eggs were also observed in the coelomic cavity on radiographic images. Active laying season, prolonged laying period and the history of laying only two eggs a week before presenting to hospital gives a highly suggestive diagnosis of egg retention syndrome. To encourage laying, the terrapin was given a daily parenteral calcium supplement, oxytocin 5 IU/kg intramuscularly (Day-10 hospitalisation) and was released for sunbath and to sand twice daily. The eggs were completely laid on Day-11 and the overall terrapin condition was greatly improved 2 weeks post-hospitalisation.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive joint disease leading to the destruction of joint structures, which in turn causes severe and chronic pain to the patient. Since OA is a troubling and disruptive disease, numerous researches have been done into diagnosing this disease, both in the early and the late stages of the disease. Diagnostic modalities such as radiography, computed-tomography (CT), micro-computed tomography (µ-CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have been used in OA research. Not only that, more advance measurements and criteria have been established to standardize OA research. Currently, the OA research has been delving into proteomic studies to search for potential disease biomarkers. Biomarkers such as urinary C-terminal telopeptide of collagen type 2 (uCTX-II) and cartilage oligometric protein (COMP) have shown potential to be both diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. For this review paper, the developments in diagnostic modalities are discussed focusing more on proteomic and biomarker studies.
Grouper Iriovirus (GIV) is one of the most devastating viral diseases of marine and cultured groupers worldwide. In the current study, 5 presumptive Malaysian GIV isolates were characterised through PCR amplification of the major capsid protein (MCP) gene and phylogenetic analysis of the sequences. The sequences from the five GIV isolates showed 100% homology with each other and a close relationship with grouper iridovirus isolate (GIV_Tn_352), which was clustered in group 1 together with King grouper iridovirus isolate (KGIV_Cy_346), Singapore grouper iridovirus (SGIV), and Crimson snapper iridovirus isolate (CSIV). The phylogenetic tree also showed different degree of relatedness with other Ranavirus strains which were obtained from the blast of GIV MCP gene in the NCBI database. This study confirmed the GIV isolates from Malaysia are related to other isolates that were reported previously.
Brick-and-mortar business activities are gradually being replaced by e-commerce worldwide. The number
of transactions and revenue should be correspondingly higher but due to the increase in the number of
fraudulent cases, especially unauthorised use of credit cards, the record remains unbreakable. The use
of biometrics is an optimal solution to safeguard the online user’s identity integrity. However, the best
practicable way onimplementing biometrics with e-commerce is still in progress. The online user’s identity
integrity is important because a secure transaction that increases user confidence will directly encourage
more business. Motivated by the idea “Attack is the best form of defence”, hackers and imposters should
be misled, traced and penalised accordingly in a proactive approach. In this paper, an intelligent stateof-the-art
identity integrity safeguard framework encompassing fingerprint technology, a hiddenrisk
analysis agent mechanism and real-time reporting is proposed. Since e-commerce is ubiquitous, it is
possible to determine online users’ attitudes from different countries which enables collaboration with a
French research unit. The findings would be significant to cyberlaw makers and e-commerce merchants
to promote a secured e-commerce application from the online user’s perspective and consequently
extend the findings to the m-commerce platform.
The global production of aviation fuel, particularly Kerosene Jet A-1, has a market presence of 302.8
billionlitres per year, of which Malaysia consumes up to 3 billion litres per year. The pressure from
increasing fuel demand and commitment to reducing CO2 emissions has led to the use of biofuels as
possible alternatives. Malaysia possesses a relative abundance of lignocellulosic biomass residues and
thus, has much potential in biofuel development. In this work, Geospatial Information System analysis
was used to obtain the geo-location biomass supply cost and was then simulated with non-linear cost
estimation modeling for biorefinery production. The spatial analysis suggested that paddy and oil palm
trunk could offer significant feedstock volumes at reasonable costs while biomass to fuel conversion
pathways comparison showed that an “alcohol to jet” route was more feasible among all the alternatives.
The simulation results indicated that the production cost of a bioethanol refinery had high variability
due to the geographical heterogeneity of the lignocellulosic biomass resources. At the optimal location
of paddy residues, utilising rice stalks was substantially cost-efficient compared to other biomass. The
lowest range of relative production cost was achieved at RM359.11 – RM726.41/million tonnes per
annum at an input capacity of 1.28 – 2.63 million tonnes. Conversely, using oil palm trunks in the same
location gave a much more expensive relative production cost of RM472.23 – RM986.63/million tonnes
yearly with only 0.40 – 1.03 million tonnes of input capacity. This model was able to suggest location
strategies and cost estimations for biorefineries in Peninsular Malaysia. It is hence, useful as a decision
and policy making tool for the implementation of biorefineries for aviation uses.
Background: Children living in orphanages tend to be neglected and may be malnourished. This study assessed the socio-economic background and nutritional status of children living in an orphanage in Dhaka city, Bangladesh.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among the children in Sir Salimullah Muslim Orphanage, Dhaka from January to November 2014. Systematic sampling was adopted to collect data from 232 children using a semi-structured questionnaire. Anthropometric measurements of the children were taken and the WHO reference growth chart was used to determine the children’s nutritional status. Weight-for-age was categorised by mild, moderate and severe malnutrition. The Pearson Chi-square test was performed to determine the association between the extent of malnutrition and socio-demographic characteristics of the children.
Results: The majority of the children (60.3%) in the orphanage were malnourished, with mild, moderate and severe malnourished being 43.1%, 16.8% and 0.4%, respectively. Malnutrition was higher among the boys than girls in the age group of 15-18 years. The orphans suffered significantly (P
Introduction: Osteoporosis is a major health problem worldwide. In Asia, few studies have measured knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of osteoporosis. This study aimed to determine the KAP of osteoporosis, including the main factors influencing attitude towards osteoporosis, and the relationship between osteoporosis knowledge, attitude, and practices among adults in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study via a self-administrated KAP questionnaire was carried out among 232 respondents aged 21 to 50 years in Kuala Lumpur. Random sampling was applied to select five districts in Kuala Lumpur, while convenient sampling was used for recruitment of apparently healthy subjects from community and institutional settings. The data were analysed using Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-Square, Spearman Correlation and multiple logistic regression tests.
Results: The findings indicate a moderate level of knowledge and attitude towards osteoporosis prevention with median scores of 51.6% and 68.6%, respectively. Osteoporosis knowledge varied significantly with gender, educational level and household income (p<0.05). Furthermore, attitude was significantly different in relation to educational level and household income. Based on the multiple logistic regression test, relatives and friends appeared to be the most significant factor influencing attitude (R=0.319, p<0.0001). Poor dietary and lifestyles practices were indicated, and a significant relationship was found between practice of weight-bearing activities and educational level (p<0.05). A significant correlation was found (ρ=0.348, p<0.0001) between knowledge and attitude, while no relationship was noted between knowledge and practice of weight-bearing activities or attitude and practice of weight-bearing activities.
Conclusion: Knowledge played a significant role in affecting attitudes towards osteoporosis. However, understanding of osteoporosis is still at a moderate level. Friends and family were the most influential factor.
Key words: Adults, attitude, knowledge, osteoporosis, practices
Introduction: Appropriate oral health knowledge is essential to enable parents to be responsible for the oral health care of their children especially those with special needs. This study aimed to determine the oral health knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of parents and cariogenic food intake of their non-syndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate children (NSCLP) compared to non-cleft children.
Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was conducted on randomly selected parents with children aged 1 to 6 years at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia and Kota Bharu Dental Clinic. A face-to-face interview using a validated questionnaire on oral health KAP and cariogenic food intake of their children was done. Data were analysed by using IBM SPSS version 22.0.
Results: Sixty-four Malay parents with NSCLP (n=33) and non-cleft (n=31) children were recruited. The mean (SD) percentage score of oral health knowledge of parents in both groups (NSCLP and non-cleft) was fair, 59.5%(11.85) and 62.0%(15.00), P=0.4722; oral health attitude was good, 78.0% (9.30) and 80.2% (15.40), P=0.504; but oral health practice was poor 33.8% (5.94) and 36.1 (8.44), P=0.220. The cariogenic food frequency score was significantly higher in noncleft children; 40.2(10.32) compared to NSCLP children, 34.8(9.46), P=0.032.
Conclusions: Parents of both groups had fair knowledge and good attitude but poor oral health practice. Cariogenic foods were consumed more by the non-cleft children. Oral health awareness among the parents needs to be strengthened towards good oral health attitude and practice and non-cariogenic food choices for the betterment of oral health status of their children.
MeSH terms: Attitude to Health; Child; Cleft Lip; Cleft Palate; Cross-Sectional Studies; Dental Clinics; Food Preferences; Health Status; Humans; Malaysia; Oral Health; Parents; Surveys and Questionnaires
Introduction: Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) is becoming increasingly popular among cancer patients worldwide. While health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in relation to cancer outcomes has attracted global attention, there are few studies on CHM use and HRQoL among cancer patients in Malaysia. This study attempted to determine the association between use of CHM, including the types, reasons, and beliefs, and HRQoL among Malaysian cancer patients.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 120 cancer patients (60 male and 60 female) recruited from government oncology clinics in Johor state. A purposive non-probability sampling was applied to recruit respondents.
Results: Use of CHM was reported by about half of the patients (49.2%). Common types of CHM used included Chinese herbal extracts (27.5%), Sabah snake grass (12.2%), and ginger (11.5%). The median score for overall belief in CHM significantly differed between
CHM users (71.7%) and non-users (65.0%) (p<0.001). The HRQoL was generally reported as ‘good’ with high scores for overall functioning scales and low scores for symptom scales. However, no significant difference in HRQoL between CHM users and non-users was noted. ‘Social Functioning’ scores between both groups showed a significant difference (p < 0.001) with respect to sex, with females scoring higher than males. No significant association was noted between CHM use and socio-demographic characteristics except for sex.
Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of self-prescription of CHM among the cancer patients studied. Nonetheless use of CHM did not show any significant difference in terms of quality of life among CHM users.
Study site: Oncology clinics, Hospital Sultan Ismail (Johor Bahru) and Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail (Batu Pahat), Johor, Malaysia
MeSH terms: Antiemetics; Attention; Cross-Sectional Studies; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Female; Poaceae; Hospitals; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Medicine, Chinese Traditional; Neoplasms; Oils, Volatile; Outpatient Clinics, Hospital; Quality of Life; Surveys and Questionnaires; Snakes; Ginger
Introduction: This study aimed to (i) determine rapid weight loss (RWL) practices among Malaysian elite combat sports athletes and (ii) examine the relationship between the characteristics of athletes, self-reported history of weight loss, perceived influence on weight loss and RWL practices.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Malaysian National Sports Institute among elite combat sports athletes (n=40) recruited via a convenience sampling method. The athletes completed a self-administered validated Rapid Weight Loss Questionnaire. Each response was provided a score and the total RWL score corresponded to the aggressiveness of weight management methods. Partial correlations were used to assess the relationships between total RWL score and independent variables.
Results: The prevalence of RWL among the athletes was high (92.5%). Training with rubber or plastic suits (62.2%) and meal-skipping (27.0%) were the most common RWL techniques practised by the respondents. Aggressive weight-cutting as depicted by a higher total RWL score that correlated with most weight ever lost, duration taken to lose weight, influence of training colleagues and coaches, BMI, current weight and post-competition weight regain (all p
MeSH terms: Body Weight; Cross-Sectional Studies; Plastics; Surveys and Questionnaires; Rubber; Sports; Weight Gain; Weight Loss; Body Mass Index; Prevalence; Athletes; Self Report; Meals
Introduction: Malnutrition in cancer patients affects the quality of life (QoL) of the patients and brings about adverse outcomes including morbidity and mortality. This study aims to determine the prevalence of malnutrition among cancer patients at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Putrajaya.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 97 respondents who were admitted to the NCI between August 2014 and January 2015. Information on socio-demographic characteristics, clinical characteristics, anthropometric measurements, dietary intake and biochemical data were obtained. The Malnutrition Screening Tool (MST) was used to identify malnutrition risk, while the Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) determined patients’ nutritional status.
Results: Approximately 61.9% and 43.5% of the patients were malnourished upon admission based on the MST and SGA scores, respectively. Four most common types of cancer among the malnourished patients were nasopharyngeal (NPC), lung, breast and colorectal cancer. About 56.9% and 21.6% of the malnourished patients, according to MST, were at Stage 4 and Stage 3 cancer, respectively. Meanwhile 69.7% of the malnourished respondents, based on SGA, were at Stage 4 cancer. Mean energy intake was 1463±577 kcal and protein intake was 54±22 g proteins.
Conclusion: Prevalence of malnutrition in hospitalised cancer patients in the NCI was high, depending on age, body mass index (BMI), tumour location and cancer stage. Early identification of malnutrition status is required for proper nutritional intervention.
Study site: National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Putrajaya, Malaysia