METHODS: The proposed device measures and displays the FHR on a screen liquid crystal display (LCD). The device consists of hardware that comprises condenser microphone sensor, signal conditioning, microcontroller and LCD, and software that involves the algorithm used for processing the conditioned fetal heart signal prior to FHR display. The device's performance is validated based on analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.
RESULTS: FHR data was recorded from 22 pregnant women during the 17th to 37th week of gestation using the developed device and two standard devices; AngelSounds and Electronic Stethoscope. The results show that F-value (1.5) is less than F𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑡, (3.1) and p-value (p> 0.05). Accordingly, there is no significant difference between the mean readings of the developed and existing devices. Hence, the developed device can be used for monitoring FHR in clinical and home environments.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to translate and validate (with cross-cultural adaptation) the English System Usability Scale questionnaire into Malay, the main language spoken in Malaysia. The development of a translated version will allow the usability of mobile apps to be assessed in Malay.
METHODS: Forward and backward translation of the questionnaire was conducted by groups of Malay native speakers who spoke English as their second language. The final version was obtained after reconciliation and cross-cultural adaptation. The content of the Malay System Usability Scale questionnaire for mobile apps was validated by 10 experts in mobile app development. The efficacy of the questionnaire was further probed by testing the face validity on 10 mobile phone users, followed by reliability testing involving 54 mobile phone users.
RESULTS: The content validity index was determined to be 0.91, indicating good relevancy of the 10 items used to assess the usability of a mobile app. Calculation of the face validity index resulted in a value of 0.94, therefore indicating that the questionnaire was easily understood by the users. Reliability testing showed a Cronbach alpha value of .85 (95% CI 0.79-0.91) indicating that the translated System Usability Scale questionnaire is a reliable tool for the assessment of usability of a mobile app.
CONCLUSIONS: The Malay System Usability Scale questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool to assess the usability of mobile app in Malaysia.
Results: In this study, a modified Carnoy's solution II (MC II) [6:3:1 (v/v) ethanol: acetic acid: chloroform] was used as a pretreatment solution to obtain prometaphase chromosomes. We demonstrated that the prometaphase chromosomes obtained using the MC II method are excellent for karyotyping and FISH analysis. We also observed that a combination of MC II and the modified air dry (ADI) method provides a satisfactory meiotic pachytene chromosome preparation with reduced cytoplasmic background and clear chromatin spreads. Moreover, we demonstrated that pachytene and prometaphase chromosomes of melon and Abelia × grandiflora generate significantly better FISH images when prepared using the method described. We confirmed, for the first time, that Abelia × grandiflora has pairs of both strong and weak 45S ribosomal DNA signals on the short arms of their metaphase chromosomes.
Conclusion: The MC II and ADI method are simple and effective for acquiring prometaphase and pachytene chromosomes with reduced cytoplasm background in plants. Our methods provide high-resolution FISH images that can help accelerate molecular cytogenetic research in plants.
Methods: We searched Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science for reports, reviews and journal articles published in English between 1st Jan 1990 and 31st August 2016.
Results: Forty-one reports, reviews and journal papers were identified and included in the final review. The current drinking levels and prevalence among young people are markedly different between eight included Asian countries, ranging from 4.2% in Malaysia to 49.3% in China. In a majority of the selected Asian countries, over 15% of total deaths among young men and 6% among young women aged 15-29 years are attributable to alcohol use. Alcohol use among young people is associated with a number of harms, including stress, family violence, injuries, suicide, and sexual and other risky behaviours. Alcohol policies, such as controlling sales, social supply and marketing, setting up/raising a legal drinking age, adding health warning labels on alcohol containers, and developing a surveillance system to monitor drinking pattern and risky drinking behaviour, could be potential means to reduce harmful use of alcohol and related harm among young people in Asia.
Conclusions: The review reveals that drinking patterns and behaviours vary across eight selected Asian countries due to culture, policies and regional variations. The research evidence holds substantial policy implications for harm reduction on alcohol drinking among young people in Asian countries -- especially for China, which has almost no alcohol control policies at present.
METHODS: By using the results from the fourth survey of Research on Asian Prescription Patterns on antipsychotics, the rates of polypharmacy and combined medication use in each country were analyzed. Daily medications prescribed for the treatment of inpatients or outpatients with schizophrenia, including antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, hypnotics, and antiparkinson agents, were collected. Fifteen countries from Asia participated in this study.
RESULTS: A total of 3744 patients' prescription forms were examined. The prescription patterns differed across these Asian countries, with the highest rate of polypharmacy noted in Vietnam (59.1%) and the lowest in Myanmar (22.0%). Furthermore, the combined use of other medications, expressed as highest and lowest rate, respectively, was as follows: mood stabilizers, China (35.0%) and Bangladesh (1.0%); antidepressants, South Korea (36.6%) and Bangladesh (0%); anxiolytics, Pakistan (55.7%) and Myanmar (8.5%); hypnotics, Japan (61.1%) and, equally, Myanmar (0%) and Sri Lanka (0%); and antiparkinson agents, Bangladesh (87.9%) and Vietnam (10.9%). The average psychotropic drug loading of all patients was 2.01 ± 1.64, with the highest and lowest loadings noted in Japan (4.13 ± 3.13) and Indonesia (1.16 ± 0.68), respectively.
CONCLUSION: Differences in psychiatrist training as well as the civil culture and health insurance system of each country may have contributed to the differences in these rates. The concept of drug loading can be applied to other medical fields.
OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of AD in Malaysian children and to understand the pattern of drug therapy. Such information could be useful to establish the relationship between ethnicity and family history of atopy and the development of associated signs and symptoms.
METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among children attending kindergartens and nurseries. Standardized questionnaires were filled out by parents.
RESULTS: Overall prevalence of AD was 13.4%. Of 384 participants recruited, the highest prevalence was observed in males, Malays, participants younger than 2 years, and those with atopic background such as asthma, hay fever, and family history of atopic diseases. Calamine and white soft paraffin were the preferred choice of nonprescription drugs, whereas topical hydrocortisone seemed to be the preferred choice of prescription drug in the management of AD.
CONCLUSIONS: The overall prevalence is comparable to that reported in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood Phase One. There is an association between ethnicity and AD prevalence. Topical corticosteroids and emollients are the mainstay of AD management among Malaysians.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pro-arrhythmic properties in electrocardiographic and intracellular recordings were compared in young and aged, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1β knockout (Pgc-1β-/-) and wild type (WT), Langendorff-perfused murine hearts, during regular and programmed stimulation (PES), comparing results by two-way ANOVA.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Young and aged Pgc-1β-/- showed higher frequencies and durations of arrhythmic episodes through wider PES coupling-interval ranges than WT. Both young and old, regularly-paced, Pgc-1β-/- hearts showed slowed maximum action potential (AP) upstrokes, (dV/dt)max (∼157 vs. 120-130 V s-1), prolonged AP latencies (by ∼20%) and shortened refractory periods (∼58 vs. 51 ms) but similar AP durations (∼50 ms at 90% recovery) compared to WT. However, Pgc-1β-/- genotype and age each influenced extrasystolic AP latencies during PES. Young and aged WT ventricles displayed distinct, but Pgc-1β-/- ventricles displayed similar dependences of AP latency upon (dV/dt)max resembling aged WT. They also independently increased myocardial fibrosis. AP wavelengths combining activation and recovery terms paralleled contrasting arrhythmic incidences in Pgc-1β-/- and WT hearts. Mitochondrial dysfunction thus causes pro-arrhythmic Pgc-1β-/- phenotypes by altering AP conduction through reducing (dV/dt)max and causing age-dependent fibrotic change.
METHODS: This was a prospective, observational cohort study replacing the undivided nasal cannula with a divided nasal cannula during routine polysomnography (n = 28).
RESULTS: Integration of the divided nasal cannula pressure transducer system into routine polysomnography was easy and affordable. Most patients (89%) demonstrated nasal cycle changes during the test. Nasal cycle changes tended to occur during body position changes (62%) and transitions from non-rapid eye movement sleep to rapid eye movement sleep (41%). The mean nasal cycle duration was 2.5 ± 2.1 hours. Other sleep study metrics did not reveal statistically significant findings in relation to the nasal cycle.
CONCLUSIONS: Replacing an undivided nasal cannula with a divided nasal cannula is easy to implement, adding another physiologic measure to polysomnography. Although the divided nasal cannula did not significantly affect traditional polysomnographic metrics such as the apnea-hypopnea index or periodic limb movement index based on this small pilot study, we were able to replicate past nasal cycle findings that may be of interest to sleep clinicians and researchers. Given the ease with which the divided nasal cannula can be integrated, we encourage other sleep researchers to investigate the utility of using a divided nasal cannula during polysomnography.