Browse publications by year: 2019

  1. Tang KFJ, Bondad-Reantaso MG
    Rev. - Off. Int. Epizoot., 2019 Sep;38(2):477-490.
    PMID: 31866681 DOI: 10.20506/rst.38.2.2999
    Acute hepatopancreatic necrosis disease (AHPND) has caused severe losses in farmed populations of marine shrimp Penaeus vannamei and P. monodon. The causative agents are unique strains of the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus and related Vibrio species. The disease emerged in the People's Republic of China (China) and Vietnam in 2010 and spread throughout South-East Asia; it was later reported in countries in both North and South America. The disease has had significant economic impacts on the shrimp aquaculture industry. From 2010 to 2016, combined losses from China, Malaysia, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam due primarily to outbreaks of AHPND, including losses at the farm gate and those resulting from a drop in feed sales and exports, were estimated at over US$ 44 billion. Other economic losses include those associated with processing facilities, decreased community revenues resulting from increased unemployment, financial investments, and the costs of implementing diagnostic and control measures. The reduced employment opportunities and increases in debt burden and investment risk have had sociological impacts. The responses to the disease have led to a gradual recovery of the shrimp industry in affected countries. These response efforts have included the implementation of changes in farming systems and management, including, among others, enhanced biosecurity and the use of AHPND-free and AHPND-resistant shrimp. This situation of losses and recovery illustrates the importance of having a multi-level response plan in place to prevent, or to reduce the risk of, outbreaks of disease.
    MeSH terms: Animals; China; Mexico; South America; Aquaculture; Penaeidae/microbiology*
  2. Mat LNI, Sulaiman WAW, Hoo FK, Apandi LMA, Basri H
    Ci Ji Yi Xue Za Zhi, 2019 09 16;31(4):292-293.
    PMID: 31867263 DOI: 10.4103/tcmj.tcmj_20_19
  3. Sun Z, Xiong C, Teh SW, Lim JCW, Kumar S, Thilakavathy K
    PMID: 31867287 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2019.00412
    Pancreatic cancer is a highly lethal disease, and most patients remain asymptomatic until the disease enters advanced stages. There is lack of knowledge in the pathogenesis, effective prevention and early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Recently, bacteria were found in pancreatic tissue that has been considered sterile before. The distribution of flora in pancreatic cancer tissue was reported to be different from normal pancreatic tissue. These abnormally distributed bacteria may be the risk factors for inducing pancreatic cancer. Therefore, studies on combined effect of multi-bacterial and multi-virulence factors may add to the knowledge of pancreatic cancer pathogenesis and aid in designing new preventive and therapeutic strategies. In this review, we outlined three oral bacteria associated with pancreatic cancer and their virulence factors linked with cancer.
    MeSH terms: Bacterial Infections/complications; Bacterial Infections/metabolism; Bacterial Infections/microbiology; Digestive System/microbiology; Humans; Mouth/microbiology*; Pancreatic Neoplasms/etiology*; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena*; Host-Pathogen Interactions*
  4. Chia SR, Chew KW, Zaid HFM, Chu DT, Tao Y, Show PL
    PMID: 31867321 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2019.00396
    Green microalgae containing various bioactive compounds and macronutrients such as lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins, have attracted much attention from the global community. Microalgae has the potential to be applied in food industries due to its high protein content, rapid growth rate, and ability to survive in harsh conditions. This study presents a simple yet efficient technique of sonication-assisted triphasic partitioning process, also known as ultrasonic-assisted three phase partitioning (UATPP), for the extraction of proteins from Chlorella vulgaris FSP-E. Comparison studies between three phase partitioning (TPP) and UATPP was conducted to investigate the feasibility of the enhanced technique on proteins extraction. Types of salt, ratio of slurry to t-butanol, salt saturation, sonication frequency, power, irradiation time, and duty cycle as well as biomass loading were studied. UATPP was found to be an improved technique compared to TPP. An optimum separation efficiency and yield of 74.59 ± 0.45 and 56.57 ± 3.70% was obtained, respectively, with the optimized conditions: salt saturation (50%), slurry to t-butanol ratio (1:2), sonication power (100%), irradiation time (10 min), frequency (35 kHz), duty cycle (80%) and biomass loading (0.75 wt%). A scaled-up study was performed to validate the reliability of UATPP for protein extraction. The outcome of the study revealed that UATPP is an attractive approach for downstream processing of microalgae.
  5. De S, Selvan VT, Tan J, Soe HHK, Sahoo S, Sahoo R
    PMID: 31867395 DOI: 10.4103/jehp.jehp_379_19
    BACKGROUND: Cancer cervix is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), oncogenic virus and has vaccines and screening as its preventive measures. This study analyzes the change in awareness and attitudes of nonmedical students toward the condition following the use of an educational module.

    METHODOLOGY: The study design was quasi-experimental. The interprofessional (IP) team implemented an educational module and analyzed the difference in awareness of young individuals toward the cancer cervix. A pretest and posttest written questionnaire, customized for both genders, was administered with the intervention of the educational module in between. The module consisted of a short educational presentation along with a group activity. A follow-up survey was also done after 2 months to check the attrition of awareness. The statistical analysis was done using MacNemar test using SPSS 12 IBM software and significance of differences were determined.

    RESULTS: There was a significant improvement of knowledge and awareness on linkage between HPV and cervical cancer (P < 0.001). There was also significant change with regard to attitudes toward cervical cancer vaccination (P = 0.004). The knowledge of HPV linkage to the malignancy was maintained after 2 months of gap. The subjects also wished for more future awareness program.

    CONCLUSIONS: There is improved awareness in the dental and foundation in science students, and this improved awareness will ensure favorable attitudes toward cervical cancer vaccines or will attend regular screening programs. Awareness program must be held at regular intervals at different locations to enhance the knowledge dissemination of this common yet preventable genital malignancy of females. The IP collaboration and practices will help in reducing the disease burden of the society in future.

    MeSH terms: Attitude; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Male; Oncogenic Viruses; Surveys and Questionnaires; Software; Students; Vaccination; Cancer Vaccines; Papillomaviridae; Papillomavirus Infections; Early Detection of Cancer
  6. Suhana O, Nazni WA, Apandi Y, Farah H, Lee HL, Sofian-Azirun M
    Heliyon, 2019 Dec;5(12):e02682.
    PMID: 31867449 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02682
    Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is maintained in the sylvatic cycle in West Africa and is transmitted by Aedes mosquito species to monkeys. In 2006, four verified CHIKV isolates were obtained during a survey of arboviruses in monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) in Pahang state, Peninsular Malaysia. RNA was extracted from the CHIKV isolates and used in reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCR) to amplify PCR fragments for sequencing. Nucleic acid primers were designed to generate overlapping PCR fragments that covered the whole viral sequence. A total of 11,238 base pairs (bp) corresponding to open reading frames (ORFs) from our isolates and 47 other registered isolates in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) were used to elucidate sequences, amino acids, and phylogenetic relationships and to estimate divergence times by using MEGA 7.0 and the Bayesian Markov chain Monte Carlo method. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that all CHIKV isolates could be classified into the Asian genotype and clustered with Bagan Panchor clades, which are associated with the chikungunya outbreak reported in 2006, with sequence and amino acid similarities of 99.9% and 99.7%, respectively. Minor amino acid differences were found between human and non-human primate isolates. Amino acid analysis showed a unique amino acid at position 221 in the nsP1region, at which a glycine (G) was found only in monkey isolates, whereas arginine (R) was found at the same position only in human isolates. The time to the most recent common ancestor (MRCA) estimation indicated that CHIKV probably started to diverge from human to non-human primates in approximately 2004 in Malaysia. The results suggested that CHIKV in non-human primates probably resulted from the spillover of the virus from humans. The study will be helpful in understanding the movement and evolution of CHIKV in Malaysia and globally.
    MeSH terms: Aedes; Amino Acids; Animals; Arboviruses; Bayes Theorem; Chikungunya virus; Glycine; Humans; Macaca fascicularis; Markov Chains; Monte Carlo Method; Phylogeny; RNA; Open Reading Frames; Base Pairing; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Chikungunya Fever
  7. Khalil M, Aulia G, Budianto E, Mohamed Jan B, Habib SH, Amir Z, et al.
    ACS Omega, 2019 Dec 17;4(25):21477-21486.
    PMID: 31867543 DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.9b03174
    Superparamagnetic nanoparticles (SPNs) have been considered as one of the most studied nanomaterials for subsurface applications, including in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), due to their unique physicochemical properties. However, a comprehensive understanding of the effect of surface functionalization on the ability of the nanoparticles to improve secondary and tertiary oil recoveries remains unclear. Therefore, investigations on the application of bare and surface-functionalized SPNs in EOR using a sand pack were carried out in this study. Here, the as-prepared SPNs were functionalized using oleic acid (OA) and polyacrylamide (PAM) to obtain several types of nanostructure architectures such as OA-SPN, core-shell SPN@PAM, and SPN-PAM. Based on the result, it is found that both the viscosity and mobility of the nanofluids were significantly affected by not only the concentration of the nanoparticles but also the type and architecture of the surface modifier, which dictated particle hydrophilicity. According to the sand pack tests, the nanofluid containing SPN-PAM was able to recover as much as 19.28% of additional oil in a relatively low concentration (0.9% w/v). The high oil recovery enhancement was presumably due to the ability of suspended SPN-PAM to act as a mobility control and wettability alteration agent and facilitate the formation of a Pickering emulsion and disjoining pressure.
    MeSH terms: Acrylic Resins; Emulsions; Viscosity; Wettability; Oleic Acid; Magnetite Nanoparticles
  8. Sirunyan AM, Tumasyan A, Adam W, Ambrogi F, Bergauer T, Brandstetter J, et al.
    Phys Rev Lett, 2019 Dec 06;123(23):231803.
    PMID: 31868480 DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.123.231803
    A search for narrow low-mass resonances decaying to quark-antiquark pairs is presented. The search is based on proton-proton collision events collected at 13 TeV by the CMS detector at the CERN LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9  fb^{-1}, recorded in 2016. The search considers the case where the resonance has high transverse momentum due to initial-state radiation of a hard photon. To study this process, the decay products of the resonance are reconstructed as a single large-radius jet with two-pronged substructure. The signal would be identified as a localized excess in the jet invariant mass spectrum. No evidence for such a resonance is observed in the mass range 10 to 125 GeV. Upper limits at the 95% confidence level are set on the coupling strength of resonances decaying to quark pairs. The results obtained with this photon trigger strategy provide the first direct constraints on quark-antiquark resonance masses below 50 GeV obtained at a hadron collider.
    MeSH terms: Protons; Radius; United States; Vibration; Precipitating Factors; Photons
  9. Karuthan SR, Firdaus PJFB, Angampun ADG, Chai XJ, Sagan CD, Ramachandran M, et al.
    Medicine (Baltimore), 2019 Dec;98(51):e18466.
    PMID: 31861024 DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000018466
    Worldwide, millions of people die of sudden cardiac arrest every year. This is partly due to limited and sometimes ineffective bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The need for mouth-to-mouth contact, fear of causing harm, litigation, and the complexity of delivering CPR are the main deterrents. In view of this, the basic life support algorithm has been simplified and lay rescuers are encouraged to perform Hands-Only CPR.The objective of this study is to assess knowledge on and willingness to perform Hands-Only CPR among Malaysian college students and to determine the relationship between the two.In an online self-administered survey, college students responded to a questionnaire on demographics, exposure to CPR, knowledge on Hands-Only CPR, and their willingness to perform Hands-Only CPR in 5 different scenarios (family members or relatives, strangers, trauma victims, children, and elderly people).Data for 393 participants were analyzed. For knowledge, the mean score was 8.6 ± 3.2 and the median score was 9. In the sample, 27% of the respondents did not attend any CPR training before, citing that they were unsure where to attend the course. The knowledge score among those who attended CPR training (M = 3.6, S = 2.9) was significantly higher compared to those who did not (M = 6.7, S = 3.0). Out of the 393 participants, 67.7%, 55%, 37.4%, 45%, and 49.1% were willing to perform Hands-Only CPR on family members or relatives, strangers, trauma victims, children, and elderly people, respectively. There were significant associations (P 
    MeSH terms: Female; Humans; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice*; Malaysia; Male; Students/statistics & numerical data*; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation*; Young Adult
  10. Abd Halim NS, Wirzal MDH, Bilad MR, Md Nordin NAH, Adi Putra Z, Sambudi NS, et al.
    Polymers (Basel), 2019 Dec 17;11(12).
    PMID: 31861059 DOI: 10.3390/polym11122117
    Electrospun nanofiber membrane (NFM) has a high potential to be applied as a filter for produced water treatment due to its highly porous structure and great permeability. However, it faces fouling issues and has low mechanical properties, which reduces the performance and lifespan of the membrane. NFM has a low integrity and the fine mat easily detaches from the sheet. In this study, nylon 6,6 was selected as the polymer since it offers great hydrophilicity. In order to increase mechanical strength and separation performance of NFM, solvent vapor treatment was implemented where the vapor induces the fusion of fibers. The fabricated nylon 6,6 NFMs were treated with different exposure times of formic acid vapor. Results show that solvent vapor treatment helps to induce the fusion of overlapping fibers. The optimum exposure time for solvent vapor is 5 h to offer full retention of dispersed oil (100% of oil rejection), has 62% higher in tensile strength (1950 MPa) compared to untreated nylon 6,6 NFM (738 MPa), and has the final permeability closest to the untreated nylon 6,6 NFM (733 L/m2.h.bar). It also took more time to get fouled (220 min) compared to untreated NFM (160 min).
    MeSH terms: Caprolactam; Formates; Longevity; Permeability; Polymers; Solvents; Tensile Strength; Porosity; Water Purification; Nanofibers; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions
  11. Mohd-Ali B, Tan XL
    PMID: 31861174 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16245161
    BACKGROUND: Contact lenses (CLs) are more popular than spectacles for vision correction amongst the youth. Knowledge about the risks of wearing CLs is critical especially for those with poor access to public health education. This study investigates the patterns of use and level of knowledge about CL wear amongst teenagers living in rural areas in Selangor, Malaysia using a set of validated questionnaires.

    METHODS: A total of 8500 self-administered questionnaires were distributed in eight selected secondary schools. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics.

    RESULTS: A total of 2474 (29%) completed questionnaires were collected. The mean age of the respondents was 14.8 ± 1.5 years, and approximately 7.2% were CL wearers. The majority of the wearers were females (76.0%) and wore soft CLs (92.2%). Cosmetic purposes (58.1%) and comfort (24.6%) were the main reasons for wearing CLs. Many of the respondents purchased their lenses from optical shops (50.1%) and beauty accessory shops (15.6%), and approximately 10% did not disinfect their lenses properly. Regarding knowledge about CL care, approximately 56% of the respondents responded correctly.

    CONCLUSION: Half of the respondents do not have sufficient knowledge about the risks of wearing CLs. Thus, aggressive public health education aimed at teenagers is needed to prevent improper CL usage.

    MeSH terms: Adolescent; Consumer Behavior; Contact Lenses*; Eyeglasses; Female; Humans; Malaysia; Male; Surveys and Questionnaires; Rural Population*
  12. Chamran MK, Yau KA, Noor RMD, Wong R
    Sensors (Basel), 2019 Dec 19;20(1).
    PMID: 31861500 DOI: 10.3390/s20010018
    This paper demonstrates the use of Universal Software Radio Peripheral (USRP), together with Raspberry Pi3 B+ (RP3) as the brain (or the decision making engine), to develop a distributed wireless network in which nodes can communicate with other nodes independently and make decision autonomously. In other words, each USRP node (i.e., sensor) is embedded with separate processing units (i.e., RP3), which has not been investigated in the literature, so that each node can make independent decisions in a distributed manner. The proposed testbed in this paper is compared with the traditional distributed testbed, which has been widely used in the literature. In the traditional distributed testbed, there is a single processing unit (i.e., a personal computer) that makes decisions in a centralized manner, and each node (i.e., USRP) is connected to the processing unit via a switch. The single processing unit exchanges control messages with nodes via the switch, while the nodes exchange data packets among themselves using a wireless medium in a distributed manner. The main disadvantage of the traditional testbed is that, despite the network being distributed in nature, decisions are made in a centralized manner. Hence, the response delay of the control message exchange is always neglected. The use of such testbed is mainly due to the limited hardware and monetary cost to acquire a separate processing unit for each node. The experiment in our testbed has shown the increase of end-to-end delay and decrease of packet delivery ratio due to software and hardware delays. The observed multihop transmission is performed using device-to-device (D2D) communication, which has been enabled in 5G. Therefore, nodes can either communicate with other nodes via: (a) a direct communication with the base station at the macrocell, which helps to improve network performance; or (b) D2D that improve spectrum efficiency, whereby traffic is offloaded from macrocell to small cells. Our testbed is the first of its kind in this scale, and it uses RP3 as the distributed decision-making engine incorporated into the USRP/GNU radio platform. This work provides an insight to the development of a 5G network.
    MeSH terms: Brain; Computers; Decision Making; Microcomputers; Publications; Software; Rubus
  13. Yusof HM, Ali NM, Yeap SK, Ho WY, Beh BK, Koh SP, et al.
    BMC Complement Altern Med, 2019 Dec 19;19(1):373.
    PMID: 31856816 DOI: 10.1186/s12906-019-2791-2
    BACKGROUND: Tempeh is a widely known fermented soybean that contains elevated level of bioactive contents. Our previous study has shown that anaerobic fermented Nutrient Enriched Soybean Tempeh (NESTE) with increase amino acid and antioxidant levels possessed better hepatoprotective effect than raw soybean.

    METHODS: In this study, the anti-inflammatory effect of the NESTE aqueous extract and raw soybean aqueous extract (SBE) were evaluated by quantifying the inhibition of IL-1β, TNF-α and nitric oxide (NO) secretion in LPS treated RAW 264.7 cell in vitro. On the other hand, in vivo oral acute toxicity effect of the extract was tested on mice at the dose of 5000 mg/kg body weight. In vivo oral analgesic effect of both aqueous extracts at 200 and 1000 mg/kg body weight was evaluated by the hot plate test.

    RESULTS: In the in vitro anti-inflammatory study, 5 mg/mL NESTE was able to inhibit 25.50 ± 2.20%, 35.88 ± 3.20% and 28.50 ± 3.50% of NO, IL-1β and TNF-α production in LPS treated RAW 264.7 cells without inducing cytotoxic effect on the cells. However, this effect was lower than 4 μg/mL of curcumin, which inhibited NO, IL-1β and TNF-α production by 89.50 ± 5.00%, 78.80 ± 6.20% and 87.30 ± 4.00%, respectively. In addition, 1.5 to 2.5-fold increase of latency period up to 120 min for mice in the hot plate test was achieved by 1000 mg/kg NESTE. The analgesic effect of NESTE was better than 400 mg/kg of acetyl salicylic acid, which only increased ~ 1.7-fold of latency period up to 90 min. Moreover, NESTE did not show acute toxicity (no LD50) up to 5000 mg/kg body weight.

    CONCLUSION: NESTE is a nutritious food ingredient with potential anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects.

    MeSH terms: RAW 264.7 Cells; Animals; Behavior, Animal/drug effects; Cell Survival/drug effects; Female; Male; Mice, Inbred BALB C; Nitric Oxide; Cytokines/metabolism; Toxicity Tests, Acute; Soy Foods*; Mice
  14. Bello RO, Abdullah MA, Abd Majid R, Chin VK, Abd Rachman Isnadi MF, Ibraheem ZO, et al.
    Malar J, 2019 Dec 19;18(1):434.
    PMID: 31856836 DOI: 10.1186/s12936-019-3070-x
    BACKGROUND: The immune modulating potential of IL-35 in multiple human disorders has been reported. Consequent upon the recognition of inflammatory cytokine activation and its preponderance for mediating pathology during malaria infection, the study aimed to characterize the expression and functional contribution(s) of IL-35 in Plasmodium berghei (strain ANKA) infected mice.

    METHODS: Plasmodium berghei infection in male ICR mice was used as the rodent model of choice. The time course of IL-35 expression in the systemic circulation and tissues of P. berghei infected mice as well as their healthy control counterparts was assessed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry respectively. The effect of modulating IL-35 by recombinant IL-35 protein or neutralizing anti-Epstein-Barr virus-induced gene 3 antibody on the cytokine environment during P. berghei infection was assessed by flow cytometry. Furthermore, the influence of modulating IL-35 on histopathological hallmarks of malaria and disease progression was evaluated.

    RESULTS: Interleukin-35 was significantly up regulated in serum and tissues of P. berghei infected mice and correlated with parasitaemia. Neutralization of IL-35 significantly enhanced the release of IFN-γ, decreased the expression of IL-6 and decreased parasitaemia patency. Neutralization of IL-35 was also associated with a tendency towards increased survival as well as the absence of pathological features associated with malaria infection unlike recombinant IL-35 protein administration which sustained a normal course of infection and unfavourable malaria associated histological outcomes in P. berghei infected mice.

    CONCLUSION: These results indicate the involvement of IL-35 in P. berghei induced malaria infection. IL-35 neutralization strategies may represent viable therapeutic modalities beneficial for the resolution of malaria infection.

    MeSH terms: Animals; Interleukins/pharmacology*; Longevity/drug effects; Malaria/immunology*; Male; Mice, Inbred ICR; Plasmodium berghei/drug effects*; Cytokines/metabolism*; Mice; Transcriptome*
  15. Ong TL, Goh KJ, Shahrizaila N, Wong KT, Tan CY
    Neurol India, 2019 12 21;67(6):1532-1535.
    PMID: 31857554 DOI: 10.4103/0028-3886.273621
    Distal acquired demyelinating symmetric neuropathy (DADS) is a variant of chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) characterized by symmetrical, distal, sensory or sensorimotor involvement. DADS with M-protein (DADS-M) is less responsive to immunotherapy compared to those without M-protein (DADS-I). We report a case of DADS-I with severe clinical presentation viz. early hand involvement with marked wasting, inexcitable peripheral nerves on neurophysiology and poor response to immunotherapy. Despite the unusual presentation, ancillary tests including cerebrospinal fluid analysis, nerve biopsy and nerve ultrasound were supportive of an inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. This case demonstrated the heterogeneity of the disorder and expands the clinical spectrum of DADS neuropathy.
    MeSH terms: Azathioprine/therapeutic use; Electrodiagnosis; Humans; Immunoglobulin M*; Immunosuppressive Agents/therapeutic use; Male; Middle Aged; Neural Conduction/physiology; Prednisolone/therapeutic use; Treatment Outcome; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating/diagnosis*; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating/drug therapy; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating/immunology; Polyradiculoneuropathy, Chronic Inflammatory Demyelinating/physiopathology
  16. Wan Sohaimi WF, Lee YF, Mat Nawi N, Mohd Rohani MF, Sapiai NA
    Indian J Surg Oncol, 2019 Dec;10(4):676-678.
    PMID: 31857764 DOI: 10.1007/s13193-019-00977-8
    We report a unique case of differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) with squamous metaplasia complicated with chronic discharging ulcer. A 76-year-old gentleman was referred to us after defaulted treatment 1 year post-total thyroidectomy. He presented to us with long-standing chronic, non-healing, ulcerative and discharging wound at the anterior neck at previous total thyroidectomy scar. The primary tumour was histologically diagnosed as papillary malignant cells with extensive squamous metaplasia. Squamous metaplasia is a rare finding in thyroid carcinoma that carried a poorer prognostic factor.
    MeSH terms: Adenocarcinoma; Aged; Carcinoma, Papillary; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell; Cicatrix; Humans; Male; Metaplasia; Prognosis; Thyroid Neoplasms; Thyroidectomy; Ulcer
  17. Goh LC, Norain RS, Shifa Z, Manuel AM
    Iran J Otorhinolaryngol, 2019 Nov;31(107):383-386.
    PMID: 31857983 DOI: 10.22038/ijorl.2019.35910.2186
    Introduction: Branchial arch anomalies represent defects in embryological developments whereby parts of the branchial arch persist in the head and neck regions as sinuses, fistulas, or cysts. These anomalies usually present as a unilateral lesion in the head and neck of young adults and children, which are excised upon the emergence of complications.

    Case Report: Herein, we presented a rare case of a 4-year-old child, who had been diagnosed with a complete bilateral second arch branchial fistula. The excision was made using the bilateral stepladder approach and tonsillectomy.

    Conclusion: The bilateral stepladder approach was a feasible method in excising a complete bilateral branchial fistula. However, larger-scale studies should be conducted on the surgical techniques of bilateral branchial fistulae excision in order to optimize the cosmetic outcome of the surgery.

  18. Chin EW, Abu-Bakar AZ, Hitam S, Kah-Wai N, Abdullah MA
    Iran J Otorhinolaryngol, 2019 Nov;31(107):391-397.
    PMID: 31857985 DOI: 10.22038/ijorl.2019.35555.2173
    INTRODUCTION: Ewing sarcoma (ES), which is described as diffuse endothelioma of the bone, is divided into osseous and extraosseous Ewing sarcoma (EES) mostly affecting children and adolescents. It is a rare, aggressive, and poorly differentiated small blue round cell tumor that seldom affects the head and neck regions.

    CASE REPORT: Herein, we reported a 46-year-old man presenting with right nasal block, epistaxis, and epiphora from the right eye for one month. The nasal endoscopy revealed a friable mass arising from the anterior half of the right nasal cavity. Histological findings were suggestive of Ewing sarcoma. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan of the paranasal sinuses showed a soft tissue mass in the right anterior nasal cavity with mucosal thickening in the right maxillary sinus, without any bony erosion or distant metastasis. The patient underwent endoscopic medial maxillectomy with modified Denker's procedure, followed by a 6-cycle course of chemotherapy. He was clinically well after chemotherapy; however, the recent bone scans were suggestive of bone involvement with the tumor.

    CONCLUSION: The EES of paranasal sinus in the head and neck regions is extremely rare and requires exceptional attention due to their adjacent vital structures. The ES diagnosis-related dilemma arises from the numerous differential diagnoses of small round blue cell tumors. In this regard, accurate diagnosis is important, since ES requires a multi-modality approach. Furthermore, early diagnosis and aggressive intervention are crucial to obtain good prognosis and function.

  19. Lo S, Gaudin S, Corvalan C, Earle AJ, Hanssen O, Prüss-Ustun A, et al.
    Health Syst Reform, 2019;5(4):366-381.
    PMID: 31860403 DOI: 10.1080/23288604.2019.1669948
    Safeguarding the continued existence of humanity requires building societies that cause minimal disruptions of the essential planetary systems that support life. While major successes have been achieved in improving health in recent decades, threats from the environment may undermine these gains, particularly among vulnerable populations and communities. In this article, we review the rationale for governments to invest in environmental Common Goods for Health (CGH) and identify functions that qualify as such, including interventions to improve air quality, develop sustainable food systems, preserve biodiversity, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and encourage carbon sinks. Exploratory empirical analyses reveal that public spending on environmental goods does not crowd out public spending on health. Additionally, we find that improved governance is associated with better performance in environmental health outcomes, while the degrees of people's participation in the political system together with voice and accountability are positively associated with performance in ambient air quality and biodiversity/habitat. We provide a list of functions that should be prioritized by governments across different sectors, and present preliminary costing of environmental CGH. As shown by the costing estimates presented here, these actions need not be especially expensive. Indeed, they are potentially cost-saving. The paper concludes with case examples of national governments that have successfully prioritized and financed environmental CGH. Because societal preferences may vary across time, government leaders seeking to protect the health of future generations must look beyond electoral cycles to enact policies that protect the environment and finance environmental CGH.
    MeSH terms: Conservation of Natural Resources/economics*; Conservation of Natural Resources/methods; Environmental Health/economics; Environmental Health/standards; Financing, Government/methods*; Government Programs/economics; Government Programs/trends; Humans
  20. A. Hamid M.S., Shariff-Ghazali S., Abdul Karim S.
    JUMMEC, 2019;22(2):49-55.
    MyJurnal
    Background: Studies on the anthropometric, physical and physiological characteristics among Malaysian Paralympic powerlifters are limited. This study examined the sociodemographic, clinical information and anthropometric physical parameters of Paralympic powerlifters in Malaysia.

    Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during a Powerlifting Workshop and National Championship in 2016. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data on powerlifters’ sociodemographic, sports participation history and medical information. All participants underwent a structured physical medical examination and anthropometric assessments.

    Results: Fifty-two powerlifters participated in this study. Mean age of participants was 24.50±SD8.25 year. The majority of the participants were men (82.7%) and most had spinal cord injury (34.6%) or amputation of the lower limb (26.9%). Most of the powerlifters competed at district and state level championships and 42.3% had represented Malaysia at international competitions. Women powerlifters had a significantly higher amount of body fat compared to men (35.61% vs 19.80%; p=0.003). Male power-lifters had significantly longer arm and forearm length (30.10±IQR3.00 cm vs 23.00±IQR2.13 cm; p=0.020). A significantly positive relationship was found between age, experience, weight, BMI, LBM, arm circumferences (relaxed and tensed) and the powerlifter’s best lift. Age, experience, body weight, BMI, lean body mass, body fat, hip circumference and arm circumferences (relaxed and tensed) met the criteria for inclusion in a multivariate model. Years of experience and non-dominant arm circumference (tensed) were significant predictors of best lifts among powerlifters.

    Conclusion: In conclusion, assessment of anthropometric measures could be useful in monitoring athletes’ progress with training and have a role in the talent identification program for Paralympic powerlifters.
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