The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different inter-stimulus intervals to the Cortical Auditory Evoked Potential (CAEP) findings in adult participants. Nineteen normal hearing individuals aged between 20 and 24 years old participated in this study. CAEP were measured by presenting 1000 Hz tone burst stimulus at 70dBnHL at three different inter-stimulus intervals (ISI)s of 2000, 909 and 555 ms in randomized order. Results revealed significant changes in the CAEP’s amplitude as a function of ISI with a reduction of P1-N1 amplitude of up to 50%. N2 peak was absent in some subjects using short ISI (555 ms). This study concluded that the use of very short ISI (e.g. 555 ms) may not be appropriate clinically because it can reduce the CAEP wave amplitude
and can cause an absence of peak N2. In contrast, the use of short ISI may be useful for other clinical applications that may benefit from neural habituation and refractoriness, for example to predict the potential future outcome of speech and mental disorders.
Introduction: Clinical studies have shown that people suffering from tinnitus are at a high risk of developing serious psychological disturbances or serious psychological distress (Erlandsson &
Widen, 2004 in Hiller and Goebel, 1998). Thus the purpose of this study was to determine the
relationship between life-time noise exposure and tinnitus experience among young adults in IIUM Kuantan. Methods: A cross sectional study was used to determine whether there is any association between tinnitus experiences and life-time noise exposure among 11 young adults in IIUM Kuantan from age of 18 to 35 years old who are exposed to the noise. Hearing assessment was done using otoscopy, tympanometry and pure tone audiometry. Participants were asked to fill in a questionnaire on tinnitus experience, and were fitted with a noise dosimeter that measured their noise exposure during waking hours. Values collected from dosimeter were then converted into cumulative life-time noise exposure which refers to the equivalent noise exposure per year (Jokitulppo, Tolvenen & Bjork, 2005). Results: Average cumulative life-time noise exposure of the participants is 72.54 dBA ± 6.9459. Fifty five percent (55%) reported of sometimes having tinnitus. No correlation was found between cumulative life-time noise exposure and tinnitus experience. Conclusion: The cumulative life-time noise exposure among young adults in IIUM Kuantan was found to be lower than the level considered as hazardous. Despite reports of tinnitus experience, there was no evidence that the tinnitus was due to noise exposure.
The effects of radiation on man and his health had been noticed since the early years after the discovery of X-rays. These biological concerns were more commonly known as “radio-sensitiveness” in the early publications. Later, the term radiation protection was introduced to express the need for protective measures to be promoted, formulated, implemented, evaluated and sustained to reduce the biological effects associated with radiation exposure. The principles of radiation protection were then supported with the concepts of justification, ALARA and “Benefits against the risks”. But these could not ensure that the application of radiation protection has been optimized. Amidst the technological advancements associated with radiation based imaging modalities in healthcare for more than 120 years, those advancements have yet to be able reduce the impact of these modalities being a source of risks upon the more beneficial role as a
diagnostic tool. This paper reports a review on radiation protection from articles indexed in an online database. Considering that the titles of the articles contain the core subject matter that a publication carries, data were retrieved on those titles with the term “radiation protection”. Publications from 2008 to middle of November 2017 and aligned to Medicine and Health professions were included for further elaborations. The data were classified into four subject areas; education and training, administration and organization, practice and research. Discussions within each classification and their individual sub-classifications, supported by selected publications to the classification, highlight the importance of the particular subject area to the overall concept of radiation protection. Lessons learnt from the classifications could provide the necessary guidance on how one should adopt and adapt the concept of radiation protection holistically. The discussions that are presented are seen within the professional obligation in adhering to the principles of
radiation protection.
The ability for us to see is actually due to the reflection of light that serves as a proof of the greatest creations of our Creator as stated in the Holy Quran, “Allah is the Light of the heavens and the Earth” (24:35). There are limited references specifically focusing on Revelations related to visual function. Thus, this study aims to provide a compilation of Quranic verses (Juz 1 to 15) and hadiths of Sahih Al-Bukhari related to visual function supported by scientifically proven facts. This may invite readers to reflect upon the wonders of creations by Allah mentioned in these Revelations that lead to the discovery of our modern science. A website named“Search Truth” on http://www.searchtruth.com/ was used as a tool to ease the finding of the Quranic verses and hadiths that are related to visual function by searching for the keywords “eye/eyes”, “see”, “light”, “sight” and “vision” in the search boxes provided in the website. The translations of Revelations containing those keywords were verified and related to visual function supported by scientifically proven facts from other reading materials. Twenty-eight Quranic verses and 57 hadiths of Sahih Al-Bukhari can be related to visual function supported by scientifically proven facts. Twelve Quranic verses that have the word “eye/eyes”, 7 verses with the word “light”, 2 verses with the word “see”, 6 verses with the word "sight” and 1 verse with the word “vision” can be related to visual function. As for hadiths, 49 hadiths have the word “eye/eyes”, 3 with the word “light”, 1 with the word “see”, 2 with the word “sight” and 2 with the word “vision” in their translations can also be related to
visual function. Some of the Quranic verses and hadiths are related to anatomy, physiology and
pathophysiology of the eyes, treatments for eye diseases, and other interesting findings.
Religious fasting is an act of refraining oneself from eating and drinking beginning at dawn until sunset. The changes in meal time and long period of meal constraint may influence the tear quality and ocular surface. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of daily religious fasting on tear film characteristics and ocular surface integrity. This is a prospective study involving 29 eyes from 29 healthy participants. The tear film characteristics were assessed by measuring the non-invasive tear break-up time (NITBUT), tear meniscus height (TMH), total tear secretion, and
fluorescein ocular surface staining method was used to determine the ocular surface integrity. The measurements were performed in the morning (8.00 to 10.00 a.m.) and evening (4.00 to 6.00 p.m.) during each non-fasting and fasting period. The results showed no statistically significant difference noted for all parameters measured in the morning when comparison was made between non-fasting and fasting periods. Conversely, in the evening, NITBUT value was significantly lower during fasting period, (p = 0.001), but, TMH, total tear secretion and ocular surface staining revealed no significant differences between non-fasting and fasting periods. Our study revealed
that daily religious fasting only significantly reduced the NITBUT value in the evening which possibly due to dehydration; however, it did not affect TMH, total tear secretion and ocular surface integrity. The absence of fluid loading at pre-dawn meal could be the reason of non-noticeable differences noted in the morning
Objectives/Research Problem: A total of 6.3% of American adults showed specific craving to sweet foods and this was proven analogous to sweet foods intake. We attempted to measuresweet craving among Malaysians through the development of Sugar Craving Assessment Tool for Malaysians (MySCAT). The aim of this research was to explore the pattern of sugar craving and sugar intake among Malay adults.
Materials and Method: Subjects (age19 to 59 years old) were recruited among Kuantan residents from multiple centres. A total of 219 volunteers were recruited and they completed MySCAT questionnaire, in which the respondents rated their craving for 30 sweet foods and beverages from 0 (Never) to 4 (Always). Body mass index (BMI) was obtained from height and weight measurements.
Results and Discussion: Subjects consisted of 58 males and 161 females with mean age 29.6±10.7 y, BMI 23.5±4.4 kg/m2 total MySCAT score of 41.1±14.9. Results indicated that the most craved items were sugar sweetened beverages (mean score 2.46±1.18), fruit juices (2.16±1.08) and drinks with sweetened condensed milk (median 2.00, IQR = 2.00). A subset of 100 subjects also completed FFQ Sugar (mean age 21.2±1.6 y, BMI 21.0±3.1 kg/m2. Sugar intake was 79.5 g/day and contributed the most by sugar-sweetened beverages (56.5%) followed by non-carbonated soft drinks (13.9%) and sweets & chocolates (5.6%). Sugar intake was significantly higher in male (95.4 g/day) than female (54.3 g/day, p
In medical imaging practice, the act of removing any clothes from the region of interest is justified as to prevent the presence of artefacts on radiographs. However, by doing so, the ‘aurah’ of the patients, especially for the Muslims, are not observed and can be considered as violating their privacy if they are not well-informed beforehand. Previous studies have proved that radiographs with the presence of some fabric materials on the region of interest are radiographically acceptable. Therefore, the aims of this study are to tackle the issue of exposing one’s ‘aurah’ for a knee x-ray examination to take place and also to add insufficiency from the previous studies.
Patient’s self-perceived handicap inventory is an important tool for modern’s health care management including hearing loss. The HHIA is a selfreporting outcome measurement invented to identify hearing-impaired patients’ complaints for appropriate client-centred rehabilitation program. HHIA has been
reported among one of the valid self-perceived hearing handicap measures, and could even addressed issues for patient with mild and unilateral hearing loss. This study aims to translate HHIA into Malay language (HHIA-M) and to adapt the questionnaire culturally for clinical use among Malaysian population.
In ultrasound imaging there is compromise between the penetration of signal at certain depths into the object and image resolution as the ultrasound probe only can transmit single frequency signals in one transmission. Using curvilinear ultrasound probe with 2 to 5 MHz frequency bandwidth, this study investigated the use of multi-frequency imaging to enhance the quality of phantom images.
Methods: Siemen Acuson X150 with curvilinear ultrasound transducer was used to scan the organs of interest (kidney, gallbladder and pancreas) of the ultrasound abdominal phantom. Different images at the different selected frequencies (2.5, 3.6 and 5.0 MHz) were created by fixing the position and the orientation of the transducer in each of the scanning process. Different-frequency images were generated and combined to produce composite (multi-frequency) image. Results: In this study, the quality of the composite image was evaluated based on signal-to noise ratio (SNR) and the obtained results were compared with the single frequency images. Besides, the comparison was also made in terms of overall image quality (noise and sharpness of organ outline) through perceived image quality analysis. Based on calculated SNR, the composite image of the kidney, gallbladder and pancreas recorded higher SNR value as compared to the single frequency images. However, through perceived image quality, most of the observers viewed that the quality of the composite image of the kidney, gallbladder and pancreas is poor as compared to the single frequency image. Conclusions: Image quality of ultrasound imaging is improved by combining multiple ultrasound frequency images into a single composite image. This is achieved as high SNR is obtained in the composite image. However, through perceived image quality, the overall image quality of the composite image was poor.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) strongly advocate exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months after birth as the optimal way of feeding infants. Nutritional inadequacy during breastfeeding period may lead to breastfeeding problems such as inadequate milk production which is a common reason to early breastfeeding termination.
Galactagogue is one of the solutions seek by breastfeeding mothers to overcome this problem. Within the topic of prophetic medicine, scholars discussed the foods consumed by Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) and their health benefits. Among the plants mentioned in Islamic literature are F.carica (figs), O.europea (olive), P.granatum (pomegranate) and N.sativa (habbatussauda). Studies on prophetic foods consumption among lactating mothers is limited in the literature. Thus, the aims of this study to explore on prophetic food consumption, among Malay mothers during
exclusive breastfeeding period. Ten subjects are interviewed by in-depth semistructured interview guide. Inclusion criteria include Malay mothers aged 18 to 40 years, deliver full term babies and were exclusively breastfeeding. Audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim in Malay and translated into English. Translated transcripts were then analysed thematically with the help of NVivo software. Thematic analysis revealed three themes that represents participants’ knowledge, attitude and practice on prophetic foods consumption. The themes were 1) prophetic diet is related to Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H)’s practice on foods and eating manners, 2) perceived benefits and effectiveness of prophetic foods consumption, and 3) Practice of prophetic foods consumption during exclusive breastfeeding period. This study provides an insight to the understanding and
perception on prophetic foods consumption during exclusive breastfeeding period among breastfeeding mothers. It is acknowledged that prophetic foods, particularly dates may have lactogenic function. Further studies should be carried out to investigate the relationship between prophetic foods consumption and lactogenic activity.
Traditional postpartum practices generally involve food proscriptions and prescriptions. Certain foods are prohibited due to their properties such as “windy”, “cold” and “hot”. As lactating mother needs higher energy and protein intake, this practice may impact their ability to meet their nutritional requirements. Consequently, their health may not be fully restored, wound healing would be slowed, and lactation success may be interfered. This study was conducted in Kuantan, Pahang, to investigate Malay mothers’ perception on confinement dietary practices during postpartum period. A total of 80 respondents aged between 23-43 years old were interviewed using a questionnaire which consisted of an extensive list of food items. It was found that 100% of respondents mentioned that they do observe the traditional postpartum practices after childbirth with most of them (63.0%) chose to confine for up to 44 days. Flavored rice, roti canai and various types of noodle were generally avoided during postpartum period due to their ‘oily/fatty’ property. Tubers, and most fruits and vegetables were also avoided due to their ‘cold’ property. Moreover, the famous ‘reason’ for exclusion of fish was ‘bisa’ and ‘causing itchiness’ for seafood. Milk and dairy products were included in majority of respondents’ diet. Out of 80, 43 (53.8%) respondents avoided soy sauce because it was believed to give negative effect on wound healing. Other than
that, iced drink, tea and sugarcane drink were avoided due to their ‘cold’ and ‘sharp/sour’ properties. In addition, statistical tests of all food items show that there is no difference in terms of level of acceptance for each food between women delivered via normal delivery or caesarean section. It is concluded that postpartum food taboo beliefs are still prevalent among Malay women. Extensive food prohibition and restriction causes limited food choices which may affect mothers’ nutritional intake. Thus, a more balanced diet should be recommended for Malay mothers during postpartum period to ensure adequate nutrient intake, as much as culturally acceptable.
Al Quran and Al Hadith are not book of sciences, but books of Divine guidance which can be referred to inspire in understanding things including the scientific nature of creation. This study was performed to compile the Quranic verses (Juz 16-30) and Hadith of Sahih Muslim which are related to visual function with scientifically proven facts. Five keywords were chosen based on the process of seeing which were “light”, “eye/eyes” and “sight” and the synonyms of sight which were “vision” and “see”. Search engine, Search Truth was used to help gather the verses and hadiths comprising the keywords. Cross reference with the original copy of the Holy Quran and book of Sahih Muslim was done to ensure the authenticity of the Quranic verses and hadiths. Existing scientific facts regarding the revelation were then gathered to support the findings.There were 377 Quranic verses (Juz 16-30) containing the words “light”, “eye/eyes” and “sight” (and its synonyms). Out of this, only 6 Quranic verses have relation to visual function and have been scientifically proven. For hadith of Sahih Muslim, there were 1285 hadiths containing the words “light”, “eye/eyes” and “sight” (and its synonyms). Out of 1285 hadiths only 8 hadiths of Sahih Muslim found to have relation to visual function and has scientifically proven facts.
Food insecurity has become one of the concerning issues in public health. The purpose of this study was to investigate household food security status and its relationship with childhood obesity in Kuantan, Pahang. This comparative cross sectional study was conducted in Kuantan, Pahang among 128 mothers aged 18 to 55 years with the children aged 7 and 13 years. Data on food security status was collected using Radimer/Cornell hunger and food insecurity instrument through telephone survey while children's height and weight as well as socio-demographic data were measured and obtained during schools visits. A total of 23% of the respondents were food secure. However, 77% experienced food insecurity where 52% were household food insecure, 9% women were individual food insecure and 16% fell into the child hunger category. Income (p=0.04), income per capita (p=0.033), household size (p=0.032) and area of living (p=0.001) were the significant risk factors for household food insecurity. The prevalence of overweight and obesity among children were 60.6% in food insecure households which was higher compared to food-secure households (38.4%). However, there were no significant association between childhood obesity and food security status. This study demonstrates that the prevalence of food insecurity and childhood obesity in Kuantan, Pahang is a major concern. The results warrant the need
for further investigation to identify complex interaction between food insecurity and
childhood obesity.
For centuries, people have been practising phytomedicine in treating ailments or reducing risk of suffering certain diseases. It is considered as a part of an ancient medicine with interest in it becomes rapidly escalating in this modern era. Expansive and prescribed medicine is not the only true path to treat various illnesses. Without disclaiming the modern medicine, herbs can be used as an alternative or a combined therapy with conventional medication. Phytomedicine or ethnomedicine is not a new
field in the world of research. It has been started long ago since the ancient times. As we realized the expensive modern medication is not the only mean to treat illness, interest in the discovery of remedy through natural or conventional products has become more escalating. (Copied from article)
The purpose of the study was to assess the size for both kidneys based on the position of
patient during ultrasonography examination. Normal renal size measurement is very important to evaluate in determining a healthy kidney. Method: Thirty volunteers, consist of 15 males and 15 females were involved in this study. The patients were scanned in supine, oblique, and prone position. The readings were repeated for three times for each position. Results: The mean length of kidney in supine, oblique and prone were 99.03 mm, 96.32 mm and 95.94 mm, respectively. Meanwhile, the mean width of kidney were 44.30 mm, 44.31 mm and 46.65 mm, respectively. The renal length measurement in prone position was statistically significant with p = 0.023 (p < 0.05), while the renal width measurement in oblique and prone position were statistically significant with p = 0.006 and p = 0.009 respectively. Conclusion: This research emphasised the importance of investigating the different types of position of patient during the ultrasound scanning. The importance mentioned were the reduction of scanning time for patient and cost- effectiveness
of the procedures. Besides, it also gave accurate result for the renal measurement.
Radiographic contrast medium is primarily used to enhance the contrast of the internal structure in diagnostic imaging. However, the adverse reactions of administration of contrast media have become a great concern and challenge since it can affect the life of patient. Even though some safety
measurements have been highlighted by several studies, still, the occurrence of adverse effects of contrast media is one of the issues in medical imaging. There are several similar properties between the young coconut water and contrast media used in radiography. Thus, the objective of this research was to investigate whether the young coconut water be used as an alternative to contrast media.
The purpose of this study was to translate and adapt the Vestibular Rehabilitation Benefit Questionnaire (VRBQ) into Malay (My-VRBQ). This is to add on to the limited number of
vestibular questionnaire available in Malay version. After the permission from the original
author was obtained, the process of adaptation began with forward-translation by the author with
audiological background and a linguistic expert. Then, the process of backward translation into
English were completed by three bilinguals who were proficient in both Malay and English. The final version of the draft was evaluated for its content validity, which was conducted by five professionals with audiological or speech pathology backgrounds. Additionally, its face validity was determine amongst 32 respondents with diverse backgrounds. Ten participants diagnosed with vestibular problems were recruited in the My-VRBQ for internal consistency validation process. They were enlisted from two hospitals in the East Coast of Malaysia. Based on the comments and
suggestions made by the validators; some changes in terms of the appropriateness of the instructions, items and the sentence structure were made. In the consistency analysis, the My-VRBQ revealed good internal consistency based on Cronbach alpha values (0.77 to 0.96). A translated and validated My-VRBQ has the potential to be used clinically to document vestibular rehabilitation benefits. Nevertheless, future studies are encouraged to further support the present study findings.
Non destructive testing (NDT) is a procedure to assess the internal components without
disassembling the outer components. Industrial imaging uses high energy x-rays to penetrate materials while x-rays used in medical imaging has exposure limitation. The purpose of this paper is to determine the optimum technical factors (kVp, mAs, and SID) used in medical imaging Computed Radiography (CR) system suitable for industrial imaging application to inspect lead acid battery. Methods: Lead acid battery is exposed to radiation with predetermined technical factors utilized in medical imaging. The kVp, mAs, and SID are varied throughout the experiment. The optimum technical factors obtained are further used to expose the battery at six different angles for inspection of lead plates. The sizes of lead plates are measured using imageJ software and the measured length is compared to the actual sizes of lead plates. Results: At 15 mAs, two values with the smallest difference to the original size of the lead plates are produced which is at 75 kVp and 125 kVp. Based on the technical factors used in this experiment, it is concluded that 15
mAs is the optimal mAs that can be used to provide the measurement with the least difference when compared to the original size of the lead plates. All measurement with the smallest difference when compared to the original sizes of lead plates are obtained at 125 kVp which is 4.19 cm (plate C when mAs at 5), 4.23 cm (plate C when mAs at 10), and 4.23 cm (plate C when mAs at 15). This indicates that 125 kVpis suitable to be used for inspection. The accurate measurement of lead plates is achieved when 100 cm SID is used. When exposed, white lead sulphate is seen coating the lead plates. Conclusion: X-rays used in medical imaging can be applied in industrial imaging for lead acid battery inspection as it also possess high energy and penetrating power.
Many studies had been carried out on breast cancer awareness and the practice of breast
self-examination (BSE). However, few studies had been conducted on the level of knowledge of breast cancer and the adoption of BSE amongst female undergraduate students. Even though, younger women have lower breast cancer incidence but younger women tend to have more aggressive cancer type and possibly present breast cancer at an advance stage. Therefore, it is best to start BSE at an early age especially in the high risk group because it will help in early detection of breast cancer. As such, this study aims to ascertain the level of knowledge of breast cancer and stage of adoption of breast selfexamination (BSE) among female undergraduate students of the Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences (KAHS), International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Kuantan, Pahang. Methods: A crosssectional study was carried out on 262 randomly selected female undergraduate students from KAHS, IIUM Kuantan. Data was collected using a validated self-administered questionnaire through a given link. Results: The mean age of the participants was 22.4 years. Approximately 78% of the respondents’ overall knowledge of breast cancer was fair. The knowledge on risk factors for breast cancer among respondents was a mere 48.42%. The majority of the respondents (84%) have heard about BSE. However, only half of the respondents knew how to perform BSE. Further, approximately 60% of respondents were at the pre-contemplation and contemplation stage for adoption of BSE. A significant relationship was found between knowledge of BSE and stage of adoption of BSE. Conclusion: The study found the majority of respondents have a fair knowledge on breast cancer and that knowledge of BSE is related to the stage of adoption of BSE.
The ideal imaging system that is providing a good quality image of minimal radiation dose. There are many parameters that influenced image quality and radiation dose on clinical radiography. This study has identified some of the problems whereby there are practitioners do not select the proper size of image receptor (IR) and collimation during the examination. The re-usable of the IR and imaging plate also need to be concerned whether multiple exposures may affect the image
quality or not. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of different exposure settings; kVp, mAs, collimation field sizes and different IR’ sizes for image quality and radiation dose. Methods: The wall-mounted x-ray machine act as a sources of radiation which exposed the acrylic cylinder that placed over the IR. The examination is repeated with different kVp, mAs, collimation field sizes and IR’s sizes. The source to image distance (SID) is fixed to 100 cm distance and put Nano dot dosimeter similar level with the top of acrylic to measure the dose. The result analysed by using software ImageJ to measure the Contrast to Noise Ratio (CNR). Results: The percentage of CNR1 and CNR2 reduced as the kVp is increased from (CNR1=77.25, CNR2=64.45), (CNR1=73.47, CNR2=61.22) and (CNR1=62.80, CNR2=57.32) for 50 kVp, 75 kVp and 100 kVp respectively and fluctuate when mAs increased. The CNR and entrance skin dose (ESD) shows higher when x-ray beam collimate according to IR’s size. Conclusions: Overall, the manipulative effect of exposure settings on image quality and ESD shows some positive results. The result also shows inconsistent readings in the CNR and ESD. The percentage of CNR decreased when kVp increases and slightly fluctuate when mAs increased. The ESD reading depicts higher when the kVp and mAs increase as well as when x-ray beam collimated according to IR’s sizes.