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Fulltext Effect of high silica loading on uncured properties of epoxidised natural rubber compounds

Mazlina, M.K., Che Su, M.S.

ASM Science Journal, 2012;6(1):31-37.
MyJurnal

A 'green tyre' concept has the advantage of low rolling resistance, improved wet grip and enhanced handling. It has been reported that 3% decrease in rolling resistance is equivalent to 1% fuel saving, thus giving the 'green tyre' economic benefits and customer satisfaction. In this study, epoxidised natural rubber (ENR) compounds containing various loading of silica filler were prepared. The processibility and viscoelastic properties were investigated using the rubber processing analyser and Mooney viscometer. Results showed that the properties were adversely affected by the poor dispersion of silica as supported by the bound rubber measurement. In addition, a reversion in the cure behaviour was also observed as the curing temperature was increased to 170ºC.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Strength
Fulltext Factors affecting doctors' and nurses' compliance with standard precautions on all areas of hospital settings worldwide - a meta-analysis

R. (III) P. Dioso

ASM Science Journal, 2014;8(2):134-142.
MyJurnal

Aim: This study analyses factors affecting SP compliance among doctors and nurses in all areas of hospital settings worldwide.

Methods: The PICO guide helped put focus on this meta-analysis. Of the 100 studies published from search engines and/or databases from 2009 to 2014, only four were selected. A PRISMA guideline was also used to eliminate other studies. Critique framework helped in analysing the studies selected.

Outcomes: Four significant factors affected doctors’ and nurses’ compliance with the practice of SPs - health threats, behaviour modifications, systems controls and educations, and health promotions. Of the 33 doctors in the Obstetrics and Gynaecologic department, 30% complied; of the 120 doctors - 60% interns, 34.2% residents and 5.8% consultants - complied by proper hand gloving (56.7%), hand hygiene (39.3%) and wearing aprons (58.3%); of the 32 hospital nurses, 100% complied; and of the 1,444 clinical nurses in the hospital, there is a p

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Hygiene
Variant Abductor Pollicis Longus Muscle: a Case Report

Shipra P, Srijit D

Acta Medica (Hradec Kralove), 2007;50(3):213-215.
PMID: 28795947 DOI: 10.14712/18059694.2017.85

Abductor pollicis longus (APL) muscle is known to exhibit different variations with respect to its attachments. Various studies have reported the splitting of the APL muscle. Comparative anatomical findings of split insertion of APL is commonly found in chimpanzees, gorillas and gibbons. In the present study, we describe an anomalous APL muscle, which originated from the posterior surface of the shaft of the radius and ulna and traversed a course deep to the extensor retinaculum. Interestingly, immediately after emerging form the deeper aspect of extensor retinaculum, the thin tendon of the APL muscle continued again as a muscular belly in relation to the dorsolateral part of the 1st metacarpal bone, to end as a tendon with its attachment to the base of the proximal phalanx. Such an unusual variation of APL with its attachment into proximal phalanx is a rare finding and may be of importance in altering the mechanics of the thumb during abduction. The clinical significance of such an anatomical variation of APL may be important during reconstructive surgeries involving thumb and also of academic interest.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand
Florid peripheral stigmata of staphylococcus aureus infective endocarditis

Yew KL, Razali F

Acute Card Care, 2015;17(2):32.
PMID: 26458028 DOI: 10.3109/17482941.2015.1066822
Matched MeSH terms: Hand/pathology*
Hand hygiene compliance in Penang, Malaysia: Human audits versus product usage

Lee YF, Merican H, Nallusamy R, Ong LM, Mohamed Nazir P, Hamzah HB, et al.

Am J Infect Control, 2016 06 01;44(6):e95-7.
PMID: 26897697 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2015.12.031

Hand hygiene auditing is mandatory for all Malaysian public hospitals; nonetheless, the burden of auditing is impacting the support and sustainability of the program. We report an alternative method to routinely measure hand hygiene compliance with the aim to test whether alcohol-based handrub purchase data could be used as a proxy for usage because human auditing has decreased validity and reliability inherent in the methodology.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Hygiene/methods*
User acceptance of a touchless sterile system to control virtual orthodontic study models

Wan Hassan WN, Abu Kassim NL, Jhawar A, Shurkri NM, Kamarul Baharin NA, Chan CS

Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop, 2016 Apr;149(4):567-78.
PMID: 27021461 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajodo.2015.10.018

In this article, we present an evaluation of user acceptance of our innovative hand-gesture-based touchless sterile system for interaction with and control of a set of 3-dimensional digitized orthodontic study models using the Kinect motion-capture sensor (Microsoft, Redmond, Wash).

Matched MeSH terms: Hand
Satisfaction and problems experienced with wrist movements: comparison between a common body-powered prosthesis and a new biomechatronics prosthesis

Abd Razak NA, Abu Osman NA, Kamyab M, Wan Abas WA, Gholizadeh H

Am J Phys Med Rehabil, 2014 May;93(5):437-44.
PMID: 24429510 DOI: 10.1097/PHM.0b013e3182a51fc2

This report compares wrist supination and pronation and flexion and extension movements with the common body-powered prosthesis and a new biomechatronics prosthesis with regard to patient satisfaction and problems experienced with the prosthesis. Fifteen subjects with traumatic transradial amputation who used both prosthetic systems participated in this study. Each subject completed two questionnaires to evaluate their satisfaction and problems experienced with the two prosthetic systems. Satisfaction and problems with the prosthetic's wrist movements were analyzed in terms of the following: supination and pronation; flexion and extension; appearance; sweating; wounds; pain; irritation; pistoning; smell; sound; durability; and the abilities to open a door, hold a cup, and pick up or place objects. This study revealed that the respondents were more satisfied with the biomechatronics wrist prosthesis with regard to supination and pronation, flexion and extension, pain, and the ability to open a door. However, satisfaction with the prosthesis showed no significant differences in terms of sweating, wounds, irritation, pistoning, smell, sound, and durability. The abilities to hold a cup and pick up or place an object were significantly better with the body-powered prosthesis. The results of the survey suggest that satisfaction and problems with wrist movements in persons with transradial amputation can be improved with a biomechatronics wrist prosthesis compared with the common body-powered prosthesis.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand
Inexpensive Portable Infrared Device to Detect and Quantify Alcohols in Hand Sanitizers for Public Health and Safety

Ng JK, Tay FH, Wray PS, Mohd Saberi SS, Ken Ting KK, Khor SM, et al.

Anal Chem, 2021 11 16;93(45):15015-15023.
PMID: 34730329 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.1c02652

The onset of Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in the exponential growth of alcohol-based hand rub (ABHR)/hand sanitizer use. Reports have emerged of ABHR products containing methanol, a highly toxic compound to humans, exposing users to acute and chronic medical illnesses. While gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) remains the gold-standard method for the detection and identification of impurities in ABHRs, there exist limitations at widespread volume testing. This paper demonstrates the capability of an inexpensive portable pyroelectric linear array infrared spectrometer to rapidly test ABHR and compare the performance with a benchtop Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and HS-GC-MS. Multicomponent partial least square quantification models were built with performance found to be comparable between the two spectrometers and with the HS-GC-MS. Furthermore, the portable spectrometer was field-tested with real-world samples in Malaysia on both retail products (Group A) and freely deployed public dispensers (Group B) between May and November 2020. A total of 386 samples were tested. Only 75.2% of Group A met the criteria of safe and effective ABHR [no detectable methanol and alcohol concentration above 60% (v/v)], while <50% of Group B did. In addition, 7.4 and 18.8% of Group A and Group B, respectively, were found to contain methanol above permissible limits. The high percentage of sub-standard and methanol-containing samples combined with the frequent use of ABHR by the public highlights the need for and importance of a portable and rapid testing device for widespread screening of ABHR against falsified products and protects the general public.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Sanitizers*
Quick determination and discrimination of commercial hand sanitisers using attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and chemometrics

Teoh WK, Md Muslim NZ, Ismail ML, Chang KH, Abdullah AFL

Anal Methods, 2021 04 07;13(13):1601-1611.
PMID: 33730137 DOI: 10.1039/d1ay00075f

Due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, practicing personal hygiene such as frequent hand sanitising has become a norm. The making of effective hand sanitiser products should follow the recommended formulations, but the high demand worldwide for such affordable products could have made them a candidate for counterfeiting, thus deserving forensic determination and profiling for source determination or supply chain tracing. In this study, determination and discrimination of hand sanitisers was carried out by employing attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics. Fifty commercially available hand sanitisers were obtained from the market and analysed. ATR-FTIR profiles of each sanitiser were compared and decomposed by principal component analysis (PCA) followed by linear discriminant analysis (LDA). Physical observation enabled the discrimination of seven samples based on their respective colours, the presence of beads and their colours, and the physical forms of formulations. Subsequently, eight distinct patterns were observed through visual comparison of ATR-FTIR profiles of the remaining 43 samples. An initial unsupervised exploratory PCA model indicated the separation of two main groups with ATR-FTIR profiles similar to those of ethanol and isopropanol, respectively. The PCA score-LDA model provided good predictions, with a 100% correct classification into eight different groups. In conclusion, this study demonstrated a quick determination and discrimination of hand sanitiser samples, allowing screening for any restricted components and sample-to-sample comparison.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Hygiene; Hand Sanitizers/standards*
An anthropological study of the Malay and the Chinese of Malaysia

Chattopadhyay PK, Ganeson D

Ann Hum Biol, 1977 Jul;4(4):379-81.
PMID: 931362

Data for the ABO blood groups and for handclasping, arm folding, handedness, ear lobe types and camptodactyly are presented for 104 Malay and 57 Chinese males in the city of Alor Star, Kedah, Malaysia. The two groups exhibit marked differences in the frequencies of most of these attributes.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand
Requirements for the development of a hand transplantation program

Gordon CR, Siemionow M

Ann Plast Surg, 2009 Sep;63(3):262-73.
PMID: 19692900 DOI: 10.1097/SAP.0b013e31818d45e9

Since 1998, 42 hand transplants in 30 patients have been performed in countries such as France, United States, China, Austria, Malaysia, Italy, Belgium, Poland, Spain, and Germany. Now, with recent improvements in immunosuppression, the clinical applicability may expand and the ethical obstacles may soon be overcome, allowing multiple US institutions to perform hand allotransplantation. The main purpose of this article is to facilitate access to pertinent details in regards to hand transplantation, such as donor/recipient selection criteria, immunosuppressive therapies, and associated complications. It is a comprehensive literature review compiled from published reports from multiple hand transplant programs throughout the world. Due to its inherent complexity, hand transplantation should only be attempted at institutions within the US capable of orchestrating a specialized multidisciplinary team, and each institution's protocol should be extremely detailed and individualized.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Injuries/surgery*; Hand Transplantation*
Painful Rashes on the Palms and Soles

Bhullar M, Bhullar A, Arachchi NJ

Ann Acad Med Singap, 2016 Oct;45(10):479-480.
PMID: 27832225
Matched MeSH terms: Hand-Foot Syndrome/diagnosis; Hand-Foot Syndrome/etiology*
Normal values for total hand length, palm length and middle finger length in Malaysian newborns from 34-42 weeks of gestation

Halder D, Dharap AS, Than M

Anthropol Anz, 1999 Mar;57(1):69-75.
PMID: 10320927

Early identification of a syndrome at birth is of paramount importance for genetic counselling and possible prevention. Often malformation of the hands and fingers are cardinal manifestations of recognizable syndromes. As there are no published standards for hand and finger size for Malay newborn infants, this study was undertaken to establish normal values for hand, middle finger and palmar lengths, and their indices. A cross-sectional study was done on 509 consecutive newborn Malay babies between 34 and 42 weeks of gestation. Measurements were made on the right hand according to the recommended guidelines of Bergsma & Feingold (1975). The mean values for the measurements did not differ significantly between boys and girls, or change with gestation. For the whole group the mean value for total hand length was 64.4 +/- 3.42 mm, middle finger length 37.1 +/- 2.91 mm, palmar length 27.4 +/- 2.15 mm, finger index 0.425 +/- 0.03 and palmar index 0.58 +/- 0.03. A comparison with published measurements for newborns of different racial origin shows significant differences for the total hand length, middle finger length and palm length from Indian and Jewish infants, but not from Japanese infants. The indices were similar in Malay, Indian, Jewish and Japanese newborn infants.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand/physiology*
Fulltext Colonization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among Medical Students in Tertiary Institution in Central Malaysia

Rampal S, Zainuddin NH, Elias NA, Tengku Jamaluddin TZM, Maniam S, Teh SW, et al.

Antibiotics (Basel), 2020 Jul 06;9(7).
PMID: 32640588 DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9070382

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA infection is virulent and presents with a broad spectrum of severity. Limited regional reports that specifically outlined the potential risk of medical students being part of the dissemination of MRSA in healthcare settings were noted. This study aims to assess the prevalence and contributory factors of colonization of MRSA on neckties, headscarves, and ID badges among medical students in a local medical university in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted involving 256 medical students. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the data, and sample swabs were collected between July and August 2013 by swabbing neckties, headscarves, or identification badges. The swabs were then streaked onto mannitol salt agar (MSA) and incubated at 37 °C overnight. Out of 433 samples taken, 40 swabs (9.24%) were positive for Staphylococcus aureus. Out of the 40 swabs, five (12.5%) isolates were MRSA (one culture was isolated from the headscarf of a preclinical student, one culture was isolated from the necktie of clinical students, while the remaining three were isolated from identification badges of clinical students. There was no significant association between age, gender, ethnicity, and phase of medical students with the colonization of MRSA (p > 0.05). There was a significant association between knowledge score on hand hygiene practice and phase of medical students. MRSA colonies were present on neckties, headscarves, and identification badges of medical students of all phases. The findings from this study suggest the need for improvement of hand hygiene knowledge and discontinuity of mandatory use of physical ID badges and neckties among medical students.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Hygiene
Fulltext Hand hygiene - social network analysis of peer-identified and management-selected change agents

Lee YF, McLaws ML, Ong LM, Amir Husin S, Chua HH, Wong SY, et al.

Antimicrob Resist Infect Control, 2019;8:195.
PMID: 31798841 DOI: 10.1186/s13756-019-0644-x

Background: Hand hygiene compliance can be improved by strategies fostering collaborative efforts among healthcare workers (HCWs) through change agents. However, there is limited information about how change agents shape the social networks of work teams, and how this relates to organisational culture. The objectives of this study were to describe the influence of peer-identified change agents (PICAs) and management-selected change agents (MSCAs) on hand hygiene, perception of their leadership style by peers, and the role of the organisational culture in the process of hand hygiene promotion.
Methods: This study, stratified in pre-, during, and post-intervention periods, was conducted between February 2017 and March 2018 in two wards at a tertiary care hospital in Malaysia. Hand hygiene promotion was facilitated either by PICAs (study arm 1) or MSCAs (study arm 2), and the two wards were randomly allocated to one of the two interventions. Outcomes were: 1) perceived leadership styles of PICAs and MSCAs by staff, vocalised during question and answer sessions; 2) the social network connectedness and communication patterns between HCWs and change agents by applying social network analysis; and 3) hand hygiene leadership attributes obtained from HCWs in the post-intervention period by questionnaires.
Results: Hand hygiene compliance in study arm 1 and study arm 2 improved by from 48% (95% CI: 44-53%) to 66% (63-69%), and from 50% (44-55%) to 65% (60-69%), respectively. There was no significant difference between the two arms. Healthcare workers perceived that PICAs lead by example, while MSCAs applied an authoritarian top-down leadership style. The organisational culture of both wards was hierarchical, with little social interaction, but strong team cohesion. Position and networks of both PICAs and MSCAs were similar and generally weaker compared to the leaders who were nominated by HCWs in the post-intervention period. Healthcare workers on both wards perceived authoritative leadership to be the most desirable attribute for hand hygiene improvement.
Conclusion: Despite experiencing successful hand hygiene improvement from PICAs, HCWs expressed a preference for the existing top-down leadership structure. This highlights the limits of applying leadership models that are not supported by the local organisational culture.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Hygiene/statistics & numerical data*
Contamination of foods by food handlers: experiments on hepatitis A virus transfer to food and its interruption

Bidawid S, Farber JM, Sattar SA

Appl Environ Microbiol, 2000 Jul;66(7):2759-63.
PMID: 10877765

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is an important pathogen which has been responsible for many food-borne outbreaks. HAV-excreting food handlers, especially those with poor hygienic practices, can contaminate the foods which they handle. Consumption of such foods without further processing has been known to result in cases of infectious hepatitis. Since quantitative data on virus transfer during contact of hands with foods is not available, we investigated the transfer of HAV from artificially contaminated fingerpads of adult volunteers to pieces of fresh lettuce. Touching the lettuce with artificially contaminated fingerpads for 10 s at a pressure of 0.2 to 0.4 kg/cm(2) resulted in transfer of 9.2% +/- 0.9% of the infectious virus. The pretreatments tested to interrupt virus transfer from contaminated fingerpads included (i) hard-water rinsing and towel drying, (ii) application of a domestic or commercial topical agent followed by water rinsing and towel drying, and (iii) exposure to a hand gel containing 62% ethanol or 75% liquid ethanol without water rinsing or towel drying. When the fingerpads were treated with the topical agents or alcohol before the lettuce was touched, the amount of infectious virus transferred to lettuce was reduced from 9.2% to between 0.3 and 0.6% (depending on the topical agent used), which was a reduction in virus transfer of up to 30-fold. Surprisingly, no virus transfer to lettuce was detected when the fingerpads were rinsed with water alone before the lettuce was touched. However, additional experiments with water rinsing in which smaller volumes of water were used (1 ml instead of 15 ml) showed that the rate of virus transfer to lettuce was 0.3% +/- 0.1%. The variability in virus transfer rates following water rinsing may indicate that the volume of water at least in part influences virus removal from the fingerpads differently, a possibility which should be investigated further. This study provided novel information concerning the rate of virus transfer to foods and a model for investigating the transfer of viral and other food-borne pathogens from contaminated hands to foods, as well as techniques for interrupting such transfer to improve food safety.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Disinfection
Optimization of the operating parameters of a grass trimming machine

Mallick Z

Appl Ergon, 2010 Mar;41(2):260-5.
PMID: 19762006 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2009.07.010

Hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS) is very common among the workers operating power tools and doing similar nature of work for long hours. Grass trimming is one of the operations that involves use of vibrating cutter, and results in hand-arm vibration among workers. In this study, the influence of several operating parameters (length of nylon cutting thread, engine speed and handle material) is investigated in terms of HAV. Data are analyzed via orthogonal array, main effect, signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio, and analysis of variance to determine the appropriate operating parameter levels to minimize HAV. Operating parameters under investigation are found to be influential in controlling HAV generation during grass trimming operation. Experiments are carried out for measuring hand-arm vibration using tri-axial accelerometer conforming the effectiveness of this approach. Results show that 100mm length of nylon thread, 3000+/-400rpm of engine speed and ABS handle material combination results in minimum HAV (HARM) of magnitude 2.76m/s(2). Through this study not only the optimal operating parameter levels for GTM are obtained, but also the main process parameters that affect the HAV are determined. The optimum HAV obtained through appropriate level selection of operating parameters, significantly reduces the occurrence of HAVS among the grass trimmers.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome/etiology*
Fulltext Isolated facial palsy due to intra-aural tick (ixodoidea) infestation

Zamzil Amin, A., Baharudin, A., Shahid, H., Din Suhaimi, S., Nor Affendie, M.J.

Archives of Orofacial Sciences, 2007;2(1):51-53.
MyJurnal

A tick in the ear is a very painful condition and removal is difficult because it grips firmly to the external auditory canal or tympanic membrane. Facial paralysis is a rarely reported localised neurological complication of an intra-aural tick infestation. The pathophysiology of localised paralysis is discussed, together with the safe way of handling patients with an intra-aural tick infestation.

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Strength
Fulltext Probable carpal tunnel syndrome and its coping strategies among clinical dental support staff in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia

Nurfarah Wahidah Mohd Nor Rasid, Nurul Syafiqah Noh, Munirah Mohd Adnan, Azizah Yusoff

Archives of Orofacial Sciences, 2016;11(2):31-38.
MyJurnal

Prolonged work with highly repetitious flexion and extension of the wrist and forceful grip task were shown to increase the risk of developing carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) among dental personnel. The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence, risk factors and coping strategies of probable CTS among clinical dental support staff in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM). A cross-sectional study was conducted and a set of questionnaire consisting of socio-demographic status, work-related and psychosocial risk factors and coping strategies was distributed. Ninety-five clinical dental support staff completed and returned the questionnaire with a response rate of 80.5%. The prevalence of probable CTS was 38.9%, with the highest prevalence was found among dental surgery assistants (40.5%) followed by dental technologists (29.7%). There was no significant association between work-related or psychosocial risk factors with probable CTS (p>0.05). Most of the respondents with symptoms of CTS chose religion as the coping mechanism; mean 7.11 (SD 1.13). Awareness training should be emphasized among clinical dental support staff on the prevention of CTS.

Study site: Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM)

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Strength
Hidrotic ectodermal dysplasia: study of a large Chinese pedigree

Rajagopalan K, Tay CH

Arch Dermatol, 1977 Apr;113(4):481-5.
PMID: 139851

Hidrotic ectodermaldysplasia was found, to our knowledge, for the first time in a Chinese family in Malaysia, and it affected 15 members in five generations. The disease, which is transmitted as a non-sex-linked autosomal dominant trait, presumably originated from southern China. All 15 members had the typical nail, hair, and skin lesions, and we observed three different types of nail defects. Scalp alopeica was more extensive in the female members while keratoderma of the palms and soles was more notable in the male members. The nail and skin lesions also became severer with age. Except for the infectious eczematoid dermatitis present in the propositus, none had other skin or systemic disorders. All were relatively healthy and had normal life expectancies;

Matched MeSH terms: Hand Dermatoses/genetics

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