To investigate the acute effects of an 18 km run on the haematological and plasma electrolyte parameters, in recreational runners under conditions of high temperatures and humidity.
A study was undertaken amongst private primary care providers in three urban centres of Malaysia to understand the organizational structure of the facilities and to assess the cost of running such services. A total of 150 clinics were involved in the study. Data was collected through interviews with owners of the clinics using semi-structured questionnaires. Solo-practitioners owned 64.7% of the clinics while 35.3% of them were owned by group practice. This study showed that the mean number of patients visited the clinics daily was 49.3 with the average operating hours of 79.4 hours/week (range 28.0 - 168.0 hours/week). Group practice clinics operates 23.9 hours longer than solo-practice clinics. Group practice clinics were more likely to offer 24 hours service than solo-practice clinics. Most of the clinics were manned by a single doctor (57.3%), 30.0 % had two doctors and only 12.7% were run by more than two doctors. On average, group practice employed greater number of supporting staff than solo-practice clinics (6.0 vs 4.3 people). The mean annual cost to run each facility was found to be RM 444,698. The mean cost per patient was found to be RM 32.09 for solo-practice clinics and RM 38.55 for group practice. Wages represented the highest proportion in the recurrent cost (61.1%) followed by drugs (29.2%) and consumables (2.7%). Building cost (67.9%) and equipment cost (25.9%) were the major capital costs for the clinics. This study could serve as a basis to reimburse private primary care providers in the future health financing scheme in Malaysia. To improve efficiency and contain cost in primary care settings, efforts should be targeted towards cost of wages and drugs utilised by the providers in their daily practice.
Key words: Private practice; primary care; costs; Malaysia.
The title molecule, C(13)H(13)N(3)O(3).H(2)O, is in the form of a monohydrated zwitterion. The tetrahydropyridinium ring adopts an envelope conformation and is nearly coplanar with the plane of the imidazoline ring. The water solvate molecule plays an important role as a bridge between zwitterions, forming molecular chains running along the c direction, which are interconnected by N-H.O hydrogen bonds into molecular ribbons. The crystal packing is further stabilized by another N-H.O and one O-H.N hydrogen bond, which interconnect the molecular ribbons.
A qualitative research was carried out in Besut and Kuala Terengganu to identyy adolescents’ health problems and needs jiom adolescent perspective, and to establish a priority area in the development of Adolescent Health Clinic in the district. A total of 61 adolescents were selected and divided into four groups and stratified according to age, 13-15 years old and 16 - 17 years old. Generally all participants wished to live in an environment free hom negative health risk factors. The obstacles they perceived were mainly related to lack of care or too much control by their parents. Some of them perceived that their parents in general had inadequate knowledge and skills on parenting. Among local behavioural problems mentioned were loafing, running away from home, vandalism, school absenteeism, aggressive behaviour, substance abuse, pre-marital sexual activities, "bohsia", “bohjan" and even involvement in crimes. More than hah' agreed that counselling service is important for adolescents, and it should be made available in the community preferably outside the schools. They perceived an adolescent friendly health clinic concept as an important concept that should be introduced. To them adolescent friendly health clinic is a clinic run by professionals who are knowledgeable, caring, good listeners, non—judgemental, and who exercise confidentiality. The clinic preferably should be situated in a location which is away from the present health facilities to avoid the image of a place for sick people. Clinic hours preferably during weekends, should provide appropriate technologies and situated in a comfortable ambience. Adolescent participation in the clinic was also mentioned as an important entity for adolescent friendly health services.
In the ternary title compound, catena-poly[[silver(I)-mu-ethylenediamine-kappa(2)N:N'] 3-nitrobenzoate monohydrate], [[Ag(C(2)H(8)N(2))](C(7)H(4)NO(4)) x H(2)O](n), the Ag atom is bicoordinated in a linear configuration by two different N atoms from two symmetry-related ethylenediamine ligands, thus giving linear polymeric chains with an [-Ag-N-C-C-N-](n) backbone running parallel to the a axis. In the crystal packing, these linear chains are interconnected by N-H...O and O-H...O hydrogen bonds to form layers parallel to the ab plane.
Medical standby is the provision of emergency medical care and first aid for participants and/or spectators in a pre-planned event. This article describes the framework and the demographics of a medical standby at the 4(th) National Youth Camping and Motivation Program in Pasir Puteh, Kelantan from 30(th) July until the 3(rd) August 2004. The framework of the medical team is described based on the work process of any medical stand by. A medical encounter form was created for the medical standby defining the type of case seen (medical or trauma), name, age, race and diagnosis of the patient. We concluded that interagency collaboration during the initial planning and during the event itself is needed to ensure the smooth running of the medical standby. Most of the medical encounters were minor illnesses which are similar to previous studies and there was no case transferred to the hospital during that period.
An integrated geophysical study was conducted to investigate the subsurface regional structure and the presence of a Quaternary sedimentary basin in the Olak Lempit - Banting area of Selangor, Malaysia. A regional gravity survey and the high resolution reflection seismic were employed to determine the thickness and areal distribution of the alluvial sedimentary basin as well as to investigate the depth and topography of the bedrock in the study area. The sedimentary basin hosts one of the most important coastal alluvial aquifer which was used to cater the shortage of domestic water supply during the worst water crisis that hit the state of Selangor in 1998. The surface geological map shows that in general 70% of the study area is covered by Quaternary deposits of Beruas, Gula and Simpang Formations which overlie the sedimentary bedrock of Kenny Hill Formation. The Beruas Formation consists of mainly clay, sandy clay and peat of Holocene fluviatile-estuarine deposits, whereas the Gula Formation represents Holocene marine to estuarine sediments which mostly consists of clay and minor sand. The Simpang Formation (Pleistocene) is a continental deposit comprising of gravel, sand, clay and silt. The underlying Kenny Hill Formation consists of a monotonous sequence of interbedded shales, mudstones and sandstones. The rock is Carbonaceous in age and it forms an undulating surface topography in the eastern part of the study area. A total of 121 gravity stations were established using a La Coste & Romberg gravity meter and the elevations of most of the stations were determined barometrically using Tiernan-Wallace altimeters. The high resolution seismic reflection using the common mid point (CMP) or roll along technique was carried out using a 24 channel signal enhancement seismograph and high frequency geophones. A total length of about 1.7 km stacked seismic section has been acquired in this survey and a nearby borehole data was used for interpretation. A relative Bouguer anomaly map shows an elongated zone of low gravity anomaly trending approximately NW-SE which is interpreted to be the deposition center of the Quaternary basin. The interpreted gravity profiles running across the central area of the study area show that the basin has thickness varies from tenth to several hundred meters with maximum depth to bedrock of about 275m. A gravity profile which passes through the eastern edge of the basin was modeled with depth to bedrock of about 178m below ground which agrees very well with those obtained from the interpreted seicmic section and borehole data. The stacked seismic section shows several high amplitude parallel to sub-parallel reflection overlying discontinuos and low reflection pattern. Reflections on the eastern part of the section is much shallower than the one observed on the western part which clearly indicates the presence of basinal structure with a total interpreted depth to bedrock of about 200 meters.
A total of 306 Malaysian university students and staff were surveyed to ascertain the physical and emotional effects of the polluted haze on them. All subjects completed self-reported questionnaires. Analysis of the results indicated that the majority of subjects reduced their outdoor activities and sports, and also reported an increase in emotional and physical health problems. The results indicated that there was a general increase in emotional problems such as feeling depressed, lacking in energy, not feeling like doing anything, feeling anxious and afraid, difficulty sleeping, feeling agitated and irritable, and having no appetite. There was also an increase in physical symptoms such as itchy or red eyes, itchy or running nose, dry throat/cough, headaches, nausea, and fever. This study indicated that emotional and behavioural problems are just as common during the haze, when compared with physical health problems. The study also suggests that there are a broad range of problems which health care and human resource departments need to be aware of and take precautions to minimize during a haze.
Certain beverages e.g. coffee, tea, soft drinks, fruit juices, alcoholic beverages, may affect the physical properties of composite resins. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to: (1) evaluate the effect of different beverages and chilli sauce on the wear resistance of composite resins, (2) evaluate effect of the duration of immersion in the beverages and chilli sauce on the wear resistance of composite resins.
Materials and methods: Disc specimens were fabricated using two different types of composite resins: (i) Filtek Z350 (3M ESPE, USA, nano-filled composite, 40 specimens) and (ii) Solare P (GC Dental Products Corp, Japan, microhybrid composite, 40 specimens). After polymerization, all the specimens were polished using Enhance Polishing System (Dentsply International Inc.,USA). The specimens were air-dried before weighing using Sartorius BP 221S weighing balance (Sartorius AG, Goettingen, Germany). Ten specimens from each type of composite were immersed in distilled water (control group), Coca cola®, orange juice (Peel Fresh®) and chilli sauce (Maggi®) respectively. The duration of immersion was 6 hours and 1 week. A reciprocal compression-sliding system was used to evaluate the wear resistance of the specimens. The specimens were moved back and forth with a loaded counter-body (235g) against sand paper (P1000, 3M ESPE, USA) in running water. The weight of the specimens were measured after 6 hours of immersion and 20,000 wear cycles and also at 1 week of immersion with further 20,000 wear cycles. The wear resistances were tabulated as percentage of weight loss from the specimens. Results were statistically analyzed using one way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey’s test (p= 0.05).
Results: The results showed that Solare P has significantly lower wear resistance compared to Filtek Z350. There was no significant difference in wear resistance for Filtek Z350 when immersed in chili sauce, Coca-cola® and orange juice in comparison with control group for 6 hours and 1 week. Similar findings were observed for Solare P.
Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, it was concluded that Solare P has poorer wear resistance than Filtek Z350. The soaking medium investigated and duration of immersion have no influence on the wear resistance of Solare P and Filtek Z350.
In the past, simulating charge dynamics in solid state devices, such as current mobility, transient current drift velocities are done on mainframe systems or on high performance computing facilities. This is due to the fact that, such simulations are costly in terms of computational requirements when implemented on a single processor-based personal computers (PCs). When simulating charge dynamics, large ensembles of particles are usually preferred, such as exceeding 40000 particles, to ensure a numerically sound result. When implementing this type of simulation on a single processor PCs using the conventional ensemble or single particle Monte Carlo method, the computational time is very long even on the fast 2.0 MHz PCs. Lately, a more efficient, easily made available tools and cost effective solution to this problem is the application of an array of PCs employed in a parallel application. This is done using a computer cluster network in a master-slave model. In this paper we report the development of a LINUX cluster for the purpose of implementing parallel ensemble Monte Carlo modelling for solid states device. We have proposed the use of Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) standards when running the parallel algorithm of the ensemble MC simulation. Some results of the development are also presented in this paper.
The aims of this study were to establish the physical and physiological attributes of elite and sub-elite Malaysian male badminton players and to determine whether these attributes discriminate elite players from sub-elite players. Measurements and tests of basic anthropometry, explosive power, anaerobic recovery capacity, badminton-specific movement agility, maximum strength, and aerobic capacity were conducted on two occasions, separated by at least one day. The elite (n = 12) and sub-elite (n = 12) players' characteristics were, respectively: mean age 24.6 years (s = 3.7) and 20.5 years (s = 0.7); mass 73.2 kg (s = 7.6) and 62.7 kg (s = 4.2); stature 1.76 m (s = 0.07) and 1.71 m (s = 0.05); body fat 12.5% (s = 4.8) and 9.5% (s = 3.4); estimated VO(2max) 56.9 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1) (s = 3.7) and 59.5 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1) (s = 5.2). The elite players had greater maximum absolute strength in one-repetition maximum bench press (P = 0.015) compared with the sub-elite players. There were significant differences in instantaneous lower body power estimated from vertical jump height between the elite and sub-elite groups (P < 0.01). However, there was no significant difference between groups in shuttle run tests and on-court badminton-specific movement agility tests. Our results show that elite Malaysian male badminton players are taller, heavier, and stronger than their sub-elite counterparts. The test battery, however, did not allow us to discriminate between the elite and sub-elite players, suggesting that at the elite level tactical knowledge, technical skills, and psychological readiness could be of greater importance.
Introduction : Health management is a tool to ensure an effective running of health program and at the same time avoiding flaws to its components including patients, workers and the entire organization. Risk management is a new concept in health management where the determinants of the problems or the risks are put to minima. It’s strategies are oriented towards prevention as well as controlling to all its administrative system.
Methodology : This is a systematic review on various papers, studies and observations put forwards by risk management experts. It is also supported by feedbacks from many scholars who are involved in research and teaching.
Results : It is been observed that risk management activities have been on practiced in health care delivery system. It is not a new form, but rather a situational action based on certain issues. In fact, it happens in any organization – public or private. Close observation on this area has triggered development of various risk management models including some administrative standard and guidelines.
Conclusion: Risk management is a new approach that need to be practiced by all manager and leader. Its discipline involves interpretation of risk at all angles. It is not only confined to the explicit component, but should also be expended to others area as well. It needs a good sense and good attitude of the manager. The essence of risk management is to minimize the risk to patient, staff, public and the entire organization.
Athletes in Malaysia need to perform in a hot and humid environment due to the climatic nature of the country. Chronic supplementation of Panax ginseng (PG) (a deciduous perennial plant belonging to the Araliaceae family) enhances physical performance. As the ergogenic effect of acute supplementation of PG on endurance performance has not been explored in the Malaysian population especially in a hot and humid condition this study was taken up.
Acute supplementation of Panax ginseng (PG) is known not to impose any significant effect on endurance performance of recreational Malaysian runners, while caffeine augments the ergogenic property of some herbs. The present study was aimed to examine the effects of acute supplementation of caffeine and PG on endurance running performance in a hot and humid condition. Nine heat adapted Malaysian recreational runners (age : 25.4 ± 6.9 years, body mass : 57.6 ± 8.4 kg; body height : 168.3 ± 7.6 cm) ingested either placebo or combined dose of 5 mg x kg(-1) of body weight of caffeine and 200 mg of PG one hour before the running on treadmill at 70% of VO2(max) in this placebo-controlled double blind randomised study in a laboratory environment of 31 degrees C and 70% relative humidity. They drank 3 ml x kg(-1) of body weight of cool water every 20 minutes during the exercise to prevent dehydration. Blood samples were withdrawn and oxygen uptake was recorded every 20 minutes while heart rate, core body temperature, skin temperature and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were recorded every 10 minutes during the trials. Endurance time was significantly different (P < 0.05) between experimental and placebo trials. Heart rate, skin temperature, core body temperature, oxygen uptake, RPE, plasma insulin, glucose, free fatty acid and lactate levels during the endurance exercise did not show any significant difference between the trials. Thus, we conclude that combined and acute supplementation of caffeine and PG in the said doses improved the endurance running performance of the heat-adapted male recreational runners.
The use of herbs as ergogenic aids in exercise and sport is not novel. Ginseng, caffeine, ma huang (also called 'Chinese ephedra'), ephedrine and a combination of both caffeine and ephedrine are the most popular herbs used in exercise and sports. It is believed that these herbs have an ergogenic effect and thus help to improve physical performance. Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the effects of these herbs on exercise performance. Recently, researchers have also investigated the effects of Eurycoma longifolia Jack on endurance cycling and running performance. These investigators have reported no significant improvement in either cycling or running endurance after supplementation with this herb. As the number of studies in this area is still small, more studies should be conducted to evaluate and substantiate the effects of this herb on sports and exercise performance. For instance, future research on any herbs should take the following factors into consideration: dosage, supplementation period and a larger sample size.
The study investigated the effects of FIFA 11+ and HarmoKnee, both being popular warm-up programs, on proprioception, and on the static and dynamic balance of professional male soccer players.
Identifying physiotherapy stakeholders for program evaluation. The Health Professional Education plays a pivotal role in providing quality health work force thus improved care in health service to the public in our country. As such all Allied Health Programs conducted by Higher Education Providers (HEP) should keep close surveillance of the quality of Allied Health Programs to mould health professional graduates to deliver quality healthcare service through proper competency measures. Stakeholders have been defined as on-campus and off campus group for the sake of identifying respective views in institutional effectiveness. Allied health programs are emerging enormously in our country and this revolution is creating major crustal deformation, forming folds and faults towards its profession as many educational institutions in the country is with the enterprising objectives of running such programs and not for the benefits of the society.
The combined metabolic and thermoregulatory demands experienced during exercise in the heat impose an exceptional stress on the circulatory system. To date, much of what is known about circulatory stress during exercise in the heat has focused on primarily dry environment (~ 40% rh)
with limited studies carried in higher humidity (> 60% rh) conditions. This study was designed to investigate the influence of humid condition on circulatory responses during prolonged intense running exercise among elite runners. On separate days, 11 male elite runners ran for 60 minutes at
an intensity of 70% max across three different humidity levels of HH (71% rh), NH (43% rh) and LH (26.2% rh) with the ambient temperature set at 300C. Thermal stress was found to increase during exercise in the HH condition as both Tre and Tsk steadily rise across time. Circulatory stress markedly increased during exercise in higher humidity levels. Heart rate was significantly higher in the HH condition with its level increasing to 92% of HRmax. The upwards drift in HR was significantly higher in HH within the last ten minutes of exercise. Contrary, stroke volume recorded a
steady decline during exercise with a significantly lower SV in the HH as compared with the NH and LH. Results implicate rising humidity level will impose greater circulatory stress during prolonged intense exercise. The consequence from this circulatory stress will result in limited ability for an athlete to sustain his exercise capacity when HR reaches maximal level.
The aim of this study was to measure the effect of environmental conditions and aid-station beverage- cooling practices on the temperature of competitor beverages.
Link analysis algorithms for Web search engines determine the importance and relevance of Web pages. Among the link analysis algorithms, PageRank is the state of the art ranking mechanism that is used in Google search engine today. The PageRank algorithm is modeled as the behavior of a randomized Web surfer; this model can be seen as Markov chain to predict the behavior of a system that travels from one state to another state considering only the current condition. However, this model has the dangling node or hanging node problem because these nodes cannot be presented in a Markov chain model. This paper focuses on the application of Markov chain on PageRank algorithm and discussed a few methods to handle the dangling node problem. The Experiment is done running on WEBSPAM-UK2007 to show the rank results of the dangling nodes.