Displaying publications 2321 - 2340 of 3226 in total

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  1. Rosmawati NH
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2010;11(3):767-71.
    PMID: 21039051
    INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the leading cancer in women today and the major challenge is late presentation then later contributes to poor outcome and high fatality rate. Mammography is effective in early detection of breast cancer and consequently significantly improves the breast cancer survival.

    MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was used to study the knowledge and awareness towards mammogram amongst women aged 15 years old and above. A systemic random sampling was applied and information gathered through guided interview by using a structured questionnaire.

    RESULTS: Eighty-six respondents were recruited. The mean age of respondents was 40.5 years (SD: 15.51) and more than 80% had secondary and tertiary level of education. The percentage of respondents ever performed mammogram was 10.5% (95% CI: 4.0%-17.0%). The rate of correct answers was between 8.1% and 48.8%. Most of the respondents do not sure the answer (45.3%-61.6%) rather than wrongly answer (4.7%-43.0%). Only about 8% truly answer that mammogram should be done once in a life. There are 10.5% of women claimed that mammogram had no serious side effect and not a painful procedure. Nearly half of respondents (48.8%) correctly mentioned that Mammogram can detect breast cancer in early stage.

    CONCLUSION: Only a small percentage of women ever performed mammogram and there are seriously unaware and poor knowledge pertaining to mammography screening for breast cancer among women in sub urban area. A massive health education campaign through multiple methods and agencies are needed to enhance the knowledge and awareness on mammogram.
    Matched MeSH terms: Breast Neoplasms/prevention & control
  2. Shirazinejad A, Ismail N, Bhat R
    Foodborne Pathog Dis, 2010 Dec;7(12):1531-6.
    PMID: 21034165 DOI: 10.1089/fpd.2010.0616
    Fresh raw shrimps were dipped for 10, 20, and 30 min at room temperature (25°C ± 1°C) in lactic acid (LA; 1.5%, 3.0%, v/v) to evaluate their antipathogenic effects against Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Salmonella entreitidis, and Escherichia coli O157:H7 inoculated at a level of 10(5) CFU/g. Significant reductions in the population of all these pathogenic bacteria were recorded after dipping treatments, which were correlated to the corresponding LA concentrations and treatment time. With respect to the microbial quality, 3.0% LA treatment for 10 min was acceptable in reducing the pathogenic bacteria. Additionally, sensory evaluation results revealed a 10-min dip in 3.0% LA to be more acceptable organoleptically compared with 20 and 30 min of treatments. Results of the present study are envisaged to be useful for commercial applications for effective decontamination of shrimp.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Contamination/prevention & control*
  3. Deris ZZ, Hasan H, Ab Wahab MS, Sulaiman SA, Naing NN, Othman NH
    Trop Biomed, 2010 Aug;27(2):294-300.
    PMID: 20962728 MyJurnal
    In a very closed and overcrowding environment, influenza transmission during Hajj season is almost inevitable. The aim of this study was to determine the association between pre-morbid conditions and influenza-like illness (ILI) amongst Hajj pilgrims. A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst Malaysian Hajj pilgrims in year 2007. Survey forms were distributed at Madinatul-Hujjaj, Jeddah and Tabung Haji Clinic, Medina, Saudi Arabia where pilgrims stay on transit before returning to Malaysia. Allergic rhinitis was significantly associated with sore throat (p=0.047), longer duration of cough (p=0.017) and runny nose (p=0.016). Pilgrims who suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) had significant association with longer duration of cough (p=0.041) and those with diabetes mellitus had significant association with longer duration of sore throat (p=0.048). Underlying asthma was significantly associated with severe influenza like illness requiring admission to hospital for further treatment of respiratory symptoms (p=0.016). Based on these findings, we suggest those with underlying asthma should be discouraged from participating in the hajj and they should seek early treatment if they develop respiratory symptoms.
    Matched MeSH terms: Respiratory Tract Diseases/prevention & control*
  4. Kosugi A, Tanaka R, Magara K, Murata Y, Arai T, Sulaiman O, et al.
    J Biosci Bioeng, 2010 Sep;110(3):322-5.
    PMID: 20547348 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiosc.2010.03.001
    Old oil palm trunks that had been felled for replanting were found to contain large quantities of high glucose content sap. Notably, the sap in the inner part of the trunk accounted for more than 80% of the whole trunk weight. The glucose concentration of the sap from the inner part was 85.2g/L and decreased towards the outer part. Other sugars found in relatively low concentrations were sucrose, fructose, galactose, xylose, and rhamnose. In addition, oil palm sap was found to be rich in various kinds of amino acids, organic acids, minerals and vitamins. Based on these findings, we fermented the sap to produce ethanol using the sake brewing yeast strain, Saccharomyces cerevisiae Kyokai no.7. Ethanol was produced from the sap without the addition of nutrients, at a comparable rate and yield to the reference fermentation on YPD medium with glucose as a carbon source. Likewise, we produced lactic acid, a promising material for bio-plastics, poly-lactate, from the sap using the homolactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus lactis ATCC19435. We confirmed that sugars contained in the sap were readily converted to lactic acid with almost the same efficiency as the reference fermentation on MSR medium with glucose as a substrate. These results indicate that oil palm trunks felled for replanting are a significant resource for the production of fuel ethanol and lactic acid in palm oil-producing countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Industrial Waste/prevention & control
  5. Su YC, Wan KL, Mohamed R, Nathan S
    Vaccine, 2010 Jul 12;28(31):5005-11.
    PMID: 20546831 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.05.022
    Burkholderia pseudomallei is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, leading to relapse and recrudescence of melioidosis after cessation of antibiotic therapy. More effective immunotherapies are needed for better management of melioidosis. We evaluated the prophylactic potential of the immunogenic outer membrane protein Omp85 as a vaccine against murine melioidosis. Immunization of BALB/c mice with recombinant Omp85 (rOmp85) triggered a Th2-type immune response. Up to 70% of the immunized animals were protected against infectious challenge of B. pseudomallei with reduced bacterial load in extrapulmonary organs. Mouse anti-rOmp85 promoted complement-mediated killing and opsonophagocytosis of B. pseudomallei by human polymorphonuclear cells. In conclusion, we demonstrated that B. pseudomallei Omp85 is potentially able to induce protective immunity against melioidosis.
    Matched MeSH terms: Melioidosis/prevention & control*
  6. Muda K, Aris A, Salim MR, Ibrahim Z, Yahya A, van Loosdrecht MC, et al.
    Water Res, 2010 Aug;44(15):4341-50.
    PMID: 20580402 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2010.05.023
    Microbial granular sludge that is capable to treat textile wastewater in a single reactor under intermittent anaerobic and aerobic conditions was developed in this study. The granules were cultivated using mixed sewage and textile mill sludge in combination with anaerobic granules collected from an anaerobic sludge blanket reactor as seed. The granules were developed in a single sequential batch reactor (SBR) system under alternating anaerobic and aerobic condition fed with synthetic textile wastewater. The characteristics of the microbial granular sludge were monitored throughout the study period. During this period, the average size of the granules increased from 0.02 +/- 0.01 mm to 2.3 +/- 1.0 mm and the average settling velocity increased from 9.9 +/- 0.7 m h(-1) to 80 +/- 8 m h(-1). This resulted in an increased biomass concentration (from 2.9 +/- 0.8 g L(-1) to 7.3 +/- 0.9 g L(-1)) and mean cell residence time (from 1.4 days to 8.3 days). The strength of the granules, expressed as the integrity coefficient also improved. The sequential batch reactor system demonstrated good removal of COD and ammonia of 94% and 95%, respectively, at the end of the study. However, only 62% of color removal was observed. The findings of this study show that granular sludge could be developed in a single reactor with an intermittent anaerobic-aerobic reaction phase and is capable in treating the textile wastewater.
    Matched MeSH terms: Industrial Waste/prevention & control*
  7. Saddki N, Yusoff A, Hwang YL
    BMC Public Health, 2010;10:75.
    PMID: 20163741 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-10-75
    The aims of this study were to determine factors associated with dental visit and to describe barriers to utilisation of oral health care services among antenatal mothers attending the Obstetric and Gynaecology Specialist clinic in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Dental Caries/prevention & control
  8. Hanjeet K, Wan Rozita WM, How TB, Santhana Raj L, Baharudin O
    Trop Biomed, 2007 Dec;24(2):15-21.
    PMID: 18209703 MyJurnal
    The Students' Resilience and Interpersonal Skills Development Education (STRIDE) is a preventive drug education programme. The rational of this programme is that preventive drug education has to begin early in age, before the development of social attitudes and behaviour of students. A pre and a post intervention surveys were performed to evaluate the impact of this programme. Nine schools from three states were identified to participate in the intervention. These schools were selected based on their locations in high-drug-use areas (where the prevalence of drug use exceeds 0.5% of the student population). The new intervention curriculum was put into practice for three months in the nine schools. The overall scores obtained by each respondent to assess their knowledge on drugs and its implications were analysed. The results showed that the programme made a positive impact from the pre to post intervention programme by using the Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test (p < 0.05). A high percentage of the questions showed significant evidence through the McNemar matched pair Chi-Squared test with Bonferonni correction that there were positive shifts in the answers by comparing the pre and post intervention results (p < 0.05). Recommendations have been discussed with the Ministry of Education to integrate this programme into the national primary school curriculum.
    Matched MeSH terms: Substance-Related Disorders/prevention & control*
  9. Hyder AA, Waters H, Phillips T, Rehwinkel J
    Asia Pac J Public Health, 2007;19(2):16-22.
    PMID: 18050559
    This paper reviews economic evaluations of motorcycle helmet interventions in preventing injuries. A comprehensive literature review focusing on the effectiveness of motorcycle helmet use, and on mandatory helmet laws and their enforcement was done. When helmet laws were lifted between 1976-80, 48 states within the U.S.A. experienced a cost of $342,047 per excess fatality of annual net savings. Helmet laws in the USA had a benefit-cost ratio of 1.33 to 5.07. Taiwan witnessed a 14% decline in motorcycle fatalities and a 22% reduction of head injury fatalities with the introduction of a helmet law. In Thailand, where 70-90% of all crashes involve motorcycle, after enforcement of a helmet law, helmet-use increased five-fold, the number of injured motorcyclists decreased by 33.5%, head injuries decreased by 41.4%, and deaths decreased by 20.8%. There is considerable evidence that mandatory helmet laws with enforcement alleviate the burden of traffic injuries greatly. For low and middle-income countries with high rates of motorcycle injuries, enforced, mandatory motorcycle helmet laws are potentially one of the most cost-effective interventions available.
    Matched MeSH terms: Craniocerebral Trauma/prevention & control*
  10. Shuhaimi-Othman M, Mushrifah I, Lim EC, Ahmad A
    Environ Monit Assess, 2008 Aug;143(1-3):345-54.
    PMID: 17987397
    Water from 15 sampling stations in Tasik Chini (Chini Lake), Peninsular Malaysia were sampled for 12 months from September 2004 until August 2005 and analyzed for 11 metals including iron (Fe), aluminum (Al), manganese (Mn), barium (Ba), zinc (Zn), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) and cobalt (Co). Results showed that the mean (min-max) metal concentrations (in micrograms per liter) in Tasik Chini waters for the 12 months sampling based on 15 sampling stations (in descending order) for Fe, Al, Mn, Ba, Zn, Pb, Cu and Cd were 794.84 (309.33-1609.07), 194.53 (62.37-665.93), 29.16 (16.68-79.85), 22.07 (15.64-29.71), 5.12 (2.224-6.553), 2.36 (1.165-4.240), 0.832 (0.362-1.443) and 0.421 (0.254-0.696) respectively. Concentration for three metals i.e. Ni, Cr and Co were too low and not detected by the graphite furnace Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). Comparison with various water quality standards showed that the mean metals concentration in surface water of Tasik Chini were low and within the range of natural background except for Fe and Al. In general, metal concentrations in Tasik Chini water varied temporally and spatially. The main factors influencing these metal concentrations in the water were the raining season and mining activities. Stations located at Tanjung Jerangking and Melai areas were the most effected due to those factors.
    Matched MeSH terms: Water Pollution/prevention & control
  11. Ang HH, Lee KL
    Int J Toxicol, 2007 Sep-Oct;26(5):433-9.
    PMID: 17963130 DOI: 10.1080/10915810701583036
    The DCA (Drug Control Authority) of Malaysia implemented phase 3 registration of traditional medicines in January 1992 with special emphasis on the quality, efficacy, and safety of all dosage forms of these medicines. For this reason, a total of 100 herbal products containing Smilax myosotiflora were purchased in the Malaysian market and analyzed for mercury content, as mercury is a recognized reproductive toxicant. The products were analyzed using cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry. It was found that 89% of the above products do not exceed 0.5 ppm of mercury. Heavy metal poisoning such as mercury has been associated with traditional medicines. Therefore, it is important that doctors and health care practitioners are aware of these risks and finding ways to minimize them, including questions pertaining to the use of these remedies during the routine taking of a patient's history.
    Matched MeSH terms: Drug Contamination/prevention & control*
  12. Sim CH, Yusoff MK, Shutes B, Ho SC, Mansor M
    J Environ Manage, 2008 Jul;88(2):307-17.
    PMID: 17467147
    Putrajaya Wetlands in Malaysia, a 200ha constructed wetland system consisting of 24 cells, was created in 1997-1998 to treat surface runoff caused by development and agricultural activities from an upstream catchment before entering Putrajaya Lake (400ha). It was designed for stormwater treatment, flood control and amenity use. The water quality improvement performance of a section of the wetland cells is described. The nutrient removal performance was 82.11% for total nitrogen, 70.73% for nitrate-nitrogen and 84.32% for phosphate, respectively, along six wetland cells from Upper North UN6 to UN1 from April to December 2004. Nutrient removal in pilot scale tank systems, simulating a constructed wetland and planted with examples of common species at Putrajaya, the Common Reed Phragmites karka and Tube Sedge Lepironia articulata, and the capacity of these species to retain nutrients in above and below-ground plant biomass and substrate is reported. The uptake of nutrients by the Common Reed and Tube Sedge from the pilot tank system was 42.1% TKN; 28.9% P and 17.4% TKN; 26.1% P, respectively. The nutrient uptake efficiency of the Common Reed was higher in above-ground than in below-ground tissue. The results have implications for plant species selection in the design of constructed wetlands in Malaysia and for optimizing the performance of these systems.
    Matched MeSH terms: Water Pollution, Chemical/prevention & control
  13. Rosenthal VD, Maki DG, Mehta Y, Leblebicioglu H, Memish ZA, Al-Mousa HH, et al.
    Am J Infect Control, 2014 09;42(9):942-56.
    PMID: 25179325 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2014.05.029
    We report the results of an International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) surveillance study from January 2007-December 2012 in 503 intensive care units (ICUs) in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe. During the 6-year study using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) U.S. National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infection (DA-HAI), we collected prospective data from 605,310 patients hospitalized in the INICC's ICUs for an aggregate of 3,338,396 days. Although device utilization in the INICC's ICUs was similar to that reported from ICUs in the U.S. in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals: the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection in the INICC's ICUs, 4.9 per 1,000 central line days, is nearly 5-fold higher than the 0.9 per 1,000 central line days reported from comparable U.S. ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia was also higher (16.8 vs 1.1 per 1,000 ventilator days) as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (5.5 vs 1.3 per 1,000 catheter days). Frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas isolates to amikacin (42.8% vs 10%) and imipenem (42.4% vs 26.1%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (71.2% vs 28.8%) and imipenem (19.6% vs 12.8%) were also higher in the INICC's ICUs compared with the ICUs of the CDC's NHSN.
    Matched MeSH terms: Cross Infection/prevention & control*
  14. Al-Delaimy AK, Al-Mekhlafi HM, Lim YA, Nasr NA, Sady H, Atroosh WM, et al.
    Parasit Vectors, 2014;7:416.
    PMID: 25179100 DOI: 10.1186/1756-3305-7-416
    This study was carried out to develop a health education learning package (HELP) about soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, and to evaluate what impact such a package could have in terms of reducing the incidence and intensity of STH infections among Orang Asli schoolchildren in Pahang, Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Helminthiasis/prevention & control*
  15. Mokhtar MM, Taib RM, Hassim MH
    J Air Waste Manag Assoc, 2014 Aug;64(8):867-78.
    PMID: 25185389
    The Proposed New Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulation 201X (Draft), which replaces the Malaysia Environmental Quality (Clean Air) 1978, specifies limits to additional pollutants from power generation using fossil fuel. The new pollutants include Hg, HCl, and HF with limits of 0.03, 100, and 15 mg/N-m3 at 6% O2, respectively. These pollutants are normally present in very small concentrations (known as trace elements [TEs]), and hence are often neglected in environmental air quality monitoring in Malaysia. Following the enactment of the new regulation, it is now imperative to understand the TEs behavior and to assess the capability of the existing abatement technologies to comply with the new emission limits. This paper presents the comparison of TEs behavior of the most volatile (Hg, Cl, F) and less volatile (As, Be, Cd, Cr, Ni, Se, Pb) elements in subbituminous and bituminous coal and coal combustion products (CCP) (i.e., fly ash and bottom ash) from separate firing of subbituminous and bituminous coal in a coal-fired power plant in Malaysia. The effect of air pollution control devices configuration in removal of TEs was also investigated to evaluate the effectiveness of abatement technologies used in the plant. This study showed that subbituminous and bituminous coals and their CCPs have different TEs behavior. It is speculated that ash content could be a factor for such diverse behavior In addition, the type of coal and the concentrations of TEs in feed coal were to some extent influenced by the emission of TEs in flue gas. The electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and seawater flue gas desulfurization (FGD) used in the studied coal-fired power plant were found effective in removing TEs in particulate and vapor form, respectively, as well as complying with the new specified emission limits. Implications: Coals used by power plants in Peninsular Malaysia come from the same supplier (Tenaga Nasional Berhad Fuel Services), which is a subsidiary of the Malaysia electricity provider (Tenaga Nasional Berhad). Therefore, this study on trace elements behavior in a coal-fired power plant in Malaysia could represent emission from other plants in Peninsular Malaysia. By adhering to the current coal specifications and installation of electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and flue gas desulfurization, the plants could comply with the limits specified in the Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) Scheduled Waste Guideline for bottom ash and fly ash and the Proposed New Environmental Quality (Clean Air) Regulation 201X (Draft).
    Matched MeSH terms: Air Pollution/prevention & control*
  16. Akhtari-Zavare M, Ghanbari-Baghestan A, Latiff LA, Matinnia N, Hoseini M
    Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 2014;15(16):6531-4.
    PMID: 25169482
    BACKGROUND: In Iran, breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer in women and a major public health problem.

    METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out to determine knowledge on breast cancer and breast self- examination (BSE) practices of 384 females living in the city of Hamadan, Iran. A purposive sampling method was adopted and data were collected via face-to-face interviews based on a validated questionnaire developed for this study.

    RESULTS: Among respondents 268 (69.8%) were married and 144 (37.5%) of the respondents reported having a family history of breast cancer. One hundred respondents (26.0%) claimed they practiced BSE. Level of breast cancer knowledge was significantly associated with BSE practice (p=0.000). There was no association with demographic details (p<0.05).

    CONCLUSION: The findings showed that Iranian women's knowledge regarding breast cancer and the practice of BSE is inadequate. Targeted education should be implemented to improve early detection of breast cancer.

    Matched MeSH terms: Breast Neoplasms/prevention & control
  17. Tan SH, Ong KC, Wong KT
    J. Neuropathol. Exp. Neurol., 2014 Nov;73(11):999-1008.
    PMID: 25289894 DOI: 10.1097/NEN.0000000000000122
    Enterovirus 71 (EV71)-associated hand, foot, and mouth disease may be complicated by encephalomyelitis. We investigated EV71 brainstem infection and whether this infection could be ameliorated by passive immunization in a mouse model. Enterovirus 71 was injected into unilateral jaw/facial muscles of 2-week-old mice, and hyperimmune sera were given before or after infection. Harvested tissues were studied by light microscopy, immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization, and viral titration. In unimmunized mice, viral antigen and RNA were detected within 24 hours after infection only in ipsilateral cranial nerves, motor trigeminal nucleus, reticular formation, and facial nucleus; viral titers were significantly higher in the brainstem than in the spinal cord samples. Mice given preinfection hyperimmune serum showed a marked reduction of ipsilateral viral antigen/RNA and viral titers in the brainstem in a dose-dependent manner. With optimum hyperimmune serum given after infection, brainstem infection was significantly reduced in a time-dependent manner. A delay in disease onset and a reduction of disease severity and mortality were also observed. Thus, EV71 can directly infect the brainstem, including the medulla, via cranial nerves, most likely by retrograde axonal transport. This may explain the sudden cardiorespiratory collapse in human patients with fatal encephalomyelitis. Moreover, our results suggest that passive immunization may still benefit EV71-infected patients who have neurologic complications.
    Matched MeSH terms: Enterovirus Infections/prevention & control*
  18. Sheikh-Ali SI, Ahmad A, Mohd-Setapar SH, Zakaria ZA, Abdul-Talib N, Khamis AK, et al.
    J Microbiol, 2014 Oct;52(10):807-18.
    PMID: 25269603 DOI: 10.1007/s12275-014-4294-7
    The contamination of food and feed by Aspergillus has become a global issue with a significant worldwide economic impact. The growth of Aspergillus is unfavourable to the development of food and feed industries, where the problems happen mostly due to the presence of mycotoxins, which is a toxic metabolite secreted by most Aspergillus groups. Moreover, fungi can produce spores that cause diseases, such as allergies and asthma, especially to human beings. High temperature, high moisture, retarded crops, and poor food storage conditions encourage the growth of mold, as well as the development of mycotoxins. A variety of chemical, biological, and physical strategies have been developed to control the production of mycotoxins. A biological approach, using a mixed culture comprised of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactobacillus rhamnosus resulted in the inhibition of the growth of fungi when inoculated into fermented food. The results reveal that the mixed culture has a higher potential (37.08%) to inhibit the growth of Aspergillus flavus (producer of Aflatoxin) compared to either single culture, L. rhamnosus NRRL B-442 and S. cerevisiae, which inhibit the growth by 63.07% and 64.24%, respectively.
    Matched MeSH terms: Food Contamination/prevention & control*
  19. Peikari HR, Shah MH, Zakaria MS, Yasin NM, Elhissi A
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2015 May-Jun;11(3):339-51.
    PMID: 25262599 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2014.08.011
    The results from past studies about the effects of second-generation e-prescribing systems on community pharmacists' outcomes and practices are inconclusive, and the claims of effectiveness and efficiency of such systems have not been supported in all studies. There is a strong need to study the factors that lead to positive outcomes for the users of these systems.
    Matched MeSH terms: Medical Errors/prevention & control
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