Arthroscopic posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction carries some risk of complications, including injury to the neurovascular structures at the popliteal region. We describe a delayed presentation of the right leg and foot compartment syndrome following rupture of popliteal artery pseudoaneurysm, which presented 9 days after an arthroscopic transtibial PCL reconstructive surgery. Fasciotomy, surgical exploration, repair of an injured popliteal vein and revascularisation of the popliteal artery with autogenous great saphenous vein interposition graft were performed. Owing to the close proximity of vessels to the tibial tunnel, special care should be taken in patients who undergo arthroscopic PCL reconstruction, especially if there is extensive scarring of the posterior capsule following previous injury. Emergency fasciotomy should not be delayed and is justified when the diagnosis of compartment syndrome is clinically made.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the perceptions of general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists (CPs) in Penang, Malaysia, towards consumer reporting of Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs).
Purpose. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of hospital pharmacists towards drug management and reasons underlying stock-outs of antimalarial drugs in Pakistan. Methods. A qualitative study was designed to explore the perceptions of hospital pharmacists regarding drug management and irrational use of antimalarial drugs in two major cities of Pakistan, namely, Islamabad (national capital) and Rawalpindi (twin city). Semistructured interviews were conducted with 16 hospital pharmacists using indepth interview guides at a place and time convenient for the respondents. Interviews, which were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim, were evaluated by thematic content analysis and by other authors' analysis. Results. Most of the respondents were of the view that financial constraints, inappropriate drug management, and inadequate funding were the factors contributing toward the problem of antimalarial drug stock-outs in healthcare facilities of Pakistan. The pharmacists anticipated that prescribing by nonproprietary names, training of health professionals, accepted role of hospital pharmacist in drug management, implementation of essential drug list and standard treatment guidelines for malaria in the healthcare system can minimize the problem of drug stock outs in healthcare system of Pakistan. Conclusion. The current study showed that all the respondents in the two cities agreed that hospital pharmacist has failed to play an effective role in efficient management of anti-malarial drugs stock-outs.
Osteoporosis may cause bone fracture even under slight trauma. Osteoporotic fracture has become a major public health problem but until today, the treatments available are not satisfactory. Many pre-clinical testings on animals were done to find new agents that can be sourced from natural products and synthetic drugs for osteoporotic fracture healing. Animal models are more appropriate for fracture healing study than human subject due to several reasons including the ethical issues involved. The bones of rodents are similar to human in term of their morphological change and response to therapy. Small rodents such as rats and mice are suitable animal models for fracture healing studies as they have a similar bone remodeling system to human. To date, there is no specific guideline to carry out fracture healing studies in animal models for the evaluation of new agents. This paper highlights the protocols of various fracture and fixation methods for experimental osteoporotic fracture healing using rodent models.
The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) was developed to establish uniform communication between healthcare providers, patients, and the patients' families. It is also used to prognosticate the outcome of motor function. Based on previous reports, prognostication of ambulation status in cerebral palsy is based on the motor development curve, which shows a plateau at a certain known age.
Histological observation and scanning electron microscopy analyses in Dendrobium Bobby Messina indicates the cellular process of cryopreserved protocorm-like bodies (PLBs) was different comparative to non-cryopreserved PLBs. The cellular process was not only modified by the freezing and thawing effect but also due to the dehydration process itself during the cryopreservation procedure. Histological observation in Dendrobium Bobby Messina in encapsulation-dehydration method indicated that the degree of plasmolysis causes more cellular changes to the cryopreserved PLBs comparative to non-cryopreserved and stock culture PLBs. These results revealed higher amount of homogenous cell population and denser cytoplasm in cryopreserved PLBs. Histological analysis also revealed more voluminous nucleus in cryopreserved PLBs comparative to non-cryopreserved PLBs and PLBs stock culture. In contrast, scanning electron microscope analysis showed severe damages in cryopreserved PLBs and non-cryopreserved PLBs comparative to the PLBs stock culture which in return could be the possible reason of no regrowth in encapsulation-dehydration method. Damages incurred were on top part, side part, and at the stomata of the PLBs. Histological observation and scanning electron microscopy analyses in Dendrobium Bobby Messina indicates that the degree of plasmolysis causes changes in the cellular process of PLBs from cryopreserved PLBs was different comparative to non-cryopreserved PLBs.
Noise is known to be one of the environmental and occupational hazards listed in the Factory and Machinery Act 1967. Quarries with loud deafening sounds from trucks and machineries pose the risk of noise-induced hearing loss to workers. This study was designed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice towards noise-induced hearing loss and to determine the prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss and its associated factors among quarry workers in a north-eastern state of Malaysia.
In the work presented here, photocatalytic systems using TiO2 and ZnO suspensions were utilized to evaluate the degradation of resorcinol (ReOH). The effects of catalyst concentration and solution pH were investigated and optimized using multivariate analysis based on response surface methodology. The results indicated that ZnO showed greater degradation and mineralization activities compared to TiO2 under optimized conditions. Using certain radical scavengers, a positive hole, together with the participation of hydroxyl radicals, were the oxidative species responsible for ReOH degradation on TiO2 whereas, the ZnO photocatalysis occurred principally via hydroxyl radicals. Some hitherto unreported pathway intermediates of ReOH degradation were identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A tentative reaction mechanism for the formation of these intermediates was proposed. Moreover, the figure-of-merit electrical energy per order was employed to estimate the electrical energy consumption.
Osteoporosis is a progressive disease of the skeleton characterised by bone fragility due to a reduction in bone mass and possibly to alteration in bone architecture that lead to a propensity to fracture with minimum trauma. Most osteoporotic fractures occur at locations rich in trabecular or cancellous bone and usually related to post menopausal women. Recently, silymarin received attention due to its alternative beneficial effect on bone formation. It is a mixture of flavonoids with powerful antioxidant properties. This review focuses on the use of milk thistle or silymarin for the treatment of osteoporosis that may be related to fracture bone. Silymarin shows potent antioxidant herb that may modulate multiple genes in favour of helping to build bone and prevent bone loss. In the mouse fracture healing model, silymarin supplementation improved tibial healing with elevated BMD and serum levels of ALP and osteocalcin. Silymarin also demonstrated clear estrogenic antiosteoporotic effects in bone structure. Silymarin appears to play a crucial role to prevent bone loss and might regulate osteogenesis and may be beneficial for fracture healing. If silymarin is considered for the use of post menopausal women, it may be used for the treatment of osteoporosis. It would be of great benefit to postmenopausal women to develop an oestrogen antagonist that is as potent and efficacious as oestrogen in preventing bone loss without the major side effect associated with HRT.
In dairy product sector, butter is one of the potential sources of fat soluble vitamins, namely vitamin A, D, E, K; consequently, butter is taken into account as high valuable price from other dairy products. This fact has attracted unscrupulous market players to blind butter with other animal fats to gain economic profit. Animal fats like mutton fat (MF) are potential to be mixed with butter due to the similarity in terms of fatty acid composition. This study focused on the application of FTIR-ATR spectroscopy in conjunction with chemometrics for classification and quantification of MF as adulterant in butter. The FTIR spectral region of 3910-710 cm⁻¹ was used for classification between butter and butter blended with MF at various concentrations with the aid of discriminant analysis (DA). DA is able to classify butter and adulterated butter without any mistakenly grouped. For quantitative analysis, partial least square (PLS) regression was used to develop a calibration model at the frequency regions of 3910-710 cm⁻¹. The equation obtained for the relationship between actual value of MF and FTIR predicted values of MF in PLS calibration model was y = 0.998x + 1.033, with the values of coefficient of determination (R²) and root mean square error of calibration are 0.998 and 0.046% (v/v), respectively. The PLS calibration model was subsequently used for the prediction of independent samples containing butter in the binary mixtures with MF. Using 9 principal components, root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) is 1.68% (v/v). The results showed that FTIR spectroscopy can be used for the classification and quantification of MF in butter formulation for verification purposes.
A new layered organic-inorganic nanohybrid material, zinc-aluminum-3,4-dicholorophenoxyacetate (N3,4-D) in which an agrochemical, 3,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (3,4-D), is intercalated into zinc-aluminum-layered double hydroxide (ZAL), was synthesized by coprecipitation method. A well-ordered nanomaterial was formed with a percentage loading of 53.5% (w/w). Due to the inclusion of 3,4-D, basal spacing expanded from 8.9 Å in ZAL to 18.7 Å in N3,4-D. The Fourier transform infrared study shows that the absorption bands of the resulting nanohybrid composed of both the 3,4-D and ZAL further confirmed the intercalation episode. Thermal analysis shows that ZAL host enhances the thermal stability of 3,4-D. Controlled-release experiment shows that the release of 3,4-D in the aqueous media is in the order of phosphate > carbonate > sulfate > chloride. These studies demonstrate the successful intercalation of the 3,4-D and its controlled release property in various aqueous media.
Reconstruction of major bone defects using free fibular transfer provides a good biological option in unsound situations. Most authors recommend selection of the recipient blood vessels outside the zone of injury to achieve successful free fibular transfer. Occasionally, in polytraumatized patients, the surgeon has to use a previously fractured fibula as a graft, with increased risk of inclusion of the injury zone that may lead to failure.
Osteoarthritis is a common joint disorder that is most prevalent in the knee joint. Knee osteoarthritis (OA) can be characterized by the gradual loss of articular cartilage (AC). Formation of lesion, fissures and cracks on the cartilage surface has been associated with degenerative AC and can be measured by morphological assessment. In addition, loss of proteoglycan from extracellular matrix of the AC can be measured at early stage of cartilage degradation by physiological assessment. In this case, a biochemical phenomenon of cartilage is used to assess the changes at early degeneration of AC. In this paper, a method to measure local sodium concentration in AC due to proteoglycan has been investigated. A clinical 1.5-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with multinuclear spectroscopic facility is used to acquire sodium images and quantify local sodium content of AC. An optimised 3D gradient-echo sequence with low echo time has been used for MR scan. The estimated sodium concentration in AC region from four different data sets is found to be ~225±19mmol/l, which matches the values that has been reported for the normal AC. This study shows that sodium images acquired at clinical 1.5-T MRI system can generate an adequate quantitative data that enable the estimation of sodium concentration in AC. We conclude that this method is potentially suitable for non-invasive physiological (sodium content) measurement of articular cartilage.
Extensive environmental survey and measurements of gamma radioactivity in the soil samples collected from Segamat District were conducted. Two gamma detectors were used for the measurements of background radiation in the area and the results were used in the computation of the mean external radiation dose rate and mean weighted dose rate, which are 276 nGy h(-1) and 1.169 mSv y(-1), respectively. A high purity germanium (HPGe) detector was used in the assessment of activity concentrations of (232)Th, (226)Ra and (40)K. The results of the gamma spectrometry range from 11 ± 1 to 1210 ± 41 Bq kg(-1) for (232)Th, 12 ± 1 to 968 ± 27 Bq kg(-1) for (226)Ra, and 12 ± 2 to 2450 ± 86 Bq kg(-1) for (40)K. Gross alpha and gross beta activity concentrations range from 170 ± 50 to 4360 ± 170 Bq kg(-1) and 70 ± 20 to 4690 ± 90 Bq kg(-1), respectively. These results were used in the plotting of digital maps (using ARCGIS 9.3) for isodose. The results are compared with values giving in UNSCEAR 2000.
A study was performed to determine the effect of Conway and f/2 media on the growth of microalgae genera. Genera of Chlorella sp., Dunaliella sp., Isochrysis sp., Chaetoceros sp., Pavlova sp. and Tetraselmis sp. were isolated from the South China Sea. During the cultivation period, the density of cells were determined using Syringe Liquid Sampler Particle Measuring System (SLS-PMS) that also generated the population distribution curve based on the size of the cells. The population of the microalgae genera is thought to consist of mother and daughter generations since these microalgae genera reproduce by releasing small non-motile reproductive cells (autospores). It was found that the reproduction of Tetraselmis sp., Dunaliella sp. and Pavlova sp. could be sustained longer in f/2 Medium. Higher cell density was achieved by genus Dunaliella, Chlorella and Isochrysis in Conway Medium. Different genera of microalgae had a preference for different types of cultivation media.
A 24 year-old Malay lady presented with high grade fever, myalgia, generalized rashes, severe headache and was positive for dengue serology test. Her lowest platelet count was 45 × 10(9) cells/L. She complained of sudden onset of painlessness, profound loss of vision bilaterally 7 days after the onset of fever. On examination, her right eye best corrected vision was 6/30 and left eye was 6/120. Her anterior segment examination was unremarkable. Funduscopy revealed there were multiple retinal haemorrhages found at posterior pole of both fundi and elevation at fovea area with subretinal fluid. Systemic examination revealed normal findings except for residual petechial rashes. She was managed conservatively. Her vision improved tremendously after 2 months. The retinal hemorrhages and foveal elevation showed sign of resolving. Ocular manifestations following dengue fever is rare. However, bilateral visual loss can occur if both fovea are involved.
Methane (CH₄) emissions and oxidation were measured at the Air Hitam sanitary landfill in Malaysia and were modeled using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change waste model to estimate the CH₄ generation rate constant, k. The emissions were measured at several locations using a fabricated static flux chamber. A combination of gas concentrations in soil profiles and surface CH₄ and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions at four monitoring locations were used to estimate the CH₄ oxidation capacity. The temporal variations in CH₄ and CO₂ emissions were also investigated in this study. Geospatial means using point kriging and inverse distance weight (IDW), as well as arithmetic and geometric means, were used to estimate total CH₄ emissions. The point kriging, IDW, and arithmetic means were almost identical and were two times higher than the geometric mean. The CH₄ emission geospatial means estimated using the kriging and IDW methods were 30.81 and 30.49 gm(−2) day(−1), respectively. The total CH₄ emissions from the studied area were 53.8 kg day(−1). The mean of the CH₄ oxidation capacity was 27.5 %. The estimated value of k is 0.138 year(−1). Special consideration must be given to the CH₄ oxidation in the wet tropical climate for enhancing CH₄ emission reduction.