The timing of ABG procedure in a cleft patient is crucial to provide room and bony
support for the eruption of canine. However, there seems to be a delay in execution of this
procedure in certain centres. Material and Methods: Sample consists of records of cleft patients
treated from 2000-2016. The date and age for commencement of active orthodontic treatment,
date referred for ABG and date ABG done were retrieved. The centres that conducted these
surgeries identified. (Copied from article).
New additions to the knowledge of the subfamily Eumeninae are provided. Eight new species of Eumeninae are described: Antepipona gibbosissima Selis, sp. nov. (Namibia: Warmbad); Antepipona tricolorata Selis, sp. nov. (India: Sikkim); Ectopioglossa luzonica Selis, sp. nov. (Philippines: Luzon); Lissodynerus unicus Selis, sp. nov. (India: Sikkim); Pararrhynchium aurigaster Selis, sp. nov. (Malaysia: Johor); Symmorphus (Symmorphus) incisus Selis, sp. nov. (India: Sikkim); Symmorphus (Symmorphus) palawanensis Selis, sp. nov. (Philippines: Palawan); Zethus (Zethus) intermedius Selis, sp. nov. (Burkina Faso). The male of Synagris (Paragris) biplagiata Gusenleitner, 2005 is described. New distributional data for other species are provided.
There are now more than 28,000 described orthopterans globally (Cigliano et al., 2018) and this figure is likely to increase in the future. The same is true for Southeast Asia, where we are still at a stage of discovering species new to science, and this is partly an artefact of incomplete sampling (Tan et al., 2017a). In one of the most popular biodiversity hotspots, i.e., Borneo, is the Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre. It is located in the primary lowland and ridge dipterocarp forests of the Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei Darussalam. Recent collection of orthopterans in the area led to the discovery of several new species of katydids (Tan et al., 2017b; Tan Wahab, 2017a) and crickets (Tan et al., 2017c; Tan Wahab, 2017b). Here, we describe another new species of katydid, from the genus Tapiena Bolívar, 1906. Tapiena currently consists of 26 species (Tan et al., 2015) and is distributed around Asia and even Africa. In Borneo, only one species is known: Tapiena incisa Karny, 1923 from Sarawak (see Karny, 1923). The new species Tapiena paraincisa sp. nov. represents the second species described from Borneo.
The primary objective of this paper is to investigate the isolated impacts of hydroelectricity consumption on the environment in Malaysia as an emerging economy. We use four different measures of environmental degradation including ecological footprint, carbon footprint, water footprint and CO2 emission as target variables, while controlling for GDP, GDP square and urbanization for the period 1971 to 2016. A recently introduced unit root test with breaks is utilized to examine the stationarity of the series and the bounds testing approach to cointegration is used to probe the long run relationships between the variables. VECM Granger causality technique is employed to examine the long-run causal dynamics between the variables. Sensitivity analysis is conducted by further including fossil fuels in the equations. The results show evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental degradation and real GDP. Hydroelectricity is found to significantly reduce environmental degradation while urbanization is also not particularly harmful on the environment apart from its effect on air pollution. The VECM Granger causality results show evidence of unidirectional causality running from hydroelectricity and fossil fuels consumption to all measures of environmental degradation and real GDP per capita. There is evidence of feedback hypothesis between real GDP to all environmental degradation indices. The inclusion of fossil fuel did not change the behavior of hydroelectricity on the environment but fossil fuels significantly increase water footprint.
The fauna of plant bug subfamily Isometopinae in Taiwan and Japanese Southwest (Nansei) Islands is reviewed. Twenty-five species are recognized, including two new species of Myiomma Puton, M. austroccidens sp. nov. and M. kentingense sp. nov., which are herein diagnosed and described. In addition, Isometopus yehi Lin, 2004 is synonymized with I. bipunctatus Lin; Isometopidea yangi Lin is transferred to Kohnometopus; and a substitute name, Alcecoris linyangorum, is proposed for A. formosanus (Lin Yang) (= a junior secondary homonym of Alcecoris formosanus Lin). An annotated checklist, with updated distributional record and biological information, is provided for all treated taxa. A new tribe Sophianini is proposed for two genera, Alcecoris and Sophianus, characterized principally by the conspicuously modified antennal structures. An additional new species, Alcecoris cochlearatus sp. nov., found during examination of related Oriental specimens, is described from the Malay Peninsula.
Sarawak has experienced several earthquakes of local origin and was also affected by long-distance earthquake that originated from Southern Philippine and the Straits of Macassar, Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea. The objectives for this study were to conduct site specific ground response analysis and develop design response spectra for Bakun area by using 1-D equivalent linear ground response analysis. The site characterisation was carried out utilising the soil profile and soil property data of the selected site. Local surface fault ruptures were investigated for possible hazards due to intraplate earthquakes. Earthquake ground motion records were selected based on characteristics of the controlling earthquakes for an area and the maximum magnitude faults were considered for risk assessment. The site-specific response spectra represent the predicted surface ground motions that reflect the levels of strong motion amplitude and frequency content at a particular site. The site-specific ground response analysis for Bakun site found that the peak ground acceleration at bedrock was amplified from 0.16 g to 0.33 g at the ground surface.
Sungai Sarawak is the most important river in Sarawak. This study was aimed at assessing water quality in the selected stations from Satok bridge to the downstream, Muara Tebas, located along Sungai Sarawak. Water quality trend analysis was conducted to determine the correlation between the water quality parameters. Trend analysis was carried out using Mann-Kendall Test because data collected was non-parametric. Next, Spearman rank was used in order to determine the correlation between parameters. The results obtained and the observation made in this study reveals that the trend exists only for Chemical Oxygen Value (COD). But there are trends for Biochemical Oxygen Demand, (BOD), Dissolved Oxygen (DO), Total Suspended Solid (TSS), Ammoniacal Nitrogen (NH4N) and Turbidity to decrease or increase with no trends between 2007 and 2011. The correlation between parameters is not very strong because there are many determinants of water quality parameters. The result from this study would provide useful information for water quality management in order to maintain and improve the water quality of Sungai Sarawak.
Aromatic rice cultivars constitute a small but special group of rice and are considered the best in terms of quality and aroma. Aroma is one of the most significant quality traits of rice, and variety with aroma has a higher price in the market. This research was carried out to study the genetic diversity among the 50 aromatic rice accessions from three regions (Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, and Sarawak) with 3 released varieties as a control using the 32 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The objectives of this research were to quantify the genetic divergence of aromatic rice accessions using SSR markers and to identify the potential accessions for introgression into the existing rice breeding program. Genetic diversity index among the three populations such as Shannon information index (I) ranged from 0.25 in control to 0.98 in Sabah population. The mean numbers of effective alleles and Shannon's information index were 0.36 and 64.90%, respectively. Similarly, the allelic diversity was very high with mean expected heterozygosity (H e ) of 0.60 and mean Nei's gene diversity index of 0.36. The dendrogram based on UPGMA and Nei's genetic distance classified the 53 rice accessions into 10 clusters. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 89% of the total variation observed in this germplasm came from within the populations, while 11% of the variation emanated among the populations. These results reflect the high genetic differentiation existing in this aromatic rice germplasm. Using all these criteria and indices, seven accessions (Acc9993, Acc6288, Acc6893, Acc7580, Acc6009, Acc9956, and Acc11816) from three populations have been identified and selected for further evaluation before introgression into the existing breeding program and for future aromatic rice varietal development.
Dengue fever is an endemic disease in many tropical and subtropical regions. In
Malaysia, it is the leading public health challenge despite the extensive intervention
programs by the related authorities. Distribution of dengue cases in Malaysia varies
according to states and districts where cases are more distinct in urban and suburban
areas. Preparedness strategies of dengue cases could be more successful with some
comprehensive and technical analysis on disease incidences. Hence, the present study
analyses dengue cases using mathematical modelling in the state of Penang, one of the
more urbanised state. In particular, two time series models are fitted to the dengue
data from the region in order to identify the mathematical model that best describe
the data. Results show that both proposed models are able to represent the cases
rather well; however numerical inspection revealed that Double Exponential
Smoothing method is the better choice. Subsequently, the identified model is used to
make forecasting on the number of expected cases. Results show that dengue cases in
Penang are expected to increase gradually.
Escherichia coli sequence type 131 (ST131) carries multiple drug resistance (MDR) genes as well as virulence genes. Drug resistant characteristics give a management problem to health care personnel. Four MDR Escherichia coli ST131 H30-Rx subclones were identified among 80 Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) isolates by using 4 allelic-specific Polymerase Chain Reactions (PCR) in two hospitals of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. There is emergence of multidrug resistant E. coli in Kota Kinabalu.
Introduction: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence and the pattern of hypodontia among orthodontic patients in Klinik Pergigian Jalan Sultan Mahmud, Kuala Terengganu.
Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study where 351 orthodontic patients records (comprises of 104 males and 247 females), were reviewed. The records were evaluated by a trained dental officer between October 2016 and June 2017. The Chi-square and Fisher's Exact Tests were carried out for statistical analysis.
Results: The prevalence of hypodontia was 10.8%. Thirty-eight (38) patients were found to have at least a single missing tooth. A significant difference was found between males and females having hypodontia (p = 0.048). No significant difference was found for hypodontia patients by races (p = 0.829). The maxillary lateral incisor was the most frequently missing tooth followed by mandibular second premolar and mandibular lateral incisor. Hypodontia cases observed, tended to be more likely occurred in the upper left arch compared to the lower arch. The majority of hypodontia patients had a single missing tooth, but rarely more than 3 missing teeth. Hypodontia patients had mainly Class III malocclusion, however no statistically significant difference was found (p = 0.081).
Conclusion(s): The prevalence of hypodontia of this study was within the range of what is being reported in the literature and showed gender significant. In this sample, hypodontia mainly involved maxillary lateral incisors; more prevalent in the upper arch; and mostly observed in patients with Class III malocclusion. Early detection and accurate diagnosis are essential. Therefore, alternative treatment modalities can be well planned under multidisciplinary team approach in restoring the aesthetic and function.
KEYWORDS: referral letter
An accurate forecasting of tropospheric ozone (O3) concentration is benefi-
cial for strategic planning of air quality. In this study, various forecasting techniques are
used to forecast the daily maximum O3 concentration levels at a monitoring station
in the Klang Valley, Malaysia. The Box-Jenkins autoregressive integrated movingaverage
(ARIMA) approach and three types of neural network models, namely, backpropagation
neural network, Elman recurrent neural network and radial basis function
neural network are considered. The daily maximum data, spanning from 1 January
2011 to 7 August 2011, was obtained from the Department of Environment, Malaysia.
The performance of the four methods in forecasting future values of ozone concentrations
is evaluated based on three criteria, which are root mean square error (RMSE),
mean absolute error (MAE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE). The findings
show that the Box-Jenkins approach outperformed the artificial neural network
methods.
Intraoral periapical radiographic film is essential and aids in diagnosis, treatment
planning, monitoring treatment and monitoring lesion development. A poor image quality of
radiographic film and poor record keeping of these radiographs can affect the clinician's decision
making. This first audit was to evaluate the quality of radiographic images and the compliance in
following the standard of recording and labeling of radiographic films. The objectives of this audit
were; firstly to highlight any potential problems involving quality of radiographic films within the
department. Second, to assess the compliance of record keeping and labeling of intraoral
radiographs. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted in a retrospective manner in the
year 2017 with a sample of 100 intraoral periapical radiographic films from the year 2015 to 2016 in
Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah. Results: This first audit cycle demonstrated: Good quality of
radiographic films: 13% (n= 13/100), Good compliance of record keeping and labeling of radiograph: 32% (n= 32/100).
Influx of women in the paid labor force had been identified as one of the important factors in raising awareness about work-family balance in organizations in developed countries in the west. The same phenomenon also occurs in Malaysia. Malaysia is considered as having traditional gender role ideology, whereby men and women have separate role in the workplace and in the family. Specifically, this study aims to identify whether there are differences in perception between men and women in public sector towards factors associated with work-life balance. Work-life balance factors examined in this study are work demands, supervisor support, organization’s family-friendly policies, family demands, work-family conflict (WFC) and family-work conflict (FWC). Sixty questionnaires were administered to employees in a government health training institution in Sarawak, Malaysia. Data were analyzed using SPPS version 17 and independent t-Test was employed in testing the hypotheses. The study found that men and women are significantly different in terms of supervisor support, work-family conflict and family demands. However, there was no significant difference between men and women employees with regard to work demands, family-work conflict and utilization of family-friendly policies. In line with previous Western findings, women experienced higher level of work to family conflict (WFC) than men employees. In addition, women also reported higher family demands than men. These findings strengthened the traditional gender role ideology ascribed by majority of Malaysians and lend support to the gender role theory. Therefore, the organization could provide relevant training, such as, time and stress management. Supervisors could be trained to be more aware of work-family balance issues faced by their employees and assist them accordingly.
This paper details a study conducted to evaluate the performance of cold in-place recycling (CIPR) using polymer modified asphalt emulsion (PMAE). The asphalt emulsion was modified using natural rubber latex (NRL). Four proportions of reclaimed asphalt pavement (RAP) which are 0%, 25%, 50% and 75% were mixed with natural aggregates and modified asphalt emulsion using natural rubber latex (NRL). The results showed that the optimum modified asphalt emulsion for each proportion of RAP decreased due to the increase in RAP content. Results obtained from Indirect Tensile Strength (ITS) and Uniaxial Compressive Strength (UCS) test for the mixes complied with the requirements of the Road Engineering Association of Malaysia (REAM) specifications. The unsoaked and soaked ITS values obtained were 0.2 MPa and 0.15 MPa respectively, and the minimum compressive strength of CIPR mix obtained was 0.7 MPa. Based on the evaluation of performance for the four RAP proportions, it was determined that 50% of RAP gave the best combination of the CIPR mixture.
The dragon millipede genus Desmoxytes s.l. is split into five genera, based on morphological characters and preliminary molecular phylogenetic analyses. The present article includes a review of Desmoxytes s.s., while future articles will deal with Hylomus Cook and Loomis, 1924 and three new genera which preliminarily are referred to as the 'acantherpestes', 'gigas', and 'spiny' groups. Diagnostic morphological characters of each group are discussed. Hylomus is resurrected as a valid genus and the following 33 species are assigned to it: H. asper (Attems, 1937), comb. n., H. cattienensis (Nguyen, Golovatch & Anichkin, 2005), comb. n., H. cervarius (Attems, 1953), comb. n., H. cornutus (Zhang & Li, 1982), comb. n., H. draco Cook & Loomis, 1924, stat. rev., H. enghoffi (Nguyen, Golovatch & Anichkin, 2005), comb. n., H. eupterygotus (Golovatch, Li, Liu & Geoffroy, 2012), comb. n., H. getuhensis (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2014), comb. n., H. grandis (Golovatch, VandenSpiegel & Semenyuk, 2016), comb. n., H. hostilis (Golovatch & Enghoff, 1994), comb. n., H. jeekeli (Golovatch & Enghoff, 1994), comb. n., H. lingulatus (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2014), comb. n., H. laticollis (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2016), comb. n., H. longispinus (Loksa, 1960), comb. n., H. lui (Golovatch, Li, Liu & Geoffroy, 2012), comb. n., H. minutuberculus (Zhang, 1986), comb. n., H. nodulosus (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2014), comb. n., H. parvulus (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2014), comb. n., H. phasmoides (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2016), comb. n., H. pilosus (Attems, 1937), comb. n., H. proximus (Nguyen, Golovatch & Anichkin, 2005), comb. n., H. rhinoceros (Likhitrakarn, Golovatch & Panha, 2015), comb. n., H. rhinoparvus (Likhitrakarn, Golovatch & Panha, 2015), comb. n., H. scolopendroides (Golovatch, Geoffroy & Mauriès, 2010), comb. n., H. scutigeroides (Golovatch, Geoffroy & Mauriès, 2010), comb. n., H. similis (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2016), comb. n., H. simplex (Golovatch, VandenSpiegel & Semenyuk, 2016), comb. n., H. simplipodus (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2016), comb. n., H. specialis (Nguyen, Golovatch & Anichkin, 2005), comb. n., H. spectabilis (Attems, 1937), comb. n., H. spinitergus (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2016), comb. n., H. spinissimus (Golovatch, Li, Liu & Geoffroy, 2012), comb. n. and H. variabilis (Liu, Golovatch & Tian, 2016), comb. n.Desmoxytes s.s. includes the following species: D. breviverpa Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, 2016; D. cervina (Pocock,1895); D. delfae (Jeekel, 1964); D. des Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, 2016; D. pinnasquali Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, 2016; D. planata (Pocock, 1895); D. purpurosea Enghoff, Sutcharit & Panha, 2007; D. takensis Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, 2016; D. taurina (Pocock, 1895); D. terae (Jeekel, 1964), all of which are re-described based mainly on type material. Two new synonyms are proposed: Desmoxytes pterygota Golovatch & Enghoff, 1994, syn. n. (= Desmoxytes cervina (Pocock, 1895)), Desmoxytes rubra Golovatch & Enghoff, 1994, syn. n. (= Desmoxytes delfae (Jeekel, 1964)). Six new species are described from Thailand: D. aurata Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, sp. n., D. corythosaurus Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, sp. n., D. euros Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, sp. n., D. flabella Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, sp. n., D. golovatchi Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, sp. n., D. octoconigera Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, sp. n., as well as one from Malaysia: D. perakensis Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, sp. n., and one from Myanmar: D. waepyanensis Srisonchai, Enghoff & Panha, sp. n. The species can mostly be easily distinguished by gonopod structure in combination with other external characters; some cases of particularly similar congeners are discussed. All species of Desmoxytes s.s. seem to be endemic to continental Southeast Asia (except the 'tramp' species D. planata). Some biological observations (relationship with mites, moulting) are recorded for the first time. Complete illustrations of external morphological characters, an identification key, and distribution maps of all species are provided.
Black-shouldered Kite (Elanus caeruleus) is a well-known raptor that inhabits open areas such as oil palm plantation or paddy field. To determine preferable habitat and nesting site of Black-shouldered Kite in oil palm landscape, we conducted a study on Black-shouldered Kite's nesting biology in Carey Island, Selangor, Malaysia. We divided the island into six types of habitat and conducted road-side count of Black-shouldered Kite from April 2009 to February 2011. Whenever the Black-shouldered Kite was detected, we thoroughly searched the surrounding area for their nest. In total, we have recorded forty nests. The nests were built on 15 species of trees but most of the trees shared common physical characteristics. Some novice breeders also used oil palm tree as their nesting site. Structure and building materials of nests constructed on oil palm trees were different from nests built on other trees. Of all breeding attempts, only four nests which were located in residential area adjacent to young oil palm habitat were successful. Among important characteristics of successful nesting site include taller trees with strong branches and good leaf coverage. These trees not only protect nests from predator detection (except from other predatory birds) and physical environment but also facilitate Black-shouldered Kite's foraging activities by providing good vantage point.
Introduction: Hypertension related morbidities and mortalities around the world show a gradual increase and early detection and prevention are advocated. The Database of Genomic Variants (DGV) has associated variation in DNA sequences called copy number variation (CNV) with susceptibility to common diseases. However, little is known about CNV role in essential hypertension. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the CNV esv27061 among prehypertensive and hypertensive young adults in Malaysia. Materials and method: In this comparative cross-sectional study, 104 subjects living in Kuantan who gave voluntary consent to participate are recruited and divided into three groups; control (43 subjects), prehypertensive (38 subjects) and mild hypertensive (23 subjects). An optimized droplet digital polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) was used in the determination of CNV esv27061 in this study. Results: All subjects in the control (n=38; 88.4% gain), prehypertensive (n=33; 86.8% gain) and mild hypertensive (n=21; 91.3% gain) groups had CNV gain (copy number > 2) while 11.6% of control, 13.2% of prehypertensive and 8.7% of mild hypertensive subjects exhibited normal copies (copy number = 2). Conclusion: The present preliminary finding was consistent with the Database of Genomic Variants (DGV) which stated that CNV esv27061 showed more gain than loss.