Displaying publications 81 - 100 of 131 in total

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  1. Fulltext Randomized control trial study on the effect of wet cupping on lipid profile
    Suhaily, M.H., Ismail, A.A., Najib, M.Y.
    International Medical Journal Malaysia, 2017;16(2):11-17.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Dyslipidaemia is one of the risk factors contributing to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular
    diseases (CVDs). This study was conducted to investigate the effect of wet cupping on lipid profile.

    Methods: This randomized controlled trial was conducted in 2012 at the School of Medical Sciences,
    Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia. Sixty-two healthy volunteers ranging from 30 to 60 years old were
    randomized into control and intervention groups. Subjects in the intervention group were assigned to two
    sessions of wet cupping at the beginning of the study and at the third month; individuals in the control group
    did not undergo any cupping procedure. Venous blood sample was collected for serum lipid profile: Total
    Cholesterol (TC), High Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (HDL-C), Low Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol (LDL-C),
    and triglycerides; measured at baseline, first, third and fourth month.

    Results: Subjects in the cupping
    group had significant improvements from baseline to third and fourth month for TC (MD=-0.56, P=0.004),
    HDL-C (MD=-0.22, P
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  2. Neutron activation analysis and assessment of trace elements in fingernail from residents of Tokyo, Japan
    Wee B, Ebihara M
    Sains Malaysiana, 2017;46:605-613.
    We report herewith the study of fingernail clippings obtained from the residents of Tokyo, Japan. A total of 18 participants with no health problems and occupational exposure to metals were recruited to provide fingernails samples for this study. Through the use of instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA), 18 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ca, Cl, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, K, Mg, Mn, Na, S, Sb, Se, V, and Zn) were determined. The results showed that the toxic elements in the fingernails are in the lower range when compared to literature values. There were no chronic exposures to toxic elements such as As and Hg found. The level of Hg found is lower than that reported 20 years ago, possibly due to the strict regulation control in Japan on the release of Hg to the environment. The elements Se and Zn are found to be rather uniformly distributed among participants and are in agreement with results from other countries. There were no significant differences in elemental concentrations due to genders and smoking habits. The overall data from this study showed similar concentrations to those of healthy participants from other countries. Thus, the current data could represent the background level of elemental concentrations in fingernails of residents in Tokyo, which could serve as reference values for future study.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  3. Quadrupole-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometric Identification of Hemoglobin Subunits α, β, γ and δ in Unknown Peaks of High Performance Liquid Chromatography of Hemoglobin in β-Thalassemias
    Abdullah UYH, Ibrahim HM, Mahmud NB, Salleh MZ, Kek TL, Noorizhab MNFB, et al.
    Hemoglobin, 2019 May;43(3):182-187.
    PMID: 31298599 DOI: 10.1080/03630269.2019.1632893
    This is the first report of quadrupole time-of-flight (Q-TOF) mass spectrometric identification of the hemoglobin (Hb) subunits, α, β, δ and γ peptides, derived from enzymatic-digestion of proteins in the early unknown peaks of the cation exchange chromatography of Hb. The objectives were to identify the unknown high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) peaks in healthy subjects and in patients with β-thalassemia (β-thal). The results demonstrate the existence of pools of free globin chains in red blood cells (RBCs). The α-, β-, δ- and γ-globin peptides were identified in the unknown HPLC peaks. The quantification and role of the free globin pool in patients with β-thal requires further investigation. Identification of all types of Hb subunits in the retention time (RT) before 1 min. suggests that altered Hbs is the nature of these fast-eluting peaks. Relevancy of thalassemias to the protein-aggregation disorders will require review of the role of free globin in the pathology of the disease.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  4. Fulltext Evaluation of serum and salivary alkaline phosphatase levels in chronic periodontitis patients before and after nonsurgical periodontal therapy
    Jeyasree RM, Theyagarajan R, Sekhar V, Navakumar M, Mani E, Santhamurthy C
    J Indian Soc Periodontol, 2019 1 12;22(6):487-491.
    PMID: 30631226 DOI: 10.4103/jisp.jisp_133_18
    Background: The traditional method of diagnosing periodontitis includes the assessment of clinical parameters and radiographic aids to evaluate the periodontal tissue destruction. Saliva has the potential to be used as the diagnostic fluid for oral disease. This study aimed at comparing the quantitative levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in saliva and serum before and after scaling and root planing in patients with chronic generalized periodontitis.

    Materials and Methods: A total number of 50 participants (40 with chronic generalized periodontitis and 10 periodontally healthy volunteers) of 30-50 years were included in the study. Clinical parameters such as simplified oral hygiene index (OHI-S), gingival index, probing depth, and clinical attachment loss (CAL) were measured, and then, saliva and blood sample collection was done and analyzed for ALP levels by spectrometry. The clinical parameters along with saliva and serum ALP levels were reevaluated after 30 days following Phase I periodontal therapy. The results were statistically analyzed using paired t-test and one-way ANOVA.

    Results: The saliva and serum ALP levels were significantly increased in patients with chronic generalized periodontitis with an increase in clinical parameters such as OHI-S, gingival index, probing depth, and CAL when compared with periodontally healthy individuals. The saliva and serum ALP levels were significantly decreased following Phase I periodontal, therapy along with improvement in clinical parameters.

    Conclusion: With the limitations of the present study, it could be concluded that ALP levels in saliva can be used for the diagnosis of active phase of periodontal disease and also for evaluation of the treatment outcomes following Phase I periodontal therapy.

    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  5. Fulltext Intraocular pressure: the effect of short-term fasting and its association with fluid and fat status
    Nur Raihan Esa, Nor Azwani Mohd Shukri, Norsham Ahmad, Mohd Radzi Hilmi, Md Muziman Syah Md Mustafa, Nura Syahiera Ibrahim, et al.
    Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2020;16(2):180-186.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Short-term fasting may influence intraocular pressure (IOP) due to alteration of fluid (total body water;
    TBW, and water intake) and fat (total body fat; TBF). This study aimed: i) to compare IOP values within and between,
    fasting and non-fasting periods; and ii) to assess the association between IOP and, TBW and TBF. Methods: Thirty
    healthy participants aged 21.8±1.1 years were assessed on two different periods (fasting vs. non-fasting). During each
    period, the IOP, TBW and TBF values were assessed for four times (morning, afternoon, evening, late-evening). The
    IOP was measured using AccuPen® tonopen, while TBW and TBF were assessed by using a Tanita body composition
    analyser. Results: During fasting, the IOP value in the afternoon (14.53±2.33 mmHg) was significantly higher than in
    the evening (12.43±2.73 mmHg, p=0.009) and late-evening (12.60±2.44 mmHg, p=0.003). No significant difference
    in IOP was observed during non-fasting period. The mean of IOP in the evening was significantly lower during fasting
    compared to non-fasting (12.43±2.73 mmHg vs 13.75±2.53 mmHg, p=0.044). The IOP and TBW were negatively
    correlated (r=-0.268; p=0.011) during non-fasting and showed no association during fasting period. There was no
    significant correlation between IOP and TBF during both fasting and non-fasting periods. Conclusion: IOP reduction
    during short-term fasting, together with the no association with TBF and TBW suggested that IOP is an independent
    factor that reduces during fasting in healthy population.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  6. Fulltext Epstein-Barr Virus- (EBV-) Immortalized Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines (LCLs) Express High Level of CD23 but Low CD27 to Support Their Growth
    Yap HY, Siow TS, Chow SK, Teow SY
    Adv Virol, 2019;2019:6464521.
    PMID: 31049064 DOI: 10.1155/2019/6464521
    Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is one of the common human herpesvirus types in the world. EBV is known to infect more than 95% of adults in the world. The virus mainly infects B lymphocytes and could immortalize and transform the cells into EBV-bearing lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Limited studies have been focused on characterizing the surface marker expression of the immortalized LCLs. This study demonstrates the generation of 15 LCLs from sixteen rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and a healthy volunteer using B95-8 marmoset-derived EBV. The success rate of LCL generation was 88.23%. All CD19+ LCLs expressed CD23 (16.94-58.9%) and CD27 (15.74-80.89%) on cell surface. Our data demonstrated two distinct categories of LCLs (fast- and slow-growing) (p<0.05) based on their doubling time. The slow-growing LCLs showed lower CD23 level (35.28%) compared to fast-growing LCLs (42.39%). In contrast, the slow-growing LCLs showed higher percentage in both CD27 alone and CD23+CD27+ in combination. Overall, these findings may suggest the correlations of cellular CD23 and CD27 expression with the proliferation rate of the generated LCLs. Increase expression of CD23 may play a role in EBV immortalization of B-cells and the growth and maintenance of the EBV-transformed LCLs while CD27 expression might have inhibitory effects on LCL proliferation. Further investigations are warranted to these speculations.

    Study site: Sunway Medical Centre, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  7. Fulltext Colour vision of workers in the plastics industry
    Kaur S, Mursyid A, Ariffin AE
    Journal of Occupational Safety and Health, 2004;1(1):25-30.
    MyJurnal
    A study was undertaken to determine the effect of polyethylene and polystyrene used in the manufacture of plastic items on colour perception. Colour vision was assessed using the Ishihara plates, panel 015 test and the Farnsworth Munsell 100-Hue test. Two factories were chosen at random. One factory (referred here as factory A) used virgin resin in pellet form (polyethylene) in the manufacturing of plastic containers to store consumer edible oil. The other factory (referred as factory B) used polystyrene to make plastic bags. A total of 39 healthy employees from factory A (mean age 26.4 :t 8.2 years) and 40 healthy employees from factory B (mean age 26.8 :t 9.6 years) were recruited in this study. A control group of 27 normal healthy subjects (mean age 27.4 :t 4.3 years) who were employees of UKM with no occupational involvement with petroleum derivatives were also recruited in this study and they performed the same colour vision tests. All subjects passed the Ishihara plates test showing that none of the subjects (employees of factory A and B, and control subjects) had a congenital red-green defect. All control subjects passed all of the colour vision tests whilst some employees of factories A and B failed the 015 and FM100 Hue tests. For employees from factory A results from the 015 test showed that 7 (17.9%) had a tritan (blue-yellow) type of defect and 1 (2.6%) had a complex type of defect. The FM 100 Hue results of factory A employees showed that 51.3% (n=20) had a complex type of defect. Total error scores (TES) calculated from the FM 100 Hue test revealed that employees from factory A had a statistically significant higher mean TES of 65.13:!: 48.31 compared to that of control subjects with a mean TES of 31.26:!: 14.93. For employees in factory B, 10 employees (25.0%) had a tritan (blue-yellow) type of defect and 2 (5.0%) had a complex type of defect. Results of the FM 100 Hue test showed that 4 employees (1.0%) had a tritan type of defect whereas 22 (55.0%) had a complex type of defect. Mean total error scores (TES) calculated from the FM 100 Hue test revealed that employees from factory B had a statistically significant higher mean TES of 71.54 :t 54.63 compared with that of control subjects with a mean TES of 31.26 :t. 14.93

    The above results show that employees of the plastic factories studies are associated with a higher risk of acquiring colour vision defects as compared to normal subjects who are not engaged in the plastic manufacturing industry. This may have an implication towards the future retinal health of employees in petrod1emical-based industries.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  8. Fulltext Knowledge, attitude and practices towards osteoporosis prevention among adults in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Lim SL, Ali A, Mohd Yusof H
    Malays J Nutr, 2017;23(2):279-290.
    MyJurnal
    Introduction: Osteoporosis is a major health problem worldwide. In Asia, few studies have measured knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of osteoporosis. This study aimed to determine the KAP of osteoporosis, including the main factors influencing attitude towards osteoporosis, and the relationship between osteoporosis knowledge, attitude, and practices among adults in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
    Methods: A cross-sectional study via a self-administrated KAP questionnaire was carried out among 232 respondents aged 21 to 50 years in Kuala Lumpur. Random sampling was applied to select five districts in Kuala Lumpur, while convenient sampling was used for recruitment of apparently healthy subjects from community and institutional settings. The data were analysed using Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, Chi-Square, Spearman Correlation and multiple logistic regression tests.
    Results: The findings indicate a moderate level of knowledge and attitude towards osteoporosis prevention with median scores of 51.6% and 68.6%, respectively. Osteoporosis knowledge varied significantly with gender, educational level and household income (p<0.05). Furthermore, attitude was significantly different in relation to educational level and household income. Based on the multiple logistic regression test, relatives and friends appeared to be the most significant factor influencing attitude (R=0.319, p<0.0001). Poor dietary and lifestyles practices were indicated, and a significant relationship was found between practice of weight-bearing activities and educational level (p<0.05). A significant correlation was found (ρ=0.348, p<0.0001) between knowledge and attitude, while no relationship was noted between knowledge and practice of weight-bearing activities or attitude and practice of weight-bearing activities.
    Conclusion: Knowledge played a significant role in affecting attitudes towards osteoporosis. However, understanding of osteoporosis is still at a moderate level. Friends and family were the most influential factor.
    Key words: Adults, attitude, knowledge, osteoporosis, practices
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  9. Fulltext Pharmacokinetics of a novel sublingual spray formulation of the antimalarial drug artemether in healthy adults
    Salman S, Bendel D, Lee TC, Templeton D, Davis TM
    Antimicrob Agents Chemother, 2015;59(6):3197-207.
    PMID: 25801553 DOI: 10.1128/AAC.05013-14
    The pharmacokinetics of sublingual artemether (ArTiMist) was investigated in two open-label studies. In study 1, 16 healthy males were randomized to each of four single-dose treatments administered in random order: (i) 15.0 mg of sublingual artemether (5 × 3.0 actuations), (ii) 30.0 mg of sublingual artemether (10 × 3.0 mg), (iii) 30.0 mg of sublingual artemether (5 × 6.0 mg), and (iv) 30.0 mg of artemether in tablet form. In study 2, 16 healthy males were randomized to eight 30.0-mg doses of sublingual artemether given over 5 days as either 10 3.0-mg or 5 6.0-mg actuations. Frequent blood samples were drawn postdose. Plasma artemether and dihydroartemisinin levels were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Population compartmental pharmacokinetic models were developed. In study 1, sublingual artemether absorption was biphasic, with both rate constants being greater than that of the artemether tablets (1.46 and 1.66 versus 0.43/h, respectively). Relative to the tablets, sublingual artemether had greater bioavailability (≥1.24), with the greatest relative bioavailability occurring in the 30.0-mg dose groups (≥1.58). In study 2, there was evidence that the first absorption phase accounted for between 32% and 69% of the total dose and avoided first-pass (FP) metabolism, with an increase in FP metabolism occurring in later versus earlier doses but with no difference in bioavailability between the dose actuations. Sublingual artemether is more rapidly and completely absorbed than are equivalent doses of artemether tablets in healthy adults. Its disposition appears to be complex, with two absorption phases, the first representing pregastrointestinal absorption, as well as dose-dependent bioavailability and autoinduction of metabolism with multiple dosing.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  10. In vitro and in vivo Evaluation of New Topical Anaesthetic Cream Formulated with Palm Oil Base
    Khodari SNK, Noordin MI, Chan L, Chik Z
    Curr Drug Deliv, 2017;14(5):690-695.
    PMID: 27480118 DOI: 10.2174/1567201813666160801113302
    BACKGROUND: Topical local anaesthetic cream was reported to be useful for pain relief for cutaneous procedures such as minor surgery and venipuncture.

    OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of new formulation of lidocaine topical anaesthetic using palm oil base, HAMIN® and to determine how fast this new formulation produces adequate numbness compared to the currently used EMLA cream, in the University of Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) set-up.

    METHOD: The skin permeation test was conducted by using Franz type diffusion cell and pain assessment was carried out in healthy subject by using Verbal Rating Score (VRS) and Visual Analogue Score (VAS) evaluation.

    RESULT: Result of permeation test demonstrated that the cumulative amount of lidocaine released from HAMIN® cream was increased with time and slightly higher than EMLA cream. The clinical study showed that HAMIN® single lidocaine cream can produces numbness through venepuncture procedure and comparable with EMLA cream which is a combination therapy for local anaesthetic (lidocaine and prilocaine).

    CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that HAMIN® Lidocaine cream is suitable for cream preparation especially for topical application and it can be regarded as an achievement in palm oil and medical industries.

    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  11. Fulltext Designing a culture, language and illness-specific self-esteem scale in Bahasa Malaysia
    Hasanah Che Ismail, Shamshunnisah Abu Bakar
    ASEAN Journal of Psychiatry, 2009;10(2):100-114.
    MyJurnal
    Objective: Self-esteem is an important component of psychological health. In Malaysia, Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale remained the single most popular utilized scale for studying global self-esteem. This study aims to design a language, culture and illness specific self-esteem questionnaire. Methods: The study consisted of 2 phases. The first phase was to generate items for the new self-esteem questionnaire (SSES) in Bahasa Malaysia. Literature review on the concept of selfesteem and its’ content was conducted. This was followed by expert opinion from professional care-givers. The items were qualitatively validated by healthy subjects and patients with schizophrenia from the same locality, culture and language. The second phase consists of quantitative validation of the items. Items in the new scale were analyzed based on the responses from 165 stable schizophrenia outpatients. The validated Malay version of Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale (RSES) was used concurrently as a comparison. Results: The SSES displayed good internal consistency for its two domains
    (Cronbach’s alpha=0.88, 0.81) and test-retest reliability (ICC), ranged from 0.44 to 0.87. Its construct validity was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis. The concurrent validity of SSES and RSES using Pearson correlation was 0.77. The Cronbach’s alpha for the validated Malay version of RSES is 0.67. Conclusion: This study presents a new self-esteem questionnaire (SSES) which has high concurrent validity with the standard RSES and confirms the reliability and validity of SSES in Malay patients with Schizophrenia.

    Study site: Psychiatric clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), Kelantan and Hospital Kota Bharu, (HKB), Kelantan
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  12. Fulltext Normal anterior cruciate ligament laxity in the Malaysian population
    Kamarul T, Razif A, Elina R, Azura M, Chan KY
    Malays Orthop J, 2007;1(2):11-16.
    MyJurnal
    A study to determine average knee laxity in the Malaysian population and how it affects daily living was conducted at the University Malaya Medical Centre between January and April 2004. Fifty two male and 76 female subjects were recruited for this study, all of whom were healthy volunteers with no ambulatory problems. Side to side knee laxity testing was performed using a KT-1000 arthrometer. Significant differences in knee laxity were noted among different races and between sexes. For instance, overall, Chinese and female study participants had higher knee laxity: (left knee, 2.17 mm (SD=1.30) and right knee was 2.88 mm (SD= 1.51)). On average, the difference between knees was 0.70 ± 1.26 mm (less than 1 mm) which is a smaller variation than reported in previous studies which suggested 3 mm. Despite finding knee laxity ranging from 0 to 8mm, no correlations were found between Lysholm, IKDC and Tegner knee outcome scores and the degree of knee laxity. No other predictors such as height, weight and age correlated with levels of knee laxity. We therefore conclude that knee laxity is a common occurrence in the normal population and is therefore not suitable as a sole predictor of knee function and should not be used as the only criteria for surgical intervention.
    Study site: Orthopedic clinic, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  13. Fulltext A phase I single-blind clinical trial to evaluate the safety of oil palm phenolics (OPP) supplementation in healthy volunteers
    Fairus S, Leow SS, Mohamed IN, Tan YA, Sundram K, Sambanthamurthi R
    Sci Rep, 2018 05 29;8(1):8217.
    PMID: 29844318 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26384-7
    Plant phenolics are being increasingly consumed globally with limited scientific and clinical evidence pertaining to safety and efficacy. The oil palm fruit contains a cocktail of phenolics, and palm oil production results in high volumes of aqueous by-products enriched in phenolics and bioactives. Several lines of evidence from in vitro and in vivo animal studies confirmed that the aqueous extract enriched in phenolics and other bioactives collectively known as oil palm phenolics (OPP) is safe and has potent bioactivity. A phase one clinical trial was conducted to evaluate the safety and effects of OPP in healthy volunteers. In this single-blind trial, 25 healthy human volunteers were supplemented with 450 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/day of OPP or control treatments for a 60-day period. Fasting blood and urine samples were collected at days 1, 30 and 60. Medical examination was performed during these trial interventions. All clinical biochemistry profiles observed throughout the control and OPP treatment period were in the normal range with no major adverse effect (AE) or serious adverse effect (SAE) observed. Additionally, OPP supplementation resulted in improvement of total cholesterol and LDL-C levels, compared to the control treatment. The outcomes support our previous observations that OPP is safe and may have a protective role in reducing cholesterol levels.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  14. Human neutrophil antigen frequency data for Malays, Chinese and Indians
    Hajar CGN, Zulkafli Z, Md Riffin NS, Tuan Mohammad TH, Safuan S, Nelson BR, et al.
    Transfus Apher Sci, 2020 Apr;59(2):102651.
    PMID: 31606336 DOI: 10.1016/j.transci.2019.09.004
    BACKGROUND: Human neutrophil antigens (HNAs) are implicated in several clinical disorders and their allelic variations have been reported for many populations. This new study was aimed to report the genotype and alleles frequencies of HNA-1, -3, -4 and -5 loci in Malays, Chinese and Indians in Peninsular Malaysia.

    METHODS: A total of 222 blood samples were collected from healthy, unrelated Malay, Chinese and Indian individuals. Their HNA-1, -3 and -4 and HNA-5 loci were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) or PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) assays.

    RESULTS: All HNA loci are polymorphic, except for HNA -4. Geneotypes HNA-1a/1b, -3a/3b and -4a/4a were observed most frequently at these three loci in all three ethnic groups. In contrast, HNA-5a/5b and -5a/5a were observed as the predominant genotypes in Malays vs. Chinese and Indians, respectively. The Malays, Chinese and Indians shared HNA -3a (0.505-0.527), HNA -4a (1.000) and -5a (0.676-0.854) as the most frequent alleles. However, HNA-1a was found to be the most common in Malays (0.506) and Chinese (0.504) and HNA-1b for Indians (0.525).

    CONCLUSION: Combined with HNA data that have been published for Malay subethnic and Orang Asli groups, this study provides the first fully comprehensive HNA dataset for populations to be found in Peninsular Malaysia. Overall, our findings provide further evidence of genetic complexity in the region. This now publicly available HNA dataset can be used as a reliable reference source for improving medical outcomes.

    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  15. Fulltext The Role of Occlusion of the External Ear Canal in Hearing Loss
    Narayanan DA, Raman R, Chong AW
    Turk Arch Otorhinolaryngol, 2019 Sep;57(3):122-126.
    PMID: 31620693 DOI: 10.5152/tao.2019.3875
    Objective: The objectives are to determine and compare the degrees of hearing loss upon occlusion of the cartilaginous and the bony portion of the external ear canal (EAC).

    Methods: There were 20 healthy participants with normal ears, and all gave an informed consent. After an otoscopy, a baseline pure tone audiogram (PTA) was conducted. If the PTA of the participant was normal, aqueous cream was applied with a syringe via an 18 G cannula, from the tympanic membrane up to the isthmus which corresponds to the bony ear canal. A second PTA was conducted, and subsequently the cream was removed via suction under microscope guidance. The procedure was then repeated with the cream applied from the isthmus to the aperture of the external ear canal using the same cannula followed by a PTA and removal of cream under microscope.

    Results: The mean threshold difference of occlusion at both portions of the ear canal were compared and analyzed. The mean threshold difference of hearing loss upon occlusion at the cartilaginous EAC was 37.5 to 48 dB. The mean threshold difference of hearing loss upon occlusion at the bony EAC was less, with a range of 21 to 24.95dB. There was a statistical difference (p<0.05) in the hearing loss between the blockage of the cartilaginous canal versus the blockage of the bony canal with a maximum difference at 2kHz.

    Conclusion: Cartilaginous block of the external ear canal causes more hearing loss than block of the bony ear canal. This correlates with the concept and properties of sound waves, resonance and impedance.

    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  16. Fulltext Computerized Morphometric Analysis of Eryptosis
    Jacob SS, Prasad K, Rao P, Kamath A, Hegde RB, Baby PM, et al.
    Front Physiol, 2019;10:1230.
    PMID: 31649550 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.01230
    Eryptosis is the suicidal destruction-process of erythrocytes, much like apoptosis of nucleated cells, in the course of which the stressed red cell undergoes cell-shrinkage, vesiculation and externalization of membrane phosphatidylserine. Currently, there exist numerous methods to detect eryptosis, both morphometrically and biochemically. This study aimed to design a simple but sensitive, automated computerized approach to instantaneously detect eryptotic red cells and quantify their hallmark morphological characteristics. Red cells from 17 healthy volunteers were exposed to normal Ringer and hyperosmotic stress with sodium chloride, following which morphometric comparisons were conducted from their photomicrographs. The proposed method was found to significantly detect and differentiate normal and eryptotic red cells, based on variations in their structural markers. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for each of the markers showed a significant discriminatory accuracy with high sensitivity, specificity and area under the curve values. The software-based technique was then validated with RBCs in malaria. This model, quantifies eryptosis morphometrically in real-time, with minimal manual intervention, providing a new window to explore eryptosis triggered by different stressors and diseases and can find wide application in laboratories of hematology, blood banks and medical research.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  17. Fulltext Classification of Visual and Non-visual Learners Using Electroencephalographic Alpha and Gamma Activities
    Jawed S, Amin HU, Malik AS, Faye I
    Front Behav Neurosci, 2019;13:86.
    PMID: 31133829 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00086
    This study analyzes the learning styles of subjects based on their electroencephalo-graphy (EEG) signals. The goal is to identify how the EEG features of a visual learner differ from those of a non-visual learner. The idea is to measure the students' EEGs during the resting states (eyes open and eyes closed conditions) and when performing learning tasks. For this purpose, 34 healthy subjects are recruited. The subjects have no background knowledge of the animated learning content. The subjects are shown the animated learning content in a video format. The experiment consists of two sessions and each session comprises two parts: (1) Learning task: the subjects are shown the animated learning content for an 8-10 min duration. (2) Memory retrieval task The EEG signals are measured during the leaning task and memory retrieval task in two sessions. The retention time for the first session was 30 min, and 2 months for the second session. The analysis is performed for the EEG measured during the memory retrieval tasks. The study characterizes and differentiates the visual learners from the non-visual learners considering the extracted EEG features, such as the power spectral density (PSD), power spectral entropy (PSE), and discrete wavelet transform (DWT). The PSD and DWT features are analyzed. The EEG PSD and DWT features are computed for the recorded EEG in the alpha and gamma frequency bands over 128 scalp sites. The alpha and gamma frequency band for frontal, occipital, and parietal regions are analyzed as these regions are activated during learning. The extracted PSD and DWT features are then reduced to 8 and 15 optimum features using principal component analysis (PCA). The optimum features are then used as an input to the k-nearest neighbor (k-NN) classifier using the Mahalanobis distance metric, with 10-fold cross validation and support vector machine (SVM) classifier using linear kernel, with 10-fold cross validation. The classification results showed 97% and 94% accuracies rate for the first session and 96% and 93% accuracies for the second session in the alpha and gamma bands for the visual learners and non-visual learners, respectively, for k-NN classifier for PSD features and 68% and 100% accuracies rate for first session and 100% accuracies rate for second session for DWT features using k-NN classifier for the second session in the alpha and gamma band. For PSD features 97% and 96% accuracies rate for the first session, 100% and 95% accuracies rate for second session using SVM classifier and 79% and 82% accuracy for first session and 56% and 74% accuracy for second session for DWT features using SVM classifier. The results showed that the PSDs in the alpha and gamma bands represent distinct and stable EEG signatures for visual learners and non-visual learners during the retrieval of the learned contents.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  18. Emerging trends in modification of dietary oils and fats, and health implications - a review
    Puligundla P, Variyar PS, Ko S, Obulams VSR
    Sains Malaysiana, 2012;41:871-877.
    In recent years, issues regading safety and wellness of dietary oils and fats have received major attention. This is particularly so in the case of structured modified fats, which are being used extensively to meet the product-specific demand primarily in bakery industry as shortenings, cocoa butter substitutes in confectionary industry, and in margarine preparation, as butter substitute. During modification stages, native oils and fats are subjected to different physical and chemical treatments such as fractionation, hydrogenation and interesterification in order to produce fats with desirable
    physical as well as functional properties. Numerous studies have demonstrated the adverse health effects of these modified oils and fats, especially trans fatty acids, using animal models as well as human volunteers. Consequently, the decadesold process of partial hydrogenation of oils has been abandoned in most nations. However, alternative technologies to hydrogenation are on rise, creating new trends in modified oils and fats synthesis to cater food industry needs that may have unforeseeable consequences on human health.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  19. Sarcopenia and its impact on health: Do they have significant associations?
    S.K. Norshafarina, M.S. Noor Ibrahim, S. Suzana, A. Mohamad Hasnan, M. Zahara, Y. Zaitun
    Sains Malaysiana, 2013;42:1345-1355.
    A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Sarcopenia and its association with health profiles and oxidative stress among multiethnic older adults in an urban area of Malaysia. Sarcopenia was assessed using Bioimpedance analysis (BIA) and the associations between demography, socioeconomic status, lifestyle practices, health risk factors and blood profile were examined on 388 apparently healthy subjects aged 60 years and above. Prevalence of sarcopenia was 89.0% in men and 40.3% in women with the overall prevalence of 59.8%. It was found that prevalence of severe sarcopenia was 13.9% and sarcopenia obese was 23.5%. Binary logistic regression showed that there was no predictor found in men or women. However, a decline in muscle mass was observed in sarcopenic as compared with normal subjects. Sarcopenia is prevalent and there is a need to implement interventional strategies to prevent sarcopenia and its associated comorbidities.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
  20. Fractal-based classification of electroencephalography (EEG) signals in healthy adolescents and adolescents with symptoms of schizophrenia
    Namazi H, Aghasian E, Ala TS
    Technol Health Care, 2019;27(3):233-241.
    PMID: 30829625 DOI: 10.3233/THC-181497
    Brain activity analysis is an important research area in the field of human neuroscience. Moreover, a subcategory in this field is the classification of brain activity in terms of different brain disorders. Since the Electroencephalography (EEG) signal is, in fact, a non-linear time series, employing techniques to investigate its non-linear structure is rather crucial. In this study, we evaluate the non-linear structure of the EEG signal between healthy and schizophrenic adolescents using fractal theory. The results of our analysis revealed that in terms of all recording channels, the EEG signal of healthy subjects is more complex compared to the ones suffering from schizophrenia. The statistical analysis also indicated that there is a significant difference in the complex structure of the EEG signal between these two groups of subjects. We also utilized approximate entropy in our analysis in order to verify the obtained results of the fractal analysis. The result of the entropy analysis suggested that EEG signal for healthy subjects is less random compared to the EEG signal in schizophrenic individuals. In addition, the employed methodology in this research can be further investigated in order to classify the brain activity in terms of other brain disorders, where one can explore how the complex structure of the EEG signal alters between them.
    Matched MeSH terms: Healthy Volunteers
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