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Fulltext Cardiovascular Health Among Pregnant Women, Aged 20 to 44 Years, in the United States

Perak AM, Ning H, Khan SS, Van Horn LV, Grobman WA, Lloyd-Jones DM

J Am Heart Assoc, 2020 Feb 18;9(4):e015123.
PMID: 32063122 DOI: 10.1161/JAHA.119.015123

Background Pregnancy is a cardiometabolic stressor and thus a critical period to address women's lifetime cardiovascular health (CVH). However, CVH among US pregnant women has not been characterized. Methods and Results We analyzed cross-sectional data from National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 1999 to 2014 for 1117 pregnant and 8200 nonpregnant women, aged 20 to 44 years. We assessed 7 CVH metrics using American Heart Association definitions modified for pregnancy; categorized metrics as ideal, intermediate, or poor; assigned these categories 2, 1, or 0 points, respectively; and summed across the 7 metrics for a total score of 0 to 14 points. Total scores 12 to 14 indicated high CVH; 8 to 11, moderate CVH; and 0 to 7, low CVH. We applied survey weights to generate US population-level estimates of CVH levels and compared pregnant and nonpregnant women using demographic-adjusted polytomous logistic and linear regression. Among pregnant women, the prevalences (95% CIs) of ideal levels of CVH metrics were 0.1% (0%-0.3%) for diet, 27.3% (22.2%-32.3%) for physical activity, 38.9% (33.7%-44.0%) for total cholesterol, 51.1% (46.0%-56.2%) for body mass index, 77.7% (73.3%-82.2%) for smoking, 90.4% (87.5%-93.3%) for blood pressure, and 91.6% (88.3%-94.9%) for fasting glucose. The mean total CVH score was 8.3 (95% CI, 8.0-8.7) of 14, with high CVH in 4.6% (95% CI, 0.5%-8.8%), moderate CVH in 60.6% (95% CI, 52.3%-68.9%), and low CVH in 34.8% (95% CI, 26.4%-43.2%). CVH levels were significantly lower among pregnant versus nonpregnant women; for example, 13.0% (95% CI, 11.0%-15.0%) of nonpregnant women had high CVH (adjusted, comparison P=0.01). Conclusions From 1999 to 2014, <1 in 10 US pregnant women, aged 20 to 44 years, had high CVH.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Caregiving Self-efficacy and Knowledge Regarding Patient Positioning Among Malaysian Caregivers of Stroke Patients

Tan CE, Hi MY, Azmi NS, Ishak NK, Mohd Farid FA, Abdul Aziz AF

Cureus, 2020 Mar 24;12(3):e7390.
PMID: 32337117 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.7390

Background Most family caregivers of stroke patients in Malaysia do not receive adequate prior preparation or training. This study aimed to determine levels of patient positioning knowledge and caregiving self-efficacy among caregivers of stroke patients. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted at an urban teaching hospital involving 128 caregivers of stroke patients. The caregivers were conveniently sampled and completed the data collection forms, which comprised their socio-demographic data, patients' functional status, the Caregiving Knowledge For Stroke Questionnaire: Patient Positioning (CKQ-My© Patient Positioning) to measure caregiver's knowledge on patient positioning, and the Family Caregiver Activation Tool (FCAT©) to measure caregivers' self-efficacy in managing the patient. Descriptive and multivariate inferential statistics were used for data analysis. Results Among the caregivers sampled, 87.3% had poor knowledge of positioning (mean score 14.9 ± 4.32). The mean score for FCAT was 49.7 ± 6.0 from a scale of 10 to 60. There was no significant association between knowledge on positioning and self-efficacy. Multiple linear regression showed that caregivers' age (B = 0.146, p = 0.003) and caregiver training (B = 3.302, p = 0.007) were independently associated with caregivers' self-efficacy. Conclusion Caregivers' knowledge on the positioning of stroke patients was poor, despite a fairly good level of self-efficacy. Older caregivers and receiving caregiver training were independently associated with better caregiver self-efficacy. This supports the provision of caregiver training to improve caregiver self-efficacy.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Case mix and cost drivers for cardiology cases in Hospital UKM Cheras Kuala Lumpur

Amrizal, M.N., Rohaizat, Y.B., Saperi, S., SyedMohamed Aljunid

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2006;6(1):11-16.
MyJurnal

Hospital UKM is the first hospital to implement case·mix system in Malaysia. The objective of the programme is to utilise case-mix system as a tool in improving efficiency and quality of care. From July 2002 to June 2004, a total of 35,568 cases were grouped using IRDRG-Version 1.1 case-mix grouper. Out of these, 3,622 cases or 10.2 % were cardiology cases in MDC 05 (Diseases and Disorders of the Circulatory System). Medical Cardiology cases consist of 86.5% and the remaining 13.5% were Surgical Cardiology. Most of the cases were in severity level one (43.4%), 29.5 % in severity level two and 27.1% in severity level three. The mortality rates for severity level one, two and three were 1.0%, 2.6% and 11.5% respectively. Top three cardiology cases were Acute Myocardial Infarction Without Comorbidity and Complication (IRDRG 05331) (8.4%), Acute Myocardial Infarction With Major Comorbidity and Complication (IRDRG 05333) (7.6%) and Cardiac Catheterization for Ischemic Heart Disease Without Comorbidity and Complication (IRDRG 05311) (7.4%). Step-down costing was carried out to obtain the cost for each DRG group. The mean cost per episode of care for Medical Cardiology cases was RM 3,562 (SD= RM 2, 1 19) with average LOS of 6.4 days (SD= 3 .8days) . For the Surgical Cardiology cases, the mean cost per episode ofcare was RM 6,526 (SD= RM 4,585) and average LOS of5.8 days (SD= 4.1 days). The main components of cost for Medical Cardiology cases are ICU cost (28.8%), pharmacy (17.3%) and Ward Services (15.3%). In Surgical Cardiology, the biggest component of cost was for Operation Theatre (27.9%), followed by Ward Services (25 .4%) and pharmacy (8.5%). Multivariate analysis using multiple linear regression showed that factors which significantly influence the treatment cost of cardiology cases were length of stay, age of the patient, discharge outcome, case type ('surgical partition') and severity level.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Characterization of a MOSkin detector for in vivo skin dose measurements during interventional radiology procedures

Safari MJ, Wong JH, Ng KH, Jong WL, Cutajar DL, Rosenfeld AB

Med Phys, 2015 May;42(5):2550-8.
PMID: 25979047 DOI: 10.1118/1.4918576

The MOSkin is a MOSFET detector designed especially for skin dose measurements. This detector has been characterized for various factors affecting its response for megavoltage photon beams and has been used for patient dose measurements during radiotherapy procedures. However, the characteristics of this detector in kilovoltage photon beams and low dose ranges have not been studied. The purpose of this study was to characterize the MOSkin detector to determine its suitability for in vivo entrance skin dose measurements during interventional radiology procedures.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Chiral liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method development for the detection of salbutamol in urine samples

Chan SH, Lee W, Asmawi MZ, Tan SC

J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci, 2016 Jul 01;1025:83-91.
PMID: 27232053 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchromb.2016.05.015

A sequential solid-phase extraction (SPE) method was developed and validated using liquid chromatography-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) for the detection and quantification of salbutamol enantiomers in porcine urine. Porcine urine samples were hydrolysed with β-glucuronidase/arylsulfatase from Helix pomatia and then subjected to a double solid-phase extraction (SPE) first using the Abs-Elut Nexus SPE and then followed by the Bond Elut Phenylboronic Acid (PBA) SPE. The salbutamol enantiomers were separated using the Astec CHIROBIOTIC™ T HPLC column (3.0mm×100mm; 5μm) maintained at 15°C with a 15min isocratic run at a flow rate of 0.4mL/min. The mobile phase constituted of 5mM ammonium formate in methanol. Salbutamol and salbutamol-tert-butyl-d9 (internal standard, IS) was monitored and quantified with the multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. The method showed good linearity for the range of 0.1-10ng/mL with limit of quantification at 0.3ng/mL. Analysis of the QC samples showed intra- and inter-assay precisions to be less than 5.04%, and recovery ranging from 83.82 to 102.33%.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Classification of vascular function in upper limb using bilateral photoplethysmographic signals

Shariati NH, Zahedi E, Jajai HM

Physiol Meas, 2008 Mar;29(3):365-74.
PMID: 18367811 DOI: 10.1088/0967-3334/29/3/007

Bilateral PPG signals have been used for comparative study of two groups of healthy (free from any cardiovascular risk factors) and diabetic (as cardiovascular disease risk group) subjects in the age-matched range 40-50 years. The peripheral blood pulsations were recorded simultaneously from right and left index fingers for 90 s. Pulses have been modeled with the ARX440 model in the interval of 300 sample points with 100 sample points overlap between segments. Model parameters of three segments based on the highest fitness (higher than 80%) of modeled segments were retained for each subject. Subsequently, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the parameters of retained segments to eliminate the existing correlation among parameters and provide uncorrelated variables. The first principal component (contains 78.2% variance of data) was significantly greater in diabetic than in control groups (P < 0.0001, 0.74 +/- 2.01 versus -0.53 +/- 1.66). In addition the seventh principal component, which contains 0.02% of the data variance, was significantly lower in diabetic than in control groups (P < 0.05, -0.007 +/- 0.03 versus 0.005 +/- 0.03). Finally, linear discrimination analysis (LDA) was used to classify the subjects. The classification was done using the robust leaving-one-subject-out method. LDA could classify the subjects with 71.7% sensitivity and 70.2% specificity while the male subjects resulted in a highly acceptable result for the sensitivity (81%). The present study showed that PPG signals can be used for vascular function assessment and may find further application for detection of vascular changes before onset of clinical diseases.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Climate Based Predictability of Oil Palm Tree Yield in Malaysia

Oettli P, Behera SK, Yamagata T

Sci Rep, 2018 02 02;8(1):2271.
PMID: 29396527 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20298-0

The influence of local conditions and remote climate modes on the interannual variability of oil palm fresh fruit bunches (FFB) total yields in Malaysia and two major regions (Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah/Sarawak) is explored. On a country scale, the state of sea-surface temperatures (SST) in the tropical Pacific Ocean during the previous boreal winter is found to influence the regional climate. When El Niño occurs in the Pacific Ocean, rainfall in Malaysia reduces but air temperature increases, generating a high level of water stress for palm trees. As a result, the yearly production of FFB becomes lower than that of a normal year since the water stress during the boreal spring has an important impact on the total annual yields of FFB. Conversely, La Niña sets favorable conditions for palm trees to produce more FFB by reducing chances of water stress risk. The region of the Leeuwin current also seems to play a secondary role through the Ningaloo Niño/ Niña in the interannual variability of FFB yields. Based on these findings, a linear model is constructed and its ability to reproduce the interannual signal is assessed. This model has shown some skills in predicting the total FFB yield.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Clinical relevance of VKORC1 (G-1639A and C1173T) and CYP2C9*3 among patients on warfarin

Teh LK, Langmia IM, Fazleen Haslinda MH, Ngow HA, Roziah MJ, Harun R, et al.

J Clin Pharm Ther, 2012 Apr;37(2):232-6.
PMID: 21507031 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2710.2011.01262.x

Testing for cytochrome P450-2C9 (CYP2C9) and vitamin K epoxide reductase complex subunit 1 (VKORC1) variant alleles is recommended by the FDA for dosing of warfarin. However, dose prediction models derived from data obtained in one population may not be applicable to another. We therefore studied the impact of genetic polymorphisms of CYP2C9 and VKORC1 on warfarin dose requirement in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Clustering of cardiovascular risk factors and carotid intima-media thickness: The USE-IMT study

Wang X, Dalmeijer GW, den Ruijter HM, Anderson TJ, Britton AR, Dekker J, et al.

PLoS One, 2017;12(3):e0173393.
PMID: 28323823 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173393

BACKGROUND: The relation of a single risk factor with atherosclerosis is established. Clinically we know of risk factor clustering within individuals. Yet, studies into the magnitude of the relation of risk factor clusters with atherosclerosis are limited. Here, we assessed that relation.
METHODS: Individual participant data from 14 cohorts, involving 59,025 individuals were used in this cross-sectional analysis. We made 15 clusters of four risk factors (current smoking, overweight, elevated blood pressure, elevated total cholesterol). Multilevel age and sex adjusted linear regression models were applied to estimate mean differences in common carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) between clusters using those without any of the four risk factors as reference group.
RESULTS: Compared to the reference, those with 1, 2, 3 or 4 risk factors had a significantly higher common CIMT: mean difference of 0.026 mm, 0.052 mm, 0.074 mm and 0.114 mm, respectively. These findings were the same in men and in women, and across ethnic groups. Within each risk factor cluster (1, 2, 3 risk factors), groups with elevated blood pressure had the largest CIMT and those with elevated cholesterol the lowest CIMT, a pattern similar for men and women.
CONCLUSION: Clusters of risk factors relate to increased common CIMT in a graded manner, similar in men, women and across race-ethnic groups. Some clusters seemed more atherogenic than others. Our findings support the notion that cardiovascular prevention should focus on sets of risk factors rather than individual levels alone, but may prioritize within clusters.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Combination of saponification and dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction for the determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in cereals by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

Shammugasamy B, Ramakrishnan Y, Ghazali HM, Muhammad K

J Chromatogr A, 2013 Jul 26;1300:31-7.
PMID: 23587317 DOI: 10.1016/j.chroma.2013.03.036

A simple sample preparation technique coupled with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography was developed for the determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in cereals. The sample preparation procedure involved a small-scale hydrolysis of 0.5g cereal sample by saponification, followed by the extraction and concentration of tocopherols and tocotrienols from saponified extract using dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction (DLLME). Parameters affecting the DLLME performance were optimized to achieve the highest extraction efficiency and the performance of the developed DLLME method was evaluated. Good linearity was observed over the range assayed (0.031-4.0μg/mL) with regression coefficients greater than 0.9989 for all tocopherols and tocotrienols. Limits of detection and enrichment factors ranged from 0.01 to 0.11μg/mL and 50 to 73, respectively. Intra- and inter-day precision were lower than 8.9% and the recoveries were around 85.5-116.6% for all tocopherols and tocotrienols. The developed DLLME method was successfully applied to cereals: rice, barley, oat, wheat, corn and millet. This new sample preparation approach represents an inexpensive, rapid, simple and precise sample cleanup and concentration method for the determination of tocopherols and tocotrienols in cereals.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Comparative audit of abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs using POSSUM scores

Yii MK

Asian J Surg, 2003 Jul;26(3):149-53.
PMID: 12925289 DOI: 10.1016/S1015-9584(09)60374-2

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) repairs represent a significant workload in vascular surgery in Asia. This study aimed to audit AAA surgery and evaluate the application of the Portsmouth Physiological and Operative Severity Score for the Enumeration of Mortality and Morbidity (P-POSSUM) in an Asian vascular unit for standard of care. Eighty-five consecutive surgical patients with AAA from a prospective vascular database from July 1996 to December 2001 in Sarawak were available for analysis. Comparisons between predicted deaths by P-POSSUM and observed deaths in both urgency of surgery categories (elective, urgent, emergency ruptures) and risk range groups (0-5%, >5-15%, >15-50%, >50-100%) were made. No significant difference was found between the predicted and observed rates of death for elective, urgent and emergency AAA repairs. The observed mortality rates were 5%, 18% and 30%, respectively. The observed rates of death were also comparable to P-POSSUM predicted rates of death in the various risk range groups. The POSSUM score used with the P-POSSUM mortality equation is easy to use and applicable as a comparative vascular auditing tool in Asia.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Comparative study of PGA and INAA for analyses of meteorite samples

Siong, Wee Boon, Ebihara, Mitsuru

Jurnal Sains Nuklear Malaysia, 2011;23(2):74-80.
MyJurnal

Prompt gamma-ray analysis (PGA) and instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) are essential for the study of rare samples such as meteorites because of non-destructivity and relatively being free from contaminations. The objective of this research is to utilize PGA and INAA techniques for comparative study and apply them to meteorite analyses. In this study, 11 meteorite samples received from the Meteorite Working Group of NASA were analyzed. The Allende meteorite powder was included as quality control material. Results from PGA and INAA for Allende showed in good agreement with literature values, signifying the reliabilities of these two methods. Elements Al, Ca, Mg, Mn, Na and Ti were determined by both methods and their results are compared. Comparison of PGA and INAA data using linear regression analysis showed correlations coefficients r2 > 0.90 for Al, Ca, Mn and Ti, 0.85 for Mg, and 0.38 for Na. The PGA results for Na using 472 keV were less accurate due to the interference from the broad B peak. Therefore, Na results from INAA method are preferred. For other elements (Al, Ca, Mg, Mn and Ti), PGA and INAA results can be used as cross-reference for consistency. The PGA and INAA techniques have been applied to meteorite samples and results are comparable to literature values compiled from previously analyzed meteorites. In summary, both PGA and INAA methods give reasonably good agreement and are indispensable in the study of meteorites.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Comparative study of artificial neural network (ANN), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and multiple linear regression (MLR) for modeling of Cu (II) adsorption from aqueous solution using biochar derived from rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) peel

Wong YJ, Arumugasamy SK, Chung CH, Selvarajoo A, Sethu V

Environ Monit Assess, 2020 Jun 17;192(7):439.
PMID: 32556670 DOI: 10.1007/s10661-020-08268-4

Presence of copper within water bodies deteriorates human health and degrades natural environment. This heavy metal in water is treated using a promising biochar derived from rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) peel through slow pyrolysis. This research compares the efficacies of artificial neural network (ANN), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), and multiple linear regression (MLR) models and evaluates their capability in estimating the adsorption efficiency of biochar for the removal of Cu (II) ions based on 480 experimental sets obtained in a laboratory batch study. The effects of operational parameters such as contact time, operating temperature, biochar dosage, and initial Cu (II) ion concentration on removing Cu (II) ions were investigated. Eleven different training algorithms in ANN and 8 different membership functions in ANFIS were compared statistically and evaluated in terms of estimation errors, which are root mean squared error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and accuracy. The effects of number of hidden neuron in ANN model and fuzzy set combination in ANFIS were studied. In this study, ANFIS model with Gaussian membership function and fuzzy set combination of [4 5 2 3] was found to be the best method, with accuracy of 90.24% and 87.06% for training and testing dataset, respectively. Contribution of this study is that ANN, ANFIS, and MLR modeling techniques were used for the first time to study the adsorption of Cu (II) ions from aqueous solutions using rambutan peel biochar.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Comparison between VAR, GSTAR, FFNN-VAR and FFNN-GSTAR Models for forecasting oil production

Suhartono, Prastyo, Dedy Dwi, Kuswanto, Heri, Muhammad Hisyam Lee

MATEMATIKA, 2018;34(1):103-111.
MyJurnal

Monthly data about oil production at several drilling wells is an example of
spatio-temporal data. The aim of this research is to propose nonlinear spatio-temporal
model, i.e. Feedforward Neural Network - VectorAutoregressive (FFNN-VAR) and FFNN
- Generalized Space-Time Autoregressive (FFNN-GSTAR), and compare their forecast
accuracy to linearspatio-temporal model, i.e. VAR and GSTAR. These spatio-temporal
models are proposed and applied for forecasting monthly oil production data at three
drilling wells in East Java, Indonesia. There are 60 observations that be divided to two
parts, i.e. the first 50 observations for training data and the last 10 observations for
testing data. The results show that FFNN-GSTAR(11) and FFNN-VAR(1) as nonlinear
spatio-temporal models tend to give more accurate forecast than VAR(1) and GSTAR(11)
as linear spatio-temporal models. Moreover, further research about nonlinear spatiotemporal
models based on neural networks and GSTAR is needed for developing new
hybrid models that could improve the forecast accuracy.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Comparison of prediction model using spatial discriminant analysis for marine water quality index in mangrove estuarine zones

Samsudin MS, Azid A, Khalit SI, Sani MSA, Lananan F

Mar Pollut Bull, 2019 Apr;141:472-481.
PMID: 30955758 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.02.045

The prediction models of MWQI in mangrove and estuarine zones were constructed. The 2011-2015 data employed in this study entailed 13 parameters from six monitoring stations in West Malaysia. Spatial discriminant analysis (SDA) had recommended seven significant parameters to develop the MWQI which were DO, TSS, O&G, PO4, Cd, Cr and Zn. These selected parameters were then used to develop prediction models for the MWQI using artificial neural network (ANN) and multiple linear regressions (MLR). The SDA-ANN model had higher R2 value for training (0.9044) and validation (0.7113) results than SDA-MLR model and was chosen as the best model in mangrove estuarine zone. The SDA-ANN model had also demonstrated lower RMSE (5.224) than the SDA-MLR (12.7755). In summary, this work suggested that ANN was an effective tool to compute the MWQ in mangrove estuarine zone and a powerful alternative prediction model as compared to the other modelling methods.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Comparison of signal-to-noise, blank determination, and linear regression methods for the estimation of detection and quantification limits for volatile organic compounds by gas chromatography

Sanagi MM, Ling SL, Nasir Z, Hermawan D, Ibrahim WA, Abu Naim A

J AOAC Int, 2010 2 20;92(6):1833-8.
PMID: 20166602

LOD and LOQ are two important performance characteristics in method validation. This work compares three methods based on the International Conference on Harmonization and EURACHEM guidelines, namely, signal-to-noise, blank determination, and linear regression, to estimate the LOD and LOQ for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by experimental methodology using GC. Five VOCs, toluene, ethylbenzene, isopropylbenzene, n-propylbenzene, and styrene, were chosen for the experimental study. The results indicated that the estimated LODs and LOQs were not equivalent and could vary by a factor of 5 to 6 for the different methods. It is, therefore, essential to have a clearly described procedure for estimating the LOD and LOQ during method validation to allow interlaboratory comparisons.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Composition and source apportionment of surfactants in atmospheric aerosols of urban and semi-urban areas in Malaysia

Wahid NB, Latif MT, Suratman S

Chemosphere, 2013 Jun;91(11):1508-16.
PMID: 23336924 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.12.029

This study was conducted to determine the composition and source apportionment of surfactant in atmospheric aerosols around urban and semi-urban areas in Malaysia based on ionic compositions. Colorimetric analysis was undertaken to determine the concentrations of anionic surfactants as Methylene Blue Active Substances (MBAS) and cationic surfactants as Disulphine Blue Active Substances (DBAS) using a UV spectrophotometer. Ionic compositions were determined using ion chromatography for cations (Na(+), NH4(+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+)) and anions (F(-), Cl(-), NO3(-), SO4(2-)). Principle component analysis (PCA) combined with multiple linear regression (MLR) were used to identify the source apportionment of MBAS and DBAS. Results indicated that the concentrations of surfactants at both sampling sites were dominated by MBAS rather than DBAS especially in fine mode aerosols during the southwest monsoon. Three main sources of surfactants were identified from PCA-MLR analysis for MBAS in fine mode samples particularly in Kuala Lumpur, dominated by motor vehicles, followed by soil/road dust and sea spray. Besides, for MBAS in coarse mode, biomass burning/sea spray were the dominant source followed by motor vehicles/road dust and building material.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Correlates of disability in Asian patients with major depressive disorder

Eurviriyanukul K, Srisurapanont M, Udomratn P, Sulaiman AH, Liu CY

Perspect Psychiatr Care, 2016 Oct;52(4):265-272.
PMID: 26031315 DOI: 10.1111/ppc.12127

PURPOSE: To examine correlates of disability in Asian patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
DESIGN AND METHODS: Participants were outpatients with DSM-IV MDD. Global disability and three disability domains (i.e., work/school, social life/leisure, and family/home life) were key outcomes. Several socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were determined for their associations with disability.
FINDINGS: The sample was 493 MDD patients. Apart from the number of hospitalizations, the global disability was significantly associated with depression severity, fatigue, physical health, and mental health. Several clinical but only few socio-demographic characteristics associated with the other three disability domains were similar.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Disability among Asian patients with MDD correlates with the severity of psychiatric symptoms and the hospitalizations due to depression. Socio-demographic characteristics have little impact on the overall disability.
Study site: Psychiatric clinic, University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Correlation between phosphate level and peritoneal equilibration test (Pet) characteristics among continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (Capd) patients

Norazsida Ramli, Syafifa Rajiman, Mohd Ramli Seman

International Journal of Allied Health Sciences, 2018;2(1):166-178.
MyJurnal

Hyperphosphatemia is the key abnormality that sets off a cascade of metabolic events in chronic kidney disease (CKD). End stage renal disease (ESRD) patients that undergo Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) uses the peritoneal membrane for solutes filtration and clearance. The differences on the evaluation of peritoneal membrane transport status can affect the rate of toxin removal – serum phosphorus, from the systems. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of CAPD patients presented with high phosphate level after starting the treatment, to identify the risk factors associated with hyperphosphatemia and to find the significant correlation between the phosphate level and the PET characteristics. A retrospective study was
applied for this research where the medical records of patients were reviewed and analyzed between January 2011 to December 2016. Data were collected successfully from 74 adult CAPD patients (41 male, 55.4% and 33 females, 44.6%), with mean age of 51.34 ± 13.75 year-old. In this study, Malays (n= 65, 87.8%) are the largest subjects recruited, while Chinese (n= 6, 8.1%) and Indians (n= 3, 4.1%) made the rest of the subjects. PET characteristics of CAPD patients showed 11 patients had high characteristic (14.9%), 24 high average (32.4%), 26 low average (35.1%) and 5 low (6.8%). There were 37 CAPD patients (50%) presented with high phosphate level after starting the treatment. Simple linear regression revealed that age (p = 0.0052), serum calcium (p= 0.0090), serum albumin (p = 0.0244), normalized protein catabolic rate (nPCR) (p =0.0126), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) (p = 0.0012), total creatinine clearance (p =0.0470), residual renal creatinine clearance (p = 0.390) and 24-hours urine volume output (p = 0.0060) were risk factors associated with hyperphosphatemia. Pearson’s correlation analysis showed there was no significant correlation between phosphate level and PET characteristics (r = -.232, p = 0.070) while there was significant correlation between PET characteristics and peritoneal solute clearance (r = 0.4748, p < 0.001). In conclusion, serum phosphate level may be associated with daily dietary intake, metabolism and dialysis adequacy. There was no correlation between serum phosphate level and PET characteristic suggesting the rate of the toxin removal might not been affected by the
differences on peritoneal membrane characteristics suggesting a further understanding on transport status in terms of its mechanism of toxin removal

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models
Fulltext Costs of fogging activities and its contributing factors at Hulu Langat District Health Office, Selangor, Malaysia

Muhammad Syazni, Aidalina Mahmud, Suhainizam Muhamad Saliluddin

Malaysian Journal of Medicine and Health Sciences, 2019;15(104):107-107.
MyJurnal

Introduction: Dengue fever currently remains as one of the major public health issues in Malaysia. Dengue inci-dence in Malaysia has been increasing in the last 20 years. Dengue fever has been causing an economic burden to the country each year. Vector control is one of the preventions and control activities to reduce its incidence. Vector control activities, especially fogging is a resource-intensive activity. It uses most of the allocated budget of a district health office (33%). The major cost components of the prevention and control activities were human resources and pesticides with 60.7% were for human resources and 13.6% of the costs were for pesticides. Therefore, it is important to know, cost of each fogging activity and the factors that contribute to that cost. The objective of this study was to determine the costs of fogging activities carried out by Hulu Langat Health District Office, Selangor, Malaysia. Meth-ods: This study was a retrospective descriptive and analytical study using data from the Hulu Langat District Health Office for the year 2018. Cost analysis of fogging activities was carried out using the activity-based costing method-ology. The factors associated with, and predictors of, the costs of fogging activities were determined using chi-square and multiple linear regression. Results: In 2018, Hulu Langat District Health Office carried out total of 2,063 fogging activities. The average cost of each fogging activity was estimated as RM 1,579. Types of insecticides was statistically significant associated and predictive factor of the cost of fogging activity. Conclusion: The present study showed that the estimated average cost per fogging activity is RM 1,579 and water-based insecticide was found to be the cheaper option compared to oil-based insecticide. However, as this study did not determine the effectiveness of these insec-ticides, recommendations cannot be made as to which insecticide should be used.

Matched MeSH terms: Linear Models

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