A Superscan is described as a ‘beautiful bone scan’. In a superscan, the uptake of 99mTc-Methelene Diphosphonate (MDP) is prominent in the skeleton relative to soft tissue with absent or faint visualisation of the kidneys. This finding could be misinterpreted as a normal bone scan. A ‘Sub-superscan’ is a term used for scan findings in which the up- take is atypical of a superscan, but the patient has extensive bone metastases, as presented in our case report.
Pencemaran air di Tasik Chini, Pahang kian meruncing akibat pembangunan sekitar yang tidak terkawal menyebabkan kemusnahan rantaian makanan sekaligus mengancam kelangsungan hidup komuniti asli. Justeru, kajian telah dijalankan bagi mengenal pasti faktor, impak dan keberkesanan strategi dengan menggunapakai Teori Pengambilalihan. Selain itu, kajian ini dipilih untuk memenuhi kelompangan kajian terdahulu yang lebih menekankan kepentingan pengekalan biodiversiti flora dan fauna berbanding kajian terhadap kehidupan komuniti setempat. Maka, kajian deskritif tinjauan telah digunakan melalui kaedah pemerhatian, temu bual mendalam bersama empat orang informan, dianalisis secara transkripsi, triangulasi dan analisis kandungan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan faktor pencemaran air berpunca daripada pembinaan empangan air, projek pembangunan, aktiviti pembalakan, aktiviti perlombongan dan hakisan tanih. Sementara, pertanian komersial juga menjejaskan kegunaan domestik, hidupan akuatik terganggu, perubahan sifat air, kehilangan sumber pendapatan, dan tahap kesihatan terjejas. Oleh itu, cadangan memperluaskan program advokasi seperti pengawalan pembuangan sampah sarap, pematuhan Penilaian Impak Alam Sekitar (EIA), penglibatan pihak awam dan swasta, pemantauan kesihatan, kesedaran awam, dan melakukan penyelidikan lanjutan. Kajian mendapati dua buah syarikat China mengeksport bijih besi yang diperoleh sekitar Tasik Chini menggunakan permit AP (Eksport dan Import) dari negeri lain, bukannya Pahang. Meskipun syarikat tersebut tidak mempunyai lesen melombong tetapi mereka mempunyai segala kelengkapan alatan memproses dan menjalankan operasinya hingga kini. Diharapkan isu pencemaran air di Tasik Chini dapat dipulihkan demi menjamin kelestarian sejagat.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are types of bacteria known to cause bacterial keratitis. Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes bacterial keratitis by adhering to the surface of the contact lenses, when the P. aeruginosa are in contact with the eye, resulting in infectious keratitis. As for Staphylococcus aureus, when there is a predisposing factor such as wearing expired or extended use of contact lenses (contact lenses that can be used continually for up to one week even while sleeping) weaken the individual defences and leads to the development of bacterial keratitis. Both bacteria are capable to infect eye cornea and lead to bacterial keratitis through contact lenses wearer. The findings of this study provide information on the importance of routine practices in handling contact lenses to help reduce the incidence of bacterial keratitis caused by wear contact lenses in an individual. The side effect of wearing contact lenses such as redness of the eye and keratitis due to the infection by pathogenic bacteria which comes from the behavior and low hygiene level management of individual had led the study to create awareness to contact lenses wearer. In this study, 25 soft and hard contact lenses with purposed for colored or toric contact lenses were obtained among UiTM Negeri Sembilan students. The users required to answer the questionnaire form regarding the type, behavior, and routine practices of their contact lenses. Pathogenic bacteria were isolated using the cotton swab technique and cultured on nutrient broth. The streak technique was used to cultured bacteria from broth to nutrient agar, blood agar, and MacConkey agar. Later, the identification of bacteria was carried out using biochemical tests and microscopic observation. From the laboratory results, 84% of the tested contact lenses contained pathogenic bacteria on their surface. These findings concluded that the presences of pathogenic microorganisms on the contact lenses used closely related to the behavior in handling and hygenic practices level by the contact lenses users.
Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi amalan pengambilan makanan lestari dalam kalangan isi rumah di Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Sebanyak 200 orang responden telah dipilih secara pensampelan rawak mudah dan maklumat dikumpul dengan menggunakan borang soal selidik. Hasil analisis regresi linear pelbagai menunjukkan pengaruh faktor-faktor peramal bagi amalan pengambilan makanan lestari ialah sebanyak 33.8%. Kesimpulannya, faktor-faktor peramal yang mempengaruhi amalan pengambilan makanan lestari ialah kesedaran dan sikap. Oleh itu, kajian ini berpotensi sebagai sumber maklumat kepada pengeluar, pasaraya, media dan pengusaha makanan domestik berhubung kepentingan makanan lestari dalam pembangunan produk dan pengedaran bahan pengiklanan, justeru dapat menyediakan menu yang berkhasiat, sihat dan seimbang kepada masyarakat.
Healthy competition in the field of education makes every individual strive to improve their abilities and competencies in terms of knowledge, skills and values related to mathematics. Mathematics as an important communication tool in the pursuit of the progress of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 era requires a community that is fluent and literate in mathematics. The main focus is to produce a generation of leaders who are analytical, critical and logical thinking urging the education sector to identify issues and shortcomings of self-efficacy related to mathematics from the grassroots level. The purpose of this study is to make a systematic literature review on the components of self-efficacy and its inclusion in mathematics education research. Two research questions that are emphasised are the components of self-efficacy and how self-efficacy is studied in empirical research in mathematics education. This study uses the PRISMA Model. Two search engines are used, namely the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) and Google Scholar. Out of the 152 articles identified, a total of 20 articles were accepted that met the purpose of the study. Based on the analysis conducted, there are 4 components of self-efficacy that have been identified, namely mathematical self-efficacy, technological self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy and teaching self-efficacy. The findings also show that the majority of self-efficacy studies are conducted quantitatively compared to qualitatively. The main research lines observed were the level of self-efficacy, the relationship between self-efficacy and other relevant variables, and the development of self-efficacy. Although many previous studies have been conducted in the Asian continent, the number of studies that emphasise self-efficacy in the Malaysian environment is still considered small. Therefore, the results of this study are expected to provide a deep understanding so that such studies can be implemented in the context of education in Malaysia.
Covid-19 outbreak has caused economic policy uncertainties. The first
COVID-19 case was reported in Wuhan, China at the end of 2019. The virus
spread escalated in volume during the Chinese New Year festival. World
Health Organisation declared a global health emergency on January 30,
2020. The global financial market was badly hit when oil price slumped to
over 30% and oil price war also occurred between Saudi and Russia. The
stock market, too displayed signs of being impacted by the virus outbreak. It
is very important to determine if COVID-19 has affected economic
uncertainty and oil prices or the oil price fall has affected the economic
instability and stock market volatility Three models were used in this study
to analyse the relationship between the recent spread of COVID-19 in
Malaysia, Malaysia stock market, oil prices in Malaysia and Global
Economic Policy Uncertainty (GEPU) in time-frequency domain. The
coherence wavelet methods were used to analyse the movement of each
variable and to evaluate the interactions between the selected variables from
January 25, 2020 to May 25, 2020. The Wavelet-based Granger Causality
were applied to test the robustness of the coherence wavelets. Three main
conclusions from this study were i) oil prices were influenced by stock market
and GEPU index, ii) stock markets and GEPU index had interactions with
the pandemic and iii) short term effects existed between the pandemic and
oil prices. More accurate results concerning the volatility of GEPU, stock
market and oil price, can be obtained in future research works in this area if
Malaysia Economic Policy Uncertainty index is used.
Research on Islamic products and services has been receiving great attention over the past years. This has attributed to the increasing awareness among Muslims to consume Halal products or served with Shari’ahcompliant services. In responding to this development, An Nur Specialist Hospital has initiated to be the first private Shari’ah Compliant Hospital (SCH),through the award of the MS 1900:2014 in April 2015. MS1900:2014 provides guidelines for an organization to be accredited as a Shari’ah compliant organization. The Ministry of Health, Malaysia has introduced ‘ībādahfriendly hospital’ in 2010. However, there is lack of research on the characteristics and implementation of SCH in the healthcare industry. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to understand the implementation of SCH at An Nur Specialist Hospital. A qualitative case study is utilised to investigate the issues and implementation of SCH. The case study uses in-depth, open-ended interview with the hospital senior management. The interview was recorded, transcribed, and evaluated based on thematic analysis to understand the practice. The study found major outcomes in implementing SCH, such as the important role of the Shari’ah Advisory Council in ensuring all the Standard Operating Procedures are in line with Shari’ah principles, continuous staff development programs in providing the Shari’ahunderstanding and latest fatwāon FiqhMedic. The other outcome is the positive response from patients who have been frequently visiting the hospital due to the status of An Nur as a SCH.
Like many other countries, reservoirs in Malaysia are primarily built for various
functions such as hydroelectric power generation, drinking water supply, flood mitigation
and irrigation for agricultural purposes. Artisanal fisheries activities were also performed in
these reservoirs. The freshwater fish are a requisite source of protein for the rural
population. Consequently, the fish resources in reservoirs should be carefully maintained
at sustainable level. Present study elucidates the preliminary assessment on autecological
studies of beardless barb, Cyclocheilichthys apogon as a model of fish biota in Muda
Reservoir. This research investigates the growth pattern of C. apogon using length-weight
relationship and their condition factor. A total of 307 specimens were captured using cast
net for six consecutive months from March 2014 until August 2014. The growth coefficient
(b) from the length-weight equation (W = aLb
) for male and female of C. apogon were
3.150 and 3.185, respectively, indicating positive allometric growth. The condition factor
values of male and female of C. apogon were 1.023 ± 0.111 and 1.026 ± 0.100,
respectively, suggesting that C. apogon is in good condition in Muda Reservoir. The
paucity of research on the autecological study in the Muda Reservoir contributes to the
main reason of performing this research. The findings will serve as baseline information of
this species in Muda Reservoir, as well as for comparative study in the future.
Siasatan terhadap taburan dan kelimpahan kumpulan pemakanan
makroinvertebrata akuatik di Sungai Bogak, Kerian dan Serdang di lembangan sungai
Kerian menunjukkan terdapat 120 genera dari 59 keluarga dari 13 order makroinvertebrata.
Pemangsa terutamanya Odonata, Hemiptera dan Coleoptera adalah kumpulan yang paling
biasa dan didapati dalam kepadatan tinggi di Sungai Bogak (sungai yang diubah suai)
dan Sungai Kerian (sungai utama). Kumpulan dominan kedua di kedua-dua sungai itu
adalah pemungut-kumpul (Diptera dan Ephemeroptera) diikuti oleh pengikis (moluska).
Pola kumpulan pemakanan yang berlainan diperhatikan di Sungai Serdang (anak Sungai
Kerian). Kumpulan yang paling banyak adalah pemungut-kumpul, diikuti oleh pemangsa
dan pengikis. Secara umum, kelimpahan pemangsa menunjukkan korelasi positif dengan
kelimpahan mangsa mereka (kumpulan pemakanan lain). Kelimpahan pemangsa terutama
di Sungai Bogak dan Kerian, sangat dipengaruhi oleh parameter seperti PO43-, NO3-N
dan Zn. Kelimpahan pemungut-kumpul di sungai Serdang pula dipengaruhi oleh suhu
dan halaju air, TSS, kekeruhan serta kandungan Mn dan Cu di dalam sedimen. Walau
bagaimanapun, semua parameter air mempengaruhi secara lemah kelimpahan kumpulan
pemakanan di semua lokasi. Banyak pemungut-kumpul di Sungai Serdang dikaitkan dengan
air yang diperkaya oleh sisa antropogenik dari kawasan kediaman sekitar. Pada umumnya,
kumpulan pemakanan yang dominan di setiap sungai mencerminkan pengaruh keadaan
persekitaran yang berbeza dan ketersediaan sumber makanan di kawasan tersebut
Client satisfaction upon health services is important for public especially for those who have to undergo treatment for tuberculosis (TB) noted for its difficult regime. The purpose of this study is to measure client dissatisfaction level towards TB treatment & services among TB patients in government outpatient health services and the factors that influenced it. This study was carried out in all the districts of West Coast Division of Sabah. It was conducted from June 2002 to November 2002. Study design is cross-sectional, with population samples taken on those who are currently receiving outpatient TB treatment in government health facilities. Questionnaires forms were used as study tool and filled by either by respondent or through the help of trained interviewer. The outcome is based on the total score obtained through Likert scales to determine the proportion of dissatisfied group from the respondents. A total of 488 patients took part in this study. Results of study showed overall percentage of 31.8% dissatisfaction level towards TB
treatment & services, while dissatisfaction towards TB treatment and upon health services alone were 54.3% and 24.0% respectively. The predictive factors for client dissatisfaction towards TB treatment and services are those without education, longer waiting time and have opinion of insufficient number of health staff.
Key words: Tuberculosis, client satisfaction, TB treatment, services, Sabah.
Study site: Outpatient clinics, hospitals, Sabah, Malaysia
Objective :This study was performed to determine changes in diet and lifestyle among breast cancer survivors in Malaysia.
Methods :This was a qualitative study done on fifteen survivors (8 Malays and 7 non-Malays) obtained from the Oncology and Surgery Department, National University of Malaysia Hospital. The study was conducted using a semi-structured interview format. The data obtained were sorted into various categories via content analysis.
Results :Majority of breast cancer survivors increased their fruit and vegetable intake following diagnosis. Some non-Malays changed to vegetarian whereas all the Malays remained on the same dietary pattern. As far as exercise was concerned, all Malays did not exercise before diagnosis, but did so after diagnosis, whereas most of non- Malays did not exercise either before or after diagnosis.
Conclusion : Some changes were noticed in dietary and lifestyle behaviors after diagnosis among some survivors. The differences were due to their different cultural and religious backgrounds.
This study investigated the thermal properties of three room temperature curing adhesives containing nano particles which were thixotropic and shear thinning which allowed injection into overhead holes when exposed to different environmental conditions. Viscosity and shear stress of the adhesives were measured as a function of shear rate. The thermal behaviour of the adhesives were measured using dynamic mechanical thermal anylisis following exposures to different temperatures and humidities which included temperatures of 20 degrees Celcius, 30 degrees Celcius and 50 degrees Celcius, relative humidities of 65% RH, 75% RH 95% RH soaked in water at 20 degrees Celcius and placed in the oven at 50 degrees Celcius. The dynamic thermal properties reported include storage and loss modulus, the loss tangent and the glass transition temperature ( Tg ). For nano- and micro-particles filled adhesives, the Tg increased with the temperature increase, even though the adhesives was subjected to high humidity and this was due to further cross-linking. The results showed that room temperature cured epoxies were only partially cured at room temperature.
Congenital cholesteatoma (CC) of the middle ear is a rare entity that may be
undiagnosed for years. The lesion can grow undetected until it produces symptoms such as reduced
hearing or otalgia.
Extensive research has been carried out over the years to determine the maximum acceptable weight that a worker is capable of lifting in a given situation among the Occidental populations in the Europe and US. At present, there is a scarcity of studies in which lifting frequency is used as the measuring variable, especially in developing countries such as Malaysia. Therefore, the objective of this study is to determine the effects of lifting loads on the maximum acceptable frequency limit (MAFL), physiological response (muscle activity) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) for asymmetric lifting and lowering tasks of Malaysian males.Ten male subjects are recruited in this study and they perform asymmetric lifting and lowering tasks repetitively for 30 minutes. Two lifting loads are considered (1) 1 kg and (2) 5 kg. Each of the subjects adjusts his frequency of lifting using a psychophysical approach. The subjects are instructed to perform the lifting and lowering task as fast as they could over duration of 30 minutes without exhausting themselves or becoming overheated. Electromyography (EMG) signals are recorded from four muscles (Right Erector Spinae (RES), Left Erector Spinae (LES), Right Trapezius p Descendenz (RTD) and Left Trapezius p Descendenz (LTD) and analysed in terms of the normalized MVC during asymmetric lifting and lowering tasks. The ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) for four body parts (arms, lower back, shoulders and entire body) are also collected after the subjects have completed the lifting and lowering task. The mean frequency of the lifting and lowering task obtained from the experiment is 13.41 and 9.66 times/minute for a lifting load of 1 and 5 kg, respectively. The results of the independent sample t-test show that load has a statistically significant effect on the maximum acceptable frequency limit (p < 0.05). However, it is found that even though there is an increase in muscle activity and RPE with an increase in lifting load, there is no significant difference in the overall mean muscle activity and RPE (p > 0.05). The percentage decrease in the maximum acceptable frequency for Malaysian males is higher than the Occidental populations for both of the loads investigated in this study.
Traumatic bilateral sixth cranial nerve palsy is a rare condition which is typically associated with additional intracranial, skull, and cervical spine injuries. We describe a case of complete bilateral sixth nerve palsy in a 28-year-old female patient after an alleged motor vehicle accident. She had altered level of consciousness but no intracranial lesion or associated skull or cervical spine fracture was detected. In this case, we discussed the differential diagnoses, initial workup, and possible treatment options in cases of traumatic 6th nerve palsy.
In pregnancy, the diagnosis of primary hyperparathyroidism (PHP) may be delayed due to physiological changes that occur during this period. The maternal related complications of PHP during pregnancy has been reported to be as high as 67%, whilst fetal complications up to 80% of cases.1 The therapeutic gold standard and definitive treatment for PHP in pregnancy is minimally invasive parathyroidectomy in the second trimester. We report a case of a 22-year old primidgravida who underwent parathyroidectomy in the third trimester of her pregnancy for PHP with persistent hypercalcemia. She was also found to have Vitamin D deficiency which probably led to secondary hyperparathyroidism and made her hypercalcemia more apparent during pregnancy
Aim of study: To describe the residents of nursing home for the elderly in relation to their socio-demographic, physical and mental profiles. Method: A cross-sectional study design was carried out. The elderly in two selected nursing homes in Kuantan, Pahang were interviewed. The respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire which included the biodata, social background, and medical illness, presence of cognition, depression and ability to perform basic activities of daily living (ADL). Results: Results are available for 36 respondents out of 41 residents, giving a response rate of 87.8%. Chinese (77.8%), male (63.9%), single or divorced (50%), and low income (69.4%) was consisted the majority. Most respondents (86.1%) suffered from chronic illness, 61.1% were functional dependent (according to Barthel index), 33.3% have cognitive impairment (according ECAQ) and 22.2% have depression (according to GDS-14). The most common functional dependence was mobility on level surface (47.2%), followed by climbing stairs (38.9%).Conclusion: This study had identified chronic illness, cognitive impairment, depression, and functional decline as major health problems of the elderly in nursing homes that require greater attention and intervention.
The incidence of benzodiazepine paradoxical reaction is uncommon. It may be implicated with crime as will be described in this case report. Method: We report a 37 year-old schizophrenia patient who was detained by the authority under Section 392/397 of Penal Code assaulting a lady using sharp weapon. He had history of illicit substance abuse and benzodiazepine dependence with significant history of aggression associated with benzodiazepine. Just prior to the incident, he took a significant amount of various types of benzodiazepine and suffered from amnesia of that event. During the time of the offense, he was in remission as far as schizophrenia is concerned. Result: He was under the forensic psychiatric care and observation at Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta (HBUK). He developed withdrawal symptoms of benzodiazepine in the ward. Conclusion: He was found by the expert team to be under the influence of benzodiazepine during the offence. The role of benzodiazepine and relevant factors leading to aggression will be discussed in this manuscript.