As time progressed, our diet changed to include the types of foods that will promote
decay and so dental caries became a widespread and serious concern. Dental caries had been
reported adding to the significantly high number of oral health problem worldwide, causing a
burden to health care system. Despite the existing of prevention courses, the numbers did not
appear to decrease. Originated from natural resources, virgin coconut oil (VCO) has been proposed
as an alternative treatment as it has been reported to demonstrate antimicrobial activity on various
bacteria. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate whether VCO has antimicrobial effects on
certain, selected cariogenic bacteria. (Copied from particle).
The dopamine hypothesis has earlier dominated the theories for the
development of schizophrenia based on the early pharmacologic evidence. The
antipsychotic drugs, among others, is thought to interfere with the function of the
dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) resulting in clinical improvement. Accumulating evidence
suggest the role of epigenetic mechanisms in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
Despite this, specific evidence linking the DRD2 DNA methylation with schizophrenia is
insufficient mainly due to the poor accessibility and limited brain samples. Of late, new
data has suggested the global impact of DNA methylation in the development of
schizophrenia, thus methylation in the peripheral blood could infer changes in the brain.
The aim of this study was to assess the DRD2 DNA methylation in the peripheral blood of
schizophrenia.
The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia is based on the fact that hyperdopaminergic
state is involved in causing psychosis and antipsychotic drugs block the
dopamine receptor. COMT regulates the homeostatic levels of neurotransmitter
dopamine in the synapses and plays a role in the neurocognitive function. The
dysregulation of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex influences the cognitive function and
the severity of the psychotic symptoms in schizophrenia. During epigenetic event,
methylated COMT gene may cause reduction in its expression and contribute to the
clinical presentation of schizophrenia. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the
feasibility of using COMT DNA methylation for the prediction of specific psychotic
presentation of schizophrenia. (Copied from article).
Malignant pedunculated (exophytic) hepatocellular carcinoma (P-HCC) is a rare entity of hepatocellular
carcinoma. Due to its unique characteristics, it gives a different spectrum of clinical findings, radiological
presentation and different management approach with reported better outcome to the patients. We
present a case report of a lady diagnosed with malignant pedunculated hepatocellular carcinoma.
This is a novel study of the depth of penetration of bonding agents (BA) by using a
miniaturised CT-scan, XMT.The Linear Attenuation Coefficient describes the fraction of a beam of
x-rays or gamma rays that is absorbed or scattered per unit thickness of the absorber. The higher
the LAC, the more opaque the image is. (Copied from article).
Cancer is one of the global health problems that has a detrimental effect
to a person's life. However, chemotherapeutic agents success are subject to the side
effects due to lack of specificity in the drug delivery system to cancer cells and an
increase risk of systemic toxicity to the normal cells. Polyamine transport system (PTS)
is one of the potential pathways for transporting anticancer agent into specific cancer
cells. This is due to the upregulation of PTS in cancer cells compared to normal cells for
the proliferation activity. The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxicity effect
of putrescine-sulphur analogues type 1 (PSA-1) and type 2 (PSA-2) on human lung
adenocarcinoma cells (A549), human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells (HCT-8) and
human breast adenocarcinoma cell (MCF-7).
Seaweed industry is important in several countries including Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The seaweed, Kappaphycus is widely used in a variety of food products as an excellent nutritional supplement. There are several stages in producing raw Kappaphycus for industry such as cultivation and harvest. Most of these steps follow a traditional way which has been practiced from one generation to another. As seaweed is part of the main ingredients in many final produce, its processing must incorporate cleanliness and quality aspect. Therefore, a focus on Halal is of utmost importance. Halal is a concept that stresses on shariah law and ensuring the utmost quality which benefits most producers especially in food and supplement products. However, the knowledge of Halal is still limited in marine production including seaweed. The seaweed process has gone through numerous stages yet none of them has been checked on its
Halalness aspect. This study is to deliberate on the aspect of Halalness for each stage involved, including cultivation and harvesting. To achieve this, observations and literature search were performed and findings showed that there is lack of hygienic practices in handling seaweed production. Therefore, conjoint initiatives among university-industry-government are needed to enhance the value proposition of the seaweed production as it complies with the concept of Halalness. This will contribute towards the development of Halal ecosystem from seed to harvest of quality seaweed production.
We present a case of 80-year-old man with two-year history of hoarseness of voice secondary to left vocal cord paralysis. CT scanning revealed a saccular thoracic aneurysm compressing the left recurrent laryngeal nerve. A review of literature on Ortner's or cardiovocal syndrome is presented.
Hepatic adenomatosis is a rare, benign tumour of the liver. It was first described by Flejou et al as multiple adenomas in an otherwise normal liver parenchyma. Although benign, it can present as a diagnostic
challenge because the lesions can be diffi cult to distinguish from other hepatic tumours. Patients can be
asymptomatic and the diagnosis may only be made incidentally. We describe the case of 40-year-old Malay lady who was incidentally found to have hepatomegaly. Radiological examinations revealed a complex left ovarian cyst with multiple liver lesions. Biopsy of the liver lesion showed features of hepatic adenomatosis. Literature review was done and the dilemma in managing her was discussed.
Rapunzel syndrome is a syndrome whereby a gastric trichobezoar (hair ball) extends through the pylorus, in the form of a long tail, to cause gastric outlet obstruction. It was first described by Vaughan et al. in 1968. The syndrome is mostly seen in young females with psychiatric illness. Presentations can be non-specific especially in the early stages. If left untreated it may leads to severe complications, which may include gastric ulceration, intestinal obstruction, perforated viscus and obstructive jaundice. Treatment is essentially surgical and psychi- atric consultation is necessary to prevent relapses. We present the case of a 26-year-old mentally subnormal lady with gastric trichobezoar and provide a review of the literature.
Introduction: Thalassaemia is an inherited blood disorder and is a significant public health alarm in Malaysia with many not knowing they are carriers of this haemoglobin disorders. Materials and methods: This study conducted a one off collection of blood samples from 72 Malays students of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) in Kuantan. Blood samples were subjected to conventional haemoglobin analyses that include full blood count and picture, HPLC, Haemoglobin electrophoresis and H-inclusion test. All samples were also genotyped for alpha thalassaemia–1 of Southeast Asia (a-Thal1SEA). Result: There were 17(23.6%) students who were diagnosed as thalassaemia carriers. Out of this, four (5.5 %) and six (8.3 %) students were presumptive β-thalassaemia trait and Haemoglobin-E trait as determined by the HPLC assay respectively. Nine (12.5%) students were genotyped a-Thal1SEA among whom two were also β-thalassaemia carriers. All thalassaemia cases had MCH of < 27pg. Nonetheless, two out of six Haemoglobin-E trait and three out of nine a-Thal1SEA carrier had MCV value of >80fL. Two out of four (50%) presumptive β -thalassaemia trait and one out of six (17%) students of presumptive Haemoglobin-E trait had family history of thalassaemia respectively. Conclusion: The high occurrence of the three common types of thalassaemia carrier (β, Hb-E and a-Thal1SEA thalassaemia) in our small group of subjects could be due to better participation of students who had family history of thalassaemia. The study reaffirmed the importance of molecular study for detection of alpha-thalassaemia and the use of MCH value of
Copy denture procedure was introduced in 1962 for the construction of spare
denture. However, throughout the years, the procedure has undergone developments in terms of
the techniques and materials used for the construction of the replica denture. One of the most
popular methods to construct the replica is by using soap box. A group of researchers from USIM
have invented Denture Box and the product has been registered with Malaysian Industrial design
(MY-16-00546-0101). Therefore, a study was conducted to assess the satisfaction of the Denture Box
among dentists and dental technologists. (Copied from article).
Copy denture technique is a classic technique for construction of a new denture
based on the favourable aspects of the original denture using a replica. This technique helps in
adaptation of new denture in elderly population. The aim of this paper was to assess the knowledge
and practice of copy denture technique among dentists and dental technologists. (Copied from article).
Introduction: There has been increasing evidence of detrimental effects of cumulative positive fluid
balance in critically ill patients. The postulated mechanism of harm is the development of interstitial
oedema, with resultant increase morbidity and mortality. We aim to assess the impact of positive fluid
balance within the first 48 hours on mortality in our local ICU population. Methods: This was a secondary
analysis of a single centre, prospective observational study. All ICU patients more than 18 years were
screened for inclusion in the study. Admission of less than 48 hours, post-elective surgery and ICU
readmission were excluded. Cumulative fluid balance either as volume or percentage of body weight from
admission was calculated over 6, 24 and 48 hour period from ICU admission. Results: A total of 143 patients
were recruited, of these 33 died. There were higher cumulative fluid balances at 6, 24 and 48 hours in nonsurvivors
compared to survivors. However, after adjusted for severity of illness, APACHE II Score, they were
not predictive of mortality. Sensitivity analysis on sub-cohort of patients with acute kidney injury (AKI)
showed only an actual 48-hour cumulative fluid balance was independently predictive of mortality (1.21
(1.03 to 1.42)). Conclusions: Cumulative fluid balance was not independently predictive of mortality in a
heterogenous group of critically ill patients. However, in subcohort of patients with AKI, a 48-hour
cumulative fluid balance was independently predictive of mortality. An additional tile is thus added to the
mosaic of findings on the impact of fluid balance in a hetergenous group of critically ill patients, and in subcohort
of AKI patients.
This study was conducted to evaluate the phytochemical contents and antimalarial properties of the oils extracted from the leaves of Malaysian Plectranthus amboinicus in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. The essential oils were extracted and prepared by using steam distillation technique and subjected to phytochemical screening by using GC-MS. Antimalarial activity of different extract doses of the essential oil was tested in vivo in ICR mice infected with Plasmodium berghei (PZZ1/100) during early, established and residual infections. In all, 5 compounds made up 88.34% of total oil and the major chemical compounds were carvacrol (85.14%), thymoquinone (1.65%), terpinen-4-ol (0.70%), octenol (0.62%) and thymol (0.23%). Antimalarial assay showed this essential oil as a potential prophylactic agent with the percentage chemosuppression of 45.23%, 18.28%, 45.38% and 58.26% while treated with 50, 200, 400 and 1000 µL/kg respectively of essential oil and curative agent with percentage of chemo suppression of 54.10%, 47.35%, 56.75% and 65.38% while treated with the above dose of essential oil. Statistically no reduction of parasitemia was calculated for suppressive test. The extract has prophylactic and curative effects on P.berghei in mice
Primary hyperparathyroidism with severe bone disease as a result of excessive parathyroid hormone ( PTH ) release and severe hypercalcaemia can lead to 'hungry bone syndrome' (HBS) post operatively. This is due to sudden cessation of PTH and drop in serum calcium. We reported a case a young man with primary hyperparathyriodism due to a single parathyroid adenoma with severe bone disease and post operatively developed hungry bone syndrome.
Dentist-related factors are one of the major influences on the material selection for
restoration of carious and non-carious tooth surface loss. There were conflicting results regarding
the impact of dentists' gender and age or length of clinical experience on restorative material
selection for posterior dentition. The aims of this study were to determine the influence of gender
and clinical experience on posterior restorative material selection among private dental
practitioner in Malaysia. (Copied from article).
Paragangliomas are uncommon tumors arising from the neuroendocrine elements (chief cells) of the paraganglia and symmetrically distributed along the aorta in close association with the sympathetic chain. Although functional tumors are easier to diagnose due to the clinical fi ndings caused by excess secretion of catecholamines and an elevation of the urinary catecholamine levels, however the diagnosis of nonfunctioning paraganglioma of the retroperitoneum is diffi cult and only few cases have been made before exploratory laparotomy. Although our patient was initially planned and operated by our gynaecological team, the incidental findings had to involve the general surgeons. She is fortunate that the tumour did not show any features of malignancy nor metastasis, however a long time follow up is needed in case of any possible recurrence.
Leiomyomas are the most common benign tumour of the uterus, occurring in 20-40% of women in reproductive age.Most of the myomas arise in the uterus, however extrauterine sites include fallopian tubes, cervix, round ligament, ovary and urethra. A single or polypoidal mass in the vagina is usually a leiomyomatous polyp arising from the cervix or from the cavity of the uterus. Leiomyoma developing de novo from the fibromuscular elements of the vagina is a rare entity. When such a tumour arises from anterior wall of the vagina it is often mistaken for a cervical fibroid. Parasitic leiomyoma is the rarest type of leiomyoma and develop when a leiomyoma attaches itself to another organ. Vaginal leiomyomas usually arise from anterior vaginal wall. We report a case of parasitic leiomyoma in the vagina together with uterine leiomyoma in a 48 year old lady presented with palpable mass perabdomen and anaemic symptoms. The size and location of the tumours necessitated abdominal and vaginal approach for better surgical access.
PAX9 (Paired box 9) gene is one of the genes which play significant role during
craniofacial development. Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in PAX9 has been associated with
Class II/Division 2 malocclusion (with or without hypodontia). However, the relationship between
PAX9 SNP marker (rs8004560) with mandibular prognathism (MP) has not been analysed, at least in
our local population. This study aimed to detect the presence of PAX9 (rs8004560) SNP in Class III
malocclusion patients (with MP) in the local population. (Copied from article).