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The effect of dialect on the phonological analysis of Chinese-influenced Malaysian English speaking children

Phoon HS, Abdullah AC, Maclagan M

Int J Speech Lang Pathol, 2012 Dec;14(6):487-98.
PMID: 23039125 DOI: 10.3109/17549507.2012.719549

This study investigates the effect of dialect on phonological analyses in Chinese-influenced Malaysian English (ChME) speaking children. A total of 264 typically-developing ChME speaking children aged 3-7 years participated in this cross-sectional study. A single word naming task consisting of 195 words was used to elicit speech from the children. The samples obtained were transcribed phonetically and analysed descriptively and statistically. Phonological analyses were completed for speech sound accuracy, age of consonant acquisition, percentage of phonological process occurrence, and age of suppression for phonological processes. All these measurements differed based on whether or not ChME dialectal features were considered correct, with children gaining higher scores when ChME dialect features were considered correct. The findings of the present study provide guidelines for Malaysian speech-language pathologists and stress the need to appropriately consider ChME dialectal features in the phonological analysis of ChME speaking children. They also highlight the issues in accurate differential diagnosis of speech impairment for speech-language pathologists working with children from any linguistically diverse background.
Acquisition of Consonant Clusters and Acceptable Variants in Chinese-Influenced Malaysian English-Speaking Children

Phoon HS, Maclagan M, Abdullah AC

Am J Speech Lang Pathol, 2015 Aug;24(3):517-32.
PMID: 26125520 DOI: 10.1044/2015_AJSLP-14-0037

This study investigated consonant cluster acquisition in Chinese-influenced Malaysian English (ChME)-speaking children.
Fulltext Familiarisation of Children with Medicines and their Sources of Information

Dawood OT, Ibrahim MI, Abdullah AC

J Clin Diagn Res, 2014 Jan;8(1):329-30.
PMID: 24596809 DOI: 10.7860/JCDR/2014/6902.3898
Consonant acquisition in the Malay language: a cross-sectional study of preschool aged Malay children

Phoon HS, Abdullah AC, Lee LW, Murugaiah P

Clin Linguist Phon, 2014 May;28(5):329-45.
PMID: 24446796 DOI: 10.3109/02699206.2013.868517

To date, there has been little research done on phonological acquisition in the Malay language of typically developing Malay-speaking children. This study serves to fill this gap by providing a systematic description of Malay consonant acquisition in a large cohort of preschool-aged children between 4- and 6-years-old. In the study, 326 Malay-dominant speaking children were assessed using a picture naming task that elicited 53 single words containing all the primary consonants in Malay. Two main analyses were conducted to study their consonant acquisition: (1) age of customary and mastery production of consonants; and (2) consonant accuracy. Results revealed that Malay children acquired all the syllable-initial and syllable-final consonants before 4;06-years-old, with the exception of syllable-final /s/, /h/ and /l/ which were acquired after 5;06-years-old. The development of Malay consonants increased gradually from 4- to 6 years old, with female children performing better than male children. The accuracy of consonants based on manner of articulation showed that glides, affricates, nasals, and stops were higher than fricatives and liquids. In general, syllable-initial consonants were more accurate than syllable-final consonants while consonants in monosyllabic and disyllabic words were more accurate than polysyllabic words. These findings will provide significant information for speech-language pathologists for assessing Malay-speaking children and designing treatment objectives that reflect the course of phonological development in Malay.
Children's knowledge and beliefs about medicines

Dawood OT, Mohamed Ibrahim MI, Abdullah AC

J Child Health Care, 2015 Mar;19(1):73-83.
PMID: 23975718 DOI: 10.1177/1367493513496911

Minor illnesses in children are often cured at home with over the counter medicines. Even though there is a wide use of medicines among children, they rarely receive medical advice about their medications from doctors or pharmacists. The aim of this study is to evaluate children's beliefs about medicines as well as to explain what children know about medicines. A cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from four primary schools in Penang Island, Malaysia. The target population of this research was schoolchildren of 11 and 12 years old regardless of their gender and social status. A self-administration questionnaire was used to obtain the data from schoolchildren and their parents. After including all schoolchildren in grades five and six, the total sample size was 1000 children in addition to 1000 parents. This study found that most children have inadequate knowledge and false beliefs about the efficacy of medicines. Children's beliefs about the efficacy of medicines were affected by their age group, gender and race (p
Fulltext Limited Evaluation of Image Quality Produced by a Portable Head CT Scanner (CereTom) in a Neurosurgery Centre

Abdullah AC, Adnan JS, Rahman NA, Palur R

Malays J Med Sci, 2017 Mar;24(1):104-112.
PMID: 28381933 DOI: 10.21315/mjms2017.24.1.11

INTRODUCTION: Computed tomography (CT) is the preferred diagnostic toolkit for head and brain imaging of head injury. A recent development is the invention of a portable CT scanner that can be beneficial from a clinical point of view.
AIM: To compare the quality of CT brain images produced by a fixed CT scanner and a portable CT scanner (CereTom).
METHODS: This work was a single-centre retrospective study of CT brain images from 112 neurosurgical patients. Hounsfield units (HUs) of the images from CereTom were measured for air, water and bone. Three assessors independently evaluated the images from the fixed CT scanner and CereTom. Streak artefacts, visualisation of lesions and grey-white matter differentiation were evaluated at three different levels (centrum semiovale, basal ganglia and middle cerebellar peduncles). Each evaluation was scored 1 (poor), 2 (average) or 3 (good) and summed up to form an ordinal reading of 3 to 9.
RESULTS: HUs for air, water and bone from CereTom were within the recommended value by the American College of Radiology (ACR). Streak artefact evaluation scores for the fixed CT scanner was 8.54 versus 7.46 (Z = -5.67) for CereTom at the centrum semiovale, 8.38 (SD = 1.12) versus 7.32 (SD = 1.63) at the basal ganglia and 8.21 (SD = 1.30) versus 6.97 (SD = 2.77) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. Grey-white matter differentiation showed scores of 8.27 (SD = 1.04) versus 7.21 (SD = 1.41) at the centrum semiovale, 8.26 (SD = 1.07) versus 7.00 (SD = 1.47) at the basal ganglia and 8.38 (SD = 1.11) versus 6.74 (SD = 1.55) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. Visualisation of lesions showed scores of 8.86 versus 8.21 (Z = -4.24) at the centrum semiovale, 8.93 versus 8.18 (Z = -5.32) at the basal ganglia and 8.79 versus 8.06 (Z = -4.93) at the middle cerebellar peduncles. All results were significant with P-value < 0.01.
CONCLUSIONS: Results of the study showed a significant difference in image quality produced by the fixed CT scanner and CereTom, with the latter being more inferior than the former. However, HUs of the images produced by CereTom do fulfil the recommendation of the ACR.
Fulltext Cutaneous Vasculitis as Early Presentation of Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis without Systemic Symptoms

Sulaiman W, Abdullah AC, Chung SF, Karim N, Tang JJ

Oman Med J, 2019 Jul;34(4):345-349.
PMID: 31360325 DOI: 10.5001/omj.2019.67

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly known as Churg-Strauss syndrome) is a rare vasculitis in children. It commonly presents with respiratory symptoms, especially asthma, allergic rhinitis, and peripheral eosinophilia. Involvement of other systems, such as renal and cardiac, may carry a poor prognosis. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies have been found less frequently in children with this condition. We report a case of a 15-year-old male who presented with indurated and pruritic papules on both legs and peripheral eosinophilia without other system involvement. Histopathological findings from a skin biopsy were suggestive of eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis. Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies were negative.
Development of a scale to measure shared problem-solving and decision-making in mental healthcare

Shoesmith WD, Abdullah AC, Tan BY, Kamu A, Ho CM, Giridharan B, et al.

Patient Educ Couns, 2022 Jan 15.
PMID: 35078681 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2022.01.005

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to create a measure of collaborative processes between healthcare team members, patients, and carers.
METHODS: A shared decision-making scale was developed using a qualitative research derived model and refined using Rasch and factor analysis. The scale was used by staff in the hospital for four consecutive years (n = 152, 121, 119 and 121) and by two independent patients' and carers' samples (n = 223 and 236).
RESULTS: Respondents had difficulty determining what constituted a decision and the scale was redeveloped after first use in patients and carers. The initial focus on shared decision-making was changed to shared problem-solving. Two factors were found in the first staff sample: shared problem-solving and shared decision-making. The structure was confirmed on the second patients' and carers' sample and an independent staff sample consisting of the first data-points for the last three years. The shared problem-solving and decision-making scale (SPSDM) demonstrated evidence of convergent and divergent validity, internal consistency, measurement invariance on longitudinal data and sensitivity to change.
CONCLUSIONS: Shared problem-solving was easier to measure than shared decision-making in this context.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Shared problem-solving is an important component of collaboration, as well as shared decision-making.
Fulltext Refractory adult onset Still's disease

Sulaiman W, Abdullah AC, Tan JTC, Baba S, Karim N

Cureus, 2017 Oct 25;9(10):e1802.
PMID: 29282446 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.1802

It is often a challenge and a dilemma for clinicians encountering patients with pyrexia of unknown origin. Numerous tests performed to determine the underlying cause often give inconclusive results. We present a 52-year-old man with undulating fever for more than 10 months with persistent hyperferritinaemia, and negative immunological and serological markers. Despite corticosteroids, disease modifying anti-rheumatic agents and immune-modulator therapy, he succumbed to the illness. A diagnosis of refractory Adult onset Still's disease complicated by haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis was made.