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Fulltext Dental fear among medical and dental undergraduates

Hakim H, Razak IA

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:747508.
PMID: 25386615 DOI: 10.1155/2014/747508

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and level of dental fear among health related undergraduates and to identify factors causing such fear using Kleinknecht's Dental Fear Survey (DFS) questionnaire.
METHODS: Kleinknecht's DFS questionnaire was used to assess dental fear and anxiety among the entire enrollment of the medical and dental undergraduates' of the University of Malaya.
RESULTS: Overall response rate was 82.2%. Dental students reported higher prevalence of dental fear (96.0% versus 90.4%). However, most of the fear encountered among dental students was in the low fear category as compared to their medical counterpart (69.2 versus 51.2%). Significantly more medical students cancelled dental appointment due to fear compared to dental students (P = 0.004). "Heart beats faster" and "muscle being tensed" were the top two physiological responses experienced by the respondents. "Drill" and "anesthetic needle" were the most fear provoking objects among respondents of both faculties.
CONCLUSION: Dental fear and anxiety are a common problem encountered among medical and dental undergraduates who represent future health care professionals. Also, high level of dental fear and anxiety leads to the avoidance of the dental services.
Fulltext Phenomenological differences of hallucinations between schizophrenic patients in Penang & Kelantan

Azhar MZ, Varma SL, Hakim HR

Med J Malaysia, 1993 Jun;48(2):146-52.
PMID: 8350789

Two hundred and seventy patients with schizophrenia (104 patients in Kelantan and 166 patients in Penang) were interviewed using the Present State Examination to elicit the differences in the phenomenology of their hallucinations. The results indicate that there are significant differences in the phenomenology of hallucinations between the Malays of Penang and Kelantan and also among some Chinese patients. These findings indicate that culture does affect the phenomenology of schizophrenia, even among people of the same race but of different regions.
Fulltext Phenomenological differences of delusions between schizophrenic patients of two cultures of Malaysia

Azhar MZ, Varma SL, Hakim HR

Singapore Med J, 1995 Jun;36(3):273-5.
PMID: 8553090

Two hundred and seventy schizophrenia patients were interviewed using the Present State Examination to elicit the phenomenological symptoms of the illness. Cultural factors and ethnicity were found to be significant variables associated with the symptoms. Higher prevalence of religious and other subculturally related delusions were common in Kelantan patients. Our general belief that Malaysian culture influences symptomatology of mental illness seems to be proven.
Diabetic foot infection and surgical treatment in a secondary health care centre in Malaysia

Ng BW, Muhammad Firdaus A, Mohd Syafiqq Al Hakim HR, Nur Sa'idah MS, Loi KW, Ong KC, et al.

Med J Malaysia, 2020 01;75(1):29-32.
PMID: 32008016

INTRODUCTION: Diabetic foot infection is often associated with high morbidity, disability and poor quality of life. This study focuses on the demography, the number of repetitive surgery and length of stay in hospital of patients with diabetic foot infection.
METHOD: This is a retrospective observational study. Patients who were admitted to the Orthopaedic ward of Hospital Segamat (HS), Johor, Malaysia from January 2016 to December 2018 and required surgical intervention were included in the study. Data was collected from the computer system of HS and medical notes of patients.
RESULTS: 35.6% of the total orthopaedic emergency surgeries performed were for patients with diabetic foot infection, 25% of the surgical procedures performed were major amputations of lower limb and 40% of the patients with diabetic foot infection required more than one surgical operation.
DISCUSSION: The demographics of the patients is consistent with the demographics of Malaysia where majority of them are Malays followed by Chinese, Indians and others. Despite being only 10% of total admission to the department, this group of patients contributed to 35.6% of the total emergency surgeries performed. The amputation rate in the centre is comparable to the other local studies. The average length of stay in hospital was found to be shorter compared to overseas due to different rehabilitation protocols.
Fulltext Is the burden of oral diseases higher in urban disadvantaged community compared to the national prevalence?

Jaafar N, Hakim H, Mohd Nor NA, Mohamed A, Saub R, Esa R, et al.

BMC Public Health, 2014;14 Suppl 3:S2.
PMID: 25438162 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-S3-S2

The urban low income has often been assumed to have the greatest dental treatment needs compared to the general population. However, no studies have been carried out to verify these assumptions. This study was conducted to assess whether there was any difference between the treatment needs of an urban poor population as compared to the general population in order to design an intervention programme for this community.
Sweet waste extract uptake by a mosquito vector: Survival, biting, fecundity responses, and potential epidemiological significance

Dieng H, Satho T, Abang F, Meli NKKB, Ghani IA, Nolasco-Hipolito C, et al.

Acta Trop, 2017 May;169:84-92.
PMID: 28174057 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2017.01.022

In nature, adult mosquitoes typically utilize nectar as their main energy source, but they can switch to other as yet unidentified sugary fluids. Contemporary lifestyles, with their associated unwillingness to consume leftovers and improper disposal of waste, have resulted in the disposal of huge amounts of waste into the environment. Such refuse often contains unfinished food items, many of which contain sugar and some of which can collect water from rain and generate juices. Despite evidence that mosquitoes can feed on sugar-rich suspensions, semi-liquids, and decaying fruits, which can be abundant in garbage sites, the impacts of sweet waste fluids on dengue vectors are unknown. Here, we investigated the effects of extracts from some familiar sweet home waste items on key components of vectorial capacity of Aedes aegypti. Adult mosquitoes were fed one of five diets in this study: water (WAT); sucrose (SUG); bakery product (remnant of chocolate cake, BAK); dairy product (yogurt, YOG); and fruit (banana (BAN). Differences in survival, response time to host, and egg production were examined between groups. For both males and females, maintenance on BAK extract resulted in marked survival levels that were similar to those seen with SUG. Sweet waste extracts provided better substrates for survival compared to water, but this superiority was mostly seen with BAK. Females maintained on BAK, YOG, and BAN exhibited shorter response times to a host compared to their counterparts maintained on SUG. The levels of egg production were equivalent in waste extract- and SUG-fed females. The findings presented here illustrate the potential of sweet waste-derived fluids to contribute to the vectorial capacity of dengue vectors and suggest the necessity of readdressing the issue of waste disposal, especially that of unfinished sweet foods. Such approaches can be particularly relevant in dengue endemic areas where rainfall is frequent and waste collection infrequent.
Presence of a predator image in potential breeding sites and oviposition responses of a dengue vector

Dieng H, Satho T, Suradi NFB, Hakim H, Abang F, Aliasan NE, et al.

Acta Trop, 2017 Dec;176:446-454.
PMID: 28865898 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2017.08.033

In dengue vector control, attempts to minimize or replace the use of pesticides have mostly involved use of predators, but success has been severely impeded by difficulties associated with financial and environmental costs, predator mass production, and persistence in target habitats. Visual deterrents have been used successfully to control animal pests, in some cases in an effort to replace pesticide use. Despite evidence that visual signals are crucial in site choice for egg deposition by dengue vectors, and that female mosquitoes respond to artificial predation, the role of predator intimidation as it affects the oviposition behavior of dengue vectors remains largely unexplored. Here, we examined the oviposition responses of Aedes aegypti exposed to various mosquito predator pictures. Gravid females were presented with equal opportunities to oviposit in two cups with predator images [Toxorhynchites splendens-TXI, Goldfish (Carassius auratus)-small (SFI) and large (LFI) and Tx. splendens+Goldfish-TXFI] and two others without pictures. Differences in egg deposition were examined between sites with and without these images. When given a chance to oviposit in cups with and without TXI, Ae. aegypti females were similarly attracted to both sites. When provided an opportunity to oviposit in cups displaying pictures of fish (SFI or LFI) and blank cups, egg deposition rates were much lower in the fish picture sites. Females showed a preference for blank cups over TXFI for egg deposition. They also equally avoided cups with pictures of fish, regardless of the size of the picture. Our results indicate that the presence of images of goldfish and their association with Tx. larvae significantly reduced egg deposition by Ae. aegypti, and this was not the case with the predatory larvae alone. The observations that the images of natural predators can repel gravid females of a dengue vector provide novel possibilities to develop effective and inexpensive alternative tools to harmful insecticides.
Occurrence of sweet refuse at disposal sites: rainwater retention capacity and potential breeding opportunities for Aedes aegypti

Dieng H, Satho T, Meli NKKB, Abang F, Nolasco-Hipolito C, Hakim H, et al.

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2018 May;25(14):13833-13843.
PMID: 29512008 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-1078-8

Nectar is the staple diet of adult mosquitoes in the wild, but its availability is inconsistent and can be affected by rainfall. In urban centers, Aedes vectors commonly use man-made containers as their major habitat; however, they can colonize any items replenished by rainfall. Garbage output has increased significantly in recent years, at a time when collection frequency is reducing. Such garbage usually includes organic components, some of which are sweet and can be fed upon by other animals or become can containers for rainwater. Despite evidence that Aedes larvae can thrive in containers comprised of organic waste material, which can be produced by rodents gnawing on fruits or vegetables, and that adults can survive on sweet waste fluids, the capacity of organic waste materials to accumulate rainwater and act as egg deposition sites has not been examined. It is also unknown for how long sweet extracts can sustain the life of adult vectors. Here, we investigated the abundance of sweet leftovers at garbage sites and the rainwater retention capacity of some organic materials through a field survey and laboratory bioassays. We also examined whether sweet waste fluids impact egg hatching success and longevity of Aedes aegypti. The results of this study indicated that sweet products with leftovers are highly prevalent in garbage. When exposed to rain, food items (BAFrc, banana fruit resembling container; and BSPrc, boiled sweet potato resembling container) and the packaging of sweet foods (SMIc, sweetened condensed milk can) retained water. When provided an opportunity to oviposit in cups containing BAF extract (BAFex), BSP extract (BSPex), and SMI extract (SMIex), eggs were deposited in all media. Egg maturation in the BAFex environment resulted in similar larval eclosion success to that resulting from embryo development in a water milieu. Adults maintained on sweet waste extracts had long lifespans, although shorter than that of their sugar solution (SUS)-fed counterparts. Taken together, these results indicated that sweet waste materials are useful to dengue mosquitoes, acting both as oviposition sites and energy sources.