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  1. Evaluation of potentially inappropriate medications among older residents of Malaysian nursing homes
    Chen LL, Tangiisuran B, Shafie AA, Hassali MA
    Int J Clin Pharm, 2012 Aug;34(4):596-603.
    PMID: 22622593 DOI: 10.1007/s11096-012-9651-1
    BACKGROUND: There is an increasing evidence of medicines related issues such as inappropriate prescribing among older people. Inappropriate prescribing is an important risk factor for adverse drug reactions and hospitalizations in the older people.

    OBJECTIVE: To assess and characterize the prevalence of Potentially Inappropriate Medications (PIMs) in nursing home care in Malaysia as defined by Screening Tool of Older Peoples Prescriptions (STOPP) and Beers criteria.

    SETTING: Four Nursing Homes situated in Penang, Malaysia.

    METHODS: A multicenter and cross-sectional study was conducted over 2 months period at four large non-governmental organizations nursing homes in Penang, Malaysia. The study population included older residents (≥65 years old) taking at least one medication. Residents who had been diagnosed with dementia or taking anti dementia drugs, delirium, too frail or refused to give consent were excluded. Demographic, clinical data and concurrent medications were collected through direct interview and also by reviewing medical records. STOPP and Beers criteria were applied in the medical review to screen for PIMs.

    MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Potentially Inappropriate Medication using STOPP and Beers criteria.

    RESULTS: Two hundred eleven residents were included in the study with the median age of 77 (inter quartile range (IQR) 72-82) years. Median number of prescription medicines was 4 (IQR 1-14). STOPP identified less residents (50 residents, 23.7 %) being prescribed on PIMs compared with Beers criteria (69 residents, 32.7 %) (p < 0.001). There was a significant difference in the number of residents with PIMs detected by STOPP (23.7 %) and by Beers criteria (32.7 %), p < 0.001. The common identified PIMs by Beers criteria included nifedipine short acting, chlorpheniramine and diphenhydramine. The STOPP identified first generation antihistamines, duplication of drug classes, glibenclamide and anticholinergic agents. Higher number of medications (OR = 1.405 [1.193-1.654]; OR = 1.447 [1.215-1.723]) and longer stay at nursing home (OR = 1.132 [1.045-1.226]; OR = 1.133 [1.034-1.241]) were identified as predictors for both Beers and STOPP PIMs.

    CONCLUSION: Potentially inappropriate medications are highly prevalent among older residents living in the nursing homes and are associated with number of medications and longer nursing home stay. Further research is warranted to study the impact of PIMs towards health related outcomes in these elderly.

  2. Fulltext Identification and ultrastructural characterization of Acanthamoeba bacterial endocytobionts belonging to the Alphaproteobacteria class
    Chan LL, Mak JW, Ambu S, Chong PY
    PLoS One, 2018;13(10):e0204732.
    PMID: 30356282 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204732
    The detection and identification of two endocytobiotic bacterial strains, one affiliated to the "Candidatus Caedibacter acanthamoebae"/"Ca. Paracaedimonas acanthamoeba", and another to the endosymbiont of Acanthamoeba UWC8 and "Ca. Jidaibacter acanthamoeba" are described. For endocytobiont screening, we developed a PCR method with a set of broad-range bacterial 16S rRNA primers to substitute the commonly used but technically demanding fluorescent in situ hybridization technique. Our PCR test alone without sequencing failed to discriminate the endocytobiont-containing and endocytobiont-free Acanthamoeba sp. due to the presence of mismatched primers to host mitochondrial DNA. We highlighted the need to perform bacterial primer checking against the Acanthamoeba genome to avoid false positive detection in PCR. Although the genetic aspect of "Ca. Caedibacter acanthamoebae"/"Ca. Paracaedimonas acanthamoeba" and the endosymbiont of Acanthamoeba UWC8/"Ca. Jidaibacter acanthamoeba" are well studied, knowledge pertaining to their morphologies are quite vague. Hence, we used transmission electron microscopy to examine our endocytobionts which are affiliated to previously described intracellular bacteria of Acanthamoeba sp. We used good-quality TEM images for the localization and the fate of the current endocytobionts inside different life stages of the hosts. Furthermore, to the best of our knowledge, our TEM findings are the first to provide morphological evidence for the clearance of defective Acanthamoeba endocytobionts via an autophagic-like process.
  3. Fulltext A Convolutional Neural Network-Based Model for Supply Chain Financial Risk Early Warning
    Yin LL, Qin YW, Hou Y, Ren ZJ
    Comput Intell Neurosci, 2022;2022:7825597.
    PMID: 35463225 DOI: 10.1155/2022/7825597
    At present, there are widespread financing difficulties in China's trade circulation industry. Supply chain finance can provide financing for small- and medium-sized enterprises in China's trade circulation industry, but it will produce financing risks such as credit risks. It is necessary to analyze the causes of the risks in the supply chain finance of the trade circulation industry and measure these risks by establishing a credit risk assessment system. In this article, a supply chain financial risk early warning index system is established, including 4 first-level indicators and 29 third-level indicators. Then, on the basis of the supply chain financial risk early warning index system, combined with the method of convolution neural network, the supply chain financial risk early warning model of trade circulation industry is constructed, and the evaluation index is measured by the method of principal component analysis. Finally, the relevant data of trade circulation enterprises are selected to make an empirical analysis of the model. The conclusion shows that the supply chain financial risk early warning model and risk control measures established in this article have certain reference value for the commercial circulation industry to carry out supply chain finance. It also provides guidance for trade circulation enterprises to deal with supply chain financial risks effectively.
  4. Fulltext Description of Bryantinus gen. n. from Sarawak, and new distributional records for Cerochusa cilioceps in Thailand (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae)
    Yin ZW, Li LZ
    PLoS One, 2014;9(11):e113474.
    PMID: 25409318 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0113474
    A new genus and species of the subtribe Batrisina from western Sarawak, Bryantinus matangus gen. et sp. n., is described, illustrated, and compared with related taxa. In addition, examination of a small series of batrisine material from Thailand revealed a new country record for Cerochusa cilioceps Yin & Nomura, which was previously known only from the island of Hainan in southern China.
  5. Revision of the Oriental genus Horniella Raffray (Coleoptera, Staphylinidae, Pselaphinae)
    Yin ZW, Li LZ
    Zootaxa, 2014;3850:1-83.
    PMID: 25112427 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3850.1.1
    The Oriental pselaphine genus Horniella Raffray, 1905 (tribe Tyrini: subtribe Somatipionina) is redefined and revised. Twenty-five new species are described: H. centralis Yin & Li, sp. n., H. confragosa Yin & Li, sp. n., H. dao Yin & Li, sp. n., H. hongkongensis Yin & Li, sp. n., H. nakhi Yin & Li, sp. n., H. schuelkei Yin & Li, sp. n., H. sichuanica Yin & Li, sp. n., H. simplaria Yin & Li, sp. n., and H. tianmuensis Yin & Li, sp. n. from China, H. himalayica Yin & Li, sp. n. from Nepal and North India, H. asymmetrica Yin & Li, sp. n., H. burckhardti Yin & Li, sp. n., H. intricata Yin & Li, sp. n., H. kaengkrachan Yin & Li, sp. n., H. khaosabap Yin & Li, sp. n., H. loebli Yin & Li, sp. n., H. phuphaman Yin & Li, sp. n., H. prolixo Yin & Li, sp. n., and H. schwendingeri Yin & Li, sp. n. from Thailand, H. philippina Yin & Li, sp. n. from the Philippines, H. awana Yin & Li, sp. n., H. gigas Yin & Li, sp. n., H. pilosa Yin & Li, sp. n., and H. smetanai Yin & Li, sp. n. from Malaysia, and H. cibodas Yin & Li, sp. n. from Indonesia. The two previously described species, H. hirtella Raffray, 1901 (type species) from Sri Lanka and H. falcis Yin & Li, 2010 from China are redescribed, and a lectotype is designated for H. hirtella. Illustrations of habitus and important diagnostic features, an identification key, and distributional maps for all species are provided. Eleven unidentified species represented only by females are left unnamed. Illustrations of the habitus and the genital complex, and label data of these species are given to facilitate future study. All available data indicates that species of Horniella typically inhabit leaf litter of various kinds of forests, and can be most efficiently collected by sifting and use of Winkler-Moczarski extractors. 
  6. New species and new record of Megatyrus Hlaváč & Nomura (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from Asia
    Yin ZW, Li LZ
    Zootaxa, 2014.
    PMID: 24943626 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3815.3.9
    A new species, Megatyrus femoralis sp. n., is described from the Koshi Zone, East Nepal, with major diagnostic features illustrated. Megatyrus masumotoi Nomura, Sakchoowong & Chanpaisaeng, originally described from southwestern Thailand, is recorded from the Noring Timur Mountain, West Malaysia. The above data extends the known range of Megatyrus about 1,200 km to the west, and 870 km to the south.
  7. Smetanabatrus kinabalu (Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae: Batrisitae), a new genus and new species from Sabah, Borneo
    Yin ZW, Li LZ
    Zootaxa, 2013;3718:477-82.
    PMID: 26258240
    A new genus and new species of the pselaphine tribe Batrisini, Smetanabatrus kinabalu gen. et sp. n., is described from Sabah, East Malaysia. Both sexes of the new species have securiform maxillary palpi, with the male exhibiting extreme abdominal modification. Illustrations of the habitus and major diagnostic features, as well as a discussion on the taxonomic placement of the new taxon is provided. A key to genera of the Batrisini from Borneo is provided.
  8. Fulltext Partial characterization of genes encoding the ATP-binding cassette proteins of Cryptosporidium parvum
    Li LC, Mun YF
    Trop Biomed, 2005 Dec;22(2):115-22.
    PMID: 16883276
    The present study aims to explore the possible mechanisms underlying the multidrug resistance characteristic of Cryptosporidium parvum by detecting the presence of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) protein encoding genes, especially one that shows high similarity to members belonging to the multidrug resistance protein (MDR) and multidrug resistance associated protein (MRP) subfamilies. PCR using ABC-specific degenerate primers successfully amplified two unique fragments, designated Cpnbd1 and Cpnbd2, from C. parvum genomic DNA. Cpnbd1 exhibited high degree of homology (99-100%) with the nucleotide- binding domains (NBDs) at the NH2 -terminal halves of two previously reported ABC proteins (CpABC and CpABC1) of human and bovine origin C. parvum isolates. It is likely that CpABC, CpABC1 and Cpnbd1 were encoded by homologous genes of a type of ABC transporter protein found in different C. parvum isolates. However, Cpnbd2 showed moderate levels of similarities (28-49%) to the NBDs of four ABC proteins characterised in C. parvum to date. Therefore, Cpnbd2 could be a novel member of an ABC superfamily of proteins in C. parvum. Phylogenetic analyses on a list of ABC transporters known to associate with MDR phenotype has significantly linked Cpnbd1 and Cpnbd2 to these transporters, thus suggesting that Cpnbd1 and Cpnbd2 proteins may contribute to the intrinsic multidrug resistance phenotype of C. parvum.
  9. New data on Horaeomorphus Schaufuss (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Scydmaeninae) from the Oriental region, with description of a bizarre new species from Yunnan, Southeast China
    Zhou DY, Li LZ
    Zootaxa, 2016;4161(2):271-81.
    PMID: 27615929 DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4161.2.9
    Horaeomorphus bicornis sp. n., a remarkable species with strongly modified head from Yunnan, Southwest China is described. A distinctly different female from the same locality is also recorded, its identity remains unconfirmed until associated males become available. The previously unknown female of H. hujiayaoi Zhou & Zhang, 2016, is discovered, with its spermatheca and female terminalia illustrated. Horaeomorphus punctatissimus Franz, 1992 is newly recorded from Mount Trus Madi, Malaysia. Two females of H. eumicroides Schaufuss, 1889 were discovered from Singapore, with female terminalia illustrated.
  10. Fulltext Environmental health and building related illnesses
    Ambu, Stephen, Chu, Wan-Loy, Mak, Joon-Wah, Wong, Shew-Fung, Chan, Li-Li, Wong, Siew-Tung
    International e-Journal of Science, Medicine & Education, 2008;2(3):-.
    MyJurnal
    Malaysia has good environmental laws to protect the outdoor environment and public health. However there are no laws governing indoor air quality (IAQ) and the knowledge among the public about its importance is also lacking. Environmental professionals think it is not a priority and this influences the policy decisions in the country. Therefore there is a need to create awareness by way of research, education and other promotional activities. What is much needed at this time is the establishment of standards for the conduct of risk assessment studies. To establish standards we need reliable data which can be used to develop appropriate guidelines for the purpose of mitigation and adaptation programmes. IAQ can have significant influence on health resulting in drop in productivity and economy of a country. It has been estimated that in the US, building related illnesses (BRI) symptoms have a relationship with decrease (3 to 5%) in work performance in an affected population resulting in an annual loss of US$60 billion in revenue. However, based on efficient management programmes they have also projected that the potential annual savings can be in the region of US$10 to 30 billion. This establishes that fact that good management programmes based on efficient guidelines is of economic value to a country and wellbeing of the population. The IMU has embarked on a research programme to collect the much-needed data for the framing of a good IAQ guideline for Malaysia.
  11. Patterns of Suffering in Palliative Care: A Descriptive Study
    Seng Beng T, Ting Ting T, Karupiah M, Xin Ni C, Li Li H, Chong Guan N, et al.
    Omega (Westport), 2021 Dec;84(2):512-524.
    PMID: 32019387 DOI: 10.1177/0030222820903221
    Suffering experiences are common phenomena in palliative care. In this study, we aim to explore the different patterns of suffering in palliative care. Adult palliative care patients were recruited from the University of Malaya Medical Centre. Suffering scores were charted 3 times a day for a week. The characteristics of the suffering charts were analyzed using SPSS. The patterns of suffering were analyzed using structural pattern recognition. A total of 53 patients participated. The overall trends of suffering were downward (64%), upward (19%), and stable (17%). Median minimum and maximum suffering scores were 2/10 and 6/10, with an average of 3.6/10. Nine patterns of suffering were recognized from categorizing two key characteristics of suffering (intensity and fluctuation)-named S1 to S9. Understanding the different patterns of suffering may lead to better suffering management.
  12. Description of two new species of the genus Tmesiphodimerus gen. n. (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Pselaphinae) from South Asia
    Yin ZW, Coulon G, Li LZ
    Zootaxa, 2013;3694:336-42.
    PMID: 26312294
    Tmesiphodimerus Coulon and Yin, new genus (Pselaphitae: Tmesiphorini) is proposed for T. sinensis Yin and Coulon, new species from Hainan, South China (type species), and T. malaysianus Coulon and Yin, new species from Perak, West Malaysia. The new taxa are described, with their major diagnostic features illustrated. The taxonomic placement of Tmesiphodimerus is discussed.
  13. Fulltext The use of potentially inappropriate medications and changes in quality of life among older nursing home residents
    Al Aqqad SM, Chen LL, Shafie AA, Hassali MA, Tangiisuran B
    Clin Interv Aging, 2014;9:201-7.
    PMID: 24489461 DOI: 10.2147/CIA.S52356
    Nursing home residents are mainly older people with multiple diseases and taking multiple medications. The quality use of medication and its association with health related quality of life (HRQoL) have not been reported in Malaysia. This study aims to investigate the association between the use of potentially inappropriate medications (PIMs) and the changes observed in the HRQoL among older nursing home residents.
  14. Chiroptical Activity from an Achiral Biological Metal-Organic Framework
    Xu LL, Zhang HF, Li M, Ng SW, Feng JH, Mao JG, et al.
    J Am Chem Soc, 2018 09 19;140(37):11569-11572.
    PMID: 30141923 DOI: 10.1021/jacs.8b06725
    Chiroptical activity is observed from an achiral adenine-containing metal-organic framework (MOF) named ZnFDCA. Such a seemingly counterintuitive phenomenon can, in fact, be predicted by the intrinsic crystal symmetry of 4̅2 m point group. Although theoretically allowed, examples of optically active achiral crystals are extremely rare. ZnFDCA is the first reported achiral MOF showing optical activity, as demonstrated by a pair of circular dichroism signals with opposite signs and enhanced intensity. Moreover, simply through adding an amino substituent to adenine, the chiroptical activity, as well as nonlinear optical activity, of the analogous MOF, namely ZnFDCA-NH2, disappears due to diverse packing pattern giving rise to centrosymmetric crystal symmetry.
  15. Fulltext Improving Survival of Juvenile Scalloped Spiny Lobster (Panulirus homarus) and Crucifix Crab (Charybdis feriatus) Using Shelter and Live Prey
    Ma CH, Huang PY, Chang YC, Pan YJ, Azra MN, Chen LL, et al.
    Animals (Basel), 2021 Feb 02;11(2).
    PMID: 33540637 DOI: 10.3390/ani11020370
    Cannibalism is a major problem in lobster and crab aquaculture. Reducing the aggressive characteristics of lobsters and crabs can improve survival during the culturing process. In this study, juvenile scalloped spiny lobsters (Panulirus homarus) and crucifix crabs (Charybdis feriatus) were both cultured under different shelter and live prey conditions. Groups with shelter (seaweed and cotton filter) showed a better survival rate than the control group (no shelter; p < 0.05) for both Pa. homarus and Char. feriatus. Co-culturing with live prey (Litopenaeus vannamei) significantly benefited the juveniles of Pa. homarus and visibly increased the survival of juvenile Char. feriatus. Although providing shelter is currently the main method for reducing agonistic behavior, it must be continually altered as the lobsters and crabs grow. Live prey can grow and attract lobsters and crabs to hunt them, and live prey can be supplemented at any time. They can also be used as an additional source of income during the harvest season.
  16. Fulltext Complete chloroplast genome sequence of Gigantochloa verticillata (Bambusodae)
    Zhang YY, Fan LL, Zheng FY, Zhao T, Rong JD, Chen LG, et al.
    Mitochondrial DNA B Resour, 2020 Feb 06;5(1):306-307.
    PMID: 33366532 DOI: 10.1080/23802359.2019.1702484
    Gigantochloa verticillata is produced in Mengla and Jinghong, Yunnan Province, China, and cultivated in Hong Kong. Vietnam, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia are distributed and cultivated. We determined the complete chloroplast genome sequence for G. verticillata using Illumina sequencing data. The complete chloroplast sequence is 139,489 bp, including large single-copy (LSC) region of 83,062 bp, small single-copy (SSC) region of 12,877 bp, and a pair of invert repeats (IR) regions of 21,775 bp. Plastid genome contain 132 genes, 85 protein-coding genes, 39 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on 23 chloroplast genomes indicates that G. verticillata is closely related to Dendrocalamus latiflorus in Bambusodae.
  17. Fulltext Isolation and characterization of Acanthamoeba spp. from air-conditioners in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Chan LL, Mak JW, Low YT, Koh TT, Ithoi I, Mohamed SM
    Acta Trop, 2011 Jan;117(1):23-30.
    PMID: 20858455 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2010.09.004
    During a study on the quality of the indoor environment, Acanthamoeba spp. were detected in 20 out of 87 dust samples collected from air-conditioners installed in a four-story campus building located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Twenty-one cloned Acanthamoeba isolates designated as IMU1 to IMU21 were established from the positive primary cultures. Five species were identified from the 16 isolates according to the morphological criteria of Pussard and Pons; i.e. A. castellanii, A. culbertsoni, A. griffini, A. hatchetti and A. polyphaga. Species identities for the remaining five isolates (IMU4, IMU5, IMU15, IMU20 and IMU21), however, could not be determined morphologically. At genotypic characterization, these isolates were placed into T3 (IMU14); T5 (IMU16 and IMU17) and T4 (all the remaining isolates). To predict the potential pathogenicity of these Acanthamoeba isolates, thermo- and osmotolerance tests were employed; many isolates were predicted as potential human pathogens based on the outcome of these tests. This is the first time potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba have been isolated from air-conditioners in Malaysia.
  18. Fulltext Human Ribosomal Proteins RPeL27, RPeL43, and RPeL41 Are Upregulated in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Cell Lines
    Sim EU, Chan SL, Ng KL, Lee CW, Narayanan K
    Dis Markers, 2016;2016:5179594.
    PMID: 28018022 DOI: 10.1155/2016/5179594
    Apart from their canonical role in ribosome biogenesis, there is increasing evidence of ribosomal protein genes' involvement in various cancers. A previous study by us revealed significant differential expression of three ribosomal protein genes (RPeL27, RPeL41, and RPeL43) between cell lines derived from tumor and normal nasopharyngeal epithelium. However, the results therein were based on a semiquantitative assay, thus preliminary in nature. Herein, we provide findings of a deeper analysis of these three genes in the context to nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumorigenesis. Their expression patterns were analyzed in a more quantitative manner at transcript level. Their protein expression levels were also investigated. We showed results that are contrary to previous report. Rather than downregulation, these genes were significantly overexpressed in NPC cell lines compared to normal control at both transcript and protein levels. Nevertheless, their association with NPC has been established. Immunoprecipitation pulldown assays indicate the plausible interaction of either RPeL27 or RPeL43 with POTEE/TUBA1A and ACTB/ACTBL2 complexes. In addition, RPeL43 is shown to bind with MRAS and EIF2S1 proteins in a NPC cell line (HK1). Our findings support RPeL27, RPeL41, and RPeL43 as potential markers of NPC and provide insights into the interaction targets of RPeL27 and RPeL43 proteins.
  19. Limonoids and triterpenoid from fruit of Swietenia macrophylla
    Sun YP, Zhu LL, Liu JS, Yu Y, Zhou ZY, Wang G, et al.
    Fitoterapia, 2018 Mar;125:141-146.
    PMID: 29325928 DOI: 10.1016/j.fitote.2018.01.004
    Five new limonoids, swieteliacates A-E (1-5) and a tirucallane-type triterpenoid, swietesenin (6), together with four known compounds (7-10) were isolated from fruit of Swietenia macrophylla. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic analyses. The new compounds were tested in vitro for their cytotoxic effects against five human cancer cell lines. Compound 2 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against SW480 and HL-60 cancer cell lines with IC50 values of 30.6 and 32.9μM, respectively.
  20. A highly emissive and stable zinc(ii) metal-organic framework as a host-guest chemopalette for approaching white-light-emission
    Cai H, Xu LL, Lai HY, Liu JY, Ng SW, Li D
    Chem Commun (Camb), 2017 Jun 27.
    PMID: 28654101 DOI: 10.1039/c7cc03350h
    A new adenine-containing metal-organic framework (MOF), [Zn4O(adenine)4(benzene-1,3-dicarboxylate)4Zn2] (named as ZnBDCA), was synthesized solvothermally. ZnBDCA possesses high quantum yield (>50%) and nano-channels that can encapsulate acriflavine molecules to build a host-guest chemopalette for approaching white-light emission.
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