Prostate carcinoma is a common health issue that can metastasise in the spine. A 65-year-old male was diagnosed with prostate carcinoma and two years later he developed a progressive neurological deficit over the bilateral lower limb. He experienced severe back pain, became paraplegic and the quality of life was severely impaired. Radiographic investigations were done and revealed osteoblastic bone metastasis at thoracic vertebrae with spinal cord compression. The patient underwent surgical decompression surgery at the T9 level mainly for pain control. Six months post-surgery not only the pain was well controlled but patient able to ambulate with walking aid. It is a rare post-operative result as the neurological recovery in a patient with complete paralysis is less than 3%. This type of recovery is possible when the cause of the neurological deficit is mainly mechanical compression from tumour rather than cord ischaemia from traumatic injury.
Undeniably, peace and long-term sustainable economic development are the prime agenda of all countries. This study aims to empirically evaluate the impact of military spending on economic growth for a panel of 35 non-OECD countries over 1988-2019. A multivariate regression model based on the augmented production function is used to achieve the objective of the study. The panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL)/pooled mean group (PMG) technique is employed, while, in addition the robust least squares and fixed-effect estimators are implemented for the robustness of the results. This study found a clear negative effect of military spending on economic growth. The pairwise Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality test results exhibit bi-directional causality between military expenses and economic growth. Overall, these estimates provide strong support that military expenditure is not beneficial rather detrimental to economic growth. The empirical findings of this study suggest that policymakers need to redesign the military budget to stimulate economic growth and improve social welfare.
Colorectal cancer refers to the cancer that occurs in the colon and rectum. It has been established as the third most
common cancer and the forth one in causing worldwide mortality. Cancer caused by the mutation of several genes that
usually involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, growth and cell death. The mutation that leads to abnormal
function of genes, either in enabling the genes to gain or loss of function was termed as driver mutation and the genes
with driver mutation ability was termed as driver genes. The identification of driver genes provides insight on mechanistic
process of cancer development where this information can be used to further understand their mode of action for causing
dysregulation in signaling pathways. In this study, two bioinformatic tools, i.e. CGI and iCAGES were used to predict
potential driver genes from the genome of eight colorectal cancer patients with annotated variants datasets. 44 unique
driver genes and 21 pathways have been identified; such as p53 signaling, PI3K-AKT, Endocrine resistance, MAPK and
cell cycle pathways. The identification of these pathways can lead to the identification of potential drugs targeting these
pathways.
Axillary nerve supplies deltoid muscle long head of triceps and teres minor in the arm and supply regimental batch area over the inferior part of shoulder. Anterior dislocation of shoulder, latrogenic injury to the nerve during shouder injection and brachial plexus injury can cause axillary nerve injury. Case report: We report a rare case of isolated axillary nerve injury in a 20 year old lady. She was admitted following a low speed fall from motorcycle and sustain abrasion wound over the right side of the face and shoulder. There was no direct or tractional injury to the shoulder during the incidence.During admission she complaint of progressive right shoulder weakness with MRC power of 2 and sensory loss over regimental patch area. On examination there was no tenderness to the shoulder area or neck and she was unable to abduct her right shoulder with full passive range of motion. Patient was subjected to nerve conduction study four months later and revealed slower sensory conduction and deltoid muscle amplitude decreased compared the left side. At 7 months post trauma she is recovering with deltoid power of 4 after multiple physiotherapy session. Isolated axillary nerve injury following a blunt trauma is a rare condition with multiple reported cases showed poor recovery. One should wait for regeneration of nerves to complete before offering any surgical intervention to the patient. As in our case, patient showed remarkable improvement after seven months with conservative management thus avoiding the complication of surgery.
There is not much information available on the distribution of the Sunda colugo (Galeopterus variegates) in Malaysia, despite it being one of only two known species in the order Dermoptera. Data on the presence of the Sunda colugo and the vernacular names used by various ethnic groups throughout Malaysia were collected and compiled from various primary and secondary sources. There were 27 locations from Peninsular, 11
locations from Sabah and 34 locations from Sarawak that reported the presence of the Sunda colugo throughout Malaysia. The various ethnic groups of Malaysia adopted 37 different vernacular names to describe the Sunda colugo. This baseline data can be useful for the management authorities in conducting periodic monitoring and will enhance our knowledge of the population dynamics of the Sunda colugo in Malaysia.
Pregnant women with diabetes mellitus pose an increased risk of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality. In Perlis, for the year of 2016, only 3 (0.3%) out of 1,114 reproductive women with diabetes mellitus were using an intrauterine device (IUCD) as their main contraceptive measure. This project aims to improve the usage of IUCD to 10% among reproductive women with diabetes mellitus in nine health clinics of Perlis.
A retrospective contraception card review was undertaken to determine the baseline in providing IUCD services. Two sets of validated questionnaires were distributed to patients and healthcare providers in the pre and post-remedial period.
Customised training sessions were organised for both doctors and nurses’ group. A quick reference for IUCD was developed to guide the healthcare providers during counselling sessions. The Model of Good Care (MOGC) was integrated into the Maternal and Child Health State Plan of Action 2016 to ease the supervision of quality improvement.
Of the 244 diabetic women who had undergone counselling, 44 (18%) agreed to use IUCD and 38 (16%) of them inserted the IUCD within two weeks. Our project was able to increase the usage of IUCD among diabetic women in nine Perlis health clinics from 3 (0.3%) to 38 (3.4%) within six months. There was a gap reduction in achievable but not achieved (ABNA) from 9.7% to 6.6%. [ABNA = Achievable benefit not achieved]
Low usage of IUCD among diabetic women is a challenging issue and patient refusal to use IUCD, lack of husband support and comfortable with the previous contraception method were among the main contributing factors. However, providing continuous awareness and new process of effort in promoting the usage of IUCD among diabetic women do improve the uptake of the approach
Despite the reported limitations of the qualitative research in comparison to other methodologies, we contend that the common criticisms against it are too often using criteria explicitly analogous to quantitative reasoning. We critically analysed the reported limitations of qualitative research in the literature to deconstruct the conflicting discourses that enable an understanding of their subjectivity. Also, we provide a philosophical justification that both qualitative and quantitative methodologies are appropriate for studying a different form of reality. Lincoln and Guba’s four principles for determining the quality of qualitative research rigour along with confirmability, transferability, credibility and dependability are deemed appropriate rather than the commonly employed internal and external validity, reliability and objectivity. Finally, we argued that a widespread use of a different standard for judging the quality of qualitative research consequential to its philosophical stance is the panacea for the unfair criticisms in the future.
In Malaysia nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is ranked as number fourth (5.2%) from all cancer and third (8.4%) most common cancer among male population. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Malaysia mostly occurs among Chinese (49%), followed by natives of Sabah and Sarawak (28%) and Malay (22%). There were multiple researches done to determine the risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma and most of them from western pacific region. Prevalence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma in Sabah in 2013 is about 106 cases while in 2012 is 75 cases. It shows almost 30% increment from previous year. A total of 53 patients were diagnosed NPC in 2013 from Kota Kinabalu locality and it contributes more than 50% from total prevalence NPC in 2013. NPC is common in local Sabahan, especially in Kadazan and Dusun ethnicity. In 2013, the youngest are 11 years old and the eldest are 84 years old. The upward trend of NPC cases in younger age group is worrisome for us. Thus it is very important to determine the risk factors associated with NPC and this would help the health provider and other stakeholders to do planning in prevention of NPC such as awareness programme or cancer screening for the target high risk group especially for Sabah population.
Most orthopaedic cases that involved with bone fracture are normally treated with medical implants. To be noticed that some precautions in terms of biomechanical and biomaterial properties are necessary for a successful post-sur- gery process. The biomechanical evaluation of implants could be carried out using computing and engineering technologies. However, in the computer simulation, some assumptions are needed as the limitations on computer resources and data input. This review focuses on the current method of developing the finite element model for patients with specific values of material properties for lower limb part such as hip, knee and ankle joint. Previous literature was reviewed from which keywords and search engines were identified. In this review, inclusion and exclusion criteria were used to limit the literature search. We reviewed the state-of-the-art in this area and provide recommendations for future research. In conclusion, the previous published reports illustrated different methods to develop numerical models.
Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide. Microsatellite instability (MSI) contributes to be one of the main mechanisms in colorectal cancer. Individuals with MSI tumors have loss of expression of one or more Mismatch Repair proteins. MSI tumors have better survival rate than microsatellite stable (MSS) tumors, poor response to 5FU-based adjuvant chemotherapy and relatively successful immunotherapy in metastatic MSI tumors. Immunohistochemistry recognizes altered gene by recognizing loss of its protein product. Based on the presence or absence of Mismatch repair proteins, groups are classified into Mismatch repair proficient (MMR-p) and Mismatch repair deficient (MMR-d). Aim: To investigate the immunohistochemical profile of Mismatch repair proteins namely: hMLH1, hMSH2, hMSH6, and hPMS2 in surgically resected colorectal cancer specimens. Materials and Method: A total of 76 cases were selected from the Histopathology Department of HTAA to determine MMR protein expression status. Cases were either MMR-p or MMR-d. Results: Of the specimens which were properly immunostained, seventeen out of seventy-six cases (22.37%) showed loss of one or more MMR proteins expression and thus were MMR-d. MLH1, MSH2, MSH6 and PMS2 protein expression was detected as 85.53% (65/76), 81.6% (62/76), 88.16% (67/76), and 76.32% (58/76), respectively. Conclusion: Mismatch repair proteins profile should be done using immunohistochemistry in local laboratories on these selected cases before referring for the expensive molecular test.
In this paper work, three-dimensional terrain models were reconstructed from twodimensional contour lines. Firstly, spatial curves were generated from contour lines using
parameterized cubic B-spline curve interpolation. Then surfaces were constructed by using
B-spline ruled surface. In the reconstruction process, some issues such as keyholes and
branching may arise. Therefore, we propose a method that handles the branching object to
construct a bilinear patch by following the proposed data point’s extraction algorithm. We
also solved keyholes issues by retaining the same knot vector condition on B-spline ruled
surface. Results are also demonstrated for models with branching and without branching.
The preliminary discussion of this short essay focuses on some of Islām’s intellectual and civilisational contributions in a historical region of Central Asia called Khurāsān. As a starting point, it mentions a number of hadīths (sayings from the Prophet Muḥammad) and athār (sayings of the Holy Prophet’s Companions and their followers) that impute to this region some eschatological importance as well as matters pertaining to the legal aspect of the religion, especially from Muslim Sunnī perspective. As a preliminary discussion and in a non-exhaustive manner, the writing highlights and evaluates a number of important Muslim figures that have emerged from that region along with their respective intellectual and cultural contributions to human civilisation as materialisation of the religion’s aspirations arising from collective understanding of its worldview.
Inflation is not specific to the modern economy. It is argued that low and stable rates of inflation are beneficial in promoting economic growth. It is also attributed to the growing disparity between the economic classes. The 14th–15th Century CE Egyptian historian, Al-Maqrīzī, discussed the causes that worsened the famine and economic crisis of 805–808/1403–1406 of Mamlūk Egypt. He described the population of Egypt during the crisis and emphasised that which had been hit worst. Significantly, he suggested a more stable monetary system to avoid similar situations in the future.
The pandemic has caused the closure of educational institutions, which halted face-to-face teaching and learning. The unprecedented situation has left the institutions with no other choice other than implementing online learning to ensure the educational process's continuity. This study examines students' perceptions in Introduction to Drama and Theatre online classes. Three components of perceptions were investigated: the experience in learning the subject online, students' participation in the class, and the materials used in online classes. The quantitative data were collected from 38 first-year students enrolling in the Drama and Theatre programme at UNIMAS. The questionnaire was distributed online using Google Form. The findings showed a positive perception of learning Introduction to Drama and Theatre online, while moderate perception was identified in students' participation in the class. A positive perception was also seen in the materials and platforms used in online classes. Most of the students enjoyed the learning process due to the support from the lecturer. Moving forward, better infrastructure is needed in order to ensure the ability to conduct online learning without any obstacles. All stakeholders are responsible for playing their role to contribute to the online learning environment.
The last confirmed case of poliomyelitis in West Malaysia was in 1986', and over the past few years, we have condescendingly associated polio with other developing countries. Recently, 2 children with acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) were confirmed as cases of poliomyelitis due to a wild strain of the virus. This implies a failure of the immunisation programme to contain the spread of the wild virus (Hall). However, if we look at the WHO standard case definition of polio virus infection (appendix 1) it is possible that we could have missed a few cases over the last 6 years. At this juncture a brief clinical summary of the 2 cases and a discussion of the differential diagnosis may be useful. (Copied from article).
Students’ knowledge, attitude and practice towards safety and health are one of the important aspects of their learning
process in school. Negligence of this aspect can increase the risk of accidents among students. This study was conducted to assess the
level of knowledge, attitudes and practices (KAP) of students toward safety and health aspects in school. This study was participated
by 410 Form Four students that were randomly selected. They are from SMK Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah 1 (SARS1), SMK Taman
Dato’ Harun (SMKTDH) and SMK Agama Sheikh Hj. Mohd Said (SHAMS). Questionnaire used consists of demographic components,
knowledge, attitude and practice items towards safety and health aspects. Majority of the respondents are female students (58.3%)
while the rest are male students (41.7%). Higher percentage of respondents are from SMKTDH (59.5%) followed by SHAMS (24.1%)
and SARS1 (16.3%). This study found that the level of knowledge, attitude and practice of students toward safety and health aspects
in school are high. The mean score of all knowledge, attitude and practice items in the questionnaire are 4.29±0.40, 4.07±0.46,
and 4.13±0.48, respectively. In addition, this study found that the school factors are significantly associated with student’s attitude
and practice, while the gender factor is only significantly associated with student’s attitude towards safety and health in school.
Meanwhile, correlation analysis showed a significant relationship between student’s knowledge, attitude and practice (p
A number of relative permeability models were present in the literature, which were used to generate relative permeability data for the fluids, present in the porous medium. Some models were more significant to reservoir geology and displacement system (imbibitions and drainage system), while developing the correlations. Similarly, the same is kept in mind while performing reservoir studies. Therefore, in this study different models based on displacement system and formation geology have been compared, while including the effect of fluid saturation distribution/end point saturation in a reservoir. The generated relative permeability data by using these models have been further used to predict the reservoir performance for gas and water-displacement systems. The results based on this study showed that at lower saturations of displacing fluid (gas and/or water), the generated reservoir performance curves based on relative permeability data generated by using Corey and Wylie and Gardner models, gives higher degree of deviation on comparative basis. The behavior of these error or deviation curves for displacing phase is opposite in case of gas and water-oil displacement systems. While in case of displaced phase (oil), generally analogous behavior can be observed for both systems in terms of deviation/ error profiles trends. These reservoir performance curve(s) are of utmost significance in developing reservoir in an appropriate manner and a slight variation in relative permeability data can have a significant impact at macroscopic level.
The role of mathematics as a foundation of other
sciences is well acknowledged since the dawn of
modern science. This fundamental and important
role is then not only limited to the natural and
physical sciences but also further extended to
the social domains of humanities. This article
reviews the many definitions of mathematics as
put forth by philosophers and mathematicians,
how these definitions are understood, and how they subsequently influence the development
of mathematics itself as well as other disciplines
influenced by mathematics. These definitions
are: mathematics as the science of teaching
and learning (ʿulūm al-taʿālim); mathematics as
abstraction or the construction of abstracts;
mathematics as logic; mathematics as a formal
system; mathematics as the science of quantity and
structure, mathematics=ontology; and mathematics
as intellectual exercise (riyāḍiyyāt). Based on the
aforementioned definitions, this article attempts
to analyse the ontological status of mathematics
and mathematical objects based on the degrees of
existence (marātib al-wujūd) framework which orders
existence into five levels, namely essential existence
(wujūd dhātī), concrete existence (wujūd ‘aynī), mental
existence (wujūd dhihnī), verbal existence (wujūd lafẓī),
dan formal or written existence (wujūd khaṭṭī).
In recent years, the idea of “justice” alongside
many other great ideas has undergone shifts in
meaning due to a philosophical programme that
was set in motion centuries earlier and has by now
consolidated its influence in the Muslim world. In
the second half of the 20th century, an influential
Muslim thinker, Fazlur Rahman (1911–1988), was
one of the major figures that contributed to the ongoing
debate on the understanding and realisation
of justice in the modern world from the Islamic
perspective. By applying the conceptual analysis,
this article shall examine how Fazlur Rahman
understood, employed, and deployed the idea of
“justice” in various contexts. This article shall also
examine its sources and practical implications, as
well as situate his position vis-à-vis that of other
scholars in the Islamic tradition.