From available studies, there appears to be a racial preponderance of coronary artery disease (CAD) among Indians when compared to other ethnic groups. We found that this racial difference exists even in a young Asian population with premature atherosclerosis. In this small series, these racial differences could not be explained by the commonly known risk factors for coronary artery disease--smoking, hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolaemia, findings similar to those found in older patients elsewhere. Only fasting triglyceride levels were significantly higher among young Indians compared to non Indians (p less than 0.02) although the importance of this finding as a risk factor for CAD remains controversial. The majority of these young patients were treated medically and their one year survival was good.
Food waste (FW) is not just a problem and challenge in Malaysia but world wide. According to a United Nation Environment Program report, approximately 931 million tonnes of food waste was produced globally in 2019. This included 61% from households, 26% from food services and the remaining 13%, from retail. The sheer magnitude of this wastage is very troubling; especially in the fact that there is no firm hope that the scale of the wastage will decrease in the near future. Most studies into food wastage have investigated the broader field of food industries such as food manufacturers, restaurants, food courts and others. This study, however, aimed to investigate FW among end-users who are students in a school, with data being collected from the school canteen. It investigated the amount of food waste before and after awareness of food waste in Malaysia was raised, and how the waste can be converted into cash. The study had four phases: 1) an awareness program for school students, 2) installation of the FW machine, 3) collection of food waste, and finally 4) data analysis. The food waste was collected, transformed into bio-fertilisers and sold to the parents. A total of 339.5 kg of food waste was collected in 38 days and this waste was transformed into 131.5 kg of bio-fertilisers for sale to parents in the same school. This simple FW conversion to bio-fertilisers undertaken in the school as a pilot project shed some light on the potential of the project to be carried out on a larger scale and with commercial interests for all schools in Malaysia. The school generated RM 1315 from the sale of the bio-fertilisers. The potential profits achievable from this conversion of FW to bio-fertilisers will be significant if the pilot study is expanded throughout Malaysia.
We present the first clinical report and describe the technique of using a modified Heartrail II guiding catheter to successfully puncture and remove a coronary angioplasty balloon that failed to deflate after stent implantation.
The current environment of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity has created a prolonged state of uncertainty for the Jordanian hotel industry. Crisis management leadership is one of the most important attributes for a hotel. The main aim of this study is to evaluate the mediating role of crisis management, the moderating role of a leader's experience, their relationship to styles of leadership (transformational and transactional) and the resultant performance of Jordanian hotels. Research was based on a self-distributed questionnaire survey of 119 respondents currently holding managerial positions in Jordanian 3 to 5 star hotels. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling was then employed. The findings suggest a transformational leadership style and crisis management experience are the most important attributes for a leader to sustain hotel performance during a crisis. Leaders with a transactional leadership style need crisis management skills to sustain hotel performance rather than experience which is not as important in their case. This paper proves that different leadership styles have a different influence on a hotel's survivability during a crisis. Therefore, a hotel's management group must ensure that a leader with an appropriate leadership style takes control during these situations. By combining leadership attributes, experience, and crisis management in a comprehensive framework to ensure sustainable hotel performance in the face of a crisis, this study adds to the body of knowledge on leadership and crisis management practices.
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an under-recognized major health problem among women in South-East Asia. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, physical inactivity, and being overweight or obese has shown a significantly increasing trend among women in the region, with the exception of Singapore. The problem is compounded by low awareness that CVD is a health problem for women as well as for men, by misconceptions about the disease, and by the lack of suitable, locally available health literature. Efforts have been made by the national heart associations and other organizations to increase heart health awareness and promote healthy lifestyles. Singapore initiated these prevention programs in the early 1990s and has been successful in reducing the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. The governments of the region, in accordance with the Noncommunicable Disease Alliance, have begun implementing appropriate preventive strategies and improving health-delivery systems. However, psychological, social, and cultural barriers to cardiovascular health awareness in women need to be addressed before these programs can be fully and successfully implemented.
Heart failure (HF) is a major global healthcare problem with an estimated prevalence of approximately 26 million. In Asia-Pacific regions, HF is associated with a significant socioeconomic burden and high rates of hospital admission. Epidemiological data that could help to improve management approaches to address this burden in Asia-Pacific regions are limited, but suggest patients with HF in the Asia-Pacific are younger and have more severe signs and symptoms of HF than those of Western countries. However, local guidelines are based largely on the European Society of Cardiology and American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association guidelines, which draw their evidence from studies where Western patients form the major demographic and patients from the Asia-Pacific region are underrepresented. Furthermore, regional differences in treatment practices likely affect patient outcomes. In the following review, we examine epidemiological data from existing regional registries, which indicate that these patients represent a distinct subpopulation of patients with HF. In addition, we highlight that patients with HF are under-treated in the region despite the existence of local guidelines. Finally, we provide suggestions on how data can be enriched throughout the region, which may positively affect local guidelines and improve management practices.