Search

Several sites, Z-7L, Z-5 and Z-14, in Sibu district, Sarawak, Malaysia, experienced intense dengue transmission in 2014 that continued into 2015. A pilot study with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) to control Aedes aegypti (L.) and Ae. albopictus (Skuse) was evaluated in Z-7L, a densely populated site of 12 ha. Bti treatments were conducted weekly from epidemiology week (EW) 24/2015 for 4 weeks, followed by fortnight treatments for 2 months, in addition to the routine control activities. Bti was directly introduced into potable containers and the outdoor artificial and natural containers were treated via a wide area spray application method using a backpack mister. Aedes indices significantly reduced during the treatment and post treatment phases, compared to the control site, Z-5 (p<0.05). A 51 fold reduction in the incidence rate per 100,000 population (IR) was observed, with one case in 25 weeks (EW 29-52). In Z-5 and Z-14, control sites, a 6 fold reduction in the IR was observed from EW 29-52. However, almost every week there were dengue cases in Z-14 and until EW 44 in Z-5. In 2016, dengue cases resurfaced in Z-7L from EW 4. Intensive routine control activities were conducted, but the IR continued to escalate. The wide area Bti spray misting of the outdoor containers was then included from EW 27 on fortnight intervals. A 6 fold reduction in IR was observed in the Bti treatment phase (EW 32-52) with no successive weekly cases after EW 37. However, in the control sites, there were dengue cases throughout the year from EW 1-52, particularly in Z-14. We feel that the wide area Bti spray application method is an integral component in the control program, in conjunction with other control measures carried out, to suppress the vector population in outdoor cryptic containers and to interrupt the disease transmission., Competing Interests: One of the authors, Seleena Benjamin, is a Manager from Valent BioSciences LLC, the manufacturer of the bacterial larvicide, VectoBac WG. The commercial affiliation DOES NOT ALTER our adherence to PLOS ONE policies on sharing data and materials.

The present study aims to identify the essential technical and tactical performance indicators that could differentiate winning and losing performance in the Asian elite beach soccer competition. A set of 20 technical and tactical performance indicators namely; shot back-third, shot mid-third, shot front-third, pass back-third, pass mid-third, pass front-third, shot in box, shot outbox, chances created, interception, turnover, goals scored 1st period, goals scored 2nd period, goals scored 3rd period, goals scored extra time, tackling, fouls committed, complete save, incomplete save and passing error were observed during the beach soccer Asian Football Confederation tournament 2017 held in Malaysia. A total of 23 matches from 12 teams were notated using StatWatch application in real-time. Discriminant analysis (DA) of standard, backward as well stepwise modes were used to develop a model for the winning (WT) and losing team (LT) whilst Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to ascertain the differences between the WT and LT with respect to the performance indicators evaluated. The standard backward, forward and stepwise discriminates the WT and the LT with an excellent accuracy of 95.65%, 91.30% and 89.13%, respectively. The standard DA model discriminated the teams from seven performance indicators whilst both the backward and forward stepwise identified two performance indicators. The Mann-Whitney U test analysis indicated that the WT is statistically significant from the LT based on the performance indicators determined from the standard mode model of the DA. It was demonstrated that seven performance indicators namely; shot front-third, pass front-third, chances created, goals scores at the 1st period, goals scored at the 2nd period, goals scored at 3rd period were directly linked to a successful performance whilst the incomplete save by the keeper attribute towards the poor performance of the team. The present finding could serve useful to the coaches as well as performance analysts as a measure of profiling successful performance and enables team improvement with respect to the associated performance indicators., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

All patients with a first-ever stroke admitted to the HUSM (Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia) from 1997 to 1998 were included in this study. All risk factors were determined and analysed prospectively. There were 158 cases of stroke admitted during the study period. The majority of the patients were Malays (86.1%), with a male preponderance. The mean age (SD) of the patients with stroke was 59.3 (12.28) years. Hypertension was present in both cerebral infarct and intracerebral haemorrhage patients at almost the same rate (65.2 and 69.2%, respectively). The overall mortality was 37%, and most patients died in the 1st month after stroke (34%). We hope this study will highlight the problems associated with the presentation and management of stroke in Southeast Asia., (Copyright 2002 S. Karger AG, Basel)

Background: Nerve conduction study is essential in the diagnosis of focal neuropathies and diffuse polyneuropathies. There are many factors that can affect nerve conduction velocity, and age is one of them. Most of the many studies of this effect, and the values from them, were on Caucasian subjects. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate the effect of age on conduction velocity among healthy Asian Malay subjects by analyzing its influence on the median, ulnar, and sural nerves., Material/methods: A total of 250 healthy subjects were recruited. The subjects were divided into four age groups. The nerves tested were the median, ulnar, and sural nerves. Surface electrodes were used and the temperature was kept constant. The nerves were stimulated and recorded at specific sites both for motor and sensory conduction velocities., Results: The mean velocities for the median and ulnar nerves, both motor and sensory, were 54.71+/-5.69 m/s (motor) and 54.04+/-7.02 m/s for the median nerve and 60.57+/-5.00 m/s (motor) and 52.92+/-5.89 m/s for the ulnar nerve. The mean velocity for the sural nerve was 47.97+/-4.48 m/s. Only median motor conduction velocity showed a significant reduction with increasing age (p=0.000)., Conclusions: This study did not show any significant effect of age on nerve conduction velocities except for median motor conduction velocity. For future research it is planned to extend the recruitment to subjects who are much older (over 60 years of age) and study the effect of other personal factors such as height and body mass index on NCV.

Objective: To use data from a prospective, longitudinal study to determine whether psychomotor functions improve spontaneously during the first year following paediatric traumatic brain injury without modern rehabilitation facilities in a rural area of Malaysia., Methods: Thirty-six paediatric patients who were referred for neurosurgical management for mild to severe head injuries were studied over a period of 2 years. No patients had orthopaedic or surgical trauma. Assessment of patients occurred at 3, 6 and 12 months, and patients were subjected to the Bender Gestalt Test, Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children--Revised and subtests from the Weschler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence. None of the patients received professional rehabilitation due to a lack of facilities; only traditional treatment was given during this period., Results: There were no significant changes in any of the parameters, except for integration error, after a period of 1 year. Cognitive function improved in 30% of patients after 1 year of follow-up. Despite an increased relationship of the caregiver to the patient in the first year of trauma, there was no general improvement when compared to the Western literature., Conclusion: A lack of modern resources in the community, a low general practitioner to patient ratio, and no inpatient or outpatient rehabilitation services do not lead to spontaneous improvement in the psychomotor condition of our patients despite good interfamily support. These are important findings for the future restructuring of the psychological service in Malaysia.

Mild head injury (MHI) is a common presentation to many hospitals in both rural and urban settings in Southeast Asia, but it is not well studied. We studied 330 patients that presented to Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia Emergency Department with possible MHI, with the intentions to identify prognostic factors that may improve the diagnosis of MHI in the emergency setting as well as to determine which patients would need follow-up. Patients' one-year outcomes were classified as discharged well (DW) for patients without post-traumatic signs and symptoms and discharged with long term follow-up (DFU) for patients with such signs and symptoms. Four patients died and 82 were DFU. An abnormal skull X ray was associated with mode of accident and type of transportation, older age, presence of vomiting, confusion, bleeding from ear, nose or throat, abnormal pupil size on the right side associated with orbital trauma, unequal pupillary reflexes, absence of loss of consciousness (LOC), a lower Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, multiple clinical presentations, and DFU. An abnormal CT scan was associated with older age, multiple clinical presentation, skull X-ray findings, and DFU. A similar analysis on outcomes revealed that mode of accident, older age, vomiting, confusion, headache, bleeding from ear, nose and throat, neurological deficits, absence of LOC, pupil size, multiple presentation, abnormal skull X ray, CT scan of the brain, and a GCS of 13 was associated with DFU. In conclusion, all patients involved in motor vehicle accidents (MVAs), especially motorcycles, aged over 30 years of age, with multiple clinical presentations, including a lower GCS, and with abnormal radiological findings should have a longer follow-up due to persistent post-traumatic symptomatology.

Background: Alteration of the tumor suppressor gene p53 is considered to be a critical step in the development of human cancer. Changes in this gene have been detected in a wide range of human tumours, including gliomas. In glioma, the presence of p53 gene alterations has been associated with worse prognosis., Methods: Forty-seven Malaysian adult glioma patients of the Malay race were prospectively studied over a period of 3 years where the presence of p53 mutation using cold-SSCP method and their clinical and paraclinical response were correlated., Findings: Among these glioma patients, p53 mutations were detected in 12 tumors, an incidence rate of 25.5%. Mutations were found in 2 patients of grade II, and 5 patients both in grade III and grade IV. The sequencing results revealed the presence of base-substitutions (7) (58.3%) and frameshifts mutations (5) (41.7%). Of the base-substitutions, 57.1% were transversions and 42.9% were transitions., Interpretation: Our analysis shows that 3 factors were associated with p53 mutations i.e. grade, site and consistency of tumour using univariate analysis although multivariate analysis revealed no positive on predictors of mutation. In conclusion, although p53 genetic alterations are involved in glioma patients in Malaysia, it has no impact on prognosis., (Copyright 2004 Springer-Verlag)

Malaysia had the second highest crude accident rate in the world until 1998. Most children who were involved in these road traffic accidents required intensive neurosurgical care management. We report a prospective study on 36 paediatric neurotrauma patients in rural North East West Malaysia who underwent uniform intensive therapy and were subsequently followed up over a period of 2 years. The modified paediatric Glasgow Coma Scale with support of the revised Wechlser Intelligence Scale for children was used to test the outcome of these children over a period of two years. All patients were managed aggressively in our intensive care as well as our high dependency units. Our results indicate that improvement in outcome is seen after a six month period. Midline shift, duration of coma and duration of transport were found to be significant variables associated with bad outcome. Other variables i.e. age, sex, Glasgow Coma Scale on admission and on site, and lesions of the dominant lobe were not found to be associated with good outcome in these patients., (Copyright 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In a modern society that comprises various ethnic and religious groups, who share different cultures and languages, tolerance between these groups is a critical element in building peace and harmony. In the Malaysian context, the promotion and fostering of ethnic tolerance has become one of the main agendas of the government in strengthening inter-ethnic relations. This is one of the best ways to prevent ethnic conflict in a pluralistic Malaysian society. In addition, building ethnic tolerance among students of different ethnicities, whether in schools or higher education institutions, should be a major concern that needs to be systematically addressed from within the Malaysian education system. To date, past studies have shown that ethnic slurs, prejudice, and discrimination among students still occur, even though various efforts has been introduced to foster tolerance in the education system and curriculum. As such, the role of religiosity is identified as an important element in sustaining ethnic tolerance. Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between religious knowledge, religious personality and inter-ethnic tolerance among Malaysian undergraduate students. Data was collected from 53 Malaysian undergraduate students using a survey questionnaire. A Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate the relationship between the variables. The results show a positive significant relationship between religious knowledge, religious personality and inter-ethnic tolerance among Malaysian undergraduate students. The results of this study indicate that the role of religious knowledge and religious personality could lead students to achieve ethnic tolerance in a multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: There is a major public health challenge threatening the world with the rapid spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which emerged in December 2019 from Wuhan, China. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding COVID-19 and its transmission, causes and prevention among people living in Malaysia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among people living in Malaysia by using an online survey in March and April 2020. Results: Out of 520 respondents, the mean age was 36.9 ± 14.9, between 19 and 67 years with the majority being female. Most respondents had good knowledge, attitude and practice towards COVID-19 with mean ± sd 18.2 ± 1.7, 5.2 ± 1.1 and 4.1 ± 1.4, respectively. In addition, the majority had good knowledge regarding cause, mode of transmission, signs and symptoms, prevention and treatment and quarantine measures after answering 21 questions. Conclusion: To date, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, thus staying at home is the best preventive measure to curb the further growth of positive cases in the country. These findings could provide an insight in designing effective preparedness for future pandemic outbreaks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

INTRODUCTION: Globally, depression is one of the serious problems reported among medical students. Various studies reported that the prevalence of depression among medical students was high due to multiple risk factors. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the prevalence of depression and its associated factors among medical students in International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 500 medical students in IIUM Kuantan. A validated self-reported questionnaire using Depression Anxiety Stress Score 21 was distributed during the second semester of the 2018/2019 session. Descriptive statistics were used to measure the prevalence of depression. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, independent sample T-test, and multiple logistic regression were used to determine the association between risk factors and depression. RESULTS: The prevalence of depression was 39% with 10.5% of them having severe and extremely severe levels of depression. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed regular physical activity (AOR=0.64, 95% CI: 0.42-0.98) and Tahajjud prayer practice (AOR: 0.76, 95% CI 0.66-0.88) are two protective factors against depression among medical students. CONCLUSION:: About every two out of five IIUM medical students had depression. Regular physical activity and Tahajjud prayer practiced may reduce the risk of depression and should be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

All of the Shelter Care institution had strict rules and regulations, especially about the status of registration. Unregistered Shelter Care with government or private sector will bring problems to the institution especially on financial contributions and safety regulation. Objectives: In view of this fact, study of Shelter Care services has been conducted to identify the most dominant factors that applied by institution. Methods: This study involved 39 institutions and the parameters of study are a registration, entry status, care services, nutrition and accommodation. Results: The findings indicated that the Shelter Care involved was fulfilling the standard of Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). The data was analysed by factor analysis using XL STAT software. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were computed to identify the most dominant factors whereas reducing the initial five parameters with recommended >0.70 of factor loading. Conclusion: From this study, the result show that all institution is according to the set of procedures that needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Dengue continues to have a significant effect on the general population of Malaysia, particularly in urban areas, and it is important to ensure that members of the public have adequate awareness to curb the disease. Aim: This study assesses the baseline knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) levels among university students and the impact of educational intervention on KAP levels. Subjects and methods: The study consists of part 1 (baseline study) with 307 students and part 2 (impact of the intervention study) with 85 students. A validated self-administered questionnaire was used to determine KAP levels. For part 2, baseline KAP was obtained before the intervention, and the post-intervention KAP was obtained after 1 month. Results: In part 1, only 26.1% have a good knowledge level regarding dengue, but the majority have good attitude (88.6%) and practice (71.0%). In part 2, the knowledge levels obtained pre-intervention were poor (mean score, 10 ± 2.46), while attitude and practice were good (mean scores, 8.82 ± 1.35 and 6.92 ± 2.5, respectively). The mean scores post-intervention increased for all KAP domains after the health campaign with knowledge at 12.61 ± 0.17, attitude 9.01 ± 1.09, and practice 7.11 ± 2.49. This study revealed that educational intervention was effective in creating awareness about dengue and that the social media is the most used and preferred source of information for respondents for learning about dengue. Conclusion: Health authorities could implement a nationwide dengue awareness programme focusing on social media and other media as a platform to disseminate information regarding disease and outbreaks and to promote healthy lifestyles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental influences such as residence effect on athletic talent identification and development have become an interest topic for sport scientists. Residence effects occur when being live in a certain city size leads to participation or performance advantages, typically for those live in smaller or mid-sized cities. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the child's residence area on child's motor development. A total 928 boys (aged 7.36 ± 0.29 year) and 1093 girls (aged 7.37 ± 0.29 year) was randomly selected from 215 primary schools in Selangor, Malaysia. With respect to their type of residence area, 110 schools located in urban area and 115 schools located in rural area. They were tested on the two anthropometric measurement (weight and height) and four motor subscales (power, flexibility, speed and coordination). Result showed that children from urban area tends to have higher anthropometrics and better motor skill development. It also suggested that child' residence structure plays an important role in motor skill development, and that these structures are influenced by certain city-sized and people lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key issues in sustainable construction, such as environmental, economic and social issues, have become a global concern. The Construction Industry Master Plan 2006–2015 intended to address sustainability in the Malaysian construction industry with the objective of globalising its market. The Malaysian government has also pledged to provide high-quality housing for all income groups. However, low quality remains the main obstacle for this type of construction. Therefore, this paper aims to describe and explore the potential of the industrialised building system (IBS) to achieve sustainability for housing projects in Malaysia. A review of the literature was completed. It was found that many studies have highlighted the significance of using the IBS for enhancing the quality of buildings. Nevertheless, the literature review also revealed that no study has looked into the potential of attaining sustainability through the IBS in the Malaysian housing sector and that housing projects in this country should be given due attention regarding construction sustainability through IBS application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to compare nonsurgical versus stereotactic aspiration of intracerebral hematomas in relation to clinical aspects, computed tomographic imaging features of the brain, laboratory parameters and specific risk factors that may influence the outcome in southeast Asian Malay patients. Fifty-five of the patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) underwent stereotactic aspiration and 57 did not. Analysis was done on risk factors, locations and treatments of ICH, and the final outcomes measured by the Glasgow Outcome Scale. A total of 112 patients were evaluated. Mean age was 52 years with ages ranging from 12 to 80 years. Hypertension was seen in 60.7% of patients with ICH. The mortality rate was 25% by 3 months. 58.9% had a poor final outcome, while 41.1% had a good outcome. The selected variables were incorporated into models generated by multiple logistic regression method analysis to define the significant predictors of outcome. Significant predictors of outcome were the Glasgow Coma Scale score on admission, the duration of surgery and the total volume of the hematoma. Significant predictors of mortality were high total white blood cell differential count, low plasma protein, and high plasma lactate dehydrogenase and brain edema. The study suggests that stereotactic aspiration of patients with ICH does not offer any definite advantage over conservative treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study which aims to examine the effect of lead concentration in the blood and hair of a population adjacent a copper mine in Malaysia. The study involved 424 blood samples and 360 hair samples digested into concentrated nitric acid, neutralised with acetate solution, and extracted into methyl isobutyl ketone (MIBK). Results show that males have higher lead concentration in blood (PbB) than females and lead in hair were found to be independent on all age groups.