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This study investigated the depth of climate change and environmental education (CCEE) in the current syllabus implemented in Malaysia from the perspectives of teachers, which is an extension to a study entitled ‘Impact of Climate Change on Children: A Malaysian Perspective’. This qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with a pool of teachers selected across Malaysia. Due to the enforcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO), the respondents were chosen purposively via advertisements posted on social media that targeted science teachers who taught Forms 4 or 5 CCEE-related subjects. The interview sessions were conducted online from June to July 2021. The recorded interviews were transcribed, coded, and categorized into themes deductively based on the UNESCO-Education for Sustainable Development for 2030 toolbox. The findings yielded five themes, namely, building the capacities of educators, empowering, and mobilizing youth, accelerating local-level actions, and advancing policy. Most of the teachers perceived that the Secondary School Standards-based Curriculum (KSSM) had improved but that the focus should be on a student-centered approach rather than exam orientation. There was a lack of awareness of climate change and environmental action in the science textbook. In conclusion, a comprehensive curriculum, as well as empowerment among teachers and students in a conducive environment for CCEE can spawn proactive action by Malaysian students.

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of argan oil with the exposure of low frequency electromagnetic field (EMF) on open wound healing in mice. Eighteen male mice (20-40 g) were divided into three groups: phosphate buffer saline (PBS) as negative control, solcoseryl gel as positive control, and argan oil with the exposure of low frequency EMF, 1.2 mT (treatment group). Full thickness wounds (4 mm diameter) were induced on the shaved dorsal of the mouse. All mice were sacrificed on day 12 after the final treatment. Macroscopic observation, wound contraction rate, histopathology analysis and total protein content were examined in this study. Results showed that wounds treated with argan oil and exposed to low frequency EMF has a significant increase in wound contraction rate (p < 0.05) and total protein content (p < 0.05). Moreover, histopathological analysis on the wound tissues displayed complete re-epithelization with thick and dense collagen fibers in the argan oil with low frequency EMF exposure treated group. In conclusion, topical treatment of argan oil with low frequency EMF exposure yield a better healing progress and showed the ability to accelerate wound healing. DOI : http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2018-07

Multifocal pupillographic objective perimetry (mfPOP) has recently been shown to be able to measure cortical function. Here we assessed 44 regions of the central 60 degrees of the visual fields of each eye concurrently in 7 minutes/test. We examined how foveally- and peripherally-directed attention changed response sensitivity and delay across the 44 visual field locations/eye. Four experiments were completed comparing white, yellow and blue stimulus arrays. Experiments 1 to 4 tested 16, 23, 9 and 6 subjects, 49/54 being unique. Experiment 1, Experiments 2 and 3, and Experiment 4 used three variants of the mfPOP method that provided increasingly improved signal quality. Experiments 1 to 3 examined centrally directed attention, and Experiment 4 compared effects of attention directed to different peripheral targets. Attention reduced the sensitivity of the peripheral locations in Experiment 1, but only for the white stimuli not yellow. Experiment 2 confirmed that result. Experiment 3 showed that blue stimuli behaved like white. Peripheral attention showed increased sensitivity around the attentional targets. The results are discussed in terms of the cortical inputs to the pupillary system. The results agree with those from multifocal and other fMRI and VEP studies. mfPOP may be a useful adjunct to those methods.

Lecture delivery is one of the major criteria in assessing overall lecturer's performance apart from research and publications. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the lecture delivery effectiveness among Faculty of Health Sciences (FSK), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) lecturers from the perception of students. Lecture delivery effectiveness was correlated significantly with characteristics of lecturers, attitudes of students, facilities and students’ satisfaction, but not associated with students’ grade. Different opinions were observed between undergraduates and postgraduates on lecture delivery effectiveness. More attention should be given to improve the quality of teaching in FSK.

A cross sectional study was carried out to examine the relationship between self –esteem and student's academic performance among the second year undergraduates of Faculty of Health Sciences and Faculty of Medicine, UKM session 2010/2011. Undergraduates (n= 220, 110 males) were selected via systemic random sampling, responded on survey domains regarding their self-esteem, body area satisfaction, stress and demographic data using 3 scales – Rosernberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) and Body Area Satisfaction Scale (BASS). The study has found that the mean score for self-esteem scales was 17.44±3.44 with score ranged from 0 to 30 (RSES); the mean of CGPA was 3.022±0.41. The correlation between self esteem and academic performance were analyzed using Pearson's correlation and linear regression, results showed that students with higher self-esteem perform better in their academic (p< 0.0005, r=0.32); self esteem score and body area satisfaction was significant (p< 0.05, r=0.016) and self esteem and stress is inversely significant (p< 0.05, r=-0.198). In conclusion, self-esteem is one of the key factors in affecting an individual's academic performance, more significant than other contributing factors including stress and body image.

We compared photopic and scotopic multifocal pupillographic stimuli in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Both eyes of 18 normal and 14 AMD subjects were tested with four stimulus variants presented at photopic and 126 times lower luminances. The multifocal stimuli presented 24 test regions/eye to the central 60°. The stimulus variants had two different check sizes, and when presented either flickered (15 Hz) for 266 ms, or were steady for 133 ms. Mean differences from normal of 5 to 7 dB were observed in the central visual field for both photopic and scotopic stimuli (all p < 0.00002). The best areas under receiver operating characteristic plots for exudative AMD in the photopic and scotopic conditions were 92.9 ± 8.0 and 90.3 ± 5.7% respectively, and in less severely affected eyes 83.8 ± 9.7% and 76.9 ± 8.2%. Damage recorded at photopic levels was possibly more diffusely distributed across the visual field. Sensitivity and specificity was similar at photopic and scotopic levels.

Objective To examine the feasibility of a multifocal visual evoked potential (mfVEP) binocularly, using a variant of the multifocal frequency-doubling (FD) pattern-electroretinogram (MFP). Methods Stimuli were presented in both monocular and dichoptic conditions at eight visual field locations/eye. The incommensurate stimulus frequencies ranged from 15.45 to 21.51Hz. Five stimulus conditions differing in spatial frequency and orientation were examined for three viewing conditions. The resulting 15 stimulus conditions were examined in 16 normal subjects who repeated all conditions twice. Results Several significant independent effects were identified. Response amplitudes were reduced for dichoptic viewing (by 0.85 times, p −11 ); offset by increases in responses for between eye differences of one octave of spatial frequency: lower (1.15 times, 0.1cpd); higher (1.29 times, 0.4cpd), both p −7 . Crossed orientations produced significant effects upon response phase ( p =0.023) but not amplitude ( p =0.062). Conclusions The results indicated that dichoptic evoked potentials using multifocal frequency-doubling illusion stimuli are practical. The use of crossed orientation, or differing spatial frequencies, in the two eyes reduced binocular interactions. Significance The results indicate a method wherein several spatial or temporal and frequencies per visual field region can be tested in reasonable time using a multifocal VEP using spatial frequency-doubling stimuli.

Purpose. We investigated the effects of image contrast, stimulus density, and viewing distance upon a multifocal steady-state visual evoked potential (MSV) method. Methods. Fourteen adults with normal vision (mean age = 27.0 ± 6.6 years; 6 males) participated in the study. Each of the stimulus regions of the multifocal ensembles presented a contrast modulated grating, displaying spatial and temporal frequencies that evoke the spatial frequency doubling illusion. All subjects were tested at five contrasts: 0.06, 0.11, 0.22, 0.45, and 0.89; viewed at 16, 32, and 128 cm. A multivariate linear model estimated factors for each stimulus region, recording channel, number of stimuli (9 or 17 regions), and sex; and covariates for contrast, and octaves of viewing distance, and age. Results. The responses per unit area for the 17-region display were significantly larger than for the 9-region display (P < 10−12). The contrast-response function could be described by a power law with exponent 0.068 (P < 0.008). The effect of viewing distance was small but significant: response amplitude dropped by −0.17 ± 0.03 dB per octave of viewing distance (P < 10−6), or 10% over 8 octaves. Conclusions. The response per unit area indicated that cortical folding diminishes responses to larger stimuli. Viewing distance did not greatly affect response amplitude. This suggested that we can use similar, but scaled, stimuli to study central and peripheral disease. The rapidly saturating contrast responses imply that there would be nothing lost from testing at contrasts as low as 20% given that higher, saturating contrasts might mask visual field defects.

Purpose This study examined the number and nature of spatiotemporal channels in the region where the frequency-doubling (FD) illusion would be expected to occur at eight locations spanning the central 30 degrees of the visual field. Methods The probability of seeing the FD illusion was examined in 17 subjects. Stimuli were presented at 5 octaves of low spatial frequencies, at each of seven flicker frequencies in the range 5.65 to 27.95 Hz. In a single trial, subjects matched the apparent spatial frequency of the flickering test pattern using a two-alternative, forced-choice method. Thirteen subjects were examined for stimuli presented at contrast 0.95. Three or four subjects were examined at each of the contrasts 0.2, 0.4, and 0.8. A factor analysis was conducted on the psychometric functions, quantifying the number and possible spatiotemporal tuning of neural channels present. Results At contrast 0.95, three factors were able to explain 79.3% of the total variance in the psychometric responses to the 35 test conditions. This simple form of three broad spatiotemporal channels was also found at the other contrasts and in different subjects. The factor scores showed differential distribution of the factors onto the eight different visual field locations. Thus the expression of the three channels differed somewhat across the visual field. Conclusions The results support earlier reports, that there are several low-spatial-frequency channels below 1 cyc/deg in the periphery. The results may have implications for the FDT and matrix perimeters.

Transmission and scanning electron microscopic examinations were undertaken to detail changes in the olfactory epithelium (OE) resulting from the ageing process. Samples were prepared from 3% glutaraldehyde/1% formaldehyde perfused mice aged 6 months and 29-30 months. Compared to OE from young adults, a number of striking changes were apparent in tissue from older animals. The most obvious of these were extensive local accumulations of large inclusion bodies, totally disrupting the normal morphology of such affected areas of olfactory epithelium. Even in areas where these deposits were absent, other significant signs of ageing were noted in the seemingly unaffected OE of all older mice studied. Quantitative analysis of semi-thin resin sections revealed that the OE of aged mice was significantly reduced in thickness, and with significantly fewer olfactory sensory neurons, irrespective of whether or not inclusions were present. In addition, pale cells, which have been suggested to be a form of degenerating cells, were more abundant in aged OE. The straight, sharp boundary between respiratory and olfactory epithelia which is seen in young adults became irregular and disrupted with age due to an intermingling of the respiratory and olfactory cells. Such structural alterations may parallel olfactory dysfunction reputed to occur in older mammals.