Objective: A rare case of induced hypomania was reported. Method: Patient was a 78-year-old Indian female with squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal septum, childhood bronchial asthma and underlying bipolar disorder. Her bipolar disorder is currently in remission. She developed hypomanic symptoms after one week of initiation of montelukast sodium for treatment of acute exacerbation of bronchial asthma. Result: Her hypomanic symptoms improved after stopping usage of montelukast sodium. Conclusion: Montelukast sodium likely had induced hypomania in this patient.
An audit of broken/lost removable appliances was carried out. This study aimed to measure the occurrence of broken/lost appliances over a period of 6 months. It also assessed whether there was any difference in the occurrence rate between patients who paid for treatment and those who received it free of charge. The results indicated that the total number of broken/lost removable appliances was 183, from a total of 472 appliances issued. For paying patients, 59 of 177 patients had at least one broken/lost appliance, giving an occurrence rate of 33.3%. For nonpaying patients, 60 of 112 patients had at least one broken/lost appliance, giving an occurrence rate of 53.6%.
The peels of pomelo contribute 30% of the fruit weight and yet it has been dump without recognizing the possible nutritional value of the peels. Study has been carried out to identify flavonoid content of the peels and analysed the activity of the flavonoid towards inhibition of lipid peroxidation. Optimization of flavonoid extraction was conducted using aqueous solvent (methanol and ethanol), extraction time (1-3 h) and extraction temperature (50°C-80°) via water bath extraction. The total content of flavonoids was quantitatively determined by using coloration methods with chromogenic system of NaNO2–Al (NO3)3–NaOH and and it was found that the extraction at 65ºC for 2 h in aqueous ethanol was the optimized condition for maximum flavonoids i.e. 190.42mg/L. A spectrophometric analysis was performed to evaluate flavonoid activity towards lipid peroxidation in the fish tissue. There was reduction in Peroxide value (PV) indicated the inhibition of lipid peroxidation in fish treated with pomelo peel as evidence of concurrency of positive flavonoid activity.
Channa striatus (“haruan”) fish destined for fillet preparation was subjected to two freezing treatments, freezing with distilled water (FW) or freezing directly without distilled water (DF). Fish that was freshly processed without freezing served as control (C). Fillet yield (%) was in the range 33.8% to 35.3% and the highest yield was recorded in FW samples. Whole Fillet Powder (WFP) was prepared from the fillets through low temperature vacuum oven drying (50°C) and its composition and physicochemical properties were assessed. There was no significant difference in moisture and protein contents of all samples (p > 0.05). All WFP were generally dark in colour with whiteness indices ranging from 55.23 - 63.98. The redness (a*) values were 4.33, 11.12, 8.83 whilst the yellowness (b*) were 19.31, 23.04, 21.20 for C, WFP-FW and WFP-DF respectively. WFPs were generally high in histidine, arginine, threonine and tyrosine when compared to egg whites and these (except histidine) and other amino acids (serine, glycine, methionine and phenylalanine) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in WFP-FW compared to other samples. Overall, freezing treatments affected the composition and physicochemical properties of WFPs.
In various biological studies, for example those in population genetics, conservation biology, forensic science, gene mapping, breed, strain and population characterization and identification, marker assisted selection and the identification of cryptic species complexes, codominant genetic markers play important roles. The information that can be gained from them are far superior than those from dominant markers like random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLP), direct amplification of length polymorphisms (DALP) and randomly amplified microsatellites (RAM) or inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR).
Steroids remain an important component of maintenance immunosuppression after renal transplantation. Their anti-inflammatory action is partly due to the sequestration of CD4+ lymphocytes in the reticuloendothelial system. Steroids bind to intracellular receptors and the resulting steroid-receptor complex alters the transcription of cytokines by binding to glucocorticoid response elements on DNA. Transcription factors whose actions are altered by glucocorticoids include activating protein-1 (AP-1) and nuclear factor-B (NF-B). The main cytokines whose production by antigen-presenting cells is inhibited by steroids are interleukin-1 (IL-1), required for helper T-cell activation, and IL-6, required for B-cell activation. Other pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interferon gamma and tumour necrosis factor are also inhibited. This multiplicity of immunosuppressive actions is not fully replicated by other immunosuppressants. However, there are concerns about the long-term side effects of steroids. This review will examine the attempts at steroid withdrawal or steroid avoidance in renal transplant patients.
Bismuth chromium solid solutions, with a general formula Bi6-xCr2Oδ, where -1 ≤ x ≤ 2, were successfully synthesized via the conventional solid state method. The phases of the synthesized samples were determined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The properties of single-phase compounds were characterized by using differential thermal analysis (DTA), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), AC impedance spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES). The occurrence of phase transitions was confirmed by DTA and TGA, where a thermal event was observed by DTA at around 800oC. In addition, TGA studies also showed that there was a weight loss at around 800oC. Elemental analysis of Bi6Cr2O15 and its solid solutions by ICP-AES showed a good agreement between the expected value and the experimental value on the compositions, with no evidence of any systematic deviation from stoichiometric. Electrical properties of Bi6Cr2O15 and its solid solutions were investigated by using AC impedance spectroscopy from 300oC to 650oC. Ionic conductivity increased with the increasing temperature and bismuth content, and the best ionic conductivity was observed for Bi7Cr2O16.5. The activation energy (Ea) of Bi6Cr2O15 and its solid solutions were in the range of 1.22-1.32 eV.
Extract of mengkudu was heated using a bench-top tube heat exchanger at 30, 50, 70 and 90 o C for 0, 5, 10 and 15 min residence time. The treated mengkudu extract was then measured for pH, L * , a * , b * color parameters, clarity, viscosity and total polyphenol content. Results show that heating using temperature of 30 to 90 o C for 5 to 15 mins significantly (p
Compliance to delivery of orthodontic appliances within specified times and factors which influenced compliance by dental technicians in Selangor was evaluated. This is a prospective 8-month study of 18 trainee/ trained technicians from 4 main government dental laboratories in Kajang, Klang, Tanjong Karang and Shah Alam. Delivery times specified by orthodontists were 1 day for plastic retainer, 3 days acrylic retainer, 5 days active plates (URA), 10 days functional appliances (FA), 10 days transpalatal arch (TPA) and 10 days for quadhelix. Punctual delivery was recorded as ‘compliant’. Compliance was compared between appliances, clinics, technicians, orthodontists and seniority of technicians. The sample comprised appliances from 365 patients; 38 (10.4%) Tanjong.Karang, 114 (31.2%) Kajang, 191 (52.3%) Klang and 22 (6.0%) Shah Alam. The majority of appliances were retainers (66.3%), followed by URA (13.4%), functionals (9.3%), TPA (9.0%) and quadhelix (1.9%). Mean compliance for all appliances in Selangor was 55%. Plastic retainers had highest compliance (77.8%), followed by acrylic retainers (59.9%), quadhelix (57.1%), FA (47.1%), TPA (45.5%) and URA (24.5%). Senior technicians (>3 years in service) were more compliant than juniors (
The world’s biodiversity is not distributed uniformly throughout the globe. Some areas such as the tropical rainforests, seas and coral reefs teem with the varieties of life whereas others such as some deserts and polar regions are almost devoid of them (Gaston, 2000). Malaysia, with her tropical jungles and seas, is rich with biodiversity. She is fortunate to have had eminent pioneers such as Ridley (1967), Corner (1972), Soepadmo (1972) and Whitmore (1983) to study her flora and Medway (1968) and Lim (1991) to study her fauna taxonomy. Other pioneers in Malaysian biology included Berry, Dhaliwal and Mohsin. These pioneers are then ably followed by workers such as Latiff, Kiew, Go, Khoo, Davidson, Saberi, Omar, Jambari, Idris, Zekri, Teo, Marziah, Tan, Mukherjee, Shapor, Yusoff, Azmi and many others studying the various subdisciplines of biology. In addition to the more obvious large plants and animals, microorganisms and aquatic organisms had not been neglected either. Workers such as Nawawi, Verghese, Ho and Faridah are known
for their work on fungi while Fatimah, Phang, Japar and Anton had studied algae, seaweeds, diatoms and seagrasses. However, some of these workers have now either retired or are soon going to attain retirement age and the worrying part is that there are not many younger
workers keen to pursue research in taxonomy and biosystematics, a prerequisite to further studies in ecology, genetics, biotechnology which in turn are prerequisites for rational conservation, management and sustainable utilization of our rich biological resources. With each passing day species are becoming extinct sometimes without us even knowing that they had ever existed. Even in a developed country such as the USA, one third of her plant and animal species are at risk of extinction (McCann, 2000). Hence, taxonomic and biosystematic studies of our plants, animals and microbes whether terrestrial or aquatic, freshwater and marine, should be priority areas. So should studies on their reproductive biology, life cycles, physiology, feeding habits, migration patterns, predators and their sensitivities to environmental changes.
Diagnosis by histopathology remams as one of the most important investigative methods used to establish a definitive diagnosis of a lesion or disease state. The provision of oral tissue diagnostic services is therefore an essential function of an Oral Pathology unit. A review of the English language literature disclosed that much of the documented information on the patterns of oral diagnostic services were from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. This paper provides an overview of such surveys carried out in these countries.
We report a case of a broken K-wire migrating to the cervical spine from the right clavicle in a 9-year-old child. The initial diagnosis, fracture of the clavicle with an acromioclavicular joint dislocation, was treated by open reduction and K-wiring. One K-wire broke and migrated to the neck, posterolateral to the C6 vertebra. The K-wire was removed percutaneously under image intensification. Acromioclavicular joint dislocation in children is rare since the distal clavicle does not ossify until the age of 18 or 19 years meaning that almost all closed fractures of the clavicle in children can be treated nonoperatively.
Objectives: 1) To establish the incidence of rotavirus infection in paediatric patients admitted to a private hospital in Malaysia with a diagnosis of community-acquired acute gastroenteritis. 2) To determine whether patients with rotaviral acute gastroenteritis have greater disease severity. Design Retrospective cross-sectional study. Setting An urban private hospital in Malaysia. Participants All paediatric patients with a discharge diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) admitted to the hospital between September 2005 and March 2006. A total of 261 patients were included in the study. Results Rotavirus infection contributed to 54% of paediatric hospital admissions with discharge diagnoses of acute gastroenteritis. 74% of children with rotavirus infection were aged 5 years and below. This study demonstrated that patients with rotaviral gastroenteritis had greater disease severity, as measured by two indicators. Firstly, the average length of hospital stay was longer in patients who were rotavirus positive (5.14 days) compared to those who were rotavirus negative (4.81 days). These results were statistically significant (p
A cross-sectional study was undertaken to evaluate if outpatient administration of in-travenous iron sucrose complex (Venofer) was a sensible option in treating iron defi-ciency anaemia during pregnancy and puerperium. A total of 120 patients with iron deficiency anaemia were recruited from the Obstetric Day Care Clinic at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) over 18 months from March 2003 to August 2004. The main outcome measures were haemoglobin increment, patients’ compliance, adverse effects and saving from hospitalization fees. The pre-treatment haemoglobin (Hb) level was 8.5+0.85g/dl for the antenatal patient and 7.6+0.80 g/dl in the post-partum group. The mean post-treatment haemoglobin increment at day four-teenth was 3.52+0.75g/dl. One patient developed skin rash while another had low-grade pyrexia. Seven patients experienced mild metallic taste. There were no serious side effects or anaphylactic reactions. Ten patients (8.3%) did not complete their ther-apy - eight delivered before completion of treatment; another two defaulted following delivery. The average number of Venofer used was seven ampoules i.e. 700mg per person, most of them required three sessions to complete the course. Outpatient treatment allows each patient to save hospitalization fees of RM45 per day, which to-talled up to RM135 for a 3-days ward stay. An estimation of RM16,200 hospitalization fees for the 120 patients was avoided during the study period. In conclusion, outpatient treatment of anaemia in pregnancy and post-partum period using Venofer was safe and feasible, with high patient compliant and cost-savings from hospitalization fees.
Study site: Obstetric Day Care Clinic, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (PPUKM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The periostracum is the outermost layer overlying the inner prismatic and nacreous layers of the shells of bivalves. In the present study, the distributions of Cd and Pb in the soft tissues (ST) and periostracum of the green-lipped mussel Perna viridis sampled from 15 sampling sites in the coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia were determined. The concentrations of Cd (0.21-10.87 mg/g dry weight) and Pb (1.16-40.20 mg/g dry weight) in the periostracum were generally higher than those in the ST (Cd: 0.10-5.55 mg/g dry weight; Pb: 2.53-18.62 mg/g dry weight). Based on correlation analysis from nine geographical populations, the higher correlation coefficients (R values) between the periostracum-geochemical fractions of the sediments than between the ST-geochemical fractions of the sediments indicated that the periostracum could be a potential biomonitoring material for Pb. Hence, the present results supported the use of the periostracum of P. viridis as a potential biomonitoring material for Pb but not for Cd. However, more studies are warranted to verify its usefulness for the biomonitoring of heavy metal pollution in tropical coastal waters.
The objectives of this study were to assess the intake of fluoride among 4-5 years old children from drinking water (FH20) and whether current practises of use of water filters and consumption of bottled water have any impact on fluoride intake. A questionnaire survey was conducted to elicit details of drinking water in 350 children aged 4-5 years old. The intake of fluoride from drinking water over a period of two days was biochemically determined in a subsample of 200 subjects. The majority of children (97.0%) had access to tap water, 23.1% to filtered tap water and 11.3% reported use of bottled water. The use of filters was found to be associated with ethnicity and socio-economic status (p<0.00). The mean fluoride concentration of unfiltered and filtered tap water were 0.541 ± 0.167 and 0.534±0.192 ppm, respectively. The mean volume of water consumed was 1348.76±482.70 mL/day while the mean FH2O was 726.7 ± 357.5 ug/day. The use of filters and consumption of bottled water were sparse with no significant impact on FH2O over a two-day study period.
Some 20 basalt soil samples from the Kuantan area were analysed for their physico-chemical properties. The physical properties of the soils analysed are: relative density, water content, the Atterberg Limits, grain size distribution, and compaction properties. The chemical properties analysed involved the pore fluids chemistry, whereby the pore fluids of the soils were first extracted using the "Saturation Extract" method and then subsequently analysed for pH, conductivity, cations (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+)concentrations, and anions (SO42-, Cl-, CO32-, HCO3-) concentrations. The results show the following characteristics for the basalt soils: relative density is high with most values> 2.7; water content is generally high with Wo > 30% indicating high adsorption of water; liquid limits can attain high values in excess of 50%; grain size comprises the whole range from G (grave) to C (clay), but is predominantly fine-grained (M/C); the fines fractions of the soils are classified under ML-MH soils, ie silts with low-high plasticity. Surprisingly, the compacted maximum dry densities show rather low values ranging from 1.22-160 g/cm3 in spite of the fact that basalt soils generally make good embankment fill materials. The low gdmak values could be atrributed to the rather high optimum moisture contents of the soils (Wopt = 29.0-47.5%). Results for the pore fluids chemistry indicate the following: pH is on the acidic side « 7); conductivity is low, reflecting the low cations contents of the pore fluids; cations Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+ are generally low in concentrations, with K+, Ca2+ & Mg2+ all having values of < 5ppm. Interestingly enough, there appears to be a distinct predominance of Na+ concentrations. As such, the ratios of monovalent cations (Na+ + K+) versus divalent cations (Ca2+ + Mg2+) show high values ranging from 3-17, with a few values being in excess of 100, thus indicating the high dispersivity of the basalt soils. Anions Cl-, CO32- and HCO3- were not detected, while SO42- shows considerable values of 35-122 NTU. Although in the field the soil profile shows 3 distinct layer or horizonations having colours ranging from (top to bottom) dark brown, red, to purple, it would appear from the test results obtained that the physico-chemical properties of the soil samples taken from these 3 horizons do not show any siginificant differences or variations from one another, contrary to expectations. Moreover, some of the physicoÂchemical properties of the basalt soils taken from the same layer/horizon also appear to plot in 2 distinct clusters - the reasons for this are not entirely clear.
Sebanyak 20 sampel tanah basalt dari kawasan Kuantan telah diuji sifat fiziko-kimia tanah tersebut. Sifat fizik tanah yang diuji ialah: ketumpatan relatif, kandungan air. Had Atterberg, taburan saiz butiran, dan sifat pemadatan. Sifat kimia yang diuji pula melibatkan kimia air liang. Air liang tanah diekstrak dahulu dengan kaedah "Ekstrak Tepuan" dan kemudiannya diuji pH, kekonduksian, konsentrasi kation (Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+) dan anion (SO42-, Cl-, CO32-, HCO3-). Hasil kajian menunjukkan ciri-ciri tanah basalt sepertimana yang berikut: ketumpatan relatif tinggi, dengan kebanyakan nilai > 2.7; kandungan air secara umumnya tinggi dengan Wo > 30%, ini menunjukkan penjerapan air yang tinggi; had cecair boleh mencapai nilai yang tinggi yang melebihi 50%; saiz butiran tertabur luas an tara saiz kelikir (G) hingga saiz lempung (C), namun demikian saiz dominan adalah halus (M/C); fraksi tanah halus dikelaskan sebagai tanah ML-MH, iaitu lodak dengan keplastikan rendah-tinggi. Yang agak mengejutkan ialah nilai ketumpatan kering maksimum tanah terpadat yang agak rendah, bersela antara 1.22-1.60g/cm3, walaupun tanah basalt diketahui umum sebagai bahan tambakan yang baik. Nilai gdmak yang rendah itu boleh disebabkan kandungan air optimum yang tinggi (Wopt = 29.0-47.5%). Keputusan untuk kimia air liang menunjukkan perkara yang berikut: PH terletak pada sebelah asid (< 7); kekonduksian rendah, membayangkan kandungan kation yang rendah; kepekatan kation Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, secara umumnya adalah rendah, dengan K+, Ca2+ dan Mg2+ mempamerkan nilai < 5bpj. Seperkara yang agak menarik ialah kedominanan kepekatan Na+ yang jelas. Dengan itu, nisbah kation monovalensi (Na+ + K+) lawan dwivalensi (Ca2+ + Mg2+) menunjukkan nilai yang tinggi yang berjulat antara 3-17, dengan beberapa nilai yang melebihi 100, maka ia menunjukkan potensi penyerakan tanah basalt yang tinggi. Anion Cl-, CO32- dan HCO3- tidak dikesan, manakala SO42- memaparkan nilai yang agak tinggi, iaitu 35-122 NTU. Walaupun di lapangan prolil tanah basalt memperlihatkan 3 lapisan atau horizon yang jelas, dengan warna yang berubah (atas ke bawah) daripada coklat tua, merah hingga ungu, hasil kajian sifat fiziko-kimia sampel tanah yang telah diambil dari 3 horizon itu tidak menunjukkan perbezaan atau variasi yang penting, iaitu lain daripada jangkaan. Tambahan pula, beberapa sifat fizikoÂkimia tanah basalt yang telah diambil dari lapisan yang sama terplot pada dua kelompok yang jelas - penerangan untuk perkara ini tidak begitu jelas.
Small angle neutron scattering (SANS) technique has been widely employed in probing the microstructure of amorphous materials in the nanometer range. In aerogels system, the size range of 1 – 100 nm is of particular interest since the structural units, such as the pores and particles, often fall in this range. In a typical scattering experiment, scattered neutron intensity is measured as a function of the scattering angle. Various plots of intensity I(Q) and scattering vector, Q, can provide information about fractal dimensions, and particle and cluster sizes. In this study, SANS facilities, at Nuklear Malaysia (NM) and Badan Tenaga Atom Nasional (BATAN), Indonesia were used to analyse particle and cluster size of silica aerogels and titanium containing silica aerogels. Results from NM showed that silica aerogels have surface fractal dimension while titanium containing silica aerogels have mass fractal dimension. On the other hand, results from BATAN showed that both silica aerogels and titanium containing silica aerogels have mass fractal dimension. The particle size for silica aerogels and titanium containing silica aerogels samples obtained by NM were 11.18 ± 0.03 and 9.19 ± 0.06 nm, respectively while the respective values obtained from BATAN measurements were 11.78 ± 0.06 and 10.57 ± 0.07 nm.
Although past studies have found a positive relationship between product creativity and purchase intention, little is known about the underlying process behind this relationship. The present study addressed this gap by examining the role of openness to experience in the relationship between product creativity and purchase intention. Participants (88 undergraduate students) evaluated creativity of a self-nominated product and reported the extent to which they are willing to buy the product, as well as their openness to experience. Analysis showed that there was a positive relationship between product creativity and openness to experience and these two variables were significantly correlated with purchase intention. Furthermore, mediation analysis supported that product creativity increases purchase intension indirectly through openness to experience. The findings shed light on the mechanism of how product creativity increases purchase intention and serve as an evidence for future studies to investigate how and what aspects of product creativity that enhance individual’s sense of openness and purchase intention.