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Fulltext Urban and rural inequality in knowledge, attitude and practice on haze pollution episode in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Vethanayagam, James N., How, V.

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17(101):0-0.
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Introduction: Transboundary haze occurred was primarily derived from seasonal forest fires which has highly been concerned of the health effect on the local community. As awareness of the source and dangers of smoke haze spread, Malaysian government increasingly came under pressure from the public and civil society at the national, state, and district level to address the haze issues. However, the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) inequalities of urban and rural community could be a barrier in promoting awareness on haze. Objective: To determine the urban and rural inequality in KAP on haze. Methodology: A total of 400 urban and rural residents from Klang Valley was recruited to participate in this study. A validated survey form was used as the study instrument which composed of four parts: (1) Sociodemographic information, (2) Haze knowledge, (3) Attitude (concerns) during haze episodes, (4) Practices (protective behaviors) to prevent against the health effects of haze. Result: There were significant differences of KAP on transboundary haze among urban-rural population. Urban population has higher knowledge and protective behaviors on hazes; however, both the rural-urban residents presented moderate levels of concerns on hazes. Conclusion: It is necessary to provide timely information (knowledge and practices) on haze to rural residents, at the same time, improve the urban residents’ concerns (attitudes) over the haze phenomenon. This will help to raise the overall awareness level to transboundary haze by translating into a state of the resilient community.
Fulltext Urban and rural inequality in knowledge, attitude and practice on haze pollution episode in Klang Valley, Malaysia

Vethanayagam JN, How V

Malaysian Journal of Public Health Medicine, 2017;17 Special(1): 157-162.

Introduction: Transboundary haze occurred was primarily derived from seasonal forest fires which has highly been concerned of the health effect on the local community. As awareness of the source and dangers of smoke haze spread, Malaysian government increasingly came under pressure from the public and civil society at the national, state, and district level to address the haze issues. However, the knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) inequalities of urban and rural community could be a barrier in promoting awareness on haze. Objective: To determine the urban and rural inequality in KAP on haze. Methodology: A total of 400 urban and rural residents from Klang Valley was recruited to participate in this study. A validated survey form was used as the study instrument which composed of four parts: (1) Sociodemographic information, (2) Haze knowledge, (3) Attitude (concerns) during haze episodes, (4) Practices (protective behaviors) to prevent against the health effects of haze. Result: There were significant differences of KAP on transboundary haze among urban-rural population. Urban population has higher knowledge and protective behaviors on hazes; however, both the rural-urban residents presented moderate levels of concerns on hazes. Conclusion: It is necessary to provide timely information (knowledge and practices) on haze to rural residents, at the same time, improve the urban residents’ concerns (attitudes) over the haze phenomenon. This will help to raise the overall awareness level to transboundary haze by translating into a state of the resilient community.
Educational strategies used in increasing fluid intake and enhancing hydration status in field hockey players preparing for competition in a hot and humid environment: a case study

Dabinett JA, Reid K, James N

Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab, 2001 Sep;11(3):334-48.
PMID: 11591883

The purpose of the present study was to develop a hydration strategy for use by female English field hockey players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. An additional aim was to initiate the process of acclimation. Fifteen elite players, mean age (+/-SEM) 24.1 +/- 1.19 years, height 1.67 +/- 0.01 m, and body mass 62.8 +/- 1.76 kg, took part in a 5-day training camp immediately prior to departure for the Games. In order to develop the hydration strategy, training took place under similar environmental conditions to those to be experienced in Malaysia (i.e., 32 degrees C, 80% humidity). Acclimation training consisted of 30-50 min of either continuous, low intensity cycling or high intensity intermittent cycling, which more closely replicated the pattern of activity in field hockey. Body mass measures taken each morning, and pre and post training, together with urine color measures, were used to assess hydration status. Pre-loading with up to 1 L of a 3% carbohydrate-electrolyte solution or water immediately prior to acclimation training, as well as regular drinks throughout, ensured that players avoided significant dehydration, with percent body mass changes ranging from -0.34% to +4.24% post training. Furthermore, the protocol used was sufficient to initiate the process of acclimation as demonstrated by a significant reduction in exercising heart rate and core temperature at all time points by days 4 and 5. In conclusion, although labor intensive and time consuming, the camp was successful in developing a hydration strategy that players were able to utilize once at the Games.
Fulltext Age- and Activity-Related Differences in the Abundance of Myosin Essential and Regulatory Light Chains in Human Muscle

Cobley JN, Ab Malik Z, Morton JP, Close GL, Edwards BJ, Burniston JG

Proteomes, 2016 Apr 08;4(2).
PMID: 28248225 DOI: 10.3390/proteomes4020015

Traditional methods for phenotyping skeletal muscle (e.g., immunohistochemistry) are labor-intensive and ill-suited to multixplex analysis, i.e., assays must be performed in a series. Addressing these concerns represents a largely unmet research need but more comprehensive parallel analysis of myofibrillar proteins could advance knowledge regarding age- and activity-dependent changes in human muscle. We report a label-free, semi-automated and time efficient LC-MS proteomic workflow for phenotyping the myofibrillar proteome. Application of this workflow in old and young as well as trained and untrained human skeletal muscle yielded several novel observations that were subsequently verified by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM). We report novel data demonstrating that human ageing is associated with lesser myosin light chain 1 content and greater myosin light chain 3 content, consistent with an age-related reduction in type II muscle fibers. We also disambiguate conflicting data regarding myosin regulatory light chain, revealing that age-related changes in this protein more closely reflect physical activity status than ageing per se. This finding reinforces the need to control for physical activity levels when investigating the natural process of ageing. Taken together, our data confirm and extend knowledge regarding age- and activity-related phenotypes. In addition, the MRM transitions described here provide a methodological platform that can be fine-tuned to suite multiple research needs and thus advance myofibrillar phenotyping.
Fulltext Nipah virus infection in dogs, Malaysia, 1999

Mills JN, Alim AN, Bunning ML, Lee OB, Wagoner KD, Amman BR, et al.

Emerg Infect Dis, 2009 Jun;15(6):950-2.
PMID: 19523300 DOI: 10.3201/eid1506.080453

The 1999 outbreak of Nipah virus encephalitis in humans and pigs in Peninsular Malaysia ended with the evacuation of humans and culling of pigs in the epidemic area. Serologic screening showed that, in the absence of infected pigs, dogs were not a secondary reservoir for Nipah virus.
Development of the international orbital Cavernous Hemangioma Exclusively Endonasal Resection (CHEER) staging system

El Rassi E, Adappa ND, Battaglia P, Castelnuovo P, Dallan I, Freitag SK, et al.

Int Forum Allergy Rhinol, 2019 07;9(7):804-812.
PMID: 30809970 DOI: 10.1002/alr.22316

BACKGROUND: Orbital cavernous hemangiomas (OCH) are the most common adult orbital tumor and represent an ideal index lesion for endonasal orbital tumor surgery. In order to standardize outcomes reporting, an anatomic-based staging system was developed.
METHODS: An international, multidisciplinary panel of 23 experts in orbital tumor surgery was formed. A modified Delphi method was used to develop the cavernous hemangioma exclusively endonasal resection (CHEER) staging system with a total of 2 rounds being completed.
RESULTS: Tumors medial to a plane along the long axis of the optic nerve may be considered amenable for an exclusively endonasal resection. In select cases, tumors may extend inferolaterally if the tumor remains below a plane from the contralateral naris through the long axis of the optic nerve (ie, plane of resectability [POR]). This definition reached consensus with 91.3% of panelists in agreement. Five stages were designed based on increasing technical resection difficulty and potential for morbidity. Stages were based on the relationship of the tumor to the extraocular muscles, the inferomedial muscular trunk of the ophthalmic artery (IMT), and orbital foramina. Staging by anatomic location also reached consensus with 87.0% of panelists in agreement. Size was not included in the staging system due to the lack of agreement on the contribution of size to resection difficulty.
CONCLUSION: Endoscopic orbital tumor surgery is a nascent field with a growing, yet heterogeneous, body of literature. The CHEER staging system is designed to facilitate international, high-quality, standardized studies establishing the safety, efficacy, and outcomes of endonasal resection of OCH.
Orbital resection by intranasal technique (ORBIT): A new classification system for reporting endoscopically resectable primary benign orbital tumors

Jafari A, Adappa ND, Anagnos VJ, Campbell RG, Castelnuovo P, Chalian A, et al.

Int Forum Allergy Rhinol, 2023 Oct;13(10):1852-1863.
PMID: 36808854 DOI: 10.1002/alr.23141

BACKGROUND: The Cavernous Hemangioma Exclusively Endonasal Resection (CHEER) staging system has become the gold standard for outcomes reporting in endoscopic orbital surgery for orbital cavernous hemangiomas (OCHs). A recent systematic review demonstrated similar outcomes between OCHs and other primary benign orbital tumors (PBOTs). Therefore, we hypothesized that a simplified and more comprehensive classification system could be developed to predict surgical outcomes of other PBOTs.
METHODS: Patient and tumor characteristics as well as surgical outcomes from 11 international centers were recorded. All tumors were retrospectively assigned an Orbital Resection by Intranasal Technique (ORBIT) class and stratified based on surgical approach as either exclusively endoscopic or combined (endoscopic and open). Outcomes based on approach were compared using chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests. The Cochrane-Armitage test for trend was used to analyze outcomes by class.
RESULTS: Findings from 110 PBOTs from 110 patients (age 49.0 ± 15.0 years, 51.9% female) were included in the analysis. Higher ORBIT class was associated with a lower likelihood of gross total resection (GTR). GTR was more likely to be achieved when an exclusively endoscopic approach was utilized (p