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The grossly enlarged or "Missing" sella

Wong WK

Med J Malaysia, 1975 Dec;30(2):139-48.
PMID: 1228380
Fulltext The metaphyseal sleeve: an unexplored option in the treatment of complex primary knee osteoarthritis

Wong WK, Chua HS

Knee Surg Relat Res, 2020 Apr 16;32(1):20.
PMID: 32660589 DOI: 10.1186/s43019-020-00032-9

BACKGROUND: In an ever-aging society that as a whole has become more affluent, significant emphasis has been accorded to an improved quality of life. Knee osteoarthritis is ever-increasingly treated with total knee arthroplasty. The benefits and satisfaction experienced by those who have undergone total knee replacements (TKR) are well documented in the literature. The issue arises when osteoarthritis of the affected knee is more complex than simple osteoarthritis, i.e. the patient has complex primary osteoarthritis. This collective term encompasses conditions such as massive bone loss, ligamentous laxity, coronal defects and those with contractures. There are various classifications to describe massive bone loss but we utilized the Anderson Orthopaedic Research Institute (AORI) classification. Numerous treatment options are available and we report the use of metaphyseal sleeves as a highly successful treatment option.
METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed all the patients at our centre who underwent primary TKR using the metaphyseal sleeves. Patients were assessed on symptoms and functional status, and radiographs were also taken to assess for osseointegration. Only patients who completed 2 years of follow up were included in our study.
RESULTS: The updated (2011) Knee Society Score (KSS) was used in conjunction with radiological assessments at each follow up. Mean KSS scores improved from 53.83 preoperatively to 193.39 postoperatively. All patients demonstrated increasing osseointegration throughout follow up.
CONCLUSION: The metaphyseal sleeve is an excellent treatment option for complex primary osteoarthritic knees with good results objectively, functionally and radiologically and would be a great choice for all orthopaedic surgeons to include in their armamentarium.
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Global Perspective

Wong WK, Chan WK

Clin Ther, 2021 03;43(3):473-499.
PMID: 33526312 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2021.01.007

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been increasing over the years and is now as high in Asia as in the Western world, so much so that it should no longer be considered a Western disease. In fact, China is expected to have the largest increase in the number of NAFLD cases in the coming years. The increase in prevalence of NAFLD in Asia lags behind that of the Western world; thus, there will be a lag in more severe liver disease in Asia despite a similar prevalence of the disease. NAFLD is more prevalent among patients with diabetes mellitus, which is also an important risk factor for more severe liver disease. Patients with diabetes mellitus thus represent an important target for screening for NAFLD and more severe liver disease. Although the PNPLA3 gene polymorphism is the most studied in NAFLD, it is increasingly clear that the cumulative effect of multiple genes likely predisposes to NAFLD and more severe liver disease in the different ethnic groups, and polygenic risk scores are emerging. Lean NAFLD has been largely reported in Asia but is increasingly recognized worldwide. Multiple risk factors have been identified for the disease that manifests in metabolically unhealthy normal weight individuals; however, it responds to lifestyle intervention, similar to the disease in obese individuals. Lastly, the newer term "metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease" provides a more accurate reflection of the disease, giving more focus to clinicians and researchers in tackling this increasingly common and challenging disease.
Fulltext Atypical pneumonia due to Chlamydia pneumoniae: a case report

Cheong YM, Wong WK, Ngeow YF

Singapore Med J, 1993 Aug;34(4):352-3.
PMID: 8266214

A first case of Chlamydia pneumoniae pneumonia in Malaysia is reported. The diagnosis was made by a significant change in C. pneumoniae antibody titre. The infection responded well to a course of erythromycin.
Paraneoplastic relapsing minimal change disease associated with type A thymoma in an elderly patient: A case report and literature review

Ngoh CLY, Goh GHS, Wong WK

Med J Malaysia, 2019 02;74(1):97-98.
PMID: 30846674

Thymoma is a rare mediastinal tumour that can be accompanied by different paraneoplastic syndromes. Here we report a case of Type A thymoma associated with relapsing minimal change disease (MCD). This case highlights: (1) The need to balance rapid prednisolone weaning against risk for relapse in an elderly patient at risk for steroid-induced complications. (2) The addition of calcineurin inhibitor in relapsed thymoma-related MCD, to achieve steroid sparing effects. Resection of the offending tumour and prompt immunosuppressive therapy are critical in getting best renal and overall outcomes in this rare entity.
Fulltext Seroprevalence of anti-amoebic antibody among blood donors by indirect hemeagglutination assay

Zeehaida M, Zairi NZ, Tan ZN, Wong WK, Lim BH

Trop Biomed, 2009 Dec;26(3):366-8.
PMID: 20237453

The screening for anti-amoebic antibody among a group of donors was to obtain negative control serum samples for an on-going antigen development assay in diagnosis of amoebic liver abscess. Out of 200 samples, 125 (62.5%) were negative, whereas 44 (21.5%) had IHA titer of less than 1:128 and 31 (16.0%) of the samples had significant IHA titers of 1:128 or more, in which 2 serum samples gave titers of 1:4096.
Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and advanced liver fibrosis among hemodialysis patients in a multiethnic urban population in Malaysia

Wong WK, Chan WK, Ganapathy SS, Lim SK

Semin Dial, 2023 Mar;36(2):107-116.
PMID: 35821201 DOI: 10.1111/sdi.13117

BACKGROUND: Metabolic-dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and end stage kidney disease (ESKD) are complications of the metabolic syndrome. Our aim is to study the prevalence of MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis and the associated factors among hemodialysis patients in a multiracial urban population in Malaysia.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study of hemodialysis patients from 10 hemodialysis centers was used. FibroTouch examination was performed on all patients. Fatty liver was diagnosed based on ultrasound attenuation parameter ≥248 dB/m while advanced liver fibrosis was diagnosed based on liver stiffness measurement ≥10 kPa.
RESULTS: This study included 447 hemodialysis patients (median age 59 [50-67], male 55%, Chinese 61%, Malay 20%, Indian 18%). Dialysis vintage was 49 (22-93) months. The prevalence of MAFLD was 43.4%. Independent factors associated with MAFLD were elevated waist circumference (aOR = 10.1, 95% CI = 5.3-19.4, p
Is metabolic-dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease or advanced liver fibrosis associated with erythropoietin stimulating agent hypo-responsiveness among patients with end-stage kidney disease on haemodialysis?

Wong WK, Chan WK, Ganapathy S, Lim SK

Nephrology (Carlton), 2023 Aug;28(8):425-433.
PMID: 37269220 DOI: 10.1111/nep.14186

AIM: This study aims to determine if metabolic-dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) or advanced liver fibrosis is associated with erythropoietin stimulating agent (ESA) hypo-responsiveness in hemodialysis patients.
METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 379 hemodialysis patients, FibroTouch transient elastography was performed on all patients. Erythropoeitin resistance index (ERI) was used to measure the responsiveness to ESA. Patients in the highest tertile of ERI were considered as having ESA hypo-responsiveness.
RESULTS: The percentage of patients with ESA hypo-responsiveness who had MAFLD was lower than patients without ESA hypo-responsiveness. FIB-4 index was significantly higher in ESA hypo-responsive patients. In multivariate analysis, female gender (aOR = 3.4, 95% CI = 1.9-6.2, p < 0.001), dialysis duration ≥50 months (aOR = 1.8, 95% CI = 1.1-2.9, p < 0.05), elevated waist circumference (aOR = 0.4, 95% CI = 0.2-0.8, p = 0.005), low platelet (aOR = 2.6, 95% CI 1.3-5.1, p < 0.01), elevated total cholesterol (aOR = 0.5, 95% CI 0.3-0.9, p < 0.05) and low serum iron (aOR = 3.8, 95% CI = 2.3-6.5, p < 0.001) were found to be independent factors associated with ESA hypo-responsiveness. Neither MAFLD nor advanced liver fibrosis was independently associated with ESA hypo-responsiveness. However, every 1 kPA increase in LSM increased the chance of ESA-hyporesponsiveness by 13% (aOR = 1.1, 95% CI = 1.0-1.2, p = 0.002) when UAP and LSM were used instead of presence of MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis, respectively.
CONCLUSION: MAFLD and advanced liver fibrosis were not independently associated with ESA hypo-responsiveness. Nevertheless, higher FIB-4 score in ESA hypo-responsive group and significant association between LSM and ESA hypo-responsiveness suggest that liver fibrosis may be a potential clinical marker of ESA hypo-responsiveness.
Fulltext Unlocking the secrets of exchange rate determination in Malaysia: A Game-Changing hybrid model

Butt S, Ramzan M, Wong WK, Chohan MA, Ramakrishnan S

Heliyon, 2023 Aug;9(8):e19140.
PMID: 37636448 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e19140

Nominal exchange rate determination is a puzzling phenomenon throughout the literature. Thus, the study aims to analyze the nominal exchange rate determination with a hybrid approach of macroeconomic and microstructure determinants, i.e., interest rate differential, oil price, order flow, and bid-ask spread over the long- and short-run horizons in the context of Malaysia. The dataset consists of high-frequency daily data from 2010 to 2017, employing a nonlinear ARDL approach. The results indicate that the bid-ask spread and interest rate differential were found to be key determinants of exchange rate dynamics in the long and short run. The findings show strong evidence of long-run asymmetry in the interest rate differential, while short-run asymmetry effects exist between microstructure determinants and the exchange rate. In addition, it indicates that the bid-ask spread holds informative content to explain the dynamics of the exchange rate in Malaysia. Additionally, the negative changes in the oil price could potentially act as macroeconomic news announcements and the bid-ask spread as liquidity determinants in Malaysia, which play a significant role in exchange rate determination. The study concluded that the prominent short-run asymmetry effects captured in cumulative order flow and bid-ask spread While a long-run asymmetry exists between the oil price and exchange rate in Malaysia. The empirical results allow for long-run and short-run asymmetric pricing impacts of a hybrid approach on the nominal exchange rate in Malaysia. This study is helpful in providing policy direction and practical implications for monetary authorities and market dealers. The bid-ask spread and oil price could be considered influential exchange rate determinants in the short run in Malaysia.
Fulltext One- and Five-Ringgit Malaysia banknotes reader with counterfeit detection for visually impaired person using backlight mechanism and image processing techniques

Salem TK, Wong WK, Min TS, Wong EK

F1000Res, 2021;10:1098.
PMID: 38618192 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.58446.2

Visually impaired persons face challenges in running business activities, especially in handling banknotes. Malaysia researchers had proposed some Ringgit banknotes recognition systems to aid visually impaired persons recognize and classify Ringgit banknotes. However, these electronic banknote readers can only recognize Malaysian Banknotes' Ringgit value, they have no counterfeit detection features. The purpose of this study is to develop a banknote reader that not only can help visually impaired persons recognize the banknote value, but also to detect the counterfeit of the banknote, safeguarding their losses. This paper proposed a Malaysian banknote reader using backlight mechanism and image processing techniques to read and detect counterfeit for one Ringgit and five Ringgit Malaysian banknotes. The developed handheld banknote reader used visual type sensor to capture banknote image, passed to raspberry pi controller to perform image processing on banknote value and the extracted watermarks features. The developed image processing algorithm will trace out the region of interests: 1)see-thru windows, 2)Crescent and Star, 3)Perfect see though register and detect the watermarks features accordingly. The processed result will be passed back to the handheld banknote reader and broadcast on an attached mini speaker to aid the visually impaired understand the holding banknote, whether it is a real one Ringgit, real five Ringgit or none of them. The experimental result shown by this approach able to accomplish numerous round of banknote reading attempts with successful outcomes. Confusion matrix is further employed to study the performance of the banknote reader, in terms of true positive, true negative, false positive and false negative. Details analysis had been focused on the critical false positive cases (predicted real banknote and actually is fake banknote) and false negative cases (predicted fake banknote and it is actually real banknote).
Comparison of protein-free defined media, and effect of L-cysteine and ascorbic acid supplementation on viability of axenic Entamoeba histolytica

Wong WK, Tan ZN, Lim BH, Mohamed Z, Olivos-Garcia A, Noordin R

Parasitol Res, 2011 Feb;108(2):425-30.
PMID: 20922423 DOI: 10.1007/s00436-010-2083-8

Entamoeba histolytica is the etiologic agent for amoebiasis. The excretory-secretory (ES) products of the trophozoites contain virulence factors and antigens useful for diagnostic applications. Contaminants from serum supplements and dead trophozoites impede analysis of ES. Therefore, a protein-free medium that can sustain maximum viability of E. histolytica trophozoites for the longest time duration will enable collection of contaminant-free and higher yield of ES products. In the present study, we compared the efficacy of four types of media in maintaining ≥ 95% trophozoite viability namely Roswell Memorial Park Institute (RPMI-1640), Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium (DMEM), phosphate-buffered saline for amoeba (PBS-A), and Hank's balanced salt solution (HBSS). Concurrently, the effect of adding L: -cysteine and ascorbic acid (C&A) to each medium on the parasite viability was also compared. DMEM and RPMI 1640 showed higher viabilities as compared to PBS-A and HBSS. Only RPMI 1640 showed no statistical difference with the control medium for the first 4 h, however the ≥ 95% viability was only maintained for the first 2 h. The other protein-free media showed differences from the serum- and vitamin-free TYI-S-33 control media even after 1 h of incubation. When supplemented with C&A, all media were found to sustain higher trophozoite viabilities than those without the supplements. HBSS-C&A, DMEM-C&A, and RPMI 1640-C&A demonstrated no difference (P>0.05) in parasite viabilities when compared with the control medium throughout the 8-h incubation period. DMEM-C&A showed an eightfold increment in time duration of sustaining ≥ 95% parasite viability, i.e. 8 h, as compared to DMEM alone. Both RPMI 1640-C&A and HBSS-C&A revealed fourfold and threefold increments (i.e., 8 and 6 h, respectively), whereas PBS-A-C&A showed only one fold improvement (i.e., 2 h) as compared to the respective media without C&A. Thus, C&A-supplemented DMEM or RPMI are recommended for collection of ES products.
Usefulness of paired samples for the Serodiagnosis of toxoplasmosis infection in a tertiary teaching Hospital in Malaysia

Thangarajah P, Hajissa K, Wong WK, Abdullah MA, Ismail N, Mohamed Z

BMC Infect Dis, 2019 Feb 28;19(1):202.
PMID: 30819141 DOI: 10.1186/s12879-019-3830-9

BACKGROUND: Accurate diagnosis of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection remains elusive and requires a comprehensive assessment through laboratory and clinical investigation. In this study, a diagnostic algorithm based on paired serum samples and clinical data was developed and evaluated.
METHODS: A total of 1267 suspected cases of Toxoplasma infection were enrolled in this study from January 2016 to December 2016. The cases were screened for anti-Toxoplasma IgM and IgG by electrochemiluminiscence immunoassay (ECLIA) method. Based on the serological profiles, all cases with first seropositive serum samples were considered as suggestive cases of Toxoplasma infection. Thus, second serum samples were obtained after an interval of 2 weeks. The diagnosis was made based on laboratory results and clinical data.
RESULTS: A total of 482 T. gondii seroreactive cases were selected. The patient's records were traced and the data were analysed. Accordingly, 152 cases were diagnosed as clinically confirmed cases; 198 cases were clinically asymptomatic and 132 cases were newborn babies or infants who did not have toxoplasmosis and only acquired passive immunity from their mothers. The paired serum algorithm allowed classifying the seroreactive cases as follows: early (0.6%), acute (1.9%), reactivation (13.5%), recent (1.5%), passive immunity from mother (27.3%) and possible congenital infections (1.2%). In addition, cases of reactivated toxoplasmosis were detected among the pregnant mothers (13/82; 15.8%), children aged above 1 year (2/8; 25.0%) and immunocompetent mothers (5/135; 3.7%). Furthermore, the application of the paired serum analysis resulted in remarkably improved treatment initiation.
CONCLUSIONS: Toxoplasmosis diagnosis and treatment can be improved through the use of paired serum diagnostic algorithm.
Fulltext Antioxidant-rich Clove Extract, A Strong Antimicrobial Agent against Urinary Tract Infections-causing Bacteria in vitro

Rosarior VL, Lim PS, Wong WK, Yue CS, Yam HC, Tan SA

Trop Life Sci Res, 2021 Jun;32(2):45-63.
PMID: 34367514 DOI: 10.21315/tlsr2021.32.2.4

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is an exotic culinary spice that has been used for centuries due to its known antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. The main aim of this study is to compare the antimicrobial activity and antioxidant capacity of clove ethanolic extract (CEE) and commercial clove essential oil (CEO) at a standardised eugenol content. Disk diffusion assay showed that CEE (2000 μg) was able to exhibit broad-spectrum inhibition against both Gram negative and Gram positive Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)-causing pathogens: Proteus mirabilis (19.7 ± 0.6 mm) > Staphylococcus epidermidis (18 mm) > Staphylococcus aureus (14.7 ± 0.6 mm) > Escherichia coli (12.7 ± 0.6 mm) > Klebsiella pneumoniae (12.3 ± 0.6 mm) (according to the size of inhibition zone). Interestingly, the comparison between CEE and commercial CEO revealed that the former demonstrated stronger antimicrobial and antioxidative properties at similar eugenol concentration. The EC50 of DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl), ABTS (2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) and reducing power assay for CEE were determined as 0.037 mg/mL, 0.68 mg/mL and 0.44 mg/mL, respectively. Besides eugenol, High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analyses identified the presence of kaempferol, gallic acid and catechin in CEE. As a conclusion, we concluded that there was a possible synergistic effect between eugenol and the others active compounds especially kaempferol which led to the observed bioactivities in CEE.
Development of a thermostabilized, one-step, nested, tetraplex PCR assay for simultaneous identification and differentiation of Entamoeba species, Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar from stool samples

Foo PC, Chan YY, See Too WC, Tan ZN, Wong WK, Lalitha P, et al.

J Med Microbiol, 2012 Sep;61(Pt 9):1219-1225.
PMID: 22556327 DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.044552-0

Entamoeba histolytica is the only Entamoeba species that causes amoebiasis in humans. Approximately 50 million people are infected, with 100, 000 deaths annually in endemic countries. Molecular diagnosis of Entamoeba histolytica is important to differentiate it from the morphologically identical Entamoeba dispar to avoid unnecessary medication. Conventional molecular diagnostic tests require trained personnel, cold-chain transportation and/or are storage-dependent, which make them user-unfriendly. The aim of this study was to develop a thermostabilized, one-step, nested, tetraplex PCR assay for the detection of Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba dispar and Entamoeba species in cold-chain-free and ready-to-use form. The PCR test was designed based on the Entamoeba small subunit rRNA (SSU-rRNA) gene, which detects the presence of any Entamoeba species, and simultaneously can be used to differentiate Entamoeba histolytica from Entamoeba dispar. In addition, a pair of primers was designed to serve as an internal amplification control to help identify inhibitors in the samples. All PCR reagents together with the designed primers were thermostabilized by lyophilization and were stable at 24 °C for at least 6 months. The limit of detection of the tetraplex PCR was found to be 39 pg DNA or 1000 cells for Entamoeba histolytica and 78 pg DNA or 1000 cells for Entamoeba dispar, and the specificity was 100 %. In conclusion, this cold-chain-free, thermostabilized, one-step, nested, multiplex PCR assay was found to be efficacious in differentiating Entamoeba histolytica from other non-pathogenic Entamoeba species.
Fulltext Efficacies of two in-house indirect ELISAs for diagnosis of amoebic liver abscess

Tan ZN, Wong WK, Noordin R, Zeehaida M, Olivos GA, Lim BH

Trop Biomed, 2013 Jun;30(2):250-6.
PMID: 23959490 MyJurnal

Entamoeba histolytica causes amoebic diarrhoea, colitis and liver abscess (ALA). Diagnosis of ALA is difficult, as most patients do not have simultaneous intestinal amoebic infection. At Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM), diagnosis of ALA relies on a combination of clinical findings, ultrasound examination of the liver and serodiagnosis using a commercial kit. In this study, two in-house indirect ELISAs were developed and evaluated. One of the in-house assays utilises E. histolytica crude soluble antigen (CSA) to detect serum IgG specific to the parasite whereas the other uses E. histolytica ether extract antigen (EEA). Preparation of CSA requires a sonicator to lyse the amoeba whereas EEA was prepared by chemically solubilizing the trophozoites. Based on the cut-off value of mean optical density + 3SD, CSA-ELISA showed 100% (24/24) sensitivity and 93.33% (210/225) specificity; while EEA-ELISA showed 91.67% (22/24) sensitivity and 95.11% (214/225) specificity. In conclusion, both the in-house indirect ELISAs were found to be efficacious for diagnosis of ALA; and the EEA is easier to prepare than the commonly used CSA.
Fulltext Helminthic Infection and Nutritional Studies among Orang Asli Children in Sekolah Kebangsaan Pos Legap, Perak

Wong WK, Foo PC, Roze MN, Pim CD, Subramaniam P, Lim BH

Can J Infect Dis Med Microbiol, 2016;2016:1326085.
PMID: 27366156 DOI: 10.1155/2016/1326085

Background. Orang Asli (aborigine) children are susceptible to soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections due to their lifestyle and substandard sanitation system. Objectives. This study aimed to examine the helminthic and nutritional status of Orang Asli school children in Sekolah Kebangsaan Pos Legap, a remote primary school at Kuala Kangsar District in the state of Perak, Malaysia. In addition, the sensitivities of four STH stool examination techniques were also compared. Methods. Demography and anthropometry data were collected by one-to-one interview session. Collected stools were examined with four microscopy techniques, namely, direct wet mount, formalin ether concentration (FEC), Kato-Katz (KK), and Parasep™. Results. Anthropometry analysis showed that 78% (26/33) of children in SK Pos Legap were malnourished and 33% (11/33) of them were stunted. Stool examinations revealed almost all children (97%) were infected by either one of the three commonest STHs. FEC was the most sensitive method in detection of the three helminth species. Conclusion. This study revealed that STH infections and nutritional status still remain a health concern among the Orang Asli children. These communal problems could be effectively controlled by regular monitoring of STH infection loads, administration of effective antihelminthic drug regimen, and also implementation of effective school nutritional programs.
Development of a thermostabilised triplex LAMP assay with dry-reagent four target lateral flow dipstick for detection of Entamoeba histolytica and non-pathogenic Entamoeba spp

Foo PC, Chan YY, Mohamed M, Wong WK, Nurul Najian AB, Lim BH

Anal Chim Acta, 2017 May 08;966:71-80.
PMID: 28372729 DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2017.02.019

This study highlighted the development of a four target nitrocellulose-based nucleic acid lateral flow immunoassay biosensor in a dry-reagent strip format for interpretation of double-labelled double-stranded amplicons from thermostabilised triplex loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay. The DNA biosensor contained two test lines which captured biotin and texas red labelled amplicons; a LAMP internal amplification control line that captured digoxigenin labelled amplicon; and a chromatography control line that validated the functionality of the conjugated gold nanoparticles and membrane. The red lines on detection pad were generated when the gold nanoparticles conjugated antibody bound to the fluorescein labelled amplicons, and the capture agents bound to their specific hapten on the other 5' end of the double-stranded amplicon. The applicability of this DNA biosensor was demonstrated using amoebiasis-causing Entamoeba histolytica simultaneously with the non-pathogenic but morphologically identical Entamoeba dispar and Entamoeba moshkovskii. The biosensor detection limit was 10 E. histolytica trophozoites, and revealed 100% specificity when it was evaluated against 3 medically important Entamoeba species and 75 other pathogenic microorganisms. Heat stability test showed that the biosensor was stable for at least 181 days at ambient temperature. This ready-to-use and cold-chain-free biosensor facilitated the post-LAMP analysis based on visualisation of lines on strip instead of observation of amplicon patterns in agarose gel.
Fulltext Discovery of Eurytrema Eggs in Sediment from a Colonial Period Latrine in Taiwan

Yeh HY, Cheng CJ, Huang C, Zhan X, Wong WK, Mitchell PD

Korean J Parasitol, 2019 Dec;57(6):595-599.
PMID: 31914510 DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2019.57.6.595

In this study we take a closer look at the diseases that afflicted Japanese police officers who were stationed in a remote mountainous region of Taiwan from 1921 to 1944. Samples were taken from the latrine at the Huabanuo police outpost, and analyzed for the eggs of intestinal parasites, using microscopy and ELISA. The eggs of Eurytrema sp., (possibly E. pancreaticum), whipworm and roundworm were shown to be present. True infection with Eurytrema would indicate that the policemen ate uncooked grasshoppers and crickets infected with the parasite. However, false parasitism might also occur if the policemen ate the uncooked intestines of infected cattle, and the Eurytrema eggs passed through the human intestines. These findings provide an insight into the diet and health of the Japanese colonists in Taiwan nearly a century ago.
High seroprevalence of anti-Fasciola antibody among cattle farm workers and dwellers in Kelantan

Najib MA, Noor-Izani NJ, Wan-Nor-Amilah WAW, Wong WK, Faez AM

Trop Biomed, 2020 Jun 01;37(2):389-396.
PMID: 33612808

Human fascioliasis is a public health problem particularly in areas where ruminants are raised. The aims of this study were to determine the seroprevalence of anti-Fasciola antibody and the associated risk factors among cattle farm workers and dwellers in Kelantan. A total of 90 blood samples were collected in this cross-sectional study. A set of validated questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic profiles and dietary habits of participants. The sera were subjected to enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of anti-Fasciola IgG antibody. The association between seropositivity and the significant risk factors were determined via logistic regression. From the result, serological screening revealed 60 (67%) participants positive for anti-Fasciola IgG antibody. The factors found to be significantly associated with seropositivity against anti-Fasciola IgG antibody were the age group of 18 years old and above with calculated odds ratio of 3.2 times (p=0.032) and the duration of farming activities of more than 5 years with calculated odds ratio of 2.6 times (p=0.036). In conclusion, Fasciola infection is prevalent among cattle farm workers and dwellers in Kelantan.
Fulltext Do oil, gold and metallic price volatilities prove gold as a safe haven during COVID-19 pandemic? Novel evidence from COVID-19 data

Cui M, Wong WK, Wisetsri W, Mabrouk F, Muda I, Li Z, et al.

Resour Policy, 2023 Jan;80:103133.
PMID: 36438678 DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2022.103133

The spreading COVID-19 outbreak has wreaked havoc on the world's financial system that raises an urgent need for the re-evaluation of the gold as safe haven for their money because of the unprecedented challenges faced by markets during this period. Therefore, the current study investigates whether different asset class volatility indices affect desirability of gold as a safe-haven commodity during COVID-19 pandemic. Long run and the short run relationship of gold prices with gold price volatility, oil price volatility, silver price volatility and COVID-19 (measured by the number of deaths due to COVID) has been analyzed in the current study by applying ARDL Bound testing cointegration and non linear ARDL approach on daily time series data ranging from January 2020 to Dec 2021. Findings of the study suggest that in the long run, oil price volatility and gold price volatility positively affect the gold prices, whereas the effect of silver price volatility on gold prices is negative in the long run. However in the short run, all the three indices negatively impact the gold prices. In contrast, the impact of COVID-19 is positive both in the short run and in the long run that proves the validity of gold as safe haven asset in the time of the deadly pandemic. The findings of this study have significant implications and offer investors with some indications to hedge their investments by considering the gold's ability of safe haven during this era of pandemic.

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