The effect of educational video intervention on the knowledge of folic acid supplementation among International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) female undergraduates

Knowledge regarding folic acid supplementation remains unsatisfactory among women of child-bearing age in Malaysia. Despite official recommendations to begin supplementation prior to conception to prevent Neural Tube Defects (NTD), many women remain unaware until the first antenatal check-up, losing the crucial time window of prevention. Educational videos could be a promising tool to address this issue. The objective of this pilot study was to assess the effectiveness of an educational video in increasing knowledge regarding folic acid supplementation among IIUM female undergraduates. This pilot intervention study was carried out in the IIUM Kuantan campus. IIUM female undergraduates (n=31) were recruited through convenient sampling. Inclusion criteria included being actively enrolled and of childbearing age. Participants were excluded if they were under the age of 18, married, pregnant, or have had experience of pregnancy. The educational video developed for the study was content validated by 6 experts (CVI > 0.83). Participants were first requested to complete a questionnaire to assess baseline knowledge, after which they were shown the educational video. Participants were then requested to complete the same questionnaire one week later to observe changes in knowledge scores post-intervention. Data was analysed in SPSS Version 12.0.1 using descriptive analysis, ANOVA, and Paired t-test (p<0.05). Mean baseline knowledge was found to be poor. Participants’ main source of knowledge was found to be the internet, and no significant difference was found in baseline knowledge between different study backgrounds. The mean knowledge scores significantly increased from 6.61 preintervention to 12.77 post-intervention (p<0.001). The educational video was found to be effective in increasing knowledge regarding folic acid supplementation among IIUM female undergraduates. Our findings point towards the need for intervention among this demography and greater investment in public education regarding folic acid supplementation through online video platforms

Inflammatory Bowel Disease

This book is dedicated to inflammatory bowel disease, and the authors discuss the advances in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease, as well as several new parameters involved in the etiopathogeny of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, such as intestinal barrier dysfunction and the roles of TH 17 cells and IL 17 in the immune response in inflammatory bowel disease. The book also focuses on several relevant clinical points, such as pregnancy during inflammatory bowel disease and the health-related quality of life as an end point of the different treatments of the diseases. Finally, advances in management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease are discussed, especially in a complete review of the recent literature

Dyspepsia

This textbook is specifically written for clinicians involved in managing patients with dyspepsia. It is a practical guide with up-to-date suggestions on evaluation, diagnosis, and management from experts from around the world. Each chapter is a succinct review of current topics that play a role in the pathogenesis and management of this disorder. Special populations such as pediatrics, those with cardiovascular disease and womens health are specifically examined

Drug Delivery Technology Development in Canada

Canada continues to have a rich history of ground-breaking research in drug delivery within academic institutions, pharmaceutical industry and the biotechnology community

Incorporating standardised drift-tube ion mobility to enhance non-targeted assessment of the wine metabolome (LC×IM-MS)

Liquid chromatography with drift-tube ion mobility spectrometry-mass spectrometry (LCxIM-MS) is emerging as a powerful addition to existing LC-MS workflows for addressing a diverse range of metabolomics-related questions [1,2]. Importantly, excellent precision under repeatability and reproducibility conditions of drift-tube IM separations [3] supports the development of non-targeted approaches for complex metabolome assessment such as wine characterisation [4]. In this work, fundamentals of this new analytical metabolomics approach are introduced and application to the analysis of 90 authentic red and white wine samples originating from Macedonia is presented. Following measurements, intersample alignment of metabolites using non-targeted extraction and three-dimensional alignment of molecular features (retention time, collision cross section, and high-resolution mass spectra) provides confidence for metabolite identity confirmation. Applying a fingerprinting metabolomics workflow allows statistical assessment of the influence of geographic region, variety, and age. This approach is a state-of-the-art tool to assess wine chemodiversity and is particularly beneficial for the discovery of wine biomarkers and establishing product authenticity based on development of fingerprint libraries

Paediatric Formulation: Design and Development

The development of paediatric medicines can be challenging since this is a different patient population with specific needs. A medicine designed for use in paediatric patients must consider the following aspects: patient population variability; the need for dose flexibility; route of administration; patient compliance; excipient tolerability. For example, the toxicity of excipients may differ in children compared to adults and children have different taste preferences. Globally, about 75% of drugs do not carry regulatory approval for use in children; worldwide, many medications prescribed for the treatment of paediatric diseases are used off-label, and less than 20% of package inserts have sufficient information for treating children. This book provides an update on both state-of-the-art methodology and operational challenges in paediatric formulation design and development. It aims at re-evaluating what is needed for more progress in the design and development of age-appropriate treatments for paediatric diseases, focusing on: formulation development; drug delivery design; efficacy, safety, and tolerability of drugs and excipients