Prevalence of Strongyloidiasis in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review

Received 7 June 2018 Accepted 30 August 2018 Introduction Strongyloides stercoralis is an intestinal helminth that infects humans through contact with soil containing the larvae. Methods A systematic search was performed for relevant titles, abstract and keywords in database from Cochrane Library, PLOS One, PubMed and several other sources in October 2017 based on PICO strategy. Out of 511 papers that were evaluated for possible inclusion, final assessment for eligibility has yielded a total of 17 papers to be included which were found suitable for analysis covering period from 2012 till 2016. Results A major challenge of giving an overview of prevalence data for S. stercoralis lies in the low sensitivity of diagnostic method used which resulted in very low prevalence in certain countries. Cambodia and Laos presented with high prevalence ranging from 17.4% to 45.9% by using high sensitivity of diagnostic methods. The current prevalence situation of S. stercoralis in Southeast Asia still have wide gaps remains due to several reasons. Conclusions The information we have today only scratches the surface which cannot truly reflect the true burden of S. stercoralis in Southeast Asia The main risk factor is personal hygiene practices especially amongst males

Design and comparison of printed antennas using meander line technique

The interest for compact antennas in wireless communication increase due to the portability and mobility of the communication devices. Generally, an antenna at low frequency exhibits in large physical size. This project investigates the design of an antenna at 400 MHz. The simulation of the antenna has been performed using CST MWS. Since medical applications are dealing with low frequency, it will lead to large size of antenna which brings a challenge for wireless personal area network (WPAN). It is well known that the antenna performance decreases (according to Chu’s equation) as the size of antenna decreases. Therefore, antenna miniaturization using Meander Line (ML) will be taking place to overcome the challenges. Thus, this paper presents a comparison between i) printed dipole antenna without meander line technique, ii) printed dipole with meander line technique and iii) printed monopole antenna with meander line technique. The results show that an estimation of reduction size by 50% can be achieved using Meander Line technique

Prevalence of strongyloidiasis in Southeast Asia: a systematic review

Introduction Strongyloides stercoralis is an intestinal helminth that infects humans through contact with soil containing the larvae. Methods A systematic search was performed for relevant titles, abstract and keywords in database from Cochrane Library, PLOS One, PubMed and several other sources in October 2017 based on PICO strategy. Out of 511 papers that were evaluated for possible inclusion, final assessment for eligibility has yielded a total of 17 papers to be included which were found suitable for analysis covering period from 2012 till 2016. Results A major challenge of giving an overview of prevalence data for S. stercoralis lies in the low sensitivity of diagnostic method used which resulted in very low prevalence in certain countries. Cambodia and Laos presented with high prevalence ranging from 17.4% to 45.9% by using high sensitivity of diagnostic methods. The current prevalence situation of S. stercoralis in Southeast Asia still have wide gaps remains due to several reasons. Conclusions The information we have today only scratches the surface which cannot truly reflect the true burden of S. stercoralis in Southeast Asia The main risk factor is personal hygiene practices especially amongst males

Prevalence of Strongyloidiasis in Southeast Asia: A Systematic Review

Introduction: Strongyloides stercoralis is an intestinal helminth that infects humans through contact with soil containing the larvae. Methods: A systematic search was performed for relevant titles, abstract and keywords in database from Cochrane Library, PLOS One, PubMed and several other sources in October 2017 based on PICO strategy. Out of 511 papers that were evaluated for possible inclusion, final assessment for eligibility has yielded a total of 17 papers to be included which were found suitable for analysis covering period from 2012 till 2016. Results: A major challenge of giving an overview of prevalence data for S. stercoralis lies in the low sensitivity of diagnostic method used which resulted in very low prevalence in certain countries. Cambodia and Laos presented with high prevalence ranging from 17.4% to 45.9% by using high sensitivity of diagnostic methods. The current prevalence situation of S. stercoralis in Southeast Asia still have wide gaps remains due to several reasons. Conclusions: The information we have today only scratches the surface which cannot truly reflect the true burden of S. stercoralis in Southeast Asia The main risk factor is personal hygiene practices especially amongst males

Hybrid off-river augmentation system as an alternative raw water resource: the hydrogeochemistry of abandoned mining ponds

The use of water from abandoned mining ponds under a hybrid off-river augmentation system (HORAS) has been initiated as an alternative water resource for raw water. However, it raises the questions over the safety of the use of such waters. In this study, the hydrogeochemical analysis of the waters is presented to assess the degree to which the water has been contaminated. Comparisons were made between sampling sites, i.e. abandoned mining ponds, active sand mining ponds and the receiving streams within Bestari Jaya, Selangor River basin. The aqueous geochemistry analysis showed different hydrochemical signatures of major elements between sites, indicating different sources of minerals in the water. Discharges from the sand mining ponds were found to contain elevated availability of dissolved concentrations of iron, manganese, lead, copper and zinc, among others. However, the quality of the water (from the main river) that is supplied for potable water consumption is at a satisfactory level despite being partly sourced from the abandoned mining ponds. In fact, all the metal concentrations detected were well below the Malaysia Ministry of Health guideline limits for untreated raw water. In addition, the results of the geochemical index analysis (i.e. geoaccumulation index, enrichment factor and modified contamination factor) showed that the rivers and abandoned mining ponds were generally unpolluted with respect to the metals found in sediments

Preliminary Study of Skull Polymorphims of Tupaia glis in Peninsular Malaysia by using Morphoj

A Global geographic fragmentation has caused the diversity of animals and plants worldwide, mostly to the population of small mammals. In Malaysia, there a lot of natural barriers that can separate the population of small mammals including common treeshrew,Tupaia glis. In this studey, the polymorphism of ninety (90) Tupaia glis in Peninsular Malaysia is carried out by comparing the skulls of the species from different states by using Morphol analysis. This is carried out to know the landmark of the species and the shape changes

Design of small antennas for 400 MHz applications

In many wireless applications, antennas came with the majority of variable sizes. The interest for compact antennas in the industry have become high. Thus, the demand for small antenna is huge especially due to the booming industry of mobile communication. Generally, an antenna at low frequency exhibits in large physical size. This project investigates the design of an antenna at 400 MHz. The simulation of the antenna has been performed using CST MWS. Since medical applications are dealing with low frequency, it will lead to large size of antenna which brings a challenge for wireless personal area network (WPAN). Therefore, antenna miniaturization using Meander Line (ML) will be taking place to overcome the challenges. Thus, this paper presents a comparison between i) printed dipole antenna without meander line technique, ii) printed dipole with meander line technique and iii) printed monopole antenna with meander line technique. The results show that an estimation of reduction size by 50% can be achieved using Meander Line technique

Students’ and lecturers’ perception on the use of introductory engineering mathematics PutraMOOC

This paper presents the perceptions of lecturers and students on the use of the Introductory Engineering Mathematics PutraMOOC as a medium of learning and teaching for first year engineering students. The objectives of the study include respondents' perceptions of the characteristics of the PutraMOOC and its impact on the implementation of OBE. To measure the findings based on the respondents' experience on using the PutraMOOC, questionnaires which was also linked to students' scores, as well as interviews with lecturers were conducted. The results of this study show a positive impact and perception of the use of the PutraMOOC. However, based on the findings, there are also some improvements that need to be made in helping the effectiveness of the PutraMOOC in the future use