Anti-cancer activity of three terminalia species and preliminary phytochemical

This study evaluated anticancer potential of three Terminalia species, Terminalia muelleri, Terminalia bellerica, and Terminalia laxiflora and also their phytochemical content were determined. Anticancer potential of the plant extracts was measured according to MTT assay. The results showed that T. muelleri methanolic extract was active against breast cancer cell line with IC50 40 µg/mL. T. bellerica methanolic extract exerted cytotoxic effects only against colon cancer and liver cancer cell lines with IC50 of 50 and 15µg/mL, respectively. While T. laxiflora methanolic extract did not inhibit the proliferation of all cancer cell lines tested. Phytochemical investigation of the three plant species proved the presence of carbohydrates, flavonoids, tannins, and triterpenes. The methanolic extracts of T. muelleri and T. bellerica had a significant anticancer activity and so further phytochemical study to isolate and identify the bioactive molecules responsible for the observed anticancer activity is necessary

A look at social exchange at work: a literature survey approach

Considering exchange relations at work, this research is directed to see the effects of exchange relations at work. An attempt had been made to see the flow of exchange from relation to organizational outcomes. In the process of inquiry an attempt had been made to peep into good amount of literature to have true picture. Literature is evident that there are three forms of exchange relations at work i.e. organizationalemployee exchange, supervisor-employee exchange relations and employee-employee exchange relation. On the basis of these findings future recommendations and suggestion have also been given

Determinants of default from tuberculosis treatment among tuberculosis patients at a hospital chest clinic in Gezira state, Sudan

Background: Default from tuberculosis (TB) treatment is a major health problem among tuberculosis patient. High rates of default are still reported all over the world, especially in Africa despite availability of effective TB treatment. This study aims to determine the determinants of default from TB treatment among tuberculosis patients at a hospital chest clinic in Gezira State, Sudan. Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study design involving newly diagnosed tuberculosis patients from 1st January 2014 to 30th June 2015. Data was collected from patients’ case file using pro-forma. Default from TB treatments refers to patient who had stopped taking anti-TB medication for a period of 2 consecutive months or more after being on anti-TB treatment. Data analysis used IBM SPSS version 22.0. Chi square test was performed to determine the association between default from TB treatment and socio-demographic factors, type of diagnosis, anatomical site of TB, TB treatment duration, follow-up sputum smear microscopy result, HIV/AIDS co-morbidity and type of referral. Binary logistic regression was conducted to identify the determinants of default from TB treatment. Result: The default rate was 15.0 % among TB patients. The determinants of default from TB treatment were age of the patients, TB site and TB treatment duration. Conclusion: The study revealed that the rate of default from TB treatment is high. Age of the TB patient, TB site and duration of treatment were determinants of default reflecting that reassurance of TB patients, health education in addition to shorter treatment regimens are important factors in preventing default from TB treatment

Predictors of adherence to antiretroviral therapy among human immunodeficiency virus patients in Jos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria

Introduction: Sustained optimal adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is required for long-term suppression of viral replication. However, adherence level in Jos, Nigeria has been reported to be below optimal adherence, thus this study investigates the predictors of adherence to antiretroviral therapy among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients there. Methods: A validated and pretested questionnaire was used in this cross-sectional study to collect data on sociodemographic characteristics, duration of being on ART, alcohol consumption, presence of symptoms, drug type and disclosure status from 224 randomly selected adult HIV patients. Chi-square and binary logistics regression were used for data analysis. Level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Only 14.3% of the respondents had optimal adherence. Adherence to ART is significantly associated with gender (p = 0.043), duration of ART use (p = 0.041), alcohol (p = 0.029), drug type (p = 0.001), and disclosure status (p = 0.004). Binary logistics regression reveals that females are 2.4 times more likely to have optimal adherence than males, patients on ART for over 10 years are 2.5 times more likely to have optimal adherence than those less than 10 years, and patients with disclosed HIV status are 3.3 times more likely to have optimal adherence than those who had not. Conclusion: Generally, the patients had suboptimal adherence. Being female, having longer duration on ART and disclosure status are predictors for optimal adherence. Intervention with emphasis on males and new patients on ART is recommended to educate on optimal adherence and motivate patients to disclose their status

A case control study on factors associated with leptospirosis infection among residents in flood-prone area, Kuantan: a geographical information system-based approach

Background: Leptospirosis, nicknamed "The Great Mimicker", is a zoonotic disease of public health importance, particularly in temperate climate such as Malaysia where seasonal floods occur. This study aims to determine factors associated with leptospirosis transmission such as sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, attitude and environmental risk factors such as temperature, rainfall, humidity, flood-risk area, distance from waste accumulation sites, land elevation and soil type, as well as predictors of leptospirosis transmission among residents in Kuantan, Pahang by using a Geographical Information System (GIS)-based approach. Materials and Methods: A population-based case-control study will be implemented in Kuantan, Pahang which utilizes 260 samples, where 130 confirmed cases of leptospirosis and 130 controls who will be randomly selected from neighbours living within 500 metre radius of the cases. A validated interviewer-guided questionnaire will be used to assess respondent's sociodemographic characteristics, leptospirosis status, knowledge, attitude and practice towards leptospirosis. Secondary data will be obtained from the respective departments. Data Analysis: Descriptive and inferential statistics will be used for data analysis. Knowledge, attitude, practice, and environmental risk factors such temperature, rainfall, humidity mean values, flood risk areas, distance from waste accumulation sites, soil type and land elevation will be mapped by using GIS. Finally, the predictors of leptospirosis will be determined by logistic regression. Expected Outcome: Due to the transmissibility of leptospirosis increases as the result of flooding, it is expected that the cumulative incidence of cases will come from the flood-prone areas in Kuantan. The majority of the cases could come from areas that have high risk of exposure to environmental factors such as high rainfall density, moderate temperature, high humidity, living in flood-risk areas, low land elevation, nearer to the waste accumulation sites, and moist soil type. It is also expected that even though the community might have heard of leptospirosis, the level of KAP might be low due to the increasing national incidence of the infection

Spatial distribution of knowledge, attitude and practice on leptospirosis prevention and its predictors using stratum risk identification methods among residents in a flood prone area in Kuantan, Pahang, Malaysia

Leptospirosis is a preventable zoonosis of public health importance. Due to seasonal floods and paucity of studies regarding leptospirosis preventive practices in community setting in this country, a study was conducted to determine spatial distribution of knowledge, attitude and practice on leptospirosis preventive practices using stratum risk identification methods among residents in a flood prone area in Kuantan via Geographical Information System (GIS). A cross-sectional study was conducted in Perkampungan Sungai Isap, Kuantan, Pahang, which obtained 568 respondents by stratified proportionate random sampling technique. Data were collected using a validated guided questionnaire. Geographical coordinates were obtained using Garmin gpsmap 62s. Multivariate logistic regression was done using SPSS version 22.0 and spatial mapping using ArcGIS version 9. The response rate was 83.4%. Flood-risk strata were divided into high risk (less than 500 metres), medium risk (500 to 1000 metres) and low risk (more than 1000 metres). Linear measurements were made using ArcMap. Overall, majority (68%) of the respondents had good knowledge. However, only 38% of the respondents had satisfactory attitude and 18% had satisfactory practice. Spatial mapping showed that the lower the stratum risk towards flooding, the poorer the preventive practices. Multivariate logistic regression showed the predictors of satisfactory leptospirosis preventive practices were high-risk stratum (aOR=4.28, 95% CI [1.92, 9.57], P < 0.001), good knowledge (aOR=1.73, 95% CI [1.04, 2.90], P < 0.05) and age group 30 to 39 (aOR=0.30, 95% CI [0.11, 0.83], P < 0.05). In conclusion, GIS is a valuable tool for leptospirosis surveillance by facilitating disease prevention programmes to targeted risk areas. © 2018, Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology

Biological monitoring of genotoxicity to organophosphate pesticide exposure among rice farmers: exposure-effect continuum study

Background: This study has used biomarker of exposure-effect continuum to examine the biological characteristics of organophosphate (OP) toxicity and its genotoxic effect among rice farmers. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 160 pesticide exposed rice farmers and 160 adults from the fishing village as the unexposed group. They share the common socio-economical background for inter-individual comparison in human toxicology assessment. In this study depression of blood cholinesterase is used as a biomarker of exposure to OP toxicity. Two genotoxic assays (micronuclei and comet assay) were conducted as a biomarker of genotoxic effect among the adult population. In this context, m icronuclei assay is used to indicate the chromosome breakage and comet assay to estimate the possible DNA damage. Results: The study showed a significant difference of blood cholinesterase level (p=0.001) between the exposed- unexposed groups. Besides, the results showed that farmers had at least 2-2.5 folds of significant increase (p=0.001) in MN frequency (in 1000 cells) and comet tail length (µm) compared to the unexposed group . In addition, regression analysis among farmers showed that blood cholinesterase level decreased with the genotoxic effects. A small variation (R2=0.148) of MN frequency could be explained by the depression of blood cholinesterase level; however, a significant reduction (p=0. 001), with strong changes (R2=0.712) in comet tail length was attributed to the depression of blood cholinesterase levels. Risk factors like age, body mass index, smoking status and year s of working showed the different strength of the relationship with these genotoxic effects. Conclusions: This study suggests that chronic exposure to OP shows an inhibition to blood cholinesterase level, which is associated with the potential DNA breakage as indicated by comet assay. Aqe, smoking and years of working are the contributing factors influencing the biomarker of effects

Knowledge on breast cancer and practice of breast self examination among selected female university students in Malaysia.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women in most parts of the world including Malaysia. Even though breast self examination (BSE) is not seen as a relevant cancer screening tool anymore, it still plays an important role in the breast health awareness programme. Aim of the study to determine the knowledge of respondents on breast cancer regarding the risk factors, symptoms, and to determine respondents’ practice of breast self-examination. A cross sectional study was carried out in University Putra Malaysia, data were collected using validated questionnaire developed for this study. Among respondents 197(83.1%) were single, 100 were Malay (42.3%) and 49(20.7%) of the respondents reported having a family history of breast cancer. eighty-seven respondents (36.7%) claimed they had practice BSE. There were statistically significant differences between those who practice and did not practice BSE in term of knowledge regarding risk factors, symptoms of breast cancer, total knowledge of breast cancer and knowledge score of BSE (p-value <0.05). The findings showed that knowledge of breast cancer and the practice of BSE is inadequate among young Malaysian female

Exploring cancer development in adulthood: cholinesterase depression and genotoxic effect from chronic exposure to organophosphate pesticides among rural farm children

Children are the vulnerable group in the agricultural community due to their early exposure to pesticides through the dynamic interplay between genetic predisposition, environment, and host-related factors. This study aims to identify the possible association between the depression in blood cholinesterase level and genotoxic effect among farm children. The results of micronuclei assay and comet assay showed that the reduced blood cholinesterase level from organophosphate pesticide exposure is significantly associated with an increase in chromosome breakage and DNA strand breaks. These genotoxicity end points suggest that farm children's cells experience early DNA damage that may lead to uncontrolled cell proliferation during their adulthood. Thus, farm children who grow up near pesticide-treated farmland have a higher probability of developing cancer than children with minimal or zero exposure to pesticides

Control of glycosylated hemoglobin (HBA1C) among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending an urban health clinic in Malaysia.

Diabetes mellitus is a public health problem and has become a concern to all levels of society. In Malaysia, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus had increased, from about 0.65% in early 1960s to 2 – 4% in 1980s and 14% in early 21st century. Studies had showed that glucose control is effective in preventing complications from diabetes mellitus. Level of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is an accepted indicator of glycaemic control. A cross- sectional study was carried out to determine the level of control of HbA1c among 307 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending the health clinic in Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur using validated structured questionnaires, while secondary data were obtained from patients’ medical reports. Response rate for this study was 89%. Majority of type 2 diabetes mellitus patients attending the health clinic in Bandar Tun Razak were Malays (79.5%), women (61.9%) and married (77.2%), and with secondary education (49.5%). The mean age of respondents was 56.9 ± 9.5 years, median Body Mass Index (BMI) was 28.5 (IQR: 6.0) and median HbA1c was 7.4% (IQR: 2.7). About three quarter of the type 2 diabetes mellitus patients studied had poor controlled level of HbA1c (≥6.5%). Age (p=0.047), blood pressure (systolic blood pressure p=0.049, and diastolic blood pressure p=0.011) and low density lipid level (p=0.039) had significant relationship with the level of HbA1c. Other risk factors studied had no significant relationship with the level of HbA1c. The study concluded that, there was poor glycaemic control among type 2 diabetes mellitus studied, this exposed them to complications of diabetes mellitus. It is recommended that health education activities, counselling and prevention activities are intensified and targeted to this group of patients