Knowledge about Aedes mosquitoes, dengue fever and zika virus among primary school students in the dengue cluster areas of Hulu Langat, Selangor

In Malaysia, dengue fever is a common vector-borne disease. Most cases of dengue fever are reported in residential areas. Children are at high risk to be infected because they spend a lot of time around their housing area for outdoor activities. Such areas may have a high number of Aedes mosquitoes. As schools are equipped with infrastructure and medium for effective educational purposes, schools represent the most suitable facilities for learning and teaching process. A crosssectional study was conducted to determine the level of knowledge among students in Hulu Langat on Aedes mosquitoes, dengue fever, and Zika virus. The study also reported on the demographic factors which affected the knowledge level. Based on sample size calculation using G*Power v3.1 software, a total of 171 respondents were needed from the two primary schools involved in the study. Data collection was conducted using a pre-tested questionnaire that consisted of two main sections on demography and knowledge about Aedes mosquitoes, dengue fever and Zika virus. From the total score of 55, the mean knowledge score is 34.2 ± 8.38. Based on the median value of 36.0, about 50.9% of respondents had satisfactory knowledge. From the study, it was found that students from School A, students who had been watching video related to Aedes mosquito, and those with history of dengue infection among family members had a significantly better knowledge score (p < 0.01). In conclusion, knowledge about Aedes mosquitoes and related illnesses need to be enhanced through a comprehensive module and effective educational materials that can serve as a reliable source of i nformation for primary school students

The association of parent education and family monthly income on Intelligence Quotient (IQ) among students with special needs in Kelantan, Malaysia

This paper investigate the effect of parents’ education background and family monthly income on the Intelligence Quotient (IQ) of students with special needs in Kelantan, Malaysia. This cross-sectional method study was employed multistage random sampling to obtain information drawn from 130 participants from 10 selected school in Kelantan, Malaysia. Questionnaire was used to obtain parents’ education background, family monthly income and demographic variables. Students IQ were assessed using Comprehensive Test for Non-Verbal Intelligence (CTONI 2nd Edition). Data analysis involve independent sample t-test, one-way between group ANOVA, Pearson’s correlation and multiple linear regression. From analysis of IQ score, 63.8% of the special needs students scored very poor IQ, 12.3% scored below average and only 1.5% score average IQ. Significant mean difference were revealed between age group (p = 0.002), parents’ education (p = 0.018) and family monthly income (p < 0.05) on special needs students IQ. Post-hoc tukey shows significance between parents who never went to school, went to secondary school (p = 0.037) and university/college (p = 0.021). In term of family monthly income, significance difference were found between family with low and high monthly income (p < 0.05). Family monthly income (r = 0.393, p < 0.01) showed positive moderate correlation on special needs students IQ. After being forwarded by multiple linear regression, it was found that family monthly income (B = 3.605, p < 0.05) and age group of special needs students (B = 0.879, p = 0.002) were significant predictor for IQ score and explained 22.5% of the variance (R2 = 0.225, F (5,124) = 83.94, p < 0.05. Overally, majority of special needs students in current study have very poor IQ score. Further explanation are discussed on the paper

Acute modulatory effects of apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, lemon and honey mixture, with and without exercise on postprandial glycemia innon-diabetic females

Postprandial hyperglycemia is independently related to cardiovascular disease. Garlic, ginger, lemon, honey and apple cider vinegar are known to have anti-glycemic properties. However, the effectiveness of combination of these natural products on reducing postprandial glycemia is uncertain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the glucose-lowering effect of a novel mixture consisting of apple cider vinegar, garlic, ginger, lemon, and honey; alone and in combination with exercise in response to a high-carbohydrate meal in non-diabetic individuals. Ten, female subjects (mean age: 25 ± 2.67 years, mean BMI: 22.6 ± 3.5 kg/m2) participated in this randomised, cross-over intervention consisting of four trials: control (CON), mixture only (MIX), exercise only (EX), and exercise + mixture (EX-MIX). All trials involved consumption of a high-carbohydrate breakfast, then followed by rest in CON, consumption of natural product mixture in MIX, brisk-walking exercise in EX, and combination of mixture and exercise in EX-MIX. Blood glucose was measured at fasting, and at 30, 60, 90, 120 minutes post meal. Postprandial glucose response was calculated as area under the glucose curve. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA showed a significant group and time interaction (p < 0.001). Compared to CON, postprandial glucose responses were 8%, 13% and 15% lower in MIX (p = 0.049), EX (p = 0.001) and EX-MIX (p = 0.005) respectively. Postprandial glucose was 8% lower in EX-MIX compared to MIX (p = 0.002). In conclusion, consuming natural product mixture containing garlic, ginger, lemon, honey and apple cider vinegar reduced postprandial glycemia to a certain extent, however, combining mixture with exercise produced a greater attenuation effect compared to consuming mixture alone. This finding is indicative of a potential benefit of the novel mixture as a complementary management of hyperglycemia in high-risk individual

Breathing exercise for hypertensive patients: A scoping review

Background: Non-pharmacological management of hypertension includes weight loss, alcohol and sodium restriction, regular exercise, and relaxation. In people with overweight hypertension, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) can be decreased via exercise and weight loss together. Breathing exercises are one method of relaxing.Objectives: The aim of this scoping review is to map the information that is currently available about the advantages of breathing exercises in decreasing blood pressure in hypertension patients.Methods: This scoping review adheres to Arksey and O’Malley’s framework, which entails identifying review questions, seeking pertinent evidence, choosing pertinent studies, mapping data, and discussing, concluding, and reporting the findings. The PRISMA flowchart is used to show how the evidence search process works.Results: As a result, 339 articles in total were retrieved from the three databases. 20 papers total were included in this review after screening. In 14 of the 20 investigations, participants with stage 1 and stage 2 essential hypertension, two with pre-hypertension, and four with Isolated Systolic Hypertension (ISH) were studied. The respondents’ ages ranged from 18 to 75. The systolic blood pressure declined by 4–54.22 mmHg, while the diastolic blood pressure dropped by 3–17 mmHg.Conclusion: Slow breathing can be used as an alternate, non-pharmacological therapy for hypertension individuals to reduce blood pressure.Systematic Review Registration: (https://osf.io/ta9u6/)

Study of Heavy Metal Levels among Farmers of Muda Agricultural Development Authority, Malaysia

Heavy metals, particularly cadmium, lead, and arsenic, constitute a significant potential threat to human health. This study was conducted to determine the levels of cadmium, lead, and arsenic in nail samples from farmers at Muda Agricultural Development Authority (MADA), Kedah, Malaysia, and evaluate factors that can contribute to their accumulations. A total of 116 farmers participated in this study. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to analyze concentration of heavy metals in the nail samples and questionnaires were given to participants to get demographic, health status, and their agricultural activities data. In this paper, the level of heavy metals was within the normal range and varies according to demographic factors. We found that there were significant correlations between working period with level of lead and arsenic (r = 0.315 and r = 0.242, resp., P < 0.01) and age with lead level (r = 0.175, P < 0.05). Our findings suggested that agricultural activities could contribute to the accumulation of heavy metals in farmers. Hence, the control of environmental levels of and human exposure to these metals to prevent adverse health effects is still an important public health issue

Evaluation of trace elements in Malay women with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Trace elements are essential for human health. This study determines the level of chromium (Cr), zinc (Zn), selenium (Se), copper (Cu), ferrum (Fe) and manganese (Mn) in the hair and nails of married Malay women with type 2 diabetes mellitus from Hulu Langat, Selangor, Malaysia. The trace elements were analysed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after an acid digestion treatment. The levels of all trace elements measured were higher in the hair samples than in nails except for Se. Mean levels of Zn and Se were significantly higher in the hair of non-working women (84.91 ± 10.32 μg/g and 0.42 ± 0.15 μg/g, respectively) compared to working women (64.98 ± 11.10 μg/g and 0.30 ± 0.18 μg/g). Copper levels in hair were significantly higher among women with good and satisfactory diabetes control (20.41 ± 4.20 μg/g) compared to the poor diabetes control group (15.67 ± 4.31 μg/g). However, a contradictory result was obtained from the nails of women with good and satisfactory diabetes control with a Cu level of 3.35 ± 0.46 μg/g and 4.69 ± 0.33 μg/g for the poor diabetes control group. In hair samples, significant positive correlations were obtained with Cr-Cu (r = 0.55), Zn-Mn (r = 0.46) and Se-Mn (r = 0.38). In nails, significant positive correlations were also obtained between Cr-Zn (r = 0.31), Zn-Fe (r = 0.30) and Fe-Mn (r = 0.47). In conclusion, age, educational status, number of children and duration of diabetes did not influence trace elements levels

A Psychometric Evaluation of The Malay Version of PedsQLTM Family Impact Module among Caregivers of Children with Learning Disabilities

Parenting a child with learning disability can be a source of significant stress and affects the quality of life of the parents and families. The aim of this study was to evaluate thepsychometric properties of the Malay version of PedsQLTM Family Impact Module that measure the impact of children with learning disabilities on theircaregivers’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and family functioning. A crosssectional study was conducted involving 383 caregivers of children with learning disabilities in Kelantan, a state of Peninsular Malaysia. Internal consistency reliability, construct validity and construct reliability were evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The Malay version of PedsQLTM&nbsp; Family Impact Moduleshowed good internal consistency reliability (Cronbach’s alpha &gt; 0.7). Second order CFA showed that the instrument had acceptable construct validity after modification with Goodness-of-fit indices reached the standard indicating acceptable model fit (2(426) = 878.842, p&lt;0.001; RMSEA = 0.053; CFI = 0.918; 2/df= 2.063).Average variance extracted and composite reliability achieved minimum acceptable value for main construct and all subconstructs except Physical Functioning subconstruct. The Malay version of PedsQLTM Family Impact Module with eight subscales and 31 items had adequate construct validity and reliability and could be used to assess the impact of pediatric disability on parent HRQoL and family functioning in Malay-speaking Malaysian familieS

Hubungan antara hafazan al-Quran dan kualiti hidup pelajar tahfiz di Selangor, Malaysia

Kajian terdahulu menunjukkan kualiti hidup dapat ditingkatkan melalui amalan keagamaan dan kerohanian. Hafazan al-Quran merupakan amalan keagamaan dan kerohanian yang memperkasa aspek mental dan fizikal. Namun, kajian saintifik yang mengaitkan hafazan al-Quran dengan kualiti hidup masih terhad terutamanya dalam konteks pelajar tahfiz. Maka, kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengenal pasti hubungan antara hafazan al-Quran dengan kualiti hidup dalam kalangan pelajar tahfiz di Selangor, Malaysia. Satu kajian keratan rentas telah dijalankan ke atas 116 pelajar dengan pensampelan rawak berstrata dari tiga buah sekolah tahfiz di Selangor. Pelajar tahfiz dikategorikan kepada tiga tahap hafazan berdasarkan jumlah juzuk yang telah dihafaz iaitu Tahap 1 (1-10 juzuk), Tahap 2 (11-20 juzuk) dan Tahap 3 (21-30 juzuk). Borang soal selidik telah digunakan untuk mendapatkan data sosiodemografi dan borang soal selidik Short Form-36 Quality of Life (SF-36) versi Bahasa Malaysia telah digunakan untuk menilai tahap kualiti hidup. Data telah dianalisa menggunakan SPSS versi 23.0. Hasil kajian mendapati wujud hubungan positif yang signifikan antara hafazan al-Quran dengan kesihatan fizikal (r = 0.300, p < 0.05) dan kesihatan mental (r = 0.194, p < 0.05). Ini jelas menunjukkan bahawa semakin banyak pelajar menghafaz al-Quran semakin tinggi tahap kualiti hidup mereka. Faktor yang mempengaruhi kesihatan mental dan fizikal adalah jumlah muka surat hafazan. Kesimpulannya, hafazan al-Quran berpotensi meningkatkan kualiti hidup serta kesihatan mental dan fizikal pelajar tahfiz

Analisa sitogenetik sel bukal petani di Tanjung Karang dan Kelantan yang terdedah kepada pestisid

Pestisid dan baja kimia digunakan secara meluas dalam sektor pertanian bagi meningkatkan hasil pertanian dalam kalangan petani. Namun, pendedahan kepada pestisid akan memberi potensi risiko kepada kesihatan manusia. Kajian ini bertujuan menganalisa kekerapan pembentukan mikronukleus (MN) dan binukleus (BNu) pada mukosa sel bukal petani yang terdedah kepada pestisid dengan menggunakan asai MN. Perbandingan kekerapan MN dan Bnu dilakukan di dua kawasan iaitu Tanjung Karang, Selangor dan Kelantan kerana aktiviti pertanian dan jenis pestisid yang digunakan adalah berbeza. Pengambilan sel bukal dilakukan pada petani di Tanjung Karang (n = 32) dan petani di Kelantan (n = 43) dengan mnggunakan kayu penyendal lidah. Borang soal selidik juga digunakan untuk mendapatkan data demografik para petani. Analisa sitogenetik dilakukan dengan menggunakan pewarnaan Akridin Jingga (AO) 0.0025% (w/v). Kekerapan MN dan BNu yang terbentuk melalui analisa dibawah mikroskop fluoresen dijadikan sebagai petunjuk kerosakan sitogenetik. Keputusan kajian menunjukkan kekerapan MN dan BNu petani di Tanjung Karang adalah lebih tinggi secara signifikan (p 0.05) dan amalan pemakaian PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) (p > 0.05). Selain itu, ujian korelasi yang dijalankan menunjukkan terdapat korelasi positif antara kekerapan MN dengan tempoh pendedahan pestisid petani di Tanjung Karang (p > 0.05, r = 0.015) dan Kelantan (p > 0.05, r = 0.0158). Manakala, kekerapan BNu juga mempunyai korelasi positif dengan pendedahan pestisid petani di Tanjung Karang (p > 0.05, r = 0.036) dan petani di Kelantan (p > 0.05, r = 0.013). Justeru, kajian ini membuktikan bahawa pendedahan pestisid boleh meningkatkan pembentukan MN dan BNu dalam kalangan petani dan ini menjelaskan bahawa penggunaan pestisid dalam jangka masa panjang boleh mengaruh genotoksisiti dan kerosakan DNA kepada manusia

Dietary intake, levels of trace elements and intelligence quotient (IQ) among huffaz students from selected tahfiz schools in Selangor

Tahfiz education has been well accepted by Muslims in Malaysia. Memorizing the Quran through rote learning can assist in improving the brain ability to process, store information and build memory. In addition, dietary intakes were reported to contribute in the process of memorizing the Quran and to increase the levels of intelligence (IQ) among huffaz students. This cross-sectional study was conducted to measure and to determine the correlation between IQ and dietary intake as well as between IQ and the level of trace elements among students in selected tahfiz schools and non-tahfiz school in Selangor. Questionnaires were used to obtain demographic data. Dietary intake was assessed via 3 days dietary record. Levels of trace elements in the nail samples were analyzed by using ICP-MS. Test for intelligence using WASI-II was conducted to measure the students’ IQ. The results showed that there was a moderate positive correlation between IQ and carbohydrate (r = 0.425, p < 0.001, a weak positive correlation between IQ and energy (r = 0.260, p < 0.05), vitamin B6 (r = 0.189, p < 0.05), vitamin B12 (r = 0.207, p < 0.05) and vitamin C (r = 0.211, p < 0.05). The levels of trace elements in nail samples showed no correlation with IQ, whereas there were moderate positive correlations between IQ and dietary zinc (r = 0.375, p < 0.001) as well as between IQ and dietary iron (r = 0.303, p < 0.001). There was also a moderate positive correlation between IQ and the level of memorization (r = 0.375, p < 0.001). The results of stepwise multiple linear regression showed that al-Quran memorization influence the level of IQ by 20 %. As a conclusion, dietary intake of certain nutrients including energy, vitamins and selected trace elements can potentially improve memorization activities and also IQ