Factors contributing to the usage of pocket parks―a review of the evidence

This paper presents a summary of empirical evidence drawn from a literature review on the factors contributing to people using the pocket parks. Initial findings indicate that pocket parks play a significant role by providing access to nature for individuals living in urban areas. This paper provides an evidence-based approach to the usage and benefits of pocket parks by applying the SE-Model approach. This review includes 15 papers on pocket parks, obtained from electronic journal databases such as Scopus, Science Direct, Springer Link, SAGE Journals and Google Scholar sort by relevance containing key words such as pocket parks, vest-pocket parks, small public urban green space, small urban parks, use as well as usage of pocket parks. Selection was restricted to peer-reviewed publications related to pocket parks usage. The authors analysed these literatures for its sample characteristics, data collection, sampling method, data analysis and the main study finding. This review reveals an increase in research on the usage of pocket parks published in peer-reviewed journals in the recent years and a strong geographic bias. The selected studies have consistently reported on the importance of pocket parks for mental well-being, predominantly, followed by social benefits, however limited study approached the potential of pocket parks for physical activities. Physical components (green ground cover, bushes, trees, flower beds, water features) and Perceived Environment (preference for greener view; calm atmosphere; safety) are mostly reported to be highly associated with human health

Investigating the usability pattern and constraints of pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This study aims to provide an overview of the pocket parks in the city centre of Kuala Lumpur while identifying the characteristics of the pocket parks associated with the visitation and usage. This study also intends to identify the constraints that limit the use of pocket parks according to Malaysia context. A survey conducted among N=363 respondents consisting of pocket parks users and non-users are presented and discussed. Overall the pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur are used by the respondents to rest and reduce stress. This study concluded that slightly more women use the pocket parks than men and lack of time was the main constraint that limited the use of pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur. A higher majority of respondents also cited their willingness to use the pocket parks more often if changes were implemented to make the pocket park safer and more facilities were provided. The findings contribute to an understanding of the factors that influence the usability pattern and constraints that limit the usage of pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur. Further, a well-managed and maintained pocket park would create opportunities for all segments of the urban community to use the parks more often

The association between epstein-barr virus (EBV) past infection with the risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)

The association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with oral cancer has been widely reported in the past. However, previous studies mainly focused on the current infection of EBV without acknowledging the possibility of past infection in patients which may lead to oral cancer development. The present study aims to investigate the correlation between past EBV infections with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC). Both Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against EBV were screened to detect the presence of EBV in sera of OSCC patients using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The use of IgM antibody against EBV confirms current infection in patients, whereas IgG antibody would predict past infection throughout patients’ lifetime. Through the present study, we would be able to confirm whether patients with past EBV infection have a significant risk in developing oral cancer. ELISA tests were carried out to detect the presence of EBV IgG and IgM in 206 OSCC and control serum samples. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 12.0.1. Our results had shown that 96.6% (n = 199) of OSCC samples and 97.2% (n = 130) control were positive with EBV VCA IgG, however, none of the OSCC and control samples was positive for EBV VCA IgM. The presence of EBV VCA IgG in both OSCC and control suggest that past EBV infection does not play a significant role as a risk indicator for OSCC. Therefore, the association between EBV and OSCC was not well demonstrated in this study

The association between epstein-barr virus (EBV) past infection with the risk of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC)

The association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with oral cancer has been widely reported in the past. However, previous studies mainly focused on the current infection of EBV without acknowledging the possibility of past infection in patients which may lead to oral cancer development. The present study aims to investigate the correlation between past EBV infections with Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC). Both Immunoglobulin M (IgM) and Immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies against EBV were screened to detect the presence of EBV in sera of OSCC patients using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). The use of IgM antibody against EBV confirms current infection in patients, whereas IgG antibody would predict past infection throughout patients’ lifetime. Through the present study, we would be able to confirm whether patients with past EBV infection have a significant risk in developing oral cancer. ELISA tests were carried out to detect the presence of EBV IgG and IgM in 206 OSCC and control serum samples. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 12.0.1. Our results had shown that 96.6% (n = 199) of OSCC samples and 97.2% (n = 130) control were positive with EBV VCA IgG, however, none of the OSCC and control samples was positive for EBV VCA IgM. The presence of EBV VCA IgG in both OSCC and control suggest that past EBV infection does not play a significant role as a risk indicator for OSCC. Therefore, the association between EBV and OSCC was not well demonstrated in this study

The prevalence of obesity and the knowledge, attitude and practice of healthy lifestyle among the adult population in Kampung Banyuk, Kampung Kerto and Kampung Langup

Background Obesity has become a great public health concern and prevent!ive measures need to be done. Objective The objective of this research is to determine the prevalence ofobesity and their knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) towards a healthy lifestyle among the residents in Kampung Banyok, Kampung Kerto and Kampung Langup. Methods A cross-sectional study was done among 126 randomly selected villagers aged 18 years and above from the three selected villages. They were interviewed based on a questionnaire and their body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Results It was found that more than half of the respondents are obese. Among the respondents, for the healthy lifestyle component, the level of good KAP is 69.2%, 46.8% and 60.3% respectively. As for obesity component, the level of good KAP is 60.3%, 54% and 54.8% respectively. Among the obese respondents, the level of knowledge and attitude on healthy lifestyle and obesity is better. Obese respondents have better obesity preventive practice while the non-obese respondents have better practice on healthy lifestyle. The only significant correlation noted was between knowledge and practice on obesity albeit a negative one. Conclusion The level of knowledge and attitude and practice on healthy lifestyle among the obese respondents are encouraged but more effort in the preventive practice ofobesity shou1d be done to reduce the prevalence.

Discovery of potential biomarkers in oral squamous cell carcinoma using next generation sequencing and proteomic technologies / Jesinda Pauline Kerishnan

Oral cancer patients have one of the lowest survival rates in the world due to its poor prognosis. Early detection and diagnosis using more reliable biomarkers will improve the current survival rate of OSCC patients. The present study aims to identify potential molecular biomarkers associated to OSCC using a combination of genomics and proteomics technologies. First, the demographic characteristics of patients were analysed to identify and determine the suitable cohort for this study. Demographic study of 208 OSCC patients and 134 non-OSCC controls confirmed that the local female Indian community that practices betel quid chewing is at the highest risk of developing OSCC and past exposure to HPV16 infection could contribute to the onset of OSCC. To identify potential OSCC biomarkers, 12 pairs of gDNA from OSCC and its adjacent non-malignant tissues were subjected to exome sequencing. The sequencing analysis identified 50 somatically mutated genes in OSCC of which CASP8, USP40, NOTCH1, and COL11A1 were further evaluated as candidate biomarkers. These 4 genes were previously reported in various cancers including the head and neck cancer. However, the exact association of USP40 and COL11A1 mutations in OSCC were not fully described. Most of the SNVs identified in these genes were found to be novel in OSCC and were characterized as deleterious. Finally, genotyping of the candidate genes using Fluidigm SNP Genotyping in a larger population of 167 OSCC patients successfully identified USP40 as a promising biomarker for OSCC. In the proteomic study, sera of 25 OSCC patients and 25 healthy controls were subjected to 2-DE and Western blotting, whereas 6 pairs of extracted proteins from OSCC and its adjacent non-malignant tissues were subjected to label free LC-MS. A total of 27 differently expressed proteins in iv OSCC were identified. Among these proteins; LRG, A1BG, PRO2044, ACTBM, HBB, CRNS1, HBA, F8WAH6 and SCND3 were found to be uniquely expressed in OSCC when compared with other cancers. These proteins may have the potential as specific biomarkers for OSCC. SYNE1 (Nesprin-1) was the only biomarker identified by both genomic and proteomic approach. Lastly, functional enrichment and pathway analysis were also performed on these 77 potential biomarkers using ConsensusPathDB, DAVID v6.8 and STRING v10.1 to elucidate the biological function and pathways associated with OSCC. Based on these analyses, the most significant biological function of these biomarkers in OSCC was its involvement with exosomes in the extracellular region. Whereas, the most significant pathway identified was the platelet activation, signalling and aggregation pathway. Findings from both the biological function and pathway analysis indicate that the identified biomarkers play an important role in cancer metastasis. In summary, the study had successfully identified a combination of 13 novel potential biomarkers and further improved our current understanding on the biological functions and pathways associated with OSCC. However, further studies are required to validate these biomarkers in a larger cohort and to fully understand the role of these biomarkers in OSCC

Investigating the functionality and constraints of urban pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Pocket parks are also known as mini-parks or vest-pocket parks because it is an urban open space at a very small scale. These parks were introduced in dense city areas to contribute to the environment, social and health benefits. Despite this, few studies have tackled the functionality and constraint of use of these parks. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the usability pattern and constraints of pocket parks in a Malaysian context through survey. The survey consist of N=390 respondents comprising of pocket parks users and non-users aged between 18–60 years old. Overall, there are slightly more female than male using the pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur and most frequent age group was people between 18-30 years old. Most of the respondents visit the pocket parks ‘sometimes’; this is not surprising as 78% of them have to travel more than 300 m to reach the pocket parks nearest to them. Only 59 respondents use the park frequently; while 26 respondents have never used the parks. Most of the respondents visit the pocket parks by foot. Based on the statistical data, majority of the respondents prefer to visit the pocket parks in group; however, there was no significant positive association between the social factor companionship (group or alone) with the time spent in the parks. The statistical data also shows that the respondents prefer to spend longer time at the park in the evening and morning. Majority of the respondents use the pocket parks to ‘rest and reduce stress’. Respondents also use the parks ‘to take a shortcut’ and ‘to meet others’. Both male and female have similar motives of using the parks; however, of the 30 respondents that use the pocket parks as an ‘easiest access to nature’, 73.3% are female. Majority of the respondents stated ‘time’ as their major constraint in using the parks. Apart from ‘time’, respondents are also concerned about ‘crowded activity area’, ‘poor hygiene of other park users’ well as ‘safety aspect’. The presence of ‘homeless people’ living in the park area and the presence of ‘foreign workers using the park’ also limited the park functionality. The respondents opted for pocket parks that are ‘serene’, yet the survey documented other preferences such as food trucks/bazaar and suggestions for more activities such as zumba or aerobics. Food is one of the integral factors that brought more users to the pocket parks in Kuala Lumpur. This finding contradicts to small urban park users from other countries that visit the pocket parks as an opportunity to access nature for relaxation

Identification of biomarkers for periodontal disease using the immunoproteomics approach

Background Periodontitis is one of the most common oral diseases associated with the host’s immune response against periodontopathogenic infection. Failure to accurately diagnose the stage of periodontitis has limited the ability to predict disease status. Therefore, we aimed to look for reliable diagnostic markers for detection or differentiation of early stage periodontitis using the immunoprotemic approach. Method In the present study, patient serum samples from four distinct stages of periodontitis (i.e., mild chronic, moderate chronic, severe chronic, and aggressive) and healthy controls were subjected to two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE), followed by silver staining. Notably, we consistently identified 14 protein clusters in the sera of patients and normal controls. Results Overall, we found that protein levels were comparable between patients and controls, with the exception of the clusters corresponding to A1AT, HP, IGKC and KNG1 (p < 0.05). In addition, the immunogenicity of these proteins was analysed via immunoblotting, which revealed differential profiles for periodontal disease and controls. For this reason, IgM obtained from severe chronic periodontitis (CP) sera could be employed as a suitable autoantibody for the detection of periodontitis. Discussion Taken together, the present study suggests that differentially expressed host immune response proteins could be used as potential biomarkers for screening periodontitis. Future studies exploring the diagnostic potential of such factors are warranted

Results from 2-DE immunoblots for (a) normal pooled sera probed with normal pooled sera, (b) normal pooled sera probed with OSCC pooled sera, (c) OSCC pooled sera probed with normal pooled sera, (d) OSCC pooled sera probed with OSCC pooled sera.

<p>Unfractionated, pooled serum samples from control and OSCC patients were subjected to 2-DE and blotted onto nitrocellulose membranes, which were then probed with pooled sera and monoclonal anti-human IgM-HRP.</p

Mass spectrometric identification of host-specific protein spots from serum protein profiles using MASCOT search engine and the NCBI database.

<p>Mass spectrometric identification of host-specific protein spots from serum protein profiles using MASCOT search engine and the NCBI database.</p