Barriers to early presentation of self-discovered breast cancer in Singapore and Malaysia: a qualitative multicentre study

Objective: To explore and compare barriers to early presentation of self-discovered breast cancer in Singapore and Malaysia. Design: A qualitative interview study with thematic analysis of transcripts. Participants: 67 patients with self-discovered breast symptoms were included in the analysis. Of these, 36% were of Malay ethnicity, 39% were Chinese and 25% Indian, with an average age of 58 years (range 24–82 years). The number of women diagnosed at early stages of cancer almost equalled those at advanced stages. Approximately three-quarters presented with a painless lump, one-quarter experienced a painful lump and 10% had atypical symptoms. Setting: University hospital setting in Singapore and Malaysia. Results: Patients revealed barriers to early presentation not previously reported: the poor quality of online website information about breast symptoms, financial issues and the negative influence of relatives in both countries, while perceived poor quality of care and services in state-run hospitals and misdiagnosis by healthcare professionals were reported in Malaysia. The pattern of presentation by ethnicity remained unchanged where more Malay delayed help-seeking and had more advanced cancer compared to Chinese and Indian patients. Conclusions: There are few differences in the pattern of presentation and in the reported barriers to seek medical care after symptom discovery between Singapore and Malaysia despite their differing economic status. Strategies to reduce delayed presentation are: a need to improve knowledge of disease, symptoms and causes, quality of care and services, and quality of online information; and addressing fear of diagnosis, treatment and hospitalisation, with more effort focused on the Malay ethnic group. Training is needed to avoid missed diagnoses and other factors contributing to delay among health professionals

Mapping pre and post earthquake land cover change in Melangkap, Kota Belud Sabah using multi-temporal satellite Landsat 8/OLI and Sentinel 2 Imagery

It is generally accepted that vegetation provides important ecosystem services especially in term of rainfall partitioning. This study aims to evaluate the influence of canopy structure namely crown area (CA), diameter at breast height (DBH), tree height (TH) and crown spread (CS) and stand density on the partitioning of rainfall. Twelve throughfall plots of 20 x 20 m with 64 gauges randomly placed within each plot were established. For stemflow measurements, all trees within a 100 m2 plot within the study area were collared. Interception loss was computed as the difference between precipitation and throughfall plus stemflow. Throughfall ranged from 73.47 – 82.32 % of the gross rainfall. Stemflow was found to be roughly around 2.01% of the gross rainfall. Highest interception was 24.52 % attributed to the plot having the highest above ground biomass (AGB) density. The relation between canopy interception and forest structure were analyzed by regression method. Multiple regression analysis on the potential influence of stand structure to the throughfall percentage shows that all the forest structures variables measured in this study are negatively correlated to the amount of throughfall generated. This study suggests that forests with higher value of DBH, CA, CS and TH had higher interception rate

Bridging the data gaps in the epidemiology of hepatitis C virus infection in Malaysia using multi-parameter evidence synthesis

BACKGROUND: Collecting adequate information on key epidemiological indicators is a prerequisite to informing a public health response to reduce the impact of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Malaysia. Our goal was to overcome the acute data shortage typical of low/middle income countries using statistical modelling to estimate the national HCV prevalence and the distribution over transmission pathways as of the end of 2009. METHODS: Multi-parameter evidence synthesis methods were applied to combine all available relevant data sources - both direct and indirect - that inform the epidemiological parameters of interest. RESULTS: An estimated 454,000 (95% credible interval [CrI]: 392,000 to 535,000) HCV antibody-positive individuals were living in Malaysia in 2009; this represents 2.5% (95% CrI: 2.2-3.0%) of the population aged 15-64 years. Among males of Malay ethnicity, for 77% (95% CrI: 69-85%) the route of probable transmission was active or a previous history of injecting drugs. The corresponding proportions were smaller for male Chinese and Indian/other ethnic groups (40% and 71%, respectively). The estimated prevalence in females of all ethnicities was 1% (95% CrI: 0.6 to 1.4%); 92% (95% CrI: 88 to 95%) of infections were attributable to non-drug injecting routes of transmission. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalent number of persons living with HCV infection in Malaysia is estimated to be very high. Low/middle income countries often lack a comprehensive evidence base; however, evidence synthesis methods can assist in filling the data gaps required for the development of effective policy to address the future public health and economic burden due to HCV. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-014-0564-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Antidiabetic Effect of Actinodaphne angustifolia and Profiling of Bioactive Metabolites using UPLC-QToF/ESI-MS Method

Diabetes mellitus adalah gangguan kronik yang menyebabkan paras glukosa darah meningkat akibat kekurangan insulin, sama ada sepenuhnya atau sebahagian. Kami menyiasat sifat antidiabetik Actinodaphne angustifolia dalam model tikus dan mengenal pasti fitokimia bioaktif dengan menggunakan kaedah UPLC-QTOF/ ESI-MS. Struktur pankreas tikus, profil lipid dan glukosa darah dinilai selepas intervensi selama satu minggu. Analisis UPLC-QTOF/ESI-MS telah dijalankan untuk mengenal pasti flavonoid dan terpenoid dalam ekstrak daun. Ekstrak Actinodaphne angustifolia dengan ketara meningkatkan lipoprotein berketumpatan tinggi (HDL) (p<0.05) sambil mengurangkan jumlah kolesterol (TC), lipoprotein berketumpatan rendah (LDL) dan glukosa darah. Tambahan pula, struktur seni tisu pulau pankreas juga pulih dengan baik berbanding kumpulan kawalan. Sebanyak 45 flavonoid dan 109 sebatian terpenoid telah dikenal pasti menggunakan analisis berasaskan UPLC-QTOF/ESI-MS dan kajian tambahan perlu dijalankan untuk mengenal pasti agen antidiabetik yang berpotensi. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disorder that causes elevated blood glucose levels due to a lack of insulin, either completely or partially. We investigated the antidiabetic property of Actinodaphne angustifolia in a rat model and identified the bioactive phytochemicals by using the UPLC-QTOF/ESI-MS method. The rats’ pancreatic structures, lipid profile and blood glucose were assessed after a one-week intervention. UPLC-QTOF/ESI-MS analysis was conducted to identify flavonoids and terpenoids in the leaf extract. Actinodaphne angustifolia extract markedly increased the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) (p<0.05) while reducing total cholesterol (TC), low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and blood glucose. Furthermore, the tissue architecture of pancreatic islets was also well recovered as compared to the control group. A total of 45 flavonoids and 109 terpenoid compounds were identified using UPLC-QTOF/ESI-MS-based analysis and additional studies should be undertaken to identify the potential antidiabetic agents

Antioxidant Activity of the Phenolic Leaf Extracts from Monechma ciliatum in Stabilization of Corn Oil

The total phenolic content and the antioxidan potential of methanolic extract (ME), ethyl acetate extract (EAE), and hexane extract (HE) from Monechma ciliatum leaves (MCL) were evaluated. The Folin-Ciocalteu, b-carotene bleaching, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and the accelerated oxidation methods were used for evaluation. Both the extraction yield and the antioxidant activity (AOA) were strongly dependent on the solvent. Among the extracts, ME exhibited highest total phenolic compounds (TPC) and IC50 values for DPPH, followed by EAE and HE, respectively. Peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV) conjugated dienes (CD), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were taken as the parameters for evaluation of stabilization efficacy of MCL extracts and results revealed MCL to be a potent antioxidant for the stabilization of corn oil. As a general trend, increased AOA was observed for increased extract concentration. The predominant phenolic compounds identified by HPLC-DAD in MCL extracts were p-coumaric acid, vanillin and ferulic acid

Antioxidant Activity of the Phenolic Leaf Extracts from Monechma ciliatum in Stabilization of Corn Oil

The total phenolic content and the antioxidan potential of methanolic extract (ME), ethyl acetate extract (EAE), and hexane extract (HE) from Monechma ciliatum leaves (MCL) were evaluated. The Folin-Ciocalteu, b-carotene bleaching, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging and the accelerated oxidation methods were used for evaluation. Both the extraction yield and the antioxidant activity (AOA) were strongly dependent on the solvent. Among the extracts, ME exhibited highest total phenolic compounds (TPC) and IC50 values for DPPH, followed by EAE and HE, respectively. Peroxide value (PV), anisidine value (AV) conjugated dienes (CD), and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were taken as the parameters for evaluation of stabilization efficacy of MCL extracts and results revealed MCL to be a potent antioxidant for the stabilization of corn oil. As a general trend, increased AOA was observed for increased extract concentration. The predominant phenolic compounds identified by HPLC-DAD in MCL extracts were p-coumaric acid, vanillin and ferulic acid

Muslim-non-muslim marriage : poitical and cultural contestations in southeast Asia/ Edit.: Gavin W. Jones

xvi, 372 hal.; 23 cm

Muslim-non-muslim marriage : poitical and cultural contestations in southeast Asia/ Edit.: Gavin W. Jones

xvi, 372 hal.; 23 cm