Neutrophil function test: comparison between Conventional Nitroblue Tetrazolium (NBT) and direct NBT assays / Nurain Zulaika Mohd Noor

Polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) are white blood cells that play an important role as the first line of immune defence against pathogens. Neutrophils activation will trigger production of oxidative burst which is mediated by NADPH oxidase. The product of oxidative burst is a part of the powerful bacteria killing system in PMNs. Neutrophils function is evaluated based on its ability to produce oxidative burst. The conventional nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) assay is the gold standard method to evaluate neutrophils function. The NBT test is however laborious, complicated and skill-dependent. An alternative method called direct NBT assay was recently introduced. Thus, in the present study, the performance between conventional and direct NBT assays were compared. A total of 20 heparinized venous blood samples from normal individuals and one sample from chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patient were evaluated for neutrophil function by using both methods. There was a good correlation between conventional and direct NBT assays for percentage ofNBT positive cell with PMA stimulated cells (rs=0.97, P<O.OI) and unstimulated cells (rs=0.93, P<O.OI). Hence, the results from direct NBT assay is as comparable as that of conventional NBT assay. The direct NBT assay is quicker and simpler than the conventional NBT assay because whole blood is used thus it eliminates the preparation ofPMNs cell. In addition, sample volume of as small as 0.1 ml blood can be used which makes the direct NBT assay ideal for evaluation of neutrophil function in children and neonates. Therefore, the direct NBT assay may be a better choice or an alternative approach to evaluate neutrophil function as it is quicker, simpler, easier and less skill needed

Kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan di Taman Tema I-City, Shah Alam

Keunikan dan kelainan konsep taman cahaya yang ditawarkan oleh Taman Tema I-City di Shah Alam menjadikan ia salah satu taman tema yang menjadi tumpuan pengunjung dalam dan luar negara. Dalam konteks Malaysia, penyelidikan terhadap isu berkaitan dengan taman tema adalah masih kurang dan terbatas. Untuk itu, kajian ini meneliti sejauh mana tahap kepuasan pengunjung ketika melawat taman tema tersebut, seterusnya meneliti masalah yang mereka hadapi serta cadangan untuk meningkatkan kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan di Taman Tema I-City Shah Alam. Kajian ini melibatkan temu bual menggunakan borang soal selidik, temu bual mendalam, temu bual tidak langsung, pemerhatian dan pengalaman ikut serta. Kajian ini membabitkan 60 orang responden dengan profil responden 57% bujang, 58% berbangsa Melayu, majoritinya bekerja di sektor swasta dan pelajar, berkunjung bersama keluarga, menggunakan kereta persendirian dan tidak menginap di kemudahan penginapan berdekatan. Hasil kajian mendapati responden berpuas hati dengan tahap kebersihan dan keceriaan persekitaran taman tema dengan skor min 3.60 serta kedudukan dan lokasi taman tema tersebut (3.52). Namun begitu, kepuasan responden majoritinya sederhana untuk aspek lain, antaranya sistem pengurusan keseluruhan (3.38), kemudahan tandas (3.37), kemudahan tong sampah (3.37), kemudahan papan tanda (3.25), tahap keselamatan (3.23), gerai makanan dan minuman (3.08) serta kemudahan pendidikan dan pembelajaran (2.93). Antara masalah utama yang dihadapi oleh pengunjung ialah kemudahan asas yang kurang terutamanya surau, tempat letak kenderaan serta kemudahan untuk orang kurang upaya (OKU), warga emas dan kanak-kanak. Selain itu, harga tiket permainan, makanan, minuman dan tempat letak kenderaan yang agak mahal serta masalah kesesakan lalu-lintas. Sehubungan itu, beberapa langkah penambahbaikan perkhidmatan dan kemudahan dicadangkan seperti menyediakan kemudahan asas yang lebih lengkap dan menyeluruh untuk setiap lapisan masyarakat dan umur, pemberian diskaun untuk tiket permainan, mempertingkatkan sistem pengurusan dan pengendalian teknikal serta meningkatkan tahap keselamatan. Untuk itu, pihak pemegang taruh khususnya pihak berkuasa tempatan dan syarikat pengendali taman tema perlu lebih prihatin dan proaktif untuk memastikan kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan taman tema I-City sentiasa berada pada tahap yang terbaik

Relationship between dyslipidaemia and glycaemic status in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

The risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) is dramatically increased in diabetic patients due to their atherogenic lipid profile. The severity of CHD in diabetic patients has been found to be directly associated with glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). According to the Malaysian Clinical Practice Guidelines on diabetes mellitus (DM), HbA1c level less than 6.5% reduces the risk of microvascular and macro vascular complications. Hence, this study aimed to determine the relationship between dyslipidaemia and glycaemic status in patients with type 2 DM (T2DM) patients in Hospital Putrajaya, a tertiary endocrine centre in Malaysia. This was a cross sectional, retrospective study of 214 T2DM patients with dyslipidaemia who had visited the endocrine clinic between January 2009 and December 2012. Significant correlations were found between fasting blood glucose (FBG) and HbA1c with total cholesterol (TC), triglyceride (TG), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL), non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL), LDL/HDL ratio and TC/HDL ratio; greater correlation being with HbA1c than FBG. In patients with HbA1c ≥6.5%, TC, TG, non-HDL and TC/HDL ratio were significantly higher than in patients with HbA1c < 6.5%. Non-HDL, LDL/HDL ratio, TC/HDL ratio and HbA1c were significantly lower in patients on statin treatment than non-treated patients (p<0.05). This significant association between glycaemic status and dyslipidaemia emphasises the additional possible use of HbA1c as a biomarker for dyslipidaemia as well as a potential indirect predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk in T2DM patients

Tahap kepuasan, masalah dan cadangan untuk meningkatkan kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan taman tema: kajian kes di taman tema I-City, Shah Alam

Keunikan dan kelainan konsep taman cahaya yang ditawarkan oleh Taman Tema I-City di Shah Alam menjadikan ia salah satu taman tema yang menjadi tumpuan pengunjung dalam dan luar negara. Dalam konteks Malaysia, penyelidikan terhadap isu berkaitan dengan taman tema adalah masih kurang dan terbatas. Untuk itu, kajian ini meneliti sejauh mana tahap kepuasan pengunjung ketika melawat taman tema tersebut, seterusnya meneliti masalah yang mereka hadapi serta cadangan untuk meningkatkan kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan di Taman Tema I-City Shah Alam. Kajian ini melibatkan temu bual menggunakan borang soal selidik, temu bual mendalam, temu bual tidak langsung, pemerhatian dan pengalaman ikut serta. Kajian ini membabitkan 60 orang responden dengan profil responden 57% bujang, 58% berbangsa Melayu, majoritinya bekerja di sektor swasta dan pelajar, berkunjung bersama keluarga, menggunakan kereta persendirian dan tidak menginap di kemudahan penginapan berdekatan. Hasil kajian mendapati responden berpuas hati dengan tahap kebersihan dan keceriaan persekitaran taman tema dengan skor min 3.60 serta kedudukan dan lokasi taman tema tersebut (3.52). Namun begitu, kepuasan responden majoritinya sederhana untuk aspek lain, antaranya sistem pengurusan keseluruhan (3.38), kemudahan tandas (3.37), kemudahan tong sampah (3.37), kemudahan papan tanda (3.25), tahap keselamatan (3.23), gerai makanan dan minuman (3.08) serta kemudahan pendidikan dan pembelajaran (2.93). Antara masalah utama yang dihadapi oleh pengunjung ialah kemudahan asas yang kurang terutamanya surau, tempat letak kenderaan serta kemudahan untuk orang kurang upaya (OKU), warga emas dan kanak-kanak. Selain itu, harga tiket permainan, makanan, minuman dan tempat letak kenderaan yang agak mahal serta masalah kesesakan lalu-lintas. Sehubungan itu, beberapa langkah penambahbaikan perkhidmatan dan kemudahan dicadangkan seperti menyediakan kemudahan asas yang lebih lengkap dan menyeluruh untuk setiap lapisan masyarakat dan umur, pemberian diskaun untuk tiket permainan, mempertingkatkan sistem pengurusan dan pengendalian teknikal serta meningkatkan tahap keselamatan. Untuk itu, pihak pemegang taruh khususnya pihak berkuasa tempatan dan syarikat pengendali taman tema perlu lebih prihatin dan proaktif untuk memastikan kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan taman tema I-City sentiasa berada pada tahap yang terbaik

A Study on The Abundance of Microplastic Pollutant in Residential Tap Water

Plastic pollution is one of the most pervasive and sinister ecological threats worldwide. Microplastics (MP), is a small piece of plastic and its size is less than 5 millimetres. They were existed from various sources, including personal care products, synthetic clothing, and plastic litter. Microplastics have been found in a wide range of environmental matrices, including soil, sediment, and surface water. The presence of microplastics in tap water has received considerable attention in recent years. This study focuses on the presence of microplastics (count) and the types of microplastics pollutants (chemical properties) in tap water as the drinking water sources in the residential area. Approximately, 120 L of water samples was collected from tap water in houses/shops using random sampling method in four sampling sites. The presence of microplastic in the tap water might come from many sources. In this study, a light microscope and Micro-Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy instrument have been used to identify the presence of microplastics precisely. From the analysis, three types of microplastics were found in the tap water samples which are cellulose, cellophane, and poly (2, 2, 2-trifluoroethyl vinyl ether). In conclusion, there are presence of microplastic in tap water at the residential area which is used as the drinking water sources. Since microplastics found in drinking water is one of the potential health risks to human by exposing direct plastic ingestion, microplastic contamination in water supply systems should be controlled

Kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan di Taman Tema I-City, Shah Alam

Keunikan dan kelainan konsep taman cahaya yang ditawarkan oleh Taman Tema I-City di Shah Alam menjadikan ia salah satu taman tema yang menjadi tumpuan pengunjung dalam dan luar negara. Dalam konteks Malaysia, penyelidikan terhadap isu berkaitan dengan taman tema adalah masih kurang dan terbatas. Untuk itu, kajian ini meneliti sejauh mana tahap kepuasan pengunjung ketika melawat taman tema tersebut, seterusnya meneliti masalah yang mereka hadapi serta cadangan untuk meningkatkan kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan di Taman Tema I-City Shah Alam. Kajian ini melibatkan temu bual menggunakan borang soal selidik, temu bual mendalam, temu bual tidak langsung, pemerhatian dan pengalaman ikut serta. Kajian ini membabitkan 60 orang responden dengan profil responden 57% bujang, 58% berbangsa Melayu, majoritinya bekerja di sektor swasta dan pelajar, berkunjung bersama keluarga, menggunakan kereta persendirian dan tidak menginap di kemudahan penginapan berdekatan. Hasil kajian mendapati responden berpuas hati dengan tahap kebersihan dan keceriaan persekitaran taman tema dengan skor min 3.60 serta kedudukan dan lokasi taman tema tersebut (3.52). Namun begitu, kepuasan responden majoritinya sederhana untuk aspek lain, antaranya sistem pengurusan keseluruhan (3.38), kemudahan tandas (3.37), kemudahan tong sampah (3.37), kemudahan papan tanda (3.25), tahap keselamatan (3.23), gerai makanan dan minuman (3.08) serta kemudahan pendidikan dan pembelajaran (2.93). Antara masalah utama yang dihadapi oleh pengunjung ialah kemudahan asas yang kurang terutamanya surau, tempat letak kenderaan serta kemudahan untuk orang kurang upaya (OKU), warga emas dan kanak-kanak. Selain itu, harga tiket permainan, makanan, minuman dan tempat letak kenderaan yang agak mahal serta masalah kesesakan lalu-lintas. Sehubungan itu, beberapa langkah penambahbaikan perkhidmatan dan kemudahan dicadangkan seperti menyediakan kemudahan asas yang lebih lengkap dan menyeluruh untuk setiap lapisan masyarakat dan umur, pemberian diskaun untuk tiket permainan, mempertingkatkan sistem pengurusan dan pengendalian teknikal serta meningkatkan tahap keselamatan. Untuk itu, pihak pemegang taruh khususnya pihak berkuasa tempatan dan syarikat pengendali taman tema perlu lebih prihatin dan proaktif untuk memastikan kualiti perkhidmatan dan kemudahan taman tema I-City sentiasa berada pada tahap yang terbaik

Awareness of glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) among type 2 diabetes mellitus patients in Hospital Putrajaya

The glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) test is the most widely accepted laboratory test for evaluating long term glycaemic control. Patient’s understanding of HbA1c can lead to better glycaemic control. This study is aimed to determine the awareness and level of understanding of HbA1c among type 2 DM patients and its association with glycaemic control. A cross-sectional descriptive study among Type 2 DM patients undergoing routine follow up in an endocrine clinic of a tertiary centre in Malaysia. Patients were invited to answer a validated questionnaire which assessed their awareness and understanding of HbA1c. Their last HbA1c results were retrieved from the laboratory information system. A total of 92 participants were recruited. Fifty-six (60.9%) were aware of the term HbA1c. Fifty percent were categorised as having good HbA1c understanding, with age, monthly income and level of education between HbA1c understanding and glycaemic control, although more patients with good HbA1c understanding had achieved the target glycaemic control compared to those with poor understanding. The level of HbA1c awareness and understanding was acceptable. Factors associated with understanding were age, income and level of education. Continuing efforts however, must be made to improve patients understanding of their disease and clinical disease biomarkers

Concrete brick properties incorporating EPS and POFA as replacement materials

The implementation of sustainable construction and green building becomes the main attention of construction industries in Malaysia as it has been introduced by the government in the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (2016-2020). Therefore, this study focuses on the development of sustainable concrete bricks containing Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) and Palm Oil Fuel Ash (POFA) as sand and cement substitute materials. The percentage of replacement is 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% for EPS and 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% and 25% for POFA. There are 30 different mix designs of brick have been produced and their properties have been identified. Hardened brick density, compressive strength, water absorption and initial rate of absorption are the brick properties identified in this study. Based on the experimental results, it was found that the hardened brick density and compressive strength of the brick decreased as the replacement percentage increased. On the other hand, the water absorption and initial rate of absorption of the brick decreased as the percentage of EPS increased and increased as the percentage of POFA increased. Based on the findings, it shows that EPS and POFA has significantly contributes to the reduction of brick density. Next, for the compressive strength all the bricks have satisfied the minimum strength requirement of non-load bearing brick. Finally, for water absorption and initial rate of absorption, it has been found that majority of the bricks have an acceptable value based on standard requirements for brick. This can be concluded that EPS and POFA could be potential substitute materials for the manufacture of sustainable bricks

What information and the extent of information research participants need in informed consent forms: a multi-country survey

Background: The use of lengthy, detailed, and complex informed consent forms (ICFs) is of paramount concern in biomedical research as it may not truly promote the rights and interests of research participants. The extent of information in ICFs has been the subject of debates for decades; however, no clear guidance is given. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the perspectives of research participants about the type and extent of information they need when they are invited to participate in biomedical research. Methods: This multi-center, cross-sectional, descriptive survey was conducted at 54 study sites in seven Asia-Pacific countries. A modified Likert-scale questionnaire was used to determine the importance of each element in the ICF among research participants of a biomedical study, with an anchored rating scale from 1 (not important) to 5 (very important). Results: Of the 2484 questionnaires distributed, 2113 (85.1%) were returned. The majority of respondents considered most elements required in the ICF to be \u27moderately important\u27 to \u27very important\u27 for their decision making (mean score, ranging from 3.58 to 4.47). Major foreseeable risk, direct benefit, and common adverse effects of the intervention were considered to be of most concerned elements in the ICF (mean score = 4.47, 4.47, and 4.45, respectively). Conclusions: Research participants would like to be informed of the ICF elements required by ethical guidelines and regulations; however, the importance of each element varied, e.g., risk and benefit associated with research participants were considered to be more important than the general nature or technical details of research. Using a participant-oriented approach by providing more details of the participant-interested elements while avoiding unnecessarily lengthy details of other less important elements would enhance the quality of the ICF

The Use of Hemodialysis in Refractory Hypercalcemia Secondary to Parathyroid Carcinoma

Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare cause of hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemic crisis is a medical emergency. Hemodialysis is rarely needed to treat hypercalcaemia. We report a case of refractory hypercalcaemia secondary to parathyroid carcinoma requiring haemodialysis