Hubungan antara sejarah silam dengan perkembangan personaliti di kalangan pelajar bandar dan luar bandar

Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui sejauh mana hubungan di antara sejarah silam terhadap perkembangan personaliti di kalangan pelajar bandar dan luar bandar. Sejarah silam dikaji melalui soalselidik berdasarkan empat faktor yang didapati memberi pengaruh iaitu faktor keluarga, rakan, sekolah dan persekitaran. Personaliti yang dikaji ialah agresif, ekstroversi, intoversi, kritik diri dan sokongan. Sampel yang terpilih adalah secara rawak yang terdiri daripada 100 orang pelajar tingkatan empat dan lima yang berumur dalam lingkungan 16 dan 17 tahun. Mereka terdiri daripada pelajar-pelajar Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Skudai mewakili pelajar bandar dan pelajar-pelajar Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan LKTP Ulu Tebrau mewakili pelajar luar bandar. Hasil dapatan kajian rintis yang dijalankan ke atas Pelajar-pelajar Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Taman Universiti (II) mendapati tahap kebolehpercayaan (Alpha Croanbach) ialah 0.7. Data dianalisis menggunakan program SPSS Versi 10.0 untuk mencari kekerapan, peratus, min, Ujian T dan korelasi. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan tidak terdapat hubungan yang signifikan di antara sejarah silam dengan perkembangan personaliti pelajar

Scanning electron microscopic evaluation of natural coral (Porites sp.) post-implantation in sheep femur

The study was carried out with the aim to evaluate natural coral (Porites spp.) implanted in sheep femur using SEM. Twelve adult, male sheep divided into four groups (n=3) were used in this study. The large bone defect (2.5x0.5x05 cm) was created surgically under general anaesthesia on the left proximal femur. The defect area was implanted with coral and monitored for up to 12 weeks. Implants were harvested at 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks intervals and subjected for scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that natural coral was found to be a biodegradable and osteo-conductive biomaterial, which acted as a scaffold for a direct osteoblastic apposition

Effect of preservation methods on the performance of bovine pericardium graft in a rat model

This study investigates the effect of preservation methods on the performance of bovine parietal pericardium grafts in a rat model. Mid-ventral full thickness abdominal wall defects of 3x2.5 cm in size were created in 90 male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-400 g), which were divided into three groups of 30 rats each. The abdominal defects of group one and two were repaired with lyophilized and glycerolized bovine pericardium grafts, while the defects of group three were repaired with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) Mycro Mesh as a positive control. Another group of 30 rats underwent sham operation and was used for comparison as negative control. Each group of rats (n=30) was divided into five subgroups (n=6) and killed at 1, 3, 6, 9 and 18 weeks post-surgery for gross and morphological evaluations. The rats tolerated the surgical procedure well with a total mortality of 0.05%. No serious post-operative clinical complications or signs of rejection were encountered. Adhesions between the grafts and the underlying visceral organs observed in the study were mostly results of post-surgical complications. Glycerol preservation delayed degradation and replacement of the grafts, whereas lyophilization caused early resorption and replacement of the grafts. The glycerolized grafts were replaced with thick dense fibrous tissue, and the lyophilized grafts were replaced with thin loose fibrous tissue. The healing characteristic of the bovine pericardium grafts was similar to those of the sham-operated group, and quite different from those of the ePTFE Mycro Mesh. The outcome of the present study confirmed the superiority of glycerolized bovine pericardium grafts over its lyophilized counter part

Comparative evaluations of the processed bovine tunica vaginalis implant in a rat model

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the lyophilized and glycerolized bovine parietal tunica vaginalis for repair of a full-thickness abdominal wall defect and to compare their effectiveness with expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) Mycro Mesh (Gore-Tex® MYCRO MESH®; Gore and Designs, W. L. Gore & Associates, Flagstaff, AZ, USA) in a rat model. Fresh bovine parietal tunica vaginalis sacs collected from an abattoir were processed and preserved by freeze-drying and by using 99.5% glycerol. Full-thickness abdominal wall defects (3×2.5 cm) created surgically in 90 male Sprague-Dewaly rats (300–400 g) were repaired with the same size of lyophilized, glycerolized or ePTFE Mycro Mesh with 30 rats in each group. Six rats from each group were killed at post-implantation intervals of 1, 3, 6, 9 and 18 weeks for macroscopic, microscopic and tensiometric evaluations. All rats survived the procedure, except for one rat in the ePTFE Mycro Mesh group. Implants of bovine origin were gradually resorbed and replaced with recipient fibrous tissue, whereas the mesh implant was encapsulated with fibrous tissue and remained without any marked changes throughout the study period. Adhesions between the implant and underlying visceral organs were encountered in 10, 6.6 and 3.3% of rats implanted with lyophilized, glycerolized or ePTFE Mycro Mesh, respectively. Foreign body giant cells and calcification were demonstrated in fibrous capsule and mesh matrix, respectively, in rats implanted with ePTFE Mycro Mesh. Neither of these characteristics were observed in rats implanted with processed bovine tunica vaginalis. Macrophages engorged with lipofuchsin pigments were observed in the recipient tissue that replaced the implants of bovine origin at 3–18 weeks post-implantation. There were no significant (P > 0.05) differences in total mean values of healing tensile strength, load at break and Young’s modulus of elasticity between the three implant groups. The results of the present study encourage further investigation into the use of processed bovine parietal tunica vaginalis in clinical practice

Effect of freeze-drying and gamma irradiation on biomechanical properties of bovine pericardium

Freeze-drying and gamma irradiation are the techniques widely use in tissue banking for preservation and sterilization of tissue grafts respectively. However, the effect of these techniques on biomechanical properties of bovine pericardium is poorly known. A total of 300 strips of bovine pericardium each measured 4 cm × 1 cm were used in this study to evaluate the effect of freeze-drying on biomechanical properties of fresh bovine pericardium and the effect of gamma irradiation on biomechanical properties of freeze-dried bovine pericardium. The strips were divided into three equal groups, which consist of 100 strips each group. The three groups were fresh bovine pericardium, freeze-dried bovine pericardium and irradiated freeze-dried bovine pericardium. The biomechanical properties of the pericardial strips were measured by a computer controlled instron tensiometer while the strips thickness was measured by Mitutoyo thickness gauge. The results of the study revealed that freeze-drying has no significant (p > 0.05) effect on the tensile strength, Young’s modulus (stiffness) and elongation rate of fresh bovine pericardium. Irradiation with 25 kGy gamma rays caused significant decreased in the tensile strength, Young’s modulus and elongation rate of the freeze-dried pericardium. However, gamma irradiation has no significant effect on the thickness of freeze-dried bovine pericardium, while freeze-drying caused significant decreased in the thickness of the fresh bovine pericardium. The outcome of this study demonstrated that freeze-drying has no significant effect on the biomechanical properties of fresh bovine pericardium, and gamma irradiation caused significant effect on the biomechanical properties of freeze-dried bovine pericardium

Evaluation of rat soft tissue response to implantation of glycerolized bovine tunica vaginalis

The aim of this study was to evaluate glycerolized bovine parietal tunica vaginalis implant in rat model. Pieces of 3_2.5 cm bovine parietal tunica vaginalis preserved in 99.5% glycerol and stored at 4 degrees C were used to repair 3_2.5 cm full thickness abdominal wall defects created in a group of 30 male Sprague Dawley rats (300-400 g). Another group of 30 rats were underwent sham operation and used for comparison. Each group was divided into five subgroups (n=6) and sacrificed at post-surgical intervals of 1, 3, 6, 9 and 18 weeks for macroscopical, histological and mechanical evaluation. Loose adhesions were observed between the implanted graft and underlying visceral organs in 6.6% of the treated group. Histologically the graft was biocompatible and gradually replaced by the recipient fibers tissue. The graft healing tensile strength increased with time in both groups and no significant different (P>0.05) was observed between the overall means of healing tensile strength of the two groups. The outcome of this study revealed that glycerolized bovine tunica vaginalis is biocompatible surgical patch that can be used for reconstruction of soft tissue defects. However, further investigation is required regarding the glycerol preservation efficiency

Acute effect of low and high glycemic index meals on post- prandial glycemia and insulin responses in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Introduction:Post-prandial hyperglycemia is an important independent risk factor in the development of cardiovascular disease in diabetes. This randomised cross-over study was conducted to compare the post-prandial glycemic and insulin responses to both high and low glycemic index (GI) meals in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Methods:A total of 41 patients with established T2DM (16 males, 25 females, Age= 55 + 10 years and BMI= 27 + 4 kg/m2) were randomly given either a High GI or a Low GI meal in a cross-over manner. Both test meals were separated by one week washout periods. The meals contained almost the same amount of energy and macronutrients with the exception of the GI values(High GI=70 vs Low GI= 36). Venous blood was taken through an indwelling catheter periodically at 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 minutes respectively. The incremental area under the curve (iAUC) was used to calculate the post-prandial glycemia and insulin excursion over the 3-hour period. Results: The low GI meal induced lower glycemic responses at times 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes (mean+SE; low GI=8.1+0.4, 9.1+0.4, 8.9+0.4 and 8.5 +0.4mmol/l vs high GI= 9.1+0.4, 10.7+0.4, 11.0+0.5 and 9.7 +0.5 mmol/l) and reduced the insulin levels at time 60, 90, 120 and 150 minutes (mean+SE; low GI= 17.1+1.7, 21.1+2.0, 20.4+1.7,18.5+1.8 vs high GI= 25.0+2.5, 31.2+2.9, 29.8 +3.0 and 23.0+2.3 μIU/ml)(p<0.05). The area under the glycemic (mean+SE; low GI= 215.93 + 15.9 mmol.L/minute vs high GI= 419.52 + 32.7 mmol.L/minute) and insulin (mean +SE; low GI= 1439.76 + 226 vs high GI= 2372.76 + 317μ IU.ml/min) curves were lower after the low GI than high GI meal respectively (p<0.05).Conclusion: The low GI meal has the ability to reduce the post-prandial hyperglycemia as well insulin responses in type 2 diabetes patients

Glycaemic index of four commercially available breads in Malaysia.

This study was carried out to determine the blood glucose response and glycaemic index (GI) values of four types of commercially available breads in Malaysia. Twelve healthy volunteers (six men, six women; body mass index, 21.9±1.6 kg/m 2; age, 22.9±1.7 years) participated in this study. The breads tested were multi-grains bread (M-Grains), wholemeal bread (WM), wholemeal bread with oatmeal (WM-Oat) and white bread (WB). The subjects were studied on seven different occasions (four tests for the tested breads and three repeated tests of the reference food) after an overnight fast. Capillary blood samples were taken immediately before (0 min) and 15, 30, 45, 60, 90 and 120 min after consumption of the test foods. The blood glucose response was obtained by calculating the incremental area under the curve. The GI values were determined according to the standardized methodology. Our results showed that the M-Grains and WM-Oat could be categorized as intermediate GI while the WM and WB breads were high GI foods, respectively. The GI of M-Grains (56±6.2) and WM-Oat (67±6.9) were significantly lower than the reference food (glucose; GI = 100) (P 0.05). Among the tested breads, the GI values of M-Grains and WM-Oat were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than those of WM and WB. There was no relationship between the dietary fibre content of the bread with the incremental area under the curve (r = 0.15, P = 0.15) or their GI values (r = 0.17, P = 0.12), indicating that the GI value of the test breads were unaffected by the fibre content of the breads. The result of this study will provide useful nutritional information for dieticians and the public alike who may prefer low-GI over high-GI foods

Improvement of dietary quality with the aid of a low glycemic index diet in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

This randomized controlled study was conducted to determine the effect of low glycemic index (GI) dietary advice on eating patterns and dietary quality in Asian patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Asian patients with T2DM (N  =  104) were randomized into 2 groups that received either low GI or conventional carbohydrate exchange (CCE) dietary advice for 12 weeks. Nutritional prescriptions were based on the medical nutrition therapy for T2DM, with the difference being in the GI component of the carbohydrates. Dietary intake and food choices were assessed with the use of a 3-day food record. At week 12, both groups achieved the recommendations for carbohydrate (52 ± 4% and 54 ± 4% of energy) and fat (30 ± 4% and 28 ± 5% of energy) intake. There were no significant differences in the reported macronutrient intake in both groups. With the low GI diet, crude fiber and dietary calcium intake increased, while the dietary GI reduced. Subjects in the lowest dietary glycemic index/glycemic load (GI/GL) quartile consumed more parboiled/basmati rice, pasta, milk/dairy products, fruits, and dough, which are foods from the low GI category. There was a significant reduction in the hemoglobin A(1c) level at week 12 for patients in the lowest GI/GL quartile (Δ  =  -0.7 ± 0.1%) compared with those in the highest GI/GL quartile (Δ  =  -0.1 ± 0.2%). These results demonstrate the ability of low GI dietary advice to improve the dietary quality of Asian patients with T2DM

The effect of topical application of Malaysian honey on burn wound healing

The efficacy of topical application of Malaysian honey on burn wound healing in Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated using 45 Sprague Dawley male rats weighing 200-300 g. Deep partial skin thickness burns were inflicted on the dorsal part of each animal. Two types of local honey (durian and Gelam) were applied twice a day in a quantity of 0.5 ml for each application, while control animals received no treatment. The rats were serially euthanisised at 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days post treatment for histological study. Histologically, early attenuation of inflammatory reaction and early reparative activities were observed in the honey treated wounds compared to control groups. Differential cells count showed a significant decreased in the number of inflammatory cells and increased vascularity in the honey treated wounds as early as 3 days post injury. In addition, epithelial regeneration appeared to be significant in gelam honey treated wound. This study showed that there was a significant acceleration of dermal repair in wound healing treated with durian and Gelam honey