Kesukaran menulis manuskrip penyelidikan dalam Bahasa Inggeris: langkah-langkah untuk meningkatkan penulisan

Di seluruh dunia, terdapat keperluan yang mendesak untuk menerbitkan hasil kajian dalam jurnal terkemuka yang berimpak tinggi, yang biasanya diterbitkan dalam bahasa Inggeris. Salah satu kriteria utama bagi penilaian kedudukan universiti global adalah bilangan penerbitan dan petikan di dalam pangkalan data utama seperti Institut Maklumat Saintifik (ISI) dan Scopus. Manuskrip mengenai topik bagaimana menulis manuskrip penyelidikan dengan betul sering diterbitkan, namun, tidak banyak penerbitan yang mengajar teknik yang terbaik untuk menguasai penulisan Bahasa Inggeris. Bengkel-bengkel dijalankan bagi membantu penyelidik menulis manuskrip, tetapi terdapat kurangnya penekanan dalam aspek penguasaan tatabahasa dan gaya penulisan. Justeru, ramai penulis muda tidak tahu bagaimana untuk menulis dengan baik. Artikel kajian ini membincangkan secara terperinci kesalahan biasa semasa menulis kertas penyelidikan dalam Bahasa Inggeris dan mencadangkan langkah-langkah bagi mengatasinya. In termasuklah tatacara menulis laporan keputusan, memilih kata-kunci yang betul, bagaimana menulis seksyen pendahuluan secara kemas serta membincangkan hasil keputusan secara menarik dan memberi impak. Kami mencadangkan penulis mentelaah serta membuat latihan latih-tubi dengan membiasakan diri menulis dengan ayat-ayat pendek, menggunakan tanda baca yang seimbang dan menggunakan kedudukan subjek dan kata kerja yang betul dalam susunan ayat. Begitu juga, penggunaan ayat-ayat yang menyatakan perbuatan lampau, atau ayat-ayat “past-tense” adalah perlu apabila seseorang penulis itu melaporkan hasil sesuatu kajian serta ditegaskan dengan penggunaan ayat-ayat aktif. Isu penulis hantu dan cabaran mengupah orang lain menulis bagi sesuatu artikel penulisan juga disentuh. Secara ringkas, menulis manuskrip penyelidikan dalam Bahasa Inggeris boleh menjadi mudah jika fakta-fakta yang dinyatakan ini dapat diikuti secara terperinci. Adalah diharapkan agar cadangan-cadangan ini akan dapat membantu para penulis muda menulis dengan baik lalu memudahkan penerimaan manuskrip oleh sidang pengarang jurnal berkenaan

Hubungan antara faktor demografik dan klinikal dengan kefungsian fizikal pesakit strok

Strok adalah antara punca penyakit yang menyebabkan berlakunya kecelaan fizikal dan limitasi aktiviti kepada pesakit dalam melaksanakan tugasan harian mereka sehinggakan kepada satu peringkat, pesakit akan mengalami ketidakupayaan. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji perkaitan setiap faktor demografik dan klinikal yang dipercayai terlibat dengan status kefungsian fizikal pesakit yang telah mengalami strok. Kajian ini juga cuba untuk melihat perbezaan kefungsian fizikal pesakit mengikut faktor-faktor tersebut dan juga melihat hubungan antara faktor-faktor tadi dengan kefungsian fizikal. Seramai 147 orang responden yang lulus ujian saringan kognitif terlibat. Alat ujian Indeks Aktiviti Kehidupan Seharian Barthel (ADL) telah ditadbirkan kepada responden selepas enam minggu serangan strok bagi mengukur tahap kefungsian fizikal mereka. Hasil kajian mendapati terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan [F(3, 143) = 4.06; p < 0.01) antara tahap pendidikan yang berbeza dengan tahap kefungsian fizikal pesakit. Faktor klinikal pula menunjukkan perbezaan kefungsian fizikal lebih tinggi secara signifikan (p < 0.01) pada serangan otak kanan berbanding kiri.Terdapat perbezaan yang signifikan (p < 0.01) pada kefungsian fizikal pesakit dalam kepercayaan pemulihan mereka. Di samping itu, bilangan serangan strok pesakit juga menunjukkan perbezaan yang signifikan [F(1, 145)= 11.19; p < 0.01] pada kefungsian fizikal mereka. Ujian korelasi yang dijalankan menunjukkan bahagian otak yang diserang mempunyai hubungan positif yang signifikan (r = 0.24; p < 0.01) dengan kefungsian fizikal pesakit strok. Kesimpulannya, faktor demografik dan klinikal turut memainkan peranan dalam menentukan tahap kefungsian fizikal pesakit strok dan faktor-faktor tersebut perlu dipertimbangkan dalam usaha untuk meningkatkan kefungsian fizikal pesakit pada masa hadapan

SARS-CoV-2 infection of the nervous system: A review of the literature on neurological involvement in novel coronavirus disease-(COVID-19)

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is believed to have emerged from an animal source and has been spreading rapidly among humans. Recent evidence shows that SARS-CoV-2 exhibits neurotropic properties and causes neurological diseases. Here, we review the literature on neurological involvement in SARS-CoV-2 infections and the possible mechanisms of invasion of the nervous system by this virus, to provide a summary and critical analysis of the early reporting of neurological involvement in COVID-19. An exhaustive search of scientific articles on neurological involvement in COVID-19 was performed in the Web of Science, Scopus, Medline/PubMed, and several other databases. Nineteen relevant articles that had been published or were in preprint were carefully selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Based on our research, we found that patients with COVID-19 can present with neurological symptoms that can be broadly divided into central nervous system involvement, such as headache, dizziness, altered mental state, and disorientation, and peripheral nervous system involvement, such as anosmia and hypogeusia. Most of these patients are in the older age group and exhibit comorbidities, especially hypertension, and severe infection. In extreme presentations of COVID-19, some patients exhibit seizures, stroke, flaccid paraparesis, corticospinal weakness, and even coma. Moreover, the neurological man-ifestations can occur independently of the respiratory system. In conclusion, SARS-CoV-2 infection can cause multiple neurological syndromes in a more complex presentation. Therefore, this review elucidated the involvement of the nervous system in SARS-CoV-2 infection and will hopefully help improve the management of COVID-19

Risk factors and predictors of levodopa-induced dyskinesia among multiethnic Malaysians with Parkinson's disease

Chronic pulsatile levodopa therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD) leads to the development of motor fluctuations and dyskinesia. We studied the prevalence and predictors of levodopa-induced dyskinesia among multiethnic Malaysian patients with PD. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 95 patients with PD on uninterrupted levodopa therapy for at least 6 months. The instrument used was the UPDRS questionnaires. The predictors of dyskinesia were determined using multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results: The mean age was 65.6 ± 8.5 years. The mean onset age was 58.5 ± 9.8 years. The median disease duration was 6 (7) years. Dyskinesia was present in 44% (n = 42) with median levodopa therapy of 3 years. There were 64.3% Chinese, 31% Malays, and 3.7% Indians and other ethnic groups. Eighty-one percent of patients with dyskinesia had clinical fluctuations. Patients with dyskinesia had lower onset age ( p < 0.001), longer duration of levodopa therapy ( p < 0.001), longer disease duration ( p < 0.001), higher total daily levodopa dose ( p < 0.001), and higher total UPDRS scores ( p = 0.005) than patients without dyskinesia. The three significant predictors of dyskinesia were duration of levodopa therapy, onset age, and total daily levodopa dose. Conclusions: The prevalence of levodopa-induced dyskinesia in our patients was 44%. The most significant predictors were duration of levodopa therapy, total daily levodopa dose, and onset age

Biochemical aspirin resistance in stroke patients: a cross-sectional single centre study

Background: Aspirin use is known to reduce the recurrence of stroke. However, the clinical response to aspirin has been mixed. The rate of stroke recurrence whilst on aspirin treatment is still unacceptably high. A plausible explanation for this may be resistance to the effects of aspirin. The causes of aspirin resistance are manifold and multi-factorial. We conducted a study to investigate the prevalence rate of biochemical aspirin resistance in a cohort of aspirin-naïve stroke patients. We also sought to determine the inherent factors that may predispose towards the development of aspirin resistance. Method: This was a cross-sectional, observational study conducted on patients admitted to our centre with an acute stroke who were aspirin-naïve. The diagnosis of an acute stroke was confirmed by clinical history and brain imagi ng. Fifty consecutive patients were prospectively enrolled. Socio demographic data were collected and baseline blood investigations were performed. Patients were tested for biochemical aspirin resistance using Multiplate platelet analyser (Dynabyte, Munich, Germany) after 5 doses of aspirin, corresponding to a total dose of 900 mg. Results: The median age of patients was 65.5 years and 54 % of patients were female. There were 11 smokers; of these 10 were male. Twenty-six (52 %) patients were Chinese, 21 (41%) were Malay and 3 (6.0 %) were Indian. Aspirin resistance was present in 14 % of our patients.There was an inverse relationship between the presence of aspirin resistance and plasma HDL levels (r = -0.394; p = 0.005). There was no relationship observed between aspirin resistance and total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, HbA1c, ALT, ALP, urea and creatinine levels. There were no significant differences in demographic profiles or smoking status between the aspirin resistant and non-aspirin resistant groups. We did not find any link between ethnicity and aspirin resistance. Conclusions: Our results indicate that a lower HDL leve l is associated with biochemical aspi-rin resistance. This may increase platelet aggregation and consequently increase the risk of a recurrent stroke. The clinical implications for aspirin resistance are far reaching. Any evidence that correctable factors may negatively influence the action of aspirin warrants further investigation. The prevalence rate of biochemical aspirin resistance in our study is comparable to the findings in other studies performed in an Asian population. Further research is required to determine how our findings translate into clinical aspirin resistance and stroke recurrence

Nonmotor Symptoms in a Malaysian Parkinson’s Disease Population

Background. The nonmotor symptoms are important determinants of health and quality of life in Parkinson’s disease but are not well recognized and addressed in clinical practice. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of nonmotor symptoms and their impact on quality of life in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study among patients with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. Exclusion criteria were a Mini Mental State Examination score of <21/30. Prevalence of nonmotor symptoms was determined using the NMSQuest. The severity of nonmotor symptoms and the quality of life were assessed using validated disease-specific questionnaires (PDQ-39 and NMSS). Results. A total of 113 patients consisting of 60 males and 53 females were recruited. The median duration of illness was 5.0 (2.0–8.0) years. The prevalence rate of nonmotor symptoms in our cohort was 97.3%. The most common reported nonmotor symptom in our cohort was gastrointestinal (76.1%). We found that the severity of the nonmotor symptoms was associated with poorer quality of life scores (rs: 0.727, P<0.001). Conclusions. Nonmotor symptoms were highly prevalent in our patients with Parkinson’s disease and adversely affected the quality of life of our patients. In contrast to western studies, the most common nonmotor symptom is gastrointestinal. The possibility of an Asian diet playing a role in this observation requires further study

CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions

Peer reviewe

Management of Diabetic Neuropathy

Diabetes mellitus is the commonest cause of neuropathy worldwide. Diabetic neuropathy (DN) develops in about 4-10% of diabetic patients after 5 years and in 15% after 20 years.Four main mechanisms have been postulated to underlie the pathogenesis of DN. Diabetic neuropathy can be divided into symmetrical and asymmetrical neuropathies. Diabetic Autonomic Neuropathy (DAN) parallels the severity of DSN, and affects primarily the cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, genitourinary and integumentary systems. The cornerstone of treatment of diabetic neuropathy is optimization of glycaemic control. Future treatments for diabetic neuropathy should address the underlying pathogenesis

The clinical significance of vitamin D in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency is more prevalent among SLE patients than the general population. Over the past decade, many studies across the globe have been carried out to investigate the role of vitamin D in SLE from various clinical angles. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review is to summarise and evaluate the evidence from the published literature; focusing on the clinical significance of vitamin D in SLE. METHODS: THE FOLLOWING DATABASES WERE SEARCHED: MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Knowledge and CINAHL, using the terms "lupus", "systemic lupus erythematosus", "SLE and "vitamin D". We included only adult human studies published in the English language between 2000 and 2012.The reference lists of included studies were thoroughly reviewed in search for other relevant studies. RESULTS: A total of 22 studies met the selection criteria. The majority of the studies were observational (95.5%) and cross sectional (90.9%). Out of the 15 studies which looked into the association between vitamin D and SLE disease activity, 10 studies (including the 3 largest studies in this series) revealed a statistically significant inverse relationship. For disease damage, on the other hand, 5 out of 6 studies failed to demonstrate any association with vitamin D levels. Cardiovascular risk factors such as insulin resistance, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia were related to vitamin D deficiency, according to 3 of the studies. CONCLUSION: There is convincing evidence to support the association between vitamin D levels and SLE disease activity. There is paucity of data in other clinical aspects to make firm conclusions