Prevalence of obesity and factors associated with it in a worksite setting in Malaysia

Socio-economic status, lifestyle behaviors, and psychosocial factors have been implicated in the development of overweight and obesity. This study aims to observe the prevalence of overweight and obesity in an academic worksite and to examine the possible association between variables such as socio-economic characteristics, work factors, psychosocial factors, and weight control behaviors and obesity. In this study, the target population were full-time academic and non-academic staff. Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) were computed to determine obesity. A pretested self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic factors, work related factors, psychosocial factors, and weight control behaviors. Data were obtained on 367 adults of whom 39.2% were males and 60.8% females. Overweight was seen in 31.9% of males and 26.5% of females while 16.1% of them were obese, irrespective of gender. Central obesity was noted in about 37% of males and 39% of females. The results showed that socio-demographic factors (age, gender, and education) and psychosocial factors (perceived health status, body weight perception, and weight-control goals) were significantly associated with BMI. Working hours were also significantly associated with BMI. However, weight control practices (diet-control practices and physical activity practices) were not significantly associated with BMI. In conclusion, this study found a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity among employees of a selected public university in comparison to the general population. Socio-demographic, psychosocial factors, and working hours were found to contribute to obesity in this sample of adults

Escape passive lectures: an interactive, multi-themed digital escape room on medicinal chemistry topics

During the COVID-19 endemic, delivering synchronous lectures and video lectures in the manner of the traditional lecture method seems to trigger low attendance, hinder peer interactions and encourage passive learning in Generation Z students. To overcome such problems, innovative approaches like game-based learning are often employed. Educational games are widely incorporated into the teaching and learning process to enhance collaboration, critical thinking, and communication skills. An escape room is a type of educational, puzzle-based game that puts student teams in charge of problem-solving scenarios before escaping. Previous studies have shown its effectiveness in providing an overall positive learning experience, though investigations involving pharmacy students in a medicinal chemistry course remain scant. This paper investigates pharmacy students’ perceptions of an interactive, multi-themed medicinal chemistry escape room activity that was employed as an educational intervention in lieu of a synchronous lecture during the COVID-19 pandemic. Third-year pharmacy students positively perceived the multi-themed digital ER game in helping them improve their understanding in medicinal chemistry topics. It has the potential to serve as an educational intervention to escape passivity in the traditional lecture method and enhance students’ autonomy in fostering the acquisition of 21st-century skills

New enviromental friendly initiatives in the production of Melomas (Citrus grandis) in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, Malaysia

‘Melomas’, a new pomelo clone (Citrus grandis) was introduced to the public in 1998 by MARDI. Several pilotprojects involving the planting of Melomas were conducted to further promote this pomelo clone. One of theseprojects was conducted in Stesen MARDI Kuala Kangsar, Perak and as a result, healthy and vigorous pomelo treeswere grown. In 2007, the pomelo trees managed to produce an abundance of flowers, but surprisingly the fruitsetting had died and almost no harvesting was done. A very low harvest was reported due to an occurrence offungus in numerous locations in Northern Perak in 2007 and 2008. A study was conducted beginning fromJanuary 2007 to December 2011 to tackle this phenomenon. It was noticed that every flowering season coincidedwith high daily rainfalls. The relatively high humid conditions had increased the incidence of Anthracnoseinfection that caused the young flower bud to die and undeveloped fruit sets to drop unattainably. The heavyrainfall severely prolongs raindrop smears on the flower fruit set. Almost every Melomas grower faced the samepredicament. This case study was designed to intervene and stop the causal fungus infection brought by the rain.Transparent plastic covers (TPC) were introduced to prevent raindrops from continuously smearing the flowerbunch. It was stapled onto the branch above the bunch of flowers to form a small half cylinder plastic roofing thatprevents the raindrop falling onto the small fruits. To tackle the problem, a series of workshops and technologytransfer seminars were arranged for the Melomas growers by the MARDI extension personnel. The results showedthat the manipulation of the microenvironment around the flowers had helped the grower to recover andeventually increase the Melomas yield. It was observed that this low-cost technique had significantly increased thenumber of Melomas fruit sets as opposed to the control treatment (without plastic covers). This technique hadbeen practiced by local pomelo farmers in Padang Rengas, spanning over an area of 35 ha and it is being practicedin a pilot project at MARDI Kuala Kangsar. It has a proven 85% success rate and has been reported to significantlyboost the productivity in the area

Factors associated with physical inactivity among school-going adolescents: data from the Malaysian School-Based Nutrition Survey 2012

The importance of physical activity to health is well recognized. Good health habits should begin from a young age. This article aims to explore physical activity among Malaysian school adolescents and factors associated with it. Data from the Malaysian School-Based Nutrition Survey (MSNS), comprising a nationally representative sample of school-going children aged 10 to 17 years, were used. The overall prevalence of physically inactive adolescents was 57.3%. Age in years (adjusted odds ratio = 1.2; 95% confidence interval = 1.16-1.23), gender - females (adjusted odds ratio = 2.9; 95% confidence interval = 2.66-3.10), afternoon school session, breakfast consumption (no breakfast and irregular breakfast), body mass index status (obese and underweight), and body weight perception (underweight perceivers) were significant factors associated with physical inactivity among Malaysian adolescents. Thus, there is evidence that programs to promote physical activity in this group should consider the combination of the aforementioned factors at the household, school, and community levels

Exposure-Response and Population Pharmacokinetic Analyses of a Novel Subcutaneous Formulation of Daratumumab Administered to Multiple Myeloma Patients

We report the population pharmacokinetic (PK) and exposure-response analyses of a novel subcutaneous formulation of daratumumab (DARA) using data from 3 DARA subcutaneous monotherapy studies (PAVO Part 2, MMY1008, COLUMBA) and 1 combination therapy study (PLEIADES). Results were based on 5159 PK samples from 742 patients (DARA 1800 mg subcutaneously, n = 487 [monotherapy, n = 288; combination therapy, n = 199]; DARA 16 mg/kg intravenously, n = 255 [all monotherapy, in COLUMBA]; age, 33-92 years; weight, 28.6-147.6 kg). Subcutaneous and intravenous DARA monotherapies were administered once every week for cycles 1-2, once every 2 weeks for cycles 3-6, and once every 4 weeks thereafter (1 cycle is 28 days). The subcutaneous DARA combination therapy was administered with the adaptation of corresponding standard-of-care regimens. PK samples were collected between cycle 1 and cycle 12. Among monotherapy studies, throughout the treatment period, subcutaneous DARA provided similar/slightly higher trough concentrations (Ctrough) versus intravenous DARA, with lower maximum concentrations and smaller peak-to-trough fluctuations. The PK profile was consistent between subcutaneous DARA monotherapy and combination therapies. The exposure-response relationship between daratumumab PK and efficacy or safety end points was similar for subcutaneous and intravenous DARA. Although the ≤65-kg subgroup reported a higher incidence of neutropenia, no relationship was found between the incidence of neutropenia and exposure, which was attributed, in part, to the preexisting imbalance in neutropenia between subcutaneous DARA (45.5%) and intravenous DARA (19%) in patients ≤50 kg. A flat relationship was observed between body weight and any grade and at least grade 3 infections. The results support the DARA 1800-mg subcutaneous flat dose as an alternative to the approved intravenous DARA 16 mg/kg.The clinical studies and the analyses presented here were supported by research funding from Janssen Research & Development, LLC

Proteína C reactiva e creatina fosofoquinase no diagnóstico periodontal

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre no Instituto Universitário Egas MonizA medicina dentária é uma área muito dinâmica da medicina que se encontra em constante evolução e mudança. Os métodos de tratamento e diagnóstico sofrem uma constante alteração e actualização. Assim, é cada vez mais relevante o correto diagnóstico para que o médico dentista reúna o máximo de informação possível de forma a que o tratamento possa ser o mais eficiente e adequado. Sabemos, também, que existe uma tendência por parte dos profissionais de realizar as técnicas às quais está mais familiarizado e, assim, praticar técnicas que podem já estar desatualizadas ou ultrapassadas, não prestando o serviço de excelência que se pretende. A área da periodontologia não é uma excepção e está também em constante atualização pelo que é de extrema importância, apesar de manter os métodos de diagnósticos tradicionais, procurar evoluir para testes laboratoriais de analises específicas de biomarcadores para que o diagnóstico e controlo da patologia possa ser o mais correcto possível. Neste trabalho final o objectivo foi o de aprofundar o estudo do mecanismo da Proteína C Reactiva a par da Creatina Fosfoquinase no diagnóstico de patologias periodontais.Dentistry is a very dynamic area of medicine that is in constant change and development. For this reason, methods of diagnosis and treatment are constantly being changed and updated. Therefore, correct diagnosis is increasingly relevant to allow the dentist to gather as much information as possible in order to provide the most eficient and adequate possible treatment. It is known that professionals have a tendency to carry out the techniques to which they are most familiar with and, thus, practice techniques that may already be outdated and may do not allow them to provide the intended service of excellence. The area of periodontology is not an exception to this trend of continuous update. Consequently, it is of the utmost importance, despite maintaining traditional diagnostic methods, to seek to evolve to speciic laboratory tests of biomarkers in order for the diagnosis and control of the disease be as accurate as possible. The aim of this inal assignment is to deepen the study of the mechanism of Reactive C Protein together with Creatine Phosphokinase in the diagnosis of periodontal pathologies

PUTRAFLEX: UPM flexible curriculum

PUTRAFLEX is structured with an underpinning philosophy of producing Future-Proof PUTRA Graduates through a curriculum that is flexible in nature, promotes the convergence of disciplines, and offers diverse study paths. Accordingly, PUTRAFLEX contains the concepts and guidelines for its implementation at UPM

Risk Factors Associated with Underweight Children Under the Age of Five in Putrajaya, Malaysia: A Case-Control Study

The study aimed to determine the associated factors for underweight among children under five years old in Putrajaya, Malaysia. This was a case-control study with a one-to-one ratio matched by sex as well as by three age categories (6‒11 months, 12‒35 months, dan 36‒59 months) between underweight and normal-weight children. There were 364 underweight children and 364 children with normal weight recruited from four government clinics and 118 preschools in Putrajaya. Both groups were assessed via face-to-face interviews; anthropometric measurements; haemoglobin level through finger prick blood sample; and a self-administered 3-day food diary. Underweight is defined as a weight-for-age z score less than -2SD based on World Health Organization (WHO) 2006 Growth Chart. The logistic regression’s final model revealed that various factors were significantly associated with underweight among children under five in Putrajaya. These factors included father being employed as a non-government servant [aOR:1.45 (95% CI:1.04‒2.02) compared to government servant], children from B40 group with a monthly household income less than <RM 7,380 (USD 1727.33) [aOR:2.17 (95% CI:1.01‒4.66) compared to T20], monthly expenditure for childcare less than RM 1,000 (USD 234.06), [aOR:1.77 (95% CI:1.01‒3.10) compared to ≥RM 2,000], underweight mother during prepregnancy [aOR:1.89 (95% CI:1.10‒3.26)] compared to normal weight, anemic children [aOR:1.57 (95% CI:1.15‒2.16)] compared to normal children, children using pacifiers [aOR:1.75 (95% CI:1.21‒2.73)] compared to not using pacifiers and children staying with unregistered babysitters [aOR:2.33 (85% CI:1.52‒3.59)] compared to those attending kindergarten. The above findings suggest several factors are significantly associated with underweight among children under five years old. Therefore, it highlights on the importance of improving household socioeconomic status, maternal nutritional status, and infant and young child feeding practices to prevent underweight issues in this population

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London