Male infertility is a relatively common condition affecting approximately 1 in 20 of the male population. DNA fragmentation is an important factor in the etiology of male infertility. Men with high DNA fragmentation levels have significantly lower odds of conceiving, naturally or through procedures such as intrauterine insemination and IVF. The most common contributing factor of male infertility is smoking. Studies have shown that smoking intensity is positively associated with job demands and stress. Therefore, we believe that work stress increases the nicotine-dependent thus causing lower male fertility rate. As proper protamine to histone ratio is essential to produce viable sperm, smoking is strongly suspected to reduce sperm viability through histone-to-protamine transition abnormalities. These abnormalities, results in sperm with high DNA damage when exposed to excessive free radical. This present study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship of work stress, smoking and sperm quality. A total of 210 infertile patients attending Medical Assisted Contraceptive Clinic (MAC), UKMMC were selected for the study. Smoking status and stress level of patients were collected after obtaining relevant consent. Histone-to-protamine ratio was acquired using Aniline Blue staining and Chromomycin A3 staining respectively. Sperm DNA fragmentation was estimated using Comet Assay. Result revealed that smokers tend to be more stressful (r = .446, p <. 001). The result showed a significantly increased level of histone (r = .385, p <. 001) and incomplete protamination (r = .492, p <. 001) in smokers. The imbalance of histone-to-protamine ratio lead to increase of DNA damage. All the data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Result revealed that patients who smoke are more stressful at work. Higher proportion of abnormal sperm histone to protamine ratio were found among smokers suggesting that cigarette smoking may inversely affect male fertility.
male ; stress ; smoking ; sperm quality

Male infertility is a relatively common condition affecting approximately 1 in 20 of the male population. DNA fragmentation is an important factor in the etiology of male infertility. Men with high DNA fragmentation levels have significantly lower odds of conceiving, naturally or through procedures such as intrauterine insemination and IVF. The most common contributing factor of male infertility is smoking. Studies have shown that smoking intensity is positively associated with job demands and stress. Therefore, we believe that work stress increases the nicotine-dependent thus causing lower male fertility rate. As proper protamine to histone ratio is essential to produce viable sperm, smoking is strongly suspected to reduce sperm viability through histone-to-protamine transition abnormalities. These abnormalities, results in sperm with high DNA damage when exposed to excessive free radical. This present study was undertaken to evaluate the relationship of work stress, smoking and sperm quality. A total of 210 infertile patients attending Medical Assisted Contraceptive Clinic (MAC), UKMMC were selected for the study. Smoking status and stress level of patients were collected after obtaining relevant consent. Histone-to-protamine ratio was acquired using Aniline Blue staining and Chromomycin A3 staining respectively. Sperm DNA fragmentation was estimated using Comet Assay. Result revealed that smokers tend to be more stressful (r = .446, p <. 001). The result showed a significantly increased level of histone (r = .385, p <. 001) and incomplete protamination (r = .492, p <. 001) in smokers. The imbalance of histone-to-protamine ratio lead to increase of DNA damage. All the data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0. Result revealed that patients who smoke are more stressful at work. Higher proportion of abnormal sperm histone to protamine ratio were found among smokers suggesting that cigarette smoking may inversely affect male fertility.

Soil transmitted helminth (STH) infection is a major public health concern among the indigenous children of Malaysia. Precarious living conditions at home including unavailability of water, drinking of contaminated water, poor sanitation and livestock presence, are known risk factors for the infection. In order to provide better living conditions, these children are enrolled in boarding schools. This study was conducted to determine whether boarding schools is a solution in reducing soil transmitted helminth infection among Orang Asli children in Sg Siput, Perak, Malaysia. An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted among 204 schoolchildren aged 7-17 years from three boarding schools in Sungai Siput, Perak from January to March 2017. Stool samples were collected and examined using direct smear and Kato-Katz technique. Information on sociodemographic and environmental conditions were collected using a modified Demographic Health Survey (DHS) questionnaire. Data analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics Processor 20.0.Out of a total of 204 children, only 48% (n= 97) were infected with at least one type of STH species which showed a reduced prevalence as compared to previous studies conducted among home dwelling schoolchildren with overall prevalence of 78-97%. Majority of the children had monoparasitism (31%; n=63) with moderate intensity by T trichuira (n=51, 25%). Univariate analysis shows that unavailability of water at home has a statistically significant association with STH infection among boarding school children (OR=0.73; 95% CI= 0.56-0.95 p=0.021). Multivariate analysis proves children who had unavailability of water at home has 2.1 times more likelihood of getting an STH infection (OR= 2.08; 95%CI= 1.07-4.07; p= 0.032).This study demonstrates a reduced STH prevalence among Orang Asli boarding school children as better living condition there limits the spread of STH infection among them.

Clival chordoma is a rare malignant tumor of the brain that typically occurs in older adults. It has a high local recurrence rate and is hence associated with poor prognosis. Here, we report a case of an adolescent who presented with a 1-month history of worsening headache and blurring of vision, as well as a 6-month history of left-sided facial and body numbness. Clinical findings were consistent with left upper motor neuron lesion of the seventh cranial nerve with involvement of the fifth cranial nerve. He was also found to have a sixth cranial nerve palsy demonstrated by diplopia upon lateral gaze with no evidence of papilledema. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain suggested clival chordoma. He was subsequently referred to the neurosurgical team, and he successfully underwent an endoscopic trans-sphenoidal surgery to excise the lesion. He recovered well, continued his follow-ups with the neurosurgical team, and showed good progress. He also attended regular follow-ups with his primary care physician to ensure ongoing psychosocial support and monitoring of his overall health status. This case demonstrates the importance of prompt identification and treatment of clival chordoma in an adolescent. Long-term follow-ups and shared care between primary and secondary care physicians are essential to monitor recurrence of tumor and to provide psychosocial support.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of parental stress in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder and the contributing factors. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 115 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder who were attending an outpatient psychiatric clinic, recruited through universal sampling. Those who fulfilled the selection criteria and gave informed consent were selected. Socio-demographic data, perceived parenting capacity, children’s data, and illness data were obtained from the patient during interview as well as from the clinical notes. Presence of parental stress and severity of psychiatric symptoms were measured using Parental Stress Scale (PSS) and Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) respectively. Descriptive analysis was performed, followed by univariate analysis and multiple logistic regression analysis, using International Business Machines (IBM®) Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 24. Results: 60 out of 115 participants (52.2%) had parental stress. Factors associated with parental stress include ethnicity (p=0.032), total household income (p=0.004), parenting children with mental or learning disability (p=0.022), perceived financial inadequacy (p=0.049), perceived food inadequacy (p=0.049), and presence of psychiatric symptoms (p=0.001). Ethnicity, total household income, parenting children with mental or learning disability, and presence of psychiatric illness were the predictors for parental stress among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorder. Conclusion Parental stress is prevalent in this group. Hence, health care professionals should be able to identify the risk factors and to provide them with necessary support

Aims: The contact lens (CL) has become one of the most convenience refractive devices used in vision correction, occupational and in cosmetics purposes. Despite the convenience of CL usage, poor hygiene might cause eye infections due to microbial contamination. In this work, a random collection of used CL cases among Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) students had shown the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria towards commonly used antibiotics to treat eye infections. Methodology and results: The study was carried out from 28 CL cases samples with the duration of one to three months of use. Bacteria that were successfully isolated from the CL cases were then exposed to the commonly prescribed antibiotics followed by identification through the partial 16S rDNA sequencing. Our finding exhibited that the rate of contamination is over 50% where 32 bacteria were isolated, with 20 (62.5%) of the isolates were Gram-positive bacteria. Approximately 31% of the isolated bacteria are resistant and intermediate resistant to the commonly used antibiotics to treat eye infection, especially erythromycin and chloramphenicol. The isolated bacteria were genotypic identified as Bacillus cereus, B. anthracis, Acinetobacter variabilis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Serratia marcescens. These bacteria are known as a common cause for microbial keratitis, except for A. variabilis, where the association of this bacteria in causing microbial keratitis is relatively rare. Conclusion, significance and impact of study This study highlights the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that can cause severe eye infections among CL wearer. The high percentage of contamination (>50%) found from the isolates reflected on the lack of hygiene practice on the CL handling. Thus, it is crucial to perceive this study as microbial contamination will lead to more serious eye infection disease such as conjunctivitis and keratitis.
Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Contact Lenses

Aims: Symbiotic bee fungus associated with the stingless bee larval food has been revealed to play a major role in performing a mutual relationship with the host. The fungus is believed capable to produce crucial nutrients that are required for larval pupation. However, detailed information on the fungus identification isolated from the larval food of our native Indo-Malaya stingless bee, Heterotrigona itama (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is poorly understood. Hence, this study was conducted to determine the effect of fungus isolated from the stingless bee larval food on the survival of H. itama larvae and identify the isolated fungus using both morphological and molecular analyses. Methodology and results: Elisa plates designed with F-bottom type were used as artificial brood cells in a controlled condition. The eggs transferred to Elisa plates were kept in the incubator with 75%-100% humidity and 25 ± 2.5 °C of temperature. This study carried out in three different treatments: (1) microbes-free larval food, (2) fresh larval food and (3) microbes-free larval food with fungus supplement. Results showed that the survival of H. itama larvae depends on the presence of beneficial fungus with the highest survival rate (Treatment 2 = 85.71%). The absence of the beneficial fungus in the fluid food of H. itama showed the lowest survival rate (Treatment 1 = 37.14%). Microscopy analysis showed that the fungus had various forms, including unconjugated asci, round-shaped ascospore and pseudohyphae. The molecular characterisation of the isolated fungi was performed using 23S rRNA gene sequencing using universal primers ITS1 and ITS4. DNA barcoding of three isolated fungi confirmed all isolated fungi matched Panus lecomtei (Basidiomycetes; Poriales; Polyporaceae) with 99.70% of similarity. Conclusion, significance and impact of study This study provides information on the importance of whitish fungus in appearance that existed in the brood cell, which is proposed to be the crucial component of in-vitro stingless bee queen rearing protocol.
Bees--microbiology

Aims: This study was aimed to investigate the effects of methanol extracts from various parts of the Pereskia bleo Kuhn plant on Acanthamoeba sp. The antioxidant levels of each extract from different plant parts were measured after the extraction process. These extracts were then exposed to Acanthamoeba sp. to assess dose-response, IC50 values, changes in cell morphology, internal cell activity and apoptosis based on alterations in phospholipids. Methodology and results: The total phenolic content, carotenoid estimation and antioxidant activity of the leaves, flowers and fruits of P. bleo were measured based on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radicals (DPPH) assay. Its anti-amoebic properties were tested using 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay for the IC50 determination. The morphological and biochemical changes in the Acanthamoeba sp. were observed under light and fluorescence microscopy using the acridine orange and propidium iodide double staining (AO/PI). The IC50 values of P. bleo leaves, flowers and fruits methanolic extracts were 5.884%, 0.1646% and 20.69%, respectively. Morphological observation displayed shortened acanthapodia with darkened cytoplasms. AO/PI-stained Acanthamoeba sp. cells appear with orange-fluorescent organelles in their green cytoplasm, indicating autophagic cell deaths. Apoptotic and necrotic Acanthamoeba sp. cells were absent based on Annexin V labelling. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: This study confirmed that the methanolic crude extracts of P. bleo exhibit high cytotoxic potential towards Acanthamoeba sp. trophozoites by inducing an autophagic mode of cell death.