No abstract available.

Hydroxyapatite (HA) has been earmarked as suitable for implantation within the human of its chemical makeup to human bone. In this paper, HA powders were synthesized via the precipitation method where phosphoric acid (H3PO4) was titrated into calcium hydroxide solution [Ca(OH)2]. Two parameters such as temperature and stirring rate were identified as factors that influenced the amount and purity of HA powder. Phase identification of the synthesized powder was done using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The results show that HA phase can be synthesized from this titration process of Ca(OH)2 and H3PO4 with yield amount of HA powder around 45 - 61 grams but with less than hundred percent purity. In order to study the effect of heat treatment to HA crystals structure, HA powder was calcined at 850 degrees C for 2 hours. It's found that the degree of crystallinity increases after calcination because of lattice expansion when the materials were heated at higher temperature
Sjogren's syndrome B antibody ; Powders ; Durapatite ; Precipitation ; hydroxyl group

The purpose of this study was to assess the association of bottle feeding and oral hygiene practices with the severity of caries among 3 to 5-year-old children with Early Childhood Caries (ECC). This cross-sectional study was carried out on pediatric dental patients with ECC attending a public university hospital. The parents or guardians were interviewed for the bottle-feeding pattern and oral hygiene practices followed by a clinical dental examination of their children with ECC. Data analysis was done using Chi squared test. Out of 32 children, 69% had severe early childhood caries with mean dft of 8.88. In this study, 87.5% of the subjects had a history of bottle feeding, with 53.1% still being bottle fed at the time of study. Current bottle-feeding habit was found to be statistically significant with the severity of caries (p=0.021). Majority (69 %) of the children were introduced to tooth brushing only after 1 year of age. About 40% of the children consumed either pre-chewed rice and/or shared spoons or feeding utensils with their parents or siblings but there was no significant association with the severity of caries (p=1.00). Because of its association with ECC, prolonged bottle feeding is significantly associated with the severity of caries in our study population. Besides, vertical and horizontal transmission of bacteria was also a risk factor for ECC, but it did not show any significant association with severity of ECC.

A study was carried out to isolate Brucella melitensis using established bacteriological and PCR techniques in Brucella seropositive goats in farms in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Pulau Pinang. Brucella melitensis was isolated from 7 of 134 reactors with the highest isolation from the vaginal swabs (57.14%) followed by the spleen (28.57%), uterine fluid (14.29%). No Brucella was isolated from the lymph nodes. PCR confirmed all the seven isolates as B. melitensis and isolates were phylogenetically related to other isolates from India, Iran, and Israel but most closely related to isolates from Singapore.

Introduction: The World Health Organisation (WHO) has estimated that 80% of people with osteoarthritis (OA) have movement limitations while 25% of them cannot perform their major daily activities, thus resulting in a decline of their nutritional status and quality of life (QOL). Therefore, this study aimed to compare the nutritional status and healthrelated quality of life (HRQOL) of OA patients between gender and age group. Material and methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 131 OA patients in Rehabilitation Health Organisation, Terengganu. Socio-demographic, clinical, lifestyle histories, 24-hour dietary intake and HRQOL were assessed using a structured questionnaire. Results: Knee and/or hip OA patients recruited consisted of 19.1% of men and 80.9 % of women collectively with a mean age of 61.81 (9.28) years ranging from 38 to 83 years. The percentages of underweight, normal, overweight, and obese patients were 1.5%, 12.2%, 36.7%, and 49.6%, respectively. Further assessment of HRQOL showed that the highest mean score was obtained by the social functioning (SF) domain of 41.25 (27.16), while the mental domain scored the least mean score of 21.15 (20.92). In terms of gender breakdown, the males had significantly greater weight and height but lower body fat (BF) compared to their female counterparts, as well as a significantly higher energy, carbohydrate and protein intake. According to the age group, patients aged < 60 years had significantly greater weight, height, and BF than those aged ≥ 60 years. Conclusion: This study is an important baseline reference for proper OA management and prevention by providing crucial nutritional status and HRQOL information.

Objective: This study examined the influence of visual art therapy techniques in reducing anxiety levelamong 4 to 6 years old paediatric dental patients.Methods: Eleven subjects were selected among 4 to 6 years old paediatric dental patients. The initialreaction towards dental procedure/treatment was evaluated using Frankl Behavior Rating Scale. Theanxiety level was assessed by using Malay-Modified Child Dental Anxiety Scale (MCDASf) to measurea child situational anxiety of pre- and post-treatment. Visual art making activities included free drawing,clay moulding and collage technique. The participant reaction to dental treatment was assessed by usingFrankl Behavioural Rating Scale for two subsequent independent visits in two weeks interval. Medianand Ordinal Test ranked the variables score of behavioural reaction towards dental treatment and anxietylevel.Results: Play-doh (PD) subjects could accept dental procedures more if compared to free drawing (FD)and storytelling by collage (ST) subjects, which has lower post treatment-median scores in Visit 1 andVisit 2, FD and ST subjects need more time to show positive attitude towards dental treatment.Conclusion: These findings suggest dental anxiety level of children aged 4 to 6 years old reduced afterthe art therapy and play-doh(clay-moulding technique) is the art making activity of choice among 4 to 6years old paediatric dental patients.

Staphylococcus aureus is a common bacterial pathogen known to cause various kinds of infections due to its repertoire of virulence factors. This study aimed to investigate the distribution of 19 types of virulence genes among clinical isolates of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) using the polymerase chain reaction. A total of 109 MSSA isolates, i.e., 63 hospital-associated (HA) and 46 community-associated (CA) were collected from Hospital Sultanah Nur Zahirah, the main tertiary hospital in Terengganu, Malaysia, from July 2016 to June 2017. The most frequent virulence genes detected were hla (78.9%, n=86) and hld (78.0%, n=85) encoding hemolysins, lukED (56.9%, n=62) encoding leukotoxin ED, followed by seb (26.6%, n=29) and sea (24.8%, n=27) encoding enterotoxins. Among 34 (31.2%) isolates carrying six or more virulence genes, only five were multidrug resistant (MDR) while the remaining isolates were susceptible. Significant associations were discovered between the hld gene with CA-MSSA (p=0.016) and the seo gene with HA-MSSA (p=0.023). However, there is no significant association between virulence genes among the different types of infection. The clinical MSSA isolates in Terengganu showed high prevalence and high diversity of virulence gene carriage.

OBJECTIVETo demonstrate a noninvasive large mammalian genetic sampling method using blood meal obtained from a tabanid fly.

METHODSBlood meal was recovered from the abdomen of an engorged tabanid fly (Haematopota sp.) which was captured immediately after biting a Sumatran rhino in captivity. The blood was applied on to a Whatman FTA(®) blood card. Subsequent laboratory work was conducted to extract, amplify and sequence the DNA from the sample. Validation was done by sampling the hair follicles and blood samples from the rhinoceros and subjecting it to the same laboratory process.

RESULTSBLAST search and constructed phylogenetic trees confirmed the blood meal samples were indeed from the rhino.

CONCLUSIONSThis method could be used in the field application to noninvasively collect genetic samples. Collection of tabanids and other haematophagous arthropods (e.g. mosquitoes and ticks) and other blood-sucking parasites (e.g. leeches and worms) could also provide information on vector-borne diseases.

Animals ; Diet ; veterinary ; Diptera ; genetics ; physiology ; Endangered Species ; Female ; Food Chain ; Indonesia ; Insect Bites and Stings ; blood ; veterinary ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Perissodactyla ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; veterinary ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; veterinary

Healthcare providers are responsible for performing medical check-ups, analyse and interpret patient's laboratory results. It is common for an initially asymptomatic patient to receive abnormal results including liver enzymes such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP). The concern in these patients is the cut-off value for mildly elevated levels that requires intervention. This paper reports a case of liver malignancy in a 32-year-old man who presented with a mild elevation of ALP level less than five times the upper limit of normal. The patient had no clinical symptoms. Early ultrasound liver assessment showed dilated common bile duct, which led to an urgent CT scan of the liver that revealed supportive features of fibrolamellar carcinoma. The patient was managed successfully with early partial hepatectomy that has saved him from morbidity and mortality of liver malignancy. Indeed, liver malignancy can be detected early in a health clinic from a further assessment of trivial elevation of ALP.