The study aims to evaluate students’ perceptions towards e-Learning Management System (e-LMS) in pharmacy education. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among all undergraduates enrolled at School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia. A pre-validated questionnaire consisting of two domains (demographic characteristics and students’ perception regarding the use of e-LMS) was used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used to describe the demographic characteristics of the study respondents. Chi Square test was used to measure association between the study variables. All analysis was performed by using Predictive Analytical Software (PASW) v. 18. A total of 315 students completed the survey questionnaire with a response rate of 57.6%. Majority of the students (61.0%) accessed e-LMS to acquire lecture notes for their studies, followed by 53.3% have used e-LMS for the preparation of the assignments. Seventy eight percent of the respondents agreed that e-LMS is very useful and felt that e-LMS is making their studies easier. However, 50% of students claimed that poor network connection at the campus is a major barrier in accessing e-LMS. Moreover, 48% of the respondents disagreed that e-LMS should be taken into account as an assessment criterion for students’ grading. Students are found to be frequently engaged in using e-LMS and believed that online based learning is enhancing their academic performances. Nevertheless, students still prefer hybrid teaching methodologies than choosing traditional system or e-learning as an alone entity.

Introduction: Application of dynamic hip screw (DHS) implant for the treatment of unstable intertrochanteric fractures continues to raise concern related to risk of lag screw cut-out with or without subsequent damage to the acetabulum. Measurement of tip-apex distances (TAD) has been recommended to guide the optimal placement of lag screw and to predict subsequent risk of screw cut-out. In this study, the value of TAD was evaluated to verify its usefulness. Methods: This is a retrospective study of 33 consecutive patients with intertrochanteric fracture treated with DHS. Demographic data of the patients were traced from their case notes. Post-operative radiographs were reviewed by focusing on measurement of TAD on anteroposterior and lateral radiographs. Radiographs at one year follow-up were reviewed to depict any fixation-related failure or complication. Results: Fifty two percent of patients did not achieved the recommended TAD of ≤ 25mm. The mean post-operative TAD was 25.9mm and elderly patients were likely to achieve TAD of ≤ 25mm. The overall complication rate of 6% was attributed to screw cut-out in two cases. The unstable left-sided fracture was identified to be a potential risk for screw cut-out or migration. Conclusion: TAD is a valuable measurement to guide optimal placement of lag screw during DHS fixation of intertrochanteric fracture.

Life expectancy from birth is increasing dramatically. Due to this increase, the population of elderly people will increase. Consequently, geriatric related illnesses will increase leading to increased necessity to build up comprehensive and coordinated cost effective health care services appropriate for elderly people. Frailty is not a disease, but rather considered as a syndrome requiring comprehensive and multidisciplinary care approach. It is a prevalent reversible pathological transitional stage between healthy aging and disability. Frailty is associated significantly with increased health care utilization, mortality, and comorbidities such falls, hospitalizations, physical dependence, and poor perception of health. The aim of this review is to compile existing literature on the economic cost of frailty syndrome among elderly people in the recent years. Search queries were constructed to look for articles related to the economic cost of frailty in the electronic databases available at the National University of Malaysia library for articles published between the years 2011 and 2019. The accessed electronic database included New England journal of medicine, Science Direct, SCOPUS, BMJ, Cochrane, and Wiley Online Library. Articles included in this review when they were original research, participants were defined as frail elderly, manuscripts written in English language, and involved clearly described measures of frailty cost. Among the literature, twenty one articles were found to satisfy the inclusion criteria of the review process. The cost of care for frail elderly was ranging from US $ 8,620 to 29,910 per patient per year. The cost of health care was ranging from US $ 2,540 to 221,400. The health care cost was accounting for 40% to 76% of the total care cost. Hospitalization cost was the highest, it was ranging from US $ 806 to 152,726. Outpatient cost was ranging from US $ 200 to 18,000. Medications cost was ranging from US $ 7 to 3,434 per frail elderly patient per year. Home help cost was ranging from US $ 804 to 19,728 per frail elderly patient per year. In conclusion, frailty is a costly syndrome. It can be considered as a cost effective target for health promoting interventions to contain future elderly cost.

One hundred and sixty eight rats were trapped from the National Service Training Centres (NSTC) in Kelantan and Terengganu from October 2008 to May 2009. Microscopic agglutination test (MAT) was performed to detect the presence of agglutinating antibodies to Leptospira among the rats caught. All the MAT positive rats were identified as Rattus tiomanicus. In Kelantan, 17.3 % (14/81) of the rats had leptospiral antibodies to serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae (12.3%), Canicola (2.5%), Ballum (1.2%), and Pyrogenes (1.2%). In Terengganu, 18.4% (16/87) of the rats had antibodies to serovars Icterohaemorrhagiae (15%), Canicola (1.1%), Pyrogenes (1.1%) and Hebdomadis (1.1%). This study indicated that Leptospira serovars were prevalent in the rat population in the study areas and could be a source of infection to humans. Therefore, control of the rat population in all NSTC is critical to prevent outbreaks of leptospirosis amongst the NSTC trainees.

A cross sectional study was done to determine the prevalence and distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes in pre-invasive (cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, grade 3 or CIN 3) and invasive cervical cancer (ICC), in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC). A total of 80 paraffin-embedded tumour tissue blocks (20 CIN 3, 60 invasive cancers) between 1999 to 2007 were retrieved from the archives of the Department of Pathology. Patient’s medical records were obtained from the Medical Records Office. Among invasive cancers (n=60), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) account for 75% and adenocarcinoma 25%. The mean age of cases studied was 52.0 ± 12.2 years and Chinese was the predominant ethnicity (66.3%). Twelve HPV genotypes were identified, namely, HPV 16, 33, 18, 39, 52, 45, 58, 59, 31, 35, 6 and 11. The prevalence of HPV was 92.5% with types 16 being the most common (73.8%), followed by types 33 (30%) and 18 (22.5%). A total of 31 cases (38.8%) showed single HPV genotype, while 43 (53.8%) had multiple HPV (two genotypes or more) genotypes. In ICC, HPV 16, followed by types 33, 18, 52 and 39 were the top five common HPV genotypes detected. High prevalence of HPV and multiple HPV infections were major findings among patients with pre-invasive and invasive cervical cancer.

PURPOSE: To evaluate laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) flap thickness predictability and morphology by femtosecond (FS) laser and microkeratome (MK) using anterior segment optical coherence tomography. METHODS: Fifty-two candidates for the LASIK procedure were stratified into two groups: FS laser-assisted (Allegretto FS-200) and MK flap creation (Moria 2). Flap thickness was determined at five points. The side-cut angle was measured in three directions at the margin interface. LASIK flap assessment was performed one month postoperatively by Spectralis anterior segment optical coherence tomography. RESULTS: Fifty-two patients (93 eyes) were recruited; 49 eyes were stratified to the FS group and 44 eyes to the MK group. The FS group had relatively even flap configurations, and the MK group had meniscus-shaped flaps. Mean differences between planned and actual flap thickness were 12.93 ± 8.89 and 19.91 ± 5.77 µm in the FS and MK groups, respectively. In thin flaps (100 to 110 µm), there was a significant disparity between the two groups (7.80 ± 4.71 and 19.44 ± 4.46 µm in the FS and MK groups, respectively). However, in thicker flaps (130 µm), comparable flap thickness disparity was achieved (18.54 ± 9.52 and 20.83 ± 5.99 µm in the FS and MK groups, respectively). Mean side-cut angle was 74.29 ± 5.79 degrees and 32.34 ± 4.94 degrees in the FS and MK groups, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Comparable flap thickness predictability was achieved in thicker flaps (130 µm), while the FS laser technique yielded a more predictable result in thinner flaps (100 to 110 µm). Different flap morphology was observed in meniscus flaps in MK-LASIK and flap morphology in FS-LASIK.
Humans ; Keratomileusis, Laser In Situ ; Tomography, Optical Coherence

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an endemic disease in the Mediterranean area that has not yet been fully documented in western Libya. The present study describes the clinico-epidemiologic profile of CE in western Libya’s Nalut district. From April 2008 to July 2011, 36 cases of CE were confirmed following surgical removal of cysts. The cysts were most frequently found in the liver (61.1%), followed by the lungs (19.4%), kidneys (11.1%), peritoneal cavity (11.1%), and spleen (5.6%). Among the 36 patients, 6 possessed plural cysts and 3 had cysts in 2 organs. Blood samples from this group were examined for the presence of serum anti-hydatid IgG antibodies, which revealed positivity in 25 patients (69.4 %). An additional 300 blood samples were collected randomly from the inpatient and outpatient clinics at Nalut Hospital. Twenty-seven samples (9%) were found to be positive for the anti-hydatid IgG antibody among which the prevalence of infection tended to be higher in men (12%) than in women (6%). This study demonstrates that CE is a major parasitic infectious disease of public health significance in Libya, notably in the western part of the country and that disease awareness needs to be raised nationwide.

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) is an endemic disease in the Mediterranean area that has not yet been fully documented in western Libya. The present study describes the clinico-epidemiologic profile of CE in western Libya’s Nalut district. From April 2008 to July 2011, 36 cases of CE were confirmed following surgical removal of cysts. The cysts were most frequently found in the liver (61.1%), followed by the lungs (19.4%), kidneys (11.1%), peritoneal cavity (11.1%), and spleen (5.6%). Among the 36 patients, 6 possessed plural cysts and 3 had cysts in 2 organs. Blood samples from this group were examined for the presence of serum anti-hydatid IgG antibodies, which revealed positivity in 25 patients (69.4%). An additional 300 blood samples were collected randomly from the inpatient and outpatient clinics at Nalut Hospital. Twenty-seven samples (9%) were found to be positive for the anti-hydatid IgG antibody among which the prevalence of infection tended to be higher in men (12%) than in women (6%). This study demonstrates that CE is a major parasitic infectious disease of public health significance in Libya, notably in the western part of the country, and that disease awareness needs to be raised nationwide.

Cystitis ; diagnosis ; Cystoscopy ; methods ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Xanthomatosis ; diagnosis

Most health advisories related to outdoor physical activity during haze are general in nature. The advisories normally advise everyone to reduce or limit prolonged exertion or heavy exertion without mentioning the acceptable duration for performing outdoor physical activity causing difficulty for public to decide to stop or cancel a particular outdoor or sport event. The aim of this paper is to determine the acceptable duration for performing outdoor physical activity pattern based on API level. Health risk assessment approach that comprises of hazard identification, exposure assessment, dose-response, and risk characterization steps were used to determine the potential inhaled dose and risk associated with performing the physical activity during haze. We have considered many factors that include time spent for physical activity patterns for Malaysian adult, age, physical intensity-specific inhalation rate (m3/min), and the indoor/outdoor ratio of PM10. A hypothetical exposure scenario of PM10 was created using the breakpoints of PM10 concentration for the calculation of respective API levels. The association between physical activity pattern, API level and risk quotient were presented in the form of risk radar diagram. In general, based on the average estimate, everyone should avoid high intensity physical activity and moderate exertion when API reach > 175 and > 200 respectively. Whereas, based on the high estimate, everyone should avoid high intensity physical activity and moderate exertion when API reach > 135 and > 150 respectively. Below the said API, the duration for performing prolonged exertion and heavy exertion should be adjusted according to the API level as stated in the recommended maximum duration for performing physical activity. Reducing the physical activity is an effective strategy to lower the dose of inhaled pollutants and reduce the health risk during poor air quality. Based on the assessment, the recommended maximum duration for performing the physical activity based on API level was established as a guide for the authority or public to plan their activity during poor air quality.​