Introduction: The disregard for hip flexion force when designing foot-operated equipment poses a potential threat to non-compliance with ergonomics principles, ultimately impacting occupational health. Nevertheless, there is a noticeable lack of studies focusing on the hip flexion strength of Malaysian adults in a standing position. This paper aimed to measure the maximum force of hip flexion strength and formulate a regression model for Malaysian young adults in a standing posture. Materials and methods: The experiment invited sixty Malaysian adults aged 20 to 26 years old. A digital force gauge (Mark-10, USA) was used to measure the hip flexion force. A regression model was developed to determine the influence of gender, body mass, body height, thigh length, and thigh circumference on the hip flexion force. Results: The results of this study found that the means of hip flexion force for the male and female participants were 192.8 N and 126.0 N, respectively. The regression model concluded that gender is the most significant factor influencing hip flexion force (p<0.01). The body mass, body height, thigh length, and thigh circumference positively correlate to hip flexion force. However, these correlations were not statistically significant (p>0.05). Conclusion: This study concluded that the relationship between anthropometric parameters and hip flexion force is not always straightforward and can be influenced by various factors. To gain a more comprehensive picture of hip flexion, it is essential to consider other potential factors such as muscle mass, neuromuscular control, and joint mechanics.

Introduction: The industrial park in the district of Parit Raja, Batu Pahat resulted in rapid growth of the town during the last 20 years and has been a reason of concern that this park also has contributed greatly to the problem of air pollution. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between industrial air pollution and respiratory symptoms in adults living in the Parit Raja. Methods: A comparative cross-sectional study was undertaken among residents in the district of Parit Raja, Batu Pahat, Johor, Malaysia. A total of 110 residents aged between 19 and 65 years were randomly selected and information on personal characteristics and respiratory symptoms was obtained through a validated questionnaire. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was compared between residents recruited from the areas situated about 5km radius of the industrial park (exposed) and >5km radius from the industrial park (comparative). Results: A total of 34.5% and 25.5% of adults from the exposed group reported experiencing coughing for the last 3 months and chest tightness for the last 3 years. The logistic regression models showed that symptoms of coughing was associated with the exposed group (aOR=6.34, 95% CI=2.08-19.35), male respondents (aOR=3.18, 95% CI=1.10-9.16) and who stay in Part Raja for more than 14 years (aOR=3.16, 95% CI=1.14-8.79). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that long-term air pollution exposures are consistently associated with respiratory symptoms in residents living in the proximity of industrial parks. Therefore, public health initiatives that aim to provide more conducive environment are needed, especially for residents living near industrial parks.

and Relevance: This review highlights the list of parasites infecting rodents in Malaysia, provides information on the molecular and pathological findings from previous studies, and identifies some of the limitations and knowledge gaps that suggest future research to address the issues, including the paucity of information on blood parasites, molecular, and histopathological studies of parasites in rodents.

and Relevance: This review highlights the list of parasites infecting rodents in Malaysia, provides information on the molecular and pathological findings from previous studies, and identifies some of the limitations and knowledge gaps that suggest future research to address the issues, including the paucity of information on blood parasites, molecular, and histopathological studies of parasites in rodents.

and Relevance: This review highlights the list of parasites infecting rodents in Malaysia, provides information on the molecular and pathological findings from previous studies, and identifies some of the limitations and knowledge gaps that suggest future research to address the issues, including the paucity of information on blood parasites, molecular, and histopathological studies of parasites in rodents.

and Relevance: This review highlights the list of parasites infecting rodents in Malaysia, provides information on the molecular and pathological findings from previous studies, and identifies some of the limitations and knowledge gaps that suggest future research to address the issues, including the paucity of information on blood parasites, molecular, and histopathological studies of parasites in rodents.

Introduction: The term "urban heat island" refers to a phenomenon that occurs when temperatures in urban areas are higher than those in the areas that surround them (suburban area). Methods: The urban heat island phenomenon can result in increase of energy consumption, increase of air pollution, decrease of water quality, and increase of greenhouse gas emissions, all of which have the potential to negatively impact people in a variety of ways. Results: In this review we identified certain groups such as elderly, children, woman, pregnant woman, single person, and minority communities, who are living in dense area or in high rise building, low education level, low income, work in outdoor environment and had pre-existing illnesses may face health issues or insufficient resources to cope with the heat in urban area. There were more susceptible to heat-related illnesses and mortality, particularly during extreme heat events. Conclusions Recognising these vulnerable populations is crucial to develop effective strategies to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands and protect them. This can aid policy makers and urban planners to implement targeted interventions to address these issues. Keywords Urban heat island – UHI – Vulnerable population – Heat exposure

This paper describes the occurrence of multiple parasitic infection with special reference to emerging haemotropic Mycoplasma ovis. A cross-sectional survey of four selected goat flocks was conducted to collect samples and management information. Blood samples were processed using microhaematocrit centrifugation to determine the packed cell volume (PCV). Detection and morphological identification of blood protozoa and haemotropic Mycoplasma ovis from Giemsa-stained smears were done microscopically. M. ovis infection was classified mild (1-29% infected cells), moderate (30-59% infected cells), or severe (above 60% infected cells). Faecal floatation and McMaster faecal egg count were used to detect and classify strongyle infections as negative (no eggs/oocysts), light (< 500 epg), Moderate (500 – 1000 epg), or severe (>1000 epg) and coccidia infection as light (<1800 opg), moderate (1800 – 6000 opg), or severe (>6000 opg). There were 149 goats with blood protozoa (57.98%; 95% CI: 51.87 – 63.85) and 204 goats with GI parasites (79.38%; 95% CI: 74.02 - 83.87) involved in single (15.8%; 95% CI: 11.7 – 21.0) or multiple (84.2%; 95% CI: 79.0 – 88.3) infections. The risk of Strongyles increases by 2.49 (95% CI: 1.24 – 4.99) in females versus males and 6.79 (95% CI: 3.25 – 14.18, p =0.000) in adults versus young. The risk of Eimeria species increases by 7.32 (95% CI: 3.45 – 15.50, p =0.000) in adults versus young, while M. ovis coinfection risk increases by 4.51 (95% CI: 1.40 – 14.50, p =0.000) in female versus males. Thin animals had a significantly higher (p<0.05) mean burden of Strongyle (1370.37 ± 345.49) and Eimeria (1594.12 ± 695.26) than the moderate and fat goats. The PCV was negatively associated with mean faecal egg count (FEC) (p<0.05) such that a lower PCV was recorded in animals with a higher Strongyle epg output. A severe burden of M. ovis was accompanied by an increased nematode FEC and decreased haematocrit (p<0.05). Coinfections of Strongyles, or Eimeria species involving M. ovis were associated with a higher parasitaemia compared with single infections (p<0.05). This study highlights the importance of M. ovis and Strongyle or Eimeria species coinfections among goat flocks and provides valuable data for developing and implementing an integrated herd health management program for parasite control among low-input smallholder flocks.

The expansion of healthcare services to serve as many people as possible has led to the decentralisation of laboratory testing. Many laboratory tests are now made available at district hospitals and rural health clinics for certain states or provinces. Consequently, there is a proliferation of laboratory tests, techniques, equipment, and other required commodities at the different medical laboratories. The lack of central governance has resulted in a widely-diverse and non-standardised laboratory services that may eventually affect the quality of healthcare delivery to patients. To ensure a high-quality and standardised healthcare delivery across a state or a province, it is important that the relevant stakeholders outline and implement the necessary strategies to establish a streamlined medical laboratory network. In this article, we discuss the significance of laboratory procurement consolidation and centralisation in the steering of the standardisation of laboratory operations leading to a high-quality and efficient chemical pathology services in a defined region.