Factors Associated with Poor Perceptions of Graphic Warning Signs (GWS) on Cigarette Package among Adult Smokers in Kelantan

@#Introduction: Initially, studies showed that graphic warning signs (GWSs) on cigarette packages encouraged smoking cessation. However, there have been recent concerns over the effectiveness of GWSs to change smoker perceptions and behavior over time. Our goals were to assess the latest perceptions of GWSs among smokers in Kelantan and to determine the factors associated with them. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among respondents who attended outpatient clinics in a teaching hospital in Kelantan. Their perceptions were analyzed with a validated Malay questionnaire containing four domains: fear, influence, credibility, and picture content. Results: The average smoking age was 17 (3.04) years old. The mean smoking time was 11 (7.49) years. The average daily cigarettes smoked was 8 (6.26). Most respondents perceived low levels of fear (83%), poor picture content (65.5%), low influence (87.6%), and low levels of credibility (70.1%) in GWSs. Those with low levels of education were significantly associated with poor perceptions of GWSs. Conclusion: Despite vigorous efforts by the government to discourage smoking in Kelantan, smokers still poorly perceive GWSs. More effective health-promotion strategies are essential to influence smokers in this area.

Hepatic or cystic artery pseudoaneurysms following a laparoscopic cholecystectomy - literature review of aetiopathogenesis, presentation, diagnosis and management

Pseudoaneurysms [PSAs] of the hepatic and/or cystic artery are a rare complication following a laparoscopic cholecystectomy [LC]. Generally, PSA cases present with haemobilia several weeks following the procedure. Transarterial embolisation [TAE] is considered the optimal management approach. We report a 70-year-old woman who presented to the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, in 2016 with massive hemoperitoneum two weeks after undergoing a LC procedure in another hospital. She was successfully managed using coil TAE. An extensive literature review revealed 101 cases of hepatic or cystic artery PSAs following a LC procedure. Haemobilia was the main presentation [85.1%] and the mean time of postoperative presentation was 36 days. The hepatic artery was involved in most cases [88.1%], followed by the cystic artery [7.9%] and a combination of both [4.0%]. Most cases were managed with TAE [72.3%], with a 94.5% success rate. The overall mortality rate was 2.0%

Cerebellar mutism following closed head injury in a child

Cerebellar mutism is a rare occurrence following paediatric trauma. Although it is quite common after posterior fossa surgery in children, this phenomenon has rarely been reported following other insults, such as trauma, and its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. We report a seven-year-old child who presented to the casualty department of Sultan Qaboos University Hospital in Muscat, Oman, in May 2013 with a traumatic right cerebellar contusion. The child presented with clinical features of cerebellar mutism but underwent a rapid and spontaneous recovery. The possible mechanism of this occurrence is discussed

[Estimating microsatellite based genetic diversity in Rhode Island Red chicken]

This study aimed to estimate microsatellite based genetic diversity in two lines [the selected RIRS and control line RIRC] of Rhode Island Red [RIR] chicken. Genomic DNA of 24 randomly selected birds maintained at Central Avian Research Institute [India] and 24 microsatellite markers were used. Microsatellite alleles were determined on 6% urea-PAGE, recorded using GelDoc system and the samples were genotyped. Nei's heterozygosity and Botstein's polymorphic information content [PIC] at each microsatellite locus were estimated. Wright's fixation indices and gene flow were estimated using POPGENE software. All the microsatellite loci were polymorphic and the estimated PIC ranged from 0.3648 [MCW0059] to 0.7819 [ADL0267] in RIRS and from 0.2392 [MCW0059] to 0.8620 [ADL0136] in RIRC. Most of the loci were highly informative [PIC>0.50] in the both lines, except for five loci in RIRS and six loci in RIRC line. Nei's heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.4800 [MCW0059] to 0.8056 [ADL0267] in RIRS and from 0.2778 [MCW0059] to 0.875 [ADL0136] in RIRC. Out of 24 loci, 15 [62.5%] in RIRS and 14 loci [58.33%] in RIRC revealed moderate to high negative FIS index indicating heterozygote excess for these loci in corresponding lines, but the rest revealed positive FIS indicating heterozygosity deficiency. A mean FIS across the both lines indicated overall 10.77% heterozygosity deficit and a mean FIT indicated 17.19% inbreeding co-efficient favoring homozygosity over the two lines. The mean FST indicated that 10.18% of the microsatellite variation between the two lines was due to their genetic difference.

Rigid spine syndrome among children in Oman

Rigidity of the spine is common in adults but is rarely observed in children. The aim of this study was to report on rigid spine syndrome [RSS] among children in Oman. Data on children diagnosed with RSS were collected consecutively at presentation between 1996 and 2014 at the Sultan Qaboos University Hospital [SQUH] in Muscat, Oman. A diagnosis of RSS was based on the patient's history, clinical examination, biochemical investigations, electrophysiological findings, neuro-imaging and muscle biopsy. Atrophy of the paraspinal muscles, particularly the erector spinae, was the diagnostic feature; this was noted using magnetic resonance imaging of the spine. Children with disease onset in the paraspinal muscles were labelled as having primary RSS or rigid spinal muscular dystrophy. Secondary RSS was classified as RSS due to the late involvement of other muscle diseases. Over the 18-year period, 12 children were included in the study, with a male-to-female ratio of 9:3. A total of 10 children were found to have primary RSS or rigid spinal muscular dystrophy syndrome while two had secondary RSS. Onset of the disease ranged from birth to 18 months of age. A family history was noted, with two siblings from one family and three siblings from another [n = 5]. On examination, children with primary RSS had typical features of severe spine rigidity at onset, with the rest of the neurological examination being normal. RSS is a rare disease with only 12 reported cases found at SQUH during the study period. Cases of primary RSS should be differentiated from the secondary type

High fluoride and low pH level have been detected in popular flavoured beverages in Malaysia

In children, excessive ingestion of fluoride from different sources including bottled drinking water and flavoured beverages or soft drinks can lead to the development of dental fluorosis. In addition, the pH level of beverages is important. Low pH can cause dental erosion. In this study we explore the fluoride content and pH level of certain popular beverages available in Malaysian supermarkets and hawkers' stalls. Bottled drinking water and selected popular flavoured packet drinks were purchased from a supermarket and the corresponding flavoured hawkers' drinks, from a hawker's stall in Kuala Lumpur. Fluoride and pH of the beverages were determined using digital fluoride meter and digital pH meter respectively. It was found that fluoride content and pH level vary among the beverages. The mean fluoride content in both packet and hawkers' drinks [7.64 +/- 1.88 mg/L, 7.51 +/- 1.60 mg/L, respectively] was approximately 7 times higher than the bottled drinking water [1.05 +/- 0.35 mg/L]. Among the beverages, the tea packet drink was found to contain the highest amount of fluoride [13.02 +/- 0.23 mg/L]. The mean pH of bottled-drinking water was near neutral [6.96 +/- 0.17], but acidic for both supermarket [4.78.00 +/- 0.49] and hawkers' drinks [5.73 +/- 0.24]. The lychee packet drink had the lowest pH level [2.97 +/- 0.03]. Due to the wide variation of the fluoride content and pH level of the drinks tested in this study, it is recommended that steps should be taken to control the fluoride concentration and pH level in beverages if dental fluorosis and erosion are to be prevented

Frequency of food intakes and dental caries in a Malaysian dental student group

Although the relationship between snack food eating and dental caries has been investigated in the United States and European groups, no data exist for Asian snack foods and diets. Our objective was to investigate snack food eating and dental caries in a Malaysian dental student group. Frequency of eating was assessed on a basis of 2 weekday and 2 weekend day diaries for non-fasting students and one weekday and one weekend day during Ramadan, and a similar set outside Ramadan for fasting students. The sucrose and carbohydrate composition of between meal snacks and drinks was identified. The total number of decayed, missing, and filled teeth was recorded by two dental examiners. The modal number of total food intakes was 2 or 3 per day on both weekdays and weekends. The number of between-meal snacks and drinks varied between 0 and 5. They were either high sucrose/low carbohydrate or high sucrose/high carbohydrate. DMFS scores were very low in all subjects but increased with between- meal snack intakes, particularly in the high sucrose/low carbohydrate category. Malaysian students had relatively low frequencies of food intakes but there was still an association between frequency of between-meal snacks and caries rates, as in Western countries

Academic job satisfaction questionnaire: construction and validation in Saudi Arabia

Colleges and universities are becoming increasingly accountable for teaching outcomes in order to meet rigorous accreditation standards. Job satisfaction [JS] seems more difficult to measure in the academic field in view of the complexity of roles, duties and responsibilities. To compile and determine the psychometric properties of a proposed Academic Job Satisfaction Questionnaire [AJSQ] suitable for university faculty, and amenable to future upgrading. A 46-item five-option Likert-type draft questionnaire on JS was distributed for anonymous self-reporting by all the academic staff of five colleges in University of Dammam [n=340]. The outcome measures were [1] factor analysis of the questionnaire items, [2] intra-factor alpha-coefficient of Internal Consistency Reliability, [3] inter-factor correlations, [4] comparison of psychometric properties in separately analyzed main faculty subgroups. The response rate was 72.9 percent. Factor analysis extracted eight factors which conjointly explained 60.3 percent of the variance in JS. These factors, in descending order of eigenvalue, were labeled "Authority", "Supervision", "Policies and Facilities", "My Work Itself", "Interpersonal Relationships", "Commitment", "Salary" and "Workload". Cronbach's-alpha ranged from 0.90 in "Supervision" to 0.63 in "Salary" and "Workload". All inter-factor correlations were positive and significant, ranging from 0.65 to 0.23. The psychometric properties of the instrument in separately analyzed subgroups divided by sex, nationality, college and clinical duties produced fairly comparable findings. The AJSQ demonstrated good overall psychometric properties in terms of construct validity and internal consistency reliability in both the overall sample and its separately analyzed subgroups. To replicate these findings in larger multicenter samples of academic staff

Effects of a continuous care model on perceived quality of life of spouses of haemodialysis patients

We carried out a semi-experimental study with simple randomized sampling to study the effects of applying a continuous care model on the quality of life of 36 spouses of haemodialysis patients in Hamedan, Islamic Republic of Iran. Participants took part in group discussions and training on the continuous care approach and completed the Perceived Quality Of Life [PQOL] questionnaire before and after the intervention. Mean scores on the physical, social and cognitive dimensions, as well as happiness and total scores significantly increased after the intervention. Applying a continuous care model has positive effects on the caregivers of chronic patients

effect of psidium guajava and piper betle extracts on the morphology of dental plaque bacteria

It has been reported that the aqueous extracts of Psidium guajava and Piper betle leaves showed anti-plaque activities during the early stages of dental plaque formation. The aim of the study was to elucidate if such anti-plaque activities involve any ultra-structural changes to the morphology of three early dental plaque bacteria, Streptococcus sanguinis, Streptococcus mitis and Actinomyces sp. Pure cultures of the bacteria were suspended in BHI medium and treated with the test herbal extracts at the sub-lethal concentrations. The growth mixtures were incubated at 37°C. At the logarithmic growth phase [t1], aliquots of 1 ml of the growth mixtures were fixed and used in the preparation of specimens for SEM studies. Ultra-structural alterations to the morphology of the treated cells noted were compared to those of the cells cultured under untreated conditions. Following exposure of the bacteria to the two test herbal extracts, profound ultra-structural changes to their morphology were observed. The observed structural or morphological alterations could attribute to the bacteria being less active in performing normal physiological metabolic functions and thus rendering them less efficient to multiply. The changes noted included [i] reduced sizes of the bacteria, and [ii] majority cells at the non-dividing state as compared to those cultured under controlled conditions. This study has shown anti-plaque effects of aqueous extract of both P. betle and P. guajava

Extracorporeal methods in the treatment of poisoning.

Among the various ways of managing poisoning, haemodialysis may help in enhancing excretion of the toxic substance. We report a case, a Russian male, 35 years old, who was rushed to the Gleneagles Hospital Medan from the airport after being evacuated from Banda Aceh together with another older Russian who died as they arrived at the admission and Emergency Department. From the result of intensive allo anamnesis and the high anion gap metabolic acidosis, in the absence of disturbed renal and liver function, we presumed this patient was suffering from methanol intoxication. The time of exposure was approximately 70 hours before. The exact length of dialysis time to excrete the noxious substance from the blood without plasma methanol determination was difficult. Moreover the time elapsed from exposure to treatment had been approximately 70 hours, which means the optic nerve had been so long exposed to formic acid, the toxic metabolite of methanol, that the damage should have been very severe. Ethanol is also known to be an antidote of methanol, which can be given orally by nasogastric tube, or i.v. It should be given early, and plasma ethanol level should be closely monitored to make it effective and safe. This was also unavailable. Another antidote is fomepizole which is also as yet unavailable in Medan. Folic acid, thiamin, and i.v. folinic acid are also recommended by the literature, as well as oral steroid.

The Effect of Beverages On The Release of Calcium From The Eanmel Surface

In this study, the effect of beverages (Coke TM, Sprite™, Ribena™, Chrysanthemum tea and mineral water) on the demineralisation of the enamel surface was investigated. Demineralisation was determined by the rate of calcium released from the enamel surface on exposure to the beverages. Calcium was determined using the EDTA titration method. The pH of these beverages was measured using a pH meter and found to be in the acidic range (2.43 to 5.79) while mineral water which served as a control has a pH of 7.00. Ii was found that the rate of calcium released from Coke™(0.76 J..lg/min) showed a significant mean difference from Sprite™ (0.38 J..lg/min), Chrysanthemum tea (0.10 J..lg/min) and mineral water (0.00 J..lg/min)at p< .05, but was however not significantly different from Ribena™. Likewise, Chrysanthemum tea and mineral water also showed statistically no significant mean difference in the released of calcium during the study period. The results obtained in this study indicated that beverages with low pH may pose detrimental effect on the enamel surface which could have clinical implication, especially in people with salivary gland dysfunction or low salivary flow.

Screening of antimicrobial activities of medicinally important orchid bulbophyllum lilacinum RidL

The organic solvent extracts were obtained from whole plant of Bulbophyllum lilacinum Ridl. to screen antibacterial activities and test was carried out against five human pathogenic bacteria namely, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Shigella dysenteriae, Salmonella typhi, INABA-ET [Vibrio]. Water extracts obtained from whole plant were also screened for their antifungal activities against six phytopathogenic fungi including, Alternaria alttrnata, Botryodiplodia theobromae, Curvularia lunata, Colletotrichwn corchori, Fusarium equiseti, Macrophomina phaseolina. Both organic solvent and water extracts were found to be active against all the microbes tested and significant inhibition of microbial growth was also observed

Comparative study between magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] and arthroscopy in evaluation of curciate and menisical injuries of the knee

Over a period of one year 42 patients with knee joints trauma were evaluated by MRI and arthroscopy. The study was performed at Radiology Department and cases were referred from Orthopedics Department, Assiut University Hospital. Fourty patients were males and 2 were females. The age of the patients ranged from 19 to 48 years with mean age 29.3 years All the patients had a history of trauma to the knee joint and they were presented with joint pain, swelling, clicking or sense of instability. MRI and arthroscopy were done for all patients. Correlation of the findings of MRI and arthroscopy were done in all cases. The arthroscopic diagnosis was positive in 39 cases and negative in 3 cases. The positive cases include 18 cases of ACL, 5 cases of PCL tears, 8 MM tears and 8 LM tears. The MR was positive in 42 cases. These include 18 cases of ACL tears. 5 cases of PCL tears, 10 cases MM tears and 9 cases LM tears. Both MRI and arthroscopy have the same results in diagnosis of ACL, PCL tears, but they differ in the diagnosis of some cases of meniscal tears where arthroscopy is more accurate. We concluded that MRI is accurate in the diagnosis of cruciate and meniscal injuries of the knee and its accuracy should decrease the need for arthroscopy as a diagnostic tool and direct its use for therapeutic use