Detection of cholera toxin (ctxA and ctxAB) genes in Vibrio cholerae isolated from clinical and environmental samples in Limbang Sarawak by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

Aims@#Cholera epidemics have been occurred in Malaysia since 1991 till 2003 which can be proved from the records by the Infectious Diseases Division of the Ministry of Health. Moreover, there were also course of cholera epidemics from the year 1994 to 2003 which had been happened in Sarawak. Cholera outbreaks in Malaysia mostly caused by the El Tor O1 Vibrio cholerae serogroup. The aims of this study were to detect the presence of V. cholerae in clinical and environmental samples (n=28) from Limbang, Sarawak by collaboration with Sarawak Government Hospital and to detect the toxin genes from the isolates.@*Methodology and results@#All the isolates were sub-cultured in alkaline peptone water (APW). The boiled-cell method was used for DNA extraction. The total DNA extracted was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Two types of PCR were used in this study which are 16S rRNA PCR and multiplex PCR. The results obtained from the study found out that 16 out of 28 (57.14%) samples were confirmed to be V. cholerae species. Four primers specific for V. cholerae were used in multiplex PCR (O1 type, O139 type, ctxA and ctxAB) to confirm the species type and the toxin genes. All samples shown positive for V. cholerae O1 serotype and 100% positive to all genes for the identification of ctxA and ctxAB genes. @*Conclusion, significance and impact of study@#From this study, it showed that multiplex PCR can be used for research purposes in molecular genetics field involving cholera outbreak.

Atypical Kawasaki syndrome in COVID-19 infection: a case report of a multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child (MIS-C)

The emergence of COVID-19 by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) in 2019 has seen evolving data reporting infrequent infection in children and mostly mild disease for children who contract the infection. A severe form of COVID-19 in children recently reported in Europe and North America describes a multisystem inflammation syndrome in children (MIS-C), presenting as toxic-shock-like and Kawasaki-like syndromes. Data on MIS-C in Africa is being documented with recent reports from South Africa and Nigeria in black children, but information on MIS-C in Ghana is yet to be characterized. We report the first case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in a child who tested PCR positive to SARS-CoV2 in a tertiary hospital in Ghana. The case describes a 10- year-old boy who reported Kawasaki-like syndrome without shock but with moderate respiratory distress requiring supportive acute care without the need for intensive care.

Implementation Of An Immunisation Project For The Refugees Using The Logic Model

@#Refugees worldwide have been a challenge to many countries. Threats of preventable immunisable diseases amongst children that disrupt the herd immunity have been a concern as many countries lack a structured national policy to administer full vaccines to these refugees. Full immunisation coverage not only protected the refugees but also safeguarded the children of the home country. We designed a collaborative university-based community service partnership with UNHCR and International-Organisation-for-Migration, implemented a practice-integrated immunisation service initiative with the local community. This paper described the implementation process of an immunisation project for the refugees using the evaluative Logic Model. This model diagrammatically shows the relationships between the program's objectives, program activities, process indicators, outcomes, and resources used. It applies to program planning, operation, evaluation and address questions for decision making. The aim was to provide refugees' children below 18-years the complete doses of the national scheduled immunisation. The immunisation was given in six refugees-learning-centres in a total of 31 visits. The workflow includes administering the immunisation, health education, triaging, data collection, and monitoring the children immunised. A total of 1116 children received full immunisation within a period of eighteen months. Vaccines given were Pentavalent, Hepatitis B, Tetanus-Diphtheria, and Mumps-Measles-Rubella. This project has achieved more than 80% immunisation coverage for all the vaccines except Pentavalent (<50%). The Logic Model is useful for developing, implementing, and evaluating knowledge co-production partnerships in the context of a community delivery system in this project.

Total Antioxidant Activity and Enzymatic Inhibition against Alpha-Amylase, Alpha-Glucosidase and Pancreatic Lipase of Irradiated Archidendron bubalinum

@#Introduction: Archidendron bubalinum is an underutilised plant with numerous antioxidant properties and has a great potential to inhibit enzymes linked with diabetes and obesity. Food irradiation is an advanced technology to prolong the lifespan of plant, prevent physical spoilage and eradicate food borne disease. Present study was aimed to determine the total antioxidant activity, enzymatic inhibition against alpha-amylase, alpha-glucosidase and pancreatic lipase and the toxicity levels of non-irradiated and irradiated (3, 6, 9 & 12 kGy) hot aqueous extract of A. bubalinum. Methods: The antioxidant ability of the extract was determined by total phenolic content (TPC), total flavanoid content (TFC), Diphenyl-1-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), β-carotene assay and ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) assay. The inhibitory activities were evaluated using α-amylase, α-glucosidase, and pancreatic lipase inhibition assay. The toxicity levels of A. bubalinum extract were determined using Brine shrimp and Zebra-fish assays. Results: Results showed that irradiated A. bubalinum at 12 kGy demonstrated the highest TFC (448.99 ± 5.02 mg GAE/g), FRAP (2.55 ± 0.40 mmol Fe2+/g) and β-carotene bleaching activity (79.49%). Whereas, non-irradiated A. bubalinum samples expressed the highest TPC (2517.07 ± 15.81 mg GAE/g) and exhibited the lowest IC50 values of α-amylase (31.99 ± 3.15 μg/ml), α-glucosidase (23.40 ± 0.69μg/ml) and pancreatic lipase (32.81 ± 7.96 μg/ml) activity. The toxicity assays also showed no significant different between irradiated and non-irradiated samples. Conclusion: The study suggests that gamma irradiation has the prospective future to increase antioxidant properties and maintaining the enzyme inhibitory activities to preserve the sample of A. bubalinum for commercial purposes

Associations of learning style with cultural values and demographics in nursing students in Iran and Malaysia / 보건의료교육평가

PURPOSE: The goal of the current study was to identify associations between the learning style of nursing students and their cultural values and demographic characteristics. METHODS: A non-probability purposive sampling method was used to gather data from two populations. All 156 participants were female, Muslim, and full-time degree students. Data were collected from April to June 2010 using two reliable and validated questionnaires: the Learning Style Scales and the Values Survey Module 2008 (VSM 08). A simple linear regression was run for each predictor before conducting multiple linear regression analysis. The forward selection method was used for variable selection. P-values 0.05). Likewise, no significant associations were observed between learning style, including the perceptive, solitary, analytic, competitive, and imaginative learning styles, and year of study or age (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: Students who reported low values on the power distance and monumentalism indices are more likely to prefer perceptive and solitary learning styles. Within each group of students in our study sample from the same school the year of study and age did not show any significant associations with learning style.

Learning Style Scales: a valid and reliable questionnaire / 보건의료교육평가

PURPOSE: Learning-style instruments assist students in developing their own learning strategies and outcomes, in eliminating learning barriers, and in acknowledging peer diversity. Only a few psychometrically validated learning-style instruments are available. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable learning-style instrument for nursing students. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted in two nursing schools in two countries. A purposive sample of 156 undergraduate nursing students participated in the study. Face and content validity was obtained from an expert panel. The LSS construct was established using principal axis factoring (PAF) with oblimin rotation, a scree plot test, and parallel analysis (PA). The reliability of LSS was tested using Cronbach's alpha, corrected item-total correlation, and test-retest. RESULTS: Factor analysis revealed five components, confirmed by PA and a relatively clear curve on the scree plot. Component strength and interpretability were also confirmed. The factors were labeled as perceptive, solitary, analytic, competitive, and imaginative learning styles. Cronbach's alpha was >0.70 for all subscales in both study populations. The corrected item-total correlations were >0.30 for the items in each component. CONCLUSION: The LSS is a valid and reliable inventory for evaluating learning style preferences in nursing students in various multicultural environments.

Learning style preferences of nursing students at two universities in Iran and Malaysia / 보건의료교육평가

PURPOSE: Learning style preferences vary within the nursing field and there is no consensus on a predominant learning style preference in nursing students. The current study compared the learning style preferences of nursing students at two universities in Iran and Malaysia. METHODS: A purposive sampling method was used to collect data from the two study populations. Data were collected using the Learning Style Scale (LSS), which is a valid and reliable inventory. The LSS consists of 22 items with five subscales including perceptive, solitary, analytic, imaginative, and competitive. The questionnaires were distributed at the end of the academic year during regular class time for optimum response. The Mann-Whitney U-test was used to compare the learning style preferences between the two study populations. RESULTS: A significant difference was found in perceptive, solitary, and analytic learning styles between two groups of nursing students. However, there was no significant difference in imaginative and competitive learning styles between the two groups. Most of the students were in the middle range of the learning styles. CONCLUSION: There were similarities and differences in learning style preferences between Zabol Medical Sciences University (ZBMU) and University Sains Malaysia (USM) nursing students. The USM nursing students were more sociable and analytic learners, whereas the ZBMU nursing students were more solitary and perceptive learners.

Phytochemical screening and anticonvulsant studies of ethyl acetate fraction of Globimetula braunii on laboratory animals

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the phytochemical properties and the anticonvulsant potential of the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of ethanol leaf extract of Globimetula braunii, a plant used in ethnomedicine for the treatment of epilepsy.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The phytochemical screening was carried out using standard protocol while the anticonvulsant activity was studied using maximal electroshock test in chicks, pentylenetetrazole and 4-aminopyridine-induced seizures in mice.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The preliminary phytochemical screening carried out on the crude ethanol extract revealed the presence of saponins, carbohydrates, flavonoids, tannins, anthraquinones and steroids. Similarly, tannins, flavonoids and steroids/terpenes were found to be present in the ethyl acetate fraction. In the pharmacological screening, 150 mg/kg of the fraction protected 83.33% of animals against pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure in mice whereas sodium valproate a standard anti-epileptic drug offered 100% protection. In the 4-aminopyridine-induced seizure model, the fraction produced a significant (P<0.05) increase in the mean onset of seizure in unprotected animals. The fraction did not exhibit a significant activity against maximal electroshock convulsion. The median lethal dose of the fraction was found to be 1 261.91 mg/kg.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>These results suggest that the ethyl acetate fraction of Globimetula braunii leaves extract possesses psychoactive compound that may be useful in the management of petit mal epilepsy and lend credence to the ethnomedical use of the plant in the management of epilepsy.</p>

Epidemiological analysis of typhoid fever in Kelantan from a retrieved registry

Aim: Despite the endemicity of typhoid in Kelantan, epidemiological data showing typhoid association to age, sex, ethnicity and district of patients is limited. This retrospective study investigated the statistical association of these variables from a retrieved registry. Methodology and results: Cross-tabulation using SPSS was used to analyze 1394 cases of confirmed typhoid patients admitted to various hospitals in Kelantan state over a six-year period. Fourteen age groups with a five-year range interval were generated. There was a significant association between typhoid infection and sex of subjects, whereby females were generally more susceptible than males. Ethnicity and district of typhoid patients did not show significant association. Conclusion, significance and impact of study: The observation of an increased number of typhoid cases with a male predominance in the age group 5-14 and female predominance in the 20-60 age group calls for improved hygiene, continued public health education, together with better laboratory diagnostics to identify carriers, are some measures to control this disease.

Effect of moderate exercise on the level of melatonin hormone and lymphocyte apoptosis in healthy subjects

Physical exercise is important for promotion of the immune system. The immune responses to exercise are dependent on the intensity and duration of the exercise performed. During exercise, metabolic and hormonal changes occurred that can induce lymphocyte apoptosis. Melatonin is one of the hormones that are affected by exercise, it is a pineal gland hormone, its production and secretion followed a circadian pattern, onset of darkness stimulate its secretion, while day light suppress its production. Melatonin is regarded as an anti-aging hormone; it has a role in the elimination of harmful lymphocytes which may give rise to chronic inflammation and possibly to autoimmunity. This prospective study aimed to elucidate the effect of moderate endurance exercise on melatonin hormone and the percentage of peripheral blood lymphocyte apoptosis in healthy subjects. Sixty healthy subjects with a mean age of [37.05 +/- 13.02] year, participated in the study. They were subjected to moderate exercise session which lasted for 60 min and repeated 3 times per week for 3 months. The exercise intensity was 50-60% of heart rate reserve [according to Karvonen formula]. Two exercise stages were performed; the first stage include 30 minute of physical activity program and the second stage include 30 minute of treadmill exercise. Blood sample were collected before and after exercise to examine its effect on the level of melatonin hormone and apoptosis of peripheral blood lymphocyte. This study showed significant increment in the level of melatonin hormone and the percentage of lymphocyte apoptosis after exercise in comparison to pre exercise values for each week along the period of the test [P < 0.05]. Three months exercise showed a significant correlation with the levels of melatonin hormone [P= 0.008, r= 0.44], and with percentage of lymphocyte apoptosis [P = 0.001, r= 0.701]. It can be concluded that moderate exercise for three months was associated with increased percentage of periphral blood lymphocyte apoptosis and increased level of melatonin hormone in the first two months while in the third month this anti aging hormone had reached a steady state after the subjects get trained to exercise