Psychometric properties of the Malay version of motivation scales in drug treatment

@#Introduction: In recognition of the role of motivation in drug use treatment, patient motivational screening instruments are needed for strategic planning and treatment. The aims of this study were to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Malay version of the Treatment Motivation Scale, and to compare the motivational levels of patients receiving substance abuse treatment with different modalities (inpatient vs. outpatient). The motivational scale consists of three scales: problem recognition, desire for help and treatment readiness. Method: A convenience sample of 102 patients was recruited from four Cure and Care Service Centres in Malaysia. Results: Principal component analysis with varimax rotation supported two-factor solutions for each subscale: problem recognition, desire for help and treatment readiness, which accounted for 63.5%, 62.7% and 49.1% of the variances, respectively. The Cronbach’s alpha coefficients were acceptable for the overall measures (24 items: α = 0.89), the problem recognition scale (10 items; α = 0.89), desire for help (6 items; α = 0.64) and treatment readiness scale (8 items; α = 0.60). The results also indicated significant motivational differences for different modalities, with inpatients having significantly higher motivational scores in each scale compared to outpatients. Conclusion: The present study pointed towards the favourable psychometric properties of a motivation for treatment scale, which can be a useful instrument for clinical applications of drug use changes and treatment.

Unfitness To Plead Among Female Offenders: When Looseness Matters

@#Objective: Pritchard Criteria are adopted in a Malaysian criminal-justice system while assessing fitness to plead. There is limited data on the reason of unfitness to plead for female offenders in Malaysia. Methods: A case series of five patients hospitalized to Hospital Bahagia Ulu Kinta, Malaysia due to unfitness to plead was presented and discussed. Result: The offences include three homicides, one assault, and one stealing. All of them were diagnosed to have schizophrenia with prominent looseness of association. Four of them subsequently treated as Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia (TRS) with a minimal response toward clozapine. Conclusion: Looseness of association may be a contributing factor for unfitness to plead among Malaysian female offenders, which can result in indeterminate hospitalization. This should be confirmed in a larger prospective study.

Detection of Neisseria gonorrhoeae in Palestinian women using polymerase chain reaction.

Background: Neisseria gonorrohoeae is an exclusive human pathogen that primarily infects the urogenital epithelia. Infections caused by N. gonorrhoeae are considered the second major cause of sexually transmitted disease after Chlamydiae worldwide. Although the urethra and the uterine cervix serve as the initial sites for gonococcal infections in men and women, infection of the conjunctiva, pharynx, tendons, joints, as well as rectal mucosa are also reported. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to introduce molecular techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect N. gonorrhoeae directly from endocervical swabs. In addition, it provides a picture of Neisseria gonorrohea infection among a sample of Palestinian women in West Bank. Methods: Two hundred and thirteen endocervical swabs were collected from sexually active married women with endocervical abnormalities attending healthcare clinics. DNA was extracted directly from the swabs and PCR was performed using specific primers targeting the orf1 region of the genome. Results: The results obtained indicated that the percentage of positive cases of N. gonorrhoeae among the women tested was 1.40%. Conclusion: Implementing guidelines for comprehensive screening of men and women with more sensitive tests may improve detection and management of sexually transmitted infections.

Serum copper, zinc and copper/zinc ratio and their relationship to age and growth status in Yemeni adolescent girls

As no previous study has evaluated copper and zinc status in adolescent Yemeni girls, the purpose of this study was to measure their serum levels of zinc and copper and to examine the relationship between the serum levels of these two trace minerals with age, and anthropometric parameters. The study was conducted in April 2007 in Alwehda district in the municipality of Sana'a, Yemen. One hundred and fourteen adolescent girls were selected using systematic stratified sampling from a representative school which was randomly selected. Anthropometric indices were measured and blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis. The mean +/- SD for copper, zinc, and copper/zinc ratio for the entire cohort were 17.47 +/- 3.31 micro mol/L, 12.24 +/- 1.04 micro mol/L, and 1.44 +/- 0.31, respectively. The prevalence of hypocuprimea was 4.4% and hypercuprimea was 2.6%. The levels of zinc were marginal in 96.5% of the girls and the prevalence of hypozincimea was 3.5%. The levels of copper were significantly higher [p = 0.007] and the levels of zinc were significantly lower [p = 0.003] in the 10-12 yrs girls than in other age groups. Height showed significant negative correlation with the levels of copper [p = 0.07] and significant positive correlation with the levels of zinc [p = 0.008]. The results revealed that the Yemeni girls had marginal serum zinc levels, and 10-12 yrs girls had significantly lower zinc levels than other age groups. This provides a warning of consequent negative health effects since the physiological requirements for zinc are high in adolescence