Knowledge and attitude of occupational health and safety among laboratory worker of Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in University Putra Malaysia. .

Introduction:Laboratory workers are exposed to variety of hazards that may affect their health and safety. Awareness of occupational safety and health (OSH) is important in preventing occupational injuries and diseases. The objective of this study was to assess the knowledge of OSH among laboratory workers in Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia. Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted on laboratory workers in the two faculties in Universiti Putra Malaysia.A pretested, self-administered questionnaire comprising of 5 sections including socio-demographic, OSH environment of the laboratory, exposure to the knowledge of OSH, knowledge of OSH and attitude of laboratory workers in the laboratory was distributed to all registered permanent laboratory workers in the faculties. Data entry and analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 18.Descriptive statistics on socio-demography and job factors were determined. Independent t-test and chi-squared test were used to test associations. Correlation between attitude and knowledge on OSH was computed. Results: The response rate was 64.42% (67 laboratory workers). The overall level of knowledge on OSH was moderate, with a mean score of 62%. A larger proportion of female respondents (51.5%) showed good OSH knowledge compared to male respondents (14.7%) and the difference was statistically significant (10.288, 1; p<0.01). Majority of the respondents (73.7%) who worked in a poor OSH laboratory environment had poor attitude level towards OSH (χ2=7.135, df=1; p=0.008). There was a moderate positive correlation between knowledge and attitude on OSH (r=0.4, p<0.01). Knowledge explains 16% of the variance in level of attitude towards OSH among laboratory workers. Conclusion: Knowledge of OSH among laboratory workers was moderate and is associated with gender and OSH environment in the workplace. A greater effort to promote OSH knowledge among the laboratory workers is needed to ensure their safety and health in workplace

Classifications of clinical depression detection using acoustic measures in Malay speakers

Objective screening mechanism using paralinguistic cues to enhance current diagnostic on detecting depression is desirable, which resulted in the rise of research on this area. However, to date, there has been no research done using dataset of Malay speakers. This paper presented an acoustic depression detection classification using Linear and Quadratic Discriminant analysis with transition parameters and power spectral density as the acoustic features. Among the two features, power spectral density performed better, especially with the combination of band 1, 2 and 3 for both male and female data. As for the Transition parameters, we found that unvoiced feature performed best overall for both male and female

Effects of prenatal food and micronutrient supplementation on infant development: a randomized trial from the Maternal and Infant Nutrition Interventions, Matlab (MINIMat) study.

BACKGROUND: Few data exist for the effects of multiple micronutrient (MM) or food supplementation to undernourished pregnant women on their offsprings' development. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to compare the effects on infant development of early (8-10 wk gestation) or usual ( approximately 17 wk gestation) supplementation with food and MM, 30 mg Fe + 400 microg folate, or 60 mg Fe + 400 microg folate. DESIGN: A large, randomized, controlled trial of pregnancy supplementation was conducted in Bangladesh. A subsample of infants (n = 2853) were assessed on 2 problem-solving tests (support and cover tests), the motor index of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development, and Wolke's behavior ratings at 7 mo of age. RESULTS: There were no significant effects of any intervention in the group as a whole. However, infants of undernourished mothers [body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) < 18.5] who received early food supplementation performed slightly but significantly (P = 0.035) better on the support test than did infants of mothers who received usual food supplementation (z score: 0.17; 95% CI: 0.01, 0.33). There were no benefits in infants of higher-BMI mothers (P = 0.024 for BMI x food interaction). Children of low-BMI mothers who received MMs had slightly better motor scores (z score: 0.28; 95% CI: 0.08, 0.48) and activity ratings (z score: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.037, 0.45) than did those who received 30 mg Fe + 400 microg folate, whereas other children did not benefit (P = 0.05 for both motor scores and BMI x micronutrients and for activity and BMI x micronutrients). CONCLUSIONS: Small benefits from early food and MM supplementation were found in infants of low-BMI but not of high-BMI mothers. However, the benefits were of doubtful functional importance, and longer follow-up is required to determine programmatic implications

Poverty Profiles of Sylhet City Corporation: An MPI Approach

Does income measure of poverty explain it meticulously? To seek this answer we claim poverty is not a unidimensional phenomenon rather it adheres multidimensionality. Sen (2000) views poverty as the deprivation of certain basic capabilities, which varies from elementary physical nourishment to the community life. However, targeting slum dwellers, this article sought to advance multidimensional poverty measures in SCC (Sylhet City Corporation). The study adopts a mixed method approach to examine so. Finding shows that, there are some variations in the percentage of poor households. In terms of income and expenditure 60% households are identified as poor but in MPI number increases to 75%. Data from in-depth interview exhibits that respondents feel themselves as income poor. Some of them consider deprivation of education is the consequence of that income poverty. In addition, few respondents dimple that health problems and physical disabilities mingle their poverty experiences

SELF CONDEMNATION, INDEBTEDNESS AND FINANCIAL STRESS: FINDINGS OF A CROSSSECTIONAL STUDY IN PAKISTAN

To determine various aspects of the Micro Economy that entails the foundation of Financial Stress arising for an individual in Pakistan. The essential focus of this study is firstly, on how behavioral factors or Personality Traits affect the degree of Financial Stress that an individual undergoes; and secondly, how conditions of Indebtedness of a person accentuate the conditions of distress. Assortments of constraints arising from Dependency burdens and Household Saving patterns that go hand-in-hand with the Economic Positionality are also brought into consideration with the help of this paper, focusing solely on results obtained for developing nations, such as Pakistan itself. Financial Stress was measured on a ten-item ordinal scale, consisting of a set of questions included in the survey questionnaire, while the preferred models used in this paper consisted of Ordered Probit and Tobit Models which estimated this cross-sectional study and the relationships of the two core variables; Self Condemnation, as well as Indebtedness with individuals’ financial stress. This study therefore, was able to depict that increased levels of Self Condemnation among individuals, due to a lack of resources or income, as well as high rates of Personal Debt in proportion to Individual Incomes; both have a positive significant relationship with the level of Financial Stress that these persons undergo. Government Policies and regulations of institutions can however, have an auspicious impact on the micro level as exploitation of the underprivileged can be controlled, and benefits be provided, leading to the uplifting of distress among the population

Microrna expression profiling in tears of children with vernal keratoconjunctivitis

Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is a chronic conjunctival inflammatory condition usually affecting children. It is often present with severe manifestations leading to corneal scar and blindness. Tears contain diverse concentrations of microRNAs (miRNAs), which are small non-coding RNA molecules regulating various cellular processes in various eye diseases. In this study we aim to generate miRNA expression profile in tears of children with VKC in comparison to controls and evaluate these miRNAs as the potential diagnostic biomarkers of VKC (phase II). However, through a pilot study, we initially investigated the optimal miRNA quantity in tears among three sampling groups, namely, unfractionated whole tears, whole-tear-derived exosomes, and exosome-depleted (phase I). This was an experimental case-control study conducted at Ophthalmology Clinic, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, from January 2020 till December 2020. Phase I of the study involved normal subjects while phase II involved children with clinical diagnosis of VKC and control. RNA isolation was performed using the miRNeasy Micro Kit and quantification through Bioanalyzer RNA 6000 nano kit and Small RNA kit. VKC and control samples were screened for miRNAs expression using Agilent microarray technique. The unfractionated whole tears sampling group yielded better and optimal miRNA concentrations. Microarray results revealed a total of 51 miRNAs that were differentially expressed among children with VKC and controls. Out of these miRNAs, 48 were up-regulated and three were down-regulated. The hsa-miR-1229-5p, hsa-miR-6821-5p, and hsa-miR-6800-5p were the three top up-regulated miRNAs, while the miRNAs, hsa-miR-7975, hsa-miR-7977, and hsa-miR-1260a were the three down-regulated miRNAs. All the 48 up-regulated miRNAs can be used as the potential diagnostic miRNA biomarkers for VKC due to their higher discriminatory area under the curve (AUC) values. The miRNA target prediction analysis has determined multiple gene targets out of which 16 overlapping target genes (ARHGEF5, CCL22, CD276, LGALS9, MIF, PGF, PTGDS, PTGER, B3GAT1, SOCS3, ICOSLG, TGM2, MMP25, NGFR, FOXP3, and HRH1) were known to play role in causing conjunctival inflammation. The oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism were the top three KEGG pathways involved. In conclusion, miRNAs from unfractionated whole tears were differentially expressed among children with VKC and controls. Once validated, these miRNAs could serve as potential diagnostic biomarkers for VKC and provides insights into the pathogenesis of VKC

The awareness of generation ‘Y’ on green building development in Malaysia / Syarifah Nur Nazihah Syed Jamalulil, Haryati Mohd Isa and Nurul Huda Ahmad

Malaysian construction industry has undergone over 50 years of rapid industrialization and became an economic engine for the country. The industry contributes 5% to Gross Development Product and employs almost 9.3% of overall workforce. However, most of the development has been reported as unsustainableand requires specific sustainable approach to the construction industry. This situation urges the government and professional bodies in Malaysia to take proactive actions in promoting sustainability concept for better environmental and social protection. Nevertheless, creating new sustainable construction concept highly depends on the knowledge and involvement of participants within this industry especially generation ‘Y’. This research aims to investigate the awareness of generation ‘Y’ on green building development in the Malaysian construction industry. In addition, this research also recommends means to improve the level of awareness on green building development among generation ‘Y’ in Malaysia. Data will be collected through questionnaire survey. The paper posits that it is essential to raise the awareness and educate generation ‘Y’ on green building development for continual improvement in the future

Improved estimation of radar rainfall using multivariate Kalman filtering approach / Sharifah Nurul Huda Syed Yahya

Radar rainfall estimates has become an indispensable complementary to rain gauge data as input to flood prediction model. The research work had focused on methods to improve radar rainfall estimates. The techniques used in this study will help better rainfall estimation after reducing some errors correlated with weather radar. The radar rainfall data from Terminal Doppler Radar, KLIA Malaysia and rain gauge data from the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia were used. The hourly rainfall accumulation from the Doppler radar in mm/hr was estimated and compared with the hourly rainfall rate from the rain gauge network. In the first part of this thesis, Kriging interpolation for a network of rain gauges in Klang River Basin is presented. The kriged rain values were compared with radar rainfall estimates to assess the advantages of both methods. Three types of semivariogram functions namely Spherical, Exponential and Gaussian had been applied in the interpolation. The results show that the Spherical model performs the best in the interpolation with r2 = 0.78. It is also found that Kriging interpolation of rain gauge data can provide useful comparative values to the radar rainfall estimates. The second part of this thesis presents state space model, which applied Kalman Filter method. In this work, multivariate technique was integrated in Kalman Filter method to reduce noise in radar rainfall data. The novel approach of Kalman Filter combined with multivariate analysis help to improve radar rainfall estimate by correcting, updating and forecasting. The integration process needs to state the threshold point in the system of noise variance (Q) and observation noise variance (R). The implementation of this technique also involved the weather parameter elements that affect rainfall occurrence such as temperature, wind and humidity. Results showed that Kalman filter integrated with multivariate analysis using measured weather parameter reduce radar rainfall errors. For example, Kalman filtering with multivariate analysis for Petaling Jaya station has improved r2 values from 0.68 to 0.87

Escalation of tuberculosis notification: an analysis of associated social factors

Studies have revealed that socioeconomic factors such as those pertaining to unmarried respondents, dependency, housing congestion and room sharing are associated with tuberculosis rates not only in developing countries but also in developed countries. Karachi has been identified as one of the most vulnerable cities where the spread of TB is increasing with the passage of time. The purpose of the present study is to assess TB notification with reference to some social factors in order that the findings of this study may provide helpful information for guidance related to social and economic policy formulation, at least at the local level to combat and eliminate tuberculosis. The methodology was based on NTP registered patients' data and social factor analysis data which were acquired through questionnaire survey from notified patients. The result pertaining to TB notification reveals an increasing trend during the last seven years from 2007 until 2013. The notification of female patients compared to that of males is high, which is evidence of the fact that women in Pakistan are more affected but a comparison of patients to the total population in the respective years i.e. the patient population ratio, reveals a decreasing trend. The findings of the study emphasize that the problem of TB control can be resolved expeditiously with the cooperation of the public sector, which should be motivated to meet the core requirements of the programme at various administrative levels and strongly enforced standards of quality of li

Pain assessment and management in different wards of a tertiary care hospital

OBJECTIVE: To assess the pain management by medical team, emergency room (ER) team and Acute Pain team in a tertiary care hospital. METHODS: The cross-sectional study was done in Medical Ward, Surgical Ward and Emergency Room of Aga Khan University, Karachi, in March-April 2010. The assigned research medical officer visited the three locations every day and selected patients by way of convenient sampling. The study comprised 75 patients; 25 each in three groups. Information was collected on patient\u27s demographics, general characteristics, type of drugs and modalities used. Specific queries about pain were sorted out like adequacy of pain assessment done by primary physician, pain intensity, any intervention done and pain relief post-intervention. SPSS version 17, analysis of variance and Chi square test were used for statistical purpose. RESULTS: The mean current pain score on the visual analogue score (VAS) was lowest in the Surgical Ward which was being managed by the Acute Pain Management Service (APMS) team followed by the Medical Ward and then Emergency Rooms. The difference was found to be statistically significant. The mean of worst pain score was also the lowest in the Surgical Ward. There was significant difference between wards in terms of the use of pain medications. Proper documentation for pain was done for all patients in the Surgical Ward, followed by the Emergency Room and then the Medical Ward. CONCLUSION: Better pain assessment, re-assessment, documentation and patient satisfaction were observed in the Surgical Ward compared to the other two locations of the study