IIUM Medical Journal Malaysia (IMJM)
Not a member yet
1450 research outputs found
Sort by
Seasonal influences on the levels of particulate Cd, Cr and Pb in Kuantan River, Pahang
Get PDFIntroduction: Temporal and spatial variations of selected toxic element distributions were studied in the Kuantan River waters. Methods: Water samples from 9 sampling stations were taken from downstream of the estuary towards the upstream of the Kuantan River during the rainy and dry season. Particulate Cd, Cr and Pb were filtered, dried, weighed and analyzed using Teflon Bomb digestion processes. Results: The concentration of particulate Cd, Cr and Pb were in the range of ND to 14.480 mg L-1 , 6.047 to 271.497 mg L1 and 0.646 to 174.859 mg L-1 , respectively. The distribution of the elements in suspended particulate matter was found influenced by the rainy season and dry season. Particulate metals obtained mostly higher in May 2012 (dry season) while Cd and Cr were found above the limits authorize by the International Commission for the Protection of the Rhine against Pollution (ICPR). Conclusions: Correlation matrix between various parameters revealed that most of the parameters were found to bear a statistically significant correlation with each other
Preliminary phytochemical screening and antibacterial activity of methanol and ethylacetate fractions from Glochidion superbum’s leaves extract
Get PDFIntroduction: The leaves of Glochidion superbum and other similar plants had been in use as a folk medicine by indigenous people in South East Asia for treatment of wound infections and diarrhoea. As recommended by WHO, studies on medicinal plants should include both identification of the chemical constituents and determination of their biological activities. Thus, the study aims to screen various local plant extracts for antibacterial activity and determine the extract fraction showing the highest antibacterial activity. Methods: In this study, Glochidion superbum leaves methanol extract was selected after preliminary antibacterial screening of this extract alongside extracts of Rennellia elliptica (leaves and roots) and Uncaria acida (stem and leaves) by the agar disc diffusion method against Escherichia coli ATCC 35218, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 11778. Furthermore, methanol leave extract of Glochidion superbum was subjected to a qualitative phytochemical screening. The extract was fractionated using Vacuum Liquid Chromatography (VLC) method and the following fractions were obtained: methanol 2.2 g (4.7%), ethylacetate 38.3 g (81.4%) and ethylacetate:methanol 5.0 g (10.6%). Results: The ethylacetate:methanol 1:1 fraction showed the highest in vitro dose-dependent inhibitory activity at concentrations of 25, 50, 100 and 150 mg/mL against the growth of E. coli ATCC 35218, and S. aureus ATCC 25923. Conclusions: This research has demonstrated proof of concept that the plant extract of Glochidion superbum leaves has antibacterial activity against both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria
The Role of Training for Dental Students in Scoring Caries
Get PDFIntroduction: Training of dental students is an essential part of the teaching- learning activities in order to obtain reliable results in scoring of dental caries. The objectives of this study are to examine consistency in scoring of caries over a 3-month period following baseline training, calibration and retraining. Methods: Three examiners (dental students) received baseline training/calibration by a "gold standard" examiner (lecturer). This was followed by a re-calibration and retraining 3 months later. A set of 20 extracted teeth was used for the baseline training and for the re-calibration purposes. The International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) was used to classify the visual caries lesion severity (0-6 scale) of surface of permanent teeth. The examination utilized a clinical light, dental mirror, dental probe and air syringe. Kappa (unweighted: Kappa) statistics were used to determine inter-examiner reliability at baseline and re-calibration. Results: For caries score criteria, the baseline calibration on 20 specimens indicated an inter-rater kappa ranging from 0.37-0.69. Re-calibration on the same 20 specimens 3 months later indicated an inter-rater kappa of 0.79-0.89. Activity kappa was in the poor to good range. All examiners improved with time. Conclusions: Training contributes to the consistency and reliability of dental caries scoring among dental students
Psycho-social and Spiritual Backgrounds, Experiences, and Needs as a Transsexual: A Qualitative Study within Persatuan Insaf Pahang
Get PDFIntroduction: Transsexuals face discriminations and rejections from the Malaysian society. The number of studies done on understanding the phenomenology, experiences, and problems faced by transsexuals is still few in Malaysia. This research aims to document their psycho-social and spiritual backgrounds and the relevant experiences, and to explore their perceptions and needs as male-to-female transsexuals in the context of Persatuan Insaf Pahang, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A qualitative research was carried out in July and August 2015 among eight male-to-female transsexual adults in Kuantan, Pahang. Snowball sampling was used. Participants who gave consent were interviewed in two focus groups. Data obtained was transcribed and used as the primary data source. Results: Subjects in this study reported confusions over their gender identity since childhood. They struggled against conflicts regarding their transsexuality in adolescence, and eventually many quit their studies. As adults, they were discriminated against in employment and religious settings. They provided positive feedbacks on religious authorities who could understand problems unique to transsexuals and empathise with the transsexual community. Conclusion: The psycho-sexual phenomenology is the same in transsexuals all over the world. Misunderstanding and discrimination from the society remain heavy towards this community. Transsexuals should learn to adapt to meeting expectations from the society as well, so they could be accepted in public. They will need religious guidance and spiritual support for better quality of life. Dedicated efforts are still needed in training professionals in the educational, medical, and religious fields to attend to the specific needs of transsexuals in this country
Correlation between Peer Assessment Score and Final Examination Mark among IIUM First Year Medical Students
Get PDFBackground: Peer assessment has been shown to complement both formative and summative evaluations in education and used in some medical programmes. The study was aimed to find correlation between group work peer assessment score and final examination mark among four batches of International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) first year MBBS students. Method: A set of four questions was constructed and tested to assess students’ overall role in their group research project. The difference in distribution according to years was tested by using one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis, depending on the data distribution. Pearson correlation coefficient test was done to test the linear association between peer score and final examination mark. Partial correlation test was used to adjust the correlation for four academic years. Results: From the analysed data of 502 students, there was moderate, significant positive correlation (0.366) between peer assessment score and the final examination mark (P < 0.001). Adjustment to the academic years resulted in correlation coefficient of 0.371. Conclusion: The results provide an important insight on the influence of peers’ perception in predicting the medical student academic performance
Cross-sectional descriptive study of management modalities and quality of life of surgical patients in a palliative care unit
Get PDFIntroduction: The goal of palliative care is the provision of the best quality of life (QOL) for terminally ill and dying patients. Advances in medical treatment has seen an increase in overall survival of all stages of malignant diseases. This includes advanced and/or inoperable malignancies where management is mainly palliative involving different modalities. Methods: We designed a cross-sectional descriptive study of surgical patients in a palliative care unit in a 1000-bedded teaching hospital in Kuantan, Malaysia. Objectives of this study are: to study the demographic characteristics and indications for admission of surgical patients in palliative care unit, to study the options of treatment modalities and their complications, to identify the barriers in decision making in surgical treatment and finally to objectively assess the quality of life of these patients by utilizing QUALITY OF LIFE (WHOQOL) –BREF –questionnaire. Results: One hundred and one eligible patients (53%) male, (47%) female of mean age of 54yrs, majority Malay and Chinese patients were included in the study. All patients had malignancies and they were Breast (30%), Lower gastrointestinal (GI) (24%), (18%) upper GI, (15%) hepato-biliary, and (7%) pancreatic cancers. Thirty two percents of patients had emergency treatment while the rest had supportive treatment. Barriers to decision making were mainly due to patient factors in 71%, while 12% was due to the disease presenting at an advanced stage and 15% due to limitation of care. The final results of overall quality of life rating were shown as poor (1%), neither poor nor good (42%), good (52%) and very good (2%). Conclusions: Palliative care and end of life decision making from surgical point of view is a delicate issue. Like all other fields in medicine, palliative care must be evidence-based with specific goal directed therapy. Our study shows that we are able to positively impact the quality of life in more than two thirds of our patients. Our aim is to achieve 100% success. As such, it is imperative to inculcate the goal of palliative care to all grades of health care personnel. ‘To cure sometimes, To relieve often, To comfort always’ should not be mere words
Is Autonomy a Universal Value of Human Existence? Scope of Autonomy in Medical Practice: A Comparative Study between Western Medical Ethics and Islamic Medical Ethics
Get PDFThe practice of contemporary medicine has been tremendously influenced by western ideas and it is assumed by many that autonomy is a universal value of human existence. In the World Health Report 2000, the World Health Organization (WHO) considered autonomy a “universal” value of human life against which every health system in the world should be judged. Further in Western bioethics, patient autonomy and self -determination prevails in all sectors of social and personal life, a concept unacceptable to some cultures. In principle, there are challenges to the universal validity of autonomy, individualism and secularism, as most non-Western cultures are proud of their communal relations and spiritualistic ethos and, thereby imposing Western beliefs and practices as aforementioned can have deleterious consequences. Religion lies at the heart of most cultures which influences the practice patterns of medical professionals in both visible and unconscious ways. However, religion is mostly viewed by scientists as mystical and without scientific proof. Herein lies the dilemma, whether medical professionals should respect the cultural and religious beliefs of their patients? In this paper we aim to discuss some of the limitations of patient's autonomy by comparing the process of reasoning in western medical ethics and Islamic medical ethics, in order to examine the possibility and desirability of arriving at a single, unitary and universally acceptable notion of medical ethics. We propose a more flexible viewpoint that accommodates different cultural and religious values in interpreting autonomy and applying it in an increasingly multilingual and multicultural, contemporaneous society in order to provide the highest level of care possible
10 years review of endowment fund for research in IIUM Kuantan
Get PDFIntroduction: IIUM Research Endowment Fund was initiated to encourage research activities, but was withdrawn in 2015 due to financial constraint. The discontinuity was additionally justified as Endowment Funds being an internal fund, does not contribute to MyRA, an instrument used to gauge research activities in Malaysian Universities. It is divided into Endowment A (Non-S&T) and B (S&T) which funds RM5,000.00 and RM20,000.00 accordingly. This study aims to analyze the output of IIUM Kuantan lecturers from the fund from 2005- 2015. Methods: Data were obtained from IIUM Kuantan Research Management Center filing system, which include End of Project Forms and Research Reports among others. The outcome measured includes publication, human capital and seminar presentation. Each outcome was given scores to indicate its importance. Results: A total number of 349 grants, which consisted of 117 grants for Endowment A (RM585,000) and 232 grants for Endowment B (RM4,640,000) were approved since 2006 until 2015. The total amount of grant given was RM5,225,000. Endowment A and B produced 76 and 242 publications, 34 and 121 students’ project and 74 and 299 conference presentations accordingly. Endowment A and B utilized RM2839.81 and RM10,108.93 for 1 score accordingly. Conclusions: Although Endowment Grants were not considered in MyRA markings for research grants received, it has contributed significantly to other MyRA scores such as publication, presentation and students’ development with a relatively small amount of money
Association of academic stress & performance in continuous assessment among pharmacy students in body system course
Get PDFIntroduction: Undergraduate Pharmacy students find the program is stressful. This study compares the perceived stress score (PSS) of third year Pharmacy students and their performance via continuous assessment (CAM) in a body system course. Methods: The relationship between the PSS and their academic performance, though out the semester were explored for 114 students including 25 male and 85 female. In this cross-sectional study, questionnaires were distributed to assess their PSS, other relevant questions and the result in four quizzes on the course were recorded periodically and analyzed descriptively. Results: The mean value of the whole class PSS score was found (38.66 ± 6.46). Females’ PSS in 1st quiz was 38.76 ± 5.56 and male’s was 39.21 ± 5.48 and quiz 2 for female was 38.61 ± 6.27 whereas 40.1 ± 7.48 in male. That value in quiz 3 and 4 for female was 38.10 ± 7.18 and male was 39.69± 8.68. However, there is no significant difference in gender. The PSS score for all participants was found highest in the second quiz (38.99 ± 6.60) whereas the mean marks they obtained were lowest (4.97 ± 1.36) compared to other quizzes but their relation is weakly significant. Total scoring of the CAM for the whole class was found even lower compared to previous batches, 23.83 ± 3.88. They were engaged with various co-curriculum activities and complained of not having enough time to study and revise. The unsatisfactory performance might be due to heavy topics and time constraint. Conclusions: Stress and time management are critical elements for undergraduate students to perform well academically regardless of their stress level
Tualang honey improves non alcoholic steatohepatitis animal model
Get PDFIntroduction: Non-alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) is an emerging chronic liver disease with limited therapy available. Studies utilizing animal models induced with cholesterol diet ranging from 1-2% are hampered by inconsistent yield of NASH features. Therefore, we aimed to establish a NASH animal model utilizing 12% cholesterol diet (CD) and to investigate the effects of Tualang honey (TH) known for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties in this model. Methods: Twenty-four Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 2 groups (12% CD and standard diet) and were fed for 6 weeks. Following the establishment of NASH, the rats in the 12% CD group were subsequently divided into 3 groups. The first group was continued with only 12% CD. In the other 2 groups in addition to the 12% CD they were given TH treatment at different concentrations (1.2 and 2.4 g/kg/day) for 4 weeks. Blood biochemical analysis and histological assessment of liver were subsequently performed. Results: The liver histological sections of the rats fed with 12% CD showed macrovesicular steatosis, ballooning degeneration with lobular and portal inflammation. They also had increased serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol (TC), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), fasting insulin, HOMA-IR and reduced high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). Meanwhile, the TH treatment groups exhibited significant improvement in both the NASH grading and activity scores. The ALT, LDL-C, TC, triglyceride (TG), fasting insulin and HOMA-IR levels were reduced significantly. Conclusions: The 12% CD was able to induce NASH in the animal model. Tualang honey improved insulin sensitivity, dyslipidaemia, steatohepatitis