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Nurses' knowledge, beliefs and practices regarding the screening and treatment of postpartum depression in maternal and child health clinics: A cross-sectional survey
No full textBackground: Postpartum depression (PPD) affects 10-15% of women worldwide, and screening is recommended by clinical guidelines. In Malaysia, nurses in maternal and child health (MCH) clinics provide postpartum care. Aim: To determine nurses’ level of knowledge, beliefs and practices regarding PPD and factors associated with screening practices. Methods: A cross-sectional study using universal sampling was conducted on nurses from seven government MCH clinics in Malaysia. Data was collected from March until April 2016 through a self-reported questionnaire. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify factors associated with having ever performed PPD screening. Results: Of the 108 nurses, 55.6% scored above the median total knowledge score (17 out of 24 points). Despite a high proportion of nurses believing that they were responsible for PPD screening (72.2%), counselling depressed mothers (72.2%) and referring mothers for further treatment (87.0%), only 64.8% and 51.9% were confident in recognizing PPD and counselling depressed mothers, respectively. Only 25.9% had ever practiced PPD screening, which was associated with beliefs concerning screening taking too much time (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=0.13, 95% confidence interval [CI]= 0.02–0.74, P=0.022) and that screening is their responsibility (AOR=14.12, 95%CI=1.65-120.75, P=0.016). Conclusion: More than half of the nurses scored above the median total knowledge score and had positive beliefs towards PPD screening. However, PPD screening practices were poor, and this outcome was associated with their beliefs regarding time and responsibility. © 2019 Malaysian Family Physician. All rights reserved
Financial Crisis, Stock Market and Economic Growth: Evidence from ASEAN-5
No full textThis paper examines the effects of the Asian Financial Crisis (AFC) and Global Financial Crisis (GFC) on economic growth in the ASEAN-5 countries. Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were found to be most affected by the AFC but not the GFC. Additionally, for Malaysia and Thailand, real output responded positively and significantly to shocks in the stock market. These findings are consistent with the results that show that the shock in the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange has a larger effect on real output than other variables for twenty periods. However, a shock in the Bangkok stock exchange has a higher effect on real output and the effect remained strong until the tenth period. This suggests that the stock market is an important economic growth driver in Malaysia and Thailand. © 2019 ISEAS - Yusof Ishak Institute
Low seroprevalence rates of Zika virus in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
No full textBackground: Zika virus (ZIKV) is believed to be endemic in Southeast Asia. However, there have been few Zika cases reported to date in Malaysia, which could be due to high pre-existing levels of population immunity. Methods: To determine Zika virus (ZIKV) seroprevalence in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 1085 serum samples from 2012, 2014-2015 and 2017 were screened for anti-ZIKV antibodies using a ZIKV NS1 blockade-of-binding assay. Reactive samples were confirmed using neutralization assays against ZIKV and the four dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. A sample was possible ZIKV seropositive with a ZIKV 50% neutralization (NT50) titre ≥20. A sample was probable ZIKV seropositive if, in addition, all DENV NT50 titres were 4-fold greater than the highest DENV NT50 titre. Results: We found low rates of possible ZIKV seropositivity (3.3% [95% confidence interval {CI} 2.4 to 4.6]) and probable ZIKV seropositivity (0.6% [95% CI 0.3 to 1.4]). Possible ZIKV seropositivity was independently associated with increasing age (odds ratio [OR] 1.04 [95% CI 1.02 to 1.06], p<0.0001) and male gender (OR 3.5 [95% CI 1.5 to 8.6], p=0.005). Conclusions: The low ZIKV seroprevalence rate, a proxy for population immunity, does not explain the low incidence of Zika in dengue-hyperendemic Kuala Lumpur. Other factors, such as the possible protective effects of pre-existing flavivirus antibodies or reduced transmission by local mosquito vectors, should be explored. Kuala Lumpur is at high risk of a large-scale Zika epidemic. © 2019 The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved
Factors affecting university students’ lifelong learning in Indonesia
No full textThe present study investigates the issue of self-directed learning, students’ perception towards ICT and social networking as the key factors that affect lifelong learning by focusing on the Indonesian settings. The study follows a correlational research design to investigate and measure the degree of relationship among self-directed learning, and students’ perception towards ICT. The research was conducted in Jogjakarta and Riau Province, Indonesia. A total of 216 postgraduate students were chosen for this study by using the simple random sampling method. Data were collected using the instrument developed by Williamson and then analysed using AMOS 23 software. Hypothesis testing was done by using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). SEM test indicate partial mediation effects of social networking for self-directed learning on lifelong learning was found and full mediation effects of social networking for self-directed learning on lifelong learning. The results imply that lectures should support postgraduate students in order to sharpen their self-directed learning, positive perception towards ICT and social networking in lifelong learning by giving suitable learning methods and proposing a sufficient teaching and learning atmosphere. © 2019, University of Malaya. All rights reserved
Challenges in Managing A Patient With Central Post-Stroke Pain
No full textObjective: This is a case illustration of the challenges in managing a patient with central post stroke pain secondary to right thalamic bleed. We describe in detail the events of this case management and the challenges that we had encountered. Method: We report a case of a 68-year-old lady who had right thalamic bleed secondary to hypertensive crisis in 2015 and was further complicated with central post stroke pain over the hemiparetic side. In our report, we describe in detail the challenges in managing the patient to improve her function to achieve a better quality of life. Conclusion: This article illustrates the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and knowledge of various methods in managing a patient with central post stroke pain. © 2019, Ibn Sina Trust. All rights reserved
Role of fluid-structure interaction in mixed convection from a circular cylinder in a square enclosure with double flexible oscillating fins
No full textThe problem of unsteady mixed convection in a square enclosure containing a heated circular cylinder is studied in this paper. Two solid elastic thin fins are attached on the top cold wall. The governing equations for fluid flow and energy in the fluid and structures domains are written in Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation. Finite element method was used to obtain the approximate solutions of the governing equation. The governing parameters considered are the oscillating fin direction, fin amplitude and length with various elasticity values and cylinder sizes. The results show that the instantaneous heat transfer characteristics of the contrary oscillation differs greatly from the identical oscillation. The influence of the elasticity value on the heat transfer rate is significant at a sufficiently small amplitude oscillation. © 2019 Elsevier Lt
A web-based model for inspection inconsistencies resolution: A new approach with two case studies
No full textThis research is aimed at introducing an enhanced inspection model known as Improved Software Inspection Model (ISIM) by making some enhancements to overcome or reduce the weaknesses identified in Formal model. ISIM includes a method of selecting suitable inspectors based on their expertise and work experience; provide a database that stores information on potentials; has a database that stores the possible causes of each of the defects stored in the defect database; and incorporates a few enhancements in the inspection process. To facilitate the selection of suitable inspectors and the inspection process, an inspection tool was developed using PHP with MySQL as database management system. To determine whether the use of ISIM can improve the inspection process, the quality of the process was evaluated using paired T-test which compares the differences between Formal and ISIM models, in terms of the number of defects detected, inspection time, and the productivity of the inspectors. Two case studies were conducted in two companies and inspections were carried out on two software development projects to collect the data needed for the statistical test. The statistical test results show that at α = 0.05, the mean values of the number of defects are detected; the inspection time; and the productivity of the inspectors when using Formal and ISIM are 19.78 and 28.13; 220.97 minutes and 213.69 minutes; and 0.0891 and 0.1328, respectively. This shows that there are significant improvements in the number of defects detected (i.e. difference = 8.35; 42.21%), and productivity of the inspectors (i.e. difference = 0.0437; 49.05%). However, there is only a slight improvement in the inspection time. It can be concluded that ISIM together with its tool improve the quality of inspection process in the two case studies. © 2019, Malaysian Journal of Computer Science
The conductivity and dielectric studies of polymer electrolytes based on iota-carrageenan with sodium iodide and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide for the dye-sensitized solar cells
No full textGel polymer electrolytes (GPE) were prepared with iota-carrageenan, sodium iodide (NaI), and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium iodide (BMIMI). The enhancement of ionic conductivity has achieved from 1.34 × 10 −2 S cm −1 to 2.11 × 10 −2 S cm −1 after the addition of BMIMI. The dielectric studies show that the dielectric constant increases with increasing concentration and temperature. The modulus studies show that ionic conductivity is dominant in the GPE samples. The XRD analysis shows that 30 wt.% BMIMI (IL30) has the optimum amorphous nature, and the combination of crystalline salt and semi crystalline polymer with amorphous ionic liquid gives a better amorphous nature. The FTIR studies confirm that there is complexation occurs between the iota-carrageenan, NaI, and BMIMI. Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) were fabricated using the prepared GPE samples and characterized using photovoltaic studies. DSSC with IL30 sample shows the highest photovoltaic efficiency of 0.72%. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature
Synthesis and characterisation of bis(2 methyl-8-hydroxyquinoline) zinc nanoparticles for organic light emitting diode applications
No full textIn this paper, bis(2 methyl-8-hydroxyquinoline) zinc (Zn(mq) 2 ) nanoparticles were synthesised at room temperature by a simple chemical precipitation method. The Zn(mq) 2 nanoparticles were characterised by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) analysis to confirm the crystalline nature of the Zn(mq) 2 nanoparticles. The morphology and the elemental composition of Zn (mq) 2 nanoparticles were analysed by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDAX). The functional groups of the compound were studied with the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and FT Raman spectroscopy. Further, Zn (mq) 2 nanoparticles were characterised by C-13 NMR spectroscopy, mass spectroscopy and CHN analysis. The thermal stability of the particles was studied using TG-DSC curve. The optical properties of the particles were studied by means of UV–Visible spectroscopy. The luminescence property of the synthesised particles was observed from the photoluminescence spectrum to confirm the possible application in organic light emitting diode. © 2019, © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Anti-Cancer Effects of Synergistic Drug–Bacterium Combinations on Induced Breast Cancer in BALB/c Mice
No full textCancer development and progression are extremely complex due to the alteration of various genes and pathways. In most cases, multiple agents are required to control cancer progression. The purpose of this study is to investigate, using a mouse model, the synergistic interactions of anti-cancer agents, 1′-S-1′-acetoxychavicol acetate (ACA), Mycobacterium indicus pranii (MIP), and cisplatin (CDDP) in double and triple combinations to treat chemo-sensitize and immune-sensitize breast cancer. Changes in tumor volume and body weight were monitored. Organs were harvested and stained using hematoxylin-eosin for histopathological assessment. Milliplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed to determine cytokine levels, while immunohistochemistry (IHC) was conducted on tumor biopsies to verify systemic drug effects. In vivo mouse models showed tumor regression with maintenance of regular body weight for all the different treatment regimens. IHC results provided conclusive evidence indicating that combination regimens were able to down-regulate nuclear factor kappa-B activation and reduce the expression of its regulated pro-inflammatory proteins. Reduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-6, TNF-α, and IFN-γ) levels were observed when using the triple combination, which indicated that the synergistic drug combination was able to significantly control cancer progression. In conclusion, ACA, MIP, and CDDP together serve as promising candidates for further development and for subsequent clinical trials against estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. © 2019 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland